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Background: Osteoporosis and sarcopenia frequently occur in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing hemodialysis (HD), and depression is also a common mental health issue in this population. Despite the prevalence of these conditions, the interrelationships among them remain poorly understood in HD patients., Methods: In this multicenter cross-sectional study, 858 HD patients from 7 dialysis centers were recruited. Bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) was calculated from body composition data obtained through multifrequency bioimpedance analysis (BIA), while handgrip strength (HGS) was measured with a dynamometer. Gait speed was evaluated with a 4-meter walk test, and depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)., Results: Among the 858 participants (524 men, 334 women), 39.2% had osteoporosis. The prevalence of sarcopenia and depression was 18.9% and 42.1%, respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed that SMI was significantly associated with a decreased risk of osteoporosis (OR = 0.638, 95% CI = 0.494-0.823, P = 0.001), while HGS was not(OR = 0.990, 95% CI = 0.963-1.017, P = 0.449). HD patients with sarcopenia were 1.92 times more likely to have osteoporosis than those without sarcopenia. Most notably, after adjusting for both sarcopenia and SMI, the risk of osteoporosis in HD patients with depression was 1.45 times higher than in those without depression (OR = 1.452, 95% CI = 1.060-1.989, P = 0.020)., Conclusions: In HD patients, increased muscle mass, rather than muscle strength, is linked to a lower risk of osteoporosis. Notably, depression emerges as a significant risk factor for osteoporosis in this population, highlighting the need for mental health considerations in managing bone health., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. Consent for publication: Not Applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Natural killer (NK) cells can control metastasis through cytotoxicity and IFN-γ production independently of T cells in experimental metastasis mouse models. The inverse correlation between NK activity and metastasis incidence supports a critical role for NK cells in human metastatic surveillance. However, autologous NK cell therapy has shown limited benefit in treating patients with metastatic solid tumors. Using a spontaneous metastasis mouse model of MHC-I + breast cancer, we found that transfer of IL-15/IL-12-conditioned syngeneic NK cells after primary tumor resection promoted long-term survival of mice with low metastatic burden and induced a tumor-specific protective T cell response that is essential for the therapeutic effect. Furthermore, NK cell transfer augments activation of conventional dendritic cells (cDCs), Foxp3 - CD4 + T cells and stem cell-like CD8 + T cells in metastatic lungs, to which IFN-γ of the transferred NK cells contributes significantly. These results imply direct interactions between transferred NK cells and endogenous cDCs to enhance T cell activation. We conducted an investigator-initiated clinical trial of autologous NK cell therapy in six patients with advanced cancer and observed that the NK cell therapy was safe and showed signs of effectiveness. These findings indicate that autologous NK cell therapy is effective in treating established low burden metastases of MHC-I + tumor cells by activating the cDC-T cell axis at metastatic sites., Competing Interests: SH, YL, HL, CC, RM, YC, YL, ZW, YW, KL, YH, JY, MD No competing interests declared, NL The following patent information is related to the work presented in this study. US9157068 B2: Formulation for cultivating dendritic killer cells and method using the same; US9597356 B2: Method for treating cancers with dendritic killer cells and pharmaceutical composition comprising the same; Applicant: Academia Sinica; Inventor: NSL, (© 2024, Huang, Lai, Liao et al.)

Background: Prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) has been recognized as a pivotal pressor substance in hypertension, yet understanding of its effects and origins in the RVLM remains largely elusive. This study aimed to elucidate the pivotal enzymes and molecular mechanisms underlying PGE 2 synthesis induced by central Ang II (angiotensin II) and its implications in the heightened oxidative stress and sympathetic outflow in hypertension., Methods and Results: RVLM microinjections of PGE 2 and Tempol were administered in Wistar-Kyoto rats. Intracisternal drug delivery and adeno-associated viral vectors microinjection were used in both Wistar-Kyoto rats and spontaneous hypertensive rats to modulate the function of Ang II, PGE 2 receptor 3, and expression of COX2 (cyclooxygenase 2). Microinjection of PGE 2 into the RVLM significantly augmented sympathetic activity (25.380±1.566%) and oxidative stress level, whereas intracisternal infusion of a prostaglandin E receptor 3 antagonist attenuated sympathetic activity in both spontaneous hypertensive rats and Ang II-induced hypertensive rats. Furthermore, Ang II treatment upregulated COX2 expression in RVLM neurons (1.000±0.112 versus 1.506±0.370 fold change), with no significant effect on other enzymes involved in PGE 2 synthesis. Additionally, inhibition of the JAK2/STAT3 (Janus kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) signaling pathway nullified Ang II-mediated elevation of COX2 expression, as evidenced by phosphorylated STAT3 binding to the COX2 sequence in PC12 cells., Conclusions: Central Ang II induces the accumulation of RVLM PGE 2 through the neuronal AT1R (angiotensin type 1 receptor)/JAK2/STAT3/COX2 pathway, thereby promoting oxidative stress, augmenting sympathetic outflow, and contributing to essential hypertension.

Developing rechargeable batteries that operate within a wide temperature range and possess high safety has become necessary with increasing demands. Rapid and accurate assessment of the melting points (MPs), boiling points (BPs), and flash points (FPs) of electrolyte molecules is essential for expediting battery development. Herein, we introduce Knowledge-based electrolyte Property prediction Integration (KPI), a knowledge-data dual-driven framework for molecular property prediction of electrolytes. Initially, the KPI collects molecular structures and properties, and then automatically organizes them into structured datasets. Subsequently, interpretable machine learning further explores the structure-property relationships of molecules from a microscopic perspective. Finally, by embedding the discovered knowledge into property prediction models, the KPI achieved very low mean absolute errors of 10.4, 4.6, and 4.8 K for MP, BP, and FP predictions, respectively. The KPI reached state-of-the-art results in 18 out of 20 datasets. Utilizing molecular neighbor search and high-throughput screening, 15 and 14 promising molecules, with and without Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number, respectively, were predicted for wide-temperature-range and high-safety batteries. The KPI not only accurately predicts molecular properties and deepens the understanding of structure-property relationships but also serves as an efficient framework for integrating artificial intelligence and domain knowledge., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a crucial role in initiating antitumor immune responses. However, in the tumor environment, dendritic cells often exhibit impaired antigen presentation and adopt an immunosuppressive phenotype, which hinders their function and reduces their ability to efficiently present antigens. Here, a dual catalytic oxide nanosponge (DON) doubling as a remotely boosted catalyst and an inducer of programming DCs to program immune therapy is reported. Intravenous delivery of DON enhances tumor accumulation via the marginated target. At the tumor site, DON incorporates cerium oxide nanozyme (CeO 2 )-coated iron oxide nanocubes as a peroxide mimicry in cancer cells, promoting sustained ROS generation and depleting intracellular glutathione, i.e., chemodynamic therapy (CDT). Upon high-frequency magnetic field (HFMF) irradiation, CDT accelerates the decomposition of H 2 O 2 and the subsequent production of more reactive oxygen species, known as Kelvin's force laws, which promote the cycle between Fe 3+ /Fe 2+ and Ce 3+ /Ce 4+ in a sustainable active surface. HFMF-boosted catalytic DON promotes tumors to release tumor-associated antigens, including neoantigens and damage-associated molecular patterns. Then, the porous DON acts as an antigen transporter to deliver autologous tumor-associated antigens to program DCs, resulting in sustained immune stimulation. Catalytic DON combined with the immune checkpoint inhibitor (anti-PD1) in lung metastases suppresses tumors and improves survival over 40 days.

Mechanical stress modulates bone formation and organization of the extracellular matrix (ECM), the interaction of which affects heterotopic ossification (HO). However, the mechanically sensitive cell populations in HO and the underlying mechanism remain elusive. Here, we show that the mechanical protein Polysyctin-1 (PC1, Pkd1) regulates CTSK lineage tendon-derived mesenchymal stem cell (TDMSC) fate and ECM organization, thus affecting HO progression. First, we revealed that CTSK lineage TDMSCs are the major source of osteoblasts and fibroblasts in HO and are responsive to mechanical cues via single-cell RNA sequencing analysis and experiments with a lineage tracing mouse model. Moreover, we showed that PC1 mediates the mechanosignal transduction of CTSK lineage TDMSCs to regulate osteogenic and fibrogenic differentiation and alters the ECM architecture by facilitating TAZ nuclear translocation. Conditional gene depletion of Pkd1 or Taz in CTSK lineage cells and pharmaceutical intervention in the PC1-TAZ axis disrupt osteogenesis, fibrogenesis and ECM organization, and consequently attenuate HO progression. These findings suggest that mechanically sensitive CTSK-lineage TDMSCs contribute to heterotopic ossification through PC1-TAZ signaling axis mediated cell fate determination and ECM organization., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Objectives: To evaluate the differences in surgical outcomes between scleral buckling (SB) with noncryopexy and cryopexy methods., Methods: We systematically searched the Embase, Medline, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published from their inception until January 1, 2024. A random-effects model was applied, and outcomes are presented as risk ratios (RRs) or standardized mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The certainty of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria., Results: We included seven RCTs involving a total of 1103 patients. The meta-analysis revealed comparable retinal reattachment rates between noncryopexy and cryopexy methods (RR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.96-1.05). Our subgroup analysis revealed similar results between nonretinopexy and laser retinopexy subgroups. Moreover, postoperative visual acuity (VA) and complication rates were comparable between noncryopexy and cryopexy methods (proportion of eyes with postoperative VA of 20/40 or better: RR: 1.24, 95% CI: 0.83-1.85; macular pucker: RR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.53-2.21; cystoid macular oedema: RR: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.79-1.30; and subretinal pigmentary migration: RR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.08-1.38). However, the certainty of evidence for these outcomes was low to very low, indicating the need for cautious interpretation of these findings., Conclusions: Similar surgical outcomes were noted between noncryopexy and cryopexy methods in SB, suggesting that both methods are effective in repairing rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. However, future studies on a larger scale and with longer follow-ups may be necessary to detect late redetachment and complications., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Royal College of Ophthalmologists.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of Secretogranin III (Scg3) in the pathogenesis of intraocular neovascular diseases and assess its potential as a therapeutic target for novel treatment strategies., Methods: A literature review was conducted to examine the expression of Scg3 in intraocular neovascular diseases. We reviewed studies on the interaction of Scg3 with its homologous receptors and its effect on endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and vascular permeability-key processes involved in angiogenesis and neovascularization., Results: Scg3 was found to be upregulated in the tissues affected by diabetic retinopathy (DR), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and choroidal neovascularization. In DR, Scg3 expression was linked to retinal neovascularization, where it facilitated endothelial cell proliferation and migration, essential processes for the formation of new blood vessels. Similarly, in ROP, Scg3 was associated with fibrovascular tissue proliferation within avascular retinal zones, contributing to the pathological neovascularization seen in premature infants. In the context of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Scg3 appeared to play a role in choroidal neovascularization, where it promoted the invasion of choroidal capillaries into the retinal pigment epithelium. Furthermore, Scg3's binding to its homologous receptors was shown to enhance vascular permeability, potentially exacerbating fluid leakage and edema in these diseases, which is a hallmark of exudative conditions. Collectively, these findings suggest that Scg3 plays a pivotal role in driving angiogenesis and vascular permeability in intraocular neovascular diseases CONCLUSION: The upregulation of Scg3 in DR, ROP, and choroidal neovascularization highlights its potential as a novel therapeutic target. Inhibition of Scg3 could offer a new avenue for treating these sight-threatening conditions., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Aim: To evaluate the effect of femtosecond laser small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) on the binocular visual function in myopic patients with glasses-free three-dimensional (3D) technique., Methods: Totally 50 myopic patients (39 females and 11 males) with SMILE were enrolled in this prospective study. The glasses-free 3D technique was used to evaluate the binocular visual function in these subjects including static stereopsis, dynamic stereopsis, foveal suppression, and binocular balance point of signal to noise ratio (s/n ratio). All subjects received measurements in 1d before operation, and 1d, 1wk, and 1mo postoperatively., Results: Both static and dynamic stereopsis showed no significant difference after SMILE. The foveal suppression improved significantly 1wk and 1mo after SMILE ( P =0.005 and P =0.007 respectively). The binocular balance point of signal to noise ratio showed a significant improvement 1d, 1wk and 1mo after SMILE for both eyes ( P <0.001 for each eye respectively)., Conclusion: Glasses-free 3D technique can be used to evaluate the effect of SMILE on the binocular visual function in myopic patients perceptively, and SMILE can improve both foveal suppression and binocular imbalance in these patients., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interests: Chen BJ, None; Fan YC, None; Liao YC, None., (International Journal of Ophthalmology Press.)

Since red beans have poor textural properties, fermentation is commonly used to help produce better pulse products. To obtain BLR-E50, red beans are fermented using a co-culture of Bacillus subtilis and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, followed by extraction with 50% ethanol. The present data demonstrate that BLR-E50 did not exhibit mutagenicity, genotoxicity, or subacute oral toxicity. BLR-E50 showed antioxidant abilities in vitro. Under H 2 O 2 -challenged conditions, the dietary addition of BLR-E50 extended the survival time of female Drosophila melanogaster (D. melanogaster). Meanwhile, BLR-E50 modulated the antioxidant system in H 2 O 2 -treated D. melanogaster. Oral administration of BLR-E50 also improved motor abilities and reduced tyrosine hydroxylase levels in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced neurodegeneration mouse model. Overall, this study presents that BLR-E50 is safe and possesses antioxidant, anti-aging, and neuroprotective capabilities, providing scientific evidence for the potential application of fermented red bean products as antioxidants in future dietary interventions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To investigate the determining risk factors for 1-year postoperative mortality in elderly patients with hip fracture and to assess the efficacy of the age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (ACCI) in predicting the risk of death. This study adopted a retrospective analysis method to focus on 652 elderly patients who underwent hip fracture surgery between January 2018 and November 2022 in our hospital. By systematically combing the patients' medical records, relevant data were collected and analyzed in depth for their association with morbidity and mortality rates within 1 year. In the 1-year follow-up for 652 elderly patients who underwent hip fracture surgery, the proportion of deaths due to disease amounted to 21.5% (140/652). Univariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazard model revealed that age, number of hospital days, ACCI, and the occurrence of postoperative pneumonia were significantly associated with the rate of morbidity and mortality within 1 year. Further multivariate Cox regression analysis confirmed that age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.087 [95% confidence interval [CI], 1.060-1.114]), ACCI (HR, 1.645 [95% CI, 1.548-1.747]), and postoperative pneumonia (HR, 2.353 [95% CI, 1.624-3.408]) served as independent risk factors that significantly influenced the patients' 1-year survival. The ACCI excelled in predicting the risk of 1-year postoperative mortality, with an AUC of 0.912 for its prediction model and a specificity and sensitivity of 0.834 and 0.871, respectively, when the threshold was set at 5.5. The results of this study emphasize that age, ACCI, and postoperative pneumonia are key risk factors affecting the survival of elderly patients with hip fracture at 1-year postoperatively. ACCI, as an effective predictive tool, can provide an important reference for the clinical assessment of patients' postoperative risk and help precision medical decision-making., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2025 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Objective: This study aims to investigate the monthly variation patterns of bioelectrical impedance (BEI) along 24 meridian pathways in healthy individuals., Methods: A cohort of 684 healthy middle-aged participants from North China was enrolled between July 1, 2017, and September 5, 2020. BEI measurements were consistently recorded along the 24 meridian pathways over the study period. The collected BEI data were subjected to statistical analysis, and line charts were constructed to depict the temporal variation patterns., Results: Analysis revealed that BEI values along the 24 meridian pathways followed a normal distribution over a 12-month period. In the first group of meridians, which includes the lung, large intestine, heart, small intestine, pericardium, and triple-energizer meridians, significant monthly variations were observed. The second group, comprising the spleen, stomach, bladder, kidney, gallbladder, and liver meridians, exhibited marked differences primarily between March and April (P < 0.05), with a peak in April and relatively stable values thereafter. Synchronous BEI fluctuations were evident on the left and right sides of the body, and both groups of meridian pathways displayed similar variation patterns. These patterns largely corresponded to fluctuations observed in the spleen meridian., Conclusion: The consistent monthly variation patterns in BEI along the 24 meridian pathways among healthy middle-aged individuals align with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) concepts of meridians and collaterals. The spleen meridian, in particular, appears to play a crucial role in influencing these bioelectrical fluctuations, as posited in TCM theory. From a bioelectrical standpoint, this study provides empirical support for the potential existence and functionality of meridians and collaterals, offering a scientific perspective that complements ancient TCM principles., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was conducted in accordance with the declaration of Helsinki. This study received approval from the Medical Ethics Committee of the Chinese PLA General Hospital (Approval No. S2017-044-02) and the Ruijin Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (Approval No. 2018 Clinical Ethics Approval No. 19). All participants provided signed informed consent forms before participation. Consent for publication: Informed consent for publication was obtained from every individual whose data are included in this manuscript. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Purpose: The neuropathologic mechanisms of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the alterations of neurovascular coupling (NVC) in patients with SSNHL and its association with hematologic inflammatory factors., Methods: The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and degree centrality (DC) were calculated in 48 patients with SSNHL and 54 age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy control (HC), and also utilized the arterial spin labeling imaging (ASL) to calculate cerebral blood flow (CBF). Four indices of NVC (CBF-ALFF, CBF-fALFF, CBF-ReHo, and CBF-DC) in the whole brain gray matter as well as the NVC ratio were compared between two groups. In addition, correlation analyses were performed with inflammatory factors for the NVC indexes at the global level and regional level, respectively., Results: The NVC at global level was lower in SSNHL group than in HC, except for CBF-ALFF. At the regional level, most of the brain regions with abnormal NVC in SSNHL patients involved auditory and sensorimotor language centers and limbic system compared to HC. In addition, both at the global and regional levels, NVC metrics were shown to correlate with partial inflammatory factors or hematologic parameters, including platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), systemic immunoinflammatory index (SII), blood platelet count (PLT), and lymphocyte count (Lym)., Conclusion: From the view of the NVC metrics, these findings provide new perspectives on the neuropathologic mechanisms and clinical treatment of SSNHL., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 International Brain Research Organization (IBRO). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Circular RNAs (circRNA) lack 5' or 3' ends; their unique covalently closed structures prevent RNA degradation by exonucleases. These characteristics provide circRNAs with high pharmaceutical stability and biostability relative to current standard-of-care linear mRNAs. CircRNA levels are reportedly associated with certain human diseases, making them novel disease biomarkers and a noncanonical class of therapeutic targets. In this study, the endogenous circRNAs underlying the response to BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination were evaluated. To this end, peripheral blood samples were subjected to full-length sequencing of circRNAs via nanopore sequencing and transcriptome sequencing. Fifteen samples, comprising pre-, first, and second vaccination cohorts, were obtained from five healthcare workers with no history of SARS-CoV-2 infection or previous vaccination. A total of 4706 circRNAs were detected; following full-length sequencing, 4217 novel circRNAs were identified as being specifically expressed during vaccination. These circRNAs were enriched in the binding motifs of stress granule assemblies and SARS-CoV-2 RNA binding proteins, namely poly(A) binding protein cytoplasmic 1 (PABPC1), pumilio RNA binding family member 1 (PUM1), and Y box binding protein 1 (YBX1). Moreover, 489 circRNAs were identified as previously reported miRNA sponges. The differentially expressed circRNAs putatively originated from plasma B cells compared to circRNAs reported in human blood single-cell RNA sequencing datasets. The pre- and post-vaccination differences observed in the circRNA expression landscape in response to the SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Different study designs of psychedelic trials may impact the blinding and expectance, leading to biased treatment effects. This study aimed to examine the association between antidepressant efficacy and study designs in psychedelic trials. Six databases were systematically searched. Eligible trials were required to investigate the efficacy of psychedelics (psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD], 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine [MDMA], and ayahuasca) in adult patients with depressive symptoms. We only considered oral psychedelic-assisted therapy without concomitant use of antidepressants. The primary outcome was the change in depressive symptoms. There were five study designs of psychedelic trials, including non-active-drug-as-placebo, active-drug-as-placebo, waitlist-as-control, fixed-order, and pre-post designs. In non-active-drug -as-placebo design, psilocybin (k = 4, Hedges' g [g] = 0.87, 95 % confidence intervals[CIs] = 0.58 to 1.16) and MDMA (k = 2, g = 0.65, 95%CIs = 0.26 to 1.05) were associated with large and medium effect sizes, respectively. In active-drug-as-placebo design, both psilocybin (k = 2, g = 0.71, 95%CIs = -0.01 to 1.43) and MDMA (k = 3, g = 0.53, 95%CIs = -0.23 to 1.28) were not statistically significant. In pre-post single-arm (k = 3, g = 2.51, 95%CIs = 1.00 to 4.02) and waitlist-as-control (k = 1, g = 2.88, 95%CIs = 1.75 to 4.00) designs, psilocybin showed a large effect size of antidepressant effect. Ayahuasca also showed a large effect size in both pre-post (k = 2, g = 1.88, 95%CIs = 1.18 to 2.57) and non-active-drug-as-placebo (k = 1, g = 1.60, 95%CIs = 0.84 to 2.36) designs. LSD was associated with a significant antidepressant effect only in non-active-drug-as-placebo design (k = 1, g = 1.49, 95%CIs = 0.80 to 2.17) but not in active-drug-as-placebo design (k = 1, g = 0.44, 95%CIs = -0.90 to 1.78). The antidepressant effects of psychedelics may be overestimated in studies with pre-post single-arm, non-active-drugs-as placebo, and waitlist-control designs. Restricted sample size, difficulty with establishing blinding for participants, and over expectancy limit the estimation of the antidepressant effect of psychedelic-assisted therapy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is a therapeutic vulnerability in glycolysis-deficient cancers. Here we show that inhibiting OXPHOS similarly suppresses the proliferation and tumorigenicity of glycolytically competent colorectal cancer (CRC) cells in vitro and in patient-derived CRC xenografts. While the increased glycolytic activity rapidly replenished the ATP pool, it did not restore the reduced production of aspartate upon OXPHOS inhibition. This shortage in aspartate, in turn, caused nucleotide deficiencies, leading to S phase cell cycle arrest, replication fork stalling, and enrichment of the p53 pathway, manifestations of replication stress. The addition of purine nucleobases adenine and guanine along with the pyrimidine nucleoside uridine restored replication fork progression and cell proliferation, whereas the supplementation of exogenous aspartate recovered the nucleotide pool, demonstrating a causal role of the aspartate shortage in OXPHOS inhibition-induced nucleotide deficiencies and consequently replication stress and reductions in proliferation. Moreover, we demonstrate that glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase 1 (GOT1) is critical for maintaining the minimum aspartate pool when OXPHOS is inhibited, as knockdown of GOT1 further reduced aspartate levels and rendered CRC cells more sensitive to OXPHOS inhibition both in vitro and in vivo. These results propose GOT1 targeting as a potential avenue to sensitize cancer cells to OXPHOS inhibitors, thus lowering the necessary doses to efficiently inhibit cancer growth while alleviating their adverse effects., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of reduced montage electroencephalography (EEG) for seizure detection and provide evidence-based recommendations., Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a diagnostic meta-analysis to assess the sensitivity and specificity of reduced EEG montages in detecting seizure activity. A hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic curve (HSROC) model was used to estimate the area under the curve (AUC). Subgroup analyses were conducted to identify sources of heterogeneity. Bayesian estimates were used for validation., Results: Across 8 studies encompassing 3,458 reduced EEG montage samples, all studies used a reduced EEG montage with 7 to 10 electrodes. The pooled sensitivity was 0.75 (95 % CI: 0.68-0.80), and the pooled specificity was 0.97 (95 % CI: 0.95-0.98). The HSROC model had an AUC of 0.96 (95 % CI: 0.93-0.97). Variations in study results were attributed to factors such as the number of electrodes (pooled sensitivity of 0.66 for studies employing <8 leads and 0.77 for studies employing ≥8 leads) and montage design coverage (pooled sensitivity of 0.64 for studies employing subhairline montage and 0.77 for studies employing above-hairline montage). The Bayesian and frequentist findings agreed with each other and had a pooled sensitivity of 0.74 (95 % HPD: 0.65-0.83) and pooled specificity of 0.97 (95 % highest posterior density 0.95-0.98)., Conclusion: Reduced EEG montages with 8 or more electrodes are feasible for seizure detection, especially in emergency settings where rapid detection is crucial., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None of the authors has any conflict of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Hypoxic tumors present a significant challenge in cancer therapy due to their ability to adaptation in low-oxygen environments, which supports tumor survival and resistance to treatment. Enhanced mitophagy, the selective degradation of mitochondria by autophagy, is a crucial mechanism that helps sustain cellular homeostasis in hypoxic tumors. In this study, we develop an azocalix[4]arene-modified supramolecular albumin nanoparticle, that co-delivers hydroxychloroquine and a mitochondria-targeting photosensitizer, designed to induce cascaded oxidative stress by regulating mitophagy for the treatment of hypoxic tumors. These nanoparticles are hypoxia-responsive and release loaded guest molecules in hypoxic tumor cells. The released hydroxychloroquine disrupts the mitophagy process, thereby increasing oxidative stress and further weakening the tumor cells. Additionally, upon laser irradiation, the photosensitizer generates reactive oxygen species independent of oxygen, inducing mitochondria damage and mitophagy activation. The dual action of simultaneous spatiotemporal mitophagy activation and mitophagy flux blockade results in enhanced autophagic and oxidative stress, ultimately driving tumor cell death. Our work highlights the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine-mediated mitophagy blockade combined with mitochondria-targeted photosensitizer for cascade-amplified oxidative stress against hypoxic tumors., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Background/Objectives : To determine whether epidural electrical stimulation (EES) improves sensory recovery and walking function in patients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) with a grade on the American Spinal Cord Injury Association impairment scale (AIS) of C or D at the cervical level. Methods : Three individuals with cervical-level chronic AIS D SCI were enrolled in the study. The mean injury duration and age were 4.8 ± 4.5 (range: 1.5-10) and 56.7 ± 9 years, respectively. The participants received personalized electrical stimulation for 36 weeks and were evaluated for their SCI characteristics, the result of an AIS assessment according to the lower extremity sensorimotor scale, their muscle activity, and preoperative walking ability parameters, initially as well as at weeks 8 and 36 of the EES intervention. Results : Participants receiving EES significantly increased the muscle activity in most lower limb muscles. Regarding the AIS assessment of the lower extremities, one participant fully regained a light touch sensation, while two fully recovered their pinprick sensation (AIS sensory scores increased from 14 to 28). One participant achieved a full motor score, whereas the others' scores increased by 19 and 7 points. Compared with preoperative gait parameters, two participants showed improvements in their walking speed and cadence. Walking symmetry, an important parameter for assessing walking function, improved by 68.7%, 88%, and 77% in the three participants, significantly improving the symmetry index ( p = 0.003). Conclusions : Thus, EES may be an effective strategy for sensory impairment recovery, as well as muscular activity and strength improvement. These findings may facilitate stable walking in subjects with chronic incomplete SCI, but larger clinical trials are warranted. Clinical trial: NCT05433064.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Viral pneumonia is the leading cause of death after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Despite effective at early stage, long-term treatment with glucocorticoids can lead to a variety of adverse effects and limited benefits. The Chinese traditional herb Pogostemonis Herba is the aerial part of Pogostemon Cablin (Blanco) Benth., which has potent antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. It was used widely for treating various throat and respiratory diseases, including COVID-19, viral infection, cough, allergic asthma, acute lung injury and lung cancer., Aim of the Study: To investigate the antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects of chemical compounds from Pogostemonis Herba in SARS-CoV-2-infected hACE2-overexpressing mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cells and hACE2 transgenic mice., Materials and Methods: The hACE2-overexpressing RAW264.7 cells were exposed with SARS-CoV-2. The cell viability was detected by CCK8 assay and cell apoptotic rate was by flow cytometric assay. The expressions of macrophage M1 phenotype markers (TNF-α and IL-6) and M2 markers (IL-10 and Arg-1) as well as the viral loads were detected by qPCR. The mice were inoculated intranasally with SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant to induce viral pneumonia. The levels of macrophages, neutrophils, and T cells in the lung tissues of infected mice were analyzed by full spectrum flow cytometry. The expressions of key proteins were detected by Western blot assay., Results: Diosmetin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (DG) presented the strongest anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. Intervention with DG at the concentrations of 0.625-2.5 μM not only reduced the viral replication, cell apoptosis, and the productions of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) in SARS-CoV-2-infected RAW264.7 cells, but also reversed macrophage polarity from M1 to M2 phenotype. Furthermore, treatment with DG (25-100 mg/kg) alleviated acute lung injury, and reduced macrophage infiltration in SARS-COV-2-infected mice. Mechanistically, DG inhibited SARS-COV-2 gene expression and HK3 translation via targeting YTHDF1, resulting in the inactivation of glycolysis-mediated NF-κB pathway., Conclusions: DG exerted the potent antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities. It reduced pneumonia in SARS-COV-2-infected mice via inhibiting the viral replication and accelerating M2 macrophage polarization via targeting YTHDF1, indicating its potential for COVID-19 treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study aims to assess the reliability and accuracy of a novel portable cardiopulmonary function meter, "Booster," developed by our research group, across various exercise intensities and modalities. The study was segmented into reliability and validity assessments. Twenty-two male participants underwent reliability testing, conducting two sequential tests on a treadmill while wearing the Booster to measure VO 2 and VE among other parameters at increasing intensities. For validity testing, 64 participants were randomly divided into treadmill and cycle ergometer groups, with tests conducted using both the Booster and the Cortex Metalyzer 3B systems. Overall, the Booster demonstrated high retest reliability for VO 2 and VE measurements during treadmill exercises, albeit showing poor consistency during rest and low-intensity exercise phases. Validity testing indicated no significant differences in VO 2 and VE measurements between Booster and Cortex Metalyzer 3B across all exercise stages on both treadmill and cycle ergometer, suggesting good correlation. However, discrepancies in measurements between Booster and Cortex Metalyzer 3B were observed during rest and maximal exertion phases. The Booster exhibits commendable reliability and stability during most treadmill exercise phases and shows generally acceptable validity compared to the Cortex Metalyzer 3B system. Nonetheless, potential measurement discrepancies may occur during rest and maximal exertion conditions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2025 Yun, Zhang, Yu, Li and Song.)

The wide dissemination of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria poses a significant global health and security concern. As developing new antibiotics is generally costly, fastidious, and time-consuming, there is an urgent need for alternative therapeutic strategies to address the gap in antibiotic discovery void. This study aimed to investigate the activity of colistin (CS) in combination with a natural product, rutin (RT), to combat against Salmonella Typhimurium ( S. Tm) in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that a combination with RT enabled the potentiation of CS efficacy. Further mechanistic analysis indicated that RT disrupted iron homeostasis to inactivate the PmrA/PmrB system, thereafter reducing the bacterial membrane modifications for enhancing CS binding. Besides enhancing bactericidal activity of CS, RT was also observed to mitigate the CS-induced nephrotoxicity, by which the dosing limitation of CS was overcome for better pathogen clearance. The animal trial eventually confirmed the in vivo synergistic interaction of RT with CS to treat the bacterial infection. To sum up, the present study uncovered the potential of RT as a viable adjuvant of CS to eradicate the infection and protect the hosts, which might serve as a promising alternative to combat infections caused by MDR Gram-negative bacteria.

Background: The perception of Subjective Visual Vertical (SVV) is crucial for postural orientation and significantly reflects an individual's postural control ability, relying on vestibular, visual, and somatic sensory inputs to assess the Earth's gravity line. The neural mechanisms and aging effects on SVV perception, however, remain unclear., Objective: This study seeks to examine aging-related changes in SVV perception and uncover its neurological underpinnings through functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)., Methods: In a comparative study of 19 young and 19 older adults, the standardized SVV task executed in Eprime 3.0 software evaluated participants' SVV orientation and uncertainty. Cortical responses were monitored via fNIRS during the task, with block averaging analysis employed to delineate the associated hemodynamic responses. The study further correlated these neuroimaging findings with behavioral measures., Results: Young individuals exhibit superior accuracy and stability in perceiving the subjective visual vertical (SVV) direction. Neuroimaging data, adjusted for multiple comparisons using the false discovery rate, reveal activation of the right supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus (SFGdor) in both age groups during SVV tasks. However, older participants show additional activation in regions such as the bilateral postcentral gyrus (PoCG) and the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG). Lateralization studies indicate that young participants predominantly exhibit right lateralization in sensory and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, with left lateralization in the motor cortex. In contrast, elderly participants demonstrate bilateral dominance across sensory, dorsolateral prefrontal, and motor cortices. Correlational analyses link modified SVV metrics to the activation levels of various brain regions, with negative correlations observed in both age groups, and a unique positive correlation with the left inferior frontal gyrus of the triangular part (IFGtriang) in young participants., Conclusion: Young individuals outperform the older individuals in SVV performance due to age-related differences in brain functional patterns during the execution of vertical perception judgment. Both age groups activate the right SMG and left SFGdor, but the older individuals additionally activate regions such as bilateral PoCG and right MFG. While young people exhibit right-brain dominance, the older people rely on bilateral cognitive resources, indicating bilateral dominance. Except for the left IFGtriang in the young, higher activation in brain regions correlates with better SVV performance., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2025 Lu, Gong, Wang, Zhao, Wang, Shen, Cao and Xu.)

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells have a high p53 mutation rate, but there were rare reported about the p53 gain of function through the prion-like aggregated form in p53 mutated HNSCC cells. Thioflavin T (ThT) is used to stain prion-like proteins in cells. Previously, we found that ThT and p53 staining were co-localized in HNSCC cells (Detroit 562 cells) with homozygous p53 R175H mutation. NAMPT inhibitor can repress ThT staining in Detroit 562 cells. In our previous study, co-treatment with p73 activator NSC59984 and NAMPT inhibitor FK886 synergistically repressed Detroit 562 cell proliferation. In this study, we found that two heterozygous p53-R280T mutation HNSCC cell lines, TW01 and HONE-1, also have the ThT staining signal. Treatment with chlorophyllides and p73 activator or NAMPT inhibitor did not synergistically repress cell proliferation in either Detroit 562 or HONE-1 cells. Chlorophyllides reduced the ThT aggregation signal in both Detroit 562 and HONE-1 cells. Chlorophyllides also induced p73 and caspase 3/7 expression and repressed NAMPT expression in both Detroit 562 and HONE-1 cells. Chlorophyllides reduced tumor size in vivo in Detroit 562 cells injected into a xenograft nude mice model, but this in vivo tumor repression effect was not found in p73 knockdown Detroit 562 cells. Moreover, NAMPT was repressed by chlorophyllides independent of p73 status in vivo. We thus concluded that chlorophyllides have a dual anticancer function when applied to HNSCC cells with p53 gain-of-function mutation, via activation of p73 and repression of p53 aggregation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Circularly polarized organic light-emitting diodes (CP-OLEDs) have significant promise for naked-eye 3D displays. However, most devices are fabricated using vacuum deposition technology, and development of efficient solution-processed CP-OLEDs, particularly those exhibiting low efficiency roll-off, remains a formidable challenge. This research successfully designed and synthesized two pairs of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) enantiomers through isomer engineering, namely (R/S)-N-5-TPA and (R/S)-N-4-TPA, which features fifth and fourth substitution sites of phthalimide (acceptor) by tri-phenylamine (donor), respectively. Both molecules displayed aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties. Notably, the CP-OLED devices, fabricated by solution-process, exhibited vivid blue-green and green emission with the maximum current efficiency of 7.4 and 29.6 cd A -1 , the external quantum efficiency of 2.7 % and 10.2 %, and the low efficiency roll-off of 3.7 % and 16.7 %. Moreover, these devices demonstrated CP-EL signals with g EL values of +6.61×10 -4 /-6.84×10 -4 and +1.13×10 -3 /-1.25×10 -3 , respectively., (© 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Background: Cancer-targeted therapies are progressively pivotal in oncological care. Observational studies underscore the emergence of cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity (CTR-CVT), impacting patient outcomes. We aimed to investigate the causal relationship between different types of cancer-targeted therapies and cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes through a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study., Methods: This genome-wide association study was conducted using a two-sample Mendelian randomization framework. Genetic instruments for drug target gene expression were extracted from the eQTLGen consortium (31684 individuals, 37 cohorts). Genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics for 19 cardiovascular diseases were derived from the FinnGen database. Primary analysis was carried out using the summary-data-based MR (SMR) method, with sensitivity analysis for validation. Colocalization analysis identifies shared causal variants between exposure eQTLs and CVD-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)., Results: Among the 39 drug target genes, 8 were identified with detectable cis-eQTLs and were subsequently validated through positive control analysis for further investigation. In the SMR and sensitivity analyses, genetically proxied VEGFA inhibition showed significantly strong association with stroke (odds ratio [OR] = 1.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09-1.26, p = 1.33 × 10 - 5 ). Additionally, the inhibition of FGFR1, FLT1, and MAP2K2 exhibited suggestive association with corresponding cardiovascular disease outcomes. Nevertheless, only VEGFA expression and stroke shared a causal variant (93.6%), whereas FGFR1, MAP2K2, and FLT1 did not share causal variants with corresponding cardiovascular diseases in the colocalization analysis., Conclusions: This genetic association study revealed evidence supporting the genetic association between the use of VEGFA inhibitors and increased stroke risk, highlighting the need for enhanced pharmacovigilance. These findings underscore the delicate balance between cardiovascular toxicity risk and the benefits of cancer-targeted therapy., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Epidemiological evidence suggests that maternal intake of nonnutritive sweeteners is positively associated with early childhood asthma incidence. We investigated the effects of maternal aspartame exposure during pregnancy and lactation on lung Th1/Th2 cytokine balance and intestinal microbiota in offspring and explored the mechanisms that mediate these effects., Method: Pregnant BALB/c mice were randomly divided on gestational day 7 into two dietary intervention groups: control (drinking water only) and aspartame (drinking water +0.25 g/L aspartame) groups. The dams nursed their offspring for 3 weeks. On postnatal day 21, heart blood samples were collected, and immunoglobulin E levels were measured. Microorganisms from the lower gastrointestinal tract were sampled using a culture-independent approach. Lung tissues were harvested for biochemical analyses., Results: Maternal aspartame exposure increased the body weight of the dams from gestational day 7 to postnatal day 21 and the body weight of the offspring from birth to postnatal day 21. Maternal aspartame exposure significantly increased the levels of Th2 cytokines (interleukin [IL]-4, IL-5, and IL-13) and IL-17 and immunoglobulin E but reduced that of a Th1 cytokine (interferon-γ) in the offspring's lung tissues. The altered Th1/Th2 balance was accompanied by increased lung nuclear factor-κB activation. The bacterial composition and alpha-diversity of the gut microbiota of the offspring did not differ significantly between the control and aspartame groups., Conclusion: Our findings suggest maternal aspartame exposure influences lung Th1/Th2 cytokine balance in offspring through nuclear factor-κB activation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Image segmentation is crucial in medical diagnosis, helping to identify diseased areas in images for more accurate diagnoses. The U-Net model, a convolutional neural network (CNN) widely used for medical image segmentation, has limitations in extracting global features and handling multi-scale pathological information. This study aims to address these challenges by proposing a novel model that enhances segmentation performance while reducing computational demands., Methods: We introduce the LUNeXt model, which integrates Vision Transformers (ViT) with a redesigned convolution block structure. This model employs depthwise separable convolutions to capture global features with fewer parameters. Comprehensive experiments were conducted on four diverse medical image datasets to evaluate the model's performance., Results: The LUNeXt model demonstrated competitive segmentation performance with a significant reduction in parameters and floating-point operations (FLOPs) compared to traditional U-Net models. The application of explainable AI techniques provided clear visualization of segmentation results, highlighting the model's efficacy in efficient medical image segmentation., Conclusions: LUNeXt facilitates efficient medical image segmentation on standard hardware, reducing the learning curve and making advanced techniques more accessible to practitioners. This model balances the complexity and parameter count, offering a promising solution for enhancing the accuracy of pathological feature extraction in medical images., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://qims.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/qims-24-1429/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2025 AME Publishing Company. All rights reserved.)

Metal implants are commonly used in clinical practice. However, little is known regarding the prevalence of metal implants. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of metal implants in the United States (US) among individuals aged ≥ 40 years. This study conducted a serial cross-sectional analysis of US adults aged ≥ 40 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (2015-2016 and 2017-March 2020). Self-reported questionnaires were used to assess whether the participants had metal implants inside their bodies. The primary outcome was the prevalence of metal implants among adults aged 40 years and older. Furthermore, weighted logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the changes in the prevalence of metal implants from 2015 to March 2020. Moreover, this study investigated the variation in metal implant prevalence by demographic factors based on the pooled NHANES cycles. All analyses were conducted based on 3,736 participants from the NHANES 2015-2016 and 6,387 participants from the NHANES 2017-March 2020. This study observed a high prevalence of metal implants among adults aged 40 and older (2015-2016: 27.23%; 2017-March 2020: 31.53%). Moreover, the results of the weighted logistic regression analysis showed that the prevalence of metal implants significantly increased from 2015 to March 2020, especially among older individuals, men, and White individuals. In addition, the results of the weighted logistic regression analysis indicated that the metal implant prevalence differed by age and race/ethnicity, in which older individuals and White individuals showed a significantly higher prevalence of metal implants than younger individuals and non-White individuals, respectively. There was a high prevalence of metal implants among US adults aged 40 and older, and the prevalence of metal implants significantly increased from 2015 to March 2020. Therefore, more attention needs to be paid to this special population, and it may be necessary to ensure accessibility and affordability and assess the potential long-term health impacts of metal implants, considering the increased prevalence of metal implants., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Megalurothrips usitatus (Bagnall) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is an important pest of cowpeas, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp., and can cause severe damage to the crop. Lasioseius lindquisti (Tseng) (Acari: Blattisociidae) and Lasioseius scapulatus (Kennett) (Acari: Blattisociidae) are 2 mites used against M. usitatus in Hainnan, China. The functional responses of these mites were examined in the laboratory. Lasioseius lindquisti showed a type III functional response, with a maximum prey consumption of 22.38 ± 0.63 per day. Its optimal search density for each unit in this experiment was 10.27 ± 0.50 per day. Lasioseius scapulatus showed a type II functional and an attack rate on 1st instars of M. usitatus of 0.83 ± 0.23. The handling time (h) of L. scapulatus was 0.074 ± 0.018 (means ± SE), while the maximum attack rate (T/Th) of adult females on 1st instar thrips was 13.51. Our results showed that both L. lindquisti and L. scapulatus are potentially useful predators of M. usitatus., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( P. aeruginosa , PA) is a rod-shaped Gram-negative opportunistic bacterium capable of causing nosocomial infections during nursing, such as burn wound infections and meningitis. However, sensitive and rapid PA detection remains a huge challenge. Herein, a new fluorescent biosensor was developed for the sensitive detection of PA using a three-way junction (TWJ) probe for specific identification and CRISPR/Cas14a1 for enhanced exponential amplification. The interaction between PA and its aptamer on a DNA TWJ structure probe triggered the migration of the double-stranded DNA branch, inducing DNA polymerase/endonuclease assisted chain displacement and the generation of single-stranded DNA sequences. The amplification products have the ability to activate CRISPR/Cas14a1, resulting in effective trans -cleavage and the subsequent release of fluorescence from the reporter probes. Under optimized conditions, the proposed biosensor was able to detect a wide range of bacterial concentrations, ranging from 10 to 10 5 cfu mL -1 within 30 min. The limit of detection, which is the lowest concentration that can be reliably detected, was determined to be 3.4 cfu mL -1 according to the 3 δ rule. The results of the recovery test suggest that the biosensor shows significant potential for clinical applications. The established biosensor utilizing the TWJ probe generated multiple isothermal exponential amplification and the CRISPR/Cas14a1 biosensor is an excellent platform for rapidly detecting pathogenic bacteria in postoperative infection.

In this paper, we demonstrated a novel bidirectional high-speed transmission system integrating a free-space optical (FSO) communication with a 5G wireless link, utilizing a high-power erbium-doped fibre amplifier (EDFA) for enhanced loss compensation. The system supports downlink rates of 1-Gb/s/4.5-GHz and 10-Gb/s at 24-GHz and 39-GHz, and an uplink rate of 10-Gb/s/28-GHz. The high-power EDFA boosts signal strength, facilitating reliable long-distance transmission through the FSO transmission link while compensating for losses and reducing bit error rates (BER) and error vector magnitude (EVM). Fibre Bragg grating sensors are employed as wavelength selectors for both downlink and uplink, offering a simpler, cost-effective solution compared to previously utilized reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers and multiple laser sources. The system successfully transmits 16-quadrature amplitude modulation orthogonal frequency division multiplexing signals across various carrier frequencies, achieving total data rates of 21-Gb/s for downlink and 30-Gb/s for uplink across a 1.6-km FSO transmission link integrated with 10/15-m 5G links. Performance metrics, including low EVM and BER, and well-defined constellation patterns, indicate the reliability and effectiveness of the system. This bidirectional FSO-5G wireless communication system offers a high-speed and cost-effective solution for extending 5G coverage in both densely and sparsely populated areas., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Ramsay Hunt syndrome (RHS), a rare complication of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) reactivation, presents with ipsilateral facial paralysis, ear pain, and vesicular rash. Early recognition is crucial for prompt treatment and optimal outcomes., Case Presentation: We report a case of a 67-year-old woman with RHS who presented with right-sided facial palsy, severe ear pain, and fluid-filled blisters. Prompt diagnosis and initiation of antiviral and glucocorticoid therapy led to significant symptom improvement., Conclusions: Healthcare providers should consider RHS in patients with facial palsy, especially when accompanied by ear pain and vesicular rash, to facilitate early intervention and prevent long-term complications., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient’s relative for the publication of this case report and accompanying images. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is considered one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders in the elderly; however, how it contributes to cognitive decline is poorly understood. With resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging from 66 individuals with ARHL and 54 healthy controls, group spatial independent component analyses, sliding window analyses, graph-theory methods, multilayer networks, and correlation analyses were used to identify ARHL-induced disturbances in static and dynamic functional network connectivity (sFNC/dFNC), alterations in global network switching and their links to cognitive performances. ARHL was associated with decreased sFNC/dFNC within the default mode network (DMN) and increased sFNC/dFNC between the DMN and central executive, salience (SN), and visual networks. The variability in dFNC between the DMN and auditory network (AUN) and between the SN and AUN was decreased in ARHL. The individuals with ARHL had lower network switching rates than controls among global network nodes, especially in the DMN. Some disturbances within DMN were associated with disrupted executive and memory performance. The prolonged loss of sensory information associated with ARHL-induced compensatory within-network segregations and between-network integrations in the DMN might reduce network information processing and accelerate brain aging and cognitive decline., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest., (© 2025 The Author(s). MedComm published by Sichuan International Medical Exchange & Promotion Association (SCIMEA) and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Emerging evidence suggests that TGFβ1 can inhibit angiogenesis, contradicting the coexistence of active angiogenesis and high abundance of TGFβ1 in the tumor microenvironment. Here, we investigated how tumors overcome the antiangiogenic effect of TGFβ1. TGFβ1 treatment suppressed physiologic angiogenesis in chick chorioallantoic membrane and zebrafish models but did not affect angiogenesis in mouse hepatoma xenografts. The suppressive effect of TGFβ1 on angiogenesis was recovered in mouse xenografts by a hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) inhibitor. In contrast, a HIF1α stabilizer abrogated angiogenesis in zebrafish, indicating that hypoxia may attenuate the antiangiogenic role of TGFβ1. Under normoxic conditions, TGFβ1 inhibited angiogenesis by upregulating antiangiogenic factor thrombospondin 1 (TSP1) in endothelial cells (EC) via TGFβ type I receptor (TGFβR1)-SMAD2/3 signaling. In a hypoxic microenvironment, HIF1α induced miR145 expression; miR145 abolished the inhibitory effect of TGFβ1 on angiogenesis by binding and repressing SMAD2/3 expression and subsequently reducing TSP1 levels in ECs. Primary ECs isolated from human hepatocellular carcinoma displayed increased miR145 and decreased SMAD3 and TSP1 compared with ECs from adjacent nontumor livers. The reduced SMAD3 or TSP1 in ECs was associated with increased angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. Collectively, this study identified that TGFβ1-TGFβR1-SMAD2/3-TSP1 signaling in ECs inhibits angiogenesis. This inhibition can be circumvented by a hypoxia-HIF1α-miR145 axis, elucidating a mechanism by which hypoxia promotes angiogenesis. Significance: Suppression of angiogenesis by TGFβ1 is mediated by TSP1 upregulation in endothelial cells and abrogated by HIF1α-miR145 activity in the hypoxic tumor microenvironment, providing potential targets to remodel the tumor vasculature., (©2024 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Introduction: Cancer patients in rural areas experience greater barriers to treatment access compared with patients in urban areas. There is limited research on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected cancer treatment delivery for rural patients who were also diagnosed with COVID-19. This study has two objectives: to assess (1) the urban-rural differences in cancer care and (2) the predictors of cancer treatment delay or discontinuation (TDD) among patients diagnosed with COVID-19., Methods: We used data from the American Society of Clinical Oncology Survey on COVID-19 in Oncology Registry (March 2020-September 2022), which included cancer patients with test-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (N = 3797). Data included patient sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 diagnosis information, cancer clinical characteristics, and changes to cancer treatment. Cancer TDD was defined as any scheduled treatment by more than 2 weeks. Rurality was examined through both patient residence and oncology practice. We computed adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) using multivariable Poisson regressions to assess predictors of cancer TDD in urban and rural areas., Results: During the study period, 44.1% of patients with COVID-19 experienced either cancer treatment delay or discontinuation and 5.7% experienced cancer treatment discontinuation. Controlling for other factors, receiving care in a rural oncology practice was associated with cancer TDD (aPR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.01-1.55). Differences in cancer TDD were not found across rurality of patient residence. Among rural patients (N = 582), Hispanic/Latinx cancer patients had greater prevalence of cancer TDD (aPR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.04-2.33) compared with non-Hispanic White cancer patients., Conclusion: Our findings can be used to inform programs and policies to minimize the impact of future public health emergencies on cancer care delivery in rural areas. Additional research is needed to explore potential differences in cancer care delivery across urban and rural oncology practices and patients., (© 2025 The Author(s). Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aim: The continuous update of international guidelines and enhanced availability of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) and targeted synthetic DMARDs (tsDMARDs) have made a significant impact on the diagnosis and treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA). This study aims to systematically evaluate the current treatment strategies and outcomes within a large-scale cohort of patients with ERA., Methods: Data from the Chinese Registry of Rheumatoid Arthritis (CREDIT), a large multicenter Chinese registry of RA, were collected to analyze temporal trends in clinical profiles, therapeutic strategies, and treatment outcomes among patients with ERA., Results: From November 2016 to October 2023, A total of 2722 patients with follow-up information for 6 months were included. The use of methotrexate (MTX) increased annually and has become the predominant DMARD as the initial treatment. Following initial therapy, 1059 (38.9%) patients achieved the therapeutic target of low disease activity and remission. Age ≥ 50 years (adjusted OR 0.70 [95% CI 0.59-0.83]; p < 0.001), high baseline disease activity (adjusted OR 0.48 [95% CI 0.41-0.57]; p < 0.001), csDMARD monotherapy other than MTX (adjusted OR 0.55 [95% CI 0.41-0.73]; p < 0.001), and the use of b/tsDMARDs without a csDMARD combination (adjusted OR 0.57 [95% CI 0.36-0.87]; p = 0.011) were associated with lower target attainment rates. For patients who did not achieve the treatment target after initial therapy, the use of b/tsDMARDs increased after 2020, although the extent of therapeutic escalation remained suboptimal., Conclusion: Treatment of patients with ERA in China has become more standardized. Adherence to guideline-directed therapeutic regimens has emerged as a significant determinant of therapeutic target achievement. The increased prevalence of b/tsDMARDs would benefit more patients in ameliorating the disease., (© 2025 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Research on how functional connectivity (FC) during resting-state relates to humor styles and sex is limited. This study aimed to address this knowledge gap by analyzing resting-state fMRI data from 56 healthy participants and measuring FC. In addition, participants completed the Humor Styles Questionnaire. We found distinct FC patterns linked to humor styles that differed by sex. Men demonstrated stronger FC between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the right anterior insula (rAI), right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) and right frontal pole (rFP), and between the right rostral prefrontal cortex (rRPFC) and rIFG. These patterns were associated with aggressive and self-enhancing humor. Conversely, women exhibited stronger FC between rRPFC and the posterior cingulate gyrus (PCC), left rostral prefrontal cortex (lRPFC) and right thalamus, correlating with self-defeating and less aggressive humor. These findings suggest a neurobiological basis for sex differences in humor, indicating that men's FC between the salience network (SN), particularly in cognitive monitoring regions, may be linked to aggressive humor. Their FC between the executive control network (ECN) and between the SN and ECN are related to self-enhancing humor and reflect an emphasis on executive function. Conversely, women's FC between the SN and default mode network is correlated with self-defeating humor, suggesting a stronger focus on self-reflection and social relationships., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) is considered a de-escalating adjuvant treatment for breast cancer low-risk patients. However, the broader criteria applied by the Taiwan IORT Study Cooperative Group led to an increased rate of locoregional recurrence (LRR) among patients receiving only IORT. Consequently, we revised the criteria for sole IORT treatment to include patients who meet the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) eligibility standards. This study aims to investigate how aligning treatment strategies with ASTRO guidelines impacts oncological outcomes in patients receiving IORT., Methods: From September 2014 to March 2022, a retrospective review of 632 patients with invasive breast cancer undergoing breast-conserving surgery assessed outcomes following External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT), sole IORT, or IORT combined with supplemental EBRT (IORT+boost), with a mean follow-up period of 4.71 ± 2.10 years. Strategic modifications following the ASTRO guidelines were implemented in April 2021 for sole IORT recipients., Results: ASTRO-suitable patients had significantly lower rates of LRR (0.00% vs. 10.64%), distant metastasis (0.00% vs. 4.00%), and any recurrence (0.00% vs. 7.79%) than non-suitable patients (p < 0.05). After adjusting for confounders, the overall and non-suitable patients in the IORT group both exhibited significantly higher hazard ratios for LRR than those in the EBRT group, with values of 5.79 (95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.75-19.18) and 5.48 (95% CI = 1.66-18.02), respectively., Conclusions: Aligning treatment criteria with ASTRO guidelines for sole IORT significantly reduces locoregional recurrence rates in patients with invasive breast cancer, highlighting the efficacy of these strategic modifications in improving oncological outcomes., (© 2024 The Author(s). Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Forsythin, currently in phase II clinical trials in China for the treatment of the common cold and influenza, faces challenges in achieving adequate lung drug exposure due to its limited dissolution and permeability, thereby restricting its therapeutic efficacy. The objective of this work was to formulate a forsythin-phospholipid complex (FPC) to enhance its dissolution properties and lung affinity with a particular view to improving pulmonary drug exposure and anti-inflammatory response. The results revealed that forsythin reacted with dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine to form a stable, nanosized FPC suspension. This formulation significantly improved the in vitro drug's dissolution, cellular uptake, and lung affinity compared to its uncomplexed form. Intratracheal administration of FPC in a mouse model of acute lung injury induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) resulted in a substantial increase in drug exposure to lung tissues (39.6-fold) and immune cells in the epithelial lining fluid (198-fold) compared to intraperitoneal injection. In addition, FPC instillation exhibited superior local anti-inflammatory effects, leading to improved survival rates among mice with LPS-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome, outperforming both instilled forsythin and injected FPC. Overall, this work demonstrated the potential of phospholipid complexes as a viable option for developing inhalation products for drugs with limited solubility and permeability properties., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background/aim: Colorectal cancer (CRC) has the third-highest incidence among human cancers. Advancements in chemotherapy and targeted therapy have improved the treatment outcomes for patients with CRC. However, the management of patients with unresectable metastatic CRC (mCRC) continues to be a significant challenge for clinicians worldwide, particularly for those with microsatellite stability (MSS) and the BRAF V600E mutation, as they are associated with the poorest prognosis., Case Reports: The present study describes two patients with unresectable MSS, BRAF V600E-mutated stage IV metastatic CRC using a biweekly alternating regimen of irinotecan and oxaliplatin combined with capecitabine and bevacizumab. Case 1 stabilized after alternating treatment, whereas Case 2 progressed after alternating treatment, with progression-free survival (PFS) of 20+ and 24.5 months, respectively. Circulating levels of carcinoemryonic antigen (CEA) dropped to near normal in both cases. A partial response (PR) was determined for both cases., Conclusion: The two cases suggest that an alternating chemotherapy regimen of oxaliplatin and irinotecan, combined with capecitabine and bevacizumab is effective in the treatment of MSS, BRAF V600E-mutated stage IV metastatic CRC. The progression-free survival was significantly prolonged (both exceeding 20 months) compared to the first-line standard chemotherapy regimen for this disease. With a good balance between toxicity and efficacy, this alternating chemotherapy regimen can be considered as a potential first-line option for microsatellite-stable metastatic colon cancer., (Copyright © 2025 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Numerous studies on the formation and consolidation of memory have shown that memory processes are characterized by phase-dependent and dynamic regulation. Memory retrieval, as the only representation of memory content and an active form of memory processing that induces memory reconsolidation, has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Although the molecular mechanisms specific to memory retrieval-induced reconsolidation have been gradually revealed, an understanding of the time-dependent regulatory mechanisms of this process is still lacking. In this study, we applied a transcriptome analysis of memory retrieval at different time points in the recent memory stage. Differential expression analysis and Short Time-series Expression Miner (STEM) depicting temporal gene expression patterns indicated that most differential gene expression occurred at 48 h, and the STEM cluster showing the greatest transcriptional upregulation at 48 h demonstrated the most significant difference. We then screened the differentially-expressed genes associated with that met the expression patterns of those cluster-identified genes that have been reported to be involved in learning and memory processes in addition to dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9). Further quantitative polymerase chain reaction verification and pharmacological intervention suggested that DPP9 is involved in 48-h fear memory retrieval and viral vector-mediated overexpression of DPP9 countered the 48-h retrieval-induced attenuation of fear memory. Taken together, our findings suggest that temporal gene expression patterns are induced by recent memory retrieval and provide hitherto undocumented evidence of the role of DPP9 in the retrieval-induced reconsolidation of fear memory., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors claim that there are no conflict of interest., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Exosome-liposome hybrid-based vehicles (ELV) are promising carriers for cancer treatment, but there are rare efficient theranostic probes to label their lipid bilayer membrane for precisely tracing biodistribution and execute potent therapy. As both fluorescence imaging and photothermal therapy in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II) has intrinsically deep penetration and high efficacy to ablate tumors, herein the design and synthesis of lipophilic NIR-II cyanine dyes with strong donor strength is reported to label lipid bilayer membrane of ELV for NIR-II fluorescence image-guided and targeted NIR-II photothermal treatment of subcutaneous glioblastoma. Via lipid film hydration and subsequent extrusion method, the synthesized ELV (NIR-C 12 -EL) is formulated with NIR-C 12 labeling, cyclic arginylglycylaspartic acid decoration, liposomal PEGylation, and biological exosome function. NIR-C 12 -EL exhibits excellent colloidal stability, good biocompatibility, strong light harvesting capability, high NIR-II photoconversion efficiency (62.28 %), and targeting capability to diagnose and ablate tumors, which together contribute to the extended life-span of the mice treatment with NIR-C 12 -EL and continuous 1064 nm laser irradiation. This study provides insight into not only designing of lipophilic NIR-II fluorescence probes for labeling of exosome-liposome hybrid-based vehicles but also the engineering of theranostic nanoplatforms for precise treatment of glioblastoma., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Importance: Environmental heat and cold exposure (EHCE) remains the principal preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in children and adolescents globally., Objective: To report EHCE-related burden and analyze its temporal trends among children and adolescents from 1990 to 2019., Design, Setting, and Participants: This repeated cross-sectional study used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, which encompassed 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 years were included in the study. Data analysis occurred from December 2023 to March 2024., Exposure: EHCE in children and adolescents from January 1990 to December 2019., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcomes were cases and rates of EHCE incidence, prevalence, mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and average annual percentage changes (AAPCs). Global trends in these metrics were also analyzed by sex, age, and sociodemographic index (SDI), which is a comprehensive indicator of the socioeconomic status of a country or region. A linear regression model was used to calculate AAPCs and a joinpoint regression model was used to identify the years in which trends changed significantly., Results: From 1990 to 2019, EHCE-related incidence, prevalence, mortality, and DALYs showed a downward trend globally. However, an upward trend in EHCE incidence and prevalence was detected between 2010 and 2019 (incidence AAPC, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.05-1.87; prevalence AAPC, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.01-1.50). Regionally, although EHCE-related incidence showed a decreasing trend in most regions from 1990 to 2019, there were still some regions with an increasing trend (Southern sub-Saharan Africa AAPC, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.01-0.44). In 2019, the mortality and DALYs of EHCE were higher among children and adolescents in countries with low SDI levels. Additionally, the burden of EHCE among children and adolescents varied according to sex and age., Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study, a global increase was observed in EHCE incidence and prevalence since 2010. Furthermore, children and adolescents in low-SDI regions, which bear the brunt of the climate crisis, were disproportionately impacted. This suggests that future responses to climate change crises should emphasize health equity, which implies that vulnerable populations, such as children and adolescents, should be given priority in the allocation of resources to address climate change.

Aims: Schizophrenia, a debilitating mental disorder, is characterized by persistent negative symptoms such as avolition and anhedonia. Currently, there are no effective treatments available for these symptoms. Thus, our study aims to assess the efficacy of online high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (online HD-tDCS) in addressing the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, utilizing a double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial design., Methods: Fifty-nine patients with schizophrenia were randomized to receive either active HD-tDCS or sham stimulation, targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Outcomes were measured by changes in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale Factor Score for Negative Symptom (PANSS-FSNS). Exact low-resolution electromagnetic tomography was used to assess the functional connectivity., Results: All 59 participants, including 50.84% females with an average age of 43.36 years, completed the trial. In the intention-to-treat analysis, patients receiving active HD-tDCS showed greater improvement in PANSS-FSNS scores compared to those receiving the sham procedure. The differences were 2.34 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28-3.40), 4.28 (95% CI, 2.93-5.62), and 4.91 (95% CI, 3.29-6.52) after the intervention, as well as at 1-week and 1-month follow-ups, respectively. A tingling sensation on the scalp was more common in the active group (63.3%) compared to the sham group (10.3%). Additionally, HD-tDCS was associated with a decrease in delta-band connectivity within the default mode network., Conclusions: High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation was effective and safe in ameliorating negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia when combined with online functional targeting., (© 2024 The Author(s). Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2024 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.)

In this research, the essential oils (EOs) from different parts of Ocimum gratissimum var. suave were chemically characterized and evaluated for insecticidal activity, especially against two common storage pests of Chinese herbal medicines: Tribolium castaneum and Liposcelis bostrychophila. Ocimum gratissimum is a plant with several medicinal values in traditional Chinese medicine. In the study, EOs were successfully extracted from inflorescences (OGI) and stem-leaf (OGLS) parts of O. gratissimum by steam distillation and 16 compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), of which eugenol was the major constituent in both extracts. In fumigation toxicity tests against both pests, the EOs showed limited toxicity against T. castaneum but showed better toxicity against L. bostrychophila. Contact toxicity tests showed that OGLS had better insecticidal potential than OGI, while the insecticidal effect of eugenol sometimes exceeded that of EOs. In addition, repellency experiments showed that O. gratissimum EOs repelled the pests to varying degrees, with the effect being influenced by concentration and exposure time. The results suggest that O. gratissimum EOs could be a promising alternative to synthetic insecticides for sustainable utilization., (© 2024 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes persistent symptoms, including brain fog. Based on limited research on the long-term consequences of mild COVID-19, which has yielded inconsistent results, we investigated which cognitive functions were most affected by COVID-19 in nonhospitalized Asian patients with long-term COVID and subjective cognitive complaints., Methods: Fifty-five nonhospitalized patients with subjective cognitive complaints after COVID infection (24 males and 31 females, mean age: 45.6 ± 14.6 years, mean duration of education: 14.4 ± 3.0 years) finished the study. Neuropsychological assessments included screening tests for overall cognition, and comprehensive tests for memory, executive function, processing speed, and subjective emotional and disease symptoms. Cognitive test scores were converted into Z -scores. Moreover, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to define cognitive domains across subtest scores., Results: Comprehensive assessments revealed cognitive impairment in 69.1% of patients (<1.5 SD in at least one test). The processing speed (27.3%), memory recall (21.8%), memory learning (20.0%), and inhibitory control (18.2%) were the most affected areas. Self-reported anxiety and depression were observed in 35% and 33% of patients, respectively. Furthermore, the degree of anxiety was predictive of learning performance., Conclusion: Nearly 70% of patients with subjective cognitive complaints and long COVID had objective cognitive impairments. A comprehensive evaluation is essential for these patients, even when they present with mild symptoms., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: Dr. Jong-Ling Fuh, an editorial board member at Journal of the Chinese Medical Association , had no role in the peer review process of or decision to publish this article. The other authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the subject matter or materials discussed in this article., (Copyright © 2024, the Chinese Medical Association.)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of narrow-band imaging (NBI) in monitoring patients with head and neck carcinomas posttreatment and to compare it with that of white light endoscopy (WLE)., Data Sources: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science (WOS), Cochrane Library, China Biology Medicine disc (CBM disc), China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI), Wanfang Data, China Science and Technology Journal Database (CSTJ), Chinese Clinical Trial Register., Review Methods: Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), literature published before July 2024 was searched. Patients who underwent surgery, radiotherapy (RT), or chemo-RT for head and neck carcinomas with posttreatment follow-up using NBI were analyzed. The main outcomes were sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) for NBI and WLE in posttreatment follow-up., Results: The sensitivity, specificity, and DOR for NBI and WLE in posttreatment follow-up for head and neck carcinomas were 95% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 88%-98%), 96% (95% CI: 92%-98%), 433 (95% CI: 120-1560) and 72% (95% CI: 49%-87%), 72% (95% CI: 4%-99%), 7 (95% CI: 0-191). Additionally, the area under the curve (AUC) values for NBI and WLE were 0.99 (95% CI: 0.97-0.99) and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.71-0.79), respectively. The number of lesions and patients, treatment modality, follow-up time, disease, and endoscopic system might be sources of heterogeneity., Conclusion: Compared to WLE, NBI demonstrated superior diagnostic performance in follow-up patients with head and neck carcinoma posttreatment. NBI offers technical support and a clinical foundation for early detection of head and neck carcinoma recurrence., Level of Evidence: NA Laryngoscope, 135:34-44, 2025., (© 2024 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Novel N-substituent diphenylamine derivatives as tubulin inhibitors targeting colchicine-binding site have been designed based on structural simplification and structural fusing strategy. Most designed compounds exhibited the moderate or potent antiproliferative activities against five cancer cell lines. Among them, compound 4k displayed the significant selectivity for osteosarcoma cells MG-63 and U2OS with the IC 50 value of 0.08-0.14 μM. Further investigations verified 4k could inhibit tubulin polymerization by targeting colchicine binding site. Meanwhile, compound 4k not only effectively induced tumor cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase, but also slightly induced cell apoptosis. These results indicated that N-substituent of diphenylamine derivatives are deserved for further development as tubulin colchicine binding site inhibitors., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)