Single-nucleus multiomics reveals the gene regulatory networks underlying sex determination of murine primordial germ cells.

Accurate specification of female and male germ cells during embryonic development is critical for sexual reproduction. Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the bipotential precursors of mature gametes that commit to an oogenic or spermatogenic fate in response to sex-determining cues from the fetal gonad. The critical processes required for PGCs to integrate and respond to signals from the somatic environment in gonads are not well understood.

Evaluating Racial Disparities in Food Access and Their Impact on Body Mass Index among Individuals with Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury.

Objective: To investigate racial disparities in food access and their impact on obesity (measured by body mass index, BMI) among individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI).

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of data from the U.S.

Discovery of Novel Pyridin-2-yl Urea Inhibitors Targeting ASK1 Kinase and Its Binding Mode by Absolute Protein-Ligand Binding Free Energy Calculations.

Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1), a key component of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades, has been identified as a promising therapeutic target owing to its critical role in signal transduction pathways. In this study, we proposed novel pyridin-2-yl urea inhibitors exhibiting favorable physicochemical properties. The potency of these compounds was validated through in vitro protein bioassays.

Toward Precision Dosing of Lamotrigine During Pregnancy: Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling and Simulation.

Lamotrigine is a commonly used anti-seizure medication in pregnant women. However, its pharmacokinetics (PK) during pregnancy markedly change, increasing the frequency of seizures and endangering the safety of the mother and fetus. Meanwhile, insufficient PK data on lamotrigine during pregnancy hinders its dose adjustment.

Breaking barriers: noninvasive AI model for BRAF mutation identification.

Objective: BRAF is the most common mutation found in thyroid cancer and is particularly associated with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Currently, genetic mutation detection relies on invasive procedures. This study aimed to extract radiomic features and utilize deep transfer learning (DTL) from ultrasound images to develop a noninvasive artificial intelligence model for identifying BRAF mutations.

Utilization of machine learning algorithm in the prediction of rehospitalization during one-year post traumatic spinal cord injury.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: The primary aim was to develop a machine learning (ML) model to predict rehospitalization during the first year of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) and to identify top predictors using data obtained during initial rehabilitation. The secondary aim was to predict prolonged hospital stay among the rehospitalized group.

Current situation and influencing factors of clinical narrative competence of pediatric specialist nurses: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The growing focus on health-centered care emphasizes humanistic skills and clinical narrative competence in nursing, particularly in children's health. However, there is a lack of relevant research on pediatric nurses' clinical narrative competence and humanistic care. This study aimed to investigate the status and influencing factors of clinical narrative competence of pediatric specialist nurses.

Impact of Snow on Underground Smoldering Wildfire in Arctic-Boreal Peatlands.

Overwintering peat fires are re-emerging in snow-covered Arctic-boreal regions, releasing unprecedented levels of carbon into the atmosphere and exacerbating climate change. Despite the critical role of fire-snow interactions in these processes, our understanding of them remains limited. Herein, we conducted small-scale outdoor experiments (20 × 20 × 20 cm) at subzero temperatures (-5 ± 5 °C) to investigate the impact of natural snowfall and accumulated snow layers (up to 20 cm thick) on shallow smoldering peat fires.

Paint: a ubiquitous yet disregarded piece of the microplastics puzzle.

Microplastics are widespread pollutants. Microplastics generated from the wear and tear of paints and coatings have recently been modeled to be a large source of microplastics to the environment. Yet, studies focused on microplastics broadly frequently overlook paint microplastics.

The correlation between immune cells and endometriosis: a bidirectional two-sample mendelian randomization study.

Objectives: Endometriosis (EM), a prevalent estrogen-dependent inflammatory disorder affecting women of reproductive age, is characterized by the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus, resulting in pelvic scarring, pain, and infertility. Although the pathogenesis of EM remains poorly understood, there is growing evidence suggesting the involvement of the immune system in its etiology, pathophysiology, and associated morbidities such as pain, infertility, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. While previous studies have indicated a close relationship between the immune system and EM, the specific underlying mechanism remains incompletely elucidated.

A fluorogenic ROS-triggered hydrogen sulfide donor for alleviating cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury is a severe neurovascular disease that urgently requires effective therapeutic interventions. Recently, hydrogen sulfide (HS) has garnered significant attention as a potential treatment for stroke; however, the precise and targeted delivery of HS remains a considerable challenge for its clinical application. We have developed HSDF-NH, a novel HS donor characterized by high selectivity, self-reporting capabilities, and the ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

Temperature-Controlled Chemoselective Couplings of Alkyl Halides with Disulfides.

An unprecedented, transition metal-free -alkylation of disulfides with alkyl halides is developed for the first time, providing an efficient and green synthesis of thioethers and even thioesters. Notably, this new method allows the full utilization of both sulfur atoms of disulfides under chemical reductant-free conditions and can be easily scaled up in gram scale, showing good practical value. Control experiments suggested that water, unprecedentedly, serves as the terminal reductant of the whole reaction.

Hospital-Acquired Pressure Ulcers and Long-Term Motor Score Recovery in Patients With Acute Cervical Spinal Cord Injury.

Importance: Pressure ulcers (PUs) are (1) prevalent secondary complications after spinal cord injury (SCI), (2) present with elevated systemic inflammatory tone, and (3) may interfere with healing processes underlying neurological recovery (disrepair).

Objective: To investigate whether PUs acquired during initial hospitalization are associated with neurological and functional long-term outcome and survival after SCI.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Multicenter cohort study at 20 centers of the prospective SCI Model Systems (SCIMS) Database (Birmingham, AL).

Effectiveness of ePRO-based symptom management for cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies.

Purpose: To systematically synthesize the evidence on the effectiveness of electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO)-based symptom management on readmission rate, quality of life, symptom burden, anxiety, depression, and mortality in adult cancer patients.

Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to the PRISMA guideline in PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and Scopus for studies of randomized controlled trials reporting ePRO-based symptom management from January 1st, 2018, to May 31st, 2023. Two reviewers independently assessed risk-of-bias using Cochrane Risk-of-Bias version 2 and extracted the data.

Prediction of the early hepatocellular carcinoma development in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection using gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Non-hypervascular hypointense nodules (NHHNs) can transform into hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) during the long-term follow-up. However, the risk factors for NHHN hypervascular transformation in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected populations are unknown. This study assessed the predictive value of gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for HCC development in patients with chronic HBV infection.

The instability of pectin-based emulsions in the upper digestive tract investigated based on the molecular structure and interfacial properties of pectin.

Pectin is a widely used natural emulsifier that is thought to stabilize emulsions in the upper gastrointestinal tract (GIT). However, changes in the structural characteristics and interfacial properties of pectin during its digestive treatment in the upper GIT and the effects on the stability of pectin-based emulsions are still unclear. This study showed that the stability of pectin-based emulsions steadily decreased in the upper GIT.

Enhancing data standards to advance translation in spinal cord injury.

Data standards are available for spinal cord injury (SCI). The International SCI Data Sets were created in 2002 and there are currently 27 freely available. In 2014 the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke developed clinical common data elements to promote clinical data sharing in SCI.

Developmental trajectories of interpersonal stress in school and psychological pain contributing to self-harm in adolescents.

Background: This study investigated the trajectories of interpersonal stress and psychological pain and their effects on self-harm behaviors in adolescents and explored the reciprocal associations between interpersonal stress and NSSI/SA.

Methods: The participants included 1149 adolescents (50.3% women; M = 12.

Feasibility of fractal dimension analysis for left ventricular trabecular complexity using cardiac computed tomography.

Aims: To evaluate the consistency between fractal dimensions (FD) derived from cardiac computed tomography (CT-FD) and cardiac magnetic resonance (MR-FD) in assessing left ventricular trabecular complexity.

Methods: This retrospective study included 170 patients who underwent CCT and CMR scans within two weeks. Five short-axis cine images were selected at end-diastole: one basal, three mid, and one apical slice.

Visualization of the degradation of long-acting microneedles and correlation of drug release in vivo based on FRET mechanism.

This study introduces a live imaging technique for real-time, non-invasive monitoring of drug release from long-acting microneedles using FRET (Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer). Employing Cy5.5 and Cy7 as FRET pairs and levonorgestrel as the model drug, we fabricated microneedles with varying PLGA molecular weights, demonstrating distinct release profiles.

Mechanistic study of synergetic stabilization of Pickering emulsions by corn glutelin and starch complexes.

The hydrophobicity of glutelin, zein, and carotenoids has limited the development of corn-based functional food products. This paper aims to construct emulsions stabilized by multiple corn-derived components using a simple and organic solvent-free method. The emulsions comprised oil droplets dispersed in the water, where glutelin and starch were stabilizers.