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Organoids have emerged as powerful in vitro models that bridge the gap between traditional two-dimensional cultures and in vivo studies. Over the past decade, advances in stem cell biology and extracellular matrix (ECM) engineering have enabled the establishment of organoids that partially recapitulate the structural and functional features of the mammary gland. These models have provided new opportunities to investigate mammary development, lactation biology, and breast cancer. In this review, we summarize recent progress in the establishment of mammary organoids across species, including humans, mice, and livestock. We discuss the effects of cell source, ECM, and growth factors on organoid culture. We further highlight the applications of organoid culture in mammary gland development, lactation biology, drug screening, precision medicine, and cell-based milk production. Despite the large advances achieved in the technique, the current mammary organoid culture still has many limitations due to the incomplete understanding of tissue complexity, insufficient vascularization, loss of microenvironmental interactions, and challenges in reproducibility. Emerging strategies, such as multi-organ systems, three-dimensional bioprinting, and organoids-on-a-chip, offer promising approaches to improve the physiological relevance of this technique and functional maturity. Overall, mammary organoids represent a rapidly evolving platform with broad applications. They are expected to become important platforms linking mammary biology to livestock production and next-generation dairy biomanufacturing.
Multifunctional coatings represent the most widely used strategy for extending the service life of metallic materials in harsh environments. However, coating performance is determined by the designed functional fillers, or the micro/nano-containers. Attapulgite (ATP) has attracted increasing attention in multifunctional coating systems because it can simultaneously improve barrier performance, act as a micro/nano-container for active agents, form surface micro- and nanostructures and regulate interfacial properties. These features enable its broad use in superhydrophobic, anti-corrosion, anti-bacterial/anti-fouling, self-cleaning/anti-smudge and anti-icing coatings. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent progress in ATP-based multifunctional protective coatings. It examines the main pretreatment strategies for ATP, including thermal treatment, acid/alkali activation, hydrothermal treatment and solvothermal treatment, together with their influence on channel characteristics, surface activity, dispersibility and matrix compatibility. The diverse roles of ATP in coating systems are further discussed, ranging from barrier-phase reinforcement and micro/nano-container construction to roughness generation and interfacial functional regulation, as well as the corresponding protective mechanisms. By integrating the discussion of passive barrier enhancement and active functional protection, this review offers a unified perspective on the design of ATP-based multifunctional coatings. In addition, current challenges and future research directions are briefly outlined to promote the practical development of high-performance ATP-enabled protective coatings.
To translate the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-ELD14 (EORTC QLQ-ELD14) into Chinese and validate its effectiveness in China.
Methods
The Chinese version was developed through a rigorous translation and back-translation process based on the Brislin model, followed by cross-cultural adaptation through expert consultation. A total of 260 elderly cancer patients from a tertiary hospital in Tianjin were recruited between June 2024 and February 2025 to evaluate the instrument’s reliability and validity.
Results
Among the 248 completed responses, the Chinese version of the EORTC QLQ-ELD14 demonstrated robust psychometric properties. The questionnaire comprises 7 dimensions (14 items), with item-level content validity indices ranging from 0.800 to 1.000 and a scale-level content validity index of 0.980. Exploratory factor analysis identified 7 underlying factors, accounting for 82.913% of the cumulative variance. Internal consistency was excellent, with a Cronbach’s α of 0.958 for the total scale and dimension alphas exceeding 0.800. Test–retest reliability was 0.849 for the total scale and ranged from 0.813 to 0.856 across dimension.
Significance of results
The Chinese version of the EORTC QLQ-ELD14 has good reliability and validity, which is suitable for evaluating the quality of life of elderly cancer patients within Chinese cultural contexts.
Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are prevalent in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), yet their neurobiological etiology remains elusive. We investigated relationships between NPS subsyndromes, plasma neurofilament light chain (NFL), AD-vulnerable brain atrophy, and cognition.
Methods
We included 146 participants from a Chinese cohort. NPSs were assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire and clustered into four subsyndromes (hyperactivity, psychosis, affective, apathy), each graded by severity (none, mild, severe). Sequential mediation analyses examined whether NPSs influence cognition through NFL and atrophy. Additionally, 1534 ADNI participants were enrolled to (1) replicate mediation effects; (2) examine longitudinal relationships of NPSs with incident cognitive decline; and (3) evaluate cognitive discrimination of NPSs and NFL and onset hazards of NPS subsyndromes.
Results
In the discovery cohort, global NPSs burden and three subsyndromes (hyperactivity, affective, apathy) were associated with elevated plasma NFL, poorer global cognition and memory, and reduced brain volumes (all P < 0.05). Sequential mediation revealed that plasma NFL and atrophy mediated the cross-sectional NPSs–cognition relationship, replicated in ADNI. Adding NPSs and NFL improved cognitive discrimination (AUC: 0.6754 to 0.8210, P < 0.001). Additionally, apathy and psychosis showed lower onset hazards than affective and hyperactivity (both P < 0.001).
Conclusions
Baseline NPSs were cross-sectionally associated with elevated NFL, brain atrophy, and poorer cognition. Sequential mediation models supported a pathway linking NPSs to cognition via NFL and atrophy, though longitudinal evidence did not fully confirm temporal directionality. These hypothesis-generating findings require prospective validation.
White matter (WM) abnormalities are implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD), yet the organization of white matter morphometric similarity networks (WM-MSNs) – which capture interregional similarity in voxel-wise WM morphology – and the transcriptional mechanisms associated with their disruption remain insufficiently understood.
Methods
Using T1-weighted MRI from a large multisite sample (1,154 individuals with MDD and 1,026 healthy controls), we constructed individualized WM-MSNs. Group differences were assessed at the edge, global, and nodal levels. To identify molecular pathways underlying these alterations, nodal abnormalities were linked to regional gene expression profiles from the Allen Human Brain Atlas using spatially informed transcriptomic association, followed by functional, cell-type-specific, and developmental enrichment analyses.
Results
MDD showed distributed but selective reorganization of WM-MSNs. Network-based statistics revealed two significant components, with 118 edges exhibiting increased morphometric similarity and 45 showing decreased similarity. Globally, MDD demonstrated higher small-worldness, clustering coefficient, global efficiency, and local efficiency, together with shorter characteristic path length. Nodal disruptions were concentrated in major commissural and association tracts – including the corpus callosum, cingulum, uncinate fasciculus, and tapetum. Transcriptomic integration indicated enrichment for gene signatures related to oligodendrocyte function, myelination, lipid metabolism, axonal organization, and cellular stress-related molecular processes, with implicated genes showing broad developmental-stage expression.
Conclusions
MDD is associated with robust alterations in individualized WM-MSNs that converge with transcriptional signatures linked to myelination, metabolic processes, axonal structure, and cellular stress, linking macroscale network disruption to underlying molecular architecture and providing cross-scale insights into WM pathology in depression.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) often coexists with mood disorders (MDs), but research on comorbidity predictors and interventions remains limited. This two‑phase mixed‑methods study enrolled 390 CHD patients diagnosed by coronary angiography. Mood disorders were screened using the HAMD (≥7) and confirmed via DSM‑5 psychiatric evaluation. In the observational phase, 219 CHD patients with MDs and 171 without were compared; 56% had a mood disorder, including 34 with bipolar disorder (BD). The BD group showed a significantly higher LF/HF ratio (2.03 ± 0.38, P = 0.037), indicating autonomic dysfunction. In the intervention phase, 34 BD patients were randomized to 8‑week MBSR (n = 17) or treatment as usual (TAU; n = 17). Compared with TAU, MBSR significantly reduced anxiety (HAMA: 4.31 vs. 7.69, p = 0.010) and improved autonomic function (LF/HF: 1.49 vs. 1.82, p = 0.002). Cardiac function showed no significant between‑group difference, though NYHA class improvement tended to be higher in the MBSR group. Mood disorders, especially BD with autonomic impairment, are highly prevalent in CHD patients. MBSR is a promising intervention for psychological and autonomic improvement and may be integrated into cardiac rehabilitation.
To solve the problems of precise operation and real-time interaction during the spraying process of industrial robots, a new spraying method based on digital twin technology is proposed. In view of the limitations of traditional spraying processes in complex geometric shape processing, spraying uniformity control, and operational flexibility, this study built a highly simulated virtual environment based on digital twin and human–machine collaboration technology, allowing operators to guide the robot in real time for precise spraying operations. The use of multisensor fusion technology achieves a high degree of consistency between the physical and virtual environments, ensuring that the system can maintain high-precision spraying on complex workpiece surfaces. The experimental designed spraying tasks for different geometric shapes and evaluated the performance of the system’s interactive spraying method in terms of real-time feedback guidance and path planning. The results show that the proposed method significantly improves the accuracy and efficiency of the spraying process, especially showing obvious advantages when processing complex geometric workpieces, and provides a new technical approach for future high-precision manufacturing.
Cervical cancer remains a major global health burden. Despite standard-of-care therapies, 30–50% of locally advanced-stage patients develop treatment resistance, leading to recurrence and mortality. While tumour-intrinsic mechanisms (e.g., DNA methylation, cancer-associated fibroblasts) explain only partial resistance heterogeneity, emerging evidence identifies the microbiome as a critical modulator of therapeutic efficacy. This review synthesizes recent advances demonstrating that vaginal microbial dysbiosis, characterized by Lactobacillus iners enrichment and L. crispatus depletion, drives resistance through lactate-mediated metabolic rewiring, immune checkpoint stabilization and drug metabolism alteration. Longitudinal studies reveal dynamic microbiome trajectories during therapy, with geographic variations (notably HIV co-infection in sub-Saharan Africa) further modulating treatment responses. We critically evaluate microbiome-based interventions, from probiotics to engineered bacteria, including synthetic biology-driven precision microbiome therapies, and establishing standardized multi-centre trial protocols. Bridging mechanistic insights with clinical application represents a paradigm shift towards microbiome-informed cervical cancer management.
Extreme precipitation events have become more frequent and severe in recent years, leading to devastating natural disasters around the world. This paper investigates the impacts of extreme rainfall on corporate leverage dynamics. We find that the increase of extreme precipitation brings about a significant drop in firm’s leverage. The channel tests show that extreme rainfall would generate the recession of firm’s balance sheet and thus tighten the financing constraints, inducing firm to cut down leverage. On the other hand, intense rainfall would depress the land price and heighten local government’s debt risk, which crowds out the credit resources allocated to private sector, contributing to the deleveraging of firms. Simulations from the new Keynesian DSGE model with extreme rainfall shock and local government land finance system, lend further support to our empirical findings. Furthermore, our model shows that the welfare cost of extreme rainfall risk can amount to 2.2% of the agent’s lifetime utility. Lower welfare cost can be achieved by accommodating monetary policy and active fiscal policy.
Induced diffusion (ID), an important mechanism of spectral energy transfer due to interacting internal gravity waves (IGWs), plays a significant role in driving turbulent dissipation in the ocean interior. In this study, we revisit the ID mechanism to elucidate its directionality and role in ocean mixing under varying IGW spectral forms, with particular attention to deviations from the standard Garrett–Munk spectrum. The original interpretation of ID as an action diffusion process, as proposed by McComas et al., suggests that ID is inherently bidirectional, with its direction governed by the vertical-wavenumber spectral slope $\sigma$ of the IGW action spectrum, $n \propto m^\sigma$. However, through the direct evaluation of the wave kinetic equation, we reveal a more complete depiction of ID, comprising both a diffusive and a scale-separated transfer rooted in the energy conservation within wave triads. Although the action diffusion may reverse direction depending on the sign of $\sigma$ (i.e. red or blue spectra), the net transfer by ID consistently leads to a forward energy cascade at the dissipation scale, contributing positively to turbulent dissipation. This supports the viewpoint of ID as a dissipative mechanism in physical oceanography. This study presents a physically grounded overview of ID, and offers insights into the specific types of wave–wave interactions responsible for turbulent dissipation.
Schizophrenia progresses through high-risk, first-episode, and chronic stages, each associated with altered spontaneous brain activity. Resting state functional MRI studies highlight these changes, but inconsistencies persist, and the genetic basis remains unclear.
Methods
A neuroimaging meta-analysis was conducted to assess spontaneous brain activity alterations in each schizophrenia stage. The largest available genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics for schizophrenia (N = 53,386 cases, 77,258 controls) were used, followed by Hi-C-coupled multimarker analysis of genomic annotation (H-MAGMA) to identify schizophrenia-associated genes. Transcriptome-neuroimaging association and gene prioritization analyses were performed to identify genes consistently linked to brain activity alterations. Biological relevance was explored by functional enrichment.
Results
Fifty-two studies met the inclusion criteria, covering the high-risk (Nhigh-risk = 409, Ncontrol = 475), first-episode (Ncase = 1842, Ncontrol = 1735), and chronic (Ncase = 1242, Ncontrol = 1300) stages. High-risk stage showed reduced brain activity in the right median cingulate and paracingulate gyri. First-episode stage revealed increased activity in the right putamen and decreased activity in the left gyrus rectus and right postcentral gyrus. Chronic stage showed heightened activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus and reduced activity in the superior occipital gyrus and right postcentral gyrus. Across all stages, 199 genes were consistently linked to brain activity changes, involved in biological processes such as nervous system development, synaptic transmission, and synaptic plasticity.
Conclusions
Brain activity alterations across schizophrenia stages and genes consistently associated with these changes highlight their potential as universal biomarkers and therapeutic targets for schizophrenia.
The extracellular matrices, such as the haemolymph, in insects are at the centre of most physiological processes and are protected from oxidative stress by the extracellular antioxidant enzymes. In this study, we identified two secreted superoxide dismutase genes (PxSOD3 and PxSOD5) and investigated the oxidative stress induced by chlorpyrifos (CPF) in the aquatic insect Protohermes xanthodes (Megaloptera: Corydalidae). PxSOD3 and PxSOD5 contain the signal peptides at the N-terminus. Structure analysis revealed that PxSOD3 and PxSOD5 contain the conserved CuZn-SOD domain, which is mainly composed of β-sheets and has conserved copper and zinc binding sites. Both PxSOD3 and PxSOD5 are predicted to be soluble proteins located in the extracellular space. After exposure to different concentrations of sublethal CPF, MDA content in P. xanthodes larvae were increased in a dose-dependent manner; SOD and CAT activities were also higher in CPF-treated groups than that in the no CPF control, indicating that sublethal CPF induces oxidative stress in P. xanthodes larvae. Furthermore, PxSOD3 and PxSOD5 expression levels and haemolymph SOD activity in the larvae were downregulated by sublethal CPF at different concentrations. Our results suggest that the PxSOD3 and PxSOD5 are putative extracellular antioxidant enzymes that may play a role in maintaining the oxidative balance in the extracellular space. Sublethal CPF may induce oxidative stress in the extracellular space of P. xanthodes by reducing the gene expression and catalytic activity of extracellular SODs.
We present a high-power mid-infrared single-frequency pulsed fiber laser (SFPFL) with a tunable wavelength range from 2712.3 to 2793.2 nm. The single-frequency operation is achieved through a compound cavity design that incorporates a germanium etalon and a diffraction grating, resulting in an exceptionally narrow seed linewidth of approximately 780 kHz. Employing a master oscillator power amplifier configuration, we attain a maximum average output power of 2.6 W at 2789.4 nm, with a pulse repetition rate of 173 kHz, a pulse energy of 15 μJ and a narrow linewidth of approximately 850 kHz. This achievement underscores the potential of the mid-infrared SFPFL system for applications requiring high coherence and high power, such as high-resolution molecular spectroscopy, precision chemical identification and nonlinear frequency conversion.
This study examined global trends in influenza-associated lower respiratory infections (LRIs) deaths from 1990 to 2019 using data from the GBD 2019. The annual percentage change (APC) and average annual percentage change (AAPC) were used to analyze age-standardized death rates (ASDR). Globally, the ASDR of influenza-associated LRIs was 3.29/100,000 in 2019, which was higher in the African region (6.57/100,000) and among adults aged 70 years and older (29.88/100,000). The ASDR of influenza-associated LRIs decreased significantly from 1990 to 2019 (AAPC = −1.88%, P < 0.05). However, it was significantly increased among adults aged 70 years and older during 2017–2019 (APC = 2.31%, P < 0.05), especially in Western Pacific Region and South-East Asia Regions. The ratio of death rates between adults aged 70 years and older and children aged under 5 years increased globally from 1.63 in 1990 to 5.34 in 2019, and the Western Pacific Region experienced the most substantial increase, with the ratio soaring from 1.83 in 1990 to 12.98 in 2019. Despite a decline in the global ASDR of influenza-associated LRIs, it continues to impose a significant burden, particularly in the African, Western Pacific regions and among the elderly population.
Modern studies suggest that the upper ocean heat content (OHC) in the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) is a better qualitative predictor of the Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR). But it is still unknown how the OHC is mechanically linked to ISMR and whether it can be applied to long-term climate changes. By analyzing reanalysis datasets across the 20th century, we illustrate that in contrast to those anomalies associated with stronger ISM westerlies, higher ISMR is accompanied with summer surface high pressure and east wind anomalies from the South China Sea to the Bay of Bengal (BOB), and is loosely related to increased western TIO OHC during decayed phases of positive Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) and of El Niño. Except for 1944–1968 AD, this interannually lagged ISMR response to winter OHC is insignificant, probably suppressed by those simultaneous effects of positive IOD and El Niño on ISMR. In our paleoclimatic simulations, this modern observed lagged response is interrupted by seasonally reversed insolation anomalies at the 23,000-year precessional band. Our sensitivity experiments further prove that, the ISMR can be simultaneously reduced by positive IOD-like summer OHC anomalies both for modern and precessional situations. This damping effect is mainly contributed by the warmer western TIO that triggers anomalous surface high pressure, easterly winds, and drastically reduced rainfall from BOB to Arabian Peninsula, but with slightly increased rainfall in the northern ISM region. And the cooler southeastern TIO will only moderately increase rainfall in the southern ISM region.
This paper retrospectively analysed the prevalence of macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MRMP) in some parts of China. Between January 2013 and December 2019, we collected 4,145 respiratory samples, including pharyngeal swabs and alveolar lavage fluid. The highest PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae was 74.5% in Beijing, the highest resistance rate was 100% in Shanghai, and Gansu was the lowest with 20%. The highest PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae was 74.5% in 2013, and the highest MRMP was 97.4% in 2019; the PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae for adults in Beijing was 17.9% and the MRMP was 10.48%. Among the children diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), the PCR-positive and macrolide-resistant rates of M. pneumoniae were both higher in the severe ones. A2063G in domain V of 23S rRNA was the major macrolide-resistant mutation, accounting for more than 90%. The MIC values of all MRMP to erythromycin and azithromycin were ≥ 64 μg/ml, and the MICs of tetracycline and levofloxacin were ≤ 0.5 μg/ml and ≤ 1 μg/ml, respectively. The macrolide resistance varied in different regions and years. Among inpatients, the macrolide-resistant rate was higher in severe pneumonia. A2063G was the common mutation, and we found no resistance to tetracycline and levofloxacin.
To apply hydrotalcites more effectively to the problem of dye wastewater, the effects of divalent metal ions on the structure and stability of hydrotalcites, especially on their photocatalytic activity, were compared. In the present study, M/Cr hydrotalcites (M3Cr-CO3-LDHs) (in which M = Mg, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn), where the M/Cr molar ratio was 3, were prepared by the co-precipitation method. The structures and properties were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), and UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS). The results showed that five kinds of M3Cr-CO3-LDHs were synthesized successfully, and the layered structure of the samples obtained was regular and the crystal phase was single. When methylene blue (MB) solution was exposed to ZnCr-CO3-LDHs, H2O2, and visible light irradiation, more than 90.67% of the methylene blue (MB) was removed after 140 min. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was in the order: Co3Cr-CO3-LDHs > Mg3Cr-CO3-LDHs > Cu3Cr-CO3-LDHs > Zn3Cr-CO3-LDHs > Ni3Cr-CO3-LDHs. The results of a catalytic mechanism study showed that photocatalytic degradation of MB involved a demethylation reaction, with the reactive species containing •O2-, •OH, and h+.
In order to establish a compact all-optical Thomson scattering source, experimental studies were conducted on the 45 TW Ti: sapphire laser facility. By including a steel wafer, mixed gas, and plasma mirror into a double-exit jet, several mechanisms, such as shock-assisted ionization injection, ionization injection, and driving laser reflection, were integrated into one source. So, the source of complexity was remarkably reduced. Electron bunches with central energy fluctuating from 90 to 160 MeV can be produced. Plasma mirrors were used to reflect the driving laser. The scattering of the reflected laser on the electron bunches led to the generation of X-ray photons. Through comparing the X-ray spots under different experimental conditions, it is confirmed that the X-ray photons are generated by Thomson scattering. For further application, the energy spectra and source size of the Thomson scattering source were measured. The unfolded spectrum contains a large amount of low-energy photons besides a peak near 67 keV. Through importing the electron energy spectrum into the Monte Carlo simulation code, the different contributions of the photons with small and large emitting angles can be used to explain the origin of the unfolded spectrum. The maximum photon energy extended to about 500 keV. The total photon production was 107/pulse. The FWHM source size was about 12 μm.
It is now generally believed that elderly may have slightly higher dietary protein requirements than those of the young-middle-aged adults. We have previously conducted related studies by the indicator amino acid oxidation (IAAO) technique, but more research data are needed to revise the protein requirements of the elderly. The main objective was to reevaluate the dietary protein requirements of healthy Chinese adults (65–80 years) without sarcopenia by using the IAAO technique. Nine healthy adult men and seven healthy adult women participated in the study, with protein intakes ranging from 0·1 to 1·8 g/(kg·d). Diets that delivered energy at a 1·5 resting energy expenditure were isocaloric. The amounts of phenylalanine and tyrosine needed to remain constant for each protein dosage. By applying a nonlinear mixed-effects model analysis on the F13CO2 data, which revealed a breakpoint in F13CO2 in response to graded protein intakes, the mean protein requirement was calculated. The mean estimated average requirement (EAR) for healthy elderly Chinese adults without sarcopenia was determined to be 0·94 g/(kg·d). The protein recommended nutrient intake (RNI) determined using various derivation approaches ranged from 1·13 to 1·36 g/(kg·d). The EAR for Chinese adults without sarcopenia aged 65–80 years in this study is 6·8 % higher than the current recommended EAR (0·88 g/(kg·d)). The RNI derived using various derivation approaches are all greater than the current RNI (0·98 g/(kg·d)). This trial was registered with the Chinese clinical trial registry as ChiCTR2200061382.