Browse Articles

Exploring compositional and predicted functional alterations of gut microbiota in H. pylori infection

Abstract H. pylori infection is prevalent worldwide having detrimental effects on the gastrointestinal tract. H. pylori has been linked to compositional variations in gastric microbiota, with insufficient knowledge on extended effect to intestinal microbiota. Moreover, functional potentials of gut microbiota remain underexplored. Aim We sought to investigate the compositional and functional shifts in gut microbiota associated with H. pylori infection. Total 54 stool samples were obtained from H. pylori infected patients tested positive for stool antigen (n = 31) compared to control group (n = 23). All samples were subjected to 16SrRNA next-generation sequencing. By comparison with the control group, the H. pylori-positive group displayed relatively higher mean relative abundance (RA) of phyla of Bacteroidetes (43.59%) and Proteobacteria (8.36%), mainly genera of Bacteroides (22.5%) and Prevotella (13.48%) and species of Bacteroides vulgatus (7%) and E. coli (4%). Other low abundant clinically relevant taxa were more enriched in H. pylori-positive group than controls such as Desulfovibrio, Enterococcaceae, Rikenellacae, and Akkermansia. H. pylori-positive group showed distinctive representaion of Prevotella species (PAC001042_s), Citrobacter and Howardella,, while Blautia genus was exclusively identified in the control group. Both study groups showed comparable microbiota diversities with no significant difference. H. pylori-positive group revealed higher abundance of MAPK signaling functional pathways (FDR = 0.046), along with Cell cycle and Ariginine and proloine pathways (FDR = 0.05) compared to the controls. Our findings inferred compositional and functional alterations in H. pylori-associated gut microbiota that may play role in gut inflammation and malignant transformation observed in H. pylori infection.

Ultralow Ru Loading on Spinel Oxide Enhances Oxygen Coupling for Efficient Acidic Water Oxidation

A deep learning-based dual-branch framework for automated skin lesion segmentation and classification via dermoscopic Images

Reversible Enzymatic Switching of the Oxidation State of a Eu ^III/II Complex Controls Relaxivity

A lightweight infrared target detection network suitable for land and water surfaces

Entropy-Governed Zeolite Intergrowth

Clinical and molecular characterization of chondrodysplasias in a cohort of Egyptian patients

Abstract Skeletal dysplasias (SDs) are a broad and heterogeneous group of genetic disorders primarily affecting bone and collagen development. Diastrophic dysplasia (DTD) is a rare autosomal recessive chondrodysplasia caused by biallelic variants in the SLC26A2 gene. The current study aims to assess the clinical and molecular findings in Egyptian patients with DTD. This study enrolled fifteen patients who were clinically diagnosed with DTD. Exome sequencing identified nine homozygous variants in the SLC26A2 gene across ten patients; five of these variants were novel (p.Cys78Gly, p.Leu132Pro, p.Asp177Tyr, p.Thr546Ala, and p.Leu554Phe), while four had been previously reported. Novel variants were confirmed using Sanger sequencing and were predicted to be disease-causing based on in silico analyses and structural protein modeling. The exome sequencing analysis did not reveal any additional candidate genes that could contribute to the clinical phenotype in patients with negative SLC26A4 causative variants. Our findings expand the spectrum of variants associated with DTD, which may aid in early diagnosis and counseling for affected families. Further studies are needed to confirm computational predictions of novel variants and their consequences in disease mechanisms, and to identify causative genes in the undiagnosed cases.

Synthesis of C ₃ and C ₅ Oxygenates from the Co-electrolysis of Carbon Monoxide and Acetylene on a Cu–Pd Catalyst

Perioperative use of fentanyl and tramadol in pediatric distal humerus fractures: a 15-year retrospective cohort study in Korea

Sulfur-Bridged Dual Fe–N ₄ Sites to Boost Lithium–Sulfur Battery Performance

Predicting motor rehabilitation outcomes in children with low vision: a nomogram-based study

Dendrite-Free High-Capacity Alkali Metal Batteries by Two-Dimensional Confinement of Desolvated Ions

Detection, localization, and staging of breast cancer lymph node metastasis in digital pathology whole slide images using selective neighborhood attention-based deep learning

Kinetically Programmed Signaling Cascades for Molecular Detection

Exploring novel soliton, wave solutions, and modulation instability analysis for the (3+1)-dimensional KP-SKR equation using the improved generalized Riccati equation mapping approach

Abstract In this work, new soliton and wave solutions for the (3+1)-dimensional Kadomtsev-Petviashvili-Sawada-Kotera-Ramani equation (KP-SKRE) were derived using the improved generalized Riccati equation mapping method (IGREMM). The KP-SKRE plays an essential role in modeling the phenomena of wave nonlinearity. The wave nonlinearity appears in fluid dynamics, plasma physics, and other fields that involve interactions between dispersion and nonlinearity. The obtained solutions include bright soliton, combo bright-dark soliton, singular soliton in addition to singular periodic, hyperbolic, exponential, and rational solutions. The obtained solutions describe different behaviors of wave propagation through nonlinear media and provide a deeper understanding of the dynamics of nonlinear waves governed by the KP-SKRE. The novelty of this work includes four key original contributions to the study of the KP-SKRE. First, the novel application of IGREMM to the KP-SKRE. Second, the derivation of previously unreported exact solutions, including combo bright-dark soliton and singular soliton, along with hyperbolic, exponential, rational, and singular periodic solutions. Third, the Bäcklund transformation of IGREMM can be used to construct additional novel forms of solution. Fourth, the conduction of the modulation instability (MI) analysis by the linear stability technique. The MI analysis reveals the conditions under which the wave solutions become unstable. The direct substitution of the derived solutions in the original equation confirmed their validity. For visualization, 2D, 3D, and density plots of some selected exact solutions were presented. This visualization illustrates the solution wave profile with the choice of parameters’ values that satisfy the constraints. Furthermore, graphical representations of the outcomes of MI analysis were provided to enhance the physical interpretation of the results. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of nonlinear wave dynamics. Potential applications of these findings can be found in oceanography, optical communications, and plasma physics where soliton and nonlinear wave solutions have significant importance.

Conversion of a Heme-Dependent Dehydratase to a Piperazate Synthase Reveals the Role of the Heme Propionate Group in N–N Bond-Formation

Intra- and inter-field strength reproducibility of deep-learning based real-time cardiac MRI cine sequences with breath hold and in free breathing

Abstract To assess intra- and inter-field strength reproducibility of volumetric parameters using deep-learning-based real-time cardiac cine MRI during breath-hold (BH) and free-breathing (FB). In this prospective single-center study, 56 healthy adults underwent cardiac MRI at 1.5 T. Of these, 33 had a follow-up scan after 2–7 weeks, and 23 received an additional same-day scan at 3 T with the same protocol. Real-time cine sequences (1RR), including short-axis and 2-, 3-, and 4-chamber views, were acquired in BH and FB. Left ventricular volumes were analyzed using automated segmentation. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and subjective image quality (sIQ) were used to assess reproducibility. At 1.5 T, BH sequences showed significant differences in stroke volume (SV) and ejection fraction (EF), while FB sequences revealed only minor, clinically irrelevant SV variation. End-diastolic volume (EDV) and left ventricular (LV) mass showed excellent reproducibility (ICC > 0.93); end-systolic volume (ESV) and SV had good reproducibility (ICC 0.79–0.88). Inter-field comparisons revealed significant differences for EDV (BH), and for SV and EF (FB), though most parameters remained consistent. EDV, ESV, and LV mass showed excellent reproducibility (ICC > 0.90), and SV showed good to excellent agreement. Deep-learning-based real-time cine MRI provides good to excellent reproducibility of cardiac volumetric parameters across field strengths and breathing conditions.

Autobiography of Louis E. Brus

How to control a polymer conformation using active forces and sequence design

Active monomer units capable of absorbing external energy and converting it into directed translational motion drive polymers to a peculiar nonequilibrium self-ordering even in the absence of other specific interactions. Such polymers are of interest both for understanding the functioning of molecular biological systems and for creating new synthetic responsive materials. In this paper, we study the conformational behavior of active copolymers containing both active and passive repeating units with random and regular distributions along the chain. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we have shown that even a small fraction of active beads is sufficient for the collapse of the polymer. The influence of the active unit fraction and the length of the repeating block on the conformational characteristics of the copolymers is determined. We have shown that the presented phenomena are qualitatively independent of the chosen activity model and are likely to be universal.

Acoustic shock-wave induced structural phase transition (ordered-to-disordered) associated dielectric transition (space charge-to-dipolar polarization): A case study of structure–property relationship in lithium sulfate monohydrate single crystal

The purpose of this study is to investigate the structure–property correlations of Li2SO4 · H2O to better understand the function of the disordered phase with respect to its dielectric and thermal properties. The lattice Raman spectral results show that the order of the molecular units during the ordered-to-disordered phase transition is primarily contributed by H2O > SO4 > Li2+. This indicates that the rearrangement of the H2O and SO4 molecular units is primarily responsible for the change in functional properties. In contrast to the ordered phase, the disordered phase exhibits abnormal dielectric behavior, as evidenced by the impedance spectral data, which indicate increased electrical conductivity and a larger dielectric constant at higher frequencies, primarily due to the rearrangement of H2O units and the rotational disorder of SO4 units. The title compound's dehydration and decomposition processes provide compelling evidence that it is possible to understand the ordered–disordered phase transition, which causes dehydration to take longer in the disordered state. On account of the uneven thermal decomposition process, the endothermic peak, which represents the β–α Li2SO4 conversion, exhibits peak splitting at ∼575 °C. The observed anomalous dielectric behavior (e.g., higher dielectric constant at higher frequency, @ 1 MHz) is likely for the first time to date, based on the current findings and the 80 years of literature already available on the title crystal. The disordered phase of Li2SO4 · H2O may be an excellent fit for electrolyte applications in solid-state batteries because of its remarkable dielectric characteristics.