A prospective, longitudinal, comparative analysis of the World Health Organization / International Committee of the Red Cross Basic Emergency Care Course on emergency medicine knowledge and confidence among recent medical school graduates.

Background: The Basic Emergency Care (BEC) course was created by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM) to train frontline providers in low-resource settings. This study aims to evaluate long-term retention and maintenance of emergency care knowledge and confidence among University of Nairobi School of Medicine graduates after completing the BEC course.

Methods: This longitudinal, prospective, comparative study was conducted with recent graduates of the University of Nairobi School of Medicine from October 2021 to May 2023.

Network analysis combined with genome-wide association study helps identification of genes related to amino acid contents in soybean.

Background: Additional to total protein content, the amino acid (AA) profile is important to the nutritional value of soybean seed. The AA profile in soybean seed is a complex quantitative trait controlled by multiple interconnected genes and pathways controlling the accumulation of each AA. With a total of 621 soybean germplasm, we used three genome-wide association study (GWAS)-based approaches to investigate the genomic regions controlling the AA content and profile in soybean.

Dynamic supramolecular snub cubes.

Mimicking the superstructures and properties of spherical biological encapsulants such as viral capsids and ferritin offers viable pathways to understand their chiral assemblies and functional roles in living systems. However, stereospecific assembly of artificial polyhedra with mechanical properties and guest-binding attributes akin to biological encapsulants remains a formidable challenge. Here we report the stereospecific assembly of dynamic supramolecular snub cubes from 12 helical macrocycles, which are held together by 144 weak C-H hydrogen bonds.

Gene signatures derived from transcriptomic-causal networks stratify colorectal cancer patients for effective targeted therapy.

Background: Gene signatures derived from transcriptomic-causal networks offer potential for tailoring clinical care in cancer treatment by identifying predictive and prognostic biomarkers. This study aimed to uncover such signatures in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients to aid treatment decisions.

Methods: We constructed transcriptomic-causal networks and integrated gene interconnectivity into overall survival (OS) analysis to control for confounding genes.

Synthesis of three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks through a symmetry reduction strategy.

Three-dimensional (3D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs) hold significant promise for a variety of applications. However, conventional design approaches using regular building blocks limit the structural diversity of 3D COFs. Here we design and synthesize two 3D COFs, designated as JUC-644 and JUC-645, through a methodology that relies on using eight-connected building blocks with reduced symmetry.

H3K36 methylation regulates cell plasticity and regeneration in the intestinal epithelium.

Plasticity is needed during development and homeostasis to generate diverse cell types from stem and progenitor cells. Following differentiation, plasticity must be restricted in specialized cells to maintain tissue integrity and function. For this reason, specialized cell identity is stable under homeostatic conditions; however, cells in some tissues regain plasticity during injury-induced regeneration.

Population-level amplification of gene regulation by programmable gene transfer.

Engineering cells to sense and respond to environmental cues often focuses on maximizing gene regulation at the single-cell level. Inspired by population-level control mechanisms like the immune response, we demonstrate dynamic control and amplification of gene regulation in bacterial populations using programmable plasmid-mediated gene transfer. By regulating plasmid loss rate, transfer rate and fitness effects via Cas9 endonuclease, F conjugation machinery and antibiotic selection, we modulate the fraction of plasmid-carrying cells, serving as an amplification factor for single-cell-level regulation.

Consuming a modified Mediterranean ketogenic diet reverses the peripheral lipid signature of Alzheimer's disease in humans.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a major neurodegenerative disorder with significant environmental factors, including diet and lifestyle, influencing its onset and progression. Although previous studies have suggested that certain diets may reduce the incidence of AD, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

Method: In this post-hoc analysis of a randomized crossover study of 20 elderly adults, we investigated the effects of a modified Mediterranean ketogenic diet (MMKD) on the plasma lipidome in the context of AD biomarkers, analyzing 784 lipid species across 47 classes using a targeted lipidomics platform.

A multi-kinase inhibitor screen identifies inhibitors preserving stem-cell-like chimeric antigen receptor T cells.

Chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR T cells) with T stem (T) cell-like phenotypic characteristics promote sustained antitumor effects. We performed an unbiased and automated high-throughput screen of a kinase-focused compound set to identify kinase inhibitors (KIs) that preserve human T cell-like CAR T cells. We identified three KIs, UNC10225387B, UNC10225263A and UNC10112761A, that combined in vitro increased the frequency of CD45RACCR7TCF1 T cell-like CAR T cells from both healthy donors and patients with cancer.

Functional evaluation and clinical classification of BRCA2 variants.

Germline BRCA2 loss-of function variants, which can be identified through clinical genetic testing, predispose to several cancers. However, variants of uncertain significance limit the clinical utility of test results. Thus, there is a need for functional characterization and clinical classification of all BRCA2 variants to facilitate the clinical management of individuals with these variants.

Host metabolism balances microbial regulation of bile acid signalling.

Metabolites derived from the intestinal microbiota, including bile acids (BA), extensively modulate vertebrate physiology, including development, metabolism, immune responses and cognitive function. However, to what extent host responses balance the physiological effects of microbiota-derived metabolites remains unclear. Here, using untargeted metabolomics of mouse tissues, we identified a family of BA-methylcysteamine (BA-MCY) conjugates that are abundant in the intestine and dependent on vanin 1 (VNN1), a pantetheinase highly expressed in intestinal tissues.

A lifespan-generalizable skull-stripping model for magnetic resonance images that leverages prior knowledge from brain atlases.

In magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, an imaging-preprocessing step removes the skull and other non-brain tissue from the images. But methods for such a skull-stripping process often struggle with large data heterogeneity across medical sites and with dynamic changes in tissue contrast across lifespans. Here we report a skull-stripping model for magnetic resonance images that generalizes across lifespans by leveraging personalized priors from brain atlases.

Ribitol and ribose treatments differentially affect metabolism of muscle tissue in FKRP mutant mice.

Dystroglycanopathy is characterized by reduced or lack of matriglycan, a cellular receptor for laminin as well as other extracellular matrix proteins. Recent studies have delineated the glycan chain structure of the matriglycan and the pathway with key components identified. FKRP functions as ribitol-5-phosphate transferase with CDP-ribitol as the substrate for the extension of the glycan chain.

Alterations in cerebral perfusion and corresponding brain functional networks in systemic lupus erythematosus with cognitive impairment.

Cognitive impairment (CI) frequently occurs in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and may result from neuroinflammation processes and neurovascular changes in the brain. The cerebral hemodynamics underlying SLE with CI (SLE-CI) remain unclear. 97 patients with SLE and 51 heathy controls (HCs) matched for age and gender underwent MRI.

Vitamin D and exercise improve VEGF-B production and IGF-1 levels in diabetic rats: insights the role of miR-1 suppression.

Background: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is closely associated with the development of vascular damage in the heart. In this study, the researchers aimed to determine whether Aerobic Training (AT) and Vitamin D supplementation (Vit D) could alleviate heart complications and vascular damage caused by diabetes. The effects of an eight-week AT program and Vit D on the expression of miR-1, IGF-1 genes, and VEGF-B in the cardiomyocytes of rats with T2DM.

Structural basis for the transport and regulation mechanism of the multidrug resistance-associated protein 2.

Multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (MRP2) is an ATP-powered exporter important for maintaining liver homeostasis and a potential contributor to chemotherapeutic resistance. Using cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), we determine the structures of human MRP2 in three conformational states: an autoinhibited state, a substrate-bound pre-translocation state, and an ATP-bound post-translocation state. In the autoinhibited state, the cytosolic regulatory (R) domain plugs into the transmembrane substrate-binding site and extends into the cytosol to form a composite ATP-binding site at the surface of nucleotide-binding domain 2.

Phenazine biosynthesis-like domain-containing protein (PBLD) and Cedrelone promote antiviral immune response by activating NF-ĸB.

Phenazine biosynthesis-like domain-containing protein (PBLD) and Cedrelone have been identified as tumor suppressors. However, their roles in virus infection remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that PBLD upregulates the type I interferon (IFN-I) response through activating NF-kappaB (NF-κB) signaling pathway to resist viral infection in cells and mice.

Protective effects of resveratrol and naringenin against nonylphenol-induced oxidative stress in rats.

Nonylphenol (NP) is a ubiquitous environmental endocrine disrupting chemical and oxidative stress inducer in biological systems. Resveratrol (RES) and Naringenin (NG) are phytochemicals possessing antioxidant properties and estrogenic activity. This study was conducted to investigate the toxicity of NP and the mitigating effects of RES and NG on NP toxicity in rats.

The Impacts of Substance Use and Depression on HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Use and Adherence Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents and Young Adults in the Keeping it LITE Cohort.

Substance use and depression are prevalent in sexual and gender minorities (SGM), but evidence about their impacts on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use is mixed. We assessed these impacts in a US-based cohort of 3,330 young SGM who tested negative for HIV and completed baseline and semiannual assessments on substance use (cocaine, methamphetamine, or heroin), depression, and PrEP use and adherence. We estimated prevalence differences (PDs) to compare baseline and 12-month PrEP use and adherence between participants with and without substance use and depression, separately and jointly.

Rational designing of ZIF-67-derived CoO nanocomposite with hierarchical porous structure and extensive peroxidase mimetic activities for highly sensitive colorimetric detection of nitrite in drinking water.

A simple, fast, and cost-effective colorimetric nitrite (NO) sensor based on ZIF-67-derived CoO nanocomposite (ZCo-2 NC) structure has been developed. The prepared colorimetric sensor (ZCo-2 NC) was employed to sensitively detect NO in drinking water system by the exhibition of promising peroxidase-mimicking nanozyme-like features. The sensor manifest well-determined sensing response with excellent linear and wide range of NO sensitivity (0.

The Diverse Roles of Long Non-Coding RNA HOTTIP in Breast and Gynecological Cancer Progression.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play vital roles in the development and progression of various tumors through multiple mechanisms. Among these, HOTTIP (HOXA transcript at the distal tip) stands out as an intriguing candidate with diverse functions in several malignancies, including breast cancer and gynecologic cancers such as ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers, which are significant global health concerns. HOTTIP interacts with key signaling pathways associated with these cancers, including Wnt/β-catenin, PI3K/AKT, and MEK/ERK pathways, enhancing their activation and downstream effects.

Wound Healing After Vaginal Delivery, Episiotomy, and Cesarean Section Delivery Among Women With IBD: Results From the PIANO Registry.

Background: Women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) face complexities of disease management during pregnancy and childbirth. Apprehension regarding vaginal delivery in pregnant individuals with IBD persists due to concern for perianal disease and perineal trauma. The incidence of poor wound healing after obstetric anal sphincter injury is approximately 4% in the general population.

Targeting Synthesis of Diatomic Catalysts by Selective Etching and Sequential Adsorption of Metal Atom.

Diatomic catalysts featuring a tunable structure and synergetic effects hold great promise for various reactions. However, their precise construction with specific configurations and diverse metal combinations is still challenging. Here, a selective etching and metal ion adsorption strategy is proposed to accurately assign a second metal atom (M) geminal to the single atom site (M-N) for constructing diatomic sites (e.

Continuous vital sign monitoring of patients recovering from surgery on general wards: a narrative review.

Most postoperative deaths occur on general wards, often linked to complications associated with untreated changes in vital signs. Monitoring in these units is typically intermittent checks each shift or maximally every 4-6 h, which misses prolonged periods of subtle changes in physiology that can herald a critical downstream event. Continuous monitoring of vital signs is therefore intuitively necessary for patient safety.