Altered gait patterns during arch important development period in children with persistent obesity: An experimental longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Obesity can cause structural changes and functional adjustments in growing children's feet. However, there is a lack of continuous observation of changes in feet in children with persistent obesity during important developmental periods. This makes it challenging to provide precise preventive measures. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effects of persistent obesity on gait patterns in children at an important stage in the formation of a robust foot arch. METHODS: The Footscan® plantar pressure system was used for 3 checks over two years. A total of 372 children aged 7-8 years participated in the study, and gait data from 33 children who maintained normal weight and 26 children with persistent obesity were finally selected. Repeated measures ANOVA or Friedman's test were used for longitudinal comparisons. Independent-Sample t-tests or the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon tests were used for cross-sectional comparisons. RESULTS: During the important period of development, children with persistent obesity did not exhibit a significant decrease in the arch index and had significantly higher values than the normal group in the third check. The persistently obese children showed increased load accumulation in the lateral rearfoot, first metatarsophalangeal joints, and the great toe regions. Children with persistent obesity had significantly greater medial-lateral displacements in the initial contact phase and forefoot contact phase than normal children in the first check. These differences diminished between the second and third checks. SIGNIFICANCE: Persistent obesity during an important period of foot development leads to slow or abnormal development of arch structure and affects foot loading patterns with heel inverted and forefoot everted. Additionally, the development of gait stability is not limited by persistent obesity.

The hsa_circ_0082152 maintains NF-κB mRNA stability by binding to MTDH to promote anti-tuberculosis drug-induced liver injury.

Anti-tuberculosis drug-induced liver injury (ADLI) is a common adverse reaction during anti-tuberculosis treatment and often leads to treatment interruptions. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been identified as key modulators in liver diseases. CircRNAs is a special class of noncoding RNAs that have been found to have significant impacts on the progression of inflammation via various mechanisms. In the serum of ADLI patients, upregulation of the circular RNA hsa_circ_0082152 (derived from the host gene snd1) was observed, along with increased ALT and AST levels, as well as alterations in the levels of inflammation-related factors such as NF-κB, IL-1ß and TNF-α. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, we established an HL-7702-ADLI cell model and confirmed similar upregulation of hsa_circ_0082152. Downregulation of hsa_circ_0082152 significantly inhibited inflammatory injury in ADLI cells, while upregulation had the opposite effect. RNA immunoprecipitation showed that hsa_circ_0082152 functions by interacting with metadherin (MTDH). Our study further verified that the interaction of hsa_circ_0082152 with the MTDH protein binding to NF-κB mRNA to maintain NF-κB mRNA stability, which increases the expression of NF-κB and its targets IL-1ß and TNF-α. Conversely, depletion of MTDH rescued the promotive effect of hsa_circ_0082152 overexpression on ADLI inflammation. Therefore, hsa_circ_0082152 overexpression promotes ADLI progression via the MTDH/NF-κB axis.

Micro and nano plastics release from a single absorbable suture into simulated body fluid.

Synthetic polymers are widely used in medical devices and implants where biocompatibility and mechanical strength are key enablers of emerging technologies. One concern that has not been widely studied is the potential of their microplastics (MPs) release. Here we studied the levels of MP debris released following 8-week in vitro tests on three typical polyglycolic acid (PGA) based absorbable sutures (PGA 100, PGA 90 and PGA 75) and two nonabsorbable sutures (polypropylene-PP and polyamide-PA) in simulated body fluid. The MP release levels ranked from PGA 100 > > PGA 90 > PGA 75 > > PP ∼ PA. A typical PGA 100 suture released 0.63 ± 0.087 million micro (MPs > 1 µm) and 1.96 ± 0.04 million nano (NPs, 200-1000 nm) plastic particles per centimeter. In contrast, no MPs were released from the nonabsorbable sutures under the same conditions. PGA that was co-blended with 10-25% L-lactide or epsilon-caprolactone resulted in a two orders of magnitude lower level of MP release. These results underscore the need to assess the release of nano- and microplastics from medical polymers while applied in the human body and to evaluate possible risks to human health.

The association between plain water intake and periodontitis in the population aged over 45: a cross-sectional study based on NHANES 2009-2014.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have demonstrated the impact of beverage consumption on overall health and oral health. Specifically, high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and coffee has been associated with an increased risk of metabolic disorders and periodontitis. Conversely, high intake of plain water has been linked to various health benefits, including weight management and reduced energy intake. However, no previous studies have explored the potential association between plain water intake and the risk of periodontitis. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to investigate the relationship between plain water consumption and periodontitis in a middle-aged and elderly population. METHODS: The present cross-sectional study was conducted among participants aged ≥ 45 in the 2009-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Multivariable regression analysis, subgroup analysis and smooth fitting tests were conducted to explore the independent relationship between plain water intake and periodontitis. RESULTS: A total of 5,882 participants were enrolled,62.02% have periodontitis. Periodontitis patients have lower plain water intake. The multivariable regression tests showed that the risk of periodontitis decreased with increased plain water intake quartiles (Q4 OR = 0.78; 95%CI 0.62-0.96) after fully adjustment. Subgroup analysis and interaction tests showed that gender, age, smoking, diabetes, hypertension or BMI does not significantly interact with the association. However, the relation was significant in males (Q4 OR = 0.64; 95%CI 0.47-0.86) but not in females (Q4 OR = 0.97;95% CI 0.71-1.31). In the smoothed curve fits stratified by gender, the curve for male participants displayed as a U-shape, with an optimal plain water intake at 1200 ml/day. For males drinking plain water less than 1200 ml/day, the risk of periodontitis decreased by 24% with each increase of 500 ml plain water intake (OR = 0.76, 95%CI 0.66-0.87, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Together, the results showed that plain water intake is negatively associated with periodontitis risk in US middle aged and elderly population. Further studies are needed to investigate the mechanism unites this association. Attention should be given to adequate plain water intake when considering dietary suggestions to the population at high risk of developing periodontitis, especially for men.

ELONGATED HYPOTCOTYL5 and SPINE BASE SIZE1 together mediate light-regulated spine expansion in cucumber.

Plant trichome development is influenced by diverse developmental and environmental signals, but the molecular mechanisms involved are not well understood in most plant species. Fruit spines (trichomes) are an important trait in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), as they affect both fruit smoothness and commercial quality. Spine Base Size1 (CsSBS1) has been identified as essential for regulating fruit spine size in cucumber. Here, we discovered that CsSBS1 controls a season-dependent phenotype of spine base size in wild-type plants. Decreased light intensity led to reduced expression of CsSBS1 and smaller spine base size in wild-type plants, but not in the mutants with CsSBS1 deletion. Additionally, knockout of CsSBS1 resulted in smaller fruit spine base size and eliminated the light-induced expansion of spines. Overexpression of CsSBS1 increased spine base size and rescued the decrease in spine base size under low light conditions. Further analysis revealed that ELONGATED HYPOTCOTYL5 (HY5), a major transcription factor involved in light signaling pathways, directly binds to the promoter of CsSBS1 and activates its expression. Knockout of CsHY5 led to smaller fruit spine base size and abolished the light-induced expansion of spines. Taken together, our study findings have clarified a CsHY5-CsSBS1 regulatory module that mediates light-regulated spine expansion in cucumber. This finding offers a strategy for cucumber breeders to develop fruit with stable appearance quality under changing light conditions.

Genome-wide identification of the melon (Cucumis melo L.) response regulator gene family and functional analysis of CmRR6 and CmPRR3 in response to cold stress.

The response regulator (RR) gene family play crucial roles in cytokinin signal transduction, plant development, and resistance to abiotic stress. However, there are no reports on the identification and functional characterization of RR genes in melon. In this study, a total of 18 CmRRs were identified and classified into type A, type B, and clock PRRs, based on phylogenetic analysis. Most of the CmRRs displayed tissue-specific expression patterns, and some were induced by cold stress according to two RNA-seq datasets. The expression patterns of CmRR2/6/11/15 and CmPRR2/3 under cold treatment were confirmed by qRT-PCR. Subcellular localization assays indicated that CmRR6 and CmPRR3 were primarily localized in the nucleus and chloroplast. Furthermore, when either CmRR6 or CmPRR3 were silenced using tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV), the cold tolerance of the virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) melon plants were significantly enhanced, as evidenced by measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence, ion leakage, reactive oxygen, proline, and malondialdehyde levels. Additionally, the expression levels of CmCBF1, CmCBF2, and CmCBF3 were significantly increased in CmRR6-silenced and CmPRR3-silenced plants under cold treatment. Our findings suggest that CmRRs contribute to cold stress responses and provide new insights for further pursuing the molecular mechanisms underlying CmRRs-mediated cold tolerance in melon.

Instance attack: an explanation-based vulnerability analysis framework against DNNs for malware detection.

Deep neural networks (DNNs) are increasingly being used in malware detection and their robustness has been widely discussed. Conventionally, the development of an adversarial example generation scheme for DNNs involves either detailed knowledge concerning the model (i.e., gradient-based methods) or a substantial quantity of data for training a surrogate model. However, under many real-world circumstances, neither of these resources is necessarily available. Our work introduces the concept of the instance-based attack, which is both interpretable and suitable for deployment in a black-box environment. In our approach, a specific binary instance and a malware classifier are utilized as input. By incorporating data augmentation strategies, sufficient data are generated to train a relatively simple and interpretable model. Our methodology involves providing explanations for the detection model, which entails displaying the weights assigned to different components of the specific binary. Through the analysis of these explanations, we discover that the data subsections have a significant impact on the identification of malware. In this study, a novel function preserving transformation algorithm designed specifically for data subsections is introduced. Our approach involves leveraging binary diversification techniques to neutralize the effects of the most heavily-weighted section, thus generating effective adversarial examples. Our algorithm can fool the DNNs in certain cases with a success rate of almost 100%. Instance attack exhibits superior performance compared to the state-of-the-art approach. Notably, our technique can be implemented in a black-box environment and the results can be verified utilizing domain knowledge. The model can help to improve the robustness of malware detectors.

CT image segmentation of meat sheep Loin based on deep learning.

There are no clear boundaries between internal tissues in sheep Computerized Tomography images, and it is difficult for traditional methods to meet the requirements of image segmentation in application. Deep learning has shown excellent performance in image analysis. In this context, we investigated the Loin CT image segmentation of sheep based on deep learning models. The Fully Convolutional Neural Network (FCN) and 5 different UNet models were applied in image segmentation on the data set of 1471 CT images including the Loin part from 25 Australian White rams and Dolper rams using the method of 5-fold cross validation. After 10 independent runs, different evaluation metrics were applied to assess the performances of the models. All models showed excellent results in terms evaluation metrics. There were slight differences among the results from the six models, and Attention-UNet outperformed others methods with 0.998±0.009 in accuracy, 4.391±0.338 in AVER_HD, 0.90±0.012 in MIOU and 0.95±0.007 in DICE, respectively, while the optimal value of LOSS was 0.029±0.018 from Channel-UNet, and the running time of ResNet34-UNet is the shortest.

A Ubiquitin-Dependent Switch on MEF2D Senses Pro-Metastatic Niche Signals to Facilitate Intrahepatic Metastasis of Liver Cancer.

Effective treatment for metastasis, a leading cause of cancer-associated death, is still lacking. To seed on a distal organ, disseminated cancer cells (DCCs) must adapt to the local tissue microenvironment. However, it remains elusive how DCCs respond the pro-metastatic niche signals. Here, systemic motif-enrichment identified myocyte enhancer factor 2D (MEF2D) as a critical sensor of niche signals to regulate DCCs adhesion and colonization, leading to intrahepatic metastasis and recurrence of liver cancer. In this context, MEF2D transactivates Itgb1 (coding ß1-integrin) and Itgb4 (coding ß4-integrin) to execute temporally unique functions, where ITGB1 recognizes extracellular matrix for early seeding, and ITGB4 acts as a novel sensor of neutrophil extracellular traps-DNA (NETs-DNA) for subsequent chemotaxis and colonization. In turn, an integrin-FAK circuit promotes a phosphorylation-dependent USP14-orchastrated deubiquitination switch to stabilize MEF2D via circumventing degradation by the E3-ubiquitin-ligase MDM2. Clinically, the USP14(pS432)-MEF2D-ITGB1/4 feedback loop is often hyper-active and indicative of inferior outcomes in human malignancies, while its blockade abrogated intrahepatic metastasis of DCCs. Together, DCCs exploit a deubiquitination-dependent switch on MEF2D to integrate niche signals in the liver mesenchyme, thereby amplifying the pro-metastatic integrin-FAK signaling. Disruption of this feedback loop is clinically applicable with fast-track potential to block microenvironmental cues driving metastasis.

Role of leptin in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a severe pregnancy complication. The exact pathogenesis of PE remains unclear, but it is related to immune, inflammatory, circulatory, and oxidative stress factors. Leptin is a protein involved in these processes and is essential for maintaining a normal pregnancy and healthy fetal growth. Abnormal increases in leptin levels have been observed in the peripheral blood and placenta of patients with PE. Disturbances in leptin can affect the proliferation and hypertrophy of vascular smooth muscle cells, which are important for placentation. Leptin also regulates arterial tension and trophoblast function in pregnant women. In addition, consistently high levels of leptin are linked to hyperactive inflammation and oxidative stress reactions in both patients with PE and animal models. This review focuses on the role of leptin in the pathophysiology of PE and elucidates its potential mechanisms.

Construction and application of a new watermelon germplasm with the phenotype of dwarf and branchless.

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a widely cultivated cucurbitaceae crop appreciated by consumers worldwide. However, the long vine and abundant lateral branches of currently cultivated watermelon varieties hinder light simplification and mechanized cultivation, affecting plant spacing and row spacing requirements. To address this, the development of watermelon with dwarf and branchless traits has become a crucial direction for the industry. In previous studies, the genes controlling dwarf (Cldw-1) and branchless (Clbl) traits were mapped and cloned. Marker-assisted selection markers, dCAPS3 and dCAPS10, were developed for these traits, respectively. In this study, the dwarf germplasm WM102 and the branchless germplasm WCZ were crossed to obtain F1 .Further self-crossing of the F1 individuals resulted in the F2 population. Through multiple generations of self-pollination, a new watermelon germplasm DM with double mutation (dwarf and branchless) was obtained. DM exhibited stable inheritance without segregation. Moreover, DM was used as a donor parent for crossing with commercial watermelon materials, and near-isogenic lines (NILs) with the dwarf and branchless traits were developed. These NILs carry additional desirable agronomic traits and provide valuable genetic resources for future watermelon breeding programs, particularly in improving plant architecture and overall quality. The development and application of DM and NILs hold great potential for advancing the watermelon industry toward industrialization, large-scale cultivation, and enhanced plant architecture.

Natural allelic variation in the EamA-like transporter, CmSN, is associated with fruit skin netting in melon.

KEY MESSAGE: A SNP mutation in CmSN, encoding an EamA-like transporter, is responsible for fruit skin netting in melon. In maturing melon (Cucumis melo L.), the rind becomes reticulated or netted, a unique characteristic that dramatically changes the appearance of the fruit. However, little is known about the molecular basis of fruit skin netting formation in this important cucurbit crop. Here, we conducted map-based cloning of a skin netting (CmSN) locus using segregating populations derived from the cross between the smooth-fruit line H906 and the netted-fruit line H581. The results showed that CmSN was controlled by a single dominant gene and was primarily positioned on melon chromosome 2, within a physical interval of ~ 351 kb. Further fine mapping in a large F2 population narrowed this region to a 71-kb region harboring 5 genes. MELO3C010288, which encodes a protein in the EamA-like transporter family, is the best possible candidate gene for the netted phenotype. Two nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the third and sixth exons of the CmSN gene and co-segregated with the skin netting (SN) phenotype among the genetic population. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) determined that CmSN is probably a domestication gene under selective pressure during the subspecies C. melo subsp. melo differentiation. The SNP in the third exon of CmSN (the leading SNP in GWAS) revealed a bi-allelic diversity in natural accessions with SN traits. Our results lay a foundation for deciphering the molecular mechanism underlying the formation of fruit skin netting in melon, as well as provide a strategy for genetic improvement of netted fruit using a marker-assisted selection approach.

Identification of candidate genes that regulate the trade-off between seedling cold tolerance and fruit quality in melon (Cucumis melo L.).

Trade-offs between survival and growth are widely observed in plants. Melon is an annual, trailing herb that produces economically valuable fruits that are traditionally cultivated in early spring in China. Melon seedlings are sensitive to low temperatures, and thus usually suffer from cold stress during the early growth period. However, little is known about the mechanism behind the trade-offs between seedling cold tolerance and fruit quality in melon. In this study, a total of 31 primary metabolites were detected from the mature fruits of eight melon lines that differ with respect to seedling cold tolerance; these included 12 amino acids, 10 organic acids, and 9 soluble sugars. Our results showed that concentrations of most of the primary metabolites in the cold-resistant melons were generally lower than in the cold-sensitive melons; the greatest difference in metabolite levels was observed between the cold-resistant line H581 and the moderately cold-resistant line HH09. The metabolite and transcriptome data for these two lines were then subjected to weighted correlation network analysis, resulting in the identification of five key candidate genes underlying the balancing between seedling cold tolerance and fruit quality. Among these genes, CmEAF7 might play multiple roles in regulating chloroplast development, photosynthesis, and the ABA pathway. Furthermore, multi-method functional analysis showed that CmEAF7 can certainly improve both seedling cold tolerance and fruit quality in melon. Our study identified an agriculturally important gene, CmEAF7, and provides a new insight into breeding methods to develop melon cultivars with seedling cold tolerance and high fruit quality.

Amino acid metabolism in immune cells: essential regulators of the effector functions, and promising opportunities to enhance cancer immunotherapy.

Amino acids are basic nutrients for immune cells during organ development, tissue homeostasis, and the immune response. Regarding metabolic reprogramming in the tumor microenvironment, dysregulation of amino acid consumption in immune cells is an important underlying mechanism leading to impaired anti-tumor immunity. Emerging studies have revealed that altered amino acid metabolism is tightly linked to tumor outgrowth, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance through governing the fate of various immune cells. During these processes, the concentration of free amino acids, their membrane bound transporters, key metabolic enzymes, and sensors such as mTOR and GCN2 play critical roles in controlling immune cell differentiation and function. As such, anti-cancer immune responses could be enhanced by supplement of specific essential amino acids, or targeting the metabolic enzymes or their sensors, thereby developing novel adjuvant immune therapeutic modalities. To further dissect metabolic regulation of anti-tumor immunity, this review summarizes the regulatory mechanisms governing reprogramming of amino acid metabolism and their effects on the phenotypes and functions of tumor-infiltrating immune cells to propose novel approaches that could be exploited to rewire amino acid metabolism and enhance cancer immunotherapy.

Application of 3D Printing Technology in Sensor Development for Water Quality Monitoring.

The development of sensors for water quality monitoring is crucial to protect water quality, aquatic biota and human health. Traditional sensor manufacturing methods have significant drawbacks, such as low fabrication freedom, limited material choice and expensive manufacturing cost. As a possible alternative method, 3D printing technologies are increasingly popular in sensor development due to their high versatility, fast fabrication/modification, powerful processing of different materials and ease of incorporation with other sensor systems. Surprisingly, a systematic review examining the application of 3D printing technology in water monitoring sensors has not yet been conducted. Here, we summarized the development history, market share and advantages/disadvantages of typical 3D printing techniques. Specifically focused on the 3D-printed sensor for water quality monitoring, we then reviewed the applications of 3D printing in the development of sensors' supporting platform, cell, sensing electrode as well as all-3D-printed sensors. The fabrication materials and processing, and the sensor's performances regarding detected parameters, response time and detection limit/sensitivity, were also compared and analyzed. Finally, the current drawbacks of 3D-printed water sensors and potential directions for future study were discussed. This review will substantially promote the understanding of 3D printing technology used in water sensor development and benefit the protection of water resources.

Melon yellow-green plant (Cmygp) encodes a Golden2-like transcription factor regulating chlorophyll synthesis and chloroplast development.

KEY MESSAGE: A SNP mutation in CmYGP gene encoding Golden2-like transcription factor is responsible for melon yellow-green plant trait. Chlorophylls are essential and beneficial substances for both plant and human health. Identifying the regulatory network of chlorophyll is necessary to improve the nutritional quality of fruits. At least six etiolation genes have been identified in different melon varieties, but none of them have been cloned, and the molecular mechanisms underlying chlorophyll synthesis and chloroplast development in melon remain unclear. Here, the NSL73046, a yellow-green plant (Cmygp) mutant, enabled the map-based cloning of the first etiolation gene in melon. CmYGP encodes a Golden2-like transcription factor. Spatiotemporal expression analyses confirmed the high CmYGP expression in all green tissues, particularly in young leaves and fruit peels. Virus-induced gene silencing and the development of near-isogenic line by marker-assisted selection further confirmed that downregulation of CmYGP can reduce chloroplast number and chlorophyll content, thereby resulting in yellow-green leaves and fruits in melon, and overexpression of CmYGP in tomatoes also led to dark-green leaves and fruits. RNA-seq analysis revealed that CmYGP greatly affected the expression of key genes associated with chloroplast development. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that CmYGP regulate chlorophyll synthesis and chloroplast development thus affect fruit development in melon. This study also offers a new strategy to enhance fruit quality in melon.

Recent Implementations of Hydrogel-Based Microbial Electrochemical Technologies (METs) in Sensing Applications.

Hydrogel materials have been used extensively in microbial electrochemical technology (MET) and sensor development due to their high biocompatibility and low toxicity. With an increasing demand for sensors across different sectors, it is crucial to understand the current state within the sectors of hydrogel METs and sensors. Surprisingly, a systematic review examining the application of hydrogel-based METs to sensor technologies has not yet been conducted. This review aimed to identify the current research progress surrounding the incorporation of hydrogels within METs and sensors development, with a specific focus on microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). The manufacturing process/cost, operational performance, analysis accuracy and stability of typical hydrogel materials in METs and sensors were summarised and analysed. The current challenges facing the technology as well as potential direction for future research were also discussed. This review will substantially promote the understanding of hydrogel materials used in METs and benefit the development of electrochemical biosensors using hydrogel-based METs.

Structure evolution of air cathodes and their application in electrochemical sensor development and wastewater treatment.

Cathode structure and material are the most important factors to determine the performance and cost of single chamber air-cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC), which is the most promising type of MFC technology. Since the first air cathode was invented in 2004, five major structures (1-layer, 2-layer, 3-layer, 4-layer and separator-support) have been invented and modified to fit new material, improve power performance and lower MFC cost. This paper reviewed the structure evolution of air cathodes in past 18 years. The benefits and drawbacks of these structures, in terms of power generation, material cost, fabrication procedure and modification process are analyzed. The practical application cases (e.g., sensor development and wastewater treatment) employed with different cathode structures were also summarized and analyzed. Based on practical performance and long-term cost analysis, the 2-layer cathode demonstrated much greater potential over other structures. Compared with traditional activated-sludge technology, the cost of an MFC-based system is becoming competitive when employing with 2-layer structure. This review not only provides a detailed development history of air cathode but also reveals the advantages/disadvantages of air cathode with different structures, which will promote the research and application of air-cathode MFC technology.

Arch-related alteration in foot loading patterns affected by the increasing extent of body mass index in children: A follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: A high load on children 's feet can cause arch deformation and negatively affect their normal development. Studies have yet to document how the foot arch varied with different body mass index (BMI) increments and its influence on foot loading patterns. METHODS: Barefoot walking trails were conducted using a Footscan® plate system. A follow-up check was performed after twenty-four months. Participants were selected with an initial BMI between 14.5 kg/m2 and 16.5 kg/m2. Totally 75 participants were classified into groups 0-7 according to the BMI increment levels of 0-0.49 kg/m2, 0.50-1.49 kg/m2, 1.50-2.49 kg/m2, 2.50-3.49 kg/m2, 3.50-4.49 kg/m2, 4.50-5.49 kg/m2, 5.50-6.49 kg/m2, 6.50-7.49 kg/m2, respectively. Paired t-tests and effect sizes were used to compare the data. RESULTS: The arch index significantly decreased when the BMI reached 20.8 kg/m2. Significantly increased normalized maximum forces were found in the great toe and 1st MTPJ in groups 4-5. Meanwhile, the absence of significance showed under the 3rd-5th, midfoot, and rearfoot in those groups. The normalized maximum force increments under the 3rd-5th MTPJs, midfoot and rearfoot regions in groups 4-5 after the follow-up study were significantly decreased compared with the increments found in groups 0-3, followed by a sudden increase arising under those regions in group 6. It indicates a transition period that leads to alteration in gait pattern characteristics when BMI increases to 18.6-19.9 kg/m2 (between group 3 and group 4). Group 6 displayed significantly increased peak pressure amplitudes under the great toe, 1st-3rd MTPJs, midfoot, and medial rearfoot compared to other groups. SIGNIFICANCE: There was a transition period when the BMI of normal-weighted children increased to a certain extent and failed to reach the obesity level, resulting in changes in foot arch structure and loading patterns.

Room-Temperature Quantitative Quantum Sensing of Lithium Ions with a Radical-Embedded Metal-Organic Framework.

Recent advancements in quantum sensing have sparked transformative detection technologies with high sensitivity, precision, and spatial resolution. Owing to their atomic-level tunability, molecular qubits and ensembles thereof are promising candidates for sensing chemical analytes. Here, we show quantum sensing of lithium ions in solution at room temperature with an ensemble of organic radicals integrated in a microporous metal-organic framework (MOF). The organic radicals exhibit electron spin coherence and microwave addressability at room temperature, thus behaving as qubits. The high surface area of the MOF promotes accessibility of the guest analytes to the organic qubits, enabling unambiguous identification of lithium ions and quantitative measurement of their concentration through relaxometric and hyperfine spectroscopic methods based on electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The sensing principle presented in this work is applicable to other metal ions with nonzero nuclear spin.