Browse Articles

Association between community-based services, psychological resilience, and cognitive impairment among older adults in China

Abstract Cognitive impairment (CI) has emerged as a critical global public health concern, particularly among older adults. Community-based services (CBSs) and psychological resilience (PR) are potential protective factors, yet their interrelationships remain underexplored. This study examines how CBSs influence CI among older adults and whether PR mediates this association. Based on data from 7,565 individuals aged ≥ 65 in the China Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey (CLHLS), the structural equation modeling was used to test direct and indirect pathways between CBSs, PR, and CI, adjusting for eighteen basic demographic covariates. Mediation effects were validated via the Bootstrap 2000 method. The findings highlight that CBSs are positively associated with both lower CI (β = 0.049, P < 0.001) and higher PR (β = 0.071, P < 0.001), while PR associates with CI risk positively (β = 0.260, P < 0.001). PR mediated 26.87% of the total CBSs-CI association (indirect effect = 0.018, 95%CI: 0.012–0.026). Specific CBSs, including doctors or sending medicine to home (χ 2 = 7.05, P = 0.008) and health care education (χ 2 = 7.89, P = 0.005), showed a strong protective effect against CI. These results underscore the importance of enhancing CBSs and fostering PR to mitigate CI and promote healthy aging. A collaborative effort between communities and society is essential to empower older adults, strengthen their PR and facilitate active aging.

Analysis of medium-term impact of multifunctional living mulches on soil biological fertility of an organic apple orchard

Protection and parameter optimization of one-way surge tower for water conveyance pipelines under complex terrain conditions

AI-driven analysis by identifying risk factors of VL relapse in HIV co-infected patients

Abstract Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), also known as Kala-Azar, poses a significant global public health challenge and is a neglected disease, with relapses and treatment failures leading to increased morbidity and mortality. This study introduces an explainable machine learning approach to predict VL relapse and identify critical risk factors, thereby aiding patient monitoring and treatment strategies. Leveraging data from a follow-up study of 571 patients, the survival machine learning models are applied, including Random Survival Forest (RSF), Survival Support Vector Machine (SSVM), and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), for relapse prediction. The results demonstrated that RSF, with a C-index of 0.85, outperformed the conventional Cox Proportional Hazard (CPH) model (C-index 0.8), offering improved prediction capabilities by capturing non-linear relationships and variable interactions. To address the lack of transparency (in terms of feature importance) in Machine Learning (ML) models, the SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) method is employed, which enhances model interpretability (feature importance) through visual insights. SHAP dependence plots allowed the healthcare professionals to evaluate which factors encourage the occurrence of the relapse. A statistically significant relationship between HIV co-infection (HR=3.92, 95% CI=2.03–7.58) and VL relapse was identified through -2 log-likelihood ratio and chi-square tests. These results indicate the promise of explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) for making clinical decisions and remedying recurrences in VL.

Social and demographic determinants of Nordic Walking practice models

Computational investigation of Belzutifan drug delivery mechanisms using SiC nanocrystals via combined DFT and molecular dynamics approaches

Clinical significance of blood viscosity in patients with acute ischemic stroke

Vestibular rehabilitation training on balance among individuals with neck pain

Introduction: Vestibular function plays a crucial role in maintaining normal balance throughout day-to-day life. The neck muscles also play a role in maintaining the body's equilibrium. The study aims to assess the effect of vestibular rehabilitation on balance among the individuals with neck pain and to improve it through vestibular adaptive exercises. Through this study, individuals will be more aware and focused on balancing problems associated with neck pain while performing activities of daily living. Methodology: In total, 50 individuals who have neck pain will be participating in this study. Dynamic balance ability is evaluated by the time up and go (TUG) test and the star excursion balance test (SEBT). Static balance ability is tested using a one-leg stance test (OLST) and Romberg test. Baseline and one week post vestibular intervention will be collected. Result: The result shows that after conducting pre-test and post-test, there is an improvement among the individuals. The mean value for participants’ age is 20.8, and BMI =23.5. The SEBT (all directions) is significant at p-value≤ 0.05. Conclusion: By Vestibular Rehabilitation, Balance with neck pain and Vestibular function could be treated among individuals with neck pain.

The RRM domain–containing protein Rbp3 interacts with ribosomes and the 3’ ends of mRNAs encoding photosynthesis proteins

RNA recognition motif (RRM) domain proteins are crucial RNA-binding proteins across all domains of life. In cyanobacteria, single RRM domain proteins are involved in mRNA targeting to the thylakoid membrane and acclimation to certain stress conditions, but many details of their physiological functions and molecular targets have remained unknown. The model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 has a family of three genes encoding the RRM domain–containing proteins Rbp1, Rbp2, and Rbp3. Here, we verified the RNA-binding activity of Rbp3 in vivo and show that cells of a Δ rbp3 deletion strain had a lower photosystem (PS) I:PSII ratio and decreased pigment content and were significantly smaller than wild-type cells. To identify the set of interacting molecules, coimmunoprecipitation experiments were performed with a strain expressing a C-terminally FLAG-tagged Rbp3. Mass spectrometry of the elution fraction suggested physical proximity between Rbp3, ribosomes, and a very small number of other proteins. The most highly enriched transcript in the coeluting RNA fraction was the psaAB mRNA. This was corroborated by fluorescent in situ hybridization analyses showing decreased psaA mRNA signals in Δ rbp3 , and colocalization with Rbp3 fusions to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the wild type. Other mRNAs coenriched with Rbp3 encode thylakoid, plasma membrane, and carboxysome proteins. Binding assays using Bio-layer Interferometry validated the Rbp3- psaAB mRNA interaction, indicating a preference for folded RNA segments near or overlapping the respective stop codons.

Air quality assessment in Beijing based on cloud model

Dual decoding generative adversarial networks for infrared image enhancement

The development and application of mini-barcodes from mitochondrial DNA for identifying medicinal leeches from traditional medicines

Study on the disaster mechanism and prevention technology of embankment slip-collapse after extreme rainfall in the loess area

Correlation between virological response and portal vein thrombosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B

An adaptive deep learning approach based on InBNFus and CNNDen-GRU networks for breast cancer and maternal fetal classification using ultrasound images

Optogenetic restoration of high-sensitivity vision using ChRmine- and ChroME-based channelrhodopsins

Abstract Optogenetic gene therapy is a promising mutation-independent treatment that aims to restore visual perception in patients blinded by retinal diseases that cause photoreceptor degeneration. Still, low sensitivity or slow kinetics of currently utilized optogenetic proteins limit the efficacy of such approaches. Here, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of three channelrhodopsin variants: ChRmine, from the algae Rhodomonas lens, ChRmine-T119A, a faster-closing ChRmine variant, and ChroME2s, a second-generation Chronos-based opsin.We expressed these opsins in retinal ganglion cells of rd1 mice, a model of severe retinal degeneration. Single cell electrophysiology demonstrates opsin’s large sensitivity to a range of light intensities as well as opsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells generated action potentials in response to light stimulation. Behavioral tests showed ChRmine-T119A’s efficacy at 360 lux compared to unmodified ChRmine and ChroME2s. ChRmine and ChroME2s did restore light perception at higher light intensities. Additionally, our dose–response study with ChRmine-T119A revealed that lower viral titers were more effective at restoring light sensitivity. Our study demonstrates that these ChRmine- and ChroME-based opsins can enhance vision in late-stage blinding diseases.

Suppression of interfacial polarization via enhancement of entropy, grain resistance and optical band-gap strategies in perovskite ceramics

Pressure-driven electronegativity inversion in alkali liquids

Liquid–liquid phase transitions (LLPTs) are typically characterized as two-state systems, where transitions occur between two distinct liquid phases driven by local structural rearrangements. In this study, we observed a continuous LLPT with an inversion of electronegativity in a K–Rb binary alloy. This uniquely exhibits a three-state system behavior. The transition, induced by pressure-driven reordering of electronic orbital energies, progresses through a sequence from s -metal to electride to d -metal, accompanied by a valence reversal: Potassium transitions from a negative to a positive valence, while rubidium undergoes the opposite shift. This process is marked by two successive anomalies in the alloy’s optical, thermodynamic, and dynamic properties over a broad pressure range. The observation of similar LLPT phenomena in other alkali and alkaline earth metal liquids suggests that this three-state system mechanism may provide broader insights into the nature of continuous phase transitions.

Mitogenome characterization and phylogeny of Neohydatothrips gracilipes (Thripidae: Sericothripinae)

A subcellular study on reactive oxygen species generation by PFAS in HepG2 cells

Abstract Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) hepatotoxicity is well documented, especially for legacy compounds such as PFHxS, PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA. However, the mechanism(s) involved are yet to be fully understood. The present study aims to investigate the origin of PFAS-induced formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their relevance for the decrease of cell viability of HepG2 cells after exposure to PFASs. Moreover, a structure–activity relationship was assessed using PFASs with different headgroups (carboxylic, sulfonic, and alcoholic) and variable carbon-chain lengths (4–10 C). The link between ROS generation and cell viability was assessed using two antioxidants: quercetin, a generic antioxidant, and mito-tempo, a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant. Both antioxidants were demonstrated to be effective in reducing PFAS-induced ROS generation. The mechanism behind PFAS-induced ROS might be headgroup-dependent, as quercetin increased cell viability after both perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCA) and perfluorosulfonic acids (PFSA) exposure, while mito-tempo only improved cell viability after PFCAs exposure. The two major sources of ROS generation in HepG2 cells are the peroxisomes and mitochondria. However, exposure to PFASs did not impact peroxisomal or mitochondrial activity after 24 h. Uncommon sources of ROS generation, such as lysosomal leakage or lipid peroxidation, have been demonstrated to result from previously generated ROS and not from PFASs exposure. Indeed, lysosomal leakage caused by PFASs exposure is negated by either quercetin or mito-tempo treatment, while lipid peroxidation only occurs after 24 h of exposure, long after the initial ROS generation by PFASs. This indicates that both events are a result of previously generated ROS. However, exposure to both PFOA and PFOS was demonstrated to reduce catalase activity in HepG2. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that ROS generation after PFASs exposure might be due to inhibition of HepG2 endogenous antioxidants. Moreover, a headgroup-dependent mechanism of action has been observed, indicating that PFCAs and PFSAs exposure might lead to hepatotoxicity through different pathways.