Variable humic product effects on maize structural biochemistry across annual weather patterns and soil types in two Iowa (U.S.A.) production fields.

Agronomic benefits of humic product application to crops are receiving increasing attention, though underlying biochemical changes remain unexplored, especially in field settings. In this study, maize (Zea mays L.) concentrations of 11 phenol and five carbohydrate monomers were determined in whole plant stover (four growing seasons) and roots (two growing seasons) at physiological maturity for two rainfed fields in Iowa (USA) having humic product applications.

Negative COVID-19 Vaccine Information on Twitter: Content Analysis.

Background: Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, have a role in spreading anti-vaccine opinion and misinformation. Vaccines have been an important component of managing the COVID-19 pandemic, so content that discourages vaccination is generally seen as a concern to public health. However, not all negative information about vaccines is explicitly anti-vaccine, and some of it may be an important part of open communication between public health experts and the community.

Surgical outcomes of excisional goniotomy using the kahook dual blade in severe and refractory glaucoma: 12-month results.

Objectives: To describe the efficacy and safety of goniotomy with trabecular meshwork excision using the Kahook Dual Blade (KDB, New World Medical Inc., Rancho Cucamonga, CA) in patients with severe or refractory glaucoma.

Methods: This retrospective multicentre case series reports on 40 eyes with severe or refractory open-angle glaucoma that underwent standalone or combined KDB goniotomy and were followed for 12 months post-operatively in the United-States, Mexico and Switzerland.

Maize Growth and Grain Yield Responses to a Micronized Humic Product Across Soil Types and Annual Weather Patterns in Central Iowa, United States.

Despite growing interest in humic products as crop amendments, very few field evaluations have considered environmental factors of humic product efficacy. We determined the spatial and temporal variability in the efficacy of a micronized humic product on maize ( L.) growth and grain yield in two rainfed fields supporting a maize-soybean [ (L.

Has public health messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic reflected local risks to health?: A content analysis of tweeting practices across Canadian geographies.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health agencies and decision-makers have used social media to disseminate information, encourage changes to behaviour and promote community supports and resources. Their communications have served to educate the public on risks and initiate the widespread adoption of public health measures to 'flatten the curve'. We conducted a content analysis of COVID-19 Tweets by Canadian public health accounts during the first 6 months of the pandemic to explore differences in Tweeting practices by geography and identify opportunities to improve risk communication.

Examining Tweet Content and Engagement of Canadian Public Health Agencies and Decision Makers During COVID-19: Mixed Methods Analysis.

Background: Effective communication during a health crisis can ease public concerns and promote the adoption of important risk-mitigating behaviors. Public health agencies and leaders have served as the primary communicators of information related to COVID-19, and a key part of their public outreach has taken place on social media platforms.

Objective: This study examined the content and engagement of COVID-19 tweets authored by Canadian public health agencies and decision makers.

Open government data, uncertainty and coronavirus: An infodemiological case study.

Governments around the world have made data on COVID-19 testing, case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths openly available, and a breadth of researchers, media sources and data scientists have curated and used these data to inform the public about the state of the coronavirus pandemic. However, it is unclear if all data being released convey anything useful beyond the reputational benefits of governments wishing to appear open and transparent. In this analysis we use Ontario, Canada as a case study to assess the value of publicly available SARS-CoV-2 positive case numbers.

12-Month Outcomes of Goniotomy Performed Using the Kahook Dual Blade Combined with Cataract Surgery in Eyes with Medically Treated Glaucoma.

Introduction: To describe the 12-month efficacy and safety of goniotomy performed using the Kahook Dual Blade (KDB) in combination with cataract surgery in eyes with medically treated open-angle glaucoma (OAG).

Methods: This was a prospective, interventional case series conducted at seven centers in North America. Consecutive patients with medically treated OAG and visually significant cataract underwent phacoemulsification combined with goniotomy (PE + goniotomy) using KDB.

Goniotomy Using the Kahook Dual Blade in Severe and Refractory Glaucoma: 6-Month Outcomes.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to describe short-term efficacy and safety of goniotomy with trabecular meshwork excision using the Kahook Dual Blade (KDB, New World Medical Inc., Rancho Cucamonga, CA) in patients with severe or refractory glaucoma.

Method: Retrospective multicentric case series of 53 eyes with severe or refractory glaucoma as defined by ICD-10 conducted in the United States, Mexico, and Switzerland.

Goniotomy with a single-use dual blade: Short-term results.

Purpose: To evaluate the intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering efficacy and safety of a single-use dual blade (Kahook) in patients with mild to end-stage glaucoma.

Setting: International multicenter ophthalmic care centers.

Design: Prospective interventional case series.

Nurses' Communication of Safety Events to Nursing Home Residents and Families.

Although communication is an essential part of the nursing process, nurses have little to no formal education in how to best communicate patient safety event (PSE) information to nursing home (NH) residents and their family members. The current mixed-methods study tested an intervention aimed at educating nurses on how to communicate a PSE to residents/family members using a structured communication tool. Nurse participants improved their knowledge of PSE communication, especially about the cause of the event, what they would say to the resident/family member, and future prevention of the PSE.

Formants provide honest acoustic cues to body size in American alligators.

In many vertebrates, acoustic cues to body size are encoded in resonance frequencies of the vocal tract ("formants"), rather than in the rate of tissue vibration in the sound source ("pitch"). Anatomical constraints on the vocal tract's size render formants honest cues to size in many bird and mammal species, but it is not clear whether this correlation evolved convergently in these two clades, or whether it is widespread among amniotes (mammals, birds, and non-avian reptiles). We investigated the potential for honest acoustic cues in the bellows of adult American alligators and found that formant spacing provided highly reliable cues to body size, while presumed correlates of the source signal did not.

Identification of 4-(Aminomethyl)-6-(trifluoromethyl)-2-(phenoxy)pyridine Derivatives as Potent, Selective, and Orally Efficacious Inhibitors of the Copper-Dependent Amine Oxidase, Lysyl Oxidase-Like 2 (LOXL2).

LOXL2 catalyzes the oxidative deamination of ε-amines of lysine and hydroxylysine residues within collagen and elastin, generating reactive aldehydes (allysine). Condensation with other allysines or lysines drives the formation of inter- and intramolecular cross-linkages, a process critical for the remodeling of the ECM. Dysregulation of this process can lead to fibrosis, and LOXL2 is known to be upregulated in fibrotic tissue.

Small Molecule Lysyl Oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2) Inhibitors: The Identification of an Inhibitor Selective for LOXL2 over LOX.

Two series of novel LOXL2 enzyme inhibitors are described: benzylamines substituted with electron withdrawing groups at the -position and 2-substituted pyridine-4-ylmethanamines. The most potent compound, (2-chloropyridin-4-yl)methanamine (hLOXL2 IC = 126 nM), was shown to be selective for LOXL2 over LOX and three other amine oxidases (MAO-A, MAO-B, and SSAO). Compound is the first published small molecule inhibitor selective for LOXL2 over LOX.

Tackling Complexity in High Performance Computing Applications.

We present a software framework that supports the specification of user-definable configuration options in HPC applications independently of the application code itself. Such options include model parameter values, the selection of numerical algorithm, target platform etc. and additional that prevent invalid combinations of options from being made.

Selective Inhibition of Autotaxin Is Efficacious in Mouse Models of Liver Fibrosis.

Autotaxin (ATX) is a secreted glycoprotein that converts lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) to the bioactive phospholipid lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and is the major enzyme generating circulating LPA. Inhibition of LPA signaling has profound antifibrotic effects in multiple organ systems, including lung, kidney, skin, and peritoneum. However, other LPA-generating pathways exist, and the role of ATX in localized tissue LPA production and fibrosis remains unclear and controversial.

Structural Basis for Inhibition of Human Autotaxin by Four Potent Compounds with Distinct Modes of Binding.

Autotaxin (ATX) is a secreted enzyme that hydrolyzes lysophosphatidylcholine to lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). LPA is a bioactive phospholipid that regulates diverse biological processes, including cell proliferation, migration, and survival/apoptosis, through the activation of a family of G protein-coupled receptors. The ATX-LPA pathway has been implicated in many pathologic conditions, including cancer, fibrosis, inflammation, cholestatic pruritus, and pain.

The effect of two novel cholesterol-lowering agents, disodium ascorbyl phytostanol phosphate (DAPP) and nanostructured aluminosilicate (NSAS) on the expression and activity of P-glycoprotein within Caco-2 cells.

Background: Many drugs are substrates for P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and interactions involving P-gp may be relevant to clinical practice. Co-administration with P-gp inhibitors or inducers changes the absorption profile as well as the risk for drug toxicity, therefore it is important to evaluate possible P-gp alterations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of two novel cholesterol-lowering agents, disodium ascorbyl phytostanol phosphate (DAPP) and nanostructured aluminium silicate (NSAS), a protonated montmorillonite clay, on mdr-1 gene expression and its protein, P-glycoprotein (P-gp) within Caco-2 cells.

Impact of co-administration of protonated nanostructured aluminum silicate (cholesterol absorption inhibitor) on the absorption of lipid soluble vitamins D3 and K1: an assessment of pharmacokinetic and in vitro intraluminal processing.

Protonated nanostructured aluminum silicate (NSAS) is a protonated montmorillonite clay that was shown to be effective as an inhibitor of intestinal cholesterol absorption. The effect of NSAS on the intestinal absorption of nutrients is unknown. An in vitro lipolysis model was adapted to test the intraluminal processing of vitamin D3 and K1 in the presence of various amounts of NSAS.

A simple and sensitive method for determination of vitamins D3 and K1 in rat plasma: application for an in vivo pharmacokinetic study.

Purpose: To develop and to validate a simple but sensitive method for determination of vitamins D3 and K1 in rat plasma.

Methods: The sample treatment included protein precipitation by cold acetonitrile, evaporation, reconstitution with methanol and filtration. The chromatography conditions included Xterra RP18 3.

RAPPORT: running scientific high-performance computing applications on the cloud.

Cloud computing infrastructure is now widely used in many domains, but one area where there has been more limited adoption is research computing, in particular for running scientific high-performance computing (HPC) software. The Robust Application Porting for HPC in the Cloud (RAPPORT) project took advantage of existing links between computing researchers and application scientists in the fields of bioinformatics, high-energy physics (HEP) and digital humanities, to investigate running a set of scientific HPC applications from these domains on cloud infrastructure. In this paper, we focus on the bioinformatics and HEP domains, describing the applications and target cloud platforms.

Inhibition of cholesterol absorption: targeting the intestine.

Atherosclerosis, the gradual formation of a lipid-rich plaque in the arterial wall is the primary cause of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Hypercholesterolemia, elevated circulating cholesterol, was identified as a key risk factor for CAD in epidemiological studies. Since the approval of Mevacor in 1987, the primary therapeutic intervention for hypercholesterolemia has been statins, drugs that inhibit the biosynthesis of cholesterol.

5-Lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP) inhibitors. Part 4: development of 3-[3-tert-butylsulfanyl-1-[4-(6-ethoxypyridin-3-yl)benzyl]-5-(5-methylpyridin-2-ylmethoxy)-1H-indol-2-yl]-2,2-dimethylpropionic acid (AM803), a potent, oral, once daily FLAP inhibitor.

The potent 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP) inhibitor 3-[3-tert-butylsulfanyl-1-[4-(6-ethoxypyridin-3-yl)benzyl]-5-(5-methylpyridin-2-ylmethoxy)-1H-indol-2-yl]-2,2-dimethylpropionic acid 11cc is described (AM803, now GSK2190915). Building upon AM103 (1) (Hutchinson et al. J.

Assessment of cholesterol absorption inhibitors nanostructured aluminosilicate and cholestyramine using in vitro lipolysis model.

Protonated nanostructured aluminosilicate (NSAS) was previously reported as effective in decreasing intestinal absorption of cholesterol in rats. In this work, the effect of NSAS on modeled intraluminal distribution of cholesterol was assessed using an in vitro lipolysis model. In addition to NSAS, the effect of bile salt sequestrant cholestyramine on modeled intraluminal distribution of cholesterol was tested, as well as the effect of the absence of bile salts in the system.