Modulation of DAPK1 expression by its alternative splice variant DAPK1-215 in cancer.

Background: Death-Associated Protein Kinase 1 (DAPK1) family members are calcium/calmodulin-regulated serine/threonine kinases implicated in cell death, normal development, and human diseases. However, the regulation of DAPK1 expression in cancer remains unclear.

Methods: We examined the expression and functional impact of a DAPK1 splice variant, DAPK1-215, in multiple cancer cell lines.

Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries.

Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists.

Perceptions of science, science communication, and climate change attitudes in 68 countries - the TISP dataset.

Science is integral to society because it can inform individual, government, corporate, and civil society decision-making on issues such as public health, new technologies or climate change. Yet, public distrust and populist sentiment challenge the relationship between science and society. To help researchers analyse the science-society nexus across different geographical and cultural contexts, we undertook a cross-sectional population survey resulting in a dataset of 71,922 participants in 68 countries.

AI-based automatic patient positioning in a digital-BGO PET/CT scanner: efficacy and impact.

Background: A recently released digital solid-state positron emission tomography/x-ray CT (PET/CT) scanner with bismuth germanate (BGO) scintillators provides an artificial intelligence (AI) based system for automatic patient positioning. The efficacy of this digital-BGO system in patient placement at the isocenter and its impact on image quality and radiation exposure was evaluated.

Method: The digital-BGO PET/CT with AI-based auto-positioning was compared (χ, Mann-Whitney tests) to a solid-state lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (digital-LYSO) PET/CT with manual patient positioning (n = 432 and 343 studies each, respectively), with results split into groups before and after the date of a recalibration of the digital-BGO auto-positioning camera.

The Association Between Myasthenia Gravis and Higher Extrathymic Cancer Risk.

Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is strongly associated with thymic tumors, but whether it is also associated with extrathymic cancers is debatable or whether MG can be considered a paraneoplastic disorder for extrathymic cancers.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of the MG cohort for 23 years' time (January 2000 to May 2023), extracting cancer rates with clinical, electrophysiological, and biochemical cancer associations and the effect of chronic medications.

Results: We identified 436 patients with MG and 3924 controls.

Design, Synthesis, and Screening of an RNA Optimized Fluorinated Fragment Library.

Fragment-based screening is an efficient method for early-stage drug discovery. In this study, we aimed to create a fragment library optimized for producing high hit rates against RNA targets. RNA has historically been an underexplored target, but recent research suggests potential for optimizing small molecule libraries for RNA binding.

Inferring single-cell and spatial microRNA activity from transcriptomics data.

The activity of miRNA varies across different cell populations and systems, as part of the mechanisms that distinguish cell types and roles in living organisms and in human health and disease. Typically, miRNA regulation drives changes in the composition and levels of protein-coding RNA and of lncRNA, with targets being down-regulated when miRNAs are active. The term "miRNA activity" is used to refer to this transcriptional effect of miRNAs.

Daily participation in preterm-born children: An exploratory and comparative study.

Background: Preterm birth, particularly with lower gestational age and respiratory complications, can impact neurodevelopmental outcomes and participation in daily activities. Understanding how these children engage in everyday tasks, particularly from the perspective of their parents, is critical for assessing long-term health outcomes and quality of life.

Objectives: This study aims to assess parental perceptions of participation and daily performance in children born preterm, comparing early preterm infants with and without chronic lung disease, late preterms, and term-born children.

A prospective ecological momentary assessment study of an ayahuasca retreat: exploring the salutary impact of acute psychedelic experiences on subacute affect and mindfulness skills in daily life.

Rationale: To examine the acute effects of ayahuasca use and their relationship to sub-acute changes in affect and mindfulness in a non-clinical sample, addressing the need for a better understanding of ayahuasca's immediate and short-term impacts as interest in its use grows.

Objectives: Using prospective ecological assessment, this study investigates how ayahuasca used at a 4-day retreat affects positive/negative affect and mindfulness skills in daily living compared to pre-retreat. Additionally, we explore acute psychedelic experiences during the ayahuasca retreat, assessed retrospectively 1-2 days post-retreat, as potential mechanisms for theorized effects in daily living post-retreat.

Incremental accumulation of linguistic context in artificial and biological neural networks.

Large Language Models (LLMs) have shown success in predicting neural signals associated with narrative processing, but their approach to integrating context over large timescales differs fundamentally from that of the human brain. In this study, we show how the brain, unlike LLMs that process large text windows in parallel, integrates short-term and long-term contextual information through an incremental mechanism. Using fMRI data from 219 participants listening to spoken narratives, we first demonstrate that LLMs predict brain activity effectively only when using short contextual windows of up to a few dozen words.

Discovery of a DNA methylation profile in individuals with Sifrim-Hitz-Weiss syndrome.

Pathogenic heterozygous variants in CHD4 cause Sifrim-Hitz-Weiss syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with brain anomalies, heart defects, macrocephaly, hypogonadism, and additional features with variable expressivity. Most individuals have non-recurrent missense variants, complicating variant interpretation. A few were reported with truncating variants, and their role in disease is unclear.

Spectrally encoded flow cytometry using few-mode fiber collection.

In fiber-based confocal microscopy, using two separate fibers for illumination and collection enables the use of a few-mode fiber to achieve an effect similar to opening the pinhole in a conventional confocal microscope. In some Fourier-domain applications, however, or when a spectral measurement is involved, the coherent light detection would lead to noticeable spectral modulation artifacts that result from differential mode delay, an effect caused by the multimode propagation in the collection fiber. After eliminating these artifacts by using mode-dependent polarization control, we demonstrate effective spectrally encoded imaging with improved signal efficiency and lower speckle noise, and only a minor, negligible reduction in lateral and axial resolutions.

IMPACT: In-Memory ComPuting Architecture based on Y-FlAsh Technology for Coalesced Tsetlin machine inference.

The increasing demand for processing large volumes of data for machine learning (ML) models has pushed data bandwidth requirements beyond the capability of traditional von Neumann architecture. In-memory computing (IMC) has recently emerged as a promising solution to address this gap by enabling distributed data storage and processing at the micro-architectural level, significantly reducing both latency and energy. In this article, we present In-Memory comPuting architecture based on Y-FlAsh technology for Coalesced Tsetlin machine inference (IMPACT), underpinned on a cutting-edge memory device, Y-Flash, fabricated on a 180 nm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process.

Stabilizing Contorted Doubly-Reduced Tetraphenylene with Heavy Alkali Metal Complexation: Crystallographic and Theoretical Evidence.

The two-fold reduction of tetrabenzo[a,c,e,g]cyclooctatetraene (TBCOT, or tetraphenylene, 1) with K, Rb, and Cs metals reveals a distinctive core transformation pathway: a newly formed C-C bond converts the central eight-membered ring into a twisted core with two fused five-membered rings. This C-C bond of 1.589(3)-1.

Tailoring Design of Microneedles for Drug Delivery and Biosensing.

Microneedles (MNs) are emerging as versatile tools for both therapeutic drug delivery and diagnostic monitoring. Unlike hypodermic needles, MNs achieve these applications with minimal or no pain and customizable designs, making them suitable for personalized medicine. Understanding the key design parameters and the challenges during contact with biofluids is crucial to optimizing their use across applications.

Circulating Endocannabinoids and Cognitive Function in Older Adults.

The role of endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids; eCBs) in cognitive-related processes has been demonstrated in preclinical studies. However, observational studies are lacking. We examined the associations of multiple circulating eCBs and eCB-like molecules with cognitive function in a sample of dementia-free older adults.

Dynamic switching between brain networks predicts creative ability.

Creativity is hypothesized to arise from a mental state which balances spontaneous thought and cognitive control, corresponding to functional connectivity between the brain's Default Mode (DMN) and Executive Control (ECN) Networks. Here, we conduct a large-scale, multi-center examination of this hypothesis. Employing a meta-analytic network neuroscience approach, we analyze resting-state fMRI and creative task performance across 10 independent samples from Austria, Canada, China, Japan, and the United States (N = 2433)-constituting the largest and most ethnically diverse creativity neuroscience study to date.

Pressure-dependent kinetic analysis of the NH potential energy surface.

The pressure-dependent reactions on the NH potential energy surface (PES) have been investigated using CCSD(T)-F12/aug-cc-pVTZ-F12//B2PLYP-D3/aug-cc-pVTZ. This study expands the NH PES beyond the previous literature by incorporating a newly identified isomer, NHN, along with additional bimolecular reaction channels associated with this isomer, namely NNH + H and HNN(S) + H. Rate coefficients for all relevant pressure-dependent reactions, including well-skipping pathways, are predicted using a combination of transition state theory and master equation simulations.

Trends in Israel's Medical Administration subspecialty, 1987-2022.

Background: Israel is unique in offering a formal subspecialty in Medical Administration and mandating it for physicians applying for senior roles. Data on the prevalence and characteristics of these specialists are limited.

Methods: The national registry of licensed physicians was used to identify all living physicians who completed the Medical Administration subspecialty by December 31, 2022.

X-ray Nanoimaging of a Heterogeneous Structural Phase Transition in VO.

Controlling the Mott transition through strain engineering is crucial for advancing the development of memristive and neuromorphic computing devices. Yet, Mott insulators are heterogeneous due to intrinsic phase boundaries and extrinsic defects, posing significant challenges to fully understanding the impact of microscopic distortions on the local Mott transition. Here, using a synchrotron-based scanning X-ray nanoprobe, we studied the real-space structural heterogeneity during the structural phase transition in a VO thin film.

Daratumumab and Romiplostim Combined Therapy for a Long-Standing Refractory Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia - Case Report.

Multi-refractory immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is not uncommon and associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Although the precise mechanism of ITP is not yet fully understood, a therapeutic approach that relies on using a single agent in each treatment line may not be sufficient in this population. We report the case of a 67-year-old female with long-standing multi-refractory ITP treated with a combination of Daratumumab and Romiplostim who achieved a durable response for more than 42 weeks.

Multiple Electron Transfers Enable High-Capacity Cathode Through Stable Anionic Redox.

Single-electron transfer, low alkali metal contents, and large-molecular masses limit the capacity of cathodes. This study uses a cost-effective and light-molecular-mass orthosilicate material, KFeSiO, with a high initial potassium content, as a cathode for potassium-ion batteries to enable the transfer of more than one electron. Despite the limited valence change of Fe ions during cycling, KFeSiO can undergo multiple electron transfers via successive oxygen anionic redox reactions to generate a high reversible capacity.