The Trajectory of Reflux and its Associating Factors in Patients After Esophagectomy Based on Salivary Pepsin-Testing: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.

Background: Post-esophagectomy reflux remains a significant clinical challenge. This study pioneered the use of salivary pepsin-testing (SPT) as an objective biomarker to explore the reflux, addressing limitations of subjective symptom scoring in esophagectomy outcomes research.

Methods: Consecutive patients (age 18-75 years) with histologically confirmed esophageal carcinoma who underwent esophagectomy were prospectively enrolled to explore the trajectory and associating factors of reflux after surgery.

Toxicity Characterization, Detection and Remediation of Contaminants in Soils and Groundwater.

Soil and groundwater contamination remains a critical environmental and public health challenge worldwide [...

Neural mechanisms of physical and social pain empathy: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of fMRI studies.

This study employed a systematic meta-analysis to elucidate neural representation differences between empathy for physical and social pain. Addressing the critical unresolved question of neurofunctional similarities and distinctions between these two empathy types, we performed an activation likelihood estimation coordinate-based meta-analysis, quantitatively synthesizing 35 functional MRI studies. Key findings revealed the following: (i) Physical pain empathy demonstrated significant left-lateralized activation patterns involving core regions of the mirror neuron system-including emotional resonance (anterior cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex), affective-cognitive integration (anterior insula), and action comprehension (inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule); (ii) social pain empathy selectively activated the mentalizing network (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex/medial prefrontal cortex); (iii) differential analyses identified the inferior parietal lobule, anterior cingulate cortex, and superior frontal gyrus as core discriminative regions, with no shared activated brain areas detected.

Localized Hydrolysis-Based Proximity Reporting Platform for Protein Hierarchical Structure Profiling.

The substrate-specific bond cleavage capability of hydrolases provides a unique strategy for engineering off-on switches. This prompted our hypothesis that confining hydrolases and substrates to distinct biomolecular hierarchies (e.g.

Does Metabolic Status Associate With IVF Outcomes in Women Within Similar Body Mass Index Category: Evidence From a Large Cohort Study.

Objectives: Whether diverse metabolic statuses within a similar body mass index (BMI) category associate with different in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes.

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Wenzhou, Zhengjiang Province, China.

Maximising adherent cell production via customisable and dissolvable bio-polymer microcarriers.

Large-scale cellular production systems offer a significant and diverse benefit impacting the therapeutic (stem cell and vaccine production) and cellular agriculture (lab-grown meat) sectors. Producing desired cells at mass can improve production yield whilst reducing the environmental and ethical burden associated with industrialised agriculture and production of therapeutic goods. Many existing large-scale cultivation strategies of adherent cells leverage the use of microcarriers (MCs) within bioreactors.

Impact of intraoperative radiotherapy whole-breast external beam radiotherapy for early breast cancer: a propensity score matching study based on SEER database.

Background: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) followed by adjuvant whole-breast external beam radiotherapy (WBRT) is a standard treatment for early-stage breast cancer, effectively reducing local recurrence and improving survival. However, WBRT involves a prolonged treatment schedule and may lead to adverse effects and reduced patient compliance. Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT), as a form of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI), offers a shorter treatment course by delivering a single dose of radiation during surgery.

AAV-mediated overexpression of CPT1B protects from cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure in a murine pressure overload model.

The transition from cardiac hypertrophy to heart failure is characterized by metabolic changes like downregulation of fatty acid metabolism in favor of increased glucose utilization. Carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1B (CPT1B) catalyzes the rate-limiting step of the carnitine shuttle and is an essential enzyme for fatty acid oxidation. Down-regulation of CPT1B activity has been associated with heart failure in patients and various experimental models, indicating an important role in metabolic remodeling.

Attraction through similarity in autistic traits: A group communication study using social relations model and fNIRS hyperscanning.

Background: The double empathy problem (DEP) reconceptualizes autism's social challenges as bidirectional differences rather than unidirectional deficits. Following the DEP, the dialectical misattunement hypothesis (DMH) predicts that interaction between people with similar autistic traits will be smoother and reflected in neural synchronization. However, evidence remains inconsistent due to methodological limitations in dyadic designs and unstructured tasks, and it remains unclear whether neural mechanisms differ between passive and active social contexts across autistic trait levels.

Compression strength and damage model of frozen silty clay in Xing'an Baikal permafrost under temperature effects.

The Daxing'anling, situated within the high-latitude transition zone between continuous and sporadic permafrost, mark the southern boundary of the Northern Hemisphere's permafrost distribution. The thermally sensitive Xing'an Baikal permafrost in this region was investigated through uniaxial compression tests on remolded silty clay under controlled freezing temperatures (- 7.5 to - 0.

Effects of crushed wheat straw with plastic film mulch on soil hydrothermal properties and water use efficiency of sunflower in the northwestern arid region of China.

A 3-year field experiment (2016-2018) were conducted in arid region of northwest China to systematically evaluate the effect mechanism of crushed wheat straw coupled with plastic film mulch on soil hydrothermal properties, sunflower yield and water use efficiency (WUE). The experimental design incorporated two controlled variables: mulching method [four levels: no mulch (N), straw mulch (S), film mulch (F) and crushed wheat straw padding with plastic film mulch (SF)] and irrigation quota [two levels: 900 m ha (M1) and 750 m ha (M2)], resulting in eight experimental treatments. The results showed that mulching method significantly (P < 0.

Area-level factors influencing geographical distribution of myopia prevalence among school-aged children and adolescents in Northwest China.

Background: Northwest China is an ideal spot to investigate geographic differences in myopia prevalence due to the region's unequal allocation of socioeconomic and geo-environmental variables. Yet, the overall geographic distribution of myopia in the region remains unclear.

Methods: We conducted a school-based, cross-sectional prevalence survey of myopia in all 14 prefectures of Xinjiang, China.

The impact of Tai Chi on emotional regulation efficacy and subjective wellbeing in the elderly and the mediating mechanism.

Introduction: Against the backdrop of global aging and the enduring impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health issues among older adults have become increasingly prominent. This study aimed to investigate the effects of standardized 24-form simplified Tai Chi training on emotional regulation efficacy and subjective wellbeing in older adults and to verify the mediating role of emotional regulation efficacy between Tai Chi practice and subjective wellbeing.

Methods: The study was conducted in Zhengzhou, China, in autumn 2023.

Restoring glucose metabolism in Alzheimer's disease by targeting integrated stress response.

Cerebral glucose hypometabolism has been consistently associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). With extensive efforts to eliminate AD pathologies, including the removal of amyloid-β ​(Aβ) plaques and hyperphosphorylated Tau, strategies aimed at restoring glucose metabolism in the brain regions most affected by AD are believed to have significant clinical implications. In this study, we demonstrated that glucose hypometabolism preceded neuronal death in triple-transgenic AD (3xTg-AD) mice, likely attributable to reduced expression of glucose transporter type 1 (GLUT1) or glucose transporter type 3 (GLUT3).

Deep Blood Proteomics Identifies over 12,000 Proteins Providing Valuable Information about the State of the Human Body.

Blood is a valuable resource for clinical research, offering insight into physiological and pathological states. However, the specific proteins detectable in blood and the optimal proteomic methods for their detection have not been rigorously investigated and documented. To address this, we conducted various blood proteomic strategies, including directly blood proteomic analysis, high-abundance protein depletion, low-abundance protein enrichment, and extracellular vesicle enrichment using data-independent acquisition or targeted proteomics.

Harnessing technologies to unravel gastric cancer heterogeneity.

Gastric cancer arises from complex carcinogenic factor interactions, with limited treatment options due to the lack of targetable driver gene mutations and significant tumor heterogeneity. Recent studies have provided promising novel approaches to improve our understanding of gastric cancer heterogeneity through integrated characterization, combining genomics with emerging technologies. Delineating the molecular changes and targeting specific molecular subtypes will enhance the efficacy of gastric cancer treatment and improve clinical outcomes.

Shortening surgical time in high myopia treatment: a randomized controlled trial comparing non-OVD and OVD techniques in ICL implantation.

Introduction: High myopia correction is essential for improving visual acuity and quality of life. Traditional intraocular collamer lens (ICL) implantation using an ophthalmic viscosurgical device (OVD) is effective but often results in prolonged surgical times, impacting patient comfort and recovery. This study investigates a novel non-OVD ICL implantation technique aimed at reducing surgical duration and improving patient outcomes.

Novel hybrid data-driven modeling based on feature space reconstruction and multihead self-attention gated recurrent unit: applied to PM2.5 concentrations prediction.

In response to the problem of neglecting the periodic and global characteristics of sequence data when predicting PM2.5 concentrations via machine learning models, a PM2.5 concentrations prediction model based on feature space reconstruction and multihead self-attention gated recurrent unit (FSR-MSAGRU) is proposed in this study.

Simulating Two-Phase Fluid-Rigid Interactions With an Overset-Grid Kinetic Solver.

Simulating the coupled dynamics between rigid bodies and two-phase fluids, especially those with a large density ratio and a high Reynolds number, is computationally demanding but visually compelling with a broad range of applications. Traditional approaches that directly solve the Navier-Stokes equations often struggle to reproduce these flow phenomena due to stronger numerical diffusion, resulting in lower accuracy. While recent advancements in kinetic lattice Boltzmann methods for two-phase flows have notably enhanced efficiency and accuracy, challenges remain in correctly managing fluid-rigid boundaries, resulting in physically inconsistent results.

Intrathecal hydromorphone vs. transversus abdominis plane block for upper abdominal surgery: a propensity score-matching study.

Background: Multimodal analgesia is vital for enhanced recovery after upper-abdominal surgery. While both Intrathecal hydromorphone (ITH) and transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block are widely applied in upper-abdominal surgery, evidence comparing the two techniques remains limited. This retrospective study employs a propensity score-matching (PSM) design to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of TAP block and ITH in upper-abdominal surgeries.

Back to an ice-free future: Early Cretaceous seasonal cycles of sea surface temperature and glacier ice.

Global ice losses will likely continue with ongoing climate warming, culminating in an almost ice-free planet analogous to that which persisted throughout much of the Cretaceous. Despite extensive research, Early Cretaceous cryosphere responses to temperature and atmospheric fluctuations over short, human, timescales remain uncertain. Here, we show rapid late Valanginian (~133 million years ago) seasonal fluctuations in sea surface temperature (SST) and δO mainly driven by atmospheric .

A Novel Homozygous Nonsense Mutation in TACSTD2 Gene Causes Gelatinous Drop-like Corneal Dystrophy in a Chinese Consanguineous Family: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Purpose: To report a case of gelatinous drop-like corneal dystrophy (GDLD) caused by a novel homozygous tumor-associated calcium signal transducer 2 ( TACSTD2 ) gene mutation and summarize the correlations of clinical phenotypes and genotypes in patients with GDLD.

Methods: We analyzed the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of a 42-year-old man with GDLD. The patient with GDLD received multiple keratoplasties, and histopathological staining of the corneal sections was performed.

Correlation Analysis Between 3D and Plane DAT Binding Parameters of C-CFT PET/CT and the Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between dopamine transporter (DAT) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) and the clinical characteristics and rating scales of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Additionally, we sought to assess the scientific validity and feasibility of integrating 3D-dopaminergic binding parameters into the clinical scoring system for PD.

Methods: A total of 75 patients with PD who underwent C-methyl-N-2β-methyl ester-3β-(4-fluorophenyl) tropane (C-CFT) PET/CT from April, 2019 to June, 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.

Multi-omic analysis reveals the unique glycan landscape of the blood-brain barrier glycocalyx.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) glycocalyx is the dense layer of glycans and glycoconjugates that coats the luminal surface of the central nervous system (CNS) vasculature. Despite being the first point of contact between the blood and brain, not much is known about the BBB glycocalyx. Here, we performed a multi-omic investigation of the BBB glycocalyx which revealed a unique glycan landscape characterized by enrichment of sialic acid, chondroitin sulfate, and hyaluronan.

Exploring the effect of activator topology on CRISPR-Cas12a trans-cleavage activity.

The CRISPR-Cas12a system is widely used in nucleic acid detection and biosensing due to its high sensitivity, selectivity, and simple design. However, traditional CRISPR-Cas12a sensors, which rely on linear activators, face challenges such as limited operability and low stability. This study explored the impact of three different activator topologies-linear, planar, and steric-on the trans-cleavage activity of Cas12a.