Enhancement of biogas production rate from bioplastics by alkaline pretreatment.

The effect of alkali-based pretreatment on the methanization of bioplastics was investigated. The tested bioplastics included PHB [poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)], PHBH [poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate)], PHBV [poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate], PLA (polylactic acid), and a PLA/PCL [poly(caprolactone)] 80/20 blend. Prior to methanization tests, the powdered polymers (500-1000 μm) at a concentration of 50 g/L were subjected to alkaline pretreatment using NaOH 1 M for PLA and PLA/PCL, and NaOH 2 M for PHB-based materials.

Pericoronary Adipose Tissue Attenuation in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome Versus Stable Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) attenuation has been associated with coronary inflammation and can be evaluated with coronary computed tomography angiography. The aims of this study were to compare the PCAT attenuation across precursors of culprit and nonculprit lesions of patients with acute coronary syndrome versus stable coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: In this case-control study, patients with suspected CAD who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography were included.

Single-dose psilocybin-assisted therapy in major depressive disorder: A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised clinical trial.

Background: Psilocybin has been suggested as a novel, rapid-acting treatment for depression. Two consecutive doses have been shown to markedly decrease symptom severity in an open-label setting or when compared to a waiting list group. To date, to our knowledge, no other trial compared a single, moderate dose of psilocybin to a placebo condition.

Development of a next-generation chikungunya virus vaccine based on the HydroVax platform.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an emerging/re-emerging mosquito-borne pathogen responsible for explosive epidemics of febrile illness characterized by debilitating polyarthralgia and the risk of lethal infection among the most severe cases. Despite the public health risk posed by CHIKV, no vaccine is currently available. Using a site-directed hydrogen peroxide-based inactivation approach, we developed a new CHIKV vaccine, HydroVax-CHIKV.

Inflammatory Biomarkers of Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has a complex pathology in which the initial injury releases damage associated proteins that exacerbate the neuroinflammatory response during the chronic secondary injury period. One of the major pathological players in the inflammatory response after TBI is the inflammasome. Increased levels of inflammasome proteins during the acute phase after TBI are associated with worse functional outcomes.

Teclistamab in Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma.

Background: Teclistamab is a T-cell-redirecting bispecific antibody that targets both CD3 expressed on the surface of T cells and B-cell maturation antigen expressed on the surface of myeloma cells. In the phase 1 dose-defining portion of the study, teclistamab showed promising efficacy in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Methods: In this phase 1-2 study, we enrolled patients who had relapsed or refractory myeloma after at least three therapy lines, including triple-class exposure to an immunomodulatory drug, a proteasome inhibitor, and an anti-CD38 antibody.

LSGDM with Biogeography-Based Optimization (BBO) Model for Healthcare Applications.

Several studies aimed at improving healthcare management have shown that the importance of healthcare has grown in recent years. In the healthcare industry, effective decision-making requires multicriteria group decision-making. Simultaneously, big data analytics could be used to help with disease detection and healthcare delivery.

Evaluation of the virucidal efficacy of Klaran UVC LEDs against surface-dried norovirus.

Human norovirus (HuNoV) is a highly contagious pathogenic virus that is transmitted through contaminated food, water, high-touch surfaces and aerosols. Globally, there are an estimated 685 million infections annually due to norovirus, including 200 million affecting children under the age of 5. HuNoV causes approximately 50, 000 child deaths per year and costs an estimated USD $60 billion annually in healthcare.

Illuminating Human Norovirus: A Perspective on Disinfection of Water and Surfaces Using UVC, Norovirus Model Organisms, and Radiation Safety Considerations.

Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are a major cause of gastroenteritis and are associated with high morbidity because of their ability to survive in the environment and small inoculum size required for infection. Norovirus is transmitted through water, food, high touch-surfaces, and human-to-human contact. Ultraviolet Subtype C (UVC) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can disrupt the norovirus transmission chain for water, food, and surfaces.

Essential Hypertension Is Associated With Changes in Gut Microbial Metabolic Pathways: A Multisite Analysis of Ambulatory Blood Pressure.

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Carbohydrates in allergy: from disease to novel immunotherapies.

Respiratory allergic disorders are a global public health problem that are responsible for substantial morbidity and healthcare expenditure. Despite the availability of allergen immunotherapy (AIT), its efficacy is suboptimal and regimens are lengthy, with a significant risk of potentially severe side effects. Studies on the recognition of allergens by immune cells through carbohydrate-lectin interactions, which play a crucial role in immune modulation and pathogenesis of allergy, have paved the way for improvements in AIT.

Structural variations on biofilm by exposition to river water.

Biofilm formation, as adapting strategies, is the result of stressful conditions that faces in hostile environments like surface water. We evaluated river water effect on biofilm formation ability in terms of physical, morphological characteristics and chemical composition. A new morphotype SPAM (soft, pink and mucoid) was detected in Oranienburg strains S-76 and S-347 (environmental and clinical isolate).

Towards developing a criterion to characterize non-covalent bonds: a quantum mechanical study.

Chemical bonds are central to chemistry, biology, and allied fields, but still, the criterion to characterize an interaction as a non-covalent bond has not been studied rigorously. Therefore, in this study, we have attempted to characterize the non-covalent bonds by considering a total of 85 model systems depicting different chemical bonds comprising 43 non-covalent and 42 other bonds such as covalent, ionic, and coordinate bonds. The characterization has been done based on interaction energy, energy decomposition analysis (EDA), the NCI plot, and the analysis of topological properties of electron density.

Proximal Row Carpectomy Using Decellularized Dermal Allograft: Preliminary Results.

 The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term outcomes of patients undergoing proximal row carpectomy (PRC) with interposition arthroplasty using a decellularized dermal allograft.  Patients with a minimum of 1-year follow-up after undergoing a PRC using decellularized dermal allograft were contacted for clinical evaluation, radiographs, and postoperative outcome questionnaires, including the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire as well as the modified Likert scale for patient satisfaction. Nine of ten (90%) consecutive patients who were treated using this surgical technique were available for follow-up.

Posterior Left Atrial Adipose Tissue Attenuation Assessed by Computed Tomography and Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation After Catheter Ablation.

[Figure: see text].

Virus recovery by tangential flow filtration: A model to guide the design of a sample concentration process.

A simple model is developed to describe the instantaneous (r ) and cumulative (R ) recovery of viruses from water during sample concentration by tangential flow filtration in the regime of constant water recovery, r. A figure of merit, M = r r, is proposed as an aggregate performance metric that captures both the efficiency of virus recovery and the speed of sample concentration. We derive an expression for virus concentration in the sample as a function of filtration time with the rate-normalized virus loss, , as a parameter.

Detection of skin cancer with adaptive fuzzy classifier using improved whale optimization.

Skin cancer is considered as a well-known type of cancer globally, and its occurrence has been found to be raised in current days. Researchers state that the disease requires early prediction so that the identification of precise signs will make it simple for the dermatologists and clinicians. This disorder has been established to be unpredictable.

Enoxaparin Attenuates Acute Lung Injury and Inflammasome Activation after Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients frequently develop cardiopulmonary system complications such as acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, the mechanism by which TBI causes ALI/ARDS is not fully understood. Here, we used a severe TBI model to examine the effects of a low-molecular-weight heparin, enoxaparin, on inflammasome activation and lung injury damage.

The computational quantum mechanical study of sulfamide drug adsorption onto XY fullerene-like nanocages: detailed DFT and QTAIM investigations.

In the current work, the adsorption of sulfamide drug onto the exterior surface of four fullerene-like nanocages, including AlN, AlP, BN, and BP was studied by employing density functional theory (DFT) and the quantum theory of atom in the molecule (QTAIM) calculations. Our calculations revealed that the sulfamide drug connects to the Al, B, P, and N atoms of AlN, AlP, BN, and BP nanocages through the oxygen and hydrogen atoms with releasing energies of -47.27, -34.

The Inflammasome Adaptor Protein ASC in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is characterized by memory loss in the absence of dementia and is considered the translational stage between normal aging and early Alzheimer's disease (AD). Patients with MCI have a greater risk of advancing to AD. Thus, identifying early markers of MCI has the potential to increase the therapeutic window to treat and manage the disease.