New Ru(II) arene complexes, namely, Bis(η6-p-cymene)-3,3'-((2,4,6-trimethyl-1,3-phenylene)bis(methylene))bis(1-(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-thione)(dichloro)ruthenium(II) dichloride (Ru-BIS) and 1-isopropyl-3-(pyridin-2-yl)-1,3-dihydro-2H-naphtho[2,3-d]imidazol-2-thione(chloro)ruthenium(II) chloride (Ru-NIS), were synthesized and characterized by various spectral techniques. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction structures substantiate a piano-stool octahedral geometry around the Ru(II) center of the complexes. The electronic spectra of Ru-BIS and Ru-NIS showed characteristic metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) bands at 436 and 453 nm, respectively. The measured octanol/water distribution coefficient (log D) values for Ru-BIS and Ru-NIS demonstrated a marked enhancement of their aqueous solubility compared to their respective ligands (BIS and NIS). The stability studies of the complexes in D2O/DMSO-d6 (9:1) indicated a rapid aquation followed by the formation of a stable hydrolyzed species under physiological conditions. Ru-BIS and Ru-NIS bind strongly and statically to the bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein (Kb ∼ 105 M-1) with one ligand per binding site. Cell viability studies revealed that both Ru-BIS and Ru-NIS are biocompatible with non-malignant cells (C2C12 and L929), in defined concentration ranges. Furthermore, Ru-BIS (IC50 = 0.05 mg/mL, 40.31 μM) exhibited greater cytotoxicity against B16 melanoma cells compared to Ru-NIS (IC50 = 0.135 mg/mL, 215.78 μM). Microscopic evaluations of melanoma cells treated with Ru-BIS and Ru-NIS revealed that the former exhibited more mitochondrial dysfunction, apoptotic induction, and DNA double-strand breaks.

Sensory inputs influence different blood vessel networks, affecting the precision of brain scans.

Bacterial biofilm infections, a key contributor to antibiotic resistance, pose a critical global health challenge. Although antimicrobial peptides are promising candidates, their cationic amphipathic structures often lead to nonspecific sequestration by polyanionic biofilm matrix components. Here, we report a class of primary amine-functionalized radially amphiphilic antimicrobial polypeptides (paRAPs) that achieve potent antibiofilm activity by selectively targeting bacterial phosphatidylglycerol (PG) in polyanionic biofilm matrices. Simulation studies support a mechanism of PG-responsive structural rearrangement in paRAPs. In contrast to the compact form of quaternary amine analogs, paRAPs adopt an extended conformation, with outward-facing cationic amine termini that shield the hydrophobic core and thereby reduce nonspecific protein binding. Upon encountering bacterial membranes, strong PG recognition triggers a side-chain rearrangement, reorienting the cationic groups toward the membrane surface and exposing hydrophobic motifs for progressive bilayer insertion and disruption. Supportingly, lengthening the exposed terminal hydrophobic group increased interactions with proteins and mammalian lipids, reduced PG selectivity, and compromised antibiofilm efficacy, underscoring the importance of hidden hydrophobic domains for biofilm bacteria targeting. paRAP showed potent antibiofilm efficacy in vitro and in murine models of both periodontitis and urinary tract infections. Our study provides a PG-targeting strategy for designing matrix-resistant antibiofilm polypeptides.

Subject-specific finite element analysis (FEA) can estimate tissue-level stress, strain, contact pressure, and load transfer in the knee, but building and solving a new model for each anatomy, activity, or treatment scenario remains time-consuming. This narrative review examines how knee biomechanical simulation has progressed from conventional FEA and efficient physics-based approximations to contact emulators, hybrid FE-machine learning workflows, temporal models, geometric deep learning, graph neural networks, operator-learning methods, and physics-guided surrogates. These methods can accelerate selected predictions, although their accuracy is usually established only for the anatomies, loads, and FE formulations represented during development. Pre-training across related FE model families may allow a model to be adapted to new geometries, outputs, or tasks with fewer additional simulations. However, this has not yet been demonstrated for nonlinear, multi-tissue knee mechanics. Any such model would still inherit the constitutive laws, contact definitions, boundary conditions, and calibration choices used to generate its training data. A credible system would therefore need traceable simulation data, explicit information about the underlying FE formulation, reliable uncertainty estimates, mechanical checks, and confirmation with high-fidelity FEA when a case falls outside the supported range. The immediate goal is a model that can be reused across related FE problems without being retrained from scratch, while unsupported or clinically consequential cases remain subject to full FE analysis.

Cell electrophysiology is a useful measure of cell function, including ionic state and channel activity, and the way these are altered by pharmacological intervention. However, measurement of whole-cell electrical properties such as resting membrane potential Vm and membrane whole-cell capacitance and conductance is difficult, which has limited the more widespread adoption of electrophysiology in cell biology and drug discovery. The gold-standard method for acquiring this data is patch clamp, a method of measuring single cells that uses a micromanipulated micropipette in contact with the cell surface. Measurement is difficult, slow, and requires a highly skilled operator, whilst automated alternatives are expensive to run. Other methods such as flow cytometry are unable to provide absolute values of Vm, or measure conductance and capacitance characteristics. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) and electrophoretic light scattering (ELS) have recently been shown to provide useful methods of directly measuring absolute Vm and other parameters, whilst examining many more cells (typically tens of thousands in under a minute). In this paper we use DEP and ELS to examine the electrophysiology of human bladder carcinoma cell line HTB-9 following treatment with ATP, glibenclamide and tetraethylammonium, and compare the results to published data obtained by patch clamp. Results indicate that DEP yields Vm and membrane conductance values that are highly comparable to data from patch clamp, at high speed and low cost, demonstrating the usefulness of techniques such as DEP and ELS for electrophysiological study.

Aptamers-short, single-stranded nucleic acids capable of folding into complex three-dimensional structures-have evolved from biochemical curiosities into programmable molecular interfaces with expanding diagnostic and therapeutic relevance. Through systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), aptamers exploit the structural plasticity of nucleic acids to achieve high-affinity and high-specificity target recognition. Innovations in chemical modification, high-throughput sequencing, microfluidics, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence (AI) have redefined aptamer discovery and translational potential. Aptamers transition from antibody alternatives to programmable molecular systems capable of sensing, computation, and controlled actuation in biological environments.

The synthesis of magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENPs) has attracted increasing attention in the field of the treatment of cancer and other diseases worldwide. Recent developments in drug delivery systems like magnetic nanoparticle (MNP)-based platforms are particularly attractive as their motion and build-up at a target can be modulated by an external magnetic field, leading to highly selective delivery at diseased sites. The potential is built upon the magnetic properties of MENPs that enable imaging and targeting, transport of therapeutic agents, as well as bio functionality due to surface modifications. The majority of MENPs are formulated from superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) that are usually coated with materials such as polymers, liposomes, silica, or other biocompatible materials. Internationally, several MENP formulations containing common anticancer agents including paclitaxel, doxorubicin, docetaxel, cisplatin, and camptothecin have been formulated. These were advantages with respect to traditional magnetic drug carriers in terms of drug dose and release profiles. Besides drug delivery, MENPs are of great interest for theranostic applications which refer to the combination of therapy and diagnosis. The magnetoelectric (ME) nanoparticles are synthesized, functionalized, and used in biomedical arena are summarized and focused on their growing significance in cancer treatment and diagnostic imaging.

PurposeTo examine the role of nursing care as a mediating bridge between biomedical cure and holistic healing within the framework of holistic nursing, and to identify barriers and strategies for integrating these paradigms in nursing practice.DesignA scoping review following Joanna Briggs Institute methodology.MethodPubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched in May 2025 (updated February 2026). Twenty-seven studies met inclusion criteria. Data were analyzed using narrative synthesis with inductive thematic analysis in MAXQDA 2020.FindingTwenty-seven studies were included, yielding five interrelated themes: (i) the tension between care and cure; (ii) healing as a multidimensional and transcendent outcome; (iii) nursing care as a potential mediating mechanism between cure and healing; (iv) barriers to integration; and (v) strategies for strengthening nursing's integrative role.ConclusionFindings suggest that nursing care may function as an integrative mechanism through which biomedical cure and holistic healing can be meaningfully connected in practice. However, this potential is significantly constrained by persistent barriers. Educational reform, organizational support, culturally sensitive spiritual care, and thoughtful technology integration are essential strategies for promoting holistic nursing practice. Future research should empirically test integrative models and evaluate their impact on patient and nurse outcomes within holistic nursing frameworks.

Emerging ultrastrong hydrogels hold promise for various applications but often suffer from swelling-induced fragility in wet environments, limiting practical utility. Herein, we report an osmotic pressure gradient-mediated in-plane self-orientation (OPG-ISO) strategy to fabricate ultrastrong, anti-swelling dual self-oriented gradient (DSOG) hydrogels. This approach relies on interfacial diffusion-complexation between concentrated low-molecular-weight (LMW) polycations and a mixture of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) and polyanions. The concentrated LMW polycations complex with the polyanions to form a gradient matrix while generating an osmotic pressure gradient that induces directional deswelling and in-plane self-orientation of both the polymer networks and CNFs. Concurrently, these LMW polycations also serve as physical cross-linkers to stabilize the aligned microstructure. Benefiting from the dual self-oriented architecture, dense physical cross-linking, and hydrogen bonding, the resulting DSOG composite hydrogels exhibit exceptional mechanical properties (strength: 6.33 MPa, elastic modulus: 112.3 MPa, and toughness: 7.14 MJ/m3) and outstanding swelling resistance, with negligible changes in volume (∼3.14%) and tensile strength (∼6.16%) after equilibration in water. Moreover, the charge gradient imparts a pressure-sensitive self-polarized potential, enabling a highly sensitive self-powered ionic skin capable of detecting subtle vibrations. The OPG-ISO strategy also allows customizable three-dimensional (3D) configurations, thereby offering a versatile platform for constructing ultrastrong, anti-swelling, and multifunctional hydrogels for engineering and biomedical applications.

Space missions expose astronauts to multiple physiological stressors, including microgravity, radiation, confinement, and circadian disruption, which collectively contribute to immune dysfunction, musculoskeletal loss, cardiovascular alterations, impaired wound healing, neurocognitive changes, and increased susceptibility to infection. Current countermeasures, primarily exercise protocols, pharmacological treatments, and pre-flight conditioning, provide only partial protection and remain limited in their ability to actively guide tissue adaptation during long-duration missions. Advanced biomaterials are emerging as promising platforms to address these challenges by enabling controlled therapeutic delivery, modulation of cellular responses, and regeneration of damaged tissues under spaceflight conditions. In this review, we summarize recent progress in biomaterials research conducted in real and simulated microgravity environments. We cover advances in nanomaterials, hydrogels, surface-engineered materials, bioprinting technologies, and organ-on-chip systems, and discuss how these platforms can mitigate oxidative stress, modulate immune responses, support musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health, and promote tissue repair. We also examine how biomaterials originally developed for terrestrial regenerative medicine can be adapted for space applications, as well as the role of emerging space-based biomanufacturing approaches. Finally, we discuss key challenges and future directions for translating biomaterial technologies into practical medical countermeasures for long-duration missions. Together, these developments position biomaterials as central components of next-generation space medicine strategies.

Active vision requires coordinated attentional processing across both foveal and peripheral receptive fields (RFs), yet the underlying neural dynamics and computational mechanisms remain poorly understood. Previous research has predominantly focused on attention in the visual periphery, leaving the role of foveal processing in naturalistic tasks largely unexplored. Here, we recorded neural activity from both foveal and peripheral RFs in areas V4 and IT of monkeys during free-gaze visual search among complex stimuli. We found robust feature-based attentional enhancements in foveal units, challenging the prevailing view that such modulation is predominantly peripheral. By integrating data from foveal and peripheral recordings, we revealed a non-uniform, dynamically distributed pattern of feature attention across the visual field. Behaviorally, foveal attentional enhancements promoted sustained or repeated fixations on targets, while peripheral attentional signals facilitated target detection and guidance of future saccades. These findings suggest that foveal and peripheral attention operate in a complementary fashion and highlight the critical role of foveal feature attention in shaping global attention allocation and fixation behavior during active vision. This work advances our understanding of the neural computations that support complex visual search and underscores the need to account for foveal processing in models of attention.