The network of proteins at the interface between cell-cell adherens junctions and the actomyosin cytoskeleton provides robust yet dynamic connections that facilitate cell shape change and motility. While this was initially thought to be a simple linear connection via classic cadherins and their associated catenins, we now have come to appreciate that many more proteins are involved, providing robustness and mechanosensitivity. Defining the full network of proteins in this network remains a key objective in our field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A water extract of the Ayurvedic plant (CAW) improves cognitive function in mouse models of aging and Alzheimer's disease, and affects dendritic arborization, mitochondrial activity and oxidative stress in mouse primary neurons. Triterpenes (TT) and caffeoylquinic acids (CQA) are constituents associated with these bioactivities of CAW although little is known about how interactions between these compounds contribute to the plant's therapeutic benefit.
Methods: Mouse primary cortical neurons were treated with CAW, or equivalent concentrations of four TT combined, eight CQA combined, or these twelve compounds combined (TTCQA).
The measurement of neutralizing immune responses to viral infection is essential, given the heterogeneity of human immunity and the emergence of new virus strains. However, neutralizing antibody (nAb) assays often require high-level biosafety containment, sophisticated instrumentation, and long detection times. Here, as a proof-of-principle, we designed a nanoparticle-supported, rapid, electronic detection (NasRED) assay to assess the neutralizing potency of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against SARS-CoV-2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health disorder caused by experiencing or witnessing traumatic events. Recent studies show that patients with PTSD have an increased risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), but there is currently no way to predict which patients will go on to develop AD. The objective of this study was to identify structural and functional neural changes in patients with PTSD that may contribute to the future development of AD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCardiovasc Diabetol
November 2024
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the impact of hepatic steatosis on cardiometabolic outcomes in young adults with prediabetes.
Methods: A nationwide cohort study was conducted with 896,585 young adults under 40 years old without diabetes or previous history of cardiovascular disease. Hepatic steatosis was identified using a fatty liver index of ≥ 60.
Background: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as an exciting tool for targeted delivery of therapeutics for a wide range of diseases. As nano-scale membrane-bound particles derived from living cells, EVs possess inherent capabilities as carriers of biomolecules. However, the translation of EVs into viable therapeutic delivery vehicles is challenged by lengthy and inefficient processes for cargo loading and pre- and post-loading purification of EVs, resulting in limited quantity and consistency of engineered EVs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a disease entity characterized by elevated intracranial pressure, which usually accompanied by papilledema. However, diagnosing papilledema can be challenging in patients with preexisting ocular conditions, such as high myopia.
Case Presentation: A 39-year-old woman with a long-standing history of high myopia presented with visual field constriction.
Background: Serum ferritin has been suggested as a potential biomarker associated with disease progression in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).
Aims: We investigated the association between serum ferritin levels and liver-related events (LREs) in individuals with steatotic liver disease (SLD).
Methods: This cohort study included 17,560 adults with SLD (MASLD [n = 15,744], MASLD with increased alcohol intake (MetALD) [n = 1103] and cryptogenic SLD [n = 713]) without LRE at baseline.
To analyze the resonant modes of optical devices such as optical gyro-sensors and semiconductor lasers, Maxwell's equations need to be solved. Widely used numerical methods are the finite element method (FEM) and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. However, when optical systems are significantly larger than the operating wavelength, applying these methods becomes practically infeasible due to the exponential increase in computational resources and simulation time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this paper, a novel thermo-optic metagrating based on phase-change material (vanadium dioxide, VO) is proposed for broadband, polarization-independent, and non-dispersive transmission modulation at the telecommunication wavelengths. In the pursuit of concurrent attainment of multiple performance objectives, nanostructured VO metagratings are optimized numerically using inverse design algorithms. Notably, adjoint optimization pertaining to both phases of VO facilitates better modulation capabilities within free-form shaped VO metagratings compared to shape-optimized methods with predetermined designs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOwing to their unique structural robustness, interconnected reentrant structures offer multifunctionality for various applications. a scalable multistep roll-to-roll printing method is proposed for fabricating reentrant microcavity surfaces, coined as wetting-induced interconnected reentrant geometry (WING) process. The key to the proposed WING process is a highly reproducible reentrant structure formation controlled by the capillary action during contact between prefabricated microcavity structure and spray-coated ultraviolet-curable resins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effect of W and WO electrodes on the ferroelectric characteristics of HZO (Zr-doped HfO)-based MFM (metal-ferroelectric-metal) capacitors was investigated. During the deposition of tungsten, the W electrode was formed using only Ar gas, while the WO electrode was formed using a mixture of Ar and O gases. The W-based MFM capacitors exhibited superior remnant polarization (2P of 107.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInhibitory neuronal circuits within the lateral septum (LS) play a key role in regulating mood and stress responses. Even though glial cells can modulate these circuits, the impact of astrocytes on LS neural circuits and their functional interactions remains largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that astrocytes exhibit increased intracellular Ca²⁺ levels in response to aversive sensory and social stimuli in both male and female mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Gastric intestinal metaplasia (IM) is a precancerous stage spanning a morphological spectrum that is poorly represented by human cell line models.
Objective: We aim to establish and characterise human IM cell models to better understand IM progression along the cancer spectrum.
Design: A large human gastric IM organoid (IMO) cohort (n=28), their clonal derivatives and normal gastric organoids (n=42) for comparison were established.
This study examined the feasibility of non-invasive infrared thermography to monitor skin graft viability. Sixty-three patients with skin defects attending a single institution from May 2022 to August 2023 were included. Patients underwent full-thickness or split-thickness skin grafts based on clinical indication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExercise not only regulates neurotransmitters and synapse formation but also enhances the function of multiple brain regions, beyond cortical activation. Prolonged aerobic or resistance exercise modality has been widely applied to reveal the beneficial effects on the brain, but few studies have investigated the direct effects of different exercise modalities and variations in exercise intensity on the neuroinflammatory response in the brain and overall health. Therefore, in this study, we investigated changes in brain cells and the immune environment of the brain according to exercise modalities.
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