Mass Acquisition of Dirac Fermions in Bi_{4}I_{4} by Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking.

Massive Dirac fermions, which are essential for realizing novel topological phenomena, are expected to be generated from massless Dirac fermions by breaking the related symmetry, such as time-reversal symmetry in topological insulators or crystal symmetry in topological crystalline insulators. Here, we report scanning tunneling microscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy studies of α-Bi_{4}I_{4}, which reveals the realization of massive Dirac fermions in the (100) surface states without breaking the time-reversal symmetry. Combined with first-principles calculations, our experimental results indicate that the spontaneous symmetry breaking engenders two nondegenerate edge states at the opposite sides of monolayer Bi_{4}I_{4} after the structural phase transition, imparting mass to the Dirac fermions after taking the interlayer coupling into account.

Expert consensus on apical microsurgery.

Apical microsurgery is accurate and minimally invasive, produces few complications, and has a success rate of more than 90%. However, due to the lack of awareness and understanding of apical microsurgery by dental general practitioners and even endodontists, many clinical problems remain to be overcome. The consensus has gathered well-known domestic experts to hold a series of special discussions and reached the consensus.

Comparing saccades in Visually Enhanced Vestibular-Ocular Reflex and video head impulse test in vestibular assessment.

Objective: This study aimed to develop and evaluate a novel software tool for robust analysis of the Visually Enhanced Vestibular-Ocular Reflex (VVOR) and video head impulse test (vHIT) saccades.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 94 patients with Meniere's Disease (MD), unilateral vestibular hypofunction (UVH), and vestibular migraine (VM). The MATLAB-based VVOR Analysis System and Saccades All in One software were utilized for data processing.

Dermal Exposure to Agrochemicals as Risk Factor for Skin Cancer in Farmers and Ranchers in the US Central States.

Background: Farm operators are at a high risk of developing skin cancer due to their occupational sun exposure. With the growing incidence of skin cancer, it is also important to evaluate other occupational risk factors. Farm operators confront numerous physical, chemical, and biological hazards in their work environment.

Targeting TRAF6/IRF3 axis to inhibit NF-κB-p65 nuclear translocation enhances the chemosensitivity of 5-FU and reverses the proliferation of gastric cancer.

Chemoresistance poses a significant clinical challenge in the treatment of gastric cancer (GC), while its underlying molecular mechanisms are still not fully understood. Post-translational protein modification and abnormal activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) are critical regulators of tumor chemoresistance. This study investigates the role of TNF receptors-associated factors 6 (TRAF6) in 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) resistant GC.

Effects of a video intervention and ethnocultural empathy on racial color-blindness, White empathy, and willingness to confront White privilege.

Objectives: This purpose of this study was to examine (a) the effects of a video intervention on decreasing racial color-blindness, increasing White people's empathy toward racism (i.e., White empathy), and increasing willingness to confront White privilege; and (b) whether ethnocultural empathy moderated the effect of this intervention on these two outcomes.

Framework Nucleic Acids: Innovative Tools for Cellular Sensing and Therapeutics.

As emerging biomaterials, framework nucleic acids (FNAs) have recently demonstrated great potential in the biomedical field due to their high programmability, biocompatibility, unique structural diversity, and precise molecular design capabilities. This review focuses on the applications of FNAs in cellular sensing and disease treatment. First, we systematically introduce the applications of FNAs in cellular sensing, including their precise recognition and response to the extracellular tumor microenvironment, cell membrane proteins, and intracellular biomarkers.

Association of relapses with visual outcomes in optic neuritis: a post hoc analysis of the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial.

Objective: To examine whether the number of relapses is associated with visual outcomes in patients with optic neuritis.

Design: A post hoc analysis using data from the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial, a multicenter randomized controlled trial conducted to explore the efficacy of corticosteroids on optic neuritis.

Methods: Multivariate linear mixed effect models were used to estimate the associations of the number of ipsilateral relapses in the baseline affected eye with visual outcomes.

Ultrasensitive Flexible Organic Synaptic Transistors Modulated by a Chemically Cross-Linked Solvent-Resistive Ion Composite.

We demonstrate a flexible organic synaptic transistor (FOST) with an ion-composite electrolyte film resistant to chemical reagents, which uses a three-dimensionally cross-linked polyimide matrix to accommodate a high-concentration ionic liquid. FOST shows versatile synaptic plasticity for classical conditioning, high-pass filtering, and the learning-forgetting process. The device achieves low-energy consumption down to 1.

Synergistic Surface Engineering of BiVO Photoanodes for Improved Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation.

Surface engineering of BiVO photoanodes is effective and feasible for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. To achieve superior PEC performance, however, more than one surface engineering method is usually indispensable, for which a positive synergistic effect is vital and thus highly desired. Herein, it is reported that the incorporation of borate moieties into ultrathin p-type NiO catalysts can induce the reconfiguration of surface catalytic sites to form new highly active species, in addition to enhanced fast charge separation and transfer.

Periapical lesion detection in periapical radiographs using the latest convolutional neural network ConvNeXt and its integrated models.

To overcome the limitation of a single classification model's inability to simultaneously identify multiple lesion targets within periapical radiographs, This study proposes YoCNET (Yolov5 + ConvNeXt), a novel deep learning integrated model. YoCNET leverages the target detection capability of Yolov5 and the image classification capability of ConvNeXt to achieve automatic segmentation of individual teeth and concurrent detection of periapical lesions across multiple teeth. A dataset of 1,305 periapical radiographs was used to train and validate the ConvNeXt and ResNet34 models, with an 8:2 split for training and validation.

Large Magnetic Anisotropy in van der Waals Ferromagnet FeGaTe above Room Temperature.

Discoveries of above-room-temperature intrinsic ferromagnetism in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials offer a platform for studying fundamental 2D magnetism and spintronic devices, especially the recently discovered above-room-temperature 2D vdW FeGaTe (FGaT). However, the magnetic mechanism in FGaT remains elusive. Here, a detailed investigation using magnetic force microscopy on the thickness-dependent magnetic behavior of FGaT single crystals is reported.

The altered resting-state functional connectivity of thalamic subregions in patients with globus pharyngeus.

Globus Pharyngeus (GP) is a somatic symptom that accompanies mood distress. Although the etiology of GP remains unclear, its specific symptom of a false lump sensation in the throat without physical obstruction raises the possibility of alterations in brain networks responsible for somatosensory and emotion processing in patients with GP. To address this possibility, we investigated resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in 31 patients with GP and 24 healthy individuals using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Dopamine-supported HPLC post-column derivatization to fluorescence: Simultaneous and sensitive detection of eight tea polyphenols.

The effective differentiation and detection of multiple tea polyphenols are often challenging due to their subtle structural similarities. Although post-column derivatization HPLC strategies are commonly employed to distinguish multiple targets, the short physical distance between chromatographic column and detector limits reaction time, thereby reducing the derivatization efficiency. Dopamine (DA) reacts rapidly with resorcinol to form fluorescent azamonardine products, making fast fluorometric derivatization of tea polyphenols containing resorcinol motifs possible.

Abnormal Relaxation Behavior of Excited Electrons in the Flat Band of Kagome Compound NbCl.

Carrier dynamics is crucial in semiconductors, and it determines their conductivity, response time, and overall functionality. In flat bands (FBs), carriers with high effective masses are predicted to host unconventional transport properties. The FBs usually overlap with other trivial energy bands, however, making it difficult to accurately distinguish their carrier dynamics.

Factors Associated with Personal Protective Equipment Usage Rates in the Central States: Generalized Multilevel Multinomial Models.

Objectives: This study examined the factors affecting the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) among US agriculture producers, specifically focusing on chemical, respiratory, and hearing protection. The primary goals were to identify demographic and farm-related factors linked to lower PPE usage and to explore the associations between PPE use and self-reported injuries or diseases in this occupational context.

Methods: We developed generalized multilevel multinomial logistic regressions for the agricultural safety and health survey data from 2018 and 2020.

Skeletal Muscle Segmentation at the Level of the Third Lumbar Vertebra (L3) in Low-Dose Computed Tomography: A Lightweight Algorithm.

Background: The cross-sectional area of skeletal muscles at the level of the third lumbar vertebra (L3) measured from computed tomography (CT) images is an established imaging biomarker used to assess patients' nutritional status. With the increasing prevalence of low-dose CT scans in clinical practice, accurate and automated skeletal muscle segmentation at the L3 level in low-dose CT images has become an issue to address. This study proposed a lightweight algorithm for automated segmentation of skeletal muscles at the L3 level in low-dose CT images.

A comprehensive review on the dynamics of protein kinase CK2 in cancer development and optimizing therapeutic strategies.

Protein kinase 2 (CK2) is an enzyme ubiquitously present and exhibits extensive kinase activity. It has been strongly linked to tumor progression through the abnormal phosphorylation of key proteins. Research has consistently demonstrated that CK2 is deregulated in various cancer types, with enhanced protein expression and nuclear distribution in tumor cells.

Variation in Root-Associated Microbial Communities among Three Different Plant Species in Natural Desert Ecosystem.

The process and function that underlie the assembly of root-associated microbiomes may be strongly linked to the survival strategy of plants. However, the assembly and functional changes of root-associated microbial communities in different desert plants in natural desert ecosystems are still unclear. Thus, we studied the microbial communities and diversity of root endosphere (RE), rhizosphere soil (RS), and bulk soil (BS) among three representative desert plants (, , and ) in three Xinjiang desert regions {Taklimakan (CL), Gurbantünggüt (MSW), and Kumtag (TLF)} in China.

Dynamic Behavior of Above-Room-Temperature Robust Skyrmions in 2D Van der Waals Magnet.

Magnetic skyrmions are swirl-like spin configurations that present topological properties, which have great potential as information carriers for future high-density and low-energy-consumption devices. The optimization of skyrmion-hosting materials that can be integrated with semiconductor-based circuits is the primary challenge for their industrialization. Two-dimensional van der Waals ferromagnets are emerging materials that have excellent carrier mobility and compatibility with integrated circuits, making them an ideal candidate for spintronic devices.

ZnO nanoparticles induce melanoma-like lesions via recruiting dermal dendritic cells in barrier-damaged skin in mice.

ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) are used in skin treatments and cosmetics, the toxicity of long-term and continuous exposure to ZnO NPs is unknown. Mice with epidermal barrier dysfunction revealed melanoma-like lesions after continuous exposure to ZnO NPs. However, the effects of metallic NPs on the skin microenvironment and immune system remain poorly understood.