Dietary Patterns, Apolipoprotein L1 Risk Genotypes, and CKD Outcomes Among Black Adults in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Cohort Study.

Rationale & Objective: Dietary factors may impact inflammation and interferon production, which could influence phenotypic expression of Apolipoprotein1 () genotypes. We investigated whether associations of dietary patterns with kidney outcomes differed by genotypes.

Study Design: Prospective cohort.

A Report Card on Prevention Efforts of COVID-19 Deaths in US.

COVID-19 (otherwise known as coronavirus disease 2019) is a life-threatening pandemic that has been combatted in various ways by the government, public health officials, and health care providers. These interventions have been met with varying levels of success. Ultimately, we question if the preventive efforts have reduced COVID-19 deaths in the United States.

Relationship between diet and relative risk of pain in a cross-sectional analysis of the REGARDS longitudinal study.

Determine if dietary patterns affect risk of pain. Data from 16,061 participants (55.4% females, 32.

Matching participant address with public records database in a US national longitudinal cohort study.

Background: Epidemiological studies utilize residential histories to assess environmental exposure risk. The validity from using commercially-sourced residential histories within national longitudinal studies remains unclear. Our study assessed predictors of non-agreement between baseline addresses from the commercially-sourced LexisNexis database and participants in the national longitudinal study, REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS).

Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Anthocyanins from Haskap ( L.) Berries Using a Deep Eutectic Solvent (DES) DES Extraction of Anthocyanins from Haskap Berries.

Research Background: Haskap berries are one of the richest natural sources of anthocyanins and their extracts can be used for nutraceuticals and functional food ingredients. Deep eutectic solvents (DES) comprising food-grade or generally recognized as safe (GRAS) components show promise as natural solvents, but have not been applied to haskap berries. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the extraction of anthocyanins from haskap berries using a DES consisting of citric acid and d-(+)-maltose.

Competency assessment of an undergraduate program using a third-party, objective pre-post examination.

Background: Assessing competencies or program learning outcomes in educational programs is often a leadership challenge. This case study reports medical education program's efforts to document undergraduate competency attainment using a pre-post, third-party, objective testing service that allows for inter-university comparison, a testing service that is being adopted by some certification and accrediting bodies.

Methods: Students completed a pre-test after program acceptance and a post-test at the end of the last didactic semester (1.

Models for Heart Failure Admissions and Admission Rates, 2016 through 2018.

Background: Approximately 6.5 to 6.9 million individuals in the United States have heart failure, and the disease costs approximately $43.

Sustainable approach for lycopene extraction from tomato processing by-product using hydrophobic eutectic solvents.

Lycopene, a non-polar antioxidant compound with important effects on human health and wide commercial applications, was extracted from tomato processing wastes using innovative hydrophobic eutectic mixtures (HEMs) replacing traditional organic solvents. HEMs were prepared using DL-menthol as hydrogen-bond acceptor (HBA) and lactic acid as hydrogen-bond donor (HBD), and the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was optimized using a Box-Behnken design to evaluate extraction conditions: extraction temperature (°C), molar ratio of eutectic mixture (moles HBA: mol HBD), solvent to sample ratio (volume to mass, mL/g), and extraction time (min), with lycopene extraction yield (µg/g d.w.

An Evaluation of Alternatives for Providing Care to Veterans.

In 2014, a whistleblower reported that many U.S. veterans died while waiting for care at the Phoenix VHA.

Characterization of tomato processing by-product for use as a potential functional food ingredient: nutritional composition, antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds.

Tomato pomace, a by-product generated during tomato processing, was collected at a large tomato processing industry. The by-product was mainly constituted of tomato skin (61.5%), and presented high moisture content (66.

Impact of extraction and processing conditions on betalains and comparison of properties with anthocyanins - A current review.

The search for natural pigments has been driven by growing evidence indicating that synthetic colorants can cause deleterious health effects. Betalains, in addition to anthocyanins, have been proposed as an alternative to address this need. However, the incorporation of natural pigments poses some challenges to the food industry, such as reduced stability in comparison to their synthetic counterparts.

Development and evaluation of floating alginate microspheres for oral delivery of anthocyanins - A preliminary investigation.

The goal of this study was to develop floating microspheres that could be used as gastroretentive systems for the delivery of anthocyanins (ACNs). These compounds are absorbed in the stomach and small intestine, and insufficient residence time in these organs could result in limited absorption and contribute to degradation. The microparticles containing freeze-dried haskap berry extract (321.

Recycling of lipid-extracted hydrolysate as nitrogen supplementation for production of thraustochytrid biomass.

Efficient resource usage is important for cost-effective microalgae production, where the incorporation of waste streams and recycled water into the process has great potential. This study builds upon emerging research on nutrient recycling in thraustochytrid production, where waste streams are recovered after lipid extraction and recycled into future cultures. This research investigates the nitrogen flux of recycled hydrolysate derived from enzymatic lipid extraction of thraustochytrid biomass.

A theoretical physiologically based pharmacokinetic approach for modeling the fate of anthocyanins in vivo.

Recent studies on the pharmacokinetics of anthocyanins (ACNs) and their metabolites have uncovered evidence for hitherto unknown physiological effects affecting the fate of these compounds in vivo. In particular, it has been shown that the stomach, in addition to the small intestine, has an important role in absorption. Most studies still use a noncompartmental or one-compartmental approach to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of ACNs, which does not represent the anatomical and physiological conditions that a compound is subject to in the organism.

Nutrient recycling of lipid-extracted waste in the production of an oleaginous thraustochytrid.

Improving the economics of microalgae production for the recovery of microbial oil requires a comprehensive exploration of the measures needed to improve productivity as well as to reduce the overall processing costs. One avenue for cost reduction involves recycling the effluent waste water remaining after lipid extraction. This study investigates the feasibility of recycling those wastes for growing thraustochytrid biomass, a heterotrophic microalgae, where wastes were generated from the enzymatic extraction of the lipids from the cell biomass.

Sequential recycling of enzymatic lipid-extracted hydrolysate in fermentations with a thraustochytrid.

This study extends the findings of prior studies proposing and validating nutrient recycling for the heterotrophic microalgae, Thraustochytrium sp. (T18), grown in optimized fed-batch conditions. Sequential nutrient recycling of enzymatically-derived hydrolysate in fermentors succeeded at growing the tested thraustochytrid strain, with little evidence of inhibition or detrimental effects upon culture health.

Gastroretentive systems - a proposed strategy to modulate anthocyanin release and absorption for the management of diabetes.

Several reports have indicated a positive correlation between the consumption of anthocyanins (ACN) and biomarkers relating to the improvement of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the results from in vitro studies often do not translate into clinical evidence. Potential causes of these discrepancies are experimental conditions that lack physiological relevancy; extensive degradation of these compounds in vivo due to changes in pH and metabolism; and a short residence time in the absorption window in relation to the absorption rate.

Nutrient and media recycling in heterotrophic microalgae cultures.

In order for microalgae-based processes to reach commercial production for biofuels and high-value products such as omega-3 fatty acids, it is necessary that economic feasibility be demonstrated at the industrial scale. Therefore, process optimization is critical to ensure that the maximum yield can be achieved from the most efficient use of resources. This is particularly true for processes involving heterotrophic microalgae, which have not been studied as extensively as phototrophic microalgae.

Refractance Window™ drying of haskap berry--preliminary results on anthocyanin retention and physicochemical properties.

The goal of this work was to determine the anthocyanin retention and physicochemical properties of haskap powder prepared by Refractance Window™ (RW) drying. In general, the RW-dried powder particles had a smooth surface with similar thickness, consistent with the preparation method, and had a solubility of 75.63% in water.

Medical waste management - A review.

This paper examines medical waste management, including the common sources, governing legislation and handling and disposal methods. Many developed nations have medical waste legislation, however there is generally little guidance as to which objects can be defined as infectious. This lack of clarity has made sorting medical waste inefficient, thereby increasing the volume of waste treated for pathogens, which is commonly done by incineration.

Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of anthocyanins from haskap berries (Lonicera caerulea L.) using Response Surface Methodology.

Haskap berries (Lonicera caerulea L.) are a rich source of bioactive molecules. As such, the extraction of anthocyanins is important for the development of many value-added products and functional food ingredients.

Chitosan nanoparticles as adenosine carriers.

The objective of this research project was to evaluate the potential use of chitosan (CS) nanoparticles (NPs) as a drug delivery system for the molecule adenosine. Adenosine is an essential drug used for treating several health issues especially irregular heart rhythm. However, due to its extremely short half-life in vivo (<10 s), the effective delivery of adenosine in clinical applications is a significant challenge.

Patient satisfaction as a function of in-house versus contract staffing models in Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinics.

As part of decision support for Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, this research evaluated patient satisfaction differences associated with contract versus Veterans Affairs (VA) staffing of community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs). The research question was as follows: What differences exist between contract versus VA-staffed outpatient clinics in the areas of patient perceptions of access, continuity of care, courtesy, education and information, emotional support, overall coordination, visit coordination, and patient preferences? The quarterly Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients provided satisfaction data necessary for this study. Results of Bonferonni-corrected z-tests of proportions indicated that the VA-staffed CBOCs had statistically higher scores for continuity of care, education and information, emotional support, overall coordination, and patient preferences.

Evidence of poorer life-course mental health outcomes among veterans of the Korean War cohort.

Objective: Comparing the outcomes of veterans who served in Korea and those who served elsewhere, we examined the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other mental health conditions, psychiatric treatment locations, and six mental health well-being measures.

Methods: The analytic sample consisted of nationally representative data from the 2001 National Survey of Veterans (NSV). Analyses included multiple logistic regressions that controlled for sociodemographic characteristics.