Busy independent directors and IPO company earnings management: Evidence from China.

This study investigates the effect of busy independent directors on earnings management in Chinese initial public offering (IPO) companies from 2010 to 2020. Using various measures of busy independent directors, the results indicate that directors in IPO companies play a significant role in supervision and governance, thereby significantly mitigating earnings management. Busy independent directors, serving on multiple boards, may face time constraints, but, intriguingly, companies with such directors show a lower inclination for earnings manipulation.

Wear resistance of 3D printed occlusal device materials.

Statement Of Problem: Three-dimensional (3D) printing offers an efficient method of producing occlusal devices; however, their wear resistance is poorly understood.

Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare the wear resistance of flexible and rigid 3D printed occlusal device materials with milled and conventionally processed occlusal device materials.

Material And Methods: Blocks (n=8) of 3 flexible 3D printed materials (KeySplint Soft, NightGuard Flex 2, SmileGuard), 2 rigid 3D printed materials (KeySplint Hard, NightGuard Firm 2), 1 milled material (Ceramill A-Splint), 1 thermoform material (Erkoloc-Pro), 1 light-polymerized material (Eclipse Prosthetic Resin), 1 heat-polymerized material (Excel Formula Heat Cure Denture Base Material), and 1 autopolymerized material (Great Lakes Splint Resin Acrylic) were prepared and wet polished with 1200-grit SiC paper.

Outcomes in eyes with retained lens fragments undergoing pars plana lensectomy and scleral-fixated intraocular lens insertion.

Purpose: To report the visual outcomes and complications in eyes with retained lens fragments (RLF) following cataract surgery undergoing pars plana lensectomy (PPL) and scleral-fixated intraocular lens insertion (SFIOL).

Methods: Patients with RLF who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), PPL, and SFIOL insertion from January 2015 to December 2022 were included. The visual acuity (VA) outcomes and complication rates were compared between those receiving sutured versus sutureless SFIOL insertion as well as those undergoing SFIOL insertion at the time of PPV and PPL versus those undergoing SFIOL insertion during a subsequent surgery.

Altered anthropometrics and HA1c levels, but not dyslipidemia, are associated with elevated hs-CRP levels in middle-aged adults: A population-based analysis.

Population-based studies of cardiovascular disease markers, such as hs-CRP, are crucial. However, studies exploring the effect of metabolic indices on hs-CRP while controlling for confounding variables adequately in middle-aged adults are limited. Using Wave 5 data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we examined the impact of various metabolic indices on hs-CRP in adults aged 32-42, controlling for eight allergic and infectious factors that may elevate hs-CRP levels.

Revised mechanism of hydroxyurea-induced cell cycle arrest and an improved alternative.

Replication stress describes endogenous and exogenous challenges to DNA replication in the S-phase. Stress during this critical process causes helicase-polymerase decoupling at replication forks, triggering the S-phase checkpoint, which orchestrates global replication fork stalling and delayed entry into G2. The replication stressor most often used to induce the checkpoint response in yeast is hydroxyurea (HU), a clinically used chemotherapeutic.

The pain and relief of grief: Mental pain and mental pain acceptance associations with post-loss pathologies and growth among young widows and widowers.

Mental pain is a core symptom of bereavement, yet its study with grief pathologies is still scarce. Mental pain acceptance may also affect the associations between mental pain, grief pathologies, and post-loss growth (PLG). The current study aims to investigate the associations between mental pain, mental pain acceptance, and post-loss outcomes in a sample of young widow(er)s.

Pitfalls in using ML to predict cognitive function performance.

Machine learning analyses are widely used for predicting cognitive abilities, yet there are pitfalls that need to be considered during their implementation and interpretation of the results. Hence, the present study aimed at drawing attention to the risks of erroneous conclusions incurred by confounding variables illustrated by a case example predicting executive function performance by prosodic features. Healthy participants (n = 231) performed speech tasks and EF tests.

Determinants of self-care among Jordanian children with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Diabetes Self-Care Management (DSCM) is crucial for managing diabetes mellitus and improving patients' well-being. Research on the young age group in Jordan is limited, and there is a lack of studies using an evaluation tool for understanding diabetes pharmacotherapy. This study intends to fill the information gap by examining young Jordanian patients' knowledge and comprehension of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and its treatment modalities, evaluating their psychological well-being, and examining the relationship between children's psychological health and self-care.

Enantiocomplementary Asymmetric Reduction of 2-Haloacetophenones Using SADH: Synthesis of Enantiopure 2-Halo-1-arylethanols.

Enantiopure 2-halo-1-arylethanols are essential precursors for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and fine chemicals. This study investigates the asymmetric reduction of 2-haloacetophenones and their substituted analogs to obtain their corresponding optically active 2-halo-1-arylethanols using secondary alcohol dehydrogenase from (SADH) mutants. Specifically, the ΔP84/A85G and P84S/A85G SADH mutants were evaluated for the asymmetric reduction of 2-haloacetophenones, generating their corresponding optically active halohydrins with high enantioselectivities.

Autism-Friendly Healthcare: A Narrative Review of the Literature.

Disparities in healthcare access, delivery, and outcomes exist between autistic and non-autistic individuals. Autism-friendly healthcare initiatives aim to facilitate and improve the healthcare experience of autistic individuals by addressing commonly encountered challenges. While there is no consensus regarding the definition of autism-friendly healthcare, in this narrative review, we examine previously published research to determine the most important components of autism-friendly healthcare.

Single-molecule characterization of SV40 replisome and novel factors: human FPC and Mcm10.

The simian virus 40 (SV40) replisome only encodes for its helicase; large T-antigen (L-Tag), while relying on the host for the remaining proteins, making it an intriguing model system. Despite being one of the earliest reconstituted eukaryotic systems, the interactions coordinating its activities and the identification of new factors remain largely unexplored. Herein, we in vitro reconstituted the SV40 replisome activities at the single-molecule level, including DNA unwinding by L-Tag and the single-stranded DNA-binding protein Replication Protein A (RPA), primer extension by DNA polymerase δ, and their concerted leading-strand synthesis.

Structure of Aquifex aeolicus lumazine synthase by cryo-electron microscopy to 1.42 Å resolution.

Single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has become an essential structural determination technique with recent hardware developments making it possible to reach atomic resolution, at which individual atoms, including hydrogen atoms, can be resolved. In this study, we used the enzyme involved in the penultimate step of riboflavin biosynthesis as a test specimen to benchmark a recently installed microscope and determine if other protein complexes could reach a resolution of 1.5 Å or better, which so far has only been achieved for the iron carrier ferritin.

High-resolution HLA sequencing and hypocretin receptor 2 autoantibodies in narcolepsy type 1 and type 2.

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder caused by an apparent degeneration of orexin/hypocretin neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area and a subsequent decrease in orexin/hypocretin levels in the cerebrospinal fluid. Narcolepsy is classified into type 1 (NT1) and type 2 (NT2). While genetic associations in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region and candidate autoantibodies have been investigated in NT1 to imply an autoimmune origin, less is known about the pathogenesis in NT2.

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency from a Homozygous DNA Ligase 1 Mutant with Reduced Catalytic Activity but Increased Ligation Fidelity.

A cell's ability to survive and to evade cancer is contingent on its ability to retain genomic integrity, which can be seriously compromised when nucleic acid phosphodiester bonds are disrupted. DNA Ligase 1 (LIG1) plays a key role in genome maintenance by sealing single-stranded nicks that are produced during DNA replication and repair. Autosomal recessive mutations in a limited number of individuals have been previously described for this gene.

Dermatological Manifestation of SLE Patients, Living in Aseer Region.

Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that affects both men and women differently and has a variety of multisystemic symptoms. One of the diseases most often affected target organs is the skin. Different ethnic and racial groupings may display variations in disease incidence, clinical heterogeneity, and severity depending on environmental, cultural, or genetic factors.

The mental health impact of the October 7th terror attack on Jews and Arabs in Israel: A nationwide prospective study.

Introduction: On October 7, 2023, Israeli citizens came under an unprecedented terrorist attack that impacted the entire country. Recent research has begun to document the mental health impact of the attack but has yet to address the question of whether the attack had a differential impact across ethnic communities. In this nationwide prospective cohort study, we aimed to determine possible differences in psychopathology between Jews and Arabs in the post-October 7th attack.

Home capillary sampling and screening for type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, and autoimmune thyroid disease in a Swedish general pediatric population: the TRIAD study.

Objective: To screen a general pediatric population for type 1 diabetes (T1D), celiac disease (CD), and autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) after home capillary sampling.

Methods: Swedish schoolchildren between 6-9 years and 13-16 years of age were invited to screening by taking a capillary sample at home. Samples were returned by mail and assessed for autoantibodies associated with T1D, CD, and AITD.

Modulation of the microhomology-mediated end joining pathway suppresses large deletions and enhances homology-directed repair following CRISPR-Cas9-induced DNA breaks.

Background: CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing often induces unintended, large genomic rearrangements, posing potential safety risks. However, there are no methods for mitigating these risks.

Results: Using long-read individual-molecule sequencing (IDMseq), we found the microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) DNA repair pathway plays a predominant role in Cas9-induced large deletions (LDs).