Search Results (346)

Introduction: Finger injuries are common in pediatric patients and typically heal well with conservative management. However, rare fracture patterns involving significant displacement and physeal injury, such as the one described in this case, require specialized surgical intervention to ensure proper healing and prevent long-term complications. Case Presentation: A 12-year-old left-hand-dominant female presented with pain, swelling, and deformity at the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint following hyperextension of the left fifth digit. Initial radiographs revealed a volar displaced intra-articular fracture with physis involvement, confirmed by computed tomography (CT) imaging. Conservative management with closed reduction and splinting failed to achieve adequate alignment. Surgical intervention was performed via a dorsal approach, utilizing ORIF with K-wire fixation to restore joint congruity and ensure anatomic alignment. Outcomes: Postoperative follow-up demonstrated satisfactory healing, maintained reduction, and resolution of pain with no complications. The patient regained functional use of the digit with minimal stiffness, and the growth plate remained uninvolved during the recovery period. Discussion: This case underscores the importance of advanced imaging, early referral, and tailored surgical intervention for rare mallet fractures involving volar displacement and physeal injury. ORIF provided reliable stabilization and optimal outcomes in this complex case. Conclusions: Volar displaced Salter–Harris III fractures of the DIP joint are rare and challenging injuries in pediatric patients. This case highlights the role of ORIF in achieving successful outcomes and emphasizes the importance of precise reduction and stabilization to prevent long-term complications. Full article

The scalability and processability of high-performance membranes remain significant challenges in membrane technology. This work focuses on optimizing the pilot-scale production of patterned polysulfone (PSf) ultrafiltration membranes using the spray-modified non-solvent-induced phase separation (s-NIPS) method on a roll-to-roll pilot line. s-NIPS has already been studied extensively at lab-scale to prepare patterned membranes for various applications including membrane bioreactors (MBR), reverse osmosis (RO) and forward osmosis (FO). Although studied at the lab scale, membranes prepared at a larger scale can significantly differ in performance; therefore, phase inversion parameters, including polymer concentration, molecular weight, and additive type (i.e., polyethylene glycol (PEG) or polyvinylpyrolidine (PVP)) and concentration, were systematically varied when casting on a roll-to-roll, 12″ wide pilot line to identify optimal conditions for achieving defect-free, high-performance, patterned PSf membranes. The membranes were characterized for their pure water permeance, BSA rejection, casting solution viscosities, and resulting morphology. s-NIPS patterned membranes exhibit 150–350% increase in water flux as compared to their reference flat membrane, thanks to very high pattern heights up to 825 µm and formation of finger-like macrovoids. This work bridges the gap between lab-scale and pilot-scale membrane preparation, while proposing an upscaled membrane with great potential for use in water treatment. Full article

Ants use their mandibles—effectively a two-finger gripper—for a wide range of grasping activities. Here, we investigate whether mimicking the internal hairs found on ant mandibles can improve performance of a two-finger parallel plate robot gripper. With bin-picking applications in mind, the gripper fingers are long and slim, with interchangeable soft gripping pads that can be hairy or hairless. A total of 2400 video-documented experiments have been conducted, comparing hairless to hairy pads with different hair patterns. Simply by adding hairs, the grasp success rate was increased by at least $29\%$, and the number of objects that remain securely gripped during manipulation more than doubled. This result not only advances the state of the art in grasping technology, but also provides novel insight into the mechanical role of mandible hairs in ant biology. Full article

Optically pumped magnetometer OPM-MEG has the potential to replace the traditional low-temperature superconducting quantum interference device SQUID-MEG. Coherence analysis can be used to evaluate the functional connectivity and reflect the information transfer process between brain regions. In this paper, a finger tapping movement paradigm based on auditory cues was used to measure the functional signals of the brain using OPM-MEG, and the coherence between the primary motor cortex (M1) and the primary motor area (PM) was calculated and analyzed. The results demonstrated that the coherence of the three frequency bands of Alpha (8–13 Hz), Beta (13–30 Hz), and low Gamma (30–45 Hz) and the selected reference signal showed roughly the same position, the coherence strength and coherence range decreased from Alpha to low Gamma, and the coherence coefficient changed with time. It was inferred that the change in coherence indicated different neural patterns in the contralateral motor cortex, and these neural patterns also changed with time, thus reflecting the changes in the connection between different functional areas in the time-frequency domain. In summary, OPM-MEG has the ability to measure brain coherence during finger movements and can characterize connectivity between brain regions. Full article

In this study, we investigate the learning opportunities offered in the enactment of a finger pattern activity with numbers exceeding 10 that shows how smaller units can be composed into larger units. Research on early arithmetic learning shows the importance of students understanding numbers as composed units and making use of arithmetic strategies that are based on unitizing rather than single-unit counting. The Many Hands activity was enacted in an intervention program focusing on 6-year-olds’ learning of structuring numbers and number relations during one school year, conducted in collaboration with teachers. The activity, with numbers exceeding 10, was enacted at the end of the program. Video observations of 19 teaching episodes in which the activity was used were analyzed using the variation theory of learning. The analysis focused on identifying which aspects of numbers were made visible for students to discern and how finger patterns became a tool for structuring numbers and number relations. Five aspects were made visible in the enactments of the Many Hands activity: (i) small numbers as composed units; (ii) units within units; (iii) units within units and new, larger units; (iv) relationships between units in the number system; and (v) place value. In 12 of the 19 episodes, the teacher or the students used their fingers to show and see the structure of numbers in relation to the identified aspects. Full article

Objective: Retained primitive reflexes are associated with delayed motor and behavioral development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study examined the effects of a 12-week structured exercise intervention on reflex integration, motor coordination, and socio-behavioral outcomes in these populations. Method: Fifteen children with ASD (13 boys, 2 girls) and twelve with ADHD (8 boys, 4 girls), aged 6–12 years, participated in rhythmic, balance, and coordination-based exercises. Primitive reflexes, including the asymmetrical tonic neck reflex (ATNR), were assessed using standardized protocols, and fine motor coordination was evaluated using the Finger and Thumb Opposition Test (FOT). Behavioral outcomes were measured using the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) for the ASD group and the Conners 3 for the ADHD group. Results: The ASD group showed significant reductions in left-standing ATNR retention scores (p = 0.012) and improvements in right-hand FOT scores (p = 0.023). In the ADHD group, significant improvements were also observed in right-hand FOT scores (p = 0.007). Furthermore, Conners 3 Total and Global Index scores significantly decreased in the ADHD group (p = 0.016 and 0.020, respectively). Reflex retention patterns appeared broader and more bilateral in ASD than in ADHD, suggesting distinct motor developmental profiles. Conclusions: Short-term rhythmic, balance, and whole-body coordination exercise interventions may support behavioral and motor development in children with ASD and ADHD. Tailored programs emphasizing reflex integration hold promise for clinical and educational applications. Full article

Trichomes are specialized epidermal structures that protect plants from environmental stresses, regulated by transcription factors integrating hormonal and environmental cues. This study investigates the roles of two C2H2 zinc finger proteins, GIS2 and ZFP8, in regulating trichome patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana. Using dexamethasone-inducible overexpression lines, transcriptomic profiling, and chromatin immunoprecipitation, we identified 142 GIS2- and 138 ZFP8-associated candidate genes involved in sterol metabolism, senescence, and stress responses. GIS2 positively and directly regulated the expression of SQE5, linked to sterol biosynthesis and drought tolerance, and repressed SEN1, a senescence marker associated with abscisic acid and phosphate signaling. ZFP8 modulated stress-related target genes, including PR-4 and SPL15, with partial functional overlap between GIS family members. Spatially, GIS2 functions in inflorescence trichomes via integrating gibberellin-cytokinin pathways, while ZFP8 influences leaf trichomes through cytokinin and abscisic acid signal. Gibberellin treatment stabilized GIS2 protein and induced SQE5 expression, whereas SEN1 repression was gibberellin-independent. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and DEX-CHX experiment confirmed GIS2 binding to SQE5 and SEN1 promoters at conserved C2H2 motifs. These findings highlight hormone-mediated transcriptional regulation of trichome development by GIS2 and ZFP8, offering mechanistic insight into signal integration. The results provide a foundation for future crop improvement strategies targeting trichome-associated stress resilience. Full article

A series of eleven new N-alkyl 3-(3-benzyloxyquinoxalin-2-yl) propanamides were prepared based on the azide coupling of 3-(3-benzyloxyquinoxalin-2-yl) propanhydrazide with a variety of primary and secondary amines and the consequent conjunction of a broad spectrum of lipophile and hydrophile characters to a quinoxaline ring system. 3-(3-benzyloxyquinoxalin-2-yl) propanhydrazide was produced in a two-step reaction of methyl 3-(3-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2-yl) propanoate with benzyl chloride followed by the hydrazinolysis of the corresponding ester. The antiproliferative activity of the compounds was tested in various cancer cell lines, including PC-3, Hela, HCT-116, and MCF-7; they showed a wide spectrum of activity for most of the tested compounds. Compound 6k exhibited the highest activity, which was comparable to that of doxorubicin, with IC₅₀ (µM) values of 12.17 ± 0.9, 9.46 ± 0.7, 10.88 ± 0.8, and 6.93 ± 0.4 µM compared to 8.87 ± 0.6, 5.57 ± 0.4, 5.23 ± 0.3, and 4.17 ± 0.2 µM for doxorubicin against Hela, HCT-116, and MCF-7, respectively. The in silico mechanistic study revealed the inhibition of HDAC-6 through the binding of the unique zinc finger ubiquitin-binding domain (HDAC6 Zf-UBD). The docking results showed a specific binding pattern that emphasized the crucial role of the quinoxaline ring and its substituents. The newly developed derivatives were evaluated for antitumor effects against four cancer cell lines PC-3, HeLa, HCT-116, and MCF-7. This research led to the identification of a quinoxaline-based scaffold exhibiting broad-spectrum antiproliferative activity and a distinct mechanism involving binding to HDAC6 Zf-UBD. The findings highlight its potential for further optimization and preclinical studies to support future anticancer drug development. Full article

Background/Objectives: As high-acuity vision is limited to a very small visual angle, examination of a scene requires multiple fixations. Simultanagnosia, a disorder wherein elements of a scene can be perceived correctly but cannot be integrated into a coherent whole, has been parsed into dorsal and ventral forms. In ventral simultanagnosia, limited visual integration is possible. This case study was the first to record gaze during the presentation of a series of visual stimuli, which required the processing of local and global elements. We hypothesised that gaze patterns would differ with successful processing and that feature integration could be disrupted by distractors. Methods: The patient received a neuropsychological assessment and underwent CT and MRI. Eye movements were recorded during the following tasks: (1) famous face identification, (2) facial emotion recognition, (3) identification of Ishihara colour plates, and (4) identification of both local and global letters in Navon composite letters, presented either alone or surrounded by filled black circles, which we hypothesised would impair global processing by disrupting fixation. Results: The patients identified no famous faces but scanned them qualitatively normally. The only emotion to be consistently recognised was happiness, whose scanpath differed from the other emotions. She identified none of the Ishihara plates, although her colour vision was normal on the FM-15, even mapping an unseen digit with fixations and tracing it with her finger. For plain Navon figures, she correctly identified 20/20 local and global letters; for the “dotted” figures, she was correct 19/20 times for local letters and 0/20 for global letters (chi-squared NS for local, p < 0.0001, global), with similar fixation of salient elements for both. Conclusions: Contrary to our hypothesis, gaze behaviour was largely independent of the ability to process global stimuli, showing for the first time that normal acquisition of visual information did not ensure its integration into a percept. The core defect lay in processing, not acquisition. In the novel Navon task, adding distractors abolished feature integration without affecting the fixation of the salient elements, confirming for the first time that distractors could disrupt the processing, not the acquisition, of visual information in this disorder. Full article

CO₂ displacement is a key technique that was examined through numerical methods in a 3D Hele–Shaw cell, with CO₂ as the displacing phase and shear-thinning fluids as the displaced phase. Without interfacial tension effects, the displacement shows branching patterns forming two vertically symmetric fingers, regardless of whether the displacing fluid is air or CO₂. Under CO₂ displacement, viscous fingering propagates farther and achieves higher displacement efficiency than air. Compared with air displacement, the finger advancing distance increases by 0.0035 m, and the displacement efficiency is 15.2% higher than that of air displacement. Shear-thinning behavior significantly influences the process; stronger shear thinning enhances interfacial stability and suppresses fingering. As the power-law index n increases (reducing shear thinning), the fingering length extends. Variations in interfacial tension reveal it notably affects fingering initiation and velocity in CO₂ displacement of non-Newtonian fluids, but has a weaker impact on fingering formation. Interfacial tension suppresses short-wavelength perturbations, critical to interface stability, jet breakup, and flows, informing applications like foam-assisted oil recovery and microfluidics. Full article

The advent of mixed reality (MR) systems has revolutionized human–computer interactions by seamlessly integrating virtual elements with the real world. Devices like the HoloLens 2 (HL2) enable intuitive, hands-free interactions through advanced hand-tracking technology, making them valuable in fields such as education, healthcare, engineering, and training simulations. However, despite the growing adoption of MR, there is a noticeable lack of comprehensive comparisons between the hand-tracking accuracy of the HL2 and high-precision benchmarks like motion capture systems. Such evaluations are essential to assess the reliability of MR interactions, identify potential tracking limitations, and improve the overall precision of hand-based input in immersive applications. This study aims to assess the accuracy of HL2 in tracking hand position and measuring kinematic hand parameters, including joint angles and lateral pinch span (distance between thumb and index fingertips), using its tracking data. To achieve this, the Vicon motion capture system (VM) was used as a gold-standard reference. Three tasks were designed: (1) finger tracing of a 2D pattern in 3D space, (2) grasping various common objects, and (3) lateral pinching of objects with varying sizes. Task 1 tests fingertip tracking, Task 2 evaluates joint angle accuracy, and Task 3 examines the accuracy of pinch span measurement. In all tasks, HL2 and VM simultaneously recorded hand positions and movements. The data captured in Task 1 were analyzed to evaluate HL2’s hand-tracking capabilities against VM. Finger rotation angles from Task 2 and lateral pinch span from Task 3 were then used to assess HL2’s accuracy compared to VM. The results indicate that the HL2 exhibits millimeter-level errors compared to Vicon’s tracking system in Task 1, spanning in a range from 2 mm to 4 mm, suggesting that HL2’s hand-tracking system demonstrates good accuracy. Additionally, the reconstructed grasping positions in Task 2 from both systems show a strong correlation and an average error of 5°, while in Task 3, the accuracy of the HL2 is comparable to that of VM, improving performance as the object thickness increases. Full article

Hearing impairments (HIs) are clinically and genetically very heterogeneous. Finding the causative mutations in patients is frequently a challenge. We investigated two brothers affected by a sensorineural, moderate non-syndromic HI. Exome sequencing revealed that they carried the heterozygous c.812C>T (p.Ser271Leu) variant in GATA3. This gene encodes a transcription factor involved in embryonic development, its mutations causing the autosomal dominant HDR (hypoparathyroidism, deafness, and renal disease) syndrome. The variant affects a conserved residue within the proximal zinc-finger motif of GATA3. Sanger sequencing confirmed the presence of the variant in the two brothers, but it showed that surprisingly it was not carried by any of the parents. Segregation studies on 20 fully informative microsatellite markers in the family confirmed that the variant arose de novo. A benign SNP in the mother, close to the position of the variant, allowed us to determine that this was inherited from the father. Gene reporter functional assays supported the pathogenicity of the variant. Clinical reassessment of the two brothers did not disclose any additional abnormality. We conclude that mosaicism for this de novo mutation in the father’s germ line explains the pattern of inheritance in this family and that p.Ser271Leu is causing this unexpected phenotype of non-syndromic HI. Full article

The SHORT INTERNODES-related sequence (SRS) gene family, comprising zinc finger and IXGH domain-containing transcription factors, serves as a critical regulator of plant biological processes and abiotic stress responses. In this study, the common wheat cultivar Chinese Spring was selected as the experimental material. Comprehensive bioinformatic analysis was performed using ClustalX, MEGA, MEME, and PlantTFDB v5.0 to systematically characterize SRS family members within the wheat genome. The systematic examination of physicochemical properties, conserved domains, phylogenetic relationships, gene structures, and cis-acting elements was conducted, providing insights into the functional roles of this gene family in wheat growth and development. Fifteen SRS family members containing conserved zinc finger and IXGH domains were identified. Distinct expression patterns were observed among TaSRS subgroups: Members of Groups I, III, and V exhibited significantly higher transcript levels in roots, stems, leaves, and anthers compared to other subgroups. Notably, the majority of TaSRS genes, including representatives from Groups I, III, IV, and V, displayed responsiveness to NaCl and ABA stress treatments, suggesting their putative involvement in both salinity adaptation and phytohormone-mediated stress signaling. Differential expression patterns of TaSRS genes under NaCl and ABA stress were identified, revealing distinct regulatory impacts of these stressors on transcription. These findings establish a framework for investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying stress adaptation in wheat physiology. Full article

The Dof (DNA-binding with one finger) domain protein family is a plant-specific zinc finger transcription factor family that plays a role in various biological processes in plants. However, research on Dof transcription factors in soybean (Glycine max) remains limited. In this study, we identified 79 putative soybean Dof genes, which are distributed across the entire genome. A comparative phylogenetic analysis of the Dof gene family in soybean, Arabidopsis, rice, maize, and Medicago revealed five major groups. The synteny relationship analysis showed a large number of gene duplication events in soybean. Twelve cis-acting elements were detected in the promoter region of the Dof gene, including five hormone response elements and several environmental response elements. Expression pattern analysis indicated that most Gmdof genes exhibited specific expression patterns. Nine genes in group V, which exhibited higher expression in the root, were identified as significantly responsive to salt stress through qRT-PCR. The possible biological functions of several Gmdof genes were discussed, including Gmdof11.2, Gmdof2.1, and Gmdof16.2. In summary, this study integrated phylogenetic analysis with genome-wide expression profiling to provide valuable information for understanding the functional characteristics of Dof genes in soybean. Full article

We explore the feasibility of classifying perceived pain intensity—despite the stimulus being identical—using multimodal physiological signals and self-reported emotional ratings. A total of 112 healthy participants watched the same anger-inducing video, yet reported varying pain intensities (5, 6, or 7 on a 7-point scale). We recorded electrocardiogram, skin conductance (SC), respiration, photoplethysmogram results, and finger temperature, extracting 12 physiological features. Participants also rated their valence and arousal. Using a random forest model, we classified pain versus baseline and distinguished intensity levels. Compared to baseline, the painful stimulus altered heart rate variability, SC, respiration, and pulse transit time (PTT). Higher perceived pain correlated with more negative valence, higher arousal, and elevated SC, suggesting stronger sympathetic activation. The classification of baseline versus pain using SC and respiratory features reached an F1 score of 0.83. For intensity levels 6 versus 7, including PTT and skin conductance response along with valence achieved an F1 score of 0.73. These findings highlight distinct psychophysiological patterns that reflect perceived intensity under the same stimulus. SC features emerged as key biomarkers, while valence and arousal offered complementary insights, supporting the development of personalized, psychologically informed pain assessment systems. Full article