Publications by authors named "V C Valencia Chavez"

Background: Pomegranate peel extract (PPE) is rich in polyphenols, notably punicalagin and ellagic acid, but is sensitive to environmental degradation and has low bioavailability. Microencapsulation can enhance PPE stability and bioaccessibility, making it suitable for functional foods like jelly gummies (JG). JG containing microencapsulated PPE (MPPE) have not been studied.

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Objective: To describe the use of plasma next-generation sequencing (NGS) and determine if it provided additional information from routine tests or lead to change in antimicrobial management.

Design And Setting: This retrospective cohort study evaluated patients with a NGS test performed who were admitted to a hospital health system in the greater Houston area between May 2022 and May 2023.

Patients: In total, 143 NGS tests were ordered in the span of one year for 135 unique patients.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Pharmaceuticals and drugs of abuse are a growing environmental concern because they consistently enter waterways, posing risks to wildlife; their main sources are wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and combined sewer overflows (CSOs).
  • - A study was conducted to identify and quantify 28 commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals and drugs of abuse in river water samples from the Hudson and East rivers in NYC, collecting samples weekly from May to August in 2021 and 2022.
  • - Results showed that certain drugs, like methamphetamine and metoprolol, were frequently detected, with higher concentrations linked to contaminated water and rain events, indicating that both CSOs and WWTPs play a role in their presence in the rivers.
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Cell models are indispensable tools in biotechnology when investigating the functional properties of organic compounds. The emergence of various additives designed to enhance animal production has introduced the need for in-depth evaluations, which are often hindered by the complexities of testing. In this study, we harnessed cell-based models to scrutinize the impact of Solergy as a regulator of cellular metabolism with a particular focus on its modulation of glycogen and antioxidant effects.

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