Establishment of a Chilli Thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood) Rearing System for Virulence Screening of Entomopathogenic Fungi.

The chilli thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood) is an economically significant pest of ornamental and food crops in Taiwan. Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are working as an eco-friendly biological control agent for managing thrips. It is crucial to screen the virulence of EPF isolates against chilli thrips under laboratory conditions before field application.

A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Investigation of Hot and Cool Executive Functions in Reward and Competition.

Social and environmental influences are important for learning. However, the influence of reward and competition during social learning is less understood. The literature suggests that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex is implicated in hot executive functioning (EF), while the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is related to cool EF.

Preparation of antibacterial cellulose nanocrystals-graft-poly[2-(tert-butylamino) ethyl methacrylate] nanoparticles and their applications on creating wound dressings with a bacterial shielding property.

Bacterial infections in wounds, especially in patients with chronic conditions like diabetic wounds, pose significant treatment challenges. Addressing the susceptibility to infection is crucial, and the development of functional dressings to prevent bacterial invasion has proven a promising strategy. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), derived from bio-resources and functioning as nanoparticles (NPs), were modified with poly[2-(tert-butylamino) ethyl methacrylate] (PTA) through atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) to create CNCs-graft-PTA NPs (CNPs).

Borrowing using historical-bias power prior with empirical Bayes.

Adaptively incorporating historical information into analyses of current data can improve the precision of inference without requiring additional new observation. Unfortunately, not all borrowing methods are suitable when limited historical studies are available. When a single historical study is available, the power priors control the amount of information to borrow via specification of a weight parameter that discounts the contribution of the historical data in a likelihood combined with current data.

Thermal Treatment Induced Crystal Development and Crystal Orientation Change in Electrospun Coaxial Fibers Comprising Dual Crystalline Polymers.

This study investigates the crystallization behavior of electrospun coaxial fibers composed of crystalline poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in the core and crystalline poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) in the sheath. The influence of cold crystallization temperature and premelting temperature on the crystallization of PEO and PLLA is investigated. At a cold crystallization temperature of ≤60 °C, PLLA remained immobile.

Statistical operating characteristics of current early phase dose finding designs with toxicity and efficacy in oncology.

Traditional phase I dose finding cancer clinical trial designs aim to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of the investigational cytotoxic agent based on a single toxicity outcome, assuming a monotone dose-response relationship. However, this assumption might not always hold for newly emerging therapies such as immuno-oncology therapies and molecularly targeted therapies, making conventional dose finding trial designs based on toxicity no longer appropriate. To tackle this issue, numerous early-phase dose finding clinical trial designs have been developed to identify the optimal biological dose (OBD), which takes both toxicity and efficacy outcomes into account.

The validation of oxygen uptake efficiency slope in patients with stroke.

To evaluate the real aerobic capacity is difficult due to impaired limbs function in stroke patients. Oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) could represent the aerobic capacity in submaximal exercise test. Hence, we designed this observational study to investigate the application of the OUES for evaluating aerobic capacity in these patients.

Differential Patterns of Gyral and Sulcal Morphological Changes During Normal Aging Process.

The cerebral cortex is a highly convoluted structure with distinct morphologic features, namely the gyri and sulci, which are associated with the functional segregation or integration in the human brain. During the lifespan, the brain atrophy that is accompanied by cognitive decline is a well-accepted aging phenotype. However, the detailed patterns of cortical folding change during aging, especially the changing age-dependencies of gyri and sulci, which is essential to brain functioning, remain unclear.

Easy Synthesis of BiVO for Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting.

Developing a photocatalyst system to generate hydrogen from water is a topic of great interest for fundamental and practical importance. In this study, we develop a new Z-scheme photocatalytic system for overall water splitting that consists of Rh/KNbO for H evolution, Pt/BiVO for O evolution, and I/IO for an electron mediator under UV light irradiation. The oxygen evolution photocatalyst BiVO was prepared by the microwave-assisted hydrothermal method.

Sulfur-doped g-CN nanosheets for photocatalysis: Z-scheme water splitting and decreased biofouling.

In this study, an S-doped g-CN nanosheet was prepared as a photocatalyst for effective oxygen evolution reaction. Sulfur plays a crucial role in S-doped g-CN not only in increasing the charge density but also in reducing the energy band gap of S-doped g-CN via substitution of nitrogen sites. S-doped g-CN can serve as an oxygen-evolved photocatalyst, when combined with Ru/SrTiO:Rh in the presence of [Co(bpy)] as an electron mediator, enables photocatalytic overall water splitting under visible light irradiation with hydrogen and oxygen production rates of 24.

Effects of a comprehensive physical therapy on moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea- a preliminary randomized controlled trial.

Background: Critically compromised by upper airway anatomical impaired properties, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can be categorized into different phenotypic traits, mainly including oropharyngeal muscle dysfunction. The upper airway muscle strength training was targeted on oropharyngeal muscle dysfunction by re-educating the oropharyngeal muscles to maintain the upper airway patency. OSA was characterized with multilevel collapsibility of the upper airway; however, the programs are still inconsistent and the effects are unknown.

Models of anatomically based oropharyngeal rehabilitation with a multilevel approach for patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a meta-synthesis and meta-analysis.

Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder associated with dysfunction of oropharyngeal muscles to maintain upper airway patency during sleep. Oropharyngeal rehabilitation (OPR) was developed to restore, reconstruct, and reeducate oropharyngeal muscle function, but current protocols and effectiveness of OPR have been inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to review (1) indications of OPR, (2) protocols of OPR, and (3) effectiveness of OPR.

Hash Transformation and Machine Learning-Based Decision-Making Classifier Improved the Accuracy Rate of Automated Parkinson's Disease Screening.

Digitalized hand-drawn pattern is a noninvasive and reproducible assistive manner to obtain hand actions and motions for evaluating functional tremors and upper-limb movement disorders. In this study, spirals and straight lines in polar coordinates are used to extract polar expression features such as the key parameters deviation (cm) and accumulation angle (rad). These parameters are quantitative manner to scale the variations of functional tremors in normal control subjects and patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET).

Photocatalytic Water Splitting on Rh/K₄NbO Nanosheets.

The layered potassium niobate, K₄NbO, is known as a photocatalyst for hydrogen production from water splitting under UV light. Here we show that potassium niobate nanosheets can be obtained by exfoliation of K₄NbO followed by proton exchange. Photocatalytic water splitting has been improved in this work by loading Rh nanoparticles as cocatalyst.

Worsen depression after viscosupplementation treatment for geriatric people with knee osteoarthritis?

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) in older people may result in psychological impairment, including anxiety and depression. This study investigates the effect of intraarticular hyaluronic acid injection (IAHA) on geriatric patients with OA. A total of 102 geriatric patients with knee OA undergoing IAHA were prospectively enrolled in this study.

Reduction of lipid contamination in MR spectroscopy imaging using signal space projection.

Purpose: Lipid contamination can complicate the metabolite quantification in MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI). In addition to various experimental methods demonstrated to be feasible for lipid suppression, the postprocessing method is beneficial in the flexibility of applications. In this study, the signal space projection (SSP) algorithm is proposed to suppress the lipid signal in the MRSI.

Fluorescent fusions of the N protein of phage Mu label DNA damage in living cells.

The N protein of phage Mu was indicated from studies in Escherichia coli to hold linear Mu chromosomes in a circular conformation by non-covalent association, and thus suggested potentially to bind DNA double-stranded ends. Because of its role in association with linear Mu DNA, we tested whether fluorescent-protein fusions to N might provide a useful tool for labeling DNA damage including double-strand break (DSB) ends in single cells. We compared N-GFP with a biochemically well documented DSB-end binding protein, the Gam protein of phage Mu, also fused to GFP.

Simultaneous drug identification in urine of sexual assault victims by using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

According to domestic and international epidemiological investigation, the proportion of substance involved sexual assault has the trend of ascent. In the past, laboratory methods that investigated urine sample of the sexual assault victims was to screen with enzyme immunoassay and then confirmed with mass spectrometry. The objective of the study is to simultaneously identify abused drugs in 126 decoded urine samples of sexual assault victims by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Holliday junction trap shows how cells use recombination and a junction-guardian role of RecQ helicase.

DNA repair by homologous recombination (HR) underpins cell survival and fuels genome instability, cancer, and evolution. However, the main kinds and sources of DNA damage repaired by HR in somatic cells and the roles of important HR proteins remain elusive. We present engineered proteins that trap, map, and quantify Holliday junctions (HJs), a central DNA intermediate in HR, based on catalytically deficient mutant RuvC protein of .

Optimal Fungal Space Searching Algorithms.

Previous experiments have shown that fungi use an efficient natural algorithm for searching the space available for their growth in micro-confined networks, e.g., mazes.

HDR Brachytherapy Dose Distribution is Influenced by the Metal Material of the Applicator.

Applicators containing metal have been widely used in recent years when applying brachytherapy to patients with cervical cancer. However, the high dose rate (HDR) treatment-planning system (TPS) that is currently used in brachytherapy still assumes that the treatment environment constitutes a homogeneous water medium and does not include a dose correction for the metal material of the applicator. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the HDR (192)Ir dose distribution in cervical cancer patients when performing brachytherapy using a metal-containing applicator.

An ultra-dense library resource for rapid deconvolution of mutations that cause phenotypes in Escherichia coli.

With the wide availability of whole-genome sequencing (WGS), genetic mapping has become the rate-limiting step, inhibiting unbiased forward genetics in even the most tractable model organisms. We introduce a rapid deconvolution resource and method for untagged causative mutations after mutagenesis, screens, and WGS in Escherichia coli. We created Deconvoluter-ordered libraries with selectable insertions every 50 kb in the E.

Enhanced amelioration of high-fat diet-induced fatty liver by docosahexaenoic acid and lysine supplementations.

Fatty liver disease is the most common pathological condition in the liver. Here, we generated high-fat diet-(HFD-) induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in mice and tested the effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and lysine during a four-week regular chow (RC)feeding. Our results showed that 1% lysine and the combination of 1% lysine + 1% DHA reduced body weight.