Browse Articles

Research on visual comfort of color matching in space station experiment module

Robotic fingers can tell objects apart by touch

Dipeptidyl peptidase DPF-3 is a gatekeeper of microRNA Argonaute compensation in animals

Assessment of utilization of automated systems and laboratory information management systems in clinical microbiology laboratories in Thailand

Introduction Clinical microbiology laboratories are essential for diagnosing and monitoring antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Here, we assessed the systems involved in generating, managing and analyzing blood culture data in these laboratories in an upper-middle-income country. Methods From October 2023 to February 2024, we conducted a survey on the utilization of automated systems and laboratory information management systems (LIMS) for blood culture specimens in 2022 across 127 clinical microbiology laboratories (one each from 127 public referral hospitals) in Thailand. We categorized automated systems for blood culture processing into three steps: incubation, bacterial identification, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). Results Of the 81 laboratories that completed the questionnaires, the median hospital bed count was 450 (range, 150-1,387), and the median number of blood culture bottles processed was 17,351 (range, 2,900-80,330). All laboratories (100%) had an automated blood culture incubation system. Three-quarters of the laboratories (75%, n = 61) had at least one automated system for both bacterial identification and AST, about a quarter (22%, n = 18) had no automated systems for either step, and two laboratories (3%) outsourced both steps. The systems varied and were associated with the hospital level. Many laboratories utilized both automated systems and conventional methods for bacterial identification (n = 54) and AST (n = 61). For daily data management, 71 laboratories (88%) used commercial microbiology LIMS, three (4%) WHONET, three (4%) an in-house database software and four (5%) did not use any software. Many laboratories manually entered data of incubation (73%, n = 59), bacterial identification (27%, n = 22) and AST results (25%, n = 20) from their automated systems into their commercial microbiology LIMS. The most common barrier to data analysis was ‘lack of time’, followed by ‘lack of staff with statistical skills’ and ‘difficulty in using analytical software’. Conclusion In Thailand, various automated systems for blood culture and LIMS are utilized. However, barriers to data management and analysis are common. These challenges are likely present in other upper-middle-income countries. We propose that guidance and technical support for automated systems, LIMS and data analysis are needed.

PNO1 enhances ovarian cancer cell growth, invasion, and stemness via activating the AKT/Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Deciphering the dark cancer phosphoproteome using machine-learned co-regulation of phosphosites

Accuracy and repeatability of the COSMED® Q-NRG max mobile metabolic system

Purpose To investigate the accuracy and repeatability of the Q-NRG Max® metabolic system against a VacuMed metabolic simulator using a wide range of metabolic rates. Methods Sixteen metabolic rates (oxygen consumption 0.9–6 L/min), with different combinations of minute ventilation, oxygen consumption, and carbon dioxide production, were measured for 5 minutes, two times by a single Q-NRG Max® unit over the course of one week. Recordings were performed early in the morning, by the same trained technician, in a ventilated laboratory under the same atmospheric conditions. Accuracy was assessed by ordinary least products (OLP) regression analysis, Bland-Altman plots, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), mean percentage differences, technical errors (TE) and minimum detectable change (MDC) for all three variables. This analysis was performed using 10 metabolic rates (oxygen consumption 0.9–4 L/min) and 16 metabolic rates (oxygen consumption 0.9–6 L/min) to allow comparisons with previous research. Intra-device repeatability was performed by absolute percentage differences between measurements (MAPE), ICC, TE, and MDC for the same variables. Repeatability was investigated using 16 metabolic rates. Results High agreement and excellent ICCs (>0.998) were observed for all variables when considering both 10 and 16 metabolic rates. The mean percentage difference, TE and MDC were 0.87%–1.01%, 0.67%–1.07%, 1.55%–2.49%, respectively for the first 10 metabolic rates, and −0.39%–0.65%, 0.58%–1.63%, 1.35%–3.81%, respectively for the 16 metabolic rates. The intra-device repeatability results showed an excellent ICCs (=1.000), MAPE < 0.5%, TE < 1%, and MDC ≤ 2%. Conclusion The Q-NRG Max® is a valid and reliable mobile metabolic system for the measurement of ventilation, oxygen consumption, and carbon dioxide production. Measurements were below the 5% TE and MDC, and 2% MAPE recommended thresholds across a wide range of metabolic rates up to 6 L/min oxygen consumption.

Genome-wide associations of sweetpotato metabolites enhance genomic prediction and identify genes in metabolic and regulatory pathways

Injectable bioadhesive and lubricating hydrogel with polyphenol mediated single atom nanozyme for rheumatoid arthritis therapy

Correction: Potentials of invasive Bidens pilosa, Conyza bonariensis and Parthenium hysterophorus species based on germination patterns and growth traits

Brain handedness associations depend on how and when handedness is measured

Mechanically weak and highly dynamic state of mechanosensitive titin Ig domains induced by proline isomerization

Correction: Longitudinal mediation analysis of the factors associated with trajectories of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among postpartum women in Northwest Ethiopia: Application of the Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) method

Adherence to the planetary health diet reduces dietary costs by 21% supporting affordable healthy eating among older adults in Iran

Structurally heterogeneous ribosomes cooperate in protein synthesis in bacterial cells

Abstract Ribosome heterogeneity is a paradigm in biology, pertaining to the existence of structurally distinct populations of ribosomes within a single organism or cell. This concept suggests that structurally distinct pools of ribosomes have different functional properties and may be used to translate specific mRNAs. However, it is unknown to what extent structural heterogeneity reflects genuine functional specialization rather than stochastic variations in ribosome assembly. Here, we address this question by combining cryo-electron microscopy and tomography to observe individual structurally heterogeneous ribosomes in bacterial cells. We show that 70% of ribosomes in Psychrobacter urativorans contain a second copy of the ribosomal protein bS20 at a previously unknown binding site on the large ribosomal subunit. We then determine that this second bS20 copy appears to be functionally neutral. This demonstrates that ribosome heterogeneity does not necessarily lead to functional specialization, even when it involves significant variations such as the presence or absence of a ribosomal protein. Instead, we show that heterogeneous ribosomes can cooperate in general protein synthesis rather than specialize in translating discrete populations of mRNA.

The relationship between body image and nutritional behaviors in adult individuals

Objective Dissatisfaction with body image and maladaptive nutritional behaviors can have profound effects on psychological, social, and physical health and may pave the way for the development of eating disorders. However, research into this topic in the adult population is relatively limited. Therefore, this study aimed to examine various factors affecting dissatisfaction with body image and maladaptive nutritional behaviors in adults living in Türkiye and the relationship between these two concepts. Methods This descriptive study was conducted with 3,153 adult individuals who were ≥  18 years old living in Türkiye. The data of the study, which was conducted as an online survey, were collected using the Descriptive Information Form, the Body Image Scale, and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire. Results Of the participants, 70.1% were women. The mean age was 28.02 ± 9.27 (Min.: 18, Max.: 74) years. The relationship between the mean scores on the total Body Image Scale and Uncontrolled Eating (r = -0.094, p < 0.000), Emotional Eating (r = -0.171, p < 0.001), and Susceptibility to Hunger (r = -0.108, p < 0.001) scores was negative. A statistically significant and positive relationship was detected between the mean scores on the total Body Image Scale and the Cognitive Restraint score (r = 0.089, p < 0.001). Statistically significant relationships were detected in the model adjusted for age and gender between the Body Image Scale and Emotional Eating scores (B = -1.085, p < 0.000), and Cognitive Restraint scores indicated positive relationships (B = 0.848, p < 0.001). Conclusion Body image satisfaction was found to be negatively associated with uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, and susceptibility to hunger. On the other hand, a positive relationship was found between body image satisfaction and cognitive restraint. These findings highlight the critical importance of body image satisfaction on eating behaviors and provide potential insight into prevention and intervention programs to improve body image to promote adaptive eating behaviors in the adult population.

Three decades of atrial fibrillation and flutter epidemiology and risk factors in Iran with a focus on the impact of COVID-19

Abstract Atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF/AFL) is one of the most common sustained heart rhythm disorders in clinical practice and a major public health concern. This study aimed to evaluate the disease burden of AF/AFL in Iran and analyze trends using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 data, by age, sex, location, risk factor, and socio-demographic index (SDI), considering the impacts of COVID-19. Data on the prevalence, incidence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), deaths, and six attributable risk factors related to AF/AFL in Iran and its 31 provinces from 1990 to 2021 was collected from the GBD 2021 study. The International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes used were I48–48.9 for ICD-10 and 427.3 for ICD-9. The data was sourced from surveys, censuses, vital statistics, and other health-related records. In Iran, in 2021, the AF/AFL age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) was 40.6 (30.0 to 54.4), the age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR) was 425.4 (327.2 to 559.2), the age-standardized DALY rate was 72.4 (57.4 to 88.3), and the age-standardized death rate (ASDR) was 3.3 (2.5 to 3.8) per 100,000 population. Following COVID-19, there were significant decreases in age-standardized DALY and death rates over 2019–2021. By province, Fars had the highest AF/AFL ASIR and ASPR in 2021. In addition, East and West Azarbayejan had the highest age-standardized DALY rate and ASDR, respectively. The national incidence, prevalence, DALYs, and death rates of AF/AFL showed an overall increasing trend with age. Males experienced higher rates of incidence and prevalence compared to females. In contrast, females had higher rates of DALYs and deaths compared to males. The burden of AF/AFL increased with advancing age. The risk factor with the highest DALYs and deaths attributable to AF/AFL was high systolic blood pressure. Notably, no remarkable association was found between SDI and the burden of AF/AFL in Iran. The incidence and prevalence of AF/AFL in Iran have significantly increased, highlighting the critical need for cost-effective and nationwide interventions.

Elisabeth Vrba obituary: palaeontologist who solved a problem that vexed Darwin

Balancing carrier transport in interconnection layer for efficient perovskite/organic tandem solar cells

Data-driven cultural background fusion for environmental art image classification: Technical support of the dual Kernel squeeze and excitation network

This study aims to explore a data-driven cultural background fusion method to improve the accuracy of environmental art image classification. A novel Dual Kernel Squeeze and Excitation Network (DKSE-Net) model is proposed for the complex cultural background and diverse visual representation in environmental art images. This model combines the advantages of adaptive adjustment of receptive fields using the Selective Kernel Network (SKNet) and the characteristics of enhancing channel features using the Squeeze and Excitation Network (SENet). Constructing a DKSE module can comprehensively extract the global and local features of the image. The DKSE module adopts various techniques such as dilated convolution, L2 regularization, Dropout, etc. in the multi-layer convolution process. Firstly, dilated convolution is introduced into the initial layer of the model to enhance the original art image’s feature capture ability. Secondly, the pointwise convolution is constrained by L2 regularization, thus enhancing the accuracy and stability of the convolution. Finally, the Dropout technology randomly discards the feature maps before and after global average pooling to prevent overfitting and improve the model’s generalization ability. On this basis, the Rectified Linear Unit activation function and depthwise convolution are introduced after the second layer convolution, and batch normalization is performed to improve the efficiency and robustness of feature extraction. The experimental results indicate that the proposed DKSE-Net model significantly outperforms traditional Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and other existing state-of-the-art models in the task of environmental art image classification. Specifically, the DKSE-Net model achieves a classification accuracy of 92.7%, 3.5 percentage points higher than the comparative models. Moreover, when processing images with complex cultural backgrounds, DKSE-Net can effectively integrate different cultural features, achieving a higher classification accuracy and stability. This enhancement in performance provides an important reference for image classification research based on the fusion of cultural backgrounds and demonstrates the broad potential of deep learning technology in the environmental art field.