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Functional gradient (FG) analysis represents an increasingly popular methodological perspective for investigating brain hierarchical organization but whether and how network hierarchy changes concomitant with functional connectivity alterations in multiple sclerosis (MS) has remained elusive. Here, we analyzed FG components to uncover possible alterations in cortical hierarchy using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data acquired in 122 MS patients and 97 healthy control (HC) subjects. Cortical hierarchy was assessed by deriving regional FG scores from rs-fMRI connectivity matrices using a functional parcellation of the cerebral cortex...

Successful engineering of functional salivary glands necessitates the creation of cell-instructive environments for ex vivo expansion and lineage specification of primary human salivary gland stem cells (hS/PCs). Herein, basement membrane mimetic hydrogels were prepared using hyaluronic acid, cell adhesive peptides, and hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG), with or without sulfate groups, to produce "hyperGel+" or "hyperGel", respectively. Differential scanning fluorescence experiments confirmed the ability of the sulphated HPG precursor to stabilize fibroblast growth factor 10...

INTRODUCTION: During pneumoperitoneum (PNP), airway driving pressure (ΔPRS ) increases due to the stiffness of the chest wall and cephalic shift of the diaphragm, which favors atelectasis. In addition, depending on the mechanical power (MP) formulas, they may lead to different interpretations. METHODS: Patients >18 years of age with body mass index >35 kg/m2 were included in a single-center randomized controlled trial during their admission for bariatric surgery by abdominal laparoscopy...

BACKGROUND: Nigrostriatal microstructural integrity has been suggested as a biomarker for levodopa response in Parkinson's disease (PD), which is a strong predictor for motor response to deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN). This study aimed to explore the impact of microstructural integrity of the substantia nigra (SN), STN, and putamen on motor response to STN-DBS using diffusion microstructure imaging. METHODS: Data was collected from 23 PD patients (mean age 63 ± 7, 6 females) who underwent STN-DBS, had preoperative 3 T diffusion magnetic resonance imaging including multishell diffusion-weighted MRI with b-values of 1000 and 2000 s/mm2 and records of motor improvement available...

BACKGROUND: Individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI) may experience recurrent ankle sprains and symptoms during daily activities such as stair descent, where the associated proprioceptive deficit is largely unevaluated. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the reliability and validity of an ankle inversion discrimination apparatus for stair descent, and examine whether proprioceptive scores from this apparatus are associated with patient-reported symptoms. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study...

PURPOSE: To assess liver and spleen characteristics of a population with Gaucher disease (GD) using multiparametric MRI and MR elastography (MRE) for evaluation of diffuse liver and spleen disease, which includes liver fat fraction, liver and spleen volume and iron deposition, and liver and spleen stiffness correlated with DS3 Severity Scoring System for Gaucher disease (GD-DS3). METHODS: We prospectively evaluated 41 patients with type 1 Gaucher disease using a 3...

To better understand molecular aspects of equine endometrial function, there is a need for advanced in vitro culture systems that more closely imitate the intricate 3-dimensional (3D) in vivo endometrial structure than current techniques. However, development of a 3D in vitro model of this complex tissue is challenging. This study aimed to develop an in vitro 3D endometrial tissue (3D-ET) with an epithelial cell phenotype optimized by treatment with a Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) inhibitor. Equine endometrial epithelial (eECs) and mesenchymal stromal (eMSCs) cells were isolated separately, and eECs cultured in various concentrations of Rock inhibitor (0, 5, 10 µmol) in epithelial medium (EC-medium) containing 10% knock-out serum replacement (KSR)...

Diffuse-type gastric cancer (DGC) is a subtype of gastric cancer that is prone to peritoneal dissemination, with poor patient prognosis. Although intercellular adhesion loss between cancer cells is a major characteristic of DGCs, the mechanism underlying the alteration in cell-to-extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion is unclear. We investigated how DGCs progress and cause peritoneal dissemination through interactions between DGC cells and the tumour microenvironment (TME). p53 knockout and KRASG12V -expressing (GAN-KP) cells and Cdh1-deleted GAN-KP (GAN-KPC) cells were orthotopically transplanted into the gastric wall to mimic peritoneal dissemination...

Epithelial remodeling of the Drosophila retina depends on the pulsatile contraction and expansion of apical contacts between the cells that form its hexagonal lattice. Phosphoinositide PI(3,4,5)P3 (PIP3 ) accumulates around tricellular adherens junctions (tAJs) during contact expansion and dissipates during contraction, but with unknown function. Here, we found that manipulations of Pten or PI3-kinase (PI3K) that either decreased or increased PIP3 resulted in shortened contacts and a disordered lattice, indicating a requirement for PIP3 dynamics and turnover...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression and significance of GDF3 in testicular cancer through bioinformatics analysis. METHODS: Using the TCGA and GTEx databases, differential expression analysis and pan-cancer analysis were performed to identify the target gene GDF3, and the clinical relevance of GDF3 in testicular cancer was analyzed using the UALCAN database. Based on the R packages "org.Hs.eg.db" and "clusterProfiler," gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were conducted to explore the potential functions of GDF3 in testicular cancer...

CAR-T cell therapies have been successful in treating numerous hematologic malignancies as the T cell can be engineered to target a specific antigen associated with the disease. However, translating CAR-T cell therapies for solid cancers is proving more challenging due to the lack of truly tumor-associated antigens and the high risk of off-target toxicities. To combat this, numerous synthetic biology mechanisms are being incorporated to create safer and more specific CAR-T cells that can be spatiotemporally controlled with increased precision...

OBJECTIVE: Vocal cord paralysis (VCP) is a serious complication in thyroidectomy operations; however, its management remains unclear. The present study evaluated the voice parameters of patients who underwent surgery using Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring (IONM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 52 patients (41 females and 11 males) who underwent a total thyroidectomy operation were evaluated using objective and subjective voice analysis examinations before and after surgery...

INTRODUCTION: Minimally invasive percutaneousosteosynthesis (MIPO) plating techniques havedemonstrated good outcomes in the treatment of distal tibia fractures. Early arthritis and functional impairment mayoccur if length and rotation are not restored. This study aims to determine the incidence and severity of tibia malrotation following MIPO plating of isolated unilateral distal tibia fractures, defined as torsional difference of greater than 10° as compared to the contralateral limb and whether the degree of malrotation affects functional outcomes scores...

INTRODUCTION: Job satisfaction among nurses is closely related to work environment as well as organizational and professional commitment. Satisfaction is a concept derived from Latin, where "satis" means "enough," as much as is needed to fully satisfy expectations, needs, aspirations, in such a way that there is no room for complaint. Job satisfaction, on the other hand, is formulated as a positive attitude of employees toward the duties of the job, the work environment and other employees...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Disease progression of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is driven by the interactions between viral replication and the host immune response against the infection. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between HBV replication and hepatic inflammation during disease progression. METHODS: Two cross-sectional, one validation cohort, and meta-analyses were used to explore the relationship between HBV replication and liver inflammation...

BACKGROUND: Workplace challenges can negatively affect employees and the organization. Resilience improves work-related outcomes like engagement, satisfaction, and performance. Gaps exist in studying resilience at work, particularly in relation to engagement and satisfaction. Therefore, this study aims to investigate relationship between Resilience at Work, Work Engagement and Job Satisfaction among engineers in an Egyptian Oil and Gas Company. METHODS: It was a cross-sectional study...

Mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD) is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder associated with recurrent autoinflammatory episodes. The disorder is caused by bi-allelic loss-of-function variants in the MVK gene, which encodes mevalonate kinase (MK), an early enzyme in the isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway. To identify molecular and cellular consequences of MKD, we studied primary fibroblasts from severely affected patients with mevalonic aciduria (MKD-MA) and more mildly affected patients with hyper IgD and periodic fever syndrome (MKD-HIDS)...

How cancer cells determine their shape in response to three-dimensional (3D) geometric and mechanical cues is unclear. We develop an approach to quantify the 3D cell shape of over 60,000 melanoma cells in collagen hydrogels using high-throughput stage-scanning oblique plane microscopy (ssOPM). We identify stereotypic and environmentally dependent changes in shape and protrusivity depending on whether a cell is proximal to a flat and rigid surface or is embedded in a soft environment. Environmental sensitivity metrics calculated for small molecules and gene knockdowns identify interactions between the environment and cellular factors that are important for morphogenesis...

Protein prenylation is one example of a broad class of post-translational modifications where proteins are covalently linked to various hydrophobic moieties. To globally identify and monitor levels of all prenylated proteins in a cell simultaneously, our laboratory and others have developed chemical proteomic approaches that rely on the metabolic incorporation of isoprenoid analogues bearing bio-orthogonal functionality followed by enrichment and subsequent quantitative proteomic analysis. Here, several improvements in the synthesis of the alkyne-containing isoprenoid analogue C15AlkOPP are reported to improve synthetic efficiency...

Visuospatial perception is thought to be adaptive-ie, hills are perceived as steeper when capacity is low, or threat is high-guiding appropriate interaction with the environment. Pain (bodily threat) may similarly modulate visuospatial perception, with the extent of modulation influenced by threat magnitude (pain intensity, fear) and associated with behaviour (physical activity). We compared visuospatial perception of the environment between 50 people with painful knee osteoarthritis and 50 age-/sex-matched pain-free control participants using 3 virtual reality tasks (uphill steepness estimation, downhill steepness estimation, and a distance-on-hill measure), exploring associations between visuospatial perception, clinical characteristics (pain intensity, state and trait fear), and behaviour (wrist-worn accelerometry) within a larger knee osteoarthritis group (n = 85)...