Interconnected pathways link faecal microbiota plasma lipids and brain activity to childhood malnutrition related cognition.

Malnutrition affects over 30 million children annually and has profound immediate and enduring repercussions. Survivors often suffer lasting neurocognitive consequences that impact academic performance and socioeconomic outcomes. Mechanistic understanding of the emergence of these consequences is poorly understood.

In Depth Mapping of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles in Malignant Glioma Cells Using Scattering-Type Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) are promising nanomedicine vehicles due to their biocompatibility and ability to carry large cargoes. It is critical in nanomedicine development to be able to map their uptake in cells, including distinguishing surface associated MSNPs from those that are embedded or internalized into cells. Conventional nanoscale imaging techniques, such as electron and fluorescence microscopies, however, generally require the use of stains and labels to image both the biological material and the nanomedicines, which can interfere with the biological processes at play.

Bootstrapping cascaded random matrix models: Correlations in permutations of matrix products.

Random matrix theory is a useful tool in the study of the physics of multiple scattering systems, often striking a balance between computation speed and physical rigour. Propagation of waves through thick disordered media, as arises, for example, in optical scattering or electron transport, typically necessitates cascading of multiple random matrices drawn from an underlying ensemble for thin media, greatly increasing the computational burden. Here we propose a dual pool based bootstrapping approach to speed up statistical studies of scattering in thick random media.

The ERK5 pathway in BRAFV600E melanoma cells plays a role in development of acquired resistance to dabrafenib but not vemurafenib.

Malignant melanoma, an aggressive skin cancer with a poor prognosis, frequently features BRAFV600E mutation resulting in activation of the MAPK pathway and melanocyte proliferation and survival. BRAFV600E inhibitors like vemurafenib and dabrafenib have enhanced patient survival, yet drug resistance remains a significant challenge. We investigated the role of the ERK5 pathway in BRAFV600E melanoma cells and cells with acquired resistance to PLX4720 (vemurafenib) and dabrafenib.

Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography Under General Anesthesia Compared to Conscious Sedation Study.

Background: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is used to diagnose and treat pancreatic and biliary disease. The current standard is to conduct ERCP under conscious sedation (CS). Patient movement and agitation during ERCP under CS can result in procedure failure and complications.

Infrared nanoimaging of neuronal ultrastructure and nanoparticle interaction with cells.

Here we introduce scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) as a novel tool for nanoscale chemical-imaging of sub-cellular organelles, nanomaterials and of the interactions between them. Our setup uses a tuneable mid-infrared laser and a sharp scanning probe to image at a resolution substantially surpassing the diffraction limit. The laser can be tuned to excite vibrational modes of functional groups in biomolecules, ( amide moieties), in a way that enables direct chemical mapping without the need for labelling.

Non-Blinking Luminescence from Charged Single Graphene Quantum Dots.

Photoluminescence blinking behavior from single quantum dots under steady illumination is an important but controversial topic. Its occurrence has impeded the use of single quantum dots in bioimaging. Different mechanisms have been proposed to account for it, although controversial, the most important of which is the non-radiative Auger recombination mechanism whereby photocharging of quantum dots can lead to the blinking phenomenon.

Label-free nanoscale mapping of intracellular organelle chemistry.

The ability to image cell chemistry at the nanoscale is key for understanding cell biology, but many optical microscopies are restricted by the ~(200-250)nm diffraction limit. Electron microscopy and super-resolution fluorescence techniques beat this limit, but rely on staining and specialised labelling to generate image contrast. It is challenging, therefore, to obtain information about the functional chemistry of intracellular components.

A lower motor neuron disease in takahē () is an endoplasmic reticulum storage disease.

Aims: To investigate the pathogenesis of a disease in takahē with intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies in lower motor neurons.

Methods: Four birds aged between 5 and 12 years, from three different wildlife sanctuaries in New Zealand were examined. Of these, only one had signs of spinal dysfunction in the form of paresis.

Irradiation stability and induced ferromagnetism in a nanocrystalline CoCrCuFeNi highly-concentrated alloy.

In the field of radiation damage of crystalline solids, new highly-concentrated alloys (HCAs) are now considered to be suitable candidate materials for next generation fission/fusion reactors due to recently recorded outstanding radiation tolerance. Despite the preliminarily reported extraordinary properties, the mechanisms of degradation, phase instabilities and decomposition of HCAs are still largely unexplored fields of research. Herein, we investigate the response of a nanocrystalline CoCrCuFeNi HCA to thermal annealing and heavy ion irradiation in the temperature range from 293 to 773 K with the objective to analyze the stability of the nanocrystalline HCA in extreme conditions.

Myopic macular pits: a case series with multimodal imaging.

Objective: To characterize the multimodal retinal findings of myopic macular pits, a feature of myopic degeneration.

Methods: A case series of patients with myopic macular pits were studied with multimodal imaging including color fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence (FAF), near infrared reflectance (NIR), spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT), optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), fluorescein angiography (FA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICG).

Results: Nine eyes of 6 patients with myopic macular pit were examined.

Exploring patients' pharmacy stories: an analysis of online feedback.

Background Studies have demonstrated the potential for patient feedback to inform quality care as well as a direct relationship between patient experience and clinical outcomes. Over recent years, there has been increasing use of online patient feedback platforms, however, there has been little study of the content of patient feedback relating to pharmacy and pharmacy services. Objective This study explores the content of online feedback provided by patients from across the UK in relation to their experiences of their interaction with pharmacy staff and pharmacy services.

Anomalous nucleation of crystals within amorphous germanium nanowires during thermal annealing.

In this work, germanium nanowires rendered fully amorphous via xenon ion irradiation have been annealed within a transmission electron microscope to induce crystallization. During annealing crystallites appeared in some nanowires whilst others remained fully amorphous. Remarkably, even when nucleation occurred, large sections of the nanowires remained amorphous even though the few crystallites embedded in the amorphous phase were formed at a minimum of 200 °C above the temperature for epitaxial growth and 100 °C above the temperature for random nucleation and growth in bulk germanium.

Prototypic Lightweight Alloy Design for Stellar-Radiation Environments.

The existing literature data shows that conventional aluminium alloys may not be suitable for use in stellar-radiation environments as their hardening phases are prone to dissolve upon exposure to energetic irradiation, resulting in alloy softening which may reduce the lifetime of such materials impairing future human-based space missions. The innovative methodology of crossover alloying is herein used to synthesize an aluminium alloy with a radiation resistant hardening phase. This alloy-a crossover of 5xxx and 7xxx series Al-alloys-is subjected to extreme heavy ion irradiations in situ within a TEM up to a dose of 1 dpa and major experimental observations are made: the Mg(Zn,Al) hardening precipitates (denoted as T-phase) for this alloy system surprisingly survive the extreme irradiation conditions, no cavities are found to nucleate and displacement damage is observed to develop in the form of black-spots.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Retinal Detachment Repair in Patients With Stickler Syndrome.

Background And Objective: To report the long-term anatomic and visual outcomes of patients with Stickler syndrome undergoing retinal detachment (RD) surgery.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective, interventional, consecutive case series of patients with Stickler syndrome undergoing RD repair from 1999 to 2017 at the Long Island Vitreoretinal Consultants, New York. Retinal attachment status and visual acuity (VA) at 1-year and last follow-up were assessed.

Prior ingestion of a ketone monoester supplement reduces postprandial glycemic responses in young healthy-weight individuals.

The main objective of this study was to determine whether acute ingestion of a ketone monoester (KME) supplement impacted mixed-meal tolerance test (MMTT) glucose area under the curve (AUC). Nineteen healthy young volunteers (10 males/9 females; age, 24.7 ± 4.

Hyperreflective Stress Lines and Macular Holes.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of a central hyperreflective line in eyes with full-thickness macular holes (FTMH) and lamellar macular holes (LMH) and to elucidate the pathoanatomic importance of this optical coherence tomography (OCT) sign.

Methods: This retrospective analysis evaluated patients with FTMH and LMH at the Stein Eye Institute. Clinical data was collected and SD-OCT volume scans were analyzed for the presence of a central vertical hyperreflective line in 3 separate cohorts: patients with SD-OCT preceding FTMH development, patients with SD-OCT after pars plana vitrectomy (PPVT) treatment for FTMH, and patients with SD-OCT of LMH.

Helium Implantation and TEM Investigation of Radiation Tolerance to Helium Bubble Damage in Equiaxed Nanocrystalline Tungsten and Ultrafine Tungsten-TiC Alloy.

The use of ultrafine and nanocrystalline materials is a proposed pathway to mitigate irradiation damage in nuclear fusion components. Here, we examine the radiation tolerance of helium bubble formation in 85 nm (average grain size) nanocrystalline-equiaxed-grained tungsten and an ultrafine tungsten-TiC alloy under extreme low energy helium implantation at 1223 K via in-situ transmission electron microscope (TEM). Helium bubble damage evolution in terms of number density, size, and total volume contribution to grain matrices has been determined as a function of He implantation fluence.

From Molten Calcium Aluminates through Phase Transitions to Cement Phases.

Crystalline calcium aluminates are a critical setting agent in cement. To date, few have explored the microscopic and dynamic mechanism of the transitions from molten aluminate liquids, through the supercooled state to glassy and crystalline phases, during cement clinker production. Herein, the first in situ measurements of viscosity and density are reported across all the principal molten phases, relevant to their eventual crystalline structures.

Exploring the potential of BH3 mimetic therapy in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with overall survival of less than 50%. Current therapeutic strategies involving a combination of surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy are associated with debilitating side effects, highlighting the need for more specific and efficacious therapies. Inhibitors of BCL-2 family proteins (BH3 mimetics) are under investigation or in clinical practice for several hematological malignancies and show promise in solid tumors.

Management of ocular manifestations of autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis 4B, harlequin type, in the perinatal period.

Autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI4B [OMIM #242500]), also known as harlequin ichthyosis, presents at birth with extreme hyperkeratosis and thick-fissured plaques, leading to tightness of the skin around the eyes, mouth, ears, chest, abdomen, and extremities. Ocular manifestations include cicatricial ectropion and exposure keratitis. We present 2 infants with ARCI4B and cicatricial ectropion who were managed with aggressive nonsurgical therapy.

Understanding amorphization mechanisms using ion irradiation in situ a TEM and 3D damage reconstruction.

In this work, ion irradiations in-situ of a transmission electron microscope are performed on single-crystal germanium specimens with either xenon, krypton, argon, neon or helium. Using analysis of selected area diffraction patterns and a custom implementation of the Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM) within MATLAB (which allows both the 3D reconstruction of the collision cascades and the calculation of the density of vacancies) the mechanisms behind amorphization are revealed. An intriguing finding regarding the threshold displacements per atom (dpa) required for amorphization results from this study: even though the heavier ions generate more displacements than lighter ions, it is observed that the threshold dpa for amorphization is lower for the krypton-irradiated specimens than for the xenon-irradiated ones.

Investigating Helium Bubble Nucleation and Growth through Simultaneous In-Situ Cryogenic, Ion Implantation, and Environmental Transmission Electron Microscopy.

Palladium can readily dissociate molecular hydrogen at its surface, and rapidly accept it onto the octahedral sites of its face-centered cubic crystal structure. This can include radioactive tritium. As tritium β-decays with a half-life of 12.

Thermal stability and irradiation response of nanocrystalline CoCrCuFeNi high-entropy alloy.

Grain growth and phase stability of a nanocrystalline face-centered cubic (fcc) NiFeCoCrCu high-entropy alloy (HEA), either thermally- or irradiation-induced, are investigated through in situ and post-irradiation transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization. Synchrotron and lab x-ray diffraction measurements are carried out to determine the microstructural evolution and phase stability with improved statistics. Under in situ TEM observation, the fcc structure is stable at 300 °C with a small amount of grain growth from 15.