A Novel Method to Assess Healing of Segmental Bone Defects using the Induced Membrane Technique.

OBJECTIVE: Clinical concerns exist regarding the quality of bony consolidation in the context of the induced membrane technique. This study evaluates the clinical process of bone grafting in the second stage of induced membrane bone union in patients with tibial bone defects to infer the possibility of non-union and establish a reliable and effective evaluation method combined with computed tomography (CT) to assess fracture healing. METHODS: Patients with tibial bone defects who underwent the induced membrane technique at our hospital between February 2017 and February 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The Hounsfield unit (HU) values of the patients were evaluated at different times during the second stage of bone grafting. Bone healing at the boundary value of the 120 HU output threshold (-1024 HU-3071 HU) was directionally selected, and the changes in the growth volume of union (new bone volume [selected according to HU value]/bone defect volume) were compared with analyzing individual class bone union. Method 1 involved X-rays revealing that at least three of the four cortices were continuous and at least 2 mm thick, with the patient being pain free. For Method 2, new bone volume (selected according to HU value/bone defect volume) at the stage was compared with analyzing individual class healing. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used for Methods 1 and 2. RESULTS: A total of 42 patients with a segmental bone defect with a mean age of 40.5 years (40.5 ± 8.3 years) were included. The relationship between bone graft volume and time variation was analyzed by single factor repeated variable analysis (F = 6.477, p = 0.016). Further, curve regression analysis showed that the change in bone graft volume over time presented a logarithmic curve pattern (Y = 0.563 + 0.086 × ln(X), Ra2 = 0.608, p = 0.041). ROC curve analysis showed that Method 2 is superior to Method 1 (AUC: 86.3% vs. 68.3%, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The induced membrane technique could be used to treat traumatic long bone defects, with fewer complications and a higher healing rate. The proposed imaging grading of HU (new bone volume/bone defect volume) can be used as a reference for the quality of bony consolidation with the induced membrane technique.

Model test study of bridge pile horizontal bearing behavior under landslide deformation.

Pile is a common foundation on the slope, which poses a serious threat to the construction and operation if the slope deformation and causes landslide. In this study, a model device of pile foundation on landslide was independently developed by relative displacement loading between pile and soil to explore the influence of landslide deformation on pile and analysis the soil failure rule and the deformation characteristics of pile in different stages of landslide deformation, a few model tests were completed including the relative displacement between soil and pile from 1 to 17 cm, and the pile diameter and the modulus of slide bed were also considered. The results indicated that: the evolution process of landslide deformation with pile foundation on could be divided into four stages including soil compaction, cracks growth, yield stage, and failure stage; ratios of the maximum soil pressure and bending moment growth from the soil compaction stage to the cracks growth stage to the total growth in these four stages are both exceeding 60%; the soil pressure increases with the increase of pile diameter and sliding bed modulus. Therefore, it is best to effectively monitor and control the landslide in the initial soil compression stage that in soil compaction stage and methods such as increasing pile foundations or reinforcing the sliding bed can be used for protection.

Bacillus suppresses nitrogen efficiency of soybean-rhizobium symbiosis through regulation of nitrogen-related transcriptional and microbial patterns.

The regulation of legume-rhizobia symbiosis by microorganisms has obtained considerable interest in recent research, particularly in the common rhizobacteria Bacillus. However, few studies have provided detailed explanations regarding the regulatory mechanisms involved. Here, we investigated the effects of Bacillus (Bac.B) on Bradyrhizobium-soybean (Glycine max) symbiosis and elucidated the underlying ecological mechanisms. We found that two Bradyrhizobium strains (i.e. Bra.Q2 and Bra.D) isolated from nodules significantly promoted nitrogen (N) efficiency of soybean via facilitating nodule formation, thereby enhanced plant growth and yield. However, the intrusion of Bac.B caused a reverse shift in the synergistic efficiency of N2 fixation in the soybean-Bradyrhizobium symbiosis. Biofilm formation and naringenin may be importantin suppression of Bra.Q2 growth regulated by Bac.B. In addition, transcriptome and microbiome analyses revealed that Bra.Q2 and Bac.B might interact to regulateN transport and assimilation, thus influence the bacterial composition related to plant N nutrition in nodules. Also, the metabolisms of secondary metabolites and hormones associated with plant-microbe interaction and growth regulation were modulated by Bra.Q2 and Bac.B coinoculation. Collectively, we demonstrate that Bacillus negatively affects Bradyrhizobium-soybean symbiosis and modulate microbial interactions in the nodule. Our findings highlight a novel Bacillus-based regulation to improve N efficiency and sustainable agricultural development.

Microbially Driven Iron Cycling Facilitates Organic Carbon Accrual in Decadal Biochar-Amended Soil.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is pivotal for both agricultural activities and climate change mitigation, and biochar stands as a promising tool for bolstering SOC and curtailing soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. However, the involvement of biochar in SOC dynamics and the underlying interactions among biochar, soil microbes, iron minerals, and fresh organic matter (FOM, such as plant debris) remain largely unknown, especially in agricultural soils after long-term biochar amendment. We therefore introduced FOM to soils with and without a decade-long history of biochar amendment, performed soil microcosm incubations, and evaluated carbon and iron dynamics as well as microbial properties. Biochar amendment resulted in 2-fold SOC accrual over a decade and attenuated FOM-induced CO2 emissions by approximately 11% during a 56-day incubation through diverse pathways. Notably, biochar facilitated microbially driven iron reduction and subsequent Fenton-like reactions, potentially having enhanced microbial extracellular electron transfer and the carbon use efficiency in the long run. Throughout iron cycling processes, physical protection by minerals could contribute to both microbial carbon accumulation and plant debris preservation, alongside direct adsorption and occlusion of SOC by biochar particles. Furthermore, soil slurry experiments, with sterilization and ferrous iron stimulation controls, confirmed the role of microbes in hydroxyl radical generation and biotic carbon sequestration in biochar-amended soils. Overall, our study sheds light on the intricate biotic and abiotic mechanisms governing carbon dynamics in long-term biochar-amended upland soils.

Regioselective and enantioselective propargylic hydroxylations catalyzed by P450tol monooxygenases.

Regioselective and enantioselective hydroxylation of propargylic C-H bonds are useful reactions but often lack appropriate catalysts. Here a green and efficient asymmetric hydroxylation of primary and secondary C-H bonds at propargylic positions has been established. A series of optically active propargylic alcohols were prepared with high regio- and enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee) under mild reaction conditions by using P450tol, while the C≡C bonds in the molecule remained unreacted. This protocol provides a green and practical method for constructing enantiomerically chiral propargylic alcohols. In addition, we also demonstrated that the biohydroxylation strategy was able to scaled up to 2.25 mmol scale with the production of chiral propargyl alcohol 2a at a yield of 196 mg with 96% ee, which's an important synthetic intermediate of antifungal drug Ravuconazole.

[68Ga]Ga­PSMA­617 PET-based radiomics model to identify candidates for active surveillance amongst patients with GGG 1-2 prostate cancer at biopsy.

PURPOSE: To develop a radiomics-based model using [68Ga]Ga-PSMA PET/CT to predict postoperative adverse pathology (AP) in patients with biopsy Gleason Grade Group (GGG) 1-2 prostate cancer (PCa), assisting in the selection of patients for active surveillance (AS). METHODS: A total of 75 men with biopsy GGG 1-2 PCa who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) were enrolled. The patients were randomly divided into a training group (70%) and a testing group (30%). Radiomics features of entire prostate were extracted from the [68Ga]Ga-PSMA PET scans and selected using the minimum redundancy maximum relevance algorithm and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression model. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to construct the prediction models. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, decision curve analysis (DCA), and calibration curve were employed to evaluate the diagnostic value, clinical utility, and predictive accuracy of the models, respectively. RESULTS: Among the 75 patients, 30 had AP confirmed by RP. The clinical model showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.821 (0.695-0.947) in the training set and 0.795 (0.603-0.987) in the testing set. The radiomics model achieved AUC values of 0.830 (0.720-0.941) in the training set and 0.829 (0.624-1.000) in the testing set. The combined model, which incorporated the Radiomics score (Radscore) and free prostate-specific antigen (FPSA)/total prostate-specific antigen (TPSA), demonstrated higher diagnostic efficacy than both the clinical and radiomics models, with AUC values of 0.875 (0.780-0.970) in the training set and 0.872 (0.678-1.000) in the testing set. DCA showed that the net benefits of the combined model and radiomics model exceeded those of the clinical model. CONCLUSION: The combined model shows potential in stratifying men with biopsy GGG 1-2 PCa based on the presence of AP at final pathology and outperforms models based solely on clinical or radiomics features. It may be expected to aid urologists in better selecting suitable patients for AS.

Pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence study of candesartan cilexetil tablet in Chinese volunteers under fasting condition: an open-label, randomized-sequence, 2-period crossover study.

Candesartan is an antihypertensive agent that acts on an angiotensin II receptor. Candesartan cilexetil is a prodrug that is converted into the active form of candesartan during intestinal absorption. This study aimed to assess the pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence of a reference and a test formulation of candesartan cilexetil tablets in healthy Chinese volunteers. A randomized, open-label, single-dose, crossover study was conducted with two treatment periods. Forty-eight healthy Chinese volunteers participated under fasted conditions. Qualified subjects were randomly divided into two groups (1:1 ratio) to receive either the test or reference formulation first. A washout period of 14 days separated the administration of the two formulations. Blood samples were collected at specific time points and analyzed for candesartan concentration using Ultra High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The maximum concentration (Cmax), the AUC from time zero to the last measured time point (AUC0-t) and the AUC from time zero to infinity (AUC0-∞) fell within the bioequivalence range of 80% to 125%. These results suggest that the test and reference formulations of candesartan cilexetil tablets are bioequivalent, meaning they have similar rates and extents of absorption in healthy Chinese volunteers. No serious adverse events or side effects were reported throughout the study.

Expression levels of KATP channel subunits and morphological changes in the mouse liver after exposure to radiation.

BACKGROUND: ATP sensitive K+ (KATP) channels are ubiquitously distributed in various of cells and tissues, including the liver. They play a role in the pathogenesis of myocardial and liver ischemia. AIM: To evaluate the radiation-induced changes in the expression of KATP channel subunits in the mouse liver to understand the potential role of KATP channels in radiation injury. METHODS: Adult C57BL/6 mice were randomly exposed to γ-rays at 0 Gy (control, n = 2), 0.2 Gy (n = 6), 1 Gy (n = 6), or 5 Gy (n = 6). The livers were removed 3 and 24 h after radiation exposure. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used for morphological observation; immunohistochemical staining was applied to determine the expression of KATP channel subunits in the liver tissue. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the livers exposed to 0.2 Gy γ-ray showed an initial increase in the expression of Kir6.1 at 3 h, followed by recovery at 24 h after exposure. Exposure to a high dose of 5.0 Gy resulted in decreased expression of Kir6.1 and increased expression of SUR2B at 24 h. However, the expression of Kir6.2, SUR1, or SUR2A had no remarkable changes at 3 and 24 h after exposure to any of these doses. CONCLUSION: The expression levels of Kir6.1 and SUR2B in mouse liver changed differently in response to different radiation doses, suggesting a potential role for them in radiation-induced liver injury.

AI-Enabled Portable E-Nose Regression Predicting Harmful Molecules in a Gas Mixture.

The biomimetic electronic nose (e-nose) technology is a novel technology used for the identification and monitoring of complex gas molecules, and it is gaining significance in this field. However, due to the complexity and multiplicity of gas mixtures, the accuracy of electronic noses in predicting gas concentrations using traditional regression algorithms is not ideal. This paper presents a solution to the difficulty by introducing a fusion network model that utilizes a transformer-based multikernel feature fusion (TMKFF) module combined with a 1DCNN_LSTM network to enhance the accuracy of regression prediction for gas mixture concentrations using a portable electronic nose. The experimental findings demonstrate that the regression prediction performance of the fusion network is significantly superior to that of single models such as convolutional neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM). The present study demonstrates the efficacy of our fusion network model in accurately predicting the concentrations of multiple target gases, such as SO2, NO2, and CO, in a gas mixture. Specifically, our algorithm exhibits substantial benefits in enhancing the prediction performance of low-concentration SO2 gas, which is a noteworthy achievement. The determination coefficient (R2) values of 93, 98, and 99% correspondingly demonstrate that the model is very capable of explaining the variation in the concentration of the target gases. The root-mean-square errors (RMSE) are 0.0760, 0.0711, and 3.3825, respectively, while the mean absolute errors (MAE) are 0.0507, 0.0549, and 2.5874, respectively. These results indicate that the model has relatively small prediction errors. The method we have developed holds significant potential for practical applications in detecting atmospheric pollution detection and other molecular detection areas in complex environments.

Facet junction engineering for enhanced SERS activity of Ag/Cu2O composite substrates.

Featuring ultra-high sensitivity and molecule-specific detection ability, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is suitable for the rapid sensing of trace-level chemicals in biological, environmental, and agricultural samples. Although crystal facet junction engineering is a powerful tool to manipulate the optoelectronic properties of semiconducting materials, its correlation with the SERS sensing activity of noble metal/semiconductor composites has still not been clarified. In this work, Ag was deposited on Cu2O nanocrystals enclosed by different facets, including {100} (cube), {111} (octahedron), and {100}/{111} (truncated octahedron), and a detailed study of their SERS performance was carried out. It was found that Ag/truncated-octahedral Cu2O (Ag/Cu2O(J3)) exhibited superior SERS activity to Ag/cubic Cu2O (Ag/Cu2O(C)) and Ag/octahedral Cu2O (Ag/Cu2O(O)). The {100}/{111} facet junction in Cu2O can promote the separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers, which is beneficial for enhancing SERS sensing performance. Moreover, Ag/Cu2O(J3) has a higher content of oxygen vacancies, providing extra interfacial charge-transfer pathways to the analyte, which also contribute to improving the SERS activity. The low detection limit of Ag/Cu2O(J3) was 1 × 10-11 M for 4-nitrobenzenethiol, two orders of magnitude lower than that of Ag/Cu2O(C) and Ag/Cu2O(O). In addition, Ag/Cu2O(J3) could detect CV and R6G at concentrations down to 1 × 10-10 M and 1 × 10-8 M, respectively. The findings of this work can provide insightful information for designing metal/semiconductor substrates toward SERS sensing application by regulating the crystal facet junction.

Evaluation of gastrin-releasing peptide receptor, prostate-specific membrane antigen, and neurotensin receptor 1 as potential biomarkers for accurate prostate cancer stratified diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Studies on single-target PET imaging of gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR), prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), or neurotensin receptor 1(NTR1) have been reported. However, the performance of these three targets in the progression of PCa remains unclear. Our study aims to compare the expression of GRPR, PSMA, and NTR1 in patients with prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), prostate cancer (PCa), and lymph node metastasis. We synthesized molecular probes targeting the markers to achieve a non-invasive precise detection of PCa patients with PET/CT imaging. METHODS: In this study, the expression of GRPR, PSMA, and NTR1 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 34 PIN, 171 PCa, and 22 lymph node metastasis tissues of patients. The correlation between their expression and the clinicopathological parameters of PCa patients was assessed. Sixteen PCa patients with different Gleason scores (GS) underwent dual-tracer (68Ga-NOTA-RM26 and 68Ga-NOTA-PSMA617) PET/CT. RESULTS: In the PIN stage, the expression of GRPR was significantly higher than that of PSMA and NTR1 (P < 0.001), while NTR1 expression was significantly higher than PSMA and GRPR expression in primary PCa (P = 0.001). High PSMA expression in PCa patients was associated with shorter progression-free survival (P = 0.037) and overall survival (P = 0.035). PCa patients with high GS had higher tumor uptake of 68Ga-NOTA-PSMA617 than those with low GS (P = 0.001), while PCa patients with low GS had higher tumor uptake of 68Ga-NOTA-RM26 than those with high GS (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study presents three novel biomarkers (PSMA, GRPR, and NTR1) as imaging agents for PET/CT, and may offer a promising approach for non-invasive precise detection and Gleason grade prediction of PCa patients.

Overexpression of arginase gene CAR1 renders yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae acetic acid tolerance.

Acetic acid is a common inhibitor present in lignocellulose hydrolysate, which inhibits the ethanol production by yeast strains. Therefore, the cellulosic ethanol industry requires yeast strains that can tolerate acetic acid stress. Here we demonstrate that overexpressing a yeast native arginase-encoding gene, CAR1, renders Saccharomyces cerevisiae acetic acid tolerance. Specifically, ethanol yield increased by 27.3% in the CAR1-overexpressing strain compared to the control strain under 5.0 g/L acetic acid stress. The global intracellular amino acid level and compositions were further analyzed, and we found that CAR1 overexpression reduced the total amino acid content in response to acetic acid stress. Moreover, the CAR1 overexpressing strain showed increased ATP level and improved cell membrane integrity. Notably, we demonstrated that the effect of CAR1 overexpression was independent of the spermidine and proline metabolism, which indicates novel mechanisms for enhancing yeast stress tolerance. Our studies also suggest that CAR1 is a novel genetic element to be used in synthetic biology of yeast for efficient production of fuel ethanol.

Lower synaptic density and its association with cognitive dysfunction in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Understanding synaptic alteration in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is crucial for elucidating its pathological mechanisms, but in vivo research on this topic remains limited. Aims: This study aimed to identify the synaptic density indicators in OCD and explore the relationship between cognitive dysfunction and synaptic density changes in OCD. Methods: This study enrolled 28 drug-naive adults with OCD aged 18-40 years and 16 healthy controls (HCs). Three-dimensional T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging and 18F-SynVesT-1 positron emission tomography were conducted. Cognitive function was assessed using the Wisconsin Cart Sorting Test (WCST) in patients with OCD and HCs. Correlative analysis was performed to examine the association between synaptic density reduction and cognitive dysfunction. Results: Compared with HCs, patients with OCD showed reduced synaptic density in regions of the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit such as the bilateral putamen, left caudate, left parahippocampal gyrus, left insula, left parahippocampal gyrus and left middle occipital lobe (voxel p<0.001, uncorrected, with cluster level above 50 contiguous voxels). The per cent conceptual-level responses of WCST were positively associated with the synaptic density reduction in the left middle occipital gyrus (R2=0.1690, p=0.030), left parahippocampal gyrus (R2=0.1464, p=0.045) and left putamen (R2=0.1967, p=0.018) in patients with OCD. Conclusions: Adults with OCD demonstrated lower 18F-labelled difluoro analogue of 18F-SynVesT-1 compared with HCs, indicating potentially lower synaptic density. This is the first study to explore the synaptic density in patients with OCD and provides insights into potential biological targets for cognitive dysfunctions in OCD.

Ilizarov technique for treating elbow stiffness caused by myositis ossificans: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Myositis ossificans (MO) is a rare disease involving the formation of bone outside the musculoskeletal system. While surgical intervention is the main treatment approach, preventing recurrence and standardized rehabilitation are also crucial. Here, we present a surgical strategy to prevent the recurrence of MO. CASE SUMMARY: A 28-year-old female patient was admitted for the first time for a comminuted fracture of the left olecranon. However, incorrect postoperative rehabilitation resulted in the development of elbow joint stiffness with ectopic ossification, causing a loss of normal range of motion. The patient was diagnosed with MO based on physical examination, X-ray findings, and clinical presentation. We devised a surgical strategy to remove MO, followed by fixation with an Ilizarov frame, and implemented a scientifically reasonable rehabilitation plan. The surgery lasted for 3 h with an estimated blood loss of 45 mL. A drainage tube was placed after surgery, and fluid was aspirated through ultrasound-guided puncture. The patient experienced a significant reduction in joint stiffness after surgery. In the final follow-up at 9 mouths, there was evident improvement in the range of motion of the elbow joint, and no other symptoms were reported. CONCLUSION: The Ilizarov frame is an advantageous surgical technique for facilitating rehabilitation after MO removal. It offers benefits such as passive recovery, individualized treatment, and prompt recovery.

Latent class analysis and longitudinal development trajectory study of psychological distress in patients with stroke: a study protocol.

Background: Psychological distress affects the treatment and rehabilitation of patients with stroke, affects their long-term functional exercise and quality of life, and increases the risk of stroke recurrence and even death. This is a multi-dimensional and multi-level mental health problem and a dynamic process variable that shows a dynamic development trend with time. However, previous studies have been insufficient to deeply study the change mechanism of psychological distress, and there remains a lack of forward-looking longitudinal studies to analyze its change trajectory. This study aimed to investigate potential categories and how psychological distress changes over time and to examine conversion probability in these transformation processes. Methods: This prospective longitudinal mixed-method study investigated the potential categories and change trajectories of distress in patients with stroke. A total of 492 participants from three hospitals were recruited for quantitative analysis. Latent class analysis and latent transition analysis (LCA/LTA) were used to identify meaningful subgroups, transitions between those classes across time, and baseline demographic features that help predict and design tailored interventions. Discussion: A comprehensive understanding of the potential category and transformation processes of psychological distress over time, including the impact of the sense of demographic data on the role of shame and loneliness, can lead to the development of psychological distress treatment tailored to the unique needs of patients with stroke. Thus, this study can promote more effective and successful treatment outcomes, reduce the stigma surrounding disease issues among patients, and encourage them to use psychological consultation.

Thermostable vacuum foam dried Newcastle disease vaccine: Process optimization and pilot-scale study.

Vacuum foam drying (VFD) has been shown to improve the thermostability and long-term shelf life of Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV). This study optimized the VFD process to improve the shelf life of NDV at laboratory-scale and then tested the optimized conditions at pilot-scale. The optimal NDV to T5 formulation ratio was determined to be 1:1 or 3:2. Using the 1:1 virus to formulation ratio, the optimal filling volumes were determined to be 13-17% of the vial capacity. The optimized VFD process conditions were determined to be at a shelf temperature of 25℃ with a minimum overall drying time of 44 h. The vaccine samples prepared using these optimized conditions at laboratory-scale exhibited virus titer losses of ≤ 1.0 log10 with residual moisture content (RMC) below 3%. Furthermore, these samples were transported for 97 days around China at ambient temperature without significant titer loss, thus demonstrating the thermostability of the NDV-VFD vaccine. Pilot-scale testing of the NDV-VFD vaccine at optimized conditions showed promising results for up-scaling the process as the RMC was below 3%. However, the virus titer loss was slightly above 1.0 log10 (approximately 1.1 log10). Therefore, the NDV-VFD process requires further optimization at pilot scale to obtain a titer loss of ≤ 1.0 log10. Results from this study provide important guidance for possible industrialization of NDV-VFD vaccine in the future. KEY POINTS: • The process optimization and scale-up test of thermostable NDV vaccine prepared through VFD is reported for the first time in this study. • The live attenuated NDV-VFD vaccine maintained thermostability for 97 days during long distance transportation in summer without cold chain conditions. • The optimized NDV-VFD vaccine preparations evaluated at pilot-scale maintained acceptable levels of infectivity after preservation at 37℃ for 90 days, which demonstrated the feasibility of the vaccine for industrialization.

A novel score for predicting falls in community-dwelling older people: a derivation and validation study.

BACKGROUND: Early detection of patients at risk of falling is crucial. This study was designed to develop and internally validate a novel risk score to classify patients at risk of falls. METHODS: A total of 334 older people from a fall clinic in a medical center were selected. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to minimize the potential concatenation of variables measured from the same patient and the overfitting of variables. A logistic regression model for 1-year fall prediction was developed for the entire dataset using newly identified relevant variables. Model performance was evaluated using the bootstrap method, which included measures of overall predictive performance, discrimination, and calibration. To streamline the assessment process, a scoring system for predicting 1-year fall risk was created. RESULTS: We developed a new model for predicting 1-year falls, which included the FRQ-Q1, FRQ-Q3, and single-leg standing time (left foot). After internal validation, the model showed good discrimination (C statistic, 0.803 [95% CI 0.749-0.857]) and overall accuracy (Brier score, 0.146). Compared to another model that used the total FRQ score instead, the new model showed better continuous net reclassification improvement (NRI) [0.468 (0.314-0.622), P < 0.01], categorical NRI [0.507 (0.291-0.724), P < 0.01; cutoff: 0.200-0.800], and integrated discrimination [0.205 (0.147-0.262), P < 0.01]. The variables in the new model were subsequently incorporated into a risk score. The discriminatory ability of the scoring system was similar (C statistic, 0.809; 95% CI, 0.756-0.861; optimism-corrected C statistic, 0.808) to that of the logistic regression model at internal bootstrap validation. CONCLUSIONS: This study resulted in the development and internal verification of a scoring system to classify 334 patients at risk for falls. The newly developed score demonstrated greater accuracy in predicting falls in elderly people than did the Timed Up and Go test and the 30-Second Chair Sit-Stand test. Additionally, the scale demonstrated superior clinical validity for identifying fall risk.

A PET probe targeting polyamine transport system for precise tumor diagnosis and therapy.

Polyamine metabolism dysregulation is a hallmark of many cancers, offering a promising avenue for early tumor theranostics. This study presents the development of a nuclear probe derived from spermidine (SPM) for dual-purpose tumor PET imaging and internal radiation therapy. The probe, radiolabeled with either [68Ga]Ga for diagnostic applications or [177Lu]Lu for therapeutic use, was synthesized with exceptional purity, stability, and specific activity. Extensive testing involving 12 different tumor cell lines revealed remarkable specificity towards B16 melanoma cells, showcasing outstanding tumor localization and target-to-non-target ratio. Mechanistic investigations employing polyamines, non-labeled precursor, and polyamine transport system (PTS) inhibitor, consistently affirmed the probe's targetability through recognition of the PTS. Notably, while previous reports indicated PTS upregulation in various tumor types for targeted therapy, this study observed no positive signals, highlighting a concentration-dependent discrepancy between targeting for therapy and diagnosis. Furthermore, when labeled with [177Lu], the probe demonstrated its therapeutic potential by effectively controlling tumor growth and extending mouse survival. Investigations into biodistribution, excretion, and biosafety in healthy humans laid a robust foundation for clinical translation. This study introduces a versatile SPM-based nuclear probe with applications in precise tumor theranostics, offering promising prospects for clinical implementation.

Aerogel-Involved Triple-State Gels Resemble Natural Living Leaves in Structure and Multi-Functions.

Natural plant leaves with multiple functions, for example, spectral features, transpiration, photosynthesis, etc., have played a significant role in the ecosystem, and artificial synthesis of plant leaves with multiple functions of natural ones is still a great challenge. Herein, this work presents an aerogel-involved living leaf (AL), most similar to natural ones so far, by embedding super-hydrophobic SiO2 aerogel microparticles in polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel in the presence of hygroscopic salt and chlorophyllin copper sodium to form solid-liquid-vapor triple-state gel. The AL shows a high spectral similarity with all sampled 15 species of natural leaves and exhibits ≈4-7 times transpiration speed higher than natural leaves. More importantly, AL can achieve several times higher photosynthesis than natural leaves without the energy provided by the respiratory action of natural ones. This work demonstrates the feasibility of creating ALs with natural leaf-like triple-state gel structures and multiple functions, opening up new avenues for energy conversion, environmental engineering, and biomimetic applications.

Rapid diagnosis of canine respiratory coronavirus, canine influenza virus, canine distemper virus and canine parainfluenza virus with a Taqman probe-based multiplex real-time PCR.

Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC) is a highly infectious diseases. Canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV), Canine influenza virus (CIV), Canine distemper virus (CDV), and Canine parainfluenza virus (CPiV) are crucial pathogens causing CIRDC. Due to the similar clinical symptoms induced by these viruses, differential diagnosis based solely on symptoms can be challenging. In this study, a multiplex real-time PCR assay was developed for detecting the four RNA viruses of CIRDC. Specific primers and probes were designed to target M gene of CRCoV, M gene of CIV, N gene of CDV and NP gene of CPiV. The detection limit is 10 copies/µL for CIV or CRCoV, while the detection limit of CDV or CPiV is 100 copies/µL. Intra-group and inter-group repeatability coefficient of variation (CV) were both less than 2 %. A total of 341 clinical canine samples were analyzed, and the results indicated that the method developed in our study owns a good consistency and better specificity compared with the conventional reverse transcription PCR. This study provides a new method to enable the simultaneous detection of all four pathogens in a single reaction, improving the efficiency for monitoring the prevalence of four viruses in CIRDC, which benefits the control of CIRDC.