Explore the vast range of titles available.

Objectives This study is to evaluate the efficacy of participatory ergonomic (PE) intervention on musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and work ability among young dental professionals in China. Methods A cluster randomized controlled trail was conducted during 2015–2016. Twenty‐nine departments from five hospitals in the South of China were randomized into intervention (14 departments) and control (15 departments), with individuals of 125 and 138 dental professionals, respectively. Main participatory ergonomic interventions involved work posture, repetitive motions, tool usage, work break relaxation and work time re‐arrangement with total 235 ergonomic changes in the trail. Individual ergonomic risk exposure was assessed by investigator's observation using quick exposure check (QEC). Work ability index (WAI) and MSDs were collected by questionnaires at baseline, and every 3 months during the 1‐year follow‐up. Results Follow‐up rate was 91% and 96% for the intervention and control group, respectively. Significant reductions in ergonomic risk exposure and MSD prevalence on six anatomic sites were found in the PE group during the different follow‐up stages. WAI scores improved by 1.1 (95% CI 0.43, 1.89) after the 9‐month intervention. Compared to the control, the PE participants significantly reduced MSDs on neck (OR = 2.93, 95% CI: 1.25, 4.03) and wrists/hands (OR = 2.33, 95% CI: 1.08, 4.21), marginally increased WAI scores by 0.53 (95% CI: −0.02, 1.56) due to the interventions. Conclusion PE intervention is effective in reducing ergonomic risk exposure and MSDs on neck and wrists/hands among young dental professionals. PE ought to be offered in the early dental career for preventing MSDs.

Background Exposure to high ergonomic risk resulted in an increasing prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among dental professional. However, little is known about the high exposure risk impact on work ability among dental professionals. Objective We conducted a cross‐sectional study to examine the association between ergonomic risk exposure and work ability among young dental professionals in their early careers. Methods A total of 230 dental professionals including dentists, dental assistants, and nurses were clustered sampled from three hospitals in Guangzhou, south of China. We used the Quick Ergonomic Check (QEC) to assess participants' ergonomic risk exposure and Work Ability Index (WAI) to evaluate their work ability. Demographics and other factors related with WAI were also included in the data collection. Multiple linear regression was applied to analyze the association between ergonomic exposure scores and WAI. Results A total of 218 participants (94.8%) had valid data and consent forms. The participants' average WAI was 39.6, of which the poor and moderate WAI composed 31%. High and very high ergonomic risk exposure level was 45.9% for the neck and 21.1% for the wrist/hand. In general, WAI decreased with higher ergonomic exposure level. With adjustment of other potential risk factors, the ergonomic scores for wrist/hand and total scores for the whole body were significantly associated with the decreased WAI. Conclusion High ergonomic risk exposure might risk in reducing work ability among young dental professionals. Intervention measures toward ergonomic risk should be taken to prevent WAI from decreasing in their early careers.

The retina, an anatomical extension of the brain, forms physiological connections with the visual cortex of the brain. Although retinal structures offer a unique opportunity to assess brain disorders, their relationship to brain structure and function is not well understood. In this study, we conducted a systematic cross-organ genetic architecture analysis of eye-brain connections using retinal and brain imaging endophenotypes. We identified novel phenotypic and genetic links between retinal imaging biomarkers and brain structure and function measures from multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with many associations involving the primary visual cortex and visual pathways. Retinal imaging biomarkers shared genetic influences with brain diseases and complex traits in 65 genomic regions, with 18 showing genetic overlap with brain MRI traits. Mendelian randomization suggests bidirectional genetic causal links between retinal structures and neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Overall, our findings reveal the genetic basis for eye-brain connections, suggesting that retinal images can help uncover genetic risk factors for brain disorders and disease-related changes in intracranial structure and function. Using large-scale multimodal retinal and brain imaging data, the authors map eye-brain connections and uncover underlying genetic factors, suggesting the retina as a window into brain structure, function, and disorders.

Global bacterial infections are on the rise, and drug resistance to bacteria is gradually rendering existing antibiotics ineffective. Therefore, the discovery of new strategies is urgently needed. Cellular metabolism is a key factor in the regulation of bacterial drug resistance, which cannot be separated from the utilization of energetic substances, suggesting that energetic substances may be associated with bacterial drug resistance. In this study, we found that adenosine monophosphate (AMP) can enhance the bactericidal effect of gentamicin against gentamicin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. This synergistic effect can be generalized for use with different antibiotics and Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria. We also validated that the mechanism of AMP reversal of antibiotic resistance involves enhancing the proton motive force via the tricarboxylic acid cycle to increase antibiotic uptake. Simultaneously, AMP increases oxidative stress-induced cell death. This study presents a strategy for adopting low-dose antibiotics to control drug-resistant bacteria, which is important for future drug development and bacterial control.

An altered colonic microbiota probably increases colorectal adenoma (CRA) and cancer (CRC) risk, but large, unbiased fecal collections are needed to examine the relationship of gut microbiota diversity and composition to colorectal carcinogenesis. This study assessed whether fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) from CRA/CRC screening may fulfill this requirement. Using FIT, self-collected by members of Kaiser Permanente Hawaii (KPH), as well as interspersed quality control (QC) specimens, DNA was extracted and amplified to generate 16S rRNA microbiome profiles rarified at 10,000 reads. CRA/CRC were diagnosed by colonoscopy and histopathology. Covariates were from electronic KPH records. Of 921 participants’ FIT devices, 538 (58%) yielded at least 10,000 rRNA reads and 1016 species-level variants mapped to 46 genera. Of the 538 evaluable participants, 63 (11.7%) were FIT-negative per protocol, and they were considered negative for CRA/CRC. Of the 475 FIT + participants, colonoscopy and pathologic review revealed that 8 (1.7%) had CRC, 71 (14.9%) had high-risk CRA, 107 (22.5%) had low-risk CRA, and 289 (60.8%) did not have CRA/CRC. Men were 2.27-fold [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.32–3.91] more likely than women to be FIT+ . Men also had 1.96-fold (CI 1.24–3.07) higher odds of low-risk CRA, with similar trends for high-risk CRA and CRC. CRA/CRC were not associated with overweight, obesity, diabetes, or antibiotic prescriptions in this study. QC analysis across 24 batches of FIT devices revealed QC outliers in four batches. With or without exclusion of the four QC-outlier batches, as well as lenient (1000-read) rarefaction, CRA/CRC had no consistent, statistically significant associations with fecal microbiome alpha diversity, beta diversity or genera relative abundance. CRA/CRC had expected associations with male sex but not with microbiome metrics. Fecal microbiome profiling using DNA extracted from at-home collected, re-used FIT devices is feasible, albeit with substantial challenges. Using FITs for prospective microbiome studies of CRA/CRC risk should consider the impact of the current findings on statistical power and requisite sample sizes.

Natural killer (NK) cells can be used as an adoptive immunotherapy to treat cancer patients. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of highly activated NK (HANK) cell immunotherapy in patients with advanced lung cancer. Between March 2016 and September 2017, we enrolled 13 patients who met the enrollment criteria. Donor peripheral blood monocytes were isolated from patients and the NK cells were expanded. After 12 days of culture, the cells were collected and infused intravenously on days 13 to 15. The enrolled patients received at least one course including three times of infusions. The lymphocyte subsets, cytokine production, and the expression of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) were measured before treatment and after the last infusion. No side effects were observed. After a three-month follow-up, the percentage of patients who achieved stable disease and progressive disease was 84.6% and 15.4%. Moreover, the level of IFN-γ was significantly higher after treatment and the level of CEA decreased substantially. The overall immune function of the patients who received the NK cell therapy remained stable. This is the first study to describe the efficacy of NK cell therapy of patients with advanced lung cancer. These clinical observations demonstrated that NK cell is safe and efficient for advanced lung cancer therapy.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a persistent intestinal inflammation driven by epithelial barrier dysfunction, immunological imbalance, and microbial dysbiosis. The restoration of gut homeostasis through biomaterial-based strategies offers a potential avenue for alleviating inflammation in IBD. Herein, an alginate-based hydrogel incorporating astaxanthin-loaded mesoporous catechin nanoparticles (AST@MCN-Gel) was designed to relieve inflammation and rebalance gut homeostasis. The mesoporous framework of MCN enabled effective encapsulation of the hydrophobic AST, thereby increasing its water solubility and bioavailability. In lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophages, AST@MCN exhibited superior ROS-scavenging capacity and anti-inflammatory activity relative to either AST or MCN. Mechanistically, AST@MCN modulated macrophage phenotype from pro-inflammatory (M1) to anti-inflammatory (M2) state through regulation of the MAPK/NF-κB pathway. On the other hand, the alginate-based hydrogel effectively enhanced the intestinal retention of AST@MCN, resulting in a marked improvement in oral therapeutic efficacy. In a DSS-induced IBD mouse model, oral administration of AST@MCN-Gel significantly alleviated the clinical symptoms and restored intestinal barrier integrity. Analysis of the gut microbiome further indicated that AST@MCN-Gel ameliorated gut dysbiosis by restoring microbial diversity and suppressing the proliferation of pathogenic species. Collectively, these underscore the potential of AST@MCN-Gel as an effective biomaterial-based therapeutic approach for restoring intestinal homeostasis and improving IBD therapy.

In this paper, the thermal properties including thermal stability, thermal decomposition activation energy and the thermal enthalpy of nano-carbon clusters (NCCs, including fullerene[60](C 60 , with a diameter of 0.71 nm), multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs, with a diameter of 10–30 nm and a length of 1–2 µm), single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs, with a diameter of ~2 nm and a length of 5–15 µm), ligands of NCC-based terpyridine (NCC-tpy), and NCC-based ruthenium complexes (NCC-tpyRuCl 3 ) were systematically studied by method of simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis. The results show that the modification of NCCs with terpyridine leads to a decrease in the thermal stability and in the thermal decomposition activation energy (the thermal decomposition activation energy decreased from 174.4 for C 60 , 144.9 for MWCNTs and 161.2 kJ/mol for SWCNTs to 166.2 for C 60 -tpy, 119.7 for MWCNT-tpy and 85.0 kJ/mol for SWCNT-tpy). But the modification of NCCs with terpyridine results in an increase in the enthalpy change of NCC thermal decomposition reaction. The introduction of the metal ions through complexation further decreases the thermal stability and the thermal decomposition activation energy of NCC-tpyRuCl 3 due to the catalytic oxidation of Ru(III) ions (the activation energy decreases to 124.1 for C 60 -tpyRuCl 3 , 106.4 for MWCNT-tpyRuCl 3 and 41.2 kJ/mol for SWCNT-tpyRuCl 3 ). The introduction of the metal ions also leads to a decrease in the enthalpy change of the thermal decomposition reaction.

Orange peel was made into a highly efficient bio-sorbent by modification with cross-linking amine groups for perchlorate removal. Bench-scale experiments were performed to explore the factors affecting the perchlorate adsorption onto the modified orange peel (MOP). Perchlorate could be removed effectively at a wide range of pH (from 1.5 to 11). The maximum adsorption capacity of MOP for perchlorate was calculated as 154.1 mg/g within 15 min. The Redlich–Peterson model was fitted to the adsorption isotherm very well (R2 > 0.99). The adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic, which was proved by thermodynamic parameters (Gibbs energy and enthalpy). The pseudo-second-order kinetic model could provide satisfactory fitting of the experimental data (R2 > 0.99). The scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis indicated that the surface of MOP became smooth and the contents of N and Cl in MOP were increased during the modification process. Elemental analysis results showed that the nitrogen content in MOP was increased to 5.5%, while it was 1.06% in orange peel. The adsorption mechanism was also explored using zeta potential and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. Ion exchange was the primary mechanism responsible for uptake of perchlorate onto MOP.

Neurodegenerative diseases and serious mental illnesses often exhibit overlapping characteristics, highlighting the potential for shared underlying mechanisms. To facilitate a deeper understanding of these diseases and pave the way for more effective treatments, we have generated a population-scale multi-omics dataset consisting of genotype and single-nucleus transcriptome data from the prefrontal cortex of frozen human brain specimens. Encompassing over 6.3 million nuclei from 1,494 donors, our dataset represents a diverse range of neurodegenerative and serious mental illnesses, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and diffuse Lewy body dementia, as well as neurotypical controls. Our dataset offers a unique opportunity to study disease interactions, as 21% of donors had comorbid diagnoses of two or more major brain disorders. Additionally, it includes detailed phenotypic information on neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as apathy and weight loss, which commonly accompany Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. We have performed stringent preprocessing and quality controls, ensuring the reliability and usability of the data. As a commitment to fostering collaborative research, we provide this valuable resource as an online repository, enabling widespread analyses across the scientific community.