Microbiological Spectrum and Antibiotics Sensitivity Pattern of Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media (CSOM) Patients: A prospective study from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Peshawar.

Background & Objective: Chronic suppurative otitis media is a fatal condition owing to its propensity for intracranial extension. The inadvertent use of antibiotics has led to resistance among causative organisms. The objectives of this study were to determine causative bacteria, their antibiotic resistance and susceptibility patterns, and their response to antibiotics after a one-month follow-up.

The association between arachidonic acid and gallstone risk: cross-sectional study and Mendelian randomization analysis.

Background: The formation of gallstones is a multifactorial process involving lifestyle habits, lipid metabolism disorders, and genetic factors. This study aims to explore the association between 19 types of dietary fatty acids and gallstone disease using large-scale population data, assess the correlation between dietary fatty acids and serum fatty acids, and investigate the causal relationship between plasma lipids and gallstone disease from a genetic perspective.

Methods: We employed a cross-sectional study design, combined with logistic regression analysis to evaluate the association between dietary fatty acids and gallstone disease.

Nano- and meso-scale aggregation of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) below the lower critical solution temperature: A wide-angle dynamic light scattering study.

Poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAm), a thermorresponsive polymer, highly soluble in water below its lower critical solution temperature (LCST), is widely used in biomedical applications like drug delivery. Being able to measure PNIPAm size and aggregation state in solution quickly, inexpensively, and accurately below the LCST is critical when stoichiometric particle or molecular ratios are required. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) is probably the most widely available, and inexpensive nanoparticle sizing technique, but there are limitations with respect to sample polydispersity.

The effect of sleep disturbances on the incidence of dementia for varying lag times.

Background: Few studies have addressed the association of sleep disturbances with incident dementia with long lag times. We add to this literature by investigating how lag times varying from 2.2 to 23.

Gentisic acid protects Sprague-Dawley rats from myocardial infarction through reversing electrocardiographical, biochemical and histopathological abnormalities.

Gentisic acid (GA), a cytochrome P450 metabolite of the antiplatelet drug aspirin, exhibits smooth muscle relaxant, antiatherogenic, and antioxidant activities. It also has a protective role in hypertrophic heart failure, suggesting its role in the management of myocardial infarction (MI). This study aimed to explore the protective activity of GA in isoproterenol (ISO)-induced MI in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats in-vivo, followed by mechanistic investigation ex-vivo.

Maternal Infections, Antibiotics, Steroid Use, and Diabetes Mellitus Increase Risk of Early-Onset Sepsis in Preterm Neonates: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

The global evolution of pathogens causing early-onset sepsis (EOS), a critical condition in preterm infants, necessitates a re-evaluation of risk factors to develop updated prevention and treatment strategies. This nationwide case-control study in Taiwan analyzed data from the National Health Insurance Research Database, Birth Reporting Database, and Maternal and Child Health Database from 2010 to 2019. The study included 176,681 mother-child pairs with preterm births.

Novel Insights into Surface Energies and Enhanced Gas-Sensing Capabilities of ZnGaO(111) via Ab Initio Studies.

This study investigates the surface energies and work function changes in ZnGaO(111) surfaces with different atomic terminations using ab initio density functional theory. It explores the interactions of gas molecules such as NO, NO, and CHCOCH with Ga-terminated, O-terminated, and Ga-Zn-O-terminated surfaces. This study reveals previously unreported insights into how O-terminated surfaces exhibit enhanced reactivity with NO, resulting in significant work function changes of +6.

Evaluating the Impacts of Procedural and Patient-Specific Factors on the Outcomes of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI).

: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has emerged as a pivotal intervention for managing severe aortic stenosis in high-risk surgical patients. : This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of procedural factors and patient characteristics on TAVI outcomes, with a focus on survival rates, cardiac mortality, and associated complications. : A retrospective, single-center study involving 224 patients who underwent TAVI at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences from September 2021 to April 2023 was conducted.

Turning Waste into Treasure: Functionalized Biomass-Derived Carbon Dots for Superselective Visualization and Eradication of Gram-Positive Bacteria.

Gram-positive bacteria pose significant threats to human health, necessitating the development of targeted bacterial detection and eradication strategies. Nevertheless, current approaches often suffer from poor targeting specificity. Herein, the study utilizes purple rice lixivium to synthesize biomass carbon dots (termed BCDs) with wheat germ agglutinin-like residues for precisely targeting Gram-positive bacteria.

Anthoteibinenes F-Q: New Sesquiterpenes from the Irish Deep-Sea Coral .

New technology has opened opportunities for research and exploration of deep-water ecosystems, highlighting deep-sea coral reefs as a rich source of novel bioactive natural products. During our ongoing investigation of the chemodiversity of the Irish deep sea and the soft coral we report 12 unreported cadinene-like functionalized sesquiterpenes, anthoteibinenes F-Q. The metabolites were isolated using both bioassay- and H NMR-guided approaches.

Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes in Heart Failure Patients with Implantable Pulmonary Artery Pressure Monitors: A Single Centre Irish Experience.

Hospitalisation for acute decompensated heart failure (HF) portends a poor prognosis. Fluid retention manifesting in dyspnoea and oedema are important clinical features of decompensated heart failure and drive hospital admissions. Intracardiac and pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) monitoring can help predict heart failure decompensation, as changes in these haemodynamics occur before clinical congestion manifests.

Evaluating genome-wide and targeted forensic sequencing approaches to kinship determination.

Kinship determination is a valuable tool in forensic genetics, with applications including familial searching, disaster victim identification, and investigative genetic genealogy. Conventional typing of small numbers of autosomal short tandem repeats (STRs) confidently identifies only first-degree relatives. Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) can access more STRs and resolve alleles identical by length but differing in sequence (isoalleles), which may increase the power of kinship estimation, particularly when combined with additional sequenced single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci, as in the ForenSeq DNA Signature Prep kit.

Revealing differences in flavor compounds during plum wine fermentation using single and mixed yeast strains through metabolomic analysis.

Mixed fermentation can enhance the flavor and aroma of fruit wine, but the mechanisms driving this enhancement remain unclear. This study used non-targeted metabolomics to analyze the effects of mixed versus single fermentation on plum wine flavor. The results showed that compared with single fermentation, mixed fermentation reduced ethanol content and the ability to consume reducing sugars.

Fluorinated and methylated -benzodipyrrole-based acceptors suppressing charge recombination and minimizing energy loss in organic photovoltaics.

The elimination of the A' unit from -type Y6-derivatives has led to the development of a new class of -benzodipyrrole (-BDP)-based A-DBD-A-type NFAs. In this work, two new A-DBD-A-type NFAs, denoted as CFB and CMB, are designed and synthesized, where electron-withdrawing fluorine atoms and electron-donating methyl groups are substituted on the benzene ring of the -BDP moiety, respectively. CFB exhibits a blue-shifted absorption spectrum, stronger intermolecular interactions, shorter π-π stacking distances, and more ordered 3D intermolecular packing in the neat and blend films, enabling it to effectively suppress charge recombination in the PM6:CFB device showing a higher PCE of 16.

The 2025 Motile Active Matter Roadmap.

Activity and autonomous motion are fundamental aspects of many living and engineering systems. Here, the scale of biological agents covers a wide range, from nanomotors, cytoskeleton, and cells, to insects, fish, birds, and people. Inspired by biological active systems, various types of autonomous synthetic nano- and micromachines have been designed, which provide the basis for multifunctional, highly responsive, intelligent active materials.

Sprayable Hydrogel for pH-Responsive Nanozyme-Derived Bacteria-Infected Wound Healing.

Long-term inflammation and persistent bacterial infection are primary contributors to unhealed chronic wounds. The use of conventional antibiotics often leads to bacteria drug resistance, diminishing wound healing effectiveness. Nanozymes have become a promising alternative to antimicrobial materials due to their low cost, easy synthesis, and good stability.

Blanching-Induced Changes in Polyphenol Oxidase, Antioxidants and Phenolic Profile of Mangosteen Pericarp.

Research Background: Anthocyanin pigments in mangosteen pericarp can serve as natural colourants; however, their stability is compromised by enzymatic browning caused by polyphenol oxidase (PPO). Thus, this study aims to investigate how hot water and steam blanching affect the PPO activity, phenolic profile and antioxidant properties of mangosteen pericarp.

Experimental Approach: Fresh mangosteen pericarp was blanched in hot water or steam at 100 °C for 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 s and the residual PPO activity, total phenolic content (TPC), total anthocyanins, antioxidant activity, browning index and colour properties were evaluated.

Decked Out for Success: A Novel Card Game to Support School Teaching of Radioactivity and Nuclear Science.

The global nuclear skills shortage requires a comprehensive investment in training at all levels of education. With focus on post-18 and vocational education, there is a lack of resource and awareness for teaching nuclear skills to students between the ages of 11 to 18 years of age. This age group is vital if interest in this industry is to be nurtured and the skills gap is to be addressed.

Electrically Modulated Multilevel Optical Chirality in GdFeCo Thin Films.

This study introduces a simple approach to dynamically control multilevel optical ellipticity in ferrimagnetic GdFeCo alloys by switching the spin orientation through Joule heating induced by electrical current, with the assistance of a low magnetic field of 3.5 mT. It is demonstrated that selecting specific compositions of Gd (FeCo) alloys, with magnetic compensation temperatures near or above room temperature, allows for significant manipulation of the circular dichroism (CD) effect.

Interpenetration Control in Metal-Organic Polyrotaxanes via Solvent Composition and Ligand Steric-Modulation: Supramolecular Isomerism and Luminescence Detection toward Fe3+ Ions.

Three fluorescent Zn coordaintion polymers (CPs) have been synthesized from the reactions of Zn(NO3)2∙6H2O, benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid (1,4-H2bdc), and angular carbazole-derived bispyridyl ligands (Cz-3,6-bpy or Cz-Pr-3,6-bpy). CPs 1-3 all adopt similar two-dimensional (2D) ring-and-rod layer structures, described as topologically 4-connected 2∙65 nets where the Zn(II) centers act as 4-connected nodes. CPs 1 and 2 are a pair of solvent-mediated supramolecular isomers where the former shows a two-fold interlocked 2D → 2D polyrotaxane-like entangled net and the latter reveals a four-fold interpenetrated 2D → 3D polyrotaxane entanglement.

Assessing the efficacy of iso-mukaadial acetate and betulinic acid against selected Plasmodium falciparum glycolytic pathway proteins: in silico and in vitro studies.

Malaria is the extensive health concern in sub-Saharan Africa, with Plasmodium falciparum being the most lethal strain. The continued emergence of drug-resistant P. falciparum advocates for the development of new antimalarials.

Safety of vancomycin-loaded cement spacers for treating gram-positive periprosthetic joint infections in two-stage resection arthroplasty among patients with renal insufficiency.

Background: The standard treatment for periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) typically involves a two-stage resection arthroplasty using antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC) spacers. This study hypothesizes that there is no significant correlation between antibiotic levels in blood and synovial fluid and the patient's kidney function, and that the success rates of staged resection arthroplasty are comparable between groups, specifically targeting gram-positive bacterial infections.

Methods: This retrospective review included patients treated from 2017 to 2022 with two-stage arthroplasty using vancomycin-loaded ALBC spacers, selectively targeting gram-positive infections.

Population genomics reveals strong impacts of genetic drift without purging and guides conservation of bull and giant kelp.

Kelp forests are declining in many parts of the northeast Pacific. In small populations, genetic drift can reduce adaptive variation and increase fixation of recessive deleterious alleles, but natural selection may purge harmful variants. To understand evolutionary dynamics and inform restoration strategies, we investigated genetic structure and the outcomes of genetic drift and purging by sequencing the genomes of 429 bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) and 211 giant kelp (Macrocystis sp.

Reciprocal relationships between adolescent mental health difficulties and alcohol consumption.

The directionality of the relationship between adolescent alcohol consumption and mental health difficulties remains poorly understood. This study investigates the longitudinal relationship between alcohol use frequency, internalizing and externalizing symptoms from the ages of 11 to 17. We conducted a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model across three timepoints (ages: 11yrs, 14yrs, 17yrs; 50.

Diffuseness of coronary artery disease impacts on immediate hemodynamic and predicted clinical outcomes.

Diffuse coronary artery disease (CAD) impacts the immediate hemodynamic and clinical outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We evaluated whether the diffuse pattern of CAD derived from angiographic Quantitative flow ratio (QFR) impacts the immediate hemodynamic outcome post-PCI and the medium term predicted vessel-oriented composite endpoint (VOCE). Paired pre-procedure QFRs were assessed in 503 patients and 1022 vessels in the Multivessel TALENT (MVT) trial.