Evaluation of longan () peel powder as fruit by-product additive in Nile tilapia () feed: Effects on growth, immunity, and immune-antioxidant gene expressions.

The study, herein, investigated the effects of the inclusion of longan peel (LP) powder in the diet of Nile Tilapia (), focusing on comparative evaluations of growth performance, immunity, and immune-antioxidant related gene expressions. For this purpose, a total of 300 healthy fish (average initial weight: 13.70 ± 0.

Hyperspectral analysis to assess gametocytogenesis stage progression in malaria-infected human erythrocytes.

Significance: Developments of anti-gametocyte drugs have been delayed due to insufficient understanding of gametocyte biology. We report a systematic workflow of data processing algorithms to quantify changes in the absorption spectrum and cell morphology of single malaria-infected erythrocytes. These changes may serve as biomarkers instrumental for the future development of antimalarial strategies, especially for anti-gametocyte drug design and testing.

Expression of kiwifruit-derived actinidin in leaves.

Kiwifruit ()-derived actinidin, a cysteine protease, is renowned for its meat-tenderizing and milk-clotting activities. Despite its potential in various biotechnological applications, an efficient expression platform for actinidin production has not yet been developed. Instead, actinidin has traditionally been purified directly from the fruits of various plants.

Fabrication of a micropatterned shape-memory polymer patch with L-DOPA for tendon regeneration.

A scaffold design for tendon regeneration has been proposed, which mimics the microstructural features of tendons and provides appropriate mechanical properties. We synthesized a temperature-triggered shape-memory polymer (SMP) using the ring-opening polymerization of polycaprolactone (PCL) with polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a macroinitiator. We fabricated a micropatterned patch using SMP capillary force lithography, which mimicked a native tendon, for providing physical cues and guiding effects.

Coming home: how visually navigating ants (Myrmecia spp.) pinpoint their nest.

Visually navigating Myrmecia foragers approach their nest from distances up to 25 m along well-directed paths, even from locations they have never been before ( Narendra et al., 2013). However, close to the nest, they often spend some time pinpointing the nest entrance, sometimes missing it by centimetres.

Behavior, mechanisms, and applications of low-concentration CO in energy media.

This review explores the behavior of low-concentration CO (LCC) in various energy media, such as solid adsorbents, liquid absorbents, and catalytic surfaces. It delves into the mechanisms of diffusion, adsorption, and catalytic reactions, while analyzing the potential applications and challenges of these properties in technologies like air separation, compressed gas energy storage, and CO catalytic conversion. Given the current lack of comprehensive analyses, especially those encompassing multiscale studies of LCC behavior, this review aims to provide a theoretical foundation and data support for optimizing CO capture, storage, and conversion technologies, as well as guidance for the development and application of new materials.

Intoxication of sheep by in northwestern Argentina.

Spontaneous intoxication by was diagnosed in a flock of 300 sheep in Jujuy province, northwestern Argentina, that grazed an area heavily invaded by this plant. The main clinical signs were intention tremors, ataxia, and progressive loss of condition. Autopsy of 2 affected animals revealed loss of body condition.

Optically Readable Multilevel Magnetic Memory States in Perpendicularly Exchange-Biased Ferromagnetic Multilayers.

The construction of multilevel magnetic states using materials with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) offers a novel approach to enhancing the storage density and read/write efficiency of nonvolatile magnetic memory devices. In this study, optically readable multilevel magnetic domain states are achieved by inducing asymmetric interlayer interactions and decoupling the magnetic reversal behavior of individual ferromagnetic (FM) layers in exchange-biased FM multilayers with PMA. Hepta-level magnetic domain states are formed in [Co/Pt] FM multilayers grown on an antiferromagnetic FeO layer within a relatively low magnetic field range of ∼±400 Oe.

Microfluidics for morpholomics and spatial omics applications.

Creative designs, precise fluidic manipulation, and automation have supported the development of microfluidics for single-cell applications. Together with the advancements in detection technologies and artificial intelligence (AI), microfluidic-assisted platforms have been increasingly used for new modalities of single-cell investigations and in spatial omics applications. This review explores the use of microfluidic technologies for morpholomics and spatial omics with a focus on single-cell and tissue characterization.

Effects of Unit Cell Size on Thermal Conductivity in Two Different Polymorphs of Niobium Diselenide.

2D materials possess weak inter-layer van der Waals bonding, allowing them to exist as different polymorphs depending on the stacking sequence of the layers. Herein, the thermal conductivities of the 2H-NbSe and 2H-3R-NbSe polymorphs by conducting experimental measurements and theoretical analysis are comparatively studied. Owing to its 1.

Antiseizure Medications: Advancements, Challenges, and Prospects in Drug Development.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. Antiseizure medications (ASM) remain a critical therapeutic intervention for treating epilepsy, notwithstanding the rapid development of other therapies. There have been substantial advances in epilepsy medications over the past three decades, with over 20 ASMs now available commercially.

Trajectories and Influencing Factors of Post-Traumatic Stress in Disaster-Affected People According to Their Income Level: A Longitudinal Study in South Korea.

Objective: Disasters often have long-lasting effects on the mental health of people affected by them. This study aimed to examine the trajectories and predictors of mental health in people affected by disasters according to their income level.

Method: This study used data from the "Long-Term Survey on the Change of Life of Disaster Victim" conducted by the National Disaster Management Research Institute.

Cation-Vacancy Engineering in Cobalt Selenide Boosts Electrocatalytic Upcycling of Polyester Thermoplastics at Industrial-Level Current Density.

The past decades have witnessed the increasing accumulation of plastics, posing a daunting environmental crisis. Among various solutions, converting plastics into value-added products presents a significant endeavor. Here, an electrocatalytic upcycling route that efficiently converts waste poly(butylene terephthalate) plastics into high-value succinic acid with high Faradaic efficiency of 94.

Site-Selective Modification and Labeling of Native RNA.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) plays a pivotal role in regulating biological processes within living systems, with modified nucleosides serving as critical modulators of various aspects of biological functions. Therefore, the development of efficient methodologies for late-stage, site-selective RNA modification is of considerable interest, as it facilitates the functional exploration of RNA chemical modifications and their implications for therapeutic applications. Precise RNA modification holds significant promise for the treatment of genetic diseases by enabling the correction of mutated nucleobases to their wild-type forms.

Evaluation of the Role of PnuC Gene in Enhancing Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Synthesis.

The PnuC gene plays a crucial role in the complex processes related to the absorption and synthesis of the nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) precursor. NMN, a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) precursor, is important for cellular energy metabolism, DNA repair, and antiaging. This study focuses on elucidating the precursor absorption mechanism and the specific function of the PnuC gene in encoding membrane transport proteins, as well as its impact on the regulation and dynamics of NMN within the cell.

Multiomic analyses direct hypotheses for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease risk genes.

Prions are assemblies of misfolded prion protein that cause several fatal and transmissible neurodegenerative diseases, with the most common phenotype in humans being sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). Aside from variation of the prion protein itself, molecular risk factors are not well understood. Prion and prion-like mechanisms are thought to underpin common neurodegenerative disorders meaning that the elucidation of mechanisms could have broad relevance.

The role of four-dimensional flow MRI as an adjunct to endoscopy for predicting variceal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis.

Background: Non-invasive approach other than conventional endoscopy could be effectively used for screening and monitoring esophageal variceal bleeding (EVB).

Purpose: To retrospectively investigate the role of four-dimensional (4D) flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as an add-on tool to endoscopy for predicting EVB in cirrhotic patients with esophageal varices (EVs).

Material And Methods: A cohort of 109 cirrhotic patients with EVs was divided into four groups: A = negative red color [RC] sign, no EVB, n = 60; B = negative RC sign, EVB, n = 13; C = positive RC sign, no EVB, n = 10; and D = positive RC sign, EVB, n = 26.

A Single Amino Acid Model for Hydrophobically Driven Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation.

This study proposes fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-protected single amino acids (Fmoc-AAs) as a minimalistic model system to investigate liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and the elusive liquid-to-solid transition of condensates. We demonstrated that Fmoc-AAs exhibit LLPS depending on the pH and ionic strength, primarily driven by hydrophobic interactions. Systematic examination of the conditions under which each Fmoc-AA undergoes LLPS revealed distinct residue-dependent trends in the critical concentrations and phase behavior.

Effect of c-Myb overexpression on osteoblastic-, odontoblastic-, and cementoblastic differentiation of primary human periodontal ligament cells.

The periodontal ligament (PDL) is a connective tissue, and PDL cells have a potential to differentiate into cementoblasts, osteoblasts, and gingival fibroblasts. This study investigated whether transcription factor c-Myb could induce differentiation of PDL cells for periodontal regeneration. PDL cells were isolated from extracted teeth and cultured.

Characterisation of the Novel HLA-C*03:657 Allele in a Korean Individual by Next-Generation Sequencing.

HLA-C*03:657 differs from HLA-C*03:04:01:02 by one nucleotide substitution in codon 82 in exon 2.

A preliminary ex vivo diffusion tensor imaging study of distinct aortic morphologies.

Changes in the microstructure of the aortic wall precede the progression of various aortic pathologies, including aneurysms and dissection. Current clinical decisions with regards to surgical planning and/or radiological intervention are guided by geometric features, such as aortic diameter, since clinical imaging lacks tissue microstructural information. The aim of this proof-of-concept work is to investigate a non-invasive imaging method, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), in ex vivo aortic tissue to gain insights into the microstructure.

Noninvasive in vivo imaging of macrophages: understanding tumor microenvironments and delivery of therapeutics.

Macrophages are pivotal in the body's defense and response to inflammation. They are present in significant numbers and are widely implicated in various diseases, including cancer. While molecular and histological techniques have advanced our understanding of macrophage biology, their precise function within the cancerous microenvironments remains underexplored.

Computational Insights Into Corrosion Inhibition Mechanism: Dissociation of Imidazole on Iron Surface.

Corrosion inhibitors are widely used to mitigate safety risks and economic losses in engineering, yet post-adsorption processes remain underexplored. In this study, we employed density functional theory calculations with a periodic model to investigate the dissociation mechanisms of imidazole on the Fe(100) surface. Imidazole was found to adsorb optimally in a parallel orientation, with an adsorption energy of -0.

Reno-protective effects of xanthine oxidase inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The effect of lowering uric acid levels on renal function in patients with diabetic kidney disease remains unclear. Previous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have reported conflicting results regarding the effects of xanthine oxidase inhibitors on renal function. This study aimed to examine the renoprotective effects of xanthine oxidase inhibitors (febuxostat and topiroxostat) in patients with diabetic kidney disease.