Advances in medical devices using nanomaterials and nanotechnology: Innovation and regulatory science.

Nanomaterials and nanotechnology are emerging as promising strategies for medical devices due to their advantageous properties, including the ability to effectively interact with biomolecules and tissues, as well as enhance therapeutic efficacy and biocompatibility. This has resulted in approved and candidate devices in fields, such as orthopedics, dentistry, wound care, and neurology. However, the overall progress in translating medical devices using nanomaterials has been relatively slow, highlighting the urgent need to advance regulatory science.

Ensemble learning based on matrix completion improves microbe-disease association prediction.

Microbes have a profound impact on human health. Identifying disease-associated microbes would provide helpful guidance for drug development and disease treatment. Through an enormous experimental effort, limited disease-associated microbes have been determined.

Tandem construction of flavone-bridged conjugated porous polymers for photosynthesis of 2,3-dihydrobenzofurans.

Conjugated porous polymers bearing flavone moieties (FL-CPPs) were synthesized a tandem approach. The carbonylative Sonogashira coupling in tandem with cyclization guided the assembling of building blocks with the accompanied production of flavone skeletons. The FL-CPPs were proved to be efficient metal-free photocatalysts for the [3+2] cycloaddition of phenols with olefins under the irradiation of visible-light.

Single-shot x-ray ptychography as a structured illumination method.

Single-shot ptychography is a quantitative phase imaging method wherein overlapping beams of light arranged in a grid pattern simultaneously illuminate a sample, allowing a full ptychographic dataset to be collected in a single shot. It is primarily used at optical wavelengths, but there is interest in using it for x-ray imaging. However, constraints imposed by x-ray optics have limited the resolution achievable to date.

Accelerated versus conventional corneal collagen cross-linking for keratoconus: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Purpose: To systematically compare the effectiveness of conventional corneal collagen cross-linking (CCXL) protocols and accelerated corneal collagen cross-linking (ACXL) protocols in cases with progressive keratoconus.

Methods: The Cochrane library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Web of Science databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Outcomes were clinical results and changes in corneal properties.

Exploration of a Novel Terpolymer Nanoparticle System for the Prevention of Alcohol-Induced Dose Dumping.

Alcohol-induced dose dumping (AIDD) remains a serious challenge in the controlled delivery of high potency drugs, such as opioids, which requires extensive investigation and innovative solutions. Current technologies rely on ethanol-insoluble excipients, such as guar gum and sodium alginate, to counteract the increased solubility of hydrophobic polymeric excipients in ethanol. However, these excipients pose several shortcomings, such as high viscosity of coating dispersion, high solution temperature, rapid gelation, and heterogeneity of resulted film.

Predicting disease-associated microbes based on similarity fusion and deep learning.

Increasing studies have revealed the critical roles of human microbiome in a wide variety of disorders. Identification of disease-associated microbes might improve our knowledge and understanding of disease pathogenesis and treatment. Computational prediction of microbe-disease associations would provide helpful guidance for further biomedical screening, which has received lots of research interest in bioinformatics.

Systematic characterization of new EBT4 radiochromic films in clinical x-ray beams.

. We aim to characterize kinetics of radiation-induced optical density in newly released EBT4 radiochromic films exposed to clinical x-rays. Several film models and batches were evaluated for the film sensitivity, optical signal increasing with time, relative film noise, and minimum detectable limits (MDL).

The effects of ultrasound-assisted glycation on the allergenicity and functional properties of peanut proteins.

This study investigated the effects of ultrasound-assisted glycation on the allergenicity and functional properties of peanut proteins. Results showed that ultrasound-assisted glycation increased the degree of glycation reaction of peanut proteins significantly (P < 0.05).

DeepMonitoring: a deep learning-based monitoring system for assessing the quality of cornea images captured by smartphones.

Smartphone-based artificial intelligence (AI) diagnostic systems could assist high-risk patients to self-screen for corneal diseases (e.g., keratitis) instead of detecting them in traditional face-to-face medical practices, enabling the patients to proactively identify their own corneal diseases at an early stage.

Promoting smartphone-based keratitis screening using meta-learning: A multicenter study.

Objective: Keratitis is the primary cause of corneal blindness worldwide. Prompt identification and referral of patients with keratitis are fundamental measures to improve patient prognosis. Although deep learning can assist ophthalmologists in automatically detecting keratitis through a slit lamp camera, remote and underserved areas often lack this professional equipment.

Bimetallic nanoalloys planted on super-hydrophilic carbon nanocages featuring tip-intensified hydrogen evolution electrocatalysis.

The insufficient availability and activity of interfacial water remain a major challenge for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we propose an "on-site disruption and near-site compensation" strategy to reform the interfacial water hydrogen bonding network via deliberate cation penetration and catalyst support engineering. This concept is validated using tip-like bimetallic RuNi nanoalloys planted on super-hydrophilic and high-curvature carbon nanocages (RuNi/NC).

Benzothiadiazole-Based Ordered Mesoporous Polymer as a Versatile, Metal-Free Heterogeneous Photocatalyst.

Visible-light active heterogeneous organophotocatalysts have recently gained considerable interest in organic synthetic community. Ordered mesoporous polymers (OMPs) are highly promising as heterogeneous alternative to traditional precious metal/organic dyes-based photocatalysts. Herein, we report the preparation of a benzothiadiazole functionalized OMPs (BT-MPs) through a "bottom-up" strategy.

Fetal dose assessment in a pregnant patient with brain tumor: A comparative study of proton PBS and 3DCRT/VMAT radiation therapy techniques.

Purpose: The treatment of brain tumors in pregnant patients poses challenges, as the out-of-field dose exposure to the fetus can potentially be harmful. A pregnant patient with prior radiation treatment was presented with a brain tumor at our clinic. This work reports on our pre-treatment study that compared fetal dose exposure between intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) using pencil beam scanning (PBS) and conventional photon 3D conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and the subsequent pregnant patient's radiation treatment.

Repulsion, Acceleration, and Coalescence between Water Droplets on Superhydrophobic Glass by Triboelectrification.

Manipulating the motion of water droplets on surfaces, which is crucial for various applications, such as microfluidics and heat transfer, presents considerable challenges, primarily due to the significant influence of capillary forces. This effect becomes more pronounced when droplets are in close proximity, often resulting in undesired coalescence. Triboelectrification, which involves charging pure water droplets, is a promising approach to enhance the ability to manipulate water droplets.

An emerging terpolymeric nanoparticle pore former as an internal recrystallization inhibitor of celecoxib in controlled release amorphous solid dispersion beads: Experimental studies and molecular dynamics analysis.

Solid oral controlled release formulations feature numerous clinical advantages for drug candidates with adequate solubility and dissolution rate. However, most new chemical entities exhibit poor water solubility, and hence are exempt from such benefits. Although combining drug amorphization with controlled release formulation is promising to elevate drug solubility, like other supersaturating systems, the problem of drug recrystallization has yet to be resolved, particularly within the dosage form.

Research Progress of Baihe Gujin Decoction in the Treatment of Lung Cancer.

Baihe Gujin decoction is one of the most commonly used decoction in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of lung cancer. It can nourish yin and moisten the lung as well as prevent phlegm from forming and stop coughing. On the one hand, Baihe Gujin decoction is characterized with extensive application, proven efficacy, a long history, and high safety.

Association of diverticulitis and potential risk of ischemic stroke: population-based matched cohort study in Taiwan.

Background: Previous studies have suggested relationship between diverticular disease and cardiovascular disease. Since cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular accident share a lot of pathogenesis, diverticulitis could also be a risk factor for stroke. This study tried to establish epidemiological evidence of the relationship between colon diverticulitis and ischemic stroke.

Acquiring Charge-Transfer-Featured Single-Molecule Ultralong Organic Room Temperature Phosphorescence via Through-Space Electronic Coupling.

Although long-lived triplet charge-transfer ( CT) state with high energy level has gained significant attention, the development of organic small molecules capable of achieving such states remains a major challenge. Herein, by using the through-space electronic coupling effect, we have developed a compound, namely NIC-DMAC, which has a long-lived CT state at the single-molecule level with a lifetime of 210 ms and a high energy level of up to 2.50 eV.

Ambient Phosphor with High Efficiency and Long Lifetime in Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) Through Charge-Transfer-Mediated Triplet Exciton Formation for Photolithography Applications.

Currently, purely organic compounds showing ambient phosphorescence with high efficiency (Φ ) and ultra-long lifetime (τ ) are quite rare and often need to be achieved in hydrophilic poly(vinyl alcohol)-based hosts. This severely limits their applications. Here, we provide a solution to this issue by constructing an ortho-linked donor-acceptor (D-A) dyad whose D moiety has not only a long-lived T state to achieve a long τ , but also a T state that is close to the S state of the dyad to trigger effective spin-orbit charge transfer intersystem crossing (SOCT-ISC).

Insights into the missing apiosylation step in flavonoid apiosides biosynthesis of Leguminosae plants.

Apiose is a natural pentose containing an unusual branched-chain structure. Apiosides are bioactive natural products widely present in the plant kingdom. However, little is known on the key apiosylation reaction in the biosynthetic pathways of apiosides.

Regio-specific enzymatic glucosylation of triterpenoids from and their biological activities.

The bacterial glycosyltransferase YjiC1 was used to glycosylate triterpenoids from the medicinal fungus . Eleven new compounds were obtained from enzymatic reactions. Glucosylation could increase the inhibitory activities against COX-2, and improve the anti-inflammatory activities of ergostanes on acute lung injury mice, especially (25)-antcin C 7--D-glucoside.

Racial and Socioeconomic Equity of Tecovirimat Treatment during the 2022 Mpox Emergency, New York, New York, USA.

We assessed tecovirimat treatment equity for 3,740 mpox patients in New York, New York, USA, during the 2022 mpox emergency; 32.4% received tecovirimat. Treatment rates by race/ethnicity were 38.

Characterization and structure-based protein engineering of a regiospecific saponin acetyltransferase from Astragalus membranaceus.

Acetylation contributes to the bioactivity of numerous medicinally important natural products. However, little is known about the acetylation on sugar moieties. Here we report a saponin acetyltransferase from Astragalus membranaceus.