Development of kombucha beverage with jackfruit leaves (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam) and/or soursop leaves (Annona muricata).

Kombucha is a fermented beverage with health effects, made mainly from green tea and black tea; however, it can also be made from other leaves such as those of jackfruit and soursop, which are not used even though they have been reported to have positive health effects. Due to the above, in this work "kombucha" beverages based on jackfruit and/or soursop leaves were developed and analyzed to take advantage of these by-products. It was found that fermentation produced significant changes, being the optimal kombucha formulation green tea with soursop leaves (GTKS), obtaining a higher content of antioxidant compounds (mainly catechin, rutin and shikimic acid) and greater ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) (1.

Investigating changes in connected speech in nonfluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia following script training.

Script training is a speech-language intervention designed to promote fluent connected speech via repeated rehearsal of functional content. This type of treatment has proven beneficial for individuals with aphasia and apraxia of speech caused by stroke and, more recently, for individuals with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). In the largest study to-date evaluating the efficacy of script training in individuals with nonfluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA; Henry et al.

Factors that Influence Recovery From Concussion in Young Children and Preadolescents.

Objective: To examine differences in the presentation and management of concussion in younger children (aged 4-8 years) versus preadolescents (9-12 years) and identify factors that influence recovery time.

Design: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data.

Setting: Pediatric sports medicine and orthopedics clinic.

Labor Nurses' Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe labor and delivery nurses' experiences in caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We used a descriptive phenomenological design and purposeful sampling to recruit experienced labor and delivery nurses for flexible semi-structured face-to-face audiotaped interviews. Constant comparison was used to analyze data.

Adults With Head and Neck Burns Experience Worse Long-Term Outcomes and Require More Reconstructive Surgeries: A Burn Model System Study.

Background: Adults living with head and neck burn injuries experience psychosocial consequences due to scarring as well as functional disabilities. However, the impact of head and neck burns on long-term self-reported psychosocial outcomes, return to work, and need for reconstructive surgery has not been well described. This study investigates the unique longitudinal problems in psychosocial and functional recovery faced by adults with head and neck burn injuries.

Donation After Circulatory Determination of Death in Pediatric Patients on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation at the Time of Death.

Background: Pediatric solid organ transplantation is challenging due to the limited availability of suitable organs resulting in an increasing waitlist. Many pediatric transplant recipients receive organs from deceased donors, often after neurologic determination of death. Organ donation from patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) at the time of death has been described in adults, offering the potential for donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD) with minimal ischemia time.

BCMA-directed CAR T-cell Therapy in patients with multiple myeloma and CNS involvement.

We investigated BCMA-directed CART in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) and CNS involvement. Ten patients who received either ide-cel (n=6) or cilta-cel (n=4) were included in this analysis. Patients had brain/cranial nerve and/or spinal cord involvement/leptomeningeal disease evident on either MRI (100%) and/or CSF (40%).

Qualitative evaluation of survey questions to assess treatment preference for daily oral or long‑acting injectable antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV.

Treatment of HIV has historically required taking daily oral antiretroviral therapy (ART). A recent alternative to daily oral ART is long-acting injectable ART with cabotegravir plus rilpivirine, administered monthly or every 2 months. The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate the concept relevance and interpretability of five previously developed questions: one treatment preference question and four questions designed to assess how the emotional burden associated with HIV treatment impacts treatment preferences.

Unintended pregnancy among women living with HIV and its predictors in East Africa, 2024. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: An unintended pregnancy refers to a situation where a pregnancy occurs either when there is no desire for a child (unwanted) or when it takes place at a time that was not anticipated (mistimed). Pregnant women infected with HIV face a two to tenfold increased risk of mortality during both pregnancy and the postpartum period compared to those who are not infected. A national level cohort study has identified that about 70 babies born HIV positive, 60% of them were from unplanned pregnancy.

Identification of modulators of the ALT pathway through a native FISH-based optical screen.

A significant portion of human cancers utilize a recombination-based pathway, alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT), to extend telomeres. To gain further insights into this pathway, we developed a high-throughput imaging-based screen named TAILS (telomeric ALT in situ localization screen) to identify genes that either promote or inhibit ALT activity. Screening over 1,000 genes implicated in DNA transactions, TAILS reveals both well-established and putative ALT modulators.

Prognostic and predictive implications of sterile alpha motif and HD domain-containing protein 1 (SAMHD1) expression in breast cancer.

Sterile alpha motif and HD domain-containing protein 1 (SAMHD1) is a dNTP hydrolase important for intracellular dNTP homeostasis and serves as tumor suppressor and modulator of antimetabolite efficacy in cancer, though largely unexplored in breast cancer (BC). A cohort of patients with early BC (n = 564) with available gene expression data (GEP) was used. SAMHD1 protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry performed on tissue microarrays.

Assembly of Pyrenes through a Quadruple Photochemical Cascade: Blocking Groups Allow Diversion from the Double Mallory Path to Photocyclization at the Bay Region.

We present a six-step cascade that converts 1,3-distyrylbenzenes (-stilbenes) into nonsymmetric pyrenes in 40-60% yields. This sequence merges photochemical steps, ,-alkene isomerization, a 6π photochemical electrocyclization (Mallory photocyclization); the new bay region cyclization, with two radical iodine-mediated aromatization steps; and an optional aryl migration. This work illustrates how the inherent challenges of engineering excited state reactivity can be addressed by logical design.

Memristive Ion Dynamics to Enable Biorealistic Computing.

Conventional artificial intelligence (AI) systems are facing bottlenecks due to the fundamental mismatches between AI models, which rely on parallel, in-memory, and dynamic computation, and traditional transistors, which have been designed and optimized for sequential logic operations. This calls for the development of novel computing units beyond transistors. Inspired by the high efficiency and adaptability of biological neural networks, computing systems mimicking the capabilities of biological structures are gaining more attention.

Estimated Vaccine Effectiveness for Pediatric Patients With Severe Influenza, 2015-2020.

Importance: Increasing the understanding of vaccine effectiveness (VE) against levels of severe influenza in children could help increase uptake of influenza vaccination and strengthen vaccine policies globally.

Objective: To investigate VE in children by severity of influenza illness.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This case-control study with a test-negative design used data from 8 participating medical centers located in geographically different US states in the New Vaccine Surveillance Network from November 6, 2015, through April 8, 2020.

Retinoblastoma and beyond: pediatric orbital mass lesions.

Various space occupying lesions can arise in the orbit, ranging from developmental anomalies to malignancies, and many of the diseases occurring in children are different from the pathologies in the adult population. As the clinical presentation is frequently nonspecific, radiologic evaluation is essential for lesion detection and characterization as well as patient management. While orbital masses may in some cases involve multiple compartments, a simple compartmental approach is the key for the diagnosis on imaging studies, and MRI is the modality of choice.

Changes in Medication Complexity and Post-Hospitalization Outcomes in Older Adults Hospitalized for Heart Failure.

Introduction: Medication regimen complexity may be an important risk factor for adverse outcomes in older adults with heart failure. However, increasing complexity is often necessary when prescribing guideline-directed medical therapy at the time of a heart failure hospitalization. We sought to determine whether increased medication regimen complexity following a heart failure hospitalization was associated with worse post-hospitalization outcomes.

Seroprevalence of Naegleria fowleri in the Houston-Galveston Texas Population.

Naegleria fowleri is a free-living amoeba and the causative agent of Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare yet almost always fatal disease that primarily affects children. While only 431 PAM cases have been reported worldwide, the southern states of the United States, including Texas, report the highest number of cases. Despite the high mortality of the disease, studies have identified antibodies to N.

Factors That Determine Successful Social Housing of African Green Monkeys () in Same-Sex Pairs and Trios.

Social housing provides a high level of enrichment for captive non-human primates, but providing this in research situations can be challenging. We have developed a multifactorial animal selection and introduction process coordinated by veterinary and animal care behavioral teams. This process sought to successfully establish lasting same-sex pairs and trios for African green monkeys () in studies lasting from three months to over a year.

A Systematic Review on the Impact of Vaccination for Respiratory Disease on Antibody Titer Responses, Health, and Performance in Beef and Dairy Cattle.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a multifactorial disease complex commonly affecting beef and dairy operations. Vaccination against major BRD-related pathogens is routinely performed for disease prevention; however, uniform reporting of health and performance outcomes is infrequent. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of commercially available BRD-pathogen vaccination on titer response with respect to health or performance in beef and dairy cattle.

Mutational Landscape of Proto-Oncogene Coding Sequence in 62 Canine Cutaneous and Subcutaneous Mast Cell Tumors.

Canine mast cell tumors (MCTs) are common skin neoplasms with varying biological behaviors. The proto-oncogene plays a key role in the development of these tumors, and internal tandem duplications on exon 11 are usually associated with more aggressive behavior, increased local recurrence, and decreased survival time. However, apart from exons 8-11 and 17, there is limited understanding of the overall mutational landscape in canine MCTs.

Passive accumulation of alkaloids in inconspicuously colored frogs refines the evolutionary paradigm of acquired chemical defenses.

Understanding the origins of novel, complex phenotypes is a major goal in evolutionary biology. Poison frogs of the family Dendrobatidae have evolved the novel ability to acquire alkaloids from their diet for chemical defense at least three times. However, taxon sampling for alkaloids has been biased towards colorful species, without similar attention paid to inconspicuous ones that are often assumed to be undefended.

Subregions of the Rotator Cuff Muscles Present Distinct Anatomy, Biomechanics, and Function.

Shoulder and elbow injuries are prevalent among baseball players, particularly pitchers, who experience repetitive eccentric loading of the shoulder, leading to muscle damage and increased injury risk. Nearly 40% of shoulder injuries in baseball occur in pitchers, with many facing low rates of return to sport. The rotator cuff (RC) muscles-supraspinatus (SSP), infraspinatus (ISP), subscapularis (SSC), and teres minor (TMin)-are crucial for shoulder stability, movement, and force generation, particularly in overhead sports.

The Effect of Purified Opharin Isolated from the Venom of King Cobra () in Modulating Macrophage Inflammatory Responses and Vascular Integrity.

King cobra () venom comprises a diverse array of proteins and peptides. However, the roles and properties of these individual components are still not fully understood. Among these, Cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRiSPs) are recognized but not fully characterized.

Co-Existent Central and Peripheral Demyelination: Related or Coincidental?

Background: Hereditary Sensory Motor Neuropathy (HSMN) 1A and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are distinct demyelinating disorders affecting the peripheral and central nervous systems, respectively. We present a case of simultaneous occurrence of both conditions, exploring the clinical presentation, diagnostic workup, and potential interplay between these diseases. Case presentation and clinical approach: A 49-year-old male with a history of optic neuritis presented with progressive numbness, weakness, and sensory loss in all extremities over four years.

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: microRNA Takes Center Stage.

The Journal Editorial Board Members would like to congratulate Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun, who were jointly awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their groundbreaking discovery of microRNAs and the role of microRNAs in post-transcriptional gene regulation, uncovering a previously unknown layer of gene control in eukaryotes [...