Hepatoprotective effect of the Sechium HD-Victor hybrid extract in a model of liver damage induced by carbon tetrachloride in mice.

Sechium spp., is a vegetable species renowned for its pharmacological properties, including hepatoprotective activity. This species can crossbreed with its wild relatives, leading to the creation of an HD-Victor hybrid with higher levels of flavonoids, cucurbitacins, and phenolic acids compared to the Sechium edule.

The cost-effectiveness of vaccination against COVID-19 illness during the initial year of vaccination.

Background: Substantial investments by government programs and private health plans subsidized the costs of COVID-19 vaccine doses and vaccine administration. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of vaccination against COVID-19 illness during the initial year of COVID-19 vaccination (2021).

Methods: Using a simulation model, we projected outcomes for hypothetical cohorts of US adults aged 18 and older, stratified by age and risk status for complications, comparing vaccination and no vaccination in the context of recommended concomitant prevention strategies (e.

Influence of saline water and heavy rain on the fate of chlorinated ethenes in groundwater characterized by compound-specific isotope and microbial data.

Chlorinated ethenes are prevalent contaminants in industrial wastewater that detrimentally affect human health. As elevated tetrachloroethene (PCE) concentrations (18.0-18.

Stress responsiveness in a wild primate predicts survival across an extreme El Niño drought.

We know more about the costs of chronic stress than the benefits of the acute stress response-an adaptive response that buffers organisms from life-threatening challenges. As yet, no primate study has empirically identified how the stress response adaptively affects evolutionary fitness. Here, we take advantage of a natural experiment-an El Niño drought-that produced unprecedented mortality for wild white-faced capuchins.

Life satisfaction around the world: Measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups.

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a widely used self-report measure of subjective well-being, but studies of its measurement invariance across a large number of nations remain limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset-with data collected between 2020 and 2022 -to assess measurement invariance of the SWLS across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups (N = 56,968). All participants completed the SWLS under largely uniform conditions.

Temporal hydrogeochemical evolution of surface water and groundwater in a karst system discharging into a continental-type Ramsar site in the Huasteca Potosina, Mexico.

Ecosystems such as wetlands have karst groundwater as their primary source of preserving their services and functions. Karst systems are complex hydrogeological systems that are difficult to study because of their complicated functioning mechanism, which requires an interdisciplinary effort based on hydrodynamic assessment and characterization of the hydrogeology of the system. The study area is the Ramsar wetland Ciénaga de Tamasopo (Mexico), which is dependent on the discharge of karst groundwater that is affected by water extraction of extensive sugarcane agriculture and is also the main water source for the rural towns.

The impact of ketogenic diet on the frequency of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES): A feasibility randomized pilot study.

The potential of dietary interventions, particularly the use of the ketogenic diet in patients with Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES), remains underexplored. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of a 6-week ketogenic diet (Modified Atkins Diet, MAD) intervention in adult patients with PNES and to compare its effects on PNES frequency and other variables against a control healthy diet (CD). A feasibility pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted at a tertiary neurology hospital, enrolling outpatients diagnosed with PNES and assigning them to either MAD or CD.

Suspected Transient Ischemic Attack Related to Dysfunctional Quadricuspid Aortic Valve.

We describe a 30-year-old Caribbean-Black woman with a clinical presentation suggestive of a transient ischemic attack (TIA) with no conventional cerebrovascular risk factors, albeit with a newly diagnosed quadricuspid aortic valve (QAV) with moderate aortic regurgitation (AR). Although QAV is a recognized congenital cardiac defect, its association with TIA remains elusive. This case highlights the importance of considering potential atypical etiologies, such as QAV, in the evaluation and management of young patients presenting with cerebrovascular events.

Combining computational modeling and experimental library screening to affinity-mature VEEV-neutralizing antibody F5.

Engineered monoclonal antibodies have proven to be highly effective therapeutics in recent viral outbreaks. However, despite technical advancements, an ability to rapidly adapt or increase antibody affinity and by extension, therapeutic efficacy, has yet to be fully realized. We endeavored to stand-up such a pipeline using molecular modeling combined with experimental library screening to increase the affinity of F5, a monoclonal antibody with potent neutralizing activity against Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV), to recombinant VEEV (IAB) E1E2 antigen.

An International Survey on the Use of a Polyrevitalizing Solution With or Without Other Aesthetic Procedures in the Daily Practice of Aesthetic Physicians.

Objective: NCTF135HA, a versatile polyrevitalizing solution, is a potent agent for enhancing skin quality, radiance, moisture, vitality, and diminishing fine wrinkles caused by aging factors. Data demonstrate a divergence in its application from skin quality enhancement to treatment of vitiligo lesions. To know more precisely about the protocol of use among providers, alone or in combination with other procedures, we performed an international survey.

Hydroxysilylene (HSi-OH) in the gas phase.

The hydroxysilylene (HSiOH) molecule has been spectroscopically identified in the gas phase for the first time. This highly reactive species was produced in a twin electric discharge jet using separate precursor streams of 16O2/18O2 and Si2H6/Si2D6, both diluted in high pressure argon. The strongest and most stable laser induced fluorescence (LIF) signals were obtained by applying an electric discharge to each of the precursor streams and then merging the discharge products just prior to expansion into vacuum.

Dual Interface Modification for Reduced Nonradiative Recombination in n-i-p Methylammonium-Free Perovskite Solar Cells.

High defect concentrations at the interfaces are the basis of charge extraction losses and instability in perovskite solar cells. Surface engineering with organic cations is a common practice to solve this issue. However, the full implications of the counteranions of these cations for device functioning are often neglected.

Pollen metabarcoding reveals a broad diversity of plant sources available to farmland flower visitors near tropical montane forest.

Despite the widely recognized role of pollinators in ecosystem services, we currently have a poor understanding of the contribution of Natural Protected Areas neighboring agricultural landscapes to crop pollinator diversity and plant-pollinator interactions. Here, we conducted monthly surveys over a period of one year to study the diversity of insect visitors in dominant fruit crops-avocado, plum, apple, and blackberry-and used pollen DNA metabarcoding to characterize the community of plant sources in and around low-intensive farmland bordered by protected montane forest in Costa Rica. We found that crops and native plants had distinct communities of flower visitors, suggesting the presence of fine-scale habitat differences.

Epidemiological characterization of COVID-19 in children under 18 years old in Mexico: an analysis of the pandemic.

Objective: The study aimed to describe the characteristics and risk factors associated with disease severity across six waves of COVID-19 in the pediatric population in Mexico.

Methods: A cohort study was conducted using data from the Mexican Ministry of Health, covering the period from March 2020 to March 2023. The dataset included patients under 18 years of age with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Sex hormones and allergies: exploring the gender differences in immune responses.

Allergies are closely associated with sex-related hormonal variations that influence immune function, leading to distinct symptom profiles. Similar sex-based differences are observed in other immune disorders, such as autoimmune diseases. In allergies, women exhibit a higher prevalence of atopic conditions, such as allergic asthma and eczema, in comparison to men.

A Modified Method for DNA Extraction From Buccal Cells for Genetic Epidemiological Studies Among Children.

Background:  In large-scale molecular studies, a protocol that generates high yields and quality DNA for future polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays is needed. The collection of buccal cells by cytobrush may represent an efficient, noninvasive, and inexpensive method for obtaining genetic material from school populations. The aim of this study was to develop a method to obtain genomic DNA from buccal cells of schoolchildren, and the DNA was extracted immediately after collecting the buccal cell samples and after storing the samples for 8 months at -20 °C to establish the feasibility of the method for epidemiological studies.

Circulating levels of adiponectin and AdipoR expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells are associated with lower respiratory tract Infection.

Objective: The role of adiponectin (APN) in regulating inflammation is well recognized in metabolic disease, but the dysregulation of APN in lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) remains controversial. We aimed to measure APN and its signaling receptors, adiponectin receptor (AdipoR), in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from LRTI patients to explore their potential roles in the LRTI process.

Methods: A total of 99 LRTI patients from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University were categorized into acute (n=35) and non-acute (n=64), and non-severe (n=62) and severe (n=37) groups.

The Protective Role of the Ratio of Arterial Partial Pressure of Oxygen and Fraction of Inspired Oxygen after Re-Supination in the Survival of Patients with Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia.

Background: The role of the ratio between the arterial partial pressure of oxygen and the inspired fraction of oxygen (PaO/FiO ratio) during the change in position is not fully established.

Methods: This retrospective, single-center cohort study included 98 patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of the PaO/FiO ratio for survival in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia between changing from supine to prone positions and .

Relevance of the GH-VEGFB/VEGFA axis in liver grafts from brain-dead donors with alcohol-associated liver disease.

Introduction: Grafts with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) subjected to prolonged cold ischaemia from donors after brain death (DBD) are typically unsuitable for transplantation. Here, we investigated the role of growth hormone (GH) in livers with ALD from DBDs and its relationship with vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and VEGFB.

Methods: Livers from rats fed ethanol for 6 weeks and with brain death (BD) were cold stored for 24 h and subjected to reperfusion.

Review of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome.

Femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) is a common condition of the hip that can cause significant damage to the joint, leading to degeneration and osteoarthritis. FAIS constitutes an abnormal and dynamic contact between the femoral head-neck junction and the acetabular rim, resulting from altered bone morphology at one or both sites. Repetitive trauma at the site of impingement generates progressive damage to the acetabular labrum, chondrolabral junction, and articular cartilage.