From Support Vector Machines to Neural Networks: Advancing Automated Velopharyngeal Dysfunction Detection in Patients With Cleft Palate.

Background: The generation of intelligible speech is the single most important outcome after cleft palate repair. The development of velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) compromises the outcome, and the burden of VPD remains largely unknown in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To scale up VPD care in these areas, we continue to explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for automatic detection of VPD from speech samples alone.

Global, regional, and national burden of colorectal cancer among women of childbearing age from 1990 to 2021: a systematic analysis based on the global burden of disease study 2021.

Purpose: Colorectal cancer treatment measures can lead to reduced fertility and premature ovarian failure in women of childbearing age (WCBA), resulting in a major global burden. This study aimed to assess the global, regional and national burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) in WCBA and to provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive information available on WCBA CRC.

Methods: Four main indicators, including prevalence, incidence, mortality, and DALYs, related to CRC in WCBA were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database from 1990 to 2021.

Toripalimab Combination Therapy Without Concurrent Cisplatin for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: The DIAMOND Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: With the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade toripalimab, omitting highly toxic concurrent cisplatin may be feasible for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) without compromising survival.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of toripalimab incorporated into induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy, without concurrent cisplatin, for locoregionally advanced NPC.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Open-label, multicenter, randomized phase 3 clinical trial conducted from August 2021 to July 2022 at 13 hospitals in China, enrolling 532 patients with T4N1M0 or T1-4N2-3M0 NPC; 400 (75.

Ultracompact on-chip spectral shaping using pixelated nano-opto-electro-mechanical gratings.

The ability to shape light spectra dynamically and arbitrarily would revolutionize many photonic systems by offering unparalleled spectral efficiency and network flexibility. However, most existing optical components have rigid spectral functionalities with limited tunability, hindering compact and fast optical spectral shaping. We introduce a pixelated nano-opto-electro-mechanical (NOEM) grating that exploits electromechanically induced symmetry breaking for precise, pixel-level control of grating coupling strength, yielding a miniaturized (~0.

Consistency of light intensity and frequency translated into phase retardation in determining a liquid crystal variable retarder.

The liquid crystal variable retarder (LCVR) serves as optical polarization modulator for its large phase retardation under low driving voltage. However, the generated retardance exhibits nonlinear response with voltage and inflection points at integer multiple wavelengths in applications. Aiming at precisely regulating the retarder, this paper implements LCVR determination adopting light intensity and frequency as measurement quantities.

Floquet engineering in the radio-frequency dressed electromagnetically induced transparency spectra of ground state spin.

Periodically driven systems, so-called Floquet systems, exhibit novel and exotic phases of matters inaccessible in static counterparts. The associated flexibility offered by Floquet engineering has helped gain insight into synthetic dimensions of quantum systems, non-equilibrium dynamics, and topology. Here, we apply the technique of Floquet engineering to the coherent dressing of spin states, aiming to provide a new dimension in the spin manipulation.

Gene Family in : Genome-Wide Identification, Characterization, Expression Analysis, and Key Regulators Involved in Anthocyanin Biosynthesis.

NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, CUC1/2) is a plant-specific transcription factor (TF) family that plays important roles in various physiological and biochemical processes of plants. However, the gene family in and its role in anthocyanin metabolism are still unexplored. In our study, a total of 167 were identified in the genome via genome-wide analysis and bioinformatics techniques.

HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination among healthcare providers in Western China: a population-based cross-sectional study.

Background: The persistence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and/or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)-related stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings remains a critical issue that urgently requires attention to effectively control HIV/AIDS epidemic. This study aimed to evaluate the extent of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination and explore the influencing factors among healthcare providers in western China, in order to inform decision-making regarding the reduction of stigma and discrimination intervention.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2023 and July 2024, and 24,646 (with a response rate of 98.

Epigenetic signatures of accelerated aging and immune dysregulation in youth with social anxiety disorder.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent psychiatric condition with significant psychological and socioeconomic consequences. While its psychological characteristics are well-documented, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood, particularly in younger populations. This study investigates the epigenetic basis of SAD by identifying differential DNA methylation sites, pathway enrichment patterns, and tissue-specific expression profiles.

The microspores of the parasitic dinoflagellate Hematodinium perezi infect crustacean hosts via waterborne transmission.

The parasitic dinoflagellate in Hematodinium genus is an important pathogen of economically important wild and cultured marine crustaceans worldwide. Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate its epidemics, life cycle history, and transmission route. Recent in-field and lab studies have validated the effectiveness of the waterborne transmission route and hypothesized that dinospores are the key life stage to infect the crustacean hosts via waterborne transmission.

Decoding disease-specific ageing mechanisms through pathway-level epigenetic clock: insights from multi-cohort validation.

Background: Ageing is a multifactorial process closely associated with increased risk of chronic diseases. While epigenetic clocks have advanced ageing research, most rely on isolated CpG sites, limiting biological interpretability. We developed PathwayAge, a biologically informed model that captures coordinated methylation changes at the pathway level, providing interpretable insights into ageing biology and disease mechanisms.

Establishment of CARD-FISH and Dot-ELISA Assays for Diagnosis of the Parasitic Dinoflagellate Hematodinium perezi.

The parasitic dinoflagellate in Hematodinium genus is a serious pathogen infecting many economically important crustacean species and resulting in epidemic 'milk diseases' in Portunus trituberculatus along Chinese coast. The outbreaks of Hematodinium epidemics resulted in large economic losses in mariculture crustaceans for local farmers. To prevent and control the Hematodinium epidemics in marine crustacean fisheries, it is essential to develop new methods for diagnosis of Hematodinium parasites.

Unraveling genetic risk contributions to nonverbal status in autism spectrum disorder probands.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents a wide range of cognitive and language impairments. In this study, we investigated the genetic basis of non-verbal status in ASD using a comprehensive genomic approach. We identified a novel common variant, rs1944180 in CNTN5, significantly associated with non-verbal status through family-based Transmission Disequilibrium Testing.

Bacteroides fragilis promotes chemoresistance in colorectal cancer, and its elimination by phage VA7 restores chemosensitivity.

Chemoresistance is a main cause of colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment failure. We identified that Bacteroides fragilis is enriched in patients with CRC resistant to chemotherapy in two independent cohorts, and its abundance is associated with poor survival. Consistently, administration of B.

Impact of cardiosphere-derived cells on the maladapted right ventricular muscle in a rat sugen/hypoxia model of pulmonary hypertension with right ventricular dysfunction.

Background And Aims: With pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), right ventricular (RV) function is a major determinant of survival. Despite current therapies, maladaptive changes ensue in the RV muscle of PAH patients, culminating in RV dysfunction and failure. The aims of the study were to evaluate the impact of intra-coronary (IC) cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) in attenuating the maladaptive pathobiology in the RV muscle and evaluating mechanisms underlying improvements in RV function.

Semi-supervised method for ship-radiated noise recognition system of wave gliders via contrastive pseudo learning.

Underwater acoustic target recognition plays a critical role in enhancing autonomous navigation and environmental sensing capabilities for unmanned mobile platforms. However, most existing methods cannot effectively cope with acoustic signal identification at low signal-to-noise ratios. In this study, a contrastive pseudo learning framework is proposed to design the data-driven ship-radiated noise recognition (SRNR) system, which is suitable for edge computing devices such as wave gliders.

Photonic Bayesian Neural Networks: Leveraging Programmable Noise for Robust and Uncertainty-Aware Computing.

Photonic neural networks (PNNs) based on silicon photonic integrated circuits (Si-PICs) offer significant advantages over microelectronic counterparts, including lower energy consumption, higher bandwidth, and faster computing speeds. However, the analog nature of optical signal in PNNs makes Si-PIC solutions highly sensitive to device noise, especially when using fixed-value deterministic models, which are not robust to hardware fluctuation. Furthermore, current PNNs are unable to handle data uncertainty, a critical factor in applications such as autonomous driving, medical diagnostics, and financial forecasting.

Intrahepatic Microbial Heterogeneity in Multifocal Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Its Association with Host Genomic and Transcriptomic Alterations.

Unlabelled: The signature of the intrahepatic microbiome in multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its association with genomic alterations remain elusive. In this study, we performed multiomics profiling of 242 HCC tumor nodules and 58 adjacent nontumor tissues from 58 patients with multifocal HCC, revealing heterogeneous microbial communities in multifocal HCC. The presence of bacteria in HCC nodules was confirmed by Gram stain, lipopolysaccharide, lipoteichoic acid staining, and transmission electron microscopy.

Transmission of antimicrobial resistance genes from the environment to human gut is more pronounced in colorectal cancer patients than in healthy subjects.

Antimicrobial resistance is a major global health concern. However, the source of gut resistome remains unsolved. We aimed to analyze the contribution of environmental antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) to colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.

Hormonal and metabolic influences on outcomes in PCOS undergoing assisted reproduction: the role of BMI in fresh embryo transfers.

Background: This retrospective study aimed to examine the influence of hormonal and metabolic parameters across varying body mass index (BMI) levels on embryo quality and pregnancy outcomes in fresh embryo transfer cycles using assisted reproductive technology (ART) in patients diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Methods: A total of 167 women diagnosed with PCOS and 266 women without PCOS (control group) were included. Metabolic and hormonal parameters was compared between the two groups to evaluate their relationship with embryo quality and pregnancy outcomes.

Long noncoding RNA BCYRN1 promotes cardioprotection by enhancing human and murine regulatory T cell dynamics.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) modulate immune responses and attenuate inflammation. Extracellular vesicles from human cardiosphere-derived cells (CDC-EVs) enhance Treg proliferation and IL-10 production, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we focused on BCYRN1, a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) highly abundant in CDC-EVs, and its role in Treg function.

CmbZIP19 inhibits lateral bud elongation via the brassinolide pathway in chrysanthemum.

Branching is the main factor that determines plant architecture and is closely related to plant adaptation to the environment. Cold stress can inhibit lateral bud elongation in plants, but the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Here, we report that the cold stress-induced bZIP family transcription factor CmbZIP19 inhibits lateral bud elongation in chrysanthemum.

Intraneoplastic fungal dysbiosis is associated with colorectal cancer progression and host gene mutation.

Background: The relationship between intraneoplastic fungi and colorectal cancer (CRC) progression remains largely unclear. Here, we investigated fungal community changes in adenoma and CRC and their correlation with host genetic mutations.

Methods: We obtained 261 tissue biopsies from two geographically distinct cohorts of CRC and adenoma patients, with each individual contributing 2-5 biopsies from lesions and 2 from adjacent normal tissues.