The mycomembrane differentially and heterogeneously restricts antibiotic permeation.

The recalcitrance of to antibiotic treatment has been broadly attributed to the impermeability of the organism's outer mycomembrane. However, the studies that support this inference have been indirect and/or reliant on bulk population measurements. We previously developed the P eptidoglycan A ccessibility C lick- M ediated A ssessme N t (PAC-MAN) method to covalently trap azide-modified small molecules in the peptidoglycan cell wall of live mycobacteria, after they have traversed the mycomembrane.

A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study of Socazolimab or placebo combined with carboplatin and etoposide in the first-line treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.

This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04878016) conducted in 54 hospitals in China. Adults who were histologically diagnosed and never treated for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) were enrolled.

Variation in Hypertension Control by Race and Ethnicity, and Geography in US Veterans.

Background: Hypertension control and related cardiovascular outcomes among Americans remain suboptimal, and differ by race, ethnicity, and geography. Healthcare access is one of multiple critical factors in hypertension control. Understanding the degree to which healthcare access, versus other factors, produce these outcomes can inform policies and interventions to improve cardiovascular outcomes and reduce disparities.

Psychosocial risks and mental health of preschool care providers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Child maltreatment in daycare is a public health issue. As childcare is stressful, high care provider negativity independently predicts more internalizing behaviour problems, affecting children's psycho-neurological development. This study aimed to determine psychosocial factors associated with the mental health of preschool care providers in Kuala Lumpur.

Correction: Qiu et al. Genistein Modified with 8-Prenyl Group Suppresses Osteoclast Activity Directly via Its Prototype but Not Metabolite by Gut Microbiota. 2022, , 7811.

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Digitalized 3D Spinal Decompression and Correction Device Improved Initial Brace Corrections and Patients' Comfort Among Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Single-Centre, Single-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial.

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a novel three-dimensional (3D) spinal decompression and correction device in improving the in-brace correction and patient comfort level for adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), and to assess the impact of the number of vertebrae involved in the scoliotic curve on the correction's effectiveness. A single-centre, single-blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in 110 AIS patients aged 10-18 years who were randomly allocated into four groups receiving 0-3 days of device intervention. Each session lasted for 30 min and was conducted twice daily.

The Biomechanics of Spinal Orthoses for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Systematic Review of the Controlling Forces.

Background: Orthotic treatment is a well-acknowledged conservative treatment for moderate adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). The efficacy of this treatment is significantly determined by the forces applied to the bodies of patients. However, there is uncertainty regarding the optimal force levels that should be applied to the patient's torso by spinal orthosis.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and pregnancy.

Critical illness during pregnancy poses significant challenges driven by complex interactions between physiological changes, pre-existing conditions, and healthcare disparities. In high-income countries, increasing maternal age and comorbidities complicate obstetric care by triggering an unprecedented rise in cardiac disease during pregnancy, while infections like influenza and COVID-19 are important causes of maternal adult respiratory distress syndrome. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) gained prominence as a vital intervention, providing respiratory and/or cardiac support, for varying indications between antenatal and postpartum periods.

BACH2-driven tissue resident memory programs promote HIV-1 persistence.

Transcription repressor BACH2 redirects short-lived terminally differentiated effector into long-lived memory cells. We postulate that BACH2-mediated long-lived memory programs promote HIV-1 persistence in gut CD4+ T cells. We coupled single-cell DOGMA-seq and TREK-seq to capture chromatin accessibility, transcriptome, surface proteins, T cell receptor, HIV-1 DNA and HIV-1 RNA in 100,744 gut T cells from ten aviremic HIV-1+ individuals and five HIV-1- donors.

Enhancing university students' engagement in studying assistive technology by case-based active learning: a pilot study in Hong Kong.

Assistive technology (AT) professionals are in pressing need with nowadays growing aged/disabled population, so as well-designed higher education programs in this field. This study designed and implemented a case-based active learning approach within an undergraduate course related to AT in Hong Kong, and assessed its impact on enhancing student engagement over two academic years. A total of twelve multimedia patient case dossiers on six major physical disabilities were created.

Disentangling Sources of Momentum Fluctuations in Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.

High-energy nuclear collisions create a quark-gluon plasma, whose initial condition and subsequent expansion vary from event to event, impacting the distribution of the eventwise average transverse momentum [P([p_{T}])]. Disentangling the contributions from fluctuations in the nuclear overlap size (geometrical component) and other sources at a fixed size (intrinsic component) remains a challenge. This problem is addressed by measuring the mean, variance, and skewness of P([p_{T}]) in ^{208}Pb+^{208}Pb and ^{129}Xe+^{129}Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.

Psychiatric morbidity among SARS and COVID-19 survivors at 30 months post-infection.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and COVID-19 are both highly infectious diseases that cause severe respiratory illness. This study aimed to compare survivors of SARS and COVID-19 and identify factors associated with long-term psychiatric comorbidities.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of adult Chinese survivors of SARS and COVID-19 who had been admitted to the United Christian Hospital, Hong Kong.

Effectiveness of Neighborhood Care Volunteer Training Programs: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Objective: To develop and implement a tiered training model for neighborhood caregiving volunteers and to evaluate its impact on participants' knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes toward caregiving services.

Design And Methods: We employed a mixed-methods research design. Participants included 32 neighborhood care volunteers and six seed volunteers.

Silent threats of lead-based paints in toys and households to children's health and development.

Lead (Pb), a highly toxic heavy metal, poses a significant global health risk, particularly to children. Widely used in paint manufacturing for its remarkable corrosion-resistance properties Pb exposure has been linked to severe health issues, including reduced neurotransmitter levels, organ damage, potentially leading to death in extreme cases. Children Are particularly vulnerable, with Pb toxicity primarily affecting the brain, reproductive, kidneys, and cardiovascular systems.

The moderating role of mindfulness in the relationship between loneliness and depressive symptoms.

Loneliness has been recognized as a pressing global health threat. Research shows that loneliness is associated with depressive symptoms, but less is known about what factors might influence this relationship. This study tested the hypothesis that mindfulness would buffer the association between loneliness and depressive symptoms.

The association between baseline viral load and long-term risk in patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong: a territory-wide study.

COVID-19 can increase the long-term risk of multiorgan dysfunction. Few studies investigated the long-term risk in Asian populations or investigated the association between viral load and long-term risk. We aimed to investigate the post-discharge rates of hospitalization and association with baseline viral load in all patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong.

UniFORM: Towards Universal Immunofluorescence Normalization for Multiplex Tissue Imaging.

Multiplexed tissue imaging (MTI) technologies enable high-dimensional spatial analysis of tumor microenvironments but face challenges with technical variability in staining intensities. Existing normalization methods, including z-score, ComBat, and MxNorm, often fail to account for the heterogeneous, right-skewed expression patterns of MTI data, compromising signal alignment and downstream analyses. We present UniFORM, a non-parametric, Python-based pipeline for normalizing both feature- and pixel-level MTI data.

Nano-assisted delivery tools for plant genetic engineering: a review on recent developments.

Conventional approaches like Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, viral transduction, biolistic particle bombardment, and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-facilitated delivery methods have been optimized for transporting specific genes to various plant cells. These conventional approaches in genetically modified crops are dependent on several factors like plant types, cell types, and genotype requirements, as well as numerous disadvantages such as time-consuming, untargeted distribution of genes, and high cost of cultivation. Therefore, it is suggested to develop novel techniques for the transportation of genes in crop plants using tailored nanoparticles (NPs) of manipulative and controlled high-performance features synthesized using green and chemical routes.

Incidence, risk factors, and epidemiological trends of tracheal cancer: a global analysis.

Background: Tracheal cancer is a rare malignancy with limited research but high mortality rates. This study aims to analyse recent data to understand the global burden, trends, and risk factors for tracheal cancer, facilitating improved prevention and treatment strategies.

Methods: We conducted a study on tracheal cancer using data from the Global Cancer Observatory and the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents databases.