Advances in chitin and chitosan-based materials for microplastics treatment.

Microplastics (MPs) have emerged as widespread environmental pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, primarily due to the extensive use of plastic products, their persistent nature, and improper disposal methods. It is essential to develop effective purification methods to treat the hazardous MPs in water. Chitin and chitosan (CS) have gained attention as promising adsorbents for MPs because of their low cost, abundance, biodegradability, and the presence of functional groups such as amino and hydroxyl groups, which facilitate the removal of various toxins from wastewater.

CDKN2A alternations in non-small cell lung cancer: An evaluation using next-generation sequencing.

Background: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is widely used for assessing CDKN2A status in cancers due to its high throughput and efficiency. However, discrepancies between NGS and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-the gold standard for detecting copy number variations (CNVs)-are occasionally observed. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of NGS in detecting CDKN2A deletions by comparing it with FISH.

Ion Valency as a Molecular Switch for Salt-Resistant Underwater Adhesion.

Achieving underwater adhesion remains challenging due to the disruption of interfacial interactions by hydration layers and the ionic environment. This study shows how high adhesion in a saline environment can be achieved in adhesive peptide systems relying on π-π and cation-π interactions using multivalent ions. Monovalent ions (K) disrupt native peptide-peptide interactions, drastically reducing adhesion strength.

Small molecule modulators of TOX protein re-invigorate T cell activity.

The TOX protein (thymocyte selection-associated high mobility group box) is a critical transcription factor implicated in both T acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and CD8 T cell exhaustion. Gene perturbation studies suggest that inhibiting TOX may have therapeutic implications for both leukemia and T cell exhaustion. However, due to its complex molecular mechanisms and intrinsically disordered structure, TOX has not been effectively targeted by small molecules to date.

Amphoteric Metal Ion-Coordinated Chitosan Membranes for Efficient Hydroxide Ion Transport.

Hydroxide exchange membranes (HEMs) have attracted extensive attention in energy-related fields, such as fuel cells and water electrolysis, primarily due to their suitability for alkaline environments. However, the practical application of membranes is hindered significantly by their limited conductivity. In this study, a series of amphoteric metal ion-coordinated chitosan (CTS-AM) membranes with enhanced hydroxide ion conductivity are reported.

Photoinitiated Thiol-Ene Click Reaction for Preparation of Highly Adhesive and Mechanically Stable Silicone Coatings for Marine Antifouling and Anticorrosion.

Marine biofouling and corrosion have become the main problems affecting the development of the marine industry. Silicone-based coatings have been widely used for antifouling and anticorrosion due to their low surface energy. However, the poor adhesion and low mechanical stability of these materials limit their application in complex marine environments.

Generative learning assisted state-of-health estimation for sustainable battery recycling with random retirement conditions.

Rapid and accurate state of health (SOH) estimation of retired batteries is a crucial pretreatment for reuse and recycling. However, data-driven methods require exhaustive data curation under random SOH and state of charge (SOC) retirement conditions. Here, we show that the generative learning-assisted SOH estimation is promising in alleviating data scarcity and heterogeneity challenges, validated through a pulse injection dataset of 2700 retired lithium-ion battery samples, covering 3 cathode material types, 3 physical formats, 4 capacity designs, and 4 historical usages with 10 SOC levels.

Clinicopathological Features of and Fusions in Thyroid Cancer: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study in a Chinese Population.

The rearranged during transfection () proto-oncogene fusion is common in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), varying across ethnic groups. However, comprehensive comparisons of fusion types are limited. This study aims to identify predominant fusions and analyze their clinicopathological characteristics in a cohort of Chinese thyroid cancer cases.

Rural ambulatory care pharmacists providing in-clinic and home visit services improve adherence to long-acting injectable antipsychotics.

Patients with schizophrenia often experience symptoms such as poor insight and disorganized thought, which limit their ability to seek and receive care consistently. In rural settings, systemic factors, including limited resources and transportation, further contribute to difficulties in health care access. Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) can improve medication adherence and reduce hospitalizations from relapse.

Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus Upregulates Intraocular Pressure Via Glutamatergic Neurons.

Purpose: The neuroregulatory center of intraocular pressure (IOP) is located in the hypothalamus. An efferent neural pathway exists between the hypothalamic nuclei and the autonomic nerve endings in the anterior chamber of the eye. This study was designed to investigate whether the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVH) regulates IOP as the other nuclei do.

Enzymatic polymerization of enantiomeric -3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine into films with enhanced rigidity and stability.

-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine is an important molecule in the adhesion of mussels, and as an oxidative precursor of natural melanin, it plays an important role in living system. Here, we investigate the effect of the molecular chirality of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine on the properties of the self-assembled films by tyrosinase-induced oxidative polymerization. The kinetics and morphology of pure enantiomers are completely altered upon their co-assembly, allowing the fabrication of layer-to-layer stacked nanostructures and films with improved structural and thermal stability.

Uterine Tumor Resembling Ovarian Sex Cord Tumors: 23 Cases Indicating Molecular Heterogeneity With Variable Biological Behavior.

Uterine tumor resembling ovarian sex cord tumor (UTROSCT) is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm that mainly harbors NCOA1-3 rearrangements with partner genes ESR1 or GREB1 . Here, we explored 23 UTROSCTs by targeted RNA sequencing. The association between molecular diversity and clinicopathologic features was investigated.

Ternary Synergy of Lys, Dopa, and Phe Results in Strong Cohesion of Peptide Films.

Synergistic interactions between 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa, Y*), cationic residues, and the aromatic rings have been recently highlighted as influential factors that enhance the underwater adhesion strength of mussel foot proteins and their derivatives. In this study, we report the first ever evidence of a cation-catechol-benzene ternary synergy between Y*, lysine (Lys, K), and phenylalanine (Phe, F) in adhesive peptides. We synthesized three hexapeptides containing a different combination of Y*, K, and F, , (KY*), (KF), and (KY*F), respectively, exploring the relationship between the cohesive performance and molecular architecture of peptides.

Biospecific cation-π interaction by modulating molecular hydration and supramolecular structure of short peptides.

This study presents novel adhesive materials that use cation-π interactions to achieve highly specific cohesive interaction under water. The materials are short length peptides based on the FKF motif flanked by different side groups. Using the surface forces apparatus, we show that the composition of the side group allows to finely tune the strength of the cohesive and adhesive energies of the peptide and its specificity, meaning its capacity to bind strongly only to substrates bearing the same peptide.

Semi-Supervised Hierarchical Graph Classification.

Node classification and graph classification are two graph learning problems that predict the class label of a node and the class label of a graph respectively. A node of a graph usually represents a real-world entity, e.g.

Construction of a mouse model of Posner-Schlossman syndrome by anterior chamber infection with cytomegalovirus.

Accumulated clinical evidence has shown that Posner-Schlossman syndrome (PSS) is most likely the result of recurrent human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection in the anterior chamber (AC). Establishing an animal model is necessary to investigate the pathogenesis of PSS. In this study, we constructed a mouse model of (PSS) by injecting murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) into the AC of BALB/c mice.

The Roles of Transient Receptor Potential Ion Channels in Pathologies of Glaucoma.

Transient receptor ion potential (TRP) channels are a cluster of non-selective cation channels present on cell membranes. They are important mediators of sensory signals to regulate cellular functions and signaling pathways. Alterations and dysfunction of these channels could disrupt physiological processes, thus leading to a broad array of disorders, such as cardiovascular, renal and nervous system diseases.

Assessment of ALK Fusions in Uncommon Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumors With ALK IHC Positivity but FISH-Equivocal Findings by Targeted RNA Sequencing.

Context.—: Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) are common methods to detect ALK status in inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs). However, equivocal ALK FISH signals and inconsistency between FISH and IHC are occasionally observed.

High prevalence of ROS1 gene rearrangement detected by FISH in EGFR and ALK negative lung adenocarcinoma.

ROS1 rearrangement has become an important biomarker for targeted therapy in advanced lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). The study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of ROS1 rearrangement in Chinese LUAD with EGFR wild-type and ALK fusion-negative status, and analyze the relationship with their clinicopathological characteristics. A large cohort of 589 patients of LUAD with EGFR/ALK wild-type, diagnosed between April 2014 and June 2018, was retrospectively analyzed.

Structure-Activity Relationship of RGD-Containing Cyclic Octapeptide and αvβ3 Integrin Allows for Rapid Identification of a New Peptide Antagonist.

The αvβ3 integrin, a receptor for many extracellular matrix proteins with RGD-sequence motif, is involved in multiple physiological processes and highly expressed in tumor cells, therefore making it a target for cancer therapy and tumor imaging. Several RGD-containing cyclic octapeptide (named LXW analogs) were screened as αvβ3 antagonists with dramatically different binding affinity, and their structure-activity relationship (SAR) remains elusive. We performed systematic SAR studies and optimized LXW analogs to improve antagonistic potency.

Prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal disorders in oral health care professionals: A systematic review.

Background: The authors' objective in this systematic review was to describe the evidence for preventive and rehabilitative interventions for musculoskeletal disorders in oral health care.

Types Of Studies Reviewed: The authors conducted systematic search, screening, and eligibility processes to identify experimental, quasiexperimental, observational, and survey research studies in which the investigators either directly evaluated or predicted the effects of preventive or rehabilitative interventions on the reduction of musculoskeletal symptoms in oral health care professionals.

Results: The authors identified and screened 3,571 unique abstracts, assessed 256 full-text articles for eligibility, and included 34 articles in the review.