Browse Articles

Circulating fibroblast growth factor 23 and physical performance in middle-aged and older adults with normal kidney function

Abstract The circulating fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a potential therapeutic target for cardiorenal syndrome. However, current evidence on the determinants, particularly the modifiable factors of circulating FGF23 levels that increase independently of the kidney function, remains limited. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between physical performance measures and circulating FGF23 levels in middle-aged and older adults with normal kidney function. This cross-sectional study assessed circulating FGF23 levels and physical performance parameters, including the handgrip strength, knee extension strength, maximal gait speed, the 30-second chair stand test (30s-CST), sit-and-reach test, and aerobic exercise capacity in 158 participants. Multiple regression analyses were performed to evaluate the independent associations between circulating FGF23 levels and physical performance measures after adjusting for potential confounders including age, sex, the presence of lifestyle-related disease, serum phosphate and phosphate-regulating hormone, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio. Higher circulating FGF23 levels were associated with lower handgrip strength, knee extension strength, maximal gait speed, 30s-CST score, and aerobic exercise capacity. These associations remained significant after adjusting for confounders, except for the association with handgrip strength and aerobic exercise capacity, which was attenuated when renal function variables were included. However, when all physical performance parameters were included in a model, knee extension strength and aerobic exercise capacity were identified as independent determinants of circulating FGF23 levels. Physical performance, particularly knee extension strength, and to a lesser extent aerobic exercise capacity, was independently or partially associated with circulating FGF23 levels in individuals with normal kidney function. Maintaining physical performance may help regulate circulating FGF23 levels, highlighting a potential role in preventing its elevation.

Direct and efficient synthesis of nucleosides through the ortho-(tert-butylethynyl)phenyl thioglycosides (BEPTs) protocol

Agricultural carbon footprints, renewable energy and sustainable development in Asia

Abstract There is a growing concern over environmental degradation and climate change in rapidly developing Asian nations. However, little research has been conducted on the impact of agricultural carbon emissions and renewable energy use on sustainable development outcomes in Asia. This research looks at the relationship between agricultural carbon footprints (ACF), renewable energy consumption (RE), and sustainable development (SD) in nine Asian nations from 2000 to 2022. The study employed the Cross-Sectional Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL), Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MM-QR), and Dumitrescu-Hurlin (DH) panel causality techniques to examine the connection. The findings reveal that the relationships vary significantly across the SD distribution. The findings of DH causality indicate bidirectional causality between agricultural carbon footprints and SD, with economic growth primarily driving agricultural emission patterns rather than the reverse. MMQR results demonstrate that agricultural carbon footprints positively impact SD, with effects strongest at lower sustainability levels but diminishing at higher quantiles, suggesting a nonlinear relationship. Trade openness consistently demonstrates negative relationships with SD across all quantiles, while renewable energy shows positive but statistically insignificant effects. Significant country-level heterogeneity emerges, with China and India demonstrating strong Granger causality from agricultural carbon footprints to SD, while other sampled countries show weaker or insignificant relationships. These findings accentuate the need for contextually appropriate policies that recognize the stage-specific relationship between agricultural practices, renewable energy adoption, and sustainable development outcomes in diverse Asian economies.

Benchmarking scRNA-seq copy number variation callers

Abstract Copy number variations (CNVs), the gain or loss of genomic regions, are associated with disease, especially cancer. Single cell technologies offer new possibilities to capture within-sample heterogeneity of CNVs and identify subclones relevant for tumor progression and treatment outcome. Several computational tools have been developed to identify CNVs from scRNA-seq data. However, an independent benchmarking of them is lacking. Here, we evaluate six popular methods in their ability to correctly identify ground truth CNVs, euploid cells and subclonal structures in 21 scRNA-seq datasets. We discover dataset-specific factors influencing the performance, including dataset size, the number and type of CNVs in the sample and the choice of the reference dataset. Methods which include allelic information perform more robustly for large droplet-based datasets, but require higher runtime. Furthermore, the methods differ in their additional functionalities. We offer a benchmarking pipeline to identify the optimal method for new datasets, and improve methods’ performance.

Existence and controllability analysis of multi-term fractional coupled systems with generalized $$[\psi ,w]$$-Caputo-Fabrizio operators

Dual membrane receptor degradation via folate receptor targeting chimera

Abstract Cancer drug resistance poses a significant challenge in oncology, often driven by intricate cross-talk among membrane-bound receptors that compromise mono-targeted therapies. We develop a dual membrane receptor degradation strategy leveraging Folate Receptor α (FRα) to address this issue. Folate Receptor α Targeting Chimeras-dual (FolTAC-dual) are engineered degraders designed to selectively and simultaneously degrade distinct receptor pairs: (1) EGFR/HER2 and (2) PD-L1/VISTA. Through modular optimization of modality configurations and geometries, we identify the “string” format as the most effective construct. Mechanistic studies demonstrate an ~85% increase in EGFR-binding affinity compared to the conventional knob-into-hole design, likely contributing to the improved efficiency of dual-target degradation. Proof-of-concept studies reveal that EGFR and HER2 FolTAC-dual effectively counteracts resistance in Trastuzumab/Lapatinib-resistant HER2-positive breast cancer models, while PD-L1 and VISTA FolTAC-dual rejuvenates immune responses in PD-L1 antibody-resistant syngeneic mouse models. These findings establish FolTAC-dual as a promising dual-degradation platform for clinical translation.

Loss control-based QKD with noisy devices

Orbital and millennial-scale forcing of the Patagonian Ice Sheet throughout the Last Glacial Cycle

Abstract During the Last Glacial Maximum (23,000 to 19,000 years ago), the Patagonian Ice Sheet covered the central chain of the Andes between 38 °S and 55 °S. The paleoclimatic evidence from Patagonia and New Zealand suggests that the maximum glacier expansion of the Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes was desynchronized with the Northern Hemisphere glacial history. Here we present numerical simulations of the Patagonian ice sheet throughout the Last Glacial Cycle. Our analysis suggests that the Patagonian ice sheet had two main periods of advance, during the Marine Isotope Stage 4 and late Marine Isotope Stage 3, experiencing inter-millennial scale variability. We show that the Patagonian Ice Sheet long-term evolution can be attributed to changes in the integrated summer insolation, which combines the summer duration and insolation intensity and has an obliquity-like periodicity. We further suggest that this metric also modulated the behaviour of glaciers over the entire Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes.

Syringophilid mites parasitising the crows and the competitive exclusion principle

Controllable multicolor emission from initially non-emissive organic molecules by pressure engineering

In vivo antitumor activity of doxorubicin loaded on chitosan functionalized Pb2Mn2Fe12O22 magnetic nanoparticles

Abstract Nanoscale materials can improve cancer treatment by safely and efficiently delivering chemotherapeutic drugs. This study was designated to load the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) into chitosan-coated Pb2Mn2Fe12O22 magnetic nanoparticles (CT-MNPs) and compare their physicochemical and biological effects with free drug, in addition to the therapeutic role of DOX-CT-MNPs to acting efficaciously in restraint of cancer cells growth and evolution using Ehrlich solid tumor model (EST). Forty female mice were randomly and equally split into four groups (EST; EST + Free DOX; EST + CT-MNPs; and EST + DOX-CT-MNPs). Our findings show that treating EST with DOX, either free or loaded on CT-MNPs, inhibits tumour growth by producing oxidative stress, disrupting the antioxidant system, activating apoptosis, and arresting the cell cycle. Furthermore, DOX loaded on CT-MNPs had greater anticancer activity than DOX in its free form. This highlights the potential advantages of CT-MNPs in tumour therapy and drug delivery.

Nanoimprinted polyamide membranes for ultrafast and precise molecular sieving with low fouling

Three-dimensional characterization of hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) fruit development based on X-ray micro-computed tomography

Efficient and stable n-type sulfide overall water splitting with separated hydrogen production

Effects of vitamin D supplementation under different salinities on hybrid red tilapia growth performance, hormonal profile and growth genes expression

Abstract This study investigated the effects of salinity and vitamin D (VD) supplementation on the physiological and molecular responses of red tilapia hybrid juvenile. The research comprehensively examined growth performance, hormonal profiles, and gene expression under different experimental conditions. Growth performance analysis revealed significant improvements with increasing salinity levels and VD supplementation. The highest growth parameters were observed at 30 ppt salinity with vitamin D3 supplementation, including peak final weight (42.04 g), maximum average daily gain (0.467 g), and optimal feed conversion ratio (0.927–0.967). Survival rates consistently improved, reaching 84.33% under optimal conditions. Hormonal parameters demonstrated notable modulation, with growth hormone (GH) levels showing marked increases, particularly at 15–30 ppt salinity. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) remained relatively stable across treatments, suggesting minimal stress response. Molecular analysis of gene expression revealed complex interactions between salinity and VD. The growth hormone (GH) gene showed significant upregulation, particularly at 30 ppt salinity with VD supplementation. The insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) gene expression exhibited a non-linear response, with substantial upregulation at 0 ppt salinity and downregulation at 30 ppt salinity. These findings highlight the intricate physiological adaptations and the role of vitamin D in juveniles of red tilapia hybrid under different salinity levels, Therefore, it is advisable to use 0.8 mg of VD followed by 0.4 mg under different salinity levels to enhance the growth performance, feed utilization, GH level, and expression of GH and IGF-II genes. Additionally, culturing fish at 30 ppt salinity followed by 15 ppt appears to improve overall performance compared to freshwater culture.

Pathogenic variants reveal candidate genes for prostate cancer germline testing for men of African ancestry

Abstract Prostate cancer (PCa) germline testing, while gaining momentum, is ancestry restrictive and African exclusive. Through whole genome sequencing for 217 African ancestral cases (186 southern African, 31 Pan representative), we identify 172 potentially pathogenic variants in 78 DNA damage repair or PCa related genes. Prevalence for reported (13/217, 5.99%) and cumulative predicted (24/217, 11.06%) variants of significance (11 genes) falls below that reported for non-Africans. Conversely, BRCA1, HOXB13, CDK12, MLH1, MSH2, and BRIP1 remain unimpacted. Through pathogenic ranking based on variant frequency and functionality, clinical presentation and tumour-matched biallelic inactivation, top-ranked candidates include PREX2, POLE, FAT1, BRCA2, POLQ, LRP1B and ATM. Besides notable impact of DNA polymerases, including POLG, Fanconi anaemia genes include FANCD2, FANCA, FANCG, ERCC4, FANCE and FANCI, while DNA mismatch repair genes MSH3 and PMS1 outranked known namesakes MSH6 and PMS2. This study provides insights into the spectrum of African-relevant potentially pathogenic PCa variants, highlighting much-needed gene candidates for ancestry-inclusive germline testing.

Synchronized fertilization based on crop nutrient uptake and fertilizer nutrient release characteristics increases nutrient use efficiency in banana

Crotonate enhances intestinal regeneration after injury via HBO1-mediated H3K14 crotonylation

Lightweight Unet with depthwise separable convolution for skin lesion segmentation

Abstract Accurate segmentation of skin lesions is crucial for the early diagnosis of skin diseases, as clear lesion boundaries facilitate the comprehensive extraction of lesion features. However, in practical applications, the contours or boundaries of lesion areas in medical images often appear blurred and lose detail due to factors such as lighting conditions, imaging equipment, skin color differences, and physician experience. Meanwhile, existing deep learning models are often large in structure and computationally expensive, making them unsuitable for clinical environments that require efficiency and ease of deployment.To address these issues, this paper proposes a lightweight skin lesion segmentation model, LMSAUnet. Based on the traditional UNet architecture, this model removes standard convolution modules and introduces the ECDF module, which combines deep separable convolution and attention mechanisms. This significantly reduces the number of parameters and computational complexity while improving segmentation performance.Experimental results demonstrate that LMSAUnet outperforms multiple state-of-the-art segmentation models on several skin lesion datasets, significantly reducing computational resource consumption while exhibiting stronger generalization capabilities. The findings validate the model’s potential for efficiently and accurately performing skin lesion segmentation tasks under resource-constrained conditions, offering promising clinical application prospects.

Bioinspired high-order in-sensor spatiotemporal enhancement in van der Waals optoelectronic neuromorphic electronics