Streamlined Access to Peptidoglycan Biosynthesis Terminator GlcNAc-1,6-anhydro-MurNAc.

GlcNAc-1,6-anhydro-MurNAc is a key peptidoglycan elongation terminator of biological and medicinal importance. Herein, we present a concise approach to this molecule in 12 steps with an overall 25% yield using d-glucosamine as the sole starting material. Our synthesis features the formation of a 1,6-anhydro-MurNAc building block by an intramolecular glycosylation and the selective conversion of the phthalimido group of the MurNPhth moiety, paving the way for antibiotics with a new killing mechanism by targeting bacterial transglycosylase.

Soft Robotics in Upper Limb Neurorehabilitation and Assistance: Current Clinical Evidence and Recommendations.

Soft robotics is gaining interest in rehabilitation applications, bringing new opportunities to offset the loss of upper limb motor function following neurological, neuromuscular, or traumatic injuries. Unlike conventional rigid robotics, the added softness in linkages or joints promises to make rehabilitation robots compliant, which translates into higher levels of safety, comfort, usability, and portability, opening the door for these rehabilitation technologies to be used in daily life. While several reviews documented the different technical implementations of soft rehabilitation robots, it is essential to discuss the growing clinical evidence on the feasibility and effectiveness of using this technology for rehabilitative and assistive purposes, whether softness brings the expected advantages from the perspective of end users, and how we should proceed in the future of this field.

Bound-States-in-the-Continuum-Induced Directional Photoluminescence with Polarization Singularity in WS Monolayers.

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides are promising materials that not only are atomically thin but also have direct bandgaps, making them highly regarded in optics and optoelectronics. However, their photoluminescence exhibits almost random polarization at room temperature. The emission is also omnidirectional and weak due to the low quantum yield.

Prognostic factors for refractory outcome in localizing TIO: experience in a tertiary center.

Context: TIO, a paraneoplastic disorder characterised by renal phosphate wasting, is cured by surgical removal of the culprit tumour. Despite correct localization, some remain refractory to intervention, resulting in substantial long-term medical complications.

Aim: We aim to identify risk factors associated with a refractory outcome.

Immobile Integrin Signaling Transit and Relay Nodes Organize Mechanosignaling through Force-Dependent Phosphorylation in Focal Adhesions.

Transmembrane signaling receptors, such as integrins, organize as nanoclusters that provide several advantages, including increasing avidity, sensitivity (increasing the signal-to-noise ratio), and robustness (signaling threshold) of the signal in contrast to signaling by single receptors. Furthermore, compared to large micron-sized clusters, nanoclusters offer the advantage of rapid turnover for the disassembly of the signal. However, whether nanoclusters function as signaling hubs remains poorly understood.

Good Practices for Health Technology Assessment Guideline Development: A Report of the Health Technology Assessment International, HTAsiaLink, and ISPOR Special Task Force.

Objectives: Health technology assessment (HTA) guidelines are intended to support the successful implementation of HTA by enhancing consistency and transparency in concepts, methods, processes, and use, thereby enhancing the legitimacy of the decision-making process. This report lays out good practices and practical recommendations for developing or updating HTA guidelines to ensure successful implementation.

Methods: The task force was established in 2022 and comprised experts and academics from various geographical regions, each with substantial experience in developing HTA guidelines for national health policy making.

Pain Management in Brugada Syndrome: A Case Report and Review.

Brugada syndrome is a rare condition that increases the risk of life-threatening arrhythmias. Although there are existing anesthesia recommendations for patients with Brugada syndrome, guidance on pain management is limited. We present a novel approach to pain management in these patients, illustrated by the case of a young woman with Brugada syndrome who underwent ropivacaine peripheral nerve infusion and intravenous ketamine infusion for acute-on-chronic left upper limb pain.

Decoding Microbial Plastic Colonisation: Multi-Omic Insights Into the Fast-Evolving Dynamics of Early-Stage Biofilms.

Marine plastispheres represent dynamic microhabitats where microorganisms colonise plastic debris and interact. Metaproteomics has provided novel insights into the metabolic processes within these communities; however, the early metabolic interactions driving the plastisphere formation remain unclear. This study utilised metaproteomic and metagenomic approaches to explore early plastisphere formation on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) over 3 (D3) and 7 (D7) days, focusing on microbial diversity, activity and biofilm development.

Transformation-Invariant Laplacian Metadevices Robust to Environmental Variation.

As one of the typical applications of metamaterials, the invisibility cloak has raised vast research interests. After many years' research efforts, the invisibility cloak has extended its applicability from optics and acoustics to electrostatics and thermal diffusion. One scientific challenge that has significantly restricted the practical application of the invisibility cloak is the strong background dependence, that is, all passive cloaking devices realized thus far are unable to resist variation in the background refractive index.

Development and Validation of a Scoring System to Predict 2-Year Clinical Remission in Ulcerative Colitis Patients on Vedolizumab.

Background And Aims: Vedolizumab is s gut-selective advanced therapy that is safe and efficacious for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). Once patients achieve successful induction, there is a risk of loss of response leading to eventual flare. We aimed to identify these predictive factors and develop a practical scoring system to determine the ongoing efficacy of vedolizumab.

Bioelectrical-Impedance-Analysis in the Perioperative Nutritional Assessment and Prediction of Complications in Head-and-Neck Malignancies.

Objective: Identification of patients with head-and-neck malignancies who are especially vulnerable to malnutrition is critical for optimizing outcomes. The objectives are; to correlate Bioelectrical-impendence-analysis (BIA) parameters with Subjective-Global-Assessment (SGA) scores, and determine the association of BIA parameters with common perioperative complications in patients undergoing head-and-neck surgery.

Study Design: Patients underwent formal SGA scoring and BIA preoperatively in a multidisciplinary allied health clinic.

A perspective on field-effect in energy and environmental catalysis.

The development of catalytic technologies for sustainable energy conversion is a critical step toward addressing fossil fuel depletion and associated environmental challenges. High-efficiency catalysts are fundamental to advancing these technologies. Recently, field-effect facilitated catalytic processes have emerged as a promising approach in energy and environmental applications, including water splitting, CO reduction, nitrogen reduction, organic electrosynthesis, and biomass recycling.

Corrigendum to "Identifying treatment non-responders based on pre-treatment gait characteristics - A machine learning approach." [Volume , Issue 11, November 2023, e21242].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.

Consensus on the lung cancer management after third-generation EGFR-TKI resistance.

Lung cancer is the most prevalent malignant tumour in the Asia-Pacific region. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 85% of lung cancers. Among these, the rate of mutations in Asian patients with lung adenocarcinoma is 40-60%.

Optical coherence tomography angiography enables visualization of microvascular patterns in chronic venous insufficiency.

Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a global health concern with significant public health and individual impact. Currently available diagnostic methods cannot visualize microvenous pathologies that have shown to result in severe forms of CVI and also affect the skin. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) may close the CVI diagnostic gap by providing a fast, label-free, and non-invasive solution to visualize cutaneous microvasculature.

Text-guided small molecule generation via diffusion model.

The generation of molecules with targeted properties is crucial in biology, chemistry, and drug discovery. Current generative models are limited to using single property values as conditions, struggling with complex customizations described in detailed human language. To address this, we propose the text guidance instead, and introduce TextSMOG, a new via , which integrates language and diffusion models for text-guided small molecule generation.

Medical applications and prospects of polylactic acid materials.

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable and bio-based polymer that has gained significant attention as an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastics. In clinical treatment, biocompatible and non-toxic PLA materials enhance safety and reduce tissue reactions, while the biodegradability allows it to breakdown over time naturally, avoiding a second surgery. With the emergence of nanotechnology and three-dimensional (3D) printing, medical utilized-PLA has been produced with more structural and biological properties at both micro and macro scales for clinical therapy.

Assessment of social isolation and changes in Parkinson's disease symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study.

Background: COVID-19-related social restrictions provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact of social isolation on Parkinson's disease.

Objective: This study aimed to explore changes in social isolation and their associations with PD symptoms using the Lubben Social Network Scale-Revised (LSNS-R).

Methods: Data from 80 participants of the Early Parkinson's Disease Longitudinal Singapore cohort were collected from April 2019 to April 2023, covering the periods before and after the imposition of COVID-19 restrictions.

Use of Complementary and Integrative Medicine Among Low-Income Persons With Mental Health Disorders.

Objective: To evaluate the use of complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) among a low-income population with mental health diagnoses and to assess differences in social determinants of health (SDOH) on the basis of CIM use.

Patients And Methods: We surveyed patients with mental health diagnoses and/or substance use disorders during outpatient evaluations between August 11, 2020, and November 18, 2021, at a community behavioral health center in Rochester, MN. We measured knowledge of current CIM, interest in future use of CIM, and SDOH.

The stability improvements of dye-sensitized solar cell with natural template for photoanode using lignin extracted from rice husk.

In response to escalating global concerns over environmental pollution, the development of green dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) has emerged as a promising technology for solar energy conversion. This study harnesses the potential of rice husk, an abundant agricultural waste in Indonesia, by extracting lignin through a simple recycling method. Lignin acts as a natural, non-toxic dopant and template for TiO₂ composites, enhancing the stability of the photoanode in DSSCs.

A Novel Integrated Geriatric Services Hub for Frailty Identification and Comprehensive Management of Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Singapore: Impact on Health Service Utilization.

Background: Healthcare systems need to address the high healthcare use of frail older adults. The Geriatric Services Hub (GSH) is a novel program in Singapore that delivers frailty screening, comprehensive geriatric assessment and coordinated care for community-dwelling older persons with bio-psycho-social needs. We aimed to evaluate the effects of the GSH on healthcare use.

Clinical practice in an age of medical misinformation and conspiracy theories.

Medical misinformation (false health or medical-related information) has seen a rapid increase in volume recently, with the global surge in social media usage and further exacerbation by the COVID-19 pandemic. This may put more lives at stake, as misinformation is an often-cited reason that people make dangerous health choices, engage in harmful practices and reject beneficial health treatments. In this article, we explore the drivers and consequences, as well as suggest several strategies at the personal, educational and systemic level, for physicians to guide and communicate with patients who subscribe to medical misinformation.

Molecular Mechanisms of Synergistic Effect of PRIMA-1 and Oxaliplatin in Colorectal Cancer With Different p53 Status.

Background: The toxicity and drug resistance associated with oxaliplatin (L-OHP) limit its long-term use for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. p53 mutation is a common genetic trait of CRC. PRIMA-1 (APR-246, eprenetapopt) restores the DNA-binding capacity of different mutant P53 proteins.

Association of antidepressants with cataracts and glaucoma: a disproportionality analysis using the reports to the United States Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) pharmacovigilance database.

Background: Antidepressants are commonly prescribed for mood disorders. Epidemiological studies suggest antidepressant use may be associated with cataracts and glaucoma. We aim to investigate the association between antidepressants and cataracts and glaucoma.