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Abstract PANoptosis is a specific type of inflammatory programmed cell death (PCD) modality that can be involved in three key modes of cellular programmed cell death-pyroptosis, apoptosis and necroptosis. We analyzed PANoptosis activity in three common renal cell carcinoma subtypes (Clear cell renal cell carcinoma, Papillary renal cell carcinoma, and Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma) separately and constructed a new PANoptosis immunity index (PANII). In three renal cell carcinomas, we found that PANII was an effective predictor of immunotherapy efficacy in KIRC, KIRP and KICH, and the high PANII group was characterized by high immune infiltration and sensitivity to immunotherapy, while the low PANII group was prone to immune escape and immunotherapy resistance. We performed molecular docking prediction of each core protein comprising PANII and identified natural small molecule compounds with the highest affinity to target proteins. In addition, we found that down-regulation of PYCARD inhibited the proliferation and migration of renal clear cell carcinoma cells by in vitro functional assays, suggesting that PYCARD could be a novel target for renal clear cell carcinoma therapy. Our findings that the PANoptosis characterization-based index (PANII) helps to elucidate the tumor microenvironmental features of three common renal cell carcinoma subtypes and identify patient populations that will benefit from immunotherapy, providing a new tool for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients with intermediate- and advanced-stage renal cell carcinoma.

Water availability is an important issue all over the world, and membrane filtration technology is one of the most effective measures for remediation. As a sustainable and renewable biomass material, natural wood has a hierarchical and three-dimensional interconnected microstructure, which provides an alternative for water filter design. Longitudinal filtration could take advantage of the micropores, while the treatment speed is severely limited. This study examined a wood filter in which muddy wastewater can be transported into the microchannels and out of the vertically stacked micropores. The filter takes full advantage of the pores present in the wood without sacrificing the speed of hydraulic flow within the main transport channels, exhibiting excellent performance for mud removal. In this manner, water flux, decolorization, and turbidity are highly dependent on the groove number, groove depth, and thickness of the filter. Due to the reorientation of the water transport pathways, the clogging of micropores could be easily alleviated, thus promoting the filter lifecycle. The design of the cross-flow wood filter can provide an available platform for various wastewater treatment cases with different impurities, displaying an application prospect in the wastewater treatment field.

Background: Predicting the severity of acute pancreatitis (AP) early poses a challenge in clinical practice. While there are well-established clinical scoring tools, their actual predictive performance remains uncertain. Various studies have explored the application of machine-learning methods for early AP prediction. However, a more comprehensive evidence-based assessment is needed to determine their predictive accuracy. Hence, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the predictive accuracy of machine learning in assessing the severity of AP. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were systematically searched until December 5, 2023. The risk of bias in eligible studies was assessed using the Prediction Model Risk of Bias Assessment Tool (PROBAST). Subgroup analyses, based on different machine learning types, were performed. Additionally, the predictive accuracy of mainstream scoring tools was summarized. Results: This systematic review ultimately included 33 original studies. The pooled c-index in both the training and validation sets was 0.87 (95 % CI: 0.84–0.89) and 0.88 (95 % CI: 0.86–0.90), respectively. The sensitivity in the training set was 0.81 (95 % CI: 0.77–0.84), and in the validation set, it was 0.79 (95 % CI: 0.71–0.85). The specificity in the training set was 0.84 (95 % CI: 0.78–0.89), and in the validation set, it was 0.90 (95 % CI: 0.86–0.93). The primary model incorporated was logistic regression; however, its predictive accuracy was found to be inferior to that of neural networks, random forests, and xgboost. The pooled c-index of the APACHE II, BISAP, and Ranson were 0.74 (95 % CI: 0.68–0.80), 0.77 (95 % CI: 0.70–0.85), and 0.74 (95 % CI: 0.68–0.79), respectively. Conclusions: Machine learning demonstrates excellent accuracy in predicting the severity of AP, providing a reference for updating or developing a straightforward clinical prediction tool.

Drug resistance is one of the major causes of cancer treatment failures. In recent years, to combat the issue of drug resistance, a large volume of strategies has been established along the development of biomedical nanomaterials. Compared with traditional nanocarrier-based drug delivery strategies, in situ supramolecular self-assembly has emerged as a promising strategy to overcome drug resistance. This review first introduced the concept of in situ supramolecular self-assembly. The second part illustrated the mechanisms of constructing in situ supramolecular self-assembly as a multi-step process. The third part elucidated the role of in situ supramolecular self-assembly to reverse drug resistance, which included three categories: active self-assembly materials, drug-carrier self-assembly materials and drug-coupled self-assembly materials. At last, we summarized the current development of in situ supramolecular self-assembly for the reversal of drug resistance and the remaining concerns to be addressed.

Background: In recent years, the impact of bacterial biofilms on traumatic wounds and the means to combat them have become a major research topic in the field of medicine. The eradication of biofilms formed by bacterial infections in wounds has always been a huge challenge. Herein, we developed a hydrogel with the active ingredient berberine hydrochloride liposomes to disrupt the biofilm and thereby accelerate the healing of infected wounds in mice.Methods: We determined the ability of berberine hydrochloride liposomes to eradicate the biofilm by means of studies such as crystalline violet staining, measuring the inhibition circle, and dilution coating plate method. Encouraged by the in vitro efficacy, we chose to coat the berberine hydrochloride liposomes on the Poloxamer range of in-situ thermosensitive hydrogels to allow fuller contact with the wound surface and sustained efficacy. Eventually, relevant pathological and immunological analyses were carried out on wound tissue from mice treated for 14 days.Results: The final results show that the number of wound tissue biofilms decreases abruptly after treatment and that the various inflammatory factors in them are significantly reduced within a short period. In the meantime, the number of collagen fibers in the treated wound tissue, as well as the proteins involved in healing in the wound tissue, showed significant differences compared to the model group.Conclusion: From the results, we found that berberine liposome gel can accelerate wound healing in Staphylococcus aureus infections by inhibiting the inflammatory response and promoting re-epithelialization as well as vascular regeneration. Our work exemplifies the efficacy of liposomal isolation of toxins. This innovative antimicrobial strategy opens up new perspectives for tackling drug resistance and fighting wound infections.

The crude milk thistle oil was refined and degummed using membrane separation technology and the process was optimized. Taking flux and degumming as the main indicators, and referring to indicators such as iodine value, peroxide value, acid value, etc., inorganic alumina ceramic membranes with pore sizes of 300, 800 nm and 1 μm and organic membranes with a molecular weight cut-off of 10 kDa were screened. Three organic membranes including polyamide (PAN) membrane, cellulose acetate (CA) membrane and polyethersulfone (PES) membrane were screened, and membrane materials with low membrane pollution, high degumming rate and moderate flux were screened out. The selected PES membrane was optimized by orthogonal process in terms of membrane molecular weight cut-off, pressure and oil-soluble ratio. The composition of fatty acids before and after refining was compared with a gas-mass spectrometer, and the morphology of the membrane before and after the experiment was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the degumming rate of PES membrane was 73.33%, the flux was 14.69 L·m−2·h−1, the iodine value was 111.1 g/100 g, the peroxide value was 0.115 g/100 g, and the acid value was 5.7 g/mg. The overall effect was the best. The conditions of the membrane after orthogonal optimization were the membrane molecular weight cut-off of 8 kDa, the oil-soluble ratio of 1:3, and the pressure of 0.3 MPa. RSD was 1.93%

Bladder cancer, a common malignancy of the urinary system, is routinely treated with radiation, chemotherapy, and surgical excision. However, these strategies have inherent limitations and may also result in various side effects. Immunotherapy has garnered considerable attention in recent years as a novel therapeutic approach. It harnesses and activates the patient’s immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells, which not only prolongs therapeutic efficacy but also minimizes the toxic side effects. Several immune checkpoint inhibitors and cancer vaccines have been developed for the treatment of bladder cancer. Whereas blocking immune checkpoints on the surface of tumor cells augments the effect of immune cells, immunization with tumor-specific antigens can elicit the production of anti-tumor immune effector cells. However, there are several challenges in applying immunotherapy against bladder cancer. For instance, the efficacy of immunotherapy varies considerably across individual patients, and only a small percentage of cancer patients are responsive. Therefore, it is crucial to identify biomarkers that can predict the efficacy of immunotherapy. Pelvic lymph nodes are routinely dissected from bladder cancer patients during surgical intervention in order to remove any metastatic tumor cells. However, some studies indicate that pelvic lymph node dissection may reduce the efficacy of immunotherapy by damaging the immune cells. Therefore, the decision to undertake pelvic lymph node removal should be incumbent on the clinical characteristics of individual patients. Thus, although immunotherapy has the advantages of lower toxic side effects and long-lasting efficacy, its application in bladder cancer still faces challenges, such as the lack of predictive biomarkers and the effects of pelvic lymph node dissection. Further research is needed to explore these issues in order to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy for bladder cancer.

β-glucan is widely used in aquaculture due to its immunostimulatory effects, but the specific effect and potential regulatory mechanism on largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) are still unclear. Here, we evaluated the effects of β-glucan on growth, resistance to Aeromonas schubertii, intestinal health, and transcriptome of largemouth bass to reveal the potential regulators, metabolic pathways, and altered differential microbiota. Four experimental diets were designed with β-glucan supplementation levels of 0 (control), 100 (LA-100), 200 (MA-200), and 300 (HA-300) mg kg-1, and each diet was fed to largemouth bass (79.30 ± 0.50 g) in triplicate for 70 days, followed by a 3-day challenge experiment. Results showed that different β-glucan supplementations had no significant effects on growth performance and whole-body composition. Fish fed a diet with 300 mg kg-1 β-glucan significantly increased the activity of lysozyme than those fed diets with 0 and 100 mg kg-1 β-glucan. In addition, the survival rate of largemouth bass in β-glucan supplementation groups was significantly higher than the control group at 12- and 24-h challenge by Aeromonas schubertii. Transcriptome analysis showed that a total of 1,245 genes were differentially expressed [|log2(fold change)| ≥1, q-value ≤0.05], including 109 immune-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Further analysis revealed that significantly upregulated and downregulated DEGs associated with immunity were mapped into 12 and 24 pathways, respectively. Results of intestinal microflora indicated that fish fed a diet with 300 mg kg-1 β-glucan had higher bacterial richness and diversity as evaluated by Sobs, Chao, Ace, and Simpson indices, but no significant differences were found in the comparison groups. Furthermore, 300 mg kg-1 β-glucan significantly increased the relative abundance of Mycoplasma and decreased Proteobacteria (mainly Escherichia-Shigella and Escherichia coli) and Bacillus anthracis in largemouth bass intestinal microflora. The findings of this study provided new insights that will be valuable in future studies to elucidate the mechanism of immunity enhancement by β-glucan.

Aquaculture has expanded to become the fastest growing food-producing sector in the world. However, its expansion has come under threat due to an increase in diseases caused by pathogens such as iridoviruses commonly found in aquatic environments used for fish farming. Of the seven members belonging to the family Iridoviridae, the three genera causing diseases in fish comprise ranaviruses, lymphocystiviruses and megalocytiviruses. These three genera are serious impediments to the expansion of global aquaculture because of their tropism for a wide range of farmed-fish species in which they cause high mortality. As economic losses caused by these iridoviruses in aquaculture continue to rise, the urgent need for effective control strategies increases. As a consequence, these viruses have attracted a lot of research interest in recent years. The functional role of some of the genes that form the structure of iridoviruses has not been elucidated. There is a lack of information on the predisposing factors leading to iridovirus infections in fish, an absence of information on the risk factors leading to disease outbreaks, and a lack of data on the chemical and physical properties of iridoviruses needed for the implementation of biosecurity control measures. Thus, the synopsis put forth herein provides an update of knowledge gathered from studies carried out so far aimed at addressing the aforesaid informational gaps. In summary, this review provides an update on the etiology of different iridoviruses infecting finfish and epidemiological factors leading to the occurrence of disease outbreaks. In addition, the review provides an update on the cell lines developed for virus isolation and culture, the diagnostic tools used for virus detection and characterization, the current advances in vaccine development and the use of biosecurity in the control of iridoviruses in aquaculture. Overall, we envision that the information put forth in this review will contribute to developing effective control strategies against iridovirus infections in aquaculture.

The translucent aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramic was fabricated by pressureless-sintering at 1800 °C for 24 h in the flowing nitrogen atmosphere. The pore and different grains size of the sample was eliminated using CaF2 as the sintering additive. The total transmittance of the sample with 2 wt% CaF2 is enhanced 52.51% at 800 nm, which is 55% higher than that of AlN without CaF2. The grain orientation of the samples was adjusted by the slipping casting under the strong magnetic field. The a, b-axes of AlN are arranged from parallel to the direction of the magnetic field, and the c axis is arranged from perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field due to magnetic susceptibility anisotropic of the grain. The birefringence phenomenon is reduced by the arrangement of the grains to a certain direction. The Lotgering factor and total transmittance of the texture AlN ceramic fabricated under the 9 T magnetic are up to 73.21% and 63.12% at 800 nm, respectively.

Developing new coating modification technology of aluminum nitride (AlN) powder for higher hydrolysis resistance is the key to prepare high-performance AlN ceramic substrate with water-based wet process in the future. In the this paper, The poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)-b-poly(Styrene/Itaconic anhydride) (PVP-b-P(St/ITA))block copolymer with PVP as the independent chain segment was designed and synthesized through reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, which was used for the study on coating modification, hydrolysis resistance, and dispersion performance of AIN powder. The study results show that, when using PVP macromolecular chain transfer agent (PVP-CTA) for the RAFT chain extension and polymerization in St/ITA binary system, the molecular weight increases linearly and the molecular weight distribution tends to decrease with the monomer conversion rate, which is in line with the activity-controlled characteristics of RAFT polymerization. The copolymer PVP-b-P(St/ITA) was used to for surface modification treatment of submicron AlN powder to generate esterification reaction, which was absorbed and bound to the powder surface. Hydrolysis resistance and dispersion experiments were conducted for modified powder, and the crystal phase and micro structure of modified powder were analyzed and observed through XRD, SEM, and TEM. It was found that copolymer modification had no effect on the powder crystal phase. A 8–21 nm passivation layer was coated on the surface, which can exist stably for 10 h in 60 °C water. Zeta potential and laser particle analyzer tests showed that modified powder featured excellent water-based slurry dispersion performance, and certain self-dispersing characteristics. The highest Zeta potential appeared in pH 6~7, and the particle granularity was distributed uniformly with the median particle diameter of 875 nm. The powder hydrolysis resistance and dispersion performance are significantly improved.

Abstract Nitrogen-doped TiO2–C composite nanofibers (TiO2/N–C NFs) were manufactured by a convenient and green electrospinning technique in which urea acted as both the nitrogen source and a pore-forming agent. The TiO2/N–C NFs exhibit a large specific surface area (213.04 m2 g−1) and a suitable nitrogen content (5.37 wt%). The large specific surface area can increase the contribution of the extrinsic pseudocapacitance, which greatly enhances the rate capability. Further, the diffusion coefficient of sodium ions (D Na+) could be greatly improved by the incorporation of nitrogen atoms. Thus, the TiO2/N–C NFs display excellent electrochemical properties in Na-ion batteries. A TiO2/N–C NF anode delivers a high reversible discharge capacity of 265.8 mAh g−1 at 0.05 A g−1 and an outstanding long cycling performance even at a high current density (118.1 mAh g−1) with almost no capacity decay at 5 A g−1 over 2000 cycles. Therefore, this work sheds light on the application of TiO2-based materials in sodium-ion batteries.

Iridoviruses are an important pathogen of ectothermic vertebrates and are considered a significant threat to aquacultural fish production. Recently, one of the most economically important marine species in China, the large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea), has been increasingly reported to be the victim of iridovirus disease. In this study, we isolated and identified a novel iridovirus, LYCIV-ZS-2020, from cage-cultured large yellow croaker farms in Zhoushan island, China. Genome sequencing and subsequent phylogenetic analyses showed that LYCIV-ZS-2020 belongs to the genus Megalocytivirus and is closely related to the Pompano iridoviruses isolated in the Dominican Republic. LYCIV-ZS-2020 enriched from selected tissues of naturally infected large yellow croaker was used in an artificial infection trial and the results proved its pathogenicity in large yellow croaker. This is the first systematic research on the genetic and pathogenic characterization of iridovirus in large yellow croakers, which expanded our knowledge of the iridovirus.

Poly(methyl acrylate)-b-poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone/maleic anhydride/styrene) (PMA-b-P (NVP/MAH/St)) quaternary amphiphilic block copolymer prepared by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) was used to improve the anti-hydrolysis and dispersion properties of aluminum nitride (AIN) powders that were modified by copolymers. Its structure was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Hydrogen nuclear magnetic spectroscopy (1H-NMR). The results demonstrate that the molecular weight distribution of the quaternary amphiphilic block copolymers is 1.35–1.60, which is characteristic of controlled molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution. Through charge transfer complexes, NVP/MAH/St produces a regular alternating arrangement structure. After being treated with micro-crosslinking, AlN powder modified by copolymer PMA-b-P(NVP/MAH/St) exhibits outstanding resistance to hydrolysis and can be stabilized in hot water at 50 °C for more than 14 h, and the agglomeration of powder particles was improved remarkably.

Abstract Hierarchical Sb2S3 hollow microspheres assembled by nanowires have been successfully synthesized by a simple and practical hydrothermal reaction. The possible formation process of this architecture was investigated by X-ray diffraction, focused-ion beam-scanning electron microscopy dual-beam system, and transmission electron microscopy. When used as the anode material for lithium-ion batteries, Sb2S3 hollow microspheres manifest excellent rate property and enhanced lithium-storage capability and can deliver a discharge capacity of 674 mAh g−1 at a current density of 200 mA g−1 after 50 cycles. Even at a high current density of 5000 mA g−1, a discharge capacity of 541 mAh g−1 is achieved. Sb2S3 hollow microspheres also display a prominent sodium-storage capacity and maintain a reversible discharge capacity of 384 mAh g−1 at a current density of 200 mA g−1 after 50 cycles. The remarkable lithium/sodium-storage property may be attributed to the synergetic effect of its nanometer size and three-dimensional hierarchical architecture, and the outstanding stability property is attributed to the sufficient interior void space, which can buffer the volume expansion.

BACKGROUND: There are many options for urologists to treat ureteral stones that range from 8 mm to 15 mm, including ESWL and ureteroscopic holmium laser lithotripsy. While both ESWL and ureteroscopy are effective and minimally invasive procedures, there is still controversy over which one is more suitable for ureteral stones. OBJECTIVE: To perform a retrospective study to compare the efficiency, safety and complications using ESWL vs. ureteroscopic holmium laser lithotripsy in management of ureteral stones. METHODS: Between October 2010 and October 2012, 160 patients who underwent ESWL or ureteroscopic holmium laser lithotripsy at Suzhou municipal hospital for a single radiopaque ureteral stone (the size 8-15 mm) were evaluated. All patients were followed up with ultrasonography for six months. Stone clearance rate, costs and complications were compared. RESULTS: Similarity in stone clearance rate and treatment time between the two procedures; overall procedural time, analgesia requirement and total cost were significantly different. Renal colic and gross hematuria were more frequent with ESWL while voiding symptoms were more frequent with ureteroscopy. Both procedures used for ureteral stones ranging from 8 to 15 mm were safe and minimally invasive. CONCLUSION: ESWL remains first line therapy for proximal ureteral stones while ureteroscopic holmium laser lithotripsy costs more. To determining which one is preferable depends on not only stone characteristics but also patient acceptance and cost-effectiveness ratio.