Assessing racial disparities in healthcare expenditure using generalized propensity score weighting.

Purpose: This paper extends current propensity score weighting methods for causal inference to better understand disparities in healthcare access across multiple racial groups. By treating each racial group as a distinct entity (or "treatment") in the causal inference framework, we can assess and evaluate heterogeneity in healthcare outcomes across various racial or ethnic categories. Furthermore, we leverage modern propensity score weighting techniques to address the challenges inherent to multiple group evaluations, such as violations of the positivity assumption, and compare the performance of different propensity score weights.

Spatial Regulation of Rice Leaf Morphology by miRNA-Target Complexes During Viral Infection.

Leaf morphogenesis is essential for plant growth and development, yet the mechanisms by which plant viruses induce changes in leaf shape are not well understood. Rice ragged stunt virus (RRSV) infection induces distinct morphological abnormalities in rice leaves, including leaf tip curling and serrated margins, through unknown pathogenic mechanisms. This study reveals that key regulatory microRNAs (miR164, miR319 and miR156) and their target genes (CUC, TCP and SPL) exhibit entirely opposite expression patterns in healthy and RRSV-infected leaves, indicating a profound impact on the leaf morphogenesis network.

Emerging brain organoids: 3D models to decipher, identify and revolutionize brain.

Brain organoids are an emerging 3D brain model that is integrated from pluripotent stem cells. This model mimics the human brain's developmental process and disease-related phenotypes to a certain extent while advancing the development of human brain-based biological intelligence. However, many limitations of brain organoid culture (e.

The association between novel metabolic parameters and all-cause/cardiovascular mortality in patients with metabolic syndrome is modified by age.

Background: Triglyceride glucose index (TyG) serves as an effective parameter for assessing metabolic status. However, it remains uncertain whether TyG and other metabolic parameters can predict clinical outcomes in people with metabolic syndrome (MetS). We investigated the association of TyG, triglyceride glucose-waist to height ratio (TyG-WHtR), and metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR) with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the MetS cohort and determined whether this association changes with age.

The blood-brain barriers: novel nanocarriers for central nervous system diseases.

The central nervous system (CNS) diseases are major contributors to death and disability worldwide. However, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) often prevents drugs intended for CNS diseases from effectively crossing into the brain parenchyma to deliver their therapeutic effects. The blood-brain barrier is a semi-permeable barrier with high selectivity.

β-Catenin Regulates Glycolytic and Mitochondrial Function in T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive hematological malignancy characterized by a poor prognosis. β-catenin is implicated in the progression of T-ALL, yet the precise mechanisms of β-catenin involvement in the pathogenesis of T-ALL, particularly concerning metabolic processes, remain inadequately elucidated. A β-catenin knockout cell line was generated in the human leukemic cell line Jurkat using the CRISPR-Cas9 technique.

Regulating chemoresistance and cancer stemness: the CDH17-YAP pathway in distinct cellular states of lung cancer CTC clusters.

Background: Drug resistance in metastatic lung cancer significantly contributes to patient mortality. This study explores the role of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), the precursors to metastasis, in driving this resistance. We aim to delineate the unique biological traits of CTC clusters in lung cancer and elucidate the mechanisms underlying their resistance to chemotherapy.

Developmental validation of an mRNA-cSNP profiling panel for body fluids identification and individualization.

Forensic analysis of body fluid stains is extremely important, which helps reconstruct crime scenes. It involves two main challenges: body fluid identification (BFID) and individualization. The former aims to ascertain the type/origin of the body fluid stain, while the latter tries to assign the stain to a specific donor.

White Matter-Gray Matter Correlation Analysis Based on White Matter Functional Gradient.

Background: The spontaneous fluctuations in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals of the brain's gray matter (GM) have been interpreted as representations of neural activity variations. In previous research, white matter (WM) signals, often considered noise, have also been demonstrated to reflect characteristics of functional activity and interactions among different brain regions. Recently, functional gradients have gained significant attention due to their success in characterizing the functional organization of the whole brain.

Controllable antibunching of two-magnon bundle in a hybrid ferromagnet-superconductor system.

We propose an alternative scheme for implementing the antibunching effects of two-magnon bundle in a hybrid ferromagnet-superconductor system, where a magnon mode from the yttrium iron garnet (YIG) sphere interacts with a three-level superconducting qubit via photon virtual excitation in the microwave cavity. With the help of the qubit driving from the ground state to the excited state, the cascaded emission of magnon occurs and then the two-magnon bundle is formed. By analyzing the ordinary and generalized second-order correlation functions, it is found that the antibunched two-magnon bundle could be achieved via properly choosing the system parameters, which is originated from the anharmonicity of dressed energy levels induced by magnon-qubit couplings.

Programmable Electromagnetic Wave Absorption via Tailored Metal Single Atom-Support Interactions.

Metal single atoms (SA)-support interactions inherently exhibit significant electrochemical activity, demonstrating potential in energy catalysis. However, leveraging these interactions to modulate electronic properties and extend application fields is a formidable challenge, demanding in-depth understanding and quantitative control of atomic-scale interactions. Herein, in situ, off-axis electron holography technique is utilized to directly visualize the interactions between SAs and the graphene surface.

Copper-Catalyzed Oxidative Arylation and Hydroxylation of Indolin-2-ones for Direct Construction of Tetrasubstituted Carbon Centers.

This study introduces a novel methodology for the direct construction of tetrasubstituted centers, utilizing secondary C(sp)-H and C(sp)-H substrates, specifically indolin-2-ones and indoles, through an innovative oxidative cross-coupling reaction. Facilitated by a straightforward copper salt catalyst, this reaction proceeds efficiently at a mild temperature of 40 °C under operationally streamlined conditions. Emphasizing sustainability, this method is notably enhanced by employing air (molecular oxygen) as an eco-friendly oxidant.

Precision targeting of β-catenin induces tumor reprogramming and immunity in hepatocellular cancers.

First-line immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) combinations show responses in subsets of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Nearly half of HCCs are Wnt-active with mutations in (encoding for β-catenin), , or , and demonstrate limited benefit to ICI due to an immune excluded tumor microenvironment. We show significant tumor responses in multiple β-catenin-mutated immunocompetent HCC models to a novel siRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticle targeting (LNP-CTNNB1).

Molecular epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance of Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolates from the Pearl River Delta region, China.

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in southern China is a densely populated area and a hotspot for Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections. However, systematic research on this pathogen, particularly comparing clinical and environmental strains, remains limited. This study analyzed the molecular epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance of 200 V.

Comprehensive evaluation and practical guideline of gating methods for high-dimensional cytometry data: manual gating, unsupervised clustering, and auto-gating.

Cytometry is an advanced technique for simultaneously identifying and quantifying many cell surface and intracellular proteins at a single-cell resolution. Analyzing high-dimensional cytometry data involves identifying and quantifying cell populations based on their marker expressions. This study provided a quantitative review and comparison of various ways to phenotype cellular populations within the cytometry data, including manual gating, unsupervised clustering, and supervised auto-gating.

Quantitative features of osteo-bioactive Ti surfaces at the atomic/molecular level.

The osteo-bioactive potential of biomaterials can be modulated by altering material properties such as chemical composition, surface topography, and geometry. The correlation between the physicochemical properties of biomaterials and their osteo-bioactivity is highly complex. As a material widely used in bone repair, the structure-activity/dose-effect relationship between titanium (Ti) surface features and osteo-bioactivity remains unclear.

Depletion of regulatory T cells enhances the T cell response induced by the neoantigen vaccine with weak immunogenicity.

Background: The neoantigen vaccine has remarkable potential in treating advanced cancer due to its tumor specificity and ability to bypass central tolerance mechanisms. However, numerous neoantigens show poor immunogenicity, and the immune inhibitory factors of present in both tumors and tumor-draining lymph nodes impair the efficacy of cancer neoantigen vaccine. Eliminating immunosuppressive cells will improve the priming and expansion of anti-tumor immune cells induced by the vaccine.

A Bottom-Up Approach to Assemble Cell-Laden Biomineralized Nanofiber Mats into 3D Multilayer Periosteum Mimics for Bone Regeneration.

The creation of complex multilayer periosteal graft structures is challenging. This study introduced a novel bottom-up approach to assemble cell-laden nanofiber mats into a three-dimensional (3D) multilayer periosteum mimic, successfully replicating the hierarchical complexity of the natural periosteum. These nanofiber mats, which were fabricated by electrospinning, surface modification, and stimulated body fluid (SBF) immersion, are composed of nanoscale polycaprolactone (PCL) fibers coated with a mineralized collagen layer along the fiber orientation.

Evaluation of Four Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy Analysis Approaches with Decreased Numbers of SNPs and Increased Genotyping Errors.

: Forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG) has developed rapidly in recent years and is considered a novel tool for crime investigation. However, crime scene samples are often of low quality and quantity and are challenging to analyze. Deciding which approach should be used for kinship inference in forensic practice remains a troubling problem for investigators.

Construction of mitochondrial quality regulation genes-related prognostic model based on bulk-RNA-seq analysis in multiple myeloma.

Mitochondrial quality regulation plays an important role in affecting the treatment sensitivity of multiple myeloma (MM). We aimed to develop a mitochondrial quality regulation genes (MQRGs)-related prognostic model for MM patients. The Genomic Data Commons-MM of bulk RNA-seq, mutation, and single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) dataset were downloaded, and the MQRGs gene set was collected previous study.

Hybrid Optimization Path Planning Method for AGV Based on KGWO.

To address the path planning problem for automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in challenging and complex industrial environments, a hybrid optimization approach is proposed, integrating a Kalman filter with grey wolf optimization (GWO), as well as incorporating partially matched crossover (PMX) mutation operations and roulette wheel selection. Paths are first optimized using GWO, then refined with Kalman filter corrections every ten iterations. Moreover, roulette wheel selection guides robust parent path selection, while an elite strategy and partially matched crossover (PMX) with mutation generate diverse offspring.

Epigenetic regulation of global proteostasis dynamics by RBBP5 ensures mammalian organismal health.

Proteostasis is vital for cellular health, with disruptions leading to pathologies including aging, neurodegeneration and metabolic disorders. Traditionally, proteotoxic stress responses were studied as acute reactions to various noxious factors; however, recent evidence reveals that many proteostasis stress-response genes exhibit ~12-hour ultradian rhythms under physiological conditions in mammals. These rhythms, driven by an XBP1s-dependent 12h oscillator, are crucial for managing proteostasis.

Using anthropometric parameters to predict insulin resistance among patients without diabetes mellitus.

Anthropometric parameters are widely used in the clinical assessment of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. However, few studies have compared the association between different anthropometric parameters and insulin resistance (IR). This study was aimed at investigating the relationship between 6 indicators, including body mass index (BMI), calf circumference (CC), arm circumference (AC), thigh circumference (TC), waist circumference (WC), waist-height ratio (WHtR), and IR.

Risk Factors for Depression in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a widespread chronic condition. Depression frequently occurs among patients with KOA. The objective of this meta-analysis was to identify risk factors associated with comorbid depression in patients with KOA.