Physical embodiment and anthropomorphism of AI tutors and their role in student enjoyment and performance.

Rising interest in artificial intelligence in education reinforces the demand for evidence-based implementation. This study investigates how tutor agents' physical embodiment and anthropomorphism (student-reported sociability, animacy, agency, and disturbance) relate to affective (on-task enjoyment) and cognitive (task performance) learning within an intelligent tutoring system (ITS). Data from 56 students (M = 17.

Anion-Rich Interface via a Self-Assembled Monolayer toward a Long-Lifespan Li Metal Battery.

Due to the extremely high energy density of Li metal, Li metal batteries are regarded as one of the most promising candidates for next-generation energy storage systems. However, interfacial issues, particularly the unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and lithium dendritic growth, hinder practical application. Herein, we induce an anion-rich interface near the Li metal by introducing positively charged self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on ceramic-coated separators to simultaneously stabilize the SEI and homogenize the Li deposition.

Seroprevalence of Antibodies to Filoviruses with Outbreak Potential in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review to Inform Vaccine Development and Deployment.

: Orthoebolaviruses and orthomarburgviruses are filoviruses that can cause viral hemorrhagic fever and significant morbidity and mortality in humans. The evaluation and deployment of vaccines to prevent and control Ebola and Marburg outbreaks must be informed by an understanding of the transmission and natural history of the causative infections, but little is known about the burden of asymptomatic infection or undiagnosed disease. This systematic review of the published literature examined the seroprevalence of antibodies to orthoebolaviruses and orthomarburgviruses in sub-Saharan Africa.

Linking Mechanisms in the Intergenerational Transmission of Mental Health: The Role of Sex in Parent-Adolescent Dynamics.

Background/objectives: This study addresses the significance of mental health concerns by examining the intergenerational transmission of mental health between parents and adolescents. It investigates the serial mediating effects of family resilience, adolescents' adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and their ability to flourish in the transmission of mental health from parents to adolescents, with a focus on sex differences.

Methods: This study used a sample of 54,434 adolescents aged 12-17 from the 2016-2020 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH).

Investigation of the connection between triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and the risk of acute kidney injury in septic patients - a retrospective analysis utilizing the MIMIC-IV database.

The TyG index serves as a valuable tool for evaluating insulin resistance. An elevated TyG has shown a strong association with the occurrence of acute kidney injury (AKI). Nevertheless, existing literature does not address the relationship between the TyG index and acute kidney injury in patients with sepsis.

A comparative study of extraction methods for recovery of bioactive components from brown algae .

Species of genus are known to be rich sources of bioactive compounds. However, there is a lack of studies comparing extraction methods for these bioactive components. This study aimed to compare the total phenolic contents, total antioxidant capacity, tyrosinase inhibitory effect, sargahydroquinoic acid (SHQA) and sargachromenol (SCM), two algal meroterpenoids, of extracts acquired by different extraction methods.

Impact of high maternal body mass index on fetal cerebral cortical and cerebellar volumes.

Objectives: Maternal obesity increases a child's risk of neurodevelopmental impairment. However, little is known about the impact of maternal obesity on fetal brain development.

Methods: We prospectively recruited 20 healthy pregnant women across the range of pre-pregnancy or first-trimester body mass index (BMI) and performed fetal brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of their healthy singleton fetuses.

Muscle Biopsy Sample Preparation and Proteomics Analysis Based on UHPLC-MS/MS.

Proteomics analysis is crucial for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle adaptations to different types of exercise, such as concentric and eccentric training. Traditional methods like two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and standard mass spectrometry have been used to analyze muscle protein content and modifications. This protocol details the preparation of muscle samples for proteomics analysis using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC).

Clinical Impact of TP53 Mutations in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer Who Were Treated with Targeted Therapies or Immunotherapy.

Purpose: TP53 mutations are common in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We evaluated their clinical impact in patients treated with targeted agents or immunotherapy in the KCSG HN15-16 TRIUMPH trial.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with TP53 mutations in the TRIUMPH trial, a multicenter, biomarker-driven umbrella trial in Korea.

Multimodal feature fusion-based graph convolutional networks for Alzheimer's disease stage classification using F-18 florbetaben brain PET images and clinical indicators.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most prevalent degenerative brain disease associated with dementia, requires early diagnosis to alleviate worsening of symptoms through appropriate management and treatment. Recent studies on AD stage classification are increasingly using multimodal data. However, few studies have applied graph neural networks to multimodal data comprising F-18 florbetaben (FBB) amyloid brain positron emission tomography (PET) images and clinical indicators.

Development of a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic model for Ritonavir characterizing exposure and drug interaction potential at both acute and steady-state conditions.

Ritonavir (RTV) is a potent CYP3A inhibitor that is widely used as a pharmacokinetic (PK) enhancer to increase exposure to select protease inhibitors. However, as a strong and complex perpetrator of CYP3A interactions, RTV can also enhance the exposure of other co-administered CYP3A substrates, potentially causing toxicity. Therefore, the prediction of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and estimation of dosing requirements for concomitantly administered drugs is imperative.

Quality of life outcomes in terminal cancer patients attending regional cancer centers in South Korea: protocol for a prospective cohort study.

Introduction: Patients with cancer experience physical, mental, and social pain that affects themselves and their families. The increasing cancer incidence and advances in treatment have increased the number of cancer survivors in Korea, and there is an influx of patients in Seoul and other metropolitan areas, leading to shortages of continuous care and comprehensive life support facilities. Patients must travel long distances for treatment, which poses logistical and quality-of-life challenges.

ALK Inhibition in a Patient with Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor Harboring CARS1-ALK Fusion.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare entity, primarily affecting young individuals, often involving the abdomen, pelvis, or lung. Approximately 50% of IMTs harbor ALK gene rearrangements, making ALK inhibitors a viable treatment. We report a case of a 40-year-old female with metastatic IMT harboring a CARS1-ALK fusion.

Short-term exposure to outdoor nitrogen dioxide and respiratory mortality, with high-risk populations: a nationwide time-stratified case-crossover study.

Numerous existing studies reported the negative impacts of outdoor nitrogen dioxide (NO) on respiratory mortality. However, the evidence of related high-risk populations was considerably limited, especially associated with ages, causes of death, and district-level characteristics. In addition, most earlier studies were based on monitored areas, thus previous risk estimates of NO could be biased to provide nationwide risk estimates and high-risk populations.

Sub-Terahertz Imaging-Based Real-Time Non-Destructive Inspection System for Estimating Water Activity and Foreign Matter Depth in Seaweed.

As the importance of hygiene and safety management in food manufacturing has been increasingly emphasized, research on non-destructive and non-contact inspection technologies has become more active. This study proposes a real-time and non-destructive food inspection system with sub-terahertz waves which penetrates non-conducting materials by using a frequency of 0.1 THz.

A prospective, multi-center post-marketing surveillance cohort study to monitor the safety of the recombinant zoster vaccine in Chinese adults ≥50 years of age.

This post-marketing surveillance study evaluated the safety of the adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) in Chinese adults, given the limited country-specific safety data accumulated since the 2019 licensure of RZV in China for adults ≥ 50 years of age (YOA). This descriptive, prospective cohort study enrolled adults ≥ 50 YOA who voluntarily received RZV per routine clinical practice in six centers in China. The primary outcomes were occurrence, intensity, and causal relationship to vaccination of medically attended adverse events (MAEs) within 30 days post-any dose.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Infection on Physical Fitness in Air Force Basic Trainees.

Introduction: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on physical fitness in previously healthy adults is not well understood. In this study, we assess the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the physical fitness test (PT) scores of Air Force basic trainees.

Materials And Methods: SARS-CoV-2 testing data and trainee fitness test scores for the calendar year 2021 were obtained from U.

Interleukin-13 Receptor Subunit Alpha 2 Induces Chemokine Expression and Macrophage Polarization to Promote Inflammation and Fibrosis.

Purpose: Interleukin-13 (IL-13) is a known mediator of radiation-induced lung injury (RILI). IL-13Rα2 has an accepted role in antagonizing IL-13 signaling by acting as a decoy receptor. We sought to understand the role of IL-13Rα2 in the progression of RILI.

Acute resistance to BET inhibitors remodels compensatory transcriptional programs via p300 coactivation.

Initial clinical trials with drugs targeting epigenetic modulators - such as bromodomain and extraterminal protein (BET) inhibitors - demonstrate modest results in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). A major reason for this involves an increased transcriptional plasticity within AML, which allows cells to escape the therapeutic pressure. In this study, we investigated immediate epigenetic and transcriptional responses following BET inhibition and could demonstrate that BET inhibitor-mediated release of BRD4 from chromatin is accompanied by an acute compensatory feedback that attenuates down-regulation, or even increases expression, of specific transcriptional modules.

Ferrocene-Functionalized Atomically Precise Metal Clusters Exhibit Synergistically Enhanced Performance for CO Electroreduction.

The integration of organometallic compounds with metal nanoparticles can, in principle, generate hybrid nanocatalysts endowed with augmented functionality, presenting substantial promise for catalytic applications. Herein, we synthesize an atomically precise metal cluster (AgCu) catalyst integrated with alkynylferrocene molecules (AgCu-Fc). This hybrid catalyst design facilitates a continuous electron transfer channel via an ethynyl bridge and establishes a distinctive local chemical environment, resulting in remarkably enhanced catalytic activity in CO electroreduction.

Clinical profile of Korean children with spina bifida: a single-center prospective cohort study.

Background: Spina bifida (SB) is a chronic condition requiring lifelong self-management, underscoring the need to establish a dedicated cohort for longitudinal monitoring of health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to describe the development and initial implementation of a single-center prospective cohort study of children with SB and their parents living in South Korea and to describe demographics, clinical outcomes, psychosocial characteristics, and family data for this cohort.

Methods: This cohort was established through expert panel formation, identification of health indicators based on the Life Course Model for Spina Bifida, creation of a cohort database system, and quality control planning.

The dysadherin/MMP9 axis modifies the extracellular matrix to accelerate colorectal cancer progression.

The dynamic alteration of the tumor microenvironment (TME) serves as a driving force behind the progression and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Within the intricate TME, a pivotal player is the extracellular matrix (ECM), where modifications in components, degradation, and stiffness are considered critical factors in tumor development. In this study, we find that the membrane glycoprotein dysadherin directly targets matrix metalloprotease 9 (MMP9), initiating ECM remodeling within the TME and amplifying cancer progression.

Role and value of the tumor microenvironment in the progression and treatment resistance of gastric cancer (Review).

Gastric cancer (GC) is characterized by a complex and heterogeneous tumor microenvironment (TME) that significantly influences disease progression and treatment outcomes. The tumor stroma, which is composed of a variety of cell types such as cancer‑associated fibroblasts, immune cells and vascular components, displays significant spatial and temporal diversity. These stromal elements engage in dynamic crosstalk with cancer cells, shaping their proliferative, invasive and metastatic potential.