Facial features of cartoon characters and their perceived attributes.

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between skeletal antero-posterior profile of popular family cartoon characters and their perceived personal characteristics. The Internet Movie DataBase (IMDB) was used to identify popular animated family movies released since 2000. Cartoon characters were identified, and classified based on their gender (male/female), skeletal profile (Class I, II or III) and character assessment (protagonist/antagonist).

Splenic marginal zone B cells restrict Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection by shaping the cytokine pattern and cell-mediated immunity.

Understanding the role of B cells in tuberculosis (TB) is crucial for developing new TB vaccines. However, the changes in B cell immune landscapes during TB and their functional implications remain incompletely explored. Using high-dimensional flow cytometry to map the immune landscape in response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, our results show an accumulation of marginal zone B (MZB) cells and other unconventional B cell subsets in the lungs and spleen, shaping an unconventional B cell landscape.

The functional aspects of selective exposure for collective decision-making under social influence.

Opinion diversity is crucial for collective decision-making, but maintaining it becomes challenging in the face of social influence. We propose selective exposure as an endogenous mechanism that preserves opinion diversity by forming exclusive subgroups of like-minded individuals, or echo chambers, which have been often perceived as an obstacle to achieving collective intelligence. We consider situations where a group of agents collectively make decisions about the true state of nature with the assumption that agents update their opinions by adopting the aggregated opinions of their information sources (i.

A self-controlled case series study to measure the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with attendance at sporting and cultural events: the UK Events Research Programme events.

Background: In 2021, whilst societies were emerging from major social restrictions during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the UK government instigated an Events Research Programme to examine the risk of COVID-19 transmission from attendance at cultural events and explore ways to enable people to attend a range of events whilst minimising risk of transmission. We aimed to measure any impact on risk of COVID-19 transmission from attendance at events held at or close to commercially viable capacity using routinely collected data.

Methods: Data were obtained on attendees at Phase 3 Events Research Programme events, for which some infection risk mitigation measures were in place (i.

Intravenous Tranexamic Acid Given at Femoral Fragility Fracture Surgery Reduces Blood Transfusion Requirements Fourfold.

Aims: This study aims to determine whether intraoperative intravenous (IV) tranexamic acid (TXA) affects blood loss following the surgical management of femoral fragility fractures (FFF).

Methods: This was a single centre (university teaching hospital) non-randomised case-control study. There were 361 consecutive patients with FFF admitted over a 4-month period were included (mean age 81.

Case report: Difference in outcomes between two cases of Hailey-Hailey disease treated with apremilast.

Hailey-Hailey disease (HHD) is a rare autosomal dominant acantholytic dermatosis clinically characterized by recurrent erythematous plaques and erosions mainly on the intertriginous regions. Although HHD seriously affects quality of life, conventional treatments often fail to provide long-term relief for most patients. The effectiveness of apremilast, a phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor, against severe HHD was first reported in 2018, and after further testing, this agent is currently expected to be established as an efficacious and safe therapeutic option.

Public health impact of mass sporting and cultural events in a rising COVID-19 prevalence in England.

A subset of events within the UK Government Events Research Programme (ERP), developed to examine the risk of transmission of COVID-19 from attendance at events, was examined to explore the public health impact of holding mass sporting events. We used contact tracing data routinely collected through telephone interviews and online questionnaires, to describe the potential public health impact of the large sporting and cultural events on potential transmission and incidence of COVID-19. Data from the EURO 2020 matches hosted at Wembley identified very high numbers of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 and were traced through NHS Test & Trace.

Correlation between instrumental and sensory properties of texture-modified carrot puree.

This study was undertaken to determine the correlation between instrumental and sensory evaluation on texture-modified carrot puree. Texture-modified foods (TMFs) are prescribed to dysphagia individuals to aid in the oral manipulation and facilitate swallowing of food. There is a lack of correlation between instrumental measurements and sensory attributes on TMF.

Altered replication stress response due to CARD14 mutations promotes recombination-induced revertant mosaicism.

Revertant mosaicism, or "natural gene therapy," refers to the spontaneous in vivo reversion of an inherited mutation in a somatic cell. Only approximately 50 human genetic disorders exhibit revertant mosaicism, implicating a distinctive role played by mutant proteins in somatic correction of a pathogenic germline mutation. However, the process by which mutant proteins induce somatic genetic reversion in these diseases remains unknown.

Bump-and-Hole Engineering Identifies Specific Substrates of Glycosyltransferases in Living Cells.

Studying posttranslational modifications classically relies on experimental strategies that oversimplify the complex biosynthetic machineries of living cells. Protein glycosylation contributes to essential biological processes, but correlating glycan structure, underlying protein, and disease-relevant biosynthetic regulation is currently elusive. Here, we engineer living cells to tag glycans with editable chemical functionalities while providing information on biosynthesis, physiological context, and glycan fine structure.

Mitochondrial peptide BRAWNIN is essential for vertebrate respiratory complex III assembly.

The emergence of small open reading frame (sORF)-encoded peptides (SEPs) is rapidly expanding the known proteome at the lower end of the size distribution. Here, we show that the mitochondrial proteome, particularly the respiratory chain, is enriched for small proteins. Using a prediction and validation pipeline for SEPs, we report the discovery of 16 endogenous nuclear encoded, mitochondrial-localized SEPs (mito-SEPs).

The effect of sodium thiosulfate on the recovery of Mycobacterium chimaera from heater-cooler unit water samples.

Background: Heater-cooler units (HCUs) have been implicated in the recent global outbreak of invasive Mycobacterium chimaera infection among patients following cardiothoracic surgery. Because infected patients tend to remain asymptomatic for extended periods, detection of M. chimaera from HCUs in real time is essential to halting the ongoing M.

Procaspase-3 Overexpression in Cancer: A Paradoxical Observation with Therapeutic Potential.

Many anticancer strategies rely on the promotion of apoptosis in cancer cells as a means to shrink tumors. Crucial for apoptotic function are executioner caspases, most notably caspase-3, that proteolyze a variety of proteins, inducing cell death. Paradoxically, overexpression of procaspase-3 (PC-3), the low-activity zymogen precursor to caspase-3, has been reported in a variety of cancer types.

Overcoming Resistance to Targeted Anticancer Therapies through Small-Molecule-Mediated MEK Degradation.

The discovery of mutant or fusion kinases that drive oncogenesis, and the subsequent approval of specific inhibitors for these enzymes, has been instrumental in the management of some cancers. However, acquired resistance remains a significant problem in the clinic, limiting the long-term effectiveness of most of these drugs. Here we demonstrate a general strategy to overcome this resistance through drug-induced MEK cleavage (via direct procaspase-3 activation) combined with targeted kinase inhibition.

Clofazimine drug susceptibility testing for Mycobacterium tuberculosis: the case of using the right diluent.

Accurate and reliable drug susceptibility testing (DST) is essential for the effective treatment and control of tuberculosis. With the increase in drug-resistant organisms, newer and less conventional antimicrobial agents are used for treatment. Recently, we found an unprecedented rise in the number of clofazimine-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in our laboratory.

Porous photonic crystal external cavity laser biosensor.

We report the design, fabrication, and testing of a photonic crystal (PC) biosensor structure that incorporates a porous high refractive index TiO dielectric film that enables immobilization of capture proteins within an enhanced surface-area volume that spatially overlaps with the regions of resonant electromagnetic fields where biomolecular binding can produce the greatest shifts in photonic crystal resonant wavelength. Despite the nanoscale porosity of the sensor structure, the PC slab exhibits narrowband and high efficiency resonant reflection, enabling the structure to serve as a wavelength-tunable element of an external cavity laser. In the context of sensing small molecule interactions with much larger immobilized proteins, we demonstrate that the porous structure provides 3.

The Combination of Vemurafenib and Procaspase-3 Activation Is Synergistic in Mutant BRAF Melanomas.

The development of vemurafenib resistance limits the long-term efficacy of this drug for treatment of metastatic melanomas with the (V600E)BRAF mutation. Inhibition of downstream MAPK signaling with vemurafenib induces apoptotic cell death mediated by caspase-3, suggesting that addition of a procaspase-3 activator could enhance anticancer effects. Here, we show that the combination of PAC-1, a procaspase-activating compound, and vemurafenib is highly synergistic in enhancing caspase-3 activity and apoptotic cell death in melanoma cell lines harboring the (V600E)BRAF mutation.

Detection of protein-small molecule binding using a self-referencing external cavity laser biosensor.

High throughput screening of protein-small molecule binding interactions using label-free optical biosensors is challenging, as the detected signals are often similar in magnitude to experimental noise. Here, we describe a novel self-referencing external cavity laser (ECL) biosensor approach that achieves high resolution and high sensitivity, while eliminating thermal noise with sub-picometer wavelength accuracy. Using the self-referencing ECL biosensor, we demonstrate detection of binding between small molecules and a variety of immobilized protein targets with binding affinities or inhibition constants in the sub-nanomolar to low micromolar range.

Ternary DNA chip based on a novel thymine spacer group chemistry.

A novel thymine-based surface chemistry suitable for label-free electrochemical DNA detection is described. It involves a simple two-step sequential process: immobilization of 9-mer thymine-terminated probe DNAs followed by backfilling with 9-mer thymine-based spacers (T9). As compared to commonly used organic spacer groups like 2-mercaptoethanol, 3-mercapto-1-propanol and 6-mercapto-1-hexanol, the 9-mer thymine-based spacers offer a 10-fold improvement in discriminating between complementary and non-complementary target hybridization, which is due mainly to facilitated transport of the redox probes through the probe-DNA/T9 layers.

Augmenting the post-transplantation growth and survivorship of juvenile scleractinian corals via nutritional enhancement.

Size-dependent mortality influences the recolonization success of juvenile corals transplanted for reef restoration and assisting juvenile corals attain a refuge size would thus improve post-transplantation survivorship. To explore colony size augmentation strategies, recruits of the scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis were fed with live Artemia salina nauplii twice a week for 24 weeks in an ex situ coral nursery. Fed recruits grew significantly faster than unfed ones, with corals in the 3600, 1800, 600 and 0 (control) nauplii/L groups exhibiting volumetric growth rates of 10.