It doesn't hurt as long as I don't move: Aligning pain assessment in patients with rib fractures with mobilization needed for recovery.

Background: Rib fracture pain is a major issue but likely underappreciated, given that patients avoid activity due to the pain. Pain is one criterion used to determine if someone is a candidate for surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF). The purpose of this study was to assess pain for rib fracture patients, hypothesizing pain from rib fractures is underappreciated in current practice.

Twisted-layer boron nitride ceramic with high deformability and strength.

Moiré superlattices formed by twisted stacking in van der Waals materials have emerged as a new platform for exploring the physics of strongly correlated materials and other emergent phenomena. However, there remains a lack of research on the mechanical properties of twisted-layer van der Waals materials, owing to a lack of suitable strategies for making three-dimensional bulk materials. Here we report the successful synthesis of a polycrystalline boron nitride bulk ceramic with high room-temperature deformability and strength.

Aptamers targeting SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein exhibit potential anti pan-coronavirus activity.

Emerging and recurrent infectious diseases caused by human coronaviruses (HCoVs) continue to pose a significant threat to global public health security. In light of this ongoing threat, the development of a broad-spectrum drug to combat HCoVs is an urgently priority. Herein, we report a series of anti-pan-coronavirus ssDNA aptamers screened using Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX).

Protein Kinase A Is a Master Regulator of Physiological and Pathological Cardiac Hypertrophy.

Background: The sympathoadrenergic system and its major effector PKA (protein kinase A) are activated to maintain cardiac output coping with physiological or pathological stressors. If and how PKA plays a role in physiological cardiac hypertrophy (PhCH) and pathological CH (PaCH) are not clear.

Methods: Transgenic mouse models expressing the PKA inhibition domain (PKAi) of PKA inhibition peptide alpha (PKIalpha)-green fluorescence protein (GFP) fusion protein (PKAi-GFP) in a cardiac-specific and inducible manner (cPKAi) were used to determine the roles of PKA in physiological CH during postnatal growth or induced by swimming, and in PaCH induced by transaortic constriction (TAC) or augmented Ca influx.

Intra-ovarian inflammatory states and their associations with embryo quality in normal-BMI PCOS patients undergoing IVF treatment.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the main cause of anovulatory infertility in women of reproductive age, and low-grade chronic inflammation plays a key role in the occurrence and development of PCOS. However, obesity, as a likely confounding factor, can affect the inflammatory state of PCOS patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to comprehensively investigate intra-ovarian inflammatory states and their impact on embryo quality in PCOS patients with a normal BMI undergoing IVF treatment.

Genetic Susceptibility Modifies Relationships Between Air Pollutants and Stroke Risk: A Large Cohort Study.

Background: The extent to which genetic susceptibility modifies the associations between air pollutants and the risk of incident stroke is still unclear. This study was designed to investigate the separate and joint associations of long-term exposure to air pollutants and genetic susceptibility on stroke risk.

Methods: The participants of this study were recruited by the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010.

Chemically induced reprogramming to reverse cellular aging.

A hallmark of eukaryotic aging is a loss of epigenetic information, a process that can be reversed. We have previously shown that the ectopic induction of the Yamanaka factors OCT4, SOX2, and KLF4 (OSK) in mammals can restore youthful DNA methylation patterns, transcript profiles, and tissue function, without erasing cellular identity, a process that requires active DNA demethylation. To screen for molecules that reverse cellular aging and rejuvenate human cells without altering the genome, we developed high-throughput cell-based assays that distinguish young from old and senescent cells, including transcription-based aging clocks and a real-time nucleocytoplasmic compartmentalization (NCC) assay.

Effect of Imaging Selection Paradigms on Endovascular Thrombectomy Outcomes in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Background: The effect of imaging selection paradigms on endovascular thrombectomy outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion remains uncertain. The study aimed to assess the effect of basic imaging (noncontrast computed tomography with or without computed tomographic angiography) versus advanced imaging (magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography perfusion) on clinical outcomes following thrombectomy in patients with stroke with large vessel occlusion in the early and extended windows using a pooled analysis of patient-level data from 2 pivotal randomized clinical trials done in China.

Methods: This post hoc analysis used data from 1182 patients included in 2 multicenter, randomized controlled trials in China that evaluated adjunct therapies to endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke (Direct Endovascular Treatment for Large Artery Anterior Circulation Stroke performed from May 20, 2018, through May 2, 2020, and Intravenous Tirofiban Before Endovascular Treatment in Stroke from October 10, 2018, through October 31, 2021).

Effects of Orthokeratology Lens Decentration Induced by Paracentral Corneal Asymmetry on Axial Length Elongation.

Background: To determine the influence of the magnitude of treatment zone decentration on axial length (AL) elongation and to investigate the association between paracentral corneal asymmetry and orthokeratology (OK) lens decentration.

Methods: This retrospective study involved 268 subjects (7-14 years) who wore OK lenses for one year. The parameters that reflected the paracentral corneal asymmetry were recorded: corneal toricity; Q value; anterior corneal curvature; and elevation values at the 6-, 7-, and 8-mm chords along the horizontal meridian.

BarleyExpDB: an integrative gene expression database for barley.

Background: RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) has been widely used to study the dynamic expression patterns of transcribed genes, which can lead to new biological insights. However, processing and analyzing these huge amounts of histological data remains a great challenge for wet labs and field researchers who lack bioinformatics experience and computational resources.

Results: We present BarleyExpDB, an easy-to-operate, free, and web-accessible database that integrates transcriptional profiles of barley at different growth and developmental stages, tissues, and stress conditions, as well as differential expression of mutants and populations to build a platform for barley expression and visualization.

Association of Tirofiban With Functional Outcomes After Thrombectomy in Acute Ischemic Stroke Due to Intracranial Atherosclerotic Disease.

Background And Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of IV infusion of tirofiban before endovascular thrombectomy for patients with large vessel occlusion due to intracranial atherosclerotic disease. The secondary objective was to identify potential mediators for the clinical effect of tirofiban.

Methods: Post hoc exploratory analysis of the Endovascular Treatment With versus Without Tirofiban for Patients with Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke (RESCUE BT) trial, which was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial at 55 centers in China from October 2018 to October 2021.

Systemic Hypoxemia Induces Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy and Right Ventricular Specific Induction of Proliferation.

Background: A recent study suggests that systemic hypoxemia in adult male mice can induce cardiac myocytes to proliferate. The goal of the present experiments was to confirm these results, provide new insights on the mechanisms that induce adult cardiomyocyte cell cycle reentry, and to determine if hypoxemia also induces cardiomyocyte proliferation in female mice.

Methods: EdU-containing mini pumps were implanted in 3-month-old, male and female C57BL/6 mice.

TCRαβNK1.1CD4CD8 double-negative T cells inhibit central and peripheral inflammation and ameliorate ischemic stroke in mice.

Excessive immune activation leads to secondary injury and impedes injured brain recovery after ischemic stroke. However, few effective methods are currently used for equilibrating immune balance. CD3NK1.

Ultrastrong conductive in situ composite composed of nanodiamond incoherently embedded in disordered multilayer graphene.

Traditional ceramics or metals cannot simultaneously achieve ultrahigh strength and high electrical conductivity. The elemental carbon can form a variety of allotropes with entirely different physical properties, providing versatility for tuning mechanical and electrical properties in a wide range. Here, by precisely controlling the extent of transformation of amorphous carbon into diamond within a narrow temperature-pressure range, we synthesize an in situ composite consisting of ultrafine nanodiamond homogeneously dispersed in disordered multilayer graphene with incoherent interfaces, which demonstrates a Knoop hardness of up to ~53 GPa, a compressive strength of up to ~54 GPa and an electrical conductivity of 670-1,240 S m at room temperature.

Metabolic Changes Associated With Cardiomyocyte Dedifferentiation Enable Adult Mammalian Cardiac Regeneration.

Background: Cardiac regeneration after injury is limited by the low proliferative capacity of adult mammalian cardiomyocytes (CMs). However, certain animals readily regenerate lost myocardium through a process involving dedifferentiation, which unlocks their proliferative capacities.

Methods: We bred mice with inducible, CM-specific expression of the Yamanaka factors, enabling adult CM reprogramming and dedifferentiation in vivo.

Intratumoral delivered novel circular mRNA encoding cytokines for immune modulation and cancer therapy.

The success of the two mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna and BioNTech during the COVID-19 pandemic increased research interest into the application of mRNA technologies. Compared with the canonical linear mRNA used in these vaccines, circular mRNA has been found to mediate more potent and durable protein expression and demands a simpler manufacturing procedure. However, the application of circular mRNA is still at the initiation stage, and proof of concept for its use as a future medicine or vaccine is required.

Non-viral, specifically targeted CAR-T cells achieve high safety and efficacy in B-NHL.

Recently, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has shown great promise in treating haematological malignancies. However, CAR-T cell therapy currently has several limitations. Here we successfully developed a two-in-one approach to generate non-viral, gene-specific targeted CAR-T cells through CRISPR-Cas9.

Digital Droplet PCR for Detection and Quantitation of Hepatitis Delta Virus.

Introduction: Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) far exceeds our expected level. There remains a lack of reliable quantitative assays for HDV RNA detection. We sought to develop a new method based on digital droplet polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) for HDV quantitative detection.

Endothelial UCP2 Is a Mechanosensitive Suppressor of Atherosclerosis.

Background: Inflamed endothelial cells (ECs) trigger atherogenesis, especially at arterial regions experiencing disturbed blood flow. UCP2 (Uncoupling protein 2), a key mitochondrial antioxidant protein, improves endothelium-dependent relaxation in obese mice. However, whether UCP2 can be regulated by shear flow is unknown, and the role of endothelial UCP2 in regulating inflammation and atherosclerosis remains unclear.

Coherent interfaces govern direct transformation from graphite to diamond.

Understanding the direct transformation from graphite to diamond has been a long-standing challenge with great scientific and practical importance. Previously proposed transformation mechanisms, based on traditional experimental observations that lacked atomistic resolution, cannot account for the complex nanostructures occurring at graphite-diamond interfaces during the transformation. Here we report the identification of coherent graphite-diamond interfaces, which consist of four basic structural motifs, in partially transformed graphite samples recovered from static compression, using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy.