Spermine Enhances the Peroxidase Activities of Multimeric Antiparallel G-quadruplex DNAzymes.

G-quadruplex (G4) DNAzymes with peroxidase activities hold potential for applications in biosensing. While these nanozymes are easy to assemble, they are not as efficient as natural peroxidase enzymes. Several approaches are being used to better understand the structural basis of their reaction mechanisms, with a view to designing constructs with improved catalytic activities.

Optimized heparin adsorption using macroporous zeolites: A comprehensive study.

Heparin is a highly valuable active pharmaceutical ingredient, typically derived from porcine intestinal mucosa. Traditionally, various commercial resins have been used as adsorbents for heparin extraction; however, there has been growing interest in exploring more cost-effective adsorbents in recent years to improve heparin recovery. Zeolites, a typical aluminosilicate known for their high surface area, porosity, and thermal stability, were selected for evaluation in this study.

Cholesterol mobilization regulates dendritic cell maturation and the immunogenic response to cancer.

Maturation of conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) is crucial for maintaining tolerogenic safeguards against auto-immunity and for promoting immunogenic responses to pathogens and cancer. The subcellular mechanism for cDC maturation remains poorly defined. We show that cDCs mature by leveraging an internal reservoir of cholesterol (harnessed from extracellular cell debris and generated by de novo synthesis) to assemble lipid nanodomains on cell surfaces of maturing cDCs, enhance expression of maturation markers and stabilize immune receptor signaling.

Dementia and Emergency Department Use in Older Adults With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: An Administrative Claims Data Analysis of Medicare Beneficiaries.

Background/objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with increased dementia risk. Whether this association is present among older adults with SLE is unclear. Further, whether individuals with concomitant SLE and dementia are at increased risk of emergency department (ED) use has not been explored.

Physical Health Symptoms and Perceptions of Air Quality among Residents of Smoke-Damaged Homes from a Wildland Urban Interface Fire.

The Marshall Fire was a wildland urban interface (WUI) fire that destroyed more than 1000 structures in two communities in Colorado. High winds carried smoke and ash into an unknown number of buildings that, while not incinerated, were significantly damaged. We aimed to understand whether smoke or ash damage to one's home was associated with physical health impacts of the fire event for people living in and around the fire zone whose homes were not completely destroyed.

Fracture Prevention with Infrequent Zoledronate in Women 50 to 60 Years of Age.

Background: Zoledronate prevents fractures in older women when administered every 12 to 18 months, but its effects on bone density and bone turnover persist beyond 5 years. Whether infrequent zoledronate administration would prevent vertebral fractures in early postmenopausal women is unknown.

Methods: We conducted a 10-year, prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving early postmenopausal women (50 to 60 years of age) with bone mineral density T scores lower than 0 and higher than -2.

Pharmacological or genetic inhibition of LTCC promotes cardiomyocyte proliferation through inhibition of calcineurin activity.

Cardiomyocytes (CMs) lost during ischemic cardiac injury cannot be replaced due to their limited proliferative capacity. Calcium is an important signal transducer that regulates key cellular processes, but its role in regulating CM proliferation is incompletely understood. Here we show a robust pathway for new calcium signaling-based cardiac regenerative strategies.

Molecular precursors for the electrodeposition of 2D-layered metal chalcogenides.

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are highly anisotropic, layered semiconductors, with the general formula ME (M = metal, E = sulfur, selenium or tellurium). Much current research in this field focusses on TMDCs for catalysis and energy applications; they are also attracting great interest for next-generation transistor and optoelectronic devices. The latter high-tech applications place stringent requirements on the stoichiometry, crystallinity, morphology and electronic properties of monolayer and few-layer materials.

The Cumulative Burden of Social Risk Factors and 10-Year Change in Quality of Life.

Background: Social risk factors are linked to adverse health outcomes, but their total impact on long-term quality of life is obscure. We hypothesized that a higher burden of social risk factors is associated with greater decline in quality of life over 10 years.

Methods: We examined associations between social risk factors count and decline >5 points in (i) physical component summary, and (ii) mental component summary scores from the Short Form-12 among Black and White participants in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study (n = 14 401).

Correlates of neurocognitive performance in older adults with chronic pain and negative emotions: baseline data from the problem adaptation therapy for pain (PATH-pain) randomized controlled trial.

Chronic pain is highly prevalent among older adults, is associated with cognitive deficits, and is commonly treated in primary care. We sought to document the extent of impairment across specific neurocognitive domains and its correlates among older adults with chronic pain in primary care. We analyzed baseline data from the Problem Adaptation Therapy for Pain trial, which examined a psychosocial intervention to improve emotion regulation in 100 adults ≥ 60 years with comorbid chronic pain and negative emotions, who did not have evidence of moderate-to-severe cognitive impairment.

Developmental dysfunction in a preclinical model of Kcnq2 developmental and epileptic encephalopathy.

Background: Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE) are rare but severe neurodevelopmental disorders characterised by early-onset seizures often combined with developmental delay, behavioural and cognitive deficits. Treatment for DEEs is currently limited to seizure control and provides no benefits to the patients' developmental and cognitive outcomes. Genetic variants are the most common cause of DEE with KCNQ2 being one of the most frequently identified disease-causing genes.

Cell therapy with human IL-10-producing ILC2s limits xenogeneic graft-versus-host disease by inhibiting pathogenic T cell responses.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10)-producing group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2) regulate inflammatory immune responses, yet their therapeutic potential remains largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that cell therapy with human ILC2 inhibits pathogenic T cell responses in humanized mouse models of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), resulting in reduced GVHD severity and improved overall survival without limiting the graft-versus-leukemia effect. ILC2 conferred superior protection from GVHD than IL-10 ILC2s, and blocking IL-10 and IL-4 abrogated ILC2 protective effects, indicating that these cytokines are important for the protective effects of ILC2.

Transcriptomics-informed pharmacology identifies epigenetic and cell cycle regulators that enhance AAV production.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) is a widely used viral vector for gene therapy. However, these vectors have limited availability due to manufacturing challenges with productivity and quality. These challenges can be addressed by better understanding the mechanisms that influence cellular responses during rAAV production.

UV LED wastewater disinfection: The future is upon us.

The world's first full-scale, 280 nm UV LED reactor for wastewater disinfection was tested at flows of 545 and 817 m day. The system achieved > 3 average log reduction of total coliform at 545 m day and the 817 m day flow rate achieved over > 2.5 average log reduction for all operational conditions.

The role of greenspace in vitamin D status: cross-sectional, observational evidence from the UK Biobank.

Background: Exposure to greenspace is associated with positive health outcomes. This relationship is poorly understood, with limited knowledge on the mechanisms through which greenspace affects health, including biomarkers of greenspace effects.

Methods: We used data from the UK Biobank to examine the cross-sectional association between greenspace exposure and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D].

Immediate Versus 5-Year Risk-Guided Initiation of Treatment for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease for Australians Aged 40 Years: A Health Economic Analysis.

Background And Objective: Current Australian cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention guidelines calculate 5-year CVD risk and recommend treatment when risk crosses specific thresholds. This may leave risk factors untreated for people with a low short-term (i.e.

Virtual Assessment Protocols for Timed-Up-and-Go, 5-Repetition Chair Rise, and 1-Minute Sit-to-Stand Tests in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Investigating Feasibility, Reliability, and Validity.

Objective: To develop and evaluate virtual assessment protocols for the Timed-Up-and-Go usual and fast pace, Chair Rise-5 repetition, and the 1-minute Sit-to-Stand tests and examine their feasibility, reliability, and validity.

Design: This was a prospective cohort study, where participants engaged in up to 2 virtual assessments and data were collected prospectively for 1 year.

Setting: Assessments took place in participants' homes in the community.

Insights from Team Clinic: A Person-Centered Virtual Peer Group Care Model Adapted for Marginalized and Historically Excluded Youth with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).

Background: Despite advancements in T1D care regimens, racially and ethnically diverse youth with low income continue to experience worse health outcomes, more psychosocial challenges, and higher barriers to care. Alternative care models are needed to address the needs of this population.

Methods: Team Clinic is a person-centered virtual peer group (VPG) care model that was assessed in a 15-month, pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

'I'm sick of being the problem': Autistic mothers' experiences of interacting with schools for their autistic children.

Good relationships between families and schools make a difference to children's learning - and the same goes for autistic children. But parents of autistic children often find it very stressful interacting with teachers and school staff. In this study, we focused on autistic parents of autistic children.

Search for Soft Unclustered Energy Patterns in Proton-Proton Collisions at 13 TeV.

The first search for soft unclustered energy patterns (SUEPs) is performed using an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data at sqrt[s]=13  TeV, collected in 2016-2018 by the CMS detector at the LHC. Such SUEPs are predicted by hidden valley models with a new, confining force with a large 't Hooft coupling. In events with boosted topologies, selected by high-threshold hadronic triggers, the multiplicity and sphericity of clustered tracks are used to reject the background from standard model quantum chromodynamics.

Baseline Characteristics of Participants in STAREE: A Randomized Trial for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Events and Prolongation of Disability-Free Survival in Older People.

Background: The risk-benefit balance of statin use in healthy older people is uncertain. We describe the baseline characteristics of the STAREE (Statins in Reducing Events in the Elderly) trial, which is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial among community-dwelling older people; the trial evaluated the effect of atorvastatin 40 mg for the prevention of major cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction or stroke), and on disability-free survival (survival free of both dementia and persistent physical disability).

Methods And Results: STAREE enrolled people aged ≥70 years from 1583 general practices across Australia with no history of clinical cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or dementia.

A Phase 1 Study of ABI-009 (Nab-sirolimus) in Combination With Temozolomide and Irinotecan in Pediatric Patients With Recurrent or Refractory Solid Tumors, Including CNS Tumors-A Children's Oncology Group Pediatric Early Phase Clinical Trial Network Study ADVL1514.

Background: Nab-sirolimus (ABI-009, nab-rapamycin; Aadi Bioscience Inc. [Aadi]) is a human albumin-bound form of sirolimus nanoparticles, a potent mTOR inhibitor. This phase I trial was conducted to define dose-limiting toxicities (DLT), maximum tolerated or recommended phase II dose (MTD/RP2D), and pharmacokinetics of Nab-sirolimus in combination with temozolomide and irinotecan.