ctDNA detects residual disease after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and guides adjuvant therapy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The diagnostic accuracy of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for detecting molecular residual disease (MRD) after multimodal treatment remains unclear. In a prospective cohort of 132 patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by clinical response evaluation and surgery, tumor-informed personalized-panel and fixed-panel ctDNA assays are applied to serial blood samples. Personalized ctDNA assay demonstrates a superior baseline detection rate (99.

Acid-Alkaline Double Electrolytes for High-Energy Aqueous Proton Batteries.

Aqueous proton batteries offer a promising energy storage solution due to their inherent safety, rapid ion mobility, and low cost. However, their performance is largely constrained by water's limited electrochemical stability, restricting operating voltage and energy density. This study addresses this challenge by introducing an innovative acid-alkaline double electrolyte configuration to achieve high-voltage aqueous proton batteries.

Design of a low-power gradient amplifier for benchtop nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer.

Benchtop Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (BNMR) technology has gained increasing attention in chemical and pharmaceutical applications due to its compact configuration and operational flexibility. However, the implementation of conventional commercial gradient amplifiers in BNMR systems remains challenging because of their excessive power consumption and bulky dimensions. To address these limitations, this study presents a novel gradient amplifier design optimized for BNMR applications, characterized by a satisfactory linearity in 0-2.

A non-ionic fluorinated p-dopant enables the construction of efficient and stable perovskite solar cells.

The Li-TFSI/-BP system is essential for doping the hole-transporting layer (HTL) to construct efficient perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the hygroscopicity and Li migration of Li-TFSI, as well as the corrosiveness and volatility of -BP, can have negative impacts on the efficiency and stability of PSCs. Herein, a novel non-ionic fluorinated p-dopant 1-[bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)methyl]-2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzene (PFB-TFSI) is developed to replace the Li-TFSI/-BP system.

Comprehensive integration of single-cell and bulk transcriptome to reveal plasma cell heterogeneity and a prognosis signature in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a prevalent malignancy with a low five-year survival rate, emphasising the urgent need for effective prognostic biomarkers to guide patient stratification and personalised treatment. Plasma cells (PCs), a subset of antitumor effector B cells, are known for their antibody production to target tumour-associated antigens. However, their role in HNSCC remains insufficiently characterised.

H5N1 virus invades the mammary glands of dairy cattle through 'mouth-to-teat' transmission.

H5N1 influenza outbreaks have been reported on more than 1070 dairy farms across 17 states in the USA. Damage to the mammary gland and high levels of virus in milk were common features of the infected cattle, but it is unclear how the virus initially invades the mammary glands, and no control strategy is currently available. Here, we found that cattle oral tissues support H5N1 virus binding and replication, and virus replicating in the mouth of cattle transmitted to the mammary glands of dairy cattle during sucking.

Evaluation of occlusion immunities of free-space orbital angular momentum shift keying.

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) provides a new high-dimensional degree-of-freedom for lasers enabling high-dimensional shift keying, thus showing huge potential in free-space optical data-transmissions. Ensuring the accuracy of data transmission is of concern in any communication system. However, in the free-space OAM shift keying link, interferences from environmental occlusions will broaden the OAM spectrum and thus affect the correctness of information received.

Long-Term Monitoring Reveals Changes in the Small Mammal Community Composition and Co-Occurrence Patterns in the Diannan Area of Yunnan, China.

Long-term monitoring of small mammal communities provides critical insights into biodiversity conservation by detecting ecosystem degradation and quantifying anthropogenic impacts. Using 13 years (2005-2017) of standardized live-trapping data from the Diannan area, China, we analyzed 22 small mammal species to assess population dynamics and community restructuring through co-occurrence network analysis, species composition trends, and multi-index diversity evaluation (Shannon-Wiener, Margalef, Simpson, and Pielou). The research results showed that, except for the two dominant species, and , whose populations showed an increasing trend during the survey period, the populations of all other species showed a decreasing trend, and some species even faced local extinction.

Ultrafast ultrasound imaging reveals altered cerebral blood flow in newborn rats with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

Background: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) leads to poor neurological outcomes without timely treatment, yet early identification remains challenging. While cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes relate to HIE, specific early CBF or cerebral venous drainage (CVD) patterns are unclear. Recently, the advanced multi-angle plane wave high-frequency ultrafast Doppler (HF-μDoppler) imaging has shown promise for neonatal CBF/CVD assessment, aiding early diagnosis and intervention of HIE.

Effect of the Kickstart exoskeleton lower extremity walking system on improving lower extremity walking ability in subacute stroke patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Walking dysfunction is a primary cause of a reduced ability to perform activities of daily living and decreased quality of life in stroke patients. The Kickstart Walk assist system is portable and easy to don and remove. There is a lack of high-quality, randomized controlled trials to validate its effectiveness.

Sparse aperture ultrasound-guided acoustic vortex tweezers for real-time microbubble aggregation in peripheral vasculature.

Objective: Acoustic vortex tweezers (AVT) have potential to enhance the targeting efficiency of drug-loaded microbubbles (MBs). However, three major challenges remain: poor real-time imaging quality with single matrix probe, difficulty in switching between imaging and AVT emission, and difficulty in using real-time imaging to guide AVT focusing. In this study, we propose a novel approach to address these challenges through the application of a sparse-aperture emission strategy integrating ultrasound flow-imaging and AVT techniques.

In Vivo Dynamic Coronary Arteries Blood Flow Imaging Based on Multi-Cycle Phase Clustering Ultrafast Ultrasound.

Echocardiography is the most primary clinical modality for dynamic cardiac imaging. However, the vigorous motion of myocardial tissue inherently causes inevitable signal aliasing between blood flow and myocardial tissue in traditional Doppler ultrasound imaging, constituting a persistent challenge in echocardiography for decades. Particularly for low-velocity flows like coronary artery blood flow, the Doppler frequency shifts completely overlap with myocardial tissue signal shifts, rendering them virtually undetectable through conventional echocardiography.

The albumin-myosteatosis gauge predicts the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced gastric cancer.

Purpose: To examine the prognostic utility of the albumin-myosteatosis gauge (AMG) in patients diagnosed with locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC) who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by radical gastrectomy.

Methods: Data from 198 patients who underwent NAC and radical resection of LAGC at our center between January 2014 and December 2021 were analyzed. The AMG was calculated as the product of skeletal muscle radiodensity and albumin levels.

Development of Semisynthesis to Achieve Sulfonium Proteins with Diverse Modifications.

Recent advances in sulfonium peptides have demonstrated their potential to study post-translational modifications and protein-protein interactions, owing to the site-selective cross-linking to tryptophan and tyrosine. However, current synthetic methods cannot meet the demand to prepare full-length sulfonium proteins with multiple modifications that mimic cellular scenarios. Here we report a semisynthesis method to address these challenges.

Metagenomic Analysis and Core Flooding Reveals the Indigenous Bacterial Community Information and MEOR Potential of the Main Water-Drive Low-Permeability Reservoir in the Ordos Basin.

Oil recovery decreased with prolonged waterflood development in the main reservoirs in the Ordos Basin, and the extraction of the remaining oil was gradually difficult. To exploit oil-producing potential through microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR), bacterial communities of 26 samples from Yan 9, 10 layers, and 15 samples from Chang 6 layers were analyzed based on high-throughput sequencing. 1578 and 3581 amplicon sequence variants were obtained from Jurassic and Triassic samples, and α diversity analysis showed that dominant bacterial genera existed distinctly in both study areas.

Structural and functional characterization of human SLFN14.

The Schlafen (SLFN) family of proteins are a group of DNA/RNA processing enzymes with emerging importance in human health and disease, where their functions are implicated in a variety of immunological and anti-tumor processes. Here, we present the cryo-electron microscopy structure of full-length human SLFN14, a member with antiviral activity and linked to an inherited bleeding disorder. SLFN14 is composed of an RNase domain, a SWADL domain, and a two-lobe helicase domain.

Integration of Single-Cell and Bulk Transcriptome to Reveal an Endothelial Transition Signature Predicting Bladder Cancer Prognosis.

Endothelial cells (ECs) are critical drivers of tumour progression, and their angiogenic process has been widely studied. However, the post-angiogenic transition of tip endothelial cells after sprouting remains insufficiently characterised. In this study, we utilised single-cell RNA sequencing analyses to identify a novel EC transition signature associated with endothelial permeability, migration, metabolism, and vascular maturation.

Optimization of Ni-B-Mo Electroless Coating on GCr15 Steel: Effects of Main Salt Concentration and Deposition Time.

GCr15 bearing steel is widely used in the textile, aerospace, and other industries due to its excellent mechanical properties. However, traditional electroless Ni-B coatings can no longer meet the growing demand for a long service life under high-speed and heavy load conditions. This study focused on depositing Ni-B-Mo alloy coatings on GCr15 steel.

Preservation Study for Raw Conditioned Mutton During Refrigerated Storage by Food Preservatives.

The quality modification of chilled, raw conditioned mutton (RCM) after storage significantly impacts consumer preferences, making shelf-life extension and quality preservation crucial. This study evaluated the effects of sodium diacetate (SDA), sodium dehydroacetate (DHA-S), ε-polylysine hydrochloride (PLH), and nisin on RCM quality and bacterial community at concentrations of 3.0, 0.

Hybrid strategy in compact tailoring of multiple degrees-of-freedom toward high-dimensional photonics.

Tailoring multiple degrees-of-freedom (DoFs) to achieve high-dimensional laser field is crucial for advancing optical technologies. While recent advancements have demonstrated the ability to manipulate a limited number of DoFs, most existing methods rely on bulky optical components or intricate systems that employ time-consuming iterative methods and, most critically, the on-demand tailoring of multiple DoFs simultaneously through a compact, single element-remains underexplored. In this study, we propose an intelligent hybrid strategy that enables the simultaneous and customizable manipulation of six DoFs: wave vector, initial phase, spatial mode, amplitude, orbital angular momentum (OAM) and spin angular momentum (SAM).

The brassinosteroid-mediated Camellia sinensis synthase kinase1 and Camellia sinensis sumo conjugation enzyme1 module positively regulates the cold tolerance of tea plant.

Plant glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) is involved in germinal development and stress response. In the present study, 15 GSK3 members were identified in tea plants and categorised into four subfamilies. During brassinosteroid (BR)-mediated cold stress, the expression levels of the Camellia sinensis synthase kinase1(CsSK1) gene was significantly down-regulated.

ACT001 improves OVX-induced osteoporosis by suppressing the NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway.

Osteoporosis (OP) is a common systemic metabolic bone disease characterized by the decrease in bone mass and hyperactivity of osteoclasts. ACT001 is approved as an orphan drug by FDA and has shown multiple protective effects against tissue injury. However, its role in prevention of osteoclast differentiation and the underlying mechanisms have not been elucidated.

A Novel Solid Hydrogel Sleeve Couplant for Ultrasound Imaging.

Objectives: To address the challenges of ultrasound scanning on curvilinear skin surfaces at joints, this study introduces a novel Shapable and Elastic Couplants sleeve of Hydrogel (SECH) based on a "Curve-to-Smooth" strategy. The aim is to improve acoustic wave transmission, enhance image quality, and enable efficient 3D imaging of high-curvature body parts such as the hand, foot, shoulder, and neck.

Methods: The SECH was fabricated using acrylamide (AAm) as the primary monomer, N,N-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAA) as the crosslinking agent, ammonium persulfate (APS) as the initiator, and N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) as the accelerator.

Hepatic Portal Venous Perfusion Imaging Using Vessel-Labeling Super-Resolution Ultrasound.

Objective: Blood flow imaging and perfusion assessment of the hepatic portal vein are critical for the diagnosis of several liver diseases, including cirrhosis, primary and metastatic liver tumors. However, perfusion imaging of the portal vein is challenging due to the unique dual blood supply system of the liver.

Methods: We developed a novel method for specific perfusion imaging of the portal vein and downstream vessels, which was validated on healthy mice (n = 4).

Pyridoxine dehydrogenase SePdx regulates photosynthesis via an association with the phycobilisome in a cyanobacterium.

Vitamin B6 (VitB6) deficiency is known to have a deleterious effect on photosynthesis, although the precise mechanism remains unclear. Pyridoxine dehydrogenase is a key protein involved in VitB6 biosynthesis, which facilitates the reversible reduction of pyridoxal (PL) and the oxidation of pyridoxine (PN), thereby contributing to VitB6 production. This study demonstrated the enzymatic activity of a pyridoxine dehydrogenase, SePdx, from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 in the oxidation of PN.