BackgroundMitochondrial Lon is a chaperone and DNA-binding protein that functions in protein quality control and stress response pathways. The level of Lon regulates mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) ...metabolism and the production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, there is little information in detail on how mitochondrial Lon regulates ROS-dependent cancer immunoescape through mtDNA metabolism in the tumor microenvironment (TME).MethodsWe explored the understanding of the intricate interplay between mitochondria and the innate immune response in the inflammatory TME.ResultsWe found that oxidized mtDNA is released into the cytosol when Lon is overexpressed and then it induces interferon (IFN) signaling via cGAS-STING-TBK1, which upregulates PD-L1 and IDO-1 expression to inhibit T-cell activation. Unexpectedly, upregulation of Lon also induces the secretion of extracellular vehicles (EVs), which carry mtDNA and PD-L1. Lon-induced EVs further induce the production of IFN and IL-6 from macrophages, which attenuates T-cell immunity in the TME.ConclusionsThe levels of mtDNA and PD-L1 in EVs in patients with oral cancer function as a potential diagnostic biomarker for anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy. Our studies provide an insight into the immunosuppression on mitochondrial stress and suggest a therapeutic synergy between anti-inflammation therapy and immunotherapy in cancer.
Growing evidence suggests the link between gut microbiota and mood regulation. The current study aimed to identify microbiota targets for major depressive disorder (MDD) and mood-related traits in ...Taiwanese samples, while taking into account the influence of dietary patterns. We recruited 36 MDD patients and 37 healthy controls for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We assessed nutrient content using food frequency questionnaire, and mood related phenotypes, including depressive severity, anxiety, and perceived stress. Analysis of composition of microbiomes (ANCOM) models were performed to evaluate microbiota compositions between patients and controls, while adjusted for fat intake% and sequencing platforms. We found 23 taxa (4 phyla, 7 families and 12 genera) to be associated with depression and beta diversity was differed between groups. Phylum Actinobacteria and Firmicutes were overrepresented in MDD patients. At genus level, Bifidobacterium (7%) and Blautia (8%) had relatively high abundance among MDD patients, while Prevotella (16%) had high abundance in controls. Holdemania exhibited moderate correlation with anxiety (r = 0.65) and perceived stress level (r = 0.49) mainly in MDD patients but not controls. Pathway analyses revealed that pentose phosphate and starch and sucrose metabolism processes were important pathways for depression via microbiota functions. In conclusion, our results revealed microbiota targets for depression that are independent of fat intake. It is worthwhile to conduct further studies to replicate the current findings and to integrate with biochemistry and metabolomics data to better understand the functions of identified targets.
Pneumonia, the leading reason underlying childhood deaths, may be triggered or exacerbated by air pollution. To date, only a few studies have examined the association of air pollution with emergency ...department (ED) visits for pediatric pneumonia, with inconsistent results. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the impact of short-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) and other air pollutants on the incidence of ED visits for pediatric pneumonia.
PM
, PM
, and other air pollutant levels were measured at 11 air quality-monitoring stations in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, between 2008 and 2014. Further, we extracted the medical records of non-trauma patients aged ≤17 years and who had visited an ED with the principal diagnosis of pneumonia. A time-stratified case-crossover study design was employed to determine the hazard effect of air pollution in a total of 4024 patients.
The single-pollutant model suggested that per interquartile range increment in PM
, PM
, nitrogen dioxide (NO
), and sulfur dioxide (SO
) on 3 days before the event increased the odds of pediatric pneumonia by 14.0% 95% confidence interval (CI), 5.1-23.8%, 10.9% (95% CI, 2.4-20.0%), 14.1% (95% CI, 5.0-24.1%), and 4.5% (95% CI, 0.8-8.4%), respectively. In two-pollutant models, PM
and NO
were significant after adjusting for PM
and SO
. Subgroup analyses showed that older children (aged ≥4 years) were more susceptible to PM
(interaction p = 0.024) and children were more susceptible to NO
during warm days (≥26.5 °C, interaction p = 0.011).
Short-term exposure to PM
and NO
possibly plays an important role in pediatric pneumonia in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Older children are more susceptible to PM
, and all children are more susceptible to NO
during warm days.
Monitoring the ammonia gas is of great interest to both environmental benefits and human health. The recent advance in polymer thin film transistors (TFTs) can realize high sensitivity and low‐cost ...gas sensors. Ammonia gas interacts with charge carrier channels and polymer/dielectrics interface through Coulomb force. This is the first report of high sensitivity and reusable ammonia sensor fabricated from thiophene‐isoindigo donor–acceptor conducting polymer. This kind of polymer has advantages of simple synthesis and excellent air stability. The systematic study is carried out to investigate relationship among chemical structure variation and morphology control of polymer to the performance of ammonia sensor. High crystallinity, favored crystal orientation, and direct percolation routes for analytes are found to be essential to increase the susceptibility of polymers to ammonia gas. By strengthening edge‐on morphology, the sensitivity can be enhanced fivefold for the same polymer. The idea can put forward the development of sensor array in a time‐efficient manner by employing the morphology effect.
The first high sensitivity ammonia sensor based on isoindigo donor–acceptor conducting polymer is successfully developed. The air stable polymers can be synthesized easily and fabricated into sensor by simple spin‐coating. Controlling crystallinity and morphology are crucial to achieve high sensitivity. A detection limit of 1 ppm is achieved by strengthening the edge‐on morphology of thin film in transistor.
Abstract
This paper proposes a method for estimating the effective zone, including effective depth and effective range of compaction degree, from rapid impact compaction (RIC) on sand layer whose ...fines content is less than 10%. The proposed method utilizes a string of microelectromechanical system accelerometers to monitor the acceleration at various depths and propagation distances during compaction. To interpret and extract useful information from monitored data, peak-over-threshold (POT) processing and normal distribution function were used to analyze the recorded acceleration. The mean and standard deviation of the threshold peak acceleration were used to evaluate the effective depth and the effective range of compaction degree during RIC compaction. Moreover, spatial contours were used to determine the correlation of the threshold peak acceleration against depth and propagation distance from the RIC impact point. These contours help indicating the distribution of the effect zone after compaction. Lastly, a proposed method is suggested for frequent use in trial tests to quickly determine RIC’s required depth and impact spacing.
Due to recent advances on hardware and software technologies, industrial automation has been significantly improved in the past few decades. For random bin picking applications, it is a future trend ...to use machine vision based approaches to estimate the 3D poses of workpieces. In this work, we present a robotic grasping system with multi-view depth image acquisition. First, RANSAC and an outlier filter are adopted for noise removal and multi-object segmentation. A voting scheme is then used for preliminary pose computation, followed by the ICP algorithm to derive a more precise target orientation. A model-based registration approach using a genetic algorithm with parameter minimization is proposed for 6-DOF pose estimation. Finally, the grasping efficiency is increased by disturbance detection, which reduces the number of 3D data scanning for multiple operations. The experiments are carried out in the real scene environment, and the performance evaluation has demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed technique.
The heterogeneous metal‐organic framework Bi‐BTC successfully catalyzed the synthesis of para‐xylene from bio‐based 2,5‐dimethylfuran and acrylic acid in a promising yield (92 %), under relatively ...mild conditions (160 °C, 10 bar), and with a low reaction‐energy barrier (47.3 kJ mol−1). The proposed reaction strategy also demonstrates a remarkable versatility for furan derivatives such as furan and 2‐methylfuran.
The heterogeneous metal‐organic framework Bi‐BTC can catalyze the conversion of bio‐based 2,5‐dimethylfuran and acrylic acid into para‐xylene with a promising yield (92 %) under relatively mild conditions (160 °C, 10 bar).
COVID-19 stressors and psychological stress response are important correlates of suicide risks under the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of COVID-19 stress, its ...impact on mental health and associated risk factors among the general population during the outbreak of COVID-19 in July 2020 throughout Taiwan. A nationwide population-based survey was conducted using a computer-assisted telephone interview system with a stratified, proportional randomization method for the survey. The questionnaire comprised demographic variables, psychological distress assessed by the five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale and independent psychosocial variables including COVID-19 stressors, loneliness, suicidality, and health-related self-efficacy. In total, 2094 respondents completed the survey (female 51%). The COVID-19 stress was experienced among 45.4% of the participants, with the most prevalent stressors related to daily life and job/financial concerns. Higher levels of suicidality, loneliness, and a lower level of self-efficacy had significantly higher odds of having COVID-19 stress. The structural equation model revealed that COVID-19 stress was moderately associated with psychological distress and mediated by other psychosocial risk factors. The findings call for more attention on strategies of stress management and mental health promotion for the public to prevent larger scales of psychological consequences in future waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The characterization of near‐infrared (NIR) mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) suitable for in vivo optical imaging with high efficiency is presented. Trimethylammonium groups modified MSN ...(MSN‐TA) with the average size of 50–100 nm was synthesized with incorporation of the TA groups into the framework of MSN. It was further adsorbed with indocyanine green (ICG) by electrostatic attraction to render MSN‐TA‐ICG as an efficient NIR contrast agent for in vivo optical imaging. The studies in stability of MSN‐TA‐ICG against pH indicated the bonding is stable over the range from acidic to physiological pH. The in vivo biodistribution of MSN‐TA‐ICG in anesthetized rat demonstrated a rather strong and stable fluorescence of MSN‐TA‐ICG that prominent in the organ of liver. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging and elemental analysis of silicon further manifested the physical and quantitative residences of MSN‐TA‐ICG in major organs. This is the first report of MSN functionalized with NIR‐ICG capable of optical imaging in vivo.
Indocyanine green (ICG)‐functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) for in vivo near‐infrared optical imaging with high efficiency are presented for the first time. The in vivo biodistribution of MSNs‐ICG in anesthetized rat demonstrates a rather strong and stable fluorescence. TEM images and elemental analysis of the tissue after administration further supported the physical and quantitative residences of MSN‐TA‐ICG in different major organs.
Objective
Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) present variably, and epileptic seizures are the most common symptom. The factors contributing to cavernoma‐related epilepsy (CRE) and drug ...resistance remain inconclusive. The outcomes of CRE after different treatment modalities have not yet been fully addressed. This study aimed to characterize the clinical features of patients with CRE and the long‐term seizure outcomes of medical and surgical treatment strategies.
Methods
This was a retrospective cohort of 135 patients with CCM who were diagnosed in 2007–2011 and followed up for 93.6 months on average. The patients were divided into drug‐resistant epilepsy (DRE; n = 29), non‐DRE (n = 45), and no epilepsy (NE; n = 61).
Results
Temporal CCM was the factor most strongly associated with the development of both CRE and DRE. The majority of patients with single temporal CCMs had CRE (86.8%, n = 33), and 50% had DRE, whereas only 14.7% (n = 5) with a nontemporal supratentorial CCM had DRE (p < .05). The most common lesion site in the DRE group was the mesiotemporal lobe (50%). Multiple CCMs were more frequently observed in the CRE (29.2%) than the NE (11.5%) group (p < .05). In patients with CRE, multiple lesions were associated with a higher rebleeding rate (odds ratio = 11.1), particularly in those with DRE (odds ratio = 15.4). The majority of patients who underwent resective surgery for DRE (76.5%, n = 13) achieved International League Against Epilepsy Class I and II seizure outcomes even after a long disease course.
Significance
Temporal CCM not only predisposes to CRE but also is a major risk factor for drug resistance. The mesiotemporal lobe is the most epileptogenic zone. Multiple CCMs are another risk factor for CRE and increase the rebleeding risk in these patients. Surgical resection could provide beneficial long‐term seizure outcomes in patients with DRE.
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