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Amorphous silica particles (ASPs) have low biotoxicity and are used in foodstuffs; however, the adsorption states of proteins on their surfaces have not yet been clarified. If the adsorption states can be clarified and controlled, then a wide range of biological and medical applications can be expected. The conventional amorphous silica particles have the problem of protein adsorption due to the strong interaction with their dense silanol groups and denaturation. In this study, the surfaces of amorphous silica particles with a lower silanol group density were modified with a small amount of chlorine during the synthesis process to form a specific surface layer by adsorbing water molecules and ions in the biological fluid, thereby controlling the protein adsorption state...

TIGIT is an inhibitory receptor on immune cells that outcompetes an activating receptor, CD226, for shared ligands. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes express TIGIT and CD226 on regulatory T cells (Treg) and on CD8+ T cells with tumor-reactive or exhausted phenotypes, supporting the potential of therapeutically targeting TIGIT to enhance anti-tumor immunity. To optimize the efficacy of therapeutic antibodies against TIGIT, it is necessary to understand whether there is therapeutic benefit from Fcγ receptor (FcγR) binding...

The impact of a varied sulfur oxidation state (sulfide, sulfoxide, and sulfone) on imine dynamic covalent chemistry is presented. The role of noncovalent interactions, including chalcogen bonds and CH hydrogen bonds, on aldehyde/imine structures and imine exchange reactions was elucidated through experimental and computational evidence. The change in the sulfur oxidation state and diamine linkage further allowed the regulation of imine macrocycles, providing a platform for controlling molecular assemblies.

The development of novel agents with immunoregulatory effects is a keen way to combat the growing threat of inflammatory storms to global health. To synthesize pseudo-steroidal glycosides tethered by ether bonds with promising immunomodulatory potential, we develop herein a highly effective deoxygenative functionalization of a novel steroidal donor (steroidation) facilitated by strain-release, leveraging cost-effective and readily available Sc(OTf)3 catalysis. This transformation produces a transient steroid-3-yl carbocation which readily reacts with O -, C -, N -, S -, and P -nucleophiles to generate structurally diverse steroid derivatives...

Recent advances in human genetics, together with a substantial body of epidemiological, preclinical and clinical trial evidence, strongly support a causal relationship between triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRLs) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Consequently, the secretion and metabolism of TRLs have a significant impact on cardiovascular health. This knowledge underscores the importance of understanding the molecular mechanisms and regulation of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and chylomicron biogenesis...

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes. Fucoidan, a polysaccharide containing fucose and sulfate group, ameliorates DN. However, the underlying mechanism has not been fully understood. This study aimed to explore the effects and mechanism of fucoidan on DN in high-fat diet-induced diabetic mice. A total of 90 C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to six groups ( n = 15) as follows: normal control (NC), diabetes mellitus (DM), metformin (MTF), low-dose fucoidan (LFC), medium-dose fucoidan (MFC), and high-dose fucoidan (HFC)...

The control of spin relaxation mechanisms is of great importance for spintronics applications as well as for fundamental studies. Layered metal-halide perovskites represent an emerging class of semiconductors with rich optical spin physics, showing potential for spintronic applications. However, a major hurdle arises in layered metal-halide perovskites with strong spin-orbit coupling, where the spin lifetime becomes extremely short due to D'yakonov-Perel' scattering and Bir-Aronov-Pikus at high carrier density...

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, making the development of non-invasive and simple-to-use tools that bring insights into the state of the cardiovascular system of utmost importance. We investigated the possibility of using peripheral pulse wave recordings to estimate stroke volume (SV) and subject-specific parameters describing the selected properties of the cardiovascular system. Peripheral pressure waveforms were recorded in the radial artery using applanation tonometry (SphygmoCor) in 35 hemodialysis (HD) patients and 14 healthy subjects...

Rabies control remains challenging in low and middle-income countries, mostly due to lack of financial resources, rapid turnover of dog populations and poor accessibility to dogs. Rabies is endemic in Cambodia, where no national rabies vaccination program is implemented. The objective of this study was to assess the short and long-term vaccination-induced immunity in Cambodian dogs under field conditions, and to propose optimized vaccination strategies. A cohort of 351 dogs was followed at regular time points following primary vaccination only (PV) or PV plus single booster (BV)...

Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seed (CS) and Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) seed (PS) are used in ruminant diets as energy sources. The current experiment studied the impact of dietary inclusion of CS and PS on nutrient intake and digestibility, milk yield, and milk composition of dairy sheep. Twelve primiparous Texel × Suffolk ewes [70 ± 5 days in milk (DIM); 0.320 ± 0.029 kg milk yield] were distributed in a 4 × 3 Latin square design and fed either a butter-based control diet [CON; 13 g/kg dry matter] or two diets with 61 g/kg DM of either CS or PS...

UNLABELLED: In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the potential health benefits of the natural environment for human well-being. Given the fast-paced nature of contemporary lifestyles, research into the use of virtual environments as a means to provide various seasonal landscapes has gained increasing importance. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of different sensory modes on the preferences and therapeutic effects of virtual autumn landscapes on university campuses...

In recent years, researchers have successfully recognised human activities using commercially available WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) devices. The channel state information (CSI) can be gathered at the access point with the help of a network interface controller (NIC card). These CSI streams are sensitive to human body motions and produce abrupt changes (fluctuations) in their magnitude and phase values when a moving object interacts with a transmitter and receiver pair. This sensing methodology is gaining popularity compared to traditional approaches involving wearable technology, as it is a contactless sensing strategy with no cumbersome sensing equipments fitted on the target with preserved privacy since no personal information of the subject is collected...

Prioritization or ranking of different cell types in a Single-cell RNA Sequencing (scRNA-Seq) framework can be performed in a variety of ways, some of these include: i) obtaining an indication of the proportion of cell types between the different conditions under study, ii) counting the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between cell types and conditions in the experiment or, iii) prioritizing cell types based on prior knowledge about the conditions under study (i.e., a specific disease). These methods have drawbacks and limitations thus novel methods for improving cell ranking are required...

Cucurbita moschata (Butternut squash) seeds are a rich source of nutrition containing nutrients including iron, zinc, copper, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. The aim of this study was to determine if Cucurbita Moschata squash seed paste improves zinc and iron status, anthropometric status, and dietary intake in preschool children. A pretest-posttest control group trial using cluster randomisation was conducted over 6 months. Four preschools were randomly assigned to receive 100 g of intervention or 100 g of a placebo as the control to enhance iron and zinc status...

The corn planthopper, Peregrinus maidis, is an economically important pest of corn and sorghum. Here we report the initial steps towards developing a CRISPR-based control method, precision guided sterile insect technique (pgSIT), for this hemipteran pest. Specifically, we evaluated the potential of transformer-2 (tra-2) as a target for sterilizing insects. First, we identified tra-2 transcripts within our P. maidis transcriptome database and performed RNA interference (RNAi) to confirm functional conservation...

The COVID-19 outbreak led governmental officials to close many businesses and schools, including colleges and universities. Thus, the ability to resume normal campus operation required adoption of safety measures to monitor and respond to COVID-19. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of wastewater-based epidemiology as a surveillance method in monitoring COVID-19 on a college campus. The use of wastewater monitoring as part of a surveillance program to control COVID-19 outbreaks at East Carolina University was evaluated...

BACKGROUND: Insomnia has emerged as a major public health issue jeopardizing human wellbeing. Furthermore, insomnia and angina arise concomitantly and exert reciprocal effects. Multiple studies suggest that perimenopausal females are more prone to experiencing both angina and insomnia, consequently substantially compromising their quality of life.Credible evidence suggests that acupuncture exerts a beneficial impact in alleviating insomnia. Nevertheless, the exhaustive investigation into the potential of acupuncture for mitigating insomnia co-occurring with stable angina in perimenopausal females remains a realm yet to be traversed in the realm of randomized controlled trials...

BACKGROUND: Theoretical studies have suggested that the integration of sports and medicine with one another could positively affect children's health. By monitoring the variation characteristics of children's sleep, body mass index (BMI), and heart rate variability (HRV), we explored and compared the influences of and differences between two interventions - physical exercise and an intervention integrating sports and medicine - on improving children's health. METHODS: We conducted a randomised controlled study, where we randomly divided 136 children into the physical exercise group (PEG), the integration of sports and medicine group (ISMG), and the control group...

This paper examines the distinct effects of linguistics distance and language literacy on the labor market integration of migrant men and women. Using data from the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 2018 in 16 countries of destination mainly from Europe and more than 110 languages of origin, we assess migrant labor force participation, employment, working hours, and occupational prestige. The study finds that linguistics distance of the first language studied has a significant negative association with labor force participation, employment, and working hours of migrant women, even after controlling for their abilities in their destination language, education, and cultural distance between the country of origin and destination...

Emotion affects postural control during quiet standing. Emotional states can be defined as two-dimensional models comprising valence (pleasant/unpleasant) and arousal (aroused/calm). Most previous studies have investigated the effects of valence on postural control without considering arousal. In addition, studies have focused on the center of pressure (COP) trajectory to examine emotional effects on the quiet standing control; however, the relationship between neuromuscular mechanisms and the emotionally affected quiet standing control is largely unknown...