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This key protein could be responsible for brain ageing

Intracellular Photocatalytic NADH/NAD(P)H Oxidation for Cancer Drug Development

Exploring the placement of gambling problems within the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology

The placement of gambling problems within the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) framework, which organizes psychopathology alongside broad overarching symptom spectra, is unclear. With the objective to identify associations between gambling problems and the internalizing, externalizing, and thought disorder spectra of the HiTOP, we distributed an online survey to a sample of 1005 Swedish gamblers (52.4% men, aged 18 to 60 and older). Gambling problems were measured using the Problem Gambling Severity Index, and the main HiTOP spectra were assessed with brief versions of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms II, the Externalizing Spectrum Inventory, and the Thought Disorder Scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the brief HiTOP scales adequately captured the internalizing, externalizing, and thought disorder spectra. Within this structure, gambling problems emerged as a distinct factor significantly correlated with all three spectra and with unique associations with each: externalizing (β =  0.33, p < .001), thought disorder (β =  0.30, p = .001) and internalizing (β =  0.22, p = .022). In men, gambling problems were significantly associated with the thought disorder (β =  0.54, p < .001) and externalizing (β =  0.31, p < .001) spectra. In women, gambling problems were significantly associated with the externalizing (β =  0.39, p < .001) and internalizing (β =  0.35, p = .013) spectra. Our study is a first attempt to link gambling problems to the three main spectra of the HiTOP. Our findings show that gambling problems are associated with all three spectra and that there may be potential gender differences in the associations between gambling problems and co-occurring psychopathology.

Asymmetric Radical Cyclopropanation of α,β-Unsaturated Amides with α-Boryl and α-Silyl Dibromomethanes via Cr(II)-Based Metalloradical Catalysis

Novel non-synonymous and synonymous gene variants of SRD5A2 in patients with 46,XY-DSD and DSD-free subjects

SRD5A2 gene variants are associated with deficiency of steroid 5α-reductase type 2, which is an autosomal recessive disorder of sex development (DSD) present in 46,XY males with ambiguous genitalia. To determine the causality of the disorder, this study involved genetic screening of SRD5A2 in six unrelated patients with this condition. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays excluded large duplications, insertions, or deletions, while bidirectional Sanger sequencing identified 15 single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), six patients with 46,XY-DSD carrying pathogenic non-synonymous SNVs (nsSNVs), and three subjects who were DSD-free with novel synonymous SNVs (sSNVs). Genomic outcomes showed that 9 non-synonymous coding SNVs are linked to patients with SRD5A2-associated steroid 5α-reductase type 2 deficiency (c.169G > C: p.E57Q; c.145G > A: p.A49T/c.686T > C: p.F229S; c.100G > A: p.G34R/c.344G > A: p.G115D; c.591G > T: p.E197D; c.92C > T: p.S31F/c.481A > C: p.I161L (a novel missense variant; Km,app =  1.19 ±  0.1 μM, Vmax,app =  688 ±  145.8 pmol/mg P/min); c.686T > C: p.F229S). This analysis also highlighted 2 non-disease-causing sSNVs in three DSD-free subjects (c.243G > T: p.T81 = ; c.594C > T: p.I198=). These silent mutations or sSNVs in the SRD5A2 gene have no functional consequences and might not be involved in steroid 5α-reductase 2 deficiency. The identification of these sSNVs in both healthy controls and patients might suggest natural genetic variability with a very low allele frequency in the Mexican population. Furthermore, these findings indicated that nsSNVs in the SRD5A2 gene altered normal development of external male genitalia, supporting their pathogenicity.

Non-van-der-Waals Oriented Two-Dimensional UiO-66 Films by Rapid Aqueous Synthesis at Room Temperature

Spatiotemporal feature learning for actin dynamics

The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is a standard model system for studying cell motility and formation of biological patterns. D. discoideum cells form protrusions and migrate via cytoskeletal reorganization driven by coordinated waves of actin polymerization and depolymerization. Assembly and disassembly of actin filaments are regulated by a complex network of biochemical reactions, exhibiting sensitivity to external physical cues such as stiffness, composition and surface topography of the extracellular matrix, as well as the presence of external electric fields. In this study, we investigate whether the cellular microenvironment, and in particular the presence of electric fields and the nano-topography type, can be directly inferred from images or videos of actin waves. We employ three machine learning techniques to analyze the resulting videos: dictionary learning, scattering transforms, and optical flow. We predict the type of the extracellular environment by observing actin waves frame-by-frame and identifying key visual features that help classify cell motion by the microenvironment type. Our analysis reveals that the decomposition of static images into an adaptive basis of visual primitives provides a robust approach to classifying cells by the nano-topography type. In contrast, predicting whether cells are moving under the influence of an external electric field requires tracking of stable cellular features such as corners and edges over a period of time. We expect our computational approach to be useful in many settings where non-trivial collective dynamics is observed with the help of fluorescent labeling and video microscopy.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection therapies on the risk of venous thromboembolism and cardiovascular events from the SEMI-COVID-19 Registry

Hierarchical Reaction Logic Enables Computational Design of Complex Peptide Syntheses

Deaf children with cochlear implants in Chile: A national analysis of health determinants and outcomes in the Latin American context

Deafness from birth represents a critical challenge for children’s communication, with substantial public health considerations. One intervention has been cochlear implants (CI) for children with severe to profound deafness. Since 2008, Chile has implemented regulations to provide a CI at an early age. However, wide variability exists in factors and expected outcomes without previous national studies. This study aimed to characterise deaf children with CI in Chile and evaluate the impact of CI on speech perception and production, social inclusion, and parental satisfaction. We conducted a prospective study using hospital clinical records and an online questionnaire with 107 deaf children under 15 who had received CIs from 2017 to 2019. We characterised factors and outcomes and investigated the relationship between demographic, audiological, and social determinants of health and outcomes, including communication at home, CAPII, SIR, Geers and Moog Scale, Social Inclusion, and Parental Satisfaction. Our study showed a national profile of deaf children with CI, representing 70% of those implanted from 2017 to 2019. CI beneficiaries lived in more developed boroughs (.54) compared to the national average (.37). Communication and speech perception outcomes varied and were concerning, yet more positive outcomes were presented for social inclusion and parental satisfaction. We found an association between the measured outcomes and children’s age, a socio-economic factor, CI use and CI training. This novel national study supports integrating public services close to each beneficiary’s borough to improve outcomes with the device. CI use and parental training might be crucial measures during rehabilitation treatment.

The association of serum CHI3L1 levels with the presence of Kawasaki disease

Abstract Chitinase 3-like protein 1(CHI3L1) has been found to be a biomarker for inflammatory diseases, but the diagnostic value of Kawasaki disease (KD) is not investigated. A total of 180 subjects, including 80 KD patients, 70 febrile controls and 30 healthy controls were recruited. Serum of CHI3L1 were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The correlation between CHI3L1 and clinical parameters was assessed by Spearman correlation coefficient. Multiple logistic regression was employed to investigate the association between CHI3L1 and the incidence of KD. The diagnostic power was evaluated with the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Serum CHI3L1 levels in the KD group were significantly higher than those in the fever control group and healthy group. Compared with fever patients, both patients with incomplete KD and complete KD had higher serum CHI3L1 levels. Serum CHI3L1 levels were positively associated with white blood cell counts, neutrophils, platelet, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, alanine aminotransferase and the incidence of KD, and negatively associated with hemoglobin, aspartate aminotransferase and albumin. High CHI3L1 tertiles was significantly associated with the high incidence of KD in the unadjusted or adjusted models. Analysis of the Receiver operating characteristic curves, it was showed that the area under the curve was 0.908, with sensitivity of 0.838 and specificity of 0.8 for continuous CHI3L1, and was 0.884 for categorical CHI3L1, with sensitivity of 0.938 and specificity of 0.643 to distinguish all types of KD, respectively. CHI3L1 had the AUC of 0.901, with sensitivity of 0.826 and specificity of 0.8, and had the area under curve of 0.952, with sensitivity of 0.818 and specificity of 0.971 to discriminate complete KD and incomplete KD from febrile diseases, respectively. Serum of CHI3L1 may be a novel and reliable biomarker for the diagnosis of KD.

Pyridinium Rotor Strategy toward a Robust Photothermal Agent for STING Activation and Multimodal Image-Guided Immunotherapy for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Screening musicality in children: Development and initial validation of a new tool for rapid assessment of musical profiles

Musical development in childhood follows universal trajectories, such as the acquisition of basic rhythm and pitch recognition, alongside individual differences shaped by environmental, educational, and innate factors. Despite the importance of understanding these aspects for both research and educational purposes, there remains a significant gap in the availability of validated tools that can quickly and comprehensively assess musicality in children. To address this gap, this paper presents a series of studies on the development and validation of the Child Musicality Screening, a standardised instrument for the assessment of musicality in children aged 3 to 10 years. In Study 1, an initial pool of items was compiled and administered to 810 adults (293 English-speaking, 517 German-speaking) who regularly interact with children. Factor analysis was used to reduce the number of items and to identify three key dimensions of child musicality: Enthusiasm and Motivation, Music Perception, and Music Production. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis on ratings of parents (n =  305) and educators (n =  250) indicated moderate to high model fit, confirming the factor structure of the questionnaire. Interrater agreement between parents and educators was significant, with moderate agreement on the total scale and subscales. Preliminary evidence of convergent and divergent validity was also obtained. Study 3 further established the convergent and divergent validity, as well as internal reliability and test-retest reliability, of the instrument, using both English (n =  323) and German (n =  384) samples. Overall, the Child Musicality Screening is a newly developed tool for assessing individual musical profiles in children aged 3 to 10 years, with initial evidence supporting its validity and reliability. Available in both English and German, it offers a promising approach for researchers and educators to assess musicality, map developmental trajectories, identify musically gifted children, and enhance targeted music education.

Wavelet deep unfolding network for iterative stripe noise removal in wideband microwave imaging system for EMS localization

‘Perfect potato’ designed thanks to unearthed genetic diversity

Amplifying Magnetic Field Effects on Upconversion Emission via Molecular Qubit-Driven Triplet–Triplet Annihilation

Enhanced nitrate removal in aquatic systems using biochar immobilized with algicidal Bacillus sp. AK3 and denitrifying Alcaligenes sp. M3: A synergistic approach

This study investigates the effectiveness of biochar immobilized with algicidal Bacillus sp. AK3 and denitrifying Alcaligenes sp. M3 in mitigating harmful algal blooms (HABs) and reducing nitrate pollution in aquatic environments. Over a six-day period, we analyzed changes in algal bloom-forming Microcystis density, chlorophyll-a levels (indicative of algal biomass), nitrate concentration, and microbial community composition in water treated with biochar and Bacillus sp. AK3 and Alcaligenes sp. M3-immobilized biochar. In water treatment using the AK3 and M3-immobilized biochar, Microcystis density decreased from 600,000 cells/mL to 80,000 cells/mL, and chlorophyll-a concentrations also substantially reduced, from 85.7 µg/L initially to 42.8 µg/L. Nitrate concentrations in the AK3 and M3-immobilized biochar treatment significantly decreased from approximately 23 mg/L to around 14 mg/L by Day 6, demonstrating the enhanced denitrification capabilities of the immobilized Alcaligenes sp. M3 and associated bacterial communities. The results also showed significant shifts in bacterial communities, with a decrease in Microcystis, highlighting the specific algicidal activity of Bacillus sp. AK3. The study underscores the potential of biochar-based treatments as a sustainable and effective approach for improving water quality and mitigating the environmental impacts of nutrient pollution and HABs.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of animal experiments on Bushen formulas for the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome

Temperature-Dependent Mixed Valency in the Hexagonal Perovskite Cs₃NaFe₂Cl₉

Comparative study of artificial light plant factories and greenhouse seedlings of SAOPOLO tomato

In the summer, the high temperatures, high humidity, frequent rainstorms, and typhoons in the East China region limit the growth of SAOPOLO tomato seedlings. By using a plant factory combined with an LED artificial light environment, the light environment can be effectively controlled to produce high-quality seedlings. This study investigates the growth and energy consumption of tomato seedlings in an artificial light plant factory. The experiment compared tomato seedlings cultivated in the artificial LED light environment of a plant factory with those grown in a semi-enclosed seedling greenhouse. The study meticulously examined the actual growth and development processes of the tomato seedlings, systematically tracking and recording the specific impacts of different cultivation environments on the seedlings’ growth and development. Additionally, the experiment followed up on the fruiting conditions of the subsequent tomato plants. The experimental results show that compared to tomato seedlings grown in a greenhouse, those cultivated in the artificial light plant factory grew more slowly before grafting, characterized by slightly lower plant height, relatively smaller leaf area, and slightly thinner stems. However, after grafting, the growth rate of the tomato seedlings in the plant factory significantly accelerated, with increased plant height, leaf area, and stem diameter. On the 16th day after grafting, the cumulative leaf length and width fitting curves for the two cultivation methods coincided. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the electricity consumption during the tomato seedling cultivation process, including that for controlling environmental temperature and humidity and the LED artificial supplemental lighting in the plant factory, was significantly lower. Over the two-month seedling cultivation period, the resource consumption in the greenhouse was 220% and 281% higher than in the plant factory, respectively. Statistical results also showed that the mortality rate of tomato seedlings cultivated in the artificial light plant factory was only 4.3%, much lower than the 6.5% mortality rate in the greenhouse. When the subsequent tomato plants were uniformly transplanted to the greenhouse for cultivation and their fruit weights were measured and recorded, the results indicated no significant difference in the fruit weights of tomatoes grown in the plant factory compared to those grown in the greenhouse. Therefore, experimental evidence confirms that cultivating tomato seedlings in an artificial light plant factory can significantly reduce cultivation costs, increase seedling survival rates, and not affect tomato quality.