Synthesis of Hydrofluoric (HF) Acid Free, Two-Dimensional (2D) Tantalum Carbide MXene Nanosheets and Quantum Dots.

MXenes are two-dimensional (2D) transition metal-based carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides that are synthesized from its precursor MAX phase. The selective etching of the "A" from the MAX phase yields multi-functional MXenes that hold promise in a wide range of energy-based applications and biomedical applications. Based on its intended application, MXenes are prepared as multilayered sheets, monolayer flakes, and quantum dots.

A Method for Producing Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes from Leigh Syndrome Patients for Its Application in Disease Modeling and Drug Validation.

Leigh syndrome (LS), a complex multisystemic disorder, poses significant challenges in genetic medicine due to its intricate pathogenesis and wide-ranging clinical manifestations. Notably, these arise from mutations in either nuclear genetic DNA or mitochondrial DNA, affecting ATP production and resulting in diverse clinical outcomes. The unpredictable trajectory of this disease, ranging from severe developmental delays to early mortality, underscores the need for improved therapeutic solutions.

iPSC-Based Disease Modeling and Functional Assessment of Neurons in Patients with Metabolic Disorder.

The advancement in technology has allowed us to identify and accurately detect new mutations causing genetic disorders. However, their underlying physiological mechanisms of manifestation are not well understood. This chapter is a non-invasive blueprint to how iPSC-based disease modeling can be used to understand the neural activity and provide mechanistic insights for inborn disorder patients with neurological dysfunction seen more prominently with metabolic disorder patients.

Splenic gene expression of cytokines at multiple time points following lipopolysaccharide challenge in layers.

Objective: To investigate inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection in layers.

Animals: 33 40-week-old laying hens were used.

Methods: 30 laying hens were divided into 2 groups: the first group was injected with 8 mg/kg LPS, while the second group was injected with sterile saline.

The Effect of Increasing Concentrations of Omega-3 Fatty Acids from either Flaxseed Oil or Preformed Docosahexaenoic Acid on Fatty Acid Composition, Plasma Oxylipin, and Immune Response of Laying Hens.

Background: There is a lack of nutrition guidelines for the feeding of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) to laying hens. Knowledge as to whether the type and concentrations of α-linolenic acid (ALA) and/or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the diet can make a difference to the birds' immune responses when subjected to a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge is limited.

Objectives: The study was designed to determine the potential nutritional and health benefits to laying hens when receiving dietary omega-3 PUFA from either ALA or DHA.

Use of a mobile health application by adult non-congenital cardiac surgery patients: A feasibility study.

Mobile Health (mHealth) technologies are becoming integral to our healthcare system. This study evaluated the feasibility (compliance, usability and user satisfaction) of a mHealth application (app) for delivering Enhanced Recovery Protocols (ERPs) information to Cardiac Surgery (CS) patients peri-operatively. This single centre, prospective cohort study involved patients undergoing CS.

Putting patient value first: Using a modified nominal group technique for the implementation of enhanced recovery after cardiac surgery recommendations.

Objective: In 2019, the Society for Enhanced Recovery After Cardiac Surgery (ERAS-CS) published perioperative guidelines to optimize the care of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. For centers with limited capacity, a sequential approach to the implementation of the full guidelines may be more feasible. Therefore, we aimed to explore the priority of implementation of the ERAS-CS guideline recommendations from a patient and caregiver perspective.

Neuromuscular Complications of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Viral Infections.

In this article we review complications to the peripheral nervous system that occur as a consequence of viral infections, with a special focus on complications of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). We discuss neuromuscular complications in three broad categories; the direct consequences of viral infection, autoimmune neuromuscular disorders provoked by viral infections, and chronic neurodegenerative conditions which have been associated with viral infections. We also include discussion of neuromuscular disorders that are treated by immunomodulatory therapies, and how this affects patient susceptibility in the current context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Protocol for a scoping review to map patient engagement in scoping reviews.

Background: Scoping reviews of health research are increasing in popularity. However, only a minority of scoping reviews in this sector engage patients and caregivers as co-producers of the research. Despite developments in scoping review methodology, which insist that stakeholder consultation is essential, no guiding methods exist to instruct the conduct of this stage.

Including migrant oncology patients in research: A multisite pilot randomised controlled trial testing consultation audio-recordings and question prompt lists.

Background: Oncology patients who are migrants or refugees face worse outcomes due to language and communication barriers impacting care. Interventions such as consultation audio-recordings and question prompt lists may prove beneficial in mediating communication challenges. However, designing robust research inclusive of patients who do not speak English is challenging.

Fabrication of Smart Tantalum Carbide MXene Quantum Dots with Intrinsic Immunomodulatory Properties for Treatment of Allograft Vasculopathy.

MXene nanomaterials have sparked significant interest among interdisciplinary researchers to tackle today's medical challenges. In particular, colloidal MXene quantum dots (MQDs) offer the high specific surface area and compositional flexibility of MXene while providing improvements to aqueous stability and material-cell interactions. The current study for the first time reports the development and application of immunoengineered tantalum-carbide (TaCT ) MQDs for in vivo treatment of transplant vasculopathy.

Alteration of the dietary methionine: Cysteine ratio modulates the inflammatory response to an inter-peritoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide in wistar rats.

Sulphur amino acids (SAA) are essential for multiple physiological/metabolic processes, with the ratio of dietary methionine: cysteine (Met:Cys) being an important contributor to pro-inflammatory responses, including TNF-α activity. The current study was designed to determine the effect an altered dietary SAA ratio, and the resulting reliance on the transsulfuration pathway to supply Cys, will have on the inflammatory response. In the present study, 100 µg/kg of an intraperitoneal (IP) injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used as a model for systemic inflammation.

Examining differences in diet quality between Canadian Indigenous and non-Indigenous adults: results from the 2004 and 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey Nutrition Surveys.

Objectives: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission includes a call to action to close gaps in health outcomes, including type 2 diabetes, of which diet quality must be considered an important mediator. The objectives of this study were to compare diet quality between off-reserve Indigenous and non-Indigenous adults in 2004 and 2015, and examine food security as a predictor of diet quality.

Methods: We employed a repeated cross-sectional design using the 2004 and 2015 Canadian Community Health Surveys-Nutrition.

Historical and Continued Colonial Impacts on Heart Health of Indigenous Peoples in Canada: What's Reconciliation Got to Do With It?

Colonization and enforced genocidal strategies have collectively fractured and changed Indigenous people by attempting to erase and dismiss their voices and knowledge. Nearly a decade ago, we were reminded by Dr Ku Young of the cardiovascular health disparities, in evidence among Indigenous people in Canada. compared with White people.

Patient Engagement in the Design of a Mobile Health App That Supports Enhanced Recovery Protocols for Cardiac Surgery: Development Study.

Background: Despite the importance of their perspectives, end users (eg, patients, caregivers) are not typically engaged by academic researchers in the development of mobile health (mHealth) apps for perioperative cardiac surgery settings.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe a process for and the impact of patient engagement in the development of an mHealth app that supports patient and caregiver involvement with enhanced recovery protocols during the perioperative period of cardiac surgery.

Methods: Engagement occurred at the level of consultation and took the form of an advisory panel.

Misoprostol treatment prevents hypoxia-induced cardiac dysfunction through a 14-3-3 and PKA regulatory motif on Bnip3.

Systemic hypoxia is a common element in most perinatal emergencies and is a known driver of Bnip3 expression in the neonatal heart. Bnip3 plays a prominent role in the evolution of necrotic cell death, disrupting ER calcium homeostasis and initiating mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT). Emerging evidence suggests a cardioprotective role for the prostaglandin E1 analog misoprostol during periods of hypoxia, but the mechanisms for this protection are not completely understood.

A Cardiac Mitochondrial FGFR1 Mediates the Antithetical Effects of FGF2 Isoforms on Permeability Transition.

Mitochondria, abundant organelles in high energy demand cells such as cardiomyocytes, can determine cell death or survival by regulating the opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore, mPTP. We addressed the hypothesis that the growth factor FGF2, known to reside in intracellular locations, can directly influence mitochondrial susceptibility to mPTP opening. Rat cardiac subsarcolemmal (SSM) or interfibrillar (IFM) mitochondrial suspensions exposed directly to rat 18 kDa low molecular weight (Lo-) FGF2 isoform displayed increased resistance to calcium overload-induced mPTP, measured spectrophotometrically as "swelling", or as cytochrome c release from mitochondria.

Cost, Nutritional Content and Number of Gluten-Free Staple Foods Available in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Data has indicated that gluten-free (GF) foods are more expensive and have lower nutritional value than their gluten-containing (GC) counterparts. The aim of the present study was to compare the cost and nutrient content between GF and GC staple foods and determine whether the number and price of GF staple foods differed based on type of store or location within Winnipeg, Canada. Twelve grocery stores (2 chain stores/quadrant;1 local store/quadrant) in the four quadrants (northwest, northeast, southwest, southeast) of Winnipeg were visited to identify GF staple products (bread, flour, cereal, pasta) along with a GC comparator.

Expanding enhanced recovery protocols for cardiac surgery to include the patient voice: a scoping review protocol.

Background: Cardiac surgery is becoming increasingly common in older, more vulnerable adults. A focus on timely and complete medical and functional recovery has led to the development of enhanced recovery protocols (ERPs) for a number of surgical procedures and subspecialties, including cardiac surgery (ERAS® Cardiac). An element that is often overlooked in the development and implementation of ERPs is the involvement of key stakeholder groups, including surgery patients and caregivers (e.

Effect of dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on the composition of cecal microbiome of Lohmann hens.

Supplementation of n-3 fatty acids to poultry diets is widely acknowledged for its role in enhancing poultry products, however, little is known about the compositional responses of gut microbial communities to type and dosage of these supplements.  Here, we compared the effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), supplied as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), on the composition of bacterial communities in ceca of laying hens.  Corn-soybean basal diets were supplemented with either flaxseed oil (FO, ALA-rich) or marine algal biomass (MA, DHA-rich), and each supplied 0.

Effects of cyanidin 3--glucoside and hydrochlorothiazide on T-cell phenotypes and function in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Immune system dysfunction may contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). We examined the effects of the anthocyanin, cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (C3G), and the diuretic, hydrochlorothiazide (HCT), on T-cell function in SHR. Five-week-old male SHR and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats received water (n = 8/SHR; n = 8/WKY), 10 mg kg-1 day-1 C3G (n = 8/SHR; n = 8/WKY), 10 mg kg-1 day-1 HCT (n = 8/SHR; n = 8/WKY), or 10 mg kg-1 day-1 C3G + 10 mg kg-1 day-1 HCT (n = 8/SHR; n = 8/WKY) by oral gavage for 15 weeks.

Lipidomic characterization of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine species of egg yolk lipid derived from hens fed flaxseed oil and marine algal biomass.

Membrane phospholipids, including phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), consist of distinct fatty acids occupying the sn-1 and sn-2 positions, reflecting the highly regulated nature of lipid biosynthesis. However, little is known about the influence of dietary lipids on the positional nature of fatty acids in tissues, including the enrichment of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in chicken egg yolk phospholipids. This study was undertaken to characterize the PC and PE species in egg lipids derived from Lohmann hens (n=10/treatment) randomly allocated to either a control (no supplementation), a flaxseed oil (FO) or a marine algal oil (MA) diet.

The polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) channel model of cyclic-buildup biofilm and traditional biofilm: The impact of friction, and detergent on cleaning and subsequent high-level disinfection.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of detergent and friction on removal of traditional biofilm and cyclic-buildup biofilm (CBB) from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) channels and to evaluate the efficacy of glutaraldehyde to kill residual bacteria after cleaning.

Methods: PTFE channels were exposed to artificial test soil containing 108 CFU/mL of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis, followed by full cleaning and high-level disinfection (HLD) for five repeated rounds to establish CBB. For traditional biofilm, the HLD step was omitted.