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Abstract Sonogenetics is an innovative technology that integrates ultrasound with genetic editing to precisely modulate cellular activities in a non‐invasive manner. This method entails introducing and activating mechanosensitive channels on the cell membrane of specific cells using gene delivery vectors. When exposed to ultrasound, these channels can be manipulated to open or close, thereby impacting cellular functions. Sonogenetics is currently being used extensively in the treatment of various chronic diseases, including Parkinson's disease, vision restoration, and cancer therapy. This paper provides a comprehensive review of key components of sonogenetics and focuses on evaluating its prospects and potential challenges in the treatment of chronic disease.

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the agreement between quantitative ultrasound system fat fraction (USFF) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) and the diagnostic value of USFF in assessing metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). Methods The participants with or suspected of MAFLD were prospectively recruited and underwent 1H-MRS, USFF, and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) measurements. The correlation between USFF and 1H-MRS was assessed using Pearson correlation coefficients. The USFF diagnostic performance for different grades of steatosis was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (ROC) and was compared with CAP, visual hepatic steatosis grade (VHSG). Results A total of 113 participants (mean age 44.79 years ± 13.56 (SD); 71 males) were enrolled, of whom 98 (86.73%) had hepatic steatosis (1H-MRS ≥ 5.56%). USFF showed a good correlation (Pearson r = 0.76) with 1H-MRS and showed a linear relationship, which was superior to the correlation between CAP and 1H-MRS (Pearson r = 0.61). The USFF provided high diagnostic performance for different grades of hepatic steatosis, with ROC from 0.84 to 0.98, and the diagnostic performance was better than that of the CAP and the VHSG. The cut-off values of the USFF were different for various grades of steatosis, and the cut-off values for S1, S2, and S3 were 12.01%, 19.98%, and 22.22%, respectively. Conclusions There was a good correlation between USFF and 1H-MRS. Meanwhile, USFF had good diagnostic performance for hepatic steatosis and was superior to CAP and VHSG. USFF represents a superior method for noninvasive quantitative assessment of MAFLD. Critical relevance statement Quantitative ultrasound system fat fraction (USFF) accurately assesses liver fat content and has a good correlation with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) for the assessment of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), as well as for providing an accurate quantitative assessment of hepatic steatosis. Key Points Current diagnostic and monitoring modalities for metabolic-associated fatty liver disease have limitations. USFF correlated well with 1H-MRS and was superior to the CAP. USFF has good diagnostic performance for steatosis, superior to CAP and VHSG. Graphical Abstract

Objective To comprehensively evaluate the association between Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin (TSLP) and atopic dermatitis (AD). Methods Six databases were searched for relevant studies. For studies on TSLP levels, the standardized mean difference (SMD) was used. For studies involving gene polymorphisms, evaluation was performed using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Based on the between-study heterogeneity, a fixed- or random-effects model was chosen. Analyses were performed using RevMan 5.3 software and R 4.3.0 software. Trial sequential analysis was conducted to evaluate whether the number of cases was sufficient. Results A significant relationship between TSLP rs1898671 polymorphism and AD was found under homozygous (DD vs dd), and dominant contrasts (DD + Dd vs dd), with OR = 0.47 (95% CI: 0.24, 0.92) and 0.46 (95% CI: 0.24, 0.88), respectively ( p < 0.05). Whereas under allele (D vs d), heterozygous (Dd vs dd) and recessive contrasts (DD vs Dd + dd), no significant relationship was found. No significant relationship was found for rs1837253 or rs11466749. Serum TSLP levels were significantly higher in patients with AD, with the SMD = 1.45 (95% CI: 0.65, 2.25) ( p < 0.05). Conclusions TSLP gene rs1898671 polymorphism was associated with AD, and TSLP levels were elevated in patients with AD.

Abstract Therapeutic mRNA vaccines have become powerful therapeutic tools for severe diseases, including infectious diseases and malignant neoplasms. mRNA vaccines encoding tumor‐associated antigens provide unprecedented hope for many immunotherapies that have hit the bottleneck. However, the application of mRNA vaccines is limited because of biological instability, innate immunogenicity, and ineffective delivery in vivo. This study aims to construct a novel mRNA vaccine delivery nanosystem to successfully co‐deliver a tumor‐associated antigen (TAA) encoded by the Wilms' tumor 1 (WT1) mRNA. In this system, named PSB@Nb1.33C/mRNA, photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) efficiently delivers the iMXene‐WT1 mRNA to the core tumor region using photo‐driven and hypoxia‐driven properties. The excellent photothermal therapeutic (PTT) properties of PSB and 2D iMxene (Nb1.33C) trigger tumor immunogenic cell death, which boosts the release of the WT1 mRNA. The released WT1 mRNA is translated, presenting the TAA and amplifying immune effect in vivo. The designed therapeutic strategy demonstrates an excellent ability to inhibit distant tumors and counteract postsurgical lung metastasis. Thus, this study provides an innovative and effective paradigm for tumor immunotherapy, i.e., photo‐immunogene cancer therapy, and establishes an efficient delivery platform for mRNA vaccines, thereby opening a new path for the wide application of mRNA vaccines.

Electric power grids are evolving into complex cyber-physical power systems (CPPSs) that integrate advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) but face increasing cyberspace threats and attacks. This study considers CPPS cyberspace security under distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and proposes a nonzero-sum game-theoretical model with incomplete information for appropriate allocation of defense resources based on the availability of limited resources. Task time delay is applied to quantify the expected utility as CPPSs have high time requirements and incur massive damage DDoS attacks. Different resource allocation strategies are adopted by attackers and defenders under the three cases of attack-free, failed attack, and successful attack, which lead to a corresponding consumption of resources. A multidimensional node value analysis is designed to introduce physical and cybersecurity indices. Simulation experiments and numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model for the appropriate allocation of defense resources in CPPSs under limited resource availability.

This study developed a novel and reusable technique aimed at automatically estimating the number of containers in port storage yards using satellite images, namely, an automated method for container counting in satellite images based on grid analysis and shadow recognition. Unlike traditional machine learning methods that rely on large-scale labeled datasets, this method does not require extensive data collections, significantly reducing the implementation threshold and costs. By dividing the container yards into grids, researchers were able to segment large-scale yard images into smaller blocks, allowing for individual block analysis. This not only improves processing speed but also enhances estimation accuracy. Converting images from the RGB color space to the HSV color space allows the algorithm to more accurately analyze and identify containers and their shadows. Furthermore, this study leverages the features of container shadows, which exhibit specific shapes and orientations in satellite images, to estimate container stacking heights. The number of containers in each grid is determined by comparing the shadow area with the known shadow area of a single container, making the overall calculation process more intuitive and reliable. Compared to the U-Net model based on semantic segmentation, this method significantly improves efficiency, reducing average program runtime by 72.90%, and greatly reducing the mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) of predictions. Compared to manual counting methods, the average time consumption of this method is also reduced by 69.75%, significantly enhancing efficiency. In summary, this integrated method of grid division, HSV color conversion, and shadow analysis provides a highly cost-effective and accessible tool for third-party researchers and operators. With appropriate satellite images, it enables real-time estimation of the number of containers in port storage yards.

Breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease lacking prognostic markers. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in the tumor microenvironment are associated with distant metastasis as well as poorer outcomes in breast cancer. Therefore, monitoring TAMs may guide prognostic assessment. This study explores an imaging modality based on a two-step click chemistry procedure for detecting TAMs in breast cancer. Mannose-targeted liposomes (MAN-lipo-AAG) and non-targeted liposomes (lipo-AAG) encapsulating Ac4GalNAz were prepared and comprehensively characterized. The sizes of the prepared MAN-lipo-AAG and lipo-AAG were 126 ± 0.22 and 93 ± 0.23 nm, respectively. In vitro studies demonstrated higher uptake of MAN-lipo-AAG than lipo-AAG by RAW264.7 cells. Moreover, flow cytometry and confocal microscopy confirmed that bright, homogeneous fluorescence labeling was present on RAW264.7 cell membranes in the MAN-lipo-AAG group. Furthermore, in vivo analysis indicated that MAN-lipo-AAG, compared with lipo-AAG, had higher accumulation in a 4T1 xenograft model and higher uptake by mannose-overexpressing TAMs. This study describes a promising approach for specific and non-invasive TAM-targeted imaging via metabolic glycoengineering.

The integration of power grids and communication networks in smart grids enhances system safety and reliability but also exposes vulnerabilities to network attacks, such as Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks targeting communication networks. A multi-index evaluation approach is proposed to optimize routing modes in integrated energy cyber-physical systems (IECPS) considering potential failures from attacks. Security and economic service evaluation indexes are incorporated to quantify the significance of information flow routing. An optimization model for electric, heat, and gas routing in worst-case scenarios is formulated and solved using a column and constraint generation algorithm. The optimized routing method effectively circumvents specified attack areas, reducing the correlation degree of communication links within the attack area. Comparison with single-service optimization methods demonstrates the superiority of the proposed approach in mitigating the impact of network attacks on IECPS. The study highlights the importance of considering security and economic factors in optimizing routing modes to enhance the resilience of integrated energy cyber-physical systems against network attacks, particularly DoS attacks on communication networks. The evaluation index approach presented in this study provides a comprehensive method for assessing the importance of communication links in IECPS and optimizing routing modes to improve system robustness and reliability in the face of network attacks.

Abstract The behavior of microgels and other soft, compressible colloids depends on particle concentration in ways that are absent in their hard-particulate counterparts. For instance, poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (pNIPAM) microgels can spontaneously deswell and reduce suspension polydispersity when concentrated enough. Despite the pNIPAM network in these microgels is neutral, the key to understanding this distinct behavior relies on the existence of peripheric charged groups, responsible for providing colloidal stability when deswollen, and the associated counterion cloud. When in close proximity, clouds of different particles overlap, effectively freeing the associated counterions, which are then able to exert an osmotic pressure that can potentially cause the microgels to decrease their size. Up to now, however, no direct measurement of such an ionic cloud exists, perhaps even also for hard colloids, where it is referred to as an electric double layer. Here, we use small-angle neutron scattering with contrast variation with different ions to isolate the change in the form factor directly related to the counterion cloud, and obtain its radius and width. Our results highlight that the modeling of microgel suspensions must unavoidably and explicitly consider the presence of this cloud, which exists for nearly all microgels synthesized today.

AbstractAtopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, inflammatory skin disease. The mechanism was complex. Genetic mutations of Toll-like receptor (TLR) may be associated with AD, yet still unclear. We aim to provide specific evidence of the association of TLR2, TLR9 gene polymorphisms with AD. Publications were selected according to the criteria. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was applied to evaluate the quality. The value of ORs and 95%CIs were applied to measure the associations. According to the heterogeneity, the effects model of fixed or random was selected in data combination. For TLR2 gene rs5743708 polymorphism, under allele and recessive contrasts, the pooled data showed a significant correlation, which was A vs a, OR = 0.51 (95%CI: 0.30, 0.86); AA vs Aa + aa, OR = 0.54 (95%CI: 0.33, 0.88). For TLR2 gene rs4696480 polymorphism, under allele, homozygous, heterozygous, and dominant contrasts, the pooled data showed a significant correlation, which was A vs a, OR = 0.79 (95%CI: 0.64, 0.97), AA vs aa, OR = 0.65 (95%CI: 0.43, 0.97), Aa vs aa, OR = 0.68 (95%CI: 0.48, 0.97), AA + Aa vs aa, OR = 0.67 (95%CI: 0.49, 0.93). There are significant associations of TLR2 gene rs5743708, rs4696480 polymorphisms with atopic dermatitis, while no associations are found in TLR9 gene rs5743836, rs187084 polymorphisms.

Recently, strategies based on the integration of nanotechnology with microbial carriers have been proposed for cancer therapy. Here the authors report the design of an ultrasound-controlled CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system for IDO1 silencing compounded with the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, showing the induction of anti-tumor immune responses in preclinical cancer models.

Objective: To evaluate the association between IL-25, IL-33 and AD more generally. Methods: Databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Scopus, CNKI and Sinomed were searched. Based on the criteria, publications were collected. The evaluation of study quality was through Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Fixed or random effect model was selected according to the between-study heterogeneity to evaluate the association. The analysis procedure and the construction plots were using Review Manager 5.3 software. Results: Six studies were included. A total of 282 subjects were included from four studies to analyze the association between IL-25 and AD. The level of IL-25 was significantly elevated in AD patients, comparing with the control subjects (SMD = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.64, 1.14, p < 0.05). For IL-33, a total of 247 subjects were included from two studies, and the level of IL-33 was also significantly elevated in AD patients comparing to the control subjects (SMD = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.80, p < 0.05). Conclusions: The serum levels of IL-25, IL-33 are elevated in AD patients of this study. The IL-25 and IL-33 are significantly associated with the risk of AD. Further studies with larger samples, in multiple countries and focused on different age groups are need.

BackgroundIncreasing numbers of studies demonstrated that picosecond lasers (Picos) were effective and safe for melasma. However, A limited number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding Picos contribute to a modest level of evidence. Topical hydroquinone (HQ) remains to be the first-line therapy.ObjectiveTo compare the efficacy and safety of non-fractional picosecond Nd:YAG laser (PSNYL), non-fractional picosecond alexandrite laser (PSAL), and 2% HQ cream in the treatment of melasma.MethodSixty melasma patients with Fitzpatrick skin types (FST) III-IV were randomly assigned to the PSNY, PSAL, and HQ groups at a 1:1:1 ratio. Patients in PSNYL and PSAL groups received 3 laser sessions at 4-week intervals. The 2% HQ cream was applied twice daily for 12 weeks in patients of the HQ group. The primary outcome, the melasma area and severity index (MASI) score, was evaluated at weeks 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24. The patient assessment score by quartile rating scale was rated at weeks 12, 16, 20, and 24.ResultsFifty-nine (98.3%) subjects were included in the analysis. Each group showed significant change from baseline in MASI scores from week 4 to week 24. The MASI score in the PSNYL group showed the greatest reduction compared to the PSAL group (p = 0.016) and HQ group (p = 0.018). The PSAL group demonstrated comparable MASI improvement as the HQ group (p = 0.998). The PSNYL group had the highest patient assessment score, followed by the PSAL group and then the HQ group, although only the differences between PSNYL and HQ groups at weeks 12 and 16 were significant. Four patients (6.8%) experienced recurrence. Other unanticipated events were transient and subsided after 1 week to 6 months.ConclusionThe efficacy of non-fractional PSNYL was superior to that of non-fractional PSAL, which was not inferior to 2% HQ, thus non-fractional Picos providing an alternative for melasma patients with FSTs III-IV. The safety profiles of PSNYL, PSAL, and 2% HQ cream were similar.Clinical Trial Registrationhttps://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=130994, ChiCTR2100050089.

In a modern electric power transmission grid, the phasor measurement unit requires a reliable transport of its sampled statistics with a low end-to-end failure rate (EEFR) to ensure the accuracy of the grid state estimation. However, EEFR can be deteriorated by packet losses due to multiple link disruptions in the primary forwarding path (PP). To address that, we investigate a novel disruption resilient transport protocol (DRTP) enabling hop-by-hop retransmission utilizing the redundant subpaths (RSPs) available for the PP to increase reliability. It addresses the new distributed collaboration issue under multiple link failures to avoid cache mismatching. These have not been considered by the existing approaches. The DRTP was evaluated in the ndnSIM simulator through both the typical and general routes that are constructed from real transmission grids. The numerical results demonstrate that it has a significant advantage in reducing the EEFR with a low end-to-end delivery time under serious link disruptions.

A hierarchical composite of Sb2S3 nanorods grown on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanofiber was prepared, and the formation of comb-shaped Sb2S3 nanorod arrays on the ZnO nanofibers was confirmed. It was found that the size of the diameter and the density of the nanorods are regulatable by changing the concentration of polyvinyl pyrrolidone as an additive for the growth of Sb2S3 nanorod on ZnO nanofiber. The obtained Sb2S3 nanorod arrays were applied as a light absorber for thin-film solar cells composed of glass-fluorine-doped tin oxide/compact ZnO/ZnO nanofibers−ZnS/Sb2S3 nanorod arrays/poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl)/MoOx/Ag. The rectification ratio and photocurrent generation efficiency of the comb-shaped Sb2S3 nanorod arrays were improved as compared with the heterojunction of randomly stacked Sb2S3 nanorods. Smaller series resistance (Rs) of 8.13 Ω cm−2 and an ideality factor (n) of 2.84 with the comb-shaped Sb2S3 nanorod arrays than those of the randomly stacked ones of Rs = 15.01 Ω cm−2 and n = 3.83 also indicated superior charge extraction property and suppressed recombination of the comb-shaped Sb2S3 nanorod arrays at the interface.

This letter to the editor discusses a study on the effects of abrocitinib, a medication used to treat atopic dermatitis, on platelet counts. The study found that abrocitinib treatment resulted in a decrease in platelet counts, with the lowest point occurring at week 4 and gradually returning to normal levels. The higher dose of abrocitinib had a more significant impact on platelet counts. The mechanism behind this effect is not yet understood, and further research is needed to determine the long-term effects and potential risks of abrocitinib treatment. Additionally, the article explores the role of the Ashwell-Morell receptor in regulating the production of thrombopoietin, a protein crucial for platelet production. This research provides valuable insights into platelet production mechanisms and may lead to new treatments for blood clotting disorders. [Extracted from the article]

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that severely affects the motor system of patients. Early PD detection will greatly improve the quality of lives. However, existing automatic PD detection systems either rely on customized sensors or require users to perform special activities, using machine learning models whose prediction process is not understandable by medical professionals. In this article, we develop a non-disruptive PD detection system on smartphones based on interpretable prediction models. We design an application named PDGes to passively collect touchscreen and Inertial Measurement Unit data of users’ tapping and swiping actions on smartphones. Meaningful features that reflect finger dexterity, tremor, stiffness, and hand movement are extracted to build the prediction model. To better comprehend the decisions made by the model, we conduct a systematic analysis of feature importance to help validate the conformity of the model with clinical PD diagnosis. We collected data from 108 volunteers to evaluate the performance of PDGes. The experiment results show that PDGes achieves a detection accuracy of more than 94.5% on different smartphones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Dupilumab is approved for a variety of type 2 inflammatory diseases. Changes in chemokine levels during treatment require further analysis. Aim: We evaluated changes in eotaxin-3 and PARC levels after dupilumab treatment through a meta-analysis, aiming to provide more comprehensive results. Material and methods: Databases were searched to select eligible publications. The study quality was assessed after inclusion. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was used for evaluation. Results: Four studies were included. Eotaxin-3 levels were not seen significantly decreased at weeks 1 and 12, with SMD = -0.39 (95% CI: -1.78, 0.99) and -2.60 (95% CI: -5.77, 0.57), respectively (p > 0.05). Eotaxin-3 levels decreased significantly at weeks 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 36, and 52, with SMD = -0.94 (95% CI: -1.61, -0.27); -1.17 (95% CI: -1.49, -0.84); -1.20 (95% CI: -1.52, -0.88); -1.31 (95% CI: -1.83, -0.79); -4.57 (95% CI: -6.90, -2.33); -5.28 (95% CI: -5.52, -5.04); and -4.03 (95% CI: -4.22, -3.85) (p < 0.05), respectively. PARC levels decreased significantly at weeks 4, 8, 12, and 16, with SMD = -1.08 (95% CI: -1.59, -0.58); -1.17 (95% CI: -1.68, -0.66); -1.11 (95% CI: -1.61, -0.60); and -1.15 (95% CI: -1.66, -0.64) (p < 0.05), respectively. Conclusions: Eotaxin-3 and PARC levels can be significantly reduced in patients treated with dupil [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]