Effective management of pre-existing biofilms using UV-LED through inactivation, disintegration and peeling.

Managing undesirable biofilms is a persistent challenge in water treatment and distribution systems. Although ultraviolet-light emitting diode (UV-LED) irradiation, an emerging disinfection method with the chemical-free and emission-adjustable merits, has been widely reported effective to inactivate planktonic bacteria, few studies have examined its effects on biofilms. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the performance and mechanism of UV-LEDs on the prefabricated Escherichia coli (E.

Relationship between dietary diversity, eating behavior, and cognitive performance in economically disadvantaged school children.

Objective: The effect of dietary diversity and eating behavior on attention, and concentration among children lacking in resources is unclear. We aim to investigate the association between dietary diversity, eating behavior, and cognitive abilities among economically disadvantaged children at high risk of cognitive impairment.

Methods: This study enrolled 676 children aged 10-12 years from 16 free academic tutoring centers across Taiwan.

The prospect of mushroom as an alterative protein: From acquisition routes to nutritional quality, biological activity, application and beyond.

There is a need for new protein sources to sustainably feed the world. Mushroom proteins are regarded as a future protein alternative considering their low cost, high nutritional quality, and excellent digestibility, have attracted increasing attention. Proteins with multiple structural characteristics endow mushroom with various bioactivities, which has also broadened application of mushroom in nutrition, food fields, as well as in emerging industries.

Success rates and success stories: Staging anticipation on fertility clinic websites in Taiwan, Japan, and the UK.

This paper investigates how fertility clinics stage anticipation on their websites to create imagined futures for their potential users. We developed an analytical framework to explore their "tools of futuring," focusing on two key modes: probabilistic and interpretative. This framework helps identify the strategies used by clinics to convey specific visions of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs).

Metabolic profiling reveals altered amino acid and fatty acid metabolism in children with Williams Syndrome.

Williams Syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder with a prevalence of 1 in 7500 to 1 in 20,000 individuals, caused by a microdeletion in chromosome 7q11.23. Despite its distinctive clinical features, the underlying metabolic alterations remain largely unexplored.

Real-world evaluation of intracardiac echocardiography guided radio-frequency catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: a retrospective cohort study.

Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) has been used to guide radio-frequency catheter ablation (RFCA) for better catheter navigation and less radiation exposure in treating atrial fibrillation (AF). This retrospective cohort study enrolled 227 AF patients undergoing ICE- or traditional fluoroscopy (TF)-guided RFCA for AF in a tertiary hospital. ICE was used more often in patients with atrial tachycardia [odds ratio (OR) 3.

A quality control circle to improve preventive care for lower limb lymphedema in gynecologic oncology surgery.

Objective: This study aims to enhance compliance with lower limb lymphedema (LLL) prevention care measures post-gynecologic oncology surgery (GOS) through quality control circle (QCC) activity, aiming to improve patient recovery outcomes and reduce postoperative complications.

Methods: A 6-month QCC activity was conducted within the hospital, employing the ten-step plan-do-check-act model for QCC activity. The root causes of inadequate implementation of LLL prevention care measures were analyzed, leading to the development of relevant strategies and protocols.

Hybrids of copper cysteamine nanosheets and silver nanocluster ensure superior bactericidal capability via enhanced photodynamic effect.

Over the past decades, bacterial infections resulting from the misuse of antibiotics have garnered significant attention. Among the alternative antibacterial strategies, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a promising non-antibiotic approach. However, persistent bacterial biofilms, particularly those composed of gram-negative bacteria with their protective outer membranes, have exhibited remarkable resilience to PDT.

Comprehensive Mass Spectral Libraries of Human Thyroid Tissues and Cells.

Thyroid nodules are a common endocrine condition with an increasing incidence over the decades. Data-independent acquisition has been widely utilized in discovery proteomics to identify disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets. To analyze the thyroid disease-related proteome in a high-throughput, reproducible and reliable manner, we introduce thyroid-specific peptide spectral libraries.

LPL-RH suppresses bone loss in ovariectomised rat models.

Background: Evidence has revealed that oestrogen deprivation-induced osteolysis is microbiota-dependent and can be treated by probiotics. However, the underlying mechanism require further investigation. This study aims to provide additional evidence supporting the use of probiotics as an adjuvant treatment and to explore the pathophysiology of oestrogen-deprived osteolysis.

Choroid plexus cysts on 7T MRI: Relationship to aging and neurodegenerative diseases.

Introduction: The choroid plexus (CP) may play a crucial role in brain degeneration. We aim to assess whether CP cysts (CPCs), defined using ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), relate to aging and neurodegeneration.

Methods: We used multi-sequence 7T MRI to observe CPCs, characterizing their presence and characteristics in healthy younger controls, healthy older controls (OCs), patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and patients with uremic encephalopathy.

Comparison of Population Pharmacokinetic Modeling and Machine Learning Approaches for Predicting Voriconazole Trough Concentrations in Critically Ill Patients.

Despite the widespread use of voriconazole in antifungal treatment, its high pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variability may lead to suboptimal efficacy, especially in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Machine learning (ML), an artificial intelligence modeling approach, is increasingly being applied to personalized medicine. The effectiveness of ML models for predicting voriconazole blood concentrations in ICU patients, compared to traditional population pharmacokinetics (popPK) models, has been uncertain until now.

Effects of transglutaminase on the gelation properties and digestibility of pea protein isolate with resonance acoustic mixing pretreatment.

Our previous research confirmed that resonance acoustic mixing (RAM) pretreatment effectively improved the emulsification and water retention of commercial pea protein isolate (PPI), but significantly reduced its gel performance. This study aimed to investigate the effect of transglutaminase (TGase, 0.1 %, 0.

Rapid and precise treatment selection for antimicrobial-resistant infection enabled by a nano-dilution SlipChip.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become an increasingly severe threat to global health, and AMR-associated infection is one of the leading causes of death around the world. Due to the long turnaround time and the limited flexibility and availability of current antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) methods, a large portion of patients with bacterial infections are still treated empirically, increasing the risk of mistreatment. To address the demand for precision treatment of bacterial infections, we developed a nano-dilution SlipChip (nd-SlipChip)-based systematic evaluation method, which facilitates rapid, logic feedback for the assessment of antibiotics, antibiotic combinations, and phage therapy.

Cultivated meat microbiological safety considerations and practices.

Cultivated meat, produced using cell culture technology, is an alternative to conventional meat production that avoids the risks from enteric pathogens associated with animal slaughter and processing. Cultivated meat therefore has significant theoretical microbiological safety advantages, though limited information is available to validate this. This review discusses sources and vectors of microbial contamination throughout cultivated meat production, introduces industry survey data to evaluate current industry practices for monitoring and mitigating these hazards, and highlights future research needs.

Epidemiologic characteristics of 22,086 patients discharged from the Department of Orthopaedic Trauma at a military hospital between 2013 and 2022: a retrospective real-world study.

Background: To analyse the epidemiological characteristics of orthopaedic trauma patients and thereby optimize healthcare resource allocation and improve treatment efficiency.

Materials And Methods: Relying on the hospital information system (HIS) database, we retrospectively analysed the epidemiological characteristics of orthopaedic trauma inpatients in our hospital between 2013 and 2022, including patient demographic information, causes of injury, location of injury and hospitalization costs.

Results: The median age of the patients was 36 (26-47) years old; the age stratification of the patients was highest in the proportion of patients aged 40-50 years old (29.

Apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele is associated with better performance language and visual memory in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3.

Background: The regulatory role of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele in the clinical manifestations of spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the APOE ε4 allele on cognitive and motor functions in SCA3 patients.

Methods: This study included 281 unrelated SCA3 patients and 182 controls.

Review of Applications of Microneedling in Melasma.

Background: Melasma, a common skin pigmentation disease, can negatively impact patients' mental health, social interactions, and physical appearance. Although we now have several treatments accessible, such as medicines, chemical peels, and phototherapy, which can help ease symptoms to some extent, the requirement for a long-term effective and safe treatment for patients is far from met. In the face of this problem, microneedling, as an innovative treatment, provides a new avenue for treating melasma.

Involvement of endogenous IAA and ABA in the regulation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus on rooting of tea plant (Camellia sinensis L.) cuttings.

Background: Adventitious root (AR) formation is the key step for successful cutting propagation of tea plants (Camellia sinensis L.). Studies showed that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) can promote the rooting ability, and auxin pathway in basal stem of cuttings was involved in this process.

Brain tumor and mood disorders: a retrospective analysis of anxiety and depression in patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors.

Brain tumors are associated with a dismal prognosis, and the diagnosis often evokes significant psychological distress. However, the progression of emotional well-being throughout the clinical course of brain tumors remains poorly understood. This study aims to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression in brain tumor patients and to identify the risk factors associated with postoperative emotional derangement in glioma and metastatic groups seperately.

Multimodal Deep Learning Fusing Clinical and Radiomics Scores for Prediction of Early-Stage Lung Adenocarcinoma Lymph Node Metastasis.

Rationale And Objectives: To develop and validate a multimodal deep learning (DL) model based on computed tomography (CT) images and clinical knowledge to predict lymph node metastasis (LNM) in early lung adenocarcinoma.

Materials And Methods: A total of 724 pathologically confirmed early invasive lung adenocarcinoma patients were retrospectively included from two centers. Clinical and CT semantic features of the patients were collected, and 3D radiomics features were extracted from nonenhanced CT images.

ROS scavenging and corneal epithelial wound healing by a self-crosslinked tissue-adhesive hydrogel based-on dual-functionalized hyaluronic acid.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging is a viable approach to promote corneal epithelium wound healing. This study created a single-component hydrogel (HA Gel) with a novel dual-functionalized hyaluronic acid derivative (HA-GA-PBA) containing gallol and phenylboronic acid (PBA) moieties. Both of these moieties were dual-functional.

Race as a prognostic factor of breast mucinous carcinoma.

Purpose: The rarity of breast mucinous carcinoma (BMC) makes it challenging to study the prognosis of this disease across diverse racial populations. This study aimed to leverage epidemiological data on immigrant populations to elucidate the prognostic differences in BMC patients from various racial/ethnic backgrounds. The goal was to help formulate more personalized clinical practice guidelines for the management of this rare malignancy.

Exploration of Fusion and Fission of Molecular Assemblies in Aqueous Solution through a Dynamic Clustering Approach.

To understand the mechanism of self-assembly and to predict the evolutionary pattern of the fusion-fission system over a long period of time, studying the dynamics of these processes is of great significance. The trajectories from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of self-assembly processes contain numerous latent fusion and fission events. To analyze the fusion and fission events from the simulated trajectory, in this article, a dynamic clustering approach was developed by comparing the changes of monomer composition within clusters over simulated time.

BAE-ViT: An Efficient Multimodal Vision Transformer for Bone Age Estimation.

This research introduces BAE-ViT, a specialized vision transformer model developed for bone age estimation (BAE). This model is designed to efficiently merge image and sex data, a capability not present in traditional convolutional neural networks (CNNs). BAE-ViT employs a novel data fusion method to facilitate detailed interactions between visual and non-visual data by tokenizing non-visual information and concatenating all tokens (visual or non-visual) as the input to the model.