Distinct Ocular Surface Microbiome in Keratoconus Patients Correlate With Local Immune Dysregulation.

Purpose: Keratoconus (KC) is characterized by irregular astigmatism along with corneal stromal weakness and is associated with altered immune status. Tissue resident microbiomes are known to influence the immune status in other organs, but such a nexus has not been described in ocular conditions. Therefore, we examined the ocular surface microbiome of patients with KC and correlated it to the immune cell and tear molecular factor profiles.

Long-Term Outcomes in Radioiodine-Resistant Follicular Cell-Derived Thyroid Cancers Treated with [Lu]Lu-DOTAGA.FAPi Dimer Therapy.

The study aimed to analyze the long-term outcomes of [Lu]Lu-DOTAGA.FAPi dimer therapy in individuals diagnosed with radioiodine-resistant (RAI-R) follicular cell-derived thyroid cancer. In this retrospective study, 73 patients with RAI-R follicular thyroid carcinoma who had undergone multiple lines of previous treatments were included.

An aqueous zinc-ion battery with an organic-inorganic nanohybrid cathode featuring high operating voltage and long-term stability.

Cathode materials with both high capacity and high operating voltage are essential for advancing aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs). Conventional high-capacity materials, such as vanadium-based compounds, typically deliver low discharge voltages. In contrast, organic cathodes show high operating voltages but often exhibit limited capacity.

Innovative technique of corking the lumen of an intraoperatively decompressed turgid gall bladder with surgical gauze to prevent gall bladder stone/bile spillage during a laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Technical difficulties are often encountered in a laparoscopic cholecystectomy where a tense/distended/ turgid gall bladder prevents the surgeon from grasping the gall bladder properly which therefore necessitates the decompression of the turgid gall bladder. However, even if intraoperative decompression is done, the spillage of remnant stones, bile or fluid from the gall bladder is a possibility which can lead to undue complications. This is where following the simple technique of using a gauze piece with a radio-opaque marker to occlude the decompression puncture site helps in performing a safe decompression thereby preventing bile, fluid or stone spillage.

A study on the thermo-photoisomerization of a liquid crystalline dimer of cyanoazobenzene and naphthalene.

The isomerization kinetics of a liquid crystalline azobenzene dimer, comprising cyanoazobenzene and naphthalene (NAZ6), were investigated at the air-water interface. The Langmuir monolayers of NAZ6 in both its and states were analyzed using surface manometry techniques. The results revealed that NAZ6 molecules in the -state displayed the coexistence of a disordered liquid-expanded phase and an ordered liquid-condensed phase, whereas no such phase transition was observed in the -state.

Ectopic overexpression of DNA-/RNA-binding Alba proteins misregulates virulence gene homeostasis during asexual blood development.

Alba domain-containing proteins are ubiquitously found in archaea and eukaryotes. By binding to either DNA, RNA, or DNA:RNA hybrids, these proteins function in genome stabilization, chromatin organization, gene regulation, and/or translational modulation. In the malaria parasite , six Alba domain proteins PfAlba1-6 have been described, of which PfAlba1 has emerged as a "master regulator" of translation during parasite intra-erythrocytic development (IED).

Molecular dynamics investigation of structural, thermal, and dynamic properties of maghemite through thermal cycling.

We analyzed the thermal, structural, and dynamic properties of maghemite using classical molecular dynamics, focusing on bulk and nanoparticle systems. We explored their behavior when heated to high temperatures (above the melting point) and during cooling, as well as under thermal cycles ending at intermediate temperatures. Our findings show that in the bulk system, both the tetrahedral and octahedral iron sub-lattices undergo a phase transition prior to melting.

Unlocking Enhanced Redox Dynamics: The Power of a Bifunctional Catalytic Zinc Phosphide Interface in Full Cell and Pouch Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries face significant challenges, such as polysulfide dissolution, sluggish reaction kinetics, and lithium anode corrosion, hindering their practical application. Herein, we report a highly effective approach using a zinc phosphide (ZnP) bifunctional catalyst to address these issues. The ZnP catalyst effectively anchors lithium polysulfides (LiPSs), catalytically reactivates them, and enhances lithium-ion diffusion.

Fullerene (C & C)-Meso-Tris-4-Carboxyphenyl Porphyrin Dyads Inhibit Entry of Wild-Type and Drug-Resistant HIV-1 Clades B and C.

The biological applications of noncationic porphyrin-fullerene (P-F) dyads as anti-HIV agents have been limited despite the established use of several cationic P-F dyads as anti-cancer photodynamic therapy (PDT) agents. This article explores the potential of amphiphilic non-cationic porphyrin-fullerene dyads as HIV-1 inhibitors under both PDT (light-treated) and non-PDT (dark) conditions. The amphiphilic P-F dyads, PBC and PBC, demonstrated enhanced efficacy in inhibiting the entry and production of HIV-1 (subtypes B and C).

Shear Wave Elastography as an Supplement Tool in Differentiating Benign and Malignant Axillary Lymph Nodes.

Objectives: To determine the efficacy of quantitative shear wave elastography in differentiating benign and malignant axillary lymph nodes (ALN).

Methods: Exactly 127 lymph nodes from 127 patients with clinically palpable axillary swelling were examined by both B-mode sonography and elastography from November 2022 to March 2024. Gray-scale sonograms were evaluated based on: the short-axis diameter, shape, hilum, maximum cortical thickness, and border of the ALN.

Phytochemical-Based Drug Discovery for Breast Cancer: Combining Virtual Screening and Molecular Dynamics to Identify Novel Therapeutics.

Maternal Embryonic Leucine Zipper Kinase (MELK), a pivotal signaling protein, plays a crucial role in various physiological processes such as cell growth, survival, and differentiation. There is currently a growing interest in MELK as a promising therapeutic target for multiple cancers, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Exploring MELK as a target offers a prospective strategy to impede cancer progression and enhance the efficacy of conventional anticancer therapies.

Hybrid Unsupervised/Supervised Machine Learning for Identifying Molecular Structural Fingerprints From Ensemble Property.

The ensemble properties of a system are obtained by averaging over the properties calculated for the various configurations it can have at a finite temperature and thus cannot be captured by a single molecular structure. Such ensemble properties are often important in material discovery. In designing new materials, the goal is to predict those ensemble structures that display a tailored property.

Coding-complete genome sequence of a GI-13 infectious bronchitis virus from commercial chicken in India.

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) causes a highly contagious, acute upper respiratory disease in chickens characterized by nasal discharge, coughing, and rales. Here, the complete genome sequence of a recombinant GI-13 IBV strain ck/IN/A2332039-001/24 was sequenced from a choanal sample of a commercial broiler chicken in India using nontargeted next-generation sequencing.

The association between adult child education and cognitive functioning among older parents: A cross-national comparison of diverse contexts.

Introduction: The association between adult child educational attainment and older parent's cognitive health may vary across diverse contexts but cross-national comparisons have been limited by differences in outcome assessment, study design, and analytic choices.

Methods: We used harmonized data with comprehensive cognitive assessments from the United States (N = 3088), India (N = 3828), and Mexico (N = 1875) to estimate associations between adult child education and older adults' cognitive functioning using linear regression models adjusted for respondent and family-level socio-economic status (SES) in each study.

Results: Each additional year of offspring education was associated with 0.

Ameliorating salt stress in tomato by a top-down approach of acclimatizing the rhizosphere microbiome.

Soil salinization adversely impacts plant and soil health. While amendment with chemicals is not sustainable, the application of bioinoculants suffers from competition with indigenous microbes. Hence, microbiome-based rhizosphere engineering, focussing on acclimatization of rhizosphere microbiome under selection pressure to facilitate plant growth, exhibits promise.

Evolutionary Novelties in Bacteria and the Missing Backdrop of the Environment.

Evolutionary novelty has been one of the central themes in the field of evolutionary biology for many years. Structural and functional innovations such as scales in the reptiles, fins in the fishes and mammary glands in the mammals have been the focus of the studies. Insights obtained from these studies have shaped the criterion for the identification of novelty as well as provide the framework for studying novelty.

Simultaneous pore confinement and sidewall modification of an N-rich COF with Pd(II): an efficient and sustainable heterogeneous catalyst for cross-coupling reactions.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are crystalline porous materials bearing well-ordered two- or three-dimensional molecular tectons in their polymeric skeletal framework. COFs are structurally robust as well as physiochemically stable. Currently, these are being developed for their use as "heterogeneous catalysts" for various organic transformations.

A TiCT MXene/alginic acid-derived mesoporous carbon nanocomposite as a potential electrode material for coin-cell asymmetric supercapacitors.

In this study, we demonstrate MXene (TiCT)-based coin-cell asymmetric supercapacitor (coin-cell ASC) exhibiting high energy density and high power density along with good capacitance. We synthesized mesoporous carbon (MC) by annealing alginic acid at varying temperatures (900 °C, 1000 °C and 1100 °C). Among the prepared samples, MC-1000 exhibited a highly porous structure and a higher surface area.

Banana rachis nanocellulose: a natural stabilizer for Pickering nanoemulsion and its potential as a carrier of β-carotene in food systems.

Background: Incorporating β-carotene into food systems improves nutritional value by providing a natural source of vitamin A. However, maintaining its stability during processing and storage is a significant barrier for its bioavailability.

Results: This study investigated the utilization of banana rachis nanocellulose (BRNC) as a natural stabilizer in the formulation of Pickering nanoemulsion (PNE).

High performance humidity sensor based on a graphene oxide-chitosan composite.

In this study, we have proposed an advanced humidity sensor based on a composite of chitosan (CS) and graphene oxide (GO), prepared by the drop casting method. Graphene oxide-chitosan (GO-CS) films with varying volumetric ratios, along with pure GO and CS films, were prepared and extensively characterized using XRD, Raman, FTIR, SEM, XPS, and water contact angle to study their structural and morphological properties. Comparative analysis of humidity sensing parameters of all prepared films revealed that the film with a volumetric ratio of 4 : 1 (GOCS-2) performs best among all of them, which is attributed to the synergistic interaction between GO and CS.

Designing Multifunctional AIEgens by Molecular Engineering of Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine For Color Tunable Molecular Salts, Anti-counterfeit applications and Sensing of Mn²⁺, Ag⁺, and Fe³⁺.

Mechanochromic materials, known for their ability to change color in response to mechanical stimuli such as pressure, stretching, grinding, or rubbing, hold significant importance due to their diverse applications. In this study, we synthesized and characterized two novel pyridine-tethered imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine mechanoresponsive luminogens with appended tetraphenylethene, named GBY-10 and GBY-11. GBY-10 exhibited reversible mechanofluorochromism, while GBY-11 did not revert to its original color after solvent fuming.

The Ayurvedic Management of Fungal Sinusitis in Standalone Settings: A Case Report.

A 42-year-old female with left nasal blockage, facial numbness, upper palate pain, and headache was diagnosed with fungal ball sinusitis via CT scan. Refusing surgery, she opted for Ayurveda. Comprehensive treatment led to complete symptom resolution and a clear CT scan at 3 months.