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Durable humoral immunity is mediated by long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs) that reside in the bone marrow. It remains unclear whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein vaccination is able to elicit and maintain LLPCs. Here, we describe a sensitive method to identify and isolate antigen-specific LLPCs by tethering antibodies secreted by these cells onto the cell surface. Using this method, we found that two doses of adjuvanted SARS-CoV-2 spike protein vaccination are able to induce spike protein–specific LLPC reservoirs enriched for receptor binding domain specificities in the bone marrow of nonhuman primates that are detectable for several months after vaccination. Immunoglobulin gene sequencing confirmed that several of these LLPCs were clones of memory B cells elicited 2 weeks after boost that had undergone further somatic hypermutation. Many of the antibodies secreted by these LLPCs also exhibited improved neutralization and cross-reactivity compared with earlier time points. These findings establish our method as a means to sensitively and reliably detect rare antigen-specific LLPCs and demonstrate that adjuvanted SARS-CoV-2 spike protein vaccination establishes spike protein–specific LLPC reservoirs. Editor's summary: Although much is known about the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, relatively little is known about the elusive cells that make the antibodies. These long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs) reside in bone marrow and, as a consequence, are challenging to study in humans. To better understand these cells in a related species, Prabhakaran et al. longitudinally characterized bone marrow LLPCs in a cohort of nonhuman primates immunized with an adjuvanted spike protein vaccine. Using an antigen-specific LLPC isolation technique, the authors purified spike protein– and receptor binding domain–specific LLPCs from the bone marrow of the animals and determined that their antibody repertoires matched those of memory B cells in the peripheral blood. They also observed that antibodies generated by these LLPCs had undergone somatic hypermutation, which was associated with improved neutralizing and binding capabilities at later time points. Together, these results report a technique to reliably isolate antigen-specific LLPCs and further demonstrate that LLPCs are generated by a SARS-CoV-2 protein vaccine. —Courtney Malo [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early lines of code (LOC) estimation in software projects holds significant importance, as it directly influences the prediction of development effort, covering a spectrum of different programming languages, and open-source Kotlin-based applications in particular. The object of the study is the process of early LOC estimation of open-source Kotlin-based apps. The subject of the study is the nonlinear regression models for early LOC estimation of open-source Kotlin-based apps. Objective. The goal of the work is to build the nonlinear regression model with three predictors for early LOC estimation of open-source Kotlin-based apps based on the Box-Cox four-variate normalizing transformation to increase the confidence in early LOC estimation of these apps. Method. For early LOC estimation in open-source Kotlin-based apps, the model, confidence, and prediction intervals of nonlinear regression were constructed using the Box-Cox four-variate normalizing transformation and specialized techniques. These techniques, relying on multiple nonlinear regression analyses incorporating multivariate normalizing transformations, account for the dependencies between variables in non-Gaussian data scenarios. As a result, this method tends to reduce the mean magnitude of relative error (MMRE) and narrow confidence and prediction intervals compared to models utilizing univariate normalizing transformations. Results. An analysis has been carried out to compare the constructed model with nonlinear regression models employing decimal logarithm and Box-Cox univariate transformation. Conclusions. The nonlinear regression model with three predictors for early LOC estimation of open-source Kotlin-based apps is constructed using the Box-Cox four-variate transformation. Compared to the other nonlinear regression models, this model demonstrates a larger multiple coefficient of determination, a smaller value of the MMRE, and narrower confidence and prediction intervals. The prospects for further research may include the application of other data sets to construct the nonlinear regression model for early LOC estimation of open-source Kotlin-based apps for other restrictions on predictors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the maintenance of humidity‐responsive shape memory polymer composites comprising polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and cellulose microcrystal for maintaining hair curls in humid environments. The composite films are prepared by a simple blending method using aqueous solutions of different polymer ratios and characterized for thermal properties, chemical structure, and surface morphology. The hydroxyl groups in the PVA and cellulose provided hydrogen‐bonding interactions and improved the miscibility of the composites. Increasing the cellulose content in the composites enhanced mechanical properties and curl‐shape recovery performance, with 20–25 wt.% cellulose achieving maximum recovery. When the PVA/cellulose solution is applied to natural hair, it effectively maintains the shape of curled hair bundles for at least 6 h under 80% humidity and promotes the hair shape recovery rate to 8–10%. Overall, The proposed humidity‐responsive PVA/cellulose composites present promising application potential in the field of hairstyling to withstand humid weather. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To provide guidance for clinical endotypes by constructing a risk-predictive model of eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (ECRSwNP)., Design: A cross-sectional study., Setting: Single-centre trial at tertiary medical institutions., Participants: A cross-sectional study included 343 CRSwNP patients divided into ECRSwNP (n = 237) and non-ECRSwNP (n = 106) groups using surgical pathology., Main Outcome Measures: Single-factor and multivariate analysis were used to identify statistically significant variables for constructing a nomogram, including the history of AR, hyposmia score, ethmoid sinus score, BEP and BEC. The model's performance was evaluated based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration curve and decision curve analysis (DCA)., Results: Allergic rhinitis, hyposmia score, ethmoid sinus score, peripheral blood eosinophil percentage (BEP) and eosinophil count (BEC) were retained for the construction nomogram of ECRSwNP. The nomogram exhibited a certain accuracy, with an AUC of 0.897 (95% CI: 0.864-0.930), good agreement in the calibration curve and a 0.891 C-index of internal validation. Moreover, the DCA with a threshold probability between 0.0167 and 1.00 indicated a higher net benefit and greater clinical utility., Conclusion: The construction of a predictive risk model of ECRSwNP based on easily accessible factors could assist clinicians in more conveniently defining endotypes to make optimal diagnoses and treatment choices., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The pollution indices of microplastic content in bottled water from South Eastern Nigeria were evaluated. Microplastic contamination factors, pollution load and risk index, polymer risk indices and estimated daily intake for adults and children were determined. Microplastic concentrations, types and shapes were assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) – energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). From documented literature, this is the first study on microplastics in bottled water from Africa. The microplastics were found in 92% of the samples. The four types of microplastics were polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) while the dominant shapes were fragment, film and pellet/granule. Principal component analysis shows strong association of the concentration of microplastics with total solids and total suspended solids. Pollution risk indices show medium pollution risks of microplastics in bottled water. The estimated daily intake was generally low and therefore shows no risk from daily consumption but reveals a higher intake of microplastics for children than adults. The source of the MPs was attributed to leaching from the packaging material, which should be monitored by appropriate regulatory bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is one of the most popular nutrition-rich foods and pseudocereal crops of the family Lamiaceae. Chia seeds are a rich source of proteins, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), dietary fibers, and antioxidants. In this study, we present the assembly of the chia reference genome, which spans 303.6 Mb and encodes 48,090 annotated protein-coding genes. Our analysis revealed that ~42% of the chia genome harbors repetitive content, and identified ~3 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 15,380 simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker sites. By investigating the chia transcriptome, we discovered that ~44% of the genes undergo alternative splicing with a higher frequency of intron retention events. Additionally, we identified chia genes associated with important nutrient content and quality traits, such as the biosynthesis of PUFAs and seed mucilage fiber (dietary fiber) polysaccharides. Notably, this is the first report of in-silico annotation of a plant genome for protein-derived small bioactive peptides (biopeptides) associated with improving human health. To facilitate further research and translational applications of this valuable orphan crop, we have developed the Salvia genomics database (SalviaGDB), accessible at https://salviagdb.org. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human hippocampus (Hc) is critical for memory function across the lifespan. It is comprised of cytoarchitectonically distinct subfields: dentate gyrus (DG), cornu ammonis sectors (CA) 1‐4, and subiculum, each of which may be differentially susceptible to neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative mechanisms. Identifying age‐related differences in Hc subfield volumes can provide insights into neural mechanisms of memory function across the lifespan. Limited evidence suggests that DG and CA3 volumes differ across development while other regions remain relatively stable, and studies of adulthood implicate a downward trend in all subfield volumes with prominent age effects on CA1. Due to differences in methods and limited sampling for any single study, the magnitude of age effects on Hc subfield volumes and their probable lifespan trajectories remain unclear. Here, we conducted a meta‐analysis on cross‐sectional studies (n = 48,278 participants, ages = 4–94 years) to examine the association between age and Hc subfield volumes in development (n = 11 studies), adulthood (n = 30 studies), and a combined lifespan sample (n = 41 studies) while adjusting estimates for sample sizes. In development, age was positively associated with DG and CA3‐4 volumes, whereas in adulthood a negative association was observed with all subfield volumes. Notably, the observed age effects were not different across subfield volumes within each age group. All subfield volumes showed a nonlinear age pattern across the lifespan with DG and CA3‐4 volumes showing a more distinct age trajectory as compared to the other subfields. Lastly, among all the study‐level variables, only female percentage of the study sample moderated the age effect on CA1 volume: a higher female‐to‐male ratio in the study sample was linked to the greater negative association between age and CA1 volume. These results document that Hc subfield volumes differ as a function of age offering broader implications for constructing theoretical models of lifespan memory development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organic pollutants present in wastewater produce greenhouse gas, CO2. Effective utilization of CO2 into valuable green fuels and its sensing is focused research area. Aiming above, this work is focused on fabrication of electrochemical coupled sensing system for degradation of 4-nitrophenol to CO2 from wastewater samples, electrochemical reducing system for transforming CO2 to alcohols and selective amperometric sensing system for quantifying alcohols. A graphene anchored iron oxide electrode was used as an electrocatalyst to facilitate the electrochemical oxidation process to mineralized organic pollutants into water and CO2. The CuO film on silicon substrate was used in cathodic compartment for converting CO2 to methanol and ethanol. Alcohol oxidase modified Au–Cu nanoparticle modified pencil graphite was selective sensing and quantifying the methanol and ethanol. The experimental results revealed that, graphene anchored iron oxide showed maximum degeneration of 4-nitrophenol 72% at 0.9 V. Furthermore, simultaneous reduction of CO2 at cathode gave good yield of the liquid fuels CH3OH and C2H5OH were 105.0 and 90.0 μmol/L respectively. In addition, Alcohol oxidase modified Au–Cu nanoparticles modified pencil graphite biosensor displays a linear response to both methanol and ethanol in the range 0.250–850 μmol/L with a detection limit of 0.07 μmol/L (S/N = 3) (RSD = 0.004 μA) and 0.7–800 μmol/L with detection limit of 0.068 μmol/L (S/N = 3) (RSD = 0.005 μA) with >40% quantitative yield. The response time is less than 50 s at ambient conditions. Consequently, the ethanol and methanol yield were obtained 30.0%. Our developed three-in-one provides a convenient, simple and reliable method to remediate polluted water and utilizing CO2 into green fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interleukin 11 (IL11) is an elusive member of the IL6 family of cytokines. While initially thought to be a haematopoietic and cytoprotective factor, more recent data show instead that IL11 is redundant for haematopoiesis and toxic. In this review, the reasons that led to the original misunderstandings of IL11 biology, which are now understandable, are explained with particular attention on the use of recombinant human IL11 in mice and humans. Following tissue injury, as part of an evolutionary ancient homeostatic response, IL11 is secreted from damaged mammalian cells to signal via JAK/STAT3, ERK/P90RSK, LKB1/mTOR and GSK3β/SNAI1 in autocrine and paracrine. This activates a program of mesenchymal transition of epithelial, stromal, and endothelial cells to cause inflammation, fibrosis, and stalled endogenous tissue repair, leading to organ failure. The role of IL11 signalling in cell- and organ-specific pathobiology is described, the large unknowns about IL11 biology are discussed and the promise of targeting IL11 signalling as a therapeutic approach is reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Educational Academic Research is the property of Ataturk University Coordinatorship of Scientific Journals and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background. Following the dramatic impact of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) drugs on chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) survival, research interest has grown into the long-term impact of treatment, identifying difficulties with medication adherence and ongoing side effects. Qualitative studies suggest the disease has a significant physical and psychological impact on patients, and medication management may be complex. However, only one study worldwide has examined healthcare practitioner (HCP) experiences of managing CML treatment and very little UK qualitative research exists exploring the patient experience. Purpose. Our qualitative study aimed to investigate both patient and HCP experiences of managing CML treatment in the UK. Methods. Patients and HCPs were purposively sampled from within the Haematological Malignancy Research Network (HMRN), a UK population-based patient cohort. Qualitative interviews were carried out with seventeen patients and thirteen HCPs, and data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results. Four themes were developed from interview analysis: "Importance of optimal clinical management," "Multiple adherence strategies," "Inconsistent management of adherence," and "Controlling side effects is complex." HCPs tended to focus on sometimes complex, clinical decision-making. Patients described various strategies to support adherence and manage side effects, some of which HCPs seemed to be less aware of. Several patients did not discuss non-adherence or side effects with their HCP, who tended to avoid direct enquiry regarding adherence and could be uncertain about adherence advice, whilst relying on medical strategies to manage side effects. Conclusions. Despite HCPs focusing on the medical management of CML treatment, patients may opt to use self-management techniques to control adherence and side effects and can be reluctant to discuss related difficulties. Increased clinic time and clear adherence advice guidance may support such discussion, in addition to adjusting the context of follow-up care through the introduction of shared care with GP services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AI models of code have made significant progress over the past few years. However, many models are actually not learning task-relevant source code features. Instead, they often fit non-relevant but correlated data, leading to a lack of robustness and generalizability, and limiting the subsequent practical use of such models. In this work, we focus on improving the model quality through signal awareness, i.e., learning the relevant signals in the input for making predictions. We do so by leveraging the heterogeneity of code samples in terms of their signal-to-noise content. We perform an end-to-end exploration of model signal awareness, comprising: (i) uncovering the reliance of AI models of code on task-irrelevant signals, via predictionpreserving input minimization; (ii) improving models’ signal awareness by incorporating the notion of code complexity during model training, via curriculum learning; (iii) improving models’ signal awareness by generating simplified signal-preserving programs and augmenting them to the training dataset; and (iv) presenting a novel interpretation of the model learning behavior from the perspective of the dataset, using its code complexity distribution. We propose a new metric to measure model signal awareness, Signal-aware Recall, which captures how much of the model’s performance is attributable to task-relevant signal learning. Using a software vulnerability detection use-case, our model probing approach uncovers a significant lack of signal awareness in the models, across three different neural network architectures and three datasets. Signal-aware Recall is observed to be in the sub-50s for models with traditional Recall in the high 90s, suggesting that the models are presumably picking up a lot of noise or dataset nuances while learning their logic. With our code-complexity-aware model learning enhancement techniques, we are able to assist the models toward more task-relevant learning, recording up-to 4.8× improvement in model signal awareness. Finally, we employ our model learning introspection approach to uncover the aspects of source code where the model is facing difficulty, and we analyze how our learning enhancement techniques alleviate it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Computer Sciences Institute is the property of Lublin University of Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Acupuncture & Tuina Science is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: Recent research on Omentin-I and its associations with type II diabetes, the degree of insulin resistance, and obesity is intriguing and has potential for treatment. Adipose tissue is an active endocrine organ that generates many hormones and cytokines called adipokines, such as visfatin, TNF-α, IL-6, and adiponectin[11,12]. These findings are accumulating. These adipokines appear to be key players in the pathophysiology of insulin resistance, diabetes, atherosclerosis, vascular endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation. They also have broad impacts on the metabolism of fats and carbohydrates. Material and method: In partnership with the Department of Endocrinology at the M.K.C.G Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, Odisha, the Department of Biochemistry carried out this clinical investigation. Participants in the study included both inpatient and outpatient visits to the endocrinology department. The period of the clinical investigation was from January 1, 2013, to May 1, 2014.Results: the age distribution of cases and controls. Thirty-four out of fifty cases, or 68% of the cases in the current research, are in the 40–54 age range. whereas 56% of the control group consisted of 28 out of 50 individuals. The two groups' mean ages did not differ significantly (p>0.05).As a result, it was shown that the patient group had considerably greater levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDC-cholesterol than the control group (p<0.001), and that the patient group had much lower HDL cholesterol. Conclusion: All of the patients had higher fasting insulin levels. The patients were found to have high scores on the HOMA-IR assessment of insulin resistance. In TYPE 2 DM subjects, serum omentin levels were lowered. Blood sugar levels while fasting showed a negative correlation with serum omentin. Omentin serum levels and insulin fasting showed a negative correlation. A negative correlation was found between serum omentin and HOMA-IR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review provides a perspective on the industrial application potential of sugar beet pulp (SBP) derived monosaccharides. The broad application of these monosaccharides could contribute to bio-based alternatives and sustainable practices, essential for the transition towards a more circular economy. This review focuses on the utilization and application of two SBP monosaccharides, d-galacturonic acid (d-GalA) and l-arabinose (l-Ara), derived from pectin and hemicellulose. These polysaccharides are major components of sugar beet pulp, an important side stream of sucrose production. d-GalA and l-Ara are therefore abundant in biomass and offer unique molecular structures amenable to selective chemical or enzymatic modifications. We review their application in various industrial applications such as the development and production of bioactive compounds, home and personal care products, and other industries., (© 2024 The Author(s). ChemBioChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The on-demand gene regulation is crucial for extensively exploring specific gene functions and developing personalized gene therapeutics, which shows great promise in precision medicines. Although some nucleic acid-based gene regulatory tools (antisense oligonucleotides and small interfering RNAs) are devised for achieving on-demand activation, the introduction of chemical modifications may cause undesired side effects, thereby impairing the gene regulatory efficacy. Herein, a methyl-engineered DNAzyme (MeDz) is developed for the visualization of endogenous alkyltransferase (AGT) and the simultaneous self-sufficiently on-demand gene regulation. The catalytic activity of DNAzyme can be efficiently blocked by O 6 -methylguanine (O 6 MeG) modification and specifically restored via the AGT-mediated DNA-repairing pathway. This simply designed MeDz is demonstrated to reveal AGT of varying expression levels in different cells, opening the possibility to explore the AGT-related biological processes. Moreover, the AGT-guided MeDz exhibits cell-selective regulation on the human early growth response-1 (EGR-1) gene, with efficient gene repression in breast cancer cells and low effectiveness in normal cells. The proposed MeDz offers an attractive strategy for on-demand gene regulation, displaying great potential in biomedical applications., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Purpose: Adipose tissue has an important endocrine function by secreting a variety of hormones known as adipokines, such as Visfatin, Omentin-1 and Chemerin. On the other hand, these hormones are also secreted from places other than fatty tissues in the girl's genital system. The goal of this study was to demonstrate the secretory status of adipokines in patients with central precocious puberty (CPP) and their utility in the diagnosis of precocious puberty., Method: A total of 105 patients were included in the study (53 in the CPP group and 52 in the control group). The following were used as the CPP diagnostic criteria; breast development, basal LH measurement higher than 0.3 IU/L, peak LH level ≥ 5 IU/L, peak LH/FSH ratio ≥ 0.66 (after 0.1 mg GnRH stimulation test) and a difference of at least 1 year between bone and chronological age., Results: A statistically significant difference was detected between the groups in serum Omentin-1 and Chemerin levels, and no significant differences were detected between the groups in Visfatin values. The cut-off values for the diagnosis of CPP were calculated as ≤ 48.9 with 81% sensitivity and 54% specificity for Omentin-1, and as ≥ 417 with 85% sensitivity and 60% specificity for Chemerin., Conclusion: In our study, we found that Omentin-1 level decreased and Chemerin level increased in lean girls with CPP. More studies are needed to elucidate how adipokines play roles in explaining the onset of CPP, and whether they may be used as a reliable marker for the diagnosis of CPP., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Tracheal resection and reconstruction procedures are necessary when stenosis, tracheomalacia, tumors, vascular lesions, or tracheal injury cause a tracheal blockage. Replacement with a tracheal substitute is often recommended when the trauma exceeds 50% of the total length of the trachea in adults and 30% in children. Recently, tissue engineering and other advanced techniques have shown promise in fabricating biocompatible tracheal substitutes with physical, morphological, biomechanical, and biological characteristics similar to native trachea. Different polymers and biometals are explored. Even with limited success with tissue-engineered grafts in clinical settings, complete healing of tracheal defects remains a substantial challenge due to low mechanical strength and durability of the graft materials, inadequate re-epithelialization and vascularization, and restenosis. This review has covered a range of reconstructive and regenerative techniques, design criteria, the use of bioprostheses and synthetic grafts for the recovery of tracheal defects, as well as the traditional and cutting-edge methods of their fabrication, surface modification for increased immuno- or biocompatibility, and associated challenges., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Proactive management of foodborne illness requires routine surveillance of foodborne pathogens, which requires developing simple, rapid, and sensitive detection methods. Here, a strategy is presented that enables the detection of multiple foodborne bacteria using a 3D nanostructure swab and deep learning-based Raman signal classification. The nanostructure swab efficiently captures foodborne pathogens, and the portable Raman instrument directly collects the Raman signals of captured bacteria. a deep learning algorithm has been demonstrated, 1D convolutional neural network with binary labeling, achieves superior performance in classifying individual bacterial species. This methodology has been extended to mixed bacterial populations, maintaining accuracy close to 100%. In addition, the gradient-weighted class activation mapping method is used to provide an investigation of the Raman bands for foodborne pathogens. For practical application, blind tests are conducted on contaminated kitchen utensils and foods. The proposed technique is validated by the successful detection of bacterial species from the contaminated surfaces. The use of a 3D nanostructure swab, portable Raman device, and deep learning-based classification provides a powerful tool for rapid identification (≈5 min) of foodborne bacterial species. The detection strategy shows significant potential for reliable food safety monitoring, making a meaningful contribution to public health and the food industry., (© 2024 The Authors. Small published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Purpose: The superficial temporal artery (STA) and facial artery (FA) are two commonly used recipient vessels when performing free tissue transfer to the head and neck. This meta-analysis compares the impact of recipient vessel location on free flap outcomes in scalp reconstruction., Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA-P guidelines using six databases. Studies reporting free tissue transfer using the STA or FA as a recipient vessel for reconstructing scalp defects were included. Outcomes of interest included flap loss, partial flap necrosis, wound dehiscence, venous thrombosis, and infection rates. Quality evaluation was performed using ASPS criteria and the ROBINS-I tool., Results: Of 3270 identified articles, 12 were included for final analysis. In total, 125 free flaps were identified (75 STA, 50 FA). Pooled analysis demonstrated an overall flap survival rate of 98.4% (STA 98.7% vs. FA 98.0%; p = .782). The mean defect size was significantly greater for flaps using the STA compared with the FA (223.7 ± 119.4 cm 2 vs. 157.1 ± 96.5 cm 2 , p = .001). The FA group had a higher incidence of wound dehiscence than the STA group (14.0% vs. 1.3%, p = .005). However, meta-analysis demonstrated no significant difference in rates of wound dehiscence, flap loss, partial flap necrosis, venous congestion, or postoperative infection between groups., Conclusion: This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to assess recipient vessel selection in scalp reconstruction. Our results do not support a single vessel as the superior choice in scalp reconstruction. Rather, these findings suggest that the decision between using the STA or FA is multifaceted, requiring a flexible approach that considers the individual characteristics of each case. Further research is needed to explore additional factors influencing recipient vessel selection, including defect location, radiation therapy, and prior head and neck surgery., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The objective of this study was to overcome the shortcomings of the current analysis and calculation methods of the spatial bar system model, plane beam grillage model and solid element model in the design of the box-girder bridge. For example, the spatial bar system model lacks refined analysis of spatial effects, such as the shear lag effect, effective distribution width problem, and eccentric load coefficient problem. The similarity of the plane beam grillage model on the principle of equivalence cannot accurately reflect the shear stress distribution of the box-shaped composite beam and the local force on the top and bottom plates. The solid element and shell element models cannot directly calculate the internal force of the cross section. The calculation efficiency is low, and it is difficult to combine with the overall calculation. This paper proposes a spatial grid element analysis model suitable for fine analysis of box-girder bridges, which has the completeness and reliability of the analysis results and makes up for the shortcomings of the current box-girder bridge analysis methods. Firstly, the stiffness matrix of the spatial grid element is deduced, and the analysis program of the combined box girder based on the spatial grid element is written using MATLAB software. Then an actual calculation example is analyzed, and the difference between the calculation result of the spatial grid element and the result of the literature is compared and analyzed. The correctness and applicability of the spatial grid element model is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education technology has become increasingly important in South African higher education institutions. However, the efficacy of these technological innovations has not been unanimously acknowledged in the departments of Applied Design and Multimedia at CPUT. Lecturers and students have experienced difficulty in integrating education technology systems into all facets of studio-based learning. Aim: This study investigated the role of education technology tools in arts education and the extent, to which learning management systems (LMSs), such as Blackboard, are used in studio-based teaching and learning environments at CPUT. Methods: Owing to the exploratory nature of this study, the researcher adopted a qualitative approach in the form of a multiple case study as the study’s research design. Data analysis was used to analyse the data that was obtained from the interviews and relevant supporting documents. Results: The findings revealed that several lecturers were reluctant to make extensive use of education technology systems due to their perceptions of the primacy of traditional face-to-face teaching methods. Implications: The findings may provide vital information for education technologists, policy makers, and curriculum and instructional designers looking to benefit from education technology in the current fourth industrial revolution. Recommendation: The study recommends extensive use of education technology tools in discipline-specific settings, such as studio-based spaces, and close collaboration between lecturers and instructional designers when developing education technology systems for studio-based courses. The study also concluded that the e-learning system, used at the time of the study, needed to be optimally designed to meet the needs of studio-based disciplines. It is highly likely, that failure to do so would preclude the possibility of successfully integrating future technological innovations into studio-based teaching and learning environments in the post-COVID-19 era and a debilitating failure to prepare students to work in technologically advanced environments would be an inevitable consequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Education for Life / Yaşadıkça Eğitim Dergisi is the property of Istanbul Kultur Universitesi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study undertook literature studies, site and precinct analyses, and observations of 34 laneways in Perth, Western Australia. Ownership, proximity to residential, and mass transit public transport, critical node linkages, proportions, surface 'canvas' area, and development restrictions were assessed eliciting a suitable location to develop an Augmented Reality architectural placemaking 'projection' proposition. The ideation presents iterative design process visualizations within a vernacular 'place' setting with localized spatial linkages and functionalities, and does not draw to a definitive solution, but a novel, cost-effective, adaptable, and 'agile' method of activating 'lost spaces' without permanent structural alteration while retaining their original utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emodin is a natural compound found in several traditional Chinese medicines, including Rheum palmatum and Polygonum cuspidatum. Recent studies have shown that emodin exhibits potent anticancer effects against a variety of cancer types, including liver, breast, lung, and colon cancer. Emodin's anticancer effects are mediated through several mechanisms, including inhibition of cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, and suppression of tumor angiogenesis and metastasis. In this review, we provide an overview of recent research progress and new perspectives on emodin's anticancer effect. We summarize the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying emodin's anticancer activity, including its effects on signaling pathways such as the PI3K/Akt, MAPK, and NF- κ B pathways. We also discuss the potential of emodin as a therapeutic agent for cancer treatment, including its use in combination with conventional chemotherapeutic drugs and as a sensitizer for radiotherapy. Furthermore, we highlight recent advances in the development of emodin derivatives and their potential as novel anticancer agents. Finally, we discuss the challenges and opportunities for the translation of emodin's anticancer properties into clinical applications, including the need for further preclinical and clinical studies to evaluate its safety and efficacy. In conclusion, emodin represents a promising natural compound with potent anticancer properties, and its potential as a therapeutic agent for cancer treatment warrants further investigation. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current research progress and new perspectives on emodin's anticancer effects, which may facilitate the development of novel therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White spot disease (WSD) is one of the most devastating diseases that has deteriorated shrimp production since past several decades. It is caused by white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in almost all the species of shrimps across the globe. Understanding the complete disease mechanism and postulating a consolidated drug/antiviral is still under way. The major envelop proteins that assist the virus to penetrate into the shrimp are VP28, VP26, VP24, and VP19. VP26 a major constituent of the envelope plays a significant role in maintaining the structure of the envelope as well as helps the virus instigate the infection. The drugs and antiviral used to treat any viral infection conventionally efflux several toxic by‐products that degrade the structural properties of the environment. Since quercetin is a natural product obtained from plant sources, hence its degradation does not leave any toxic residues in the environment. This study has tried to understand the structural aspects of the viral envelop protein VP26. Additionally, the study has also tried to understand the interaction of a flavonoid quercetin with VP26. Computational approaches are used to explore the binding cavity of VP26 as well as trace the amino acid interactions shown by quercetin inside the binding cavity of VP26. The study reveals that quercetin shows good compatibility with VP26. Thus, using quercetin as an antiviral and mapping more detailed interaction of VP26‐quercetin can open pathway for development of antiviral against white spot disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dengue is a devastating disease that affects people all over the world, yet there are currently no effective medications or antivirals against it. No vaccine or medicine with long‐lasting effects has been developed to treat dengue fever. Mosquito repellents have gained popularity as a dengue preventative strategy because of their simplicity of application and usage. However, this has led to ecosystem deterioration, damage, and bioaccumulation as well as biomagnification of hazardous residues. When they are first introduced, synthetic pesticides do not create a wide range of major issues that are later discovered. Therefore, it has become urgently necessary to look for natural treatments that reduce or combat dengue in order to avoid such pesticides. An environmentally friendly alternative to conventional antivirals is quercetin, a flavinoid derives from plant sources. This research conducts a pilot investigation using computational approaches to examine the interaction between the flavinoid quercetin with the dengue virus envelop protein. According to the findings of the current investigation, quercetin exhibits excellent affinity with the dengue envelops protein. Hence, quercetin can work as a broad‐spectrum, environmentally friendly antiviral because it interacts with many envelop proteins of dengue and related viruses. Additionally, because it is obtained organically, there is no impact to the ecosystem in the immediate area when it degrades. As a result, it can be used as a potent, environmentally safe, and broad‐spectrum antiviral against the illness [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Engineers use software defect prediction (SDP) to locate vulnerable areas of software. Recently, statement-level SDP has attracted the attention of researchers due to its ability to localize faulty code areas. This paper proposes DP-Tramo, a new model dedicated to improving the state-of-the-art statement-level SDP. We use Clang to extract abstract syntax trees from source code and extract 32 statement-level metrics as static features for each sentence. Then we feed static features and token sequences as inputs to our improved R-Transformer to learn the syntactic and semantic features of the code. Furthermore, we use label smoothing and weighted loss to improve the performance of DP-Tramo. To evaluate DP-Tramo, we perform a 10-fold cross-validation on 119,989 C/C++ programs selected from Code4Bench. Experimental results show that DP-Tramo can classify the dataset with an average performance of 0.949, 0.602, 0.734 and 0.737 regarding the recall, precision, accuracy and F1-measure, respectively. DP-Tramo outperforms the baseline method on F1-measure by 1.2% while maintaining a high recall rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

T cells are the central drivers of many inflammatory diseases, but the repertoire of tissue-resident T cells at sites of pathology in human organs remains poorly understood. We examined the site-specificity of T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires across tissues (5 to 18 tissues per patient) in prospectively collected autopsies of patients with and without graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a potentially lethal tissue-targeting complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, and in mouse models of GVHD. Anatomic similarity between tissues was a key determinant of TCR repertoire composition within patients, independent of disease or transplant status. The T cells recovered from peripheral blood and spleens in patients and mice captured a limited portion of the TCR repertoire detected in tissues. Whereas few T cell clones were shared across patients, motif-based clustering revealed shared repertoire signatures across patients in a tissue-specific fashion. T cells at disease sites had a tissue-resident phenotype and were of donor origin based on single-cell chimerism analysis. These data demonstrate the complex composition of T cell populations that persist in human tissues at the end stage of an inflammatory disorder after lymphocyte-directed therapy. These findings also underscore the importance of studying T cell in tissues rather than blood for tissue-based pathologies and suggest the tissue-specific nature of both the endogenous and posttransplant T cell landscape. Editor's summary: Numerous studies have relied on analyzing peripheral blood to understand how T cells mediate graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) but little is known about these responses at the tissue level. DeWolf et al. compared site-specific T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires across a range of tissues from prospectively collected autopsies from patients with or without GVHD and in GVHD murine models. They consistently found similar TCR repertoires in tissues from similar anatomic sites regardless of patient disease status and confirmed that TCRs in peripheral blood offered a narrow view of the TCR repertoire observed in tissues. They also detected tissue-resident T cells at disease sites in some patients with evidence for donor origin. This study provides insight into the T cell composition in tissues associated with GVHD and highlights the powerful insights gained from directly analyzing tissues. —Christiana Fogg [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SIRT1 is a member of the sirtuin family functioning in the process of removal of acetyl groups from different proteins. This protein has several biological functions and is involved in the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases, malignancy, aging, neurodegenerative disorders and inflammation. Several long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been found to interact with SIRT1. These interactions have been assessed in the contexts of sepsis, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic hepatitis, cardiac fibrosis, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, diabetes, ischemic stroke, immune-related disorders and cancers. Notably, SIRT1-interacting non-coding RNAs have been found to interact with each other. Several circRNA/miRNA and lncRNA/miRNA pairs that interact with SIRT1 have been identified. These axes are potential targets for design of novel therapies for different disorders. In the current review, we summarize the interactions between three classes of non-coding RNAs and SIRT1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stabilizing piles are extensively used as an effective landslide control treatment, and the soil arching effect is the key element for the performance of the pile system. Most previous studies on soil arching effect and its application in stabilizing piles were conducted with laboratory tests and numerical simulations, while limited efforts have been dedicated to the analytical characterization of such a soilstructure interaction. In this paper, a new stress-reduction model for soil arch in landslides is established by theoretical derivation. Our model calculation has demonstrated an exponential reduction in the stress along the direction of slipping between and behind stabilizing piles and thus justifies the observations of laboratory tests and numerical simulations. Thereafter, the analytical solutions to the two key arch shape parameters, namely the inclination angle at the foothold and the thickness of soil arch, are derived based on the proposed stress-reduction model. Then, the ultimate bearing capacity of soil arch between and behind stabilizing piles is subsequently calculated, and a three-level load sharing model for landslides is thus proposed based on the stress-reduction mode. The load sharing model can well capture the stage characteristics of the interaction between landslide mass and stabilizing piles. Finally, the calculation model of spacing between stabilizing piles is established based on the proposed stress-reduction model, and it turns to be good in field application. The findings of this study can contribute to a better understanding of the soil arching effect as well as a better design of the stabilizing piles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, researchers and industries have made efforts to decrease the reliance on fossil fuel-based materials due to the rise in environmental consciousness. A potential environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum-based, nonbiodegradable polymeric materials is known to be natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a biodegradable synthetic polymer that is water-soluble, easy to use, having film-formation property and good potential as a biodegradable matrix in environmentally friendly composites. The objective of this work has been to create a versatile, lightweight, flexible bio-composite based on nonwoven viscose fabric using PVA and a crosslinking agent (glutaraldehyde), and to analyze the effects of the crosslinking agent and of the nonwoven viscose filler in the PVA matrix on the mechanical and UV properties of the composite. The structural, chemical and mechanical properties of the composite were investigated using FTIR, and tensile and UV testing. The results showed that the composite exhibited high tensile strength, but with a drop in elongation. FTIR verified the interaction of the two polymers in the composites. The flexible bio-composite can be potentially used for food packaging applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]