Optimal Pair Matching Combined with Machine Learning Predicts a Significant Reduction in Myocardial Infarction Risk in African Americans Following Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation.

Conflicting clinical trial results on omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (n-3 HUFA) have prompted uncertainty about their cardioprotective effects. While the VITAL trial found no overall cardiovascular benefit from n-3 HUFA supplementation, its substantial African American (AfAm) enrollment provided a unique opportunity to explore racial differences in response to n-3 HUFA supplementation. The current observational study aimed to simulate randomized clinical trial (RCT) conditions by matching 3766 AfAm and 15,553 non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals from the VITAL trial utilizing propensity score matching to address the limitations related to differences in confounding variables between the two groups.

Identification of an Allele-Specific Transcription Factor Binding Interaction that May Regulate PLA2G2A Gene Expression.

The secreted phospholipase A (sPLA) isoform, sPLA-IIA, has been implicated in a variety of diseases and conditions, including bacteremia, cardiovascular disease, COVID-19, sepsis, adult respiratory distress syndrome, and certain cancers. Given its significant role in these conditions, understanding the regulatory mechanisms impacting its levels is crucial. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including rs11573156, that are associated with circulating levels of sPLA-IIA.

Temporal associations of plasma levels of the secreted phospholipase A family and mortality in severe COVID-19.

Previous research suggests that group IIA-secreted phospholipase A (sPLA-IIA) plays a role in and predicts lethal COVID-19 disease. The current study reanalyzed a longitudinal proteomic data set to determine the temporal relationship between levels of several members of a family of sPLA isoforms and the severity of COVID-19 in 214 ICU patients. The levels of six secreted PLA isoforms, sPLA-IIA, sPLA-V, sPLA-X, sPLA-IB, sPLA-IIC, and sPLA-XVI, increased over the first 7 ICU days in those who succumbed to the disease but attenuated over the same time period in survivors.

Improving the Method of Short-term Forecasting of Electric Load in Distribution Networks using Wavelet transform combined with Ridgelet Neural Network Optimized by Self-adapted Kho-Kho Optimization Algorithm.

This paper proposes a new method for short-term electric load forecasting using a Ridgelet Neural Network (RNN) combined with a wavelet transform and optimized by a Self-Adapted (SA) Kho-Kho algorithm (SAKhoKho). The aim of this method is to improve the accuracy and reliability of electric load forecasting, which is essential for the planning and operation of competitive electrical networks. The proposed method uses the Wavelet Transform (WT) to decompose the load data into different frequency components and applies the RNN to each component separately.

Metal-organic framework-based adsorbents for blood purification: progress, challenges, and prospects.

Blood purification, such as hemodialysis (HD), plasma exchange (PE), and hemoperfusion (HP), is widely applied in patients with organ failure (such as kidney and liver failure). Among them, HP mainly relies on porous adsorbents to efficiently adsorb accumulated metabolic wastes and toxins, thus improving purification efficiency. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), with a high porosity, large surface area, high loading capacity, and tailorable topology, are emerging as some of the most promising materials for HP.

Immobilization of carbonic anhydrase on modified PES membranes for artificial lungs.

The introduction of carbonic anhydrase (CA) onto an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) membrane can improve the permeability of carbon dioxide (CO). However, existing CA-grafting methods have limitations, and the hemocompatibility of current substrate membranes of commercial ECMO is not satisfactory. In this study, a 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC)/-hydroxy succinimide (NHS) activation method is adopted to graft CA with CO-catalyzed conversion activity onto a polyethersulfone (PES) membrane, which is prepared by a phase inversion technique after crosslinking polymerization of 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (VP) and acrylic acid (AA) in PES solution.

Identification of an allele-specific transcription factor binding interaction that regulates gene expression.

The secreted phospholipase A (sPLA ) isoform, sPLA -IIA, has been implicated in a variety of diseases and conditions, including bacteremia, cardiovascular disease, COVID-19, sepsis, adult respiratory distress syndrome, and certain cancers. Given its significant role in these conditions, understanding the regulatory mechanisms impacting its levels is crucial. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including rs11573156, that are associated with circulating levels of sPLA -IIA.

Engineering Zinc-Organic Frameworks-Based Artificial Carbonic Anhydrase with Ultrafast Biomimetic Centers for Efficient Hydration Reactions.

Constructing effective and robust biocatalysts with carbonic anhydrase (CA)-mimetic activities offers an alternative and promising pathway for diverse CO-related catalytic applications. However, there is very limited success has been achieved in controllably synthesizing CA-mimetic biocatalysts. Here, inspired by the 3D coordination environments of CAs, this study reports on the design of an ultrafast ZnN-OH center via tuning the 3D coordination structures and mesoporous defects in a zinc-dipyrazolate framework to serve as new, efficient, and robust CA-mimetic biocatalysts (CABs) to catalyze the hydration reactions.

Temporal Associations of Plasma Levels of the Secreted Phospholipase A Family and Mortality in Severe COVID-19.

Previous research suggests that group IIA secreted phospholipase A (sPLA -IIA) plays a role in and predicts severe COVID-19 disease. The current study reanalyzed a longitudinal proteomic data set to determine the temporal (days 0, 3 and 7) relationship between the levels of several members of a family of sPLA isoforms and the severity of COVID-19 in 214 ICU patients. The levels of six secreted PLA isoforms, sPLA -IIA, sPLA -V, sPLA -X, sPLA -IB, sPLA -IIC, and sPLA -XVI, increased over the first 7 ICU days in those who succumbed to the disease.

Multi-functional nanofilms capable of angiogenesis, near-infrared-triggered anti-bacterial activity and inflammatory regulation for infected wound healing.

Chronic infected wound healing is a critical challenge in clinical practice owing to the involvement of multiple physiological processes, including bacteria-related, inflammatory regulation and angiogenesis. Therefore, a multi-functional strategy with synergistic anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic effects should be developed. Owing to their biomimetic structural features and controlled delivery of active agents, electrospun nanofilms are promising biomaterials for the treatment of skin defects.

Insulin Topical Application for Wound Healing in Nondiabetic Patients.

Background: Low-cost and safe strategies to improve wound healing will be of great social and economic value. The goal of this pilot clinical trial is aimed at analyzing how effective insulin therapy is at healing wounds in nondiabetic people.

Methods: In this protocol research, 346 individuals were included.

Amides and Heparin-Like Polymer Co-Functionalized Graphene Oxide Based Core @ Polyethersulfone Based Shell Beads for Bilirubin Adsorption.

Excessive bilirubin in the body of patient with liver dysfunction or metabolic obstruction may cause jaundice with irreversible brain damage, and new type of adsorbent for bilirubin is under frequent investigation. Herein, graphene oxide based core @ polyethersulfone-based shell beads are fabricated by phase inversion method, amides and heparin-like polymer are introduced to functionalize the core-shell beads. The beads are successfully prepared with obvious core-shell structure, adequate thermostability and porous shell.

Green Fabrication of Tannic Acid-Inspired Magnetic Composite Nanoparticles toward Cationic Dye Capture and Selective Degradation.

An environmental strategy for developing sustainable materials presents an attractive prospect for wastewater remediation. Herein, a facile, green, and economical strategy is proposed to fabricate magnetic composite nanoparticles (NPs) toward cationic dye adsorption and selective degradation. To prepare the composite TiO-PEI-TA@FeO NPs, tannic acid (TA) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) were first used to decorate FeO NPs at aqueous solution, and then TiO NPs were anchored onto the surfaces of FeO NPs based on the catecholamine chemistry.

Self-Anticoagulant Nanocomposite Spheres for the Removal of Bilirubin from Whole Blood: A Step toward a Wearable Artificial Liver.

Current therapy for liver failure and concomitant hyperbilirubinemia faces the challenge of poor hemocompatibility and bleeding risks associated with the anticoagulant injection. Herein, heparin-mimetic biomacromolecule (HepMBm) with a similar degree of sulfation and anticoagulant properties to heparin was synthesized by imitating the structure of natural biomacromolecule heparin. Then HepMBm was used to prepare nanocomposite spheres based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO).

Urease immobilized GO core@shell heparin-mimicking polymer beads with safe and effective urea removal for blood purification.

Adsorbents are usually used to remove uremic toxins for blood purification. However, the removal of urea is still an intractable problem, since no effective material has been found for urea removal by physical adsorption. Here, urease immobilized graphene oxide core@shell heparin-mimicking polymer (U-GO-HMP) beads were designed, which exhibited good urea removal ability with a removal amount of about 635 mg/g and a removal ratio of about 80% from urea solution.

Positively-charged polyethersulfone nanofibrous membranes for bacteria and anionic dyes removal.

Given the complexity of pollutants in wastewater, development of facile and effective multifunctional materials, which can not only kill bacteria but also remove dyes from wastewater, is in high demand. Herein, a facile strategy for the preparation of positively-charged nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) is reported via the combination of electrospinning and in-situ cross-linked polymerization of poly ([2-(methacryloyloxy)-ethyl] trimethyl ammonium chloride) (PMETAC) in poly (ether sulfone) (PES) solution. The quaternary ammonium salt polymer of PMETAC enabled the NFMs with positive charge to kill bacteria and remove anionic dyes.

Engineering antimicrobial and biocompatible electrospun PLGA fibrous membranes by irradiation grafting polyvinylpyrrolidone and periodate.

Postoperative adhesion may form as the result of a complicated fibrosis and inflammatory response, thus leads to a series of complications or increases the risk of surgery failure. Herein, we prepared poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)-graft-polyvinylpyrrolidone/polyiodide (PLGA-g-PVP/I) electrospun fibrous membranes to prevent postoperative adhesion and infection formation. Firstly, hydrophilic PVP molecules were grafted on the surface of PLGA powders by gamma ray, and then iodine ions were coordinated with the grafted PVP.

Multifunctional negatively-charged poly (ether sulfone) nanofibrous membrane for water remediation.

Multifunctional materials, which can effectively and simultaneously remove various water-soluble contaminants like dyes and heavy metal ions, and separate oil from water, are urgent to meet increasing challenges on wastewater remediation. Herein, a cross-linked poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) modified poly (ether sulfone) nanofibrous membrane (NFM) was fabricated by a facile in-situ pre-reaction followed by electrospinning. The as-prepared NFM showed excellent hydrophilicity and underwater lipophobicity, therefore expressed excellent water permeability with high water flux (about 5142 L m h).

Functionalized polyethersulfone nanofibrous membranes with ultra-high adsorption capacity for organic dyes by one-step electrospinning.

The adsorbents with high adsorption capacity are in urgent demand for water treatment because of the global freshwater crisis. In this work, the copolymer of acrylic acid and methyl methacrylate was synthesized at first, and subsequently blended with polyethersulfone (PES) with different mass ratios to prepare functionalized PES nanofibrous membranes via one-step electrospinning method. Benefiting from the abundant carboxyl groups, as well as the large specific surface area and high porosity, the nanofibrous membranes exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of 2257.

Codeposition of Polydopamine and Zwitterionic Polymer on Membrane Surface with Enhanced Stability and Antibiofouling Property.

Although abundant works have been developed in mussel-inspired antifouling coatings, most of them suffer from poor chemical stability, especially in a strongly alkaline environment. Herein, we report a robust one-step mussel-inspired method to construct a highly chemical stable and excellent antibiofouling membrane surface coating with a highly efficient codeposition of polydopamine (PDA) with zwitterionic polymer. In the study, PDA and polyethylenimine-quaternized derivative (PEI-S) are codeposited on the surface of poly(ether sulfone) (PES) ultrafiltration membrane in water at room temperature.

A Survey of Recent Advances in Particle Filters and Remaining Challenges for Multitarget Tracking.

We review some advances of the particle filtering (PF) algorithm that have been achieved in the last decade in the context of target tracking, with regard to either a single target or multiple targets in the presence of false or missing data. The first part of our review is on remarkable achievements that have been made for the single-target PF from several aspects including importance proposal, computing efficiency, particle degeneracy/impoverishment and constrained/multi-modal systems. The second part of our review is on analyzing the intractable challenges raised within the general multitarget (multi-sensor) tracking due to random target birth and termination, false alarm, misdetection, measurement-to-track (M2T) uncertainty and track uncertainty.

Integrating zwitterionic polymer and Ag nanoparticles on polymeric membrane surface to prepare antifouling and bactericidal surface via Schiff-based layer-by-layer assembly.

Development of antibacterial membranes is strongly desired for biomedical applications. Herein, we integrated antifouling and bactericidal properties on polymeric membrane surface via Schiff-based layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly. Zwitterionic polymers bearing plentiful amino groups (based on polyethylenimine (PEI) and sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA), and termed as PEI-SBMA) were utilized to prepare an antifouling membrane surface; then robust wide-spectrum bactericidal Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were in situ generated on the surface.

Co-deposition towards mussel-inspired antifouling and antibacterial membranes by using zwitterionic polymers and silver nanoparticles.

Bacterial attachment and the subsequent colonization on the surfaces of bio-materials usually result in biofilm formation, and thus lead to implant failure, inflammation and so on. Herein, a novel mussel-inspired antibacterial and antifouling membrane was designed via co-deposition of polydopamine (PDA) and a zwitterionic polymer, followed by incorporating bactericidal silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). Polyethyleneimine-graft-sulfobetaine methacrylate (PEI-SBMA) was firstly co-deposited onto a polyethersulfone (PES) membrane surface via crosslinking with PDA to construct an antifouling surface.

Anion-Responsive Poly(ionic liquid)s Gating Membranes with Tunable Hydrodynamic Permeability.

Novel anion-responsive "intelligent" membranes with functional gates are fabricated by filling polyethersulfone microporous membranes with poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) gels. The wetting properties of the PILs could be controlled by changing their counteranions (CAs), and thus, the filled PILs gel gates in the membrane pores could spontaneously switch from the "closed" state to the "open" one by recognizing the hydrophilic CAs in the environment and vice versa. As a result, the fluxes of the "intelligent" membranes could be tuned from a very low level (0 mL/m·mmHg for Cl, Br, and BF) to a relatively high one (430 mL/m·mmHg for TFSI).