Circulating apelin levels fail to link sarcopenia-related muscle parameters in older adults.

Background: Based on the compelling experimental evidence supporting apelin's beneficial effects on muscle metabolism, our study aimed to evaluate the role of circulating apelin levels as a biomarker for muscle health in humans.

Methods: This investigation employed a cross-sectional design, encompassing 237 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years who underwent comprehensive geriatric evaluations in South Korea. Sarcopenia diagnosis was based on Asian-specific criteria, and serum apelin concentrations were determined using enzyme immunoassay techniques.

Effects of medical training therapy on injury rehabilitation and sports-specific performance in elite rock climbers: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Medical training therapy (MTT) is an advanced, individualized rehabilitation approach that integrates multiple methods to improve physical function. It is widely applied to rehabilitate sports injuries. This randomized study evaluated MTT's effects on physical injury rehabilitation, mental function, and athletic performance in elite rock climbers.

Improving the Reliability of Language Model-Predicted Structures as Docking Targets through Geometric Graph Learning.

Applying artificial intelligence techniques to flexibly model the binding between the ligand and protein has attracted extensive interest in recent years, but their applicability remains improved. In this study, we have developed CarsiDock-Flex, a novel two-step flexible docking paradigm that generates binding poses directly from predicted structures. CarsiDock-Flex consists of an equivariant deep learning-based model termed CarsiInduce to refine ESMFold-predicted protein pockets with the induction of specific ligands and our existing CarsiDock algorithm to redock the ligand into the induced binding pockets.

Shaping a low-carbon future: Uncovering the spatial-temporal effect of population aging on carbon emissions in China.

Background: With the accelerated development of the aging trend in Chinese society, the aging problem has become one of the key factors affecting sustainable economic and social development. Given the importance of controlling carbon emissions for achieving global climate goals and China's economic transformation, studying the spatial and temporal effects of population aging on carbon emissions and their pathways of action is of great significance for formulating low-carbon development strategies adapted to an aging society.

Objective: This paper aims to explore the spatial-temporal effects of population aging on carbon emissions, identify the key pathways through which aging affects carbon emissions, and further explore the variability of these effects across different regions.

Novel anti-HER2 ADCs vs dual anti-HER2 antibody for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer failed to tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Background: Both novel anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and pertuzumab and trastuzumab (HP) combined with chemotherapy(C) regimens are the choice of treatment for HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) after tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Our team's previous research has shown significant therapeutic effects of novel anti-HER2 ADCs in patients with TKIs treatment failure. Unfortunately, there is currently no data available to compare novel anti-HER2 ADCs with HP combined with chemotherapy regimens.

A novel suture-free nephroplication with 4D-printed biodegradable bag for giant hydronephrosis: initial experience from hydromechanics and clinical application.

Background: Giant hydronephrosis as an rare condition is often caused by chronic ureteral obstruction. Nephroplication is a crucial procedure to improve urinary drainage in the kidney-sparing surgery for patients with giant hydronephrosis. However, traditional nephroplication via suturing kidney has technical difficulty and many potential risks.

Pharmacokinetic analysis using single dilution assays: enhancing precision, reducing errors and increasing throughput.

Background: Technologies such as ELISA, MSD, and Gyrolab have been employed for quantifying protein therapeutics in clinical trials. However, these technologies have limitations with dynamic range often requiring multiple dilution steps, introducing potential errors and variability.

Results/methodology: A pharmacokinetics assay was successfully developed on the NUcleic acid Linked Immuno-Sandwich Assay (NULISA) platform with a concentration dynamic range exceeding 6 logs.

Single-Cell Multi-omics Assessment of Spinal Cord Injury Blocking via Cerium-doped Upconversion Antioxidant Nanoenzymes.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) impairs the central nervous system and induces the myelin-sheath-deterioration because of reactive oxygen species (ROS), further hindering the recovery of function. Herein, the simultaneously emergency treatment and dynamic luminescence severity assessment (SETLSA) strategy is designed for SCI based on cerium (Ce)-doped upconversion antioxidant nanoenzymes (Ce@UCNP-BCH). Ce@UCNP-BCH can not only efficiently eliminate the SCI localized ROS, but dynamically monitor the oxidative state in the SCI repair process using a ratiometric luminescence signal.

Relationship Between Adenoma Detection Rate and Respective Withdrawal Time in Different Colon Segments: A Retrospective, Single-Center Study.

Background And Aims: The 6-min withdrawal time for colonoscopy is widely considered the standard of care. However, there may not be appropriate if the 6-min is equally divided into various colon segments. Since the adenoma detection in each colon segment is not the same, there may be differences with the withdrawal time in different colon segments.

Aberrant regional neural fluctuations and functional connectivity in insomnia comorbid depression revealed by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Insomnia is a common mental illness seriously affecting people lives, that might progress to major depression. However, the neural mechanism of patients with CID comorbid MDD remain unclear. Combining fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and seed-based functional connectivity (FC), this study investigated abnormality in local and long-range neural activity of patients with CID comorbid MDD.

Carrier-Induced Room-Temperature Half-Metallicity in an Exfoliable Two-Dimensional Cr(TCNB) Metal-Organic Framework.

Half-metallicity, enabling 100% spin polarization, is pivotal for spintronics but remains challenging to achieve in low-dimensional materials. Using first-principles calculations, we theoretically propose an experimentally feasible two-dimensional (2D) metal-organic framework (MOF) magnetic semiconductor, Cr(TCNB) (TCNB = 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene). This monolayer can be exfoliated from a Ag(100) substrate due to its low exfoliation energy of 0.

Anchorable Polymers Enabling Ultra-Thin and Robust Hole-Transporting Layers for High-Efficiency Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells.

Currently, the development of polymeric hole-transporting materials (HTMs) lags behind that of small-molecule HTMs in inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs). A critical challenge is that conventional polymeric HTMs are incapable of forming ultra-thin and conformal coatings like self-assembly monolayers (SAMs), especially for substrates with rough surface morphology. Herein, we address this challenge by designing anchorable polymeric HTMs (CP1 to CP5).

Deep Red-Light-Mediated Nitric Oxide and Photodynamic Synergistic Antibacterial Therapy for the Treatment of Drug-Resistant Bacterial Infections.

Infections caused by persistent, drug-resistant bacteria pose significant challenges in inflammation treatment, often leading to severe morbidity and mortality. Herein, the photosensitizer rhodamine derivatives are selected as the light-trapping dye and the electron-rich substituent N-nitrosoaminophen as the nitric oxide (NO)-releasing component to develop a multifunctional (deep) red-light activatable NO photocage/photodynamic prodrug for efficient treatment of wounds and diabetic foot infections. The prodrug, RhB-NO-2 integrates antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT), NO sterilization, and NO-mediated anti-inflammatory properties within a small organic molecule and is capable of releasing NO and generating Reactive oxygen species (ROS) when exposed to (deep) red laser (660 nm).

Fractional CO Laser to Treat Surgical Scars: A System Review and Meta-Analysis on Optimal Timing.

Background: Surgical scars with textural changes can be disfiguring and uncomfortable for patients. Various laser therapies have shown promise in softening and flattening these scars. Therefore, the authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of fractional CO laser in treating surgical scars.

Inflammatory markers link triglyceride-glucose index and obesity indicators with adverse cardiovascular events in patients with hypertension: insights from three cohorts.

Background: Among hypertensive cohorts across different nations, the relationship between the triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) and its conjunction with obesity metrics in relation to cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and mortality remains to be elucidated.

Methods: This study enrolled 9,283, 164,357, and 5,334 hypertensives from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), UK Biobank (UKBB), and Shanghai Pudong cohort. The related outcomes for CVD were defined by multivariate Cox proportional hazards models, Generalized Additive Models and Mendelian randomization analysis.

Dynamic EIT technology for real-time non-invasive monitoring of acute pulmonary embolism: a porcine model experiment.

Background: Acute pulmonary embolism represents the third most prevalent cardiovascular pathology, following coronary heart disease and hypertension. Its untreated mortality rate is as high as 20-30%, which represents a significant threat to patient survival. In view of the current lack of real-time monitoring techniques for acute pulmonary embolism, this study primarily investigates the potential of the pulsatility electrical impedance tomography (EIT) technique for the detection and real-time monitoring of acute pulmonary embolism through the collection and imaging of the pulsatile signal of pulmonary blood flow.

The association between rapid antiretroviral therapy initiation and brain structure and function based on multimodal magnetic resonance imaging in HIV-positive men who have sex with men.

An increasing number of treatment guidelines recommend rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) after the diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. However, data on the association between rapid ART initiation and alterations in brain structure and function remain limited in people with HIV (PWH). A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) undergoing ART.

Prevention of sufentanil-induced cough during induction of general anesthesia by low-dose esketamine.

Background: Sufentanil is commonly used to induce general anaesthesia due to its rapid onset of action, strong analgesic effect, long-lasting effect, and stable haemodynamics; however, it often induces cough, increasing the risk of anaesthesia. This study aimed to investigate the preventive effect of low-dose esketamine on sufentanil-induced cough.

Methods: This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study was conducted at the Air Force Medical Center between September 2023 and May 2024.

Light-harvesting microelectronic devices for wireless electrosynthesis.

High-throughput experimentation (HTE) has accelerated academic and industrial chemical research in reaction development and drug discovery and has been broadly applied in many domains of organic chemistry. However, application of HTE in electrosynthesis-an enabling tool for chemical synthesis-has been limited by a dearth of suitable standardized reactors. Here we report the development of microelectronic devices, which are produced using standard nanofabrication techniques, to enable wireless electrosynthesis on the microlitre scale.

Synthesis of three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks through a symmetry reduction strategy.

Three-dimensional (3D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs) hold significant promise for a variety of applications. However, conventional design approaches using regular building blocks limit the structural diversity of 3D COFs. Here we design and synthesize two 3D COFs, designated as JUC-644 and JUC-645, through a methodology that relies on using eight-connected building blocks with reduced symmetry.

Madecassoside mitigates acute myocardial infarction injury by activating the PKCB/SPARC signaling pathway.

The current treatments and drugs of myocardial infarction (MI) remain insufficient. In recent years, natural products have garnered significant attention for their potential in treating cardiovascular diseases due to their availability and lower toxicity. Saponins, in particular, showed promising effects for cardiac protection.

The gut-brain axis underlying hepatic encephalopathy in liver cirrhosis.

Up to 50-70% of patients with liver cirrhosis develop hepatic encephalopathy (HE), which is closely related to gut microbiota dysbiosis, with an unclear mechanism. Here, by constructing gut-brain modules to assess bacterial neurotoxins from metagenomic datasets, we found that phenylalanine decarboxylase (PDC) genes, mainly from Ruminococcus gnavus, increased approximately tenfold in patients with cirrhosis and higher in patients with HE. Cirrhotic, not healthy, mice colonized with R.

Intestinal TM6SF2 protects against metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis through the gut-liver axis.

Transmembrane-6 superfamily member 2 (TM6SF2) regulates hepatic fat metabolism and is associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). TM6SF2 genetic variants are associated with steatotic liver disease. The pathogenesis of MASH involves genetic factors and gut microbiota alteration, yet the role of host-microbe interactions in MASH development remains unclear.

Development and validation of a prognostic nomogram for predicting outcomes in brainstem hemorrhage patients.

Brainstem hemorrhage is a severe neurological condition with high mortality and poor prognosis. This study aims to develop and validate a prognostic model for brainstem hemorrhage to facilitate early prediction of patient outcomes, thereby supporting clinical decision-making. Clinical data from 140 patients with brainstem hemorrhage were collected.

Tea Saponins: a Novel Stabilizer for Enhancing the Oral Bioavailability of Albendazole Nanocrystals.

Albendazole serves as a broad-spectrum anthelmintic medication for treating hydatid cysts and neurocysticercosis. However, its therapeutic effectiveness is limited by poor solubility. Nanocrystals offer a promising technology to address this limitation by enhancing drug solubility.