Synergetic effect of fungal pretreatment and lignin modification on delignification and saccharification: a case study of a natural lignin mutant in mulberry.

Background: Fungal pretreatment for partial separation of lignocellulosic components may reduce lignocellulose recalcitrance during the production of biofuels and biochemicals. Quantitative and qualitative modification of plant lignin through genetic engineering or traditional breeding may also reduce the recalcitrance. This study was conducted to examine the effects of combining these two approaches using three white rot fungi and mulberry wood with an altered lignin structure.

Visual hermeneutics as a tool to introduce empathy and core physician attributes in doctor-patient relationship for first-year medical undergraduate students.

Background: The doctor-patient relationship is essential for effective patient care, yet medical education often neglects to nurture the quality such as empathy during the initial years of training. Doctor-patient relationship is one of the modules taught in first year as part of mandatory AETCOM (Attitude, Ethics, and Communication) course in the undergraduate Indian medical curriculum. Hermeneutics, a method of interpretation, can play a vital role in introducing observational and reflective thinking skills.

A neural network for long-term super-resolution imaging of live cells with reliable confidence quantification.

Super-resolution (SR) neural networks transform low-resolution optical microscopy images into SR images. Application of single-image SR (SISR) methods to long-term imaging has not exploited the temporal dependencies between neighboring frames and has been subject to inference uncertainty that is difficult to quantify. Here, by building a large-scale fluorescence microscopy dataset and evaluating the propagation and alignment components of neural network models, we devise a deformable phase-space alignment (DPA) time-lapse image SR (TISR) neural network.

Legalization of surrogacy? Opinions from more than 7700 residents in Taiwan.

This study explores Taiwanese' perspectives on the potential legalization of surrogacy, an issue with diverse legal stances globally. Conducted between 17 December 2023 and 1 January 2024, this mixed-methods cross-sectional study employed Knowledge and Attitudes of Legalizing Surrogacy (KALS) questionnaire. This instrument assessed opinions and ethical considerations on various aspects including ethics and children's rights, surrogate health, offspring welfare, and social justice.

Fabrication of heteroatom-doped graphene-porous organic polymer hybrid materials via femtosecond laser writing and their application in VOCs sensing.

Graphene, a two-dimensional material featuring densely packed sp-hybridized carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice, has revolutionized material science. Laser-induced graphene (LIG) represents a breakthrough method for producing graphene from both commercial and natural precursors via direct laser writing, offering advantages such as simplicity, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. This study demonstrates a novel approach to synthesize a composite material exclusively from a porous organic polymer (POP) by direct femtosecond laser writing on a compressed imide-linked porous organic polymer substrate.

Adaptation of the Florida Cognitive Activities Scale for Latinx adults with chronic diseases.

Background: Latinx adults experience disparately high rates of chronic diseases and cognitive dysfunction. Participating in cognitive-stimulating activities, such as reading, is thought to improve and preserve cognitive function. However, little is known about cognitively stimulating activities preferred by Latinx adults.

Efficacy of Voice Therapy for Vocal Fold Masses: Avoidance of Surgery.

Introduction: Voice abuse and misuse are the most common causes of benign vocal fold lesions (BVFL). Treatment may include a combination of voice therapy, singing sessions, or surgical resection. Otolaryngologists and speech language pathologists advocate for preoperative, as well as postoperative, voice therapy.

Frozen versus fresh embryo transfer in women with low prognosis for in vitro fertilisation treatment: pragmatic, multicentre, randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that a freeze-all strategy would increase the chance of live birth compared with fresh embryo transfer in women with low prognosis for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment.

Design: Pragmatic, multicentre, randomised controlled trial.

Setting: Nine academic fertility centres in China.

Carbon dioxide, global boiling, and climate carnage, from generation to assimilation, photocatalytic conversion to renewable fuels, and mechanism.

The increasing CO concentration in the atmosphere has substantial impacts on the global temperature. For energy sustainability and minimization of the effects of global warming, an approach to understand CO capturing and a carbon neutral culture is extremely essential in the present circumstances. The CO emission from vehicles and industries can be minimized using energy cost-effective techniques and can be converted more selectively into reusable fuels via thermochemical, electrochemical, photochemical, photocatalytic, electrocatalytic, biological and inorganic carbonate-based approaches.

Design, Synthesis, Biocompatibility, molecular docking and molecular dynamics studies of novel Benzo[b]thiophene-2-carbaldehyde derivatives targeting human IgM Fc Domains.

In this study, three novel derivatives of benzo[b]thiophene-2-carbaldehyde (BTAP1, BTAP2, and BTAP3) were successfully synthesized and comprehensively characterized using spectroscopic techniques including FTIR, UV-VIS, HNMR, and CNMR. Thermal analysis through TGA and DTA demonstrated remarkable thermal stability with a maximum threshold at 270 °C. Spectroscopic investigations revealed π → π* transitions in all compounds, attributed to the conjugated system comprising benzothiophene rings connected to bromophenyl/ aminophenyl/phenol rings via α, β-unsaturated ketone bridges.

Provision of Radiology Reports Simplified With Large Language Models to Patients With Cancer: Impact on Patient Satisfaction.

Purpose: To explore the perceived utility and effect of simplified radiology reports on oncology patients' knowledge and feasibility of large language models (LLMs) to generate such reports.

Materials And Methods: This study was approved by the Institute Ethics Committee. In phase I, five state-of-the-art LLMs (Generative Pre-Trained Transformer-4o [GPT-4o], Google Gemini, Claude Opus, Llama-3.

A simple tool to evaluate the effectiveness of HIV care for settings with gaps in data availability (ESTIHIV).

Many HIV clinics with poor IT-infrastructure are unable to report data on individuals in care with HIV, on antiretroviral treatment (ART) and virologically suppressed (VS), with the aim of monitoring the HIV Continuum of Care to estimate efficacy of HIV treatment programmes. We developed an estimation-tool, ESTIHIV, and determined the minimal data required for a random sample, to produce representative estimates, with a specified level of precision, of people with HIV on ART and VS. For proof of concept, 8852 HIV positive persons from seven clinics in seven different countries, with a follow-up visit during 2017, were included.

Upper Limit on the Photoproduction Cross Section of the Spin-Exotic π_{1}(1600).

The spin-exotic hybrid meson π_{1}(1600) is predicted to have a large decay rate to the ωππ final state. Using 76.6  pb^{-1} of data collected with the GlueX detector, we measure the cross sections for the reactions γp→ωπ^{+}π^{-}p, γp→ωπ^{0}π^{0}p, and γp→ωπ^{-}π^{0}Δ^{++} in the range E_{γ}=8-10  GeV.

Segmentation of coronary artery and calcification using prior knowledge based deep learning framework.

Background: Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is used to screen for coronary artery calcification. As the coronary artery has complicated structure and tiny lumen, manual screening is a time-consuming task. Recently, many deep learning methods have been proposed for the segmentation (SEG) of coronary artery and calcification, however, they often neglect leveraging related anatomical prior knowledge, resulting in low accuracy and instability.

An Unusual Meroterpenoid and Two New Steroids from Fungus Penicillium fellutanum and Their Bioactivities.

An unusual clathrate-type meroterpenoid isoatlantinone A (1), two new steroids acrocalysterols E (2) and F (3), together with fifteen known compounds (4-18) were separated from a plant-associated fungus Penicillium fellutanum. Their structures and absolute configurations were established based on spectroscopic data (NMR and HRESIMS), electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and modified Mosher's method. Notably, compound 1 represents an unusual highly oxygenated meroterpenoid derivative with a unique caged bioxatetracyclo-[6.

Cervical cancer stage distribution and survival outcomes in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women, with a disproportionate burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding the cervical cancer stage and outcomes is crucial for developing effective interventions and reducing its burden. We aimed to undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis of cervical cancer stage distribution and survival outcomes in Africa.

Creating a family health history interview protocol for use with undergraduate health professional students: A scoping review.

Background: Family health history can be used as a health promotion tool to assess health risk, improve data collection and disease prevention, initiate interventions, and motivate behavioral change, but its utility as a public health tool has not been fully explored. Collecting information for a family health history can be a challenging task. However, it is an important skill for undergraduate students to learn, particularly those in pre-health majors.

The integration and innovative practice of intelligent AI and local opera in college teaching.

This paper explores the impacts of integrating AI into the teaching of Chinese Opera using a mixed-methods approach, examining performance, engagement, and psychological factors in students. A quasi-experimental design involving 199 participants over a one-year period was conducted, involving teaching with and without AI enhancement. Quantitative data, derived from standardized tests and analytics provided by AI platforms, were supported by qualitative data from interviews and observational studies.

Analysis of Heavy Metal Accumulation in Ulva rigida and its Effects on Seed Germination of Pennisetum glaucum.

The alga contains salt and heavy metals that are accumulated in algae poses a significant challenge to the safe use of algae in soil fertilization and other applications. This study examines the relevance of algal biomass as an environmentally friendly fertilizer, thereby contributing to sustainable coastal management practices. In this study, the hot and cold extraction method were done to obtain the Ulva rigida extract.

Incorporation of Cages into Gels: Access to a New Class of Soft Materials with Well-Defined Functionality.

The combination of supramolecular self-assemblies and polymer science has resulted in the development of soft materials with diverse properties and applications. In particular, the coordination cages of predefined shape, size, and internal cavity can be utilized intelligently as promising building units for designing responsive and smart soft materials with dual porosity, contributing to the introduction of versatile host-guest chemistry into gels. In this review, we present the recent advancements in gels incorporating coordination cages into their networks, ranging from synthesis strategies to state-of-art applications.

Thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion: Is it ethical?

Thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion (TA-NRP), a new method of controlled donation after circulatory death, seems to provide more and better organs for patients on organ transplant waiting lists compared to standard controlled donation after circulatory death. Despite its benefits, the ethical permissibility of TA-NRP is currently a highly debated issue. The recent statement published by the American College of Physicians (ACP) highlights the reasons for these debates.

A practical methodology for incorporating volume-translated equation of states in isochoric-isothermal phase equilibrium calculations for liquid phase pressure prediction.

Accurately predicting the phase behavior and properties of reservoir fluid plays an essential role in the simulation of petroleum recovery processes. Similar to the inaccurate liquid-density prediction issue in the isobaric-isothermal (PT) phase equilibrium calculations, an inaccurate pressure prediction issue can also be observed in isothermal-isochoric (VT) phase equilibrium calculations which involves a liquid phase. In this work, a practical methodology is proposed to incorporate a volume-translated equation of state in VT phase equilibrium calculations for more accurate pressure predictions.

Rapid structural analysis of bacterial ribosomes in situ.

Rapid structural analysis of purified proteins and their complexes has become increasingly common thanks to key methodological advances in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and associated data processing software packages. In contrast, analogous structural analysis in cells via cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) remains challenging due to critical technical bottlenecks, including low-throughput sample preparation and imaging, and laborious data processing methods. Here, we describe a rapid in situ cryo-ET sample preparation and data analysis workflow that results in the routine determination of sub-nm resolution ribosomal structures.