A review of recent progress in alginate-based nanocomposite materials for tissue engineering applications.

Integrating nanotechnology with tissue engineering has revolutionized biomedical sciences, enabling the development of advanced therapeutic strategies. Tissue engineering applications widely utilize alginate due to its biocompatibility, mild gelation conditions, and ease of modification. Combining different nanomaterials with alginate matrices enhances the resulting nanocomposites' physicochemical properties, such as mechanical, electrical, and biological properties, as well as their surface area-to-volume ratio, offering significant potential for tissue engineering applications.

Advances in the Development of Microarray Patches in Biomedicine.

Microarray patches (MAPs) have been employed to deliver therapeutic payloads and for detection purposes. Research has been conducted to develop novel designs in material chemistry and the architecture of microarray, which have opened up the possibility for broader applications of MAPs. However, MAPs have yet to be clinically implemented fully.

Antimicrobial potential of the leaves of Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck collected from Iraq: Bioassay-guided isolation of sinensetin as the anti-MRSA compound.

Infections caused by antibiotic-drug-resistant microorganisms are a major global health concern, and they result in millions of deaths every year. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of such drug-resistant microbial strains, and new and effective antimicrobial agents are desperately needed to combat infections caused by MRSA. In the search for effective anti-MRSA agents, the leaves of Citrus grandis (Rutaceae), also known as C.

Larger sample sizes are needed when developing a clinical prediction model using machine learning in oncology: methodological systematic review.

Background: Having a sufficient sample size is crucial when developing a clinical prediction model. We reviewed details of sample size in studies developing prediction models for binary outcomes using machine learning (ML) methods within oncology and compared the sample size used to develop the models with the minimum required sample size needed when developing a regression-based model (N).

Methods: We searched the Medline (via OVID) database for studies developing a prediction model using ML methods published in December 2022.

The structural organisation of pentraxin-3 and its interactions with heavy chains of inter-α-inhibitor regulate crosslinking of the hyaluronan matrix.

Pentraxin-3 (PTX3) is an octameric protein, comprised of eight identical protomers, that has diverse functions in reproductive biology, innate immunity and cancer. PTX3 interacts with the large polysaccharide hyaluronan (HA) to which heavy chains (HCs) of the inter-α-inhibitor (IαI) family of proteoglycans are covalently attached, playing a key role in the (non-covalent) crosslinking of HC•HA complexes. These interactions stabilise the cumulus matrix, essential for ovulation and fertilisation in mammals, and are also implicated in the formation of pathogenic matrices in the context of viral lung infections.

Identification of lens-regulated genes driving anterior eye development and eye size.

Signals from the lens regulate multiple aspects of eye development, including establishment of eye size, patterning of the presumptive iris and ciliary body in the anterior optic cup and migration and differentiation of neural crest cells. To advance understanding of the molecular mechanism by which the lens regulates eye development, we performed transcriptome profiling of embryonic chicken retinas after lens removal. Genes associated with nervous system development were upregulated in lens-removed eyes, but the presumptive ciliary body and iris region did not adopt a neural retina identity following lens removal.

Adverse Outcomes After Cemented and Cementless Primary Elective Total Hip Arthroplasty in 60,064 Matched Patients: A Study of Data From the Swedish Arthroplasty Register.

Introduction: The choice between cemented and cementless fixation in primary elective total hip arthroplasty (THA) remains a subject of ongoing debate. However, comparisons between the two are subject to limited adjustments for patient characteristics, diagnoses, and surgical factors, as well as by limited outcome time endpoints. Our study aimed to compare the effect of femoral fixation on safety and implant survival outcomes in matched patients.

Validation of a Visual Field Prediction Tool for Glaucoma: A Multicenter Study Involving Patients with Glaucoma In the United Kingdom.

Purpose: A previously developed machine-learning approach with Kalman-filtering technology accurately predicted disease trajectory for patients with various glaucoma types and severities using clinical trials data. This study assesses performance of the KF approach with real-world data.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Effect of the prolene ripcord suture on the baerveldt tube position: A case study.

A 42 year old Afro-Caribbean man underwent Baerveldt Glaucoma Implant (BGI) surgery for silicone oil induced glaucoma. Three months following initial surgery, the 3-0 prolene ripcord suture was removed. Anterior segment OCT demonstrates the position of the intracameral portion of the tube before and after the 3/0 prolene stent suture (PSS) removal.

Bone lesion cryotherapy: pictorial review and review of current evidence.

Over the last two decades the development of small probes has enabled percutaneous use of cryotherapy. Cryotherapy, also known as cryoablation, enables the treatment of much larger lesions than other thermal ablation techniques, particularly when using multiple evenly spaced probes. Using rapid cooling to as low as -200 degrees Celsius (at the tip of the probe), reliable, and predictable necrosis can be induced.

Engineered enzymes for enantioselective nucleophilic aromatic substitutions.

Nucleophilic aromatic substitutions (SAr) are amongst the most widely used processes in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries, allowing convergent assembly of complex molecules through C-C and C-X (X = O, N, S) bond formation. SAr reactions are typically carried out using forcing conditions, involving polar aprotic solvents, stoichiometric bases and elevated temperatures, which do not allow for control over reaction selectivity. Despite the importance of SAr chemistry, there are only a handful of selective catalytic methods reported that rely on small organic hydrogen-bonding or phase-transfer catalysts.

Adjustable wind selectivity in shearwaters implies knowledge of the foraging landscape.

Understanding the movements of highly mobile animals is challenging because of the many factors they must consider in their decision-making. Many seabirds, for example, are adapted to use winds to travel long distances at low energetic cost but also potentially benefit from targeting specific foraging hotspots. To investigate how an animal makes foraging decisions, given the inevitable trade-off between these factors, we tracked over 600 foraging trips of breeding Manx shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus; N = 218 individuals) using GPS accelerometers.

Ongoing chromothripsis underpins osteosarcoma genome complexity and clonal evolution.

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary cancer of the bone, with a peak incidence in children and young adults. Using multi-region whole-genome sequencing, we find that chromothripsis is an ongoing mutational process, occurring subclonally in 74% of osteosarcomas. Chromothripsis generates highly unstable derivative chromosomes, the ongoing evolution of which drives the acquisition of oncogenic mutations, clonal diversification, and intra-tumor heterogeneity across diverse sarcomas and carcinomas.

Trans-ancestry genome-wide study of depression identifies 697 associations implicating cell types and pharmacotherapies.

In a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of 688,808 individuals with major depression (MD) and 4,364,225 controls from 29 countries across diverse and admixed ancestries, we identify 697 associations at 635 loci, 293 of which are novel. Using fine-mapping and functional tools, we find 308 high-confidence gene associations and enrichment of postsynaptic density and receptor clustering. A neural cell-type enrichment analysis utilizing single-cell data implicates excitatory, inhibitory, and medium spiny neurons and the involvement of amygdala neurons in both mouse and human single-cell analyses.

Interleukin-17 and fat: Timing is everything.

Interleukin-17 plays a major role in controlling adipose tissue homeostasis. In a recent study published in Nature, Douglas et al. demonstrate that time-of-day-dependent expression of interleukin-17 by tissue-resident innate lymphocytes in the adipose tissue drives circadian regulation of adipose tissue homeostasis and function.

Microplastics mediates the spread of antimicrobial resistance plasmids via modulating conjugal gene expression.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and environmental degradation are existential global public health threats. Linking microplastics (MPs) and AMR is particularly concerning as MPs pollution would have significant ramifications on controlling of AMR; however, the effects of MPs on the spread and genetic mechanisms of AMR bacteria remain unclear. Herein, we performed Simonsen end-point conjugation to investigate the impact of four commonly used MPs on transfer of clinically relevant plasmids.

Wastewater-based analysis of antimicrobial resistance at UK airports: Evaluating the potential opportunities and challenges.

With 40 million annual passenger flights, airports are key hubs for microbial communities from diverse geographic origins to converge, mix, and distribute. Wastewater derived from airports and aircraft represent both a potential route for the global dispersion of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) organisms and an under-utilised resource for strengthening global AMR surveillance. This study investigates the abundance and diversity of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater samples collected from airport terminals (n = 132), aircraft (n = 25), and a connected wastewater treatment plant (n = 11) at three international airports in the UK (London Heathrow, Edinburgh and Bristol).

A pilot and feasibility study investigating the abundance and activity of nitrate-reducing bacteria in women with pre-eclampsia.

Background: Oral health may influence blood pressure control by modulating the abundance and activity of nitrate-reducing bacteria, which are essential for enhancing nitrite and nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. This study aimed to investigate the oral health and microbiome composition of women with pre-eclampsia (PET) compared to healthy controls (CN).

Methods: Ten PET and eleven CN women participated in this study, respectively.

Nil by mouth in intensive care - A qualitative, multiformat survey exploring the impact of mandatory oral restriction, from the health care providers perspective.

Introduction And Objectives: Nil by mouth (NBM) is a frequent imposition for patients recovering from critical illness. Its impact on patients' wellbeing and rehabilitation is under researched. We sought ICU multidisciplinary opinion to primarily assess the relevance of taste deprivation on patient care and recovery, and to identify future opportunities for innovation and research.

Cu-EAB zeolite catalyst: A promising candidate with excellent SO poisoning resistance for NH-SCR reaction.

In this work, we synthesized Cu-EAB catalysts with an EAB topology for the NH-SCR of NO and evaluated their resistance to SO poisoning for the first time. The Cu-EAB catalyst showed superior NO conversion and selectivity for N, along with a notable tolerance to high space velocities and SO, outperforming the commercial Cu-CHA catalyst. This enhanced resistance was attributed to the Cu species formation at the 2.

Assessment of the thymus in fetuses prior to spontaneous preterm birth using functional MRI.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to utilise T2* relaxometry (an indirect method of quantifying tissue oxygenation) to assess the fetal thymus in uncomplicated pregnancies throughout gestation and in a cohort of fetuses that subsequently deliver very preterm.

Methods: A control group of participants with low-risk pregnancies were recruited and retrospectively excluded if they developed any pregnancy related complications after scanning. Participants were recruited who were deemed to be at very high risk of delivery prior to 32 weeks' gestation and retrospectively excluded if they did not deliver prior to this gestation.