Injectable Fluorescent Bottlebrush Polymers for Interventional Procedures and Biomedical Imaging.

Injectable biomaterials play a vital role in modern medicine, offering tailored functionalities for diverse therapeutic and diagnostic applications. In ophthalmology, for instance, viscoelastic materials are crucial for procedures such as cataract surgery but often leave residues, increasing postoperative risks. This study introduces injectable fluorescent viscoelastics (FluoVs) synthesized via one-step controlled radical copolymerization of oligo(ethylene glycol) acrylate and fluorescein acrylate.

Design and Characterization of a Gene-Encoding DNA Nanoparticle in a Cell-Free Transcription-Translation System.

DNA nanotechnology has made initial progress toward developing gene-encoded DNA origami nanoparticles (NPs) that display potential utility for future gene therapy applications. However, due to the challenges involved with gene delivery into cells including transport through the membrane, intracellular targeting, and inherent expression of nucleases along with interference from other active proteins, it can be difficult to more directly study the effect of DNA NP design on subsequent gene expression. In this work, we demonstrate an approach for studying the expression of gene-encoding DNA origami NPs without the use of cells.

Single-Nucleus Atlas of Cell-Type Specific Genetic Regulation in the Human Brain.

Genetic risk variants for common diseases are predominantly located in non-coding regulatory regions and modulate gene expression. Although bulk tissue studies have elucidated shared mechanisms of regulatory and disease-associated genetics, the cellular specificity of these mechanisms remains largely unexplored. This study presents a comprehensive single-nucleus multi-ancestry atlas of genetic regulation of gene expression in the human prefrontal cortex, comprising 5.

Plasticity of Human Microglia and Brain Perivascular Macrophages in Aging and Alzheimer's Disease.

The complex roles of myeloid cells, including microglia and perivascular macrophages, are central to the neurobiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet they remain incompletely understood. Here, we profiled 832,505 human myeloid cells from the prefrontal cortex of 1,607 unique donors covering the human lifespan and varying degrees of AD neuropathology. We delineated 13 transcriptionally distinct myeloid subtypes organized into 6 subclasses and identified AD-associated adaptive changes in myeloid cells over aging and disease progression.

Gestational weight gain and obstetric outcomes in women with obesity in an inner-city population.

Objectives: To describe maternal and perinatal outcomes in patients with BMI ≥30 kg/m by BMI class and gestational weight gain.

Methods: Retrospective review of singleton pregnancies with pre-pregnancy BMI ≥30 kg/m who received care at our institution between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2021. Patients were divided into three categories based on BMI (kg/m): Class I (BMI 30.

Plugging synthetic DNA nanoparticles into the central dogma of life.

Synthetic DNA nanotechnology has emerged as a powerful tool for creating precise nanoscale structures with diverse applications in biotechnology and materials science. Recently, it has evolved to include gene-encoded DNA nanoparticles, which have potentially unique advantages compared to alternative gene delivery platforms. In exciting new developments, we and others have shown how the long single strand within DNA origami nanoparticles, the scaffold strand, can be customized to encode protein-expressing genes and engineer nanoparticles that interface with the transcription-translation machinery for protein production.

Towards tunable exciton delocalization in DNA Holliday junction-templated indodicarbocyanine 5 (Cy5) dye derivative heterodimers.

We studied the exciton delocalization of indodicarbocyanine 5 dye derivative (Cy5-R) heterodimers templated by a DNA Holliday junction (HJ), which was quantified by the exciton hopping parameter . These dyes were modified at the 5 and 5' positions of indole rings with substituent (R) H, Cl, Bu, Peg, and hexyloxy (Hex) groups that exhibit different bulkiness and electron-withdrawing/donating capacities. The substituents tune the physical properties of the dyes, such as hydrophobicity (log ) and solvent-accessible surface area (SASA).

System-based strategies for mitigating burnout in radiology.

Background: Burnout is a chronic problem prevalent in radiology, with a significant burden on individuals and healthcare systems.

Discussion: A substantial portion of the literature on managing burnout has focused on individual-based remedies. We posit that burnout is a systemic problem and present an overview of some system-based strategies that could be employed to mitigate burnout in radiology.

Diagnostic Modalities for Early Detection of Anastomotic Leak After Colorectal Surgery.

Introduction: Anastomotic leak (AL) remains a severe complication following colorectal surgery, leading to increased morbidity and mortality, particularly in cases of delayed diagnosis. Existing diagnostic methods, including computed tomography (CT) scans, contrast enemas, endoscopic examinations, and reoperations can confirm AL but lack strong predictive value. Early detection is crucial for improving patient outcomes, yet a definitive and reliable predictive test, or "gold standard," is still lacking.

Correction: Towards control of excitonic coupling in DNA-templated Cy5 aggregates: the principal role of chemical substituent hydrophobicity and steric interactions.

Correction for 'Towards control of excitonic coupling in DNA-templated Cy5 aggregates: the principal role of chemical substituent hydrophobicity and steric interactions' by Sebastián A. Díaz , , 2023, , 3284-3299. https://doi.

Improving Patient Outcomes Using Measures to Increase Discharge Rates to Home.

Background Post-acute care (PAC) centers are facilities used for recuperation, rehabilitation, and symptom management in an effort to improve the long-term outcomes of patients. PAC centers include skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and long-term care hospitals. In the 1990s, Medicare payment reforms significantly increased the discharge rates to PAC centers and subsequently increased the length of stay (LOS) among these patient populations.

Advances in chromone-based copper(ii) Schiff base complexes: synthesis, characterization, and versatile applications in pharmacology and biomimetic catalysis.

Chromones are well known as fundamental structural elements found in numerous natural compounds and medicinal substances. The Schiff bases of chromones have a much wider range of pharmacological applications such as antitumor, antioxidant, anti-HIV, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. A lot of research has been carried out on chromone-based copper(ii) Schiff-base complexes owing to their role in the organometallic domain and promise as potential bioactive cores.

Purification of DNA Nanoparticles Using Photocleavable Biotin Tethers.

The number of applications of self-assembled deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) origami nanoparticles (DNA NPs) has increased drastically, following the development of a variety of single-stranded template DNA (ssDNA) that can serve as the scaffold strand. In addition to viral genomes, such as M13 bacteriophage and lambda DNAs, enzymatically produced ssDNA from various template sources is rapidly gaining traction and being applied as the scaffold for DNA NP preparation. However, separating fully formed DNA NPs that have custom scaffolds from crude assembly mixes is often a multistep process of first separating the ssDNA scaffold from its enzymatic amplification process and then isolating the assembled DNA NPs from excess precursor strands.

Design of overnight radiology shifts - primum non nocere.

Overnight radiology (ONR) is necessary for providing timely patient care but poses unique professional and personal challenges to the radiologists. Maintaining a sustainable, long-term overnight radiology program hinges on the retention of radiologists who grasp the institutional workflow and can adeptly navigate inherent disruptions while consistently delivering high-quality patient care. Design of radiology shifts can significantly impact the performance and well-being of radiologists, with downstream implications for patient care and risk management.

Greening up organic reactions with caffeine: applications, recent developments, and future directions.

Numerous studies in the field of alkaloid chemistry have provided researchers with valuable insights into their unique properties as catalysts. Among the diverse natural catalysts, caffeine has emerged as a green, expedient, and biodegradable catalyst with high efficiency and applicability. Interest in using caffeine as a catalyst has burgeoned over the past few years with its role in diverse multicomponent reactions.

Sequestration within peptide coacervates improves the fluorescence intensity, kinetics, and limits of detection of dye-based DNA biosensors.

Peptide-based liquid-liquid phase separated domains, or coacervates, are a biomaterial gaining new interest due to their exciting potential in fields ranging from biosensing to drug delivery. In this study, we demonstrate that coacervates provide a simple and biocompatible medium to improve nucleic acid biosensors through the sequestration of both the biosensor and target strands within the coacervate, thereby increasing their local concentration. Using the well-established polyarginine (R) - ATP coacervate system and an energy transfer-based DNA molecular beacon we observed three key improvements: i) a greater than 20-fold reduction of the limit of detection within coacervates when compared to control buffer solutions; ii) an increase in the kinetics, equilibrium was reached more than 4-times faster in coacervates; and iii) enhancement in the dye fluorescent quantum yields within the coacervates, resulting in greater signal-to-noise.

Dominant Analytical Techniques in DNA Nanotechnology for Various Applications.

DNA nanotechnology is rapidly gaining traction in numerous applications, each bearing varying degrees of tolerance to the quality and quantity necessary for viable nanostructure function. Despite the distinct objectives of each application, they are united in their reliance on essential analytical techniques, such as purification and characterization. This tutorial aims to guide the reader through the current state of DNA nanotechnology analytical chemistry, outlining important factors to consider when designing, assembling, purifying, and characterizing a DNA nanostructure for downstream applications.

Alzheimer's disease transcriptional landscape in ex-vivo human microglia.

Microglia are resident immune cells of the brain and are implicated in the etiology of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and other diseases. Yet the cellular and molecular processes regulating their function throughout the course of the disease are poorly understood. Here, we present the transcriptional landscape of primary microglia from 189 human postmortem brains, including 58 healthy aging individuals and 131 with a range of disease phenotypes, including 63 patients representing the full spectrum of clinical and pathological severity of AD.

Transition-Metal Catalyzed Synthesis of Pyrimidines: Recent Advances, Mechanism, Scope and Future Perspectives.

Pyrimidine is a pharmacologically important moiety that exhibits diverse biological activities. This review reflects the growing significance of transition metal-catalyzed reactions for the synthesis of pyrimidines (with no discussion being made on the transition metal-catalyzed functionalization of pyrimidines). The effect of different catalysts on the selectivity/yields of pyrimidines and catalyst recyclability (wherever applicable) are described, together with attempts to illustrate the role of the catalyst through mechanisms.

Synthesis of substituted 2H-Chromenes via Pd-catalyzed C-H activation and thermal cyclization.

A proficient approach has been developed for the synthesis of substituted 2H-chromenes from C1-substituted glucal. The key step of our synthetic methodology was C-H activation in propylene carbonate solvent followed by 6π-electrocyclization aromatization in ethylene glycol as greener substitutes to toxic aprotic solvents, to obtain 2H-chromenes in a stepwise manner. The application of the developed methodology was further explored with the synthesis of a small library of substituted 2H-chromenes in good yields.

Improving Discharge Rates to Home With the Help of Mobility Technicians: A Step in the Right Direction.

Background Early ambulation during acute hospitalization has been associated with improved clinical outcomes for patients. Despite the benefits of mobility in the hospital setting, physical therapists and nursing staff are often constrained by time. Mobility technicians (MTs) are individuals with specialized training who have emerged as a potential solution by providing safe ambulation for patients during their hospital stay.