Semi-supervised medical image segmentation via weak-to-strong perturbation consistency and edge-aware contrastive representation.

Despite that supervised learning has demonstrated impressive accuracy in medical image segmentation, its reliance on large labeled datasets poses a challenge due to the effort and expertise required for data acquisition. Semi-supervised learning has emerged as a potential solution. However, it tends to yield satisfactory segmentation performance in the central region of the foreground, but struggles in the edge region.

The Cardioprotective Effect of Ginseng Derived Exosomes via Inhibition of Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis.

Ginsenosides possess potential protective effects against cisplatin (CDDP)-induced toxicity, but the limited bioavailability of ginsenosides hampered their therapeutic application. Ginseng exosomes (G-Exo), which are active ingredients in ginseng, exhibit excellent biocompatibility and low immunogenicity. Here, G-Exo were isolated from ginseng roots through a combination of ultracentrifugation and sucrose gradient centrifugation techniques.

Nitrogen and Sulfur Co-Doped Graphene-Quantum-Dot-Based Fluorescent Sensor for Rapid Visual Detection of Water Content in Organic Solvents.

Accurate water content detection is crucial for optimizing chemical reactions, ensuring product quality in pharmaceutical manufacturing, and maintaining food safety. In this study, nitrogen and sulfur co-doped graphene quantum dots (R-GQDs) were synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method using o-phenylenediamine as the carbon source. The synthesis conditions, including reaction time, temperature, o-phenylenediamine concentration, and HSO/water ratio, were optimized using the Box-Behnken response surface methodology.

Carbon dots-based dual-mode sensor for highly selective detection of nitrite in food substrates through diazo coupling reaction.

As an antioxidant and preservative agent, nitrite (NO) plays an essential role in the food industry to maintain freshness or inhibit microbial growth. However, excessive addition of NO is detrimental to health, so accurate and portable detection of NO is critical for food quality control. Notably, the selectivity of most carbon dots (CDs)-based fluorescence sensors was not enough due to the nonspecific interaction mechanism of hydrogen bond, electrostatic interaction and inner filter effect etc.

Unveiling the hidden risk: paternal smoking and alcohol exposure prior to conception as independent factors for allergic rhinitis in children.

Introduction: Limited knowledge exists regarding the impact of paternal smoking and alcohol exposure on the development of allergic rhinitis in offspring. Our study aimed to investigate the potential association between preconception paternal smoking and alcohol exposure and the likelihood of children allergic rhinitis.

Methods: A retrospective case-control study of 556 prepubertal children aged 3-12 years was performed.

Model-based bioequivalence approach for sparse pharmacokinetic bioequivalence studies: Model selection or model averaging?

Conventional pharmacokinetic (PK) bioequivalence (BE) studies aim to compare the rate and extent of drug absorption from a test (T) and reference (R) product using non-compartmental analysis (NCA) and the two one-sided test (TOST). Recently published regulatory guidance recommends alternative model-based (MB) approaches for BE assessment when NCA is challenging, as for long-acting injectables and products which require sparse PK sampling. However, our previous research on MB-TOST approaches showed that model misspecification can lead to inflated type I error.

Chiral carbon dots derived from tryptophan and threonine for enantioselective sensing of L/D-Lysine.

Presently, most fluorescent probes for amino acid enantiomers detection require metal ions participation, which greatly increases the detection steps and costs, and affects the accuracy of detection results. To solve this problem, a dual pattern recognition sensor of chiral carbon dots (L-Try-Thr-CDs) with a quantum yield of 36.23 % was prepared by a one-step solvothermal method for the highly selective detection of lysine (Lys) enantiomers.

Combining fluorescent quantum dots with transition metal oxide shell as core-shell nanocomposite for turn-on sensing of ascorbic acid.

Ascorbic acid (AA) is an essential vitamin in humans, and numerous AA detection studies have been conducted. Most quantum dots (QDs)-based approaches depend on redox reactions involving AA, and they require the introduction of an intermediate (e.g.

Influence of l-NAME -induced hypertension on spermatogenesis and sperm tsRNA profile in mice.

Sperm is the key media between the father's aberrant exposure and the offspring's phenotype. Whether paternal hypertension affects offspring through sperm epigenetics remains to be explored. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, we constructed a hypertensive mice model induced by drinking l-NAME and found that spermatocytes and spermatids in the testis were increased significantly after l-NAME treatment.

Progress in the research of cuproptosis and possible targets for cancer therapy.

Developing novel cancer therapies that exploit programmed cell death pathways holds promise for advancing cancer treatment. According to a recently published study in Science, copper death (cuproptosis) occurs when intracellular copper is overloaded, triggering aggregation of lipidated mitochondrial proteins and Fe-S cluster proteins. This intriguing phenomenon is triggered by the instability of copper ions.

Coiled-coil domain-containing 38 is required for acrosome biogenesis and fibrous sheath assembly in mice.

During spermiogenesis, haploid spermatids undergo dramatic morphological changes to form slender sperm flagella and cap-like acrosomes, which are required for successful fertilization. Severe deformities in flagella cause a male infertility syndrome, multiple morphological abnormalities of the flagella (MMAF), while acrosomal hypoplasia in some cases leads to sub-optimal embryonic developmental potential. However, evidence regarding the occurrence of acrosomal hypoplasia in MMAF is limited.

Photostable yellow emissive carbon dots for iron-mediated reversible sensing of biothiols and cellular imaging.

The different levels of biothiols in cells can not only screen cancer cells but also play a selective role in killing cancer cells. Therefore, accurate monitoring of biothiol in cancer cells is of great research significance. Herein, novel yellow emission CDs (Y-CDs) were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method using 2, 5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid (DHTA) as precursors.

Chiral CDs-based fluorescence sensor for rapid and specific sensing K[Fe(CN)] in table salt and salted food.

Potassium ferricyanide (K[Fe(CN)]) as anti-caking agent plays an important role in avoiding the formation of chunks for fine particulate solids. However, inappropriate and excessive addition and decomposition of K[Fe(CN)] are detrimental to physical health. At present, appropriate strategies for convenient and accurate analysis of K[Fe(CN)] in table salt and pickled food are desirable.

A double rare earth doped CD nanoplatform for nanocatalytic/starving-like synergistic therapy with GSH-depletion and enhanced reactive oxygen species generation.

Cancer has been one of the principal diseases threatening human health in the world. Traditional chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery in clinical applications have some disadvantages, such as inefficiency, low specificity, and serious side effects. Therefore, some emerging synergistic therapies have been developed for more accurate diagnosis and more efficient treatment of cancer.

Nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dot-based portable fluorescent sensors for the sensitive detection of Fe and ATP with logic gate operation.

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and Fe are important "signaling molecules" in living organisms, and their abnormal concentrations can be used for the early diagnosis of degenerative diseases. Therefore, the development of a sensitive and accurate fluorescent sensor is essential for detecting these signaling molecules in biological matrices. Herein, nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) with cyan fluorescence emission were prepared by thermal cleavage of graphene oxide (GO) with ,-dimethylformamide (DMF) as a solvent.

LC-MS/MS-Based Absolute Quantitation of Hemoglobin Subunits from Dried Blood Spots Reveals Novel Biomarkers for α-Thalassemia Silent Carriers.

Identification of α-thalassemia silent carriers is challenging with conventional phenotype-based screening methods. A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based approach may offer novel biomarkers to address this conundrum. In this study, we collected dried blood spot samples from individuals with three α-thalassemia subtypes for biomarker discovery and validation.

Evaluation of model-based bioequivalence approach for single sample pharmacokinetic studies.

In a traditional pharmacokinetic (PK) bioequivalence (BE) study, a two-way crossover study is conducted, PK parameters (namely the area under the time-concentration curve [AUC] and the maximal concentration [ ]) are obtained by noncompartmental analysis (NCA), and the BE analysis is performed using the two one-sided test (TOST) method. For ophthalmic drugs, however, only one sample of aqueous humor, in one eye, per eye can be obtained in each patient, which precludes the traditional BE analysis. To circumvent this issue, the U.

Ionic liquid-based carbon dots as highly biocompatible and sensitive fluorescent probe for the determination of vitamin P in fruit samples.

Vitamin P (VP) known as rutin is one of the common flavonoids, which widely exists in fruits and vegetables and often used as a dietary additive. The rapid and accurate detection of VP in food matrices is critical for evaluating food quality and guiding diet. Herein, a rapid, accurate, and selective detection scheme for VP in fruit samples was proposed for the first time using ionic liquid-based carbon dots (IL-CDs).

Facile synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon dots as sensitive fluorescence probes for selective recognition of cinnamaldehyde and l-Arginine/l-Lysine in living cells.

The disorder of amino acid metabolism and the abuse of small molecule drugs pose serious threats to public health. However, due to the limitations of existing detection technologies in sensing cinnamaldehyde (CAL) and l-Arginine/l-Lysine (l-Arg/l-Lys), there is an urgent need to develop new sensing strategies to meet the severe challenges currently facing. Herein, nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) were developed using a simple one-pot hydrothermal carbonization method.

Impact of model misspecification on model-based tests in PK studies with parallel design: real case and simulation studies.

This article evaluates the performance of pharmacokinetic (PK) equivalence testing between two formulations of a drug through the Two-One Sided Tests (TOST) by a model-based approach (MB-TOST), as an alternative to the classical non-compartmental approach (NCA-TOST), for a sparse design with a few time points per subject. We focused on the impact of model misspecification and the relevance of model selection for the reference data. We first analysed PK data from phase I studies of gantenerumab, a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Gadolinium (III) doped carbon dots as dual-mode sensor for the recognition of dopamine hydrochloride and glutamate enantiomers with logic gate operation.

Dopamine hydrochloride (DH) and D-Glutamic acid (D-Glu) are important excitatory neurotransmitters, which are closely relative to central nervous system diseases. Therefore, it is critical to develop the sensitive and facile sensor to precisely monitor the changes of these neurotransmitters. Herein, the gadolinium-doped carbon dots (Gd-CDs) were synthesized by a low-cost and effortless one-pot solvothermal method.

Quantification of human embryonic ζ-globin chains in Southeast Asian deletion (--) carriers.

Aims: Reactivation of embryonic ζ-globin is a promising strategy for genetic treatment of α-thalassaemia. However, quantification of ζ-globin as a quantitative trait in α-thalassaemia carriers and patients remains incompletely understood. In this study, we aimed to set up a reliable approach for the quantification of ζ-globin in α-thalassaemia carriers, followed by a population study to investigate its expression patterns.

Surface state dominated and carbon core coordinated red-emitting carbon dots for the detection of CrO and cell imaging.

Cr(VI) as a toxic heavy metal ion can easily enter into the body through drinking or eating and cause liver and kidney diseases as well as cancer. Considering its high biological toxicity and adverse effects on human body, it is desirable to develop a probe to monitor its level in the environment. Herein, a high-efficiency fluorescent nanoprobe based on red emissive carbon dots (R-CDs) was established through a convenient solvothermal strategy.