Exploring chemical space for lead identification by propagating on chemical similarity network.

Motivation: Lead identification is a fundamental step to prioritize candidate compounds for downstream drug discovery process. Machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) approaches are widely used to identify lead compounds using both chemical property and experimental information. However, ML or DL methods rarely consider compound similarity information directly since ML and DL models use abstract representation of molecules for model construction.

A Bioresponsive Genetically Encoded Antimicrobial Crystal for the Oral Treatment of Helicobacter Pylori Infection.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) causes infection in the stomach and is a major factor for gastric carcinogenesis. The application of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as an alternative treatment to traditional antibiotics is limited by their facile degradation in the stomach, their poor penetration of the gastric mucosa, and the cost of peptide production.

Clinical comparative analysis of culture-proven bacterial keratitis according to prior topical steroid use: a retrospective study in a tertiary referral center of South Korea.

This study analyzed the clinical characteristics of patients exposed to topical steroids before bacterial keratitis diagnosis (the prior topical steroid use, PS group), and compared these with those of the non-exposed group (the no prior topical steroid use, NPS group). We retrospectively analyzed 194 patients (PS, 34; NPS, 160) with culture-proven bacterial keratitis between 2007 and 2016. The microbiological profiles, epidemiology, predisposing factors, clinical characteristics, and treatment outcomes of PS and NPS were compared, and the risk factors for surgical intervention were evaluated.

Compensation of Heat Effect in Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Plasma System for Radar Cross-Section (RCS) Reduction.

In this study, the problems encountered in radar cross-section (RCS) measurement experiments utilizing a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma system are examined and an effective solution is proposed. A DBD plasma system generates heat due to the high bias voltage required for plasma generation. The thermal-induced structural deformation of the DBD structure caused by this high voltage and its impact on RCS measurements are analyzed.

Stretchable Sensors: Novel Human Motion Monitoring Wearables.

A human body monitoring system remains a significant focus, and to address the challenges in wearable sensors, a nanotechnology-enhanced strategy is proposed for designing stretchable metal-organic polymer nanocomposites. The nanocomposite comprises reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and in-situ generated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) within elastic electrospun polystyrene-butadiene-polystyrene (SBS) fibers. The resulting Sandwich Structure Piezoresistive Woven Nanofabric (SSPWN) is a tactile-sensitive wearable sensor with remarkable performance.

Characterization of SiO Plasma Etching with Perfluorocarbon (CF and CF) and Hydrofluorocarbon (CHF and CHF) Precursors for the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction.

This paper proposes the use of environmentally friendly alternatives, CF and CHF, as perfluorocarbon (PFC) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) precursors, respectively, for SiO plasma etching, instead of conventional precursors CF and CHF. The study employs scanning electron microscopy for etch profile analysis and quadrupole mass spectrometry for plasma diagnosis. Ion bombardment energy at the etching conditions is determined through self-bias voltage measurements, while densities of radical species are obtained using quadrupole mass spectroscopy.

Regional classification of high PM concentrations in the Seoul metropolitan and Chungcheongnam-do areas, Republic of Korea.

Since the Seoul metropolitan area is a highly developed megacity, many people are often exposed to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM), with mean aerodynamic diameters equal to or less than 10 μm (PM), in cold seasons. PM concentrations can be influenced by a combination of various factors, including meteorological conditions, anthropogenic emissions, atmospheric chemical reactions, transboundary transport, and geographic characteristics. However, the establishment of an efficient air quality management plan remains challenging due to the limited understanding of the regional PM concentration characteristics.

The Simplified Comorbidity Index predicts non-relapse mortality in reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation.

Comorbidity assessment before allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) is essential for estimating non-relapse mortality (NRM) risk. We previously developed the Simplified Comorbidity Index (SCI), which captures a small number of 'high-yield' comorbidities and older age. The SCI was predictive of NRM in myeloablative CD34-selected allo-HCT.

regulates osteoclastogenesis by inhibiting the c‑Fos/NFATc1 pathway and alleviating bone loss in an ovariectomy model.

Medical and economic developments have allowed the human lifespan to extend and, as a result, the elderly population has increased worldwide. Osteoporosis is a common geriatric disease that has no symptoms and even a small impact can cause fractures in patients, leading to a serious deterioration in the quality of life. Osteoporosis treatment typically involves bisphosphonates and selective estrogen receptor modulators.

Magic bubbles: utilizing histotripsy to modulate the tumor microenvironment and improve systemic anti-tumor immune responses.

Focused Ultrasound (FUS) is emerging as a promising primary and adjunct therapy for the treatment of cancer. This includes histotripsy, which is a noninvasive, non-ionizing, non-thermal ultrasound guided ablation modality. As histotripsy has progressed from bench-to-bedside, it has become evident that this therapy has benefits beyond local tumor ablation.

Identification and Quantitation of the Bioactive Components in Wasted Leaves Extract with Endothelial Protective Activity.

, a renowned medicinal plant with a rich history in traditional medicine, has gained attention for its potential therapeutic applications. However, the leaves of this plant have been largely overlooked and discarded due to limited knowledge of their biological activity and chemical composition. To bridge this gap, a comprehensive study was conducted to explore the therapeutic potential of the 70% ethanol extract derived from leaves (LAE) for the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Effect of Atmospheric Temperature on Epoxy Coating Reinforced with Carbon Nanotubes for De-Icing on Road Systems.

Traffic accidents caused by road icing are a serious global problem, and conventional de-icing methods like spraying chemicals have several limitations, including excessive manpower management, road damage, and environmental pollution. In this study, the carbon nanotubes reinforced de-icing coating for the road system with a self-heating function was developed as part of the development of a new system to prevent accidents caused by road icing. The electrical characteristics of the fabricated coating were analyzed, and the carbon nanotube coating heating performance experiment was conducted to measure the temperature increments by applying a voltage to the coating at a sub-zero temperature using an environmental chamber.

Stepwise modifications of transcriptional hubs link pioneer factor activity to a burst of transcription.

Binding of transcription factors (TFs) promotes the subsequent recruitment of coactivators and preinitiation complexes to initiate eukaryotic transcription, but this time course is usually not visualized. It is commonly assumed that recruited factors eventually co-reside in a higher-order structure, allowing distantly bound TFs to activate transcription at core promoters. We use live imaging of endogenously tagged proteins, including the pioneer TF Zelda, the coactivator dBrd4, and RNA polymerase II (RNAPII), to define a cascade of events upstream of transcriptional initiation in early Drosophila embryos.

A Systematic Survey of Reversibly Covalent Dipeptidyl Inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease.

SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19 pathogen, relies on its main protease (M) for replication and pathogenesis. M is a demonstrated target for the development of antivirals for SARS-CoV-2. Past studies have systematically explored tripeptidyl inhibitors such as nirmatrelvir as M inhibitors.

Balancing Bleeding Risk and Thromboembolic Complications in Elderly Chronic Subdural Hematoma Patients Undergoing Burr Hole Trephination : A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study and Literature Review.

Objective: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) patients using antithrombotic agents (AT) at high risk for cardiovascular disease are increasing. The authors aimed to analyze the factors influencing outcome by targeting patients using AT and to establish a desirable treatment strategy.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on data from 462 patients who underwent burr hole trephination (BHT) surgery for CSDH at five hospitals from March 2010 to June 2021.

Progress on the pathological tissue microenvironment barrier-modulated nanomedicine.

Imbalance in the tissue microenvironment is the main obstacle to drug delivery and distribution in the human body. Before penetrating the pathological tissue microenvironment to the target site, therapeutic agents are usually accompanied by three consumption steps: the first step is tissue physical barriers for prevention of their penetration, the second step is inactivation of them by biological molecules, and the third step is a cytoprotective mechanism for preventing them from functioning on specific subcellular organelles. However, recent studies in drug-hindering mainly focus on normal physiological rather than pathological microenvironment, and the repair of damaged physiological barriers is also rarely discussed.

Potential effectiveness of digital therapeutics specialized in executive functions as adjunctive treatment for clinical symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a feasibility study.

Introduction: The role of digital therapeutics (DTx) in the effective management of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is beginning to gain clinical attention. Therefore, it is essential to verify their potential efficacy.

Method: We aimed to investigate the improvement in the clinical symptoms of ADHD by using DTx AimDT01 (NUROW) (AIMMED Co.

Kirigami Photopiezo Catalysts for Self-Sustainable Environment Remediation.

Photo(electro)-piezo catalysis has emerged as one of the most effective strategies for sustainable environmental remediation. While various (nano)materials have been investigated for enhancing the intrinsic properties related to the interfacial band structure, increasing the efficiency by integration of materials with rational design for stress-strain applications has not yet been considered. Herein, we introduce kirigami strain engineering to photopiezo catalysts for enhancing efficiency by increasing the magnitude of applied strain and density of bends.

Inhibition by components of of 3CLpro and HCoV-OC43 proliferation.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). 3CLpro is a key enzyme in coronavirus proliferation and a treatment target for COVID-19. and , compounds - from had inhibitory activity and binding affinity for 3CLpro.

The combined role of MRI prostate and prostate health index in improving detection of significant prostate cancer in a screening population of Chinese men.

Using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for prostate cancer (PCa) screening led to overinvestigation and overdiagnosis of indolent PCa. We aimed to investigate the value of prostate health index (PHI) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) prostate in an Asian PCa screening program. Men aged 50-75 years were prospectively recruited from a community-based PSA screening program.

Micronutrients in High-Fat Diet Modify Insulin Resistance and Its Regulatory Genes in Adult Male Mice.

Scope: Obesity and insulin resistance (IR) are associated with epigenetic changes of gene expression. However, the relationship between micronutrients, epigenetic regulation of gene expression, and IR during development of diet-induced obesity has yet to be defined. Our objective is to describe the effect of micronutrient addition to diets on IR and its related genes during obesity development.