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Objective·To establish an in vitro culture model mimicking tumor microenvironment using hydrogel microspheres and fresh primary pancreatic cancer cells.Methods·The morphological distribution of the hydrogel microspheres was recorded, observed and photographed under an inverted fluorescence microscope. The diameter of the microspheres was calculated by Image J, and the particle size distribution map was obtained by statistics. Renal epithelial cells (293T), pancreatic cancer cells (8988), and normal pancreatic epithelial cells (HPNE) were grown in DMEM complete medium, and passaged when the cells were 80%‒90% confluent. 293T cells were cultured in DMEM medium and microsphere extract, and the proliferation curve of 293T cells cultured in the two mediums was detected by CCK-8 method to explore the biocompatibility of hydrogel microspheres. Fresh pancreatic tumor tissue was cut in the ultra-clean workbench, and pancreatic cancer tumor tissue was lysed by hyaluronidase and collagenase Ⅰ, and digested into single cell with interval shaking in a 37 ℃ water bath. The hydrogel microspheres and pancreatic cells were co-cultured in DMEM complete medium for 3 d, 1/2 of the cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde, and stained with phalloidin and DAPI, and the morphology and cell distribution of the microspheres were observed under a common fluorescence microscope. The remaining 1/2 cells were used for suspension and adherent cell counting. The hydrogel microspheres and primary cells were co-cultured in the medium for 7 d, and the cell composition in the established culture model of in vitro pancreatic cancer primary cells based on the hydrogel microspheres was observed by immunofluorescence method. The pancreatic cancer tissue was embedded in paraffin, followed by paraffin tissue sectioning, hematoxylin and eosin staining of the tissue section, and observation of the pancreatic cancer tissue structure with a microscope.Results·The size of the hydrogel microspheres was uniform, and the diameter of the microspheres was about 200 μm. The proliferation curve of 293T cells showed that the hydrogel microspheres had good biocompatibility. The co-culture experiments of hydrogel microspheres and pancreatic cell lines showed that the surface of hydrogel microspheres had strong cell affinity, which could provide support points for pancreatic cells to adhere to the surface of the microspheres and to grow normally. Through co-culture of hydrogel microspheres with fresh pancreatic cancer cells, a 3D culture model of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro was successfully established. Composition of cell types in this model was similar to that in the corresponding primary tumor tissue, which included pancreatic ductal epithelial cells, tumor stem cells, endothelial cells, fibroblasts and other cells.Conclusion·The in vitro 3D culture model of primary pancreatic cancer cells based on hydrogel microspheres has important characteristics of pancreatic cancer tumor microenvironment.

Asymmetric substitution on donors has been shown to be an effective approach to optimize the morphology and photovoltaic performance of all-small-molecule organic solar cells (ASM-OSCs), but this strategy is rarely applied in liquid crystalline small-molecule donors (SMDs). Herein, one of the two rhodanine (R) end groups on the well-known liquid crystalline molecule BTR-Cl is replaced by 2-ethylhexyl cyanoacetate (CA), yielding three new asymmetric SMDs, namely, BT-CAR2, BT-CAR4, and BT-CAR6, whose alkyl chain lengths on the rhodanine groups are 2, 4, and 6 carbon atoms, respectively. The asymmetric structure enhances intermolecular interactions, and the three SMDs all exhibit highly ordered edge-on orientations in the solid states. Notably, the BT-CAR4:Y6 film achieves a finely-tuned morphology due to the optimal miscibility between BT-CAR4 and Y6. Consequently, all three ASM-OSCs exhibit efficiencies of around 15%, significantly surpassing the previously reported efficiency of the BTR-Cl based counterpart (13.6%). Specifically, the BT-CAR4:Y6 device achieves the highest efficiency of 15.52%. This work presents a promising avenue for designing efficient SMDs for ASM-OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen is a simple, colorless, and biologically active small molecule gas that can react with reactive oxygen species. Recent research suggests that hydrogen possesses several biological effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects, while exhibiting an extremely high level of safety. Hydrogen application has shown promise in treating a range of acute and chronic diseases, both benign and malignant. Importantly, an increasing number of clinical studies on hydrogen have demonstrated its efficacy and safety in treating various diseases. This review highlights the beneficial effects of hydrogen in kidney diseases, summarizes potential mechanisms by which hydrogen may act in these diseases, and proposes several promising avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the escalating incidence of scabies in a tertiary hospital in Southern China from 2018 to 2022. Scabies is not a notifiable or recognized disease in China, leading to a lack of epidemic-based data. The study analyzed data from 1345 patients and found a sixfold increase in suspected and clinical scabies cases over the five-year period, with the most significant increase among patients aged 15-44 years. The study also identified a seasonal pattern, with the highest prevalence occurring during the winter season. The actual incidence of scabies may be even higher due to underreporting and misdiagnosis. The increase in cases may be attributed to factors such as shared dormitories and increased awareness of the disease. The study highlights the need to improve the diagnosis of scabies. [Extracted from the article]

For commercially applicable organic solar cells (OSCs), both high efficiency and stability are essential requirements. A long-existing hidden problem of electron acceptors is the carbon–carbon double bond, which favors efficiency but harms stability. To explore a potential solution, we herein designed two nonfused-ring electron acceptors (NFREAs) with the same molecular backbone but varying side chains, a closed-loop carbazole side chain for 3TTCz and an open-loop diphenylamine side chain for 3TTDPA. It was unveiled that photodegradation proceeded via the oxidation of the carbon–carbon double bond through the quinoid resonance structure, which would be promoted by the open-loop diphenylamine unit, but hindered by the closed-loop carbazole unit. As a result, device stability was significantly improved for the 3TTCz-based OSC. In addition, the carbazole unit also allowed higher crystallinity, better molecular orientation and less charge recombination, leading to an exceptionally high fill factor (FF) of 78.78% and a good power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 14.00% for the 3TTCz-based OSC, better than those of the 3TTDPA-based one (FF = 66.93%, PCE = 13.85%). This work provides a feasible approach for stabilizing the resonance structure of NFREAs, thus enabling efficient and stable OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]