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A Compositionally Biased Oligourethane Sensor Array To Differentiate Solids by Their Surface Chemistry: An Analogy to the Sense of Touch
Splicing QTL mapping in stimulated macrophages associates low-usage splice junctions with immune-mediated disease risk
Abstract The majority of immune-mediated disease (IMD) risk loci are located in non-coding regions of the genome, making it difficult to decipher their functional effects in relevant physiological contexts. To assess the extent to which alternative splicing contributes to IMD risk, we mapped genetic variants associated with alternative splicing (splicing quantitative trait loci or sQTL) in macrophages exposed to a wide range of environmental stimuli. We found that genes involved in innate immune response pathways undergo extensive differential splicing in response to stimulation and detected significant sQTL effects for over 5734 genes across all stimulation conditions. We colocalised sQTL signals for over 700 genes with IMD-associated risk loci from 22 IMDs with high confidence (PP4 ≥ 0.75). Approximately half of the colocalisations implicate lowly-used splice junctions (mean usage ratio <0.1). Finally, we demonstrate how an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) risk allele increases the usage of a lowly-used isoform of PTPN2, a negative regulator of inflammation. Together, our findings highlight the role alternative splicing plays in IMD risk, and suggest that lowly-used splicing events significantly contribute to complex disease risk.
Lutein augments the hypoglycemic effect of metformin through the gut microbiota-imidazole propionate axis in type 2 diabetic model mice
Editorial Note: Discussing blockchain applications in TED Talks: A fashion wave approach to understanding the blockchain phenomenon
Probiotic–Drug Conjugates Achieve Synchronized Site-Specific Probiotic Colonization and On-Demand Drug Release against Ulcerative Colitis and Its Complication
Reprogramming the tumor microenvironment with c-MYC-based gene circuit platform to enhance specific cancer immunotherapy
Characteristics, source apportionment, and health risk assessment of heavy metal pollution in soil of jiangmen, China
The declining mental health of the young and the global disappearance of the unhappiness hump shape in age
Across many studies subjective well-being has followed a U-shape in age, declining until people reach middle-age, only to rebound subsequently. Ill-being has followed a mirror-imaged hump-shape. Using graphical and regression analyses of repeat cross-sectional micro-data from the United States and the United Kingdom, we show this empirical regularity has been replaced by a monotonic decrease in ill-being by age. The reason for the change is the deterioration in young people’s mental health both absolutely and relative to older people. Pooling Global Minds data across 44 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, over the period 2020–2025 we confirm that ill-being is no longer hump-shaped in age but now decreases in age. JEL Codes: I31; I38
CD99-mediated immunological synapse formation potentiates CAR-T cell function
Integrating data augmentation and BERT-based deep learning for predicting alpha-glucosidase inhibitors derived from Black Cohosh
Honey bees bred for Varroa sensitive hygiene trait demonstrate resistance to chalkbrood disease
To improve health and vitality of honey bees (Apis mellifera) beekeepers can propagate stocks that demonstrate resistance to both parasites and pathogens. Most breeding programs focus on resistance to Varroa destructor mites and/or brood pathogens. Colonies bred specifically for the trait Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH), exhibit a high level of resistance to the parasitic mites. Still, they have never been explicitly tested for resistance to brood diseases. The goal of this study was to test if colonies bred for VSH are both mite and disease resistant. Over two years (2023 and 2024) and in two locations (University of Minnesota and the USDA-ARS lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana), we compared colonies from the Pol-line bred specifically for VSH to colonies from a commercial source. The Commercial colonies in this study were not selected specifically for Varroa resistance but were selected for “general” hygienic behavior using the freeze-killed brood (FKB) assay. We challenged colonies within each line with Ascosphara apis, a fungus that causes chalkbrood, and quantified mites, disease and hygienic behavior. Our study demonstrated that bees from the Pol-line bred for VSH are just as resistant to chalkbrood as bees from a commercial line bred for hygienic behavior. Results confirmed that the Pol-line was more mite resistant than the Commercial, as it had significantly lower mites in two of three trials. Both the Pol-line and Commercial colonies had high levels of hygienic behavior. These results indicate that VSH-selected honey bees respond to both mite-infested and disease-infected brood. Further comparative studies are needed to clarify any differences in genetic mechanisms and olfactory sensitivity mediating the VSH-trait and general hygienic behavior. On a practical level, using honey bees selected for VSH in beekeeping operations could help curb losses, improve honey bee health, and reduce financial burdens caused by Varroa and diseases.
How humans became upright: key changes to our pelvis found
Uncapping energy transfer pathways in metal-organic frameworks through heterogeneous structures
Aspect-level multimodal sentiment analysis model based on multi-scale feature extraction
Stock market forecasting research based on GA-WOA-LSTM
With the increasing complexity and prosperity of global financial markets, stock market forecasting plays a critical role in investment decision-making, market regulation, and economic planning. This study proposes a hybrid prediction model that integrates Genetic Algorithm (GA), Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks, referred to as the GA-WOA-LSTM model. In this framework, GA is employed to generate the initial population and perform global search for LSTM hyperparameter optimization, while WOA is applied to conduct local refinement of the search space. The LSTM model, known for its superior ability to capture nonlinear dependencies and long-term patterns in time series, is used to model and forecast future stock closing prices. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated on both training and test datasets using key metrics including Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), and the coefficient of determination (R2). Experimental results demonstrate that the GA-WOA-LSTM model significantly outperforms traditional baseline models in terms of predictive accuracy and generalization capability. This research offers a robust and effective modeling strategy for financial time series forecasting and provides valuable insights for real-world financial applications.
All-flexible chronoepifluidic nanoplasmonic patch for label-free metabolite profiling in sweat
Abstract Wearable sensors allow non-invasive monitoring of sweat metabolites, but their reliance on molecular recognition elements limits both physiological coverage and temporal resolution. Here we report an all-flexible chronoepifluidic surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (CEP-SERS) patch for label-free and chronometric profiling of sweat metabolites. The CEP-SERS patch integrates plasmonic nanostructures in epifluidic microchannels for chronological sweat sampling and molecular analysis. An ultrathin fluorocarbon nanofilm modulates surface chain mobility to guide low-temperature solid-state dewetting, forming large-area silver nanoislands on a structured flexible substrate. The wearable patch adheres conformally to skin, collects sequential sweat samples, and supports label-free and multiplexed SERS detection of assorted metabolites. Machine learning-assisted quantification of lactate, uric acid, and tyrosine yields robust metabolic profiles in distinct physical activity states. This wearable optofluidic platform refines molecular sweat sensing and expands the potential for individualized phenotyping in proactive and data-driven healthcare.
Signature of leukemia stem cell death pattern predicts prognosis and therapeutic response of acute myeloid leukemia patients
The relationship between social support and physical and mental health in an older male population: Evidence from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)
In the context of increasing population aging and decreasing birth rate, it is of great practical significance to explore the impact of social support on the health of elderly men, which is of great practical significance to smoothly promote the strategy of healthy China and actively implement the strategy of population aging. Using the newly released 2020 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data for a total of 1,510 study participants, this paper analyzes the impact of social support on the health of elderly men using the Oder Probit, OLogit, and PSM models, and then explores the variability across age stages and literacy levels, and eliminates the propensity score matching modeling by endogeneity problems caused by sample selectivity bias. The study shows that social support significantly improves the health of older men in the context of a deepening aging process, showing positive improvements in both self-assessed health and mental health. The robustness test (by replacing the econometric model) further confirmed the reliability of the findings. Heterogeneity tests, on the other hand, revealed significant differences in the impact of social support on the health of male older adults: its health-enhancing effect was more pronounced in less literate male older adults compared to the more literate group. The results of the endogeneity analysis showed that the PSM model effectively mitigated the endogeneity problem of the model. Failure to deal with endogeneity would lead to underestimation of two aspects: first, the health-enhancing effect of social support on self-assessed health of male older adults; and second, its improvement effect on mental health. Therefore, the Chinese government should pay more attention to the key role of social support in improving the health of male older adults, and take diversified and innovative initiatives to focus on enhancing social support in order to more effectively promote the goal of healthy aging.