Keratin 17 and A2ML1 are negative prognostic biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer.

Although the overall prognosis for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has improved over the past several decades, there are still survival differences that are not accurately defined by clinicopathological factors. Thus, there is an unmet clinical need to develop novel approaches to enhance prognostic accuracy for these patients. Keratin 17 (K17) is a negative prognostic biomarker in a wide range of cancer types, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and pulmonary adenocarcinoma (LUAD), but has yet to be investigated as a prognostic biomarker in primary lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC).

Comments on Global Symmetries and Anomalies of 5 SCFTs.

We study various aspects of global symmetries in five-dimensional superconformal field theories. Whenever a supersymmetry-preserving relevant deformation is available, the infrared gauge theory description might exhibit a finite order mixed 't Hooft anomaly between a 1-form symmetry and the instantonic symmetry. This anomaly constrains the flavor symmetry group acting faithfully on the SCFT and the consistency of certain RG flows.

Robo-Matter towards reconfigurable multifunctional smart materials.

Maximizing materials utilization efficiency via enhancing their reconfigurability and multifunctionality offers a promising avenue in addressing the global challenges in sustainability. To this end, significant efforts have been made in developing reconfigurable multifunctional smart materials, which can exhibit remarkable behaviors such as morphing and self-healing. However, the difficulty in efficiently manipulating and controlling matter at the building block level with manageable cost and complexity, which is crucial to achieving superior responsiveness to environmental clues and stimuli, has significantly hindered the further development of such smart materials.

The surface diffusivity of nanoparticles physically adsorbed at a solid-liquid interface.

This work proposes an analytical model considering the effects of hydrodynamic drag and kinetic barriers induced by liquid solvation forces to predict the translational diffusivity of a nanoparticle on an adsorbing surface. Small nanoparticles physically adsorbed to a well-wetted surface can retain significant in-plane mobility through thermally activated stick-slip motion, which can result in surface diffusivities comparable to the bulk diffusivity due to free-space Brownian motion. Theoretical analysis and molecular dynamics simulations in this work show that the surface diffusivity is enhanced when (i) the Hamaker constant is smaller than a critical value prescribed by the interfacial surface energy and particle dimensions, and (ii) the nanoparticle is adsorbed at specific metastable separations of molecular dimensions away from the wall.

Structural mechanism of HP1⍺-dependent transcriptional repression and chromatin compaction.

Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) plays a central role in establishing and maintaining constitutive heterochromatin. However, the mechanisms underlying HP1-nucleosome interactions and their contributions to heterochromatin functions remain elusive. Here, we present the cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of an HP1α dimer bound to an H2A.

Statistical adiabatic channel model for termolecular reactions.

In this work, we present a statistical adiabatic channel model for termolecular reactions, A + B + C → Products. Our approach relies on hyperspherical coordinates, where the adiabatic channels are readily defined in the hyper-radius after averaging the hyperangular degrees of freedom. In this way, we find a general expression for termolecular rate constants.

Which cryptic sites are feasible drug targets?

Cryptic sites can expand the space of druggable proteins, but the potential usefulness of such sites needs to be investigated before any major effort. Given that the binding pockets are not formed, the druggability of such sites is not well understood. The analysis of proteins and their ligands shows that cryptic sites that are formed primarily by the motion of side chains moving out of the pocket to enable ligand binding generally do not bind drug-sized molecules with sufficient potency.

Assessing post-TAVR cardiac conduction abnormalities risk using an electromechanically coupled beating heart.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has rapidly displaced surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). However, certain post-TAVR complications persist, with cardiac conduction abnormalities (CCA) being one of the major ones. The elevated pressure exerted by the TAVR stent onto the conduction fibers situated between the aortic annulus and the His bundle, in proximity to the atrioventricular (AV) node, may disrupt the cardiac conduction leading to the emergence of CCA.

Links between climatic histories and the rise and fall of a Pacific chiefdom.

Sea level rise and climate change are shaping present societies, particularly those on oceanic islands. Few historical examples could serve as references for these changes. One such potential model is the Saudeleur Dynasty with its capital Nan Madol on the Pacific Island of Pohnpei.

Hybrid zinc oxide nanocoating on titanium implants: Controlled drug release for enhanced antibacterial and osteogenic performance in infectious conditions.

Implant-associated bacterial infections are a primary cause of complications in orthopedic implants, and localized drug delivery represents an effective mitigation strategy. Drawing inspiration from the morphology of desiccated soil, our group has developed an advanced drug-delivery system augmented onto titanium (Ti) plates. This system integrates zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays with a vancomycin drug layer along with a protective Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) coating.

Spatial Clustering of Rabies by Animal Species in New Jersey, United States, from 1989 to 2023.

Identifying spatial clusters of rabies in animals aids policymakers in allocating resources for rabies prevention and control. This study aimed to investigate spatial patterns and hotspots of rabies in different animal species at the county level in New Jersey. Data on animal rabies cases from January 1989 to December 2023 were obtained from the New Jersey Department of Health and aggregated by county.

A Vision and Proof of Concept for New Approach to Monitoring for Safer Future Smart Transportation Systems.

Transportation infrastructure experiences distress due to aging, overuse, and climate changes. To reduce maintenance costs and labor, researchers have developed various structural health monitoring systems. However, the existing systems are designed for short-term monitoring and do not quantify structural parameters.

Impact of NSD1 Alternative Transcripts in Actin Filament Formation and Cellular Division Pathways in Fibroblasts.

Germline variants in the NSD1 gene are responsible for Sotos syndrome, while somatic variants promote neoplastic cell transformation. Our previous studies revealed three alternative RNA isoforms of present in fibroblast cell lines (FBs): the canonical full transcript and 2 alternative transcripts, termed AT2 (NSD1 Δ5Δ7) and AT3 ( Δ19-23 at the 5' end). The precise molecular pathways affected by each specific isoform of are uncharacterized to date.

Basivertebral Nerve Ablation for Treatment of Lower Back Pain.

Lower back pain (LBP) is a widely prevalent global health issue, affecting over half a billion people and remaining the leading cause of years lived with disability (YLDs). LBP significantly impacts healthcare systems, with substantial costs related to surgical procedures and lost workdays. Vertebrogenic back pain (VBP), characterized by specific clinical symptoms and associated with Modic changes (MC) in vertebral endplates, best seen on MRI, is a significant subset of LBP.

Disparities in child protective services involvement in pediatric traumatic brain injury.

Purpose: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of pediatric death and disability. Abusive head trauma confers greater morbidity and mortality compared with accidental TBI. National trends reveal disproportionate involvement of minority children in the child welfare system.

Thermal Evaluation of Bone Drilling: Assessing Drill Bits and Sequential Drilling.

Sequential drilling is a common practice in dental implant surgery aimed at minimizing thermal damage to bone. This study evaluates the thermal effects of sequential drilling and assesses modifications to drilling protocols to manage heat generation. We utilized a custom drill press and artificial bone models to test five drill bits under various protocols, including sequential drilling with different loads, spindle speeds, and peck drilling.

Fatigue-Resistant Mechanoresponsive Color-Changing Hydrogels for Vision-Based Tactile Robots.

Mechanoresponsive color-changing materials that can reversibly and resiliently change color in response to mechanical deformation are highly desirable for diverse modern technologies in optics, sensors, and robots; however, such materials are rarely achieved. Here, a fatigue-resistant mechanoresponsive color-changing hydrogel (FMCH) is reported that exhibits reversible, resilient, and predictable color changes under mechanical stress. At its undeformed state, the FMCH remains dark under a circular polariscope; upon uniaxial stretching of up to six times its initial length, it gradually shifts its color from black, to gray, yellow, and purple.

Sex and the facilitation of cued fear by prior contextual fear conditioning in rats.

Previous studies have shown that the formation of new memories can be influenced by prior experience. This includes work using Pavlovian fear conditioning in rodents that has shown that an initial fear conditioning experience can become associated with and facilitate the acquisition of new fear memories, especially when they occur close together in time. However, most of the prior studies used only males as subjects, resulting in questions about the generalizability of the findings from this work.