Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Prion diseases are a group of neurodegenerative diseases associated with prion protein. The disease can be caused by mutations in the PRNP gene, the gene that encodes prion protein. An octapeptide repeat on the N-terminus of prion protein plays an important role in normal intercellular function of prion protein.

Possible Sliding Regimes in Twisted Bilayer WTe_{2}.

Inspired by the observation of increasingly one-dimensional (1D) behavior with decreasing temperature in small-angle twisted bilayers of WTe_{2} (tWTe_{2}), we theoretically explore the exotic sliding regimes that could be realized in tWTe_{2}. At zero displacement field, while hole-doped tWTe_{2} can be thought of as an array of weakly coupled conventional two-flavor 1D electron gases (1DEGs), the electron-doped regime is equivalent to coupled four-flavor 1DEGs, due to the presence of an additional "valley" degree of freedom. In the decoupled limit, the electron-doped system can thus realize phases with a range of interesting ordering tendencies, including 4k_{F} charge-density-wave and charge-4e superconductivity.

Temperature-Adaptive Organic Scintillators for X-ray Radiography.

Organic phosphorescence or thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) scintillators, while effective in utilizing triplet excitons, are sensitive to temperature changes, which can impact radioluminescence performance. In this study, we have developed a type of temperature-adaptive organic scintillator with phosphorescence and TADF dual emission. These scintillators can automatically switch modes with temperature changes, enabling efficient radioluminescence from 77 to 400 K.

Establishing a Severe Corneal Inflammation Model in Rats Based on Corneal Epithelium Curettage Combined with Corneal Sutures.

Corneal inflammation, especially severe corneal inflammation, plays a significant role in the development of corneal limbal stem cell dysfunction. Constructing appropriate animal models can help us focus on the effects of severe inflammation on corneal limbal stem cells. A 2 mm rust remover was used to remove the central corneal epithelium of Sprague Dawley (SD) rats to create an injury.

The Impact of Life-History Traits on Vulnerability to Extinction of the Oviparous Species in Reptiles.

A species' vulnerability to extinction is influenced by both extrinsic threats (e.g., habitat loss and invasive species) and intrinsic biological traits (such as life-history traits, reproductive mode, and reproductive output).

Establishment of A Mouse Model of Aqueous Deficiency Dry Eye.

Dry eye disease is a prevalent condition affecting 5%-50% of the global population. Animal model investigations play a crucial role in understanding its underlying mechanisms. Therefore, we developed a mouse model of dry eye disease by surgically removing both the extraorbital lacrimal glands (ELG) and intraorbital lacrimal glands (ILG) to investigate the ocular surface pathology in the context of aqueous deficiency dry eye.

Trade-offs between Cd bioconcentration and translocation and underlying physiological and rhizobacterial mechanisms in Phragmites australis.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution poses a significant threat to wetland ecosystems. Phragmites australis, a species with intraspecific ploidy diversity, is commonly used in constructed wetlands for pollution remediation. However, little is known about how the ploidy variation of P.

Comparative Metabolome and Transcriptome Analyses Reveal Molecular Mechanisms Involved in the Responses of Two Varieties to Salt Stress.

Salt stress severely inhibits crop growth and production. The native turfgrass species in northern China, exhibits extraordinary tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses. However, little is known about its specific metabolites and pathways under salt stress.

Whole-Process Privacy-Preserving and Sybil-Resilient Consensus for Multiagent Networks.

This article is concerned with the co-design of privacy-preserving and resilient consensus protocol for a class of multiagent networks (MANs), where the information exchanges over communication networks among the agents suffer from eavesdropping and Sybil attacks. First, we introduce a new attack model in which an adversarial agent could launch a Sybil attack, generating a large number of spurious entities in the network, thereby gaining disproportionate influence. In this communication framework, a whole-process privacy-preserving mechanism is designed that is capable of protecting both initial and current states of agents.

Switching from Premixed Insulin to Insulin Degludec/Insulin Aspart for the Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Implications of a Real-World Study on Insulin Degludec Dosing.

Introduction: When switching from premixed insulin to insulin degludec/aspart (IDegAsp), IDegAsp usually starts at the same dose as the premixed insulin according to limited clinical experience or at a dose according to clinician discretion. The dose of insulin degludec used in the real world after switching has been poorly investigated.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with type 2 diabetes who switched from premixed insulin to IDegAsp from October 2016 to December 2023.

Effect of Obesity and Metabolic Health Status on Metabolic-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease among Renal Transplant Recipients Using Hepatic Steatosis Index.

Background/objectives: Obesity and metabolic conditions increase the risk of metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). This study examined the risk of MASLD in 137 renal transplant recipients (RTRs) from a single-center hospital on the basis of their obesity and metabolic health status.

Methods: Participants were categorized into four groups: metabolically healthy nonobese (MHNO), metabolically healthy obese (MHO), metabolically abnormal nonobese (MANO), and metabolically abnormal obese (MAO).

Shock response regulation effects and nonlinear dynamic model of lead-cone waveform generator.

Lead-cone waveform generator (LCWG) is one of the crucial components in shock tests to generate final-peak saw-tooth shock pulses which are widely used to evaluate the safety and reliability of structure/equipment under shock environment in laboratory. With aim to generate a desired final-peak saw-tooth waveform and develop its dynamic model, it is necessary to investigate the working mechanism of LCWG in impact conditions. In this work, a series of customized shock tests based on LCWGs were performed by using a drop test machine (DTM).

Leaf Rust Pathogens on Hypericum pseudohenryi: Describing Melampsora danbaensis sp. nov. and M. hyperici-pseudohenryi sp. nov. from China.

Based on morphological and phylogenetic evidence, two novel species of Melampsora were discovered on Hypericum pseudohenryi in China and have been thoroughly characterized. One of these species, designated as M. danbaensis, exhibits distinct features such as aecia of Uredo-type, typically appearing in gregarious or grouped arrangements, and presenting a shallowly pulvinate structure.

GRNMOPT: Inference of gene regulatory networks based on a multi-objective optimization approach.

Background And Objective: The reconstruction of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) stands as a vital approach in deciphering complex biological processes. The application of nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) models has demonstrated considerable efficacy in predicting GRNs. Notably, the decay rate and time delay are pivotal in authentic gene regulation, yet their systematic determination in ODEs models remains underexplored.

HeightFormer: Explicit Height Modeling without Extra Data for Camera-only 3D Object Detection in Bird's Eye View.

Vision-based Bird's Eye View (BEV) representation is an emerging perception formulation for autonomous driving. The core challenge is to construct BEV space with multi-camera features, which is a one-to-many ill-posed problem. Diving into all previous BEV representation generation methods, we found that most of them fall into two types: modeling depths in image views or modeling heights in the BEV space, mostly in an implicit way.

Impact of Adding Bedside Cycling to Intensive Care Unit Rehabilitation on Physical Function and Length of Stay After Liver Transplantation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of early bedside cycling training in enhancing recovery among patients following liver transplantation.

Methods: A total of 64 patients who underwent liver transplantation were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group, with 32 patients in each group. Patients in the control group received routine rehabilitation training after postoperative consciousness recovery and tracheal extubation.

Relationships among tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels, beta-amyloid accumulation, and hippocampal atrophy in patients with late-life major depressive disorder.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by hippocampal volume reduction, impacting cognitive function. Inflammation, particularly elevated tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels, is consistently implicated in MDD pathophysiology. This study investigates the relationships between TNF-α levels, hippocampal volume, beta-amyloid (Aβ) burden, and cognitive abilities in MDD patients, aiming to illuminate the complex interplay among inflammatory markers, pathology indicators, structural brain alterations, and cognitive performance in non-demented MDD individuals.

A Semantic-Consistent Few-Shot Modulation Recognition Framework for IoT Applications.

The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) has led to the widespread adoption of the IoT networks in numerous digital applications. To counter physical threats in these systems, automatic modulation classification (AMC) has emerged as an effective approach for identifying the modulation format of signals in noisy environments. However, identifying those threats can be particularly challenging due to the scarcity of labeled data, which is a common issue in various IoT applications, such as anomaly detection for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and intrusion detection in the IoT networks.

Chromosome-level genome assemblies reveal genome evolution of an invasive plant Phragmites australis.

Biological invasions pose a significant threat to ecosystems, disrupting local biodiversity and ecosystem functions. The genomic underpinnings of invasiveness, however, are still largely unknown, making it difficult to predict and manage invasive species effectively. The common reed (Phragmites australis) is a dominant grass species in wetland ecosystems and has become particularly invasive when transferred from Europe to North America.

The odorant-binding protein genes obp67 and obp56d-like encode products that guide oviposition site selection in the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus.

Aedes albopictus is an important vector of arboviruses and prefers small containers of stagnant water as oviposition sites. One of the mechanisms mosquitoes use to search for suitable oviposition sites is relying on odor cues from prospective sites and their surroundings. The genetic and molecular bases of this behavior are not known for Ae.

Evolution of therapeutic strategy based on oxidant-antioxidant balance for fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy.

Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) stands as the most prevalent primary corneal endothelial dystrophy worldwide, posing a significant risk to corneal homeostasis and clarity. Corneal endothelial cells exhibit susceptibility to oxidative stress, suggesting a nuanced relationship between oxidant-antioxidant imbalance and FECD pathogenesis, irrespective of FECD genotype. Given the constrained availability of corneal transplants, exploration into non-surgical interventions becomes crucial.

Biomimetic nanocomplex based corneal neovascularization theranostics.

Corneal neovascularization (CNV) is a major cause of blindness worldwide. However, the recent drug treatment is limited by repeated administration and low drug bioavailability. In this work, SU6668 (an inhibitor of receptor tyrosine kinases) and indocyanine green (ICG) are loaded onto poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles, and then coated with anti-VEGFR2 single chain antibody (AbVr2 scFv) genetically engineered cell membrane vesicles.

Grouting technique-combining transvenous Onyx and coils for the embolization of complex non-cavernous intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas.

Objective: Incomplete occlusion of cerebral dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) may lead to fistula recurrence and rebleeding, which may necessitate several embolizations and lead to worse clinical outcomes. Herein, we describe a grouting technique for endovascular embolization and its outcomes in a series of patients with complex intracranial DAVF.

Methods: A total of 20 patients with aggressive type or symptomatic intracranial non-cavernous DAVF underwent endovascular transvenous embolization combining detachable coils and Onyx.