Effects of Auto-Titrating Mandibular Advancement Device on Autonomic Nervous System in Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

One prior study revealed that a newly developed auto-titrating mandibular advancement device (AMAD) could potentially enhance polysomnographic outcomes in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, evidence regarding its impact on autonomic nervous system dysregulation in OSA remains limited. In this study, we aimed to compare the effects of conventional mandibular advancement devices (MADs) and AMDA on autonomic function.

A Longitudinal Study Investigating Whether Chronic Rhinosinusitis Influences the Subsequent Risk of Developing Dementia.

Numerous studies have explored the association between chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and cognitive decline. However, whether CRS is an independent risk factor for the development of dementia remains unclear. Thus, this retrospective cohort study sought to examine the potential association between CRS and increased incidence and risk of dementia by utilizing a representative population-based cohort dataset.

Bilateral Back Extensor Exosuit for multidimensional assistance and prevention of spinal injuries.

Lumbar spine injuries resulting from heavy or repetitive lifting remain a prevalent concern in workplaces. Back-support devices have been developed to mitigate these injuries by aiding workers during lifting tasks. However, existing devices often fall short in providing multidimensional force assistance for asymmetric lifting, an essential feature for practical workplace use.

Enhancing machine learning models for total organic carbon prediction by integrating geospatial parameters in river watersheds.

This study utilizes machine learning (ML) algorithms to develop a robust total organic carbon (TOC) prediction model for river waters in the Geumho River sub-basins, South Korea, considering both non-rain and rain events. The model incorporates geospatial parameters such as land use, slope, flow rate, and basic water quality metrics including biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and suspended solids (SS). A key aspect of this research is examining how land use information enhances the model's predictive accuracy.

HOXA‑AS3 induces tumor progression through the epithelial‑mesenchymal transition pathway in epithelial ovarian cancer.

HOXA cluster antisense RNA 3 (HOXA‑AS3) is considered to be involved in several malignancies, however, its biological function in the progression of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains unclear. The present study compared the expression of HOXA‑AS3 in ovarian cancer and normal ovarian tissues and analyzed the association between the expression of HOXA‑AS3 and the survival outcomes of patients with ovarian cancer. RNA interference was used to suppress HOXA‑AS3 expression in ovarian cancer cell lines in order to demonstrate the function of HOXA‑AS3 in ovarian cancer progression.

Flocculation kinetics and mechanisms of microalgae- and clay-containing suspensions in different microalgal growth phases.

Interplays between microalgae and clay minerals enhance biologically mediated flocculation, thereby affecting the sedimentation and transportation of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in water and benthic environments. This interaction forms larger flocs with a higher settling velocity and enhances SPM sinking. The aim of this study was to investigate the flocculation kinetics of microalgae and clay in suspension and to elucidate the mechanisms associated with such interactions.

Long Non-coding RNA LOC285194 Promotes Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Progression the Apoptosis Signaling Pathway.

Background/aim: To explore the molecular mechanism and clinical significance of a newly identified lncRNA LOC285194 in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

Materials And Methods: LOC285194 transcript levels were analyzed in EOC cells compared to normal cells. Small interfering RNAs were used to suppress LOC285194 expression.

Metal ions affect the formation and stability of amyloid β aggregates at multiple length scales.

Amyloid β (Aβ) aggregates, which are a hallmark for neurodegenerative disease, are formed through a self-assembly process such as aggregation of Aβ peptide chains. This aggregation process depends on the solvent conditions under which the proteins are aggregated. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism of the ionic effect on the formation and stability of amyloid aggregates has not been fully understood.

Extraction of natural colorant from purple sweet potato and dyeing of fabrics with silver nanoparticles for augmented antibacterial activity against skin pathogens.

The main objective of this study was to extract natural colorant from purple sweet potato powder (PSPP) via a water bath and ultrasound water bath using acidified ethanol (A. EtOH) as the extraction solvent. When optimizing the colorant extraction conditions of the solvents, acidified ethanol with ultrasound yielded a high extraction capacity and color intensity at pH2, temperature of 80°C, 20mL of A.

Mechanical features of various silkworm crystalline considering hydration effect via molecular dynamics simulations.

Silk materials are receiving significant attention as base materials for various functional nanomaterials and nanodevices, due to its exceptionally high mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and degradable characteristics. Although crystalline silk regions are composed of various repetitive motifs with differing amino acid sequences, how the effect of humidity works differently on each of the motifs and their structural characteristics remains unclear. We report molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on various silkworm fibroins composed of major motifs (i.

Mechanical and vibrational characterization of amyloid-like HET-s nanosheets based on the skewed plate theory.

Pathological amyloidogenic prion proteins have a toxic effect on functional cells in the human cerebrum because of poor degradability and the tendency to accumulate in an uncontrolled manner under physiological conditions. HET-s, a fungal prion protein, is known to undergo conformational variations from fibrillar to nanosheet structures during a change from low to high pH conditions. It has been said that this conformational change can lead to self-propagation by nucleating on the lateral surface of singlet fibrils.

Steered molecular dynamics analysis of the role of cofilin in increasing the flexibility of actin filaments.

Cofilin is one of the most essential regulatory proteins and participates in the process of disassembling actin filaments. Cofilin induces conformational changes to actin filaments, and both the bending and torsional rigidity of the filament. In this study, we investigate the effects of cofilin on the mechanical properties of actin filaments using computational methods.

Biophysical characterization of cofilin-induced extension-torsion coupling in actin filaments.

Cofilin makes the actin filament flexible and thermally unstable by disassembling the filament and inducing bending and torsional compliance. Actin monomers bound to cofilin are able to chemically and mechanically interact in response to external forces. In this study, we performed two molecular dynamics tensile tests for actin and cofilactin filaments under identical conditions.

Comparison of Computer Vision and Photogrammetric Approaches for Epipolar Resampling of Image Sequence.

Epipolar resampling is the procedure of eliminating vertical disparity between stereo images. Due to its importance, many methods have been developed in the computer vision and photogrammetry field. However, we argue that epipolar resampling of image sequences, instead of a single pair, has not been studied thoroughly.

Conformational changes of Aβ (1-42) monomers in different solvents.

Amyloid proteins are known to be the main cause of numerous degenerative and neurodegenerative diseases. In general, amyloids are misfolded from monomers and they tend to have β-strand formations. These misfolded monomers are then transformed into oligomers, fibrils, and plaques.

Effects of lysine residues on structural characteristics and stability of tau proteins.

Pathological amyloid proteins have been implicated in neuro-degenerative diseases, specifically Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Lewy-body diseases and prion related diseases. In prion related diseases, functional tau proteins can be transformed into pathological agents by environmental factors, including oxidative stress, inflammation, Aβ-mediated toxicity and covalent modification. These pathological agents are stable under physiological conditions and are not easily degraded.

Cofilin reduces the mechanical properties of actin filaments: approach with coarse-grained methods.

An actin filament is an essential cytoskeleton protein in a cell. Various proteins bind to actin for cell functions such as migration, division, and shape control. ADF/cofilin is a protein that severs actin filaments and is related to their dynamics.

Identification of tail binding effect of kinesin-1 using an elastic network model.

Kinesin is a motor protein that delivers cargo inside a cell. Kinesin has many different families, but they perform basically same function and have same motions. The walking motion of kinesin enables the cargo delivery inside the cell.

Role of sequence and structural polymorphism on the mechanical properties of amyloid fibrils.

Amyloid fibrils playing a critical role in disease expression, have recently been found to exhibit the excellent mechanical properties such as elastic modulus in the order of 10 GPa, which is comparable to that of other mechanical proteins such as microtubule, actin filament, and spider silk. These remarkable mechanical properties of amyloid fibrils are correlated with their functional role in disease expression. This suggests the importance in understanding how these excellent mechanical properties are originated through self-assembly process that may depend on the amino acid sequence.

Domain decomposition-based structural condensation of large protein structures for understanding their conformational dynamics.

Normal mode analysis (NMA) with coarse-grained model, such as elastic network model (ENM), has allowed the quantitative understanding of protein dynamics. As the protein size is increased, there emerges the expensive computational process to find the dynamically important low-frequency normal modes due to diagonalization of massive Hessian matrix. In this study, we have provided the domain decomposition-based structural condensation method that enables the efficient computations on low-frequency motions.

Large Protein Dynamics Described by Hierarchical-Component Mode Synthesis.

Protein dynamics has played a pivotal role in understanding the biological function of protein. For investigation of such dynamics, normal-mode analysis (NMA) has been broadly employed with atomistic model and/or coarse-grained models such as elastic network model (ENM). For large protein complexes, NMA with even ENM encounters the expensive computational process such as diagonalization of Hessian (stiffness) matrix.