Low-Cost Intrinsic Flame-Retardant Bio-Based High Performance Polyurethane and its Application in Triboelectric Nanogenerators.

Flammability is a significant challenge in polymer-based electronics. In this regard, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have enabled a safe means for harvesting mechanical energy for conversion into electrical energy. However, most existing polymers used for TENGs are sourced from petroleum-based raw materials and are highly flammable, which can further accelerate the spread of fire and harm the ecological environment.

Quantitative Parameters of Intravoxel Incoherent Movement Imaging and Dynamic Contrast Enhancement MRI for the Prediction of HER2-Zero, -Low, and -Positive Breast Cancers.

Rationale And Objectives: To explore the predictive value of quantitative parameters from intravoxel incoherent movement (IVIM) imging and dynamic contrast enhancement MRI (DCE-MRI) for HER2 expression in breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included 167 women with breast cancer who underwent MRI from December 2019 to December 2023, categorized into 48 HER2-positive, 78 HER2-low and 41 HER2-zero cancers. All patients underwent IVIM imaging and DCE-MRI.

Protein language models learn evolutionary statistics of interacting sequence motifs.

Protein language models (pLMs) have emerged as potent tools for predicting and designing protein structure and function, and the degree to which these models fundamentally understand the inherent biophysics of protein structure stands as an open question. Motivated by a finding that pLM-based structure predictors erroneously predict nonphysical structures for protein isoforms, we investigated the nature of sequence context needed for contact predictions in the pLM Evolutionary Scale Modeling (ESM-2). We demonstrate by use of a "categorical Jacobian" calculation that ESM-2 stores statistics of coevolving residues, analogously to simpler modeling approaches like Markov Random Fields and Multivariate Gaussian models.

Alternative Complement Pathway Inhibition with Iptacopan in IgA Nephropathy.

Background: The alternative complement pathway plays a key role in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy. Iptacopan specifically binds to factor B and inhibits the alternative pathway.

Methods: In this phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we enrolled adults with biopsy-confirmed IgA nephropathy and proteinuria (defined as a 24-hour urinary protein-to-creatinine ratio of ≥1 [with protein and creatinine both measured in grams]) despite optimized supportive therapy.

Engineered 3D human neurovascular model of Alzheimer's disease to study vascular dysfunction.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) serves as a selective filter that prevents harmful substances from entering the healthy brain. Dysfunction of this barrier is implicated in several neurological diseases. In the context of Alzheimer's disease (AD), BBB breakdown plays a significant role in both the initiation and progression of the disease.

Biosynthesis of bridged tricyclic sesquiterpenes in Inula lineariifolia.

Presilphiperfolane-type sesquiterpenes represent a unique group of atypical sesquiterpenoids characterized by their distinctive tricyclic structure. They have significant potential as lead compounds for pharmaceutical and agrochemical development. Herein, we utilized a transcriptomic approach to identify a terpene synthase (TPS) gene responsible for the biosynthesis of rare presilphiperfolane-type sesquiterpenes in Inula lineariifolia, designated as IlTPS1.

Protective RBD-dimer vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants produced in glycoengineered Pichia pastoris.

Protective vaccines are crucial for preventing and controlling coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Updated vaccines are needed to confront the continuously evolving and circulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants. These vaccines should be safe, effective, amenable to easily scalable production, and affordable.

Comparison of Biological Augmentation in Rotator Cuff Repair Using Inflamed Versus Noninflamed Bursal Tissue in Rats.

Purpose: To examine how augmentation of a rotator cuff repair with inflamed versus noninflamed bursal tissue affects tendon-to-bone healing in a rat model of rotator cuff repair.

Methods: A total of 136 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to an inflamed or noninflamed bursal tissue application group. After detachment, the supraspinatus tendon was reattached with bursal tissue sewn onto the tendon-to-bone interface.

Abatacept for acute graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis after unrelated donor hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Abatacept plus calcineurin inhibitors/methotrexate (CNI/MTX) is the first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved regimen for acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) prophylaxis during unrelated-donor hematopoietic cell transplantation (URD-HCT). Using Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research data, we investigated its impact in patients receiving 7/8 HLA-mismatched unrelated donor (MMUD) or 8/8 HLA-matched unrelated donor (MUD) URD-HCT between 2011 and 2018. Primary outcomes included day-180, 1-year, and 2-year overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) for abatacept + CNI/MTX vs CNI/MTX, CNI/MTX + antithymocyte globulin (ATG), and posttransplant cyclophosphamide-based prophylaxis (PT-Cy).

Clinical Impact of Telomere Length Testing for Interstitial Lung Disease.

Background: Shortened telomere length (TL) is a genomic risk factor for fibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD), but its role in clinical management is unknown.

Research Question: What is the clinical impact of TL testing on the management of ILD?

Study Design And Methods: Patients were evaluated in the Columbia University ILD clinic and underwent Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-certified TL testing by flow cytometry and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FlowFISH) as part of clinical treatment. Short TL was defined as below the 10th age-adjusted percentile for either granulocytes or lymphocytes by FlowFISH.

The limits of fair medical imaging AI in real-world generalization.

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly approaches human-level performance in medical imaging, it is crucial that it does not exacerbate or propagate healthcare disparities. Previous research established AI's capacity to infer demographic data from chest X-rays, leading to a key concern: do models using demographic shortcuts have unfair predictions across subpopulations? In this study, we conducted a thorough investigation into the extent to which medical AI uses demographic encodings, focusing on potential fairness discrepancies within both in-distribution training sets and external test sets. Our analysis covers three key medical imaging disciplines-radiology, dermatology and ophthalmology-and incorporates data from six global chest X-ray datasets.

Arthroscopic Repair of Acetabular Cartilage Delamination Using Chondral Nail Fixation in Patients With Femoroacetabular Impingement.

Acetabular cartilage delamination is commonly seen in patients with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), especially ones with the cam deformity. However, the definition and classification of acetabular cartilage injuries caused by FAI to guide clinical treatment remain controversial. Moreover, treatment of acetabular cartilage damage always causes a dilemma for surgeon during surgery.

Cholesterol reduction by immunization with a PCSK9 mimic.

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is a plasma protein that controls cholesterol homeostasis. Here, we design a human PCSK9 mimic, named HIT01, with no consecutive 9-residue stretch in common with any human protein as a potential heart attack vaccine. Murine immunizations with HIT01 reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and cholesterol levels by 40% and 30%, respectively.

Imaging Assessments and Clinical Significance of Brain Frailty in Moyamoya Disease.

Background And Purpose: Imaging assessment of brain frailty in ischemic stroke has been extensively studied, while the correlation between brain frailty and Moyamoya disease remains obscure. This study aimed to investigate the imaging characteristics of brain frailty and its clinical applications in Moyamoya disease.

Materials And Methods: This study included 60 patients with Moyamoya disease (107 hemispheres).

EVIDENCE meta-analysis: evaluating minimal residual disease as an intermediate clinical end point for multiple myeloma.

Estimating progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival superiority during clinical trials of multiple myeloma (MM) has become increasingly challenging as novel therapeutics have improved patient outcomes. Thus, it is imperative to identify earlier end point surrogates that are predictive of long-term clinical benefit. Minimal residual disease (MRD)-negativity is a common intermediate end point that has shown prognostic value for clinical benefit in MM.

Cell-intrinsic and microenvironmental determinants of metastatic colonization.

Cancer metastasis is a biologically complex process that remains a major challenge in the oncology clinic, accounting for nearly all of the mortality associated with malignant neoplasms. To establish metastatic growths, carcinoma cells must disseminate from the primary tumour, survive in unfamiliar tissue microenvironments, re-activate programs of proliferation, and escape innate and adaptive immunosurveillance. The entire process is extremely inefficient and can occur over protracted timescales, yielding only a vanishingly small number of carcinoma cells that are able to complete all of the required steps.