Structure-based design of covalent nanobody binders for a thermostable green fluorescence protein.

The use of green fluorescence protein (GFP) has advanced numerous areas of life sciences. An ultra-thermostable GFP (TGP), engineered from a coral GFP, offers potential advantages over traditional jellyfish-derived GFP because of its high stability. However, owing to its later discovery, TGP lacks the extensive toolsets available for GFP, such as heavy chain-only antibody binders known as nanobodies.

Effects of phloroglucinol on uterine peristalsis after frozen embryo transfer in patients experiencing recurrent implantation failure: A retrospective case-control study.

Objective: To retrospectively investigate the efficacy of phloroglucinol administration after freeze-thawed embryo transfer in patients experiencing recurrent implantation failure (RIF).

Materials And Methods: A total of 139 infertile couples who experienced RIF undergoing in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer were divided into the control (n = 66) and the phloroglucinol (n = 73) groups. Women in the phloroglucinol group received 80 mg phloroglucinol 30 min after transfer, then once daily up to day 3 after the embryo transfer.

Artificial intelligence in anesthesiology: a bibliometric analysis.

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in anesthesiology has become increasingly widespread. However, no previous study has analyzed this field from the bibliometric analysis dimension. The objective of this paper was to assess the global research trends in AI in anesthesiology using bibliometric software.

A Novel Circular Delta-XBB15 RBD Dimeric Protein Subunit Vaccine Mediated by Split Intein Elicits an Immune Response and Protection Against Multiple SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Mice.

SARS-CoV-2 continues to mutate, leading to breakthrough infections. The development of new vaccine strategies to combat various strains is crucial. Protein cyclization can enhance thermal stability and may improve immunogenicity.

Discovery of anticancer peptides from natural and generated sequences using deep learning.

Anticancer peptides (ACPs) demonstrate significant potential in clinical cancer treatment due to their ability to selectively target and kill cancer cells. In recent years, numerous artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms have been developed. However, many predictive methods lack sufficient wet lab validation, thereby constraining the progress of models and impeding the discovery of novel ACPs.

St-RegSeg: an unsupervised registration-based framework for multimodal magnetic resonance imaging stroke lesion segmentation.

Background: Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability and death worldwide. Ischemic stroke accounts for 75-90% of all stroke incidents. Assessing the size and location of the stroke lesion is crucial for treatment decisions, especially those related to urgent vascular reconstruction surgery.

dCasMINI-mediated therapy rescues photoreceptors degeneration in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is characterized by degeneration of rod and cone photoreceptors that progresses to irreversible blindness. Now, there are no mutation-agnostic approaches to treat RP. Here, we utilized a single adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based CRISPR activation system to activate phosphodiesterase 6B (Pde6b) to mitigate the severe degeneration in mice.

Quercetin-Loaded Melanin Nanoparticles Decorated with Collagenase Mediates Synergistic Immunomodulation and Restores Extracellular Matrix Homeostasis in Liver Fibrosis.

Liver fibrosis is a chronic disease that lacks effective drug treatment. Chronic damage and inflammation lead to the formation of collagen and fibrous scars. However, the excessive accumulation of collagen I significantly hinders the delivery of drugs into liver tissue.

Autophagy promotes p72 degradation and capsid disassembly during the early phase of African swine fever virus infection.

During viral infections, autophagy functions as a cell-intrinsic defense mechanism by facilitating the delivery of virions or viral components to the endosomal/lysosomal pathway for degradation. In this study, we report that internalized African swine fever virus (ASFV) virions enter autolysosomes during the early phase of viral infection. Autophagy selectively targets the major capsid protein p72 within the ASFV virion.

Association between plant-based dietary patterns and cognitive function in middle-aged and older residents of China.

Background: Plant-based diets may protect against cognitive impairment; however, observational data have not been consistent.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association between plant-based dietary patterns and cognitive function.

Methods: The study recruited 937 participants who were asked to complete food frequency questionnaires to assess the quality of their plant-based diets using the overall plant-based diet index (PDI), the healthful PDI (hPDI), and the unhealthful PDI (uPDI).

Liquid CO-Capture Technologies: A Review.

Escalating global carbon dioxide (CO) emissions have significantly exacerbated the climate impact, necessitating imperative advancements in CO-capture technology. Liquid absorbents have received considerable attention in carbon capture for engineering applications, due to their high flexibility, reliability, and recyclability. Nonetheless, the existing technologies of liquid CO capture suffer from various issues that cannot be ignored, such as corrosion, elevated costs, and pronounced secondary pollution.

A Neural Network for Segmenting Tumours in Ultrasound Rectal Images.

Ultrasound imaging is the most cost-effective approach for the early detection of rectal cancer, which is a high-risk cancer. Our goal was to design an effective method that can accurately identify and segment rectal tumours in ultrasound images, thereby facilitating rectal cancer diagnoses for physicians. This would allow physicians to devote more time to determining whether the tumour is benign or malignant and whether it has metastasized rather than merely confirming its presence.

Elevated neutrophil-percentage-to-albumin ratio predicts increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in hypertensive patients: Evidence from NHANES 1999-2018.

Background: This study investigates the association between the neutrophil-percentage-to-albumin ratio (NPAR) and all-cause mortality in patients with hypertension, and its relationship with cardiovascular mortality.

Methods: This study examined data from 18,469 adults with hypertension in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2018) and the mortality data from the National Death Index. The link between NPAR and mortality risk was visualized using restricted cubic splines.

Satellite-Based Monitoring of Methane Emissions from China's Rice Hub.

Rice cultivation is one of the major anthropogenic methane sources in China and globally. However, accurately quantifying regional rice methane emissions is often challenging due to highly heterogeneous emission fluxes and limited measurement data. This study attempts to address this issue by quantifying regional methane emissions from rice cultivation with a high-resolution inversion of satellite methane observations from the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI).

The effects of different forms of exercise during the early life on the bone microstructure of ovariectomized mice.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis is a type of bone disease with bone loss and deterioration of skeletal function that occurs in women after menopause. Studies have found that early-life exercise can reduce the risk of fractures and decrease the occurrence of osteoporosis, making it a promising approach for preventing and reversing bone loss. In this study, to identify the optimal forms of exercise during early life to optimize bone health and provide suggestions for promoting bone health through exercise training during early life, we conducted different forms of exercise interventions including ladder climbing, treadmill running, combined training, and whole-body vibration (WBV) on adolescent mice for 8 weeks and observed the accumulation of bone mass and arrangement of bone microstructure in adult mice.

Viable but nonculturable state in the zoonotic pathogen induced by low-grade fever temperature and antibiotic treatment.

The zoonotic pathogen is responsible for diverse human diseases, from mild to life-threatening, but it often eludes detection in culture-based assays. This study investigates the potential of to enter a viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state when exposed to human fever temperature or antibiotics, with this state confirmed by successful resuscitation. Viability was assessed using SYBR Green I/PI staining and propidium monoazide-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PMA-qPCR), while culturability was determined through colony-forming unit (CFU) counting on blood agar plates.

Chitosan-based porous composites embedded with molybdenum disulfide nanosheets for removal of mercury from wastewater.

Mercury-containing wastewater presents a significant environmental threat due to its high toxicity. Therefore, the urgent removal of mercury-laden wastewater is essential to protect ecosystems and public health. In this study, molybdenum disulfide (MoS) nanosheets modified with a silane coupling agent (designated as MS) were crosslinked with natural polymer chitosan (CS) rich in -NH and - OH groups to develop a highly efficient and environmentally friendly MoS-functionalized three-dimensional reticulated porous materials (denoted as MS/CTS) composite adsorbent.

Dynamic formation mechanism of persistent free radicals driven by water-phase oxidation-dependent heterogeneity of the carbon-silicon coupling structure in biochar.

The formation of persistent free radicals (PFRs) in biochar (BC) is closely related to the structural characteristics and reactivity of BC, which have toxic effects on the environment. However, the mechanisms driving PFRs formation through structural evolution during oxidative aging of BC remain unclear. Herein, we propose a novel dynamic mechanism for BC-PFRs formation driven by oxidation-dependent heterogeneity in carbon-silicon coupling structures by evaluating their heterogeneous correlations, sequential responses, and synergistic relations.

The combination of serum lncRNA PTTG3P and mRNA PTTG1 serves as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) PTTG3P has been demonstrated to participate in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by targeting the mRNA PTTG1. The present study aimed to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of serum lncRNA PTTG3P, mRNA PTTG1 and their combination for the diagnosis and prognosis of HCC. A total of 373 participants were enrolled in the present study, including 73 patients with HCC, 100 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), 100 patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) and 100 healthy controls (HCs).

YOLO-SDL: a lightweight wheat grain detection technology based on an improved YOLOv8n model.

Wheat, being a crucial global food crop, holds immense significance for food safety and agricultural economic stability, as the quality and condition of its grains are critical factors. Traditional methods of wheat grain detection are inefficient, and the advancements in deep learning offer a novel solution for fast and accurate grain recognition. This study proposes an improved deep learning model based on YOLOv8n, referred to as YOLO-SDL, aiming to achieve efficient wheat grain detection.

Serum concentrations of different or multiple vitamins and Sarcopenia risk among US adults: insights from NHANES.

Background: The relationship between serum concentrations of different or multiple vitamins and sarcopenia remains underexplored. This investigation evaluates potential links between serum concentrations of different or multiple vitamins and sarcopenia prevalence among adults in the United States.

Methods: Utilizing a cross-sectional design, this research draws from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) dataset of 2003-2006, encompassing 5,060 participants with comprehensive serum vitamin A, E, B9, B12, C, and D concentrations, alongside sarcopenia and covariate measurements.

Tandem Electroreduction of CO to C2+ Products Based on M-SACs/Cu Catalysts.

Electrochemical CO reduction reaction (ECORR) is considered a highly promising method to produce high-value chemicals and fuels, contributing significantly the artificial carbon balance. Plenty catalysts can facilitate the conversion of CO into mono-carbon (C1) products. Among these catalysts, Cu species exhibit a distinct role in the formation of multi-carbon (C2+) products characterized by enhanced energy density.

Impact of Chinese visceral adiposity index on all-cause mortality risk in community-dwelling older adults: a prospective cohort study.

Backgrounds: Whether excess visceral fat tissue increases the risk of death in older individuals remains controversial.

Aims: To investigate the association between the Chinese Visceral Adiposity Index (CVAI) and all-cause mortality risk in older Chinese individuals.

Methods: This cohort study utilized data of individuals aged ≥ 65 years in 2014 to 2018 wave from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey database.