Explore the vast range of titles available.

Tissue engineering holds great potential for tissue repair and rejuvenation. Plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (ELNs) have recently emerged as a promising avenue in tissue engineering. However, there is an urgent need to understand how plant ELNs can be therapeutically applied in clinical disease management, especially for tissue regeneration. In this review, we comprehensively examine the properties, characteristics, and isolation techniques of plant ELNs. We also discuss their impact on the immune system, compatibility with the human body, and their role in tissue regeneration. To ensure the suitability of plant ELNs for tissue engineering, we explore various engineering and modification strategies. Additionally, we provide insights into the progress of commercialization and industrial perspectives on plant ELNs. This review aims to highlight the potential of plant ELNs in regenerative medicine by exploring the current research landscape and key findings.

SummaryBoth sarcopenia and low bone mineral density (BMD) have become public health concerns. We found that presarcopenic and/or sarcopenic individuals were more likely to have lower BMD. And this relationship has race and sex-specific discrepancy.PurposeThe purpose of the study was to investigate the racial and gender differences in the relationship between sarcopenia and BMD among older adults.MethodsTotally, 5476 subjects (mean age = 65.7 ± 6.4) of non-Hispanic White (n = 3297), non-Hispanic Black (n = 1265), and non-Hispanic Asian (n = 914) were analyzed. Sarcopenia was defined according to the revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis of sarcopenia (EWGSOP2). General linear model and multivariable linear regression model were used to examine the relationship between sarcopenia and regional/whole body BMD stratified by race and sex. Adjustments were conducted for physiological, behavioral, and disease factors.ResultsComparing with normal older participants, presarcopenic and sarcopenic elderly were more likely to have lower BMD. Although the difference was not statistically significant in a few sub-groups, among the three racial groups, the strongest association between sarcopenia and BMD was found in non-Hispanic Black people, followed by non-Hispanic White people and non-Hispanic Asian people. In addition, significant differences of BMD across sarcopenia stages were found in more sub-groups in women than in men after adjusting for covariates.ConclusionsIn this older cohort, sarcopenia is significantly related to low regional/whole-body BMD, and these associations vary by race and sex. Consideration in race and sex is warranted when developing strategies to maintain or minimize BMD loss.

Smad and STAT proteins are critical signal transducers and transcription factors in controlling cell growth and tumorigenesis. Here we report that the STAT3 signaling pathway attenuates transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-induced responses through a direct Smad3–STAT3 interplay. Activated STAT3 blunts TGF-β-mediated signaling. Depletion of STAT3 promotes TGF-β-mediated transcriptional and physiological responses, including cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. STAT3 directly interacts with Smad3 in vivo and in vitro , resulting in attenuation of the Smad3–Smad4 complex formation and suppression of DNA-binding ability of Smad3. The N-terminal region of DNA-binding domain of STAT3 is responsible for the STAT3–Smad3 interaction and also indispensable for STAT3-mediated inhibition of TGF-β signaling. Thus, our finding illustrates a direct crosstalk between the STAT3 and Smad3 signaling pathways that may contribute to tumor development and inflammation.

Hypoxia often has negative effects on testis development and spermatogenesis of mammals. Plateau yaks have lived in the hypoxia environment for generations, but have ensured testicular function, which is closely related to their unique hypoxia response mechanism. Glucose metabolic reprogramming is an important way for cells to respond to stressful environments, especially the metabolite lactate, which is the energy basis for the development and differentiation of germ cells. In this study, hypoxia (5% O 2 ) effectively promoted yak Sertoli cell proliferation and decreased autophagy and apoptosis. It was found that the cells showed good hypoxic adaptation. Metabolomics results showed that glucose metabolism was enhanced in yak Sertoli cells in response to hypoxia, and 13 glucose metabolites were increased, including the production and transport level of lactic acid (LA), which may have changed the pentose phosphate metabolic pathway of cells, these changes are conducive to support the glucose metabolism balance of cells under hypoxia. Crucially, when autophagy is activated under hypoxia, GLUT3, GLUT8, and MCT4 proteins are degraded, while GLUT1 and MCT1 are not affected, suggesting that autophagy may achieve glucose metabolic reprogramming by selectively regulating the expression of functional factors of glucose metabolism, which is conducive to energy intake and spermatogenesis in testis of yaks.

The tumor cell signaling pathways that trigger the uncontrolled proliferation, resistance to apoptosis, metastasis and escape from immune surveillance are partially understood. Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which recognize a variety of pathogen-associated molecular patterns, are centrally involved in the initiation of the innate and adaptive immune responses. However, recent evidence shows that functional TLRs are also expressed on a wide variety of tumors suggesting that TLRs may play important roles in tumor biology. Activation of tumor cell TLRs not only promotes tumor cell proliferation and resistance to apoptosis, but also enhances tumor cell invasion and metastasis by regulating metalloproteinases and integrins. Moreover, the activation of TLR signaling in tumor cells induces the synthesis of proinflammatory factors and immunosuppressive molecules, which enhance the resistance of tumor cells to cytotoxic lymphocyte attack and lead to immune evasion. Thus, the neoplastic process may usurp TLR signaling pathways to advance cancer progression, which suggests that targeting tumor TLR signaling pathways may open novel therapeutic avenues.

Circular economy plays a significant role in global carbon emissions, with end-of-life wood waste management posing possible environmental benefits. This study explores the potential for reducing embodied carbon emissions through deconstruction practices, using a case study in the City of Vancouver, BC to provide Canada-specific insights. Life cycle assessment approach was applied to evaluate the embodied carbon emissions considering system boundary stages C1–C4 and beyond-boundary impacts (stage D). Real-world data were collected through an on-site survey of the deconstruction process. 10 scenarios were designed to compare the environmental impacts of different demolition and deconstruction strategies, incorporating various wood waste treatment methods. The results demonstrate that deconstruction scenarios significantly reduce embodied carbon emissions compared to demolition, with reductions of up to 8.0 tonnes CO2-eq. More advanced deconstruction strategies, particularly those maximizing material reuse, showed the highest carbon savings, with the most effective scenarios (reuse) achieving reductions between 5 and 6 tonnes CO2-eq. Additionally, worker transport was identified as a key influencing factor for deconstruction, with emissions reductions possible through optimized logistics, improved worker efficiency, and deconstruction techniques. These findings underscore the substantial environmental benefits of deconstruction and provide compelling evidence for policies that promote and potentially mandate deconstruction over traditional demolition in urban areas seeking to lower embodied carbon emissions.

Background To describe the longitudinal changes in retinal neovascularization elsewhere (NVE) as observed on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) treated by panretinal photocoagulation (PRP). Methods Each patient included in this prospective clinical study was newly diagnosed with PDR and NVE confirmed by both fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and OCTA. They received four sessions of PRP using a multiwavelength laser. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and OCTA images of the NVE were obtained before each PRP session and at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the PRP treatment. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) was used to investigate the differences between the BCVA and NVE areas before and after PRP. Results Thirty-two eyes of 32 patients with a mean age of 50.56 ± 7.05 years were included. We found a statistically significant reduction in the NVE area at all time points compared with the baseline except at 6 months (all P  < 0.05). Further analysis demonstrated no statistically significant change in the NVE area between two adjacent timepoints except from baseline to post-1st PRP ( P  < 0.05). BCVA at 3 months showed a statistically significant improvement compared with baseline ( P  < 0.05), but no significant changes in BCVA were observed during the other visits. Conclusions We found an overall regression in the NVE area following PRP starting as early as 1 week after the 1st session and lasting up to 3 months. OCTA provides quantitative information on vascular changes and could be a practical method for the longitudinal evaluation of neovascularization.

Large diameter thin-walled tubes are prone to wrinkle due to a low stability of anti-wrinkles, non-uniform material flow, and contact sequence to the die cavity during hydroforming process. Although wrinkling defects can be controlled by reducing the diameter of the initial tube to some extent, the severe thinning will occur. A method of using local constraints was proposed to eliminate wrinkling defects that occurred on thin-walled hydroformed tubes. The effect of axial constraint, hoop constraint, and axial-and-hoop constraint on wrinkling behavior of large diameter thin-walled tubes has been investigated by using numerical simulation and experiment methods. In addition, the trajectory of principal stress of the wrinkling zones with different local constraints has been discussed. The results show that axial compressive stress of the two wrinkling zones can be reduced by 6.8 and 23.0% by using axial constraint, respectively. Hoop constraint reduces axial compressive stress by 11.7% at the two wrinkling zones. And the axial compressive stress remarkably decreased by 22.3 and 31.8% using axial-and-hoop constraint. The results reveal that the application of local constraints can effectively restrict the occurrence of wrinkle by decreasing axial compressive stress during hydroforming of large diameter thin-walled tubes. Finally, a desired part without defects has been manufactured successfully by axial-and-hoop constraint.

Higher intakes of Na may contribute to weight gain. The primary aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the relationship between dietary Na intake and measures of adiposity in children and adults. Given the previous link between Na intake and the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), which are a known risk factor for obesity, a secondary aim examining the relationship between Na intake and SSB consumption was assessed. A systematic literature search identified cross-sectional and longitudinal studies and randomised controlled trials (RCT) which reduced dietary Na (≥3 months). Meta-analysis was performed for outcomes with ≥3 studies. Cross-sectionally higher Na intakes were associated with overweight/obesity in adults (five studies; n 11 067; OR 1·74; 95 % CI 1·43, 2·13) and in children (three studies; n 3625, OR 3·29; 95 % CI 2·25, 4·80), and abdominal obesity (five studies; n 19 744; OR 2·04; 95 % CI 1·72, 2·42) in adults. Overall, associations remained in sensitivity analyses which adjusted for energy. Findings from longitudinal studies were inconsistent. RCT in adults indicated a trend for lower body weight on reduced-Na compared with control diets (fifteen studies; n 5274; −0·29 kg; 95 % CI −0·59, 0·01; P = 0·06); however, it is unclear if energy intakes were also altered on reduced-Na diets. Among children higher Na intakes were associated with higher intake of SSB (four studies, n 10 329, b = 22, 16 and 26 g/d); no studies were retrieved for adults. Overall, there was a lack of high-quality studies retrieved. While cross-sectional evidence indicates Na intake was positively associated with adiposity, these findings have not been clearly confirmed by longitudinal studies or RCT.

We aimed to determine whether the myocardial extracellular volume (ECV), measured using T1 measurements obtained during cardiac magnetic resonance imaging were increased in patients treated with anthracyclines. We performed cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and echocardiography and measured the ECV in 42 patients treated with anthracyclines. The data from the cardiac magnetic resonance study were compared to those from healthy volunteers. The anthracycline-treated cohort consisted of 21 men and 21 women with a mean age of 55 ± 17 years, who presented a median of 84 months after chemotherapy with a cumulative anthracycline exposure of 282 ± 65 mg/m2 and a mean left ventricular ejection fraction of 52 ± 12%. The ECV was elevated in the anthracycline-treated patients compared to the age- and gender-matched controls (0.36 ± 0.03 vs 0.28 ± 0.02, p <0.001). A positive association was found between the ECV and left atrial volume (ECV vs indexed left atrial volume, r = 0.65, p <0.001), and negative association was found between the ECV and diastolic function (E′ lateral, r = −0.64, p <0.001). In conclusion, the myocardial ECV is elevated in patients with previous anthracycline treatment and is associated with the diastolic function and increased atrial volumes.