A Personalized 3D-Printed Model for Preoperative Evaluation in Thyroid Surgery

The anatomic structure of the surgical area of thyroid cancer is complex. It is very important to comprehensively and carefully evaluate the tumor ...

Encomomic School of New York University Shanghai

A new fluorescent polyimide covalent organic framework (PI-COF) has been successfully synthesized through solvothermal route using tetra(4-aminophenyl) porphyrin and perylenetracarboxylic dianhydride, which possesses porous crystalline and excellent thermal stability (>500 °C). Furthermore, few-layered PI covalent organic nanosheets (PI-CONs) can be easily obtained from the fluorescent PI-COF through a facile liquid phase exfoliation approach, which were confirmed by atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analysis. It is interesting that the fluorescent intensity of PI-CONs is obviously enhanced relative to that of PI-COF. The PI-CONs have been successfully utilized as an efficient fluorescent probe for the highly sensitive and selective detection of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). The mechanism might be attributed to the combination of electron transfer and inner filter effect based on DFT calculations and spectral overlap data. The system exhibits a good linear response toward TNP over the range from 0.5 to 10 μM with a detection limit of 0.25 μM.

Highly Fluorescent Polyimide Covalent Organic Nanosheets as Sensing Probes for the Detection of 2,4,6-Trinitrophenol.

A theme emerging from the current literature is that Chinese gay and bisexual men are likely to struggle to accept themselves because of the cultural emphasis on filial piety. However, our understanding of this culturally particular process remains partial because most research has operationalized filial piety as either a component of Chinese values or an aggregate construct itself. To pinpoint this mechanism, this study deconstructed filial piety into pragmatic obligations and compassionate reverence to test a mediation model in which internalized homonegativity served as a mediator between filial piety and depressive symptoms among Taiwanese gay and bisexual men. With the aid of Facebook advertisements, a total of 1,381 respondents ( age = 26.56,  = 6) were recruited to complete a web-based survey comprising the Contemporary Filial Piety Scale, the Chinese Internalized Homophobia Scale, and the Patient Health Quesionanire-9. Structural equation modeling was performed to test the mediation paths. Results showed that pragmatic obligations are directly and negatively associated with depressive symptoms without yielding significant correlation with internalized homonegativity. A full mediation path was found in that compassionate reverence is positively correlated with internalized homonegativity and in turn associated with higher depressive symptoms. Whereas filial piety still assumes salience among Taiwanese gay and bisexual men, this study provides novel evidence for the intricate effect of the value of filial piety on Taiwanese gay and bisexual men's self-acceptance and mental health. The results highlight the importance of a relational and cultural focus to address mental health disparities among sexual minorities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Filial piety, internalized homonegativity, and depressive symptoms among Taiwanese gay and bisexual men: A mediation analysis.

How the absence of gravity affects the physiology of human beings is generating global research interest as space exploration, including missions aboard the International Space Station, continues to push boundaries. Here, we examined changes in retinal microcirculation and visual electrophysiology in mice suspended by their tails to simulate the cephalad movement of blood that occurs under microgravity conditions. Tail suspension was performed with a head-down tilt with a recommended angle of 30°. Mice in the control groups were similarly attached to a tether but could maintain a normal position. Morphologically, the 15-day tail-suspended mice showed retinal microvascular dilation, tortuosity, and a relatively long fluorescence retention; however, the average diameter of the major retinal vessels was not notably changed. In addition, optical coherence tomography showed their optic nerve head had an increased diameter. However, the mice could adapt to the change, with microcirculation and the optic nerve head recovering following 30-day tail suspension. Expression of rhodopsin and cone-opsins was not notably changed, and no retinal apoptotic-positive cells were detected between 15- and 30-day tail suspensions. Moreover, the three experimental groups of suspended mice showed normal retinal layers and thickness. Functionally, following 15-day tail suspension, scotopic electroretinograms showed a decline in the oscillatory potentials (OPs), but not in the b wave; simultaneously, the peak time of flash visual evoked potential component N was delayed compared to its baseline and the time-matched control. Following 30-day tail suspension, the OPs (O2) amplitude recovered to approximately 97% of its baseline or 86% of the time-matched control level. By simulating cephalad shifting of blood, short-term tail suspension can affect rodent retinal microcirculation, the optic nerve head, and disturb visual electrophysiology. However, the change is reversible with no permanent injury observed in the retina. The mice could adapt to the short-term change of retinal microcirculation, indicating new conditions that could be combined with, or could enhance, simulated microgravity for further studying the impact of short- or long-term outer space conditions on the retina.

Rodent retinal microcirculation and visual electrophysiology following simulated microgravity.

Female migrant populations are at high risk of being overweight or obese. Beyond individual risk factors, exposure to the neighborhood food environment may contribute to their unhealthy weight status in the host region. Incorporating spatial analysis, this study examined the association between exposure to fast food restaurants and unhealthy weight status among Filipina domestic workers in Macao (SAR), China.

Fast food restaurant density and weight status: A spatial analysis among Filipina migrant workers in Macao (SAR), People's Republic of China.

Topological quantum computation based on anyons is a promising approach to achieve fault-tolerant quantum computing. The Majorana zero modes in the Kitaev chain are an example of non-Abelian anyons where braiding operations can be used to perform quantum gates. Here we perform a quantum simulation of topological quantum computing, by teleporting a qubit encoded in the Majorana zero modes of a Kitaev chain. The quantum simulation is performed by mapping the Kitaev chain to its equivalent spin version and realizing the ground states in a superconducting quantum processor. The teleportation transfers the quantum state encoded in the spin-mapped version of the Majorana zero mode states between two Kitaev chains. The teleportation circuit is realized using only braiding operations and can be achieved despite being restricted to Clifford gates for the Ising anyons. The Majorana encoding is a quantum error detecting code for phase-flip errors, which is used to improve the average fidelity of the teleportation for six distinct states from 70.76±0.35% to 84.60±0.11%, well beyond the classical bound in either case.

Emulating Quantum Teleportation of a Majorana Zero Mode Qubit.

The ability to accurately determine when to perform an action is a fundamental brain function and vital to adaptive behavior. The behavioral mechanism and neural circuit for action timing, however, remain largely unknown. Using a new, self-paced action timing task in mice, we found that deprivation of auditory, but not somatosensory or visual input, disrupts learned action timing. The hearing effect was dependent on the auditory feedback derived from the animal's own actions, rather than passive environmental cues. Neuronal activity in the secondary auditory cortex was found to be both correlated with and necessary for the proper execution of learned action timing. Closed-loop, action-dependent optogenetic stimulation of the specific task-related neuronal population within the secondary auditory cortex rescued the key features of learned action timing under auditory deprivation. These results unveil a previously underappreciated sensorimotor mechanism in which the secondary auditory cortex transduces self-generated audiomotor feedback to control action timing.

Secondary auditory cortex mediates a sensorimotor mechanism for action timing.

During the past few decades, bio-inspired nanochannels have been well developed and applied in biosensing, energy transfer, separation, and so on. Here, inspired by the synergistic effect of biological nanopores, biomimetic solid-state nanochannels with hydrophilic DNA probes at the inner wall (DNA@IW ) and hydrophobic coating at the outer surface (None@OS ) are designed. To demonstrate their prompted sensing properties, Hg and its specific probe are selected as target and hydrophilic DNA probes, respectively. Compared with the traditional solid-state nanochannels with hydrophilic probes distributed on both the inner wall and outer surface, the nanochannels with DNA@IW +None@OS significantly decrease the limit of detection (LOD) by 10 -fold. The obvious improvement of sensitivity (with LOD of 1 nM) is attributed to the synergistic effect: None@OS results in the nanochannel's effective diameter decrease and DNA@IW induces a specific sensing target. Meanwhile, nanomolar detection of Hg in human serum and in vivo fish muscle are achieved. Through molecular dynamics simulation, the synergistic effect can be confirmed by ion fluxes increasement; the relative carbon nanotube increases from 135.64% to 135.84%. This work improves the understanding of nanochannels' synergistic effect and provides a significant insight for nanochannels with improved sensitivity.

Synergistic Effect of Bio-Inspired Nanochannels: Hydrophilic DNA Probes at Inner Wall and Hydrophobic Coating at Outer Surface for Highly Sensitive Detection.

Accurate spatial and temporal regulation of cell cycle progression is essential for cell proliferation and organismic development. This review demonstrates the role of microspherule protein 58kD, commonly known as MCRS1, as a key cell cycle regulator of higher eukaryotic organisms. We discuss the isoforms and functional domains of MCRS1 as well as their subcellular localization at specific stages of the cell cycle. These molecular characteristics reveal MCRS1's dynamic regulatory role in gene expression, genome stability, cell proliferation, and organismic development. Furthermore, we discuss the molecular details of its seemingly opposite, tumor-suppressive or tumor-promoting, role in different types of cancer.

The molecular characteristics and functional roles of microspherule protein 1 (MCRS1) in gene expression, cell proliferation, and organismic development.

Zhimian Huang

Encomomic School of New York University Shanghai

A Personalized 3D-Printed Model for Preoperative Evaluation in Thyroid Surgery