Long-term, automated stool monitoring using a novel smart toilet: A feasibility study.

Background: Patients' report of bowel movement consistency is unreliable. We demonstrate the feasibility of long-term automated stool image data collection using a novel Smart Toilet and evaluate a deterministic computer-vision analytic approach to assess stool form according to the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS).

Methods: Our smart toilet integrates a conventional toilet bowl with an engineered portal to image feces in a predetermined region of the plumbing post-flush.

Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic H Production Using Composites of Co-Al Layered Double Hydroxides and Graphene Derivatives.

The direct conversion of solar energy into chemical energy represents an enormous challenge for current science. One of the commonly proposed photocatalytic systems is composed of a photosensitizer (PS) and a catalyst, together with a sacrificial electron donor (ED) when only the reduction of protons to H is addressed. Layered double hydroxides (LDH) have emerged as effective catalysts.

Iridium-Complexed Dipyridyl-Pyridazine Organosilica as a Catalyst for Water Oxidation.

The heterogenization of metal-complex catalysts to be applied in water oxidation reactions is a currently growing field of great scientific impact for the development of energy conversion devices simulating the natural photosynthesis process. The attachment of IrCp*Cl complexes to the dipyridyl-pyridazine N-chelating sites on the surface of SBA-15 promotes the formation of metal bipyridine-like complexes, which can act as catalytic sites in the oxidation of water to dioxygen, the key half-reaction of artificial photosynthetic systems. The efficiency of the heterogeneous catalyst, Ir@NdppzSBA, in cerium(IV)-driven water oxidation was thoroughly evaluated, achieving high catalytic activity even at a long reaction time.

Ru- and Ir-complex decorated periodic mesoporous organosilicas as sensitizers for artificial photosynthesis.

A versatile and facile strategy based on an inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reaction between 5-norbornen-2-yltriethoxysilane and a tetrazine derivative has been established for the synthesis of a new triethoxysilane precursor containing dipyridylpyridazine units. Such a precursor has been incorporated into the mesostructure of an ethylene-bridged periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) material through a one-pot synthesis a co-condensation method. Upon attachment of Ru- and Ir-complexes to the pendant N-chelating heterocyclic ligands, the resulting decorated PMOs have acted as photosensitizers in artificial photosynthetic systems.

A hands-free stool sampling system for monitoring intestinal health and disease.

Analysis of stool offers simple, non-invasive monitoring for many gastrointestinal (GI) diseases and access to the gut microbiome, however adherence to stool sampling protocols remains a major challenge because of the prevalent dislike of handling one's feces. We present a technology that enables individual stool specimen collection from toilet wastewater for fecal protein and molecular assay. Human stool specimens and a benchtop test platform integrated with a commercial toilet were used to demonstrate reliable specimen collection over a wide range of stool consistencies by solid/liquid separation followed by spray-erosion.

Efficient Removal of Nonylphenol Isomers from Water by Use of Organo-Hydrotalcites.

The presence of potent organic endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in natural aquifers can have adverse impacts on public health and the environment. 4-nonylphenol, one such EDC, can be efficiently removed from water by adsorption onto a clayey material. In this work, we created an effective sorbent for this purpose by using co-precipitation and subsequent ion-exchange to intercalate the organic anion deoxycholate into a Mg/Al hydrotalcite.

Copper-complexed dipyridyl-pyridazine functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica as a heterogeneous catalyst for styrene epoxidation.

A new heterogeneous catalyst has been synthesized by immobilization of a copper complex on dipyridyl-pyridazine functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica (dppz-vPMO). This ordered support was first prepared by a co-condensation reaction between vinyltriethoxysilane and 1,2-bis(trimethoxysilyl)ethane and further post-functionalized through a hetero Diels-Alder reaction with 3,6-di-2-pyridyl-1,2,4,5-tetrazine. Techniques such as XRD, N isotherms, TEM, C NMR, XPS and DRIFT, among others, were employed to characterize the surface functionalized materials.

Oleate Epoxidation in a Confined Matrix of Hydrotalcite.

Oleate ion was intercalated into a hydrotalcite obtained using a conventional precipitation method and an alternative, novel method involving microwave-assisted ion exchange. The latter method gave a more crystalline hydrotalcite with better textural properties than the former. The spacing between layers in the hydrotalcites was used to epoxidize the double bond in oleate ion.

Identification of pigments in the Annunciation sculptural group (Cordoba, Spain) by micro-Raman spectroscopy.

A highly flexible method based on micro-Raman spectroscopy was used to examine pigment traces on an Annunciation sculpture group dating from the late Middle Ages. The group comprises a statue of the Archangel Gabriel and another of the Virgin Mary. Both are currently housed in the Archaeological Museum of Cordoba, southern Spain.

Fast ultrasound-assisted synthesis of highly crystalline MIL-88A particles and their application as ethylene adsorbents.

Highly crystalline MIL-88A particles have been successfully synthesized via fast ultrasound-assisted processes. The influence of the sonication generator and synthesis time on the structure, crystallinity, morphology and surface area of the materials were studied in detail. Under this modified ultrasonic method, X-ray diffraction patterns of MIL-88A particles showed highly crystalline structures in contrast to those reported in literature.

Spectroscopic analysis of corrosion products in a bronze cauldron from the Late Iberian Iron Age.

Selected bronze fragments unearthed at Cerro de la Cruz (Almedinilla, southern Spain) were analyzed to determine the chemical composition of the corrosion products formed on their surface. The fragments came from a large bronze cauldron used in an Iberian village that was devastated in the mid II century BCE - possibly around 141 BCE. The fragments were analyzed by using various instrumental techniques including electron scanning microscopy coupled to energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, and also by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and micro-Raman spectroscopy.

Raman microspectroscopic analysis of decorative pigments from the Roman villa of El Ruedo (Almedinilla, Spain).

In this work, we analysed the preparatory layer and paintings in the hypocaustum of the Roman villa of El Ruedo (Almedinilla, southern Spain). The specimens studied were from the III and IV centuries. Raman microscopy was for the first time used here to examine Roman pictures in the south of the Iberian peninsula.

TLR4 activates the β-catenin pathway to cause intestinal neoplasia.

Colonic bacteria have been implicated in the development of colon cancer. We have previously demonstrated that toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), the receptor for bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), is over-expressed in humans with colitis-associated cancer. Genetic epidemiologic data support a role for TLR4 in sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) as well, with over-expression favoring more aggressive disease.

Falcipain inhibitors: optimization studies of the 2-pyrimidinecarbonitrile lead series.

Falcipain-2 and falcipain-3 are papain-family cysteine proteases of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum that are responsible for host hemoglobin hydrolysis to provide amino acids for parasite protein synthesis. Different heteroarylnitrile derivatives were studied as potential falcipain inhibitors and therefore potential antiparasitic lead compounds, with the 5-substituted-2-cyanopyrimidine chemical class emerging as the most potent and promising lead series. Through a sequential lead optimization process considering the different positions present in the initial scaffold, nanomolar and subnanomolar inhibitors at falcipains 2 and 3 were identified, with activity against cultured parasites in the micromolar range.

Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm found after mitral valve replacement performed 30 years earlier.

Pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricle (LV) is a rare cardiac disease that occurs after myocardial infarction or cardiac surgery. Because patients frequently present with nonspecific symptoms, a high index of suspicion is needed to make the diagnosis. This report describes an unusual case demonstrating a large LV pseudoaneurysm after mitral valve replacement performed 30 years earlier.

Identification and activity of a series of azole-based compounds with lactate dehydrogenase-directed anti-malarial activity.

Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria, relies extensively on glycolysis coupled with homolactic fermentation during its blood-borne stages for energy production. Selective inhibitors of the parasite lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), central to NAD(+) regeneration, therefore potentially provide a route to new antimalarial drugs directed against a novel molecular target. A series of heterocyclic, azole-based compounds are described that preferentially inhibit P.

Antifungal sordarins. part 3: synthesis and structure-activity relationships of 2',3'-fused oxirane derivatives.

A number of new 2',3'-fused oxirane derivatives were synthesized for structure-activity relationship study. Many of these derivatives exhibit high potency against Candida spp. In addition, sordarin manno epoxide derivative 6 presents in vivo therapeutic effect in mice and is considered a promising antifungal lead within this series.