Gain or loss? Examining the dual effects of small talk on employees' safety performance.

Introduction: Small talk, an informal social interaction in workplaces, has been overlooked in research on safety performance, which traditionally focuses on organizational factors (e.g., safety climate, leadership).

Compound heterozygous DMC1 variants cause non-obstructive azoospermia by defective replication protein A replacement.

Research Question: How does a compound heterozygous DMC1 variant, a meiosis-specific recombinase, affect homologous search and chain invasion during spermatocyte meiosis in a patient with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA)?

Design: A patient with a compound heterozygous DMC1 variant associated with NOA was identified. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blot were used to study the effect of this variant. Standard histological analysis and immunofluorescence staining investigated the patient's spermatogenic arrest.

Associations of Metal Mixtures During Early Pregnancy With Midlife Obesity and Body Composition: A Prospective Study.

Objective: To examine the prospective associations of metal mixtures during pregnancy with midlife adiposity and explore metal-folate interactions.

Methods: In 500 participants from Project Viva, we measured six non-essential metals (arsenic, barium, cadmium, cesium, mercury, and lead) and five essential metals (copper, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc) in red blood cells and folate in plasma collected during early pregnancy (mean gestational age: 10.0 weeks; mean age: 32.

Predictors of non-arrival at initial study screening visits among Black adults: Data from the GoFresh trials.

Background: Trial recruitment is a major determinant of study success, and participants' non-arrival at study visits represents a significant barrier to study completion. Little is known about the participant and study process characteristics associated with visit non-arrival.

Objective: To investigate factors associated with non-arrival at initial in-person screening visits in two ongoing randomized controlled trials.

FATP5 deficiency alleviates MASH via remodeling hepatic lipid composition to suppress ferroptosis.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) represents an advanced stage of fatty liver disease characterized by hepatocyte ballooning, cell death, inflammation and fibrosis. Fatty acid transport protein 5 (FATP5), a hepatocyte-specific transmembrane protein, mediates both long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) uptake and bile acids (BAs)-coenzyme A (CoA) conjugation. While FATP5 upregulation has been documented in MASH patients, its functional role in disease progression through hepatic lipid metabolic regulation remains unclear.

Mechanical Cell Reprogramming on Tissue-Mimicking Hydrogels for Cancer Cell Transdifferentiation.

Disrupted matrix mechanics have been found to be highly associated with increased risks of many diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases and cancers. For centuries, the aged tissue matrix has been found to lose its mechanical integrity and exhibit altered biophysical properties. Whether the mechanical properties of matrix serve as a regulator for maintaining the health and function of cells remains unknown.

Callback time preference for prescreening visits among Black residents in the Boston area: findings from two randomized controlled trials.

Background: Black adults are underrepresented in cardiovascular disease clinical trials. Individual and social circumstances may limit when they are available to complete trial prescreening requirements. Characterizing preferences related to callback times and the impact of calling during preferred times could inform strategies to improve the recruitment of Black adults into clinical research.

Precise Chemical Lithiation: A Pathway to Superior Li-Enriched LiNCM523 Cathodes for Long Life Anode-Free Li Metal Batteries.

Developing lithium-enriched cathodes, such as LiNCM523 ( ≥ 0), offers a promising approach to boost the cycling life of anode-free lithium metal batteries (AFLMBs). However, the traditional electrochemical prelithiation method is confined to laboratory studies, while conventional chemical prelithiation using highly reductive reagents like biphenyllithium (0.25 V vs Li/Li) often causes severe surficial excessive-lithiation and structural degradation, compromising battery performance.

Structure, performance and tissue repair evaluation of biodegradable core-sheath fiber patch loaded with curcumin nano-micelles.

In this paper, curcumin nanomicelles (Cur@M) were uniformly encapsulated in the core-sheath polylactic acid (PLA) fibers using coaxial electrospinning technology, and the structure and properties were adjusted by post-processing to develop a multifunctional tissue repair patch. The optimized patch demonstrated sustained curcumin release, hydrophilic surface, enhanced mechanical strength and predicable degradation. The patch had excellent biocompatibility and exhibited significant anti-inflammatory efficacy by polarizing pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages to anti-inflammatory M2 phenotypes while inhibiting the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO).

Socioeconomic Status and Chronic Kidney Disease Among Black and White Adults: An Analysis of 2017-2020 NHANES.

Rationale & Objective: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) disproportionately affects Black adults and those with lower socioeconomic status in the United States. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between socioeconomic status and CKD, albuminuria/stage 1-2 CKD, and stage 3-5 CKD, and to assess differences between Black and White adults.

Study Design: We used data from the 2017-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Dynamic Mechanisms of Neutral Amino Acid Exchanger ASCT2 Transporting Substrate Glutamine.

Tumor cells rely on the high expression of transporter proteins to meet their nutrient demands, with alanine-serine-cysteine transporter 2 (ASCT2) being a key player in glutamine (Gln) uptake. Glutamine, a conditionally essential amino acid abundant in protein-rich foods, such as meat, dairy, and legumes, serves as a critical nitrogen and carbon source for cellular biosynthesis. ASCT2-mediated Gln transport not only fuels cancer progression but also plays a role in nutrient absorption in healthy tissues, particularly the gut, where dietary amino acids are assimilated.

UBE2J2 is essential for the progression of meiosis prophase I during spermatogenesis in mice.

The coordination of numerous proteins is necessary for spermatogenesis, including degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Ubiquitin binding enzyme E2 (UBE2J2) is involved in the degradation of endoplasmic reticulum-associated proteins, while its role in spermatogenesis remains unclear. We found that mice exhibit azoospermia and spermatocytes undergo meiotic arrest at the mid-pachytene stage.

Novel mutations of SRPX facilitate the stemness and malignant progression of glioma.

Background: Explorations of genomic profiles are of great clinical significance for glioma due to the high tumor heterogeneity and stemness. High-depth sequencing enabled to identify driver genes and potential treatment targets in glioma.

Methods: A whole exome sequencing analysis of 27 Chinese patients was conducted and somatic mutation signatures were analyzed using validated computational methods.

The new serratus anterior plane block is more effective than the SPB block for early postoperative analgesia following modified radical mastectomy surgery.

Serratus anterior plane block (SPB) as a regional anesthesia technique is used for analgesia in modified radical mastectomy (MRM). The new serratus anterior plane (SAP) block is a novel approach that has been described recently. This study aimed to elucidate the effectiveness and safety of SAP block for pain management after MRM and compare the analgesic effects of SPB and SAP block with those of a control group during the postoperative period of MRM.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Cervical Lesion Among Married Women With Low Socioeconomic Status: A Study Based on a Cervical Cancer Screening Program.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of cervical lesions in married women with low socioeconomic status, and the related risk factors to provide evidence for the development of cervical cancer prevention strategies.

Methods: Descriptive analysis was employed to estimate the prevalence of cervical lesions. Univariate analysis and binary logistic regression were used to investigate the association between the related variables and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).

Combination of clinical parameters and I-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy in the monitoring of neuroblastoma metastases.

Background: The accurate and early detection of neuroblastoma (NB) metastasis is critical for clinical diagnosis and treatment. This study aimed to explore the value of a new diagnostic model combining I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy, minimal residual disease (MRD) examination, and clinical parameters in detecting NB metastasis.

Methods: The data of 76 pediatric patients (41 males and 35 females) who underwent both I-MIBG scintigraphy and bone marrow (BM)-MRD examinations were retrospectively analyzed.

Effects of different doses of microcystin-LR exposure on gut development and the microbiota of Xenopus laevis tadpoles.

Background: Although the acute toxicity of microcystin-LR has been widely confirmed, its effects on aquatic organisms at environmental concentrations have not been systematically studied. To reveal the effects of microcystin-LR on gut development and the microbiota of tadpoles, tadpoles were exposed to 0, 1, 5, 20, and 50 µg/L of microcystin-LR for 1, 7, 49, and 70 days (d) and the results were analyzed using histopathology, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and amplicon sequencing.

Results: Exposure to 5 µg/L microcystin-LR caused damage to the intestinal integrity and development of tadpoles, with the severity of damage increasing with higher concentrations.

Single-cell RNA sequencing identifies a unique ZEB2-Regulated Clec4d macrophage state contributing to early inflammatory injury in cardiac hypertrophy.

Macrophage-mediated inflammation plays an important role in determining early-phase cardiac hypertrophy, yet the underlying mechanisms and key regulatory factors remain unclear. We dissected macrophage heterogeneity by analyzing 25,328 single cells from cardiac tissues of Transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced hypertrophic mouse models and identified inflammatory regulators through differential expression, regulatory network, and trajectory analyses. The functional roles and regulatory mechanisms were further investigated using in vitro macrophage inflammatory models and ChIP-seq.

Enhanced mental health literacy: A potential solution to mitigate the link between health risk behaviors and multiple psychological symptoms among Chinese adolescents.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the association between health risk behaviors (HRBs) and multiple psychological symptoms, including depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and sleep problems, among Chinese adolescents, and to analyze the moderating role of mental health literacy (MHL) in the aforementioned relationship.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted online from October 12 to November 5, 2023. Questionnaires were distributed and retrieved via a web-based platform, with 22,264 subjects included in the final analysis.

Prenatal Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Exposures and Longitudinal Blood Pressure Measurements in Children Aged 3 to 18 Years: Findings From a Racially and Ethnically Diverse US Birth Cohort.

Background: Prenatal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposures may influence offspring blood pressure (BP), but long-term studies in diverse populations remain limited.

Methods: Participants were from the Boston Birth Cohort. We measured PFAS in maternal plasma collected 24 to 72 hours after delivery and extracted children's BP from medical records.

Schottky MSM-Structured Tribovoltaic Nanogenerator Enabling Over 25,000 nC Charge Transfer via Single Droplet Impact.

Using water droplets to generate electricity is an attractive approach for addressing the energy crisis. However, achieving high charge transfer and power output in such systems remains a major challenge. Here, a tribovoltaic nanogenerator (TVNG) is developed based on a specially designed Schottky metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) structure.

IκBζ promotes acute myocardial infarction via endonuclear STAT3 deactivation.

The protein IkappaB-Zeta (IκBζ), which is a member of the IkappaB (IκB) family, has been implicated in the onset and progression of immune-mediated inflammation and cancer. However, its role in cardiovascular disease remains totally unexplored. We employed advanced molecular techniques to investigate the upregulation of IκBζ protein in mouse models of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and cellular oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), with a focus on nuclear localization.

Multifunctional Infrared Polarizer Based on Aligned Growth of High-Density Boron Nitride Nanotubes.

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are an emerging mid-infrared optical material that exhibits significant potential in nanoscale resonators, lasers, detectors, and sensors due to the strong light-matter interactions induced by phonon polaritons (PhPs). However, the large-scale controllable synthesis and device applications of BNNTs still face huge challenges. In this study, a substrate-pretreated and boron source dual-catalyst infiltrated growth method, and a damage-free purification method toward the high-density and aligned BNNT (ABNNT) thin films is developed.

Ir-Catalyzed Friedel-Crafts-Type Asymmetric Allylation of Furans.

Although many methods have been developed to access chiral furans, asymmetric catalytic transformations involving the direct use of furan substrates are less well explored. Herein, we describe the first examples of enantioselective Friedel-Crafts-type allylic alkylation reactions for the synthesis of chiral furans by employing 2- or 3-substituted derivatives and coupling these, through Ir catalysis, with branched allylic alcohols.

The associations between PTSD symptoms, intolerance of uncertainty and personal growth initiative in trauma-exposed children and adolescents: undirected and Bayesian network analyses.

This study aims to conduct network analysis to identify the network structures of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, intolerance of uncertainty (IU), and personal growth initiative (PGI) in Chinese trauma-exposed children and adolescents. This study used data from 4,515 Chinese children and adolescents to investigate this relationship using undirected network analyses in combination with the Bayesian directed acyclic graph (DAG). The results indicate that IU has robust relationships with the specific symptoms 'exaggerated startle response', 'irritability/anger', and 'exaggerated startle response'.