Concentration-Dependent Nanosheet and Nanotube Networks: Ice-Water Interface Control for Antifreeze Application.

Cyclic peptides (CPs) are versatile building blocks whose conformational constraints foster ordered supramolecular architectures with potential in biomedicine, nanoelectronics, and catalysis. Herein, we report the development of biomimetic antifreeze materials by conjugating CPs bearing ice-binding residues to 4-arm polyethylene glycol (PEG) via click chemistry. The concentration-dependent self-assembly of these CP-PEG conjugates induces programmable morphological transitions, forming nanotube networks above the critical aggregation concentration (CAC) and two-dimensional nanosheet networks near the CAC.

Moderating role of triglycerides in the relationship between amyloid-β, hippocampal atrophy, and cognitive decline in mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: The role of triglycerides in Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD) progression remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate how triglyceride levels influence the relationship between amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition, hippocampal atrophy, and cognitive decline in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early-stage ADD.

Methods: A total 188 older adults (170 with MCI, 18 with early ADD) from the Gwangju Alzheimer's Disease and Related cohort underwent amyloid PET and structural magnetic resonance imaging.

Ilimaquinone-induced lipophagy diminishes lipid accumulation via AMPK activation.

Lipid metabolism plays an important role in aging and longevity, and lipophagy-a specialized form of autophagy that targets lipid vesicles-regulates lipid homeostasis and alleviates metabolic diseases such as metabolic dysfunctionassociated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Ilimaquinone (IQ), a sesquiterpene extracted from the sea, is well-known for its various biological effects; however, its effects on lipid metabolism and longevity have not yet been elucidated. In this study, IQ acted in a dose-dependent manner, extending the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans (C.

Shiga Toxin Type 2 Aggravates G1/S Phase Cell Cycle Arrest, Mediating Caspase-Independent Cell Death under Hyperosmotic Conditions in the Kidney.

Shiga toxin (Stx) is a virulence factor produced by serotype 1 and Stx-producing (STEC). It causes severe renal damage, leading to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The main target organ of Stx, the kidney, plays a role in maintaining water homeostasis in the body by increasing an osmotic gradient from the cortex to the medulla.

Prognostic Value of A/T/N Biomarkers: Comparing Plasma and Imaging Modalities in Alzheimer Disease.

Background: Alzheimer disease (AD) is characterized by amyloid-β plaques (A), tau tangles (T), and neurodegeneration (N), collectively defining the ATN framework. While imaging biomarkers are well-established, the prognostic value of plasma biomarkers in predicting cognitive decline remains underexplored. This study compares plasma and imaging A/T/N biomarkers in predicting cognitive decline and evaluate the impact of combining biomarkers across modalities.

Effective Strategies To Enhance Dehydration Kinetics in Metal Oxide Pellets for Thermal Energy Storage Materials.

Thermochemical energy storage using Mg(OH) is attractive due to its high energy density, low cost, and nontoxicity. However, its practical application is limited by the high dehydration temperature required to achieve sufficient reaction rates. Although metal salt additives are known to enhance dehydration kinetics, prior studies have mainly focused on powders, with limited research on pellets.

Advances in large-scale DNA engineering with the CRISPR system.

In recent years, DNA engineering technology has undergone significant advancements, with clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based target-specific DNA insertion emerging as one of the most rapidly expanding and widely studied approaches. Traditional DNA insertion technologies employing recombinases typically involve introducing foreign DNA into genes in vivo by either pre-engineering recognition sequences specific to the recombinase or through genetic crossing to incorporate the requisite recognition sequence into the target gene. However, CRISPR-based gene insertion technologies have advanced to streamline this engineering process by combining the CRISPR-Cas module with recombinase enzymes.

Effects of atorvastatin-loaded PEGylated liposomes delivered by magnetic stimulation for stroke treatment.

Background: Focused magnetic stimulation (MagStim) can temporarily and safely open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) for target delivery. We investigated whether opening the BBB with MagStim and delivering atorvastatin-loaded PEGylated liposomes (LipoStatin) would work synergistically for subacute post-stroke treatment.

Methods: Two weeks after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), an injection of 15 mg/ml magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) was performed, followed by 30 minutes of MagStim, in subacute stroke models.

Spatiotemporal Anomaly Detection in Distributed Acoustic Sensing Using a GraphDiffusion Model.

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), which can provide dense spatial and temporal measurements using optical fibers, is quickly becoming critical for large-scale infrastructure monitoring. However, anomaly detection in DAS data is still challenging owing to the spatial correlations between sensing channels and nonlinear temporal dynamics. Recent approaches often disregard the explicit sensor layout and instead handle DAS data as two-dimensional images or flattened sequences, eliminating the spatial topology.

Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP) as a Serum Biomarker for Fibrotic Ovarian Aging: A Clinical Validation Study Based on Translational Transcriptomic Targets.

Chronological age is an imprecise proxy for reproductive capacity, necessitating biomarkers that reflect the underlying pathophysiology of the ovary. Fibrotic remodeling of the ovarian stroma is a key hallmark of biological ovarian aging, yet it cannot be assessed by current clinical tools. This study aimed to identify and validate a novel serum biomarker for fibrotic ovarian aging by applying supervised machine learning (ML) to human ovarian transcriptomic data.

Mouse Model of STAT3 Mutation Resulting in Job's Syndrome Diverges from Human Pathology.

mutations are commonly observed in human pathology yet have no uniform patient presentation. Their effects range from cancer and autoimmunity to primary immunodeficiencies and bone deformity. Designing animal models of those mutations can help researchers identify their direct effects to better inform the clinical setting.

A Novel Synthetic Tag Induces Palmitoylation and Directs the Subcellular Localization of Target Proteins.

Proper subcellular localization is essential to exert the designated function of a protein, not only for endogenous proteins but also transgene-encoded proteins. Post-translational modification is a frequently used method to regulate the subcellular localization of a specific protein. While there are a number of tags that are widely used to direct the target protein to a specific location within a cell, these tags often fail to emulate the dynamics of protein trafficking, necessitating an alternative approach to the direct subcellular localization of transgene-encoded proteins.

Interpretation of the Transcriptome-Based Signature of Tumor-Initiating Cells, the Core of Cancer Development, and the Construction of a Machine Learning-Based Classifier.

Tumor-initiating cells (TICs) constitute a subpopulation of cancer cells with stem-like properties contributing to tumorigenesis, progression, recurrence, and therapeutic resistance. Despite their biological importance, their molecular signatures that distinguish them from non-TICs remain incompletely characterized. This study aimed to comprehensively analyze transcriptomic differences between TICs and non-TICs, identify TIC-specific gene expression patterns, and construct a machine learning-based classifier that could accurately predict TIC status.

Microfluidic Electrochemical Impedance Sensor for Hematological Tests of Blood under Different Osmotic Conditions.

Blood tests are widely used to assess a patient's health status. Microfluidics, in combination with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (MEIS), opens up great prospects for blood analysis. This study aimed to improve the MEIS blood tests.

Dual-stream hybrid architecture with adaptive multi-scale boundary-aware mechanisms for robust urban change detection in smart cities.

Urban environments undergo continuous changes due to natural processes and human activities, which necessitates robust methods for monitoring changes in land cover and infrastructure for sustainable developments. Change detection in remote sensing plays a pivotal role in analyzing these temporal variations and supports various applications, including environmental monitoring. Many deep learning-based methods have been widely investigated for change detection in the literature.

Albubody: an engineered scFv variant platform for site-specific drug conjugation and enhanced tumor efficacy.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) represent a promising approach for targeted cancer therapy. Although single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) hold potential as drug carriers, their application in ADCs has been limited. This study introduces Albubody, an engineered scFv fused with an albumin-binding domain (ABD), as a potential ADC scaffold designed to interact with serum albumin in vivo.

Multi-omics single-cell analysis reveals key regulators of HIV-1 persistence and aberrant host immune responses in early infection.

The clearance of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) remains a significant public health challenge due to impaired cellular immune responses and HIV-1 maintenance during acute infection. However, the genetic and epigenetic changes influencing the immune response on host infected cells remain unclear. Here, this study analyzes HIV-1-infected CD4+ T cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from people living with HIV-1 during early infection (<6 months) using single-cell RNA and ATAC sequencing.

Discovery of intestinal microorganisms that affect the improvement of muscle strength.

This study provides the first evidence related to the identification of microbial strains closely associated with muscle strength enhancement, independent of the host's genetic background. Fecal transplants from humans into mice revealed a significant impact of gut bacteria on muscle strength, with some mice experiencing increases, while others showed no change or decreases. Interestingly, analysis of the fecal and gastrointestinal tract bacteria from each mouse classified by the degree of muscle strength revealed significant differences based on muscle strength.

Roles of Nanoscale Defects of Graphene in Remote Epitaxy of GaN.

Remote epitaxy through graphene enables the fabrication of freestanding membranes, facilitating the "peel-and-stack" process for semiconductor hetero-integration. While previous studies have emphasized graphene thickness, substrate bonding ionicity, and damage-free transfer of graphene for implementing remote epitaxy, the impact of nanoscale microscopic defects in graphene remains unexplored. Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) of GaN requires high temperatures and a radical reaction environment, which can damage graphene.

The relationship between behavioral activation and burnout in a community setting: the mediating role of acceptance-based action, automatic negative thought, and self-efficacy.

Introduction: Burnout, a work-related syndrome, considerably overlaps with depression. Despite its negative impact on modern society, the underlying mechanisms and effective interventions remain unclear. This study explores the effects of behavioral activation (BA) on burnout and investigates potential mediators within this relationship.

GRSF1 loss in THP-1 macrophages promotes senescence-associated transcription in neighboring fibroblasts.

Immunosenescence, the age-associated decline in immune function, is accompanied by altered macrophage phenotypes and increased chronic inflammation. Here, we examined the role of the mitochondrial RNA-binding protein GRSF1 in regulating macrophage-driven inflammation and its impact on neighboring fibroblasts. We found that macrophages differentiated from GRSF1-deficient THP-1 monocytes, particularly M(IL-4 + IL-13) macrophages, displayed elevated IL6 mRNA expression levels and TNF-α secretion, without inducing overt senescence in macrophages themselves.

Cellular changes in an in vitro neural circuit system under simulated microgravity.

Physiological changes, some of which lead to neurological alterations and cognitive decline, have been reported to occur in space. To date, it has not been possible to identify the direct effect of microgravity alone on neural circuits in vitro. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the impact of simulated microgravity (sμG) on neural circuit dynamics using a microphysiological system (MPS).

Mechanistic Insights into Performance and Stability Enhancement of Infiltrated Solid Oxide Electrochemical Cell Electrodes.

Surface modification via nanocatalyst infiltration has emerged as an effective strategy for enhancing the performance and lifespan of high-temperature electrochemical devices, addressing the limitations of conventional perovskite-based air electrodes. Although surface modification has been widely adopted, how infiltration simultaneously enhances electrochemical activity and durability remains unclear. Herein, the effect of SmSrCoO (SSC) infiltration into LaSrCoFeO (LSCF) electrodes is systematically investigated using dense model systems, which enable for detailed analysis of surface phenomena and accurate quantification of electrochemical processes.

Impact of extraction techniques on phytochemical composition and bioactivity of natural product mixtures.

Extraction methods critically influence the phytochemical profile and bioactivity of natural product mixtures, affecting their efficacy as therapeutic agents. This review assesses the impact of various extraction techniques-such as solvent-based extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, and enzymatic extraction-on the composition of bioactive compounds in plant extracts. We discuss how extraction parameters modify the bioactivity profiles, influencing their application in pharmaceutics and nutrition.

Serum Trimethylamine N-Oxide as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker in Dogs with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Pilot Study.

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is known to increase in human cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal diseases. In human medicine, TMAO has recently been utilized as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for renal dysfunction, and research is ongoing regarding its potential as a therapeutic target. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic potential of TMAO as a supportive biomarker in dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD).