Search

BackgroundMigraine patients have an increased long-term risk of cardio and cerebrovascular events. However, whether these patients are more susceptible to white matter lesions (WMLs) remains debated. To explore this question, our study assessed the proportion of RLS in migraine patients and explored the association between right-to-left shunt (RLS) and WMLs.MethodsIn this study, we included 998 migraine patients. Contrast transcranial doppler (c-TCD) was used to diagnose RLS and assess the extent of the shunt in RLS patients. Of the 998 patients, 505 underwent cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments. WMLs were classified into periventricular white matter lesions (pvWMLs) and deep white matter lesions (dWMLs).ResultsAmong the 998 migraine patients, 946 had migraine without aura (MO; mean age 36.68 ± 10.46 years; 80.5% female), and 52 had migraine with aura (MA; mean age 29.85 ± 8.59 years; 71.2% female). Compared with MO patients, MA patients had an earlier onset age (23.1 ± 7.97 vs. 28.44 ± 10.38 years, p

【Objective】 Evapotranspiration from farmlands is an important component in the hydrological cycle, and it varies with many factors. The aim of this paper is to present an experimental study on the impact of soil water on reliability of different methods commonly used in the literature to calculate evapotranspiration from cropped fields. 【Method】 The experiment was conducted using large lysimeters with winter wheat used as the model plant. It consisted of three soil water treatments, achieved by criteria for irrigation: Resuming irrigation whenever the soil water content in the root zone dropped to 70% (T70), 60% (T60) and 50% (T50) of the field water capacity, respectively. The evapotranspiration in each treatment was calculated by methods using a single crop coefficient, dual crop coefficient, and the BP artificial neural network, respectively. 【Result】 With an increase in water stress due to the reduced irrigation, the total evapotranspiration and seasonable evapotranspiration at different growth stages decreased. Comparison with measured results from the lysimeters showed that the accuracy of the three models varied with soil water content. Under moderate water stress (T50), only did the method using dual crop coefficient reproduce the measured evapotranspiration reasonably well with NSE=0.646 and RSR=0.599. Under mild water stress (T60), the BP artificial neural network model worked better with NSE=0.872 and RSR=0.360, followed by the dual crop coefficient model with NSE=0.729, RSR=0.523. When there was a limited or without water stress (T70), all three methods accurately reproduced the measured evapotranspiration. 【Conclusion】 On average, the model using dual crop coefficient is more suitable for estimating evapotranspiration of winter wheat grown in soils under different water stress.

Untethered magnetic soft robots capable of performing adaptive locomotion and shape reconfiguration open up possibilities for various applications owing to their flexibility. However, magnetic soft robots are typically composed of soft materials with fixed modulus, making them unable to exert or withstand substantial forces, which limits the exploration of their new functionalities. Here, water‐induced, shape‐locking magnetic robots with magnetically controlled shape change and water‐induced shape‐locking are introduced. The water‐induced phase separation enables these robots to undergo a modulus transition from 1.78 MPa in the dry state to 410 MPa after hydration. Moreover, the body material's inherent self‐healing property enables the direct assembly of morphing structures and magnetic soft robots with complicated structures and magnetization profiles. These robots can be delivered through magnetic actuation and perform programmed tasks including supporting, blocking, and grasping by on‐demand deformation and subsequent water‐induced stiffening. Moreover, a water‐stiffening magnetic stent is developed, and its precise delivery and water‐induced shape‐locking are demonstrated in a vascular phantom. The combination of untethered delivery, on‐demand shape change, and water‐induced stiffening properties makes the proposed magnetic robots promising for biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the endogenous mechanism of adaptive response to drug‐induced liver injury (arDILI) may discover innovative strategies to manage DILI. To gain mechanistic insight into arDILI, we investigated exosomal miRNAs in the adaptive response to toosendanin‐induced liver injury (TILI) of mice. Exosomal miR‐106b‐5p was identified as a specific regulator of arDILI by comprehensive miRNA profiling. Outstandingly, miR‐106b‐5p agomir treatment alleviated TILI and other DILI by inhibiting apoptosis and promoting hepatocyte proliferation. Conversely, antagomir treatments had opposite effects, indicating that miR‐106b‐5p protects mice from liver injury. Injured hepatocytes released miR‐106b‐5p‐enriched exosomes taken up by surrounding hepatocytes. Vim (encodes vimentin) was identified as an important target of miR‐106b‐5p by dual luciferase reporter and siRNA assays. Furthermore, single‐cell RNA‐sequencing analysis of toosendanin‐injured mouse liver revealed a cluster of Vim+ hepatocytes; nonetheless declined following miR‐106b‐5p cotreatment. More importantly, Vim knockout protected mice from acetaminophen poisoning and TILI. In the clinic, serum miR‐106b‐5p expression levels correlated with the severity of DILI. Indeed, liver biopsies of clinical cases exposed to different DILI causing drugs revealed marked vimentin expression among harmed hepatocytes, confirming clinical relevance. Together, we report mechanisms of arDILI whereby miR‐106b‐5p safeguards restorative tissue repair by targeting vimentin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control of the intermolecular aggregation of organic π‐conjugated molecules as chromophores is crucial for tuning their physical properties such as light absorption/emission, and energy and charge transfer. Lots of advances have been achieved in control of intermolecular aggregation of organic chromophores in solid states where an indefinitely large number of molecules are involved. However, much less understanding has been gained at a mesoscale of aggregates formed by well‐defined organization of a deterministic number of chromophores, which has been realized in natural photosynthetic systems but still remains rare in manmade materials. Here, we report both the kinetic and the thermodynamic control of the supramolecular aggregation of a near‐infrared cyanine dye, PPcy, and its derivatives confined in colloidal nanoparticles stabilized by surfactants in aqueous media. Our results demonstrate that both the aggregation number, the aggregation state and the optical properties of the PPcy chromophores are controllable through optimization of the alkyl and polymer chains tethered from PPcy, the effective concentration of the chromophore inside each particle, and the surfactants utilized to stabilize the colloids in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loss-of-function mutations in the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) occur frequently in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, an aggressive sarcoma that arises from NF1-deficient Schwann cells. To define the oncogenic mechanisms underlying PRC2 loss, we use engineered cells that dynamically reassemble a competent PRC2 coupled with single-cell sequencing from clinical samples. We discover a two-pronged oncogenic process: first, PRC2 loss leads to remodeling of the bivalent chromatin and enhancer landscape, causing the upregulation of developmentally regulated transcription factors that enforce a transcriptional circuit serving as the cell's core vulnerability. Second, PRC2 loss reduces type I interferon signaling and antigen presentation as downstream consequences of hyperactivated Ras and its cross talk with STAT/IRF transcription factors. Mapping of the transcriptional program of these PRC2-deficient tumor cells onto a constructed developmental trajectory of normal Schwann cells reveals that changes induced by PRC2 loss enforce a cellular profile characteristic of a primitive mesenchymal neural crest stem cell., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)