Do you think medicines can be prescribed in a more eco-directed, greener way? A qualitative study based on public and prescriber focus groups on the impact of pharmaceuticals in Scotland's water environment.

Objectives: This qualitative study explored public and prescriber awareness of pharmaceutical pollution in the water environment and eco-directed sustainable prescribing (EDSP) as a mitigation strategy to reduce the environmental impact of prescribing in Scotland.

Design: Focus groups explored prescriber and public perceptions of the topic. Common questions were asked through semistructured facilitation.

UW supplementation with AP39 improves liver viability following static cold storage.

Static cold storage of donor livers at 4 °C incompletely arrests metabolism, ultimately leading to decreases in ATP levels, oxidative stress, cell death, and organ failure. Hydrogen Sulfide (HS) is an endogenously produced gas, previously demonstrated to reduce oxidative stress, reduce ATP depletion, and protect from ischemia and reperfusion injury. HS is difficult to administer due to its rapid release curve, resulting in cellular death at high concentrations.

The Landscape of Circulating Tumor DNA (ctDNA) in Appendiceal Adenocarcinoma.

Purpose: Appendiceal adenocarcinoma (AA) is a rare malignancy with distinct histopathologic subtypes and a natural history with metastasis primarily limited to the peritoneum. Little is known about the molecular pathogenesis of AA relative to common tumors.

Experimental Design: We analyzed molecular data for patients within the Guardant Health database with appendix cancer (n = 718).

The nutrition profile and utility of banana puree as a liquid thickener for medically complex infants with dysphagia.

Introduction: Dysphagia among infants, particularly high-risk and preterm neonates, poses feeding challenges that can impact multiple systemic outcomes and delay hospital discharge. Limited therapeutic options for approved thickening agents for human milk and infant formula necessitate the exploration of alternatives, including banana puree.

Method: This study investigated the feasibility of using banana puree as a thickening agent for hospitalized infants with dysphagia.

Optimized partial freezing protocol enables 10-day storage of rat livers.

Preserving organs at subzero temperatures with halted metabolic activity holds the potential to prolong preservation and expand the donor organ pool for transplant. Our group recently introduced partial freezing, a novel approach in high-subzero storage at -15 °C, enabling 5-day storage of rodent livers through precise control over ice nucleation and unfrozen fraction. However, increased vascular resistance and tissue edema suggested a need for improvements to extend viable preservation.

Serological responses to target Streptococcus pyogenes vaccine antigens in patients with proven invasive beta-haemolytic streptococcal infections.

Background: Rising incidence of invasive beta-haemolytic streptococcal (iBHS) infections has prompted consideration of vaccination as a preventative strategy for at-risk populations. The benefits of a vaccine targeting Lancefield group A (Streptococcus pyogenes; Strep A) would increase if cross-species immunity against Lancefield groups C/G (Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis; SDSE) and B (Streptococcus agalactiae; GBS) was demonstrated.

Methods: A prospective, observational study of adult patients with iBHS infections due to Strep A, SDSE or GBS.

Ex Vivo Machine Perfusion as a Platform for Lentiviral Gene Delivery in Rat Livers.

Developing new strategies for local monitoring and delivery of immunosuppression is critical to making allografts safer and more accessible. Ex vivo genetic modification of grafts using machine perfusion presents a promising approach to improve graft function and modulate immune responses while minimizing risks of off-target effects and systemic immunogenicity in vivo. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates the feasibility of using normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) to mimic in vitro conditions for effective gene delivery.

The prognostic impact of tumor deposits in colorectal cancer: More than just N1c.

Background: The identification of tumor deposits (TD) currently plays a limited role in staging for colorectal cancer (CRC) aside from N1c lymph node designation. The objective of this study was to determine the prognostic impact, beyond American Joint Committee on Cancer N1c designation, of TDs among patients with primary CRC.

Methods: Patients who had resected stage I-III primary CRC diagnosed between 2010 and 2019 were identified from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database.

A comparison between constructed wetland substrates: Impacts on microbial community and wastewater treatment.

Constructed wetlands (CWs) can play a crucial role in treating wastewater, and in the context of this study, the distillation byproduct of the whisky industry known as 'spent lees'. Here, we assess several different CW substrates (pea gravel, LECA and Alfagrog), with and without the addition of 20% biochar, in mesocosms set up to treat spent lees. Among the substrates tested, LECA + biochar and gravel + biochar showed promising results, with greater dissolved copper (dissCu) reduction, chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, organic carbon (OC) reduction, and pH modulation.

Two-day Static Cold Preservation of α1,3-Galactosyltransferase Knockout Kidney Grafts Before Simulated Xenotransplantation.

Transplantation remains the preferred treatment for end-stage kidney disease but is critically limited by the number of available organs. Xenografts from genetically modified pigs have become a promising solution to the loss of life while waiting for transplantation. However, the current clinical model for xenotransplantation will require off-site procurement, leading to a period of ischemia during transportation.

An update on pacemaking in the myometrium.

Timely and efficient contractions of the smooth muscle of the uterus - the myometrium - are crucial to a successful pregnancy outcome. These episodic contractions are regulated by spontaneous action potentials changing cell and tissue electrical excitability. In this short review we will document and discuss current knowledge of these processes.

Parallelized Droplet Vitrification Enables Single-Run Vitrification of the Whole Rat Liver Hepatocyte Yield.

Drug discovery pipelines rely on the availability of isolated primary hepatocytes for investigating potential hepatotoxicity prior to clinical application. These hepatocytes are typically isolated from livers rejected for transplantation and subsequently cryopreserved for later usage. The gold-standard cryopreservation technique, slow-freezing, is a labor-intensive process, with significant post-storage viability loss.

Optimized Partial Freezing Protocol Enables 10-Day Storage of Rat Livers.

Preserving organs at subzero temperatures with halted metabolic activity holds the potential to prolong preservation and expand the donor organ pool for transplant. Our group recently introduced partial freezing, a novel approach in high-subzero storage at -15°C, enabling 5 days storage of rodent livers through precise control over ice nucleation and unfrozen fraction. However, increased vascular resistance and tissue edema suggested a need for improvements to extend viable preservation.

Serological Responses to Vaccine Candidate Antigens Suggests That Is the Predominant Cause of Lower Limb Cellulitis.

Background: A future (Strep A) vaccine will ideally prevent a significant burden of lower limb cellulitis; however, natural immune responses to proposed vaccine antigens following an episode of cellulitis remain uncharacterized.

Methods: We enrolled 63 patients with cellulitis and 26 with invasive beta hemolytic streptococci infection, using a multiplexed assay to measure immunoglobulin G against Strep A vaccine candidate antigens, including: streptolysin O (SLO), deoxyribonuclease B (DNB), group A carbohydrate (GAC), C5a peptidase (ScpA), cell envelope proteinase (SpyCEP), and adhesion and division protein (SpyAD). Responses in the invasive cohort were used to predict the infecting etiology in the cellulitis cohort.

Shoot hydraulic impairments induced by root waterlogging: Parallels and contrasts with drought.

Soil waterlogging and drought correspond to contrasting water extremes resulting in plant dehydration. Dehydration in response to waterlogging occurs due to impairments to root water transport, but no previous study has addressed whether limitations to water transport occur beyond this organ or whether dehydration alone can explain shoot impairments. Using common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) as a model species, we report that waterlogging also impairs water transport in leaves and stems.

Water quality effects of peat rewetting and leftover conifer brash, following peatland restoration and tree harvesting.

Harvesting of plantation conifers on peatlands is carried out as part of restoration and forestry operations. In particular, in the UK and Ireland, conifer plantations on drained ombrotrophic blanket and raised bogs are increasingly being removed (by harvesting), along with blocking of drainage ditches to help raise water tables to reinitiate and restore bog vegetation and function. However, both tree harvesting and peatland restoration operations can have significant impacts on water quality at local and catchment scales.

Comparison of two carbonaceous supported Fe-rich adsorbents for arsenate removal: A functionalisation and mechanistic study with applicability to groundwater treatment.

The presence of arsenic in groundwater, and through this in drinking water, has been shown to present a serious risk to public health in many regions of the world. In this study, two iron-rich carbonous adsorbents were compared for the removal of arsenate (As(V)) from groundwater. Biochars (FeO-biochar and FeO-pyrochar) derived from biomass waste were functionalised in two different ways with iron chloride for comparation.