Application of attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in semi-quantification of blood lipids and characterization of the metabolic syndrome.

Background/purpose: Dyslipidemia, a hallmark of metabolic syndrome (MetS), contributes to atherosclerotic and cardiometabolic disorders. Due to days-long analysis, current clinical procedures for cardiotoxic blood lipid monitoring are unmet. This study used AI-assisted attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to identify MetS and precisely quantify multiple blood lipid levels with a blood sample of 0.

Sox2 interacts with Atoh1 and Huwe1 Loci to regulate Atoh1 transcription and stability during hair cell differentiation.

Stem cell pluripotency gene Sox2 stimulates expression of proneural basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factor Atoh1. Sox2 is necessary for the development of cochlear hair cells and binds to the Atoh1 3' enhancer to stimulate Atoh1 expression. We show here that Sox2 deletion in late embryogenesis results in the formation of extra hair cells, in contrast to the absence of hair cell development obtained after Sox2 knockout early in gestation.

First report of Gulupa baciliform virus A associated with passion fruit in China.

Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) is a commercially important crop known for its nutritional value, high antioxidant content, and use in beverages and desserts. Gulupa baciliform virus A (GBVA), tentatively named Badnavirus in the family Caulimoviridae, is a cryptic circular double-stranded DNA (dsDNA, ≈6,951 bps) virus recently reported in Colombia with asymptomatic infection of passion fruit (Sepúlveda et al. 2022).

Denosumab withdrawal increases vertebral fracture and mortality risk compared with zoledronate.

Objective: Rebound vertebral fractures (VFs) after Denosumab (Dmab) withdrawal have been documented, highlighting the need for further research into this phenomenon and the importance of a well-planned strategy for discontinuing Dmab.

Methods: From the TriNetX US network, we enrolled osteoporosis patients aged 50 years or older who had withdrawn from at least two doses of Dmab and compared them with a matched cohort who had received at least one dose of zoledronate (ZOL) before discontinuation. We analyzed hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and conducted Kaplan-Meier analyses, along with subgroup analyses, drug discontinuation modification, and sensitivity analyses.

Long-term Thyroid Outcomes After COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cohort Study of 2,333,496 Patients from the TriNetX Network.

Context: Reports on long-term thyroid dysfunction following COVID-19 vaccination are limited. Understanding the risk of subacute thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism, and hypothyroidism in vaccinated individuals is crucial for post-vaccination monitoring.

Objective: This study evaluated the risk of thyroid dysfunction in COVID-19 vaccinated individuals compared to unvaccinated individuals using a large cohort.

Adjuvant Atezolizumab for Early Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: The ALEXANDRA/IMpassion030 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Triple-negative breast cancer is an aggressive subtype with a high incidence in young patients, a high incidence in non-Hispanic Black women, and a high risk of progression to metastatic cancer, a devastating sequela with a 12- to 18-month life expectancy. Until recently, one strategy for treating early-stage triple-negative breast cancer was chemotherapy after surgery. However, it was not known whether the addition of immune therapy to postsurgery chemotherapy would be beneficial.

Effects of acute exercise on cognitive function: A meta-review of 30 systematic reviews with meta-analyses.

This meta-review provides the first meta-analytic evidence from published meta-analyses examining the effectiveness of acute exercise interventions on cognitive function. A multilevel meta-analysis with a random-effects model and tests of moderators were performed in R. Thirty systematic reviews with meta-analyses (383 unique studies with 18,347 participants) were identified.

Latent Profile Analysis of Fatigue Subtypes in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes.

Background: People with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) commonly report a higher fatigue intensity than the general population. However, effective fatigue management is lacking because little is known about other fatigue characteristics, including timing, distress, and quality, as well as the potential fatigue subtypes experienced in people with T2DM.

Objective: To describe fatigue intensity, timing, distress, and quality, and identify fatigue subtypes in people with T2DM.

Lipid Levels and Lung Cancer Risk: Findings from the Taiwan National Data Systems from 2012 to 2018.

Background: Lipids are known to be involved in carcinogenesis, but the associations between lipid profiles and different lung cancer histological classifications remain unknown.

Methods: Individuals who participated in national adult health surveillance from 2012 to 2018 were included. For patients who developed lung cancer during follow-up, a 1:2 control group of nonlung cancer participants was selected after matching.

Effect of composition, temperature, and grain size on mechanical behavior and deformation mechanism of lightweight magnesium alloy.

Context: To address the severe fuel crisis and environmental pollution, the use of lightweight metal materials, such as AZ alloy, represents an optimal solution. This study investigates the mechanical behavior and deformation mechanism of AZ alloys under uniaxial compressive using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The influence of various compositions, grain sizes (GSs), and temperatures on the compressive stress, the ultimate compressive strength (UCS), compressive yield stress (CYS), Young's modulus (E), shear strain, phase transformation, dislocation distribution, and total deformation length is thoroughly examined.

Linking the function of -acting RNA elements to coronavirus replication using interactomes.

RNA structures that are functionally important are defined as -acting RNA elements because their functions cannot be compensated for in trans. The -acting RNA elements in the 3' UTR of coronaviruses are important for replication; however, the mechanism linking the -acting RNA elements to their replication function remains to be established. In the present study, a comparison of the biological processes of the interactome and the replication efficiency between the 3' UTR -acting RNA elements in coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, suggests that (i) the biological processes, including translation, protein folding and protein stabilization, derived from the analysis of the -acting RNA element interactome and (ii) the architecture of the -acting RNA elements and their interactomes are highly correlated with coronavirus replication.

Validation of a Pretransplant Risk Prediction Model for Early Allograft Dysfunction After Living-donor Liver Transplantation.

Background: Early allograft dysfunction (EAD) affects outcomes in liver transplantation (LT). Existing risk models developed for deceased-donor LT depend on posttransplant factors and fall short in living-donor LT (LDLT), where pretransplant evaluations are crucial for preventing EAD and justifying the donor's risks.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from 2944 adult patients who underwent LDLT at 17 centers between 2016 and 2020.

Efficacy and safety of risankizumab for the treatment of patients with plaque type psoriasis.

Risankizumab (Skyrizi, Abbvie, North Chicago, IL, USA) is a humanized immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 monoclonal antibody targeting the p19 subunit of IL-23, thereby inhibiting IL-23-dependent releasing of proinflammatory cytokines in plaque psoriasis. Risankizumab is licensed is most countries for the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, and in Japan for generalized pustular psoriasis, erythrodermic psoriasis and palmoplantar pustulosis. Risankizumab showed higher efficacy and favorable safety profiles in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, compared with adalimumab, secukinumab and ustekinumab in several randomized controlled phase 3 pivotal studies and among real-life data in large retrospective studies.

Venous thromboembolism in bullous pemphigoid: current evidence and update on systematic review.

Various studies have shown that individuals with bullous pemphigoid (BP) are more likely to develop venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, it is important to acknowledge that these studies primarily focused on individuals in Western nations, which restricts their generalization to a wider demographic. The present systematic review aims to assess the cumulative risk of VTE in individuals with BP compared to healthy individuals.

Emerging trends in cervical cancer incidence among younger Taiwanese generations: an urban-rural comparison.

Background: Despite global declines in cervical cancer incidence, certain regions observe unexpected rising trends among younger generations.

Methods: This study uses the age-period-cohort model to examine long-term incidence trends of invasive cervical cancer in Taiwan. Data were sourced from the Taiwan Cancer Registry.

Re-evaluating large for gestational age: differential effects on perinatal outcomes in term and premature births.

Objective: Pregnancies with large-for-gestational-age (LGA) fetuses are associated with increased risks of various adverse perinatal outcomes. While existing research primarily focuses on term neonates, less is known about preterm neonates. This study aims to explore the risks of adverse maternal and neonatal perinatal outcomes associated with LGA in term neonates and neonates with different degrees of prematurity, compared to appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) neonates.

On some integral inequalities of Grüss type involving the generalized fractional Saigo -integral operator.

Using the generalized Saigo fractional integral operator, the authors of this study prove several novel fractional integral inequalities of the Grüss type. By fixing the values of functions, specific situations derived from previously established findings are shown. The ultimate purpose of this work is to investigate the Grüss-type integral inequalities with the Saigo -integral operator, a more generalized integral operator.

Predicting Survival Outcomes for Patients with Ovarian Cancer Using National Cancer Registry Data from Taiwan: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Ovarian cancer is one of the top seven causes of cancer deaths. Incidence of ovarian cancer varies by ethnicity, where Asian women demonstrate lower incidence rates than non-Hispanic Blacks and Whites. Survival prediction models for ovarian cancer have been developed for Caucasians and Black populations using national databases; however, whether these models work for Asians is unclear.

Synergistic effects of and zinc oxide in polyvinyl alcohol films for enhanced UV and blue light shielding, antimicrobial properties, and hydrophobicity: improving application performance in sustainable packaging and protective eyewear.

This study investigates the development and characterization of a novel composite material consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) integrated with (UG) and zinc oxide (ZnO) as fillers. The synergistic effects of UG and ZnO were investigated, focusing on their ability to enhance the film's properties. UV-vis spectrophotometry demonstrated that the composite film effectively blocked all UV (UV-A and UV-B) and blue light wavelengths.

Artificial intelligence-enhanced electrocardiography improves the detection of coronary artery disease.

An AI-assisted algorithm has been developed to improve the detection of significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in high-risk individuals who have normal electrocardiograms (ECGs). This retrospective study analyzed ECGs from patients aged ≥ 18 years who were undergoing coronary angiography to obtain a clinical diagnosis at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan. Utilizing 12-lead ECG datasets, the algorithm integrated features like time intervals, amplitudes, and slope between peaks, a total of 561 features, with the XGBoost model yielding the best performance.

Combination of reverse shock index and simplified motor score as a strong discriminator of trauma outcomes.

Background: The reverse shock index multiplied by simplified motor score (rSI-sMS) is a novel and rapid measure for assessing injury severity in patients with trauma in prehospital settings; however, its discriminant ability requires further validation.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted from trauma database of Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital to compare the accuracy of the rSI-sMS with that of the shock index, modified shock index, reverse shock index multiplied by the Glasgow Coma Scale (rSI-GCS), and the reverse shock index multiplied by GCS motor subscale (rSI-GCSM) for discriminating in-hospital mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, prolonged ICU stays ≥14 days, and prolonged hospital stays ≥30 days in patients with trauma.

Results: A total of 11,760 patients from the trauma database were included.

Interfacial Engineering Facilitates Real-Time Detection of Dual Hazardous Gases at ppb Levels via Single-Step Hydrothermal Nanoarchitectonics of Self-Assembled PbSnS/SnO Heterostructures.

Next-generation real-time gas sensors are crucial for detecting multiple gases simultaneously with high sensitivity and selectivity. In this study, ternary metal sulfide (PbSnS)-incorporated metal oxide (SnO) heterostructures were synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method. Characterizations such as X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the successful formation of PbSnS/SnO heterostructures.