A homozygous loss-of-function mutation in CEP250 is associated with acephalic spermatozoa syndrome in humans.

Background: The presence of predominantly headless sperm in semen is a hallmark of acephalic spermatozoa syndrome, which is primarily caused by gene mutations in humans.

Purpose: To identify genetic causes for acephalic spermatozoa syndrome.

Methods: Polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing were performed to define mutations in SUN5 and PMFBP1.

Robust and interpretable deep learning system for prognostic stratification of extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma.

Purpose: Extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTCL) is an hematologic malignancy with prognostic heterogeneity. We aimed to develop and validate DeepENKTCL, an interpretable deep learning prediction system for prognosis risk stratification in ENKTCL.

Methods: A total of 562 patients from four centers were divided into the training cohort, validation cohort and test cohort.

Magnetic Nanocarriers for pH/GSH/NIR Triple-Responsive Drug Release and Synergistic Therapy in Tumor Cells.

In this study, the mesoporous FeO nanodrug carriers containing disulfide bonds (CHO-SMNPs) were successfully synthesized and characterized. Doxorubicin (DOX) was loaded onto the CHO-SMNPs as a model drug and gatekeeper through the formation of imine bonds with the aldehyde groups on the surface of the mesoporous materials. This drug carrier demonstrates effective drug release triggered by pH, glutathione (GSH), and near-infrared (NIR) light, along with satisfactory photothermal conversion efficiency under NIR irradiation at 808 nm.

Down-regulation of HSPB1 and MGST1 promote ferroptosis and impact immune infiltration in diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a leading cause of death in diabetic patients. Current therapies do not adequately resolve this problem and focus only on the optimal level of blood glucose for patients. Ferroptosis plays an important role in diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases.

Aggregation-Induced Emission Carbon Dot-Based Multicolor Circularly Polarized Afterglow with a High Luminescence Dissymmetry Factor.

Carbon dots (CDs) with circularly polarized afterglow (CPA) materials have drawn increasing attention as cutting-edge research in the field of chiral luminescence owing to their promising applications in various fields. However, due to the weak optical activity of chiral CDs and the limited afterglow color of phosphorescent CDs, it is still a formidable challenge to construct multicolor CD-based CPA materials with a high luminescence dissymmetry factor (). Herein, positively charged aggregation-induced emission (AIE) CDs were prepared using dithiosalicylic acid and ionic liquid as precursors.

Long-term Outcomes Following Individualized Elective Primary Tumor CTV Delineation Based on Stepwise Spread Patterns of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Treated with Intensity-modulated Radiotherapy.

Purpose: Our institution has developed an individualized elective primary tumor clinical target volume (CTVp) delineation protocol for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) based on stepwise tumor spread patterns in intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for over ten years. Herein, we report the long-term efficacy and toxicities in NPC patients treated under this protocol.

Methods And Materials: A total of 7,262 histologically proven, nonmetastatic NPC patients treated with IMRT following this individualized delineation protocol were retrospectively evaluated.

Menisoxoisoaporphine A, a novel oxoisoaporphine alkaloid from Menispermi Rhizoma, inhibits inflammation by targeting PDE4B.

Background: Dysregulated and excessive inflammatory reactions can lead to tissue damage, which is the underlying cause of most human diseases. Menisoxoisoaporphine A (MA), a novel oxoisoaporphine alkaloid, was obtained from Menispermi Rhizoma, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb used in the treatment of inflammatory conditions in clinical practice. This suggests that MA has very promising potential for the development of anti-inflammatory therapeutics.

A Review of Methodologies for the Rapid Analysis and Quantification of Gases in Solid Media.

Gas sensors are essential measurement devices that have found extensive applications across various fields, including industry, agriculture, ecological and environmental monitoring, military operations, and biomedical research. Numerous sensing methods based on a diverse range of principles-including optics, electrochemistry, and semiconductors-have been used in the development and manufacture of gas sensing technologies. However, the measurement of certain gases remains challenging when using current sensing techniques and sensors; this is particularly true for the gases that are present in solid media.

Friction Behaviors and Wear Mechanisms of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites for Bridge Cable.

Carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resin composites (CFRP) demonstrate superior wear resistance and fatigue durability, which are anticipated to markedly enhance the service life of structures under complex conditions. In the present paper, the friction behaviors and wear mechanisms of CFRP under different applied loads, sliding speeds, service temperatures, and water lubrication were studied and analyzed in detail. The results indicated that the tribological properties of CFRP were predominantly influenced by the applied loads, as the tangential displacement generated significant shear stress at the interface of the friction pair.

TolCV1 inhibition by NPPB renders less virulent and more susceptible to antibiotics.

Bacterial efflux pumps play important roles in the antibiotic resistance and excretion of virulence factors. We previously characterized that TolCV1, a component of efflux pumps, plays critical roles in resistance to antibiotics and bile and also RtxA1 toxin secretion of . In this context, we speculated that TolCV1 blockers would have a dual effect of enhancing susceptibility to antibiotics and suppressing virulence of .

Self-improving generative foundation model for synthetic medical image generation and clinical applications.

In many clinical and research settings, the scarcity of high-quality medical imaging datasets has hampered the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) clinical applications. This issue is particularly pronounced in less common conditions, underrepresented populations and emerging imaging modalities, where the availability of diverse and comprehensive datasets is often inadequate. To address this challenge, we introduce a unified medical image-text generative model called MINIM that is capable of synthesizing medical images of various organs across various imaging modalities based on textual instructions.

Rosmarinic acid-mediated downregulation of RIG-I and p62 in microglia confers resistance to Japanese encephalitis virus-induced inflammation.

Background: Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic pathogen that causes encephalitis in humans and reproductive failure in pigs. The transmission of JEV between humans and animals poses a significant public health threat and results in substantial economic losses. Excessive inflammation in the central nervous system of JEV-infected patients is a major cause of mortality and disability.

Gestational exposure to arsenic reduces female offspring fertility by impairing the repair of DNA double-strand breaks and synapsis formation in oocytes.

Arsenic is a pollutant that can cross the placenta; however, research on the effects of arsenic exposure during pregnancy on the fertility of female offspring is limited. To address this gap, we developed a mouse model to investigate the relationship between arsenic exposure during pregnancy and fertility in female offspring. Our fertility assessment revealed that gestational exposure to 1 mg/kg arsenic or higher (10 mg/kg) resulted in reduction in litter size, ovarian volume, and multistage-follicle number in female offspring.

Valorization of apple pomace: Structural and rheological characterization of low-Methoxyl Pectins extracted with green agents of citric acid/sodium citrate.

Traditional production of low-methoxyl pectin (LMP) is labor-intensive and environmentally harmful. This study explores using citric acid/sodium citrate as a green extractant for valorizing LMPs from apple pomace. Two types of pectin, AP-5 and AP-8, were extracted at pH 5.

Extensive influence of microsporidian infection on sucrose solution consumption, antioxidant enzyme activity, cell structure, and lifespan of Asian honeybees.

is the original host of ceranae, a widespread fungal parasite that causes bee nosemosis, which severely threatens the health of bee colonies and the sustainable development of the apiculture industry. To evaluate the impact of infection on workers, spores were purified and used to inoculate newly emerged workers to evaluate the effects of infection. This was followed by an in-depth investigation of spore load and host sucrose solution consumption.

3D full-dose brain-PET volume recovery from low-dose data through deep learning: quantitative assessment and clinical evaluation.

Objectives: Low-dose (LD) PET imaging would lead to reduced image quality and diagnostic efficacy. We propose a deep learning (DL) method to reduce radiotracer dosage for PET studies while maintaining diagnostic quality.

Methods: This retrospective study was performed on 456 participants respectively scanned by three different PET scanners with two different tracers.

Species-specific accumulation of microplastics in different bird species from South China: A comprehensive analysis.

Microplastics are widespread in many bird species, but the inter-specific variations of microplastic contamination are still unclear. The present study measured microplastics in 24 bird species from South China and investigated the impacts of bird physiological and ecological traits on microplastic contamination. The median abundances of microplastics ranged between 5-167 particles per individual or 0.

sp. nov. and sp. nov., isolated from wilted pepper plants.

Two Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, non-endospore-forming bacteria, designated as strain MH1 and MH2, were isolated from branches of wilted pepper plants () collected from a farmland in Machong town, Guangdong, China, and investigated using a polyphasic approach. MH1 grew at temperatures of 4-42 °C (optimum 28 °C), with 0-6.0 % (w/v) NaCl and at pH 4.

Impact of Chinese milk vetch incorporation with reduced chemical fertilizers on the soil properties, rice growth and cadmium uptake in Cd-contaminated paddy fields.

Green manure returning can improve soil fertility and crop production, and immobilize heavy metals in the soil. However, limited information is available on the effects of green manure replacing chemical fertilizers on soil properties and crop growth. In this study, we investigated the effects of Chinese milk vetch incorporation with reduced chemical fertilizers on soil properties, rice agronomic traits and cadmium (Cd) accumulation by field experiments, and four treatments were conducted: chemical fertilizer alone (CF), milk vetch alone (MV), milk vetch plus 80% chemical fertilizers (MVCF80), and milk vetch plus 50% chemical fertilizers (MVCF50).

A deep learning method for the recovery of standard-dose imaging quality from ultra-low-dose PET on wavelet domain.

Purpose: Recent development in positron emission tomography (PET) dramatically increased the effective sensitivity by increasing the geometric coverage leading to total-body PET imaging. This encouraging breakthrough brings the hope of ultra-low dose PET imaging equivalent to transatlantic flight with the assistance of deep learning (DL)-based methods. However, conventional DL approaches face limitations in addressing the heterogeneous domain of PET imaging.

Interfacial Effects of NiFe-Based Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Highly Efficient Overall Water Splitting.

The reasonable design of highly efficient NiFe-based bifunctional electrocatalysts is imperative for water splitting and alleviation of the energy crisis. Herein, the NiFe-based bifunctional electrocatalysts are designed and grown in situ on Ni foam by a simple hydrothermal method. The interfacial effect among NiFe-LDH, FeO(OH), and NiFeO exposes more catalytic active sites, modulated electronic structure, and optimization of the electrocatalytic performances.