Hypothalamic atrophy in primary lateral sclerosis, assessed by convolutional neural network-based automatic segmentation.

Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) is a motor neuron disease (MND) which mainly affects upper motor neurons. Within the MND spectrum, PLS is much more slowly progressive than amyotrophic laterals sclerosis (ALS). `Classical` ALS is characterized by catabolism and abnormal energy metabolism preceding onset of motor symptoms, and previous studies indicated that the disease progression of ALS involves hypothalamic atrophy.

A reform of value-added taxes on foods can have health, environmental and economic benefits in Europe.

Fiscal policies can provide important incentives for encouraging the dietary changes needed to achieve global policy targets. Across Europe, the foods relevant to health and the environment often incur reduced but non-zero value-added tax (VAT) rates at about half the maximum rates, which allows for providing both incentives and disincentives. Integrating economic, health and environmental modelling, we show that reforming VAT rates on foods, including increasing rates on meat and dairy, and reducing VAT rates on fruits and vegetables can improve diets and result in health, environmental and economic benefits in most European countries.

Alkaline phosphatase decline and pain response as predictors of overall survival benefit in patients treated with radium-223: a post hoc analysis of the REASSURE study.

Background: Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) declines and pain responses can occur during radium-223 (Ra) treatment, but their association with treatment outcomes is unclear.

Methods: For patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with Ra in the REASSURE study, we investigated whether ALP decline (Week 12) and/or pain response (during treatment) are associated with improved overall survival (OS). The Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) was used to assess pain at baseline and pain response (in patients with baseline BPI-SF score ≥2).

The impact of labeling automotive AI as trustworthy or reliable on user evaluation and technology acceptance.

This study explores whether labeling AI as either "trustworthy" or "reliable" influences user perceptions and acceptance of automotive AI technologies. Utilizing a one-way between-subjects design, the research presented online participants (N = 478) with a text presenting guidelines for either trustworthy or reliable AI, before asking them to evaluate 3 vignette scenarios and fill in a modified version of the Technology Acceptance Model which covers different variables, such as perceived ease of use, human-like trust, and overall attitude. While labeling AI as "trustworthy" did not significantly influence people's judgements on specific scenarios, it increased perceived ease of use and human-like trust, namely benevolence, suggesting a facilitating influence on usability and an anthropomorphic effect on user perceptions.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of pain management after tonsillectomy.

Tonsillectomy is one of the most common operations. Tonsillectomy is also one of the most painful surgical procedures. However, there is still no satisfactory standard for postoperative pain management.

Modelling mixed crop-livestock systems and climate impact assessment in sub-Saharan Africa.

Climate change significantly challenges smallholder mixed crop-livestock (MCL) systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), affecting food and feed production. This study enhances the SIMPLACE modeling framework by incorporating crop-vegetation-livestock models, which contribute to the development of sustainable agricultural practices in response to climate change. Applying such a framework in a domain in West Africa (786,500 km) allowed us to estimate the changes in crop (Maize, Millet, and Sorghum) yield, grass biomass, livestock numbers, and greenhouse gas emission in response to future climate scenarios.

Comparing multi-texture fibrosis analysis versus binary opacity-based abnormality detection for quantitative assessment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Automated tools for quantification of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) can aid in ensuring reproducibility, however their complexity and costs can differ substantially. In this retrospective study, two automated tools were compared in 45 patients with biopsy proven (12/45) and imaging-based (33/45) IPF diagnosis (mean age 74 ± 9 years, 37 male) for quantification of pulmonary fibrosis in CT. First, a tool that identifies multiple characteristic lung texture features was applied to measure multi-texture fibrotic lung (MTFL) by combining the amount of ground glass, reticulation, and honeycombing.

High Ano1 expression as key driver of resistance to radiation and cisplatin in HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Human papilloma virus-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) frequently harbors 11q13 amplifications. Among the oncogenes at this locus, CCND1 and ANO1 are linked to poor prognosis; however, their individual roles in treatment resistance remain unclear. The impact of Cyclin D1 and Ano1 overexpression on survival was analyzed using the TCGA HNSCC dataset and a Charité cohort treated with cisplatin (CDDP)-based radiochemotherapy.

Understanding system interdependencies in sustainable paper production from residue grass biomass: Insights from fuzzy cognitive mapping.

This research investigates the pulp and paper industry's transition to sustainability by valorizing unused roadside and natural grasses for paper production. Large-scale production from residual grass poses multifaceted challenges, requiring collaboration across stakeholders, from biomass collection to manufacturing. To understand key drivers and barriers within this complex system, experts from various fields, including local farmers, researchers, policymakers, and industry executives were interviewed, leading to the development of a Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM).

Suppression of epileptic seizures by transcranial activation of K-selective channelrhodopsin.

Optogenetics is a valuable tool for studying the mechanisms of neurological diseases and is now being developed for therapeutic applications. In rodents and macaques, improved channelrhodopsins have been applied to achieve transcranial optogenetic stimulation. While transcranial photoexcitation of neurons has been achieved, noninvasive optogenetic inhibition for treating hyperexcitability-induced neurological disorders has remained elusive.

Klebsiella oxytoca facilitates microbiome recovery via antibiotic degradation and restores colonization resistance in a diet-dependent manner.

Competition among bacteria for carbohydrates is pivotal for colonization resistance (CR). However, the impact of Western-style diets on CR remains unclear. Here we show how the competition between Klebsiella oxytoca and Klebsiella pneumoniae is modulated by consuming one of three Western-style diets characterized by high-starch, high-sucrose, or high-fat/high-sucrose content.

Determinants of perceived patient benefit in a longitudinal cohort study of patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.

The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) should be used to assess treatment success in psoriasis (PSO). However, the DLQI does not assess the importance and achievement of treatment goals. The Patient Benefit Index (PBI) is a questionnaire that takes both into account.

Synaptic vesicle characterization of iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons provides insight into distinct secretory vesicle pools.

The dysfunction of dopaminergic (DA) neurons is central to Parkinson's disease. Distinct synaptic vesicle (SV) populations, differing in neurotransmitter content (dopamine vs. glutamate), may vary due to differences in trafficking and exocytosis.

The Psu protein of phage satellite P4 inhibits transcription termination factor ρ by forced hyper-oligomerization.

Many bacteriophages modulate host transcription to favor expression of their own genomes. Phage satellite P4 polarity suppression protein, Psu, a building block of the viral capsid, inhibits hexameric transcription termination factor, ρ, by presently unknown mechanisms. Our cryogenic electron microscopy structures of ρ-Psu complexes show that Psu dimers clamp two inactive, open ρ rings and promote their expansion to higher-oligomeric states.

The master male sex determinant Gdf6Y of the turquoise killifish arose through allelic neofunctionalization.

Although sex determination is a fundamental process in vertebrate development, it is very plastic. Diverse genes became major sex determinants in teleost fishes. Deciphering how individual sex-determining genes orchestrate sex determination can reveal new actors in sexual development.

Strategies to enhance THz harmonic generation combining multilayered, gated, and metamaterial-based architectures.

Graphene has unique properties paving the way for groundbreaking future applications. Its large optical nonlinearity and ease of integration in devices notably makes it an ideal candidate to become a key component for all-optical switching and frequency conversion applications. In the terahertz (THz) region, various approaches have been independently demonstrated to optimize the nonlinear effects in graphene, addressing a critical limitation arising from the atomically thin interaction length.

Divergent roles of mA in orchestrating brown and white adipocyte transcriptomes and systemic metabolism.

N-methyladenosine (mA) is among the most abundant mRNA modifications, yet its cell-type-specific regulatory roles remain unclear. Here we show that mA methyltransferase-like 14 (METTL14) differentially regulates transcriptome in brown versus white adipose tissue (BAT and WAT), leading to divergent metabolic outcomes. In humans and mice with insulin resistance, METTL14 expression differs significantly from BAT and WAT in the context of its correlation with insulin sensitivity.

Coverage bias in small molecule machine learning.

Small molecule machine learning aims to predict chemical, biochemical, or biological properties from molecular structures, with applications such as toxicity prediction, ligand binding, and pharmacokinetics. A recent trend is developing end-to-end models that avoid explicit domain knowledge. These models assume no coverage bias in training and evaluation data, meaning the data are representative of the true distribution.

Comparing acute versus AIDS ART initiation on HIV-1 integration sites and clonal expansion.

Early antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation is known to limit the establishment of the HIV reservoir, with studies suggesting benefits such as a reduced number of infected cells and a smaller latent reservoir. However, the long-term impact of early ART initiation on the dynamics of the infected cell pool remains unclear, and clinical evidence directly comparing proviral integration site counts between early and late ART initiation is limited. In this study, we used Linear Target Amplification-PCR (LTA-PCR) and Next Generation Sequencing to compare unique integration site (UIS) clonal counts between individuals who initiated ART during acute HIV infection stage (Acute-ART group) and those in the AIDS stage (AIDS-ART group).

Pseudomonas in the spotlight: emerging roles in the nodule microbiome.

While rhizobia have long been recognised as the primary colonisers of legume nodules, microbiome studies have revealed the presence of other bacteria in these organs. This opinion delves into the factors shaping the nodule microbiome and explores the potential roles of non-rhizobial endophytes, focusing particularly on Pseudomonas as prominent players. We explore the mechanisms by which Pseudomonas colonise nodules, their interactions with rhizobia, and their remarkable potential to promote plant growth and protect against pathogens.