Association of creatinine-to-cystatin C ratio with computed tomography measures of skeletal muscle quantity and quality: The multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Background & Aims: Skeletal muscle (SM) health has significant prognostic value in geriatric and chronic disease populations, yet its assessment is frequently omitted due to challenges in evaluation. The creatinine-to-cystatin C ratio (CCR) is a simple serum-based measure that associates well with measured SM quantity (myopenia) and strength, but evidence for its association with SM quality (myosteatosis) is limited and conflicting. This study investigated the association between CCR and computed tomography (CT) measures of myopenia and myosteatosis.

miRNAome-metabolome wide association study reveals effects of miRNA regulation in eosinophilia and airflow obstruction in childhood asthma.

Background: There are important inter-relationships between miRNAs and metabolites: alterations in miRNA expression can be induced by various metabolic stimuli, and miRNAs play a regulatory role in numerous cellular processes, impacting metabolism. While both specific miRNAs and metabolites have been identified for their role in childhood asthma, there has been no global assessment of the combined effect of miRNAs and the metabolome in childhood asthma.

Methods: We performed miRNAome-metabolome-wide association studies ('miR-metabo-WAS') in two childhood cohorts of asthma to evaluate the contemporaneous and persistent miRNA-metabolite associations: 1) Genetic Epidemiology of Asthma in Costa Rica Study (GACRS) (N = 1121); 2) the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP) (N = 312 and N = 454).

EMS Pediatric Trauma Transport: Do Disparities Exist?

Introduction: Trauma is the leading cause of disability and death among children in the United States. Optimal outcomes are achieved at pediatric trauma centers (PTCs), which are specialized to address the unique needs of this population. Disparities in trauma have been reported, affecting optimal delivery of care.

Associations of prenatal urinary melamine, melamine analogues, and aromatic amines with gestational duration and fetal growth in the ECHO Cohort.

Melamine, its analogues, and aromatic amines (AAs) were commonly detected in a previous study of pregnant women in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort. While these chemicals have identified toxicities, little is known about their influences on fetal development. We measured these chemicals in gestational urine samples in 3 ECHO cohort sites to assess associations with birth outcomes (n = 1,231).

Translation Effectiveness of Offset Heart Rate Biofeedback as a Mindless Intervention for Alcohol Craving Among Risky Drinkers: Controlled Experiment.

Background: Digital and wearable intervention systems promise to improve how people manage their behavioral health conditions by making interventions available when the user can best benefit from them. However, existing interventions are obtrusive because they require attention and motivation to engage in, limiting the effectiveness of such systems in demanding contexts, such as when the user experiences alcohol craving. Mindless interventions, developed by the human-computer interaction community, offer an opportunity to intervene unobtrusively.

Correction: Investigating the Best Practices for Engagement in Remote Participatory Design: Mixed Methods Analysis of 4 Remote Studies With Family Caregivers.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/60353.].

Enhanced Synthesis, Purification, and Characterization of a Marine Bacterial Consortium-Derived Protease Enzyme With Destaining and Keratinolytic Activity.

Two marine-derived bacteria, Bacillus paralicheniformis (HR-1) and Bacillus haynesii (HR-5), were isolated from sediments and identified using 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplification and sequencing as well as biochemical analysis. The development of a bacterial consortium (HR-1 & HR-5) from these two bacteria was used to increase the production of the protease enzyme under various conditions, including fermentation media, carbon and nitrogen sources (1% w/v), different pH levels, incubation time, and the obtained enzyme, were detected using SDS-PAGE followed by purification. Bacterial consortium HR-1 & HR-5 exhibited maximum protease production (330.

Lactylation of tau in human Alzheimer's disease brains.

Introduction: Aggregation of hyperphosphorylated tau (tauopathy) is associated with cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). In AD, a metabolic shift due to the Warburg effect results in increased lactate production. Lactate can induce a post-translational modification (PTM) on proteins that conjugates lactyl groups to lysine (K) residues, which is known as lactylation.

A Contemporary Estimate of Vasectomy Failure in the United States: Analysis of US Claims Data.

Purpose: To characterize trends in vasectomy utilization, delivery, and failure in a large administrative database.

Materials And Methods: We utilized the Merative MarketScan® (2007-2021) Commercial Database to identify vasectomized men. Vasectomy failure (VF) was defined as documented pregnancy ≥6 months post-procedure.

A cost-effective two-step approach for multi-cancer early detection in high-risk populations.

In population-wide cancer screening, three key issues need to be focused on: number of cancer cases identified, number of false positives, and cost. OncoSeek is a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test using seven protein tumor markers (PTMs) and artificial intelligence (AI). SeekInCare is an MCED test that integrates the seven PTMs and four cancer genomic features from cell-free DNA by shallow whole-genome sequencing.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Infections in Humans.

Background: Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses have caused widespread infections in dairy cows and poultry in the United States, with sporadic human cases. We describe characteristics of human A(H5N1) cases identified from March through October 2024 in the United States.

Methods: We analyzed data from persons with laboratory-confirmed A(H5N1) virus infection using a standardized case-report form linked to laboratory results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention influenza A/H5 subtyping kit.

Adsorption behaviour and mechanism of natural citric acid modified MOF-808 for Cr(III) and Cr(III)-EDTA in water and site energy analysis.

Industrial wastewater often contains potentially toxic metals and it's chelates, posing serious threats to human health and aquatic ecosystems, and adsorption is frequently used for the minimization of potentially toxic metals from water. In this study, citric acid modified MOF-808 (MOF-808-CA) was prepared by using citric acid to modify MOF-808 for the removal of Cr(III) and Cr(III)-EDTA from wastewater. MOF-808-CA with the BET surface area of 653.

Hemolysis due to anti-IH in a patient with beta-thalassemia and infection.

Anti-IH is a common cold agglutinin that is typically clinically insignificant. We present a case that resulted in hemolysis. A 32-year-old male patient with transfusion-independent beta-thalassemia intermedia presented with symptomatic anemia.

Comprehensive characterization of MCL-1 in patients with colorectal cancer: Expression, molecular profiles, and outcomes.

Myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL-1) is a member of the B-cell lymphoma 2 protein family and has anti-apoptotic functions. Deregulation of MCL-1 has been reported in several cancers, including lung and breast cancer. In the present study, the association of MCL-1 expression with molecular features in colorectal cancer (CRC) has been highlighted.

Environmental drivers of stream metabolism in a middle TN headwater stream.

Monitoring the seasonal and diurnal variations in headwater stream metabolic regimes can provide critical information for understanding how ecosystems will respond to future environmental changes. In East Fork Creek, a headwater stream in middle Tennessee, week-long field campaigns were set up each month from May 2022 to May 2023 to collect stream metabolism estimators. In a more extensive field campaign from July 2-5 in 2022, diel signals were observed for temperature, pH, turbidity, and concentrations of Ca, Mg, K, Se, Fe, Ba, chloride, nitrate, DIC, DO, DOC, and total algae.

A data-driven approach to establishing cell motility patterns as predictors of macrophage subtypes and their relation to cell morphology.

The motility of macrophages in response to microenvironment stimuli is a hallmark of innate immunity, where macrophages play pro-inflammatory or pro-reparatory roles depending on their activation status during wound healing. Cell size and shape have been informative in defining macrophage subtypes. Studies show pro and anti-inflammatory macrophages exhibit distinct migratory behaviors, in vitro, in 3D and in vivo but this link has not been rigorously studied.

Atypical Regional Accent in Autistic Children: A Perception Study.

Autistic children are frequently said to speak with accents that markedly differ from those of their linguistic communities. To date, these anecdotal reports have never been tested or explained. We ran two perception studies using short audio recordings of autistic and typically developing children from the Campania region in Italy.

Phage-Encoded Virulence Factor, Gp05, Alters Membrane Phospholipids and Reduces Antimicrobial Susceptibility in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a leading pathogen causing severe endovascular infections. The prophage-encoded protein Gp05 has been identified as a critical virulence factor that contributes to MRSA persistence during vancomycin (VAN) treatment in an experimental endocarditis model. However, the underlining mechanisms driving this persistence phenotype remain poorly understood.

Comparison of Clinical Outcomes Between Delta-Shaped and Circular Anastomoses After Laparoscopic Distal Gastrectomy.

Introduction: Laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG) is the standard treatment for gastric cancer, during which the laparoscopic Billroth I anastomosis technique, also known as the delta-shaped anastomosis (DA), is widely performed. This study aimed to evaluate the differences in short- and long-term symptoms between DA and traditional circular anastomosis (CA) techniques.

Methods: We retrospectively compared DA and CA procedures in patients undergoing LDG and subsequent reconstruction using the Billroth I method at the Kanagawa Cancer Center from 2017 to 2022.

Neutrophil extracellular traps have active DNAzymes that promote bactericidal activity.

The mechanisms of bacterial killing by neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are unclear. DNA, the largest component of NETs was believed to merely be a scaffold with antimicrobial activity only through the charge of the backbone. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that NETs DNA is beyond a mere scaffold to trap bacteria and it produces hydroxyl free radicals through the spatially concentrated G-quadruplex/hemin DNAzyme complexes, driving bactericidal effects.

Higher-order transient membrane protein structures.

This study shows that five membrane proteins-three GPCRs, an ion channel, and an enzyme-form self-clusters under natural expression levels in a cardiac-derived cell line. The cluster size distributions imply that these proteins self-oligomerize reversibly through weak interactions. When the concentration of the proteins is increased through heterologous expression, the cluster size distributions approach a critical distribution at which point a phase transition occurs, yielding larger bulk phase clusters.

Molecular basis of hemoglobin binding and heme removal in .

To successfully mount infections, nearly all bacterial pathogens must acquire iron, a key metal cofactor that primarily resides within human hemoglobin. causes the life-threatening respiratory disease diphtheria and captures hemoglobin for iron scavenging using the surface-displayed receptor HbpA. Here, we show using X-ray crystallography, NMR, and in situ binding measurements that selectively captures iron-loaded hemoglobin by partially ensconcing the heme molecules of its α subunits.

Tamsulosin ameliorates bone loss by inhibiting the release of Cl through wedging into an allosteric site of TMEM16A.

TMEM16A, a key calcium-activated chloride channel, is crucial for many physiological and pathological processes such as cancer, hypertension, and osteoporosis, etc. However, the regulatory mechanism of TMEM16A is poorly understood, limiting the discovery of effective modulators. Here, we unveil an allosteric gating mechanism by presenting a high-resolution cryo-EM structure of TMEM16A in complex with a channel inhibitor that we identified, Tamsulosin, which is resolved at 2.

Dynamic binding of the bacterial chaperone Trigger factor to translating ribosomes in .

The bacterial chaperone Trigger factor (TF) binds to ribosome-nascent chain complexes (RNCs) and cotranslationally aids the folding of proteins in bacteria. Decades of studies have given a broad, but often conflicting, description of the substrate specificity of TF, its RNC-binding dynamics, and competition with other RNC-binding factors, such as the Signal Recognition Particle (SRP). Previous RNC-binding kinetics experiments were commonly conducted on stalled RNCs in reconstituted systems, and consequently, may not be representative of the interaction of TF with ribosomes translating mRNA in the cytoplasm of the cell.