Background: Candida auris is an emerging multidrug-resistant pathogen. Interpretation of susceptibility testing can be difficult since minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) breakpoints have not been fully established.
Methods: All C.
Animal venoms, distinguished by their unique structural features and potent bioactivities, represent a vast and relatively untapped reservoir of therapeutic molecules. However, limitations associated with comprehensively constructing and expressing highly complex venom and venom-like molecule libraries have precluded their therapeutic evaluation via high throughput screening. Here, we developed an innovative computational approach to design a highly diverse library of animal venoms and "metavenoms".
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients with schizophrenia have a high risk of cardiovascular death. Increased cardiac left ventricular (LV) mass has been reported to be associated with heart failure and cardiac mortality. However, few studies have used echocardiographic imaging to evaluate the associations between cardiac LV mass and the clinical characteristics of schizophrenia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResults of retinoid-based therapies in head and neck cancer (HNC) are generally disappointing, indicating a lack of understanding of retinoic acid signaling. The role of retinoic acid receptor gamma (RARγ) and its isoforms in HNC is yet to be established. In this study, we found that RARγ1, 2, 4 are the predominant RARγ isoforms expressed in various types of human cancers, including HNC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResearch over the past two decades has established a remarkable ability of the gut microbiota to modulate brain activity and behaviour. Conversely, signals from the brain can influence the composition and function of the gut microbiota. This bidirectional communication across the gut microbiota-brain axis, involving multiple biochemical and cellular mediators, is recognized as a major brain-body network that integrates cues from the environment and the body's internal state.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSchizophrenia literacy is key to early identification of schizophrenia and diminishment of stigma. This facilitates help-seeking and adherence to mental health treatment for individuals suffering from schizophrenia. However, validated measures assessing schizophrenia literacy among individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia remain limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA hyperbolic metamaterial absorber has great potential for improving the performance of photo-thermoelectric devices targeting heat sources owing to its broadband absorption. However, optimizing its geometry requires considering numerous parameters to achieve absorption that aligns with the radiation spectrum. Here, we compare three algorithms using deep reinforcement learning for the optimization of a hyperbolic metamaterial absorber.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of the interferon gene (cGAS-STING) signaling pathway is considered an essential pattern recognition and effector pathway in the natural immune system and is mainly responsible for recognizing DNA molecules present in the cytoplasm and activating downstream signaling pathways to generate type I interferons (IFN-I) and other inflammatory factors. STING, a crucial junction protein in the innate immune system, exerts an essential role in host resistance to external pathogen invasion. The DNA introduced by pathogens or tumors is recognized by the cytoplasmic nucleic acid receptor cGAS, and a second messenger, cGAMP, is generated using intracellular guanosine triphosphate (GTP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFYouth's social status (popularity and likability) relates with social status goals as well as bullying and prosocial behaviors within the context of classroom norms for bullying and prosocial behaviors, but less clear is how each of these factors interrelates with each other. The current study empirically analyses the concurrent relationships among social status goals, bullying and prosocial behaviors, and classroom norms with social status. Participants were a nationally representative sample of 6,421 Slovenian early adolescents (50% females; M = 13 years; SD = 6 months).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Heart rate serves as a critical prognostic factor in heart failure (HF) patients. We hypothesise that elevated heart rate in critically ill HF patients on discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU) could be linked to adverse outcomes.
Design: A single-centre retrospective cohort study.
Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) affects different patient populations that require unique considerations in their management. However, no HS guidelines for these populations exist.
Objective: To provide evidence-based consensus recommendations for patients with HS in seven special patient populations: i) pregnancy, ii) breastfeeding, iii) pediatrics, iv) malignancy, v) tuberculosis infection, vi) hepatitis B or C infection, and vii) HIV disease.
Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common after stroke. Still, routine screening of OSA with polysomnography (PSG) is often unfeasible in clinical practice, primarily because of how limited resources are and the physical condition of patients. In this study, we used several artificial intelligence techniques to predict moderate-to-severe OSA and identify its features in patients with acute ischemic stroke.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeukaemia stem cells (LSCs) are major contributors to chemoresistance in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Identifying potential biomarkers within LSCs that can predict chemosensitivity in AML is key. This prospective study involved 20 consecutive de novo AML patients who underwent '7 + 3' induction therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe horizontal transmission of endosymbionts between hosts and parasitoids plays a crucial role in biological control, yet its mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study investigates the dynamics of horizontal transfer of (Ccep) from the rice moth, , to its parasitoid, . Through PCR detection and phylogenetic analysis, we demonstrated the presence of identical Ccep strains in both host and parasitoid populations, providing evidence for natural horizontal transmission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFiloviruses, including Ebola, Marburg, Sudan, and Taï Forest viruses, are zoonotic pathogens that can cause severe viral hemorrhagic fever and death. Developing vaccines that provide durable, broad immunity against multiple filoviruses is a high global health priority. In this Phase 1 trial, we enrolled 60 healthy U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn recent years, food allergies and food sensitivities have remained critical public health problems that affect approximately 15% of the global population. Wheat is a major food source worldwide, but it is also a common food allergen. Celiac disease is chronic immune-mediated enteropathy triggered by exposure to dietary gluten in genetically predisposed individuals; it can be treated only through strict gluten avoidance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Given the lack of a value framework for assessing health technologies in Asian settings, a value framework incorporating multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) for new drugs under universal healthcare coverage in Taiwan was established.
Methods: The development process included: 1) the adoption of five value domains (i.e.
The molecular underpinnings behind the diet-microbiome-host health relationship are largely undescribed. In a recent issue of Science, Cheng et al. uncovered one piece of the puzzle by describing a novel fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) derived from a Faecalibacterium prausnitzii strain that correlated with improved malnutrition recovery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Allostatic load refers to the pathophysiological consequences of uncompensated adaptation to chronic stress. Few studies have investigated the effect of allostatic load on cardiac health in patients with serious mental disorders (SMDs), a population at high risk of cardiac mortality. Herein we evaluated associations between allostatic load and cardiac structure and function in young adults with SMDs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Breast cancer has been the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in Taiwan since 2003. While genetic variants play a significant role in the elevated risk of breast cancer, their implications have been less explored within Asian populations. Variant-based polygenic risk scores (PRS) have emerged as valuable tools for assessing the likelihood of developing breast cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh-entropy-alloy (HEA) nanocrystals hold immense potential for catalysis, offering virtually unlimited alloy combinations through the inclusion of at least five constituent elements in varying ratios. However, general and effective strategies for synthesizing libraries of HEA nanocrystals with controlled surface atomic structures remain scarce. In this study, a transferable strategy for developing a library of facet-controlled seed@HEA nanocrystals through seed-mediated growth is presented.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg
November 2024
Background: Nose deviation deformities pose a complex cosmetic and functional problem. The most common surgical intervention to manage such deformities is septorhinoplasty, typically performed by a plastic surgeon or a rhinologist. This study investigated the effect of a combined operation by a plastic surgeon and rhinologist, comparing them with those operations performed singlehandedly by a plastic surgeon.
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