A Robust Rotation-Equivariant Feature Extraction Framework for Ground Texture-Based Visual Localization.

Ground texture-based localization leverages environment-invariant, planar-constrained features to enhance pose estimation robustness, thus offering inherent advantages for seamless localization. However, traditional feature extraction methods struggle with reliable performance under large-scale rotations and texture sparsity in the case of ground texture-based localization. This study addresses these challenges through a learning-based feature extraction framework-Ground Texture Rotation-Equivariant Keypoints and Descriptors (GT-REKD).

Prediction of vaginal birth after induction of labor with maternal circulating RNA transcripts.

Background: Induction of labor is commonly performed in pregnancies for clinical benefits, but 25% to 30% of inductions eventually fail and require cesarean delivery. So far, there is no biomarker for the prediction of successful vaginal birth after induction of labor, and clinical prediction remains unsatisfactory.

Objective: This study aimed at identifying circulating RNA transcripts of which the level changed before and after induction of labor and to assess their predictability of successful vaginal birth after induction.

Macrophage peroxisomes guide alveolar regeneration and limit SARS-CoV-2 tissue sequelae.

Peroxisomes are vital but often overlooked metabolic organelles. We found that excessive interferon signaling remodeled macrophage peroxisomes. This loss of peroxisomes impaired inflammation resolution and lung repair during severe respiratory viral infections.

Trend of Representation of Women in Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endoscopy Conferences in Asia.

Objectives: Despite progress in promoting gender equality, gender bias remains a significant obstacle for women and hinders their academic advancement. We aim to survey and critically analyze women's representation in conferences and changes over time in various regions of Asian countries.

Methods: An international survey was conducted with representatives from East Asia (Hong Kong, China, and Japan), South Asia (India and Pakistan), and Southeast Asia (Vietnam and Thailand).

Roles and occurrences of microbiota in the osmoregulatory organs, gills and gut, in marine medaka upon hypotonic stress.

Gills and gut are the two primary osmoregulatory organs in fish. Recently, studies have expanded beyond the osmoregulatory mechanisms of these organs to explore the microbiota communities inhabiting them. It is now known that microbial communities in both organs shift in response to osmotic stress.

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Sleep Disturbance in Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome.

Background & Aims: Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) is associated with sleep disturbance, but treatment options are limited. The etiology of PACS may be secondary to alterations in the gut microbiome. Here, we report the efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in alleviating post-COVID insomnia symptoms in a nonrandomized, open-label prospective interventional study.

Elucidating the ecophysiology of soybean pod-sucking stinkbug Riptortus pedestris (Hemiptera: Alydidae) based on de novo genome assembly and transcriptome analysis.

Food security is important for the ever-growing global population. Soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr.

Anthropogenic forcing has increased the risk of longer-traveling and slower-moving large contiguous heatwaves.

Heatwaves are consecutive hot days with devastating impacts on human health and the environment. These events may evolve across both space and time, characterizing a spatiotemporally contiguous propagation pattern that has not been fully understood. Here, we track the spatiotemporally contiguous heatwaves in both reanalysis datasets and model simulations and examine their moving patterns (i.

Effects of PFOS Exposure on Epigenetics and Metabolism in Mouse Fetal Livers.

Prenatal exposure to perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) increases fetus' metabolic risk; however, the investigation of the underlying mechanism is limited. In this study, pregnant mice in the gestational days (GD, 4.5-17.

The genome and sex-dependent responses to temperature in the common yellow butterfly, Eurema hecabe.

Background: Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) is one of the most geographically widespread insect orders in the world, and its species play important and diverse ecological and applied roles. Climate change is one of the biggest challenges to biodiversity this century, and lepidopterans are vulnerable to climate change. Temperature-dependent gene expression differences are of relevance under the ongoing climate crisis.

De Novo Sequencing of Synthetic -cysteine Peptide Macrocycles Enabled by "Chemical Linearization" of Compound Mixtures.

A "chemical linearization" approach was applied to synthetic peptide macrocycles to enable their de novo sequencing from mixtures using nanoliquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (nLC-MS/MS). This approach─previously applied to individual macrocycles but not to mixtures─involves cleavage of the peptide backbone at a defined position to give a product capable of generating sequence-determining fragment ions. Here, we first established the compatibility of "chemical linearization" by Edman degradation with a prominent macrocycle scaffold based on -Cys peptides cross-linked with the -xylene linker, which are of major significance in therapeutics discovery.

Insights from metabolomics and transcriptomics studies on Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) exposed zebrafish embryos.

Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) is a short-chain perfluoroalkyl substance widely used to replace the banned perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in various industrial and household products. It can be found in the environment and human bodies; however, its potential toxicities are not well studied. Zebrafish have been extensively used as a model for studying toxicants, and currently, two studies have reported on the toxicity of PFHxS in zebrafish from different approaches.

Comparative transcriptome findings reveal the neuroinflammatory network and potential biomarkers to early detection of ischemic stroke.

Introduction: Ischemic stroke accounts for 70-80% of all stroke cases, leading to over two million people dying every year. Poor diagnosis and late detection are the major causes of the high death and disability rate.

Methods: In the present study, we used the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat model and applied comparative transcriptomic analysis, followed by a systematic advanced bioinformatic analysis, including gene ontology enrichment analysis and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA).

Integrated network findings reveal ubiquitin-specific protease 44 overexpression suppresses tumorigenicity of liver cancer.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer and third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. HCC is a multistep disease marked by various signaling alterations. A better understanding of the new molecular drivers of HCC could therefore provide an opportunity to develop effective diagnostic and therapeutic targets.

Myeloid Bmal1 deletion suppresses the house dust mite-induced chronic lung allergy.

Asthma is the chronic pulmonary inflammatory response that could lead to respiratory failure when allergic reactions exacerbate. It is featured by type 2 immunity with eosinophilic inflammation, mucus, and IgE production, and Th2 cytokine secretion upon repeated challenge of allergens. The symptom severity of asthma displays an apparent circadian rhythm with aggravated airway resistance in the early morning in patients.

Identification of a Common Variant for Coronary Heart Disease at PDE1A Contributes to Individualized Treatment Goals and Risk Stratification of Cardiovascular Complications in Chinese Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

Objective: In this study we aim to unravel genetic determinants of coronary heart disease (CHD) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) and explore their applications.

Research Design And Methods: We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study for CHD in Chinese patients with T2D (3,596 case and 8,898 control subjects), followed by replications in European patients with T2D (764 case and 4,276 control subjects) and general populations (n = 51,442-547,261). Each identified variant was examined for its association with a wide range of phenotypes and its interactions with glycemic, blood pressure (BP), and lipid controls in incident cardiovascular diseases.

SOX4 is a novel phenotypic regulator of endothelial cells in atherosclerosis revealed by single-cell analysis.

Introduction: Atherosclerotic complications represent the leading cause of cardiovascular mortality globally. Dysfunction of endothelial cells (ECs) often initiates the pathological events in atherosclerosis.

Objectives: In this study, we sought to investigate the transcriptional profile of atherosclerotic aortae, identify novel regulator in dysfunctional ECs and hence provide mechanistic insights into atherosclerotic progression.

Impact of COVID-19 infection and vaccination in pancreatobiliary IgG4-related disease patients: An international multicenter study.

Background And Aim: Dedicated studies evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on outcomes of pancreatobiliary IgG4 related disease (IgG4-RD) patients are scarce. Whether COVID-19 infection or vaccination would trigger IgG4-RD exacerbation remains unknown.

Methods: Pancreatobiliary IgG4-RD patients ≥ 18 years old with active follow-up since January 2020 from nine referral centers in Asia, Europe, and North America were included in this multicenter retrospective study.

Chromatin modifiers: A new class of pollutants with potential epigenetic effects revealed by in vitro assays and transcriptomic analyses.

A great variety of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been used extensively and become widespread in the environment nowadays. Limited mammalian studies have shown that certain EDCs may target chromosome and epigenome of the germline, leading to adverse effects in subsequent generations, despite these progenies having never been exposed to the EDC before. However, the underlying mechanisms of chromosomal changes induced by these pollutants remain poorly known.

Precise Sn-Doping Modulation for Optimizing CdWO Nanorod Photoluminescence.

The cadmium tungstate rods have been given much attention due to their potential for usage in numerous luminescent applications. We have prepared single crystalline Sn-doped CdSnWO (where x = 0, 1, 3, and 5%) nanorods (NRDs) and characterized them using refined X-ray diffraction and TEM analysis, revealing a monoclinic phase and a crystallite size that decreased from 62 to 38 nm as Sn concentration increased. Precise Sn doping modulation in CdWO NRDs causes surface recombination of electrons and holes, which causes the PL intensity to decrease as the Sn content rises.

A Chromosome-level assembly of the Japanese eel genome, insights into gene duplication and chromosomal reorganization.

Japanese eels (Anguilla japonica) are commercially important species, harvested extensively for food. Currently, this and related species (American and European eels) are challenging to breed on a commercial basis. As a result, the wild stock is used for aquaculture.

Transcriptomic Analysis in Marine Medaka Gill Reveals That the Hypo-Osmotic Stress Could Alter the Immune Response via the IL17 Signaling Pathway.

Fish gills are the major osmoregulatory tissue that contact the external water environment and have developed an effective osmoregulatory mechanism to maintain cellular function. Marine medaka () has the ability to live in both seawater and fresh water environments. The present study performed a seawater (SW) to 50% seawater (SFW) transfer, and the gill samples were used for comparative transcriptomic analysis to study the alteration of hypo-osmotic stress on immune responsive genes in this model organism.