Operations

Insulin-PI3K signaling controls insulin secretion. Understanding this feedback mechanism is crucial for comprehending how insulin functions. However, the role of adipocyte insulin-PI3K signaling in controlling insulin secretion in vivo remains unclear. Using adipocyte-specific PI3Kα knockout mice (PI3KαAdQ ) and a panel of isoform-selective PI3K inhibitors, we show that PI3Kα and PI3Kβ activities are functionally redundant in adipocyte insulin signaling. PI3Kβ-selective inhibitors have no effect on adipocyte AKT phosphorylation in control mice but blunt it in adipocytes of PI3KαAdQ mice, demonstrating adipocyte-selective pharmacological PI3K inhibition in the latter...

Vision Transformer (ViT) architectures are becoming increasingly popular and widely employed to tackle computer vision applications. Their main feature is the capacity to extract global information through the self-attention mechanism, outperforming earlier convolutional neural networks. However, ViT deployment and performance have grown steadily with their size, number of trainable parameters, and operations. Furthermore, self-attention's computational and memory cost quadratically increases with the image resolution...

To obtain enhanced physical and biological properties, various nanoparticles are typically assembled into hybrid nanoparticles through the binding of multiple homologous DNA strands to their complementary counterparts, commonly referred to as homomultivalent assembly. However, the poor binding affinity and limited controllability of homomultivalent disassembly restrict the assembly yield and dynamic functionality of the hybrid nanoparticles. To achieve a higher binding affinity and flexible assembly choice, we utilized the paired heteromultivalency DNA to construct hybrid nanoparticles and demonstrate their excellent assembly characteristics and dynamic applications...

Electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2 R) to feedstocks competes with the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) immobilized onto carbon driven by π-π interaction represents a classical type of heterogeneous molecular catalyst for CO2 R. However, the impacts of π conjugation on the electrocatalysis have not been clarified. Herein, the electrochemical properties of CoPc were investigated by comparison of its analogue to 2,3-naphthalocyanine cobalt (NapCo) having extended π conjugation...

Immunoassays serve as powerful diagnostic tools for early disease screening, process monitoring, and precision treatment. However, the current methods are limited by high costs, prolonged processing times (>2 h), and operational complexities that hinder their widespread application in point-of-care testing. Here, we propose a novel centrifugo- p neumatic r eciprocating flowing coupled with spatial c onfinement strategy, termed PRCM , for ultrafast multiplexed immunoassay of pathogens on a centrifugal m icrofluidic platform...

BACKGROUND: Research has shown that heterosexual African American male individuals aged 18-24 years have a higher prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior. There is a critical need to promote sexual reproductive health (SRH) services among this population, especially in urban settings. Young African American male individuals use social media platforms to access health information, showcasing the potential of social media and web-based links as tools to leverage electronic engagement with this population to promote SRH care...

BACKGROUND: Palmar finger or pulp defects require coverage with glabrous tissue to achieve a good match with the lost tissue. The management of multiple finger palmar or pulp defects is challenging because these defects may not always be suitable for local or pedicled flaps. In such situations, syndactylizing free or pedicled flaps can be used. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We evaluated the results of free glabrous flaps syndactylizing across multiple finger defects. The two flaps used were the superficial branch of the radial artery (SUPBRA) flap and hypothenar free flap...

This paper proposes a medical image fusion method in the non-subsampled shearlet transform (NSST) domain to combine a gray-scale image with the respective pseudo-color image obtained through different imaging modalities. The proposed method applies a novel improved dual-channel pulse-coupled neural network (IDPCNN) model to fuse the high-pass sub-images, whereas the Prewitt operator is combined with maximum regional energy (MRE) to construct the fused low-pass sub-image. First, the gray-scale image and luminance of the pseudo-color image are decomposed using NSST to find the respective sub-images...

The beneficial effects of probiotics, postbiotics, and paraprobiotics have already been registered in managing ischemic stroke-generated neuroinflammation and gut dysbiosis. Herein, we examined the impact of cell-free supernatant (CFS) obtained from probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus UBLR-58 and Bifidobacterium breve UBBr-01) in a rat transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model of focal cerebral injury. Pre-MCAO supplementation of probiotics (2 × 109  CFU/mL) for 21 days or CFS (1 mL/rat) for 7 days protect the MCAO-induced somatosensory and motor impairments recorded at 24 h and 72 h after reperfusion in foot-fault, rotarod, adhesive removal, and vibrissae-evoked forelimb placing tests...

Sarcoidosis is a rare granulomatous disease that can affect any organ. It leads to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, due to biochemical pathways involved in low-grade inflammation in both diseases. The aim of our retrospective case-control study was to evaluate the utility of triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, a surrogate of insulin resistance, for metabolic assessment of sarcoidosis patients. A cohort of 90 sarcoidosis patients and a cohort of 90 control subjects were enrolled...

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a progressive status of acute lung injury (ALI), is primarily caused by an immune-mediated inflammatory disorder, which can be an acute pulmonary complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). As a chronic inflammatory disease regulated by the immune system, RA is closely associated with the occurrence and progression of respiratory diseases. However, it remains elusive whether there are shared genes between the molecular mechanisms underlying RA and ARDS. The objective of this study is to identify potential shared genes for further clinical drug discovery through integrated analysis of bulk RNA sequencing datasets obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, employing differentially expressed genes (DEGs) analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA)...

BACKGROUND: Letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, is used to treat breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is a complication that can trigger multiple organ failure caused by the release of intracellular nucleic acids, phosphate, and potassium into the blood due to rapid tumor cell disintegration induced by drug therapy. TLS is uncommon in solid tumors and occurs primarily in patients receiving chemotherapy. Herein, we report a rare occurrence of TLS that developed in a patient with locally advanced breast cancer following treatment with letrozole...

BACKGROUND: Most colon cancers that develop in the intestinal tract within the inguinal hernia sac are identified by incarceration. However, treatment methods for these cases vary depending on the pathology. Cases showing perforation or abscess formation require emergency surgery for infection control, while cases with no infection generally involve oncological resection, with laparoscopic surgery also being an option. We encountered a case of Incomplete bowel obstruction secondary to sigmoid colon cancer within the hernial sac...

Positron emission tomography (PET) is becoming increasingly important in nuclear medicine and drug discovery. To date, the development of many potential PET tracers is hampered by the lack of suitable synthetic pathways for their preparation. This is particularly true for the highly desired radiolabeling of compounds bearing [18F]CF3-groups. For instance, S(O)nCF3-groups (n = 0, 1, 2) serve as structural motif in a range of biologically active compounds, but their radiosynthesis remains largely unprecedented (for n = 1, 2)...

We consider the problem of targeted mass screening of heterogeneous populations under limited testing capacity. Mass screening is an essential tool that arises in various settings, e.g., ensuring a safe supply of blood, reducing prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, and mitigating the spread of infectious disease outbreaks. The goal of mass screening is to classify whole population groups as positive or negative for an infectious disease as efficiently and accurately as possible. Under limited testing capacity, it is not possible to screen the entire population and hence administrators must reserve testing and target those among the population that are most in need or most susceptible...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Global health concerns persist in the realm of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), necessitating innovative strategies for both prevention and treatment. This narrative review aims to explore the potential of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)-namely, acetate, propionate, and butyrate-as agents in the realm of postbiotics for the management of CVDs. RECENT FINDINGS: We commence our discussion by elucidating the concept of postbiotics and their pivotal significance in mitigating various aspects of cardiovascular diseases...

BACKGROUND: The age of onset of the phyllodes tumor is generally in the late 40 s, and diagnosis and treatment during pregnancy and lactation are rare. We herein present a case of a phyllodes tumor that rapidly increased in size during the pregnancy and lactation period. CASE PRESENTATION: A 39-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with a mass in the right breast that increased in size during the pregnancy and lactation period. On ultrasound (5 week postpartum), a well-defined lobulated mass with internal septations and fluid retention was observed...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare and progressive neuromuscular disorder with varying severity levels. The aim of the study was to calculate minimal clinically important difference (MCID), minimal detectable change (MDC), and values for the Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale Expanded (HFMSE) in an untreated international SMA cohort. METHODS: The study employed two distinct methods. MDC was calculated using distribution-based approaches to consider standard error of measurement and effect size change in a population of 321 patients (176 SMA II and 145 SMA III), allowing for stratification based on age and function...

Superoxide anion (O2 •- ), a significant reactive oxygen species (ROS) within biological systems, plays a widespread role in cellular function regulation and is closely linked to the onset and progression of numerous diseases. To unveil the pathological implications of O2 •- in these diseases, the development of effective monitoring techniques within biological systems is imperative. Small molecule fluorescent probes have garnered considerable attention due to their advantages: simplicity in operation, heightened sensitivity, exceptional selectivity, and direct applicability in monitoring living cells, tissues, and animals...

Law enforcement officers are routinely exposed to high-threat encounters that elicit physiological stress responses that impact health, performance, and safety. Therefore, self-regulation using evidence-based approaches is a priority in police research and practice. This paper describes a five-module heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) protocol that is part of a larger resilience program (the International Performance Resilience and Efficiency Program - iPREP) established in 2014. Supported by 10 years of user-informed research and development, our methods are tailored to address occupational stressors and the practical realities of training and resource availability in operational settings...