Gastro retentive floating drug delivery system of levofloxacin based on Aloe vera hydrogel: In vitro and in vivo assays.

Gastro retentive drug delivery systems (GRDDS) have gained immense popularity as they reduce dosing frequency, improve bioavailability, and enhance patient compliance. Herein, a plant-based, controlled swelling, and pH-sensitive GRDDS based on Aloe vera hydrogel and cellulose was developed for the sustained release of levofloxacin (LEVO). The properties of five various floating tablet formulations including dynamic swelling, pH-responsiveness, hardness, friability, drug release, and buoyant time were evaluated.

Br-Induced Suppression of Low-Temperature Phase Transitions in Mixed-Cation Mixed-Halide Perovskites.

Mixed-cation mixed-halide lead perovskites have been shown to be excellent candidates for solar energy conversion. However, understanding the structural phases of these mixed-ion perovskites across a wide range of operating temperatures, including very low temperatures for space applications, is crucial. In this study, we investigated the structure of formamidinium-based Cs FA Pb(Br I ) using low-temperature in situ synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction.

Precision meets generalization: Enhancing brain tumor classification via pretrained DenseNet with global average pooling and hyperparameter tuning.

Brain tumors pose significant global health concerns due to their high mortality rates and limited treatment options. These tumors, arising from abnormal cell growth within the brain, exhibits various sizes and shapes, making their manual detection from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans a subjective and challenging task for healthcare professionals, hence necessitating automated solutions. This study investigates the potential of deep learning, specifically the DenseNet architecture, to automate brain tumor classification, aiming to enhance accuracy and generalizability for clinical applications.

Content validity of the Leicester Cough Questionnaire in adults with refractory or unexplained chronic cough: a qualitative interview study.

Background: Chronic cough, a cough lasting >8 weeks, includes refractory chronic cough (RCC) and unexplained chronic cough (UCC). Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures are needed to better understand chronic cough impacts that matter most to patients. The 19-item Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ), an existing PRO measure of chronic cough, assesses impacts of cough across physical, psychological, and social domains.

A superporous and pH-sensitive hydrogel from (chia) seeds: stimuli responsiveness, on-off switching, and pharmaceutical applications.

The use of plant seed-based hydrogels to design drug delivery systems (DDSs) has increased due to their swellable, pH-responsive, biocompatible, biodegradable, and non-toxic nature. Herein, the chia seeds hydrogel (CSH) was extracted through an aqueous extraction method to explore its pH and salt-responsive swelling behavior and sustained release potential. The CSH was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and solid-state cross-polarization magic angle spinning carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (solid/state CP-MAS C/NMR) spectra.

Analysis of a class of fractal hybrid fractional differential equation with application to a biological model.

Recently, the area devoted to fractional calculus has given much attention by researchers. The reason behind such huge attention is the significant applications of the mentioned area in various disciplines. Different problems of real world processes have been investigated by using the concepts of fractional calculus and important and applicable outcomes were obtained.

Characteristics of US Medicare Beneficiaries with Chronic Cough vs. Non-Chronic Cough: 2011-2018.

Chronic cough (CC), characterized as a cough lasting >8 weeks, is a common multi-factorial syndrome in the community, especially in older adults. Using a pre-existing algorithm to identify patients with CC within the 2011-2018 Medicare beneficiaries, we examined trends in gabapentinoid use through repeated cross-sectional analyses and identified distinct utilization trajectories using group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) in a retrospective cohort study. Individuals without CC but with any respiratory conditions related to cough served as a comparator group.

Dually-crosslinked ionic conductive hydrogels reinforced through biopolymer gellan gum for flexible sensors to monitor human activities.

Human-machine interactions, monitoring of health equipment, and gentle robots all depend considerably on flexible strain sensors. However, making strain sensors have better mechanical behavior and an extensive sensing range remains an urgent difficulty. In this study, poly acrylamide-co-butyl acrylate with gellan gum (poly(AAm-co-BA)@GG) hydrophobic association networks and intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions are used to fabricate dual cross-linked hydrogels for wearable resistive-type strain sensors.

Amyloidogenic regions in beta-strands II and III modulate the aggregation and toxicity of SOD1 in living cells.

Mutations in the protein superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1) promote its misfolding and aggregation, ultimately causing familial forms of the debilitating neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Currently, over 220 (mostly missense) ALS-causing mutations in the SOD1 protein have been identified, indicating that common structural features are responsible for aggregation and toxicity. Using tools, we predicted amyloidogenic regions in the ALS-associated SOD1-G85R mutant, finding seven regions throughout the structure.

Patient-reported experiences with refractory or unexplained chronic cough: a qualitative analysis.

Background: Chronic cough, defined as a cough lasting 8 or more weeks, affects up to 10% of adults. Refractory chronic cough (RCC) is a cough that is uncontrolled despite comprehensive investigation and treatment of comorbid conditions while unexplained chronic cough (UCC) is a cough with no identifiable cause despite extensive evaluation of comorbid conditions. RCC and UCC are often poorly controlled.

Advancing crop classification in smallholder agriculture: A multifaceted approach combining frequency-domain image co-registration, transformer-based parcel segmentation, and Bi-LSTM for crop classification.

Agricultural Remote Sensing has the potential to enhance agricultural monitoring in smallholder economies to mitigate losses. However, its widespread adoption faces challenges, such as diminishing farm sizes, lack of reliable data-sets and high cost related to commercial satellite imagery. This research focuses on opportunities, practices and novel approaches for effective utilization of remote sensing in agriculture applications for smallholder economies.

Color-tunable stable quasi-2D hybrid metal halide perovskites: synthesis, characterization, and optical analysis.

Metal halide perovskites show remarkable optical properties and useful applications in optoelectronic devices. However, the instability of three-dimensional (3D) metal halide perovskites limits their applications, leading to the emergence of more stable two-dimensional (2D) metal halide perovskites. Herein, we present a facile synthesis of the 2D hybrid metal halide perovskite (EDA)(MA)PbBr (EDA: ethylene diammonium, MA: methylammonium), where = 1-6, and MAPbBr perovskite layers using an anti-solvent co-precipitation technique.

Diffused sunlight assisted green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using polar extract for antimicrobial and wound healing applications.

The current study reports the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) using a polar extract of leaves. Various analytical techniques, like UV-Vis spectrophotometry, FT-IR spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, and EDX were employed for characterisation. These techniques confirmed the stability of Ag NPs in solution and endorsed the interaction between different groups and Ag, crystal phase, surface morphology, and size of Ag NPs.

Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity of Amorphized LaCoO for Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Amorphous inorganic perovskites have attracted significant attention as efficient electrocatalysts due to their unique structural flexibility and good catalytic activity. In particular, the disordered structure and a surface rich in defects such as oxygen vacancies can contribute to the superior electrocatalytic activity of amorphous oxides compared to their crystalline counterpart. In this work, we report the synthesis of LaCoO, followed by an amorphization process through urea reduction with tailored modifications.

Development of a Microfluidic Device for Exosome Isolation in Point-of-Care Settings.

Exosomes have gained recognition in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. However, most exosome isolation methods are time-consuming, costly, and require bulky equipment, rendering them unsuitable for point-of-care (POC) settings. Microfluidics can be the key to solving these challenges.

Aconitum lycoctonum L. (Ranunculaceae) mediated biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles as potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antidiabetic agents.

In this study, a polar extract of Aconitum lycoctonum L. was used for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), followed by their characterization using different techniques and evaluation of their potential as antioxidants, amylase inhibitors, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agents. The formation of AgNPs was detected by a color change, from transparent to dark brown, within 15 min and a surface resonance peak at 460 nm in the UV-visible spectrum.

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy-Based Sensing of Biofilms: A Comprehensive Review.

Biofilms are complex communities of microorganisms that can form on various surfaces, including medical devices, industrial equipment, and natural environments. The presence of biofilms can lead to a range of problems, including infections, reduced efficiency and failure of equipment, biofouling or spoilage, and environmental damage. As a result, there is a growing need for tools to measure and monitor levels of biofilms in various biomedical, pharmaceutical, and food processing settings.

Examining enforcement coverage for speeding and red-light offenses across various populations and driver characteristics.

Over the years empirical evidence has shown that traffic enforcement reduces traffic violations, crashes, and casualties. However, less attention has been paid to enforcement coverage across different populations and driver characteristics. The current study develops and explores a method for estimating police enforcement coverage, by comparing the share of drivers across several characteristics who received tickets from automatic speed and red-light cameras - as an objective estimate of offenses committed - to the share of drivers who received tickets through manual police enforcement.

Genetic Investigation of Consanguineous Pakistani Families Segregating Rare Spinocerebellar Disorders.

Spinocerebellar disorders are a vast group of rare neurogenetic conditions, generally characterized by overlapping clinical symptoms including progressive cerebellar ataxia, spastic paraparesis, cognitive deficiencies, skeletal/muscular and ocular abnormalities. The objective of the present study is to identify the underlying genetic causes of the rare spinocerebellar disorders in the Pakistani population. Herein, nine consanguineous families presenting different spinocerebellar phenotypes have been investigated using whole exome sequencing.

Blood Stream Infections in Burns: A 14-Year Cohort Analysis.

Background: Blood stream infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in burns, and pathogen identification is important for treatment. This study aims to characterize the microbiology of these infections and the association between the infecting pathogen and the hospitalization course.

Methods: We conducted a cohort study that included records of burn patients treated at the Soroka University Medical Center between 2007-2020.

Improved Photocatalytic and Antioxidant Activity of Olive Fruit Extract-Mediated ZnO Nanoparticles.

Photodegradation is an efficient strategy for the removal of organic pollutants from wastewater. Due to their distinct properties and extensive applications, semiconductor nanoparticles have emerged as promising photocatalysts. In this work, olive () fruit extract-based zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO@OFE NPs) were successfully biosynthesized using a one-pot sustainable method.