Multimodal radiomics model with triple -timepoint contrast-enhanced ultrasound for precise diagnosis of C-TIRADS 4 thyroid nodules.

Objective: This study aims to construct a multimodal radiomics model based on contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) radiomic features, combined with conventional ultrasonography (US) images and clinical data, to evaluate its diagnostic efficacy in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules (TNs) classified as C-TIRADS 4, and to assess the clinical application value of the model.

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 135 patients with C-TIRADS 4 thyroid nodules who underwent concurrent US and CEUS before FNA/surgery. From each case, one US image and three CEUS key frames (2s post-perfusion, peak enhancement, 2s post-peak) were selected.

Identification of Bioactive Peptides from Secretions That Promote Indole-3-Acetic Acid Production in ZZ21.

, a free-living nematode model, secretes neuropeptides, but the ecological roles of its peptide exudates in regulating rhizosphere microbial activity remain largely unexplored. We identified six short peptides (P1, P9, P19, P20, P25, and P26) from exudates that significantly enhanced indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production by the plant growth-promoting bacterium ZZ21. These peptides were heat-labile and proteinase K-sensitive but unaffected by DNase I or RNase A, confirming their proteinaceous (peptide) nature rather than nucleic acid origin.

Deciphering icosahedra structural evolution with atomically precise silver nanoclusters.

Determining the atomic structure of nanoparticles (NPs) is critical for understanding their structural evolution and properties. However, controlling the growth of multiply-twinned metal NPs remains challenging because of numerous competing pathways. In this work, we report the synthesis of two giant silver icosahedral nanoclusters, [Ag(C≡CR1)] and [AgCl(C≡CR2)] (Ag and Ag, R1 =3,4,5-FCH and R2 = 4-CFCH), achieved through ligand engineering and kinetic control.

Comparative Bioequivalence Study of 2 Clevidipine Formulations in Healthy Chinese participants: A Single-Dose, 2-Period Crossover Trial.

Clevidipine emulsion is an intravenous antihypertensive agent indicated for acute blood pressure control when oral therapies are contraindicated or ineffective. To address this gap in availability, a randomized, 2-period, 2-sequence crossover trial was conducted to evaluate the bioequivalence and safety of a generic clevidipine emulsion versus the reference product in 32 healthy Chinese adults. Participants received a 30-minute intravenous infusion of 3 mg of clevidipine (test or reference formulation) in each study period, with serial blood samples collected from the contralateral arm relative to the infusion site for pharmacokinetic analysis.

Phage-mediated horizontal transfer of virulence genes with regulatory feedback from the host.

Phage-mediated horizontal transfer of virulence genes can enhance the transmission and pathogenicity of (), a process potentially regulated by its regulatory mechanisms. In this study, we explored the global dynamics of phage-mediated horizontal transfer in and investigated the role of its regulatory mechanisms in transduction. A total of 5178 viral sequences encoding 12 virulence genes were retrieved from the Integrated Microbial Genomes and Virome (IMG/VR) database, alongside 466,136 genomes from EnteroBase.

AlphaCD: a machine learning model capable of highly accurate characterization for 21,335 cytidine deaminases.

The vast scope but limited-supporting evidence in sequence databases hinders identification of proteins with specific functionality. Here, we experimentally characterized catalytic efficiency, target site window, motif preference, and off-target activity of 1100 apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide (APOBEC)-like family cytidine deaminases (CDs) fused with nCas9 in HEK293T cells, thereby generating the largest dataset of experimentally validated functions for a single protein family to date. These data, together with amino acid sequence, three-dimensional structure, and eight additional features, were used to construct a machine learning (ML) model, AlphaCD, which showed high accuracy in predicting catalytic efficiency (0.

Innovation networks in the advanced medical equipment industry: supporting regional digital health systems from a local-national perspective.

This study investigates the spatial structure and influencing factors of the innovation network in the advanced medical equipment and device manufacturing industry in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). This industry is crucial to public health system resilience and regional industrial upgrading. Drawing on joint patent data from the IncoPat Global Patent Database covering the period 2005-2024, the study constructs innovation networks and conducts comparative analyses from both national and regional perspectives using social network analysis and geodetector methods.

Multimodal quantitative analysis guides precise preoperative localization of epilepsy.

Epilepsy surgery efficacy is critically contingent upon the precise localization of the epileptogenic zone (EZ). However, conventional qualitative methods face challenges in achieving accurate localization, integrating multimodal data, and accounting for variations in clinical expertise among practitioners. With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and computing power, multimodal quantitative analysis has emerged as a pivotal approach for EZ localization.

Pathogenic mechanisms and molecular features of a novel UL2 gene-deficient duck enteritis virus endemic to China.

Duck enteritis virus (DEV) was identified as the etiological agent responsible for an outbreak of morbidity and mortality in adult ducks on a farm in Jiangsu, China. Diagnostic approaches confirmed that the outbreak was caused by the highly pathogenic DEV-JS2024 isolate. The clinical progression of the disease, characterized by lethargy, anorexia, ocular discharge, and high mortality, was accompanied by extensive hemorrhagic lesions in critical organs such as the liver, spleen, lungs, and bursa of Fabricius, consistent with known signs of DEV infection.

Epigenetic Regulation of DAPK1 and Netrin-1 Drives Diabetic Encephalopathy.

Diabetic encephalopathy (DE) is a severe complication of diabetes characterized by cognitive impairment and synaptic dysfunction, while the underlying mechanisms are not clear. Here, a critical role is identified for death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1) in DE pathogenesis using transgenic and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mouse models. Elevated DAPK1 expression in hippocampal excitatory neurons correlates with cognitive deficits, increases neuronal apoptosis, and disrupts synaptic plasticity.

Dominance of the GI-19 genotype and genomic characterization of the S1 gene in avian infectious bronchitis virus from 2020 to 2024.

The continuous emergence of avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) variants poses a critical threat to poultry health and productivity in China. In this study, we conducted comprehensive genetic and antigenic analyses of IBV strains isolated in our laboratory between 2020 and 2024. A total of 94 IBV isolates were sequenced for the S1 gene, revealing widespread nucleotide insertions, deletions, and mutations.

A novel mutation type S420I in Myosin-5 confers resistance to Phenamacril in Fusarium fujikuroi.

Rice bakanae disease is a soil-borne disease mainly caused by Fusarium fujikuroi, which seriously damages the yield and quality of rice. Phenamacril targets Myosin-5, thereby inhibiting its ATPase activity to exert an antifungal effect, demonstrating significant bioactivity against Fusarium species. However, the resistance of Fusarium fujikuroi field populations to phenamacril in Jiangsu Province in recent years remains unclear.

Hydrogen-Bonded Perovskite Heterojunction Photocatalytic Membrane with Efficient Proton Supply for Boosting CO Methanation.

Efficient proton supply and enhanced *CO intermediate adsorption are crucial strategies for boosting CO methanation. Herein, we construct a hydrogen-bonded (H-bonded) photocatalytic membrane by integrating a MAPbBr/cyano-g-CN (MPB/CN-g-CN) heterojunction with ethyl cellulose (ECE) binder through a simple sol-gel process, achieving significantly enhanced CO methanation efficiency. ECE functions as a novel proton source, with hydroxyl (-OH) groups that are readily oxidized by photogenerated holes, resulting in efficient proton supply compared to HO.

Long-term exercise enhances meningeal lymphatic vessel plasticity and drainage in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Meningeal lymphatic drainage is crucial for the clearance of amyloid β (Aβ), supporting the maintenance of brain homeostasis. This makes it a promising therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Long-term exercise can reduce the risk of AD; however, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood.

High-Coverage Profiling of Hydroxyl and Amino Compounds in Sauce-Flavor Baijiu Using Bromine Isotope Labeling and Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

: Hydroxyl and amino compounds play a significant role in defining the flavor and quality of sauce-flavor Baijiu, yet their comprehensive analysis remains challenging due to limitations in detection sensitivity. In this study, we developed a novel bromine isotope labeling approach combined with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) to achieve high-coverage profiling of these compounds in sauce-flavor Baijiu. : The method employs 5-bromonicotinoyl chloride (BrNC) for rapid (30 s) and mild (room temperature) labeling of hydroxyl and amino functional groups, utilizing bromine's natural isotopic pattern (Δ/ = 1.

Pyroptosis-Mediated Antitumor Activity of Cinobufagin in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

This study aims to investigate the therapeutic efficacy and molecular mechanism of cinobufagin in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) via pyroptosis induction. Bronchial epithelial cells and NSCLC cell lines were treated with gradient concentrations of cinobufagin. Cell viability was evaluated using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay.

Ligand Engineering Enhances Electrical Conductivity in Photoluminescent Coordination Polymers.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) or coordination polymers (CPs) typically exhibit poor electrical conductivity due to rapid electron-hole recombination, which hampers their promising prospects in energy storage and conversion. Hence, the precise regulation of charge transport properties in a controllable manner remains a critical challenge. Herein, we report a ligand engineering strategy to enhance the electrical conductivity of photoluminescent CPs using pyridyl-modified triazolyl ligands and Cu(I) metal centers.

Genetic etiology of 283 Chinese individuals with epilepsy using copy number variation sequencing and whole exome sequencing: a single-center cohort study.

Background: The genetic etiology of epilepsy is highly heterogeneous and complex. Copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) and whole exome sequencing (WES) have emerged as effective tools for identifying genetic causes in patients with unexplained epilepsy. This study aimed to investigate the genetic etiology, evaluate the diagnostic utility of concurrent CNV-seq and WES, and provide evidence for precision medicine and genetic counseling.

Hyperbolic multi-channel hypergraph convolutional neural network based on multilayer hypergraph.

In recent years, hypergraph neural networks have achieved remarkable success in tasks such as node classification, link prediction, and graph classification, thanks to their powerful computational capabilities. However, most existing hypergraph neural networks are restricted to singlelayer hypergraph, making it challenging to effectively capture the intricate intra-layer higher-order relationships and inter-layer interactions in multilayer hypergraph. Furthermore, these methods typically embed hypergraph features in Euclidean space, which often results in significant distortions when dealing with hypernetworks exhibiting scale-free properties or hierarchical structures.

Bacteriophage facilitated transmission of multidrug efflux pump regulatory genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The emergence of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, primarily driven by efflux pumps that expel antibiotics, poses a serious global health threat. Phages, particularly members of the class Caudoviricetes (94.7 %), play a significant role in the horizontal transfer of genetic material among bacterial hosts, potentially contributing to the acquisition and spread of antibiotic resistance genes.

Integrated physiological, metabolomic, and transcriptomic responses of maize (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) to nanoplastic-induced stress.

The widespread use and degradation of agricultural plastics lead to the accumulation of nanoplastics (NPs) and soil contamination, posing growing risks to agroecosystems. This study investigated the differential physiological and molecular responses of maize (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) to polyethylene nanoparticles (PE-NPs) and polypropylene nanoparticles (PP-NPs), each within the size range of 20-50 nm, at concentrations of 50 and 500 mg/kg of soil. Over a 45-day exposure period, at 500 mg/kg concentration, both NPs types significantly suppressed plant height and fresh biomass in both maize and soybean, with PP-NPs demonstrating greater toxicity in soybean than in maize.

Recent advances in oral cryotherapy for the management of anticancer therapy-induced oral mucositis.

Oral mucositis (OM) is a prevalent complication of cancer therapy, frequently associated with oral pain, dysphagia, malnutrition, and systemic infections. OM that develops during cancer treatment can result in delays or interruptions in anti-cancer therapies, significantly impacting patients' quality of life. Oral cryotherapy (OC) involves the use of crushed ice, specialized cryotherapy devices, and other cooling methods to lower the temperature in the oral cavity during chemotherapy or radiotherapy, thereby reducing the incidence and severity of cancer treatment-related OM.

Medical named entity recognition based on domain knowledge and position encoding.

A model for recognizing named entities in Chinese electronic medical records is proposed, focusing on accurate boundary detection, by leveraging medical domain knowledge and positional encoding. Medical domain-specific terms are integrated into a BERT module by a lexical adapter firstly. After pre-training, the model captures the dynamic character feature representation containing lexical information and boundary information.

The effects of long-term co-exposure to nanocarbon black particles and benzo[a]pyrene on ROS levels and the AKT/P27 signaling pathway in BEAS-2B cells.

Background: Long-term co-exposure to nanocarbon black particles (NCBP) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), as major components of PM2.5, may contribute to respiratory diseases by inducing oxidative damage. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying their synergistic effects remain unclear.

Glucose as a dual-functional co-substrate in intimately coupled photocatalysis and biodegradation systems: Synergistic enhancement of refractory organics mineralization and nitrate removal.

Nitrate contamination threatens water quality and human health; however, conventional denitrification treatment strategies struggle in complex wastewater due to the low bioavailability of refractory organics. The intimately coupled photocatalysis and biodegradation (ICPB) system addresses this by transforming recalcitrant compounds into usable electron donors, enabling simultaneous nitrate and organic pollutant removal. This study demonstrates that adding a small dose of glucose (50 mg/L chemical oxygen demand) to the ICPB system enhanced performance by increasing organic mineralization from 53 % to 81 % and total nitrate and nitrite removal from 40 % to 93 %.