Intracellular domain of CATSPER1 could serve as a cytoplasmic platform for redox processes in mammalian sperm.

Objective: Mammalian sperm acquire fertilizing ability in the female reproductive tract and develop hyperactivated motility, which is indispensable for male fertility. Hyperactivated motility is initiated by Ca2+ influx via the sperm-specific ion channel, CatSper. CATSPER1, a CatSper pore subunit, possesses a long N-terminal intracellular domain and its degradation correlates with unsuccessful sperm migration in the female tract.

Extracellular domains of CATSPERε are essential for CatSper assembly during development and activity modulation in sperm capacitation.

The flagellar-specific Ca channel CatSper is a multiprotein complex that is critical for successful fertilization by controlling the sperm Ca signaling in space and time. Large extracellular domains (ECDs) of four single-pass transmembrane subunits, CATSPERβ, γ, δ, and ε, form a unique canopy structure over the pore-forming channel. However, the molecular mechanisms of canopy assembly during development and its physiological function in mature sperm remain unknown.

Inflammatory Cytokines and Cognition in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Prodrome.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between blood levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and cognitive impairments among elderly individuals.

Methods: Peripheral concentration of TNF-α and IL-6 were measured in all subjects. To assess individual cognitive function, the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (CERAD-NP) was used, and standardized scores (z-scores) were calculated for each test.

Optimized antifouling γ-AlO/α-AlO nanofiltration composite membrane for lignin recovery from wastewater.

This study focuses on the development of nanofiltration (NF) membranes with enhanced antifouling properties, high flux, and low molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) for the separation of lignin from paper mill wastewater. Using a sol-gel method by dip-coating, alumina hollow fiber membranes were fabricated with an interlayer to reduce surface roughness. The interlayer improved mechanical properties, effectively covering the surface irregularities and allowing for the subsequent application of a thinner functional layer.

MR Lymphangiography: Congenital Lymphatic Flow Disorders.

Congenital lymphatic flow disorders collectively refer to a heterogeneous group of diseases that manifest as chylothorax, chylous ascites, intestinal lymphangiectasia, protein-losing enteropathy, and peripheral extremity or genital lymphedema, all in the absence of identifiable injury to the lymphatic system. We have only recently begun to understand congenital lymphatic flow disorders through the ability to image lymph flow dynamically. Intranodal dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance lymphangiography (DCMRL) is a crucial technique for imaging lymphatic flow in pediatric patients with congenital lymphatic flow disorders.

Deep learning-based fully automatic Risser stage assessment model using abdominal radiographs.

Background: Artificial intelligence has been increasingly used in medical imaging and has demonstrated expert level performance in image classification tasks.

Objective: To develop a fully automatic approach for determining the Risser stage using deep learning on abdominal radiographs.

Materials And Methods: In this multicenter study, 1,681 supine abdominal radiographs (age range, 9-18 years, 50% female) obtained between January 2019 and April 2022 were collected retrospectively from three medical institutions and graded manually using the United States Risser staging system.

Tryptophan As a New Member of RNA-Induced Silencing Complexes Prevents Colon Cancer Liver Metastasis.

Essential amino acids (EAA) and microRNAs (miRs) control biological activity of a cell. Whether EAA regulates the activity of miR has never been demonstrated. Here, as proof-of-concept, a tryptophan (Trp, an EAA) complex containing Argonaute 2 (Ago2) and miRs including miR-193a (Trp/Ago2/miR-193a) is identified.

Sperm hyperactivation and the CatSper channel: current understanding and future contribution of domestic animals.

In female tract, mammalian sperm develop hyperactivated motility which is a key physiological event for sperm to fertilize eggs. This motility change is triggered by Ca influx via the sperm-specific Ca channel, CatSper. Although previous studies in human and mice largely contributed to understanding CatSper and Ca signaling for sperm hyperactivation, the differences on their activation mechanisms are not well understood yet.

Safety of Gadoxetate Disodium for Hepatobiliary MRI in Children and Adolescents.

Background Despite a proven role in the characterization of liver lesions, use of the gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) gadoxetate disodium at MRI is limited in children due to a lack of comparative safety data. Purpose To evaluate the safety of the GBCA gadoxetate disodium (a linear ionic hepatobiliary contrast agent [HBA]) in children and adolescents, compared with extracellular contrast agents (ECA). Materials and Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted in children and adolescents aged 18 years or younger who underwent HBA-enhanced MRI at one of three tertiary hospitals from January 2010 to December 2022.

Ca homeostasis and male fertility: a target for a new male contraceptive system.

Ca is a key secondary messenger that determines sperm motility patterns. Mammalian sperm undergo capacitation, a process to acquire fertilizing ability, in the female reproductive tract. Capacitated sperm change their flagellar waveform to develop hyperactivated motility, which is crucial for successful sperm navigation to the eggs and fertilization.

Translation of Circular RNAs: Functions of Translated Products and Related Bioinformatics Approaches.

Over the past two decades, studies have discovered a special form of alternative splicing (AS) that produces a circular form of RNA. This stands in contrast to normal AS, which produces a linear form of RNA. Although these circRNAs have garnered considerable attention in the scientific community for their biogenesis and functions, the focus of these studies has been on the regulatory role of circRNAs with the assumption that circRNAs are non-coding.

Analysis of Ca-mediated sperm motility to evaluate the functional normality of the sperm-specific Ca channel, CatSper.

Ca is a key secondary messenger that modulates sperm motility by tuning flagellar movement in various species. The sperm-specific Ca channel, CatSper, is a primary Ca gate that is essential for male fertility in mammals. CatSper-mediated Ca signaling enables sperm to develop hyperactivated motility and fertilize the eggs in the female tract.

LRRC23 truncation impairs radial spoke 3 head assembly and sperm motility underlying male infertility.

Radial spokes (RS) are T-shaped multiprotein complexes on the axonemal microtubules. Repeated RS1, RS2, and RS3 couple the central pair to modulate ciliary and flagellar motility. Despite the cell type specificity of RS3 substructures, their molecular components remain largely unknown.

Bone Age Assessment Using Artificial Intelligence in Korean Pediatric Population: A Comparison of Deep-Learning Models Trained With Healthy Chronological and Greulich-Pyle Ages as Labels.

Objective: To develop a deep-learning-based bone age prediction model optimized for Korean children and adolescents and evaluate its feasibility by comparing it with a Greulich-Pyle-based deep-learning model.

Materials And Methods: A convolutional neural network was trained to predict age according to the bone development shown on a hand radiograph (bone age) using 21036 hand radiographs of Korean children and adolescents without known bone development-affecting diseases/conditions obtained between 1998 and 2019 (median age [interquartile range {IQR}], 9 [7-12] years; male:female, 11794:9242) and their chronological ages as labels (Korean model). We constructed 2 separate external datasets consisting of Korean children and adolescents with healthy bone development (Institution 1: n = 343; median age [IQR], 10 [4-15] years; male: female, 183:160; Institution 2: n = 321; median age [IQR], 9 [5-14] years; male: female, 164:157) to test the model performance.

Altered splicing factor and alternative splicing events in a mouse model of diet- and polychlorinated biphenyl-induced liver disease.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with human environmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Alternative splicing (AS) is dysregulated in steatotic liver disease and is regulated by splicing factors (SFs) and N-6 methyladenosine (m6A) modification. Here integrated analysis of hepatic mRNA-sequencing data was used to identify differentially expressed SFs and differential AS events (ASEs) in the livers of high fat diet-fed C57BL/6 J male mice exposed to Aroclor1260, PCB126, Aroclor1260 + PCB126, or vehicle control.

Clinical characteristics of tetralogy of Fallot with left pulmonary artery acute angulation on computed tomography.

Left pulmonary artery (LPA) stenosis with acute angulation commonly necessitates surgical revision in the treatment of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). We investigated the clinical characteristics of acute angulation of the LPA in patients with TOF via computed tomography (CT). Between 2011 and 2022, 160 patients were diagnosed with TOF using CT.

Biportal endoscopic discectomy versus tubular microscopic discectomy for treating single-level lumbar disc herniation in obese patients: a multicenter, retrospective analysis.

Purpose: In microscopic lumbar discectomy in obese patients, a correlation is found between the operation time and increase in estimated blood loss according to the increase in body mass index; however, no studies have investigated the outcomes of biportal endoscopic lumbar discectomy in obese patients. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes of microscopic and endoscopic discectomy in obese patients with lumbar herniated discs.

Methods: In this multicenter, retrospective study, clinical and radiological data were compared and analyzed in 73 obese patients with a body mass index of > 30 kg/m who underwent microscopic or biportal endoscopic lumbar discectomy.

LRRC23 truncation impairs radial spoke 3 head assembly and sperm motility underlying male infertility.

Radial spokes (RS) are T-shaped multiprotein complexes on the axonemal microtubules. Repeated RS1, RS2, and RS3 couple the central pair to modulate ciliary and flagellar motility. Despite the cell type specificity of RS3 substructures, their molecular components remain largely unknown.

Follistatin regulates the specification of the apical cochlea responsible for low-frequency hearing in mammals.

The cochlea's ability to discriminate sound frequencies is facilitated by a special topography along its longitudinal axis known as tonotopy. Auditory hair cells located at the base of the cochlea respond to high-frequency sounds, whereas hair cells at the apex respond to lower frequencies. Gradual changes in morphological and physiological features along the length of the cochlea determine each region's frequency selectivity, but it remains unclear how tonotopy is established during cochlear development.

CatSper Calcium Channels: 20 Years On.

The flagellar-specific Ca channel CatSper is the predominant Ca entry site in mammalian sperm. CatSper-mediated Ca signaling affects nearly every event that regulates sperm to acquire fertilizing capability. In this review, we summarize some of the main findings from 20 years of CatSper research and highlight recent progress and prospects.

S- and N-Co-Doped TiO-Coated AlO Hollow Fiber Membrane for Photocatalytic Degradation of Gaseous Ammonia.

This study successfully prepared and tested sulfur- and nitrogen-co-doped TiO-coated α-AlO (S,N-doped TiO/AlO) hollow fiber (HF) membranes for efficient photocatalytic degradation of gaseous ammonia (NH). Thiourea was used as a sulfur- and nitrogen-doping source to produce a S,N-doped TiO photocatalyst powder. For comparative purposes, undoped TiO powder was also synthesized.

Novel TiO/GO-AlO Hollow Fiber Nanofiltration Membrane for Desalination and Lignin Recovery.

Due to its greater physical-chemical stability, ceramic nanofiltration (NF) membranes were used in a number of industrial applications. In this study, a novel NF membrane was prepared by co-depositing a titanium dioxide (TiO) and graphene oxide (GO) composite layer directly onto a porous α-AlO hollow fiber (HF) support. An 8 µm-thick TiO/GO layer was deposited to the surface of α-Al2O3 HF support by vacuum deposition method to produce advanced TiO/GO-AlO HF NF membrane.