A Novel Dynamic Growth Rod Inducing Spinal Growth Modulation for the Correction of Spinal Deformities.

Background: Growth rods are the gold standard for treating early-onset scoliosis (EOS). However, current treatments with growth rods do not optimize spinal growth in EOS patients, and frequent distraction surgeries significantly increase complications, imposing considerable economic and psychological burdens on patients. An improved growth rod is urgently required to address the need for dynamic growth and external regulation.

Phosphorescent Liquid Crystalline Polymer-based Circularly Polarized Luminescence Optical Waveguides for Enhanced Photonic Signal Processing and Information Encryption.

Efficient circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) optical waveguides have significant potential for advancing photonic and optoelectronic devices. However, the development of CPL optical waveguides materials (OWMs) with low optical loss coefficient remains a considerable challenge. To overcome this, we design and synthesize CPL OWMs based on room-temperature phosphorescent liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs).

Research progress on the performance of expandable systems for long-term gastric retention.

Gastroretentive systems have gained attention due to their prolonged retention time in the human body, and they have the potential to improve treatment effects, simplify treatment regimens, and improve patient compliance. Among these systems, expandable gastroretentive systems (EGRSs) have emerged as an important type of carrier that can reside in the stomach for a desired period through on-demand expansion for drug delivery, obesity intervention, and medical diagnosis. As the physiological environment significantly influences the performance of EGRSs, here, the physiological factors such as the stomach's physiological structure and activity pattern, and the character of gastric juice are summarized.

Protein Engineering of Substrate Specificity toward Nitrilases: Strategies and Challenges.

Nitrilase is extensively applied across diverse sectors owing to its unique catalytic properties. Nevertheless, in industrial production, nitrilases often face issues such as low catalytic efficiency, limited substrate range, suboptimal selectivity, and side reaction products, which have garnered heightened attention. With the widespread recognition that the structure of enzymes has a direct impact on their catalytic properties, an increasing number of researchers are beginning to optimize the functional characteristics of nitrilases by modifying their structures, in order to meet specific industrial or biotechnology application needs.

PdSe/NbSe Heterojunction Photodetector with Broadband Detection and Polarization Sensitivity.

Polarized photodetectors based on anisotropic two-dimensional (2D) materials display great potential applications in communications and optoelectronics. However, the existence of high dark current, low anisotropic ratio, and response speed limits their development. In this paper, a broadband polarization angle-dependent photodetector based on the PdSe/NbSe van der Waals (vdW) heterojunction has been constructed.

Antimicrobial Activity of Nano-GeO/CTAB Complex Against Fungi and Bacteria Isolated from Paper.

Microbial attack, particularly fungal degradation of cellulose, is a leading cause of paper damage. To address fungal spores and the rising concern of microbial drug resistance, a nano-Germanium dioxide (GeO)/cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) complex (nano-GeO/CTAB complex) with potent antibacterial properties was synthesized. Its inhibitory effects were evaluated against bacteria, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative , as well as fungi isolated from paper ( spp.

Immune Response Elicited by Recombinant Adenovirus-Delivered Glycoprotein B and Nucleocapsid Protein UL18 and UL25 of HSV-1 in Mice.

Due to the complex pathogenic and immune escape mechanisms of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), especially the failure of induced immune responses to block the initial cell-to-cell transmission of the virus from skin cells to neurons, the body struggles to establish effective prevention and control methods, resulting in the failure of currently developed vaccines. Previous studies have highlighted the crucial roles of surface glycoproteins and nucleocapsid proteins in activating the body's immune defense system against HSV-1 infection. In this study, recombinant adenoviruses were used as vectors to generate adenoviruses carrying the nucleocapsid protein genes UL18 and UL25, as well as the surface glycoprotein gene gB.

Optic nerve-mediated modulation of temporally interfering electric fields for potential targeted retinal disease therapy: a computational modeling study.

Introduction: Traditional extraocular electrical stimulation typically produces diffuse electric fields across the retina, limiting the precision of targeted therapy. Temporally interfering (TI) electrical stimulation, an emerging approach, can generate convergent electric fields, providing advantages for targeted treatment of various eye conditions.

Objective: Understanding how detailed structures of the retina, especially the optic nerve, affects electric fields can enhance the application of TI approach in retinal neurodegenerative and vascular diseases, an essential aspect that has been frequently neglected in previous researches.

On the Role of Hydrogen Migrations in the Taxadiene System.

Taxa-4,11-diene is made by the taxa-4,11-diene synthase (TxS) from Taxus brevifolia. The unique reactivity of the taxane system is characterised by long distance hydrogen migrations in the biosynthesis. This study demonstrates that selective long range hydrogen migrations also play a role in the high energy process of the EI-MS fragmentation of taxa-4,11-diene.

FTO rs1121980 polymorphism contributes to coronary artery disease susceptibility in a Chinese Han population.

Background: The fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) has been showed to be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the effects of FTO variants on CAD risk remain poorly understood. We herein genotyped three SNPs (rs1121980, rs72803657, and rs4783818) in FTO to investigate the influence of FTO polymorphisms on individual susceptibility to CAD.

Fault detection for Li-ion batteries of electric vehicles with segmented regression method.

Electric vehicles are increasingly popular for their environmental benefits and cost savings, but the reliability and safety of their lithium-ion batteries are critical concerns. Current regression methods for battery fault detection often analyze charging and discharging as a single continuous process, missing important phase differences. This paper proposes segmented regression to better capture these distinct characteristics for accurate fault detection.

Corosolic acid and its derivatives targeting MCCC1 against insulin resistance and their hypoglycemic effect on type 2 diabetic mice.

Corosolic acid (CA), a natural triterpenoid, exhibits various biological activities and is often called as plant-derived insulin due to its significant hypoglycemic effects, making it especially beneficial for individuals with diabetes or high blood glucose levels. However, CA has notable in vitro toxicity, low water solubility, and poor pharmacokinetic properties. To address these limitations, a series of CA derivatives were synthesized, resulting in the identification of derivative H26, which demonstrates a significantly enhanced hypoglycemic effect, reduced toxicity, and improved pharmacokinetic characteristics compared to CA.

Alternating chimera states and synchronization in multilayer neuronal networks with ephaptic intralayer coupling.

Over the past decade, most of researches on the communication between the neurons are based on synapses. However, the changes in action potentials in neurons may produce complex electromagnetic fields in the media, which may also have an impact on the electrical activity of neurons. To explore this factor, we construct a two-layer neuronal network composed of identical Hindmarsh-Rose neurons.

Assessing the AIR classification reliability for estimating pronation of the first metatarsal.

Background: Hallux valgus (HV) is a multiplanar deformity and surgical treatment is often guided by two-dimensional radiographic parameters. This study assessed the reliability and accuracy of the AIR classification(The first metatarsal head's lateral edge can be delineated as angular (type A), round (type R), or intermediate (type I) through visual inspection or circle measurements on weight-bearing radiographs.)commonly used in clinical settings to categorize the shape of the lateral edge of the first metatarsal head, against measurements from weight-bearing computed tomography (WBCT).

Effect of the Protic vs. Non-Protic Molecular Environment on the to Conformation Change of Phototrexate Drug.

The therapeutical applicability of the anticancer drug phototrexate, a photoswitchable derivative of the antimetabolite dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor methotrexate, highly depends on the stability of its bioactive isomer. Considering that only the configuration of phototrexate is bioactive, in this work, the effect of the molecular environment on the stability of the isomer of this drug has been investigated. UV-vis absorption and fluorescence-based solvent relaxation methods have been used.

Enhanced autophagy and cholesterol efflux in mouse mesenchymal stem cells infected with H37Rv compared to H37Ra.

Autophagy, metabolism, and associated signaling pathways play critical roles in bacterial survival within mammalian cells and influence the immunopathogenesis of infections. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are important host cells during Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, yet how autophagy, metabolism, and related pathways are modulated in MSCs infected with the virulent H37Rv or the attenuated H37Ra strain of Mtb remains poorly understood. In this study, we utilized RNA-Seq screening, qRT-PCR, and Western Blotting to investigate the differences in these processes between H37Rv and H37Ra infections.

Radiomics Harmonization in Ultrasound Images for Cervical Cancer Lymph Node Metastasis Prediction Using Cycle-GAN.

Ultrasound (US) based radiomics is susceptible to variations in scanners, sonographers. To retrospectively investigate the feasibility of an adapted cycle generative adversarial networks (CycleGAN) in the style transfer to improve US based radiomics in the prediction of lymph node metastasis (LNM) with images from multiple scanners for patients with early cervical cancer (ECC). The CycleGAN was firstly trained to transfer paired US phantom images from one US device to another one; the model was then further trained and tested with clinical US images of ECC by transferring images from four US devices to one specific device; finally, the adapted model was tested with its effects on the radiomics feature harmonization and accuracy of LNM prediction in US based radiomics for ECC patients.

Catalytic insights of acetolactate synthases from different bacteria.

Acetolactate synthase (ALS) is an essential enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of platform chemicals acetoin and 2,3-butanediol in several microorganisms. In this study, we investigated the catalytic differences among three bacterial ALSs involved in the ligation of two molecules of pyruvate or 2-ketobutyrate. Based on the findings, we predicted three amino acid residues in each enzyme that caused a discrepancy in accordance with the multi-sequence alignment and molecular docking experiments: I398, A402, and T480 in Bacillus subtilis ALS; V400, Y404, and S482 in Listeria seleigeri serovar 1/2b ALS; and M394, H398, and G476 in Klebsiella pneumoniae ALS.

Exposure to multiple metals and leukocyte telomere length in children and adolescents: The mediating effect of thyroid hormones.

Exposure to metals has been related to alterations in leukocyte telomere length (LTL), an aging marker. However, the evidence regarding this relationship in children and adolescents, as well as the underlying mechanisms, remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to explore the individual and mixture effects of metals on LTL in children and adolescents and to assess the mediating role of thyroid hormones and the modifying effect of a healthy lifestyle.

Use of Virtual CT and On-Treatment MRI to Reduce Radiation Dose and Anesthesia Exposure Associated With the Adaptive Workflow in Pediatric Patients Treated With Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether virtual computed tomography (vCT) derived from daily cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), or on-treatment magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can replace quality assurance computed tomography (qCT) in our clinical workflow to minimize imaging dose and potentially anesthesia exposure in patients requiring plan adaptation.

Methods And Materials: Pediatric patients (age <24 years) treated from 2020 to 2023 with intensity modulated proton therapy with at least 1 qCT during proton therapy were eligible. For cases that required plan adaptation, the dose was recalculated on vCT and compared with same-day qCT as well as the original planning computed tomography (pCT).

BWT construction and search at the terabase scale.

Motivation: Burrows-Wheeler Transform (BWT) is a common component in full-text indices. Initially developed for data compression, it is particularly powerful for encoding redundant sequences such as pangenome data. However, BWT construction is resource intensive and hard to be parallelized, and many methods for querying large full-text indices only report exact matches or their simple extensions.