Automatic detection, classification, and segmentation of sagittal MR images for diagnosing prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disc.

Magnetic resonance (MR) images are commonly used to diagnose prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disc (PLID). However, for a computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) system, distinguishing between pathological abnormalities of PLID in MR images is a challenging and intricate task. Here, we propose a comprehensive model for the automatic detection and cropping of regions of interest (ROI) from sagittal MR images using the YOLOv8 framework to solve this challenge.

Comparison of the prognosis and lymph node metastasis between no tumor budding and low-grade tumor budding in T1 and T2 colorectal cancer.

Tumor budding is a significant prognostic factor in colorectal cancer (CRC) management and is graded as follows: 0-4 buds as low, 5-9 buds as intermediate, and > 10 buds as high. However, the specific prognostic difference between cases with 0 buds (BD0) and those with 1-4 buds (BD1) is not well established owing to a lack of comparative studies. This study aimed to examine and compare the rate of lymph node (LN) metastasis and prognosis by distinguishing between BD0 and BD1 within the low-grade category (0-4 buds) of tumor budding in submucosa (T1) and muscularis propria (T2) CRC.

Association between genetically predicted leisure and social activities and cardiovascular disease and other health outcomes.

Participation in leisure and social activities (LSA) is associated with better health outcomes and lower mortality. Previous observational studies demonstrated a relationship between engagement in LSA and both mental and physical health. Although several studies examined the association between LSA and health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, their possible causal relationship has not been studied.

Increased diagnosis of hepato-biliary-pancreatic cancer after cholecystectomy: a population-based study.

Given the increasing trend of cholecystectomy, it is imperative to reassess surgical and surveillance strategies in consideration of the potential long-term risks for digestive tract cancers. The objective of this study was to assess the risk of gastrointestinal (GI) and hepato-biliary-pancreatic (HBP) cancer incidence after cholecystectomy. The data for this cohort study was obtained from the National Health Insurance Service database in Korea.

Machine learning for early detection and severity classification in people with Parkinson's disease.

Early detection of Parkinson's disease (PD) and accurate assessment of disease progression are critical for optimizing treatment and rehabilitation. However, there is no consensus on how to effectively detect early-stage PD and classify motor symptom severity using gait analysis. This study evaluated the accuracy of machine learning models in classifying early and moderate-stages of PD based on spatiotemporal gait features at different walking speeds.

Magnetic field control over the axial character of Higgs modes in charge-density wave compounds.

Understanding how symmetry-breaking processes generate order out of disorder is among the most fundamental problems of nature. The scalar Higgs mode - a massive (quasi-) particle - is a key ingredient in these processes and emerges with the spontaneous breaking of a continuous symmetry. Its related exotic and elusive axial counterpart, a Boson with vector character, can be stabilized through the simultaneous breaking of multiple continuous symmetries.

Multi-modal conditional diffusion model using signed distance functions for metal-organic frameworks generation.

The design of porous materials with user-desired properties has been a great interest for the last few decades. However, the flexibility of target properties has been highly limited, and targeting multiple properties of diverse modalities simultaneously has been scarcely explored. Furthermore, although deep generative models have opened a new paradigm in materials generation, their incorporation into porous materials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has not been satisfactory due to their structural complexity.

Northern Hemisphere sea ice variability in a transient CGCM simulation of the past 2.6 Ma.

The recent sea ice changes in the Northern Hemisphere (NH), necessitate elucidating the sea ice variability over the past 2.6 million years (Ma), when the Earth's glacial cycles transitioned from ∼41 to ∼100 kyr periodicity, following the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT) period (0.7-1.

Cigarette Smoking and Symptom Burden: Baseline Results From Nine ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Clinical Trials.

Context: Approximately 11% of cancer survivors smoke postdiagnosis.

Objectives: Understanding the relationship between smoking and perceived cancer-related symptoms may inform tobacco treatment interventions for this population.

Methods: From 2017 to 2021, 740 adults in 9 ECOG-ACRIN trials provided baseline data.

Electrokinetic Enhancement of Membrane Techniques for Efficient Nanoparticle Separation and Preconcentration.

Efficient separation and preconcentration of nanoparticles are crucial in a wide range of biomedical applications, particularly as target substances continue to diminish in size. In this study, we introduce an electric field-assisted membrane system that synergistically combines oversized-pore membranes with an electrokinetic particle retention mechanism. Utilizing Ti/Au-coated poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) membranes, our approach generates electrokinetic forces to effectively separate and retain charged nanoparticles even smaller than the pores, achieving a separation efficiency over 99% and a preconcentration factor of 1.

Interrogation of Enantioselectivity in the Photomediated Ring Contractions of Saturated Heterocycles.

We recently reported a chiral phosphoric acid (CPA) catalyzed enantioselective photomediated ring contraction of piperidines and other saturated heterocycles. By extruding a single heteroatom from a ring, this transformation builds desirable C(sp)-C(sp) bonds in the ring contracted products; however, the origins of enantioselectivity remain poorly understood. In this work, enantioselectivity of the ring contraction has been explored across an expanded structurally diverse substrate scope, revealing a wide range of enantioselectivities (0-99%) using two distinct CPA catalysts.

Collaborative activities in a biological dosimetry network for radiation emergencies in South Korea.

Purpose: Biological dosimetry is an essential analytic method to estimate the absorbed radiation dose in the human body by measuring changes in biomolecules after radiation exposure. Joint response in a network to mass-casualty radiation incidents is one way to overcome the limitations of biological dosimetry, sharing the workload among laboratories. This study aimed to investigate the current performance, collaborative activities and technical advances of the Korea biodosimetry network (K-BioDos), and suggest the future directions toward successful joint response.

Impact of posterior septectomy on olfaction in endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery.

Background: Endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery is widely used to resect pituitary adenomas, yet its impact on olfactory function after resection of the posterosuperior nasal septum remains a concern. To optimize surgical techniques to preserve olfactory function, it is essential to understand the relationship between the extent of septal resection and olfactory outcomes.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 295 patients who underwent pituitary adenoma surgery.

Comparison of core temperature using tracheal thermometer and pulmonary artery catheter in adult patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Background: Monitoring core temperature is important for patients under anesthesia. Esophageal and pulmonary artery blood temperatures can be used for measuring core temperature during general anesthesia. However, these methods pose challenges, especially when the placement of an esophageal thermometer and pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) is either impractical or not the preferred approach.

Prognostic significance of total choline on in-vivo proton MR spectroscopy for prediction of late recurrence in patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer.

Purpose: In-vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a non-invasive method of analyzing choline metabolism that has been used to predict breast cancer prognosis. A strong choline peak may be a surrogate for aggressive tumor biology but its clinical relevance is unclear. The present study assessed whether total choline (tCho), as measured by proton MRS, can predict late recurrence in patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer.

Landscape profiling of PET depolymerases using a natural sequence cluster framework.

Enzymes capable of breaking down polymers have been identified from natural sources and developed for industrial use in plastic recycling. However, there are many potential starting points for enzyme optimization that remain unexplored. We generated a landscape of 170 lineages of 1894 polyethylene terephthalate depolymerase (PETase) candidates and performed profiling using sampling approaches with features associated with PET-degrading capabilities.

Amphoteric reactivity of iron(III)-hydroperoxo complex generated from proton- and salicylate-assisted dioxygen activation.

We report the synthesis and characterization of an iron(III)-hydroperoxo complex generated from salicylate-assisted dioxygen activation by a cation-liganded iron(II) complex. Spectroscopic and theoretical data revealed stabilization of the end-on hydroperoxo ligand, and mechanistic insights, including a "V-shaped" Hammett plot, were confirmed by conducting oxygen atom transfer and proton-coupled electron transfer reactions.

Nanoparticle-Mediated Explosive Anti-PD-L1 Factory Built in Tumor for Advanced Immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies, has revolutionized oncology. However, it encounters challenges such as inadequate drug accumulation and limited efficacy against "cold" tumors characterized by lack of T cell infiltration and immunosuppressive microenvironments. Here, a controlled antibody production and releasing nanoparticle (CAPRN) is introduced, designed to augment ICB efficacy by facilitating tumor-targeted antibody production and inducing photodynamic cell death.

Correction: (Thio)chromenone derivatives exhibit anti-metastatic effects through selective inhibition of uPAR in cancer cell lines: discovery of an uPAR-targeting fluorescent probe.

Correction for '(Thio)chromenone derivatives exhibit anti-metastatic effects through selective inhibition of uPAR in cancer cell lines: discovery of an uPAR-targeting fluorescent probe' by So-Young Chun , , 2025, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4CC05907G.

Seasonal effect of PM exposure in patients with COPD: a multicentre panel study.

: Exposure to particulate matter <2.5 μm (PM) is linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but most studies lack individual PM measurements. Seasonal variation and their impact on clinical outcomes remain understudied.

Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase transforms carotid occlusion-mediated benign oligemia into large cerebral infarction.

It remains unclear why unilateral proximal carotid artery occlusion (UCAO) causes benign oligemia in mice, yet leads to various outcomes (asymptomatic-to-death) in humans. We hypothesized that inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) both transforms UCAO-mediated oligemia into full infarction and expands pre-existing infarction. Using 900 mice, we i) investigated stroke-related effects of UCAO with/without intraperitoneal administration of the NOS inhibitor (NOSi) N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 400 mg/kg); ii) examined the rescue effect of the NO-donor, molsidomine (200 mg/kg at 30 minutes); and iii) tested the impact of antiplatelet medications.

Targeted demethylation of cathepsin D via epigenome editing rescues pathology in Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

Cathepsin D (Ctsd) has emerged as a promising therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease (AD) due to its role in degrading intracellular amyloid beta (Aβ). Enhancing Ctsd activity could reduce Aβ42 accumulation and restore the Aβ42/40 ratio, offering a potential AD treatment strategy. This study explored Ctsd demethylation in AD mouse models using dCas9-Tet1-mediated epigenome editing.

Myeloid-specific deletion of autotaxin inhibits rheumatoid arthritis and osteoclastogenesis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by joint swelling, pain, and bone remodeling. We previously reported that autotaxin (ATX) deficiency disrupts lipid rafts in macrophages. Lipid raft disruption results in the dysregulation of RANK signaling, which is crucial for osteoclastogenesis and the pathogenesis of RA.