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PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate the correlation between nasal resistance and oxygen desaturation to better elucidate the role of nasal obstruction in the pathophysiology of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).Patients and methodsEighty-eight OSA patients aged between 22 and 77 years were enrolled in this study. Nasal resistance was measured at pressures of 75, 150, and 300 Pa, with the patients first in the seated position than in the supine position. Relationships between the oximetric variables and nasal resistance in the seated and supine positions were analyzed.ResultsFrom seated to supine position, a statistically significant increase in nasal resistance was observed at pressures of 75 and 150 Pa (p=0.001 and p=0.006, respectively). Significant positive correlations were noted between nasal resistance in the supine position at 75 Pa (SupineNR75) and oximetry variables, including oxygen desaturation index (ODI, p=0.015) and the percentage of total time with oxygen saturation level lower than 90% (T < 90%, p=0.012). However, significant positive correlations existed only in moderate to severe OSA when the study group was further divided into two subgroups (mild vs moderate to severe OSA). Body mass index (β = 0.476, p

The property of drug-resistance may attenuate clinical therapy in cancer cells, such as chemoresistance to gefitinib in colon cancer cells. In previous studies, overexpression of PD-L1 causes proliferation and metastasis in cancer cells; therefore, the PD-L1 pathway allows tumor cells to exert an adaptive resistance mechanism in vivo. Nano-diamino-tetrac (NDAT) has been shown to enhance the anti-proliferative effect induced by first-line chemotherapy in various types of cancer, including colorectal cancer (CRC). In this work, we attempted to explore whether NDAT could enhance the anti-proliferative effect of gefitinib in CRC and clarified the mechanism of their interaction. The MTT assay was utilized to detect a reduction in cell proliferation in four primary culture tumor cells treated with gefitinib or NDAT. The gene expression of PD-L1 and other tumor growth-related molecules were quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Furthermore, the identification of PI3K and PD-L1 in treated CRC cells were detected by western blotting analysis. PD-L1 presentation in HCT116 xenograft tumors was characterized by specialized immunohistochemistry (IHC) and the hematoxylin and eosin stain (H&E stain). The correlations between the change in PD-L1 expression and tumorigenic characteristics were also analyzed. (3) The PD-L1 was highly expressed in Colo_160224 rather than in the other three primary CRC cells and HCT-116 cells. Moreover, the PD-L1 expression was decreased by gefitinib (1 µM and 10 µM) in two cells (Colo_150624 and 160426), but 10 µM gefitinib stimulated PD-L1 expression in gefitinib-resistant primary CRC Colo_160224 cells. Inactivated PI3K reduced PD-L1 expression and proliferation in CRC Colo_160224 cells. Gefitinib didn't inhibit PD-L1 expression and PI3K activation in gefitinib-resistant Colo_160224 cells. However, NDAT inhibited PI3K activation as well as PD-L1 accumulation in gefitinib-resistant Colo_160224 cells. The combined treatment of NDAT and gefitinib inhibited pPI3K and PD-L1 expression and cell proliferation. Additionally, NDAT reduced PD-L1 accumulation and tumor growth in the HCT116 (K-RAS mutant) xenograft experiment. (4) Gefitinib might suppress PD-L1 expression but did not inhibit proliferation through PI3K in gefitinib-resistant primary CRC cells. However, NDAT not only down-regulated PD-L1 expression via blocking PI3K activation but also inhibited cell proliferation in gefitinib-resistant CRCs.

This meta-analysis review undertakes a comprehensive examination of various approaches for identifying myopathic fillets and meticulously evaluates the effects of bird age, deboning time, and different cooking and storage conditions on woody breast (WB) myopathic conditions in broiler deboned fillets. The data, meticulously collected from 20 articles based on predefined inclusion criteria sourced from various databases and online resources, reveal significant insights. For instance, the analysis uncovers that deboning time significantly affects Meullenet-Owens Razor Shear (MORS), Blunt Meullenet-Owens Razor Shear (BMORS), and descriptive analysis values (p < 0.001). Instrumentation techniques, such as compression force and shear force, along with different cooking conditions, strongly impact BMORS shear force values (R2 = 86.80%), with significance levels ranging from 0.01 to 0.001. Deboning time also substantially impacts MORS shear force values (R = 64.03%). In contrast, the effects of deboning time, bird age, and cooking conditions on descriptive sensory evaluation are minimal when compared to woody breast fillets (age of birds: R2 = 26.53%; cooking conditions: R2 = 32.57%; deboning time: R2 = 10.06%). The overall effect of bird age on chicken breast meat quality shows significant differences for the evaluated parameters (Hedges' g [95% CI] = −0.72 [0.17, 1.26], I2 = 93%, p < 0.01). The sous vide cooking method significantly affects shear force energies and sensory descriptive evaluation for woody breast fillets (Hedges' g [95% CI] = 5.30 [−50.30, 83.40], I2 = 98%, p < 0.01). These findings, with their significant implications, provide valuable insights for optimizing processing conditions in the poultry industry to reduce woody breast occurrences and enhance meat quality, instilling confidence in the robustness of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stretchable thermoelectric thin films have attracted considerable attention due to their prospective applications in wearable electronics. Nevertheless, targeted resolutions are required for persistent challenges such as the increased resistance and diminished electrical conductivity under strain. The present study focuses on the development of high-performance thermoelectric nanocomposites via the blending of thienyl-phenylene-thienylene-phenylene-thienyl (TPT) nonacyclic fused ring-based conjugated polymers with single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs). To disperse the CNTs, three TPT-based ladder-type random conjugated copolymers featuring distinct acceptor units are investigated, namely (i) thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6(5H)-dione (TPD), (ii) diphenylquinoxaline (QX), and (iii) thieno[3,4-b]thiophene (TT). Notably, the highly planar backbone structure of TPT-TT efficiently wraps around the surfaces of the CNTs, thus facilitating their uniform dispersion within the nanocomposite film. Consequently, the TPT-TT/CNT nanocomposite exhibits superior thermoelectric properties, including a power factor (PF) of up to 678.8 mW m1 K2. In addition, stretchable thermoelectric thin films are fabricated on a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) substrate by incorporating various amounts of the styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) elastomer into the TPT-TT/CNT nanocomposite. The ternary TPT-TT/CNT/SEBS25 (containing 25 wt% SEBS) nanocomposite film maintains a PF of 372.79 mW m1 K2 (73.2% of its initial value) at 50% strain. The present study introduces a straightforward approach for fabricating stretchable thermoelectric thin films with commendable thermoelectric performance under strains of up to 50% by blending the high-performance ladder-type conjugated-polymer/CNT nanocomposite with SEBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites that are generally found in aquatic environments (1,2). The main symptoms of microsporidiosis are kerato-conjunctivitis, diarrhea, muscular infection, and acalculous cholecystitis, among which keratoconjunctivitis and [...]

Mineralized skeletal tissues of vertebrates are an evolutionary novelty within the chordate lineage. While the progenitor cells that contribute to vertebrate skeletal tissues are known to have two embryonic origins, the mesoderm and neural crest, the evolutionary origin of their developmental process remains unclear. Using cephalochordate amphioxus as our model, we found that cells at the lateral wall of the amphioxus somite express SPARC (a crucial gene for tissue mineralization) and various collagen genes. During development, some of these cells expand medially to surround the axial structures, including the neural tube, notochord and gut, while others expand laterally and ventrally to underlie the epidermis. Eventually these cell populations are found closely associated with the collagenous matrix around the neural tube, notochord, and dorsal aorta, and also with the dense collagen sheets underneath the epidermis. Using known genetic markers for distinct vertebrate somite compartments, we showed that the lateral wall of amphioxus somite likely corresponds to the vertebrate dermomyotome and lateral plate mesoderm. Furthermore, we demonstrated a conserved role for BMP signaling pathway in somite patterning of both amphioxus and vertebrates. These results suggest that compartmentalized somites and their contribution to primitive skeletal tissues are ancient traits that date back to the chordate common ancestor. The finding of SPARC-expressing skeletal scaffold in amphioxus further supports previous hypothesis regarding SPARC gene family expansion in the elaboration of the vertebrate mineralized skeleton.

Abstract A novel quinoidal thienoisoindigo (TII)‐containing small molecule family with dicyanomethylene end‐capping units and various alkyl chains is synthesized as n‐type organic small molecules for solution‐processable organic field effect transistors (OFETs). The molecular structure of the 2‐hexyldecyl substituted derivative, TIIQ‐b16, is determined via single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction and shows that the TIIQ core is planar and exhibits molecular layers stacked in a “face‐to‐face” arrangement with short core intermolecular distances of 3.28 Å. The very planar core structure, shortest intermolecular N···H distance (2.52 Å), existence of an intramolecular non‐bonded contact between sulfur and oxygen atom (S···O) of 2.80 Å, and a very low‐lying LUMO energy level of −4.16 eV suggest that TIIQ molecules should be electron transporting semiconductors. The physical, thermal, and electrochemical properties as well as OFET performance and thin film morphologies of these new TIIQs are systematically studied. Thus, air‐processed TIIQ‐b16 OFETs exhibit an electron mobility up to 2.54 cm2 V−1 s−1 with a current ON/OFF ratio of 105–106, which is the first demonstration of TII‐based small molecules exhibiting unipolar electron transport characteristics and enhanced ambient stability. These results indicate that construction of quinoidal molecule from TII moiety is a successful approach to enhance n‐type charge transport characteristics.