Clinical evaluation of a polarization-based optical noninvasive glucose sensing system.

Diabetes affects millions in the US, causing elevated blood glucose levels that could lead to complications like kidney failure and heart disease. Recent development of continuous glucose monitors has enabled a minimally invasive option, but the discomfort and social factors highlight the need for noninvasive alternatives in diabetes management. We propose a portable noninvasive glucose sensing system based on the glucose's optical activity property which rotates linearly polarized light depending on its concentration level.

Change in diffusion weighted imaging after induction chemotherapy outperforms RECIST guideline for long-term outcome prediction in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Purpose: To investigate change in diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) between pre-treatment (pre-) and after induction chemotherapy (post-IC) for long-term outcome prediction in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (adNPC).

Materials And Methods: Mean apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of two DWIs (ADC and ADC) and changes in ADC between two scans (ΔADC%) were calculated from 64 eligible patients with adNPC and correlated with disease free survival (DFS), locoregional recurrence free survival (LRRFS), distant metastases free survival (DMFS), and overall survival (OS) using Cox regression analysis. C-indexes of the independent parameters for outcome were compared with that of RECIST response groups.

Deciphering metabolite signalling between plant roots and soil pathogens to design resistance.

Metabolites are important signaling molecules mediating plant-microbe interaction in soil. Plant root exudates are composed of primary metabolites, secondary metabolites, and macro-molecules such as organic acids. Certain organic acids in root exudates can attract pathogenic microbes in soil and promote infection.

Certified reference material for inorganic contaminants in insect protein.

The growing interest in insect protein as an alternative to conventional protein sources is driven by the need for sustainable options with low environmental impact. While insect-based proteins provide significant nutritional benefits, ensuring their safety requires robust analytical methods and access to reliable matrix-matched certified reference materials. Currently, the availability of such materials for assessing inorganic and organic contaminants in insect proteins is limited.

Revealing the Crystal Structure of the Purine Base Xanthine with Three-Dimensional (3D) Electron Diffraction.

Three-dimensional (3D) electron diffraction (3D-ED) techniques can be used for structure determination, circumventing challenges posed to conventional and bulk X-ray diffraction techniques such as submicrometer-sized crystals, the strong effects of texture, the presence of defects, and polyphasic samples. Such challenges previously prevented the structure solution of xanthine, a purine base chemically similar to guanine that may also be found in organisms. In this work, we use 3D-ED to elucidate the crystal structure of xanthine.