Browse Articles

Long-term stability of soil spectral libraries with chemical and spectral insights

Experimental implementation of design of an asynchronous machine-based wind emulator using backstepping control

SSUP-72/PINN-1 coordinates RNA-polymerase II 3′ pausing and developmental gene expression in C. elegans

Unraveling shared diagnostic genes and cellular microenvironmental changes in endometriosis and recurrent implantation failure through multi-omics analysis

A negatively-charged supramolecular trap for precisely catching strontium ion

Lower body strength and body composition in female football

Abstract Lower-body strength plays a crucial role in football performance and injury prevention, and thus, monitoring of strength variables has become crucial in the training process. This study aims to (1) assess knee muscle strength performance through intra- and inter-limb asymmetries and (2) examine the relationships between knee muscle strength, body composition, and vertical jump performance (squat jump and countermovement jump). Twenty-seven semiprofessional female football players (21.5 ± 4.9 years) were evaluated for body composition, isokinetic knee muscle strength (60º/s and 180º/s), and vertical jump tasks. Peak torque (PT), peak torque/body weight (PT/BW), bilateral strength deficit, and the hamstring-to-quadriceps strength ratio (H/Q) for knee extensors (KE) and flexors (KF) in both the preferred and non-preferred legs. The H/Q ratio and the bilateral strength deficit revealed no significant intra- or inter-limb asymmetries in knee muscle strength. Strong correlations were found between vertical jump performance and KE strength at both 60º/s (p ≤ 0.01) and 180º/s (p ≤ 0.01). Additionally, a significant negative correlation was observed between vertical jump performance and body fat percentage (p ≤ 0.01). These findings highlight the critical role of knee muscle strength in explosive tasks and underline the negative impact of higher body fat on lower-body strength performance.

Unusual photo-tunable mechanical transformation of azobenzene terminated aliphatic polycarbonate

Bisdemethoxycurcumin chemoprevents 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced mammary toxicity via modulation of oxidative processes

MyoD1 localization at the nuclear periphery is mediated by association of WFS1 with active enhancers

Abstract Spatial organization of the mammalian genome influences gene expression and cell identity. While association of genes with the nuclear periphery is commonly linked to transcriptional repression, also active, expressed genes can localize at the nuclear periphery. The transcriptionally active MyoD1 gene, a master regulator of myogenesis, exhibits peripheral localization in proliferating myoblasts, yet the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we generate a reporter cell line to demonstrate that peripheral association of the MyoD1 locus is independent of mechanisms involved in heterochromatin anchoring. Instead, we identify the nuclear envelope transmembrane protein WFS1 that tethers MyoD1 to the nuclear periphery. WFS1 primarily associates with active distal enhancer elements upstream of MyoD1, and with a subset of enhancers genome-wide, which are enriched in active histone marks and linked to expressed myogenic genes. Overall, our data identify a mechanism involved in tethering regulatory elements of active genes to the nuclear periphery.

A novel seven-tier framework for the classification of MEFV missense variants using adaptive and rigid classifiers

Multi-scale dynamics influence the division potential of stomatal lineage ground cells in Arabidopsis

Abstract During development, many precursor lineages are flexible, producing variable numbers and types of progeny cells. What determines whether precursors differentiate or continue dividing? Here we take a quantitative approach that combines long-term live imaging, statistical modeling and computational simulations to probe the developmental flexibility of stomatal lineage ground cells (SLGC) in Arabidopsis leaves. We discover that cell size is a strong predictor of SLGC behaviour and that cell size is linked to division behaviour at multiple spatial scales. At the neighbourhood scale, cell size correlates with the strength of cell-cell signaling, which affects the rate at which SPEECHLESS (SPCH), a division-promoting transcription factor, is degraded. At the subcellular scale, cell size correlates with nuclear size, which modulates the concentration of SPCH in the nucleus. Our work shows how initial differences in SPCH levels are canalized by nuclear size and cell-cell signaling to inform the behaviour of a flexible cell type.

The combined effect of CRP and blood pressure on the risk of mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes

Asgard Arf GTPases can act as membrane-associating molecular switches with the potential to function in organelle biogenesis

Preclinical assessment of a ganglioside-targeted therapy for Parkinson’s disease with the first-in-class adaptive peptide AmyP53

Cortico-striatal circuit mechanisms drive the effects of D1 dopamine agonists on memory capacity in mice through cAMP/PKA signalling

Innovative ZnO-W18O49 nanocomposites and ZnWO4 nanostructures for water treatment

Giant self spin-valve effect in the kagome helimagnet

Association between hypothermia and hyperthermia and 28-day mortality in pediatric intensive care unit patients: a retrospective cohort study

CD4 T cell dysfunction is associated with bacterial recrudescence during chronic tuberculosis

MRI distortion correction is associated with improved local control in stereotactic radiotherapy for brain metastases

Abstract Distortions in brain MRI caused by gradient nonlinearities may reach several millimeters, thus distortion correction is strongly recommended for radiotherapy treatment planning. However, the significance of MRI distortion correction on actual clinical outcomes has not been described yet. Therefore, we investigated the impact of planning MRI distortion correction on subsequent local control in a historic series of 419 brain metastases in 189 patients treated with stereotactic radiotherapy between 01/2003 and 04/2015. Local control was evaluated using a volumetric extension of the RANO-BM criteria. The predictive significance of distortion correction was assessed using competing risk analysis. In this cohort, 2D distortion-corrected MRIs had been used for treatment planning in 52.5% (220/419) of lesions, while uncorrected MRIs had been employed in 47.5% (199/419) of metastases. 2D distortion correction was associated with improved local control (Cumulative incidence of local progression at 12 months: 14.3% vs. 21.2% and at 24 months: 18.7% vs. 28.6%, p = 0.038). In multivariate analysis, adjusting for histology, baseline tumor volume, interval between MRI and treatment delivery, year of planning MRI, biologically effective dose and adjuvant Whole-brain radiotherapy, use of distortion correction remained significantly associated with improved local control (HR 0.55, p = 0.020). This is the first study to clinically evaluate the impact of MRI gradient nonlinearity distortion correction on local control in stereotactic radiotherapy for brain metastases. In this historic series, we found significantly higher local control when using 2D corrected vs. uncorrected MRI studies for treatment planning. These results stress the importance of assuring that MR images used for radiotherapy treatment planning are properly distortion-corrected.