IND-enzymes: a repository for hydrolytic enzymes derived from thermophilic and psychrophilic bacterial species with potential industrial usage.

Biocatalysts provide many advantages over the traditional chemically assisted processes prevalent in industries. Consequently, the search for novel enzymes has increased over the years with a renewed interest in thermophilic and psychrophilic bacterial species. Enzymes or extremozymes extracted from such species have exhibited an affinity to extreme temperatures which is a prerequisite for many industrial applications.

Semantically Ambiguous Language in the Teaching Operating Room.

Objective: Teaching and training surgeons work hard in the OR to understand each other, yet miscommunication is an important cause of preventable adverse events in surgery. Our objective was to perform a formal semantic analysis of language in authentic teaching surgical cases, identify the prevalence and typology of ambiguous or potentially ambiguous language, and describe their potential for miscommunication.

Design: In this secondary analysis of qualitative data, we collaborated with a semanticist, categorizing linguistic phenomena often associated with miscommunication.

A Systematic Review of Validity Evidence for the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery Examination in Gynecology.

Objective: The Fundamentals in Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) examination is designed to test laparoscopic surgery skills. Our aim for this systematic review was to examine validity evidence supporting or refuting the FLS examination specifically as a high-stakes summative assessment tool in gynecology.

Data Sources: The data sources were PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus.

Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) in Patients With Breast Cancer Treated With Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy as a Useful Prognostic Indicator.

Objective: Prognostic nutritional index (PNI), calculated as serum albumin (ALB) (g/L) + 5 × total lymphocyte count (10/L), is initially used to evaluate nutritional status in patients undergoing surgery and may evaluate the therapeutic effects and predict the survival of various solid tumors. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential prognostic significance of PNI in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT).

Methods: A total of 785 breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy were enrolled in this retrospective study.

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies of iloperidone-loaded lipid nanoemulsions via oral route of administration.

Iloperidone (IL) is practically insoluble in water and has significant first-pass metabolism, resulting in low oral bioavailability in humans (36%). IL lipid nanoemulsions (IL-LNEs) were prepared to improve oral bioavailability. IL-LNEs were formulated by hot homogenization and ultrasonication method.

Ultrasound shear wave elastography: does it add value to gray-scale ultrasound imaging in differentiating biliary atresia from other causes of neonatal jaundice?

Background: Neonatal/infantile jaundice is relatively common, and most cases resolve spontaneously. However, in the setting of unresolved neonatal cholestasis, a prompt and accurate assessment for biliary atresia is vital to prevent poor outcomes.

Objective: To determine whether shear wave elastography (SWE) alone or combined with gray-scale imaging improves the diagnostic performance of US in discriminating biliary atresia from other causes of neonatal jaundice over that of gray-scale imaging alone.

SCRATCH Trial: An Initiative to Reduce Excess Use of High-Flow Nasal Cannula.

Objectives: We aimed to reduce unnecessary use of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) at lower flow rates through the implementation of a standard daily trial off HFNC at a medium-sized academic center.

Methods: We used an interprofessional quality improvement collaboration to develop and implement interventions to reduce HFNC waste in children aged 1 month to 24 months with bronchiolitis who were admitted to the inpatient ward or ICU. Key interventions included development and implementation of the Simple Cannula/Room Air Trial for Children (SCRATCH Trial), a standard trial off HFNC for eligible infants.

Effect of extreme temperatures on daily emergency room visits for mental disorders.

Relatively few studies investigated the effects of extreme temperatures (both heat and cold) on mental health (ICD-9: 290-319; ICD-10: F00-F99) and the potential effect modifications by individuals' age, sex, and race. We aimed to explore the effect of extreme temperatures of both heat and cold on the emergency room (ER) visits for mental health disorders, and conducted a stratified analysis to identify possible susceptible population in Erie and Niagara counties, NY, USA. To assess the short-term impacts of daily maximum temperature on ER visits related to mental disorders (2009-2015), we applied a quasi-Poisson generalized linear model combined with a distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM).

Outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among operating room staff of a tertiary referral center: An epidemiologic and environmental investigation.

Objective: Investigate an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among operating room staff utilizing contact tracing, mass testing for severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and environmental sampling.

Design: Outbreak investigation.

Setting: University-affiliated tertiary-care referral center.

Objective colour analysis from digital images as a nuclear forensic tool.

A digital colour image may be composed of hundreds of thousands of pixels, every pixel exhibiting a single colour. Each colour can be described as a combination of red, green and blue (RGB) components, of discrete values between 0-255. The RGB data contained within the pixels of an image could, therefore, be used to quantitatively establish the colour of nuclear material powders from digital images, particularly for use in nuclear forensics applications, where there is a need for consistent, objective analysis.

Validation of 3D fluoroscopy for image-guidance registration in depth electrode implantation for medically refractory epilepsy.

Background: Frame registration is a critical step to ensure accurate electrode placement in stereotactic procedures such as stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) and is routinely done by merging a computed tomography (CT) scan with the preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) examination. Three-dimensional fluoroscopy (XT) has emerged as a method for intraoperative electrode verification following electrode implantation and more recently has been proposed as a registration method with several advantages.

Methods: We compared the accuracy of SEEG electrode placement by frame registration with CT and XT imaging by analyzing the Euclidean distance between planned and post-implantation trajectories of the SEEG electrodes to calculate the error in both the entry (EP) and target (TP) points.

Ascorbic acid can promote the generation and expansion of neuroepithelial-like stem cells derived from hiPS/ES cells under chemically defined conditions through promoting collagen synthesis.

Introduction: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a neurological, medically incurable disorder. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have the potential to generate neural stem/progenitor cells (NS/PCs), which hold promise in the treatment of SCI by transplantation. In our study, we aimed to establish a chemically defined culture system using serum-free medium and ascorbic acid (AA) to generate and expand long-term self-renewing neuroepithelial-like stem cells (lt-NES cells) differentiated from hPSCs effectively and stably.

The Relationship Between Social Determinants of Health and Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified existing health disparities for marginalized populations in the United States (U.S.), particularly among Black Americans.

Effect of Panel Moisture Content on Internal Bond Strength and Thickness Swelling of Medium Density Fiberboard.

Wood-based products usually have serious limitations concerning contact with water, both because wood is a hygroscopic material and because the commonly used binder has low moisture resistance. This paper studies the effect of panel moisture content (MC) on the physico-mechanical properties of medium density fiberboards (MDF). Several commercial MDF boards produced in Europe were stored at room temperature and relative humidity (RH) for 9 weeks (approx.

Spectral analyses of Dy/Sr: LaF and Dy/Ca: LaF mixed crystals for laser applications.

Mixed crystals of Dy/Sr: LaF and Dy/Ca: LaF were grown by Bridgman technique and their spectral properties were investigated. Spectra broadening and peak shifts were observed, indicating the co-doping of Sr/Ca brings about a more disordered local symmetry of Dy, which makes both crystals favorable for tunable lasing action. Low-temperature high resolution excitation and emission spectra were carried out for exploring the types of luminescent center of Dy in crystals.

Why are the Pakistani maternal, fetal and newborn outcomes so poor compared to other low and middle-income countries?

Background: Pakistan has among the poorest pregnancy outcomes worldwide, significantly worse than many other low-resource countries. The reasons for these differences are not clear. In this study, we compared pregnancy outcomes in Pakistan to other low-resource countries and explored factors that might help explain these differences.

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma to the prostate and seminal vesicle.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) a common malignancy with potential to metastasize to visceral organs. However, it uncommonly spreads to the lower genitourinary tract. We present a man with a history of RCC status post radical nephrectomy in April 2012.

Neuromuscular control of the ankle during pre-landing in athletes with chronic ankle instability: Insights from statistical parametric mapping and muscle co-contraction analysis.

Objective: The present study aimed to compare the neuromuscular control of the muscles around the ankle between athletes with CAI and without history of any ankle sprain (Non-CAI) by using statistic parametric mapping (SPM) and co-contraction analyses.

Design: Cross-sectional study; Setting: Laboratory; Participants: 40 athletes (20 CAI, 20 Non-CAI) were pair-matched for age and gender.

Main Outcome Measures: Neuromuscular control was examined using surface electromyography (EMG) amplitude and muscle co-contraction 200 ms before foot-contact with the ground during a jump-landing task.

Comparison of 30 Day Stroke and Death in Hybrid Intervention and Open Surgical Reconstruction for the Treatment of Tandem Carotid Bifurcation and Supra-aortic Trunk Disease.

Objective: The optimal approach for the treatment of tandem carotid bifurcation and supra-aortic trunk (SAT) disease remains controversial. The hybrid technique of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) with ipsilateral proximal endovascular intervention (IPE) has provided an attractive alternative to CEA with open SAT reconstruction (SATr). However, no studies have compared cohorts treated by these two approaches.

Natural Language Processing of Patient-Experience Comments After Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Background: There is interest in improving patient experience after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) due to recent shifts toward value-based medicine. Patient narratives are a valuable but unexplored source of information.

Methods: Records of 319 patients who had undergone primary TKA between August 2016 and August 2019 were linked with vendor-supplied patient satisfaction data, which included patient comments and the Press Ganey satisfaction survey.

Associations between neighborhood park space and cognition in older adults vary by US location: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

We used cross-sectional Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis data from six US cities/counties and adjusted multilevel linear regression to examine park space-cognition associations among non-demented older adults (n = 4084). We found that greater neighborhood park space 1-mile around the residence (measured continuously) was associated with better processing speed in the overall sample (estimate: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.

Assisted injection within supervised injection services: Uptake and client characteristics among people who require help injecting in a Canadian setting.

Background: People who require help injecting illicit drugs experience elevated rates of a range of health-related harms, including overdose and acquisition of blood-borne pathogens. In response, some supervised injection services (SIS) in Canada have begun to permit clients to be physically injected by fellow clients or staff members. However, little is known about uptake and characteristics of clients who engage in this practice.

Comparison of Kristjansson Respiratory Score and Wang Respiratory Score in infants with bronchiolitis in a hospital emergency department.

Objective: Several respiratory scores have been created to evaluate bronchiolitis' severity level, but it is still not clear which is the best score. The aim of this study is to compare the Wang Respiratory Score (WRS) and the Kristjansson Respiratory Score (KRS) in the setting of an emergency room.

Methods: We performed a prospective observational study with 60 infants with bronchiolitis admitted to a paediatric emergency department.

Factors associated with missed and misinterpreted cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: To retrospectively examine US, CT, and MR imaging examinations of missed or misinterpreted pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and identify factors which may have confounded detection or interpretation.

Methods: We reviewed 107 examinations in 66/257 patients (26%, mean age 73.7 years) diagnosed with PDAC in 2014 and 2015, with missed or misinterpreted imaging findings as determined by a prior study.