Browse Articles

eIF3d and eIF4G2 mediate an alternative mechanism of cap-dependent but eIF4E-independent translation initiation

Establishment and application of an intelligent management platform for home medication for children with leukemia

Objective This study aimed to establish an intelligent management platform for home medication for children with leukemia and verify its efficacy in enhancing home medication compliance in children with leukemia using intelligent approaches. Method Children with leukemia who were treated in a hospital in Chongqing, China, between January and April 2022 were enrolled. The user intentions and requirements for an intelligent management platform for home medication were analyzed for both the patient and their family, leading to the establishment of an intelligent management platform with multiple ports. Children with leukemia who were at the maintenance stage of the treatment during July-December 2023, were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. For medication management, hard copies of chemotherapy records and regular outpatient follow-up data were collected from both groups. For the experimental group, data were also acquired from the intelligent management platform. The self-efficacy in rational medication, rate of missed/incorrect administration, and unplanned admission rate of the two groups were assessed after three months of intervention. The usage efficiency of the platform was also evaluated in children and caregivers in the experimental group. Results The intelligent management platform for home medication for children with leukemia comprised a patient-end WeChat applet, a medical staff-end WeChat applet, and a Web management end, with each applet having distinct functions. After three months of intervention, the self-efficacy score in rational medication of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (33.93 vs. 30.03, P <  0.05). Furthermore, the rate of missed or incorrect administration of the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group (10% vs. 26.76%, P <  0.05). The rates of unplanned admission of the two groups did not differ significantly (P >  0.05). Moreover, the overall satisfaction of the experimental group of children and caregivers with the proposed platform was 94.29%. Conclusion The proposed management platform for home medication for children with leukemia was associated with increased self-efficacy in the rational medication of these children and a reduced missed/incorrect administration rate, thereby providing an effective approach for more accurate and safer home medication for these children.

Study on the impact of partial unloading on the structural deformation of prefabricated segmental subway tunnels

The catalytic tetrad of Aedes aegypti argonaute 2 is critical for the antiviral activity of the exogenous siRNA pathway

Biophysical assessments and blood profiling reveal physiological adaptations and environmental interactions of hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha)

The hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) is a migratory fish of great economic and cultural importance in Bangladesh. However, its physiological adaptations to diverse environmental conditions are not well understood. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the biophysical, hematological, and biochemical characteristics of hilsa shad from riverine, estuarine, and marine environments in Bangladesh. We sampled 180 adult fish from nine sites, revealing significant habitat-specific variations in water quality, with marine sites showing the highest levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) and specific conductance. Hematological analysis showed that fish from riverine environments had higher hematocrit values, which are crucial for oxygen transport during migration. Post-spawning fish exhibited elevated hemoglobin, RBC counts, and hematocrit levels, reflecting adaptations to the metabolic demands of migration and spawning. WBC counts were higher in females, particularly in estuarine and marine environments, suggesting a stronger immune response to environmental stressors. Serum biochemical analysis showed significant variations in liver enzyme activity, albumin, and cortisol levels, with elevated cortisol in riverine fish during spawning season, indicating heightened stress. These findings enhance our understanding of hilsa shad’s physiological ecology, providing critical insights for conservation and management strategies amid environmental changes.

Effects of smoking behavior on lung metastasis in the All of Us Research Program

Abstract Smoking may be associated with an increased risk of lung metastasis in cancers of non-lung origin. We leverage survey and electronic health record data from the diverse All of Us Research Program (AoURP) database to investigate whether smoking and smoking-related behaviors increase the risk of lung metastasis in non-lung primary cancers. The results suggest that cigarette use, measured by four continuous variables, does not increase the risk of lung metastasis in seven common cancer types but demonstrates a small significant effect in a cohort including all types of cancer in the database in both univariable and multivariable analyses. An increased odds ratio of electronic smoke use in patients with lung metastasis was seen in multivariable analyses of the all cancer (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.04–1.59, P = 0.02) and liver cancer (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.06–2.28, P = 0.02) groups. After adjusting for estimated cigarette pack years in the multivariable model, the result remained significant for liver cancer (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.02–2.47, P = 0.04) but not the all cancer cohort. These results warrant further inquiry and suggest that smoking and e-cigarettes may be associated with lung metastasis risk in patients with non-lung tumors.

Cancer hotspot mutations rewire ERK2 specificity by selective exclusion of docking interactions

Correction: Cardiorespiratory demands of firearms training instruction and 15m shuttle tests in British law enforcement

Nonlinear buckling analysis of curved railway tracks considering unbalanced cant and train speed

Optogenetic tools for inducing organelle membrane rupture

Editorial note: Randomized controlled trial of early, small-volume formula supplementation among newborns: a study protocol

Theoretical analysis of low power optogenetic control of synaptic plasticity with subcellular expression of CapChR2 at postsynaptic spine

Microecology in vitro model replicates the human skin microbiome interactions

Author Correction: A20 controls intestinal homeostasis through cell-specific activities

Ferromagnetism and correlated insulating states in monolayer Mo33Te56

Statistical analysis of spatial patterns in tumor microenvironment images

ON-OFF neuromorphic ISING machines using Fowler-Nordheim annealers

Replicating community dynamics reveals how initial composition shapes the functional outcomes of bacterial communities

Abstract Bacterial communities play key roles in global biogeochemical cycles, industry, agriculture, human health, and animal husbandry. There is therefore great interest in understanding bacterial community dynamics so that they can be controlled and engineered to optimise ecosystem services. We assess the reproducibility and predictability of bacterial community dynamics by creating a frozen archive of hundreds of naturally-occurring bacterial communities that we repeatedly revive and track in a standardised, complex resource environment. Replicate communities follow reproducible trajectories and the community dynamics closely map to ecosystem functioning. However, even under standardised conditions, the communities exhibit tipping-points, where small differences in initial community composition create divergent compositional and functional outcomes. The predictability of community trajectories therefore requires detailed knowledge of rugged compositional landscapes where ecosystem properties are not the inevitable result of prevailing environmental conditions but can be tilted toward different outcomes depending on the initial community composition. Our results shed light on the relationship between composition and function, opening new avenues to understand the feasibility and limitations of function prediction in complex microbial communities.

Photothermal-promoted anion exchange membrane seawater electrolysis on a nickel-molybdenum-based catalyst

A genome-wide association study of imaging-defined atherosclerosis

Abstract Imaging-defined atherosclerosis represents an intermediate phenotype of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on directly measured coronary plaques using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) are scarce. In the so far largest population-based cohort with CCTA data, we performed a GWAS on coronary plaque burden as determined by the segment involvement score (SIS) in 24,811 European individuals. We identified 20 significant independent genetic markers for SIS, three of which were found in loci not implicated in ASCVD before. Further GWAS on coronary artery calcification showed similar results to that of SIS, whereas a GWAS on ultrasound-assessed carotid plaques identified both shared and non-shared loci with SIS. In two-sample Mendelian randomization studies using SIS-associated markers in UK Biobank and CARDIoGRAMplusC4D, one extra coronary segment with atherosclerosis corresponded to 1.8-fold increased odds of myocardial infarction. This GWAS data can aid future studies of causal pathways in ASCVD.