Evolution of Sagittal Spinal Alignment During Pubertal Growth: A Large-Scale Study in a Chinese Pediatric Population.

Background: Previous studies have reported normative data for sagittal spinal alignment in asymptomatic adults. The sagittal spinal alignment change in European children was recently reported. However, there is a lack of studies on the normative reference values of sagittal spinal and pelvic alignment and how these parameters change at different growth stages in Chinese children.

Comparative efficacy of robot-assisted therapy associated with other different interventions on upper limb rehabilitation after stroke: A protocol for a network meta-analysis.

Introduction: Post-stroke movement disorders are common, especially upper limb dysfunction, which seriously affects the physical and mental health of stroke patients. With the continuous development of intelligent technology, robot-assisted therapy has become a research hotspot in the upper limb rehabilitation of stroke patients in recent years. Many scholars have also integrated robot-assisted therapy with other interventions to improve rehabilitation outcomes.

Leveraging Network Target Theory for Efficient Prediction of Drug-Disease Interactions: A Transfer Learning Approach.

Efficient virtual screening methods can expedite drug discovery and facilitate the development of innovative therapeutics. This study presents a novel transfer learning model based on network target theory, integrating deep learning techniques with diverse biological molecular networks to predict drug-disease interactions. By incorporating network techniques that leverage vast existing knowledge, the approach enables the extraction of more precise and informative drug features, resulting in the identification of 88,161 drug-disease interactions involving 7,940 drugs and 2,986 diseases.

Tofacitinib Treatment for Active Dermatomyositis and Anti-synthetase Syndrome: A Prospective Cohort Pilot Study.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib in the treatment of active dermatomyositis (DM) and anti-synthetase syndrome (ASS).

Methods: Tofacitinib was administered at a dose of 5 mg twice daily to patients who exhibited inadequate response to conventional treatments. The primary end point was the reduction of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells at week 24.

Symmetrical dual-D and dual-core single-mode fiber surface plasmon resonance liquid sensor.

A symmetrical dual-D and dual-core single-mode fiber surface plasmon resonance (SPR) liquid sensor is designed for biological detection. The dual-core design optimizes the transmission path, improves the momentum matching between free electrons and photons, and facilitates bidirectional coupling, consequently amplifying the SPR effect and enabling sensitive monitoring of the refractive index changes of biological solutions. In this structure, a gold wire is placed in the middle of the polished surface of the double-D-shaped single-mode fiber (SMF) to produce high-quality free electrons and promote the mode-coupling excitation of the SPR effect.

Family Function and Self-Management of Patients With Early Chronic Kidney Disease: The Mediating Roles of Self-Perceived Burden and Ego Depletion.

Background: Effective self-management in the early stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is key to delaying disease progression. However, no studies have confirmed that the combined support of internal individual factors and external family environmental factors may play an important role in the self-management of patients with early CKD.

Purpose: This current study aims to explore the effect of family function on the self-management of patients with early CKD and examine the mediating roles of self-perceived burden and ego depletion.

Divergent Synthesis of Polysubstituted 1,2-Dihydropyridines and Pyridines through Manganese-Mediated Radical Cascade Cyclization of Tertiary Enamides.

A Mn(III)-mediated radical cascade cyclization of -propargyl enamides with sodium sulfinates was developed. Mechanistic studies indicated that this cascade process is mainly composed of the chemoselective addition of sulfonyl radical to C≡C bond and the regioselective intramolecular 6--trig cyclization. This protocol provided a powerful method for the divergent synthesis of diverse polysubstituted -sulfonylpyridines or 1,2-dihydropyridines just by varying solvent and temperature featuring good functional group compatibility and simple operation.

Relationship between meteorological factors and the incidence of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Although meteorological factors are connected with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) incidence, available findings have been inconsistent. This study was performed to systematically evaluate the correlation between meteorological factors and SFTS incidence.

Methods: We performed a thorough literature search in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Chinese databases from databases initiatives to November 30, 2024.

Hybrid generative adversarial network based on frequency and spatial domain for histopathological image synthesis.

Background: Due to the complexity and cost of preparing histopathological slides, deep learning-based methods have been developed to generate high-quality histological images. However, existing approaches primarily focus on spatial domain information, neglecting the periodic information in the frequency domain and the complementary relationship between the two domains. In this paper, we proposed a generative adversarial network that employs a cross-attention mechanism to extract and fuse features across spatial and frequency domains.

hUC-MSCs Prevent Acute High-Altitude Injury through Apoe/Pdgf-b/p-Erk1/2 Axis in Mice.

Background: The hypobaric hypoxic atmosphere can cause adverse reactions or sickness. The purpose of this study was to explore the preventive effect and mechanism of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) on acute pathological injury in mice exposed to high-altitude.

Methods: We pretreated C57BL/6 mice with hUC-MSCs via the tail vein injection, and then the mice were subjected to hypobaric hypoxic conditions for five days.

Kdm2a inhibition in skeletal muscle improves metabolic flexibility in obesity.

Skeletal muscle is a critical organ in maintaining homoeostasis against metabolic stress, and histone post-translational modifications are pivotal in those processes. However, the intricate nature of histone methylation in skeletal muscle and its impact on metabolic homoeostasis have yet to be elucidated. Here, we report that mitochondria-rich slow-twitch myofibers are characterized by significantly higher levels of H3K36me2 along with repressed expression of Kdm2a, an enzyme that specifically catalyses H3K36me2 demethylation.

Intermetallic Layers with Tuned Na Nucleation and Transport for Anode-Free Sodium Metal Batteries.

Sodium metal batteries without pre-deposited Na (anode-free) and with a limited amount of Na metal (anode-less) have attracted increasing attention due to their competitive energy density and the high abundance of sodium. However, severe interfacial issues result in poor cycling stability and low Coulombic efficiency. Here, the lightweight interphase layers composed of intermetallic nanoparticles (Sn-Cu and Sn-Ni) are applied to improve Na plating/stripping behaviors.

Preparation and characterization of polyvinyl alcohol and chitosan composite film with cassia oil encapsulated in β-cyclodextrin and its application in fresh banana.

In this study, composite films were developed by encapsulating cassia oil (CO) with β-cyclodextrin through a microencapsulation technique and incorporating it into a chitosan (CS), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and glycerol matrix. The primary objective of the film was to inhibit bacterial growth on the surface of fresh bananas and extend their shelf life. Characterization methods were employed to evaluate the physical properties and functionality of the composite films.

Insight into enhanced tetracycline photodegradation by hematite/biochar composites: Roles of charge transfer, biochar-derived dissolved organic matter and persistent free radicals.

The combination of hematite and biochar significantly accelerated tetracycline (TC) removal under visible light irradiation. The k of TC removal with Hem/BC-5 reached 0.103 min, 3.

Maize transcription factor ZmEREB167 negatively regulates starch accumulation and kernel size.

Transcription factors play critical roles in the regulation of gene expression during maize kernel development. The maize endosperm is a large storage organ, accounting for nearly 90% of the dry weight of mature kernel, and is also the main place for starch storage. In this study, we identify an endosperm-specific EREB gene, ZmEREB167, which encodes a nucleus-localized EREB protein.

Analytical and numerical studies for integrable and non-integrable fractional discrete modified Korteweg-de Vries hierarchies.

Under investigation in this paper is the integrable and non-integrable fractional discrete modified Korteweg-de Vries hierarchies. The linear dispersion relations, completeness relations, inverse scattering transform, and fractional soliton solutions of the integrable fractional discrete modified Korteweg-de Vries hierarchy will be explored. The inverse scattering problem will be solved accurately by constructing Gel'fand-Levitan-Marchenko equations and Riemann-Hilbert problem.

Bubble coalescence principle in saline water.

Bubbles present in saline water typically exhibit a prolonged lifetime, making them attractive for various engineering processes. Herein, we unveil a transition from delayed bubble coalescence to rapid bursting within about one millisecond in salty solutions. The key aspect in understanding this transition lies in the combined influences of surface deformation and ion surface excess instead of characterizing the ions alone.

Strigolactones regulate Bambusa multiplex sheath senescence by promoting chlorophyll degradation.

Culm sheaths are capable of photosynthesis and are an important class of non-leaf organs in bamboo plants. The source-sink interaction mechanism has been found to play an important role in the interaction between culm sheaths and internodes in Bambusa multiplex. Research on the regulatory mechanisms of culm sheath senescence is important for the study of internode growth, but reports in this regard are limited.

Enhanced metals precipitation in acid mine drainage by thermal activation magnesite-pine shavings dispersed alkaline substrate.

The acid mine drainage (AMD) is characterized by its highly acidic nature and elevated concentrations of metal ions, thereby exerting significant impacts on both human health and the environment. This study employed a dispersed alkaline substrate (DAS) consisting of thermal activation magnesite and pine shavings for the treatment of AMD. The investigation focused on determining the optimal thermal activation conditions of magnesite, evaluating the effectiveness of the DAS in regulating acidity and removing metal ions from AMD, identifying critical factors influencing treatment efficiency, and conducting toxicity assessment on the effluent.

Semirational Engineering of a Distal Loop Region to Enhance the Catalytic Activity and Stability of Leucine Dehydrogenase.

Enzymatic asymmetric synthesis of l-phenylglycine by amino acid dehydrogenases has potential for industrial applications; however, this is hindered by their low catalytic efficiency toward high-concentration substrates. We identified and characterized a novel leucine dehydrogenase (LeuDH) with a high catalytic efficiency for benzoylformic acid via directed metagenomic approaches. Further, we obtained a triple-point mutant LeuDH-EER (D332E/G333E/L334R) with improved stability and catalytic efficiency through the rational design of distal loop 13.

Design of ROS-Triggered Sesquiterpene Lactone SC Prodrugs as TrxR1 Covalent Inhibitors for the Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1) is an important therapeutic target for nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment due to its overexpression in NSCLC cells. In this work, to address the deficiency that sesquiterpene lactone containing α-methylene-γ-lactone moiety was rapidly metabolized by endogenous nucleophiles, series of novel thioether derivatives were designed and synthesized based on a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-triggered prodrug strategy. Among them, prodrug exhibited potent cytotoxicity against NSCLC cells and better release rates in response to ROS.

The Effect of HBV Therapy on Glycemic Control in HBV-Infected Patients With Diabetes: A 90-day Multicenter Study.

Patients with diabetes are at increased risk of HBV infection; however, the effects of HBV infection and anti-HBV therapy on the management of type 1 diabetes (T1D), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) remain unclear. From 2016 to 2023, we recruited a multicenter cohort of 355 HBV-infected inpatients, including 136 with T1D, 140 with T2D, and 79 with LADA. The control group included 525 HBV-uninfected inpatients, comparing 171 with T1D, 204 with T2D and 150 with LADA.

Insights Into Causal Effects of Genetically Proxied Lipids and Lipid-Modifying Drug Targets on Cardiometabolic Diseases.

Background: The differential impact of serum lipids and their targets for lipid modification on cardiometabolic disease risk is debated. This study used Mendelian randomization to investigate the causal relationships and underlying mechanisms.

Methods: Genetic variants related to lipid profiles and targets for lipid modification were sourced from the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium.

Relationship between pregnant women's combined exposure to heavy metals and their offspring's congenital heart defects in Lanzhou, China.

Background: Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to individual heavy metals elevates the incidence rate of congenital heart defects (CHDs). However, there is a paucity of data concerning the relationship between combined exposure to multiple heavy metals and the occurrence of CHDs. This study seeks to investigate the association between combined heavy metal exposure in pregnant women and the incidence of CHDs in their offspring in Lanzhou, China.