Contamination assessment and source identification of metals and metalloids in submicron road dust (PM) in Moscow Megacity.

The content of 39 metals and metalloids (MMs) in submicron road dust (PM fraction) was studied in the traffic zone, residential courtyards with parking lots, and on pedestrian roads in parks in Moscow. The geochemical profiles of PM vary slightly between different types of roads and courtyards but differ significantly from those in parks. In Moscow, compared to other cities worldwide, submicron road dust contains less As, Sb, Mo, Cr, Cd, Sn, Tl, Ca, Rb, La, Y, U, but more Cu, Zn, Co, Fe, Mn, Ti, Zr, Al, V.

The global implications of a Russian gas pivot to Asia.

Recent years have seen unprecedented shifts in global natural gas trade, precipitated in large part by Russia's war on Ukraine. How this regional conflict impacts the future of natural gas markets is subject to three interconnected factors: (i) Russia's strategy to regain markets for its gas exports; (ii) Europe's push towards increased liquified natural gas (LNG) and the pace of its low carbon transition; and (iii) China's gas demand and how it balances its climate and energy security objectives. A scenario modelling approach is applied to explore the potential implications of this geopolitical crisis.

Development and Selection of Candidate Monoclonal Antibodies for the Detection of Clostridium botulinum Neurotoxin Serotype B Light Chain.

Botulinum neurotoxin, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, causes botulism, a severe, rapidly progressing, and potentially fatal condition. Swift detection of the toxin and timely administration of antitoxin antibodies are critical for effective treatment. The current standard for Botulinum toxin testing is the mouse lethality assay, but this method is time-consuming and requires live animals.

Altered thalamotemporal structural connectivity is associated with autistic traits in children with ASD.

Background: Thalamocortical functional and structural connectivity alterations may contribute to clinical phenotype of Autism Spectrum Disorder. As previous studies focused mainly on thalamofrontal connections, we comprehensively investigated between-group differences of thalamic functional networks and white matter pathways projecting also to temporal, parietal, occipital lobes and their associations with core and co-occurring conditions of this population.

Methods: A total of 38 children (19 with Autism Spectrum Disorder) underwent magnetic resonance imaging and behavioral assessment.

Updates on Intrinsic Medicinal Chemistry of 1,4-dihydropyridines, Perspectives on Synthesis and Pharmacokinetics of Novel 1,4-dihydropyrimidines as Calcium Channel Blockers: Clinical Pharmacology.

Background: Several chemical studies described the physiological efficacy of 1,4- dihydropyridines (DHPs). DHPs bind to specific sites on the α1 subunit of L-type calcium channels, where they demonstrate a more pronounced inhibition of Ca2+ influx in vascular smooth muscle compared to myocardial tissue. This selective inhibition is the basis for their preferential vasodilatory action on peripheral and coronary arteries, a characteristic that underlies their therapeutic utility in managing hypertension and angina.

Boosting the performance of a zero-gap flow microbial fuel cell by immobilized redox mediators.

Although microbial fuel cells (MFC) could be a promising energy source, their implementation is largely limited by low performance. There are several approaches to overcome this issue. For example, MFC performance can be enhanced using redox mediators (RM) capable of transferring electrons between microorganisms and MFC electrodes.

The first experimentally obtained dataset on processing parameters and properties of soft magnetic composites.

The present work describes the process of the creation and analysis of the first dataset containing processing parameters and functional properties of soft magnetic composites (SMC). All data were obtained experimentally using Fe-3% MgO system. When creating samples, parameters such as a size of MgO nanoparticles, pressing pressure, sintering temperature, time and atmosphere were varied.

Production, Delivery, and Regulatory Aspects for Application of Plant-Based Anti-microbial Peptides: a Comprehensive Review.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small, positively charged biomolecules produced by various organisms such as animals, microbes, and plants. These AMPs play a significant role in defense mechanisms and protect from adverse conditions. The emerging problem of drug resistance in microbes poses a global health challenge in treating diseases.

Pharmacological targeting of caspase-8/c-FLIP heterodimer enhances complex II assembly and elimination of pancreatic cancer cells.

Extrinsic apoptotic network is driven by Death Ligand (DL)-mediated activation of procaspase-8. Recently, we have developed the first-in class small molecule, FLIPinB, which specifically targets the key regulator of extrinsic apoptosis, the protein c-FLIP, in the caspase-8/c-FLIP heterodimer. We have shown that FLIPinB enhances DL-induced caspase-8 activity and apoptosis.

Early noninvasive ventilation in general wards for acute respiratory failure: an international, multicentre, open-label, randomised trial.

Background: The impact of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) managed outside the intensive care unit in patients with early acute respiratory failure remains unclear. We aimed to determine whether adding early NIV prevents the progression to severe respiratory failure.

Methods: In this multinational, randomised, open-label controlled trial, adults with mild acute respiratory failure (arterial oxygen partial pressure/fraction of inspiratory oxygen [Pao/FiO] ratio ≥200) were enrolled across 11 hospitals in Italy, Greece, and Kazakhstan.

Optimizing combination targeted immunotoxin therapy: Insights from HER2 and EpCAM expression profiles.

Molecular targeted cancer therapy is a rapidly developing field, driving progress toward greater treatment efficacy. However, targeted monotherapy often fails due to the development of multidrug resistance in tumors. The combination of multiple targeted agents emerges as a possible solution to enhance treatment outcomes by activating different signaling pathways.

Contrasting effects of arsenic on mycorrhizal-mediated silicon and phosphorus uptake by rice.

Silicon (Si) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) increase plant resistance to various environmental stresses, including heavy metal (and metalloid) toxicity. Although Si and AMF each independently enhance plant tolerance, the nature of their interactions and their combined impacts on nutrient uptake, especially in the context of toxic elements such as arsenic (As), remains to be elucidated. This study investigated AMF-mediated regulation of plant nutrient uptake under As stress using rice, a model Si-accumulating plant.

Electrocardiographic marker of ventricular action potential triangulation (the simulation study).

Background: The aim of this simulation was to examine the utility of a novel ECG-based index of cardiac action potential (AP) triangulation, the Tstart-to-Tpeak (TsTp) interval-to-JTstart (JTs) interval ratio, for assessment of changes in AP profile imposed through variations in the duration of the plateau phase and the phase 3 repolarization.

Methods: ECGs were simulated using a realistic rabbit model based on experimental data. The AP plateau was measured at APD30, and the phase 3 was assessed as APD90-to-APD30 difference (AP durations at 90 % and 30 % repolarization, respectively).

Variability of Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease questionnaire (PsAID12) thresholds in psoriatic arthritis: data from the ReFlaP study.

Objectives: To explore thresholds for the Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Impact of Disease questionnaire (PsAID12) score against disease activity measures in an observational setting, in patients with PsA.

Methods: The baseline data from the ReFlaP observational, prospective, multicentre and international study was used (NCT03119805). Cutoffs for PsAID12 were determined against disease activity scores, defining disease impact states (ie remission, low impact, moderate impact and high impact).

Laser speckle contrast imaging with principal component and entropy analysis: a novel approach for depth-independent blood flow assessment.

Current study presents an advanced method for improving the visualization of subsurface blood vessels using laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI), enhanced through principal component analysis (PCA) filtering. By combining LSCI and laser speckle entropy imaging with PCA filtering, the method effectively separates static and dynamic components of the speckle signal, significantly improving the accuracy of blood flow assessments, even in the presence of static scattering layers located above and below the vessel. Experiments conducted on optical phantoms, with the vessel depths ranging from 0.

Extracellular phospholipase, protease and hemolysin production by strains of opportunistic yeasts from the excreta of Mew Gulls breeding in natural and urban habitats.

Extracellular hydrolytic activity (phospholipase, protease and hemolysin production) was evaluated in 178 strains of potentially pathogenic ascomycetous (Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis) and basidiomycetous (Rhodotorula mucilaginosa) yeasts isolated from the excreta of Mew Gulls. Two bird colonies, one nesting in a natural habitat and the other in an urban habitat at the landfill, were studied simultaneously during their 7-month breeding season. Significant differences in phospholipase and protease production were found between natural and anthropophized strains.

The Replicability Crisis and Human Agency in the Neo-Structured World.

The paper analyzes current discussions concerning the so called "replicability crisis" - a notion describing difficulties in attempts to confirm existing research findings by their additional scrutiny or by new empirical studies. We propose interpretation that this "crisis" may be seen as a manifestation of the increasing inconsistency between, on the one hand, the outdated views on a human being and social structures dominating in the academic mainstream across various disciplines, including psychology and sociology, and, on the other hand, the reality of the emerging new stage of societal evolution, neo-structuration, which brings to the forefront individual agency. Our analysis suggests the possibilities for the future inter-disciplinary paradigmatic shift, which implies putting in the center of research not the idea of a constant or predictably developing individual in the context of solid external structures operating in line with a presumably sustainable "progress".

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Dementia aggravates most cerebrovascular lesions, which requires differentiating the developed microcirculatory changes when making a diagnosis. We consider the features of cerebral microcirculation disorders in Alzheimer's disease (AD), distal cerebral atherosclerosis, Binswanger's disease (BD), and vascular parkinsonism (VP).

Method: The study included 1024 patients who underwent: assessment of CDR, TDR, MMSE, cerebral MRI, MRA, CT, MSCTA, scintigraphy (SG), rheoencephalography (REG), cerebral multi-gated angiography (MUGA).

Optical Excitation of Coherent THz Dynamics of the Rare-Earth Lattice through Resonant Pumping of f-f Electronic Transition in a Complex Perovskite DyFeO_{3}.

Resonant pumping of the electronic f-f transitions in the orbital multiplet of dysprosium ions (Dy^{3+}) in a complex perovskite DyFeO_{3} is shown to impulsively launch THz lattice dynamics corresponding to the B_{2g} phonon mode, which is dominanted by the motion of Dy^{3+} ions. The findings, supported by symmetry analysis and density-functional theory calculations, not only provide a novel route for highly selective excitation of the rare-earth crystal lattices but also establish important relationships between the symmetry of the electronic and lattice excitations in complex oxides.

R(3780) Resonance Interpreted as the 1^{3}D_{1}-Wave Dominant State of Charmonium from Precise Measurements of the Cross Section of e^{+}e^{-}→Hadrons.

We report the precise measurements of the cross section of e^{+}e^{-}→hadrons at center-of-mass energies from 3.645 to 3.871 GeV.

Dose threshold for residual γH2AX, 53BP1, pATM and p-p53 (Ser-15) foci in X-ray irradiated human fibroblasts.

Background: Enumeration of residual DNA repair foci 24 hours or more after exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) is often used to assess the efficiency of DNA double-strand break repair. However, the relationship between the number of residual foci in irradiated cells and the radiation dose is still poorly understood. The aim of this work was to investigate the dose responses for residual DNA repair foci in normal human fibroblasts after X-ray exposure in the absorbed dose range from 0.

Global, regional, and national burden of primary liver cancer attributable to metabolic risks: an analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2021.

Background: The global burden of metabolic diseases is increasing, but estimates of their impact on primary liver cancer are uncertain. We aimed to assess the global burden of primary liver cancer attributable to metabolic risk factors, including high body mass index (BMI) and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels, between 1990 and 2021.

Methods: The total number and age-standardized rates of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from primary liver cancer attributable to each metabolic risk factor were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2021.

Flavuside B exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in Staphylococcus aureus infected skin wound and affect the expression of genes controlling bacterial quorum sensing.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of marine fungal cerebroside flavuside B (FlaB) on Staphylococcus aureus-infected keratinocytes in in vitro skin wounds and to identify FlaB targets in bacterial and human cells.

Methods And Results: A combination of ELISA, plate spectrofluorimetry, and flow cytometry with fluorescence dye staining, scratch assay, and real-time cell imaging techniques was used to investigate the effects of FlaB on S. aureus-infected HaCaT keratinocytes.

Structural and magnetic phase transitions in EuLaFe(BO) (x = 0, 0.18).

The crystal structures and hyperfine magnetic parameters of EuFe(BO) and mixed EuLaFe(BO) were studied over a wide temperature range in order to analyze correlations of the structural and magnetic features and the phase transitions in multiferroic compounds of the rare-earth iron borate family. The chemical compositions of the crystals are reported from X-ray fluorescence analysis. The crystal structures of EuFe(BO) and EuLaFe(BO) were determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction in the temperature range 25-500 K.

Seroprevalence of measles antibody among immigrants in Gwangju, South Korea.

Introduction: Measles remains a public health concern, particularly among populations with suboptimal vaccination coverage, including immigrants. Understanding the seroprevalence of measles antibodies in immigrant populations is essential to inform tailored vaccination strategies and reduce the risk of measles reintroduction.

Methods: This study evaluated measles IgG seroprevalence among 651 immigrants from 30 countries residing in Gwangju, South Korea.