Combating Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration in Parkinson's Disease through Nanovesicle Technology.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by dopaminergic neurodegeneration, resulting in dopamine depletion and motor behavior deficits. Since the discovery of L-DOPA, it has been the most prescribed drug for symptomatic relief in PD, whose prolonged use, however, causes undesirable motor fluctuations like dyskinesia and dystonia. Further, therapeutics targeting the pathological hallmarks of PD including α-synuclein aggregation, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and autophagy impairment have also been developed, yet PD treatment is a largely unmet success.

Differences in the Severity and Location of Patellofemoral Cartilage Damage Between Instability Patients With and Without Patella Alta.

Background: Patella alta is a risk factor for recurrent patellar instability. Differences in chondral injury in patients with patellar instability between patella alta and patella norma have not been evaluated.

Purpose: To analyze whether preoperative cartilage damage differs in severity and location between patellar instability patients with and without patella alta.

Rapid prototyping of high-resolution large format microfluidic device through maskless image guided in-situ photopolymerization.

Microfluidic devices have found extensive applications in mechanical, biomedical, chemical, and materials research. However, the high initial cost, low resolution, inferior feature fidelity, poor repeatability, rough surface finish, and long turn-around time of traditional prototyping methods limit their wider adoption. In this study, a strategic approach to a deterministic fabrication process based on in-situ image analysis and intermittent flow control called image-guided in-situ maskless lithography (IGIs-ML), has been proposed to overcome these challenges.

Naphthodithiophene-Fused Porphyrins: Synthesis, Characterization, and Impact of Extended Conjugation on Aromaticity.

The fusion of tetrapyrroles with aromatic heterocycles constitutes a useful tool for manipulating their opto-electronic properties. In this work, the synthesis of naphthodithiophene-fused porphyrins was achieved through a Heck reaction-based cascade of steps followed by the Scholl reaction. The naphthodithiophene-fused porphyrins display a unique set of optical and electronic properties.

Poverty, Health Care Access Barriers, and Functional Limitations among Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An 11-Year Cross-sectional Analysis, 2008-2018.

Objectives: To assess the relationship between poverty, delayed care, unaffordable care, and functional limitations among individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: Using the National Health Interview Survey data, we selected respondents with COPD, aged 40 years and older. The predictor variables were poverty and measures of delayed and unaffordable care.

Informing pandemic response in the face of uncertainty. .

Our ability to forecast epidemics more than a few weeks into the future is constrained by the complexity of disease systems, our limited ability to measure the current state of an epidemic, and uncertainties in how human action will affect transmission. Realistic longer-term projections (spanning more than a few weeks) may, however, be possible under defined scenarios that specify the future state of critical epidemic drivers, with the additional benefit that such scenarios can be used to anticipate the comparative effect of control measures. Since December 2020, the U.

Feeling the beat: a smart hand exoskeleton for learning to play musical instruments.

Individuals who have suffered neurotrauma like a stroke or brachial plexus injury often experience reduced limb functionality. Soft robotic exoskeletons have been successful in assisting rehabilitative treatment and improving activities of daily life but restoring dexterity for tasks such as playing musical instruments has proven challenging. This research presents a soft robotic hand exoskeleton coupled with machine learning algorithms to aid in relearning how to play the piano by 'feeling' the difference between correct and incorrect versions of the same song.

Bundled Care to Reduce Sepsis Mortality: The Improving Pediatric Sepsis Outcomes (IPSO) Collaborative.

Objectives: We sought to improve utilization of a sepsis care bundle and decrease 3- and 30- day sepsis-attributable mortality, as well as determine which care elements of a sepsis bundle are associated with improved outcomes.

Methods: Children's Hospital Association formed a QI collaborative to Improve Pediatric Sepsis Outcomes (IPSO) (January 2017-March 2020 analyzed here). IPSO Suspected Sepsis (ISS) patients were those without organ dysfunction where the provider "intended to treat" sepsis.

Scale-down of CHO cell cultivation from shake flasks based on oxygen mass transfer allows application of parallelized, non-invasive, and time-resolved monitoring of the oxygen transfer rate in 48-well microtiter plates.

Cultivating Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells in microtiter plates (MTPs) with time-resolved monitoring of the oxygen transfer rate (OTR) is highly desirable to provide process insights at increased throughput. However, monitoring of the OTR in MTPs has not been demonstrated for CHO cells, yet. Hence, a CHO cultivation process was transferred from shake flasks to MTPs to enable monitoring of the OTR in each individual well of a 48-well MTP.

Impact of antiretroviral therapy intensification with C-C motif chemokine receptor 5 antagonist maraviroc on HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment.

Objectives: Chemokine receptor CCR5 is the principal co-receptor for entry of M-tropic HIV virus into immune cells. It is expressed in the central nervous system and may contribute to neuro-inflammation. The CCR5 antagonist maraviroc (MVC) has been suggested to improve HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment (NCI).

A Review of Finite Element Modeling for Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.

The cervical spine poses many complex challenges that require complex solutions. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) has been one such technique often employed to address such issues. In order to address the problems with ACDF and assess the modifications that have been made to the technique over time, finite element analyses (FEA) have proven to be an effective tool.

Concomitant Extensor Pollicis Longus and Extensor Digitorum Longus Tendon Rupture may Complicate Surgical Reconstruction following Volar Plate Fixation of the Distal Radius: A Case Report.

Introduction: Hardware prominence is one of the major established complications following volar plating of distal radius fractures. In particular, dorsal prominence of screws is the leading risk factor associated with post-surgical extensor pollicis longus (EPL) tendon rupture. Although there are many descriptions of attritional EPL ruptures in the literature, concomitant presentation of attritional EPL and extensor digitorum communis (EDC) ruptures following volar plating of distal radius fractures are minimal.

Do-it-yourself continuous glucose monitoring in people aged 16 to 69 years with type 1 diabetes: A qualitative study.

Aims: In many countries, real-time continuous glucose monitoring (rt-CGM) is not funded, and cost presents a barrier to access. A do-it-yourself conversion of intermittently scanned CGM (DIY-CGM) is a cheaper alternative. This qualitative study aimed to explore user experiences with DIY-CGM in people aged 16 to 69 years with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Women's lived experiences of sex hormones and life-related to bariatric surgery: an interpretative qualitative study.

Objectives: The study aimed to explore the lived experiences of women with severe obesity before and after undergoing bariatric surgery with a special focus on possible effects of changed sex hormone levels.

Design: A qualitative interview study with transcribed text analysis based on Gadamer's hermeneutics.

Setting: Regional hospital and outpatient bariatric clinic in central Sweden.

A Micro-evolutionary Change in Target Binding Sites as a Key Determinant of Ultrabithorax Function in Drosophila.

Hox genes encode Homeodomain-containing transcription factors, which specify segmental identities along the anterior-posterior axis. Functional changes in Hox genes have been directly implicated in the evolution of body plans across the metazoan lineage. The Hox protein Ultrabithorax (Ubx) is expressed and required in developing third thoracic (T3) segments in holometabolous insects studied so far, particularly, of the order Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera.

Improvement in contraceptive knowledge after using an online educational resource.

Objectives: To measure the change in contraceptive knowledge after interaction with a web-based contraception education resource in an online cohort of potential users.

Study Design: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of reproductive-aged, biologically female respondents using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Respondents provided demographic characteristics and responded to 32 contraceptive knowledge questions.

Latozinemab, a novel progranulin-elevating therapy for frontotemporal dementia.

Background: Heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in the progranulin (PGRN) gene (GRN) cause a reduction in PGRN and lead to the development of frontotemporal dementia (FTD-GRN). PGRN is a secreted lysosomal chaperone, immune regulator, and neuronal survival factor that is shuttled to the lysosome through multiple receptors, including sortilin. Here, we report the characterization of latozinemab, a human monoclonal antibody that decreases the levels of sortilin, which is expressed on myeloid and neuronal cells and shuttles PGRN to the lysosome for degradation, and blocks its interaction with PGRN.

Change in the air due to the coronavirus outbreak in four major cities of India: What do the statistics say?

The onset of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted all sectors of society. To avoid the rapid spread of this virus, the Government of India imposed a nationwide lockdown in four phases. Lockdown, due to COVID-19 pandemic, resulted a decline in pollution in India in general and in dense cities in particular.

Protocol for a randomized controlled trial in Cambodian individuals with PTSD: Trauma-Informed Treatment Algorithms for Advancing Novel Outcomes (Project TITAN).

Introduction: Low- and middle-income countries shoulder a disproportionate burden of mental health disorders with limited resources to support the provision of care using culturally relevant, evidence-based interventions. This is particularly true in Cambodia where the population continues to confront traumatic consequences of the Khmer Rouge genocide that targeted educated people, including treatment providers. Trauma-Informed Treatment Algorithms for Advancing Novel Outcomes (Project TITAN) will examine proof of concept and preliminary efficacy of culturally tailored interventions for symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS) among Cambodian adults.