INSPIRE: Single-beam probed complementary vibrational bioimaging.

Molecular spectroscopy provides intrinsic contrast for in situ chemical imaging, linking the physiochemical properties of biomolecules to the functions of living systems. While stimulated Raman imaging has found successes in deciphering biological machinery, many vibrational modes are Raman inactive or weak, limiting the broader impact of the technique. It can potentially be mitigated by the spectral complementarity from infrared (IR) spectroscopy.

Predicting the high intensity focused ultrasound focus in vivo using acoustic radiation force imaging.

Background: One big challenge in the noninvasive high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) surgery is that the location and shape of its focus is unpredictable at the preoperative stage due to the complexity of sound wave propagation. The Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) imaging is a potential solution to this problem, but artifacts resulting from shear wave propagation remain to be solved.

Purpose: In this study, we proposed avoiding those artefacts by applying the ARFI technique at a high imaging frame rate within a very short time before the shear waves start to propagate.

Synergistic effects of platelet-rich fibrin and photobiomodulation on bone regeneration in MC3T3-E1 Preosteoblasts.

Background: Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) and Photobiomodulation (PBM) are established methods for promoting bone healing. PRF enhances cell proliferation and migration due to its rich concentration of growth factors, while PBM stimulates tissue repair through mitochondrial activation. Despite their efficacies, no in-depth studies have explored the synergistic effects of combining PRF and PBM.

Effects of ultra-high dose rate radiotherapy with different fractions and dose rate on acute and chronic lung injury in mice.

Ultra-high dose rate radiotherapy (FLASH radiation) can naturally render normal tissues around the tumor tissue resistant to radiotherapy. In contrast, the tumor tissue remains sensitive to radiation under the same conditions. However, the effects of different fractions and dose rates on FLASH radiation remain unclear.

Design of an emergency medical information system for mass gatherings.

Background: The frequency of mass gatherings is increasing. Such events often involve many people and carry the risk of mass casualty incidents, which require substantial medical resources from various healthcare institutions. The current medical system, while meeting daily needs, struggles to address the demand for a high volume of emergency resources and real-time data exchange.

Multiple loci for foveolar vision in macaque monkey visual cortex.

In humans and nonhuman primates, the central 1° of vision is processed by the foveola, a retinal structure that comprises a high density of photoreceptors and is crucial for primate-specific high-acuity vision, color vision and gaze-directed visual attention. Here, we developed high-spatial-resolution ultrahigh-field 7T functional magnetic resonance imaging methods for functional mapping of the foveolar visual cortex in awake monkeys. In the ventral pathway (visual areas V1-V4 and the posterior inferior temporal cortex), viewing of a small foveolar spot elicits a ring of multiple (eight) foveolar representations per hemisphere.

Strategies for creation of data reserve and stress testing of medical AI products.

With the fast development of artificial intelligence (AI) and its applications in medicine, it is often said that the time for intelligent medicine is arriving, if not already have arrived. While there is no doubt that AI-centred intelligent medicine will transform current healthcare, it is necessary to test and re-test medical AI (MAI) products before they are implemented in the real world. From the perspective of ensuring safety, accuracy and efficiency, it is imperative that MAIs undergo stress tests in a systematic and comprehensive manner where stress tests subject MAIs to workloads and environments beyond tests carried out by their developers.

High-Throughput Single-Nucleus RNA Profiling of Minimal Puncture FFPE Samples Reveals Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity of Cancer.

Puncture biopsy, especially those preserved by formalin fixed paraffin embedding (FFPE) samples, play an important role in various research purposes. Diverse single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) techniques have been developed for FFPE samples, however, how to perform high-throughput snRNA-seq on small FFPE puncture samples is still a challenge. Here, the previously developed snRNA-seq technique (snRandom-seq) is optimized by implementing a pre-indexing procedure for the minimal puncture FFPE samples.

Rational Design of Hierarchical Structure Electrodes to Suppress Shuttle Diffusion in Redox-Enhanced Supercapacitors.

In carbon-based supercapacitors, redox couples can effectively improve the energy density of supercapacitors; however, most redox couples still suffer from serious shuttle diffusion. Currently, there is no universal strategy to effectively constrain their shuttle diffusion. Therefore, developing a simple, effective, and universal method to suppress shuttle diffusion remains a great challenge.

Tumor-derived miR-9-5p-loaded EVs regulate cholesterol homeostasis to promote breast cancer liver metastasis in mice.

Cancer cells secrete extracellular vesicles (EV) encapsulating bioactive cargoes to facilitate inter-organ communication in vivo and are emerging as critical mediators of tumor progression and metastasis, a condition which is often accompanied by a dysregulated cholesterol metabolism. Whether EVs are involved in the control of cholesterol homeostasis during tumor metastasis is still undefined and warrant further investigation. Here, we find that breast cancer-derived exosomal miR-9-5p induces the expression of HMGCR and CH25H, two enzymes involved in cholesterol synthesis and the conversion of 25-hydroxycholesterol from cholesterol by targeting INSIG1, INSIG2 and ATF3 genes in the liver.

Ultraweak light-modulated heterostructure with bidirectional photoresponse for static and dynamic image perception.

The human visual system's adaptability to varying brightness levels has inspired the development of optoelectronic neuromorphic devices. However, achieving bidirectional photoresponse, essential for mimicking these functions, often requires high operation voltages or high light intensities. Here, we propose a bidirectional ZnO/CsPbBr heterostructure based neuromorphic image sensor array (10 × 10 pixels) capable of ultraweak light stimulation.

State-specific GluCEST alterations in insular subregions are associated with depression and plasma inflammatory biomarker levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Depression commonly co-occurs with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Abnormal glutamate levels in the insula and altered plasma inflammatory biomarkers are observed in IBD and depression. However, the changes in glutamate concentrations in insular subregions in IBD and their relationship with depression and inflammatory markers remain unclear.

Prospective acceleration of whole-brain CEST imaging by golden-angle view ordering in Cartesian coordinates and joint k-space and image-space parallel imaging (KIPI).

Purpose: To prospectively accelerate whole-brain CEST acquisition by joint k-space and image-space parallel imaging (KIPI) with a proposed golden-angle view ordering technique (GAVOT) in Cartesian coordinates.

Theory And Methods: The T-decay effect will vary across frames with variable acceleration factors (AF) in the prospective acquisition using sequences with long echo trains. The GAVOT method uses a subset strategy to eliminate the T-decay inconsistency, where all frames use a subset of shots from the calibration frame to form their k-space view ordering.

A neural circuit from paratenial thalamic nucleus to anterior cingulate cortex for the regulation of opioid-induced hyperalgesia in male rats.

Prolonged use of opioids can lead to increased sensitivity to painful stimuli, a condition referred to as opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). However, the mechanisms underlying this contradictory situation remain unclear. This study elucidates the pivotal role of the paratenial thalamic nucleus (PT)-anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) neuronal circuit in the development of OIH in male rats.

Micro-CT evaluation of a nanodiamond irrigant for hard-tissue debris removal during sonic agitation.

Aim: To investigate the efficacy of nanodiamond irrigation solution with sonic agitation for removing of hard-tissue debris (HTD) within the isthmus-containing mesial roots of human mandibular molars using micro-CT analysis.

Methodology: Forty mesial roots of extracted human mandibular molars were selected based on micro-computed tomography scans (9-μm resolution). The mesial canals were mechanically prepared using ProTaper® Gold nickel-titanium rotary instruments and divided into four groups (n = 10 each) according to the final irrigation protocol: sonic agitation with nanodiamond irrigation solution for three 20-s cycles, sonic agitation with 17% EDTA for three 20-s cycles, sonic agitation with 3% NaOCl for three 20-s cycles and manual syringe irrigation with NaOCl using a 30-G needle syringe for 60 s.

An Improved Reduced-Dimension Robust Capon Beamforming Method Using Krylov Subspace Techniques.

A reduced-dimension robust Capon beamforming method using Krylov subspace techniques (RDRCB) is a diagonal loading algorithm with low complexity, fast convergence and strong anti-interference ability. The diagonal loading level of RDRCB is known to become invalid if the initial value of the Newton iteration method is incorrect and the Hessel matrix is non-positive definite. To improve the robustness of RDRCB, an improved RDRCB (IRDRCB) was proposed in this study.

Design and Investigation of a High-Performance Quartz-Based SAW Temperature Sensor.

In this work, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) temperature sensor based on a quartz substrate was designed and investigated. Employing the Coupling-of-Modes (COM) model, a detailed analysis was conducted on the effects of the number of interdigital transducers (IDTs), the number of reflectors, and their spacing on the performance of the SAW device. The impact of the transversal mode of quartz SAWs on the device was subsequently examined using the finite element method (FEM).

Correction: Huynh et al. Spike Protein Impairs Mitochondrial Function in Human Cardiomyocytes: Mechanisms Underlying Cardiac Injury in COVID-19. 2023, , 877.

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