Design and Simulation of an Electron Optical System for Terahertz Vacuum Devices.

An electron optic system (EOS) consisting of a sheet electron beam gun (SEB) and a pole offset periodic cusped magnet (PO-PCM) is reported for 340-GHz frequency. A sheet electron beam with a voltage of 29 kV, beam compression ratio of 16, and a beam waist of size 0.17 mm × 0.

Airway microbiota and immunity associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease severity.

Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is characterized by progressive airflow limitation and chronic inflammation. Although airway microbes and host immunity are known contributors, the molecular mechanisms underlying disease severity remain unclear. This study explores microbial dysbiosis and host immune responses across varying COPD severities.

Ordered DNA-Wrapped Single-Chirality Carbon Nanotubes Enable an Unparalleled Sensing Platform for Copper Ion Detection.

Copper is an essential trace metal in living organisms, but excessive copper intake poses significant risks to plants, animals, and human health throughout the food chain. Developing a sensitive, nondestructive, and real-time technique to assess copper uptake in plants is highly desirable, yet it remains a challenging task. Here, we demonstrate that purified single-chirality carbon nanotubes (scCNTs) wrapped with a periodically ordered DNA structure provide an unparalleled platform for copper detection.

Favorable outcomes with jejunal interposition without vascular anastomosis for esophagectomy in cancer patients: a single-center experience.

Background: The standard esophageal replacement for esophageal cancer treatment is a gastric conduit. However, jejunal interposition is often utilized when the stomach is not available. The purpose of this study was to review our experience with this technique, particularly in cases not requiring microvascular anastomosis, and assess surgical outcomes.

Clinical and Molecular Epidemiological Characteristics of 26 Bloodstream Infection Cases Caused by Candida tropicalis.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the clinical and molecular epidemiological characteristics of bloodstream infections caused by Candida tropicalis.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the clinical data of patients diagnosed with C. tropicalis bloodstream infections from January 2020 to December 2022.

Modifying the mechanical strength and network structure of starch gel through ethanol-water solution soaking.

This study investigated the effects of soaking potato starch gels in ethanol solutions of varying concentrations and for different durations on the properties of the gels. Short-term soaking in 30 % ethanol significantly enhanced the tensile strain of the starch gels and increased the pore size and coarseness of the gel network structure. The tensile strain of starch gel increased more than twice after soaking in 30 % ethanol solution for 10 min (from 439.

Distinct Airway Microbiome and Metabolite Profiles in Eosinophilic and Neutrophilic Asthma.

Background: Asthma is a chronic, heterogeneous disease driven by inflammatory phenotypes, primarily eosinophilic asthma (EA) and neutrophilic asthma (NEA). While allergen triggers are well-known, the role of the airway microbiome and metabolites in asthma exacerbations remains poorly understood.

Methods: We recruited 64 participants (24 EA, 20 NEA, 20 healthy controls [HC]) for the discovery cohort, with validation in an external cohort (10 EA, 8 NEA, 8 HC).

Identification of DSC2 as a Key Biomarker for Induction Chemotherapy Sensitivity in Locally Advanced Laryngeal and Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Patients with locally advanced laryngeal and hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LA-LHSCC) urgently need precise treatment strategies to improve the prognosis due to severe laryngeal functional impairment following traditional surgery and chemoradiotherapy. This study focuses on the mechanism of sensitivity to induction chemotherapy (IC), integrating the GSE184072 and TCGA-HNSC data sets to screen for differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Combining weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) and machine learning methods, including MCC, MCODE, LASSO, SVM-RFE, and Random Forest (RF), the core gene DSC2 (Desmocollin-2) was identified.

Xgr is involved in body size control in Drosophila through promoting glucose uptake in the Malpighian tubules.

Body size control is fundamental to development and requires proper energy engagement. One of the key energy sensing factors is AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which regulates glucose uptake to ensure ATP production and nutrition supply during development. Here, we identify that the mutation of xgr, a gene encoding an ATPase, results in a reduced body size in Drosophila.

Multi-omics driven biomarker discovery and pathological insights into Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia.

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is a leading cause of hospital-acquired pneumonia, contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality, especially in immunocompromised patients. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying this infection is crucial for developing targeted therapeutic strategies.

Enhancing the Thermostability of Phospholipase C by Structural-Based Proline Incorporation to Improve Its Degumming Performance.

Thermostability can be improved by introducing prolines into targeted sites, enhancing enzyme performance in specific reactions. In our present study, a novel fungal phospholipase C derived from Talaromyces islandicus (TiPLC) was first heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris and biochemically characterized. Given the poor thermal stability of TiPLC, a structure-based proline incorporation strategy was used to enhance its thermostability further.

VCL/ICAM-1 pathway is associated with lung inflammatory damage in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection.

SARS-CoV-2 variants present diverse clinical manifestations, necessitating deeper insights into their pathogenic effects. This study employs multi-omics approaches to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying SARS-CoV-2 infection, focusing on vascular damage. Plasma proteomic analysis of unvaccinated participants infected with Omicron BA.

Removal of PFAS and pharmaceuticals from municipal wastewater using a novel β-cyclodextrin adsorbent over distinct contact times.

Conventional adsorbents applied in wastewater treatment are ineffective at removing trace organic contaminants (TrOCs), including per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and pharmaceuticals. Cross-linked β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) polymer adsorbents have demonstrated efficient removal of TrOCs and exhibit rapid kinetics and high adsorption capacity in wastewater. We evaluate the removal of a mixture of contaminants from wastewater by a styrene functionalized β-CD adsorbent (StyDex) through rapid small-scale column tests (RSSCTs).

Predicting the environmental fate of biodegradable mulch films: A machine learning approach for sustainable agriculture.

Biodegradable plastic mulch films (BDM) have been proposed as one of the dominant strategies for plastic pollution prevention in agriculture. As the BDM degradation is a complex process affected by multiple factors, the degradation cycle of BDM has significant regional differences ranging from months to years, resulting in its mismatch to the crop cycle. Existing works focus on only a few influencing factors as it is too laborious to elaborate on all the factors by experiments, limiting our comprehensive understanding of BDM degradation.

Application and mechanism of CoO/Co(OH) heterojunctions as matrices for small molecules detection by MALDI-TOF MS.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has emerged as a superior technique for detecting small molecules, owing to the strategic utilization of inorganic nanomaterial matrices. Despite the impressive capabilities of various novel matrices, the underlying interaction mechanisms between inorganic matrices and analytes remain largely unexplored. In this study, we synthesized CoO nanocubes, Co(OH) nanosheets, CoO/Co(OH) heterojunctions, and CoO+Co(OH) composites via a facile one-pot method.

Understanding DNA-encoded carbon nanotube sorting and sensing via sub-nm-resolution structural determination.

DNA has demonstrated the abilities to differentiate single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with various chiralities and manipulate their analyte sensing properties. However, the fundamental mechanisms underlying these remarkable abilities remain unclear due to the lack of high-resolution determination of DNA structures on SWCNTs. Here, we combine atomic force microscopy and single-particle cryo-electron microscopy to determine DNA structures on five different types of single-chirality SWCNTs, achieving unprecedented subnanometer resolution.

Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.

Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a leading cause of global mortality, with acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) significantly increasing the disease's morbidity and mortality. Among the pathogens implicated in AECOPD, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is increasingly recognized as a major co-infecting bacterium.

Electrochemical membranes for rare earth mine water treatment: Sequential removal of rare earth ions and ammonia nitrogen.

The compound pollution caused by rare earth elements (REEs) and high concentrations of ammonia and nitrogen in the drainage water of rare earth mines poses a serious threat to water ecological safety, necessitating urgent resolution. To address this challenge, (Sb, F)-doped SnO-modified ceramic membranes (AFTO-CM) were developed for use in an integrated electro-flocculation-electro-oxidation-membrane separation treatment system. Physicochemical characterization revealed that AFTO-CM possesses excellent electrical conductivity (2.

Comparison of the in vitro activities and resistance mechanisms against imipenem-relebactam and ceftazidime-avibactam in clinical KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated in China.

Background: Ceftazidime-avibactam (CAZ-AVI) and imipenem-relebactam (IMI-REL) are both antibiotics with promising prospects for treating Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) infections. However, differences in the in vitro activities and resistance mechanisms to CAZ-AVI and IMI-REL in clinical KPC-Kps have not been described.

Methods: In this study, KPC-Kp isolates from hospitalized patients in China were collected and subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing of IMI-REL and CAZ-AVI using the broth microdilution method.

TOLLIP inhibits the replication of PEDV by autophagic degradation of Nsp9.

Selective autophagy plays a crucial role in innate antiviral immunity by targeting essential viral components and host factors necessary for virus propagation. Among these factors, the nonstructural protein 9 (Nsp9) of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) is required for viral replication. However, the host factors regulating Nsp9 have remained elusive.

determination of protective antibody thresholds for SARS-CoV-2 variants using mouse models.

Neutralizing antibody titres have been shown to correlate with immune protection against COVID-19 and can be used to estimate vaccine effectiveness. Numerous studies have explored the relationship between neutralizing antibodies and protection. However, there remains a lack of quantitative data directly assessing the minimum effective protective neutralizing antibody titre in .

Human Hair Follicle Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes Attenuate UVB-Induced Photoaging via the miR-125b-5p/TGF-β1/Smad Axis.

Cutaneous photoaging, induced by chronic exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, typically manifests as alterations in both the physical appearance and functional properties of the skin and may predispose individuals to cancer development. Recent studies have demonstrated the reparative potential of exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells in addressing skin damage, while specific reports highlight their efficacy in ameliorating skin photoaging. However, the precise role of exosomes derived from human hair follicle mesenchymal stem cells (HFMSC-Exos) in the context of cutaneous photoaging remains largely unexplored.

Accurate DNA Sequence Prediction for Sorting Target-Chirality Carbon Nanotubes and Manipulating Their Functionalities.

Synthetic single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) contain various chiralities, which can be sorted by DNA. However, finding DNA sequences for this purpose mainly relies on trial-and-error methods. Predicting the right DNA sequences to sort SWCNTs remains a substantial challenge.

Overexpression of KPC contributes to ceftazidime-avibactam heteroresistance in clinical isolates of carbapenem-resistant .

Ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA) is one of the effective antibiotics used for the treatment of carbapenem-resistant (CRKP) infections, but its resistance rate has increased recently. Previous studies have focused on the mechanisms of CZA resistance, while its heteroresistance in CRKP remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics and mechanisms of CZA heteroresistance in CRKP isolates.