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Early life factors and variation in adult kidney function in the Swedish LifeGene cohort
Abstract Intrauterine fetal programming determines cardiorenal interaction later in life. We hypothesize that early life factors affect adult glomerular filtration rate and mean arterial pressure (MAP) directly or by interacting with postnatal growth trajectories. The population-based LifeGene study (Sweden) randomly recruited individuals aged 18 to 43 years ( n = 12 167). They filled in a web-questionnaire and performed health tests (including bioimpedance measurements). Birth weight (BW), gestational age (GA), head circumference (HC), and birth length data were acquired from the Swedish Medical Birth Register. Postnatal growth was determined from BWz-scores and adult fat mass index. Creatinine and cystatin C-based kidney function were calculated (eGFRcr, eGFRcysC). After adjusting for sex, GA, adult age, and eGFRcr, a 1SD increase in BWz-score predicted a 1.15 mmHg increase in MAP. Meanwhile, every 1 cm decrease in HC was associated with an expected 0.29 mL/min/1.73m 2 decrease in eGFRcr. Lower birth weight-to-placenta ratio was inversely related to eGFRcysC ( p = 0.034). Postnatal down-regulation significantly affected a relatively lower eGFR but within normal range ( p < 0.001). The postnatal catch-up did not affect kidney function. This study reveals the complex interrelationship between early life factors and adult kidney function that could be directly and indirectly influenced by adult body fat accumulation.
Author Correction: Single-zinc vacancy unlocks high-rate H2O2 electrosynthesis from mixed dioxygen beyond Le Chatelier principle
State of thermal tolerance in an endangered himalayan fish Tor putitora revealed by expression modulation in environmental stress related genes
Author Correction: NS1 binding protein regulates stress granule dynamics and clearance by inhibiting p62 ubiquitination
Ultrasound-assisted enzymatic extraction, process optimization, and antioxidant activity of polysaccharides from sugarcane peel
Cryptic genetic variation shapes the fate of gene duplicates in a protein interaction network
Analysis of human papillomavirus infection and its correlation with cervical lesions in Huizhou women
Unraveling metal effects on CO2 uptake in pyrene-based metal-organic frameworks
Abstract Pyrene-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have tremendous potential for various applications. With infinite structural possibilities, the MOF community often relies on simulations to identify the most promising candidates for given applications. Among thousands of reported structures, many exhibit limited reproducibility — in either synthesis, performance, or both — owing to the sensitivity of synthetic conditions. Geometric distortions that may arise in the functional groups of pyrene-based ligands during synthesis and/or activation cannot easily be predicted. This sometimes leads to discrepancies between in silico and experimental results. Here, we investigate a series of pyrene-based MOFs for carbon capture. These structures share the same ligand (1,3,6,8–tetrakis(p–benzoic acid)pyrene (TBAPy)) but have different metals (M-TBAPy, M = Al, Ga, In, and Sc). The ligands stack parallel in their orthorhombic crystal structure, creating a promising binding site for CO2. As predicted, the metal is shown to affect the pyrene stacking distance and, therefore, the CO2 uptake. Here, we investigate the metal’s intrinsic effects on the MOFs’ crystal structure. Crystallographic analysis shows the emergence of additional phases, which thus impacts the overall adsorption characteristics of the MOFs. Considering these additional phases improves the prediction of adsorption isotherms, enhancing our understanding of pyrene-based MOFs for carbon capture.
Relationship between dietary inflammatory index and metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease in children
Cryo-EM structure of the botulinum neurotoxin A/SV2B complex and its implications for translocation
Abstract Botulinum neurotoxin A1 (BoNT/A1) belongs to the most potent toxins and is used as a major therapeutic agent. Neurotoxin conformation is crucial for its translocation to the neuronal cytosol, a key process for intoxication that is only poorly understood. To gain molecular insights into the steps preceding toxin translocation, we determine cryo-EM structures of BoNT/A1 alone and in complex with its receptor synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2B (SV2B). In solution, BoNT/A1 adopts a unique, semi-closed conformation. The toxin changes its structure into an open state upon receptor binding with the translocation domain (HN) and the catalytic domain (LC) remote from the membrane, suggesting translocation incompatibility. Under acidic pH conditions, where translocation is initiated, receptor-bound BoNT/A1 switches back into a semi-closed conformation. This conformation brings the LC and HN close to the membrane, suggesting that a translocation-competent state of the toxin is required for successful LC transport into the neuronal cytosol.
Efficacy of compound betamethasone combined with ropivacaine in iliac fascial space nerve block analgesia
Reply: Muscle abnormalities in Long COVID
Health system performance on greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and development status in 38 OECD countries
Abstract Health systems must solve two climate-related problems simultaneously: mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to additional patient loads associated with climate-induced demands for care from weather sequalae and vector-borne diseases. We aimed to benchmark the mitigation and adaptive efforts of OECD member countries compared with their health system performance. We used Multidimensional Scaling and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis to group all 38 OECD member countries as at January 2024. Clusters were defined according to greenhouse gases per capita, vulnerability to climate change and the United Nations’ Human Development Index. Post hoc analyses compared each cluster’s performance to the OECD’s Health Care Quality Indicators. The countries fell into five profiles: Vulnerable low emitters; Vulnerable aspiring; Middle of the road; Robust aspiring; and Goldilocks zone. Post-hoc analyses revealed strong links between the profiles and health system performance. Characterising countries in a five-dimensional model may help policymakers to share benchmarked country-level information, devise ways to support resilient care practices, better target healthcare investments, and improve access to needed care.
Double-strand break repair pathways differentially affect processing and transduction by dual AAV vectors
Abstract Recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors (rAAV) are a powerful tool for gene delivery but have a limited DNA carrying capacity. Efforts to expand this genetic payload have focused on engineering the vector components, such as dual trans-splicing vectors which double the delivery size by exploiting the natural concatenation of rAAV genomes in host nuclei. We hypothesized that inefficient dual vector transduction could be improved by modulating host factors which affect concatenation. Since factors mediating concatenation are not well defined, we performed a genome-wide screen to identify host cell regulators. We discover that Homologous Recombination (HR) is inhibitory to dual vector transduction. We demonstrate that depletion or inhibition of HR factors BRCA1 and Rad51 significantly increase reconstitution of a large split transgene by increasing both concatenation and expression from rAAVs. Our results define roles for DNA damage repair in rAAV transduction and highlight the potential for pharmacological intervention to increase genetic payload of rAAV vectors.
An experimental study and prediction of dynamic deformation of wind turbine blade based on DIC
Author Correction: Orthogonal and multiplexable genetic perturbations with an engineered prime editor and a diverse RNA array
Deliod a lightweight detection model for intestinal organoids based on deep learning
Benchmarking the translational potential of spatial gene expression prediction from histology
Abstract Spatial transcriptomics has enabled the quantification of gene expression at spatial coordinates across a tissue, offering crucial insights into molecular underpinnings of diseases. In light of this, several methods predicting spatial gene expression from paired histology images have provided the opportunity to enhance the utility of obtainable and cost-effective haematoxylin-and-eosin-stained histology images. To this end, we conduct a comprehensive benchmarking study encompassing eleven methods for predicting spatial gene expression with histology images. These methods are reproduced and evaluated using five Spatially Resolved Transcriptomics datasets, followed by external validation using The Cancer Genome Atlas data. Our evaluation incorporates diverse metrics which capture the performance of predicted gene expression, model generalisability, translational potential, usability and computational efficiency of each method. Our findings demonstrate the capacity of the methods to predict spatial gene expression from histology and highlight areas that can be addressed to support the advancement of this emerging field.
Thin-layer modeling, drying parameters, and techno-enviro-economic analysis of a solar dried salted tilapia fish fillets
Abstract This study focused on the development of an indirect forced solar dryer that incorporates a three-sided flat plate solar collector (TSFPSC) specifically designed for increasing thermal efficiency, and the system used for drying salted tilapia fish fillets (STFF). The investigation analyzed three fillet thicknesses—4 mm, 8 mm, and 12 mm, employing both open sun drying (OSD) and the developed solar dryer (DSD), with a constant airspeed of 0.5 m/s. The research additionally developed thin-layer drying models (TLDM), assessed drying parameters, and performed an extensive techno-enviro-economic analysis. Results showed that the initial and final moisture content (MC) (w.b. %) of the STFF were 74.83 and 18.84%, respectively, and reached the equilibrium MC after 16–20.5 h for the DSD and 30–36 h for the OSD, which means the drying time reduced by about 53.3%, and 61.11% compared with the OSD. This reduction in drying time demonstrates the effectiveness of the developed solar dryer. The effective moisture diffusivity (EMD) of different STFF samples at both drying systems were 0.51 × 10–10 to 9.16 × 10–10 m2/s. In addition, all eleven basic TLDM were applied to predict the drying behavior of STFF during the drying process, while the combined Two-Term and Page model had the best fitting for the OSD system, and the modified Midilli II model and combined Two-Term and Page model had the best fitting for the DSD system. In terms of economic analysis, the annual capital and investment costs were calculated to be $22.458 and $21.334, respectively. Additionally, the environmental analysis indicated an energy payback (EP) period of 1.59 years, with a net CO2 mitigation of 14 tons realized over the operational lifetime of the DSD.