Improving the Sensitivity of Protein Quantification by Immunoaffinity Liquid Chromatography─Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry Using an Iterative Transition Summing Technique.

The desire to reach ever-diminishing lower limits of quantification (LLOQ) to probe changes in low abundance protein targets has led to enormous progress in sample preparation and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) instrumentation. To maximize signal and reduce noise, many approaches have been employed, including specific immunoaffinity (IA) enrichment and reducing the LC flow to the nanoflow (nLC) level; however, additional sensitivity gains may still be required. Recently, a technique termed "echo summing" has been described for small-molecular-weight analytes on a triple quadrupole (QqQ) MS where multiple iterations of the same, single selected reaction monitoring (SRM) transition are collected, summed, and integrated, yielding significant analyte dependent signal-to-noise (S/N) improvements.

DCCAT: Dual-Coordinate Cross-Attention Transformer for thrombus segmentation on coronary OCT.

Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, with atherosclerotic plaque rupture and subsequent thrombus formation as the main underlying substrate. Thrombus burden evaluation is important for tailoring treatment therapy and predicting prognosis. Coronary optical coherence tomography (OCT) enables in-vivo visualization of thrombus that cannot otherwise be achieved by other image modalities.

Treatment and Care of Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction-What Challenges Remain after Three Decades of Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention?

Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) has revolutionized the prognosis of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and is the gold standard treatment. As a result of its success, the number of pPCI centres has expanded worldwide. Despite decades of advancements, clinical outcomes in STEMI patients have plateaued.

Advancements in Imaging Sensors and AI for Plant Stress Detection: A Systematic Literature Review.

Integrating imaging sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) have contributed to detecting plant stress symptoms, yet data analysis remains a key challenge. Data challenges include standardized data collection, analysis protocols, selection of imaging sensors and AI algorithms, and finally, data sharing. Here, we present a systematic literature review (SLR) scrutinizing plant imaging and AI for identifying stress responses.

Twelve tips for designing and implementing peer-led assessment writing schemes in health professions education.

Peer-led assessment (PLA) has gained increasing prominence within health professions education as an effective means of engaging learners in the process of assessment writing and practice. Involving students in various stages of the assessment lifecycle, including item writing, quality assurance, and feedback, not only facilitates the creation of high-quality item banks with minimal faculty input but also promotes the development of students' assessment literacy and fosters their growth as teachers. The advantages of involving students in the generation of assessments are evident from a pedagogical standpoint, benefiting both students and faculty.

Diversity of thought: public perceptions of genetic testing across ethnic groups in the UK.

Genetic testing is becoming rapidly more accessible to the general populous either through or outside healthcare systems. Few large-scale studies have been carried out to gauge public opinion in this growing area. Here, we undertook the largest cross-sectional study on genetic testing in the UK.

Analysis of β-nerve growth factor and its precursor during human pregnancy by immunoaffinity-liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

β-Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin that plays a critical role in fetal development during gestation. ProNGF is the precursor form of NGF with a distinct biological profile. In order to investigate the role of NGF and proNGF in pregnant human females, a sensitive and selective immunoaffinity liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay was developed and qualified to simultaneously measure the levels of total NGF (tNGF; sum of mature and proNGF) and proNGF using full and relative quantification strategies, respectively.

Capturing crop adaptation to abiotic stress using image-based technologies.

Farmers and breeders aim to improve crop responses to abiotic stresses and secure yield under adverse environmental conditions. To achieve this goal and select the most resilient genotypes, plant breeders and researchers rely on phenotyping to quantify crop responses to abiotic stress. Recent advances in imaging technologies allow researchers to collect physiological data non-destructively and throughout time, making it possible to dissect complex plant responses into quantifiable traits.

Phenotyping for waterlogging tolerance in crops: current trends and future prospects.

Yield losses to waterlogging are expected to become an increasingly costly and frequent issue in some regions of the world. Despite the extensive work that has been carried out examining the molecular and physiological responses to waterlogging, phenotyping for waterlogging tolerance has proven difficult. This difficulty is largely due to the high variability of waterlogging conditions such as duration, temperature, soil type, and growth stage of the crop.

Takotsubo syndrome and complete heart block, which came first? A case report.

Background: In 2018, the European Society of Cardiology published two consensus documents on takotsubo syndrome (TTS), which include the current consensus on nomenclature, diagnosis, management, and complications. However, little is mentioned on the association with complete heart block (CHB), except that 'AV block [occurs in] 2.9% of cases'.

Dystrophin and mini-dystrophin quantification by mass spectrometry in skeletal muscle for gene therapy development in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a lethal, degenerative muscle disorder caused by mutations in the DMD gene, leading to severe reduction or absence of the protein dystrophin. Gene therapy strategies that aim to increase expression of a functional dystrophin protein (mini-dystrophin) are under investigation. The ability to accurately quantify dystrophin/mini-dystrophin is essential in assessing the level of gene transduction.

A hybrid modeling approach for assessing mechanistic models of small molecule partitioning in vivo using a machine learning-integrated modeling platform.

Prediction of the first-in-human dosing regimens is a critical step in drug development and requires accurate quantitation of drug distribution. Traditional in vivo studies used to characterize clinical candidate's volume of distribution are error-prone, time- and cost-intensive and lack reproducibility in clinical settings. The paper demonstrates how a computational platform integrating machine learning optimization with mechanistic modeling can be used to simulate compound plasma concentration profile and predict tissue-plasma partition coefficients with high accuracy by varying the lipophilicity descriptor logP.

Scalable in silico Simulation of Transdermal Drug Permeability: Application of BIOiSIM Platform.

Introduction: Transdermal drug delivery is gaining popularity as an alternative to traditional routes of administration. It can increase patient compliance because of its painless and noninvasive nature, aid compounds in bypassing presystemic metabolic effects, and reduce the likelihood of adverse effects through decreased systemic exposure. In silico physiological modeling is critical to predicting dermal exposure for a therapeutic and assessing the impact of different formulations on transdermal disposition.

A speckle-tracking strain-based artificial neural network model to differentiate cardiomyopathy type.

In heart failure, invasive angiography is often employed to differentiate ischaemic from non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy. We aim to examine the predictive value of echocardiographic strain features alone and in combination with other features to differentiate ischaemic from non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy, using artificial neural network (ANN) and logistic regression modelling. We retrospectively identified 204 consecutive patients with an ejection fraction <50% and a diagnostic angiogram.

Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia with multiple complications presenting in an older patient.

Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a rare autosomal dominant multi-organ vascular disorder associated with bleeding and a reduced life expectancy. We present a 91-year-old woman with complications of previously undiagnosed HHT. This case demonstrates three potential complications: pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (AVM) resulting in a right to left shunt, cerebral infarctions and pericardial effusion.

Impact of a hospital-based educational intervention on dietary salt-related knowledge and behaviour in a cardiac care unit population in Lebanon.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Numerous strategies have been effective in reducing cardiovascular disease risk, from pharmacological approaches to lifestyle modification interventions. One of these strategies includes the reduction in dietary sodium which in turn reduces cardiovascular risk by reducing high blood pressure, perhaps the most important cardiovascular risk factor.

Situational judgement tests: important clarifications regarding the methodology.

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Identification of methylated metabolites of oat avenanthramides in human plasma using UHPLC QToF-MS.

Oat avenanthramides (AVAs) are a group of phenolic alkaloids, consisting of an anthranilic acid and a hydroxycinnamic acid linked by a pseudo-peptide bond. Bioavailability of AVA is poor in humans, suggesting transformations for rapid excretion. Thus, we aim to identify metabolites of AVA isomers in plasma of humans after consuming AVA-enriched oats.

Formative student-authored question bank: perceptions, question quality and association with summative performance.

Purpose Of The Study: There are few studies on the value of authoring questions as a study method, the quality of the questions produced by students and student perceptions of student-authored question banks. Here we evaluate PeerWise, a widely used and free online resource that allows students to author, answer and discuss multiple-choice questions.

Study Design: We introduced two undergraduate medical student cohorts to PeerWise (n=603).

Myocardial infarction masquerading as myocarditis in a patient with factor V Leiden: unmasked with MR.

We present a case of a 21-year-old man presenting with sharp left-sided chest pain. A CT pulmonary angiogram was negative, ECG was unremarkable and a mild troponin rise was observed. Myocarditis was suspected as the most likely diagnosis, particularly in view of the patient's previous diagnosis of myocarditis 3 years prior.