Sensitive characterization of complex chemical reactions in black garlic preparation based on on-line extraction electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Changes in chemical composition during food processing and handling are crucial for the alteration of food flavor and function, and accurate characterization of key chemical reaction pathways in complex food matrices is one of the core challenges in food chemistry research. Here, this study attempts to establish a strategy for sensitive characterization of chemical reactions during food processing based on on-line extraction electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (oEESI-MS). The process of making garlic into black garlic, a traditional global flavor food, was chosen as an exemplary research template.

Making the Case for an International Childhood Cancer Data Partnership.

Childhood cancers are a heterogeneous group of rare diseases, accounting for less than 2% of all cancers diagnosed worldwide. Most countries, therefore, do not have enough cases to provide robust information on epidemiology, treatment, and late effects, especially for rarer types of cancer. Thus, only through a concerted effort to share data internationally will we be able to answer research questions that could not otherwise be answered.

Multiclass Steroid Profiling in Short-Finned Pilot Whale Blubber Using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Rationale: Wildlife scientists are quantifying steroid hormones in a growing number of tissues and employing novel methods that must undergo validation before application. This study tested the accuracy and precision of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods for use on blubber samples from short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus). We expanded upon a method for corticosteroid quantification by adding analytes and optimizing internal standard (IS) application.

Bayesian network for predicting mandibular third molar extraction difficulty.

Background: This study aimed to establish a model for predicting the difficulty of mandibular third molar extraction based on a Bayesian network to meet following requirements: (1) analyse the interaction of the primary risk factors; (2) output quantitative difficulty-evaluation results based on the patient's personal situation; and (3) identify key surgical points and propose surgical protocols to decrease complications.

Methods: Relevant articles were searched to identify risk factors. Clinical knowledge and experience were used to analyse the risk factors to establish the Bayesian network.

Similar, but not the same: multiomics comparison of human valve interstitial cells and osteoblast osteogenic differentiation expanded with an estimation of data-dependent and data-independent PASEF proteomics.

Osteogenic differentiation is crucial in normal bone formation and pathological calcification, such as calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). Understanding the proteomic and transcriptomic landscapes underlying this differentiation can unveil potential therapeutic targets for CAVD. In this study, we employed RNA sequencing transcriptomics and proteomics on a timsTOF Pro platform to explore the multiomics profiles of valve interstitial cells (VICs) and osteoblasts during osteogenic differentiation.

Formation and crystalline structure of spherulites from pea and high amylose maize starches.

Starch spherulite is a unique form of resistant starch characterized by a spherical structure with crystalline lamellae that are radially oriented and may find applications in delivery of nutrients and bioactives to the lower gastrointestinal tract. Formation of starch spherulites generally requires heating to a high temperature followed by quenching and long crystallization time. The objectives of this study were to gain a deeper understanding of the factors influencing spherulite formation from pea starch (PS) and high-amylose maize starch (HAMS) and investigate if spherulites could be formed by a slow cooling rate and determine the crystalline structure and morphology of the spherulites formed.

Association between Activity Quotient and cause-specific mortality - A prospective cohort study of 0.5 million participants in Asia.

Background: Regular physical activity (PA) is important for reducing the risk of chronic diseases and improving overall health. Activity Quotient (AQ) is a novel metric that translates heart rate during PA into a weekly score, providing an objective measure of an individual's PA. We prospectively examined the association of AQ with cancer and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality outcomes, the two major causes of death, in a Taiwanese population.

Procalcitonin-guided duration of antibiotic treatment in children hospitalised with confirmed or suspected bacterial infection in the UK (BATCH): a pragmatic, multicentre, open-label, two-arm, individually randomised, controlled trial.

Background: Procalcitonin is a rapid response biomarker specific for bacterial infection, which is not routinely used in the UK National Health Service. We aimed to assess whether using a procalcitonin-guided algorithm would safely reduce the duration of antibiotic therapy compared with usual care, in which C-reactive protein is the commonly used biomarker.

Methods: The BATCH trial was a pragmatic, multicentre, open-label, parallel, two-arm, individually randomised, controlled trial conducted in 15 hospitals in England and Wales.

Semi-supervised medical image segmentation via weak-to-strong perturbation consistency and edge-aware contrastive representation.

Despite that supervised learning has demonstrated impressive accuracy in medical image segmentation, its reliance on large labeled datasets poses a challenge due to the effort and expertise required for data acquisition. Semi-supervised learning has emerged as a potential solution. However, it tends to yield satisfactory segmentation performance in the central region of the foreground, but struggles in the edge region.

A novel method for detecting genetic biomarkers in blood-based liquid biopsies using surface plasmon resonance imaging and magnetic beads shows promise in cancer diagnosis and monitoring.

Directly detecting biomarkers in liquid biopsy for diagnosis and personalized treatment plays a crucial role in managing cancer relapse and increasing survival rates. Typically, the standard analysis of circulating tumour DNA requires lengthy isolation, extraction, and amplification steps, leading to sample contamination, longer turnaround time and higher assay costs. Surface plasmon resonance is an emerging and promising technology for rapid and real-time dynamic biomarker monitoring in liquid biopsy.

The relationship between dietary branched-chain and aromatic amino acids with the regulation of leptin and FTO genes in adipose tissue of patients undergoing abdominal surgery.

Recent studies have suggested that the interaction between diet and an individual's genetic predisposition can determine the likelihood of obesity and various metabolic disorders. The current study aimed to examine the association of dietary branched-chain amino acids(BCAAs) and aromatic amino acids(AAAs) with the expression of the leptin and FTO genes in the visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues of individuals undergoing surgery. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 136 Iranian adults, both men and women, aged ≥18 years.

The molar dose of FAPI administered impacts on the FAP-targeted PET imaging and therapy in mouse syngeneic tumor models.

Purpose: Since fibroblast activation protein (FAP), one predominant biomarker of cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs), is highly expressed in the tumor stroma of various epidermal-derived cancers, targeting FAP for tumor diagnosis and treatment has shown substantial potentials in both preclinical and clinical studies. However, in preclinical settings, tumor-bearing mice exhibit relatively low absolute FAP expression levels, leading to challenges in acquiring high-quality PET images using radiolabeled FAP ligands (FAPIs) with low molar activity, because of which a saturation effect in imaging is prone to happen. Moreover, how exactly the molar dose of FAPI administered to a mouse influences the targeted PET imaging and radiotherapy remains unclear now.

Transcription factor MAZ activates the transcription of hypomethylated TYMP in ccRCC.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a highly malignant tumor characterized by a significant propensity for recurrence and metastasis. DNA methylation has emerged as a critical epigenetic mechanism with substantial utility in cancer diagnosis. In this study, multi-omics data were utilized to investigate the target genes regulated by the transcription factor MYC-associated zinc finger protein (MAZ) in ccRCC, leading to the identification of thymidine phosphorylase (TYMP) as a gene with notably elevated expression in ccRCC.

Cross-Shaped Heat Tensor Network for Morphometric Analysis Using Zebrafish Larvae Feature Keypoints.

Deep learning-based morphometric analysis of zebrafish is widely utilized for non-destructively identifying abnormalities and diagnosing diseases. However, obtaining discriminative and continuous organ category decision boundaries poses a significant challenge by directly observing zebrafish larvae from the outside. To address this issue, this study simplifies the organ areas to polygons and focuses solely on the endpoint positioning.

The Three-Class Annotation Method Improves the AI Detection of Early-Stage Osteosarcoma on Plain Radiographs: A Novel Approach for Rare Cancer Diagnosis.

: Developing high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) models for rare diseases is challenging owing to limited data availability. This study aimed to evaluate whether a novel three-class annotation method for preparing training data could enhance AI model performance in detecting osteosarcoma on plain radiographs compared to conventional single-class annotation. : We developed two annotation methods for the same dataset of 468 osteosarcoma X-rays and 378 normal radiographs: a conventional single-class annotation (1C model) and a novel three-class annotation method (3C model) that separately labeled intramedullary, cortical, and extramedullary tumor components.

Residue Analysis and Dietary Risk Assessment of 10 Neonicotinoid Insecticides in from Hainan Province of China.

In this study, residues of 10 neonicotinoid insecticides were tested with 143 fresh samples of using the QuEChERS method combined with UPLC-MS/MS. Based on the residue results, the point estimation method was used to assess dietary risks for adults and children, and the cumulative risk was assessed according to the hazard index () and relative potency factor () methods. The results showed that 71 out of 143 samples of fresh sold in Hainan tested positive for neonicotinoid insecticides, with a detection rate of 49.

Multifunctional Organic Molecule for Defect Passivation of Perovskite for High-Performance Indoor Solar Cells.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) can utilize the residual photons from indoor light and continuously supplement the energy supply for low-power electron devices, thereby showing the great potential for sustainable energy ecosystems. However, the solution-processed perovskites suffer from serious defect stacking within crystal lattices, compromising the low-light efficiency and operational stability. In this study, we designed a multifunctional organometallic salt named sodium sulfanilate (4-ABS), containing both electron-donating amine and sulfonic acid groups to effectively passivate the positively-charged defects, like under-coordinated Pb ions and iodine vacancies.

Comparative Analysis of Temperature and Stress Simulations in Mass Concrete for Sluice Gate Structures Based on Chinese and American Standards.

Temperature-induced cracks during the construction of large concrete structures, such as water gates and bridges, caused by hydration heat, pose a serious threat to structural safety and reliability. To address this, various countries have developed temperature control standards and guidelines for mass concrete structures, providing design direction and evaluation criteria. China and the United States (U.

Experimental Study on Seismic Performance of Dovetail Profiled Steel Concrete Composite Shear Walls with Self-Tapping Screw Connections.

To achieve the assembled connection between dovetail profiled steel sheets and the boundary members in dovetail profiled steel concrete composite shear walls (DPSCWs), self-tapping screws were employed. Three DPSCW specimens connected with self-tapping screws were tested under combined axial and cyclic lateral loads to evaluate their hysteretic response, focusing on the influence of the number of self-tapping screws and the axial compression ratio. The self-tapping screw-connected DPSCWs exhibited a mixed failure mode, characterized by shear failure of the profiled steel sheets and compression-bending failure of multiple wall limbs divided by ribs on the web concrete.

In-House Fabrication and Validation of 3D-Printed Custom-Made Medical Devices for Planning and Simulation of Peripheral Endovascular Therapies.

This study aims to develop and validate a standardized methodology for creating high-fidelity, custom-made, patient-specific 3D-printed vascular models that serve as tools for preoperative planning and training in the endovascular treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD). Ten custom-made 3D-printed vascular models were produced using computed tomography angiography (CTA) scans of ten patients diagnosed with PAD. CTA images were analyzed using Syngo.

Novel CAD/CAM-splint-based navigation protocol enhances intraoperative maxillary position control in orthognathic surgery: a case control study.

Background: Virtual surgical planning for orthognathic surgery typically relies on two methods for intraoperative plan transfer: CAD/CAM occlusal splints and patient-specific implants (PSI). While CAD/CAM splints may offer limited accuracy, particularly in the vertical dimension, PSIs are constrained by higher costs and extended preparation times. Surgical navigation has emerged as a potential alternative, but existing protocols often involve invasive registration or lack transparent evaluation.

Quantitative evaluation of two-way referral policies based on PMC index model.

Objective: Perfect policy system support is the key to effective work, and policy evaluation can provide theoretical basis for policy revision. This study aims to quantitatively evaluate the two-way referral policy in China and thus improve the policy system of two-way referral.

Methods: This research focuses on 14 two-way referral policies published from 2007 to 2021.

Comparison of diagnostic performance for pulmonary nodule detection between free-breathing spiral ultrashort echo time and free-breathing radial volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of two free-breathing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences-spiral ultrashort echo time (spiral UTE) and radial volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (radial VIBE).

Methods: Patients were prospectively enrolled between February 2021 and September 2022. All participants underwent both 3T MRI scanning, utilizing the radial VIBE sequence and spiral UTE sequence, as well as standard chest CT imaging.

Microvascular decompression: a contemporary update.

Background: Microvascular decompression (MVD) is the gold-standard surgical treatment for cranial nerve compression disorders, including trigeminal neuralgia (TN), hemifacial spasm (HFS), and glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN). This review synthesizes historical milestones, recent advances, and evolving techniques in MVD, with a primary focus on these conditions.

Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using databases such as PubMed, SpringerLink, Google Scholar, BioMed Central, Scopus, and ScienceDirect.

Risk Factors for Mortality Among Older Adults with Hospital-Acquired Bloodstream Infections in the Intensive Care Unit: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Introduction: We aimed to investigate risk factors for mortality among older adults (≥ 75 years) with hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (HA-BSI) in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: We included patients aged ≥ 75 years with HA-BSI in ICU from the EUROBACT-2 cohort (2019-2021). Univariable and multivariable analyses were conducted to identify predictors of 28-day mortality.