A novel closed-loop biotechnology for recovery of cobalt from a lithium-ion battery active cathode material.

In recent years, the demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has been increasing rapidly. Conventional recycling strategies (based on pyro- and hydrometallurgy) are damaging for the environment and more sustainable methods need to be developed. Bioleaching is a promising environmentally friendly approach that uses microorganisms to solubilize metals.

Utilising Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) to track the oxidation of lignin by an alkaliphilic laccase.

Lignin is a complex heteroaromatic polymer which is one of the most abundant and diverse biopolymers on the planet. It comprises approximately one third of all woody plant matter, making it an attractive candidate as an alternative, renewable feedstock to petrochemicals to produce fine chemicals. However, the inherent complexity of lignin makes it difficult to analyse and characterise using common analytical techniques, proving a hindrance to the utilisation of lignin as a green chemical feedstock.

The value of blood-based measures of liver function and urate in lung cancer risk prediction: A cohort study and health economic analysis.

Background: Several studies have reported associations between low-cost blood-based measurements and lung cancer but their role in risk prediction is unclear. We examined the value of expanding lung cancer risk models for targeting low-dose computed tomography (LDCT), including blood measurements of liver function and urate.

Methods: We analysed a cohort of 388,199 UK Biobank participants with 1873 events and calculated the c-index and fraction of new information (FNI) for models expanded to include combinations of blood measurements, lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s - FEV), alcohol status and waist circumference.

Palladium Nanoparticles from G20 Catalyze Biocompatible Sonogashira and Biohydrogenation Cascades.

Transition-metal nanoparticles produced by living bacteria are emerging as novel catalysts for sustainable synthesis. However, the scope of their catalytic activity and their ability to be integrated within metabolic pathways for the bioproduction of non-natural small molecules has been underexplored. Herein we report that Pd nanoparticles synthesized by the sulfate-reducing bacterium G20 (PdNPs) catalyze the Sonogashira coupling of phenyl acetylenes and aryl iodides, and the subsequent one-pot hydrogenation to bibenzyl derivatives using hydrogen gas generated from d-glucose by engineered DD-2.

Serum CC-Chemokine Ligand 2 Is Associated with Visceral Adiposity but Not Fibrosis in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is caused by ectopic fat accumulation in the liver as a consequence of metabolic perturbations associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. People with NAFLD may develop metabolic and cardiovascular complications and/or liver-related complications, especially fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, associated with high morbidity and mortality. Due to the high and increasing prevalence of NAFLD, there is an urgent need to identify people at risk of developing liver fibrosis and complications.

Synthetic biology landscape in the UK.

The UK is home to a vibrant and diverse synthetic biology community. Many of its successes in research innovation and technological commercialisation can be attributed to a strong base of dedicated academics, investors, industrial leadership, and policymakers. Here, we give an overview of the organisations making up the network that have been key to these successes and the roles that they play within the different levels of the community.

Pore dynamics and asymmetric cargo loading in an encapsulin nanocompartment.

Encapsulins are protein nanocompartments that house various cargo enzymes, including a family of decameric ferritin-like proteins. Here, we study a recombinant encapsulin:encapsulated ferritin complex using cryo-electron microscopy and hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry to gain insight into the structural relationship between the encapsulin shell and its protein cargo. An asymmetric single-particle reconstruction reveals four encapsulated ferritin decamers in a tetrahedral arrangement within the encapsulin nanocompartment.

Medication Discrepancies and Regimen Complexity in Decompensated Cirrhosis: Implications for Medication Safety.

Discrepancies between the medicines consumed by patients and those documented in the medical record can affect medication safety. We aimed to characterize medication discrepancies and medication regimen complexity over time in a cohort of outpatients with decompensated cirrhosis, and evaluate the impact of pharmacist-led intervention on discrepancies and patient outcomes. In a randomized-controlled trial ( = 57 intervention and = 57 usual care participants), medication reconciliation and patient-oriented education delivered over a six-month period was associated with a 45% reduction in the incidence rate of 'high' risk discrepancies (IRR = 0.

Micellar catalysis of the Suzuki Miyaura reaction using biogenic Pd nanoparticles from .

Microorganisms produce metal nanoparticles (MNPs) upon exposure to toxic metal ions. However, the catalytic activity of biosynthesised MNPs remains underexplored, despite the potential of these biological processes to be used for the sustainable recovery of critical metals, including palladium. Herein we report that biogenic palladium nanoparticles generated by the sulfate-reducing bacterium G20 catalyse the ligand-free Suzuki Miyaura reaction of abiotic substrates.

Predicting Liver-Related Outcomes in People With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: The Prognostic Value of Noninvasive Fibrosis Tests.

It remains unclear whether screening for advanced fibrosis in the community can identify the subgroup of people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) at higher risk for development of liver-related complications. We aimed to determine the prognostic value of baseline noninvasive fibrosis tests for predicting liver-related outcomes and mortality in patients with NAFLD from type 2 diabetes (T2D) clinics or primary care. Patients (n = 243) who were screened for NAFLD with advanced fibrosis by using NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), fibrosis 4 score (FIB-4), enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) test, and liver stiffness measurements (LSMs) were followed up for clinical outcomes by review of electronic medical records.

Time trends in contraceptive prescribing in UK primary care 2000-2018: a repeated cross-sectional study.

Background: Over the last 20 years, new contraceptive methods became available and incentives to increase contraceptive uptake were introduced. We aimed to describe temporal trends in non-barrier contraceptive prescribing in UK primary care for the period 2000-2018.

Methods: A repeated cross-sectional study using patient data from the IQVIA Medical Research Data (IMRD) database.

Rate of Hospitalizations and Underlying Reasons Among People with Parkinson's Disease: Population-Based Cohort Study in UK Primary Care.

Background: Hospitalization in Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with reduced quality of life, caregiver burden and high costs. However, no large-scale studies of rate and causes of hospitalizations in patients with PD have been published.

Objective: To investigate the rate and reasons for hospitalization and factors associated with hospitalization among people with PD compared to the general population.

Use of contraceptives and risk of inflammatory bowel disease: a nested case-control study.

Background: How contraceptive formulation, dose, duration of therapy and mode of delivery affects the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is poorly described.

Aim: To examine associations between types of hormonal contraception and development of IBD.

Methods: This was a nested case-control study using IQVIA Medical Research Data.

New Methods for the Synthesis of Spirocyclic Cephalosporin Analogues.

Spiro compounds provide attractive targets in drug discovery due to their inherent three-dimensional structures, which enhance protein interactions, aid solubility and facilitate molecular modelling. However, synthetic methodology for the spiro-functionalisation of important classes of penicillin and cephalosporin β-lactam antibiotics is comparatively limited. We report a novel method for the generation of spiro-cephalosporin compounds through a Michael-type addition to the dihydrothiazine ring.

Mortality of People with Parkinson's Disease in a Large UK-Based Cohort Study: Time Trends and Relationship to Disease Duration.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with increased mortality, but little is known about changes over time, and relationship to disease progression.

Objectives: To explore how PD mortality rates have changed over time and their relationship to disease duration and demographics using a large population-based cohort in the UK.

Methods: We included individuals aged 50+ years with a first recording of PD diagnosis and at least two prescriptions of any antiparkinsonian drug actively registered within a general practice from 2006 to 2016 and up to six frequency-matched controls from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database.

Towards collaborative management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a 'real-world' pathway for fibrosis risk assessment in primary care.

Background: The optimal strategy to support primary care practitioners (PCP) to assess fibrosis severity in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and thereby make appropriate management decisions remains unclear.

Aims: To examine the feasibility of using a two-step pathway that combined simple scores (NAFLD Fibrosis Score and Fibrosis-4 Index) with transient elastography (FibroScan) to streamline NAFLD referrals from a 'routine' primary care population to specialist hepatology management clinics (HMC).

Methods: The two-step 'Towards Collaborative Management of NAFLD' (TCM-NAFLD) fibrosis risk assessment pathway was implemented at two outer metropolitan primary healthcare practices in Brisbane.

Serum urate and lung cancer: a cohort study and Mendelian randomization using UK Biobank.

Background: Serum urate is the most abundant small molecule with antioxidant properties found in blood and the epithelial lining fluid of the respiratory system. Moderately raised serum urate is associated with lower rates of lung cancer and COPD in smokers but whether these relationships reflect antioxidant properties or residual confounding is unknown.

Methods: We investigated the observational and potentially causal associations of serum urate with lung cancer incidence and FEV using one-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) and the UK Biobank resource.

The Patient's Perspective in Cirrhosis: Unmet Supportive Care Needs Differ by Disease Severity, Etiology, and Age.

Patients with cirrhosis have significant physical, psychological, and practical needs. We documented patients' perceived need for support with these issues and the differences with increasing liver disease severity, etiology, and age. Using the supportive needs assessment tool for cirrhosis (SNAC), we examined the rate of moderate-to-high unmet needs (Poisson regression; incidence rate ratio [IRR]) and the correlation between needs and sociodemographic/clinical characteristics (multivariable linear regression) in 458 Australians adults with cirrhosis.

Time trends in the incidence of clinically diagnosed type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes in the UK 2009-2018: a retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: To describe recent trends in the incidence of clinically diagnosed type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes in people seen in UK general practice.

Research Design And Methods: A retrospective cohort study using IQVIA Medical Research Data looking at people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes through primary care registers in the UK between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2018.

Results: A cohort of 426 717 people were clinically diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and 418 656 people met the criteria for a diagnosis of pre-diabetes in that time period.

Detecting non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and risk factors in health databases: accuracy and limitations of the ICD-10-AM.

Objective: The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) cirrhosis is often underestimated in healthcare and administrative databases that define disease burden using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. This retrospective audit was conducted to explore the accuracy and limitations of the ICD, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) to detect NAFLD, metabolic risk factors (obesity and diabetes) and other aetiologies of chronic liver disease.

Design/method: ICD-10-AM codes in 308 admitted patient encounters at two major Australian tertiary hospitals were compared with data abstracted from patients' electronic medical records.

Serum matrix metalloproteinase 7 (MMP7) is a biomarker of fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects 25% of the adult population globally. Since liver fibrosis is the most important predictor of liver-related complications in patients with NAFLD, identification of patients with advanced fibrosis among at-risk individuals is an important issue in clinical practice. Transient elastography is the best evaluated non-invasive method used in referral centres to assess liver fibrosis, however serum-based tests, such as the Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) score, have a practical advantage as first-line tests due to their wider availability and lower cost.

Assessment of health-related quality of life and health utilities in Australian patients with cirrhosis.

Background And Aim: Health-related quality-of-life measurements are important to understand lived experiences of patients who have cirrhosis. These measures also inform economic evaluations by modelling quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). We aimed to describe health-related quality of life, specifically multiattribute utility (scale anchors of death = 0.

ICD-10-AM codes for cirrhosis and related complications: key performance considerations for population and healthcare studies.

Objective: The utility of International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes relies on the accuracy of clinical reporting and administrative coding, which may be influenced by country-specific codes and coding rules. This study explores the accuracy and limitations of the Australian Modification of the 10th revision of ICD (ICD-10-AM) to detect the presence of cirrhosis and a subset of key complications for the purpose of future large-scale epidemiological research and healthcare studies.

Design/method: ICD-10-AM codes in a random sample of 540 admitted patient encounters at a major Australian tertiary hospital were compared with data abstracted from patients' medical records by four blinded clinicians.