Browse Articles

Tumor detection on bronchoscopic images by unsupervised learning

Northern Hemisphere sea ice variability in a transient CGCM simulation of the past 2.6 Ma

Association between psoas muscle mass index and bone mineral density in patients undergoing hemodialysis

AbstractPatients undergoing dialysis are at risk of osteoporosis and sarcopenia because of mineral and bone disorders or malnutrition. Additionally, maintaining muscle mass is important to prevent osteoporosis. The psoas muscle mass index (PMI) was recently used to evaluate muscle mass. However, few studies have evaluated the association between the PMI and bone mineral density (BMD); therefore, we examined the association between PMI and BMD in the femoral neck (FN) of 80 patients (45 males, age, 71 (60–76) years; dialysis duration, 74 (36–140) months) undergoing hemodialysis. FN-BMD was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and PMI was evaluated using psoas muscle areas on computed tomography. FN-BMD and PMI were significantly higher in males than in females. In a correlation analysis, sex, BMI, serum creatinine levels, HbA1c levels, and PMI were positively correlated with FN-BMD, whereas age, history of bone fracture, difficulty in walking and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase level were negatively correlated. In the multivariate regression analysis using clinical factors significantly correlated to FN-BMD, including PMI, both sex (standardized coefficient: 0.249, p = 0.028) and PMI (standardized coefficient: 0.249, p = 0.038) were extracted. Multivariable linear regression analysis using PMI and traditional osteoporosis factors revealed that PMI was significantly and independently associated with FN-BMD (standardized coefficient: 0.308, p = 0.010). In conclusion, PMI was positively associated with FN-BMD. Attention should be paid to the possibility of decreased BMD with decreased muscle mass.

Computational and GC-MS screening of bioactive compounds from Thymus Vulgaris targeting mycolactone protein associated with Buruli ulcer

Leveraging haplotype information in heritability estimation and polygenic prediction

Feeding behavior and prey characteristics of great egrets (Ardea alba) in eco-friendly and conventional rice fields in South Korea

In-vitro antifungal potential of myco versus bacteria synthesized ZnO NPs against chickpea and apricot pathogen

A tunable human intestinal organoid system achieves controlled balance between self-renewal and differentiation

The relationship between prenatal drought exposure and the diversity and composition of gut microbiome in pregnant women and neonates

Investigating the inflammatory effect of microplastics in cigarette butts on peripheral blood mononuclear cells

DSIF factor Spt5 coordinates transcription, maturation and exoribonucleolysis of RNA polymerase II transcripts

AbstractPrecursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) is processed into its functional form during RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription. Although functional coupling between transcription and pre-mRNA processing is established, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We show that the key transcription termination factor, RNA exonuclease Xrn2 engages with Pol II forming a stable complex. Xrn2 activity is stimulated by Spt5 to ensure efficient degradation of nascent RNA leading to Pol II dislodgement from DNA. Our results support a model where Xrn2 first forms a stable complex with the elongating Pol II to achieve its full activity in degrading nascent RNA revising the current ‘torpedo’ model of termination, which posits that RNA degradation precedes Xrn2 engagement with Pol II. Spt5 is also a key factor that attenuates the expression of non-coding transcripts, coordinates pre-mRNA splicing and 3’-end processing. Our findings indicate that engagement with the transcribing Pol II is an essential regulatory step modulating the activity of RNA enzymes such as Xrn2, thus advancing our understanding of how RNA maturation is controlled during transcription.

Optimism bias, judgment of severity, and behavioral change during two stages of the pandemics in China

Elimination of nickel ions in a packed column using clamshell waste as an adsorbent

Meta-EA: a gene-specific combination of available computational tools for predicting missense variant effects

Geriatric nutritional risk index and newly developed scoring system as prognosis prediction for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with lenvatinib

Nucleotide metabolism-associated drug resistance gene NDUFA4L2 promotes colon cancer progression and 5-FU resistance

Living plastics from plasticizer-assisted thermal molding of silk protein

Subtilisin-like protease 4 regulates cold tolerance through cell wall modification in rice

A genome-wide association study of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in a large Korean population highlights its genetic relationship with cholesterol metabolism

Multiphase superconductivity in PdBi2

AbstractUnconventional superconductivity, where electron pairing does not involve electron-phonon interactions, is often attributed to magnetic correlations in a material. Well known examples include high-Tc cuprates and uranium-based heavy fermion superconductors. Less explored are unconventional superconductors with strong spin-orbit coupling, where interactions between spin-polarised electrons and external magnetic field can result in multiple superconducting phases and field-induced transitions between them, a rare phenomenon in the superconducting state. Here we report a magnetic-field driven phase transition in β-PdBi2, a layered non-magnetic superconductor. Our tunnelling spectroscopy on thin PdBi2 monocrystals incorporated in planar superconductor-insulator-normal metal junctions reveals a marked discontinuity in the superconducting properties with increasing in-plane field, which is consistent with a transition from conventional (s-wave) to nodal pairing. Our theoretical analysis suggests that this phase transition may arise from spin polarisation and spin-momentum locking caused by locally broken inversion symmetry, with p-wave pairing becoming energetically favourable in high fields. Our findings also reconcile earlier predictions of unconventional multigap superconductivity in β-PdBi2 with previous experiments where only a single s-wave gap could be detected.