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Divergent vascular courses in the submental lymph node flap revealed by cadaveric study
Based on “space-culture-role” three-dimensional integration perspective for construction of characteristic conservation areas for traditional villages in Southwest Zhejiang, China
Harnessing the multifunctional bioagent Streptomyces sp. SP5 for Fusarium wilt suppression, metabolite-mediated antioxidant activity, and plant growth promotion
Synergistic effect of naphthalene acetic acid and salicylic acid on the growth and tolerance mechanism of cucumber under salt stress
Abstract High soil salinity significantly hampers plant growth and crop yield by disrupting metabolic functions and causing oxidative, osmotic, and ionic stress. This study investigated the combined effects of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and salicylic acid (SA) in reducing salt stress in cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.) cv. AR-8, filling a knowledge gap regarding multilateral plant growth regulator (PGR) interactions under saline conditions. Cucumber seedlings were subjected to 80 mM NaCl, with or without 200 ppm NAA and 300 ppm SA. Salt stress notably decreased seedling vigor, biomass, and chlorophyll levels. However, combined NAA and SA treatments significantly mitigated these effects, leading to improvements in leaf area, plant height, and root activity compared to untreated stressed plants. The PGRs also enhanced fruit quality by increasing vitamin C, soluble sugars, and protein content. Additionally, they reduced oxidative stress markers such as electrolyte leakage and lipid peroxidation, while boosting antioxidant enzyme activities like catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and peroxidase. The treatments further influenced carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolism by modulating key enzymes, including sucrose phosphate synthase, glutamine synthetase, glutamate synthase, and glutamate dehydrogenase. This research highlights the synergistic effect of NAA and SA in promoting cucumber tolerance to salt stress and offers new insights into using multiple PGRs for crop resilience in saline environments. Future studies should aim to optimize PGR combinations and explore their molecular mechanisms in different crops under various stress conditions.
Mechanical performance and python-based TOPSIS ranking of carbon-filled Kevlar/Basalt/S-glass hybrid epoxy composites for automotive structural applications
Human pose recognition and automated scoring detection for sports rehabilitation
High alcohol consumption and early hip fracture risk in men and women
Abstract Our aim was to study whether hospitalizations due to high alcohol consumption, as an objective indicator of high alcohol consumption, is associated with hip fractures in non-elderly adults. The participants in this study consist of 10,043 men and women in a survey study in Stockholm 1969-70, when they were 18–25 years old. We used data on hospitalization events due to a hip fracture or a diagnosis indicating high alcohol consumption from 1970 to 2016 acquired from the National Patient Register. This allowed 47 years of follow-up, until the participants were 65–72 years old, an age-span that can be described as “non-elderly adults”. A Cox regression model was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of hip fractures, comparing individuals with and without a diagnosis indicating high alcohol consumption, treating this exposure as a time-varying covariate. There were 151 participants with at least one hip fracture, 86 women and 65 men. There were 450 participants, 173 women and 277 men, who had an alcohol related event, as an indication of alcohol abuse, during the follow-up time of which 24 (10 women and 14 men) also experienced a hip fracture. We found an elevated HR for hip fractures for non-elderly women (HR = 4.59, 95% CI = 2.12–9.95, p < 0.001) and men (HR = 7.65, 95% CI = 4.07–14.36, p < 0.001) with a previous hospitalization-diagnosis indicating high alcohol consumption.
Capecitabine combined with fecal microbiota transplantation prevents colorectal cancer progression through correction of microbial dysbiosis and immune regulation
A robust audio zero watermarking scheme using multi feature fingerprints and machine learning
Route-dependent dissemination with conserved blood–tumor barrier ultrastructure in intracranial metastasis models
Abstract The dissemination route of brain metastases dictates their spatiotemporal distribution, but whether it alters the ultrastructural state of the blood-tumor barrier remains unresolved. Here, we compared a modified hematogenous dissemination model that minimizes extracranial signal confounds with a direct intracranial inoculation model. The hematogenous model produced multifocal brain lesions, whereas the intracranial model formed unifocal masses. Longitudinal bioluminescence imaging revealed significantly different growth rates between models, yet no statistically significant difference in overall survival was detected under the current cohort sizes and humane endpoints. Critically, exploratory transmission electron microscopy at the tumor-brain interface revealed a conserved pathological phenotype of the blood-tumor barrier in established lesions, irrespective of the seeding route. This pattern was characterized by endothelial cell swelling, a discontinuous basement membrane, and retraction of astrocytic end-feet. These findings suggest that while the seeding route determines the macroscopic pattern of disease, the established brain microenvironment imposes a stereotyped mode of neurovascular unit failure. This work provides a methodologically refined platform for studying brain metastasis and presents direct ultrastructural evidence consistent with a conserved blood-tumor barrier pathology, outlining a testable conceptual framework. These hypothesis-generating ultrastructural observations, derived from representative specimens, warrant quantitative validation.
A single cell transcriptional profile of benign prostatic hyperplasia
Abstract Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is characterized by excessive cell proliferation and inflammation and affects most aging men. The development of new therapies for BPH requires a deeper understanding of the underlying pathophysiology and cellular components of BPH. Single-cell RNA-sequencing was performed on prostate tissue from 15 patients undergoing holmium laser enucleation of the prostate for treatment of BPH. Clustering and differential expression analysis on aligned single-cell RNA-seq data was performed to annotate all cell types. 16,234 cells were analyzed and specific stromal, epithelial, and immune subgroups were found to be strongly associated with inflammation. A rare luminal subgroup was identified and pseudotime analysis indicated this luminal subgroup might give rise to other luminal cells. Using a gene set derived from epithelial stem cells, we found that this luminal subgroup had a significantly higher stem cell signature score than all other epithelial subgroups, suggesting this subgroup is a luminal precursor state. Ligand-receptor interactions between stromal, epithelial, and immune cells were explored with CellPhoneDB. Significant interactions involving MIF, a pro-inflammatory cytokine that promotes epithelial cell growth and inflammatory response in the prostate, were identified between the progenitor-like luminal subgroup and both fibroblasts and macrophages. Our single-cell profiling of BPH provides a roadmap for investigating inflammation-linked cell subgroups and highlights a progenitor-like luminal subgroup interacting with other cell groups via MIF that may contribute to the inflammation and cell proliferation phenotype associated with BPH.
CCR7 immune cell receptor expression in inflammatory breast cancer
Towards the complexity of laugh communication in great apes: exact facial replications in laugh faces of orangutans and chimpanzees
Abstract Exact facial replications, where individuals match the same facial variant type (e.g., Duchenne smiles) of others, play a central role in everyday social interactions of humans. Such replications help to improve an understanding of others by allowing individuals to be emotionally more in tune with them and/or to predict their behaviours. In this study, we tested for exact facial replications in orangutans and chimpanzees – the great apes phylogenetically farthest from and closest to humans, respectively. We tested in 96 subjects (from altogether eight social groups) whether such facial replications occurred within three seconds for laugh faces, homologues of human smiles/laugh faces. We focused on two variant types (laugh faces with and without the upper teeth exposed), using a two-step method. Our study revealed that both the orangutans and chimpanzees showed exact facial replications for laugh faces where the upper teeth were not exposed, i.e., the variant type that was least associated with rough/risky play. Such variant preference for exact replications might help being emotionally more in tune with others and/or predict their behavioural actions – either one could lead to important advantages, such as prolonging play (a correlation found for the studied orangutans). These findings infer an evolutionary continuity of exact facial replications across great apes (and humans) and a complexity for pre-human laugh communication. Laugh faces of ancestral apes must have already been complex in form and function 10–16 million years ago, and later within the hominin lineage become even more effective tools of everyday social communication.
Multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii shows epidemiology and transmission patterns in a China tertiary hospital ICU
A bayesian network approach for systemic risk analysis in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations
Adherence to international neural monitoring study group (INMSG) guidelines for intraoperative nerve monitoring in thyroid and parathyroid surgery. A survey of endocrine surgeons in Spain
Stigma, discrimination and associated determinants among people living with HIV/AIDS accessing Anti-Retroviral Therapy in Ikeja, Lagos state, Nigeria
Abstract Stigmatization and discrimination toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) continue to be significant hurdles to successful treatment and social integration, especially in Nigeria. These barriers have a negative impact on mental health, deter disclosure, and reduce access to healthcare. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence, types, and causes of stigma and discrimination among PLWHA receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study of 400 PLWHA on ART was done at three randomly chosen treatment centers. Structured questionnaires and the Berger HIV Stigma Scale were used to collect information about individualized stigma, disclosure concerns, negative self-image, and public attitudes. The statistical study used descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression, with a significance level of p < 0.05. Overall, 37.7% of individuals reported stigma in hospital settings, 41.5% received negative attitudes from family or friends, and 48.7% felt ashamed or condemned because of their situation. Fear of revelation was widespread, with 65% refusing to declare their status. Stigma had a major impact on mental health (64.3%) and reduced ART access for 39.7% of responders. Younger age (20–39 years), poor income, HIV-positive partners, and disclosure of status were all significant predictors of stigmatization. Discrimination was highly related to occupation, gender, and socioeconomic status. Stigma and discrimination continue to be pervasive in Ikeja, limiting PLWHA access to healthcare and negatively impacting their psychological well-being. To establish a more inclusive and supportive environment, it is necessary to enhance anti-discrimination regulations, train healthcare providers, educate the public, and implement socioeconomic empowerment activities.