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Background Elder abuse is a growing public health concern in aging Chinese populations, yet timely intervention by healthcare professionals is often hindered by cultural factors. This study aimed to explore hospital-based healthcare professionals’ perceptions of elder abuse interventions across personal, behavioral, and environmental dimensions, to inform future training program design. Methods This qualitative study explored perceptions of elder abuse interventions through semi-structured interviews with 24 participants (12 medical doctors and 12 nurses) from two tertiary hospitals in Yichang, China. Data were analyzed using directed content analysis based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to examine cultural influences and professional differences. Results Perceptions regarding elder abuse interventions were dynamically influenced by the interaction of personal factors (knowledge and skills, outcome expectancies, self-efficacy, and role cognition), behavioral factors (direct and indirect intervention), and environmental factors (family, hospital, and government levels). A distinct cultural theme—family boundary concerns—significantly influenced intervention willingness. Nurses highlighted empathy, life care, and public support, whereas medical doctors emphasized professional responsibility and institutional coordination. Conclusions Findings support the SCT triadic reciprocal determinism: personal factors influence and are influenced by behavioral and environmental elements. Consequently, a multilevel strategy aligned with SCT, such as enhancing personal capacity, strengthening institutional support, and optimizing systemic safeguards, is essential to empower hospital-based healthcare professionals to intervene in elder abuse.

Trees in cities are vital to the health of the urban ecosystem and residents’ wellbeing. Besides providing habitats, trees provide food via fruits and young leaves, reduce temperature, and enrich landscape aesthetics with spring flowers and autumn foliage. The generation and supply of these ecosystem services are closely related to their traits, such as the size of the canopy and the sparseness of the leaves, which directly affect their ability to shade and cool. Studies focusing on ecosystem services often consider green space as a whole, and some distinguish the difference between trees and grass. Relatively fewer studies examined the influence of tree traits on the supply of ecosystem services. Understanding the association among species, traits, and ecosystem services would be helpful in generating actionable knowledge for urban tree planting. However, these studies are often scattered under different research topics. To this end, we reviewed and summarized studies on the relationship between urban tree species/traits and ecosystem services according to provision, regulation, and cultural service types. Based on 45 publications, we found that leaf area, crown size, diameter at breast height, tree height, and leaf shape may influence various ecosystem services. We presented a preliminary framework of “trait- service” and argued that with the help of such a framework, future research should generate actionable knowledge for practitioners to identify potential tree species for selection according to desired services.

Background Lines of evidence indicated that, immune checkpoints (ICs) inhibitors enhanced T cell immune response to exert anti-tumor effects. However, T cell exhaustion has been so far a major obstacle to antitumor immunotherapy in colorectal cancer patients. Our previous studies showed that ginseng-derived nanoparticles (GDNPs) inhibited the growth of various tumors by reprograming tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and downregulated the ICs expression on T cells in tumor microenvironment (TME), but the underlying effector mechanisms remained unclear. Methods The correlation between arginase-1 (ARG1) and T cells was computed based on the colorectal cancer patients in TCGA database. In vitro, we observed that GDNPs reprogrammed TAMs inhibited ARG1 release and ultimately ameliorated T cell exhaustion according to several techniques including WB, PCR, ELISA and flow cytometry. We also used an in vivo MC38 tumor-bearing model and administered GDNPs to assess their anti-tumor effects through multiple indices. The mechanism that GDNPs improved T cell exhaustion was further clarified using the bioinformatics tools and flow cytometry. Results GDNPs reprogramed TAMs via reducing ARG1 production. Moreover, normalized arginine metabolism ameliorated T cell exhaustion through mTOR-T-bet axis, resulting in reduced ICs expression and enhanced CD8 + T cells expansion. Conclusions By regulating the mTOR-T-bet axis, GDNPs reprogramed macrophages to regulate ARG1 release, which further ameliorated T cell exhaustion in TME. These findings provided new insights into comprehending the mechanisms underlying the mitigation of T cell exhaustion, which may facilitate the development of innovative therapeutic strategies in the field of cancer treatment.

Highlights 4-Fluoro-3-nitrophenylboronic acid, as an additive, has contributed to uniform N-/F-rich interphase layers at both electrodes of the lithium metal batteries. Uniform interphase layers inhibited Li dendrite growth at Li-metal anode, and alleviated uncontrolled electrolyte decomposition and active species loss at the LiFePO 4 (LFP) cathode. Li ||Li cells demonstrate enhanced plating/stripping reversibility of >700 h at 1 mA cm −2 and 0.5 mAh cm −2 , while Li ||LFP cells can be stably cycled for over 500 cycles at 3C rate with a capacity retention of 99.9%, simultaneously maintaining >99.9% coulombic efficiencies. Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) represent one of the most promising energy storage systems due to unparalleled energy density. However, in commercial electrolytes, their practical high-power performance is still hampered by unstable electrolyte interfaces, leading to severe anode dendrite growth and cathode degradation. Here, 4-fluoro-3-nitrophenylboronic acid is introduced as a dual-function additive, contributing to uniform N-/F-rich interphase layers at both electrodes of the LMBs. Therefore, in the optimized electrolyte, Li-metal electrodes demonstrate enhanced plating/stripping reversibility of > 700 h (vs. 250 h at 1 mA cm −2 and 0.5 mAh cm −2 ) and coulombic efficiency of 98.2% (vs. 84.2%). Moreover, the corresponding LMBs achieve 99.9% capacity retention (vs. 44.7%) after 500 cycles at 3C rate, simultaneously maintaining > 99.9% coulombic efficiencies. The impressive fast-charging performance attributes to not only the uniform and compact Li deposition at the anode, but also the inhibited uncontrolled electrolyte decomposition and active species loss at the cathode due to the robust electrolyte interphases. This work highlights that proper electrolyte additive is crucial for fast-charging metal batteries.

To investigate the effects of B. subtilis on the specific immune response of lactating sows to E. coli and the diarrhea rate in suckling piglets, thirty large white sows with similar farrowing dates were randomly divided into two groups: a feedback feeding (i.e., feeding a homogenate of intestinal contents and tissues from E. coli-infected piglets to sows; FB) group and a feedback feeding with B. subtilis (FB + BS) group. Serum, colostrum, and intestinal tissues from sows and piglets were collected to assess the immune response and intestinal barrier function at weaning. T and B cells from Peyer’s patches (PPs) and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) in lactating mice (with treatments consistent with the sows’) were isolated to explore the underlying mechanism. The results showed that, compared with the FB group, the reproductive performance of sows and the growth performance of their offspring were effectively improved in the FB + BS group. Moreover, the levels of IgG/IgA and those of IgG/IgA against E. coli in the serum and colostrum of sows in the FB+BS group were increased (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the ratio of CD4+/CD8+, CD4+CXCR5+PD1+, and B220+IgA+ cells in MLNs and PPs, and the IgA levels in the mammary glands of mice, were also increased in the FB + BS group (p < 0.05). Notably, in suckling piglets in the FB + BS group, the diarrhea rate was decreased (p < 0.05), and the intestinal barrier function and intestinal flora composition at weaning were significantly improved. Overall, these results indicated that B. subtilis feed supplementation combined with feedback feeding in pregnant and lactating sows can reduce diarrhea in suckling piglets by enhancing the maternal immune response against E. coli and intestinal barrier function in their offspring, improving survival rates and pre-weaning growth.

•Low-dose venetoclax combined with grapefruit juice significantly reduces treatment costs for AML.•Grapefruit juice enhances venetoclax bioavailability by inhibiting CYP3A4 activity in the ffigintestine.•This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of a cost-effective AML treatment regimen.•Results suggest comparable outcomes between low-dose and standard-dose venetoclax regimens.•This approach provides a feasible alternative for unfit AML patients in low-income countries. Venetoclax in combination with hypomethylating agents (HMAs) has become the standard treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. However, its high cost limits its accessibility in low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of grapefruit juice combined with low-dose venetoclax and azacitidine as a feasible cost-reduction strategy. This prospective single-center study included 44 newly diagnosed elderly or unfit AML patients treated at our hospital between December 2020 and May 2024. Patients were assigned to two cohorts in parallel: 34 patients received standard-dose venetoclax combined with azacitidine (cohort 1), whereas 10 patients received low-dose venetoclax combined with grapefruit juice and azacitidine (cohort 2). The response to treatment, overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated. The peak venetoclax concentration (Cmax) and side effects of the patients were also monitored. The median age of participants was 67.5 years (25 males and 19 females). The overall response rate (ORR) after the first treatment cycle was 85.3% in cohort 1 and 100% in cohort 2 (P = 0.5730), and the best ORR was 91.2% in cohort 1 and 100% in cohort 2 (P > 0.9999). The median OS was 9 months in cohort 1 and 8.15 months in cohort 2 (P = 0.7103). The median PFS was 7 months in cohort 1 and 6.15 months in cohort 2 (P = 0.7068). The median Cmax of venetoclax in the whole cohort was 1664 ng/mL, with no significant difference between groups (P = 0.1614), and no significant correlation observed between venetoclax Cmax and age (P = 0.4575). The most common adverse events were thrombocytopenia, anemia, and neutropenia. The combination of grapefruit juice with low-dose venetoclax demonstrates comparable efficacy and safety to the standard-dose regimen, while achieving a 75% reduction in drug costs. This approach offers a cost-effective treatment option for AML patients in resource-limited settings. Further large-scale, multicenter studies are required to validate the clinical feasibility of this regimen.

In this paper, we have studied the effect of short branches on the thermal conductivity of a polyethylene (PE) chain. With a reverse non-equilibrium molecular dynamics method applied, thermal conductivities of the pristine PE chain and the PE-ethyl chain are simulated and compared. It shows that the branch has a positive effect to decrease the thermal conductivity of a PE chain. The thermal conductivity of the PE-ethyl chain decreases with the number density increase of the ethyl branches, until the density becomes larger than about 8 ethyl per 200 segments, where the thermal conductivity saturates to be only about 40% that of a pristine PE chain. Because of different weights, different types of branching chains will cause a different decrease of thermal conductivities, and a heavy branch will leads to a lower thermal conductivity than a light one. This study is expected to provide some fundamental guidance to obtain a polymer with a quite low thermal conductivity.