Modelling COVID-19 transmission dynamics in Laos under non-pharmaceutical interventions, vaccination, and replacement of SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Background: Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic evolved under control measures is crucial to tackle the SARS-CoV-2 virus spread. Laos, a country bordering China but with late occurrence and low burden of COVID-19 compared to its neighbouring countries, was used for a case study.

Methods: A transmission model with disease reporting was proposed to investigate the impact of control measures on the SARS-CoV-2 virus spread in Laos from April 2021 to May 2022.

Analysis of type 2 diabetes mellitus-related genes by constructing the pathway-based weighted network.

Complex network is an effective approach to studying complex diseases, and provides another perspective for understanding their pathological mechanisms by illustrating the interactions between various factors of diseases. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a complex polygenic metabolic disease involving genetic and environmental factors. By combining the complex network approach with biological data, this study constructs a pathway-based weighted network model of T2DM-related genes to explore the interrelationships between genes, here a weight is assigned to each edge in terms of the number of the same pathways in which the two nodes (genes) connected to the edge are involved.

Intranasal long R3 insulin-like growth factor-1 treatment promotes amyloid plaque remodeling in cerebral cortex but fails to preserve cognitive function in male 5XFAD mice.

Background: Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) promotes neurogenesis, cell survival, and glial function, making it a promising candidate therapy in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Objective: Long arginine 3-IGF-1 (LR3-IGF-1) is a potent IGF-1 analogue. We sought to determine whether intranasal (IN) LR3 treatment would delay cognitive decline and pathology in 5XFAD mice.

Refractive index measurement for plane parallel plate using fiber point diffraction lateral interference and numerical modeling.

A plane-parallel-plate (PPP) refractive index (RI) measurement method based on fiber point diffraction lateral interferometry and numerical modeling is proposed. Two fiber point light sources (PLSs) generate lateral interference through PPP, and the interferograms are collected by a linear array camera (LAC). Employing ray tracing of an ideal PLS and numerical simulation, the theoretical model of RI measurement is established by polynomial fitting with the RI of PPP as the output, the PPP thickness and the phase change at specific positions of the LAC detector as the inputs.

Six3 and Six6 jointly control diverse target genes in multiple cell populations over developmental trajectories of mouse embryonic retinal progenitor cells.

How tissue-specific progenitor cells generate adult tissues is a puzzle in organogenesis. Using single-cell RNA sequencing of control and Six3 and Six6 compound-mutant mouse embryonic eyecups, we demonstrated that these two closely related transcription factors jointly control diverse target genes in multiple cell populations over the developmental trajectories of mouse embryonic retinal progenitor cells. In the Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection for Dimension Reduction (UMAP) graph of control retinas, naïve retinal progenitor cells had two major trajectories leading to ciliary margin cells and retinal neurons, respectively.

CT-Guided Microwave Ablation with Vertebral Augmentation for Spinal Metastases with Posterior Wall Defects.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined microwave ablation (MWA) and vertebral augmentation (VA) in the treatment of spinal metastases with posterior wall defects.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective review was conducted for 67 patients (42 men, 25 women) with painful spine metastases and posterior wall defects who underwent MWA combined with VA. Among these patients, 52 vertebrae had no epidural invasion and 33 had mild invasion but did not compress the spinal cord.

A real-world pharmacovigilance study of FDA adverse event reporting system (FAERS) events for sunitinib.

Background: Sunitinib is approved for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), imatinib-resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), and advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNET). This study aims to investigate the safety profiles of sunitinib through data mining of the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

Methods: The individual case safety reports (ICSRs) on sunitinib from 2006 Q1 to 2024 Q1 were collected from the ASCII data packages in the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

In Situ Analysis of Interfacial Morphological and Chemical Evolution in All-Solid-State Lithium-Metal Batteries.

In situ analysis of Li plating/stripping processes and evolution of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) are critical for optimizing all-solid-state Li metal batteries (ASSLMB). However, the buried solid-solid interfaces present a challenge for detection which preclude the employment of multiple analysis techniques. Herein, by employing complementary in situ characterizations, morphological/chemical evolution, Li plating/stripping dynamics and SEI dynamics were directly detected.

Combined Treatment of Uterine Leiomyosarcoma with Gamma Secretase Inhibitor MK-0752 and Chemotherapeutic Agents Decreases Cellular Invasion and Increases Apoptosis.

Due to limited effective therapeutics for uterine leiomyosarcoma (uLMS), the impact of the gamma secretase inhibitor (GSI) MK-0752 with common chemotherapeutics was explored in uLMS. MTT assays were performed on two human uLMS cell lines, SK-UT-1B and SK-LMS-1, using MK-0752, docetaxel, doxorubicin, and gemcitabine, individually and in combination, to determine cell viability after treatment. Synergistic combinations were used in transwell invasion assays, cell cycle flow cytometry, proliferation assays, and RNA sequencing.

Extravascular Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Sensing and Detection in a Large Global Population.

Background: The extravascular (EV) implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) includes features to address sensing and arrhythmia detection challenges presented by its substernal lead location.

Objectives: In this study, the authors sought to evaluate sensing and detection performance in 299 patients discharged with an EV-ICD in the global pivotal study.

Methods: We reviewed and adjudicated all induced ventricular fibrillation (VF) episodes and spontaneous device-stored episodes that satisfied rate and duration criteria in a programmed ventricular tachycardia (VT)/VF therapy zone.

Microwave ablation combined with percutaneous vertebroplasty for treating painful non-small cell lung cancer with spinal metastases under real-time temperature monitoring.

Purpose: To retrospectively study the therapeutic effect and safety performance of the combination strategies of the computed tomography (CT)-guided microwave ablation (MWA) and percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) as a treatment for painful non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with spinal metastases.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective review included 71 patients with 109 vertebral metastases who underwent microwave ablation combined with percutaneous vertebroplasty by the image-guided and real-time temperature monitoring. Treatment efficacy was determined by comparing visual analog scale (VAS) scores, daily morphine equivalent opioid consumption, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores before treatment and during the follow-up period.

An ultralight, pulverization-free integrated anode toward lithium-less lithium metal batteries.

The high-capacity advantage of lithium metal anode was compromised by common use of copper as the collector. Furthermore, lithium pulverization associated with "dead" Li accumulation and electrode cracking deteriorates the long-term cyclability of lithium metal batteries, especially under realistic test conditions. Here, we report an ultralight, integrated anode of polyimide-Ag/Li with dual anti-pulverization functionality.

Formation of memory assemblies through the DNA-sensing TLR9 pathway.

As hippocampal neurons respond to diverse types of information, a subset assembles into microcircuits representing a memory. Those neurons typically undergo energy-intensive molecular adaptations, occasionally resulting in transient DNA damage. Here we found discrete clusters of excitatory hippocampal CA1 neurons with persistent double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) breaks, nuclear envelope ruptures and perinuclear release of histone and dsDNA fragments hours after learning.

Ceftazidime-avibactam induced renal disorders: past and present.

With the increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial pathogens worldwide, antimicrobial resistance has become a significant public health concern. Ceftazidime-avibactam (CAZ-AVI) exhibited excellent activity against many carbapenemase-producing pathogens, and was widely used for the treatment of various complicated infections. CAZ-AVI is well tolerated across all dosing regimens, and its associated acute kidney injury (AKI) in phase II/III clinical trials is rare.

Nanoscale Visualization of Lithium Plating/Stripping Tuned by On-site Formed Solid Electrolyte Interphase in All-Solid-State Lithium-Metal Batteries.

The interfacial processes, mainly the lithium (Li) plating/stripping and the evolution of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), are directly related to the performance of all-solid-state Li-metal batteries (ASSLBs). However, the complex processes at solid-solid interfaces are embedded under the solid-state electrolyte, making it challenging to analyze the dynamic processes in real time. Here, using in situ electrochemical atomic force microscopy and optical microscopy, we directly visualized the Li plating/stripping/replating behavior, and measured the morphological and mechanical properties of the on-site formed SEI at nanoscale.

The interrelationships between Chinese learners' trait emotional intelligence and teachers' emotional support in learners' engagement.

Background: One noteworthy concern within the realm of education is the level of engagement demonstrated by students. Among the factor that can have a crucial role in this domain is teacher support, especially emotional support which has an impact on several aspects of learners' education. Furthermore, various studies have investigated the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and learners' engagement.

Study on effectiveness analysis of multi-media combined with PBL teaching in breast surgery.

Objective: To explore the effectiveness of multi-media combined with PBL teaching in breast surgery.

Methods: 56 interns who came to our hospital for breast surgery from January 2019 to December 2020 were randomly divided into two groups: traditional teaching control group (n = 28) and multi-media PBL teaching observation group (n = 28). Two groups' theoretical knowledge, skill operation, teaching quality, student's evaluation and satisfaction with the teaching model were compared before ending the internship.

Combined TIM-3 and PD-1 blockade restrains hepatocellular carcinoma development by facilitating CD4+ and CD8+ T cell-mediated antitumor immune responses.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing protein 3 (TIM-3) are beneficial to the resumption of anti-tumor immunity response and hold extreme potential as efficient therapies for certain malignancies. However, ICIs with a single target exhibit poor overall response rate in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients due to the complex pathological mechanisms of HCC.

Aim: To investigate the effects of combined TIM-3 and PD-1 blockade on tumor development in an HCC mouse model, aiming to identify more effective immunotherapies and provide more treatment options for HCC patients.

Infection with COVID-19 promotes the progression of pancreatic cancer through the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway.

Objective: To investigate the effect of COVID-19 infection on pancreatic cancer.

Methods: Based on the mRNA-Seq data of COVID-19 patients and pancreatic cancer (PC) patients in the GEO database, we used a support vector machine (SVM), LASSO-Cox regression analysis and random forest tree (RF) to screen the common signature genes of the two diseases and further investigate their effects and functional characteristics on PC, respectively. The above procedures were performed in R software.

Identification of a Novel CD8 T cell exhaustion-related gene signature for predicting survival in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health concern, necessitating a deeper understanding of its prognosis and underlying mechanisms. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism and prognostic value of CD8 T Cell exhaustion (CD8 TEX)-related genes in HCC and construct a survival prognosis prediction model for patients with HCC.

Methods: CD8 TEX-related genes associated with HCC prognosis were analysed and identified, and a prognostic prediction model was constructed using the 'least absolute shrinkage and selection operator' Cox regression model.

Three-dimensional instrument polarization analysis and optimization of liquid-crystal-based Stokes polarimeter.

The Stokes polarimeter based on liquid crystal variable retarders (LCVRs) is a space polarization measurement technology widely used. However, due to the tilt of the optic axis of the LCVR with the driving voltage in the direction of light propagation and the interference in LCVR, the LCVRs-based Stokes polarimeter produces a large instrument polarization, which affects the accurate polarization measurement. In this paper, we combine polarization ray tracing with multi-beam interference, and establish a general three-dimensional polarization analysis model of the LCVRs-based Stokes polarimeter.