A Microphysiological HHT-on-a-Chip Platform Recapitulates Patient Vascular Lesions.

Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) is a rare congenital disease in which fragile vascular malformations (VM) - including small telangiectasias and large arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) - focally develop in multiple organs. There are few treatment options and no cure for HHT. Most HHT patients are heterozygous for loss-of-function mutations affecting Endoglin (ENG) or Alk1 (ACVRL1); however, why loss of these genes manifests as VMs remains poorly understood.

Chalkophore mediated respiratory oxidase flexibility controls virulence.

Oxidative phosphorylation has emerged as a critical therapeutic vulnerability of (Mtb). However, it is unknown how intracellular bacterial pathogens such as Mtb maintain respiration during infection despite the chemical effectors of host immunity. synthesizes diisonitrile lipopeptides that tightly chelate copper, but the role of these chalkophores in host-pathogen interactions is also unknown.

SARS-CoV-2 infection of endothelial cells, dependent on flow-induced ACE2 expression, drives hypercytokinemia in a vascularized microphysiological system.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for COVID-19, has caused nearly 7 million deaths worldwide. Severe cases are marked by an aggressive inflammatory response known as hypercytokinemia, contributing to endothelial damage. Although vaccination has reduced hospitalizations, hypercytokinemia persists in breakthrough infections, emphasizing the need for disease models mimicking this response.

A Microphysiological HHT-on-a-Chip Platform Recapitulates Patient Vascular Lesions.

Unlabelled: Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) is a rare congenital disease in which fragile vascular malformations focally develop in multiple organs. These can be small (telangiectasias) or large (arteriovenous malformations, AVMs) and may rupture leading to frequent, uncontrolled bleeding. There are few treatment options and no cure for HHT.

Replacement of tibialis cranialis tendon with polyester, silicone-coated artificial tendon preserves biomechanical function in rabbits compared to tendon excision only.

Background: Artificial tendons may be an effective alternative to autologous and allogenic tendon grafts for repairing critically sized tendon defects. The goal of this study was to quantify the in vivo hindlimb biomechanics (ground contact pressure and sagittal-plane motion) during hopping gait of rabbits having a critically sized tendon defect of the tibialis cranialis and either with or without repair using an artificial tendon.

Methods: In five rabbits, the tibialis cranialis tendon of the left hindlimb was surgically replaced with a polyester, silicone-coated artificial tendon (PET-SI); five operated control rabbits underwent complete surgical excision of the biological tibialis cranialis tendon in the left hindlimb with no replacement (TE).

Targeting tumor-stromal interactions in triple-negative breast cancer using a human vascularized micro-tumor model.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is highly aggressive with limited available treatments. Stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) are crucial in TNBC progression; however, understanding the molecular basis of stromal cell activation and tumor-stromal crosstalk in TNBC is limited. To investigate therapeutic targets in the TNBC stromal niche, we used an advanced human in vitro microphysiological system called the vascularized micro-tumor (VMT).

Electrochemically Enabled Total Syntheses of Natural Products.

Electrochemical techniques have helped to enable the total synthesis of natural products since the pioneering work of Kolbe in the mid 1800's. The electrochemical toolset grows every day and these new possibilities change the way chemists look at and think about natural products. This review provides a perspective on total syntheses wherein electrochemical techniques enabled the carbon─carbon bond formations in the skeletal assembly of important natural products, discussion of mechanistic details, and representative examples of the bond formations enabled over the last several decades.

Pregnancy management and outcome in a woman with congenital unilateral lung agenesis: A case report.

Background: Congenital unilateral lung agenesis is a rare condition in which there is complete absence of one lung, in addition to the associated bronchus and pulmonary vasculature. It can be an isolated finding or present in conjunction with cardiac, gastrointestinal, genitourinary and skeletal malformations. Due to the increasing physiological demands on the body during gestation and parturition, this condition poses significant risks in individuals with this condition.

Collateral Arteriogenesis Involves a Sympathetic Denervation That Is Associated With Abnormal α-Adrenergic Signaling and a Transient Loss of Vascular Tone.

Stimulating collateral arteriogenesis is an attractive therapeutic target for peripheral artery disease (PAD). However, the potency of arteriogenesis-stimulation in animal models has not been matched with efficacy in clinical trials. This may be because the presence of enlarged collaterals is not sufficient to relieve symptoms of PAD, suggesting that collateral function is also important.

Electrochemically Mediated Oxidation of Sensitive Propargylic Benzylic Alcohols.

The electrochemical oxidation of sensitive propargylic benzylic alcohols having varying substituents is reported. We describe the preparation and characterization of -hydroxytetrafluorophthalimide (TFNHPI) and pseudo-high-throughput development of a green electrochemical oxidation protocol for sensitive propargylic benzylic alcohols that employs TFNHPI as a stable electrochemical mediator. The electrochemical oxidation of propargylic benzylic alcohols was leveraged to develop short synthetic pathways for preparing gram quantities of resveratrol natural products such as pauciflorols.

Representational geometry of perceptual decisions in the monkey parietal cortex.

Lateral intraparietal (LIP) neurons represent formation of perceptual decisions involving eye movements. In circuit models for these decisions, neural ensembles that encode actions compete to form decisions. Consequently, representation and readout of the decision variables (DVs) are implemented similarly for decisions with identical competing actions, irrespective of input and task context differences.

Characterization of shape memory polymer foam hemostats in in vitro hemorrhagic wound models.

Shape memory polymer foam hemostats are a promising option for future hemorrhage control in battlefield wounds. To enable their use as hemostatic devices, they must be optimized in terms of formulation and architecture, and their safety and efficacy must be characterized in animal models. Relevant in vitro models can be used for device optimization to help mitigate the excess use of animals and reduce costs of clinical translation.

Perspectives on intracellular perception of plant viruses.

The intracellular nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat (NLR) class of immune receptors plays an important role in plant viral defence. Plant NLRs recognize viruses through direct or indirect association of viral proteins, triggering a downstream defence response to prevent viral proliferation and movement within the plant. This review focuses on current knowledge of intracellular perception of viral pathogens, activation of NLRs and the downstream signalling components involved in plant viral defence.

Thromboprophylaxis After Hospitalization for Joint Replacement Surgery.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of mortality during the perioperative period, with individuals who have undergone hip and knee arthroplasty at the highest risk for VTE. The American College of Chest Physicians recommends 35 days of postoperative thromboprophylaxis and the use of intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) therapy for mechanical compression after major orthopedic surgery. However, little research has described adherence to these recommendations during recovery at home.

Mapping a hidden terrane boundary in the mantle lithosphere with lamprophyres.

Lamprophyres represent hydrous alkaline mantle melts that are a unique source of information about the composition of continental lithosphere. Throughout southwest Britain, post-Variscan lamprophyres are (ultra)potassic with strong incompatible element enrichments. Here we show that they form two distinct groups in terms of their Sr and Nd isotopic compositions, occurring on either side of a postulated, hitherto unrecognized terrane boundary.

Effects of Objective 3-Dimensional Measures of Facial Shape and Symmetry on Perceptions of Facial Attractiveness.

Purpose: Meeting patient desires for enhanced facial esthetics requires that providers have standardized and objective methods to measure esthetics. The authors evaluated the effects of objective 3-dimensional (3D) facial shape and asymmetry measurements derived from 3D facial images on perceptions of facial attractiveness.

Materials And Methods: The 3D facial images of 313 adults in Iowa were digitized with 32 landmarks, and objective 3D facial measurements capturing symmetric and asymmetric components of shape variation, centroid size, and fluctuating asymmetry were obtained from the 3D coordinate data using geo-morphometric analyses.

Tongue-out versus tongue-in position during intensity-modulated radiotherapy for base of tongue cancer: Clinical implications for minimizing post-radiotherapy swallowing dysfunction.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess whether different tongue positions change the radiation doses to swallowing organs at risks: the pharyngeal constrictor, oral cavity, and larynx during intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for base of tongue (BOT) cancer.

Methods: IMRT plans with Tongue-out (IMRT-TO) and tongue-in position (IMRT-TI) was compared in 3 cases.

Results: Distance from BOT to pharyngeal constrictor was increased to 1.

Use of Distributed Temperature Sensing Technology to Characterize Fire Behavior.

We evaluated the potential of a fiber optic cable connected to distributed temperature sensing (DTS) technology to withstand wildland fire conditions and quantify fire behavior parameters. We used a custom-made 'fire cable' consisting of three optical fibers coated with three different materials-acrylate, copper and polyimide. The 150-m cable was deployed in grasslands and burned in three prescribed fires.

Decreased radiation doses to tongue with "stick-out" tongue position over neutral tongue position in head and neck cancer patients who refused or could not tolerate an intraoral device (bite-block, tongue blade, or mouthpiece) due to trismus, gag reflex, or discomfort during intensity-modulated radiation therapy.

Purpose: To assess changes in oral cavity (OC) shapes and radiation doses to tongue with different tongue positions during intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) but who refused or did not tolerate an intraoral device (IOD), such as bite block, tongue blade, or mouthpiece.

Results: Tongue volume outside of OC was 7.1 ± 3.

Ventral Medial Thalamic Nucleus Promotes Synchronization of Increased High Beta Oscillatory Activity in the Basal Ganglia-Thalamocortical Network of the Hemiparkinsonian Rat.

Unlabelled: Loss of dopamine is associated with increased synchronization and oscillatory activity in the subthalamic nucleus and basal ganglia (BG) output nuclei in both Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and animal models of PD. We have previously observed substantial increases in spectral power in the 25-40 Hz range in LFPs recorded in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNpr) and motor cortex (MCx) in the hemiparkinsonian rat during treadmill walking. The current study explores the hypothesis that SNpr output entrains activity in the ventral medial thalamus (VM) in this frequency range after loss of dopamine, which in turn contributes to entrainment of the MCx and BG.

Instrumentation and Measurement Strategy for the NOAA SENEX Aircraft Campaign as Part of the Southeast Atmosphere Study 2013.

Natural emissions of ozone-and-aerosol-precursor gases such as isoprene and monoterpenes are high in the southeast of the US. In addition, anthropogenic emissions are significant in the Southeast US and summertime photochemistry is rapid. The NOAA-led SENEX (Southeast Nexus) aircraft campaign was one of the major components of the Southeast Atmosphere Study (SAS) and was focused on studying the interactions between biogenic and anthropogenic emissions to form secondary pollutants.

Formaldehyde production from isoprene oxidation across NO regimes.

The chemical link between isoprene and formaldehyde (HCHO) is a strong, non-linear function of NO (= NO + NO). This relationship is a linchpin for top-down isoprene emission inventory verification from orbital HCHO column observations. It is also a benchmark for overall photochemical mechanism performance with regard to VOC oxidation.

Rescuing cocaine-induced prefrontal cortex hypoactivity prevents compulsive cocaine seeking.

Loss of control over harmful drug seeking is one of the most intractable aspects of addiction, as human substance abusers continue to pursue drugs despite incurring significant negative consequences. Human studies have suggested that deficits in prefrontal cortical function and consequential loss of inhibitory control could be crucial in promoting compulsive drug use. However, it remains unknown whether chronic drug use compromises cortical activity and, equally important, whether this deficit promotes compulsive cocaine seeking.

Electronic properties and reactivity of simulated Fe(3+) and Cr(3+) substituted α-Al(2)O(3) (0001) surface.

Metal oxide based minerals naturally contain transition metal impurities isomorphically substituted into the structure that can alter the structural and electronic properties as well as the reactivity of these metal oxides. Natural α-Al(2)O(3) (corundum) can contain up to 9.17% (w/w) Fe(2)O(3) and 1.

Simultaneous chromatography and electrophoresis: two-dimensional planar separations.

Single-dimension separations are routinely coupled in series to achieve two-dimensional separations, yet little has been done to simultaneously exploit multiple dimensions during separation. In this work, simultaneous chromatography and electrophoresis is introduced and evaluated for its potential to achieve two-dimensional separations. In simultaneous chromatography and electrophoresis, chromatography occurs via capillary action while an orthogonal electric field concurrently promotes electrophoresis in a second dimension.