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Molecular-Level Tailoring of Energy Structure in Ternary Conjugated Polymers with a Built-in Ru-Complex Catalyst for Efficient CO₂ Reduction Photocatalysis

Prevalence and spectrum of germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in multiethnic cohort of breast cancer patients in Brunei Darussalam

This is the first genetic study of its kind in Brunei Darussalam. BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are the most well-known and well described predictors of hereditary breast cancer due to their clinical importance. This study aimed to identify the prevalence and mutation spectrum of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutations among 120 unselected series of Brunei breast cancer patients. We screened the entire coding region of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene using Sanger sequencing and next-generation sequencing methods and identified three pathogenic and one likely pathogenic mutations in the BRCA2 gene. Of the 120 patients, 6 (5%) were BRCA2 carriers which confirm that BRCA2 carriers are more common in the Asian population compared to the Caucasian population. One BRCA2 mutation observed only in the Chinese ethnicity of the Brunei breast cancer population suggest a probability of the mutation being a founder effect in the Southern Chinese population. Brunei BRCA2 carriers were more likely to have a positive family history of breast and/or ovarian cancers and have more than one family members in the first-degree relatives diagnosed with breast cancer.

Phosphorus(III)-Compatible Asymmetric Suzuki–Miyaura Cross-Coupling (P-ASMC) Reaction

A psychiatric medication, clozapine, induces autophagy and apoptosis in breast cancer cells through reactive oxygen species

Cancer patients with psychotic disorders have occasionally exhibited reduced tumor sizes following long-term antipsychotic treatment. Previous studies have shown that antipsychotic drugs, such as clozapine, could inhibit cancer cell proliferation, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigates the anti-tumor effects of clozapine on breast cancer cells and explores its mechanisms of action. We used clonogenic and MTT assays to assess cell proliferation, flow cytometry and western blotting analyses to evaluate cell cycle distribution, apoptosis, and autophagy following clozapine exposure. The results show that clozapine downregulates Cyclin D1, CDK4, and CDK6, while upregulating p21 and p27 in MCF-7 cells, leading to G0/G1 phase arrest. Clozapine exposure also increases reactive oxygen species (ROS), apoptosis and autophagy levels. Notably, treatment with the antioxidant α-Tocopherol restores cell viability and reduces ROS and autophagy, indicating that ROS plays a central role in clozapine-induced cytotoxicity. Additionally, inhibition of autophagy using chloroquine enhances clozapine-induced apoptosis and further reduces cell viability. These findings suggest that clozapine induces apoptosis and autophagy through ROS generation and that combining clozapine with autophagy inhibitors could sensitize MCF-7 cells to treatment. Furthermore, clozapine induces significant cytotoxicity in MDA-MB-231 cells, an aggressive, ER-negative breast cancer model, through similar ROS- and autophagy-mediated mechanisms. The addition of α-Tocopherol similarly rescued these cells from clozapine-induced cell death. Overall, our study demonstrates that clozapine suppresses the growth of both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells by inducing cytotoxicity via ROS and autophagy, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic agent, especially in combination with autophagy inhibitors.

Data-Driven Design of Random Heteropolypeptides as Synthetic Polyclonal Antibodies

Relationship between spiritual well-being with anxiety and depression among cancer patients

Background Spiritual health is one of the basic concepts regarding how to deal with the problems caused by the disease. Anxiety and depression are common psychological consequences that affect the treatment process in cancer patients. Therefore, the present study has been conducted to explore relationship between spiritual well-being with anxiety and depression among cancer patients. Methods A total of 200 eligible cancer patients were included in this cross-sectional survey. Questionnaires of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB) were provided to patients. Results The mean anxiety and depression scores were 9.98 ± 3.74 and 9.68 ± 3.32, respectively. Nearly half of the patients had anxiety and depression disorders. Age (β = -.300, P = .017) was a significant negative predictor for anxiety, and also education (β = -.885, P = .004) was a significant and negative predictor for depression. The mean score of patients’ spiritual well-being was 76.61 ± 20.01, and its dimensions including existential well-being and religious well-being were 37.35 ± 9.78, and 39.27 ± 10.38, respectively. The majority of patients had a moderate level of spiritual well-being (81%). There was a statistically significant relationship between educational levels and spiritual well-being (P = 049), and religious well-being (P = 033). The spiritual well-being could significantly and negatively predict anxiety (β = -0.154, P < 0.001) and depression (β = -.134, P = < 0.001). There was a significant and inverse relationship between religious well-being with anxiety (rho = -.832, P < 0.001) and depression (rho = -.842, P < 0.001), and between existential well-being with anxiety (rho = -.830, P < 0.001) and depression (rho = -0.813, P < 0.001). There was a significant positive relationship between anxiety and depression (rho = 0.717, P < 0.001). The highest percentage of patients with depression disorder had more anxiety (75.6%). Conclusions Spirituality can serve as a protective factor for psychological morbidity. Spirituality wellbeing-based care programs are suggested as a good method to promote mental health in cancerous patients.

Photocatalysis at the Molecule/Metal Oxide Interface Is Driven by Asymmetric Photocarrier Transfer: Ab Initio Quantum Dynamics Simulation

The effect of target transpulmonary driving pressure values on mortality in ARDS patients: A retrospective study based on the MIMIC-IV database

Background This study examined the effect of target transpulmonary driving pressure on mortality in patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, assessing how varying levels of transpulmonary driving pressure influence clinical outcomes. Methods This retrospective study utilized data from the MIMIC-IV database to evaluate the relationship between transpulmonary driving pressure and mortality in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Associations between transpulmonary driving pressure levels and 28-day, ICU, and hospital mortality were analyzed. Propensity score matching was employed to balance covariates, while causal mediation analysis assessed whether peak airway pressure mediated the effect of transpulmonary driving pressure on mortality. Results Among 4721 patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, 295 received transpulmonary driving pressure targeting. The optimal transpulmonary driving pressure threshold was identified as 12.5 cmH2O. Patients with transpulmonary driving pressure >12.5 cmH2O had significantly higher 28-day, ICU, and hospital mortality, particularly in those with moderate to severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (p < 0.05). After propensity score matching, targeting transpulmonary driving pressure was associated with lower ICU mortality (HR 0.676, 95% CI 0.511–0.894, p = 0.006). Phenotypic analysis showed that elevated transpulmonary driving pressure was linked to worse outcomes in Phenotype-I(High Mechanical Power with Moderate Lung Compliance) and Phenotype-II (High Spontaneous Breathing with Better Lung Compliance), but not in Phenotype-III (Low Tidal Volume with Reduced Lung Compliance). Mediation analysis revealed that 7.0% of the mortality risk associated with transpulmonary driving pressure >12.5 cmH2O was mediated through peak airway pressure. Conclusion Transpulmonary driving pressure exceeding 12.5 cmH2O is associated with higher mortality in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome patients, with peak airway pressure contributing to this effect.

Tuning the Directional Solubility of Ionic Liquids through Multicomponent Ions for Low-Temperature Desalination

Short tandem repeat variants are possibly associated with RNA secondary structure and gene expression

Short tandem repeats (STRs) are abundant in the human genome with approximately 300,000 embedded in gene introns, exons, and untranslated regions. High penetrance STR variants cause human diseases such as Myotonic dystrophy, Baratela-Scott syndrome, and various ataxias. The possibility that STRs contribute to polygenic disease is supported by recent high-powered datasets that link STRs to more subtle effects on gene expression. Indeed, STR variants can induce Z-DNA and H-DNA folding; alter nucleosome positioning; and change the spacing of DNA binding sites. On the other hand, little is known about how STR variants affect RNA secondary structure and accessibility. These factors could affect rates of splicing, nuclear export, and translation. We hypothesize that effects on RNA structure can be predicted using computational tools and associated with gene expression using DNA and RNA sequencing data. We test this hypothesis using data from the 1000 Genomes Project and ViennaRNA. We identify 17,255 transcribed STRs that affect RNA folding (fSTRs); 356 are possibly associated with gene expression. We characterize fSTRs by repeat motif, length, and gene level annotation. Transcribed fSTR variants tend to affect RNA multiloops and external loops. Effects on RNA accessibility depends on the repeat motif: a surprising result that is checked against simulation. These results shed light on how transcribed STRs affect RNA structure and pave the way for experimental validation.

Elevating Nitrate Reduction through the Mastery of Hierarchical Hydrogen-Bond Networks

Social support and social comparison tendencies predict trajectories of adolescents’ problematic social media use: A longitudinal study

There is still no scientific consensus on the relationship between problematic social media use and its negative consequences for adolescents’ well-being. This study aims to identify common trajectories of problematic social media use over time in a sample of adolescents, and to identify the demographic and psychological factors associated with different empirical profiles. This four-wave longitudinal study involved 403 adolescents (age range: 13–18 years; Mage = 15.73 ± 1.22; 51.9% females). Participants provided demographic and social media use data (i.e., social media addiction, frequency of social media activities, time spent on Instagram and TikTok) as well as measures of psychological factors (i.e., psychological distress, emotion dysregulation, self-esteem, perceived social support, online social comparison). Parallel latent class growth analysis (LCGA) categorised participants into three classes. Participants in class 1 (‘most vulnerable group’; 25.56%) showed a more impaired functioning profile, with a stable problematic pattern of social media use (i.e., high levels of social media addiction and time spent on TikTok). Multinomial regression models showed that factors associated with this pattern were low social support, high online social comparison, and SMU intensity. Our findings suggest that the role of social interactions (both online and offline) and social comparison tendencies should be further explored as markers of problematic social media use.

Elucidating Energy Conversion Pathways at Biotic/Abiotic Interfaces in Microbe–Semiconductor Hybrids

Finite-time attitude tracking control for spacecraft based on backstepping method with input saturation

In this paper, the finite-time attitude tracking control problem for spacecraft based on the backstepping method is addressed. Firstly, a finite-time controller is designed, which can provide robustness for external disturbance by employing an improved adaptation law. Secondly, a novel finite-time controller with input saturation is proposed by introducing the hyperbolic function and auxiliary system to guarantee the control torques below a predetermined value. The above two controllers are continuous, thus, they are chattering-free. Finally, simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the control strategies.

An Alternative Mechanism for C–C Desaturation Underscores a Dual-Controlled Mechanism for the Fate of Radical Intermediate in Iron(II)- and 2-(Oxo)glutarate-Dependent Oxygenase DfmD

Prevalence patterns of overweight and obesity in the world: An age-period-cohort analysis

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the trends of obesity and overweight among adolescents using the age-period-cohort (APC) analysis. Methods Data for this study was provided by Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Our data represents the cumulative prevalence trend of obesity and overweight in 195 countries between 1980 and 2015 in 5-year intervals. The age intervals were also considered to be 5 years. Besides, a subgroup analysis based on sex and socio-demographic-index subgroups were performed. To perform APC analysis, R program software was used. Results We observed an increasing trend in both obesity and overweight throughout the study period, with the trend accelerating in more recent periods. Among the fitted models, we concluded that the APC model best fit the current data. The trend for both outcomes was similar. Among the three parameters, age showed an inverted U-shaped effect on the trend of both outcomes in all subgroups. However, the effect of period and cohort differed in our subgroup analysis. Conclusion Overall, this study shows that obesity and overweight are on the rise. Both phenomena were influenced by the age effect in a similar pattern. However, the period and cohort effects showed variation in our subgroup analyses based on sex and SDI subgroups, suggesting the need for country-level studies to better understand the possible impact of these two factors on the prevalence of obesity and overweight.

Benzotriazole and Poly(vinylidene Fluoride) Synergistically Promote the Selectivity of Carbon Dioxide Reduction on Copper toward C₂ Products

Mapping dysphagia in pediatric dystonia

Objectives Dystonia is a significant movement disorder in childhood, yet swallowing functions in this population remain largely unexplored. Dysphagia, however, can result in severe complications, including aspiration, underscoring the critical need for research in this area. This study, therefore, aimed to evaluate dysphagia in children with dystonia. Methods Children diagnosed with dystonia as the predominant movement disorder were included. Medical histories were recorded, and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) levels were determined. Oral structure characteristics were assessed, and chewing performance was evaluated using the Turkish version of Mastication Observation and Evaluation (T-MOE) and the Karaduman Chewing Performance Scale (KCPS). Swallowing safety was screened with the Pediatric Eating Assessment Tool-10 (PEDI-EAT-10) and the 3-ounce Water Swallow Test. The Dysphagia Disorders Survey (DDS) was used to assess swallowing disorder severity, while the Dysphagia Management Staging Scale (DMSS) was applied to determine the severity level of dysphagia. Results Twenty-five children (mean age: 11.32 ± 3.95 years) participated in the study. Of these 56% were classified as level V according to the GMFCS. Three children (12%) had a FOIS level of 4 or below. The mean T-MOE score was 15.62 ± 7.51, and 60% of the children could bite but could not chew effectively according to the KCPS. Oropharyngeal dysphagia was present in all children, with abnormal swallowing (PEDI-EAT-10 score ≥4) and increased aspiration risk (PEDI-EAT-10 score ≥13) observed in 100% and 88% of the participants, respectively. Additionally, 52.0% of the children failed the 3-ounce Water Swallow Test. The mean DDS raw score was 23.08 ± 7.70, and 68% of the children were classified as having severe or profound dysphagia based on the DMSS. Conclusion Swallowing dysfunction was observed in almost all children with dystonia, with the majority presenting with severe dysphagia and an elevated risk of aspiration. Close monitoring of oral structures and functions, along with continuous evaluation of swallowing performance, is crucial to ensure safe oral feeding and to mitigate life-threatening complications in this population.

3D Printable Materials with Visible Light Triggered Photochromism and Room Temperature Phosphorescence

Genomic analysis of Salmonella enterica from cattle, beef and humans in the Greater Tamale Metropolis of Ghana

Salmonella enterica is a bacterial foodborne pathogen that can infect humans and animals. Proper control of Salmonella requires routine surveillance and interventions across the food-production chain. However, due to limited resources the epidemiology and transmission of non-typhoidal Salmonella serotypes remain poorly understood in several African settings, including within Ghana. Here, we employed bacterial culture and whole genome sequencing (WGS) to investigate the prevalence, virulence and antimicrobial resistance determinants of Salmonella enterica isolates from beef, cattle blood and human patient stool in Greater Tamale Metropolis, Ghana. Enrichment and culture of the specimens yielded 62 isolates in total from beef (31), bovine blood (28) and human diarrhoeal specimens (3). We identified at least 15 STs and 18 different Salmonella serovars. The most frequently detected serovars were Poona (n = 13), Montevideo (n = 10) and Poano (n = 7) with S. Montevideo being the most common from cattle blood. Thirty-two (52%) isolates belonged to novel sequence types (STs), with ST2609 (n = 9) being most common. Four raw beef isolates harboured at least one gene conferring resistance to beta-lactam (blaTEM-1), chloramphenicol (catA), fosfomycin (fosA7), quinolone (qnrD1) or tetracycline (tet(A)). Eight isolates carried IncF, IncI and/or Col3M plasmid replicons. This study recovered Salmonella, often belonging to previously undocumented STs, at high frequencies from cattle and beef and demonstrated that isolates from human diarrhoeal patients are closely related to bovine isolates. The data highlight the need for broader and sustained surveillance and the urgent need for food safety interventions in Ghana.