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Ex vivo HNSCC clinical studies using saliva and antiviral or antibacterial chewing gums reveal reduction in carcinogenic microbes

Marketization of data elements drives the cultivation of competitive advantages in export products—Based on an export technology complexity perspective

The policy of marketizing data factors, recognized as a pivotal institutional innovation in the digital intelligence era, serves as a crucial catalyst for the high-quality development of enterprises. The intricate nature of export technology, which reflects the high-quality development of these enterprises, interacts synergistically with data marketization, thereby establishing a virtuous cycle. Utilizing data from China’s A-share listed companies spanning the years 2012–2022, this study employs a quasi-natural experiment framework, predicated on the establishment of a data trading center, to develop a difference-in-differences model aimed at assessing the impact of data element marketization on the technological complexity of enterprise exports. The findings indicate that the marketization of data factors significantly enhances the technological complexity of firms’ exports, a conclusion that remains robust across various tests. Mechanistic analyses reveal that marketization of data factors contributes to a reduction in transaction costs, bolsters innovation incentives, mitigates innovation risks, and improves total factor productivity, thereby facilitating an increase in export technological complexity. Furthermore, heterogeneity tests demonstrate notable disparities in the effects of data factor marketization on the enhancement of export technological complexity; specifically, enterprises exhibiting high agile response capabilities, advanced levels of smart technology, deeper applications of smart technology, and those operating within high-monopoly industries experience more pronounced benefits. This research offers new empirical insights into the role of data factors in promoting the high-quality development of trade and serves as a valuable reference for governmental policy formulation.

Enhanced interhemispheric functional connectivity in elderly anxiety patients with long-term benzodiazepine use: an fNIRS study

“I Still Need Your Help”: Online information seeking behavior of International Students in the United States on Reddit

This study examines the online information-seeking behavior of international students in the United States. Following the onset of COVID-19, their need for timely and relevant information becomes critical. Despite greater challenges than domestic students, limited research explores how international students use online platforms to meet their unique information needs. With online communities being essential sources of information and bridges for online social capital, our study analyzes the r/f1visa subreddit to examine international students’ information-seeking patterns before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, we identify unmet information needs through members’ interactions and recurring questions. Our analysis reveals a shift in topics, with pandemic discussions focusing on travel, financial difficulties, and entry concerns, while pre-pandemic conversations primarily about employment. The increased similarity among recurring questions during the pandemic suggests a convergence of shared struggles that fosters solidarity and emotional support, even as many informational needs remain inadequately addressed. By examining international students’ information needs through the theoretical lens of online social capital, this study contributes to understanding how crisis conditions reshape the dynamics of online communities, blurring traditional distinctions between bonding and bridging capital. The findings can inform universities, policymakers, and online community designers in developing more responsive and inclusive information environments that recognize both the instrumental and emotional support functions of digital platforms for international students.

Effects of steel slag content on the performance of alkali-activated coal gangue-slag mortar

Debunking misleading graphs effectively: How vocationally educated young adults perceive graphs

Misleading graphs can give readers a distorted view of the underlying data. We want to know how to most effectively correct misleading graphs and if it matters whether a correction uses the full-design of the original or a clean design with all embellishment and colors removed. We focus on vocationally educated young adults, a group that is vulnerable to misinformation and has so far been underrepresented in research. We use a mixed-method approach with a qualitative think-aloud task (n = 10, data collected in April 2023) and a quantitative survey (n = 130, data collected between July and October 2023). The think-aloud task showed that vocational students use a combination of calculating and estimating to process graphs, which contradicts existing literature, and that their perception is heavily influenced by context. The survey showed that graph corrections work in reducing misleading effects and also have a learning effect such that students are less misled by new misleading graphs of the same type. There was no difference between full-design and clean design corrections. These results imply that vocationally educated young adults can benefit from seeing corrections of misleading graphs.

Enhanced seed quality and physio-biochemical parameters in lentil through biochar and humic acid- based seed priming

A pictural guide to postmortem examination of elephants

The necropsy of an elephant represents a rare event for most veterinary pathology facilities outside of Africa and Asia. Here, we report a comprehensible, abundantly illustrated, step-by-step protocol adapted to the special technical and anatomical peculiarities of elephant necropsies with regard to the needed equipment, aspects of transmissible disease prevention and workplace safety, personnel, time efforts, as well as important elephant diseases and their zoonotic potential. Detailed instructions for dissection, macroscopic examination and sampling of all relevant organs and tissues are provided, along with checklists for preparation and smooth execution of elephant necropsies. Using the featured protocols, a complete elephant necropsy with generation of extensive samples for histological, microbiological, and molecular analyses can be performed by 10–12 persons (5–6 pathologists and 5–6 assistants) within 4–6 hours in case of an adult animal.

Health-FedNet: secure federated learning for chronic disease prediction on MIMIC-III with differential privacy and homomorphic encryption

Research on a dynamic early warning model based on refined threshold analysis: Case study of the Tanjiawan Landslide

After rainfall-induced landslides enter the creep deformation stage, timely mitigation is often challenging, making reasonable and effective early warning critical for reducing disaster losses. This study focuses on the Tanjiawan landslide, introducing the concept of “a single rainfall process” to characterize the rainfall process affecting landslide deformation. Based on a detailed analysis of deformation characteristics such as displacement and displacement rate under rainfall, the least squares method is used to identify the “failure inflection point” and “stable inflection point” on the “step-like” deformation curve to determine the accelerated deformation interval. This approach further establishes the antecedent rainfall threshold ( Pe ), current rainfall ( P ), and displacement rate threshold ( V ). Subsequently, a refined dynamic early warning model is developed by integrating the function F ( V , P , Pe ) with a Logistic regression model. The findings indicate: (1) The deformation of the Tanjiawan landslide is closely correlated with rainfall processes, with cumulative displacement curves exhibiting distinct “step-like” characteristics and displacement rates showing a “lagged attenuation” phenomenon. (2) Finer monitoring cycles enable more precise capture of dynamic landslide deformation, resulting in more reliable displacement rate thresholds. (3) The landslide early warning model can dynamically adjust monitoring cycles based on the evolutionary characteristics of deformation stages, achieving adaptive monitoring optimization.

Immune checkpoint inhibition increases antigen-specific T cell response in head and neck cancer

Abstract Therapeutic strategies which target immune checkpoint markers and enable the immune system to initiate immune responses against tumor cells represent a major advancement in cancer therapy. The response rate to anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibition in head and neck cancer is about 20%, which underlines the importance of finding further immune-based treatment options. Furthermore, the effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors on antigen-specific T cells have not yet been sufficiently explored, therefore more detailed investigations are required. In mixed lymphocyte-peptide cultures, specific cytotoxic T cells were generated against various tumor-associated antigens. Several tumor-associated antigens such as MAGE, PRAME and NY-ESO-1 were identified as the most potent immunostimulatory agents. The immune response of those specific T cells against head and neck cancer cell lines was measured in ELISPOT assays. The influence of PD-1 and other immune checkpoints on the peptide-specific immune response was investigated with T cells from healthy donors in conjunction with HNSCC tumor cells. Especially the anti-PD-1 antibody is able to increase antigen-specific immune responses. The combination of anti-PD-1 and other checkpoint inhibitors, like LAG-3 or TIM-3, lead to little or no synergistic effects. Antigen-specific vaccination in combination with PD-1 checkpoint inhibition may therefore be a potential future therapeutic option in head and neck cancer to generate an enhanced anti-tumor immune response. Based on the study findings, an increase antigen-specific immune response by vaccinating the patient with a tumor-associated peptide in combination with anti-PD-1 antibody would be advantageous in HNSCC. Efforts into finding and developing new combination therapies should be further advanced.

Choosing the best route: Comparative optimization of wheat transformation methods for improving yield by targeting TaARE1-D with CRISPR/Cas9

Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important crops worldwide, supplying a major share of calories and protein for the global population. Incorporating gene editing into breeding programs is critical to improve yield and stress tolerance, yet wheat remains difficult to transform and regenerate efficiently. These bottlenecks limit the full application of CRISPR/Cas9 for improvement yield in wheat. To address this, transformation parameters were optimized for three methods: immature embryo transformation, callus transformation, and injection-based in planta transformation. Systematic optimization of Agrobacterium strain, bacterial density, acetosyringone concentration, and incubation conditions resulted in substantially improved transformation success. Efficiencies of 66.84% for immature embryos, 55.44% for callus, and 33.33% for in planta transformation were achieved, representing more than tenfold increase compared with previously reported rate of ~3%. A key innovation was the shortening of the callus induction stage for immature embryos, reducing the time required for plant regeneration by approximately one month while maintaining high transformation efficiency. The protocols were validated through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of TaARE1-D , a negative regulator of nitrogen uptake and yield. Generated mutants exhibited increased grain number, spike length, grain length, and thousand-grain weight, as well as the characteristic stay-green phenotype associated with loss of TaARE1-D function. The optimized protocols provide robust platforms to accelerate gene-editing in wheat to increase yield and stress-tolerance.

Enhancing travel advisory zones for autonomous vehicles using interval-valued pythagorean fuzzy Yager-based decision-making

Effect of high time under tension strength training on different muscular actions in the performance of runners: A randomized controlled trial

Background Strength training (ST) for runners is typically based on low volumes and high intensities. However, alternative approaches emphasizing higher volume and lower intensity, such as protocols with high time under tension (TUT), remain underexplored in this population. Notably, the effects of high-TUT may vary depending on the predominant type of muscle contraction. Objectives To analyze the impact of strength training with high time under tension on different muscle actions in performance-related variables in runners. Methods Thirty-four physically active young males were randomly divided into three groups: dynamic strength training, isometric strength training, and a control group. Over four weeks, the training groups performed two weekly sessions of bodyweight exercises with equalized time under tension per set (84 s), adjusted according to the type of contraction. The primary outcomes were performance in a 3000-meter time trial, peak torque, countermovement jump, neuromuscular fatigue, internal running load, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation. The data were analyzed using a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance. Results Peak torque increased by 13.3% in the dynamic group and 14.2% in the isometric group, compared with 2.5% in the control, with statistical significance only for the isometric group ( p  = 0.034, d  = 1.12). Vertical jump height improved by 5.4% in the dynamic group and 4.1% in the isometric group compared with 0.7% in the control ( p  = 0.003, d  = 1.54 and p  = 0.030, d  = 1.13, respectively). Conclusion In conclusion, high time under tension strength training, both dynamic and isometric, improved neuromuscular characteristics in runners. However, these adaptations did not translate into significant changes in running performance or running economy over the duration of the intervention. Trial registration This trial was registered in the Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry (ReBEC) with the identifier RBR-686kqdx.

Replacing soil with waste gangue for the ecological remediation of mining areas facilitated by plant-promoting microorganisms and porous materials

Abstract Coal-mining byproducts like coal gangue (CG), green mudstone (GC), and oil shale (OS) pose significant risks to the ecological environment and social safety. In this study, waste gangue was treated in situ without supplementary soil addition. Moreover, the effects of plant growth substrates prepared by incorporating chicken manure (+), plant growth-promoting microorganisms (+M), and porous materials (+MM) on soil nutrients, plant growth, and microbial communities were investigated. Compared with untreated gangue, organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, available nitrogen, and available phosphorus in the CG + MM, OS + MM, and GC + MM groups increased by 170%, 14%, 93%, 174%, 1951%; 51%, 15%, 262%, 147%, 480%; and 230%, 23%, 85%, 78%, 1,186%, respectively. Regarding plant growth, CG had no significant effect on Lolium growth, whereas GC and OS drastically decreased Lolium biomass. However, the addition of exogenous substances promoted Lolium growth. Microbial community network analysis confirmed the presence of Bdellovibrio , Halomonas , Nocardioides , Sphingobacterium , Streptomyces , and WD2101 soil groups in the CG group; Bdellovibrio , Chloroplast , Lysobacter , Methylophaga , and WD2101 soil groups in the GC group; and Antarcticibacterium , Chloroplast , Methylophaga , Paracoccus , Pontibacter , and Rhodonellum in the OS group. All microbes played key roles in maintaining the microbial community structure. These findings provide novel insights into the ecological restoration of gangue.

Integrated metabolomics and bioactivity analysis of new chrysanthemum cultivar petals: Insights into eye-protecting agents

Chrysanthemum is a globally significant economical crop. Through broadly targeted metabolomics, 58 polyphenols and 65 xanthophylls were quantitatively and qualitatively assessed in chrysanthemum petals. Carotenoids including β-cryptoxanthin, lutein stearate, lutein distearate, lutein dioleate, and lutein oleate, emerged as the primary compounds in both ligulate and tubular flowers, and their levels remaining relatively high and stable during the second to fifth stages of chrysanthemum flower development. However, the compound content varied across developmental stages and tissues. Additionally, the activity of a novel chrysanthemum cultivar extract was evaluated; at a concentration of 62.5 μg/mL, it exhibited significantly greater anti-apoptotic effects than glutathione ( p  < 0.001). Moreover, various concentrations of the chrysanthemum extract demonstrated a clear trend in preventing retinopathy. This study integrated chemical composition analysis with activity evaluation to offer fresh insights into the mechanism underlying the development of eye-protecting agents derived from chrysanthemum flowers.

Impact of EMS call timing on bystander CPR and survival after cardiac arrest in care facilities

Cardiac markers in children and adolescents at the onset of type 1 diabetes mellitus

Background The incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children and adolescents is rising, and both micro- and macrovascular complications pose significant health risks. For ketoacidosis or fluctuations in blood glucose, myocardial injury may occur and lead to severe complications. Cardiac markers such as high-sensitivity troponin T and N-terminal pro-b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are used to detect cardiovascular damage in adults but have been explored less in pediatric populations with T1DM. Objective We aimed to investigate the relationships between high-sensitivity troponin T and NT-proBNP levels at T1DM onset and their associations with metabolic markers (Hemoglobin A1c, pH, and glucose) to identify potential early markers of myocardial damage in children with diabetes. Methods 306 children and adolescents with newly diagnosed T1DM were enrolled from our hospital, while a matched control group of 1,259 healthy children was drawn from the LIFE Child study. Blood samples were analyzed for high-sensitivity troponin T and NT-proBNP concentrations. Descriptive statistics and censored regression models were used to assess associations between biomarkers and metabolic parameters. Results Children with recent T1DM had significantly higher high-sensitivity troponin T levels and lower NT-proBNP levels than the control group. High-sensitivity troponin T levels were positively correlated with Hemoglobin A1c in the T1DM group, while NT-proBNP levels were negatively associated with the pH value. For blood glucose levels, a significant correlation was found between blood glucose and high-sensitivity troponin T, but no association was observed with NT-proBNP. There was a significant association between weight change during hospitalization and high-sensitivity troponin T in female patients. Conclusion Elevated high-sensitivity troponin T and reduced NT-proBNP levels at T1DM onset suggest early myocardial stress in affected children. These cardiac markers, in conjunction with metabolic parameters, could serve as potential early indicators of cardiovascular risk in this population.

Dynamical cross-correlations between RR and QT intervals in long-term electrocardiogram recordings

Feasibility and testing outcomes of task-shared implementation of advanced HIV disease point of care tests in Beira (Mozambique) and Kinshasa (DRC)

Introduction Mortality from advanced HIV disease (AHD) remains high and current strategies to promptly test people eligible for AHD screening, are insufficient. Task sharing for point of care (POC) testing utilizing lay health workers (LHW) is recommended, however it is marginally practised in many countries. This study sought to describe the feasibility and testing outcomes of task-shared implementation of the AHD POC diagnostic tests utilizing LHW and professional health care workers (HCW). Methods This was a cross-sectional mixed-methods implementation study in seven primary and three secondary health facilities, in Mozambique and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). From March to November 2022, consenting HIV positive adults eligible for AHD screening, were offered Visitect CD4 lateral flow assay (LFA), and or subsequently urinary Mycobacterium tuberculosis lipoarabinomannan antigen (TB LAM) and cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) tests. The primary study outcome was the proportion of testers (LHW and HCW) who found it ‘easy’ to integrate the 3 POC tests within their routine work together with their opinions on the value of task shared AHD POC testing. Results A total of 1542 patients were screened for AHD by 35 LHW (34 counsellors, and 1 lay educator) and 45 professional HCW (28 nurses and 9 clinical officers and 8 doctors). In the study period, LHW conducted a median number of 27 [IQR: 16–34] Visitect CD4 LFA tests, whereas nurses, clinical officers together with doctors conducted 19 and 11 respectively. Visitect CD4 LFA increased CD4 testing by 10.7% in Munhava (Beira) and 22.9% in CHK (DRC), complementing existing CD4 testing instruments. Among testers who completed the feasibility survey, nearly sixty percent of testers (25/42; LHW in particular) found it easy to integrate AHD POC testing within their routine workflow. The prevalence of AHD was 39.2% (604/1542). A total of 34% (146/430) and 5.4% (22/407) of patients tested positive for urine TB LAM and plasma CrAg respectively. Of these, 82.2% (120/146) and 36.4% (8/22) had a documented therapeutic intervention. The median time for completing the Visitect CD4 LFA and conveying the results to the clinician was 59 minutes [IQR: 48–71]. Conclusion Task-shared integrated testing for AHD at POC among LHW and professional HCW, is feasible and can improve access to AHD testing. However, as POC testing responsibilities become shared, documentation of testing activities could increase in complexity and can be easily fragmented, especially when there is limited supervision. Nevertheless, LHW are well suited for POC testing due to limited availability and higher clinical workload of other HCW.