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Previous studies have implicated epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in salamander limb regeneration. In this review, we describe putative roles for EMT during each stage of limb regeneration in axolotls and other salamanders. We hypothesize that EMT and EMT‐like gene expression programs may regulate three main cellular processes during limb regeneration: (1) keratinocyte migration during wound closure; (2) transient invasion of the stump by epithelial cells undergoing EMT; and (3) use of EMT‐like programs by non‐epithelial blastemal progenitor cells to escape the confines of their niches. Finally, we propose nontraditional roles for EMT during limb regeneration that warrant further investigation, including alternative EMT regulators, stem cell activation, and fibrosis induced by aberrant EMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pancreatitis is a severe inflammatory pathology that occurs from pancreatic duct and exocrine acinar injury, leading to improper secretion of digestive enzymes, auto‐digestion of the pancreas, and subsequent inflammation. Clinical reports show that 60%–90% of pancreatitis patients have a history of chronic alcohol use. More recent studies reveal that exocrine pancreas disorders like acute pancreatitis can precede diabetes type II onset, though mechanisms are not yet fully known. This study identified molecules and key signaling pathways underlying alcohol‐induced acute pancreatitis and their effects on diabetes type II onset. Methods: Data on human peripheral blood samples with or without acute pancreatitis were retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Gene Expression Omnibus (accession number GSE194331). Acute pancreatitis‐mediated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were generated from GSE194331 using CLC Genomics Workbench 12. Molecules associated with ethanol (EtOH), acute pancreatitis, and diabetes type II were collected from QIAGEN Knowledge Base (QKB). The relationship between the molecules and signaling pathways associated with EtOH, acute pancreatitis, or diabetes type II was examined using various Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) tools. Results: Our investigation showed that acute pancreatitis‐mediated DEGs were closely associated with EtOH by revealing that EtOH‐induced acute pancreatitis appears to lead to the onset of diabetes type II. We found that diabetes type II onset was mediated by pro‐inflammatory and metabolic mechanisms underlying EtOH‐induced acute pancreatitis, involving increased expression of cytokines including macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), and decreased expression of hormones such as insulin. Conclusions: Exposure to alcohol may promote diabetes type II by affecting the activity of key inflammatory and metabolic mediators involved in acute pancreatitis. These findings call for further investigation into the role of pro‐inflammatory and metabolic mediators like resistin, IL‐6, and insulin in EtOH‐induced diabetes type II associated with acute pancreatitis pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study business cycles with cyclical returns to scale. Contrary to tightly parameterized conventional production functions, we empirically identify strong input complementarity that leads to procyclical returns to scale. We, therefore, propose a flexible translog production function that allows complementarity‐induced procyclical returns to scale. We integrate this function into a standard medium‐scale dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model. Our estimated model with input complementarity (i) features procyclical returns to scale and acyclical price markups, (ii) better matches the cyclicality of factor shares, and (iii) significantly decreases the contribution of markup shocks to output fluctuations relative to those of the standard model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malnutrition may be an important geriatric condition in adults with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), but studies on its prevalence and associated clinical outcomes are limited. The aim of this study was to determine if malnutrition is associated with short‐term morbidity and mortality in ambulatory patients with HFpEF. Methods: We examined 231 patients with a clinical diagnosis of HFpEF seen at two dedicated academic HFpEF programs (Weill Cornell Medicine and Michigan Medicine) from June 2018 to April 2022. Malnutrition was defined by Mini‐Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA‐SF) scores ≤11. The primary endpoint was a 6‐month composite of all‐cause mortality and all‐cause hospitalization. A Cox proportional‐hazard models was used to examine the association between malnutrition and the primary endpoint, adjusting for race, prior hospitalization history, and the validated Meta‐Analysis Global Group in Chronic (MAGGIC) heart failure prognostic risk score. Results: The median age of the cohort was 73 years (interquartile range 64–81). The most common comorbid conditions included hypertension (prevalence 81%), atrial fibrillation (43%), and obesity (63%). The prevalence of malnutrition was 42% (n = 97), and MNA‐SF scores did not significantly correlate with body mass index (R = −0.02, p = 0.71). At the 6‐month follow‐up, 62 patients (26.8%) were hospitalized and four patients died (1.7%). In a fully‐adjusted analysis, malnutrition was independently associated with the composite outcome of all‐cause mortality and all‐cause hospitalization (HR 1.94 [95% CI: 1.17–3.20], p = 0.01). Conclusion: Despite a high prevalence of obesity, two out of five ambulatory adults with HFpEF are malnourished. Malnutrition was independently associated with adverse outcomes at 6 months. Future work is necessary to develop interventions that can address malnutrition. See related editorial by Brinza and Flint in this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic semiconductor materials have recently gained momentum due to their non‐toxicity, low cost, and sustainability. Xylindein is a remarkably photostable pigment secreted by fungi that grow on decaying wood, and its relatively strong electronic performance is enabled by π–π stacking and hydrogen‐bonding network that promote charge transport. Herein, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy with a near‐IR probe was used to unveil a rapid excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer reaction. Conformational motions potentially lead to a conical intersection that quenches fluorescence in the monomeric state. In concentrated solutions, nascent aggregates exhibit a faster excited state lifetime due to excimer formation, confirmed by the excimer→charge‐transfer excited‐state absorption band of the xylindein thin film, thus limiting its optoelectronic performance. Therefore, extending the xylindein sidechains with branched alkyl groups may hinder the excimer formation and improve optoelectronic properties of naturally derived materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Accurate clinical decision‐making of dentists should be based on their knowledge and experience. In the past 10 years, interest in competency‐based dentistry education has rapidly increased, but there has been little attention paid to methods of improving dental education competency. The purpose of this study was to develop a clinical presentation education model that provides opportunities for students to practice problem‐solving from the moment they greet the patient so that students can obtain the practical experience of competency‐based education and the effectiveness of this model can be confirmed through pilot test. Methods: This article is divided two parts: First, developing the clinical presentation dental education model (CPDEM) and Second, a pilot study adopted CPDEM. To confirm the effectiveness of this model, the students' satisfaction, their perception of self‐achievement were analysed. Results: Clinical presentation dental education model has been developed to provide practice‐related education experience and provide linkage between basic science and clinical science. The result of applying this education model to 10 students as a pilot test was shown an overall high satisfaction level. In addition, self‐achievement students' reported of all intended competencies was higher than for non‐participating students of this model. Conclusions: This study focuses on practical education centring on clinical presentation. This model could get a meaningful and realistic experiences through the practice using clinical presentation of patients, use their metacognition for organizing and memorizing the patient's case by using concept map. It can be used as a future instructional method to enhance students' competency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Dental schools seek to educate students to become inclined toward self-directed, lifelong learning, an important mindset for healthcare professionals that may be linked to deep versus surface learning approaches. Students using a deep learning approach are more intrinsically motivated and actively engage in higher-order thinking, while those using a surface learning approach are more extrinsically motivated and aim for passive learning.Objectives: Because student learning approaches can be influenced by a wide variety of learning experiences, we sought to understand how student approaches to learning differ by year in dental school and are related to academic achievement.Methods: A total of 244 students in a 4-year dental school program in South Korea voluntarily participated in this study. We collected data on school year and academic achievement, and approaches to learning of participants using the validated Study Processes Questionnaire to assess learning approach, which included the constructs of deep motive, deep strategy, surface motive, and surface strategy.Results: We conducted 3 sets of statistical analyses and found that most students adopted a deep approach to learning (DAL) in their first and second years (Y1 and Y2), with third-year students (Y3) showing heavy dependence on a surface approach to learning (SAL) and sharp drops in intrinsic motives. Student approaches to learning were not significantly related to academic achievement. In the first 2 years of dental school, students tended to adopt a DAL, and viewed their learning as personal growth and their profession as necessitating deep intellectual inquiry.Conclusions: In the third year, the change from a DAL to a SAL coincided with entry to clinical training. The lack of integration of biomedical science (Y1 and Y2) and clinical science (Y3 and Y4), and increased stress in the initial clinical context may account for this difference. The poor correlation between a DAL and high achievement may indicate a need for change in assessment methods. This study hopes to stimulate reflection regarding student learning approaches and educational efforts that prepare future dentists for lifelong learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Aspidosperma alkaloids leuconoxine, melodinine E, and mersicarpine were synthesized. The approach features a key cascade radical reaction. A 1,5‐hydrogen atom transfer is followed by spontaneous 5‐exo‐trig cyclization to construct the central indoline architecture. Late‐stage differentiation of the radical cyclization product by chemoselective oxidation allows production of either the leuconoxine/melodinine E or mersicarpine structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Materials and Methods Results Conclusion This study aims to evaluate food impaction on three‐dimensional (3D) printed models with periodontal ligament simulation.Based on a commercial typodont pair, 3D maxillary and mandibular models were created with no teeth and with tooth sockets that were 1 mm wider than the original ones from 24 to 27 or 34 to 37 for periodontal ligament simulation with vinyl polysiloxane impression material. In total, 35 pairs of 7 combinations, including maxillary/mandibular typodonts in occlusion with maxillary/mandibular 3D models with/without a distal gap of canines on 3D models (tooth 23 or 33) were mounted on hinge articulators and divided into seven groups (n = 5). Each sample experienced the same manual chewing simulation on a customized device. The proximal surfaces were photographed to measure the percentage of food impaction area using ImageJ software.Group with fixed maxillary and mandibular teeth showed more food impaction than other groups with significant differences in the average of maxilla and the average of all proximal areas.The flexibility of the periodontal ligament and the degree of freedom of the teeth in their sockets may contribute to the extent of food impaction in proximal spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

* Premise of the Study: The common reed (Phragmites australis), one of the most widely distributed of all angiosperms, uses its rhizomes (underground sterns) to invade new territory, making it one of the most successful weedy species worldwide. Characterization of the rhizome transcriptome and proteome is needed to identity candidate genes and proteins involved in rhizome growth, development, metabolism, and invasiveness. * Methods: We employed next-generation sequencing technologies including 454 and Illumina platforms to characterize the reed rhizome transcriptome and used quantitative proteomics techniques to identify the rhizome proteome. * Key results: Combining 336514 Roche 454 Titanium reads and 103 350 802-Illumina paired-end reads in a de novo hybrid assembly yielded 124450 unique transcripts with an average length of 549 bp, of which 54 317 were annotated. Rhizome-specific and differentially expressed transcripts were identified between rhizome apical tips (apical meristematic region) and rhizome emigration zones. A total of 1280 no redundant proteins were identified and quantified using GeLC-MS/MS based label-tree proteomics, where 174 and 77 proteins were preferentially expressed in the rhizome elongation zone and apical tip tissues, respectively. Genes involved in allelopathy and in controlling development and potentially invasiveness were identified. * Conclusions: In addition to being a valuable sequence and protein data resource for studying plant rhizome species, our results provide useful insights into identifying specific genes and proteins with potential roles in rhizome differentiation, development, and function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes a case report of a 47-year-old male patient with a history of left leg numbness, which was diagnosed as one of the symptoms of neurosarcoidosis. The patient's histologic examination showed multiple non caseating granulomata at the cerebral gray and white matter, with scattered blood vessels with perivascular lymphocytes. The origin of neurosarcoidosis is discussed.