The management of moderate-to-severe fibrotic buffalo hump remains challenging, as current treatment options range from minimally invasive but suboptimal techniques to invasive open procedures. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel zone-specific surgical strategy using a rotary cutting system for this condition. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 56 patients with fibrotic buffalo hump. A zone-specific strategy was employed: The avascular central zone (Zone I) was resected using a rotary cutting system, while the vascular-rich peripheral zone (Zone II) was managed with blunt dissection and liposuction. Outcomes were assessed using an observer-rated 4-point aesthetic scale and the patient-reported Neck Extension Mobility Score (NEMS). The mean follow-up duration was 8 months. Most patients (92.9 www.springer.com/00266 .

Aim: To evaluate the feasibility and preliminary educational impact of integrating case-based learning (CBL) with three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction in teaching nasal base depression to plastic and reconstructive surgery trainees, focusing on spatial anatomical cognition and clinical decision-making. Methods: Eighty trainees from a tertiary academic hospital were randomly assigned to a traditional case-based instruction group or a 3D reconstruction-integrated CBL group. Both groups were instructed using a standardized nasal base depression case. The control group was taught using physical examination findings and two-dimensional images, whereas the experimental group additionally received a layered 3D reconstruction of skin-skeletal anatomy. Learning outcomes and satisfaction were assessed using self-assessment questionnaires and a structured in-class case-based assessment. Effect sizes were calculated to quantify between-group differences. Results: Compared with the control group, the experimental group achieved significantly higher scores in understanding disease mechanisms, interpreting bone-soft tissue spatial relationships, and demonstrating proficiency in filler placement. Overall performance in the case-based diagnostic and treatment planning assessment was also superior in the experimental group, with large between-group effect sizes. In addition, satisfaction and perceived clinical relevance were higher in the experimental group. Conclusion: The integration of CBL with 3D reconstruction was associated with improved spatial anatomical understanding and enhanced clinical decision-making within a standardized nasal base depression case model. These findings support the feasibility of this instructional approach and provide preliminary evidence for its application in anatomically complex domains of plastic and reconstructive surgery training.

BACKGROUND:Striae gravidarum (SG) is a common skin condition characterized by disrupted dermal extracellular matrix (ECM) homeostasis. Despite its high prevalence, the underlying cellular and molecular pathogenesis remains poorly understood, particularly regarding fibroblast heterogeneity and metabolic dysregulation. OBJECTIVES:This study aimed to delineate the cellular landscape and molecular mechanisms of SG at single-cell resolution, with a focus on fibroblast subpopulation dynamics, intercellular communication, and metabolic reprogramming. METHODS:We performed integrated single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) on dermal specimens from human SG lesions and matched normal skin. Functional validation was conducted using qPCR, histological staining (H&E, EVG, picrosirius red), immunofluorescence, and Mendelian randomization analysis. RESULTS:SG skin exhibited significant cellular reorganization, with fibroblasts showing the most profound transcriptional changes. Intercellular communication analysis identified a dysregulated sender-receiver axis between the inflammatory, metabolically active sC7 subset and the reparative sC5 subset. Pseudotime analysis indicated a blocked differentiation from sC7 to sC5. The sC7 subset underwent specific fatty acid metabolic reprogramming, marked by upregulation of key enzymes including ACSBG1. Triacsin C treatment in primary PDPN⁺ reticular fibroblasts suppressed ECM gene expression and attenuated pro-fibrotic markers; notably, it also downregulated representative sC7-associated genes while upregulating sC5-associated genes, suggesting partial restoration of a reparative transcriptional program. Furthermore, local Acsbg1 silencing in dorsal skin alleviated SG-like dermal remodeling in the mouse model, with improved dermal architecture, collagen organization, and elastic fiber integrity. CONCLUSIONS:Targeting ACSBG1-mediated fatty acid metabolic reprogramming in pro-fibrotic fibroblast subsets restores a reparative transcriptional programme and ameliorates dermal ECM disruption in SG. These findings identify ACSBG1 as a potential therapeutic target for SG.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with therapeutic outcomes still constrained by off-target toxicity and incomplete tumor ablation associated with current modalities. Here, we report a rationally engineered multifunctional nanoplatform (Fe3O4@PPy-PEG/SOR) that synergistically integrates photothermal therapy (PTT), chemodynamic therapy (CDT), and ferroptosis induction to potentiate anti-HCC efficacy. The nanoparticles exhibit a uniform spherical morphology, favorable colloidal stability, and high photothermal conversion efficiency, while enabling pH- and photothermal-triggered release of sorafenib (SOR). Mechanistic in vitro studies in H22 hepatoma cells revealed that laser-activated Fe3O4@PPy-PEG/SOR significantly amplifies intracellular oxidative stress by elevating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, depleting glutathione (GSH), and suppressing glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), thereby inducing ferroptotic and apoptotic cell death. In vivo, treatment with Fe3O4@PPy-PEG/SOR under laser irradiation achieved pronounced tumor regression, extended survival, and minimal systemic toxicity in H22 tumor-bearing mice. Collectively, this study establishes Fe3O4@PPy-PEG/SOR as a safe and potent nanotherapeutic integrating multimodal synergistic mechanisms, providing a promising strategy for potential clinical translation in HCC treatment

Background Acute liver injury (ALI) is a severe condition characterized by excessive hepatic inflammation and oxidative stress, yet effective therapeutic strategies remain limited. Dihydromyricetin (DMY), a natural flavonoid, possesses hepatoprotective properties, but the precise molecular mechanisms involving acetylation modifications underlying its effects are not fully understood. Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the hepatoprotective efficacy of DMY in ALI and to elucidate the specific immunoregulatory mechanisms governing the transition from oxidative stress to inflammatory responses. Study design A D-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide-induced murine acute liver injury model was employed to assess the hepatoprotective effect of dihydromyricetin. Quantitative acetylomic profiling combined with single-cell RNA sequencing was used to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms, which were further validated by genetic modulation of SIRT1 and PRDX1 in macrophage cell lines and macrophage-specific SIRT1 overexpression via adeno-associated virus in mice. Methods We utilized a D-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide (DgalN/LPS)-induced murine ALI model to evaluate the therapeutic effect of DMY. The underlying mechanisms were investigated by integrating quantitative acetylomic profiling with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), followed by functional validation through genetic modulation of SIRT1 and PRDX1 in macrophage cell lines, and systemic SIRT1 overexpression mediated by AAV in mice. Results DMY administration significantly ameliorated liver injury, evidenced by improved survival, reduced serum aminotransferases, and suppressed inflammatory responses. Acetylomic profiling identified Peroxiredoxin 1 (PRDX1) as a key effector, which is hyperacetylated at the conserved lysine 35 (K35) residue during ALI. Mechanistically, DMY restored the expression of Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), a deacetylase markedly downregulated in hepatic macrophages in both mouse and human ALI. SIRT1 physically interacts with and deacetylates PRDX1 at K35, thereby restoring its antioxidant activity and inhibiting pro-inflammatory M1 macrophage polarization. Notably, SIRT1 overexpression phenocopied the hepatoprotective effects of DMY. Conclusion Our findings identify the SIRT1-PRDX1 axis as a critical immunoregulatory mechanism underlying DMY-mediated hepatoprotection. This study suggests DMY as a promising therapeutic candidate for the treatment of acute liver injury.

Aging-associated wound healing deficiency causes a variety of health complications and makes both economic and psychological burdens on patients greatly, with current therapies failing to address underlying pathophysiology and aging-related impairments. Inspired by Turritopsis nutricula, we directly fabricated biomimetic skin matrix (BSM) from human adipose tissue (AT) by decellularization, then incorporated with amino-functionalized apoptotic bodies (FABs) to construct a biomimetic skin (BSM@FABs). BSM@FABs effectively displayed high fibroblast affinity while reversing cellular senescence, accelerating migration, and stimulating neovascularization in aged wounds. Mechanistically, we identified a pioneering DAZAP1 liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) triggered by BSM@FABs. These biomolecular condensates in the LLPS process enhanced tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle flux and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), concomitant with suppressed glycolysis and reduced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, thereby resolving aging-impaired mitochondrial dysfunction. Our work introduces a novel LLPS-targeted strategy for aged wound treatment by reprogramming mitochondrial energy metabolism.

Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) translate neural signals into control commands to restore or augment human capabilities, enabling robotic assistance for essential daily activities. Compared with intracortical BCIs, non-invasive BCIs require less medical and surgical intervention, but have yet to demonstrate reliable performance in complex everyday tasks with high success and low mental effort. We present Electroencephalography (EEG)-based Neural Signal Operated Intelligent Robots (NOIR-EEG), a general-purpose, intelligent, non-invasive BCI framework that allows users to command robots via EEG signals. NOIR-EEG combines advances in neural signal decoding with recent progress in AI and robotics, including large pre-trained models and intention learning. In tests, sixteen participants successfully completed fifteen challenging household tasks. Intention learning algorithms adapt to individual users and predict their goals, substantially reducing human effort.

Diabetes-induced chronic wound healing poses significant clinical and economic challenges. In the pathological context of diabetic wounds, the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammatory factors is exacerbated, impeding the transition of macrophages from the M1 to M2 phenotype, thereby leading to prolonged wound healing. Therefore, this study has developed an ultra-small tri-manganese tetroxide nanozyme with dual superoxide dismutase/catalase enzymatic activities, which exhibits excellent ROS scavenging performance. Under oxidative stress conditions, this nanozyme can alleviate mitochondrial damage and promote the transition of macrophages from the M1 to M2 phenotype, thereby mitigating the inhibition of cellular function caused by the inflammatory state through intercellular interactions. Furthermore, the application of this nanozyme in vivo has also contributed to the treatment of skin defects in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice by alleviating inflammation and scavenging ROS. The dual-enzymatic nanozyme designed and prepared in this study, which scavenges ROS, can regulate the local immune microenvironment and intercellular interactions, providing a new strategy for the clinical treatment of diabetic wound healing.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is closely related to articular cartilage injury and joint inflammation. L-Glutamine (L-Gln) plays a significant role in delaying articular cartilage degeneration and reducing inflammation. However, the molecular weight of L-Gln is small and its half-life in vivo is relatively short, which limits its therapeutic effect. In this study, gelatin microspheres coated with L-Gln (L-Gln@GMs) were combined with a quaternized chitosanpolyvinyl alcohol self-assembled hydrogel to prepare a composite hydrogel (L-Gln@GMs@QCSFP) that responds to an inflammatory microenvironment. The hydrogel has good mechanical properties and injectability and can be adsorbed onto the cartilage surface to respond to a high reactive oxygen species environment, thus realizing the slow and stable release of L-Gln. In in vitro experiments, the L-Gln@GMs@QCSFP hydrogel exhibited good antibacterial properties and biocompatibility, and effectively ameliorated the chondrocyte damage induced by interleukin (IL)-1(3 by inhibiting the IL-17 and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways. In addition, LGln@GMs@QCSFP also promoted polarization of macrophages from M1 type to M2 type. In an OA rat model, the L-Gln@GMs@QCSFP hydrogel also effectively delayed cartilage injury and improved synovitis. This approach is expected to provide an effective and safe new strategy for the treatment of OA.

BACKGROUND:Previous scholarly research highlights the indispensable roles of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and exosomes in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the nuanced molecular mechanisms by which tumor-derived exosomal lncRNAs interact with TAMs to modulate macrophage polarization and HCC proliferation remain largely obscure. METHOD:Clinical specimens were subjected to sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, revealing the previously unreported SLC12A2-DT. The presence of exosomes was assessed via transmission electron microscopy and differential ultracentrifugation. In vivo and in vitro coculture experiments were employed to elucidate the functions of exosomal SLC12A2-DT. RNA pull-down assays, dual-luciferase reporter assays, and mass spectrometry were utilized to delineate the mechanisms by which exosomal SLC12A2-DT regulates the interaction between HCC cells and M2 macrophages. RESULTS:Our study revealed the aberrant upregulation of SLC12A2-DT expression in HCC, particularly in advanced stages, and its association with poor prognosis in HCC patients. Notably, SLC12A2-DT-induced M2 macrophage polarization significantly induced lung metastasis in a murine HCC model. We subsequently confirmed that HCC cell-derived exosomal SLC12A2-DT induced M2 macrophage polarization by specifically binding to GSK3β/β-catenin and downregulating the degradation of ubiquitinated β-catenin, leading to Wnt signaling pathway activation. Furthermore, we revealed that KLF4 transcriptionally repressed SLC12A2-DT expression in HCC cells. CONCLUSION:These findings suggest that tumor-derived exosomal SLC12A2-DT facilitates HCC progression by modulating the interplay between HCC cells and TAMs through the Wnt/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer great potential for simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy generation, yet the development of cost-effective and efficient carbon-based cathode alternatives to Pt/C for oxygen reduction reactions remains challenging. This study presents a novel single-atom Fe-decorated N-doped porous carbon (Fe-SA/NBC) synthesized from biogas residue for wastewater treatment. The Fe-SA/NBC demonstrated superior catalytic performance, achieving a kinetic current density of 18.89 mA·cm-² compared to 10.38 mA·cm-² for Pt/C, and an enhanced electrochemical surface area with a Cdl of 1.81 mF·cm-² versus 1.76 mF·cm-² for Pt/C. When integrated into an MFC air-cathode under actual sewage, Fe-SA/NBC outperformed Pt/C, achieving a 22.6 % higher power density (882.92 mW·m-² vs. 719.81 mW·m-²), a higher output voltage (0.53 V vs. 0.47 V), and a longer operational duration (3.6 days vs. 3.2 days). Additionally, Fe-SA/NBC exhibited superior removal efficiencies for chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen during sewage treatment. In practical applications, MFCs equipped with Fe-SA/NBC successfully powered diodes and timers in series-connected configurations. This study introduces an innovative method for producing cost-effective and efficient cathode catalysts from waste biomass, offering significant potential for wastewater treatment and power generation systems.

Recent progress in imitation learning from human demonstrations has shown promising results in teaching robots manipulation skills. To further scale up training datasets, recent works start to use portable data collection devices without the need for physical robot hardware. However, due to the absence of on-robot feedback during data collection, the data quality depends heavily on user expertise, and many devices are limited to specific robot embodiments. We propose ARCap, a portable data collection system that provides visual feedback through augmented reality (AR) and haptic warnings to guide users in collecting high-quality demonstrations. Through extensive user studies, we show that ARCap enables novice users to collect robot-executable data that matches robot kinematics and avoids collisions with the scenes. With data collected from ARCap, robots can perform challenging tasks, such as manipulation in cluttered environments and long-horizon cross-embodiment manipulation. ARCap is fully open-source and easy to calibrate; all components are built from off-the-shelf products. More details and results can be found on our website: stanford-tml.github.io/ARCap

Real-world household tasks present significant challenges for mobile manipulation robots. An analysis of existing robotics benchmarks reveals that successful task performance hinges on three key whole-body control capabilities: bimanual coordination, stable and precise navigation, and extensive end-effector reachability. Achieving these capabilities requires careful hardware design, but the resulting system complexity further complicates visuomotor policy learning. To address these challenges, we introduce the BEHAVIOR ROBOT SUITE (BRS), a comprehensive framework for whole-body manipulation in diverse household tasks. Built on a bimanual, wheeled robot with a 4-DoF torso, BRS integrates a cost-effective whole-body teleoperation interface for data collection and a novel algorithm for learning whole-body visuomotor policies. We evaluate BRS on five challenging household tasks that not only emphasize the three core capabilities but also introduce additional complexities, such as long-range navigation, interaction with articulated and deformable objects, and manipulation in confined spaces. We believe that BRS's integrated robotic embodiment, data collection interface, and learning framework mark a significant step toward enabling real-world whole-body manipulation for everyday household tasks. BRS is open-sourced at behavior-robot-suite.github.io.

Imitation learning from human hand motion data presents a promising avenue for imbuing robots with human-like dexterity in real-world manipulation tasks. Despite this potential, substantial challenges persist, particularly with the portability of existing hand motion capture (mocap) systems and the difficulty of translating mocap data into effective control policies. To tackle these issues, we introduce DexCap, a portable hand motion capture system, alongside DexIL, a novel imitation algorithm for training dexterous robot skills directly from human hand mocap data. DexCap offers precise, occlusion-resistant tracking of wrist and finger motions based on SLAM and electromagnetic field together with 3D observations of the environment. Utilizing this rich dataset, DexIL employs inverse kinematics and point cloud-based imitation learning to replicate human actions with robot hands. Beyond learning from human motion, DexCap also offers an optional human-in-the-loop correction mechanism to refine and further improve robot performance. Through extensive evaluation across six dexterous manipulation tasks, our approach not only demonstrates superior performance but also showcases the system's capability to effectively learn from in-the-wild mocap data, paving the way for future data collection methods for dexterous manipulation. More details can be found at https://dex-cap.github.io

Training robot policies in the real world can be unsafe, costly, and difficult to scale. Simulation serves as an inexpensive and potentially limitless source of training data, but suffers from the semantics and physics disparity between simulated and real-world environments. These discrepancies can be minimized by training in digital twins, which serve as virtual replicas of a real scene but are expensive to generate and cannot produce cross-domain generalization. To address these limitations, we propose the concept of digital cousins, a virtual asset or scene that, unlike a digital twin, does not explicitly model a real-world counterpart but still exhibits similar geometric and semantic affordances. As a result, digital cousins simultaneously reduce the cost of generating an analogous virtual environment while also facilitating better robustness during sim-to-real domain transfer by providing a distribution of similar training scenes. Leveraging digital cousins, we introduce a novel method for their automated creation, and propose a fully automated real-to-sim-to-real pipeline for generating fully interactive scenes and training robot policies that can be deployed zero-shot in the original scene. We find that digital cousin scenes that preserve geometric and semantic affordances can be produced automatically, and can be used to train policies that outperform policies trained on digital twins, achieving 90 success rates under zero-shot sim-to-real transfer. Additional details are available at https://digital-cousins.github.io/.

Radiation-induced skin ulcer following cancer and/or tumour is well-documented in the literature. However, radiation-induced skin ulcer following the excision of keloid is yet to be reported. Here, we report the case of a 33-year-old female patient with a suprapubic skin ulcer of five months' duration following keloid treatment with electron beam therapy at recommended dosage. Various examinations, including a skin biopsy, metagenomic sequencing, magnetic resonance imaging and immunochemistry, indicated that the skin ulcer was induced by radiotherapy. While postoperative radiotherapy has been recommended immediately following keloid excision to reduce the risk of recurrence, the present case highlights the risk of skin refractory ulcer following keloid radiotherapy.

Manipulating objects to achieve desired goal states is a basic but important skill for dexterous manipulation. Human hand motions demonstrate proficient manipulation capability, providing valuable data for training robots with multi-finger hands. Despite this potential, substantial challenges arise due to the embodiment gap between human and robot hands. In this work, we introduce a hierarchical policy learning framework that uses human hand motion data for training object-centric dexterous robot manipulation. At the core of our method is a high-level trajectory generative model, learned with a large-scale human hand motion capture dataset, to synthesize human-like wrist motions conditioned on the desired object goal states. Guided by the generated wrist motions, deep reinforcement learning is further used to train a low-level finger controller that is grounded in the robot's embodiment to physically interact with the object to achieve the goal. Through extensive evaluation across 10 household objects, our approach not only demonstrates superior performance but also showcases generalization capability to novel object geometries and goal states. Furthermore, we transfer the learned policies from simulation to a real-world bimanual dexterous robot system, further demonstrating its applicability in real-world scenarios. Project website: https://cypypccpy.github.io/obj-dex.github.io/.

BACKGROUND Sinonasal rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a rare malignancy in children and adolescents. It is aggressive and locally invasive, and can require local postoperative radiotherapy. This report presents the case of a 16-year-old girl with a sinonasal-cutaneous fistula following excision and radiotherapy for rhabdomyosarcoma, which required reconstructive surgery using an expanded forehead flap. CASE REPORT We report the case of a16-year-old girl who was referred to our clinic with sinonasal-cutaneous fistula. Prior to presentation at our department, she presented with bilateral intermittent nasal congestion 3 years ago. At a local hospital, orbital computed tomography and nasal endoscopic biopsy revealed an embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS). One month later, skull base tumor resection, nasal cavity and sinus tumor resection, and low-temperature plasma ablation were performed at a local hospital. Two weeks after the operation, the patient received intensity-modulated radiation therapy for a total of 50 Gy. Chemotherapy started 15 days after radiotherapy, using a vincristine, dactinomycin, and cyclophosphamide (VAC) regimen. Approximately 1 month later, an ulcer appeared at the nasal root and the lesion gradually expanded. The patient was referred to our hospital due to the defect. Firstly, a tissue expander was implanted at the forehead for 7 months. Then, the skin around the defect was trimmed and forehead flap was separated to repair the lining and external skin. The flap survived well 1-year after the operation. CONCLUSIONS This report highlights the challenges of post-radiation reconstructive surgery and describes how an expanded forehead flap can achieve an acceptable cosmetic outcome in a patient with a sinonasal-cutaneous fistula.

The increasing prevalence of bariatric surgeries in China has led to a growing number of patients experiencing massive weight loss and abdominal skin laxity. However, there is a scarcity of reports addressing post-bariatric lipoabdominoplasty in these patients. This study aims to present our clinical experiences with lipoabdominoplasty in post-bariatric patients in China. We performed lipoabdominoplasty on patients who had abdominal skin laxity following bariatric surgery between March 2018 and October 2023. The procedure encompassed abdominal liposuction, plication of the rectus abdominis muscles, umbilical transposition and progressive tension sutures. Complications were recorded and analyzed. The cohort consisted of 23 post-bariatric patients who underwent lipoabdominoplasty, achieving aesthetically favorable results. The average age at the time of surgery was 31.5 years, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 25.1 kg/m2.The overall complication rate was 34.8 www.springer.com/00266 .