Analysis of aliphatic and phenolic compounds present in industrial black liquors using HPLC-DAD and IC-MS/MS methods.

Carboxylic acids and aromatic compounds are essential building blocks and starting materials for the production of a wide range of fine chemicals and materials. Their recovery from kraft black liquor, an industrial effluent from pulp and paper mills, is a promising way to produce alternative bio-based chemicals. Reliable methods are needed to identify and quantify the molecules of interest in complex mixtures such as black liquors.

Surface receptor-targeted Protein-based nanocarriers for drug delivery: Advances in cancer therapy.

Significant progress has been made in cancer therapy with protein-based nanocarriers targeted directly to surface receptors for drug delivery. The nanocarriers are a potentially effective solution for the potential drawbacks of traditional chemotherapy, such as lack of specificity, side effects, and development resistance. Peptides as nanocarriers have been designed based on their biocompatible, biodegradable, and versatile functions to deliver therapeutic agents into cancer cells, reduce systemic toxicity, and maximize therapy efficacy through utilizing targeted ligands such as antibodies, amino acids, vitamins, and other small molecules onto protein-based nanocarriers and thus ensuring that drugs selectively accumulate in the cancer cells instead of healthy organs/drug release at a target site without effects on normal cells, which inherently caused less systemic toxicity/off-target effect.

Association between screening for suspected COVID-19 cases and outcomes of patients revisiting the emergency department.

Objectives: Patients who revisit the emergency department (ED) shortly after discharge are a high-risk group for complications and death, and these revisits may have been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Detecting suspected COVID-19 cases in EDs is resource intensive. We examined the associations of screening workload for suspected COVID-19 cases with in-hospital mortality and intensive care unit (ICU) admission during short-term ED revisits.

Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry for Top-Down Proteomics.

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based top-down proteomics (TDP) characterizes proteoforms in cells, tissues, and biological fluids (e.g., human plasma) to better our understanding of protein function and to discover new protein biomarkers for disease diagnosis and therapeutic development.

The interaction between antithrombin and endothelial heparan sulfate mitigates pulmonary thromboinflammation after trauma and hemorrhagic shock.

Introduction: Trauma and hemorrhagic shock (T/HS) are associated with multiple organ injury. Antithrombin (AT) has anti-inflammatory and organ protective activity through its interaction with endothelial heparan sulfate containing a 3-O-sulfate modification. Our objective was to examine the effects of T/HS on 3-O-sulfated (3-OS) heparan sulfate expression and determine whether AT-heparan sulfate interactions are necessary for its anti-inflammatory properties.

Production of Organic Precursors via Meteoritic Impacts and Its Implications for Prebiotic Inventory of Early Planetary Surfaces.

Meteoritic impacts on planetary surfaces deliver a significant amount of energy that can produce prebiotic organic compounds such as cyanides, which may be a key step to the formation of biomolecules. To study the chemical processes of impact-induced organic synthesis, we simulated the physicochemical processes of hypervelocity impacts (HVI) in experiments with both high-speed C projectiles and laser ablation. In the first approach, a C beam was accelerated to collide with ammonium nitrate (NHNO) to reproduce the shock process and plume generation of meteoritic impacts on nitrogen-rich planetary surfaces.

Enhanced Antibiotic Release and Mechanical Strength in UHMWPE Antibiotic Blends: The Role of Submicron Gentamicin Sulfate Particles.

Background: Periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) are a major complication of total joint replacement surgeries. This study investigated the enhancement of mechanical properties and antibiotic release in ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) through the encapsulation of submicron gentamicin sulfate (GS) particles, addressing the critical need for improved implant materials in orthopaedic surgery, particularly in managing PJIs.

Methods: The present study involved embedding submicron GS particles into UHMWPE flakes at concentrations of 2% to 10% by weight.

Persistent symptoms and clinical findings in adults with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19/post-COVID-19 syndrome in the second year after acute infection: A population-based, nested case-control study.

Background: Self-reported health problems following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are common and often include relatively non-specific complaints such as fatigue, exertional dyspnoea, concentration or memory disturbance and sleep problems. The long-term prognosis of such post-acute sequelae of COVID-19/post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS) is unknown, and data finding and correlating organ dysfunction and pathology with self-reported symptoms in patients with non-recovery from PCS is scarce. We wanted to describe clinical characteristics and diagnostic findings among patients with PCS persisting for >1 year and assessed risk factors for PCS persistence versus improvement.

Abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue associations with postmenopausal breast cancer incidence.

Background: Obesity, classified by body mass index (BMI), is associated with higher postmenopausal breast cancer (BCa) risk. Yet, the associations between abdominal visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) with BCa are unclear.

Methods: We assessed BCa associations with abdominal VAT and SAT in a prospective cohort of postmenopausal women without a history of cancer and with 27 years follow-up (N = 9950), during which all new cancers were adjudicated.

Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and its Risk Factors, 1990-2021: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) represent a major global health challenge, necessitating up-to-date data on its burden for effective care planning and resource allocation. This study comprehensively analyzes the global, regional, and national CVD burden and associated risks from 1990 to 2021.

Methods And Results: We performed a secondary analysis of CVD burden and risk factors using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study.

Imaging Findings, Complications, and Mimics after Common and Advanced Dental Procedures.

Various new dental treatment methods have been introduced in dental clinics, and many new materials have been used in recent years for dental treatments. Dentistry is divided into several specialties, each offering unique treatments, such as endodontics, implantology, oral surgery, and orthodontics. CT and MR images after dental treatment reveal a variety of hard- and soft-tissue changes and dental materials, which often cause image artifacts.

Protocol for correlating the gut microbiome and metabolomics in patients with intracranial aneurysms.

Gut-microbiome-combined metabolomics studies in cerebrovascular disease highlight the microbiota-gut-brain axis in neurological disorders. Here, we present a protocol for correlating the gut microbiome and metabolomics in patients with intracranial aneurysms. We describe steps for sample collection, fecal genomic DNA extraction, rRNA PCR amplification, sequencing library construction, and rRNA sequencing.

N-acetyl-tryptophan in Acute Kidney Injury after Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury is a common serious complication after cardiac surgery. Currently, there are no specific pharmacological therapies. Our understanding of its pathophysiology remains preliminary.

A Pilot Trial of Nicotinamide Riboside and Coenzyme Q10 on Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Background: Mitochondria-driven oxidative/redox stress and inflammation play a major role in chronic kidney disease (CKD) pathophysiology. Compounds targeting mitochondrial metabolism may improve mitochondrial function, inflammation, and redox stress; however, there is limited evidence of their efficacy in CKD.

Methods: We conducted a pilot randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial comparing the effects of 1200 mg/day of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) or 1000 mg/day of nicotinamide riboside (NR) supplementation to placebo in 25 people with moderate-to-severe CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] <60mL/min/1.

Using a Composite Summary of Daily Sex Hormones to Gauge Time Until Menopause: A Focus on Pregnanediol Glucuronide (PDG).

Context: The timing of a woman's final menstrual period (FMP) in relation to her age is considered a valuable indicator of overall health, being associated with cardiovascular, bone health, reproductive, and general mortality outcomes.

Objective: This work aimed to evaluate the relationship between hormones and the "time to FMP" when daily hormone trajectories are characterized by their 1) entropy, and 2) deviation from premenopausal/stable cycle patterns (representing a textbook "gold standard"; GS).

Methods: As part of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, urinary luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estrogen conjugates (E1C), and pregnanediol glucuronide (PDG) were measured daily from a multiracial sample of 549 mid-life women for the duration of one menstrual cycle.

Multifunctional Artificial Electric Synapse of MoSe-Based Memristor toward Neuromorphic Application.

Research on memristive devices to seamlessly integrate and replicate the dynamic behaviors of biological synapses will illuminate the mechanisms underlying parallel processing and information storage in the human brain, thereby affording novel insights for the advancement of artificial intelligence. Here, an artificial electric synapse is demonstrated on a one-step Mo-selenized MoSe memristor, having not only long-term stable resistive switching characteristics (reset 0.51 ± 0.

Baseline Fasting Glucose Level, Age, Sex, and Body Mass Index and the Development of Diabetes in US Adults.

Importance: Understanding the interplay between diabetes risk factors and diabetes development is important to develop individual, practice, and population-level prevention strategies.

Objective: To evaluate the progression from normal and impaired fasting glucose levels to diabetes among adults.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective community-based cohort study used data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, in Olmsted County, Minnesota, on 44 992 individuals with at least 2 fasting plasma glucose (FPG) measurements from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2017.

Concurrent Surgical Care in an Austere Military Setting: A Preparation for Mass Casualty Events.

Background: The U.S. military utilizes small, forward deployed surgical teams to provide Role 2 surgical care in austere environments.

Enhancing drug solubility through competitive adsorption on silica nanosurfaces with ultrahigh silanol densities.

We develop a technology based on competitive adsorption between drug molecules and water, specifically designed to address the critical issue of poor drug solubility. By specially engineering silica nanosurfaces with ultrahigh densities of silanol, we significantly enhance their affinity for both drug molecules and water, with a notably greater increase in water affinity. Such surfaces can effectively adsorb a variety of drug molecules under dry conditions.

Could physical activity promote indicators of physical and psychological health among children and adolescents? An umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.

Background: We performed an umbrella review to synthesize evidence on the effects of physical activity (PA) interventions on indicators of physical and psychological health among children and adolescents, including body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), depressive symptoms, and cognitive function.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched from inception through 31 July 2023. We included meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials exploring the effects of PA interventions on BMI, BP, depressive symptoms, or cognitive function in healthy or general children and adolescents.

Low-molecular-weight Ligand of the Thyroid-stimulating Hormone Receptor with the Activity of a Partial Agonist and a Negative Allosteric Modulator.

Graves' disease is caused by overactivation of the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR). One approach for its treatment may be the use of negative allosteric modulators (NAM) of TSHR, which normalize TSHR activity and do not cause thyroid hormone (TH) deficiency. The aim of the work was to study the effect of a new compound 5-amino-4-(4-bromophenyl)-2-(methylthio)thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine-6-carboxylic acid N-tert-butylamide (TPY4) on the basal and TSH-stimulated TH production in cultured FRTL-5 thyrocytes and on basal and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)-stimulated TH levels in the blood of rats.

Analgesic Activity of the Low Molecular Weight Neurotrophin-3 Dipeptide Mimetic GTS-301.

It was previously shown that the original dipeptide mimetic of the 4th loop of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) hexamethylenediamide bis-(N-monosuccinyl-L-asparaginyl-L-asparagine) (GTS-301), like the full-length neurotrophin, predominantly activates the tyrosine kinase receptor TrkC and has a neuroprotective effect in vitro at concentrations of 10-10 M, as well as antidiabetic (0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg) and antidepressant (5 and 10 mg/kg) effects after systemic administration in rodents.

Quantitative valve motion assessment in adolescents using point-of-care ultrasound: short communication.

E-point septal separation (EPSS) and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) are M-mode measures of left and right ventricular systolic function, with limited pediatric point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) research. We conducted a cross-sectional study in a pediatric emergency department, enrolling 12-17-year-olds without cardiopulmonary complaints. Exclusion criteria included abnormal vital signs, fever, altered mental status, or psychiatric illness.

Fasting plasma methylglyoxal concentrations are associated with higher numbers of circulating intermediate and non-classical monocytes but with lower activation of intermediate monocytes: the Maastricht Study.

Purpose: Elevated methylglyoxal (MGO) levels and altered immune cell responses are observed in diabetes. MGO is thought to modulate immune cell activation. The current study investigated whether fasting or post-glucose-load plasma MGO concentrations are associated with circulating immune cell counts and activation in a large cohort study.

A Narrative Review of Cardiometabolic Profiles among U.S. Adults: Temporal Trends and Implications.

Purpose Of Review: To provide a narrative overview of trends and disparities in the cardiometabolic profiles of U.S. adults by synthesizing findings from nationally representative studies conducted between 1999 and 2020.