Encapsulation and controlled release of vitamin C in modified cellulose nanocrystal/chitosan nanocapsules.

Vitamin C (VC), widely used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, is susceptible to degradation, and new formulations are necessary to maintain its stability. To address this challenge, VC encapsulation was achieved via electrostatic interaction with glycidyltrimethylammonium chloride (GTMAC)-chitosan (GCh) followed by cross-linking with phosphorylated-cellulose nanocrystals (PCNC) to form VC-GCh-PCNC nanocapsules. The particle size, surface charge, degradation, encapsulation efficiency, cumulative release, free-radical scavenging assay, and antibacterial test were quantified.

Education Research: NeuroBytes: A New Rapid, High-Yield e-Learning Platform for Continuing Professional Development in Neurology.

Objective: To determine whether NeuroBytes is a helpful e-Learning tool in neurology through usage, viewer type, estimated time and cost of development, and postcourse survey responses.

Background: A sustainable Continuing Professional Development (CPD) system is vital in neurology due to the field's expanding therapeutic options and vulnerable patient populations. In an effort to offer concise, evidence-based updates to a wide range of neurology professionals, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) launched NeuroBytes in 2018.

Diagnostic Immunohistochemistry of Soft Tissue and Bone Tumors: An Update on Biomarkers That Correlate with Molecular Alterations.

The diagnosis of benign and malignant soft tissue and bone neoplasms is a challenging area of surgical pathology, due to the large number, rarity, and histologic diversity of tumor types. In recent years, diagnosis and classification has been aided substantially by our growing understanding of recurrent molecular alterations in these neoplasms. Concurrently, the role of diagnostic immunohistochemistry has also expanded, with the development of numerous biomarkers based on underlying molecular events.

Mapping autonomic, mood and cognitive effects of hypothalamic region deep brain stimulation.

Because of its involvement in a wide variety of cardiovascular, metabolic and behavioural functions, the hypothalamus constitutes a potential target for neuromodulation in a number of treatment-refractory conditions. The precise neural substrates and circuitry subserving these responses, however, are poorly characterized to date. We sought to retrospectively explore the acute sequelae of hypothalamic region deep brain stimulation and characterize their neuroanatomical correlates.

On the Behavior of Nanoparticles beyond the Nanopore Interface.

Recent advances in solid-state and biological nanopore sensors have produced a deluge of analytical techniques for in situ characterization of bio-nano colloidal dispersions; however, the transport forces governing particle movement into and out of the nanopore are not yet fully understood. Herein, we study the motion of particles outside the smaller opening of an elastomeric size-tunable nanopore and relate this motion to existing transport forces known to act on particles within the pore. Subsequently, we develop a combined optoelectronic approach which allows the comparison of both resistive pulse sensing and single particle tracking-based techniques for particle size characterization and, intriguingly, measurements of the ensemble particle motion induced by a combination of particle electrophoresis as well as pressure-driven and electroosmotic flows through the sensor nanopore.

GSEAplot: A Package for Customizing Gene Set Enrichment Analysis in R.

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) is used to identify differentially expressed gene sets that are enriched for annotated biological functions. The existing GSEA R code is not in the form of a flexible package with analysis and plotting customization options, and the results produced are not generated in the form of R objects. In this study, we introduce the GSEAplot R package with novel functionality for saving relevant information from the analysis to the current R workspace, and we introduce the ability to customize plots and databases.

Atypical Presentation of Cerebral Palsy and Seizures: A Case Report on Rasmussen's Encephalitis in an Adolescent.

Rasmussen's encephalitis is a rare neurological disease first described in 1958 that is characterized by medico-refractory seizures, focal unilateral cerebral inflammation, and deficits such as hemiparesis. While we still do not have a full understanding of this disease, proposed theories behind its etiology include auto-immune manifestations, immune attack by T cells, and malfunctional alterations in genetic expression. It is classically considered a rare childhood malady with a median age of onset of six years, and cases in adolescents and adults are even rarer, representing up to 10% of all cases to date.

Racial Disparities in Prostate Specific Antigen Screening and Referral to Urology in a Large, Integrated Health Care System: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: Contemporary trends and racial disparities in prostate cancer screening and referral to urology for prostate cancer risk are not well characterized, despite consensus that Black men are at higher risk for poor prostate cancer outcomes. The objective of this study was to characterize current racial disparities in prostate cancer screening and referral from primary care to urology for prostate cancer concern within our large, integrated health care system.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study used data from Atrium Health's enterprise data warehouse, which includes patient information from more than 900 care locations across North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Atypical Pleomorphic Lipomatous Tumor: Expanding Our Current Understanding in a Clinicopathologic Analysis of 64 Cases.

Atypical pleomorphic lipomatous tumor (APLT) is a recently recognized adipocytic neoplasm that lies on a spectrum with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor (ASCLT). APLT/ASCLT are included together in the fifth edition World Health Organization Classification of Soft Tissue and Bone Tumours; however limited data on APLT have emerged since its first description in 2017. This study aims to further define the clinicopathologic features of APLT in a large series of 64 cases.

Novel intraoperative online functional mapping of somatosensory finger representations for targeted stimulating electrode placement: technical note.

Defining eloquent cortex intraoperatively, traditionally performed by neurosurgeons to preserve patient function, can now help target electrode implantation for restoring function. Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) have the potential to restore upper-limb motor control to paralyzed patients but require accurate placement of recording and stimulating electrodes to enable functional control of a prosthetic limb. Beyond motor decoding from recording arrays, precise placement of stimulating electrodes in cortical areas associated with finger and fingertip sensations allows for the delivery of sensory feedback that could improve dexterous control of prosthetic hands.

Sensor Domain of Histidine Kinase VxrA of - A Hairpin-swapped Dimer and its Conformational Change.

VxrA and VxrB are cognate histidine kinase (HK) - response regulator (RR) pairs of a two-component signaling system (TCS) found in , a bacterial pathogen that causes cholera. The VxrAB TCS positively regulates virulence, the Type VI Secretion System, biofilm formation, and cell wall homeostasis in , providing protection from environmental stresses and contributing to the transmission and virulence of the pathogen. The VxrA HK has a unique periplasmic sensor domain (SD) and, remarkably, lacks a cytoplasmic linker domain between the second transmembrane helix and the dimerization and histidine phosphotransfer (DHp) domain, indicating that this system may utilize a potentially unique signal sensing and transmission TCS mechanism.

Active learning-based STEM education for in-person and online learning.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has forced the higher education sector to transition to an uncharted remote-learning format. This offers an opportunity to adopt active learning, which increases students' performance compared to lectures, narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students, and promotes equity and inclusivity, as the basis of STEM education.

Magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy: Correlations with seizure outcome.

Objective: This study was undertaken to identify clinical factors associated with seizure freedom after magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLiTT) in temporal lobe epilepsy patients with unilateral mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS).

Methods: We identified 56 patients with magnetic resonance imaging-defined MTS who underwent MRgLiTT with at least 1 year of follow-up. Primary outcome was seizure freedom at 1 year.

Use of polysomnography and home sleep apnea tests for the longitudinal management of obstructive sleep apnea in adults: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical guidance statement.

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea is an important and common disorder with associated health risks. Assuring successful longitudinal management is vital to patient health and sleep-related quality of life. This paper provides guidance from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) regarding the use of polysomnography (PSG) and home sleep apnea tests (HSATs) after a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea has been established and, in most cases, treatment implemented.

Identification of patient variables that are associated with ventricular end-diastolic pressure before the bidirectional Glenn operation.

Introduction: Systemic ventricular end-diastolic pressure is important in patients with single ventricle heart disease. Predictors of an elevated systemic ventricular end-diastolic pressure prior to bidirectional Glenn operation have been incompletely identified.

Methods: All patients who underwent bidirectional Glenn operation operation at our centre between January 2007 and March 2017 were retrospectively identified and patient variables were extracted.

State-Level Health Care Expenditures Associated With Disability.

Objective: Given the growth in national disability-associated health care expenditures (DAHE) and the changes in health insurance-specific DAHE distribution, updated estimates of state-level DAHE are needed. The objective of this study was to update state-level estimates of DAHE.

Methods: We combined data from the 2013-2015 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2013-2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and 2014 National Health Expenditure Accounts to calculate state-level DAHE for US adults in total, per adult, and per (adult) person with disability (PWD).

T cells selectively filter oscillatory signals on the minutes timescale.

T cells experience complex temporal patterns of stimulus via receptor-ligand-binding interactions with surrounding cells. From these temporal patterns, T cells are able to pick out antigenic signals while establishing self-tolerance. Although features such as duration of antigen binding have been examined, our understanding of how T cells interpret signals with different frequencies or temporal stimulation patterns is relatively unexplored.

Applying the CiPA approach to evaluate cardiac proarrhythmia risk of some antimalarials used off-label in the first wave of COVID-19.

We applied a set of in silico and in vitro assays, compliant with the Comprehensive In Vitro Proarrhythmia Assay (CiPA) paradigm, to assess the risk of chloroquine (CLQ) or hydroxychloroquine (OH-CLQ)-mediated QT prolongation and Torsades de Pointes (TdP), alone and combined with erythromycin (ERT) and azithromycin (AZI), drugs repurposed during the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Each drug or drug combination was tested in patch clamp assays on seven cardiac ion channels, in in silico models of human ventricular electrophysiology (Virtual Assay) using control (healthy) or high-risk cell populations, and in human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes. In each assay, concentration-response curves encompassing and exceeding therapeutic free plasma levels were generated.

The model crisis, or how to have critical promiscuity in the time of Covid-19.

During the past forty years, statistical modelling and simulation have come to frame perceptions of epidemic disease and to determine public health interventions that might limit or suppress the transmission of the causative agent. The influence of such formulaic disease modelling has pervaded public health policy and practice during the Covid-19 pandemic. The critical vocabulary of epidemiology, and now popular debate, thus includes R, the basic reproduction number of the virus, 'flattening the curve', and epidemic 'waves'.

The Association Between Antibiotic Delay Intervals and Hospital Mortality Among Patients Treated in the Emergency Department for Suspected Sepsis.

Objectives: Rapid delivery of antibiotics is a cornerstone of sepsis therapy, although time targets for specific components of antibiotic delivery are unknown. We quantified time intervals comprising the task of antibiotic delivery and evaluated the association between interval delays and hospital mortality among patients treated in the emergency department for suspected sepsis.

Design: Retrospective cohort.

Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Immediate- and Modified-Release Mycophenolic Acid Preparations in Healthy Beagle Dogs.

Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is a broad-acting immunomodulating agent that may be therapeutically beneficial for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases in canine patients. To determine the suppressive effects of MPA on T-cell proliferation, and to assess the feasibility of a canine-specific q24 h modified-release MPA formulation (OKV-1001b). Fifteen healthy purpose-bred male beagle dogs.

Comparison of methods to quantify metabolic rate and its relationship with activity in larval lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens.

Until recently most studies have focussed on method development for metabolic rate assessment in adult and/or juvenile fish with less focus on measurement of oxygen consumption (ṀO ) during early life history stages, including fast-growing larval fish and even less focus on nonteleostean species. In the present study we evaluated measurement techniques for standard metabolic rate (SMR), maximum metabolic rate (MMR) and aerobic scope in an Acipenseriform, the lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens, throughout the first year of life. Standardized forced exercise protocols to assess MMR were conducted for 5 or 15 min before or after measurement of SMR.

Single-dose pharmacokinetics of mycophenolic acid following administration of immediate-release mycophenolate mofetil in healthy Beagle dogs.

Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is an immunomodulating agent commonly used in human medicine for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases. There is growing evidence that the immunomodulating properties of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), a prodrug of MPA, are therapeutically beneficial for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases in dogs. A narrow therapeutic index and high inter-and intra-patient pharmacokinetic (PK) variability complicate the use of MMF.