Impact of Frailty on Antihypertensive Treatment in Older Adults.

Background: The association between systolic blood pressure and all-cause mortality differs between frail and nonfrail individuals, highlighting uncertainties about the effectiveness of antihypertensive treatments in frail populations.

Methods: Using data from the SHEP trial (Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program), a baseline frailty index (FI), including 55 variables, was constructed. Fine-Gray subdistribution hazard models and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to explore the association between baseline FI and the risks of stroke, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause death, as well as to examine whether the impact of antihypertensive treatment on these outcomes was modified by baseline FI.

Unveiling intimacy: sexual dysfunction and marital satisfaction among Pakistani males in Karachi.

Background: In Asian countries, discussing sex-related issues remains a taboo. Sexual dysfunction is not even considered a serious disorder in Pakistan.

Aim: To explore sexual dysfunction and marital satisfaction within the Pakistani context to develop supportive intervention programs.

Photoinduced radical cyclization reaction of isocyanides with α-carbonyl bromides to access 11-alkyl-substituted 1,4-dibenzodiazepines.

1,4-Dibenzodiazepines, an important component of nitrogen-containing heterocycles, are widely present in drugs. Herein, we developed a photochemical radical cascade cyclization reaction of isocyanides with α-carbonyl bromides under mild conditions. A sequence of 11-alkyl-substituted 1,4-dibenzodiazepines were produced in 53%-85% yields, demonstrating excellent tolerance towards various functional groups.

Seed pretreatment with cloquintocet-mexyl protects wheat seedlings from fomesafen injury by promoting photosynthesis and decreasing oxidative stress.

Background: Fomesafen is a selective herbicide widely used to control post-emergent broad-leaf weeds in soybean and peanut fields. Because of its persistent nature in soil, it can suppress subsequent crops, including wheat. There is limited information focusing on methods of protecting wheat from fomesafen injury by soil residue.

Redox-Mediated Pyrene Electrolytes for Enhancing the Reversibility of Vertically Arranged Tin Electrodes in Seawater Batteries.

Seawater batteries (SWBs) have emerged as a next-generation battery technology that does not rely on lithium, a limited resource essential for lithium-ion batteries. Instead, SWBs utilize abundant sodium from seawater, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional battery technologies. Previous studies have demonstrated the feasibility of achieving high energy densities in SWB anodes using vertically aligned electrodes.

Management of female para-urethral cyst with dyspareunia: a case report.

Background: The diagnosis and management of female genital conditions (Rodriguez et al. in Clin Anat 34(1):103-107, 2020. https://doi.

In Vitro Homotypic ER Membrane Fusion Assay Using Isolated Yeast Microsomes.

Cell-free in vitro assays offer several advantages for elucidating molecular mechanisms underlying various biological processes. Here, we describe a simple and quantitative in vitro assay using isolated yeast microsomes to measure homotypic ER membrane fusion. In this assay, membrane fusion between ER microsomes is monitored by reconstitution of luciferase activity from split luciferase fragments.

Tuning electronic structure and carrier transport properties through crystal orientation control in two-dimensional Dion-Jacobson phase perovskites.

Two-dimensional halide perovskites are attracting attention due to their structural diversity, improved stability, and enhanced quantum efficiency compared to their three-dimensional counterparts. In particular, Dion-Jacobson (DJ) phase perovskites exhibit superior structural stability compared to Ruddlesden-Popper phase perovskites. The inherent quantum well structure of layered perovskites leads to highly anisotropic charge transport and optical properties.

On the Readiness of Scientific Data Papers for a Fair and Transparent Use in Machine Learning.

To ensure the fairness and trustworthiness of machine learning (ML) systems, recent legislative initiatives and relevant research in the ML community have pointed out the need to document the data used to train ML models. Besides, data-sharing practices in many scientific domains have evolved in recent years for reproducibility purposes. In this sense, academic institutions' adoption of these practices has encouraged researchers to publish their data and technical documentation in peer-reviewed publications such as data papers.

Genome-wide association study unravels mechanisms of brain glymphatic activity.

Brain glymphatic activity, as indicated by diffusion-tensor imaging analysis along the perivascular space (ALPS) index, is involved in developmental neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, but its genetic architecture is poorly understood. Here, we identified 17 unique genome-wide significant loci and 161 candidate genes linked to the ALPS-indexes in a discovery sample of 31,021 individuals from the UK Biobank. Seven loci were replicated in two independent datasets.

Designing sustainable soil conditioners: Nanocomposite-based thermoplastic starch for enhanced soil health and crop performance.

The growing demand for sustainable solutions in agriculture, driven by global population growth and increasing soil degradation, has intensified the search for sustainable soil conditioners. This study investigated the impact of adding nanoclay (NC) and nano lignin (NL) to thermoplastic starch (TPS) on its physical, chemical, and thermal properties, its effectiveness as a soil conditioner, and its resistance to UV-C degradation. TPS nanocomposites were prepared with varying NC (3 %, 5 %, 7 %) and NL (0.

Enhanced photocatalytic dye detoxification by banana peel derived enzyme inherited ZnO/g-CN nanocomposite: Validation by soil health and seed germination analyses.

Development of bio-supported photocatalysts has become a pressing need in the field of environmental remediation. This work reports the synthesis of bio-enzyme (from banana peels) inherited (ZnO/g-CN) nanocomposite by simple soft chemical method and its photocatalytic degradation ability against the mixed dye (Methylene blue (MB) + Rhodamine-B (RhB)) under UV irradiation. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using experimental techniques XRD, FESEM, TEM, EDAX, XPS, UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy and FTIR.

Radiopaque hydrogel-in-liposomes towards theranostic applications for malignant tumors.

A radiopaque hydrogel-in-liposome (RHL) system was developed for micro-computed tomography (μCT) imaging of tumor tissue and simultaneous delivery of a cytotoxic agent. Iopamidol (IPD) and doxorubicin (DOX) were incorporated as the CT contrast and anti-cancer agents, respectively. The presence of a polyethylene glycol hydrogel core in the liposomes was confirmed via attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, and selective solvent extraction.

ODSEI Chip: An Open 3D Microfluidic Platform for Studying Tumor Spheroid-Endothelial Interactions.

Current in vitro models of 3D tumor spheroids within the microenvironment have emerged as promising tools for understanding tumor progression and potential drug responses. However, creating spheroids with functional vasculature remains challenging in a controlled and high-throughput manner. Herein, a novel open 3D-microarray platform is presented for a spheroid-endothelium interaction (ODSEI) chip, capable of arraying more than 1000 spheroids on top of the vasculature, compartmentalized for single spheroid-level analysis of drug resistance, and allows for the extraction of specific spheroids for further analysis.

In-Plane Anisotropy in van der Waals NiTeSe Ternary Alloy.

The anisotropic properties of materials profoundly influence their electronic, magnetic, optical, and mechanical behaviors and are critical for a wide range of applications. In this study, the anisotropic characteristics of Ni-based van der Waals materials, specifically NiTe and its alloy NiTeSe, utilizing a combination of comprehensive scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, are explored. Unlike 1T-NiTe, which exhibits trigonal in-plane symmetry, the substitution of Te with Se in NiTe (resulting in the NiTeSe alloy) induces a pronounced in-plane anisotropy.

Development and effectiveness analysis of a safety management model for SMEs integrating lean management innovation with SQCDP framework.

This study organically integrates the safety, quality, cost, delivery, and people (SQCDP) management mode and lean management to create the SQCDP + lean safety management (SLSM) mode, which addresses certain problems faced by China's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as imperfect safety management systems, poor regulatory implementation, challenging problem correction, and perfunctory management. It then explains the benefits proposed mode for SMEs and the establishment of a novel mode that aligns with the current safety production and operation management of SMEs. The application of the SLSM mode to a private machinery manufacturing company in Wenzhou resulted in the effective shouldering of safety responsibilities by the company, a year-on-year decrease in accident rates, and a significant increase in production efficiency, thereby providing corporate managers with guidance and suggestions for making improvements.

Nanoscale Magnetic Ordering Dynamics in a High Curie Temperature Ferromagnet.

Thermally driven transitions between ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases are characterized by critical behavior with divergent susceptibilities, long-range correlations, and spin dynamics that can span kHz to GHz scales as the material approaches the critical temperature , but it has proven technically challenging to probe the relevant length and time scales with most conventional measurement techniques. In this study, we employ scanning nitrogen-vacancy center based magnetometry and relaxometry to reveal the critical behavior of a high- ferromagnetic oxide near its Curie temperature. Cluster analysis of the measured temperature-dependent nanoscale magnetic textures points to a 3D universality class with a correlation length that diverges near .

Green-Emitting AIEgen for Fluorescent Switch-Off Detection of Multi-Cations and Applications.

An easy-to-synthesize aggregation-induced emission (AIE) active Schiff base HNSA was obtained by condensing equimolar amount of 3-hydroxy-2-naphthohydrazide and salicylaldehyde. In pure DMSO, HNSA is non-fluorescent, but increasing the HEPES (HO, 10 mM, pH 7.4) fraction (f) ≥ 90% showed an intense green fluorescence with maximum fluorescence intensity at 515 nm.

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma with Medullary Features and a Complete Pathological Response After Neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Purpose: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive malignancy with poor response to chemotherapy. High-frequency microsatellite instability (MSI-H) is a rare biological phenomenon in conventional PDAC, being more frequently described in tumors with medullary or mucinous features.

Methods And Results: In this manuscript, we report the case of a patient with an MSI-H pancreatic carcinoma with medullary features (medullary carcinoma of the pancreas-MCP) that achieved a complete pathological response after neoadjuvant modified FOLFIRINOX.

Integration of silver nanostructures in wireless sensor networks for enhanced biochemical sensing.

Integrating noble metal nanostructures, specifically silver nanoparticles, into sensor designs has proven to enhance sensor performance across key metrics, including response time, stability, and sensitivity. However, a critical gap remains in understanding the unique contributions of various synthesis parameters on these enhancements. This study addresses this gap by examining how factors such as temperature, growth time, and choice of capping agents influence nanostructure shape and size, optimizing sensor performance for diverse conditions.

Spatiotemporal generation of alternating disparate pH domains audible sound controlled opposing enzymatic reactions.

Intracellular spatiotemporal chemical heterogeneities with controlled properties are essential for life. However, creating these heterogeneities artificially is challenging. In this study, we used both acid- and base-producing enzymatic reactions simultaneously and demonstrated that the execution of these reactions in the presence of audible sound can effectively create spatiotemporally ordered pH domains in a solution.

Half a Century's Quest for Seasonal Hyperacute Panuveitis (SHAPU): From Academic Curiosity to Public Health Concern.

For the past 50 years, significant progress has been made in understanding Seasonal Hyperacute Panuveitis (SHAPU), a mysterious blinding disease first reported in Nepal in 1975. Predominantly affecting Nepalese children, SHAPU occurs cyclically every odd year from September to December. While initially misclassified as endophthalmitis, SHAPU is set apart by its lack of trauma or surgery, failure to grow organisms in most intraocular fluid cultures, and its hallmark presentation of a "white pupil in red eye" with an association with moth exposure.

Exploring acidity-dependent PCET pathways in imino-bipyridyl cobalt complexes.

The electrochemical proton reactivity of transition metal complexes has received intensive attention in catalyst research. The proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) process, influenced by the coordination geometry, determines the catalytic reaction mechanisms. Additionally, the p value of a proton source, as an external factor, plays a crucial role in regulating the proton transfer step.

The tunable electronic band structure of a AlP/CsBiICl van der Waals heterostructure induced by an electric field: a first-principles study.

Constructing van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) has emerged as an attractive strategy to combine and enhance the optoelectronic properties of stacked materials. Herein, by means of first-principles calculations, we investigate the geometric and electronic structures of the AlP/CsBiICl vdWH as well as its tunable band structure an external electric field. The AlP/CsBiICl vdWH is structurally and thermodynamically stable due to the low binding energy and the small energy fluctuation at room temperature.

Short INDELs and SNPs as markers of evolutionary processes in hybrid zones.

Polymorphic short insertions and deletions (INDELs ≤ 50 bp) are abundant, although less common than single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Evidence from model organisms shows INDELs to be more strongly influenced by purifying selection than SNPs. Partly for this reason, INDELs are rarely used as markers for demographic processes or to detect divergent selection.