Prediction of Subsurface Microcrack Damage Depth Based on Surface Roughness in Diamond Wire Sawing of Monocrystalline Silicon.

In diamond wire saw cutting monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si), the material brittleness removal can cause microcrack damage in the subsurface of the as-sawn silicon wafer, which has a significant impact on the mechanical properties and subsequent processing steps of the wafers. In order to quickly and non-destructively obtain the subsurface microcrack damage depth (SSD) of as-sawn silicon wafers, this paper conducted research on the SSD prediction model for diamond wire saw cutting of mono-Si, and established the relationship between the SSD and the as-sawn surface roughness value (SR) by comprehensively considering the effect of tangential force and the influence of the elastic stress field and residual stress field below the abrasive on the propagation of median cracks. Furthermore, the theoretical relationship model between SR and SSD has been improved by adding a coefficient considering the influence of material ductile regime removal on SR values based on experiments sawing mono-Si along the (111) crystal plane, making the theoretical prediction value of SSD more accurate. The research results indicate that a decrease in wire speed and an increase in feed speed result in an increase in SR and SSD in silicon wafers. There is a non-linear increasing relationship between silicon wafer SSD and SR, with SSD = 21.179 Ra4/3. The larger the SR, the deeper the SSD, and the smaller the relative error of SSD between the theoretical predicted and experimental measurements. The research results provide a theoretical and experimental basis for predicting silicon wafer SSD in diamond wire sawing and optimizing the process.

Dissecting the mechanism of atlastin-mediated homotypic membrane fusion at the single-molecule level.

Homotypic membrane fusion of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is mediated by dynamin-like GTPase atlastin (ATL). This fundamental process relies on GTP-dependent domain rearrangements in the N-terminal region of ATL (ATLcyto), including the GTPase domain and three-helix bundle (3HB). However, its conformational dynamics during the GTPase cycle remain elusive. Here, we combine single-molecule FRET imaging and molecular dynamics simulations to address this conundrum. Different from the prevailing model, ATLcyto can form a loose crossover dimer upon GTP binding, which is tightened by GTP hydrolysis for membrane fusion. Furthermore, the α-helical motif between the 3HB and transmembrane domain, which is embedded in the surface of the lipid bilayer and self-associates in the crossover dimer, is required for ATL function. To recycle the proteins, Pi release, which disassembles the dimer, activates frequent relative movements between the GTPase domain and 3HB, and subsequent GDP dissociation alters the conformational preference of the ATLcyto monomer for entering the next reaction cycle. Finally, we found that two disease-causing mutations affect human ATL1 activity by destabilizing GTP binding-induced loose crossover dimer formation and the membrane-embedded helix, respectively. These results provide insights into ATL-mediated homotypic membrane fusion and the pathological mechanisms of related disease.

Multiparametric MRI-based radiomics nomogram for identifying cervix-corpus junction cervical adenocarcinoma from endometrioid adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To developed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomics nomogram to identify adenocarcinoma at the cervix-corpus junction originating from the endometrium or cervix in order to better guide clinical treatment. METHODS: Between February 2011 and September 2021, the clinicopathological data and MRI in 143 patients with histopathologically confirmed cervical adenocarcinoma (CAC, n = 86) and endometrioid adenocarcinoma (EAC, n = 57) were retrospectively analyzed at the cervix-corpus junction. Radiomics features were extracted from fat-suppressed T2-weighted imaging (FS-T2WI), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, and delayed phase contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (CE-T1WI) sequences. A radiomics nomogram was developed integrating radscore with independent clinical risk factors. The area under the curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of the radscore, nomogram and two different experienced radiologists in differentiating CAC from EAC at the cervix-corpus junction, and Delong test was applied to compare the differences of their diagnostic performance. RESULTS: In the training cohort, the AUC was 0.93 for radscore; 0.97 for radiomics nomograms; 0.85 and 0.86 for radiologists 1 and 2, respectively. Delong test showed that the differential efficacy of nomogram was significant better than those of radiologists in the training cohort (both P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The nomogram based on radscore and clinical risk factors could better differentiate CAC from EAC at the cervix-corpus junction than radiologists, and preoperatively and non-invasively identify the origin of adenocarcinoma at the cervix-corpus junction, which facilitates clinicians to make individualized treatment decision.

Sinapic Acid Attenuates Chronic DSS-Induced Intestinal Fibrosis in C57BL/6J Mice by Modulating NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation and the Autophagy Pathway.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic gastrointestinal disease that results from repeated inflammation and serious complications. Sinapic acid (SA) is a hydroxycinnamic acid present in a variety of plants that has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and other protective effects. This study investigated the antifibrotic effect of SA on chronic colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS) in mice. We observed that SA could significantly reduce clinical symptoms (such as improved body weight loss, increased colon length, and decreased disease activity index score) and pathological changes in mice with chronic colitis. SA supplementation has been demonstrated to repair intestinal mucosal barrier function and maintain epithelial homeostasis by inhibiting activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and decreasing the expression of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-17A, IL-18, and IL-1ß. Furthermore, SA could induce the expression of antioxidant enzymes (Cat, Sod1, Sod2, Mgst1) by activating the Nrf2/keap1 pathway, thus improving antioxidant capacity. Additionally, SA could increase the protein expression of downstream LC3-II/LC3-I and Beclin1 and induce autophagy by regulating the AMPK-Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, thereby reducing the production of intestinal fibrosis-associated proteins Collagen-I and α-SMA. These findings suggest that SA can enhance intestinal antioxidant enzymes, reduce oxidative stress, expedite intestinal epithelial repair, and promote autophagy, thereby ameliorating DSS-induced colitis and intestinal fibrosis.

Development and validation of a deep learning model for multicategory pneumonia classification on chest computed tomography: a multicenter and multireader study.

Background: Accurate diagnosis of pneumonia is vital for effective disease management and mortality reduction, but it can be easily confused with other conditions on chest computed tomography (CT) due to an overlap in imaging features. We aimed to develop and validate a deep learning (DL) model based on chest CT for accurate classification of viral pneumonia (VP), bacterial pneumonia (BP), fungal pneumonia (FP), pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), and no pneumonia (NP) conditions. Methods: In total, 1,776 cases from five hospitals in different regions were retrospectively collected from September 2019 to June 2023. All cases were enrolled according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, and ultimately 1,611 cases were used to develop the DL model with 5-fold cross-validation, with 165 cases being used as the external test set. Five radiologists blindly reviewed the images from the internal and external test sets first without and then with DL model assistance. Precision, recall, F1-score, weighted F1-average, and area under the curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the model performance. Results: The F1-scores of the DL model on the internal and external test sets were, respectively, 0.947 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.936-0.958] and 0.933 (95% CI: 0.916-0.950) for VP, 0.511 (95% CI: 0.487-0.536) and 0.591 (95% CI: 0.557-0.624) for BP, 0.842 (95% CI: 0.824-0.860) and 0.848 (95% CI: 0.824-0.873) for FP, 0.843 (95% CI: 0.826-0.861) and 0.795 (95% CI: 0.767-0.822) for PTB, and 0.975 (95% CI: 0.968-0.983) and 0.976 (95% CI: 0.965-0.986) for NP, with a weighted F1-average of 0.883 (95% CI: 0.867-0.898) and 0.846 (95% CI: 0.822-0.871), respectively. The model performed well and showed comparable performance in both the internal and external test sets. The F1-score of the DL model was higher than that of radiologists, and with DL model assistance, radiologists achieved a higher F1-score. On the external test set, the F1-score of the DL model (F1-score 0.848; 95% CI: 0.824-0.873) was higher than that of the radiologists (F1-score 0.541; 95% CI: 0.507-0.575) as was its precision for the other three pneumonia conditions (all P values <0.001). With DL model assistance, the F1-score for FP (F1-score 0.541; 95% CI: 0.507-0.575) was higher than that achieved without assistance (F1-score 0.778; 95% CI: 0.750-0.807) as was its precision for the other three pneumonia conditions (all P values <0.001). Conclusions: The DL approach can effectively classify pneumonia and can help improve radiologists' performance, supporting the full integration of DL results into the routine workflow of clinicians.

The prevalence rate, mortality, and 5-year overall survival of Schistosoma japonicum patients with human malignancy.

Background: Only a few studies have focused on the association between Schistosoma japonicum and human malignancy. The aim of this study was to update the prevalence rate, mortality, and 5-year overall survival of S. japonicum patients with human malignancy. Methods: From January 20, 2018, to January 31, 2021, 5,866 inpatients were included in the study. A total of 656 S. japonicum patients with malignancy were identified. Cases were stratified by gender and age groups. The cancer sites, prevalence rate, mortality, and 5-year overall survival of the patients were reported. The S. japonicum patients with malignancy were further divided into a non-digestive system tumor group (n = 309) and a digestive system tumor group (n = 347), including those with cancer in the esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, liver, gallbladder, bile duct, or pancreas. Chi-squared test and odds ratio with confidence intervals were performed between these two groups. Results: Lung cancer was found the most common malignancy, accounting for 18.6% of all malignancies, followed by colorectal, stomach, liver, and gallbladder cancers. These five leading malignancies accounted for approximately 61.8% of all cases. Colorectal cancer was the leading cause of malignancy death, followed by lung, stomach, gallbladder, and liver cancers. These five leading causes of death accounted for approximately 55.6% of all death cases. Statistical significance was found in the prevalence rate between S. japonicum and non-S. japonicum patients with/without digestive system tumor (p < 0.001). The odds ratio of S. japonicum patients with digestive system tumors was 1.6 (95%CI: 1.4-1.9). Conclusion: S. japonicum contributes to a significant prevalence and mortality in digestive system tumors, including colorectal, stomach, liver, and gallbladder cancers.

What experiences constitute failures? High school students' reflections on their struggles in STEM classes.

Inculcating the capacity to adapt successfully to failures is essential for talent development in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Despite its importance, this capacity to learn from failure is among the least understood processes in the field of talent development. This study aims to investigate how students conceptualize and react to failures and whether there is a correlation between students' conceptualizations of failure, emotional reactions to it, and academic performance. We invited 150 high-achieving high school students to share, interpret, and label their most memorable struggles in their STEM classes. Most of their struggles focused on the learning process itself, such as poor understanding of the subject matter, insufficient motivation or effort, or adopting ineffective learning strategies. Poor performance outcomes, such as poor test scores and bad grades, were not mentioned as frequently as the learning process. Students who labeled their struggle experiences as failures tended to focus more on performance outcomes, whereas students who labeled their struggle experiences as neither failures nor successes focused more on the learning process. Higher-achieving students were also less likely to label their struggles as failures than less-high achievers. Implications for classroom instruction are discussed with a particular focus on talent development in STEM fields.

Insights into membrane association of the SMP domain of extended synaptotagmin.

The Synaptotagmin-like Mitochondrial-lipid-binding Protein (SMP) domain is a newly identified lipid transfer module present in proteins that regulate lipid homeostasis at membrane contact sites (MCSs). However, how the SMP domain associates with the membrane to extract and unload lipids is unclear. Here, we performed in vitro DNA brick-assisted lipid transfer assays and in silico molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the molecular basis of the membrane association by the SMP domain of extended synaptotagmin (E-Syt), which tethers the tubular endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the plasma membrane (PM). We demonstrate that the SMP domain uses its tip region to recognize the extremely curved subdomain of tubular ER and the acidic-lipid-enriched PM for highly efficient lipid transfer. Supporting these findings, disruption of these mechanisms results in a defect in autophagosome biogenesis contributed by E-Syt. Our results suggest a model that provides a coherent picture of the action of the SMP domain at MCSs.

Persuader-receiver neural coupling underlies persuasive messaging and predicts persuasion outcome.

Opportunities to persuade and be persuaded are ubiquitous. What interpersonal neural pathway in real-world settings determining successful information propagation in naturalistic two-person persuasion scenarios? Hereby, we extended prior research on a naturalistic dyadic persuasion paradigm (NDP) using dual-fNIRS protocol simultaneously measured the neural activity from persuader-receiver dyads while they engaged in a modified "Arctic Survival Task." Investigating whether neural coupling between persuaders and receivers underpinning of persuading and predict persuasion outcomes (i.e., receiver's compliance). Broadly, we indicated that the persuasive arguments increase neural coupling significantly compared to non-persuasive arguments in the left superior temporal gyrus-superior frontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus-inferior frontal gyrus. G-causality indices further revealed the coupling directionality of information flows between the persuader and receiver. Critically, the neural coupling could be a better predictor of persuasion outcomes relative to traditional self-report measures. Eventually, temporal dynamics neural coupling incorporating video recording revealed neural coupling marked the micro-level processes in response to persuading messages and possibly reflecting the time that persuasion might occurs. The initial case of the arguments with targeted views is valuable as the first step in encouraging the receiver's compliance. Our investigation represented an innovative interpersonal approach toward comprehending the neuroscience and psychology underlying complex and true persuasion.

Anti-Fungal Activity of Moutan cortex Extracts against Rice Sheath Blight (Rhizoctonia solani) and Its Action on the Pathogen's Cell Membrane.

Rice sheath blight (RSB) caused by Rhizoctonia solani is one of the most destructive diseases of rice (Oryza sativa). Although chemical fungicides are the most important control methods, their long-term unreasonable application has brought about problems such as environmental pollution, food risks, and non-target poisoning. Therefore, considering the extraction of fungistatic substances from plants may be an alternative in the future. In this study, we found that the Moutan cortex ethanol extract has excellent antifungal activity against R. solani, with a 100% inhibition rate at 1000 µg/mL, which aroused our great exploration interest. In-depth exploration found that the antifungal active ingredients of M. cortex were mainly concentrated in the petroleum ether extract of the M. cortex ethanol extract, which still maintained a 100% inhibition rate with 250 µg/mL, and its effective medium concentration (EC50) was 145.33 µg/mL against R. solani. Through the measurement of extracellular relative conductivity and OD260, the petroleum ether extract induced leakage of intracellular electrolytes and nucleic acids, indicating that the cell membrane was ruined. Therefore, we preliminarily determined that the cell membrane may be the target of the petroleum ether extract. Moreover, we found that petroleum ether extract reduced the content of ergosterol, a component of the cell membrane, which may be one of the reasons for the cell membrane destruction. Furthermore, the increase of MDA content would lead to membrane lipid peroxidation, further aggravating membrane damage, resulting in increased membrane permeability. Also, the destruction of the cell membrane was observed by the phenomenon of the mycelium being transparent and broken. In conclusion, this is the first report of the M. cortex petroleum ether extract exhibiting excellent antifungal activity against R. solani. The effect of the M. cortex petroleum ether extract on R. solani may be on the cell membrane, inducing the disorder of intracellular substances and metabolism, which may be one of the antifungal mechanisms against R. solani.

The global landscape of approved antibody therapies.

Antibody therapies have become an important class of therapeutics in recent years as they have exhibited outstanding efficacy and safety in the treatment of several major diseases including cancers, immune-related diseases, infectious disease and hematological disease. There has been significant progress in the global research and development landscape of antibody therapies in the past decade. In this review, we have collected available data from the Umabs Antibody Therapies Database (Umabs-DB, https://umabs.com) as of 30 June 2022. The Umabs-DB shows that 162 antibody therapies have been approved by at least one regulatory agency in the world, including 122 approvals in the US, followed by 114 in Europe, 82 in Japan and 73 in China, whereas biosimilar, diagnostic and veterinary antibodies are not included in our statistics. Although the US and Europe have been at the leading position for decades, rapid advancement has been witnessed in Japan and China in the past decade. The approved antibody therapies include 115 canonical antibodies, 14 antibody-drug conjugates, 7 bispecific antibodies, 8 antibody fragments, 3 radiolabeled antibodies, 1 antibody-conjugate immunotoxin, 2 immunoconjugates and 12 Fc-Fusion proteins. They have been developed against 91 drug targets, of which PD-1 is the most popular, with 14 approved antibody-based blockades for cancer treatment in the world. This review outlined the global landscape of the approved antibody therapies with respect to the regulation agencies, therapeutic targets and indications, aiming to provide an insight into the trends of the global development of antibody therapies.

Dietary tea seed saponin combined with aerobic exercise attenuated lipid metabolism and oxidative stress in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD).

Tea seed saponins (TSS) are oleanolane-type pentacyclic triterpenoid saponin mixtures with various pharmacological effects. We aimed to explore the effects of a total of 4 weeks intragastric administration of TSS (140 mg/kg·day) combined with aerobic exercise (AE) on lipid metabolism and its associated oxidative stress in HFD-induced obese mice and to investigate the possible molecular mechanisms. TSS + AE intervention significantly reduced body weight and the adiposity index (including subcutaneous, epididymal, perirenal, and abdominal adipose) in obese mice; improved dyslipidemia by lowering serum TC, TG, and LDL-c levels; and increased HDL-c levels. TSS + AE intervention significantly improved hepatic steatosis by inhibiting lipogenetic Acc, Srebp1c, and Scd1 and upregulating lipolysis genes (Pgc1α, Pgc1ß, Pparα, and Cpt1). TSS + AE intervention increased the hepatic protein expression of p-AMPK, SIRT1, and PGC-1α, as well as PPAR-γ and GLUT-4 in skeletal muscle compared with expression in the HFD group. In addition, TSS + AE also modulated oxidative stress in obese mice, which was indicated by the increased serum and liver levels of SOD, GSH, and T-AOC and decreased ROS and MDA levels. These results suggest that TSS + AE intervention can reduce fat accumulation and improve HFD-induced lipid metabolism disorders and oxidative stress. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Obesity is a metabolic disease induced by excess nutritional intake and insufficient energy expenditure. Dietary modifications combined with aerobic exercise are currently an effective method for weight loss. Tea seed saponins (TSS) are a variety of biologically active oleanolane-type pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins that naturally exist in tea seeds. Few articles have focused on the effects and mechanisms of TSS combined with aerobic exercise (AE) in regulating lipid metabolism and improving oxidative damage in vivo. Using an HFD-induced obese mice model to explore the mechanism of TSS + AE in regulating lipid metabolism and its associated oxidative stress damage will help provide reliable data for the application of dietary nutrition combined with AE in anti-obesity.

Felt Stigma and Its Underlying Contributors in Epilepsy Patients.

Objective: To explore the correlated clinical and psychological factors of stigmatization and investigate the relationship between stigma and white matter abnormalities in epilepsy patients. Methods: Stigmatization was obtained by a three-item stigma scale in 256 epilepsy patients with genetic or unknown etiology. Personality and quality of life (QOL) were assessed by Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and QOL-31 questionnaire respectively. One hundred and fourteen of them were performed Hamilton Depression Scale-17 (HAMD) and scanned with diffusion tensor imaging in 3T MRI. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values of frontotemporal contact fibers were calculated. Results: There were about 39.8% patients felt stigma, with the highest score (Score 3) in 8.2% (21/256). Stigma scores were significantly negatively correlated with education (P < 0.01), age of onset (P < 0.05), extraversion score of EPQ (P < 0.01), total and all the subscale QOL scores (P < 0.001), and positively correlated with duration (P < 0.01), HAMD score (P < 0.001), neuroticism score of EPQ (P < 0.001). We found negative correlation between stigma scores and FA values of right superior longitudinal fasciculus and left cingulum (P < 0.05). Logistic regression results showed that FA value of left cingulum (P = 0.011; OR = 0.000), social function (P = 0.000; OR = 0.935) of QOL, and neuroticism score of EPQ (P = 0.033; OR = 1.123) independently correlated to felt stigma. Conclusion: Felt stigma in epilepsy patients was found to be correlated with neuroticism, depression, and deficient social function of QOL, which might be predisposed by the impairment of the left cingulum. Our results provide preliminary evidence for the underlying neural circuits in stigmatization.

An Ultrasonic Motor Using a Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced/Poly-Phenylene-Sulfide-Based Vibrator with Bending/Longitudinal Modes.

In this study, a linear ultrasonic motor (USM) with carbon-fiber-reinforced/poly-phenylene-sulfide (PPS/CF) was developed and the feasibility of using PPS/CF to achieve a lightweight USM was tested. Here, anisotropic Young's moduli of PPS/CF possibly enhance the driving force when the slider's moving direction is orthogonal to the carbon-fibers' filling direction. Further, PPS/CF's low density may help avoid excessive enhancement in weight. Initially, we measured anisotropic Young's moduli of PPS/CF, and determined the vibration modes, configuration, and dimensions of the PPS/CF vibrating body through finite element analysis. Subsequently, we fabricated a 45.7-mm-long 30-mm-diameter vibrator to form a linear motor. Finally, we evaluated the load characteristics of the PPS/CF-based motor and made comparisons with isotropic-material-based USMs. At 30.2 kHz frequency, the PPS/CF-based vibrator worked in the 2nd bending and 2nd longitudinal modes as predicted. The PPS/CF-based motor yielded the maximal thrust, no-load speed, and maximal output power of 392 mN, 1103 mm/s, and 62 mW, respectively. Moreover, the thrust force density and power density reached 20.3 N/kg and 3.2 W/kg, respectively, which were relatively high compared to those of the PPS- and aluminum-based USMs with the same vibration modes and similar structures. This preliminary study implies PPS/CF's feasibility for achieving lightweight USMs, and provides a candidate material for designing micro/meso USMs.

Dietary sinapic acid attenuated high-fat diet-induced lipid metabolism and oxidative stress in male Syrian hamsters.

The current study investigated the effects of sinapic acid on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced lipid metabolism and oxidative stress in male Syrian hamsters. Sinapic acid treatment significantly reduced body weight, epididymal fat, and perirenal fat mass in HFD hamsters. Sinapic acid also improved dyslipidemia levels (reducing the serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and increasing the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and increased T-AOC levels to mitigate oxidative stress injury. Moreover, sinapic acid intervention increased the activations of PPAR-γ, CPT-1, and CYP7A1 and decreased the activations of FAS, ACC1, SREBP1, SREBP2, and HMGCR in the livers of HFD hamsters. In addition, sinapic acid intervention also significantly inhibited the intestinal mRNA levels of Srebp2 and Npc1l1 in HFD hamsters. In conclusion, sinapic acid can significantly attenuate abnormal lipid metabolism in the development of HFD-induced obesity and reduce the level of oxidative stress to exert its anti-obesity effect. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Obesity is the main cause of some chronic metabolic syndromes, such as dyslipidemia, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, diabetes, and hyperuricemia. Searching for new, safe, and effective natural products in weight loss and fat reduction has become one of the hot research topics. As a natural source of simple phenolic acids, sinapic acid is present in fruits, vegetables, and grains and has been indicated to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antihyperuricemic, lipid homeostasis regulation, and anticancer activities. However, the lipid metabolism- and oxidative stress-regulating activities of sinapic acid are not clear. Here, the current study investigated the lipid metabolism and oxidative stress regulating activities of sinapic acid in male Syrian hamsters fed a high-fat diet.

Data sharing in the age of predictive psychiatry: an adolescent perspective.

BACKGROUND: Advances in genetics and digital phenotyping in psychiatry have given rise to testing services targeting young people, which claim to predict psychiatric outcomes before difficulties emerge. These services raise several ethical challenges surrounding data sharing and information privacy. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate young people's interest in predictive testing for mental health challenges and their attitudes towards sharing biological, psychosocial and digital data for such purpose. METHODS: Eighty UK adolescents aged 16-18 years took part in a digital role-play where they played the role of clients of a fictional predictive psychiatry company and chose what sources of personal data they wished to provide for a risk assessment. After the role-play, participants reflected on their choices during a peer-led interview. FINDINGS: Participants saw multiple benefits in predictive testing services, but were highly selective with regard to the type of data they were willing to share. Largely due to privacy concerns, digital data sources such as social media or Google search history were less likely to be shared than psychosocial and biological data, including school grades and one's DNA. Participants were particularly reluctant to share social media data with schools (but less so with health systems). CONCLUSIONS: Emerging predictive psychiatric services are valued by young people; however, these services must consider privacy versus utility trade-offs from the perspective of different stakeholders, including adolescents. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Respecting adolescents' need for transparency, privacy and choice in the age of digital phenotyping is critical to the responsible implementation of predictive psychiatric services.

Somatosensory evoked potentials that index lateral inhibition are modulated according to the mode of perceptual processing: comparing or combining multi-digit tactile motion.

Many perceptual studies focus on the brain's capacity to discriminate between stimuli. However, our normal experience of the world also involves integrating multiple stimuli into a single perceptual event. Neural mechanisms such as lateral inhibition are believed to enhance local differences between sensory inputs from nearby regions of the receptor surface. However, this mechanism would seem dysfunctional when sensory inputs need to be combined rather than contrasted. Here, we investigated whether the brain can strategically regulate the strength of suppressive interactions that underlie lateral inhibition between finger representations in human somatosensory processing. To do this, we compared sensory processing between conditions that required either comparing or combining information. We delivered two simultaneous tactile motion trajectories to index and middle fingertips of the right hand. Participants had to either compare the directions of the two stimuli, or to combine them to form their average direction. To reveal preparatory tuning of somatosensory cortex, we used an established event-related potential design to measure the interaction between cortical representations evoked by digital nerve shocks immediately before each tactile stimulus. Consistent with previous studies, we found a clear suppression between cortical activations when participants were instructed to compare the tactile motion directions. Importantly, this suppression was significantly reduced when participants had to combine the same stimuli. These findings suggest that the brain can strategically switch between a comparative and a combinative mode of somatosensory processing, according to the perceptual goal, by preparatorily adjusting the strength of a process akin to lateral inhibition.

Assessment of serum synuclein-γ and squamous cell carcinoma antigen as diagnostic biomarkers in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and oral potentially malignant disorders.

BACKGROUND: Clinical diagnosis and monitoring are crucial to reduce the mortality from oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs). It has been demonstrated that synuclein-γ (SNCG) and squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCAg) are highly expressed in patients with OSCC and perhaps participate in OSCC progression. This study analyzed the levels of serum SNCG and SCCAg in OSCC, OPMD, and control patients, and evaluated the diagnostic and clinical value of single and combined detection of serum SNCG and SCCAg in OSCC and OPMDs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Serum samples were collected from 197 patients including 87 patients with OSCC, 30 patients with OPMDs, and 80 healthy volunteers as controls. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and statistical analysis were utilized to determine SNCG and SCCAg levels in serum. RESULTS: The levels of SNCG and SCCAg in serum were significantly higher in OSCC compared with OPMDs and controls. There was a correlation between SNCG level and ethnicity, and SCCAg was correlated with differentiation. Furthermore, the area under the curves, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of combined detection of SNCG and SCCAg were better than any single detection. CONCLUSION: The combined detection of SNCG and SCCAg in serum could become a new standard method to distinguish between OSCC and OPMDs and improve diagnostic performance for OSCC.

MR image-based radiomics to differentiate type Ι and type ΙΙ epithelial ovarian cancers.

OBJECTIVES: Epithelial ovarian cancers (EOC) can be divided into type I and type II according to etiology and prognosis. Accurate subtype differentiation can substantially impact patient management. In this study, we aimed to construct an MR image-based radiomics model to differentiate between type I and type II EOC. METHODS: In this multicenter retrospective study, a total of 294 EOC patients from January 2010 to February 2019 were enrolled. Quantitative MR imaging features were extracted from the following axial sequences: T2WI FS, DWI, ADC, and CE-T1WI. A combined model was constructed based on the combination of these four MR sequences. The diagnostic performance was evaluated by ROC-AUC. In addition, an occlusion test was carried out to identify the most critical region for EOC differentiation. RESULTS: The combined radiomics model exhibited superior diagnostic capability over all four single-parametric radiomics models, both in internal and external validation cohorts (AUC of 0.806 and 0.847, respectively). The occlusion test revealed that the most critical region for differential diagnosis was the border zone between the solid and cystic components, or the less compact areas of solid component on direct visual inspection. CONCLUSIONS: MR image-based radiomics modeling can differentiate between type I and type II EOC and identify the most critical region for differential diagnosis. KEY POINTS: • Combined radiomics models exhibited superior diagnostic capability over all four single-parametric radiomics models, both in internal and external validation cohorts (AUC of 0.834 and 0.847, respectively). • The occlusion test revealed that the most crucial region for differentiating type Ι and type ΙΙ EOC was the border zone between the solid and cystic components, or the less compact areas of solid component on direct visual inspection on T2WI FS. • The light-combined model (constructed by T2WI FS, DWI, and ADC sequences) can be used for patients who are not suitable for contrast agent use.

Development of fluorescence/MR dual-modal manganese-nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets as an efficient contrast agent for targeted ovarian carcinoma imaging.

BACKGROUND: Development of sensitive and specific imaging approaches for the detection of ovarian cancer holds great promise for improving the therapeutic efficacy and the lifespan of the patients. RESULTS: In this study, manganese-nitrogen doped carbon nanosheets (Mn-N-CNSs) coupled with Anti-HE4 monoclonal antibody (Mn-N-CNSs@Anti-HE4) were synthesized for the specific and targeted fluorescence/MR dual-modal imaging of ovarian carcinoma. The prepared Mn-N-CNSs revealed excellent aqueous dispersity, good colloidal stability, great optical properties and high longtudinal relaxivity rate (r1 = 10.30 mM-1 s-1). Encouraged by the tunable photoluminiscence of the nanoprobe and Anti-HE4 targeting ligand, the ovarian carcinoma cells were specifically labeled by the Mn-N-CNSs@Anti-HE4 nanoprobe with multi-color fluorescences. Benefiting from the high r1 relaxivity, the nanoprobe exhibited targeted and enhanced MR contrast effect in the ovarian carcinoma cells and tumor bearing mice model. Besides, the high biocompatibility and easy excretion from the body of the nanoprobe were further confirmed in vivo. CONCLUSION: The prepared Mn-N-CNSs@Anti-HE4 with excellent biocompatibility, high-performance and superior tumor-targeting ability provides a novel fluorescence/MR dual-modal nanoprobe for specific labeling and detection of ovarian carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo.