Mapping rare protein-coding variants on multi-organ imaging traits.

Human organ structure and function are important endophenotypes for clinical outcomes. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common variants associated with phenotypes derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and body. However, the role of rare protein-coding variations affecting organ size and function is largely unknown.

P-selectin-targeted Polyguluronate sulfate-copper peroxide Nanomicelles for Chemodynamic therapy of breast Cancer.

The exploration of efficient and safe chemodynamic therapy (CDT)-based cancer treatment is expected but still faces challenges. Herein, a kind of multifunctional nanomicelles was constructed for CDT, combined with biocompatible polysaccharides as nanocarriers, pH responsiveness and active targeting of P-selectin overexpressed tumors. The P-selectin-targeted ligand, polyguluronate sulfate (PGS), complexed with copper peroxide to form PGS-Cu nanomicelles by electrostatic interactions.

Eye-brain connections revealed by multimodal retinal and brain imaging genetics.

The retina, an anatomical extension of the brain, forms physiological connections with the visual cortex of the brain. Although retinal structures offer a unique opportunity to assess brain disorders, their relationship to brain structure and function is not well understood. In this study, we conducted a systematic cross-organ genetic architecture analysis of eye-brain connections using retinal and brain imaging endophenotypes.

Multi-organ imaging-derived polygenic indexes for brain and body health.

The UK Biobank (UKB) imaging project is a crucial resource for biomedical research, but is limited to 100,000 participants due to cost and accessibility barriers. Here we used genetic data to predict heritable imaging-derived phenotypes (IDPs) for a larger cohort. We developed and evaluated 4,375 IDP genetic scores (IGS) derived from UKB brain and body images.

Analyzing bivariate cross-trait genetic architecture in GWAS summary statistics with the BIGA cloud computing platform.

As large-scale biobanks provide increasing access to deep phenotyping and genomic data, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are rapidly uncovering the genetic architecture behind various complex traits and diseases. GWAS publications typically make their summary-level data (GWAS summary statistics) publicly available, enabling further exploration of genetic overlaps between phenotypes gathered from different studies and cohorts. However, systematically analyzing high-dimensional GWAS summary statistics for thousands of phenotypes can be both logistically challenging and computationally demanding.

Combatting ageing in dermal papilla cells and promoting hair follicle regeneration using exosomes from human hair follicle dermal sheath cup cells.

Dermal papilla cells (DPCs) undergo premature ageing in androgenetic alopecia and senescent alopecia. As critical components of hair follicle reconstruction, DPCs are also prone to senescence in vitro, resulting in a diminished hair follicle inductivity capacity. Dermal sheath cup cells (DSCCs), a specific subset of hair follicle mesenchymal stem cells, intimately linked to the function of DPCs.

Heart-brain connections: Phenotypic and genetic insights from magnetic resonance images.

Cardiovascular health interacts with cognitive and mental health in complex ways, yet little is known about the phenotypic and genetic links of heart-brain systems. We quantified heart-brain connections using multiorgan magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from more than 40,000 subjects. Heart MRI traits displayed numerous association patterns with brain gray matter morphometry, white matter microstructure, and functional networks.

Eye-brain connections revealed by multimodal retinal and brain imaging genetics in the UK Biobank.

As an anatomical extension of the brain, the retina of the eye is synaptically connected to the visual cortex, establishing physiological connections between the eye and the brain. Despite the unique opportunity retinal structures offer for assessing brain disorders, less is known about their relationship to brain structure and function. Here we present a systematic cross-organ genetic architecture analysis of eye-brain connections using retina and brain imaging endophenotypes.

The development of multifunctional sulfated polyguluronic acid-based polymeric micelles for anticancer drug delivery.

Numerous disseminated tumor cells specifically overexpress P-selectin. Therefore, it was thought to be a potential target for tumor therapy. Herein, we described a novel P-selectin-targeted glycosyl ligand-sulfated polyguluronic acid (PGS), as an oriented carrier of P-selectin-targeted drug delivery system.

An atlas of trait associations with resting-state and task-evoked human brain functional organizations in the UK Biobank.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been widely used to identify brain regions linked to critical functions, such as language and vision, and to detect tumors, strokes, brain injuries, and diseases. It is now known that large sample sizes are necessary for fMRI studies to detect small effect sizes and produce reproducible results. Here we report a systematic association analysis of 647 traits with imaging features extracted from resting-state and task-evoked fMRI data of more than 40,000 UK Biobank participants.

Characterization and Comparison of Corrosion Layer Microstructure between Cement Mortar and Alkali-Activated Fly Ash/Slag Mortar Exposed to Sulfuric Acid and Acetic Acid.

In this study, we investigated the formation and evolution of the corrosion layers in alkali-activated mortar and ordinary Portland cement mortar exposed to sulfuric acid and acetic acid environments with different pH values, and explored the differences in the deterioration mechanisms. The experimental results indicated that ordinary Portland cement (OPC) mortars experienced more severe deterioration in terms of appearance, mass loss, and strength loss as compared with alkali-activated mortars exposed to an acetic acid environment, but their neutralization depths were smaller. Alkali-activated fly ash (AAF) mortar had a the relatively intact appearance but the greatest neutralization depth, which was due to its stable three-dimensional network but highly porous structure.

DBDNet for denoising in ESPI wrapped phase patterns with high density and high speckle noise.

In this paper, we propose a dilated-blocks-based deep convolution neural network, named DBDNet, for denoising in electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) wrapped phase patterns with high density and high speckle noise. In our method, the proposed dilated blocks have a specific sequence of dilation rate and a multilayer cascading fusion structure, which can better improve the effect of speckle noise reduction, especially for phase patterns with high noise and high density. Furthermore, we have built an abundant training dataset with varieties of densities and noise levels to train our network; thus, the trained model has a good generalization and can denoise ESPI wrapped phase in various circumstances.

Preparation and Evaluation of a Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System Loaded with Heparin Phospholipid Complex.

A self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) was developed to enhance the absorption of heparin after oral administration, in which heparin was compounded with phospholipids to achieve better fat solubility in the form of heparin-phospholipid (HEP-Pc) complex. HEP-Pc complex was prepared using the solvent evaporation method, which increased the solubility of heparin in -octanol. The successful preparation of HEP-Pc complex was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, NMR, and SEM.

Microbiome and Blood Analyte Differences Point to Community and Metabolic Signatures in Lean and Obese Horses.

Due to modern management practices and the availability of energy dense feeds, obesity is a serious and increasingly common health problem for horses. Equine obesity is linked to insulin resistance and exacerbation of inflammatory issues such as osteoarthritis and laminitis. While the gut microbiome is thought to play a part in metabolic status in horses, bacterial communities associated with obesity have yet to be described.