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We demonstrated conformal Al2O3 passivation via atomic layer deposition (ALD) of a flexible Ag network electrode possessing a high aspect ratio. The Ag network electrode passivated by the ALD-grown Al2O3 film demonstrated constant optical transmittance and mechanical flexibility relative to the bare Ag network electrode. Owing to the conformal deposition of the Al2O3 layer on the high aspect ratio Ag network electrode, the electrode exhibited more favorable stability than its bare Ag-network counterpart. To demonstrate the feasibility of Al2O3 passivation via ALD on a flexible Ag network, the performances of flexible and transparent thin-film heaters (TFHs) with both a bare Ag network and that passivated by ALD-grown Al2O3 were compared. The performance of Al2O3/Ag network-based TFHs was minimally altered even after harsh environmental tests at 85% relative humidity and a temperature of 85 °C, while the performance of bare electrode-based TFHs significantly deteriorated. The improved stability and reliability of the Al2O3/Ag network-based TFHs indicate that the ALD-grown Al2O3 film effectively prevents the introduction of moisture and impurities into the Ag network with a high aspect ratio. The improvement in the stability of the Ag network through Al2O3 passivation implies that the ALD-grown Al2O3 film represents a promising transparent and flexible thin film passivation material for high quality Ag network electrodes with high aspect ratios.

This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and oncologic outcomes of irreversible electroporation (IRE) using a clustered electrode in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). In this single-center prospective cohort study, 13 patients with LAPC (median age, 60 years; range, 48-78 years) underwent clustered electrode IRE between September 2022 and September 2024. Patient characteristics, procedural details, and clinical outcomes were recorded. Endpoints included technical success, procedure-related complications, overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS). Tumors were located in the pancreatic head in four patients (30.8%) and in the body/tail in nine (69.2%). The median tumor size was 2.4 cm (1.5-4.0 cm), and vascular invasion was present in all patients. Technical success was achieved in all patients. Intraoperative IRE was performed in 11 (84.6%) patients, and 2 (15.4%) patients underwent percutaneous IRE. Gastrointestinal bleeding events as major complications occurred in two patients (15.4%) and, both were successfully controlled by embolization. No 60-day mortality was observed. At a median follow-up of 24.5 months (range, 9.9-33.4 months) after IRE, median OS and PFS from IRE were 20.1 and 14.5 months, respectively. IRE using clustered electrodes for LAPC appears to be a feasible therapeutic approach, offering reliable technical success and acceptable safety. Survival outcomes are encouraging; however, larger, controlled studies are required.

The incidence of major hemorrhage and transfusion during liver transplantation has decreased significantly over the past decade, but major bleeding remains a common expectation. Massive intraoperative hemorrhage during liver transplantation can lead to mortality or reoperation. This study aimed to develop machine learning models for the prediction of massive hemorrhage and a scoring system which is applicable to new patients. Data were retrospectively collected from patients aged >18 years who had undergone liver transplantation. These data included emergency information, donor information, demographic data, preoperative laboratory data, the etiology of hepatic failure, the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, surgical history, antiplatelet therapy, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), the preoperative dose of vasopressor, and the estimated blood loss (EBL) during surgery. The logistic regression model was one of the best-performing machine learning models. The most important factors for the prediction of massive hemorrhage were the disease etiology, activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), operation duration, body temperature, MELD score, mean arterial pressure, serum creatinine, and pulse pressure. The risk-scoring system was developed using the odds ratios of these factors from the logistic model. The risk-scoring system showed good prediction performance and calibration (AUROC: 0.775, AUPR: 0.753).

Abstract ObjectiveTo investigate the difference in time-to-fusion between two sets of interbody fusion criteria (absence of peri-graft radiolucency vs. trabecular bone bridging), and to determine the effect of osteoporosis on time-to-fusion.Materials and methodsThis retrospective study enrolled 79 patients treated for degenerative disease with one-level transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion from February 2012 to December 2018, and who had both pre- and post-operative CTs. Patients were divided into osteoporosis, osteopenia, and normal groups based on L1 vertebral body attenuation values in pre-operative CT with cutoff of 90 Hounsfield units (HU) and 120 HU. The osteoporosis, osteopenia, and normal groups included 36 patients (mean age: 69.9 years; 8 men and 28 women), 18 patients (mean age: 62.6 years; 7 men and 11 women), and 25 patients (mean age: 56.6 years; 15 men and 10 women), respectively. Fusion was assessed annually on post-operative CT images using absence of peri-graft radiolucency and trabecular bone bridging criteria. Time-to-fusion was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method, and differences between the groups were examined using the log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed.ResultsTime-to-fusion took significantly longer in the osteoporosis group in both fusion criteria (0.5 years in normal vs. 2 years in osteopenia vs. 3 years in osteoporosis for absence of peri-graft radiolucency; p = 0.003, and 3 years vs. 4 years vs. 5 years for trabecular bone bridging; p = 0.001). Only osteoporosis grouping was independent risk factor for slow trabecular bone fusion (hazard ratio:0.339; p = 0.003).ConclusionThe median time to fusion was significantly longer when using trabecular bone bridging criteria than absence of peri-graft radiolucency criteria.

We demonstrated conformal Al[sub.2]O[sub.3] passivation via atomic layer deposition (ALD) of a flexible Ag network electrode possessing a high aspect ratio. The Ag network electrode passivated by the ALD-grown Al[sub.2]O[sub.3] film demonstrated constant optical transmittance and mechanical flexibility relative to the bare Ag network electrode. Owing to the conformal deposition of the Al[sub.2]O[sub.3] layer on the high aspect ratio Ag network electrode, the electrode exhibited more favorable stability than its bare Ag-network counterpart. To demonstrate the feasibility of Al[sub.2]O[sub.3] passivation via ALD on a flexible Ag network, the performances of flexible and transparent thin-film heaters (TFHs) with both a bare Ag network and that passivated by ALD-grown Al[sub.2]O[sub.3] were compared. The performance of Al[sub.2]O[sub.3]/Ag network-based TFHs was minimally altered even after harsh environmental tests at 85% relative humidity and a temperature of 85 °C, while the performance of bare electrode-based TFHs significantly deteriorated. The improved stability and reliability of the Al[sub.2]O[sub.3]/Ag network-based TFHs indicate that the ALD-grown Al[sub.2]O[sub.3] film effectively prevents the introduction of moisture and impurities into the Ag network with a high aspect ratio. The improvement in the stability of the Ag network through Al[sub.2]O[sub.3] passivation implies that the ALD-grown Al[sub.2]O[sub.3] film represents a promising transparent and flexible thin film passivation material for high quality Ag network electrodes with high aspect ratios.

Background The honey bee is an important model system for increasing understanding of molecular and neural mechanisms underlying social behaviors relevant to the agricultural industry and basic science. The western honey bee, Apis mellifera , has served as a model species, and its genome sequence has been published. In contrast, the genome of the Asian honey bee, Apis cerana , has not yet been sequenced. A. cerana has been raised in Asian countries for thousands of years and has brought considerable economic benefits to the apicultural industry. A cerana has divergent biological traits compared to A. mellifera and it has played a key role in maintaining biodiversity in eastern and southern Asia. Here we report the first whole genome sequence of A. cerana . Results Using de novo assembly methods, we produced a 238 Mbp draft of the A. cerana genome and generated 10,651 genes. A.cerana -specific genes were analyzed to better understand the novel characteristics of this honey bee species. Seventy-two percent of the A. cerana -specific genes had more than one GO term, and 1,696 enzymes were categorized into 125 pathways. Genes involved in chemoreception and immunity were carefully identified and compared to those from other sequenced insect models. These included 10 gustatory receptors, 119 odorant receptors, 10 ionotropic receptors, and 160 immune-related genes. Conclusions This first report of the whole genome sequence of A. cerana provides resources for comparative sociogenomics, especially in the field of social insect communication. These important tools will contribute to a better understanding of the complex behaviors and natural biology of the Asian honey bee and to anticipate its future evolutionary trajectory.

Summary Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer, reputed as the king of medicinal herbs, has slow growth, long generation time, low seed production and complicated genome structure that hamper its study. Here, we unveil the genomic architecture of tetraploid P. ginseng by de novo genome assembly, representing 2.98 Gbp with 59 352 annotated genes. Resequencing data indicated that diploid Panax species diverged in association with global warming in Southern Asia, and two North American species evolved via two intercontinental migrations. Two whole genome duplications (WGD) occurred in the family Araliaceae (including Panax) after divergence with the Apiaceae, the more recent one contributing to the ability of P. ginseng to overwinter, enabling it to spread broadly through the Northern Hemisphere. Functional and evolutionary analyses suggest that production of pharmacologically important dammarane‐type ginsenosides originated in Panax and are produced largely in shoot tissues and transported to roots; that newly evolved P. ginseng fatty acid desaturases increase freezing tolerance; and that unprecedented retention of chlorophyll a/b binding protein genes enables efficient photosynthesis under low light. A genome‐scale metabolic network provides a holistic view of Panax ginsenoside biosynthesis. This study provides valuable resources for improving medicinal values of ginseng either through genomics‐assisted breeding or metabolic engineering.

Cytoplasmic chloroplast (cp) genomes and nuclear ribosomal DNA (nR) are the primary sequences used to understand plant diversity and evolution. We introduce a high-throughput method to simultaneously obtain complete cp and nR sequences using Illumina platform whole-genome sequence. We applied the method to 30 rice specimens belonging to nine Oryza species. Concurrent phylogenomic analysis using cp and nR of several of specimens of the same Oryza AA genome species provides insight into the evolution and domestication of cultivated rice, clarifying three ambiguous but important issues in the evolution of wild Oryza species. First, cp-based trees clearly classify each lineage but can be biased by inter-subspecies cross-hybridization events during speciation. Second, O. glumaepatula , a South American wild rice, includes two cytoplasm types, one of which is derived from a recent interspecies hybridization with O. longistminata . Third, the Australian O. rufipogan -type rice is a perennial form of O. meridionalis .

Background The ginseng ( Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) is a perennial herbaceous plant that has been used in traditional oriental medicine for thousands of years. Ginsenosides, which have significant pharmacological effects on human health, are the foremost bioactive constituents in this plant. Having realized the importance of this plant to humans, an integrated omics resource becomes indispensable to facilitate genomic research, molecular breeding and pharmacological study of this herb. Description The first draft genome sequences of P. ginseng cultivar “Chunpoong” were reported recently. Here, using the draft genome, transcriptome, and functional annotation datasets of P. ginseng , we have constructed the Ginseng Genome Database http://ginsengdb.snu.ac.kr /, the first open-access platform to provide comprehensive genomic resources of P. ginseng . The current version of this database provides the most up-to-date draft genome sequence (of approximately 3000 Mbp of scaffold sequences) along with the structural and functional annotations for 59,352 genes and digital expression of genes based on transcriptome data from different tissues, growth stages and treatments. In addition, tools for visualization and the genomic data from various analyses are provided. All data in the database were manually curated and integrated within a user-friendly query page. Conclusion This database provides valuable resources for a range of research fields related to P. ginseng and other species belonging to the Apiales order as well as for plant research communities in general. Ginseng genome database can be accessed at http://ginsengdb.snu.ac.kr /.

The concept of U’s triangle, which revealed the importance of polyploidization in plant genome evolution, described natural allopolyploidization events in Brassica using three diploids [ B . rapa (A genome), B . nigra (B), and B . oleracea (C)] and derived allotetraploids [ B . juncea (AB genome), B . napus (AC), and B . carinata (BC)]. However, comprehensive understanding of Brassica genome evolution has not been fully achieved. Here, we performed low-coverage (2–6×) whole-genome sequencing of 28 accessions of Brassica as well as of Raphanus sativus [R genome] to explore the evolution of six Brassica species based on chloroplast genome and ribosomal DNA variations. Our phylogenomic analyses led to two main conclusions. (1) Intra-species-level chloroplast genome variations are low in the three allotetraploids (2~7 SNPs), but rich and variable in each diploid species (7~193 SNPs). (2) Three allotetraploids maintain two 45SnrDNA types derived from both ancestral species with maternal dominance. Furthermore, this study sheds light on the maternal origin of the AC chloroplast genome. Overall, this study clarifies the genetic relationships of U’s triangle species based on a comprehensive genomics approach and provides important genomic resources for correlative and evolutionary studies.