Decreases in frequency-dependent intrinsic activity of the default mode network are associated with depression and cognition in patients with postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

A significant proportion of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 suffer from persistent symptoms, referred to as "post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC)". Abnormal brain intrinsic activity has been observed in PASC patients, but the patterns of frequency-dependent intrinsic activity in the PASC and non-PASC (recovered COVID-19 patients without persistent symptoms) groups and their association with neuropsychiatric sequelae remain unclear in PASC. Twenty-nine PASC patients, 27 non-PASC subjects, and 31 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited.

Targeted barcoding of variable antibody domains and individual transcriptomes of the human B-cell repertoire using Link-Seq.

Here, we present Link-Seq, a highly efficient droplet microfluidic method for combined sequencing of antibody-encoding genes and the transcriptome of individual B cells at large scale. The method is based on 3' barcoding of the transcriptome and subsequent single-molecule PCR in droplets, which freely shift the barcode along specific gene regions, such as the antibody heavy- and light-chain genes. Using the immune repertoire of COVID-19 patients and healthy donors as a model system, we obtain up to 91.

Hippocampal Functional Radiomic Features for Identification of the Cognitively Impaired Patients from Low-Back-Related Pain: A Prospective Machine Learning Study.

Purpose: To investigate whether functional radiomic features in bilateral hippocampi can identify the cognitively impaired patients from low-back-related leg pain (LBLP).

Patients And Methods: For this retrospective study, a total of 95 clinically definite LBLP patients (40 cognitively impaired patients and 45 cognitively preserved patients) were included, and all patients underwent functional MRI and clinical assessments. After calculating the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) and degree centrality (DC) imaging, the radiomic features (n = 819) of bilateral hippocampi were extracted from these images, respectively.

Exploring the clinical practice training program for Master of Nursing Specialist in anesthesia: A qualitative study.

Background: Clinical practice is key in the development and enhancement of the professional competencies for Master of Nursing Specialist postgraduates in anesthesia; however, there is a lack of unified and standardized clinical practice training programs in China, failing to guarantee teaching quality among institutions.

Objective: To understand perceptions of the clinical practice training program setting for Master of Nursing Specialist postgraduates in anesthesia from the dual perspectives of faculty and students.

Design: A qualitative descriptive study.

Quasi-vertically asymmetric channels of graphene oxide membrane for ultrafast ion sieving.

The high performance of two-dimensional (2D) channel membranes is generally achieved by preparing ultrathin or forming short channels with less tortuous transport through self-assembly of small flakes, demonstrating potential for highly efficient water desalination and purification, gas and ion separation, and organic solvent waste treatment. Here, we report the construction of vertical channels in graphene oxide (GO) membrane based on a substrate template with asymmetric pores. The membranes achieved water permeance of 2647 L m h bar while still maintaining an ultrahigh rejection rate of 99.

An electrochemical aptasensor based on bimetallic carbon nanocomposites AuPt@rGO for ultrasensitive detection of adenosine on portable potentiostat.

Adenosine plays a crucial role in the cardiovascular and nervous systems of living organisms. Excessive adenosine can lead to arrhythmias or heart failure, making the accurate detection of adenosine highly valuable. Given the widespread use of sensors for detecting small molecules, we propose a sensitive electrochemical aptasensor for adenosine detection in this study.

The predictive value of radiomics and deep learning for synchronous distant metastasis in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Objective: The objective of this research was to devise and authenticate a predictive model that employs CT radiomics and deep learning methodologies for the accurate prediction of synchronous distant metastasis (SDM) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

Methods: A total of 143 ccRCC patients were included in the training cohort, and 62 ccRCC patients were included in the validation cohort. The CT images from all patients were normalized, and the tumor regions were manually segmented via ITK-SNAP software.

Whey Protein Hydrogels and Emulsion Gels with Anthocyanins and/or Goji Oil: Formation, Characterization and In Vitro Digestion Behavior.

Whey protein isolate (WPI) has functional properties such as gelation and emulsification. Emulsion gels combine the benefits of both emulsions and hydrogels. In this study, WPI hydrogels and emulsion gels were developed with goji oil (GO) as the oil phase by the inclusion of blueberry extract (BE) in the protein matrix.

Multi-Label Zero-Shot Learning Via Contrastive Label-Based Attention.

Multi-label zero-shot learning (ML-ZSL) strives to recognize all objects in an image, regardless of whether they are present in the training data. Recent methods incorporate an attention mechanism to locate labels in the image and generate class-specific semantic information. However, the attention mechanism built on visual features treats label embeddings equally in the prediction score, leading to severe semantic ambiguity.

Coexistence of immunoglobulin G4-related kidney disease and acute hematogenous disseminated pulmonary tuberculosis: a case report.

Background: Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is an immune-mediated fibrous inflammatory disease. Recently, an association between IgG4-RD and tuberculosis (TB) has been reported.

Case Summary: We report a 56-year-old man complaining of a cough and poor appetite for 2 months and oliguria for 1 day.

Quantification of Fugitive Carbon Emissions from Uncontrolled Combustion in Coal Fire Area: the Sandaoba Coalfield, Xinjiang, China.

Spontaneous coal fires are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming. However, the lack of reliable estimation methods and research has obscured the full environmental impact of these emissions. This paper presents a novel quantification method for fugitive carbon emissions from spontaneous coal combustion.

Highly Sensitive Digital and Analog Immunoassay Based on Submicron Magnetic Beads and Fluorescent Microspheres.

The detection of disease-related protein biomarkers plays a crucial role in the early diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of diseases. The concentrations of protein biomarkers can vary significantly in different diseases or stages of the same disease. However, most of the existing analytical methods cannot simultaneously meet the requirements of high sensitivity and a wide dynamic range.

Research Progress of NK Cells in Glioblastoma Treatment.

NK cells are a type of antitumor immune cell with promising clinical application, following T cells. The activity of NK cells is primarily regulated by their surface receptors and immune microenvironment. In gliomas, the tumor microenvironment exerts a strong immunosuppressive effect, which significantly reduces the clinical efficacy of NK cell immunotherapy.

3D-printed ultra-sensitive strain sensors using biogels prepared from fish gelatin and gellan gum.

The long-term sustainable development of flexible electronic devices is limited by a reliance on synthetic polymers that pose dangers for humans and potentially severe ecological problems, as well as a reliance on conventional processing methods. This work aims to exploit 3D printing to develop natural biogels composed of fish gelatin and high acyl gellan gum for use as flexible sensors. The electrical conductivity and mechanical strength were remarkably enhanced through the environmentally friendly enzyme (transglutaminase) cross-linking and non-toxic ethanol modification treatment, which allows the development of 3D printed sensors for temperature, strain, and stress sensors.

Effects of ascorbic acid treatment on starch metabolism during wound healing in fresh-cut potatoes.

Starch degradation and wound healing occur in potato tubers following fresh-cut processing, and ascorbic acid (AA) treatment can suppress these processes, though the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated the effects of 5 g L AA treatment on the multiscale structural changes and metabolic responses of starch during wound healing in fresh-cut potatoes. The results revealed that AA treatment delayed starch degradation and reducing sugar accumulation while promoting sucrose and fructose accumulation.

Structure and Function Analysis of Microcystin Transport Protein MlrD.

Microorganisms play a crucial role in the degradation of microcystins (MCs), with most MC-degrading bacteria utilizing the mlr gene cluster (mlrABCD) mechanism. While previous studies have advanced our understanding of the structure, function, and degradation mechanisms of MlrA, MlrB, and MlrC, research on MlrD remains limited. Consequently, the molecular structure and specific catalytic processes of MlrD are still unclear.

Longitudinal Changes of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer and Ganglion Cell-Inner Plexiform Layer in Highly Myopic Glaucoma: A 3-year Cohort Study.

Purpose: To describe the longitudinal changes in peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (mGC-IPL) thicknesses in highly myopic eyes with and without glaucoma, and to investigate the effects of high myopia (HM) on the sectoral patterns of pRNFL and mGC-IPL thinning.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Participants: A total of 243 eyes from 243 individuals with 3-year follow-up were included in this study: 109 eyes in the HM group, 64 eyes in the open-angle glaucoma (OAG) group and 70 eyes in the highly myopic glaucoma (HMG) group.

Bispecific Aptamer-Drug Conjugates Selectively Eliminate Malignant Hematologic Cells for Treating Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Surface antigen-directed immunotherapy is a curative treatment modality for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that is characterized by the abundance and stability expression of surface antigens. However, current surface antigen-directed immunotherapies have shown poor outcomes and undesirable mortality rates in treating AML patients, primarily due to acquired resistance that arises from using single-target therapies to address the heterogeneous expression of surface antigens. Hence, in order to improve the efficacy of antigen-specific therapies for treating AML, we designed a bispecific aptamer-drug conjugate.

A study on the variability and correlation of ocular biological measurement parameters in adult myopic patients.

Objective: This study aims to explore the differences in ocular parameters among adult myopic patients with different degrees of myopia and axial lengths, and to investigate the correlations between these ocular parameters.

Methods: This single-center observational study collected clinical data from myopic patients aged 18-45 years who visited the Eye Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between January and June 2023. The data included laterality, diopter of spherical power (DS), diopter of cylindrical power (DC), spherical equivalent (SE), axial length (AL), central corneal thickness (CCT), flat meridian keratometry (K1), steep meridian keratometry (K2), mean keratometry (Km), anterior chamber depth (ACD), corneal radius of curvature (CRC), and axial length/corneal radius of curvature ratio (AL/CRC).

Association between non-insulin-based insulin resistance surrogate makers and Helicobacter pylori infection: a population-based study.

Background: Current evidence on the associations between insulin resistance (IR) and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the association between non-insulin-based surrogate markers of IR, including the triglyceride glucose (TyG) index, triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio, and the metabolic score for IR (METS-IR), and H.

Distinct neural computations scale the violation of expected reward and emotion in social transgressions.

Traditional decision-making models conceptualize humans as adaptive learners utilizing the differences between expected and actual rewards (prediction errors, PEs) to maximize outcomes, but rarely consider the influence of violations of emotional expectations (emotional PEs) and how it differs from reward PEs. Here, we conducted a fMRI experiment (n = 43) using a modified Ultimatum Game to examine how reward and emotional PEs affect punishment decisions in terms of rejecting unfair offers. Our results revealed that reward relative to emotional PEs exerted a stronger prediction to punishment decisions.

Microenvironment-responsive sodium alginate hydrogel loaded with MnO and pachymic acid for the treatment of gastric ulcer.

Gastric ulcer (GU), a common digestive system disorder in clinical practice, often arises from excessive alcohol consumption and other factors that irritate the gastric mucosa. Effective treatment of GU remains challenging due to the poor targeting, limited efficacy, and significant side effects associated with current therapeutic approaches. To address these limitations, we developed a microenvironment-responsive hydrogel composed of sodium alginate (SA) and chitosan (CS), incorporating MnO nanoparticles and pachymic acid (PA).

Clinicopathological and molecular features of lung cancers associated with cystic airspaces: an analysis of 34 cases.

Background: Lung cancer associated with cystic airspaces (LCCA) is a rare occurrence and frequently remains undetected in imaging tests. The diagnosis and treatment of this disease are often delayed due to the lack of comprehension. We aimed to clarify clinicopathological characteristics and investigate the molecular features of LCCA patients.