Bat genomes illuminate adaptations to viral tolerance and disease resistance.

Zoonoses are infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans. Bats have been suggested to harbour more zoonotic viruses than any other mammalian order. Infections in bats are largely asymptomatic, indicating limited tissue-damaging inflammation and immunopathology.

Vitamin D Supplementation Is Associated with Inflammation Amelioration and Cognitive Improvement in Decompensated Patients with Cirrhosis.

Decompensated cirrhosis is characterized by systemic inflammation and innate and adaptive immune dysfunction. Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a prevalent and debilitating condition characterized by cognitive disturbances in which ammonia and inflammation play a synergistic pathogenic role. Extraskeletal functions of vitamin D include immunomodulation, and its deficiency has been implicated in immune dysfunction and different forms of cognitive impairment.

BabyFM: Towards accurate 3D baby facial models using spectral decomposition and asymmetry swapping.

In this paper, we present the first publicly available 3D statistical facial shape model of babies, the Baby Face Model (BabyFM). Constructing a model of the facial geometry of babies entails specific challenges, such as occlusions, extreme and uncontrollable expressions, and data shortage. We address these challenges by proposing (1) a non-template dependent method that jointly estimates a 3D facial baby-specific template and the point-to-point correspondences; (2) a novel method to establish correspondences based on the spectral decomposition of the Laplace Beltrami Operator, which provides a more robust theoretical foundation than state-of-the-art methods; and (3) an asymmetry-swapping strategy to alleviate the shortage of large scale datasets by decoupling the identity-related and the asymmetry-related shape deformation fields.

Cellulose-based poly(ionic liquid)s: Correlations between degree of substitution and alkyl side chain length with conductive and morphological properties.

Ion transport in solid polymer electrolytes is crucial for applications like energy conversion and storage, as well as carbon dioxide capture. However, most of the materials studied in this area are petroleum-based. Natural materials (biopolymers) have the potential to act as alternatives to petroleum-based products and, when derived with ionic liquid (IL) functionalities, present a sustainable alternative for conductive materials by offering tunable morphological, thermal, and mechanical properties.

Management of Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement Degeneration With Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI in SAVR): Experience in Nicaragua.

Severe aortic valve stenosis poses a significant risk for the aging population, often escalating from mild symptoms to life-threatening heart failure and sudden death. Without timely intervention, this condition can lead to disastrous outcomes. The advent of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has gained popularity, emerging as an effective alternative for managing severe aortic stenosis (AS) in high-risk patients experiencing deterioration of previously implanted bioprosthetic surgical aortic valves (SAV), which introduces complex challenges such as device compatibility and anatomical considerations.