Aberrant Chitinase 3-Like 1 Expression in Basal Cells Contributes to Systemic Sclerosis Fibrosis.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by extensive skin and internal organ fibrosis. However, the mechanism underlying fibrosis remains unclear, and effective treatments for halting or reversing fibrosis are lacking. In this study, single-cell RNA sequencing is used to obtain a comprehensive overview of skin cells from patients with SSc and healthy controls.

Increased listening effort and decreased speech discrimination at high presentation sound levels in acoustic hearing listeners and cochlear implant users.

The sounds we experience in our everyday communication can vary greatly in terms of level and background noise depending on the environment. Paradoxically, increasing the sound intensity may lead to worsened speech understanding, especially in noise. This is known as the "Rollover" phenomenon.

Tiny-Machine-Learning-Based Supply Canal Surface Condition Monitoring.

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project in China is an extensive inter-basin water transfer project, for which ensuring the safe operation and maintenance of infrastructure poses a fundamental challenge. In this context, structural health monitoring is crucial for the safe and efficient operation of hydraulic infrastructure. Currently, most health monitoring systems for hydraulic infrastructure rely on commercial software or algorithms that only run on desktop computers.

Selenium-catalyzed allylic C-H phosphoramidation of alkenes.

We report herein a synthesis of allylic phosphoramidates from alkenes by selenium-catalyzed allylic C-H derivatization. This method features mild conditions, broad substrate scope, and high functional group tolerance, enabling late-stage modification of a number of complex substrates. In addition, this protocol was applied to modify caryophyllene and produced a photoaffinity probe capable of proteomic target labeling in live HeLa cells.

Protective effects of Pt-N-C single-atom nanozymes against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Effective therapeutic strategies for myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remain elusive. Targeting reactive oxygen species (ROS) provides a practical approach to mitigate myocardial damage following reperfusion. In this study, we synthesize an antioxidant nanozyme, equipped with a single-Platinum (Pt)-atom (PtsaN-C), for protecting against I/R injury.

Deep learning-based detection and classification of lumbar disc herniation on magnetic resonance images.

Background: The severity assessment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) on MR images is crucial for selecting suitable surgical candidates. However, the interpretation of MR images is time-consuming and requires repetitive work. This study aims to develop and evaluate a deep learning-based diagnostic model for automated LDH detection and classification on lumbar axial T2-weighted MR images.

Calcipotriol Attenuates Form Deprivation Myopia Through a Signaling Pathway Parallel to TGF-β2-Induced Increases in Collagen Expression.

Purpose: To determine the role of calcipotriol, a vitamin D3 analogue, in myopia development and altering the expression of scleral α1 chain of type I collagen (Col1α1) in mice. We also aimed to identify if the signaling pathway mediating the above changes is different from the one involved in transforming growth factor β2 (TGF-β2)-mediated increases of COL1A1 in cultured human scleral fibroblasts (HSFs).

Methods: C57BL/6J mice were either intraperitoneally injected with calcipotriol and subjected to form deprivation (FD) or exposed to normal refractive development for 4 weeks.

A Facile Synthesis of 2-Oxazolines via Dehydrative Cyclization Promoted by Triflic Acid.

2-oxazolines are common moieties in numerous natural products, pharmaceuticals, and functional copolymers. Current methods for synthesizing 2-oxazolines mainly rely on stoichiometric dehydration agents or catalytic dehydration promoted by specific catalysts. These conditions either generate stoichiometric amounts of waste or require forcing azeotropic reflux conditions.

Automatic Grading of Disc Herniation, Central Canal Stenosis and Nerve Roots Compression in Lumbar Magnetic Resonance Image Diagnosis.

Aim: Accurate severity grading of lumbar spine disease by magnetic resonance images (MRIs) plays an important role in selecting appropriate treatment for the disease. However, interpreting these complex MRIs is a repetitive and time-consuming workload for clinicians, especially radiologists. Here, we aim to develop a multi-task classification model based on artificial intelligence for automated grading of lumbar disc herniation (LDH), lumbar central canal stenosis (LCCS) and lumbar nerve roots compression (LNRC) at lumbar axial MRIs.

Adaptive Fixed-Time Neural Control for Uncertain Nonlinear Multiagent Systems.

In this article, we consider the problem of adaptive fixed-time tracking control for a class of multiagent systems (MASs) with mismatched uncertainty. Unlike the existing methodologies that only implement the practical finite-/fixed-time stability for MASs, a newly adaptive consensus control criterion is developed to reach fixed-time stability, where the controller design includes a series of newly Lyavonov functions and modified tuning functions. Radial basis function neural networks are employed to deal with the unknown functions in each agent, and the direct adaptive strategy solves the obstacle of "explosion of complexity.

Znhit1 Regulates p21Cip1 to Control Mouse Lens Differentiation.

Purpose: The transparency of the ocular lens is essential for refracting and focusing light onto the retina, and transparency is controlled by many factors and signaling pathways. Here we showed a critical role of chromatin remodeler zinc finger HIT-type containing 1 (Znhit1) in maintaining lens transparency.

Methods: To explore the roles of Znhit1 in lens development, the cre-loxp system was used to generate lens-specific Znhit1 knockout mice (Znhit1Mlr10-Cre; Znhit1 cKO).

2'--Methyl modified guide RNA promotes the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discrimination ability of CRISPR-Cas12a systems.

The CRISPR-Cas12a system has been widely applied to genome editing and molecular diagnostics. However, off-target cleavages and false-positive results remain as major concerns in Cas12a practical applications. Herein, we propose a strategy by utilizing the 2'--methyl (2'-OMe) modified guide RNA (gRNA) to promote the Cas12a's specificity.

Recent Progresses in Electrochemical DNA Biosensors for MicroRNA Detection.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as the small, non-coding, evolutionary conserved, and post-transcriptional gene regulators of the genome, have been highly associated with various diseases such as cancers, viral infections, and cardiovascular diseases. Several techniques have been established to detect miRNAs, including northern blotting, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and fluorescent microarray platform. However, it remains a significant challenge to develop sensitive, accurate, rapid, and cost-effective methods to detect miRNAs due to their short size, high similarity, and low abundance.

Decreased Choroidal Blood Perfusion Induces Myopia in Guinea Pigs.

Purpose: The development of myopia in guinea pigs can be inhibited by attenuating scleral hypoxia by increasing choroidal blood perfusion (ChBP). In this study, we reduced ChBP through surgical and pharmacological methods to determine the effect on myopia development. We also determined whether ChBP was reduced by quinpirole, a drug that enhances form-deprivation myopia (FDM).

Encountering and Wrestling: Neutrophils Recognize and Defensively Degrade Graphene Oxide.

The boosting exploitation of graphene oxide (GO) increases exposure risk to human beings. However, as primary defender in the first immune line, neutrophils' mechanism of defensive behavior toward GO remains unclear. Herein, we discovered that neutrophils recognize and defensively degrade GO in a lateral dimension dependent manner.

New Structure Mass Tag based on Zr-NMOF for Multiparameter and Sensitive Single-Cell Interrogating in Mass Cytometry.

Mass cytometry, also called cytometry by time-of-flight (CyTOF), is an emerging powerful proteomic analysis technique that utilizes metal chelated polymer (MCP) as mass tags for interrogating high-dimensional biomarkers simultaneously on millions of individual cells. However, under the typical polymer-based mass tag system, the sensitivity and multiplexing detection ability has been highly restricted. Herein, a new structure mass tag based on a nanometal organic framework (NMOF) is reported for multiparameter and sensitive single-cell biomarker interrogating in CyTOF.

A HiPAD Integrated with rGO/MWCNTs Nano-Circuit Heater for Visual Point-of-Care Testing of SARS-CoV-2.

Nowadays, the main obstacle for further miniaturization and integration of nucleic acids point-of-care testing devices is the lack of low-cost and high-performance heating materials for supporting reliable nucleic acids amplification. Herein, reduced graphene oxide hybridized multi-walled carbon nanotubes nano-circuit integrated into an ingenious paper-based heater is developed, which is integrated into a paper-based analytical device (named HiPAD). The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is still raging across the world.

LINbase: a web server for genome-based identification of prokaryotes as members of crowdsourced taxa.

High throughput DNA sequencing in combination with efficient algorithms could provide the basis for a highly resolved, genome phylogeny-based and digital prokaryotic taxonomy. However, current taxonomic practice continues to rely on cumbersome journal publications for the description of new species, which still constitute the smallest taxonomic units. In response, we introduce LINbase, a web server that allows users to genomically circumscribe any group of prokaryotes with measurable DNA similarity and that uses the individual isolate as smallest unit.

Descending pathways mediate adaptive optimized coding of natural stimuli in weakly electric fish.

Biological systems must be flexible to environmental changes to survive. This is exemplified by the fact that sensory systems continuously adapt to changes in the environment to optimize coding and behavioral responses. However, the nature of the underlying mechanisms remains poorly understood in general.

Feedback optimizes neural coding and perception of natural stimuli.

Growing evidence suggests that sensory neurons achieve optimal encoding by matching their tuning properties to the natural stimulus statistics. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here we demonstrate that feedback pathways from higher brain areas mediate optimized encoding of naturalistic stimuli via temporal whitening in the weakly electric fish .

Descending pathways generate perception of and neural responses to weak sensory input.

Natural sensory stimuli frequently consist of a fast time-varying waveform whose amplitude or contrast varies more slowly. While changes in contrast carry behaviorally relevant information necessary for sensory perception, their processing by the brain remains poorly understood to this day. Here, we investigated the mechanisms that enable neural responses to and perception of low-contrast stimuli in the electrosensory system of the weakly electric fish Apteronotus leptorhynchus.

SK channel subtypes enable parallel optimized coding of behaviorally relevant stimulus attributes: A review.

Ion channels play essential roles toward determining how neurons respond to sensory input to mediate perception and behavior. Small conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels are found ubiquitously throughout the brain and have been extensively characterized both molecularly and physiologically in terms of structure and function. It is clear that SK channels are key determinants of neural excitability as they mediate important neuronal response properties such as spike frequency adaptation.

Optimized Parallel Coding of Second-Order Stimulus Features by Heterogeneous Neural Populations.

Unlabelled: Efficient processing of sensory input is essential to ensure an organism's survival in its natural environment. Growing evidence suggests that sensory neurons can optimally encode natural stimuli by ensuring that their tuning opposes stimulus statistics, such that the resulting neuronal response contains equal power at all frequencies (i.e.

Temporal decorrelation by SK channels enables efficient neural coding and perception of natural stimuli.

It is commonly assumed that neural systems efficiently process natural sensory input. However, the mechanisms by which such efficient processing is achieved, and the consequences for perception and behaviour remain poorly understood. Here we show that small conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels enable efficient neural processing and perception of natural stimuli.