Advancement in predictive biomarkers for gestational diabetes mellitus diagnosis and related outcomes: a scoping review.

Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a metabolic disorder associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. While GDM is diagnosed by oral glucose tolerance testing between 24-28 weeks, earlier prediction of risk of developing GDM via circulating biomarkers has the potential to risk-stratify women and implement targeted risk reduction before adverse obstetric outcomes. This scoping review aims to collate biomarkers associated with GDM development, associated perinatal outcome and medication requirement in GDM.

Evaluation of intranasal TLR2/6 agonist INNA-051: safety, tolerability and proof of pharmacology.

Background: Local priming of the innate immune system with a Toll-like receptor (TLR)2/6 agonist may reduce morbidity and mortality associated with viral respiratory tract infections, particularly for the elderly and those with chronic diseases. The objectives of the present study were to understand the potential of prophylactic treatment with a TLR2/6 agonist as an enhancer of innate immunity pathways leading to accelerated respiratory virus clearance from the upper airways.

Methods: Two randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials were conducted in healthy adult participants.

Joule-Heated Interfacial Catalysis for Advanced Electrified Esterification with High Conversion and Energy Efficiency.

Esterification reactions are crucial in industries such as chemicals, fragrances, and pharmaceuticals but often face limitations due to high reversibility and low reactivity, leading to restricted yields. In this work, an electrified esterification pathway utilizing a Joule-heated interfacial catalysis (JIC) system is proposed, where a hydrophilic, sulfonic acid-functionalized covalent organic framework grown on carbon felt (COF─SOH@CF) acts as the interfacial catalyst, and the carbon felt serves as the electric heat source. This approach achieves an acetic acid conversion of 80.

Functionalisation of polyhydroxybutyrate for diagnostic uses.

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a biodegradable and biocompatible biopolyester, naturally produced and self-assembled as spherical inclusions inside bacteria. These PHB particles contain a hydrophobic PHB core covalently coated with PHB synthase (PhaC), which serves as an anchoring linker for foreign proteins of interest. Protein engineering of PhaC enables the display of biologically active protein functions on the surface of PHB particles suitable for different applications.

Ultrathin Porous Carbon Nitride Anchored with Pt Nanoclusters for Synergistic Enhancement of Hydrogen Production in Alkaline Photocatalytic Polyester Reforming.

Photocatalytic reforming (PR) of polyester waste, fueled by renewable sources like solar energy, offers a sustainable method for producing clean H and valuable by-products under mild conditions. The design of high-performance photocatalyst plays a pivotal role in determining the efficacy of an alkaline polyester PR system, influencing H generation activity and selectivity. Here, ultrathin porous carbon nitride nanosheets (UP-CN) loaded with Pt nanoclusters (Pt NCs, average diameter of 1.

The neurodegenerative hypothesis of depression and the influence of antidepressant medications.

Depression is a complex neurological disease that holds many theories on its aetiology and pathophysiology. The monoamine strategy of treating depression with medications to increase levels of monoamines in the (extra)synapse, primarily through the inhibition of monoamine transporters, does not always work, as seen in patients that lack a response to multiple anti-depressant exposures, as well as a lack of depressive symptoms in healthy volunteers exposed to monoamine reduction. Depression is increasingly being understood not as a single condition, but as a complex interplay of adaptations in various systems, including inflammatory responses and neurotransmission pathways in the brain.

Colorectal polyps in young adults: a retrospective review of colonoscopy data from Toowoomba and the Darling Downs.

Background: Polyps are the predominant precursors of colorectal cancer. In the past three decades, the incidence and mortality rates of colorectal cancer have been increasing in adults younger than 50 years.

Aims: The aim of this clinical audit was to evaluate the prevalence, characteristics and clinical associations of polyps in adults aged 18-49 years presenting to an established private gastroenterology clinic in the Toowoomba Darling Downs region.

Secreted dengue virus NS1 from infection is predominantly dimeric and in complex with high-density lipoprotein.

Severe dengue infections are characterized by endothelial dysfunction shown to be associated with the secreted nonstructural protein 1 (sNS1), making it an attractive vaccine antigen and biotherapeutic target. To uncover the biologically relevant structure of sNS1, we obtained infection-derived sNS1 (isNS1) from dengue virus (DENV)-infected Vero cells through immunoaffinity purification instead of recombinant sNS1 (rsNS1) overexpressed in insect or mammalian cell lines. We found that isNS1 appeared as an approximately 250 kDa complex of NS1 and ApoA1 and further determined the cryoEM structures of isNS1 and its complex with a monoclonal antibody/Fab.

Analysis of Bovine Lactoferrin in Infant Formula and Adult Nutritional Products by Optical Biosensor Immunoassay: Collaborative Study, Final Action 2021.07.

Background: Bovine lactoferrin is increasingly being used as an ingredient in infant formula manufacture to enhance nutritional efficacy through the provision of growth, immunoprotective, and antimicrobial factors to the neonate.

Objective: To evaluate method reproducibility of AOAC First Action Official Method 2021.07 for compliance with the performance requirements described in Standard Method Performance Requirement (SMPR®) 2020.

Effects of PCV10 and PCV13 on pneumococcal serotype 6C disease, carriage, and antimicrobial resistance.

Background: The cross-protection of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) against serotype 6C is not clearly documented, although 6C represents a substantial burden of pneumococcal disease in recent years. A systematic review by the World Health Organization that covered studies through 2016 concluded that available data were insufficient to determine if either PCV10 (which contains serotype 6B but not 6A) or PCV13 (containing serotype 6A and 6B) conferred protection against 6C.

Methods: We performed a systematic review of randomized controlled trials and observational studies published between January 2010 - August 2022 (Medline/Embase), covering the direct, indirect, and overall effect of PCV10 and PCV13 against 6C invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), non-IPD, nasopharyngeal carriage (NPC), and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The future of allergic rhinitis management: A partnership between healthcare professionals and patients.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic respiratory condition that internationally continues to be burdensome and impacts quality of life. Despite availability of medicines and guidelines for healthcare providers for the optimal management of AR, optimisation of its management in the community continues to be elusive. The reasons for this are multi-faceted and include both environmental and healthcare related factors.

Nitrogen enrichment changed the biogeochemical role of sesarmid crabs by shifting their diets in tropical mangrove ecosystems.

Sesarmid crabs modulate nutrient dynamics of tropical mangroves through their leaf-eating habit. How N enrichment may alter this regulatory role, and the implications for mangrove nutrient dynamics, remain unclear. Using a mesocosm experiment, we tested how N enrichment could change the microphytobenthos (MPB) communities, thus modifying the crabs' diet and their role in nutrient dynamics.

Cu and Zn promoted Al-fumarate metal organic frameworks for electrocatalytic CO reduction.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are attractive materials to generate multifunctional catalysts for the electrocatalytic reduction of CO to hydrocarbons. Here we report the synthesis of Cu and Zn modified Al-fumarate (Al-fum) MOFs, in which Zn promotes the selective reduction of CO to CO and Cu promotes CO reduction to oxygenates and hydrocarbons in an electrocatalytic cascade. Cu and Zn nanoparticles (NPs) were introduced to the Al-fum MOF by a double solvent method to promote in-pore metal deposition, and the resulting reduced Cu-Zn@Al-fum drop-cast on a hydrophobic gas diffusion electrode for electrochemical study.

Targeting Tumor Heterogeneity with Neoantigen-Based Cancer Vaccines.

Neoantigen-based cancer vaccines have emerged as a promising immunotherapeutic approach to treat cancer. Nevertheless, the high degree of heterogeneity in tumors poses a significant hurdle for developing a vaccine that targets the therapeutically relevant neoantigens capable of effectively stimulating an immune response as each tumor contains numerous unique putative neoantigens. Understanding the complexities of tumor heterogeneity is crucial for the development of personalized neoantigen-based vaccines, which hold the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment and improve patient outcomes.

Atomically Dispersed Iron Regulating Electronic Structure of Iron Atom Clusters for Electrocatalytic H O Production and Biomass Upgrading.

The integration of highly active single atoms (SAs) and atom clusters (ACs) into an electrocatalyst is critically important for high-efficiency two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e ORR) to hydrogen peroxide (H O ). Here we report a tandem impregnation-pyrolysis-etching strategy to fabricate the oxygen-coordinated Fe SAs and ACs anchored on bacterial cellulose-derived carbon (BCC) (FeSAs/ACs-BCC). As the electrocatalyst, FeSAs/ACs-BCC exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity and selectivity toward 2e ORR, affording an onset potential of 0.

Association of change in fat and lean mass with incident cardiovascular events for women in midlife and beyond: A prospective study using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

Objective: To determine whether changes in fat and lean mass over time, quantified using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), are related to incident cardiovascular events. Previous studies using surrogate anthropometric methods have had inconsistent findings.

Study Design: Prospective, longitudinal observational study of women aged 40 to 80 randomly selected from the electoral roll and stratified into decades: 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and 70-79 years.

Polymeric epitope-based vaccine induces protective immunity against group A Streptococcus.

Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) is a life-threatening human pathogen with no licensed vaccine. Here, we used a biopolymer particle (BP) approach to display repeats of Strep A vaccine candidate peptides p*17 and K4S2 derived from M and non-M protein, respectively. BPs densely displaying both peptides (BP-p*17-S2) were successfully assembled in one-step inside an engineered endotoxin-free Escherichia coli strain.

Long-Term effects of COVID-19: a review of current perspectives and mechanistic insights.

Although SARS-CoV-2, responsible for COVID-19, is primarily a respiratory infection, a broad spectrum of cardiac, pulmonary, neurologic, and metabolic complications can occur. More than 50 long-term symptoms of COVID-19 have been described, and as many as 80% of patients may develop ≥1 long-term symptom. To summarize current perspectives of long-term sequelae of COVID-19, we conducted a PubMed search describing the long-term cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and neurologic effects post-SARS-CoV-2 infection and mechanistic insights and risk factors for the above-mentioned sequelae.

A collaborative pharmacist prescribing model for patients with chronic disease(s) attending Australian general practices: Patient and general practitioner perceptions.

Unlabelled: A collaborative pharmacist prescribing model for patients with chronic disease(s) attending Australian general practices: patient and general practitioner perceptions.

Background: Pharmacists working in general practice settings are slowly emerging in Australia, with comprehensive medication reviews forming a large part of their role in optimising pharmaceutical care. In Australia, pharmacists are entirely reliant on general practitioners (GPs) accepting and implementing their recommendations to manage drug related problems (DRPs).

Vacancy impacts on electronic and mechanical properties of MX2 (M = Mo, W and X = S, Se) monolayers.

Monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) exhibit excellent mechanical and electrical characteristics. Previous studies have shown that vacancies are frequently created during the synthesis, which can alter the physicochemical characteristics of TMDs. Even though the properties of pristine TMD structures are well studied, the effects of vacancies on the electrical and mechanical properties have received far less attention.

Amphiphilic Polyamine α-Synuclein Aggregation Inhibitors from the Sponge .

Bioassay-guided investigation of the sponge resulted in the isolation and identification of two new amphiphilic polyamines, aaptolobamines A () and B (). Their structures were determined through analysis of NMR and MS data. MS analysis also indicated that contained a complex mixture of aaptolobamine homologues.