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This article undertakes a cross-cultural comparative inquiry into the motif of “women’s weaving” in medieval Daoism and Christianity. Although the two traditions developed with minimal historical contact, both elevate women’s textile labor into a central metaphor for cosmogenesis, sacred order, and individual salvation. Nevertheless, their hermeneutic trajectories diverge in essential ways. Working within a tripartite analytical framework (intellectual roots, artistic images, ritual practices) to argue that Daoism interprets “women’s weaving” as a proactive technique of transformation and nurture, based on a cosmology of immanent huasheng lun. In this reading, the image is affiliated with the cosmic creativity of nüxian, the inner transformation of their body, and the autonomous pursuit of transcendence. By contrast, within Christianity’s transcendent theological horizon of creatio ex nihilo, “women’s weaving” is configured primarily as an ethical discipline of responsive obedience, closely tied to the mystery of the Incarnation, the imitatio Dei, and communal spiritual exercises and charity under monasticism. The cross-cultural resonance of this motif, I contend, is grounded in the “men’s ploughing and women’s weaving” economic formation, patriarchal gender order, and shared symbolic cognition; its decisive bifurcation arises from contrasting deep cultural structures—namely, cosmology, conceptions of the body, soteriology, and church–state arrangements. Through this micro-case, the article further argues that the sacralization of secular gender roles constitutes an agentic cultural choice, one that indexes distinct civilizational pathways in understanding creation, nature, the body, and freedom.

In order to tackle the challenge of capturing long‐range spatial dependencies among joints, a novel self‐calibrated lightweight high‐resolution network (SCite‐HRNet), which is grounded on the lightweight high‐resolution network is introduced. A self‐calibrated segmentation convolution is first designed to extract and amalgamate contextual information across various scales, thereby addressing the issue of excessive computation engendered by stacked convolution kernels in conventional convolution methods. Next, a multi‐scale channel attention mechanism designed to extract structural information while filtering out unnecessary channel details is introduced. Ultimately, these two methodologies are incorporated into a multi‐scale information aggregation module and embed this module into the high‐resolution network. This allows the network to maintain exceptionally efficient computation while effectively managing information across various scales. Empirical results indicate that SCite‐HRNet achieves remarkable performance on both the COCO dataset and the challenging average precision (AP)‐10K dataset. We propose a novel self‐calibrated lightweight high‐resolution network (SCite‐HRNet). By designing a self‐calibrated segmentation convolution and a multi‐scale channel attention mechanism, it effectively addresses the challenge of long‐range spatial dependencies among joints, and manages information across various scales while maintaining efficient computation. Empirical results show that SCite‐HRNet achieves remarkable performance on both the COCO dataset and the challenging AP‐10K dataset.

It has been observed that since the Early Qing Dynasty, the eastward spread of Western classics has been in decline; this article aims to looks at how Protestant missionaries helped to revive it in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. First, this study examines the circumstances that Protestant missionaries faced upon arriving in China and describes the challenges, opportunities, and issues they encountered when attempting to spread Western classics as part of their missionary effort. Second, this article reveals the strategies Protestant missionaries employed to revive the Western classics, with a focus on the utilization of the translated literature, press, and academic institutions. Third, this article explores the ways the spread of Western classics by the missionaries of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century outshone the achievements of their predecessors of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Unlike the missions through secular knowledge in China, the spread of Protestantism in Korea took place in a more direct manner. This comparative study in the last section highlights the importance of each country’s endowment in terms of the method and effectiveness of missionary efforts.

At present, the technology used for the extraction and purification of Camellia oleifera saponins generally has the problems of high cost and low purity, and the quantitative detection of Camellia oleifera saponins also has the problems of low sensitivity and easy interference from impurities. To solve these problems, this paper aimed to use liquid chromatography for the quantitative detection of Camellia oleifera saponins, and to adjust and optimize the related conditions. In our study, the average recovery of Camellia oleifera saponins obtained was 100.42%. The RSD of precision test was 0.41%. The RSD of the repeatability test was 0.22%. The detection limit of the liquid chromatography was 0.06 mg/L, and the quantification limit was 0.2 mg/L. In order to improve the yield and purity, the Camellia oleifera saponins were extracted from Camellia oleifera Abel. seed meal by methanol extraction. Then, the extracted Camellia oleifera saponins were extracted with an ammonium sulfate/propanol aqueous two-phase system. We optimized the purification process of formaldehyde extraction and aqueous two-phase extraction. Under the optimal purification process, the purity of Camellia oleifera saponins extracted by methanol was 36.15%, and the yield was 25.24%. The purity of Camellia oleifera saponins obtained by aqueous two-phase extraction was 83.72%. Thus, this study can provide a reference standard for rapid and efficient detection and analysis of Camellia oleifera saponins for industrial extraction and purification.

Despite the remarkable success and efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy such as anti-PD-L1 antibody in treating cancers, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) that lead to the formation of the protumor immunosuppressive microenvironment are one of the major contributors to ICB resistance. Therefore, inhibition of MDSC accumulation and function is critical for further enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of anti-PD-L1 antibody in a majority of cancer patients. Artemisinin (ART), the most effective antimalarial drug with tumoricidal and immunoregulatory activities, is a potential option for cancer treatment. Although ART is reported to reduce MDSC levels in 4T1 breast tumor model and improve the therapeutic efficacy of anti-PD-L1 antibody in T cell lymphoma-bearing mice, how ART influences MDSC accumulation, function, and molecular pathways as well as MDSC-mediated anti-PD-L1 resistance in melanoma or liver tumors remains unknown. Here, we reported that ART blocks the accumulation and function of MDSCs by polarizing M2-like tumor-promoting phenotype towards M1-like antitumor one. This switch is regulated via PI3K/AKT, mTOR, and MAPK signaling pathways. Targeting MDSCs by ART could significantly reduce tumor growth in various mouse models. More importantly, the ART therapy remarkably enhanced the efficacy of anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy in tumor-bearing mice through promoting antitumor T cell infiltration and proliferation. These findings indicate that ART controls the functional polarization of MDSCs and targeting MDSCs by ART provides a novel therapeutic strategy to enhance anti-PD-L1 cancer immunotherapy.

Abstract Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has achieved remarkable success in the treatment of hematological malignancies. Based on the immunomodulatory capability of CAR-T cells, efforts have turned toward exploring their potential in treating autoimmune diseases. Bibliometric analysis of 210 records from 128 academic journals published by 372 institutions in 40 countries/regions indicates a growing number of publications on CAR-T therapy for autoimmune diseases, covering a range of subtypes such as systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, among others. CAR-T therapy holds promise in mitigating several shortcomings, including the indiscriminate suppression of the immune system by traditional immunosuppressants, and non-sustaining therapeutic levels of monoclonal antibodies due to inherent pharmacokinetic constraints. By persisting and proliferating in vivo, CAR-T cells can offer a tailored and precise therapeutics. This paper reviewed preclinical experiments and clinical trials involving CAR-T and CAR-related therapies in various autoimmune diseases, incorporating innovations well-studied in the field of hematological tumors, aiming to explore a safe and effective therapeutic option for relapsed/refractory autoimmune diseases.

Cholesterol metabolism affects endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and modulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Our previous study demonstrated that 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) attenuated EMT by blocking the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β/Smad signaling pathway and activating ER stress in MDA-MB-231 cells. To further assess the detailed mechanisms between cholesterol metabolism, ER stress, and EMT, LXR-623 (an agonist of LXRα) and simvastatin were used to increase and decrease cholesterol efflux and synthesis, respectively. Here, we found that high HP-β-CD concentrations could locally increase cholesterol levels in the ER by decreasing LXRα expression and increasing Hydroxymethylglutaryl-Coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) expression in MDA-MB-231 and BT-549 cells, which triggered ER stress and inhibited EMT. Meanwhile, tunicamycin-induced ER stress blocked the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. However, low HP-β-CD concentrations can decrease the level of membrane cholesterol, enhance the TGF-β receptor I levels in lipid rafts, which helped to activate TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway, inhibit ER stress and elevate EMT. Based on our findings, the use of high HP-β-CD concentration can lead to cholesterol accumulation in the ER, thereby inducing ER stress, which directly suppresses TGF-β pathway-induced EMT. However, HP-β-CD is proposed to deplete membrane cholesterol at low concentrations and concurrently inhibit ER stress and induce EMT by promoting the TGF-β signaling pathways.

Background Uterine leiomyomas are hormone-dependent benign tumors and often begin to shrink after menopause due to the reduction in ovarian steroids. The influence of pregnancy on uterine leiomyomas size remains unclear. Here, we present a case of spontaneous regression of a giant uterine leiomyoma after delivery. Case presentation A 40-year-old woman presented with multiple uterine leiomyomas, one of which is a giant uterine leiomyomas (approximately 8 cm in diameter) that gradually shrinked after delivery. At over two months postpartum, the large myometrial leiomyoma had transformed into a submucosal leiomyoma, and over 3 years postpartum, both the submucosal leiomyoma and multiple intramural leiomyomas completely regressed. Conclusion Spontaneous regression of a giant uterine leiomyom is rare after delivery. Considering uterine leiomyoma regression until over 3 year postpartum,we need to observe the regression of uterine fibroid for a longer time postpartum in the absence of fibroid related complications. In addition, it will provide new insights for treatment options of uterine leiomyomas in the future.

Background The overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and B7 homolog 3 protein (B7H3) are known to drive the growth and proliferation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), thereby positioning them as promising therapeutic targets. This study aimed to explore the co-expression of B7H3 and EGFR in NSCLC, and thereafter develop a bispecific antibody (bsAb) targeting B7H3 and EGFR. Methods We evaluated the co-expression of B7H3 and EGFR in 222 advanced NSCLC tissue samples, and investigated its association with the microenvironment, as well as with patient survival. Four bsAbs were designed with varying affinities to B7H3 and EGFR, and their pharmacological activities including competitive binding with EGFR, EGFR signaling blockade, and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) were evaluated. Based on the results, FH-EB02 was selected to assess the tumor growth inhibition effects with two cell line-derived xenograft (CDX) mouse models and four patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models. Results B7H3 and EGFR were co-expressed in 62.6% of advanced NSCLC and were negatively correlated with the infiltration of CD8 + T cells and positively associated with Foxp3 + Tregs. Besides, patients with positive co-expression had shorter PFS (median 7.9 vs. 14.2 months, HR = 0.50) and OS (median 17.2 vs. 37.4 months, HR = 0.47) compared to those with negative co-expression. Furthermore, by combining two anti-EGFR arms with three anti-B7H3 arms, four bsAbs were designed. The bsAbs exhibited stronger tumor cell binding capacity, more effectively EGFR signaling blockade, and more potent ADCC effects compared to cetuximab in B7H3 and EGFR double-positive cells. Among them, FH-EB02 was selected for further investigation duo to the highest binding capacity. In vivo, FH-EB02 treatment significantly inhibited tumor growth in CDX and two PDX mouse models bearing tumors coexpressing EGFR and B7H3, but showed no efficacy in PDX models expressing EGFR alone. In addition, toxicology studies in cynomolgus monkeys showed that FH-EB02 was well tolerated. Conclusions Co-expression of EGFR and B7H3 is highly prevalent in NSCLC and correlates with poorer survival. Meanwhile, FH-EB02 is a promising B7H3/EGFR bsAb with significant anti-tumor activity and tolerable toxicities, which warrants further clinical investigation.

Nanocapsule preparation technology, as an emerging technology with great development prospects, has uniqueness and superiority in various industries. In this paper, the preparation technology of nanocapsules was systematically divided into three categories: physical methods, chemical methods, and physicochemical methods. The technological innovation of different methods in recent years was reviewed, and the mechanisms of nanocapsules prepared via emulsion polymerization, interface polymerization, layer-by-layer self-assembly technology, nanoprecipitation, supercritical fluid, and nano spray drying was summarized in detail. Different from previous reviews, the renewal iteration of core–shell structural materials was highlighted, and relevant illustrations of their representative and latest research results were reviewed. With the continuous progress of nanocapsule technology, especially the continuous development of new wall materials and catalysts, new preparation technology, and new production equipment, nanocapsule technology will be used more widely in medicine, food, cosmetics, pesticides, petroleum products, and many other fields.