Stroke survivors' perceptions of living with disability in urban Ghana- a qualitative study.

Background: Stroke prevalence is one of the most pressing issues in many sub-Saharan African countries. Stroke survivors often face disabilities, mental health problems, and experience stigma. Research on post-stroke experiences and interventions is limited, particularly in low and middle-income countries, including Ghana.

Activating soluble guanylyl cyclase attenuates ischemic kidney damage.

Can direct activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) provide kidney-protection? To answer this, we tested the kidney-protective effects of a sGC activator, which functions independent of nitric oxide and with oxidized sGC, in an acute kidney injury (AKI) model with transition to chronic kidney disease (CKD). We hypothesize this treatment would provide protection of kidney microvasculature, kidney blood flow, fibrosis, inflammation, and kidney damage. Assessment took place on days three, seven, 14 (acute phase) and 84 (late phase) after unilateral ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) in rats.

A Data-Driven Approach Identifies Subtypes of Caries From Dental Charting.

Objectives: The objectives were to: (i) assess the accuracy of dental data for adults obtained from the Swedish Quality Register on Caries and Periodontitis (SKaPa); (ii) explore whether Latent Class Analysis (LCA) can identify groups of people based on caries data; and (iii) characterise the dental, medical and behavioural characteristics of people in the LCA-derived classes.

Methods: Caries data from the SKaPa register were compared with clinical data collected by five experienced dentists in a nested subgroup of the Malmö Offspring Study (MOS), namely the Malmö Offspring Dental Study (MODS) (n = 724) for validation. Dental data from SKaPa were then used to classify 61 984 adult participants of the Västerbotten Intervention Programme (VIP) into five classes using LCA and DMFS-based quintile ranking, respectively.

Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 activation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats normalize renal hemodynamics and oxygen consumption.

Background: Diabetic kidney disease is a major contributor to end stage renal disease. A change in kidney oxygen homeostasis leading to decreased tissue oxygen tension is an important factor initiating alterations in kidney function in diabetes. However, the mechanism contributing to changed oxygen homeostasis is still unclear.

Irisin preserves mitochondrial integrity and function in tubular epithelial cells after ischemia-reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury.

Aims: A myokine secreted by skeletal muscles during exercise called irisin mitigates ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in epithelial cells of various organs by limiting damage to mitochondria. We test whether irisin may preserve the mitochondrial integrity and function in renal tubular epithelial cells and protect against ischemia-reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury (AKI).

Methods: We correlated serum irisin levels with serum creatinine and BUN levels from both AKI patients and healthy individuals.

Reactions between ferric oxyhydroxide mineral coatings and a dimethoxyhydroquinone: A source of hydroxyl radicals.

Quinones are organic molecules that facilitate electron-transfer reactions in terrestrial environments. The reduced forms, hydroquinones, are powerful reductants that can trigger non-enzymatic radical-based decomposition of organic matter and contaminants by simultaneous reduction of iron and oxygen. Iron oxides often occur as coatings on other minerals, thus our study investigated the reactions between the ferric oxyhydroxide (FeO(OH)) surface coatings on gibbsite (Al(OH)) and 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-hydroquinone (2,6-DMHQ).

Stretchable Tissue-Like Gold Nanowire Composites with Long-Term Stability for Neural Interfaces.

Soft and stretchable nanocomposites can match the mechanical properties of neural tissue, thereby minimizing foreign body reactions to provide optimal stimulation and recording specificity. Soft materials for neural interfaces should simultaneously fulfill a wide range of requirements, including low Young's modulus (<<1 MPa), stretchability (≥30%), high conductivity (>> 1000 S cm), biocompatibility, and chronic stability (>> 1 year). Current nanocomposites do not fulfill the above requirements, in particular not the combination of softness and high conductivity.

Rivaroxaban vs Vitamin K Antagonist in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease.

Background: Treatment with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) has been linked to worsening of kidney function in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Objectives: XARENO (Factor XA-inhibition in RENal patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation Observational registry; NCT02663076) is a prospective observational study comparing adverse kidney outcomes in patients with AF and advanced chronic kidney disease receiving rivaroxaban or VKA.

Methods: Patients with AF and an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 15 to 49 mL/min/1.

Immunosuppression with cyclosporine versus tacrolimus shows distinctive nephrotoxicity profiles within renal compartments.

Aim: Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) are the backbone for immunosuppression after solid organ transplantation. Although successful in preventing kidney transplant rejection, their nephrotoxic side effects contribute to allograft injury. Renal parenchymal lesions occur for cyclosporine A (CsA) as well as for the currently favored tacrolimus (Tac).

Airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) versus pressure support ventilation (PSV)-A prospective intervention trial comparing haemodynamic parameters in intensive care patients.

Background And Aim: Assisted mechanical ventilation may alter the pressure profile in the thorax compared to normal breathing, which can affect the blood flow to and from the heart. Studies suggest that in patients with severe lung disease, airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) may be haemodynamically beneficial compared to other ventilator settings. The primary aim of this study was to investigate if APRV affects cardiac index in intubated intensive care patients without severe lung disease when compared to pressure support ventilation (PSV).

Cathodoluminescence investigations of dark-line defects in platelet-based InGaN nano-LED structures.

We have investigated the optical properties of heterostructured InGaN platelets aiming at red emission, intended for use as nano-scaled light-emitting diodes. The focus is on the presence of non-radiative emission in the form of dark line defects. We have performed the study using hyperspectral cathodoluminescence imaging.

Two-dimensional materials by large-scale computations and chemical exfoliation of layered solids.

MXenes are a family of two-dimensional (2D) materials typically formed by etching the A element from a parent MAX phase. Computational screening for other 3D precursors suitable for such exfoliation is challenging because of the intricate chemical processes involved. We present a theoretical approach for predicting 2D materials formed through chemical exfoliation under acidic conditions by identifying 3D materials amenable for selective etching.

How Rigidity and Conjugation of Bidentate Ligands Affect the Geometry and Photophysics of Iron -Heterocyclic Complexes: A Comparative Study.

Two iron complexes featuring the bidentate, nonconjugated N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) 1,1'-methylenebis(3-methylimidazol-2-ylidene) (mbmi) ligand, where the two NHC moieties are separated by a methylene bridge, have been synthesized to exploit the combined influence of geometric and electronic effects on the ground- and excited-state properties of homoleptic Fe-hexa-NHC [Fe(mbmi)](PF) and heteroleptic Fe-tetra-NHC [Fe(mbmi)(bpy)](PF) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) complexes. They are compared to the reported Fe-hexa-NHC [Fe(btz)](PF) and Fe-tetra-NHC [Fe(btz)(bpy)](PF) complexes containing the conjugated, bidentate mesoionic NHC ligand 3,3'-dimethyl-1,1'-bis(-tolyl)-4,4'-bis(1,2,3-triazol-5-ylidene) (btz). The observed geometries of [Fe(mbmi)](PF) and [Fe(mbmi)(bpy)](PF) are evaluated through L-Fe-L bond angles and ligand planarity and compared to those of [Fe(btz)](PF) and [Fe(btz)(bpy)](PF).

Risk Profiles and Treatment Patterns in Atrial Fibrillation Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Receiving or not Receiving Anticoagulation Therapy.

 Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at high risk for both thromboembolism and bleeding events. The latter induces a potential reason for withholding oral anticoagulation (OAC) despite an indication for prophylaxis of thromboembolic events.  AF patients with CKD (estimated glomerular filtration [eGFR] rate between 15 and 49 mL/min per 1.