Advancing Open Science

The aim of the study was to characterize the prevalence of comorbidities and molecular genetic status in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and non-familial hypercholesterolemia (non-FH). This cross-sectional observational study included 323 patients. Assessments comprised personal and family histories, physical examination, fasting lipid profiling, and molecular genetic testing. Patients with FH were not characterized by an increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In contrast, the non-FH group demonstrated a pronounced cardiometabolic comorbidity profile with a high prevalence of recurrent chronic pancreatitis. Patients with probable or definite FH had a higher prevalence of coronary heart disease and peripheral atherosclerosis, whereas myocardial infarction (MI) was common across all studied groups. Among patients with definite and probable FH, pathogenetic variants were identified in 78.2% and 71.4%, respectively, predominantly in the LDLR gene, with one variant in the APOB gene. In the possible FH group, pathogenic variants were identified in 46.7% of cases (LDLR gene in 64.3% and APOB gene in 28.6%). Patients with FH were characterized by a lower prevalence of concomitant cardiometabolic diseases. The high diagnostic yield of genetic testing in the possible FH category (figured Clinic Network score 3–5) suggests that expanding indications for molecular genetic testing to include this patient group should be considered.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of mortality worldwide. CVDs are associated with multiple factors, including oxidative stress, mediated endothelial dysfunction, vascular inflammation, and atherothrombosis. Although traditional antioxidant supplementation (such as vitamins C, E, and β-carotene) has shown promising results in rigorous animal model studies, it has consistently failed to demonstrate clinical benefit in most human trials. Consequently, there is a substantial unmet need for novel paradigms involving mechanistically and biologically relevant pharmaceutical-grade antioxidant therapies (“next-generation antioxidants”). Rapid advancements in redox biology, nanotechnology, genetic modulation of redox processes, and metabolic regulation have enabled the development of new antioxidant therapeutics, including mitochondrial-targeted agents, NADPH oxidase (NOX) inhibitors, selenoprotein and Nrf2 activators, engineered nanoparticles, catalytic antioxidants, and RNA-based and gene-editing strategies. These interventions have the potential to modulate specific oxidative pathways that contribute to CVD pathogenesis. This review provides a comprehensive assessment of current oxidative stress–modulating modalities and their potential to inform personalized cardiovascular prevention and treatment strategies.

Industrial-grade printed circuit boards (PCBs) exhibit high structural order and inherent geometric symmetry, where minute surface defects essentially constitute symmetry-breaking anomalies that disrupt topological integrity. Detecting these anomalies is quite challenging due to issues like scale variation and low contrast. Therefore, this paper proposes a symmetry-aware object detection framework, DAS-YOLO, based on an improved YOLOv11. The U-shaped adaptive feature extraction module (Def-UAD) reconstructs the C3K2 unit, overcoming the geometric limitations of standard convolutions through a deformation adaptation mechanism. This significantly enhances feature extraction capabilities for irregular defect topologies. A semantic-aware module (SADRM) is introduced at the backbone and neck regions. The lightweight and efficient ESSAttn improves the distinguishability of small or weak targets. At the same time, to address information asymmetry between deep and shallow features, an iterative attention feature fusion module (IAFF) is designed. By dynamically weighting and calibrating feature biases, it achieves structured coordination and balanced multi-scale representation. To evaluate the validity of the proposed method, we carried out comprehensive experiments using publicly accessible datasets focused on PCB defects. The results show that the Recall, mAP@50, and mAP@50-95 of DAS-YOLO reached 82.60%, 89.50%, and 46.60%, respectively, which are 3.7%, 1.8%, and 2.9% higher than those of the baseline model, YOLOv11n. Comparisons with mainstream detectors such as GD-YOLO and SRN further demonstrate a significant advantage in detection accuracy. These results confirm that the proposed framework offers a solution that strikes a balance between accuracy and practicality in addressing the key challenges in PCB surface defect detection.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global public health emergency, with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) posing critical challenges. Conventional longer regimens are characterized by suboptimal effectiveness, high toxicity, and poor tolerability. Consequently, there is an urgent demand for more effective, safer, shorter regimens with enhanced tolerability to replace traditional treatments. The present study aimed to systematically assess the effectiveness and safety of bedaquiline-containing modified shorter regimens (adaptations of the WHO-recommended 9–12-month bedaquiline-containing shorter regimen, with ethionamide, ethambutol, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide partially or fully substituted by linezolid, cycloserine/terizidone, and/or delamanid) for MDR/RR-TB. Databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science) were searched up to 17 December 2025. Data on treatment success, adverse events, and patient characteristics were extracted. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochrane Q test and I² statistic. Eleven studies involving 8166 patients were included. The pooled treatment success rate was 78.5% (95% CI: 0.69~0.87, I²: 98.45%; p = 0.00). The incidence of serious adverse events was 10.0%. Bedaquiline-containing modified shorter regimens may offer a potentially viable treatment option for MDR/RR-TB patients, giving an option for patients who are ineligible for standardized regimens. In order to verify these findings, further large-scale trials are required.

The size of offshore wind turbine towers is increasing, and they are subjected to larger and more complex loads, which imposes more stringent requirements on the fatigue performance of welded plates in new offshore wind turbine towers. This study investigated the axial fatigue performance of 25 mm thick welded plates made of the new Q420 steel grade. Fractures in the Q420 welded plates occurred at the junction of the coarse-grained zone of the filler metal and the heat-affected zone. By analyzing the fatigue striation spacing across multiple regions, it was found that the proportion of cycles in the crack propagation stage within the total fatigue life did not exceed 11%, indicating that the crack initiation stage is the decisive factor in the fatigue life of the specimens. Removing surface quality defects at the weld toe significantly increased both the fatigue life and the fatigue strength limit of the Q420 welded plates.

To address the high-temperature and high-cost challenges of the conventional dry oxidation process in boron diffusion for n-type tunnel oxide passivated contact solar cells, this study proposes a dry–wet–dry mixed oxidation drive-in process for fabricating p-type emitters in TOPCon solar cells. Through systematic investigation of oxidation temperature, O₂/H₂O flow ratio, and oxidation time effects on emitter performance, it is found that mixed oxidation at 1000 °C achieves comparable sheet resistance and doping profiles to dry oxidation at 1050 °C. For our newly developed mixed oxidation process, in which the oxidation temperature is 1000 °C, oxidation time is 80 min with O₂/H₂O flow ratio of 20:1, the same photoelectric conversion efficiency has been achieved. Comparing the data, the mixed oxidation process forms a dry/wet/dry three-layer SiO₂ structure, reducing the oxidation temperature by 50 °C while achieving an average efficiency of 26.02%, comparable to high-temperature dry oxidation. This process not only reduces the thermal budget of quartz tubes and extends equipment service life but also provides a feasible solution for the low-temperature manufacturing of high-efficiency TOPCon solar cells, showing significant industrial application prospects.

Background: Comprehensive conservative management (CCM) is a possible option in end-stage clinical disease, requiring multidisciplinary support and offering survival comparable to dialysis while improving quality of life in frail patients. Despite its potential benefits, CCM is often underutilized because nephrologists may perceive it as less effective compared to dialysis. We present two case reports of hemodialysis failure and of successful CCM. Case presentation: We present two case reports of elderly female patients—referred to as Patient 1 and Patient 2—who had multiple comorbidities but preserved urine output. Both patients, in accordance with their medical team, chose to discontinue hemodialysis due to poor treatment tolerance and declining overall health. They were successfully managed with CCM, leading to follow-up that revealed survival beyond 24 months, improvements in metabolic complications and quality of life, and a reduction in hospitalizations. Conclusions: These case reports demonstrate the effectiveness of dietary and medical management for end-stage kidney disease, particularly when dialysis negatively affects patients’ clinical conditions and quality of life. They also highlight the importance of considering CCM as a preferable option for frail elderly patients facing kidney failure.

Background: The development of greener synthetic routes to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is a key challenge in sustainable chemistry. Methods: In this work, we explored the use of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) in the multi-step synthesis of a fluoroquinolone following the Grohe method. Results: Several steps of the synthetic sequence were successfully carried out using DESs, achieving moderate to good yields, while operating under mild reaction conditions and reducing purification requirements. Overall, the use of DESs led to an overall yield of up to 43%. A comprehensive greenness assessment, combining EcoScale scoring and the GSK and CHEM21 solvent selection guides, confirmed the superior sustainability profile of DESs, reflecting their lower toxicity, biodegradability, and reduced energy demands. Conclusions: These findings establish DESs as promising, eco-friendly alternatives to volatile and hazardous organic solvents for the synthesis of quinolone derivatives, offering a valuable step toward more sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing.