An underwater gas chromatograph for in-situ analysis of organics in deep-sea.

Background: Deep-sea exploration has emerged as a pivotal area of focus in contemporary geoscience and analysis techniques. For deep-sea analysis, conventional ex-situ water analytical methodologies mean significant economic costs, while also greatly increasing the risk of sample distortion. The solution to this issue lies in in-situ analysis, eliminating the bias from sampling and transportation, and capturing spatial and temporal data simultaneously.

Relationship between serum homocysteine, folate and vitamin B12 levels and cognitive function in patients with drug-naive obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The study aimed to investigate the correlation between Homocysteine (HCY), folate and vitamin B12 (VB12) levels and cognitive function in patients with drug-naive obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).Fifty patients with drug-naive OCD and 50 matched healthy controls recruited were enrolled. Subjects were cognitively assessed using The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) scales.

A Universal Synthesis Strategy for Ferrite Nanocage Superstructures and Their Enhanced Gas Sensing Properties.

Ferrites with superstructures exhibit great potential for gas sensing applications, benefiting from their open structure, high specific surface area, and fully exposed active sites. However, the preparation of these superstructures is often cumbersome and requires some surfactants. In this study, Zn-Fe Prussian blue analogue (PBA) nanocages were synthesized through Ostwald ripening using a simple liquid-phase coprecipitation method without any other etchants or surfactants.

From OCD Symptoms to Sleep Disorders: The Crucial Role of Vitamin B12.

Objective: Vitamin B12 is crucial for neurological functions and linked to various psychiatric disorders. Given its importance, this study explores the impact of vitamin B12 deficiency on sleep quality in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) patients, while also examining folate and homocysteine levels to explore their potential interactions with OCD symptoms and sleep quality.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 52 patients with OCD and 42 healthy controls.

Regional brain activity and connectivity associated with childhood trauma in drug-naive patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by intrusive thoughts and repetitive, compulsive behaviors, with childhood trauma recognized as a contributing factor to its pathophysiology. This study aimed to delineate brain functional aberrations in OCD patients and explore the association between these abnormalities and childhood trauma, to gain insights into the neural underpinnings of OCD. Forty-eight drug-naive OCD patients and forty-two healthy controls (HC) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and clinical assessments, including the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF).

Exosomes derived from tendon stem/progenitor cells enhance tendon-bone interface healing after rotator cuff repair in a rat model.

The rate of retear after surgical repair remains high. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been extensively employed in regenerative medicine for several decades. However, safety and ethical concerns constrain their clinical application.

Space between bone cement and bony endplate can trigger higher incidence of augmented vertebral collapse: An in-silico study.

Background: The pathogenesis of postoperative complications in patients with osteoporotic vertebral compressive fractures (OVCFs) undergoing percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) is multifaceted, with local biomechanical deterioration playing a pivotal role. Specifically, the disparity in stiffness between the bone cement and osteoporotic cancellous bone can precipitate interfacial stress concentrations, potentially leading to cement-augmented vertebral body collapse and clinical symptom recurrence. This study focuses on the biomechanical implications of the space between the bone cement and bony endplate (BEP), hypothesizing that this interface may be a critical locus for stress concentration and subsequent vertebral failure.

Intraoperative capsule protection can reduce the potential risk of adjacent segment degeneration acceleration biomechanically: an in silico study.

Background: The capsule of the zygapophyseal joint plays an important role in motion segmental stability maintenance. Iatrogenic capsule injury is a common phenomenon in posterior approach lumbar interbody fusion operations, but whether this procedure will cause a higher risk of adjacent segment degeneration acceleration biomechanically has yet to be identified.

Methods: Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) with different grades of iatrogenic capsule injury was simulated in our calibrated and validated numerical model.

Anterior direct decompression significantly relieves spinal cord high signal in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament: a case-control study.

Background: In patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy caused by ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, high cord signal (HCS) is frequently observed. However, limited research has investigated the variations in HCS improvement resulting from different surgical approaches. This study aims to explore the potential relationship between the choice of surgical approach and the postoperative improvement of intramedullary high signal in ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) patients.

Bibliometric analysis on the progress of immunotherapy in renal cell carcinoma from 2003-2022.

The incidence and mortality rates of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) have been increasing annually due to obesity and environmental pollution. Although immunotherapy of RCC has been studied for decades, few comprehensive bibliometric analyses exist on the treatment. Therefore, the purpose of this bibliometric analysis was to identify scientific achievements of the global research on RCC immunotherapy from 2003 to 2022 and discuss research trends.

Metabolic reprogramming of clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a malignancy that exhibits metabolic reprogramming as a result of genetic mutations. This reprogramming accommodates the energy and anabolic needs of the cancer cells, leading to changes in glucose, lipid, and bio-oxidative metabolism, and in some cases, the amino acid metabolism. Recent evidence suggests that ccRCC may be classified as a metabolic disease.

Identification of miR-192 target genes in porcine endometrial epithelial cells based on miRNA pull-down.

Introduction: MicroRNAs (miRNAs)-a class of small endogenous non-coding RNAs-are widely involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation of numerous physiological processes. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the miR-192 expression level appeared to be significantly higher in the blood exosomes of sows at early gestation than that in non-pregnant sows. Furthermore, miR-192 was hypothesized to have a regulatory role in embryo implantation; however, the target genes involved in exerting the regulatory function of miR-192 required further elucidation.

Uniaxial MEMS-based 3D reconstruction using pixel refinement.

A uniaxial micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) micro-vibration mirror can be used to construct a new type of fringe projection profilometry (FPP) system. In FPP system calibration, some pixels may be calibrated worse than other pixels due to various error sources, which will affect the final reconstruction accuracy. In addition, there are some difficulties in calibrating the MEMS-based system because a projector using the uniaxial vibration mirror does not have focusing optics and can only project unidirectional fringes.

Peltier thermoelectric cooler improves both the signal-to-noise ratio and warm-up time of high-power LED induced fluorescence detector and application to aflatoxins.

High-power LED induced fluorescence detector (HP-LED-IF) suffers from problems of large noise and poor baseline stability. In this study, a Peltier thermoelectric cooler (PTC) was utilized to stabilize the HP-LED junction temperature of a HP-LED-IF to reduce the baseline noise for the first time. Compared with traditional fan cooling, the signal-to-noise ratio was improved to 3.

Identification of differentially expressed miRNAs in serum extracellular vesicles (EVs) of Kazakh sheep at early pregnancy.

MiRNAs-containing extracellular vesicles (EVs) possess the unique function of mediating intercellular communication and participating in many biological processes such as post-transcriptional gene regulation of embryo implantation and placental development. In the present study, Illumina small-RNA sequencing was used to identify differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs in serum EVs of pregnant (P) and non-pregnant (NP) Kazakh sheep at Day 17 from mating. The specifically and differentially expressed miRNAs at early pregnancy in sheep were verified by using RT-PCR.

Recombinant H7 hemagglutinin expressed in glycoengineered Pichia pastoris forms nanoparticles that protect mice from challenge with H7N9 influenza virus.

Cases of H7N9 human infection caused by an avian-origin H7N9 virus emerged in eastern China in 2013, leading to the urgent requirement of developing an effective vaccine to reduce its pandemic potential. In this report, the full-length recombinant H7 protein (rH7) of A/Hangzhou/1/2013 (H7N9) virus was expressed by a glycoengineered Pichia pastoris system. The rH7 protein underwent complex glycosylation modifications and polymerized to nanoparticles of 30-50 nm in diameter.