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Smart wearable electronic textiles integrate sensing, perception, and control modules, which enhance human adaptability to environmental stimuli and concurrently serve as extensions for limb capabilities. The flexible and programmable nature of soft actuators makes them an indispensable part of smart wearable electronic textiles. These textiles seamlessly combine various components, such as sensors and actuators, through a comprehensive integration of materials manufacturing, circuit control, and transmission design. Exciting applications in various fields such as healthcare, sports, the Internet of Things, and human‐machine interaction have been demonstrated globally. However, there is still a persistent challenge in enhancing the actuation capabilities of soft actuators while maintaining their wearability. A timely and comprehensive review of the progress of this field is provided. Several main aspects are covered: functional materials, stimulus mechanisms, performance improvement strategies, and wearable applications in human‐related areas. Furthermore, the major approaches and challenges for improving the performance of actuators are systematically summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the use of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in the treatment of rheumatic diseases (RDs) and the associated risk of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) reactivation. TNFi has been shown to effectively control symptoms in RDs, but it also increases the risk of TB infection. LTBI screening and preventive treatment are important steps in preventing active TB in RD patients receiving TNFi. However, current screening strategies have limitations, and there is no consensus on the duration and plan of preventive treatment. Further research is needed to optimize LTBI screening and preventive treatment strategies, especially in regions with a high TB burden. The article emphasizes the need for risk stratification and the exploration of biomarkers and pathogenesis to improve the accuracy of LTBI diagnosis and treatment in RD patients. [Extracted from the article]

The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and red blood cell distribution width‐to‐albumin ratio (RAR) are considered to be related to the prognosis of disease severity. However, the role of these biomarkers in predicting Stevens–Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) severity and mortality is unclear. The aim of the current study was to investigate the association of PNI and RAR with severity and mortality in individuals with SJS/TEN. Clinical data were retrospectively collected from 74 individuals with SJS/TEN and 74 healthy individuals, who were matched for age and sex during the same period. PNI, RAR, and other indicators were compared between individuals with SJS/TEN and healthy controls. The association of PNI and RAR with SJS/TEN severity was assessed using Spearman or Pearson correlation analyses. Individuals with SJS/TEN were categorized into two groups, either survivors or nonsurvivors. The correlation between PNI, RAR, and SJS/TEN mortality was analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. The predictive value of the previously mentioned indicators on the mortality of patients with SJS/TEN was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The RAR level of patients with SJS/TEN was greater than that of the control group (p < 0.05), whereas PNI was lower. In compliance with correlation analysis, RAR was positively correlated with SCORTEN (Score of Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis) and ABCD‐10 (age, bicarbonate, cancer, dialysis, 10% body surface area) (p < 0.05), and PNI was negatively correlated (p < 0.05). RAR is a risk factor for death in patients with SJS/TEN, but an elevated PNI level is a protective factor for mortality. The best cutoff values of PNI and RAR for predicting death in patients with SJS/TEN were 31.375 (sensitivity, 84.7%; specificity, 80%) and 0.486 (sensitivity, 73.3%; specificity, 84.7%). These results underscore the potential clinical value of PNI and RAR as appropriate and meaningful biomarkers to assess the severity of SJS/TEN and the mortality associated with it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autophagy is emerging as a critical player in host defense against diverse infections, in addition to its conserved function to maintain cellular homeostasis. Strikingly, some pathogens have evolved strategies to evade, subvert or exploit different steps of the autophagy pathway for their lifecycles. Here, we present a new viral mechanism of manipulating autophagy for its own benefit with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome bunyavirus (SFTSV, an emerging high‐pathogenic virus) as a model. SFTSV infection triggers autophagy, leading to complete autophagic flux. Mechanistically, we show that the nonstructural protein of SFTSV (NSs) interacts with mTOR, the pivotal regulator of autophagy, by targeting its kinase domain and captures mTOR into viral inclusion bodies (IBs) induced by NSs itself. Furthermore, NSsimpairs mTOR‐mediated phosphorylation of unc‐51‐like kinase 1 (ULK1) at Ser757, disrupting the inhibitory effect of mTOR on ULK1 activity and thus contributing to autophagy induction. Pharmacologic treatment and Beclin‐1 knockout experimental results establish that, in turn, autophagy enhances SFTSV infection and propagation. Moreover, the minigenome reporter system reveals that SFTSV ribonucleoprotein (the transcription and replication machinery) activity can be bolstered by autophagy. Additionally, we found that the NSs proteins of SFTSV‐related bunyaviruses have a conserved function of targeting mTOR. Taken together, we unravel a viral strategy of inducing pro‐viral autophagy by interacting with mTOR, sequestering mTOR into IBs and hence provoking the downstream ULK1 pathway, which presents a new paradigm for viral manipulation of autophagy and may help inform future development of specific antiviral therapies against SFTSV and related pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary Sjögren's syndrome is characterized by lymphocytic infiltration and dysfunction of exocrine glands. The persistent presence of lymphocytes in these glands is an important cause of injury to glandular epithelial cells. MicroRNAs play an important role in primary Sjögren's syndrome and regulate mRNA expression. This study evaluated the expression of microRNA related to lymphocyte infiltration in primary Sjögren's syndrome patients so as to find novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets for primary Sjögren's syndrome. We also explored the microRNA-mRNA networks related to lymphocyte infiltration.Methods: mRNA-seq and microRNA-seq of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were performed on samples from five primary Sjögren's syndrome patients and five matched healthy controls. Meanwhile, microRNA-mRNA network analysis was also conducted. RT-qPCR was used for validation of differentially expressed RNAs. Immunohistochemistry analysis was used to detect MMP2 expression in labial gland tissue. Hsa-miR-3202 mimics/inhibitor-transfected Jurkat cells were used to measure the effects of hsa-miR-3202 on the infiltration potential of T cells.Results: mRNA and microRNA sequencing revealed that 84 differentially expressed mRNAs and 49 differentially expressed microRNAs had a mutual regulatory relationship. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis indicated that differentially expressed MMP2 and its related microRNA, hsa-miR-3202, were enriched in the leukocyte transendothelial migration pathway. MMP2 was highly expressed in PBMC and labial gland tissue in primary Sjögren's syndrome patients. Hsa-miR-3202 was lower expressed in primary Sjögren's syndrome than healthy control. Furthermore, hsa-miR-3202 mimics transfection decreased MMP2 expression in Jurkat cells, and inhibited Jurkat cells invasion (p = 0.047).Conclusion: Large number of differentially expressed microRNAs and mRNAs were detected in primary Sjögren's syndrome, and these differentially expressed microRNAs and mRNAs had a mutual regulatory relationship and played an important role in primary Sjögren's syndrome. In the study, we found hsa-miR-3202 regulate MMP2 and inhibited the infiltration of T cells from peripheral blood into the gland, which played a protective role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of environmental regulation on technological innovation has been widely discussed in the academic circle. Based on the panel data of 403 Chinese manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2015, this paper explored the role of voluntary environmental regulation in technological innovation. The results showed the following: First, both voluntary environmental information disclosure and environmental management system certification had a positive effect on corporate innovation investment. Second, compared with the impact of environmental information disclosure, the impact of environmental management system certification on corporate innovation investment was more significant. Third, there was a significant positive interaction between environmental information disclosure and environmental management system certification. Finally, the effect of voluntary environmental regulation on corporate technological innovation in heavily polluting industries was stronger than that in lightly polluting industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a prevalent metabolic disease, posing a considerable threat to public health. Oligonucleotide drugs have proven to be a promising field of therapy for the diseases. In this study, we reported that a herbal small RNA (sRNA), JGL‐sRNA‐h7 (B34735529, F1439.L002444.A11), could exhibit potent hypoglycemic effects by targeting glucose‐6‐phosphatase. Oral administration of sphingosine (d18:1)‐JGL‐sRNA‐h7 bencaosomes ameliorated hyperglycemia and diabetic kidney injury better than metformin in db/db mice. Furthermore, glucose tolerance was also improved in sphingosine (d18:1)‐JGL‐sRNA‐h7 bencaosomes‐treated beagle dogs. Our study indicates that JGL‐sRNA‐h7 could be a promising hypoglycemic oligonucleotide drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study possibly nonlinear relationship between housing price index (HPI) and consumer price index (CPI) for individual states in the USA, accounting for the temporal lag interactions of the housing price in a given state and spatio‐temporal lag interactions between states could improve the accuracy of estimation and forecasting. There lacks, however, methodology to objectively identify and estimate such spatio‐temporal lag interactions. In this article, we propose a semiparametric data‐driven nonlinear time series regression method that accounts for lag interactions across space and over time. A penalized procedure utilizing adaptive Lasso is developed for the identification and estimation of important spatio‐temporal lag interactions. Theoretical properties for our proposed methodology are established under a general near epoch dependence structure and thus the results can be applied to a variety of linear and nonlinear time series processes. For illustration, we analyze the US housing price data and demonstrate substantial improvement in forecasting via the identification of nonlinear relationship between HPI and CPI as well as spatio‐temporal lag interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Interleukin ( IL)-22 regulates the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. The role of IL-22+ T-cells in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis ( RA) is unclear. This study aimed at examining the levels of plasma IL-22 and the frequency of IL-22+ CD4+ T-cells in patients with RA. Methods A total of 30 RA patients and 18 gender- and age-matched healthy controls were recruited. Their peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate ( PMA) and ionomycin for 6 h. The frequency of IL-22+, interferon ( IFN)-γ+ and IL-17A+ CD4+ T-cells was characterized by flow cytometry. The levels of plasma IFN-γ, IL-17A and IL-22, serum C-reactive protein ( CRP), rheumatoid factor ( RF), anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibody ( CCP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate ( ESR) were measured. Results The frequency of IFNγ- IL-17A- IL-22+, IFNγ- IL-17A+ IL-22+, and IFNγ+ IL-17A- IL-22+ T-cells in CD4+ T-cells and the levels of plasma IFNγ, IL-17 and IL-22 in RA patients were significant higher than those in healthy controls. The percentages of IL-17A+ IL-22+ CD4+ T-cells were correlated positively with the frequency of Th22 or Th17 cells in the RA patients. The percentages of IL-22+ CD4+ T-cells were correlated positively with the values of disease activity score ( DAS28) in the RA patients. The percentages of Th22 cells were correlated positively with the levels of plasma IL-22 in the RA patients. Conclusion Our data suggest that IL-22+ CD4+ T-cells may contribute to the pathogenesis of RA and that therapeutic targeting of IL-22 may be valuable for the intervention of RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites were prepared using a melt-blending procedure combining twin-screw extrusion with centrifugal premixing. A homogeneous dispersion of MWCNTs throughout the matrix was revealed by scanning electron microscopy for the nanocomposites with MWCNT contents ranging from 0.5 to 8.0 wt %. The mechanical properties of PPS were markedly enhanced by the incorporation of MWCNTs. Halpin-Tsai equations, modified with an efficiency factor, were used to model the elastic properties of the nanocomposites. The calculated modulus showed good agreement with the experimental data. The presence of the MWCNTs exhibited both promotion and retardation effects on the crystallization of PPS. The competition between these two effects results in an unusual change of the degree of crystallinity with increasing MWCNT content. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of arsenic trioxide (As2O3, ATO) combined with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has recently been reported to induce remission in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). However, its efficiency remains inconclusive mainly due to the small number of the available cases. In this study, therefore, we present a clinical study using a combination of ATO with low-dose ATRA (LD-ATRA) to treat 108 APL patients (80 newly diagnosed patients, 28 relapsed patients). Therapeutic outcomes using the ATO/LD-ATRA approach were compared with those of APL patients treated either with ATO alone (65 patients) or ATRA alone (51 patients). The results showed that the ATO/LD-ATRA approach provided significantly better therapeutic outcomes as compared to either ATO or ATRA alone, as evidenced by lower mortality, a higher CR rate and a reduced period to CR. In addition, the toxic side-effects have been no worse with the combined ATO/LD-ATRA treatment than with either ATO or ATRO alone and in some cases have been reduced. These data suggest that the ATO/LD-ATRA regimen is superior to either regimen given alone to patients with APL. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]