Use of Renewable Alcohols in Autocatalytic Production of Aspen Organosolv Lignins.

This study aimed to investigate the intrinsic efficiency of renewable alcohols, applied under autocatalytic conditions, for removing lignin from aspen and hot-water-extracted aspen while substantially preserving the lignin structure so as to facilitate various valorization strategies. Ethylene glycol (EG), propylene glycol (PG), 1,4-butanediol (BDO), ethanol (EtOH), and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA) were evaluated based on their lignin solubilization ability, expressed as the relative energy difference (RED) following the principles of the Hansen solubility theory. The findings indicate that alcohols with a higher lignin solubilization potential lead to increased delignification, almost 90%, and produce a lignin with a higher content of β-O-4 bonds, up to 68% of those found in aspen milled wood lignin, thereby indicating their potential for valorization through depolymerization.

Glaucoma and refractive surgery: A comprehensive review.

The global surge in refractive surgeries, particularly among myopic individuals, has elicited concerns regarding potential inaccuracies in the measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP) post surgery, primarily associated with central corneal thinning. The incidence of elevated IOP after intraocular refractive surgeries is higher than expected and is multifactorial. Myopic eyes have a higher susceptibility to both primary and secondary glaucoma.

Network pharmacology analysis of Chandraprabha Vati: A new hope for the treatment of Metabolic Syndrome.

Background: Drug research is increasingly using Network Pharmacology (NP) to tackle complex conditions like Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), which is characterized by obesity, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia. Single-action drugs are inadequate to treat MetS, which is marked by a range of complications including glucose intolerance, hyperlipidemia, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammation.

Objectives: To analyze Chandraprabha vati using Network Pharmacology to assess its potential in alleviating MetS-related complications.

The forgotten adaptive social benefits of social learning in animals.

Theoretical and empirical scholars of cultural evolution have traditionally studied social learning strategies, such as conformity, as adaptive strategies to obtain accurate information about the environment, whereas within social psychology there has been a greater focus upon the social consequences of such strategies. Although these two approaches are often used in concert when studying human social learning, we believe the potential social benefits of conformity, and of social learning more broadly, have been overlooked in studies of non-humans. We review evidence from studies of homophily, imitation, and rapid facial mimicry that suggests that behaving like others affords social benefits to non-human animals and that behaviour matching may be deployed strategically to increase affiliation.

A Comparative Study to Evaluate the Linear Dimensional Change and Compression Resistance of Four Elastomeric Interocclusal Recording Materials: An Study.

Unlabelled: The transfer of interocclusal data from the patient's mouth to articulators utilizing various types of recording media is necessary for the production of dental prostheses. Occlusal errors in the final prosthesis result from any discrepancies in these interocclusal records.

Materials And Methods: The purpose of this study was to assess the linear dimensional changes in the four elastomeric interocclusal recording materials as well as the material's resistance to compression during the cast mounting on the articulator.

Lignin-Based Hydrogels for the Delivery of Bioactive Chaga Mushroom Extract.

Lignin-poly(ethylene)glycol diglycidyl ether hydrogels were synthesized from lignin fractions readily extracted during the hot-water treatment of angiosperms: hardwoods, sugar maple and energy-crop willow, monocotyledons, grasses, miscanthus and agriculture residues, and wheat straw. These lignins represent a broad range of chemical structures and properties as a comparative analysis of their suitability to produce the hydrogels as a novel carrier of chaga-silver nanoparticles. The formation of hydrogels was assessed via attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy.

Impact of Green Hospital Design on Patients' Well-Being and Operating Cost of the Hospital: A Systematic Review.

Hospitals play a crucial role in providing medical care to patients, but they also have a significant environmental impact due to their high energy consumption and resource use. In recent years, there has been growing interest in the concept of green hospital design, which aims to reduce the environmental footprint of hospitals while simultaneously improving patient outcomes.10 articles were finalized for review and were coded in QDA Miner qualitative analysis software for descriptive and link analysis.

Role of immigrant males and muzzle contacts in the uptake of a novel food by wild vervet monkeys.

The entry into and uptake of information in social groups is critical for behavioral adaptation by long-lived species in rapidly changing environments. We exposed five groups of wild vervet monkeys to a novel food to investigate the innovation of processing and consuming it. We report that immigrant males innovated in two groups, and an infant innovated in one group.

Central Toxic Keratopathy After Collagen Cross-Linking: A Case Series.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to report a case series of central toxic keratopathy (CTK) after collagen cross-linking (CXL) in keratoconus.

Methods: This is a retrospective case series between January 2020 and September 2021. In this period, CXL was performed for progressive keratoconus in 964 eyes.

The 'One Customized Abutment One Time' concept - An innovative technique for optimizing immediacy and digital protocols.

Disconnection and reconnection of abutments multiple times have known to affect the mucosal barrier around implants leading to marginal bone loss. This clinical report describes a novel technique that amalgamates the benefits of digital technologies encompassing the fabrication of surgical guides for implant placement, customized hybrid zirconia abutments and all ceramic lithium disilicate crowns prior to implant placement. A correct 3-dimensional implant positioning along with immediate placement of the definitive hybrid customized abutment and a lithium disilicate crown has the potential to reduce treatment time, visits and costs while delivering optimal esthetic outcomes.

Biophysical study of DC electric field induced stable formation of albumin-gold nanoparticles corona and curcumin binding.

Targeted drug delivery (TDD) is a method of delivering optimum concentrations of pharmaceutical substances in the tissue to achieve the desired therapeutic effect. Hence, TDD systems are considered as an emerging strategy to deliver the drug at the specific site of the tissues/cells. The nanoparticle-protein corona as a drug delivery vehicle has demonstrated immense benefits including potential theragnostic, improved pharmacodynamics and targeted drug delivery.

Keratoconus in two siblings with congenital distichiasis.

Purpose: To describe a previously unreported association of keratoconus in congenital distichiasis.

Methods: Observational case series of ocular findings in 2 siblings with congenital distichiasis.

Results: A 17-year-old male presented with tearing and photophobia in both eyes.

Biophysical study of cisplatin loaded albumin-gold nanoparticle and its interaction with glycans of gp60 receptor.

The biophysical study provides a quantitative understanding of biomolecular interaction. The interaction of protein-nanoparticle has been critically examined using various biophysical and biochemical tools. The present investigation focussed on the biophysical characterization of anticancer drug cisplatin (CPT) with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) - Gold nanoparticles (GNP) conjugate; and BSA-CPT-GNP interaction with glycan sugars of glycoprotein receptor.

Focal vs. fecal: Seasonal variation in the diet of wild vervet monkeys from observational and DNA metabarcoding data.

Assessing the diet of wild animals reveals valuable information about their ecology and trophic relationships that may help elucidate dynamic interactions in ecosystems and forecast responses to environmental changes. Advances in molecular biology provide valuable research tools in this field. However, comparative empirical research is still required to highlight strengths and potential biases of different approaches.

Epidemiology and injectable antiseizure medication treatment patterns of seizure patients treated in United States hospitals.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the epidemiology of seizures, clinical outcomes, and antiseizure medication treatment patterns among seizure patients treated in United States hospitals.

Design: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using data from a large geographically diverse hospital discharge database.

Setting: 860 acute care hospitals in the United States.

Determining Efficacy of Inpatient Care for Select Surgeries at a Large Tertiary Care Hospital With Average Length of Stay as a Measure.

The purpose of the study was to determine average length of stay (ALOS) for selected surgical procedures for CABG, TKR, THR and inguinal hernia and to compare the variation of ALOS among the group and its comparison with standard guidelines. Passive file auditing method was followed to collect the required information to calculate the pre-operative, post- operative and overall LOS for a period of two months. Additional data was collected from electronic health record system used by the hospital.

Intravenous Brivaracetam in the Management of Acute Seizures in the Hospital Setting: A Scoping Review.

Background: Clinical considerations for drug treatment of acute seizures involve variables such as safety, tolerability, drug-drug interactions, dosage, route of administration, and alterations in pharmacokinetics because of critical illness. Therapy options that are easily and quickly administered without dilution, well tolerated, and effective are needed for the treatment of acute seizures. The objective of this review is to focus on the clinical considerations relating to the use of intravenous brivaracetam (IV BRV) for the treatment of acute seizures in the hospital, focusing on critically ill patients.

Organelle dysfunction upon asrij depletion causes aging-like changes in mouse hematopoietic stem cells.

Aging of the blood system is characterized by increased hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and myeloid-biased differentiation leading to higher propensity for hematological malignancies. Unraveling cell-intrinsic mechanisms regulating HSC aging could aid reversal or slowing of aging. Asrij/OCIAD1 is an evolutionarily conserved regulator of hematopoiesis and governs mitochondrial, endosomal, and proteasomal function in mammalian stem cells.

Clinical and Economic Outcomes of Intravenous Brivaracetam Compared With Levetiracetam for the Treatment of Seizures in United States Hospitals.

Seizures are common among hospitalized patients. Levetiracetam (LEV), a synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A) ligand, is a common intravenous (IV) anti-seizure medication option in hospitals. Brivaracetam (BRV), a selective SV2A ligand for treatment of focal seizures in patients ≥16 years, has greater binding affinity, higher lipophilicity, and faster brain entry than IV LEV.

Captivity and habituation to humans raise curiosity in vervet monkeys.

The cognitive mechanisms causing intraspecific behavioural differences between wild and captive animals remain poorly understood. Although diminished neophobia, resulting from a safer environment and more "free" time, has been proposed to underlie these differences among settings, less is known about how captivity influences exploration tendency. Here, we refer to the combination of reduced neophobia and increased interest in exploring novelty as "curiosity", which we systematically compared across seven groups of captive and wild vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) by exposing them to a test battery of eight novel stimuli.

A Prospective Evaluation of the Effect of Mitomycin-C on Corneal Endothelium after Photorefractive Keratectomy for Myopia Correction.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the effect of mitomycin-C (MMC) 0.02% application on corneal endothelium in patients undergoing photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for the correction of myopia and compound myopic astigmatism.

Methods: A prospective observational study including patients with myopia who underwent PRK plus intraoperative application of MMC 0.

BSA-drug-ZnO-PEI conjugates interaction with glycans of gp60 endothelial cell receptor protein for targeted drug delivery: a comprehensive spectroscopic study.

The zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) have several biomedical applications such as drug delivery, bio-imaging, and biomedical research. ZnO NPs were remedied with polyethyleneimine (PEI) and modified with bovine serum albumin (BSA). Two anticancer drugs - Cisplatin (CIS) and Gemcitabine (GEM) were used in conjugation with BSA.

β-Lactoglobulin-gold nanoparticles interface and its interaction with some anticancer drugs - an approach for targeted drug delivery.

The protein-nanoparticle interface plays a crucial role in drug binding and stability, in turn enhancing efficacy in targeted drug delivery. In the present study, whey protein β-lactoglobulin (BLG) is conjugated with gold nanoparticles (AuNP) and its interaction with curcumin (CUR) and gemcitabine (GEM) has been explored. Further, AuNP-BLG conjugate interactions with anticancer drugs were characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, UV-visible, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence, circular dichroism along with molecular dynamics simulation.

Effect of Smartphone Light Fluxes on Cornea: A Biophysical Study.

Objective: Biophysical study to investigate (a) the effects of smartphone light fluxes (SPLF) on isolated mammalian cornea and model protein (insulin), (b) to predict the possible visual interference of SPLF.

Materials And Methods: Fresh goat cornea and insulin protein were used as an experimental model system. The energy of absorbed SPLF was measured using chemical dosimeter.

A Heparin based dual ratiometric sensor for Thrombin.

Thrombin is an important enzyme that plays a pivotal role in the blood clotting pathways. An imbalance in the activity of this enzyme is clinically known to be associated with various diseases, such as thrombosis, inflammation, atherosclerosis, and haemophilia, suggesting the need to devise sensors for Thrombin detection. However, the majority of the fluorescence-based Thrombin assays rely on fluorescence labelling assays or Thrombin specific recognition biomolecules, such as, aptamers or antibody which requires sophisticated techniques and makes it very expensive.