Browse Articles

A novel imputation approach for power load time series data based on tsDatawig

Prevalence, impact on quality of life, and predictive factors of coexistence of overactive bladder and underactive bladder in men

Validation of guiding needle placement using registered ultrasound imaging for gynecologic brachytherapy in a simulated pelvic Phantom

Temporal changes in per and polyfluoroalkyl substances and their associations with type 2 diabetes

Abstract We assessed temporal changes of PFAS and associations with T2DM over a period of 30 years in a nested case–control study with repeated measurements. Logistic regression was used to assess associations between 11 PFAS and T2DM at five time-points in 116 cases and 139 controls (3 pre- and 2 post-diagnostic time-points in cases). Mixed linear models were applied to assess if changes in PFAS were related to T2DM status. In the pre-diagnostic time-point T3 (2001), future cases had higher concentrations of PFHpA, PFNA, PFHxS and PFHpS compared to controls. In the post-diagnostic time point T5 (2015/16), PFNA and PFOS were higher in prevalent cases. PFHxS and PFHpS were positively associated with future T2DM at the pre-diagnostic time-point T3, whereas PFTrDA were inversely associated with future T2DM at T1 (1986/87) and prevalent T2DM at T4 (2007/8). Temporal changes in PFAS across the study period showed that cases experienced a greater increase in pre-diagnostic concentrations of PFHpA, PFTrDA, PFHxS and PFOSA, as well as a larger post-diagnostic decrease in PFOSA, compared to controls. This study is the first to show that temporal changes in PFAS are associated with T2DM status for certain PFAS, and associations between PFAS and T2DM vary according to sample year.

Preoperative TNF-α predicts uneventful postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery

Abstract The development of novel biomarkers to predict postoperative complications (POCs) after colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery is essential, both for improving treatment outcomes and for facilitating the widespread use of same-day discharge following colectomy. This longitudinal observational study, a sub-study of a previous RCT, investigated the prognostic potential of a panel of novel biomarkers, including inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-17 A, INF-γ, IP-10, MCP-1, TGF-β1), alongside conventional biomarkers such as CRP and WBC levels, measured preoperatively and on postoperative day 6, for predicting POCs following CRC resection. Among 40 recruited patients, 38 were included in the final analysis. Patients who did not experience POCs had a significantly lower preoperative level of TNF-α (2.28 pg/mL vs. 68.77 pg/mL, p = 0.022). ROC curve analysis showed that TNF-α has significant (p = 0.012) discriminative capacity to distinguish between patients with POCs and those with an uneventful postoperative course, with an AUC of 0.722 (95% CI: 0.555, 0.889). Multivariable analysis suggested that a low preoperative TNF-α level (< 55.35 pg/mL) may be an independent predictor of an uneventful postoperative course (Odds Ratio = 0.137, 95% CI: 0.023, 0.836). This study showed that preoperative levels of TNF-α demonstrates a moderate discriminative capacity to distinguish between patients with POCs and those with an uneventful postoperative course in patients undergoing surgery for left-side CRC, although the findings are limited by the small sample size and should be validated in larger cohorts. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT04013841, date of registration 2019-07-10.

SRT2104 enhances dendritic outgrowth and spine formation through Sirtuin 1-mediated mTORC1 signaling

The long-term outcomes after smiley face rod surgery in young lumbar spondylolysis patients

Correction: Galactin-8 DNA methylation mediates macrophage autophagy through the MAPK/mTOR pathway to alleviate atherosclerosis

Advanced Love wave sensor based on algal polymers for the detection of mercury in French Guiana waters

Longitudinal MRI study over 20 years of cervical posterior extensor muscle area in asymptomatic subjects

Abstract Few studies have investigated long-term changes in the posterior extensor muscles of the cervical spine in healthy subjects. Therefore, we used MRI to investigate changes in the posterior extensor muscles in healthy subjects over 20 years. The subjects of this study were 55 volunteers with an average follow-up period of approximately 20 years. The axial images of the C3/4, C4/5, and C5/6 levels from the initial scan and scans taken 20 years later were evaluated and compared for the following: the cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of the multifidus, semispinalis cervices, semispinalis capitis, and splenius capitis muscles, along with left–right differences, gender differences, influence of age, and muscle fatty degeneration of each muscle. The mean CSAs of the posterior extensor muscles significantly increased at C3/4 and significantly decreased at C5/6 over 20 years. The CSA of posterior cervical extensor muscles always tended to be greater on the left side than on the right side and was significantly larger in men than in women at all levels. The fatty degeneration increased significantly at all intervertebral levels. The decrease in the CSA was significantly associated with smoking status (relative risk: 2.19, 95% confidence interval: 1.32–3.63, p < 0.01), but not with clinical symptoms.

Association between advanced lung cancer inflammation index and all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with sepsis: analysis of the MIMIC-IV database

Research on solving the equilibrium point of 5DOF vehicle dynamics system based on homotopy method

Clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic features of acute decompensated heart failure in a Moroccan population

Efficient design of automated guided vehicle systems in operating theatres via discrete events simulation

Brain functional connectivity after Stroop task induced cognitive fatigue

LAMC3 interference reduces drug resistance of carboplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells

Effectiveness of nutrition literacy intervention on pregnancy weight and eating behavior: a randomized controlled trial

A gain-reconfigurable flat gradient refractive index plasma lens

Analysis of molecular and cellular bases of honey bee mushroom body development

Abstract In the honey bee, mushroom bodies (MBs), a higher-order center of the insect brain, comprise three class I Kenyon cell (KC) subtypes (lKC, mKC, and sKC) with distinct somata sizes and locations and gene expression profiles. While these KC subtypes have been suggested to function in different behavioral regulations, the molecular and cellular basis of their development remains obscure. Here, we showed that lKCs, mKCs, and sKCs are produced in that order at different pupal stages by labeling proliferating MB cells with 5-ethynil-2’-deoxyuridine at various pupal stages. RNA-sequencing analysis of FACS-sorted pupal MB cells identified genes that were upregulated in proliferating and non-proliferating MB cells, respectively. Furthermore, in situ hybridization of some of these genes labeled the proliferating cells or immature KCs in the MBs at pupal stages producing each subtype. We found that the expression patterns of SoxNeuro , optix , and asense were consistent with those in Drosophila MBs, while odd-paired , which functions in neuroblasts in Drosophila , was preferentially expressed in immature KCs in honey bees. Our findings revealed the basic scheme of the molecular and cellular processes of honey bee MB development and suggested that they are at least partially different from those of Drosophila MB development.

A new bacteriolytic amidase Ami of Lysobacter capsici XL1

Abstract One of the most pressing issues in modern biomedicine is the search for new antimicrobial agents – antibiotics, peptides, bacteriolytic enzymes. This study, using transcriptomic and proteomic approaches, identified a new extracellular bacteriolytic enzyme of Lysobacter capsici XL1 – the amidase Ami. The enzyme was isolated and characterized. Ami was found to hydrolyze the amide bond between the carbohydrate and peptide fragments in bacterial peptidoglycans of chemotypes A1γ, A3α, and A4α. Ami lysed live target cells of opportunistic bacteria Micrococcus luteus Ac-2230T, Bacillus cereus 217, Staphylococcus aureus 209P, Enterococcus faecium FS86, phytopathogenic bacteria Bacillus megaterium MS941, Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens, and pathogenic bacteria of various strains of B. anthracis, including plasmid strains 71/12 and ΔAmes, as well as strains of B. cereus with hemolytic, lecithinase, and phosphatase activities. Thus, the bacteriolytic amidase Ami is a promising candidate for the development of next-generation antimicrobial drugs.