Search Results (20,101)

Background: Healthcare professionals experience continuous biological and psychosocial stressors that may disturb oral and systemic homeostasis. Alterations in salivary secretion, mucosal immunity, and microbiome composition reflect adaptive cellular responses to chronic occupational stress. Understanding these mechanisms may provide a biological framework for resilience and wellbeing in everyday clinical practice. Objective: To narratively review the evidence linking oral cellular and molecular mechanisms—salivary biomarkers, epithelial and immune cell activity, and microbiome dynamics—with stress, fatigue, burnout, and wellbeing outcomes among healthcare professionals. Methods: This narrative review employed a PRISMA-guided literature search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Oral Health to enhance transparency and coverage across databases. Given the heterogeneity of study designs and outcomes, data were synthesized thematically without quantitative pooling or formal meta-analysis. Methodological strength was evaluated qualitatively, focusing on biomarker validity, sampling conditions, and conceptual relevance. Eligible designs included observational, experimental, and interventional studies. Results: Evidence from 99 studies suggests that chronic occupational stress elevates salivary cortisol, oxidative stress markers, and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α), while reducing protective salivary immunoglobulin A and microbiome diversity. Balanced oral immune and microbial profiles were associated with better psychological adaptation and lower fatigue indices. Conclusions: Oral cellular homeostasis offers a promising window into the biological underpinnings of occupational stress and resilience in healthcare professionals. Systematic integration of salivary and mucosal biomarkers into workplace wellbeing programs could enhance early detection of dysregulated stress physiology. Future interdisciplinary research should bridge oral biology, occupational medicine, and mental health to strengthen sustainable wellbeing strategies across the health workforce. Full article

The number of pet dogs is increasing, and the number of working dogs (e.g., guide dogs, police dogs) is also gradually increasing. Skin wounds are a common clinical problem in dogs and tend to be more common in the clinic as mechanical wounds. The healing process of skin wounds is often influenced by a variety of factors, including infection, nutritional status, and immune response, while wound healing is more difficult in dogs with diabetes or aging dogs. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play an important role in skin healing and regeneration with their multidirectional differentiation potential and immunomodulatory function. However, the application of MSCs alone for the treatment of skin wounds may have certain limitations, such as low cell survival and a lack of localization. Therefore, it is important to find methods that can enhance the therapeutic effect of MSCs. Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), an extracellular matrix protein widely involved in regulating biological processes such as cell proliferation, migration, and matrix production, may enhance the efficacy of MSCs in skin wound healing. This study aims to systematically evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of SPARC-overexpressing adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) in promoting skin wound healing by establishing wound models in normal, diabetic, and aged mice and dogs, thereby validating their potential under diverse physiological and pathological conditions. For in vitro validation, we used hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) to induce Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cell (HUVEC) and Human Keratinocyte Cell (HaCaT) injury. All animals were randomly assigned to six experimental groups as follows: (1) Model group: Untreated wound (negative control); (2) HY group: Hydrogel alone (vehicle control); (3) Con group: Control-ADSCs (cell control); (4) Con-Exo&HY group: Control-ADSC exosomes in hydrogel; (5) SPARC group: oe-SPARC-ADSCs (treatment); (6) SPARC-Exo&HY group: oe-SPARC-ADSC exosomes in hydrogel (treatment). Separately, HUVEC and HaCaT cells were assigned to four experimental conditions: a blank control group, a model group, a control-ADSC-treated group, and an oe-SPARC-ADSC-treated group. ADSCs modified by SPARC significantly promoted re-epithelialization integrity, collagen deposition, inflammation reduction, angiogenesis, and hair follicle regeneration during wound healing in dog skin. HUVEC and HaCaT cells proliferated after adding oe-SPARC-ADSCs cell supernatant. Meanwhile, quantitative proteomic sequencing data analysis showed that SPARC could promote skin wound healing by enhancing cell adhesion, hyaluronic acid binding, and vascular smooth muscle contraction of ADSCs. Both in vitro cellular assays and in vivo wound-healing models suggest that the combination of SPARC and ADSCs for the treatment of skin wounds has broad application prospects. Full article

CD57-expressing lymphocytes constitute a distinct subset of immune cells with enhanced cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory functions. Initially described in the context of chronic viral infections, most notably cytomegalovirus (CMV), these cells are now recognized as central contributors to immunosenescence and age-related immune dysregulation. Their progressive accumulation reflects prolonged antigenic exposure and sustained immune activation, thereby linking persistent viral infections with long-term disruptions of immune homeostasis. Emerging evidence indicates that CD57 expression denotes a state of terminal differentiation in both T and natural killer (NK) cell compartments, and is associated with cytotoxicity, altered cytokine secretion, and a pro-inflammatory phenotype. This review summarizes the phenotypic and functional characteristics of CD57⁺ lymphocytes, examines their association with CMV and other chronic viral infections, and explores their potential role in ageing and age-related diseases. Elucidating the biology of CD57⁺ lymphocytes in the context of chronic viral infections may provide novel insights into immune ageing and help identify potential targets for therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring immune balance in older adults. Full article

Objectives: This study is intended to reveal whether the boost in immune function in immunocompromised mice from niacin supplementation is connected to the upkeep of intestinal homeostasis and the modulation of the hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 2 (HCAR2)/NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) and prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2)/prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) signaling pathways. Methods: Balb/c mice were employed in this study as a model for immunosuppression caused by cyclophosphamide (CTX) injection. Results: The study showed that niacin supplementation restored spleen and liver indices, enhanced cytokine secretion, and increased Th1/Th2 cytokine levels. Niacin effectively enhanced the phagocytic index, natural killer cell (NK cell) activity, splenic lymphocyte activity and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction in immunocompromised mice. Histopathological examination showed that niacin intervention alleviated injury in mice ilea. Intestinal barrier tight junction proteins were expressed at much higher levels, while the serum concentrations of diamine oxidase (DAO) and fatty acid-binding protein 2 (FABP2) were markedly lowered. Furthermore, the expression of the intestinal HCAR2/NLRP3 signaling pathway and subsequent inflammatory mediators was significantly elevated after niacin administration compared with the CTX group. Niacin supplementation improved the composition of the gut microbiota, increasing the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio. Spearman correlation analysis showed significant correlations between cytokine-related indices and several gut microbiotas. Within a network pharmacology framework including target screening, network construction and molecular docking, PTGS2 emerged as a candidate target of niacin, suggesting its role in counteracting immunosuppression. Further experimental findings showed that niacin markedly decreased the protein expression of PTGS2 and the levels of its downstream mediators PGE2, E-prostanoid receptor type 2 (EP2) and (E-prostanoid receptor type 4 (EP4) in the ileal tissue of mice treated with CTX. Conclusions: In conclusion, niacin supplementation alleviated CTX-induced immunosuppression by maintaining intestinal homeostasis and regulating the intestinal HCAR2/NLRP3 and PTGS2/PGE2/EP2-EP4 pathways. Full article

The quality and productivity of peppers have been severely impacted by the pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV). To effectively control the transmission and damage caused by PMMoV, it is crucial to establish a simple, rapid, and field-applicable detection method. In this study, the coat protein of PMMoV was induced expression as an immunogen. After cell fusion and subcloning, a total of 10 hybridoma cell lines that stably secrete the PMMoV monoclonal antibody were screened. Through antibody pairing and screening, using monoclonal antibody 4D7 as the capture antibody and 3B9 as the detection antibody, an immunochromatographic test strip for PMMoV was established. Under ideal conditions, the test strip’s color development indicated that its detection limit for the target protein was 1 ng/mL, and the result was obtained in 10 min. The findings of field testing and specific detection demonstrated that this test strip could reliably identify PMMoV and it is capable of distinguishing between different disease samples collected in this study. It is anticipated that this test strip will be able to offer services for PMMoV field detection. Full article

Multi-group homomorphic encryption (MGHE) is a pivotal advance in secure multi-party computation, integrating merits of multi-party homomorphic encryption (MPHE) and multi-key homomorphic encryption (MKHE) to eliminate MPHE’s fixed-party limitation and mitigate MKHE’s ciphertext expansion from dynamic enrollment. However, the efficient single-key FINAL scheme cannot extend to multi-party scenarios due to the challenge of defining valid multiplication for vector NTRU ciphertexts, which hinders its use in multi-group bootstrapping and curbs efficiency. To address this, additive secret sharing was adopted to convert vector NTRU ciphertext multiplication into secret share multiplication, enabling shared bootstrapping key generation within groups. A new multi-group ciphertext bootstrapping algorithm for MGHE was developed via the integration of LWE and NTRU cryptographic primitives. Bootstrapping tasks were decomposed for parallel processing, and a hybrid product algorithm was designed to aggregate subtask outputs, boosting multi-group bootstrapping speed to match that of single-key ciphertexts. Noise accumulation was analyzed, with 100-bit and 128-bit security parameter sets selected for validation. Experiments showed that 30- and 50-party multi-group bootstrapping takes only 1.87 s and 2.58 s respectively. Full article

Generative image steganography is a key technology for secure information transmission, but existing deep learning-based generative steganographic methods suffer from an extremely high bit error rate (BER) and degraded steganographic image quality in low-bit-rate embedding tasks in which secret information needs duplication or padding to match the model input size. In addition, it is difficult to balance BER reduction and imperceptibility of stego-images. To address these issues, this paper proposes a novel generative image steganography algorithm based on flip watermarking, with the core novelty of designing a mirror flipping preprocessing mechanism to achieve a redundant watermark and eliminate information errors caused by duplication or padding, and constructing an end-to-end Mini-Hide steganographic framework to integrate flip watermarking with generative steganography for the first time. Specifically, the proposed method first converts the binary bitstream of secret information into a square matrix, and performs vertical, horizontal and vertical–horizontal mirror flipping on the matrix to form a redundant basic watermark, which is then expanded to a secret image with the same size as the cover image. After that, the secret image is preprocessed by a preparation network and then input into an encoding network together with the cover image to generate a stego-image. Finally, the generated stego-image is input into the decoding network to extract the secret image. Subsequently, the inverse operation of flip watermarking is performed on the extracted secret image to recover the original binary bitstream. Extensive experiments are conducted on the public COCO dataset ($256\times 256$ pixels) with BER, PSNR, and SSIM, and the proposed method is compared with state-of-the-art generative steganographic methods. Quantitative results show that the proposed method achieves a $0\%$ BER for secret information of $8\times 8$ to $64\times 64$ bits, and the BER is only $0.00002\%$ for $256\times 256$-bit secret information; the PSNR of stego-images reaches 37.75 dB, and the SSIM hits 0.96, which are 7.07 dB and 0.02 higher than those of the classic HiDDeN method ($64\times 64$ bit) respectively. We also validated the flip watermark module by integrating into other methods; the results also show that the PSNR of FNNS-D is improved by 13.12 dB ($256\times 256$), and the BER of SteganoGAN is reduced by $99.99\%$ ($256\times 256$ bit). In addition, the proposed method breaks the embedding size limit of HiDDeN (≤$64\times 64$ bit) and supports up to $256\times 256$-bit secret information embedding with stable performance. This work significantly reduces the BER of generative image steganography while improving the visual quality of stego-images, provides a new preprocessing and optimization scheme for low-BER generative steganographic algorithm design, and also offers a universal lightweight module for performance improvement of existing steganographic methods, which has important theoretical and practical significance for enhancing the security and reliability of covert information transmission in the field of information security. Full article

To investigate the effects of dietary vitamin C (VC) supplementation at different concentrations (0, 5000, and 15,000 mg/kg) on the growth and feeding performance of sea cucumbers (Apostichopus japonicus), a 60-day feeding trial was conducted. The results demonstrated that supplementation with 5000 mg/kg VC significantly enhanced growth performance, evidenced by a higher specific growth rate and weight gain, along with a shorter feeding initiation time and increased tentacle feeding frequency. Furthermore, the activities of digestive enzymes—including amylase, lipase, and pepsin—were markedly elevated in the intestines of A. japonicus fed 5000 mg/kg VC, accompanied by increased mucus secretion in the oral tentacles. Correspondingly, intestinal 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) levels and the expression of tryptophan hydroxylase (AjTPH) and 5-HT receptor (Aj5-HT4R) genes were significantly upregulated in the same group. In contrast, relatively lower growth performance was observed in the control (0 mg/kg) and high-dose (15,000 mg/kg) VC groups. Histological analysis further revealed that 5000 mg/kg VC increased villus height and width and thickened the intestinal muscle layer. Overall, dietary supplementation with 5000 mg/kg VC enhanced feeding activity, digestive function, and intestinal morphology, thereby promoting growth. However, excessive supplementation (15,000 mg/kg) failed to provide similar benefits and was associated with impaired performance. Full article

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory respiratory disorder with a globally increasing prevalence. Current therapeutic strategies are limited by drug resistance and safety concerns. Studies suggest that inhibiting the secretion of inflammatory cytokines represents a promising approach for COPD treatment. Phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibitors have emerged as potent anti-inflammatory agents for respiratory diseases. In this study, we integrated a marine-derived natural product with computer-aided drug design to develop 32 novel PDE4 inhibitors. Compound B7 exhibited potent PDE4 inhibitory activity and a favorable safety profile. In rat model of COPD, B7 significantly reduced inflammatory cell infiltration and cytokine levels, ameliorated pathological changes in the lung, decreased the percentage of goblet cell positivity, and reduced expiratory resistance. Furthermore, in vitro mechanistic studies revealed that B7 exerts its anti-inflammatory effects by activating the cAMP-PKA-CREB signaling pathway and suppressing the NF-κB pathway in RAW264.7 cells. In conclusion, B7 demonstrates potential as a safe and effective PDE4-targeted candidate for the treatment of COPD. Full article

Histones, normally confined to nucleosomes, are released into the bloodstream during sepsis due to cell damage and NETosis, contributing to organ dysfunction. In sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE), histones may worsen neurological outcomes. Using a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced polymicrobial sepsis model, we evaluated histone release, blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption, complement activation, and glial responses in the brain. Immunofluorescence revealed histone accumulation and increased soluble histone levels in the brain 8–24 h post-CLP. BBB permeability increased, confirmed by FITC-inulin and Texas Red-dextran clearance assays. Complement activation, along with increased GFAP-positive astrocytes and Iba1-positive microglia, occurred post-CLP. Histones were detected in astrocytes and microglia. In vitro, stimulated astrocytes released histones upon activation and also demonstrated the ability to uptake extracellular FITC-labeled histones. Histone exposure elevated intracellular calcium levels and triggered cytokine secretion in astrocytes. Notably, histone stimulation activated the NLRP3 inflammasome, amplifying inflammation. These findings suggest that histone release during sepsis drives neuroinflammation, BBB disruption, and glial activation, positioning extracellular histones as potential therapeutic targets for sepsis-related brain manifestations like SAE. Full article

Phytoplasmas are obligate intracellular parasitic bacteria that infect over 1000 plant species globally, causing devastating diseases characterized by yellowing, witches’ broom, phyllody, and significant yield losses in economically important crops. The unculturable nature of these pathogens has historically hindered their study; however, advances in molecular biology and genomics have substantially accelerated progress over the past two decades. This review provides a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on phytoplasma diseases and control technologies. In terms of taxonomy, phytoplasmas are currently classified into 37 16Sr groups with over 150 subgroups based on 16S rRNA gene analysis, and approximately 50 ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma’ species have been formally named. Genomic studies have revealed that phytoplasmas possess highly reduced genomes (530–1350 kb) lacking many essential metabolic pathways, reflecting their obligate parasitic lifestyle. Regarding pathogenesis, secreted effector proteins such as SAP (Secreted Aster Yellows Witches’ Broom Protein), TENGU (tengu-su inducer), and SWP (Secreted Wheat Blue Dwarf Protein) manipulate plant hormone signaling and developmental processes, leading to characteristic disease symptoms. Detection technologies have evolved from traditional microscopy to molecular methods, including nested PCR, real-time quantitative PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), and CRISPR/Cas-based systems (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR-associated protein), with AI-based image recognition and remote sensing emerging as promising tools for large-scale field monitoring. Integrated management strategies encompassing agricultural practices, insect vector control, biological control agents, induced resistance, and breeding for resistance are discussed. Finally, future research directions, including functional genomics, microbiome-based approaches, and precision agriculture technologies, are highlighted. This review aims to provide researchers and practitioners with a systematic reference for understanding phytoplasma biology and developing effective disease management strategies. Full article

The success of titanium dental implants rely on osseointegration, influenced by surface properties and early immune responses. While sandblasted and acid-etched (SLA) titanium surfaces have shown clinical success, macrophage-mediated immune responses at these interfaces remain poorly understood. Anatase nanostructures have been shown to influence macrophage polarization on smooth titanium, but their effects on micro-rough SLA surfaces are not fully explored. This study investigates the immunomodulatory effects of micro-nanostructured anatase coatings on SLA titanium using human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs). M0-MDMs, were cultured and polarized to M1 and M2- macrophages on Ti-machined, Ti-SLA, Ti-SLA-anatase, and coverslip control surfaces for 48 h. Macrophage behavior was assessed using CCK-8 assay, confocal microscopy, SEM, ELISA, and qRT-PCR. All surfaces demonstrated excellent cytocompatibility, with similar macrophage viability across all investigated groups. M1 macrophages showed upregulation of CCR7 and TNF-α, while M2 macrophages expressed CD209 and CCL13 across all surfaces. Importantly, Ti-SLA-anatase did not significantly alter M1 or M2 markers, cytokine secretion, or gene expression, and did not exacerbate inflammatory responses. Micro-nanostructured anatase coatings on SLA titanium are immunologically well-tolerated and do not increase inflammation. These findings, combined with previously reported enhanced osteogenic properties, suggest the clinical potential of anatase-coated SLA surfaces. Full article

Global climate change is increasing the impacts of abiotic stresses on plants. Vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and a variety of phytochemicals, and thus, are of great significance to human health. The growth of vegetable crops is regulated by a variety of abiotic stress factors, which not only affect their normal growth and metabolism but also lead to reduced yield and quality. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can modulate the morphological or physiological characteristics of plants via nitrogen fixation, phosphorus dissolution, potassium dissolution, production of siderophores, secretion of secondary metabolites and hormones, and induction of plant stress resistance gene expression. This consequently increases the nutrient utilization rate in plants, improving their yield, quality, and stress resistance. In this review, the literature focused on how rhizosphere growth-promoting bacteria can improve the resistance of vegetable crops to drought, extreme temperature, heavy metals, and salt stresses is reviewed, and relevant application prospects and research directions provide a reference for further research on stress resistance and strategies to increase the yield of vegetable crops. Full article

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-bound particles secreted by most cell types that play a pivotal role in intercellular communication via transporting protein, nucleic acid, lipid, and metabolite cargos. Among EVs, exosomes are a well-characterized subtype, typically ranging from 10–150 nm in diameter and originating from the endosomal pathway via the formation of multivesicular bodies that fuse with the plasma membrane. EVs/exosomes can be isolated from various biological fluids and cultured cells, with production and yield influenced by the cell type and culture conditions. Isolation methods, including ultracentrifugation or density-based ultracentrifugation, tangential flow filtration, size-exclusion chromatography, immunoaffinity and membrane-affinity capture, and recently developed commercial equipment, offer distinct advantages and limitations in terms of purity, scalability, and exosome integrity. Characterization techniques, such as nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Western blotting, flow cytometry, and dynamic light scattering (DLS), assess exosome size, morphology, and biomarker expression. Given their biocompatibility and inherent targeting capabilities across a diverse range of diseases, EVs/exosomes hold clinical promise as diagnostic biomarkers, cell-free therapeutics, drug delivery vehicles, immune modulators, and in regenerative medicine. However, these emerging fields in exosome medicine continue to face challenges in standardizing EV sourcing, production, purification, yield, bio-targeting, drug loading, and drug delivery. While EVs/exosomes represent a rapidly advancing frontier in biomedical science, robust protocols for standardization and scalable production will be essential for their successful translation into clinical applications. This article provides a comprehensive overview of EV/exosome origins, their biological functions, the approaches for their isolation and characterization, and their therapeutic potential. Full article