Bidirectional effects of the tryptophan metabolite indole-3-acetaldehyde on colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) has a high incidence and mortality. Recent studies have shown that indole derivatives involved in gut microbiota metabolism can impact the tumorigenesis, progression, and metastasis of CRC. AIM: To investigate the effect of indole-3-acetaldehyde (IAAD) on CRC. METHODS: The effect of IAAD was evaluated in a syngeneic mouse model of CRC and CRC cell lines (HCT116 and DLD-1). Cell proliferation was assessed by Ki-67 fluorescence staining and cytotoxicity tests. Cell apoptosis was analysed by flow cytometry after staining with Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate and propidium iodide. Invasiveness was investigated using the transwell assay. Western blotting and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction were performed to evaluate the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition related genes and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) downstream genes. The PharmMapper, SEA, and SWISS databases were used to screen for potential target proteins of IAAD, and the core proteins were identified through the String database. RESULTS: IAAD reduced tumorigenesis in a syngeneic mouse model. In CRC cell lines HCT116 and DLD1, IAAD exhibited cytotoxicity starting at 24 h of treatment, while it reduced Ki67 expression in the nucleus. The results of flow cytometry showed that IAAD induced apoptosis in HCT116 cells but had no effect on DLD1 cells, which may be related to the activation of AhR. IAAD can also increase the invasiveness and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of HCT116 and DLD1 cells. At low concentrations (< 12.5 µmol/L), IAAD only exhibited cytotoxic effects without promoting cell invasion. In addition, predictions based on online databases, protein-protein interaction analysis, and molecular docking showed that IAAD can bind to matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP1), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2), and myeloperoxidase (MPO). CONCLUSION: Indole-3-aldehyde can induce cell apoptosis and inhibit cell proliferation to prevent the occurrence of CRC; however, at high concentrations (≥ 25 µmol/L), it can also promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition and invasion in CRC cells. IAAD activates AhR and directly binds MMP9, ACE, PARP1, MMP2, and MPO, which partly reveals why it has a bidirectional effect.

Influence of hypocalcemia on the prognosis of patients with multiple trauma.

BACKGROUND: Hypocalcemia is highly common in hospitalized patients, especially in those with trauma, On the other hand, abnormal calcium metabolism is an important metabolic challenge; however, it is often neglected and untreated, and certain factors may induce serious neurological and cardiovascular complications. AIM: To retrospectively analyze the impact of hypocalcemia on the prognosis of patients with multiple traumas. METHODS: The study was conducted from January 2020 to December 2021. Ninety-nine patients with multiple injuries were treated at the critical care medicine department of Fuyang People's Hospital. The selected indicators included sex, age, and blood calcium and hematocrit levels. Many indicators were observed, including within 24 h of hospitalization, and the prognosis was collected after 28 d. Based on the blood calcium levels, the patients were divided into the following two groups: Normocalcemia and hypocalcemia. Of the 99 patients included, 81 had normocalcemia, and 18 had hypocalcemia. Separate experiments were conducted for these two groups. RESULTS: There was an association between serum calcium levels and the prognosis of patients with polytrauma. CONCLUSION: Clinically, the prognosis of patients with multiple traumas can be preliminarily evaluated based on serum calcium levels.

Stable Lithium Oxygen Batteries Enabled by Solvent-diluent Interaction in N,N-dimethylacetamide-based Electrolytes.

In the pursuit of next-generation ultrahigh-energy-density Li-O2 batteries, it is imperative to develop an electrolyte with stability against the strong oxidation environments. N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA) is a recognized solvent known for its robust resistance to the highly reactive reduced oxygen species, yet its application in Li-O2 batteries has been constrained due to its poor compatibility with the Li metal anode. In this study, a rationally selected hydrofluoroether diluent, methyl nonafluorobutyl ether (M3), has been introduced into the DMA-based electrolyte to construct a localized high concentration electrolyte. The stable -CH3 and C-F bonds within the M3 structure could not only augment the fundamental properties of the electrolyte but also fortify its resilience against attacks from O2- and 1O2. Additionally, the strong electron-withdrawing groups (-F) presented in the M3 diluent could facilitate coordination with the electron-donating groups (-CH3) in the DMA solvent. This intermolecular interaction promotes more alignment of Li+-anions with a small amount of M3 addition, leading to the construction of an anion-derived inorganic-rich SEI that enhances the stability of the Li anode. As a result, the Li-O2 batteries with the DMA/M3 electrolyte exhibit superior cycling performance at both 30 °C (359th) and -10 °C (120th).

Adenine base editing-mediated exon skipping restores dystrophin in humanized Duchenne mouse model.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) affecting 1 in 3500-5000 live male newborns is the frequently fatal genetic disease resulted from various mutations in DMD gene encoding dystrophin protein. About 70% of DMD-causing mutations are exon deletion leading to frameshift of open reading frame and dystrophin deficiency. To facilitate translating human DMD-targeting CRISPR therapeutics into patients, we herein establish a genetically humanized mouse model of DMD by replacing exon 50 and 51 of mouse Dmd gene with human exon 50 sequence. This humanized mouse model recapitulats patient's DMD phenotypes of dystrophin deficiency and muscle dysfunction. Furthermore, we target splicing sites in human exon 50 with adenine base editor to induce exon skipping and robustly restored dystrophin expression in heart, tibialis anterior and diaphragm muscles. Importantly, systemic delivery of base editor via adeno-associated virus in the humanized male mouse model improves the muscle function of DMD mice to the similar level of wildtype ones, indicating the therapeutic efficacy of base editing strategy in treating most of DMD types with exon deletion or point mutations via exon-skipping induction.

Deep Learning-Based Simultaneous Temperature- and Curvature-Sensitive Scatterplot Recognition.

Since light propagation in a multimode fiber (MMF) exhibits visually random and complex scattering patterns due to external interference, this study numerically models temperature and curvature through the finite element method in order to understand the complex interactions between the inputs and outputs of an optical fiber under conditions of temperature and curvature interference. The systematic analysis of the fiber's refractive index and bending loss characteristics determined its critical bending radius to be 15 mm. The temperature speckle atlas is plotted to reflect varying bending radii. An optimal end-to-end residual neural network model capable of automatically extracting highly similar scattering features is proposed and validated for the purpose of identifying temperature and curvature scattering maps of MMFs. The viability of the proposed scheme is tested through numerical simulations and experiments, the results of which demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the optimized network model.

Sesamolin suppresses adipocyte differentiation through Keap1-dependent Nrf2 activation in adipocytes.

Sesamolin, a lignan isolated from sesame oils, has been found to possess neuroprotective, anticancer, and free radical scavenging properties. We hypothesized that sesamolin could stimulate the activity of nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-like 2 (Nrf2) and inhibit adipocyte differentiation of preadipocytes. The objective of this study was to investigate effects of sesamolin on adipocyte differentiation and its underlying molecular mechanisms. In this study, we determined the effects of treatment with 25 to 100 µM sesamolin on adipogenesis in cell culture systems. Sesamolin inhibited lipid accumulation and suppressed the expression of adipocyte markers during adipocyte differentiation of C3H10T1/2, 3T3-L1, and primary preadipocytes. Mechanism studies revealed that sesamolin increased Nrf2 protein expression without inducing its mRNA, leading to an increase in the expression of Nrf2 target genes such as heme oxygenase 1 and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (Nqo1) in C3H10T1/2 adipocytes and mouse embryonic fibroblasts. These effects were significantly attenuated in Nrf2 knockout (KO) mouse embryonic fibroblasts, indicating that effects of sesamolin were dependent on Nrf2. In H1299 human lung cancer cells with KO of Kelch like-ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1), a negative regulator of Nrf2, sesamolin failed to further increase Nrf2 protein expression. However, upon reexpressing Keap1 in Keap1 KO cells, the ability of sesamolin to elevate Nrf2 protein expression was restored, highlighting the crucial role of Keap1 in sesamolin-induced Nrf2 activation. Taken together, these findings show that sesamolin can inhibit adipocyte differentiation through Keap1-mediated Nrf2 activation.

Does aortic calcification really affect anastomotic leakage after rectal cancer surgery?

The purpose of the current study was to analyze whether aortic calcification had impact on the anastomotic leakage (AL) after rectal cancer (RC) surgery. We collected patients' information from January 2011 to January 2020 in a single teaching hospital. Preoperative computed tomography images were obtained. Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), superior mesenteric aortic calcification, and inferior mesenteric aortic calcification were recorded. The difference of AL and grade C AL was calculated. A total of 2412 RC patients were included in this study. Ninety-seven (4.0%) RC patients experienced AL and 47 (1.9%) RC patients experienced grade C AL. The amount of AAC, superior mesenteric aortic calcification, and inferior mesenteric aortic calcification was 1546 (64.1%), 128 (5.3%), and 31 (1.3%). The AL group had higher portion of AAC (P = .019) than the no AL group, and the grade C AL group had higher portion of AAC (P = .016) than the no grade C AL group. In univariate logistic regression analysis, AAC was a significant potential factor for AL (P = .021, OR = 1.739, 95% CI = 1.088-2.779) and grade C AL (P = .019, OR = 2.339, 95% CI = 1.115-4.986). However, in multivariate logistic regression, AAC was not an independent predictive factor for AL (P = .157, OR = 1.443, 95% CI = 0.871-2.358) or grade C AL (P = .064, OR = 2.055, 95% CI = 0.960-4.399). AAC was associated with higher amount of AL and grade C AL, however, AAC was not an independent predictive factor for AL or grade C AL.

Recombinant human protein TCFL5-activated NRSN2-AS1 promotes esophageal cancer progression via the microRNA-874-5p/RELT regulatory axis.

The incidence of esophageal cancer continues to increase worldwide. Current therapeutic approaches have limited efficacy, so in order to search for better markers of the disease, it is necessary to further elucidate its molecular pathogenesis. Regulation of gene expression by long non-coding Rnas plays a role in many diseases, however the role in esophageal cancer is unclear. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role and regulatory mechanism of long non-coding RNA NRSN2-AS1 in the progression of esophageal cancer. By real-time quantitative PCR, immunohistochemistry, RNA interference, western blotting, and double luciferase reporter gene analysis, we found that NRSN2-AS1 was up-regulated in esophageal cancer tissues and cell lines, and was closely related to disease stage and prognosis. Functional studies have shown that the silencing of NRSN2-AS1 inhibits the proliferation of esophageal cancer cells, induces apoptosis, and prevents cell migration and invasion. In mouse models, NRSN2-AS1 also promoted tumor growth. The transcription factor TCFL5 upregulates the transcription of NRSN2-AS1, which acts as a sponge for microRNA(miR)-874-5p, thereby upregulating the expression of the oncogene RELT. Activation of the NRSN2-AS1/miR-874-5p/RELT regulatory axis was validated in vivo.

Development of a DNAzyme-Driven Fluorescent Light-Up Aptasensor for Label-Free Detection of Multiple lncRNAs.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) act as the dynamic regulatory molecules that control the expression of genes and affect numerous biological processes, and their dysregulation is associated with tumor progression. Herein, we develop a fluorescent light-up aptasensor to simultaneously measure multiple lncRNAs in living cells and breast tissue samples based on the DNAzyme-mediated cleavage reaction and transcription-driven synthesis of light-up aptamers. When target lncRNAs are present, they can be recognized by template probes to form the active DNAzyme structures, initiating the T4 PNK-catalyzed dephosphorylation-triggered extension reaction to generate double-strand DNAs with the T7 promoter sequences. The corresponding T7 promoters can initiate the transcription amplification catalyzed by the T7 RNA polymerase to generate abundant Broccoli aptamers and malachite green aptamers, which can bind DFHBI-1T and MG to generate strong fluorescence signals. Taking advantage of the good selectivity of DNAzyme-mediated cleavage of lncRNAs, high amplification efficiency of T7 transcription-driven amplification reaction, and bright fluorescence of the RNA aptamer-fluorophore complex, this method exhibits high sensitivity with a detection limit of 21.4 aM for lncRNA HOTAIR and 18.47 aM for lncRNA MALAT1, and it can accurately measure multiple lncRNAs in both tumor cell lines and breast tissue samples, providing a powerful paradigm for biomedical research and early clinic diagnostics.

SlWRKY37 targets SlLEA2 and SlABI5-like7 to regulate seed germination vigor in tomato.

Seed germination is a critical phase for the life cycle and propagation of higher plants. This study explores the role of SlWRKY37, a WRKY transcription factor in tomato, in modulating seed germination. We discovered that SlWRKY37 expression is markedly downregulated during tomato seed germination. Through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing, we demonstrate that SlWRKY37 knockout enhances germination, while its overexpression results in a delay compared to the wild type. Transcriptome analysis revealed 679 up-regulated and 627 down-regulated genes in Slwrky37-CRISPR deletion mutants relative to the wild type. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis indicated these differentially expressed genes are linked to seed dormancy, abscisic acid homeostasis, and protein phosphorylation pathways. Bioinformatics and biochemical assays identified SlABI5-like7 and SlLEA2 as key transcriptional targets of SlWRKY37, integral to tomato seed dormancy regulation. Additionally, SlWRKY37 was found to be post-translationally phosphorylated at Ser65, a modification crucial for its transcriptional activation. Our findings elucidate the regulatory role of SlWRKY37 in seed dormancy, suggesting its potential as a target for gene editing to reduce seed dormancy in tomato breeding programs.

The safety of Pfannenstiel incision for specimen extraction in laparoscopic colorectal surgery for colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: The Pfannenstiel incision is often used in gynecological Cesarean section; however, there is limited research on the use of the Pfannenstiel incision for specimen extraction in laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of colorectal cancer. Aim: To evaluate the safety of using the Pfannenstiel incision for specimen extraction in laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer patients. Material and methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, VIP and WanFangData were searched for studies published up to March 10, 2023; a random-effects model (RCT) and a fixed-effect model were used to evaluate the safety. Operative time, length of extraction skin incision, overall complications, superficial wound infection, organ/space surgical site infection and incisional hernia were evaluated. Results: A total of 5 studies were included in this research. There were no significant advantages in operation time, length of the incision, overall complications, superficial wound infection and organ/space surgical site in the Pfannenstiel group compared to the no Pfannenstiel group. However, the Pfannenstiel incision has a tendency to increase the length of the incision (SMD = 0.05; 95% CI = -0.22 to 0.33; p = 0.71) and the results of the remaining five (operative time,overall complications,incisional hernia, incisional infection and organ/space surgical site infection) are slightly skewed toward the Pfannenstiel incision. It is worth mentioning that incisional hernia (IH) may have an advantage in the Pfannenstiel group compared to the no Pfannenstiel group. Four studies were not at clear risk of bias and two studies were at risk of bias. Conclusions: Our study concludes that the Pfannenstiel incision has a good safety record and it is a good option for extracting specimens during laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer. The Pfannenstiel incision used for laparoscopic surgical specimen extraction has a significantly lower incidence of incisional hernia over no Pfannenstiel.

Comparative analysis of different treatment strategies for septic spondylitis: a retrospective study of one hundred and twelve patients.

PURPOSE: To compare the clinical efficacy and prognosis differences between conservative treatment and surgical treatment in patients with non-serious neurologically intact pyogenic spondylitis (Nsi-Nsni-PS), and to provide theoretical reference for the clinical treatment of Nsi-Nsni-PS patients. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 112 cases of Nsi-Nsni-PS patients treated in our hospital from June 2016 to June 2021. According to different treatment methods, they were divided into conservative treatment group (53 cases) and surgical treatment group (59 cases). The general data, laboratory tests, imaging examinations, length of hospital stay, duration of antibiotic use, VAS for pain before and after treatment, ODI, local kyphotic angle correction of diseased vertebrae, and recurrence rate were collected and analyzed in both groups. SPSS 26.0 statistical software was used for analysis. Measurement data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation, and independent sample t-test or rank sum test was used for comparison between groups, while variance analysis was used for intra-group comparison. Count data were expressed as number (%) and compared between groups using chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Mann-Whitney U test was used to evaluate the changes in local kyphotic angle between the two groups. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in general data and imaging characteristics between the two groups (P > 0.05); there were no statistically significant differences in the positive culture rate of pathogens, length of hospital stay, duration of antibiotic use, treatment complications, WBC, CRP, ESR levels at admission and discharge, VAS and ODI at admission and last follow-up between the two groups (P > 0.05). The WBC and CRP levels of patients in the conservative group at discharge were lower than those in the surgical group (P < 0.05), and there was no significant difference in the decrease in inflammatory indicators (WBC, CRP, ESR) between the two groups (P > 0.05). By the last follow-up, the neurological function of patients in both groups had significantly improved compared to admission (P < 0.05), with 12 out of 15 ASIA grade D patients in the conservative group recovering to grade E, and 21 out of 25 grade D patients in the surgical group recovering to grade E, with no worsening of neurological function in either group. The differences in VAS and ODI scores at the last follow-up compared to before treatment were statistically significant in both groups (P < 0.05), and all patients regained normal activity. Compared with before treatment, the correction degree of local kyphotic angle in the surgical group at the last follow-up was 0.93 ± 4.94°, slightly higher than that in the conservative group (-0.83 ± 3.37°), and the difference was statistically significant(P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: During our follow-up, we found that both conservative and surgical treatments achieved satisfactory clinical outcomes in patients with Nsi-Nsni-PS. Compared to conservative treatment, surgical intervention did not demonstrate significant advantages in reducing hospitalization time and antibiotic usage duration, increasing pathogen culture positivity rate, lowering treatment complications, or controlling recurrence. However, surgical intervention showed superiority in correcting the local kyphotic angle of spinal lesions, albeit with relatively increased surgical trauma, risks, and treatment costs. At the last follow-up, the surgical group did not exhibit better long-term efficacy. Therefore, when formulating clinical treatment strategies for patients with Nsi-Nsni-PS, it may be preferable to prioritize conservative treatment, supplemented by the use of sensitive or empiric antibiotics for infection management, to improve patient prognosis.

Complicated calcified alloplastic implants in the nasal dorsum: A clinical analysis.

BACKGROUND: In rhinoplasty, calcification around silicone implants is frequently observed in the tip dorsum (TD) area. Additionally, based on a review of various literature, it is presumed that calcification in silicone implants occurs due to both inflammatory chemical reactions and physical friction against the tissue. The calcification of nasal silicone implants not only results in the functional loss of the implants, but also leads to material deformation. However, there is a lack of research on calcification of nasal silicone implants in the current literature. AIM: To elucidate various clinical characteristics of calcification around nasal silicone implants, using histological and radiological analysis. METHODS: This study analyzed data from 16 patients of calcified nasal implants, who underwent revision rhinoplasty for various reasons after undergoing augmentation rhinoplasty with silicone implants. The collected data included information on implant duration, implant types, location of calcification, presence of inflammatory reactions, and computed tomography (CT) scans. RESULTS: The most common location of calcification, as visually analyzed, was in the TD area, accounting for 56%. Additionally, the analysis of CT scans revealed a trend of increasing Hounsfield Unit values for calcification with the duration of implantation, although this trend was not statistically significant (P = 0.139). CONCLUSION: Our study shows that reducing the frequency of calcification may be achievable by using softer silicone implants and by minimizing the damage to perioperative tissues.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of gouty arthritis in the general population aged > 30.

BACKGROUND: A knowledge of gouty arthritis could help in the primary prevention of the disease development and lead to an early diagnosis if it occurs. This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward gouty arthritis in the general population > 30 years old. METHODS: This web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among the general population > 30 years old between January and March 2023 in Chengdu, Sichuan. The questionnaire was designed by the investigators based on the available guidelines (Cronbach's α = 0.846). A score above 70% indicated good knowledge, a positive attitude, and proactive practice. Multivariable and structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were performed to analyze the factors influencing KAP. RESULTS: A total of 537 questionnaires were included. The knowledge, attitudes, and practices scores were 13.12 ± 6.41, 25.28 ± 3.97, and 45.25 ± 5.77, respectively. Female (OR = 0.47, 95%CI: 0.31-0.71, P < 0.001), suburban living (OR = 0.18, 95%CI: 0.04-0.78, P = 0.022), heads of institution/organization and professional and technical staff (OR = 2.04, 95%CI: 1.23-3.39, P = 0.006), and an income of < 2,000 yuan (OR = 0.35, 95%CI: 0.14-0.85, P = 0.021) were independently associated with knowledge. Female (OR = 2.17, 95%CI: 1.43-3.30, P < 0.001), age (OR = 1.03, 95%CI: 1.01-1.05, P = 0.001), college and above education (OR = 2.26, 95%CI: 1.16-4.41, P = 0.017), an income of 5,000-10,000 yuan (OR = 2.05, 95%CI: 1.27-3.31, P = 0.003), and an income of > 10,000 yuan (OR = 2.07, 95%CI: 1.12-3.81, P = 0.020) were independently associated with attitudes. Attitude (OR = 1.31, 95%CI: 1.23-1.40, P < 0.001), female (OR = 1.62, 95%CI: 1.01-2.58, P = 0.044), and age (OR = 1.02, 95%CI: 1.00-1.04, P = 0.016) were independently associated with practices. The structural equation modeling analysis showed that knowledge directly influenced attitude (ß=-0.10, P < 0.001) and indirectly influenced practice (ß=-0.07, P < 0.001), and attitude directly influenced practice (ß = 0.68, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The general population over 30 years old had inadequate knowledge, unfavorable attitudes, and less proactive practices toward gouty arthritis. Targeted interventions should focus on enhancing knowledge about gout and promoting positive attitudes toward its management.

Peroxiredoxin 6 Protects Pulmonary Epithelial Cells From Cigarette-related Ferroptosis in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Peroxiredoxin 6 (PRDX6) has a protective effect on pulmonary epithelial cells against cigarette smoke (CS)-induced ferroptosis. This study investigates the role of PRDX6 in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its possibility as a target. We observed that PRDX6 was downregulated in lung tissues of COPD patients and in CS-stimulated cells. The degradation of PRDX6 could be through the lysosomal pathway. PRDX6 deficiency exacerbated pulmonary inflammation and mucus hypersecretion in vivo. Overexpression of PRDX6 in Beas-2B cells ameliorated CS-induced cell death and inflammation, suggesting its protective role against CS-induced damage. Furthermore, PRDX6 deficiency promoted ferroptosis by adding the content of iron and reactive oxygen species, while iron chelation with deferoxamine mitigated CS-induced ferroptosis, cell death, and inflammatory infiltration both in vitro and in vivo. The critical role of PRDX6 in regulating ferroptosis suggests that targeting PRDX6 or iron metabolism may represent a promising strategy for COPD treatment.

Integrated 1D epitaxial mirror twin boundaries for ultrascaled 2D MoS2 field-effect transistors.

In atomically thin van der Waals materials, grain boundaries-the line defects between adjacent crystal grains with tilted in-plane rotations-are omnipresent. When the tilting angles are arbitrary, the grain boundaries form inhomogeneous sublattices, giving rise to local electronic states that are not controlled. Here we report on epitaxial realizations of deterministic MoS2 mirror twin boundaries (MTBs) at which two adjoining crystals are reflection mirroring by an exactly 60° rotation by position-controlled epitaxy. We showed that these epitaxial MTBs are one-dimensionally metallic to a circuit length scale. By utilizing the ultimate one-dimensional (1D) feature (width ~0.4 nm and length up to a few tens of micrometres), we incorporated the epitaxial MTBs as a 1D gate to build integrated two-dimensional field-effect transistors (FETs). The critical role of the 1D MTB gate was verified to scale the depletion channel length down to 3.9 nm, resulting in a substantially lowered channel off-current at lower gate voltages. With that, in both individual and array FETs, we demonstrated state-of-the-art performances for low-power logics. The 1D epitaxial MTB gates in this work suggest a novel synthetic pathway for the integration of two-dimensional FETs-that are immune to high gate capacitance-towards ultimate scaling.

Bioactive chitosan/polydopamine nanospheres coating on carbon fiber towards strengthening epoxy composites.

This paper initially examines the feasibility and effectiveness on interfacial adhesion of composites when grafting nanoparticle-structured polydopamine (PDA) and chitosan around carbon fiber periphery. The resulting interfacial shear strength was maximized as 92.3 MPa, delivering 50.1 % and 15.7-16.2 % gains over those of control fiber and only polydopamine nanospheres (PDANPs) or only chitosan modified fiber composites. Measuring surface morphology and thermal stability of fibers found that abundant PDANPs well adhered with the help of chitosan, highlighting nanoscale size effects and intrinsic adhesiveness of PDA. Under good wettability, rich and dense interfacial interactions (covalent and hydrogen bond, electrostatic interaction, and π conjugation) caused by PDANPs/chitosan coating provides impetus for effective stress transfer. Additionally, the stable "soft-rigid" combination of chitosan and PDANPs adds the efficiency of crack passivation. As such, it is hoped that this work could fully explore the possibility of PDA geometry in interphase engineering of fiber composites.

Alanine and glutamate catabolism collaborate to ensure the success of Bacillus subtilis sporulation.

Sporulation as a typical bacterial differentiation process has been studied for decades. However, two crucial aspects of sporulation, (i) the energy sources supporting the process, and (ii) the maintenance of spore dormancy throughout sporulation, are scarcely explored. Here, we reported the crucial role of RocG-mediated glutamate catabolism in regulating mother cell lysis, a critical step for sporulation completion of Bacillus subtilis, likely by providing energy metabolite ATP. Notably, rocG overexpression resulted in an excessive ATP accumulation in sporulating cells, leading to adverse effects on future spore properties, e.g. increased germination efficiency, reduced DPA content, and lowered heat resistance. Additionally, we revealed that Ald-mediated alanine metabolism was highly related to the inhibition of premature germination and the maintenance of spore dormancy during sporulation, which might be achieved by decreasing the typical germinant L-alanine concentration in sporulating environment. Our data inferred that sporulation of B. subtilis was a highly orchestrated biological process requiring a delicate balance in diverse metabolic pathways, hence ensuring both the completion of sporulation and production of high-quality spores.

Effect of the structure and volume fraction of nanophase on the mechanical properties of (FeNi)86B14 amorphous nanocrystalline alloys.

The influence of precipitated nanophases on the mechanical properties of Fe-based amorphous nanocrystalline alloys is an urgent issue to be explored. Two amorphous nanocrystalline alloys, i.e., (Fe0.9Ni0.1)86B14 and (Fe0.7Ni0.3)86B14 containing nanophase of the body-centered cubic and face-centered cubic structures, respectively, were selected to investigate the effect of the structure and volume fraction of nanophase on their mechanical properties. The results of nanoindentation experiments and the calculation of the volume and size of the shear transition zone reveal that the two alloys show different mechanical properties. When the volume fraction of the nanophase in (Fe0.9Ni0.1)86B14 is larger than 50%, the elastic modulus is increased suddenly and the volume and size of the shear transition zone is decreased dramatically, while no dramatic change occurs in (Fe0.7Ni0.3)86B14. Moreover, it was found by using molecular dynamics simulations that the main reason for these abnormal mechanical properties is the change of cluster type in the system due to the incorporation of nanophases with different structures.

Deep Learning-Based Localization and Detection of Malpositioned Nasogastric Tubes on Portable Supine Chest X-Rays in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine: A Multi-center Retrospective Study.

Malposition of a nasogastric tube (NGT) can lead to severe complications. We aimed to develop a computer-aided detection (CAD) system to localize NGTs and detect NGT malposition on portable chest X-rays (CXRs). A total of 7378 portable CXRs were retrospectively retrieved from two hospitals between 2015 and 2020. All CXRs were annotated with pixel-level labels for NGT localization and image-level labels for NGT presence and malposition. In the CAD system, DeepLabv3 + with backbone ResNeSt50 and DenseNet121 served as the model architecture for segmentation and classification models, respectively. The CAD system was tested on images from chronologically different datasets (National Taiwan University Hospital (National Taiwan University Hospital)-20), geographically different datasets (National Taiwan University Hospital-Yunlin Branch (YB)), and the public CLiP dataset. For the segmentation model, the Dice coefficients indicated accurate delineation of the NGT course (National Taiwan University Hospital-20: 0.665, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.630-0.696; National Taiwan University Hospital-Yunlin Branch: 0.646, 95% CI 0.614-0.678). The distance between the predicted and ground-truth NGT tips suggested accurate tip localization (National Taiwan University Hospital-20: 1.64 cm, 95% CI 0.99-2.41; National Taiwan University Hospital-Yunlin Branch: 2.83 cm, 95% CI 1.94-3.76). For the classification model, NGT presence was detected with high accuracy (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC): National Taiwan University Hospital-20: 0.998, 95% CI 0.995-1.000; National Taiwan University Hospital-Yunlin Branch: 0.998, 95% CI 0.995-1.000; CLiP dataset: 0.991, 95% CI 0.990-0.992). The CAD system also detected NGT malposition with high accuracy (AUC: National Taiwan University Hospital-20: 0.964, 95% CI 0.917-1.000; National Taiwan University Hospital-Yunlin Branch: 0.991, 95% CI 0.970-1.000) and detected abnormal nasoenteric tube positions with favorable performance (AUC: 0.839, 95% CI 0.807-0.869). The CAD system accurately localized NGTs and detected NGT malposition, demonstrating excellent potential for external generalizability.