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With increasing life expectations, more and more patients suffer from fractures either induced by intensive sports or other bone-related diseases. The balance between osteoblast-mediated bone formation and osteoclast-mediated bone resorption is the basis for maintaining bone health. Osterix (Osx) has long been known to be an essential transcription factor for the osteoblast differentiation and bone mineralization. Emerging evidence suggests that Osx not only plays an important role in intramembranous bone formation, but also affects endochondral ossification by participating in the terminal cartilage differentiation. Given its essentiality in skeletal development and bone formation, Osx has become a new research hotspot in recent years. In this review, we focus on the progress of Osx’s function and its regulation in osteoblast differentiation and bone mass. And the potential role of Osx in developing new therapeutic strategies for osteolytic diseases was discussed.

Medical devices that come in direct contact with human skin or the oral cavity will inevitably be contaminated with microorganisms, including potential pathogens. Ensuring the microbiological safety of such devices is therefore crucial to prevent infections. Healthcare institutions usually have the facilities needed for effective sterilization of reusable medical devices. However, effective sterilization or disinfection of medical devices for usage at home has remained challenging both in terms of pathogen elimination and user safety. Preferably, this involves easy-to-operate equipment that works at relatively low temperatures and atmospheric pressure. In principle this need can be met by disinfection with steam. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to examine the efficacy of a simple electronic steam machine designed for home usage. Our results show that exposure to steam at 100 °C for 60 s resulted in complete eradication (100% reduction) of bacterial contaminants, including Acinetobacter baumannii , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Significant bacterial reductions (ranging from ~ 90–100%) were also observed within shorter exposure times (10–30 s), depending on the strain. Importantly, the applied steam disinfection approach is effective even against biofilm-embedded bacteria, or bacteria applied to a medical device for home usage, as exemplified with a nebulizer that is used by patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In conclusion, our results provide quantitative proof-of-concept evidence that portable steam-generating devices that operate at atmospheric pressure can be used for effective disinfection of reusable medical devices in home settings.

This study investigated the frequency of idiopathic epistaxis onset and its severity relative to the time of day. Idiopathic epistaxis was defined as epistaxis in the emergency department, with no epistaxis diagnosis in any hospital 12 months before incident epistaxis. The timing of epistaxis onset was divided into four categories: morning (6:01–12:00), afternoon (12:01–18:00), evening (18:01–24:00), and overnight (00:01–6:00). The chi-square test was used to analyse the time distribution of epistaxis ( p  ≤ .05).. During the study period, a total of 1684 patients with a median age of 56 years developed epistaxis. Epistaxis incidence was highest in December ( n  = 213), lowest in July ( n  = 95), and highest in winter, followed by fall, spring, and summer. Epistaxis occurred most frequently overnight ( n  = 823, 48.8%), followed by evening ( n  = 410, 24.3%), morning ( n  = 254, 15.1%), and afternoon ( n  = 197, 11.7%; p  < .001). Afternoon was selected as the reference. After adjustment for covariates, odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the risk of epistaxis were 1.34 (95% CI, 1.26–1.43), 1.47 (1.38–1.56), and 3.52 (3.14–3.91) in the evening, morning, and overnight, respectively. Epistaxis rates overnight were significantly strongest and positively proportional to blood pressure levels between 0:01 am and 6:00 am ( r  = 18.1, p  < .001), followed by overnight rates ( r  = 11.5, p  = .017). Patients who developed epistaxis overnight were more likely to develop posterior epistaxis and to receive endoscopic electrocoagulation haemostasis ( p  < .001). In this cohort, these results suggest that adult idiopathic epistaxis occurred most frequently at overnight, especially in the winter, and more need management to immediately control the bleeding in ENT emergency departments. In addition, this study found that high frequent of epistaxis at overnight associated with serious blood pressure between 0:01 am and 6:00 am. This analysis supports that health care professionals and caregiver should be aware of individuals with hypertension, and the status of blood pressure at overnight should be considered in preventing nasal bleeding’s risk.

Tropane alkaloids (TAs) are widely distributed in the Solanaceae, while some important medicinal tropane alkaloids (mTAs), such as hyoscyamine and scopolamine, are restricted to certain species/tribes in this family. Little is known about the genomic basis and evolution of TAs biosynthesis and specialization in the Solanaceae. Here, we present chromosome-level genomes of two representative mTAs-producing species: Atropa belladonna and Datura stramonium . Our results reveal that the two species employ a conserved biosynthetic pathway to produce mTAs despite being distantly related within the nightshade family. A conserved gene cluster combined with gene duplication underlies the wide distribution of TAs in this family. We also provide evidence that branching genes leading to mTAs likely have evolved in early ancestral Solanaceae species but have been lost in most of the lineages, with A. belladonna and D. stramonium being exceptions. Furthermore, we identify a cytochrome P450 that modifies hyoscyamine into norhyoscyamine. Our results provide a genomic basis for evolutionary insights into the biosynthesis of TAs in the Solanaceae and will be useful for biotechnological production of mTAs via synthetic biology approaches. Tropane alkaloids (TAs) are synthesized by some species in Solanaceae. Here, the authors assemble the genomes of two representative TAs producing species, show that gene loss shapes uneven distribution of TAs in Solanaceae, and identify a cytochrome P450 gene catalyzing N -demethylation of hyoscyamine to generate norhyoscyamine.

Supported metal clusters comprising of well-tailored low-nuclearity heteroatoms have great potentials in catalysis owing to the maximized exposure of active sites and metal synergy. However, atomically precise design of these architectures is still challenging for the lack of practical approaches. Here, we report a defect-driven nanostructuring strategy through combining defect engineering of nitrogen-doped carbons and sequential metal depositions to prepare a series of Pt and Mo ensembles ranging from single atoms to sub-nanoclusters. When applied in continuous gas-phase decomposition of formic acid, the low-nuclearity ensembles with unique Pt 3 Mo 1 N 3 configuration deliver high-purity hydrogen at full conversion with unexpected high activity of 0.62 mol HCOOH mol Pt −1 s −1 and remarkable stability, significantly outperforming the previously reported catalysts. The remarkable performance is rationalized by a joint operando dual-beam Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory modeling study, pointing to the Pt-Mo synergy in creating a new reaction path for consecutive HCOOH dissociations. Precise design of bimetallic low-nuclearity catalysts is challenging. Here, the authors report a defect-driven nanostructuring strategy combining defect engineering of nitrogen-doped carbons and sequential metal depositions, yielding a series of platinum and molybdenum ensembles in the sub-nano regime.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a cerebrovascular accident with an acute onset, severe disease characteristics, and poor prognosis. Within 72 hours after the occurrence of SAH, a sequence of pathological changes occur in the body including blood-brain barrier breakdown, cerebral edema, and reduced cerebrovascular flow that are defined as early brain injury (EBI), and it has been demonstrated that EBI exhibits an obvious correlation with poor prognosis. Ferroptosis is a novel programmed cell death mode. Ferroptosis is induced by the iron-dependent accumulation of lipid peroxides and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Ferroptosis involves abnormal iron metabolism, glutathione depletion, and lipid peroxidation. Recent study revealed that ferroptosis is involved in EBI and is significantly correlated with poor prognosis. With the gradual realization of the importance of ferroptosis, an increasing number of studies have been conducted to examine this process. This review summarizes the latest work in this field and tracks current research progress. We focused on iron metabolism, lipid metabolism, reduction systems centered on the GSH/GPX4 system, other newly discovered GSH/GPX4-independent antioxidant systems, and their related targets in the context of early brain injury. Additionally, we examined certain ferroptosis regulatory mechanisms that have been studied in other fields but not in SAH. A link between death and oxidative stress has been described. Additionally, we highlight the future research direction of ferroptosis in EBI of SAH, and this provides new ideas for follow-up research.

The control of Aspergillus niger (A. niger) is of great significance for the agricultural economy and food safety. In this study, the antifungal effect and mechanism of iturin A from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (CGMCC No. 8473) against A. niger (ATCC 16404) were investigated using biochemical analyses and proteomics. Changes in a mycelium treated with iturin A were observed using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, including mycelial twisting and collapse, organelle disintegration, and intracellular vacuolization. The cytomembrane integrity of A. niger was affected by iturin A, as detected by propidium iodide staining. In addition, the generation of excess reactive oxygen species, the hyperpolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential and malondialdehyde accumulation also indicated that iturin A induced apoptosis in A. niger through the oxidative stress pathway. Proteomics results showed that 310 proteins were differentially expressed in the A. niger mycelium exposed to iturin A, including 159 upregulated proteins and 151 downregulated proteins, which were mainly associated with energy metabolism of A. niger. We propose that iturin A might inhibit the growth of A. niger by disrupting cytomembrane integrity, via oxidative stress, and by interfering with glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Overall, iturin A is a promising antifungal agent that provides a rationale for controlling A. niger contamination in food.

Stereopsis is the ability to perceive depth using the slightly different views from two eyes. This study aims to conduct innovative stereopsis tests using the objective data outputted by eye tracking technology. A laptop and an eye tracker were used to establish the test system. Anaglyphic glasses were employed to execute the stereopsis assessment. The test symbol employed was devised to emulate the quantitative measurement component of the Random Dot 3 Stereo Acuity Test. Sub-pixel technology was used to increase the disparity accuracy of test pages. The tested disparities were: 160\", 100\", 63\", 50\", 40\", 32\", 25\", 20\", 16\", and 12.5\". The test was conducted at a distance of 0.65m. Conventional and eye tracking stereopsis assessments were conducted on 120 subjects. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to test the difference, while the Bland-Altman method was used to test the consistency between the two methods. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed no significant difference between conventional and eye tracking thresholds of stereopsis (Z = -1.497, P = 0.134). There was a high level of agreement between the two methods using Bland- Altman statistical analysis (The 95 per cent limits of agreement were -0.40 to 0.47 log arcsec). Stereoacuity can be evaluated utilizing an innovative stereopsis measurement system grounded in eye tracking technology.

Accurate identification of Oudemansiella raphanipes growth stages is crucial for understanding its development and optimizing cultivation. However, deep learning methods for this task remain unexplored. This paper introduces OR-FCOS, an enhanced fully convolutional one-stage (FCOS) approach designed to improve accuracy and efficiency in identifying these growth stages. We constructed the ORaph8K dataset, containing 8,000 images of Oudemansiella raphanipes at different growth stages, used for training and validation. The OR-FCOS uses the MobileNetV3-Large backbone with an efficient multi-scale attention (EMA) module, improving feature extraction efficiency without sacrificing accuracy. A neural architecture search (NAS)-enhanced FCOS decoder replaces both the traditional feature pyramid networks (FPN) and prediction head in FCOS, optimizing feature fusion and prediction. Integrating the complete intersection over union (CIoU) loss function addresses standard IoU limitations by factoring in aspect ratio and bounding box center distance. Channel pruning further reduces the decoder’s parameters, decreasing model size and computational requirements while maintaining precision. The enhanced algorithm achieved a mean average precision (mAP) of 89.4% ( ) and 78.3% ( ), while the number of model parameters was reduced to 9.9 M, the model size was reduced to 40.1 MB, and the number of floating point operations per second (FLOPs) was reduced to 31.2 G. These results show that OR-FCOS accurately and efficiently identifies the growth stages of Oudemansiella raphanipes . By installing cameras in cultivation facilities, our algorithm enables automated and real-time monitoring, thereby supporting large-scale factory-based production of the fungus.