Validation study of spectrophotometric direct peptide reactivity assay (spectro-DPRA), a newly modified in chemico skin sensitization test method.

This study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the Spectro-DPRA, an enhanced method for the OECD TG 442C (direct peptide reactivity assay, DPRA), serving as an alternative to animal testing for skin sensitization. The validation of Spectro-DPRA was executed across four participating laboratories (Lab 1, Lab 2, Lab 3, and Lab 4, the latter only participating in the proficiency test) adhering to GLP principles. It covered transferability, proficiency, within laboratory and between laboratory reproducibility tests, and a predictive capacity test using 40 additional substances.

Compact eye camera with two-third wavelength phase-delay metalens.

The essential role of mobile devices in modern life has driven increasing demand for compact, lightweight, and high-performance imaging systems. Recently, metalenses, which manipulate electromagnetic waves through sub-wavelength nanostructures on flat surfaces, have emerged as promising alternatives to traditional refractive lenses. However, their commercial adoption remains limited due to manufacturing challenges in defining high-aspect-ratio nanostructures, which drive up costs and reduce production yields.

Physics informed neural networks for fluid flow analysis with repetitive parameter initialization.

Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) have been widely used to capture the behavior of physical systems governed by partial differential equations (PDEs), enabling the simulation of fluid dynamics across various scenarios. However, when applied to stiff fluid problems, the existing PINNs often struggle with flow stagnations and converge to local minima, resulting in physically implausible solutions. To overcome these limitations, this study proposes a training strategy called "re-initialization".

Improved performance of all-solution-processed quantum dot light-emitting diodes with TFB/PVK double-hole transport layers using 1,2-dichloroethane.

High-performance quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) require balanced electron and hole injection into the QD emissive layer-an especially difficult task when using all-solution processes. One effective strategy for achieving this balance is to create a stepwise hole injection pathway double-hole transport layers (D-HTLs). Poly(9-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) and poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)--(4,4'-(-(4--butylphenyl)diphenylamine))] (TFB) are commonly employed in D-HTLs because of their favorable energy level alignment and suitable hole mobilities.

Development of a quantitative analytical method for 6PPD, a harmful tire antioxidant, in biological samples for toxicity assessment.

This study developed and validated a high-sensitivity analytical method for the quantification of N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD), a hazardous antioxidant used in tires, to support the effective management of its environmental exposure. Using an HPLC-UV system with acetonitrile and deionized water as the mobile phase, the method did not require salts or acids. The calibration curve exhibited excellent linearity (R = 0.

Anti-liver fibrotic effects of small extracellular vesicle microRNAs from human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells and their differentiated hepatocyte-like cells.

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify therapeutic cargos within mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) for the treatment of liver fibrosis, a condition that poses significant health risks.

Results: sEVs from human umbilical cord-derived MSCs (UCMSCs) and their differentiated hepatocyte-like cells (hpUCMSCs) were found to alleviate liver fibrosis in mouse models, reduce fibrogenic gene expression in the liver, and inhibit hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation, a central driver of liver fibrosis, in vitro. Deep sequencing identified differentially abundant microRNAs (miRNAs) (high-abundance: 57, low-abundance: 22) in both UCMSC- and hpUCMSC-derived sEVs, compared to HeLa cell-derived sEVs, which lack anti-liver fibrotic activity.

Recent Advances in Scalable, High-Mass Loaded Electrodes for Grid-Scale Energy Storage.

The increasing electrification of daily life as well as the intermittent characteristic of renewable energy sources require viable solutions for grid-scale energy storage. Critical considerations for grid storage applications are electrode mass loading and electrode thickness as these features govern battery pack energy density, an important factor in determining manufacturing costs. For this reason, there is increased interest in finding new ways of creating electrodes with high mass loading.

Roll-to-plate printable RGB achromatic metalens for wide-field-of-view holographic near-eye displays.

Metalenses show promise for replacing conventional lenses in virtual reality systems, thereby facilitating lighter and more compact near-eye displays (NEDs). However, at the centimetre scale necessary for practical applications, previous multiwavelength achromatic metalenses have faced challenges in mass production and exhibited a low numerical aperture (NA), which limits their practical application in NEDs. Here we introduce a centimetre-scale red, green and blue achromatic metalens fabricated using a roll-to-plate technique and explore its potential for practical applications in NEDs.

A new 3D full-body scanner analyzing the sagittal and coronal balance of the adult spine: a preliminary prospective observational study.

Background: The degenerative spondylosis can cause the difficulty in maintaining sagittal and coronal alignment of spine, and X-ray parameters are the gold standard to analyze the malalignment. This study aimed to develop a new 3D full body scanner to analyze the spinal balance and compare it to X-ray parameters.

Methods: Ninety-seven adult participants who suffer degenerative spondylosis underwent 3D full body scanning, whole spine X-rays, clinical questionnaires and body composition analyses.

Evaluation of the Accuracy of FreeStyle Libre 2 for Glucose Monitoring in White New Zealand Rabbits.

Background: Studies are currently being conducted on rabbits requiring serial glucose monitoring. The FreeStyle Libre 2 (FSL2), a serial glucose monitoring device, has been validated in humans, dogs and cats, but not in rabbits.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the FSL2 in rabbits.

Near-surface defect detection in ultrasonic testing using domain-knowledge-informed self-supervised learning.

Recently, significant research efforts have been made to enhance ultrasonic testing (UT) by employing artificial intelligence (AI). However, collecting an extensive amount of labeled data across various testing environments to train the AI model poses significant challenges. Moreover, conventional UT typically focuses on detecting deep-depth defects, which limits the effectiveness of such methods in detecting near-surface defects.

The Usefulness of Carotid Artery Doppler Measurement as a Predictor of Early Death in Sepsis Patients Admitted to the Emergency Department.

This study aims to verify whether the blood flow velocity and the diameter size, measured through intra-carotid artery Doppler measurements performed on sepsis patients visiting the emergency department, are useful as tools for predicting the risk of early death. As a prospective study, this research was performed on sepsis patients who visited a local emergency medical center from August 2021 to February 2023. The sepsis patients' carotid artery was measured using Doppler imaging, and they were divided into patients measured for the size of systolic and diastolic mean blood flow velocity and diameter size: those measured for their qSOFA (quick sequential organ failure assessment) score and those measured using the SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome) criteria.

Amorphous to Crystalline Transition in Nanoimprinted Sol-Gel Titanium Oxide Metasurfaces.

Crystalline titanium dioxide (TiO) (anatase and rutile) possesses a higher refractive index than amorphous TiO and near-zero absorption in the visible region, making them an ideal material for visible metasurfaces. However, fabrication limitations hinder their implementation into flat optics. In this work, a wafer-scale manufacturing platform is proposed for crystalline TiO metasurfaces.

MicroRNA miR-199a-3p alleviates liver fibrosis by targeting CDK17 in activated hepatic stellate cells.

Liver fibrosis, a common feature of most chronic liver diseases, poses significant health risks and results from various etiologies. While microRNAs (miRNAs) have demonstrated promising anti-fibrotic potential through the direct regulation of target genes, their therapeutic mechanisms remain incompletely understood. In this study, we identified miR-199a, initially discovered in anti-liver fibrotic exosomes, as a key modulator that alleviates thioacetamide-induced liver fibrosis in a mouse model.

Utilizing a compact diamino-based ligand as a charge balancer in quantum dot light-emitting diodes.

Charge imbalance within the emissive layer (EML) has been identified as a major obstacle to achieving high-performance quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs). To address this issue, we propose the use of a compact diamino-based ligand as a universal approach to improve the charge balance within the QD EML. Specifically, we treat QDs symmetrically with 1,4-diaminobutane (DAB) on both the bottom and top sides.

Assessing the Preservation of Lumbar Lordotic Curvature in Everyday Sitting Conditions Assessed with an Inertial Measurement System.

Lumbar lordotic curvature (LLC), closely associated with low back pain (LBP) when decreased, is infrequently assessed in clinical settings due to the spatiotemporal limitations of radiographic methods. To overcome these constraints, this study used an inertial measurement system to compare the magnitude and maintenance of LLC across various sitting conditions, categorized into three aspects: verbal instructions, chair type, and desk task types. Twenty-nine healthy participants were instructed to sit for 3 min with two wireless sensors placed on the 12th thoracic vertebra and the 2nd sacral vertebra.

Use of functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify cortical loci for lower limb movements and their efficacy for individuals after stroke.

Background: Identification of cortical loci for lower limb movements for stroke rehabilitation is crucial for better rehabilitation outcomes via noninvasive brain stimulation by targeting the fine-grained cortical loci of the movements. However, identification of the cortical loci for lower limb movements using functional MRI (fMRI) is challenging due to head motion and difficulty in isolating different types of movement. Therefore, we developed a custom-made MR-compatible footplate and leg cushion to identify the cortical loci for lower limb movements and conducted multivariate analysis on the fMRI data.

Myxomatous mitral valve disease and associated pulmonary hypertension might increase serum angiopoietin-2 in dogs.

Objective: To evaluate the relationships between the severity of myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) and serum angiopoietin (Ang)-1 and Ang-2 concentrations in dogs with MMVD.

Animals: 74 dogs (control, n = 12; MMVD, n = 62) were included.

Methods: Serum Ang-1 and Ang-2 concentrations were estimated using the canine-specific ELISA kit.

Discrimination of metal contaminant sources in river sediments influenced by mining and smelting activities using stable Pb and Zn isotopes.

To determine the sources and pathways of lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) in river sediments contaminated with metals from mining and smelting activities, metal concentrations and Pb and Zn isotope ratios were measured in river water and sediment, and potential metal contaminant samples (imported Zn concentrates, smelting wastes, soils around the smelter, mine ores, and riverside tailings). Zn and cadmium (Cd) concentrations in river water and sediment samples were 30- and 11-25-fold higher, respectively, near the smelter than upstream, while a 6-fold increase in sediment Pb concentrations was detected over the same region. Sediment samples near the smelter (Pb/Pb = 0.

Recent Progress on Quantum Dot Patterning Technologies for Commercialization of QD-LEDs: Current Status, Future Prospects, and Exploratory Approaches.

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are widely regarded as advanced emissive materials with significant potential for display applications owing to their excellent optical properties such as high color purity, near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield, and size-tunable emission color. Building upon these attractive attributes, QDs have successfully garnered attention in the display market as down-conversion luminophores and now venturing into the realm of self-emissive displays, exemplified by QD light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs). However, despite these advancements, there remains a relatively limited body of research on QD patterning technologies, which are crucial prerequisites for the successful commercialization of QD-LEDs.

Integrated metasurfaces for re-envisioning a near-future disruptive optical platform.

Metasurfaces have been continuously garnering attention in both scientific and industrial fields, owing to their unprecedented wavefront manipulation capabilities using arranged subwavelength artificial structures. To date, research has mainly focused on the full control of electromagnetic characteristics, including polarization, phase, amplitude, and even frequencies. Consequently, versatile possibilities of electromagnetic wave control have been achieved, yielding practical optical components such as metalenses, beam-steerers, metaholograms, and sensors.

Transient distal renal tubular acidosis with nephrogenic diabetes insipidus after general anaesthesia in a dog.

A 3-year-old, 3.5 kg, female spayed Pomeranian was referred due to persistent vomiting, anorexia, polyuria and polydipsia, 7 days after receiving general anaesthetic for a medial patellar luxation correction. Physical examination revealed lethargy, tachypnoea and 7% dehydration.

MicroRNA miR-252-5p regulates the Notch signaling pathway by targeting Rab6 in Drosophila wing development.

The Notch signaling pathway plays a central role in the development of various organisms. However, dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs), which are crucial regulators of gene expression, can disrupt signaling pathways at all stages of development. Although Notch signaling is involved in wing development in Drosophila, the mechanism underlying miRNA-based regulation of the Notch signaling pathway is unclear.

Algorithm for environmental risk assessment of cosmetics to reduce their environmental impact.

Cosmetics, especially rinse-off personal care products (PCPs), such as shampoo, facial cleanser, and body wash, are composed of various chemicals and are one of the sources of chemicals released into aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, the cosmetic industry strives to reduce the impact of their products on the aquatic environment. In this study, we proposed an algorithm based on persistence, bioaccumulation potential, and toxicity (PBT) for the environmental risk assessment of cosmetics.