An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

In membrane separation technologies, membrane modules are used to separate chemical components. In membrane technology, understanding the behavior of fluids inside membrane module is challenging, and numerical methods are possible by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). On the other hand, the optimization of membrane technology via CFD needs time and computational costs. Artificial Intelligence

Antimicrobials are used to support livestock health and productivity, but might pose a risk for the development of antimicrobial resistance; in particular, when multiple livestock species are raised together in production systems. On integrated chicken-fish farms, chickens are raised over fish ponds and poultry faeces is excreted into the ponds. We investigated antimicrobial usage and the antimicrobial

MAS-related G protein coupled receptor-X2 (MRGPRX2), expressed in human mast cells, is associated with drug-induced pseudo-allergic reactions. Dogs are highly susceptible to drug-induced anaphylactoid reactions caused by various drugs; however, the distribution and physiological function of canine MRGPR family genes, including MRGPRX2, remain largely unknown. In the present study, we clarified the

Food thickening agents are used to aid the administration of medicine to elderly patients with dysphagia. Magnesium oxide tablets are sometimes administered with food thickening agents. Non-disintegration and disintegration delay of these tablets in the body are problems associated with food thickening agent use. However, the appropriate usage of food thickening agents for administering tablets is

The study design is case–control. To evaluate the impact of preoperative coronal patterns based on the relationship between orientation of L4 coronal tilt and C7 plumb line on immediate postoperative coronal imbalance in degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) patients. Although lumbosacral fractional curve has been long stressed in correction surgery of DLS, there is paucity of literature focusing on

To investigate associations of the duration of voriconazole treatment and radiological response with relapse of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in immunocompromised patients, we explored the risk factors for IPA relapse after successful initial treatment. All patients with proven or probable IPA who had finished voriconazole treatment between 2005 and 2019 in a tertiary-care hospital were reviewed

Sexual dimorphism is evident in brain structure, size, and function throughout multiple species. Here, we tested whether cerebrospinal fluid entry into the glymphatic system, a network of perivascular fluid transport that clears metabolic waste from the brain, was altered between male and female mice. We analyze glymphatic influx in 244 young reproductive age (2–4 months) C57BL/6 mice. We found no

When fitting prosthetic feet, prosthetists fuse information from their visual assessment of patient gait with the patient’s communicated perceptions and preferences. In this study, we sought to simultaneously and independently assess patient and prosthetist preference for prosthetic foot stiffness using a custom variable-stiffness prosthesis. In the first part of the experiment, seven subjects with

The homochirality of amino acids in living organisms is one of the great mysteries in the phenomena of life. To understand the chiral recognition of amino acids, we have used scanning tunnelling microscopy to investigate the self-assembly of molecules of the amino acid tryptophan (Trp) on Au(111). Earlier experiments showed only homochiral configurations in the self-assembly of amino acids, despite

This study aimed to identify potential predictive factors for the survival of advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients undergoing pemetrexed maintenance therapy. 122 advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients who received pemetrexed maintenance therapy were retrospectively analyzed. Kaplan–Meier method with Log-rank test was used for survival analysis. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression were performed

AntiTNF-α biosimilars are broadly available for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis. There are a lot of data concerning the maintenance of clinical efficacy after switching from originators to biosimilars; therefore, such a transition is increasingly encouraged both in the US and Europe. However, there are reports about flares and adverse events (AE) as a non-medical switch remains controversial

Turf algae become the most abundant benthic group on coral reefs after mass coral bleaching. By defending feeding territories, damselfishes enhance the growth of turf algae in so-called algal farms and affect coral communities both directly and indirectly. We found several white scars (i.e., bite lesions) on massive Porites colonies around feeding territories. In this study, we examined the occurrence

The aim of this study is the rapid detection of food pressed oils adulteration with their refined versions, using UV–Vis spectroscopy. The study investigates some common oil physico-chemical parameters such are: density, viscosity, refractive index, acid index, peroxide value, saponification index, to detect differences between cold pressed oils versus refined ones, for some food-grade oils found on

The aim of our study was to evaluate the influence of low-intensity pulsed US on the delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) into MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast cancer and A549 non-small cell lung cancer cell 2D and 3D cultures. US with pulse repetition frequency of 10 Hz and 1 MHz center frequency was generated with peak negative pressure of 0.5 MPa and 50% duty cycle. SonoVue microbubbles were used. Spheroids

This study aimed to analyse the cross-sectional and prospective relationship between moderate and vigorous physical activity (PA) and depression symptoms. This study analysed 32,392 European late middle-aged to older adults, from 14 European countries across a 4-year follow-up. Data was collected in the fourth (in 2011) and sixth (in 2015) wave, from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe

Including posterior corneal astigmatism (PCA) into consideration may increase the accuracy of astigmatism correction after corneal refractive surgery. In the present study we aim to investigate the distribution pattern of PCA in a large number of myopic patients from multiple ophthalmic centers. There were 7829 eyes retrospectively included in the study. Pentacam data of the eyes were retrieved from

The study investigated whether the use of carbon fiber-reinforced PEEK screw material (CF-PEEK) can reduce magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) artifact formation. Two consecutive groups of patients were treated for degenerative spinal disorders of the lumbar spine with dorsal transpedicular spinal fusion. The first group (n = 27) received titanium pedicle screws. The second group (n = 20) received CF-PEEK

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is important in the onset and course of cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic disorders. Previous reports showed that the RAS blockade protects organs and suppress the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. A novel component of the RAS, namely, chromosome 9 open reading frame 3 (C9orf3), was recently identified, however, its effects are unclear. We evaluated whether

SARS-CoV-2 is the cause of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we investigated the interaction of this new coronavirus with Vero cells using high resolution scanning electron microscopy. Surface morphology, the interior of infected cells and the distribution of viral particles in both environments were observed 2 and 48 h after infection. We showed areas of viral processing, details of vacuole contents

This study investigated the relationships of morphology and locations of the nose and nasal aperture by using major craniofacial landmarks on the human skull and face for craniofacial reconstruction/approximation of Koreans. In the frontal view, the positions of bony landmarks on the skull, including the nasal aperture, were correlated with the positions of nasal landmarks vertical to the transverse

Cannabis use is associated with cardiovascular adverse effects ranging from arrhythmias to sudden cardiac death. The exact mechanism of action behind these activities is unknown. The aim of our work was to study the effect of cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydrocannabinol and 11-nor-9-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol on cellular cardiac electrophysiological properties including ECG parameters, action potentials

In Japan, the governmental recommnendation of HPV vaccine has been suspended since June 2013, due to media reports of alleged adverse vaccination events. Although evidence of effectiveness and safety of the HPV vaccine has been universally demonstrated, and the medical and academic organizations across Japan have requested the resumption of the government’s recommendation, the Japanese government has

Repeated blood pressure (BP) measurements allow better control of hypertension. Current measurements rely on cuff-based devices. The aim of the present study was to compare BP measurements using a novel cuff-less photoplethysmography-based device to a standard sphygmomanometer device. Males and females were recruited from within the general population who arrived at a public BP screening station. One

Common bunt of wheat caused by Tilletia laevis and/or T. caries (syn. T. tritici), is a major disease in wheat-growing regions worldwide that could lead to 80% or even total loss of production. Even though T. laevis can be distinguished from T. caries on the bases of morphology of teliospores using microscopy technique. However, molecular methods could serve as an additional method to quantify the

The proper communication between gut and brain is pivotal for the maintenance of health and, dysregulation of the gut-brain axis can lead to several clinical disorders. In Parkinson’s disease (PD) 85% of all patients experienced constipation many years before showing any signs of motor phenotypes. For differential diagnosis and preventive treatment, there is an urgent need for the identification of

Identification of pathogens causing viral encephalitis remains challenging, and in over 50% of cases the etiologic factor remains undetermined. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) based metagenomics has been successfully used to detect novel and rare infections, but its value for routine diagnosis of encephalitis remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to determine the sensitivity of shotgun

Cascading failures in many systems such as infrastructures or financial networks can lead to catastrophic system collapse. We develop here an intuitive, powerful and simple-to-implement approach for mitigation of cascading failures on complex networks based on local network structure. We offer an algorithm to select critical nodes, the protection of which ensures better survival of the network. We

What we taste is affected by what we see, and that includes the colour, opacity, and shape of the food we consume. We report two experiments designed to investigate how the standard deviation (SD) of the luminance distribution of food images influences the perceived visual texture and the taste/flavour experience by using the latest Augmented Reality (AR) technology. We developed a novel AR system

Intra-retinal axon guidance involves a coordinated expression of transcription factors, axon guidance genes, and secretory molecules within the retina. Pax6, the master regulator gene, has a spatio-temporal expression typically restricted till neurogenesis and fate-specification. However, our observation of persistent expression of Pax6 in mature RGCs led us to hypothesize that Pax6 could play a major

Populations of genetically identical bacteria are phenotypically heterogeneous, giving rise to population functionalities that would not be possible in homogeneous populations. For instance, a proportion of non-dividing bacteria could persist through antibiotic challenges and secure population survival. This heterogeneity can be studied in complex environmental or clinical samples by spreading the

This work focuses on the optimization of heterogeneous Fenton-like removal of organic pollutant (dye) from water using newly developed fibrous catalysts based on a full factorial experimental design. This study aims to approximate the feasibility of heterogeneous Fenton-like removal process and optionally make predictions from this approximation in a form of statistical modeling. The fibrous catalysts

Two recurrent mutations, K27M and G34R/V, in H3F3A, encoding non-canonical histone H3.3, are reported in pediatric and young adult gliomas, whereas G34W mutation is prevalent in bone tumors. In contrast to K27M mutation, it remains elusive how G34 mutations affect the epigenome. Here we performed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of four G34R-mutated gliomas and the G34V-mutated glioma cell line KNS-42

Near-field radiative heat transfer (NFRHT) management can be achieved using high-temperature superconductors. In this work, we present a theoretical study of the radiative heat transfer between two \(\hbox {YBa}_2\hbox {Cu}_3\hbox {O}_{6.95}\) (YBCO) slabs in three different scenarios: Both slabs either in the normal or superconducting state, and only one of them below the superconductor critical temperature

The Roma people are the largest transnational ethnic minority in Europe and can be considered the last human migration of South Asian origin into the continent. They left Northwest India approximately 1,000 years ago, reaching the Balkan Peninsula around the twelfth century and Romania in the fourteenth century. Here, we analyze whole-genome sequencing data of 40 Roma and 40 non-Roma individuals from

Comparative anatomy studies of the skull of archosaurs provide insights on the mechanisms of evolution for the morphologically and functionally diverse species of crocodiles and birds. One of the key attributes of skull evolution is the anatomical changes associated with the physical arrangement of cranial bones. Here, we compare the changes in anatomical organization and modularity of the skull of

Numerous benefits of breastfeeding over infant formula are fully established. The superiority of human milk over bovine milk-based formula is partly due to human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), a family of over 100 molecules present specifically and substantially in human milk that resemble mucosal glycans. To uncover novel physiological functions and pathways of HMOs, we screened a panel of 165 G-protein

Progress in ultrafast science allows for probing quantum superposition states with ultrashort laser pulses in the new regime where several linear and nonlinear ionization pathways compete. Interferences of pathways can be observed in the photoelectron angular distribution and in the past they have been analyzed for atoms and molecules in a single quantum state via anisotropy and asymmetry parameters

Obesity is common comorbidity in patients with schizophrenia. Previous studies have reported that homocysteine (Hcy) is increased in schizophrenia. However, no study has reported the association between BMI and Hcy levels in schizophrenia. This cross-sectional naturalistic study aimed to evaluate the relationship between BMI, Hcy and clinical symptoms in Chinese Han patients with chronic schizophrenia

A preliminary design of a mega-electron-volt (MeV) monochromator with 10−5 energy spread for ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) and ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM) is presented. Such a narrow energy spread is advantageous in both the single shot mode, where the momentum resolution in diffraction is improved, and the accumulation mode, where shot-to-shot energy jitter is reduced. In the single-shot

This study focuses on the effect of different dielectric properties in the design of 3-dB planar branch line coupler (BLC) using RT5880, RO4350, TMM4 and RT6010, particularly at high frequency of 26 GHz, the fifth generation (5G) operating frequency. The analysis conducted in this study is based on the dielectric constant, loss tangent and quality factor (Q-factor) associated with the dielectric properties

Drainage of parenchymal waste through the lymphatic system maintains brain homeostasis. Age-related changes of glymphatic–lymphatic clearance lead to the accumulation beta-amyloid (Aβ) in dementia models. In this study, focused ultrasound treatment in combination with microbubbles (FUS-MB) improved Aβ drainage in early dementia model mice, 5XFAD. FUS-MB enhanced solute Aβ clearance from brain, but

Cardiac fibroblasts are present throughout the myocardium and are enriched in the microenvironment surrounding the ventricular conduction system (VCS). Several forms of arrhythmias are linked to VCS abnormalities, but it is still unclear whether VCS malformations are cardiomyocyte autonomous or could be linked to crosstalk between different cell types. We reasoned that fibroblasts influence cardiomyocyte

In this study, we examined the association between antimicrobial resistance, CRISPR/Cas systems and virulence with phage susceptibility in Acinetobacter baumannii and investigated draft genomes of phage susceptible multidrug resistant A. baumannii strains from Thailand. We investigated 230 A. baumannii strains using 17 lytic A. baumannii phages and the phage susceptibility was 46.5% (107/230). Phage

Previous studies aimed at identifying predictors of clinical outcomes following surgical decompression for degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) are limited by multicollinearity among predictors, whereby the high degree of correlation between covariates precludes detection of potentially significant findings. We apply partial least squares (PLS), a data-driven approach, to model multi-dimensional

Music listening is one of the most pleasurable activities in our life. As a rewarding stimulus, pleasant music could induce long-term memory improvements for the items encoded in close temporal proximity. In the present study, we behaviourally investigated (1) whether musical pleasure and musical hedonia enhance verbal episodic memory, and (2) whether such enhancement takes place even when the pleasant

Transcranial direct current stimulation is applied to modulate activity, and excitability of the brain. Basically, LTP-like plasticity is induced when anodal tDCS (a-tDCS) is applied over the primary motor cortex. However, it has been shown that specific parameters of a-tDCS can induce a plasticity reversal. We aimed to systematically assess the intensity threshold for reversal of the direction of

The historic fossil feather from the Jurassic Solnhofen has played a pivotal but controversial role in our evolutionary understanding of dinosaurs and birds. Recently, a study confirmed the diagnostic morphology of the feather’s original calamus, but nonetheless challenged the proposed identity as an Archaeopteryx covert. However, there are errors in the results and interpretations presented. Here

Angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3) is an important inhibitor of lipoprotein lipase and endothelial lipase that plays critical roles in lipoprotein metabolism. It specifically expresses in the liver and undergoes proprotein convertase-mediated cleavage during secretion, which generates an N-terminal coiled-coil domain and C-terminal fibrinogen-like domain that has been considered as the activation

Flexible and self-powered deep ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors are pivotal for next-generation electronic skins to enrich human life quality. The fabrication of epitaxial β-Ga2O3 thin films is challenging on flexible substrates due to high-temperature growth requirements. Herein, β-Ga2O3 (\(\stackrel{-}{2}\) 0 1) films are hetero-epitaxially grown on ultra-thin and environment-friendly muscovite mica

High-protein diets contribute to an increase in urea follicular concentrations associated with decreased fertility. Urea has been shown to interfere with the epidermal growth factor (EGF)/EGFR system, which has been shown to have a beneficial effect during in vitro maturation (IVM) of oocytes. Of note, the number of cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) in the maturation medium can change the maturation

We recently reported that feeding mice in their early life a diet containing a lipid structure more similar to human milk (eIMF, Nuturis) results in lower body weights and fat mass gain upon high fat feeding in later life, compared to control (cIMF). To understand the underlying mechanisms, we now explored parameters possibly involved in this long-term effect. Male C57BL/6JOlaHsd mice, fed rodent diets

Cardiovascular and renal complications are the predominant causes of morbidity and mortality amongst patients with diabetes. Development of novel treatments have been hampered by the lack of available animal models recapitulating the human disease. We hypothesized that experimental diabetes in rats combined with a cardiac or renal stressor, would mimic diabetic cardiomyopathy and nephropathy, respectively

Use of organic manures to meet the nutrient requirement of crop would be an inevitable practice in the years to come for sustainable agriculture since organic manures generally improve the soil physical, chemical and biological properties. Hence, field experiments were carried out in 2017 and 2018 to compare the impact of different organic manures and NPK fertilizer on soil properties, growth, yield

Lung shape could hold prognostic information for age-related diseases that affect lung tissue mechanics. We sought to quantify mean lung shape, its modes of variation, and shape associations with lung size, age, sex, and Body Mass Index (BMI) in healthy subjects across a seven-decade age span. Volumetric computed tomography from 83 subjects (49 M/34 F, BMI \(24.7 \pm 2.7\)) was used to derive two statistical