The pleiotropic effects of statins: a comprehensive exploration of neurovascular unit modulation and blood-brain barrier protection.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is the most central component of the neurovascular unit (NVU) and is crucial for the maintenance of the internal environment of the central nervous system and the regulation of homeostasis. A multitude of neuroprotective agents have been developed to exert neuroprotective effects and improve the prognosis of patients with ischemic stroke. These agents have been designed to maintain integrity and promote BBB repair.

Focal liver lesions: multiparametric microvasculature characterization via super-resolution ultrasound imaging.

Background: Noninvasive and functional imaging of the focal liver lesion (FLL) vasculature at microscopic scales is clinically challenging. We investigated the feasibility of using super-resolution ultrasound (SR-US) imaging for visualizing and quantifying the microvasculature of intraparenchymal FLLs.

Methods: Patients with FLLs between June 2022 and February 2023 were prospectively screened.

Modal phase-matching in thin-film lithium niobate waveguides for efficient generation of entangled photon pairs.

Thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) waveguides have emerged as a pivotal platform for on-chip spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC), serving as a crucible for the generation of entangled photon pairs. The periodic poling of TFLN, while capable of generating high-efficiency SPDC, demands intricate fabrication processes that can be onerous in terms of scalability and manufacturability. In this work, we introduce a novel approach to the generation of entangled photon pairs via SPDC within TFLN waveguides, harnessing the principles of modal phase-matching (MPM).

Ground-to-UAV sub-terahertz channel measurement and modeling.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) assisted wireless communications have been expected to play a vital role in the next generation of wireless networks. UAVs can serve as either repeaters or data collectors within the communication link, thereby potentially augmenting the efficacy of communication systems. Despite their promise, the channel analysis and modeling specific to terahertz (THz) wireless channels leveraging UAVs remain under-explored.

Quantum interference of concurrent nonlinear processes in a single silicon waveguide.

Optical nonlinearity provides a key resource for quantum information processing and the interference of quanta lies at the heart of quantum physics as well. As an interesting combination, the nonlinear interference can extend the scalability and flexibility of quantum manipulations as well as what we believe to be novel applications. In this manuscript, we propose and experimentally demonstrate what we believe to be a new nonlinear interferometer on a silicon chip between a degenerate and a non-degenerate spontaneous four-wave mixing process in the same waveguide.

Carboxymethyl Chitosan as a Reversible Template of Calcium Phosphate for Multifunctional Conservation of Carbonate Stone.

The accelerated deterioration of carbonate stone artifacts under climate change has long been an urgent issue. Inspired by biomineralization, we developed carboxymethyl chitosan-diammonium hydrogen phosphate (CD) composite and investigated the conservation effectiveness of the CD composite compared to diammonium hydrogen phosphate (DAP) on limestone. The morphologies and microstructures were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR).

l-Isoleucine-Derived Amide-hydrazide Compounds Evaluated as a Novel Potential Agricultural Fungicide.

Building upon previous structure-activity relationships about the fungicidal amide and hydrazide lead structures, 24 novel amide-hydrazide compounds were designed and synthesized with -isoleucine as the initial skeleton to explore the impact of substituents in the hydrazide bridge on the fungicidal activity. Among these compounds, exhibited excellent and broad spectrum inhibitory activity, along with satisfactory protective efficiency against at concentrations of 200 and 50 μg·mL. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations revealed that compound induced significant morphological changes in the mycelium coupled with vacuole rupture and cytoplasmic inhomogeneity in cellular structures.

Mode-folded thin-film lithium niobate phase shifter for channel scalable optical interconnect with high switching efficiency.

Paralleled optical interconnection has been widely used in optical transceivers. Reconfigurable photonic integration with scalable channel numbers is thus highly useful in timely adjusting the link capacity to the changing traffic patterns in data centers or high-performance computing (HPC) systems. In this paper, a 1×8 Mach-Zehnder switch (MZS) over thin-film lithium niobate is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for 1-to-8 channel scalable optical interconnects, with high switching efficiency through utilizing the mode-folded phase shifter.

MADS-box encoding gene Tunicate1 positively controls maize yield by increasing leaf number above the ear.

The leaves above the ear serve as a major source of carbohydrates for grain filling in maize. However, increasing the number of leaves above the ear to strengthen the source and improve maize yield remains challenging in modern maize breeding. Here, we clone the causative gene of the quantitative trait locus (QTL) associated with the number of leaves above the ear.

Favourable Prognosis of Patients With Untreated HBeAg-Negative Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection With HBsAg < 100 IU/mL.

Background: Serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) < 100 IU/mL has been recently proposed as one of the key criteria of 'partial cure' in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. We analysed the clinical prognosis of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative untreated patients with HBsAg < 100 IU/mL and normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels.

Methods: Five hundred and twenty-one untreated patients with HBeAg negativity, HBsAg < 100 IU/mL and normal ALT levels were included from three hospitals.

scGraphformer: unveiling cellular heterogeneity and interactions in scRNA-seq data using a scalable graph transformer network.

The precise classification of cell types from single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data is pivotal for dissecting cellular heterogeneity in biological research. Traditional graph neural network (GNN) models are constrained by reliance on predefined graphs, limiting the exploration of complex cell-to-cell relationships. We introduce scGraphformer, a transformer-based GNN that transcends these limitations by learning an all-encompassing cell-cell relational network directly from scRNA-seq data.

The role of post-traumatic antifibrinolysis in the perioperative blood management of elderly patients with intertrochanteric fractures treated with PFNA: A randomised controlled trial.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of posttraumatic antifibrinolytic therapy with repeated doses of intravenous tranexamic acid (IV-TXA) in reducing perioperative hidden blood loss (HBL) in elderly intertrochanteric femur fracture (IFF) patients.

Method: 112 elderly IFF patients who were admitted to our department from March 2020 to May 2021 were randomized to receive 100 ml of normal saline (Control group) or 1.5 g of TXA (TXA group) intravenously q12 h from postadmission day 1 (PAD1) to PAD3.

The Spatiotemporal Variation and Ecological Evaluation of Macroinvertebrate Functional Feeding Groups in the Upper Yellow River.

Against the backdrop of hydropower development in the upper Yellow River, comprehending the spatiotemporal variation and ecological evaluation of macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups (FFGs) is paramount for the conservation and restoration of aquatic biological resources in watersheds. Detailed surveys of macroinvertebrates were conducted in the gorge and plain areas of the upper Yellow River in July 2022 and March, May, and October 2023, culminating in the identification of 65 taxonomic units (genus or species) spanning 4 phyla, 14 orders, and 35 families. Of these, 41 taxonomic units were discovered in the gorge areas and 57 in the plain areas.

Safety and risk analysis of total resection surgery for thoracic and lumbar spinal tumors: a decadal analysis of 103 cases.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: To explore the complications and risk factors for total resection (TR) of primary thoracic and lumbar spinal tumors over the past decade at our institution.

Methods: Patients meeting inclusion criteria (primary spinal tumors, thoracic or lumbar location, TR at our center) were included.