Digital risk prediction model for transoral surgery in patients with atlantoaxial dislocation and sandwich fusion.

Purpose: In patients presenting with the sandwich fusion, characterized by C1 occipitalization and C2-C3 non-segmentation, leading to stress concentration at the atlantoaxial joint, there is an increased likelihood of atlantoaxial dislocation (AAD). The decision to proceed with transoral surgery is contingent upon the outcomes of intraoperative traction assessment. The complexity of intraoperative decision-making introduces a degree of uncertainty in preoperative planning, complicating both the surgical preparation and doctor-patient communication.

Sustainable Clay Electrolytes for Aqueous Batteries: All-Temperature Single-Ion Conductor with Nanoconfined Hydration Shell Reorganization Effect.

Ion transport property and water structure of electrolytes are two of the most important issues for aqueous batteries, especially when operated at extreme temperatures. To this end, a sepiolite-based clay electrolyte (SCYE) with nanoconfined channels as single-ion conductor is proposed. The inner Zn and anions solvation shells exhibit fascinating hydration-shell reconfiguration behavior compared to the conventional Zn(ClO) aqueous electrolytes.

Bradykinin measurement by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry in subjects with hereditary angioedema enhanced by cold activation.

Background: Bradykinin (BK), a 9-amino acid peptide, is a key mediator responsible for angioedema attacks in hereditary angioedema due to C1INH deficiency (HAE-C1INH). Current BK assays lack clinical utility due to the instability of BK (half-life < 30 seconds) and low pg/mL baseline levels.

Objective: We sought to develop a novel method to overcome the issues in current protease inhibitor-based methods for measuring endogenous BK.

Balancing Tetrahedral and Cation Entropies for Long-lifespan Low-temperature Zn-ion Batteries.

Aqueous Zn-ion batteries (AZIBs) are promising candidates for next-generation energy storage. However, their application is hindered by Zn anode instability and reduced ionic conductivity at low temperatures. Here, we identified two decisive factors for low-temperature performance and anode stability of batteries: tetrahedral entropy and cation entropy.

Identification of an elusive deletion in a family with hereditary angioedema type I utilizing soft clipping.

Background: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder caused by mutations in the C1 esterase inhibitor gene, SERPING1, leading to overproduction of bradykinin and debilitating swelling attacks. Variants in the gene are typically detected in a clinical setting by DNA sequencing or multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), with over 893 total variants identified. Approximately 5% of patients with C1-esterase inhibitor deficiencies do not have detectable pathogenic variants.

miR-627-5p inhibits malignant progression of cervical cancer by targeting ANGPTL4.

In recent years, accumulating evidence has highlighted the critical role of miR-627-5p in the occurrence and progression of various cancers. However, its specific role and mechanism in cervical cancer (CC) remain unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanism by which miR-627-5p inhibits the malignant progression of CC and assess its potential clinical implications.

Ionic Liquid Induced Static and Dynamic Interface Double Shields for Long-Lifespan All-Temperature Zn-Ion Batteries.

Aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) have experienced substantial advancements recently, while the aqueous electrolytes exhibit limited thermal adaptability. The low-cost Zn(BF) salt possesses potential low-temperature application, while brings unsatisfied stability of Zn anodes. To address this challenge, an ionic liquid based eutectic electrolyte (ILEE) utilizing the Zn(BF) presenting remarkable stability across a temperature range of ≈-100-150 °C is developed, enabling ZIBs to operate in diverse thermal conditions.

The range of motion characteristics of atlantoaxial joints with the "sandwich" deformity: a human cadaveric biomechanical study.

During our clinical work, a special subtype of atlantoaxial dislocation(AAD) was identified, which was combined with atlas occipitalization and C2-3 fusion and was named as "sandwich" AAD.To explore if the biomechanical characteristics between atlantoaxial joints in "sandwich" deformity patients is particular and if there is a relationship between the AAD and the malformations (Chiari malformation and the formation of syringomyelia). A biomechanical study on the atlantoaxial joint by simulating "sandwich" deformity in cadaveric specimens was conducted.

Morphometric analysis of the C1-2 zygapophysial joint in atlantoaxial dislocation patients with sandwich fusion of the craniovertebral junction.

The combination of congenital C1 occipitalization and C2-3 non-segmentation (i.e. "sandwich fusion") results in early development of atlantoaxial dislocation (AAD).

A unified metric of human immune health.

Immunological health has been challenging to characterize but could be defined as the absence of immune pathology. While shared features of some immune diseases and the concept of immunologic resilience based on age-independent adaptation to antigenic stimulation have been developed, general metrics of immune health and its utility for assessing clinically healthy individuals remain ill defined. Here we integrated transcriptomics, serum protein, peripheral immune cell frequency and clinical data from 228 patients with 22 monogenic conditions impacting key immunological pathways together with 42 age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

Integrating population and single-cell variations in vaccine responses identifies a naturally adjuvanted human immune setpoint.

Multimodal single-cell profiling methods can capture immune cell variations unfolding over time at the molecular, cellular, and population levels. Transforming these data into biological insights remains challenging. Here, we introduce a framework to integrate variations at the human population and single-cell levels in vaccination responses.

Deep phenotyping of post-infectious myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Post-infectious myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (PI-ME/CFS) is a disabling disorder, yet the clinical phenotype is poorly defined, the pathophysiology is unknown, and no disease-modifying treatments are available. We used rigorous criteria to recruit PI-ME/CFS participants with matched controls to conduct deep phenotyping. Among the many physical and cognitive complaints, one defining feature of PI-ME/CFS was an alteration of effort preference, rather than physical or central fatigue, due to dysfunction of integrative brain regions potentially associated with central catechol pathway dysregulation, with consequences on autonomic functioning and physical conditioning.

Prediction of Receptor Status in Radiomics: Recent Advances in Breast Cancer Research.

Breast cancer is a multifactorial heterogeneous disease and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women; its diagnosis and treatment require clinical sensitivity and a comprehensive disciplinary research approach. The expression of different receptors on tumor cells not only provides the basis for molecular typing of breast cancer but also has a decisive role in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of breast cancer. To date, immunohistochemistry (IHC), which uses invasive histological sampling, has been extensively used in clinical practice to analyze the status of receptors and to make an accurate diagnosis of breast cancer.

Inflammatory and interferon gene expression signatures in patients with mitochondrial disease.

Background: People with mitochondrial disease (MtD) are susceptible to metabolic decompensation and neurological symptom progression in response to an infection. Increasing evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction may cause chronic inflammation, which may promote hyper-responsiveness to pathogens and neurodegeneration. We sought to examine transcriptional changes between MtD patients and healthy controls to identify common gene signatures of immune dysregulation in MtD.

Multiscale integration of human and single-cell variations reveals unadjuvanted vaccine high responders are naturally adjuvanted.

Advances in multimodal single cell analysis can empower high-resolution dissection of human vaccination responses. The resulting data capture multiple layers of biological variations, including molecular and cellular states, vaccine formulations, inter- and intra-subject differences, and responses unfolding over time. Transforming such data into biological insight remains a major challenge.

PBX1-promoted SFRP4 transcription inhibits cell proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in endometrial carcinoma.

Objective: To explore the effects and mechanisms of action of the PBX1/secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4) axis in endometrial carcinoma (EC).

Methods: The expression of PBX1 and SFRP4 was analyzed using bioinformatics prediction, followed by validation in EC cells using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. After transduction with overexpression vectors for PBX1 and SFRP4, migration, proliferation, and invasion of EC cells were measured, accompanied by the detection of E-cadherin, Snail, N-cadherin, Vimentin, β-catenin, GSK-3β, and C-myc expression.

Laser Processing of Crumpled Porous Graphene/MXene Nanocomposites for a Standalone Gas Sensing System.

Integrating wearable gas sensors with energy harvesting and storage devices can create self-powered systems for continuous monitoring of gaseous molecules. However, the development is still limited by complex fabrication processes, poor stretchability, and sensitivity. Herein, we report the low-cost and scalable laser scribing of crumpled graphene/MXenes nanocomposite foams to combine stretchable self-charging power units with gas sensors for a fully integrated standalone gas sensing system.

Multiomics integration of 22 immune-mediated monogenic diseases reveals an emergent axis of human immune health.

Monogenic diseases are often studied in isolation due to their rarity. Here we utilize multiomics to assess 22 monogenic immune-mediated conditions with age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Despite clearly detectable disease-specific and "pan-disease" signatures, individuals possess stable personal immune states over time.

Inflammatory and interferon gene expression signatures in patients with mitochondrial disease.

People with mitochondrial disease (MtD) are susceptible to metabolic decompensation and neurological symptom progression in response to an infection. Increasing evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction may cause chronic inflammation, which may promote hyperresponsiveness to pathogens and neurodegeneration. We collected whole blood from a cohort of MtD patients and healthy controls and performed RNAseq to examine transcriptomic differences.

Sex and prior exposure jointly shape innate immune responses to a live herpesvirus vaccine.

Background: Both sex and prior exposure to pathogens are known to influence responses to immune challenges, but their combined effects are not well established in humans, particularly in early innate responses critical for shaping subsequent outcomes.

Methods: We employed systems immunology approaches to study responses to a replication-defective, herpes simplex virus (HSV) 2 vaccine in men and women either naive or previously exposed to HSV.

Results: Blood transcriptomic and cell population profiling showed substantial changes on day 1 after vaccination, but the responses depended on sex and whether the vaccinee was naive or previously exposed to HSV.

Influenza vaccination reveals sex dimorphic imprints of prior mild COVID-19.

Acute viral infections can have durable functional impacts on the immune system long after recovery, but how they affect homeostatic immune states and responses to future perturbations remain poorly understood. Here we use systems immunology approaches, including longitudinal multimodal single-cell analysis (surface proteins, transcriptome and V(D)J sequences) to comparatively assess baseline immune statuses and responses to influenza vaccination in 33 healthy individuals after recovery from mild, non-hospitalized COVID-19 (mean, 151 days after diagnosis) and 40 age- and sex-matched control individuals who had never had COVID-19. At the baseline and independent of time after COVID-19, recoverees had elevated T cell activation signatures and lower expression of innate immune genes including Toll-like receptors in monocytes.

Adaptive immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 persist in the pharyngeal lymphoid tissue of children.

Most studies of adaptive immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection focus on peripheral blood, which may not fully reflect immune responses at the site of infection. Using samples from 110 children undergoing tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy during the COVID-19 pandemic, we identified 24 samples with evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, including neutralizing antibodies in serum and SARS-CoV-2-specific germinal center and memory B cells in the tonsils and adenoids. Single-cell B cell receptor (BCR) sequencing indicated virus-specific BCRs were class-switched and somatically hypermutated, with overlapping clones in the two tissues.