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Salivary Biomarkers for Early Detection of Periodontal Diseases: A Systematic Review

Joubert syndrome 26 protein enforces compartmentalized motility of a ciliary kinesin

Cilia are essential cellular antennae that rely on precise motor-driven transport to assemble and function. Two kinesin-2 motors—kinesin-II and OSM-3 in Caenorhabditis elegans —cooperate to transport cargo along cilia, with kinesin-II operating in the middle segment and OSM-3 taking over distally. However, how kinesin-II is spatially confined to prevent its invasion into distal regions remains unclear. Here, we identify Joubert syndrome 26 protein (JBTS-26) as a critical regulator of this motor handover. JBTS-26 localizes to axonemal doublet microtubules in the ciliary middle segment, where it competes with kinesin-II for binding to the IFT-B subunit OSM-5/IFT88. This competition displaces kinesin-II from IFT particles, enabling OSM-3 to assume distal transport. Loss of JBTS-26 allows kinesin-II to invade the distal cilium and slows down IFT. Conversely, JBTS-26 overexpression accelerates IFT by prematurely releasing kinesin-II. Our findings reveal a mechanism for compartmentalized motor regulation and link defective motor handover to ciliopathy pathogenesis.

Photoexcited LMCT of Cu2+ perfluorocarboxylate for initiating efficient defluorination

Design, synthesis, and antifungal activity of 14-aryloxy/amide substituted andrographolide derivatives

Quantitative proteomic analysis reveals key proteins involved in radiation-induced brain injury

Objective Radiation-induced brain injury (RIBI) is a significant complication following radiotherapy for brain tumors, leading to neurocognitive deficits and other neurological impairments. This study aims to identify potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for RIBI by utilizing advanced proteomic techniques to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying RIBI. Methods A rat model of RIBI was established and subjected to whole-brain irradiation (30 Gy). Tandem mass tagging (TMT)-based quantitative proteomics, combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry, was used to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in the brain tissues of irradiated rats. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were conducted to identify the biological processes and pathways involved. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed to identify key hub proteins. Results A total of 35 DEPs were identified, including PHLDA3, APOE and CPE. GO enrichment analysis revealed that the DEPs were mainly involved in lipid transport, cell adhesion, and metabolic processes. KEGG analysis highlighted the enrichment of pathways related to metabolism, tight junctions, and PPAR signaling. APOE was identified as a key hub protein through PPI network analysis, indicating its potential role in RIBI pathophysiology. Immunohistochemistry further validated the increased expression of PHLDA3, APOE, and CPE in the brain tissue of irradiated rats. Conclusion This study provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms of RIBI by identifying key proteins and their associated pathways. The findings suggest that these proteins, particularly APOE and PHLDA3, could serve as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for clinical intervention in RIBI. These results not only enhance our understanding of RIBI’s molecular pathology but also open new avenues for the development of targeted therapies to mitigate radiation-induced neurotoxicity.

Erbium Laser-assisted Access Flap Periodontal Surgery: Advancing Personalized Periodontal Care through Minimally Invasive Technologies

Object continuity through invisible retinal motion at saccadic speed

Saccadic eye movements rapidly shift the visual scene across the retina, raising the question of how object correspondence is established between gaze fixations. Using submillisecond video projection, we isolated the role of high-speed retinal motion from saccade-related extraretinal signals. We introduced high-speed motion in a quartet motion display, a classic tool for studying long-distance object correspondence. While motion visibility dropped to chance level at saccadic speeds, even invisible motion robustly biased object correspondence. These results demonstrate that retinal motion alone can support object continuity across saccadic image shifts.

Understanding water behaviour on 2D material interfaces through single-molecule motion on h-BN and graphene

Abstract Understanding water behaviour on 2D materials is crucial for applications in sensing, microfluidics, and tribology. While graphene-water interactions are well studied, water on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) remains largely unexplored. Despite its structural similarity to graphene, h-BN possesses polar B-N bonds that give rise to distinct electronic and chemical properties. Most previous studies have also focused on multilayer water, leaving single-molecule dynamics poorly understood. Here we show how individual water molecules diffuse on h-BN compared to graphene using helium spin-echo spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. On h-BN/Ni, water exhibits coupled rotational-translational motion, in contrast to the discrete hopping observed on graphene. Water molecules rotate freely around their centre of mass, and although binding energies are similar on both materials, the activation energy for water dynamics on h-BN is 2.5 times lower than on graphene. These dynamics, which classical models fail to capture, highlight the fundamentally different nature of water transport on polar 2D surfaces. We further demonstrate that the supporting substrate strongly influences water friction, with h-BN/Ni showing markedly lower friction than graphene/Ni, opposite to the behaviour of free-standing layers. These findings challenge assumptions and offer insights for designing microfluidic devices requiring precise control of water mobility.

Caesalpinia sappan is a potent source of multi-functional bioactive compounds

Retraction: Spatial-temporal differences and convergence analysis of residential building carbon emission efficiency in China

Effect of Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors on the Bonding Durability of Nanocomposite Resin to Caries-affected Dentin: An In Vitro Study

Merging different allosteric mechanisms: The case of <i>Escherichia coli</i> glutathione reductase

Cooperative regulation of biomolecular function is critical for the ability of all organisms to respond effectively to environmental changes. Such regulation is often manifested in a sigmoidal dependence of enzyme activity on ligand concentration. Various molecular mechanisms have been proposed to underlie such sigmoidal behavior, but they are usually assumed to occur independently of one another. We hypothesized that coexistence of allosteric mechanisms can lead to complex kinetic behavior and higher or lower cooperativity than expected. A mathematical framework that analyses sigmoidal behavior as a function of two cooccurring mechanisms, hysteresis and homotropic binding cooperativity, was developed. The model shows, for example, that i) the observed cooperativity, as measured by the Hill coefficient, can decrease with increasing binding cooperativity, and that ii) unusually high values of the Hill coefficient can be observed. Our mathematical analysis is shown to be relevant for a mutant of Escherichia coli glutathione reductase with an unusually high value of a Hill coefficient for a dimer of about 1.9, in which hysteresis and binding cooperativity coexist. More generally, our findings imply that the repertoire of allosteric regulation is richer than anticipated and suggest that ultrasensitive control in natural or designed systems may arise even in low-order oligomers.

Single-cell multi-omics identifies metabolism-linked epigenetic reprogramming as a driver of therapy-resistant medulloblastoma

Fastq-dupaway: a fast and memory-efficient tool for deduplication of single- and paired-end NGS data

Abstract The rapid emergence of large-scale next-generation sequencing (NGS) data has created a growing demand for efficient preprocessing tools. Removal of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) duplicates is a critical step in many NGS data processing pipelines to reduce amplification bias. Currently, numerous de novo -based PCR duplicate removal tools are available, which cluster identical or highly similar reads without reference genome alignment. Practical application of such programs to large-scale NGS data (100 GB and more) is hampered by significant computational requirements, particularly high computer short-term memory usage comparable to the original file sizes. Processing large datasets generated by modern high-throughput techniques such as Hi-C or RNA-chromatin interaction sequencing can require hundreds of gigabytes of RAM, posing an exceptionally high computational demand. Here, we present Fastq-dupaway as a new tool for efficient PCR duplicate removal from both single-end and paired-end sequencing data ( https://github.com/AndrewSigorskih/fastq-dupaway ). Its key innovation lies in its primary operational modes, which are designed to use a small, parameterizable amount of RAM (2–10 GB) independent of input data size, at the cost of requiring approximately 2 $$\times$$ the input file size in disk space. This enables the processing of very large datasets even on standard personal computers. Fastq-dupaway matches or exceeds (by up to threefold) the processing speed of major de novo deduplication tools, while maintaining the same level of duplicate removal.

Correction: Frankenstein, thematic analysis and generative artificial intelligence: Quality appraisal methods and considerations for qualitative research

Assessment of Quality and Readability of Online Patient-centered Information on Dental Veneers: An Infodemiological Study

Loss of conductance between mesophyll symplasm and intercellular air spaces explains nonstomatal control of transpiration

The conventional assumption is that stomatal conductance ( g s ) dominates the regulation of water and carbon dioxide fluxes between leaves and the atmosphere. Here, a nanoreporter of water status at the mesophyll cell surface and local xylem within intact maize leaves documents significant undersaturation of water vapor in the outside-xylem zone (OXZ) and a large loss of conductance of this zone ( g oxz ) at moderate xylem water stress, without stomatal closure or turgor loss. The ratio of the resistances ( 1 / g oxz ) / ( 1 / g s ) serves as a predictive phenotype of undersaturation, nonstomatal regulation of transpiration, errors in standard gas exchange analysis, and an increase of intrinsic water use efficiency ( iWUE ). Cell-scale access to water status reveals symplasmic-apoplasmic disequilibrium and informs a biophysical model that can explain experimental observations quantitatively based on localization of variable conductance to the plasma membrane. This work opens paths of inquiry into the molecular basis and functional consequences of nonstomatal regulation of transpiration.

The potential scale-up of sustainable aviation fuels production capacity to meet global and EU policy targets

Comprehensive evaluation of mechanical, durability, and microstructural properties of foamed concrete with zinc peroxide nanoparticles

Online mindfulness meditation for mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia: A feasibility study protocol

Introduction Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an intermediate stage between normal aging and mild dementia. Patients with MCI and dementia usually experience impairment in cognitive functions such as memory, executive function, and processing speed. They may also develop neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, and agitation. While previous studies suggest that mindfulness meditation may benefit this population, the feasibility of delivering such interventions online remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of an eight-week, online-delivered mindfulness program for people with MCI and mild dementia. Methods This study will recruit 32 participants over 60 years old with MCI or mild dementia in the UK. Participants will attend a weekly live online mindfulness meditation session, led by an experienced mindfulness teacher for eight weeks. Each session lasts 2.5 hours. In addition, participants will be encouraged to do daily home practice. The primary outcomes are feasibility and acceptability of an online program, assessed through participation records and semi-structured interviews. Secondary outcomes include participants' changes in cognitive function, mood, sleep, quality of life, mindfulness, and resilience. Discussion Mindfulness meditation delivered online could help reduce travel burdens and overall costs. This study aims to assess the usability and potential effects of online-delivered programs for this population, providing evidence to support the use of remote interventions in the care of older adults with cognitive impairments. Study registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06768450.