Impact of tree growth form on temporal and spatial patterns of particulate matter with various particle sizes in urban street canyons.

Context: Trees play a vital role in reducing street-level particulate matter (PM) pollution in metropolitan areas. However, the optimal tree growth type for maximizing the retention of various sizes of PM remains uncertain.

Objectives: This study assessed the PM reduction capabilities of evergreen and deciduous broadleaf street trees, focusing on how leaf phenology influences the dispersion of pollutants across particle sizes.

Hsa_circRNA_100791 Modulates Trim13 Through Sponging miR-487b-5p to Facilitate Inflammation in Allergic Rhinitis.

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel class of endogenous non-coding RNA molecules in eukaryotes, involved in many essential biological processes. However, their role in allergic rhinitis (AR) has not been extensively studied.

Methods: The expression levels of hsa_circRNA_100791 were measured using qRT-PCR in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and nasal mucosa from AR patients.

Metal-based smart nanosystems in cancer immunotherapy.

Metals are an emerging topic in cancer immunotherapy that have shown great potential in modulating cancer immunity cycle and promoting antitumor immunity by activating the intrinsic immunostimulatory mechanisms which have been identified in recent years. The main challenge of metal-assisted immunotherapy lies in the fact that the free metals as ion forms are easily cleared during circulation, and even cause systemic metal toxicity due to the off-target effects. With the rapid development of nanomedicine, metal-based smart nanosystems (MSNs) with unique controllable structure become one of the most promising delivery carriers to solve the issue, owing to their various endogenous/external stimuli-responsiveness to release free metal ions for metalloimmunotherapy.

Exploring cost reduction strategies for serum free media development.

Cultivated meat production offers solutions in addressing global food security and sustainability challenges. However, serum-free media (SFM) used in cultivating the cells are expensive, contributing to at least 50% of variable operating costs. This review explores technologies for cost-effective SFM, focusing on reducing cost from using growth factors and recombinant proteins, using affordable raw materials for basal media, and implementing cost-saving measures like media recycling and reducing waste build-up.

Estimated potassium intake and major adverse cardiovascular events in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a prospective cohort study with trans-ethnic validation.

Background: Data on the relationship between potassium intake and major cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with diabetes are scarce. We aim to study the association between estimated potassium intake and risk of MACE in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: The discovery cohort consisted of 1572 participants with type 2 diabetes from a secondary hospital.

Reproductive factors and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer: results from the Asia Cohort Consortium.

Background: There are scarce data on risk factors for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) in Asian populations. Our goal was to advance knowledge on reproductive -related risk factors for EOC in a large population of Asian women.

Methods: This study used pooled individual data from baseline questionnaires in 11 prospective cohorts (baseline years, 1958-2015) in the Asia Cohort Consortium.

In-situ oxygen-supplying ROS nanopurifier for enhanced healing of MRSA-infected diabetic wounds via microenvironment modulation.

Hypoxia, high ROS levels and chronic inflammation are the main factors that hinder the healing of diabetic wounds. Long-term exposed wounds are prone to bacterial infection, especially MRSA infection, which exacerbates the complex wound microenvironment of diabetes and threatens patients' lives. Here, we developed a ROS nanopurifier (CSVNP), which was prepared by loading superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and vancomycin into nanogels through in-situ polymerization.

Global impact of ten-valent and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines on invasive pneumococcal disease in all ages (the PSERENADE project): a global surveillance analysis.

Background: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) that are ten-valent (PCV10) and 13-valent (PCV13) became available in 2010. We evaluated their global impact on invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) incidence in all ages.

Methods: Serotype-specific IPD cases and population denominators were obtained directly from surveillance sites using PCV10 or PCV13 in their national immunisation programmes and with a primary series uptake of at least 50%.

Enhancing AI reliability: A foundation model with uncertainty estimation for optical coherence tomography-based retinal disease diagnosis.

Inability to express the confidence level and detect unseen disease classes limits the clinical implementation of artificial intelligence in the real world. We develop a foundation model with uncertainty estimation (FMUE) to detect 16 retinal conditions on optical coherence tomography (OCT). In the internal test set, FMUE achieves a higher F1 score of 95.

Changes in iPSC-Astrocyte morphology reflect Alzheimer's disease patient clinical markers.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provide powerful cellular models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and offer many advantages over non-human models, including the potential to reflect variation in individual-specific pathophysiology and clinical symptoms. Previous studies have demonstrated that iPSC-neurons from individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) reflect clinical markers, including β-amyloid (Aβ) levels and synaptic vulnerability. However, despite neuronal loss being a key hallmark of AD pathology, many risk genes are predominantly expressed in glia, highlighting them as potential therapeutic targets.

Synergy of sodium dodecyl sulfate and citric acid in removing bacterial biofilms in hydroponic farming facilities.

This research explored various concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and citric acid (CA), both individually and in combination, to assess their effectiveness against Salmonella biofilms in hydroponic agriculture systems. Results demonstrated that a combined sanitizer of 0.1% SDS (1.

Global prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in different trimesters of pregnancy: A meta-analysis and meta-regression.

The global prevalence of psychological problems in different trimesters is unclear due to methodological constraints in previous reviews. A precise estimate would be a key first step in raising awareness and allocating resources. This review aims to (1) calculate the global prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms during different trimesters and (2) determine the factors influencing their prevalence estimates.

Hydrodynamic moiré superlattice.

The structural periodicity in photonic crystals guarantees the crystal's effective energy band structure, which is the fundamental cornerstone of topological and moiré physics. However, the shear modulus in most fluids is close to zero, which makes it challenging for fluids to maintain spatial periodicity akin to photonic crystals. We realized periodic vortices in hydrodynamic metamaterials and created a bilayer moiré superlattice by stacking and twisting two such vortex fluids.

Triboelectric Mat Multimodal Sensing System (TMMSS) Enhanced by Infrared Image Perception for Sleep and Emotion-Relevant Activity Monitoring.

To implement digital-twin smart home applications, the mat sensing system based on triboelectric sensors is commonly used for gait information collection from daily activities. Yet traditional mat sensing systems often miss upper body motions and fail to adequately project these into the virtual realm, limiting their specific application scenarios. Herein, triboelectric mat multimodal sensing system is designed, enhanced with a commercial infrared imaging sensor, to capture diverse sensory information for sleep and emotion-relevant activity monitoring without compromising privacy.

Heme promotes venetoclax resistance in multiple myeloma through MEK-ERK signaling and purine biosynthesis.

We previously demonstrated that reduced intrinsic electron transport chain (ETC) activity predicts and promotes sensitivity to the BCL-2 antagonist, venetoclax (Ven) in multiple myeloma (MM). Heme, an iron-containing prosthetic group, and metabolite is fundamental to maintaining ETC activity. Interrogation of the CD2 subgroup of MM from the CoMMpass trial (NCT01454297), which can be used as a proxy for Ven-sensitive MM (VS MM), shows reduced expression of the conserved heme biosynthesis pathway gene signature.

Infrared imaging with visible light in microfluidic devices: the water absorption barrier.

Infrared spectro-microscopy is a powerful technique for analysing chemical maps of cells and tissues for biomedical and clinical applications, yet the strong water absorption in the mid-infrared region is a challenge to overcome, as it overlaps with the spectral fingerprints of biological components. Microfluidic chips offer ultimate control over the water layer thickness and are increasingly used in infrared spectro-microscopy. However, the actual impact of the water layer thickness on the instrument's performance is often left to the experimentalist's intuition and the peculiarities of specific instruments.

Museomics Sheds Light on Evolutionary Diversity in a Critically Endangered Cockatoo Species From Wallacea.

Accurate identification of evolutionarily significant units of rare and threatened organisms provides a foundation for effective management and conservation. Up to seven subspecies of the critically endangered Yellow-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) have been described, four of which were commonly recognised pre-2014. In the absence of genotypic data, C.

Trends in nationwide incidence of uveitis in South Korea using the National Health Insurance claims database from 2010 to 2021.

Objectives: To investigate the population-based incidence of uveitis and the differences between anterior and non-anterior uveitis using the comprehensive Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database.

Methods: We extracted data of patients who visited the clinic and were diagnosed with uveitis (based on Korean Classification of Diseases) from 2010 to 2021. The incidence of uveitis, differences between the demographics, and the underlying co-morbidities of anterior uveitis, non-anterior uveitis, and control groups were investigated.

Iron-glucose oxidase nanogel assembly for amplified starvation-ferroptosis anti-tumor therapy.

Developing advanced and effective enzyme-drug systems for cancer treatment is of significant interest. Herein, a novel approach is reported to create a highly active and robust enzyme-drug system. Glucose oxidase nanogels (nGOx) are first synthesized by polymerization on the surface of GOx using vinylimidazole as comonomers.

Hepatitis B Virus Exposure, Seroprotection Status, and Susceptibility in Health Care Workers From Lao People's Democratic Republic: Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Despite the high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in adults in Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Lao health care workers (HCWs) have previously been shown to have low levels of protection against infection. Furthermore, the prevalence of hepatitis D virus (HDV), which increases disease severity in individuals infected with HBV, is not known in Lao PDR.

Objective: This study aimed to estimate the exposure and seroprotection against HBV, as well as exposure to HDV, in Lao HCWs from 5 provinces.

Iridium-Catalyzed Enantioconvergent Construction of Piperidines and Tetrahydroisoquinolines from Racemic 1,5-Diols.

We report herein a one-step synthesis of valuable enantioenriched piperidines and tetrahydroisoquinolines from readily available racemic 1,5-diols. Key to the success is the development of new iridacycle catalysts that enable efficient redox-neutral construction of two C-N bonds between diols and amines in an enantioconvergent fashion. Mechanistic studies identified an intriguing preferential oxidation of secondary versus primary alcohol in the diol substrate by the iridacycle catalyst, which set a challenging intermolecular amination of aryl-alkyl-substituted alcohol as the enantiodetermining step for this catalytic -heterocycle synthesis.

Selective Photocatalytic C─H Oxidation Using All-Inorganic Perovskite Quantum Dots Encapsulated in UiO-Series MOFs.

All-inorganic cesium lead halide (CsPbX, X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite quantum dots (PeQDs) are successfully incorporated within the cages of zirconium-based UiO-series metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) using in situ ship-in-a-bottle method at room temperature under ambient conditions. The resulting mBPP-MOF, which includes the 4,4'-(2,2'-bipyridyl-5,5'-diyl)dibenzoic acid (HBPP) linker, features a larger cavity size than UiO-66 and UiO-67-bpy, allowing for uniform accommodation of PeQDs within its cages. This PeQDs@MOF hybrid heterostructure enhances the separation and transfer of photogenerated charges, enabling the synthesized CsPbBr@mBPP-MOF to demonstrate highly selective and stable performance in the photocatalytic oxidation of toluene under visible light irradiation at 395 nm.

The Impact of a New Case-Based Payment System on Quality of Care: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis in China.

Purpose: China has developed and widely piloted a new case-based payment, ie, the "Diagnosis-Intervention Packet" (DIP) payment, which has a granular classification system. We evaluated the impact of DIP payment on the quality of care in a large pilot city in China and explored potential mechanisms of quality change.

Methods: The city started to implement DIP payment with a hospital-level cap on July 1, 2019.

Concurrently Boosting Activity and Stability of Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalysts via Judiciously Crafting Fe-Mn Dual Atoms for Fuel Cells.

The ability to unlock the interplay between the activity and stability of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) represents an important endeavor toward creating robust ORR catalysts for efficient fuel cells. Herein, we report an effective strategy to concurrent enhance the activity and stability of ORR catalysts via constructing atomically dispersed Fe-Mn dual-metal sites on N-doped carbon (denoted (FeMn-DA)-N-C) for both anion-exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFC) and proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). The (FeMn-DA)-N-C catalysts possess ample dual-metal atoms consisting of adjacent Fe-N and Mn-N sites on the carbon surface, yielded via a facile doping-adsorption-pyrolysis route.