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Pemphigus vegetans (PVeg) is a rare variant of pemphigus vulgaris characterized by pustules and/or vegetating plaques, preferentially affecting the flexural areas. The diagnosis of PVeg depends on clinical grounds, histopathology, and direct immunofluorescence. Systemic corticosteroid is the first-line therapy for PVeg, and immunosuppressive treatments such as azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, and intravenous immunoglobulins can be used to improve remission rates. Also, there have been a few reports on the use of rituximab for treating PVeg. Here, we present a rare case of PVeg successfully treated by rituximab and provide the first brief review of the application of rituximab in PVeg. Additionally, this patient experienced muscle weakness after treatment but gradually improved with tapering prednisone, which increased our understanding of steroid myopathy.

Quantum spin liquids (QSLs) are in a quantum disordered state that is highly entangled and has fractional excitations. As a highly sought-after state of matter, QSLs were predicted to host spinon excitations and to arise in frustrated spin systems with large quantum fluctuations. Here we report on the experimental observation and theoretical modeling of QSL signatures in monolayer 1T-NbSe 2 , which is a newly emerging two-dimensional material that exhibits both charge-density-wave (CDW) and correlated insulating behaviors. By using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS), we confirm the presence of spin fluctuations in monolayer 1T-NbSe 2 by observing the Kondo resonance as monolayer 1T-NbSe 2 interacts with metallic monolayer 1H-NbSe 2 . Subsequent STM/STS imaging of monolayer 1T-NbSe 2 at the Hubbard band energy further reveals a long-wavelength charge modulation, in agreement with the spinon modulation expected for QSLs. By depositing manganese-phthalocyanine (MnPc) molecules with spin S  = 3/2 onto monolayer 1T-NbSe 2 , new STS resonance peaks emerge at the Hubbard band edges of monolayer 1T-NbSe 2 . This observation is consistent with the spinon Kondo effect induced by a S  = 3/2 magnetic impurity embedded in a QSL. Taken together, these experimental observations indicate that monolayer 1T-NbSe 2 is a new promising QSL material. Recently, signatures of quantum spin liquid have been reported in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides. Here the authors report evidence of such state in 1T-NbSe 2 via the measurements of the Kondo effect in a 1T-1H heterostructure, further supported by measurements for magnetic molecules on 1T-NbSe 2 .

The reliability of urban water distribution networks (WDNs) is critical for ensuring sustainable infrastructure management. However, traditional failure prediction models often overlook the complex interdependencies between water pipelines and road networks, leading to suboptimal predictive accuracy. This study introduces a novel pipeline failure prediction framework that leverages Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to incorporate coupled road–pipeline network features. By integrating traffic-related indicators, such as intersection proximity, pipeline–road angles, and network topology, this approach systematically assesses their impact on failure risk. A comparative evaluation of various GNN architectures, including Graph Convolutional Networks (GCNs), Graph Attention Networks (GATs), and GraphSAGE, demonstrates that GraphSAGE achieves the highest predictive performance, significantly surpassing traditional machine learning methods. The findings underscore the necessity of incorporating network topology into predictive models, validating the role of spatial dependencies in accurately assessing pipeline failure risks. This study contributes to advancing infrastructure resilience modeling by providing a robust predictive framework that supports proactive maintenance strategies and enhances risk mitigation in urban water distribution systems.

BackgroundStem cell marker CD82 plays a vital role in the oncogenesis and progression of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), especially in sharing properties of leukemia stem cells (LSCs). The Wnt/β-catenin pathway is required for the development of LSCs in AML. The present study aimed to validate whether CD82 supports the survival of LSCs in pediatric AML via activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.MethodsCD82 expression and its correlation with molecules downstream of Wnt/β-catenin pathway in samples from pediatric AML patients were analyzed. Forced or downregulated expression of CD82 in AML cells was evaluated for the effects of CD82 on cell proliferation, cycle regulation, apoptosis, and adriamycin chemoresistance and to validate the underlying mechanism.ResultAberrant expression of CD82 in pediatric AML patients was found. CD82 messenger RNA expression correlated positively with downstream molecules of Wnt/β-catenin pathway in AML children. Knockdown of CD82 induced apoptosis, suppressed growth, and decreased adriamycin chemoresistance in AML cells. CD82 accelerated β-catenin nuclear location and then stimulated the expression of downstream molecules of Wnt/β-catenin pathway.ConclusionCD82 regulates the proliferation and chemotherapy resistance of AML cells via activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, which suggest that the CD82 may be a potential therapeutic target in AML children.

Ultra-short-term load demand forecasting is significant to the rapid response and real-time dispatching of the power demand side. Considering too many random factors that affect the load, this paper combines convolution, long short-term memory (LSTM), and gated recurrent unit (GRU) algorithms to propose an ultra-short-term load forecasting model based on deep learning. Firstly, more than 100,000 pieces of historical load and meteorological data from Beijing in the three years from 2016 to 2018 were collected, and the meteorological data were divided into 18 types considering the actual meteorological characteristics of Beijing. Secondly, after the standardized processing of the time-series samples, the convolution filter was used to extract the features of the high-order samples to reduce the number of training parameters. On this basis, the LSTM layer and GRU layer were used for modeling based on time series. A dropout layer was introduced after each layer to reduce the risk of overfitting. Finally, load prediction results were output as a dense layer. In the model training process, the mean square error (MSE) was used as the objective optimization function to train the deep learning model and find the optimal super parameter. In addition, based on the average training time, training error, and prediction error, this paper verifies the effectiveness and practicability of the load prediction model proposed under the deep learning structure in this paper by comparing it with four other models including GRU, LSTM, Conv-GRU, and Conv-LSTM.

Chrysosplenetin, a polymethoxy flavonol purified in our laboratory from the waste products generated during the industrial extraction of artemisinin, has been previously demonstrated to be a potential inhibitor of artemisinin resistance. Based on NMR-untargeted metabolomics, one of its hypothesized mechanisms of action is associated with the regulation of amino acid metabolism. In this study, we further quantified the key amino acids using LC-MS/MS targeted metabolomics and screened out the perturbed metabolic pathway network, which was characterized by tissue-specific differences. As a result, among the commonly and uniquely altered metabolites, increased levels of phenylalanine, tryptophan, and isoleucine were detected in the serum and various organs of the resistant groups. Interestingly, while the individual use of chrysosplenetin or artemisinin elevated the contents of these amino acids, their combination led to a significant down-regulation of these amino acids in the serum and intestines. Therefore, chrysosplenetin has the potential to act as a restorer of amino acid metabolism homeostasis, which is associated with artemisinin resistance in Plasmodium berghei K173.

Previous studies have shown that benzoylaconine (BAC), a representative monoester alkaloid, has a potential anti-inflammatory effect. This study investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms using the mode of LPS-activated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Our findings showed that BAC significantly suppressed the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators, including IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, ROS, NO, and PGE2. BAC treatment also effectively downregulated the elevated protein levels of iNOS and COX-2 induced by LPS in a dose-dependent manner. In this study, we found that BAC inhibited LPS-induced NF-κB activation by reducing the phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα by western blotting and blocking the nuclear translocation of p65 using an immunofluorescence assay. The elevated protein levels of JNK, p38, and ERK phosphorylation after LPS stimulation were restored effectively by BAC treatment. The protein expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and LPS-induced phosphorylation of TAK1, which is a crucial upstream regulatory factor of TLR-induced MAPK and NF-κB signaling, were inhibited by BAC in activated RAW264.7 macrophages. Moreover, BAC decreased the levels of TAK1 phosphorylation and pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators associated with MAPK and NF-κB activation, similar to TLR4 inhibitor TAK-242. These findings demonstrated that BAC exhibited an anti-inflammatory effect by the inhibition of TLR-induced MAPK and NF-κB pathways, indicating that it could potentially be used for treating inflammatory diseases.

Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL), a peculiar one-dimensional (1D) electronic behavior due to strong correlation, was first studied in 1D nanostructures and has attracted significant attention over the last several decades. With the rise of new two-dimensional (2D) quantum materials, 1D nanostructures in 2D materials have provided a new platform with a well-defined configuration at the atomic scale for studying TLL electronic behavior. In this paper, we review the recent progress of TLL electronic features in emerging 2D materials embedded with various 1D nanostructures, including island edges, domain walls, and 1D moiré patterns. Specifically, novel physical phenomena, such as 1D edge states in 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), helical TLL in 2D topological insulators (2DTI), and chiral TLL in 2D quantum Hall systems, are described and discussed at the nanoscale. We also analyze challenges and opportunities at the frontier of this research area.

Background CMV gastroenteritis is common in patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and it is difficult to distinguish from acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD), which has very similar symptoms but needs quite different treatment. CMV gastroenteritis is caused by local infection or reactivation of CMV in the gastrointestinal tract while aGvHD is due to immune rejection. The gold standard of diagnosis of CMV gastroenteritis and aGvHD is gastrointestinal biopsy under endoscopy, which is invasive and can potentially lead to severe side effects. Stool samples testing with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) may be an alternative, while the application in trace level measurements and precision are not all satisfactory enough in reported research. Methods In this study, we designed a novel method that extracted the cell free DNA (cfDNA) from the fecal supernatant to perform digital PCR (dPCR) for the detection of CMV, analyzed the performance and compared it with the total DNA extracted by the current procedure. Results Twenty-two paired stool samples using two DNA extraction methods proved that the cfDNA extraction method had markedly higher DNA concentrations and control gene copy number, suggesting that cfDNA may be more informative and more useful for the detection of CMV DNA segment. The dPCR approach in detecting CMV DNA segment also exhibit good linearity (R 2  = 0.997) and higher sensitivity (limit of detection at 50% was 3.534 copies/μL). Eighty-two stool samples from 44 immunocompromised patients were analyzed, CMV-positive rate was 28%, indicating that more than one-quarter of the gastrointestinal symptoms within these patients may be caused by CMV infection or reactivation. Conclusion The combined results suggest that detection of CMV by dPCR in cfDNA of stool supernatant is a powerful method to identify CMV gastroenteritis and helps in clinical treatment decision making.

Background Chrysosplenetin (CHR), a polymethoxy flavonol co-occurring with artemisinin (ART) in Artemisia annua L., reverses ART resistance in Plasmodium berghei K173 potentially by downregulating intestinal P-glycoprotein (P-gp, encoded by  Mdr1a ) expression. In the present study, we further elaborated on the mechanism by comparing differences in antimalarial activity and resistance-associated molecular expression profiles between ART alone and combination therapy in blood and tissues of Mdr1a wild-type (WT) and knockout (KO) mice infected with either sensitive or resistant malarial parasites. Methods We evaluated the effects of monotherapy and combination therapy in WT and KO mice infected with sensitive and resistant P. berghei K173 strains. The mRNA expressions of multi-resistance proteins (Mrp1, 2, 4, 5) and breast cancer resistance proteins (Bcrp) were detected. Hemoglobin levels, mRNA expressions of cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-α (IFN-α), interferon-α (IFN-α), and interleukin (IL-1β) in blood and tissues, and redox balance (ROS/GSH levels), as well as gene or protein expression of signaling pathway (PI3K/AKT-mTOR and MAPK) were investigated. Results In drug-resistant mice, combination therapy maintained the highest survival (100%) and inhibition (30%) rates and the lowest parasitaemia percentage (approximately 20.0%), irrespective of Mdr1a gene status. Furthermore, combination reshaped the spatial and ART resistance-phenotypic disparities in Mrps and Bcrp mRNA expressions (with a fold change ranging from 1.35 to 38.03), ROS/GSH balance (ranging from 1.02-fold to 10.18-fold), hemoglobin levels (ranging from 1.04-fold to 1.20-fold), and cytokine profiles (ranging from 1.14-fold to 37.79-fold) induced by ART alone, which were partially dysregulated by Mdr1a deficiency. Monotherapy and combination exert oppositely regulatory effects on the PI3K/AKT-mTOR pathway in a tissue-, Mdr1a genotype-, and parasite sensitivity/resistance-dependent manner (ranging from 1.52-fold to 84.00-fold). Specifically, CHR reversed ART-induced changes via PI3K/AKT protein inhibition (ranging from 1.20-fold to 63.00-fold), which was contingent on P-gp functionality. Finally, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway was involved in the antagonistic regulation between ART alone and combination therapy in a P-gp-independent manner (ranging from 1.39-fold to 16.69-fold). Conclusions The efflux pump function of P-gp is probably not a critical factor in the mechanism by which CHR reverses ART resistance. Instead, CHR acts as a homeostasis stabilizer with dual functions: it disrupts Plasmodium berghei K173 resistance to ART driven by both ABC transporters and the heme-ROS/GSH axis, in which the non-transport function of P-gp on ART is involved. Graphical Abstract