Induction of osteoblast apoptosis stimulates macrophage efferocytosis and paradoxical bone formation.

Apoptosis is crucial for tissue homeostasis and organ development. In bone, apoptosis is recognized to be a main fate of osteoblasts, yet the relevance of this process remains underexplored. Using our murine model with inducible Caspase 9, the enzyme that initiates intrinsic apoptosis, we triggered apoptosis in a proportion of mature osteocalcin (OCN) osteoblasts and investigated the impact on postnatal bone development.

Lrp8 knockout mice fed a selenium-replete diet display subtle deficits in their spatial learning and memory function.

Selenium is an essential trace element that is delivered to the brain by the selenium transport protein selenoprotein P (SEPP1), primarily by binding to its receptor low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 8 (LRP8), also known as apolipoprotein E receptor 2 (ApoER2), at the blood-brain barrier. Selenium transport is required for several important brain functions, with transgenic deletion of either or resulting in severe neurological dysfunction and death in mice fed a selenium-deficient diet. Previous studies have reported that although feeding a standard chow diet can prevent these severe deficits, some motor coordination and cognitive dysfunction remain.

Functional impact and targetability of , , and mutations in a spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma with MYOD1 L122R mutation.

Spindle cell/sclerosing rhabdomyosarcoma (ssRMS) is a rare subtype of rhabdomyosarcoma, commonly harboring a gain-of-function L122R mutation in the muscle-specific master transcription factor MYOD1. -mutated ssRMS is almost invariably fatal, and development of novel therapeutic approaches based on the biology of the disease is urgently needed. MYOD1 L122R affects the DNA-binding domain and is believed to confer MYC-like properties to MYOD1, driving oncogenesis.

What to measure in biliary atresia research: study protocol for developing a core outcome set.

Aim: Extrahepatic biliary atresia is a rare disorder. This creates challenges in the quality and quantity of research conducted. This issue is exacerbated by the potential heterogeneity in the reported outcomes in research examining the management of biliary atresia.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical and Mental Health in China and Spain: Cross-sectional Study.

Background: Differences in physical and mental health impact across continents during the COVID-19 pandemic are unknown.

Objective: This study compared the levels of impact of COVID-19 on mental health among people from Spain and China and correlated mental health parameters with variables relating to symptoms similar to COVID-19, COVID-19 knowledge, and precautionary measures.

Methods: We collected information on demographic data, physical symptoms, contact history with persons with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, COVID-19 knowledge, and precautionary measures.

A longitudinal study on the mental health of general population during the COVID-19 epidemic in China.

In addition to being a public physical health emergency, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected global mental health, as evidenced by panic-buying worldwide as cases soared. Little is known about changes in levels of psychological impact, stress, anxiety and depression during this pandemic. This longitudinal study surveyed the general population twice - during the initial outbreak, and the epidemic's peak four weeks later, surveying demographics, symptoms, knowledge, concerns, and precautionary measures against COVID-19.

The efficacy of melatonin and melatonin agonists in insomnia - An umbrella review.

We conducted an umbrella review to summarize all available systematic reviews and meta-analyses investigating the efficacy of melatonin and melatonin agonists in primary and comorbid insomnia disorders. Two independent reviewers conducted a search of Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Google Scholar, PROSPERO and grey literature from inception to July 2018. Methodological quality was assessed using the revised Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews Instrument.

High jump of impinged droplets before Leidenfrost state.

Unlike the traditionally reported Leidenfrost droplet which only floats on a thin film of vapor, we observe a prominent jump of the impinged droplets in the transition from the contact boiling to the Leidenfrost state. The vapor generation between the droplet and the substrate is vigorous enough to propel the spreading droplet pancake to an anomalous height. The maximum repellent height can be treated as an index of the total transferred energy.

Diagnosing water treatment critical control points for cyanobacterial removal: Exploring benefits of combined microscopy, next-generation sequencing, and cell integrity methods.

A wide range of cyanobacterial species and their harmful metabolites are increasingly detected in water bodies worldwide, exacerbated by climate change and human activities. The resulting bloom conditions represent significant challenges to production of safe drinking water and cost effective water reuse, therefore their removal is a priority to ensure public safety. While current microscopic taxonomy identification methods provide valuable information about cell numbers during treatment, these methods are incapable of providing information about the fate of cells during treatment.

Enhanced real-time cyanobacterial fluorescence monitoring through chlorophyll-a interference compensation corrections.

In situ fluorometers can be used as a real-time cyanobacteria detection tool to maintain safe drinking and recreational water standards. However, previous studies into fluorometers have established issues arising mainly from measurement inaccuracies due to green algae interference. Therefore, this study focusses on developing correction factors from a systematic study on the impact of green algae as an interference source.

Unimolecular ligand-initiator dual functional systems (ULIS) for low copper ATRP of vinyl monomers including acrylic/methacrylic acids.

A novel approach for ATRP has been developed which enables the polymerization of vinyl monomers including those bearing carboxylic acid groups such as acrylic/methacrylic acid in the free acid form with ppm amounts of copper. The quantity of copper used in the polymerization is comparable to those left in purified polymers obtained by a conventional ATRP process.

Prediction of the mediastinal drainage after coronary artery bypass surgery.

Using multiple correlation and linear regression approaches, we investigated the association between the amount of mediastinal drainage for the first 24 postoperative hours and clinical variables as well as multiple haematological tests performed at three time points: before anaesthesia induction, 10 minutes after protamine administration and just after skin closure, on 46 patients undergoing primary coronary artery bypass grafting. Three models from the three times were then developed to predict mediastinal drainage. The number of internal mammary grafts, the total number of grafts and plasma fibrinogen concentration were useful predictors of mediastinal drainage at all three times.

Grating coupled compound resonators.

A simple model, based on a simple boundary condition at the grating coupling surface, is constructed for a grating coupled cavity. The physical meaning of the boundary condition is discussed, and the gain factor and phase shift of the coupled resonator are studied in terms of the properties of the grating and the reflectivities of the mirrors.

A formulation of the infinite strip resonator problem.

The geometrical theory of diffraction has been used to formulate the infinite strip resonator problem. The conditions of large mirror size and large separation of the end mirrors in the Fox and Li formulation can be removed under this alternative scheme. Diffraction losses and phase shifts are given for resonators of Fresnel number from 0.