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Crystal Lattice Analysis for 2D Nanomorphology Prediction of Phase-Separated Materials

Development and optimization of a new competitive ELISA using recombinant (rPSA D15 and rCag11) antigens for the detection of Helicobacter pylori infection

H. pylori (Hp) is highly causative agent of chronic gastritis, gastric cancer and human death worldwide. To address the challenge of H. pylori infection, numerous immunological assays have been developed for its diagnosis and management. However, the limited availability of these assays in certain laboratories, coupled with their high cost, inconsistent specificity, and sensitivity, has hampered their widespread adoption, particularly in developing countries where H. pylori infection is prevalent. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and validate a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) assay for detecting H. pylori infections by targeting the Protective Surface Antigen (PSA) and Cytotoxic-Associated Gene Pathogenesis Island (Cag11) proteins in H. pylori stool antigen sample. In the current study, the optimal conditions including the dilution of anti-rPSA D15 and anti-rCag11 antibodies at 1:1000, coating antigens (rPSA D15 and rCag11) at a concentration of 1 μg/well, the dilution of HRP-labelled antibody at 1:5000 and H. pylori stool antigen dilution at 1:1000 with a 1hour incubation and color development time of 30 minutes for cELISA were determined using an ELISA checkerboard titration assay. Based on the optimized conditions, novel rPSA D15-cELISA and rCag11-cELISA assays with a respective optimum cut-off value of 20.80% PI and 24.16% PI were developed. According to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis on the diagnostic performance of the newly developed rPSA D15-cELISA and rCag11-cELISA assays using 60 clinical H. pylori stool samples, the rPSA D15-cELISA test assay established an optimum cut-off point of 20.80% with sensitivity and specificity of 90% (95% confidence of interval (CI) 74.38–96.54), Area under the curve (AUC) of 0.9556 (95% CI = 0.896–1.000) and P value <0.0001. Similarly, the rCag11-cELISA assay revealed optimum cut-off value of 24.16% with sensitivity of 93.33% (95% CI 78.68–98.82), specificity of 90% (95% CI 74.38–96.54), AUC of 0.986 (95% CI = 0.967–1.000) and P <0.0001. Furthermore, the reproducibility assay coefficients of variation (CV) of the newly developed rPSA D15-cELISA and rCag11-cELISA assay were less than 10%, indicating that the two cELISA assays exhibits excellent reproducibility and reliability. To validate their clinical diagnostic application, the comparative study results of rPSA D15-cELISA and rCag11-cELISA showed a high agreement (k = 0.766 and 0.799) with the commercially available H. pylori antigen test immunochromatographic kit and more accurate than the reference kit by detecting stool antigen of H. pylori strain, indicating it is promising for clinical testing. In conclusion, these results indicated that the newly developed rPSA D15-cELISA and rCag11-cELISA H. pylori stool antigen test assays were a potential reliable and a clinically useful assay for rapid, specifically, sensitively and accurately diagnosis and large-scale epidemiological investigation of H. pylori infection.

The co-occurrence of multimorbidity and polypharmacy among middle-aged and older adults in Canada: A cross-sectional study using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) and the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN)

Background There is an increasing prevalence of multiple conditions (multimorbidity) and multiple medications (polypharmacy) across many populations. Previous literature has focused on the prevalence and impact of these health states separately, but there is a need to better understand their co-occurrence. Methods and findings This study reported on multimorbidity and polypharmacy among middle-aged and older adults in two national datasets: the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) and the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN). Using consistent methodology, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis of CLSA participants and CPCSSN patients aged 45 to 85 years as of 2015. When multimorbidity was defined as two or more conditions, the prevalence was 66.7% and 52.0% in the CLSA and CPCSSN cohorts, respectively. The prevalence of polypharmacy was 14.9% in the CLSA cohort and 22.6% in the CPCSSN cohort when defined as five or more medications. Using the same cut-points, the co-occurrence of multimorbidity and polypharmacy was similar between the two cohorts (CLSA: 14.3%; CPCSSN: 13.5%). Approximately 20% of older adults (65 to 85 years) were living with both multimorbidity and polypharmacy (CLSA: 21.4%; CPCSSN: 18.3%), as compared to almost 10% of middle-aged adults (45 to 64 years) living with this co-occurrence (CLSA: 9.2%; CPCSSN: 9.9%). Across both cohorts and age groups, females had consistently higher estimates of multimorbidity, polypharmacy and the co-occurrence of multimorbidity and polypharmacy. Conclusions This study found that multimorbidity and polypharmacy are not interchangeable in understanding population health needs. Approximately one in five older adults in the CLSA and CPCSSN cohorts were living with both multimorbidity and polypharmacy, double the proportion in the younger cohorts. This has implications for future research, as well as health policy and clinical practice, that aim to reduce the occurrence and impact of multimorbidity and unnecessary polypharmacy to enhance the well-being of aging populations.

Molecular Drillers for 2 nm Resolution Nanochannel Perforation of 2D Nanoplates

Do higher educated people feel happier?—Evidence of Han and minority nationalities from China

Based on the data of China General Social Survey (CGSS), this study adopts empirical analysis method to explore the impact of education on residents’ subjective well-being and its differentiated mechanism in different ethnic groups. The results show that, first of all, education significantly improves residents’ subjective well-being, and the conclusion is still robust after controlling for endogenous problems. Secondly, compared with Han nationality, education has a more significant effect on the subjective well-being of ethnic minority residents. Finally, by comparing the internal mechanism of education on the subjective well-being of Han and ethnic minority residents, the research finds that education mainly improves subjective well-being by improving residents’ relative income level and enhancing their social class identification, in which the intermediary effect of income is particularly prominent. However, in the Han population, education may weaken the sense of fairness, and thus reduce happiness to some extent; This phenomenon has not been verified in ethnic minority groups. This study not only expands the literature on the relationship between education and subjective well-being, but also has important policy implications, providing a strong empirical basis for formulating more accurate education policies, improving the happiness of ethnic minority residents, and enhancing national cohesion.

Dearomative Addition-Hydrogen Autotransfer for Branch-Selective <i>N</i>-Heteroaryl C–H Functionalization via Ruthenium-Catalyzed C–C Couplings of Diene Pronucleophiles

The role of psychosocial factors in mediating the treatment response of epidural steroid injections for low back pain with or without lumbosacral radiculopathy: A scoping review

Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) are often used to treat low back pain (LBP) due to lumbosacral radiculopathy as well as LBP without a clear component of radiculopathy, in some cases. While it is increasingly recognized that psychosocial factors are associated with pain outcomes, few studies have assessed the contribution of these factors to common pain interventions like ESIs. This study aimed to summarize the scope and nature of how psychosocial factors are accounted for in research on ESIs for the treatment of LBP with or without lumbosacral radiculopathy and to identify gaps and recommendations for future research. A scoping review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis-Scoping Review Extension framework was conducted. Publications dated before September 2023 were searched in PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar. Of the 544 records identified through database searching, a total of 51 studies cumulatively totaling 10,447 participants were included. Sample sizes ranged from 12 to 5,104 participants. Of the 51 included studies, only 10 (20%) analyzed and reported the relationship between at least one psychosocial variable and post-injection pain at any follow-up timepoint. The other 41 (80%) included no analyses examining ESI response as a function of psychosocial variables. Based on the studies that included analysis by psychosocial variables, poor psychosocial functioning appears to be associated with inferior treatments outcomes following ESI for back pain with or without lumbosacral radiculopathy. Relative to the vast body of literature on ESIs for LBP and lumbosacral radiculopathy, minimal attention has been directed to the influence of psychosocial factors on ESI treatment outcomes. Future research evaluating predictors of the effect of ESI on pain relief should include development of more comprehensive models containing modifiable psychosocial variables as predictors of ESI response.

Metallo-azapeptides: Controlled Metal Chelation to Peptide Backbone Nitrogen

The influence of board, CEO, and audit committee chairman busyness on the value relevance of accounting information in Saudi listed firms

This study investigates the impact of board, CEO, and audit committee chairman busyness on the value relevance of accounting information in Saudi listed firms from 2018 to 2022. Utilizing a data of 125 Saudi firms, the research investigates how the busyness of these key governance figures influences the relevance of earnings per share (EPS) and book value per share (BVPS). The findings reveal that board and audit committee chairman busyness significantly enhance the value relevance of EPS, suggesting that their broader networks and strategic oversight improve financial reporting. Conversely, CEO busyness negatively affects the value relevance of BVPS, indicating that divided attention and reduced managerial oversight hinder performance monitoring. These results underscore the dual roles of governance figures and their influence on financial reporting quality. These results highlight the dual effects of governance busyness on financial reporting quality. The study provides novel insights into an emerging market context, offering practical recommendations for policymakers and corporate leaders in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. It emphasizes the need for regulatory frameworks to manage director workloads, ensuring enhanced financial reporting and governance effectiveness.

An ensemble deep learning framework for energy demand forecasting using genetic algorithm-based feature selection

Accurate energy demand forecasting is critical for efficient energy management and planning. Recent advancements in computing power and the availability of large datasets have fueled the development of machine learning models. However, selecting the most appropriate features to enhance prediction accuracy and robustness remains a key challenge. This study proposes an ensemble approach that integrates a genetic algorithm with multiple forecasting models to optimize feature selection. The genetic algorithm identifies the optimal subset of features from a dataset that includes historical energy consumption, weather variables, and temporal characteristics. These selected features are then used to train three base learners: Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM), and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU). The predictions from these models are combined using a stacking ensemble technique to generate the final forecast. To enhance model evaluation, we divided the dataset into weekday and weekend subsets, allowing for a more detailed analysis of energy consumption patterns. To ensure the reliability of our findings, we conducted ten simulations and applied the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test to the results. The proposed model demonstrated exceptional precision, achieving a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 130.6, a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 0.38%, and a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 99.41 for weekday data. The model also maintained high accuracy for weekend predictions, with an RMSE of 137.41, a MAPE of 0.42%, and an MAE of 105.67. This research provides valuable insights for energy analysts and contributes to developing more sophisticated demand forecasting methods.

Leveraging Intramolecular π-Stacking to Access an Exceptionally Long-Lived ³MC Excited State in an Fe(II) Carbene Complex

Exploring knowledge of first aid in epistaxis—25 years on

Background Epistaxis is the most common acute disorder managed by ENT services. A 1998 survey (Strachan and England) demonstrated widespread ignorance of correct first aid amongst the public with only 11% of respondents applying correct first aid techniques. Here we repeated and expanded the 1998 study to investigate whether understanding of correct first aid in epistaxis amongst the public and emergency department staff has improved in the last 25 years. Methods Posters with links to surveys were displayed in ED waiting rooms, anticoagulation clinics and ED staff rooms in multiple UK centres. Responders were asked three first aid questions: pinch position, head position, and plugging nostrils. A prospective audit was carried out in a single centre over four weeks recording the first aid was being applied at the point of ENT review for patients referred with epistaxis. Findings 129 members of public responded. 83% do not have correct first aid technique including 77% of those on anticoagulants or aspirin. 116 ED staff responded. 64% do not use correct first aid. Over four weeks 19 patients were referred to ENT with epistaxis and of these, nine were bleeding at the point of ENT review. Adequate first aid was not being applied in 56% of those cases. Conclusions Despite the morbidity of epistaxis, and the simplicity of first aid steps, there is concerning lack of understanding amongst the public and ED staff. Education (particularly for staff and the anticoagulated) may reduce emergency attendance in epistaxis patients.

Key for Hexagonal Diamond Formation: Theoretical and Experimental Study

Numerical testing method and mechanical property evaluation of large particle size asphalt mixture

The large particle size asphalt mixture with nominal maximum aggregate size 53 mm(LSAM-50) has good technical and economic performance and will become an effective technical way to build a full-thick long-life asphalt pavement with Chinese characteristics. In order to reveal the mechanical properties and influencing factors of LSAM-50 in depth, a numerical test method for the mechanical properties of the large particle size LSAM-50 asphalt mixture was developed, and a reasonable specimen size for LSAM-50 performance test was proposed by combining the numerical test and the indoor test. The results show that: LSAM-50 numerical test conditions are the calculation time step 10−3 s/step, the loading rate is 2 mm/min (uniaxial compression numerical test) and 50 mm/min (splitting numerical test) when LSAM-50 numerical experiment calculation rate and numerical experiment accuracy are better; after the size of the specimen reaches 200×160mm, the influence of the size effect is eliminated. The reasonable specimen size of LSAM-50 is Φ200mm×h160mm; the LSAM-50 numerical test method and the indoor test have low error Less than 10%.

Metabotropic GABA_B Receptor Activation Induced by G Protein Coupling

N-terminomics profiling of host proteins targeted by excretory-secretory proteases of the nematode Angiostrongylus vasorum identifies points of interaction with canine coagulation and complement cascade

The cardiopulmonary nematode Angiostrongylus vasorum can cause severe disease in dogs, including coagulopathies manifesting with bleeding. We analysed A. vasorum excretory/secretory protein (ESP)-treated dog plasma and serum by N-terminome analysis using Terminal Amine Isotopic Labelling of Substrates (TAILS) to identify cleaved host substrates. In plasma and serum samples 430 and 475 dog proteins were identified, respectively. A total of eight dog proteins were significantly cleaved at higher levels upon exposure to A. vasorum ESP: of these, three were coagulation factors (factor II, V and IX) and three were complement proteins (complement C3, C4-A and C5). Comparison with human motif sequence orthologues revealed known cleavage sites in coagulation factor IX and II (prothrombin). These and further identified cleavage sites suggest direct or indirect activation or proteolysis of complement and coagulation components through A. vasorum ESP, which contains several proteases. Further studies are needed to validate their substrate specificity.

Beating the Size-Dependent Limit with Spin–Lattice Coupling in Nanomagnetism

Warming accelerated phosphorus release from the sediment of Lake Chaohu during the decomposition of algal residues: A simulative study

Algal decomposition plays an important role in affecting phosphorus (P) release from sediments in eutrophic lakes under global warming. Yet how rising air temperature affect endogenous P release from sediments during the algal decomposition is poorly understood. In this study, effect of increasing air temperature on endogenous P release was investigated. A 22-day laboratory warming simulation experiment was conducted, with the overlying water and sediments collected from Lake Chaohu incubated in microcosms at three temperatures (21, 28 and 37°C). Dynamics of P fractions and related physiochemical properties in water and sediments were measured, and P release rate from sediments was calculated. Rising air temperature significantly reduced redox potential, but elevated pH, dissolved organic carbon (C) and alkaline phosphatase activity in water. For the average value during incubation, rising temperature significantly elevated P release rate and soluble reactive P by 3 times in overlying water, and greatly reduced total organic P (by 19.0%) in sediments, while did not affect total inorganic P in sediments. The NH4Cl-Po and NaHCO3-Po concentrations in sediments showed the greatest decrease (accounting for 97.6% of total decrease) during the experiment. Dynamics of P release rate, soluble reactive P, dissolved organic C in water and organic P, total organic C in sediments during incubation were also differed among different temperatures. The P release rate was significantly and negatively correlated with dissolved organic C and redox potential at all temperatures, negatively correlated with sediment inorganic P at 21°C, while negatively correlated with sediment organic P at 37°C. The results revealed that rising temperature strongly stimulated endogenous P release from sediments during the decay of algal residues, which was mainly due to the acceleration of organic P mineralization Warming-induced changes in the amount and dynamics of dissolved organic C played the dominant role in accelerating P release from sediments.

Diatomic Palladium Catalyst for Enhanced Photocatalytic Water-Donating Transfer Hydrogenation

Are adverse childhood experiences scores associated with heroism or villainy? A quantitative observational study of Marvel and DC Cinematic Universe characters

Many superhero and villain stories include trauma, which could influence how the public perceives the impact of trauma in their own lives. Our aim was to assess whether total Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) scores were associated with heroism or villainy among Marvel and DC Characters. We watched 33 films, with a total runtime of 77 hours and 5 minutes. We scored 28 characters (19 men, 8 women, and 1 gender fluid). ACEs scores were evenly distributed across heroes/villains (U = 88, z = -.465, p = .642), Marvel/DC universes (U = 95.5, z = -0116, p = .907), and gender (U = 61, z = -.979, p = .328). There was no statistically significant correlation between ACEs scores and status (r(26) = .090, p = .65), universe (r(26) = .022, p = .91), or gender (r(26) = -.188, p = .34). We found that there was no association between ACEs scores and heroism or villainy. Thus, no one is doomed to be a villain just because of early childhood experiences.