Microwave-Assisted Production of Defibrillated Lignocelluloses from Blackcurrant Pomace via Citric Acid and Acid-Free Conditions.

Blackcurrant pomace (BCP) is an example of an annual, high-volume, under-utilized renewable resource with potential to generate chemicals, materials and bioenergy within the context of a zero-waste biorefinery. Herein, the microwave-assisted isolation, characterization and potential application of defibrillated lignocelluloses from depectinated blackcurrant pomace are reported. Depectination was achieved using citric acid (0.

An update on immune-based alpha-synuclein trials in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a prevalent, chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterised by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and other brain regions. The aggregation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) into Lewy bodies and neurites is a key pathological feature associated with PD and its progression. Many therapeutic studies aim to target these aggregated forms of α-syn to potentially slow down or stop disease progression in PD.

Coaching stroke survivors to persevere with practice: An observational behavioural mapping study.

Objective: To quantitatively describe therapists' use of coaching with stroke survivors, in a hospital-based rehabilitation setting, to promote perseverance with longer-term practice.

Design: Prospective observational behavioural mapping study.

Setting: Rehabilitation unit of a regional public hospital in Queensland, Australia.

"UPDATE: I'm pregnant!": Inferring global downloads and reasons for using menstrual tracking apps.

Objective: The market for smartphone apps tracking menstrual cycles has expanded in recent years. These apps market themselves as empowering users to achieve their reproductive goals and maximize the chance of pregnancy. This paper presents the first open-access quantification of menstrual tracking app downloads globally, covering both the Global North and South.

Evaluation of Natural Organic Additives as Eco-friendly Inhibitors for Calcium and Magnesium Scale Formation in Water Systems.

Mineral scale formation reduces the heat transfer efficiency and clogs pipes and valves, increasing power consumption. To address the environmental concerns of conventional scale inhibitors, this paper explores biodegradable and eco-friendly alternatives. It examines the effects of organic additives on calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) scaling in water vaporization.

A multi-omic atlas of human embryonic skeletal development.

Human embryonic bone and joint formation is determined by coordinated differentiation of progenitors in the nascent skeleton. The cell states, epigenetic processes and key regulatory factors that underlie lineage commitment of these cells remain elusive. Here we applied paired transcriptional and epigenetic profiling of approximately 336,000 nucleus droplets and spatial transcriptomics to establish a multi-omic atlas of human embryonic joint and cranium development between 5 and 11 weeks after conception.

A spatial human thymus cell atlas mapped to a continuous tissue axis.

T cells develop from circulating precursor cells, which enter the thymus and migrate through specialized subcompartments that support their maturation and selection. In humans, this process starts in early fetal development and is highly active until thymic involution in adolescence. To map the microanatomical underpinnings of this process in pre- and early postnatal stages, we established a quantitative morphological framework for the thymus-the Cortico-Medullary Axis-and used it to perform a spatially resolved analysis.

HOX gene expression in the developing human spine.

Positional coding along the anterior-posterior axis is regulated by HOX genes, whose 3' to 5' expression correlates with location along this axis. The precise utilisation of HOX genes in different human cell types is not fully understood. Here, we use single-cell and spatial-transcriptomics, along with in-situ sequencing, to create a developmental atlas of the human fetal spine.

Patient and Physician Perspectives of Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetic Macular Edema Diagnosis, Treatment and Progression: A Podcast Article.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of vision loss among people of working age. However, people with diabetes are often unaware of the importance of DR screening for preserving vision, highlighting the importance of patient education about DR and DR-related ocular and systemic comorbidities. In this podcast, three patients with different stages of DR and two ophthalmologists exchanged their views on diagnosis, treatment, and progression of DR and diabetic macular edema.

Dopamine Cell-Based Replacement Therapies.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common disorder that has, as part of its core pathology, the loss of the nigral dopaminergic nerve cells that project to the striatum. Replacing this loss with dopaminergic drugs has been the mainstay of therapy in PD for more than 50 years and while offering significant clinical benefit, especially in early-stage disease, leads to side effects over time. A conceptually more effective way to treat this aspect of the PD pathology would be to replace the missing dopaminergic system with grafts of new dopamine cells.

Noradrenergic modulation of saccades in Parkinson's disease.

Noradrenaline is a powerful modulator of cognitive processes, including action decisions underlying saccadic control. Changes in saccadic eye movements are common across neurodegenerative diseases of ageing, including Parkinson's disease. With growing interest in noradrenergic treatment potential for non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease, the temporal precision of oculomotor function is advantageous to assess the effects of this modulation.

Button battery exposure in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: There is a rising burden of severe and fatal outcomes resulting from button battery exposures (ingestions or insertions). We summarised current evidence following button battery exposures in children and provided pooled prevalence estimates for key clinical characteristics, complications and risk estimates for predictors.

Methods: MEDLINE, Embase and Scopus databases were searched up to 19 May 2023.

Validation of a 5-Year Prognostic Model for Parkinson's Disease.

Background: A simple prognostic model was previously developed to predict the probability of recently-diagnosed patients reaching negative outcomes (postural instability, dementia or death) in a 5-year period.

Objectives: To validate this model in an independent cohort and establish utility at later time points.

Methods: Validation was performed using data collected in an incident cohort at baseline, 2 and 4 years.

Disease-specific interventions: The use of cell and gene therapies for Parkinson disease.

Approaches to repair the brain around the loss of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathways in Parkinson disease (PD) are not new and have been attempted over many years. However, of late, the situation has moved forward in two main ways. In the case of cell therapies, the ability to make large numbers of authentic midbrain dopaminergic neuroblasts from human pluripotent stem cell sources has turned what was an interesting avenue of research into a major area of investment and trialing, by academics in conjunction with Pharma.

Spaceflight alters host-gut microbiota interactions.

The ISS rodent habitat has provided crucial insights into the impact of spaceflight on mammals, inducing symptoms characteristic of liver disease, insulin resistance, osteopenia, and myopathy. Although these physiological responses can involve the microbiome on Earth, host-microbiota interactions during spaceflight are still being elucidated. We explore murine gut microbiota and host gene expression in the colon and liver after 29 and 56 days of spaceflight using multiomics.

Lithium-ion battery related burns and emerging trends: a retrospective case series and data analysis of emergency presentations.

Introduction: The rising prevalence of battery powered devices is driving a steady increase in lithium-ion battery-related burns. We present a case series of patients with lithium-ion battery-related burns and describe the clinical characteristics of this cohort. To further understand emerging trends, we compare our specialty inpatient case series with emergency department (ED) data collated by the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit (QISU).

NLP-based ergonomics MSD risk root cause analysis and risk controls recommendation.

An ergonomics assessment of the physical risk factors in the workplace is instrumental in predicting and preventing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become increasingly popular for ergonomics assessments because of the time savings and improved accuracy. However, most of the effort in this area starts and ends with producing risk scores, without providing guidance to reduce the risk.

Complications of button battery ingestion or insertion in children: a systematic review and pooled analysis of individual patient-level data.

Background: Button battery (BB) exposures are common in children and can have devastating consequences. We reviewed current evidence on the complications associated with BB exposure and identified predictors of outcomes using individual patient-level data.

Data Sources: We carried out a systematic review and pooled analysis by searching MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus up to May 19, 2023.