The DIR Gene Family in Watermelon: Evolution, Stress Expression Profiles, and Functional Exploration of .

Dirigent proteins (DIR) are involved in lignan biosynthesis, stress responses, and disease resistance in plants. However, systematic characterization of the DIR gene family in watermelon () remains limited. Here, we identified 22 genes in watermelon using bioinformatics methods, designated to , which were unevenly distributed across eight chromosomes and classified into three subfamilies (DIR-a, DIR-b/d, DIR-e) based on phylogenetic analysis, with DIR-b/d being the largest.

Morphological and Morphometric Assessment of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis According to Pelvic Axial Rotation-A Retrospective Cohort Study with 397 Patients.

A precise radiographic evaluation of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is essential for effective treatment planning and follow-up. The pelvic axial rotation (PAR) and horizontal balance of the pelvis are critical factors to consider throughout the treatment and monitoring of AIS. While some previous studies have examined spinal curvature in relation to PAR direction and the direction of the major curve (DMC) in AIS patients, this study aims to explore the relationship between scoliosis morphology, pelvic axial rotation (PAR), and the direction of the major curve in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

How Does AI Trust Foster Innovative Performance Under Paternalistic Leadership? The Roles of AI Crafting and Leader's AI Opportunity Perception.

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in organizational development, understanding how leadership shapes employee responses to AI is critical for fostering workplace innovation. Drawing on trait activation theory, this study develops a theoretical model in which employee AI trust enhances innovative performance through AI crafting. Paternalistic leadership serves as a situational moderator, while the leader's AI opportunity perception functions as a higher-order moderator.

The Dark Side of Employee's Leadership Potential: Its Impact on Leader Jealousy and Ostracism.

In today's rapidly evolving organizations, talent management plays a critical role in driving sustainable growth. Talents, particularly those exhibiting leadership potential, are often seen as essential assets for organizational development. However, the presence of high employee's leadership potential can also generate adverse emotional reactions from leaders, potentially leading to behaviors such as leader jealousy and leader ostracism.

Multi-omics dissection of metabolic and transcriptional regulation underlying fruit maturation in Panax ginseng.

Background: Panax ginseng is a perennial plant valued for its medicinal and nutritional properties. Its fruit contains a variety of bioactive compounds such as ginsenosides, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and anthocyanins. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying the accumulation of these compounds during fruit development remain largely unexplored.

Coenzyme Q10 may protect ovarian tissue against by the nearly century-old drug methotrexate caused gonadotoxicity: a biochemical, flow cytometric, and histopathological study.

Methotrexate (MTX) is still a broad-spectrum drug that has been used for almost a century for leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis, ectopic pregnancy. This study investigates the protective effects of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) on MTX induced gonadotoxicity. Twenty-four female wistar albino rats were divided into four groups.

Assessment of trace element contamination and human health risk in unrefined sea salt from Chattogram and Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Salt is an essential component of the human diet; however, the presence of trace elements (TEs) in salt can pose serious health risks. This study analyzed 40 unrefined sea salt samples from eight coastal sub-districts in Bangladesh to assess concentrations and health risks of six TEs (Cr, Cd, Pb, Fe, As, and Ni). The mean concentrations of all TEs significantly exceeded the safety limits recommended by FAO/WHO, indicating potential public health concerns.

Data Compliance Utilization Method Based on Adaptive Differential Privacy and Federated Learning.

Federated learning (FL), as a method that coordinates multiple clients to train models together without handing over local data, is naturally privacy-preserving for data. However, there is still a risk that malicious attackers can steal intermediate parameters and infer the user's original data during the model training, thereby leaking sensitive data privacy. To address the above problems, we propose an adaptive differential privacy blockchain federated learning (ADP-BCFL) method to accomplish the compliant use of distributed data while ensuring security.

Therapeutic Potential of Sea Cucumber-Derived Bioactives in the Prevention and Management of Brain-Related Disorders: A Comprehensive Review.

The popularity of bioactive compounds extracted from sea cucumbers is growing due to their wide application in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in the development of drugs for neurological disorders. Different types of compounds, such as saponins, phenolic compounds, cerebrosides, and glucocerebrosides, are being studied intensively for their efficacy in assessing the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and brain tumors, among others. Positive results have been observed in the upregulation in the content of p-CREB, p-PL3K, BDNF, SOD, and MDA.

Licoisoflavone B and glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra as potent nucleoprotein antagonists of Lassa virus: insights from molecular docking, dynamics simulation, PCA, and DFT studies.

Lassa virus causes a severe hemorrhagic disease referred to as Lassa fever. It exhibits a significant mortality rate among people in West and Central Africa. Currently, there is no vaccine available, and ribavirin is the sole treatment option with significant limitations.

Biodegradation of plastics and pesticides by soil bacteria in Bangladesh: Insights into antibiotic resistance and potential therapeutic targets.

Soil bacteria exhibit varying degrees of tolerance to different concentrations of pesticides and plastics, and some possess the ability to degrade them, which is crucial for bioremediation. However, the multidrug-resistant properties of these bacteria pose challenges for their potential applications. Hence, this study aims to separate and characterize plastics and pesticide-degrading bacteria fromnon-contaminated and contaminated sites in Bangladesh and evaluate their antibiotic-resistant patterns to identify safety issues and discover promising therapeutic targets for combating multidrug-resistant infections.

Designing siRNAs against non-structural genes of all serotypes of Dengue virus using RNAi technology - A computational investigation.

Dengue is a viral disease caused by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, leads to severe health complications, including dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). The disease has intensified in Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and Thailand, with regular outbreaks since 2015, partly due to the lack of effective vaccines or treatments against this ferocious virus. Nonstructural (NS) genes of Dengue virus (DENV) are believed to play vital role in viral replication.

In-Silico discovery of novel cephalosporin antibiotic conformers via ligand-based pharmacophore modelling and de novo molecular design.

Antibiotic resistance poses a significant global challenge as bacteria evolve in response to antibiotic use, leading to prolonged hospitalizations, increased healthcare costs, and higher mortality rates. Cephalosporins, a class of beta-lactam antibiotics, are commonly employed to manage infections; however, their misuse and overuse have contributed to resistance development. In response, in silico methods have emerged as cost-effective and efficient tools for drug discovery.

Solvent polarity effects on the FTIR spectrum, and thermodynamic and electronic properties of metronidazole and its binding with antibacterial drugs: a DFT and molecular docking study.

Metronidazole is widely used as an antimicrobial, particularly effective against anaerobic bacteria and protozoan infections. This study investigates solvent polarity effects on the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum, and thermodynamic and electronic properties of metronidazole semiempirical, Hartree-Fock (HF), and density functional theory (DFT) methods. Its binding with antibacterial drugs was also investigated molecular docking.

RepliChrom: Interpretable machine learning predicts cancer-associated enhancer-promoter interactions using DNA replication timing.

RepliChrom is an interpretable machine learning model that predicts enhancer-promoter interactions using DNA replication timing across multiple cell types. By integrating replication timing with chromatin interaction data from multiple experimental platforms, it accurately distinguishes true interactions and reveals promoter-region signals as key regulatory drivers. Importantly, the RepliChrom uncovers cancer-specific chromatin patterns in leukemia, offering mechanistic insights into how replication timing shapes long-range gene regulation in both normal and diseased genomes.

Tailoring electronic and optoelectronic properties of 2D-SiC defects and doping: a first-principles study toward efficient white light-emitting diodes.

The advent of graphene catalyzed extensive exploration into two-dimensional (2D) materials, owing to their extraordinary electronic, mechanical, and optical properties. Among these, two-dimensional silicon carbide (2D-SiC) has emerged as a compelling candidate for next-generation optoelectronic devices due to its inherent planar structure, robust mechanical strength, high exciton binding energy, high thermal stability, and wide band gap. In this work, we present a comprehensive first-principles investigation into the effects of intrinsic point defects including vacancies and antisites as well as substitutional doping with various single foreign atom (, As, Bi, Ga, Ge, In, P, Pb, Sb, Sn, Te, Ca, K, Mg) on the electronic and optical properties of 2D-SiC.

A dual-mode LiDAR system enabled by mechanically tunable hybrid cascaded metasurfaces.

Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is widely used for active three-dimensional (3D) perception. Beam scanning LiDAR provides high accuracy and long detection range with limited detection efficiency, while flash LiDAR can achieve high-efficiency detection through the snapshot approach at the expense of reduced accuracy and range. With the synergy of these distinct detection approaches, we develop a miniaturized dual-mode, reconfigurable beam forming device by cascading Pancharatnam-Berry phase and propagation phase metasurfaces, integrated with a micro-actuator.

Can generative AI-enabled ChatGPT or large language models (LLMs) assist orthopedic surgeons?

The incorporation of generative artificial intelligence (AI) models, like ChatGPT, into orthopedic surgery, has generated considerable interest among medical professionals. This paper provides an overview of the latest research on using ChatGPT in orthopedics. It explores the potential applications, advantages, obstacles, and ethical concerns of implementing this technology.

Combined application of numerical simulation and machine learning in debris flow hazard mapping.

Debris flow hazard mapping (DFHM) played an important role in reducing the threat of debris flows. Conventional DFHM usually requires numerical simulations to obtain debris flow intensity, which is usually quite time-consuming. This paper is to introduce a combined application framework of numerical simulation and machine learning to improve the efficiency of DFHM.

Self-weighing and disordered eating among women: Exploring the moderating role of psychological resilience and self-compassion.

Self-weighing is a common practice among women, often associated with both adaptive and maladaptive eating behaviours, yet its psychological implications remain unclear. This study aims to examine the potential moderating roles of psychological resilience and self-compassion in the relationship between self-weighing frequency and disordered eating behaviours among women. The study sample consisted of 372 women with a mean age of 29.

Elevation-induced changes in soil sulfur availability in tea plantations.

Chinese tea plantations, as the world's leading tea producers, face escalating challenges such as soil acidification and nutrient management. Investigating soil nutrient variations along elevation gradients is crucial. Despite extensive research on macronutrients like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, the role of available sulfur (AS), tightly interlinked with other nutrients, remains underexplored.

MicroRNAs in metabolic syndrome: Mechanisms, diagnosis, and therapy.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of cardio-metabolic dysfunctions characterized by increased fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, waist circumference, triglycerides, and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Globally, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome ranged from 12.5-31.

Phylosymbiosis of antibiotic resistance genes in pig feces and potential transmission to piggery workers.

Animal feces are recognized as reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) that threaten public health and environmental safety. However, it remains unclear whether livestock breeds affect ARGs in feces and how they are transferred from animals to workers. Here, an approach integrated with metagenomics and whole-genome resequencing was used to study Saba (SB) and Large White (LW) pigs on the same pig farm.