Browse Articles

Regulating Corporate Control in the U.S. Health Care System

A CrOA-tuned cascaded (2DOF-PDf)–(LTI) controller for coordinated LFC–AVR regulation in interconnected power systems

Romiplostim versus Placebo for Chemotherapy-Induced Thrombocytopenia

How common bacteria fasten their armour

Comparative studies targeting the best dyeing conditions for pure, blend and modified fabrics with novel nano-disperse reactive dyes and their biological activity

Abstract Here, in the current work, three different types of novel nano-disperse reactive dyes ( 3a , 3b , and 4 ) based on the pyrazolone moiety with one or two reactive centers were synthesized and used to study the effect of the kind and number of reactive groups on dyeing performance. The structure of the synthesized nano-disperse dyes was confirmed using different spectroscopic techniques. The dyeing properties of newly synthesized dyes have been investigated for dyeing different fabrics under traditional conditions. On the other hand, we studied the effect of changes in pH, dyeing bath temperature, and dyeing time through statistically designed experiments to determine the optimal conditions for achieving high fixation and good color fastness. After careful investigation, we found that dye 3a , which has a vinyl sulfone group as a reactive group center in its structure, gave the best and highest value of fixation (K/S%) ranging from (12.17–50.85) in almost all of the examined fabrics (polyester, cotton, polyester/wool, polyester/cotton and polyester/chitosan) except wool, taking into consideration the change of suitable temperature, pH level, and dyeing time for each type of fabric. Critically, the synthesized dyes exhibited significant and structure-dependent antimicrobial activity against the Gram-positive ( S. epidermidis , S. haemolyticus , MRSA) and Gram-negative ( E. coli , K. pneumoniae , P. aeruginosa ) bacteria and the pathogenic yeast C. albicans . Data revealed that dye 3b possessed exceptional broad-spectrum potency, specifically against S. haemolyticus , MRSA, K. pneumoniae , and C. albicans .

Kidney Transplantation in Two Highly Sensitized Candidates after CAR T-Cell Therapy

A progressive fine-tuning strategy for domain-specific large language models in wastewater treatment plants safety

Fasting, Glucocorticoids, and Breast Cancer

Real-world use of submaximal doses of long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide in patients with obesity: a prospective observational study

Left Atrial Appendage Closure — Should Recommendations Be Expanded?

Stimulus statistical context sensitivity of deviant responses to auditory intensity changes

Abstract Mismatch negativity (MMN) is widely used to study sensory function and its clinically-relevant perturbations, and is modulated by the preceding statistical stimulus context, e.g. standard deviation (SD) of tone frequencies. It is unknown whether similar statistical modulation applies to changes in stimulus intensity; whilst MMN is elicited by intensity changes, intensity is encoded differently to other sensory features, including non-topographic organisation, and absence of single-unit responses to intensity decreases. In two related EEG experiments on normal-hearing volunteers ( n  = 17/15), we replicate findings from other stimulus properties, showing that MMN to intensity deviants is larger within a low-SD stimulus context. However, we found several differences between high- and low- (vs. standard) intensity deviants. Statistical modulation of high-intensity MMN began earlier, and was robust across both experiments. Low-intensity MMN modulation began later, and was only elicited by one of the two experimental paradigms, which we suspect indicates that adaptation over long timescales and/or higher cortical levels may be required for its statistical modulation.

Polymyalgia Rheumatica

Spatial and seasonal dynamics of aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish communities in relation to water quality variation in the Nile Valley, Egypt

Perversity in Medicine — When Vocation and Corporatization Clash

Chaotic dynamics of Tai Chi public attention revealed by an integrated framework of horizontal visibility graphs, autoencoders, and sparse identification

Advancing Indigenous Health Equity in Medical School Curricula

Surgeons in imperial China used anaesthetics — in careful doses

Myosin forces remodel F-actin for mechanosensitive protein recognition

Abstract Cells interface mechanically with their surroundings through cytoskeleton-linked adhesions 1,2 , which enable them to sense physical cues that instruct development and drive diseases such as cancer 3–5 . Contractile forces generated by myosin motor proteins 6,7 mediate these mechanical signal transduction processes through unknown protein structural mechanisms. Here we show that force generated by myosin elicits structural changes in actin filaments (F-actin) that modulate binding by the mechanosensitive adhesion protein α-catenin 8 . Using correlative cryo-fluorescence microscopy and cryo-electron tomography, we identify F-actin featuring sinusoidal regions of nanoscale oscillating curvature at cytoskeleton–adhesion interfaces enriched in zyxin, a marker of actin–myosin-generated traction forces 9 . We introduce a reconstitution system for visualizing F-actin in the presence of myosin forces using cryo-electron microscopy, which reveals morphologically similar F-actin supercoils. In simulations, compressive forces that mimic myosin activity produce supercoils, which can be generated by ensembles of asynchronous motors regardless of their directionality. Three-dimensional reconstruction of supercoils uncovers extensive asymmetric remodelling of the helical lattice of F-actin. This is recognized by α-catenin, which binds cooperatively along individual strands, preferentially engaging interfaces that feature extended inter-subunit distances while simultaneously suppressing rotational deviations to regularize the lattice. In sum, we find that myosin forces can deform F-actin, generating a conformational landscape that is detected and reciprocally modulated by a mechanosensitive protein, providing a direct structural glimpse at active force transduction through the cytoskeleton.

Phase-noise and stability comparison of fiber-loop and integrated-waveguide coupling in optomechanical crystal oscillators

Abstract Optomechanical crystal cavities (OMCCs) display appealing features to function as on-chip photonic microwave oscillators (PMOs) when operated in the phonon lasing regime. Silicon OMCCs have so far demonstrated the best performance in terms of phase noise in a free-running configuration. Some preliminary experiments have also demonstrated that the generated microwave tone can be used for mixing wireless signals compliant with 5G standards. Still, more research is needed to identify the primary noise sources and determine the path towards improvement. Here, we report experiments on the realization of optomechanical PMOs operating at 4 GHz under two different driving conditions of the cavity: light coupling via a tapered fiber loop versus using an adjacent integrated waveguide illuminated by a lensed fiber. We performed measurements of the phase noise and the frequency stability in time of the detected tone for both cases and observed an improvement when the light is coupled by an adjacent integrated waveguide. This can be explained by the fact that the ambient-induced motion and changes due to perturbations in the refractive index of the medium surrounding the fiber loop result in variations of the coupling, which in turn affect the stability of the PMO. These results emphasize the relevance of a mechanically stable coupling technique when using such optomechanical devices in real applications, which can be of particular importance in environments where large vibrations are expected.

Chyluria from a Lymphatic–Urinary Fistula