Residual nitrite and nitrate in processed meats and meat analogues in the United States.

Residual nitrite (NO) and nitrate (NO) have been widely studied in the past few decades for their function to improve processed meat quality and their impact on human health. In this study we examined how the residual nitrite and nitrate (NO) content of major classes of processed meats products (n = 1132) produced locally from three regions (East Coast, Midwest and West Coast) and plant protein-based meat analogues (n = 53) available at retail in the United States was influenced by their composition, processing, and geographical attributes. We also conducted time-dependent depletion studies and observed different patterns of NO depletion and conversion during processing and storage and correlated them with product quality.

Implementation of An Advance Care Planning Intervention in Dialysis Clinics.

Rationale & Objective: Sharing Patient's Illness Representations to Increase Trust (SPIRIT) is an evidence-based advance care planning intervention targeting dialysis patients and their surrogate decision-makers. To address SPIRIT's implementation potential, we report on a process evaluation in our recently completed five-state cluster-randomized trial.

Study Design: A descriptive study of implementation within a randomized clinical trial.

Dual targeting PPARα and NPC1L1 metabolic vulnerabilities blocks tumorigenesis.

Dysregulated lipid metabolism is linked to tumor progression. In this study, we identified Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1) as a downstream effector of PKM2. In breast cancer cells, PKM2 knockout (KO) enhanced NPC1L1 expression while downregulating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) signaling pathway.

The Landscape of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Pediatric Kidney Transplantation.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is increasing in prevalence due to the growing opioid epidemic; however, its impact on pediatric kidney transplantation is unknown. This study compared kidney transplant outcomes between HCV-positive and propensity-score-weighted HCV-negative pediatric recipients. It also examined HCV-positive kidney utilization for pediatric transplantation in the United States.

Functional and Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Cognitive Tests and Plasma Neurofilament Light Chain Levels.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory, autoimmune, and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. The disease can manifest and progress with both physical and cognitive symptoms, affecting the patient's daily activities. The aim of our study was to investigate the correlation between functional status, cognitive functions, and neurofilament light chain levels in plasma in MS patients.

Identifying Genetic Predisposition to Dozer Lamb Syndrome: A Semi-Lethal Muscle Weakness Disease in Sheep.

Background: Lamb health is crucial for producers; however, the percentage of lambs that die before weaning is still 15-20%. One factor that can contribute to lamb deaths is congenital diseases. A novel semi-lethal disease has been identified in newborn Polypay lambs and termed dozer lamb syndrome.

Bicarbonate Within: A Hidden Modulator of Antibiotic Susceptibility.

Since its standardization, clinical antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) has relied upon a standard medium, Mueller-Hinton Broth/Agar (MHB/A), to determine antibiotic resistance. However, this microbiologic medium bears little resemblance to the host milieu, calling into question the physiological relevance of resistance phenotypes it reveals. Recent studies investigating antimicrobial susceptibility in mammalian cell culture media, a more host-mimicking environment, demonstrate that exposure to host factors significantly alters susceptibility profiles.

DRG2 as a Biomarker to Enhance the Predictive Efficacy of PD-L1 Immunohistochemistry Assays.

PD-L1 immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays are used as a companion diagnostic for immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, despite the association between PD-L1 expression and clinical benefit from ICIs, the PD-L1 IHC assay is not sufficiently accurate in predicting response to ICIs; some patients with high PD-L1 expression do not respond to ICIs. Recently, researchers provided insights into why some patients with high PD-L1 expression fail to respond to ICIs.

Patient Preferences or Provider Pressure? The Relationship Between Coercive Contraceptive Care and Preferred Contraceptive Use.

: Coercion in contraceptive care occurs when healthcare providers unduly influence patients to use or not use birth control. Contraceptive coercion is antithetical to quality patient-centered care. However, it is unclear how experiencing contraceptive coercion relates to patients' lives and contraceptive outcomes.

Integrative proteogenomic analysis identifies COL6A3-derived endotrophin as a mediator of the effect of obesity on coronary artery disease.

Obesity strongly increases the risk of cardiometabolic diseases, yet the underlying mediators of this relationship are not fully understood. Given that obesity strongly influences circulating protein levels, we investigated proteins mediating the effects of obesity on coronary artery disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. By integrating two-step proteome-wide Mendelian randomization, colocalization, epigenomics and single-cell RNA sequencing, we identified five mediators and prioritized collagen type VI α3 (COL6A3).

Characteristics of children and adolescents with multidrug-resistant and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis and their association with treatment outcomes: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis.

Background: There are few data on the treatment of children and adolescents with multidrug-resistant (MDR) or rifampicin-resistant (RR) tuberculosis, especially with more recently available drugs and regimens. We aimed to describe the clinical and treatment characteristics and their associations with treatment outcomes in this susceptible population.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis.

Nanoscale Probing of the Organic Binder in Artists' Paint Layers: Organic Phases and Chemical Heterogeneity.

Understanding paint structures at the nanoscopic level can address key questions related to artistic techniques, paint formulation, and long-term preservation of artworks. This involves examining spatial chemical complexity, the formation of molecular networks, and interactions between organic and inorganic constituents. Depending on the paint preparation methods, proteins and drying oils, the most common binders in traditional artistic practices, can be integrated to produce paints with diverse structures and nanoscale chemical intricacies.

Characterization of gene-environment interactions for vitamin D through variance quantitative trait loci: a UK Biobank-based genetic epidemiology study.

Background: Understanding gene-environment interactions associated with vitamin D status may refine nutrition and public health strategies for vitamin D deficiency. Recent methodological advances have enabled the identification of variance quantitative trait loci (vQTLs) where gene-environment interactions are enriched.

Objectives: To identify vQTLs for serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25OHD) concentrations and characterize potential gene-environment interactions of vQTLs.

Review on the o-aminoaniline Moiety in Peptide and Protein Chemistry.

Peptides and proteins are important functional biomolecules both inside and outside of living organisms. The ability to prepare various types of functionalized peptides and proteins is essential for understanding fundamental biological processes, such as protein folding and post-translational modifications (PTMs), and for developing new therapeutics for many diseases, such as cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. The o-aminoaniline moiety was first proposed for activation to a thioester precursor and used for native chemical ligation to prepare large peptides and proteins.

Polygenic risk discriminates Lewy body dementia from Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Lewy body dementia (LBD) shares genetic risk factors with Alzheimer's disease (AD), including apolipoprotein E (APOE), but is distinguishable at the genome-wide level. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) may therefore improve diagnostic classification.

Methods: We assessed diagnostic classification using AD-PRS excluding APOE (AD-PRS ), APOE risk score (APOE-RS), and plasma phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau181), in 83 participants with LBD, 27 with positron emission tomography amyloid beta (Aβ)positive mild cognitive impairment or AD (MCI+/AD), and 57 controls.

Relational encoding promotes creative insight for problem-solving.

The nature and basis of creative thought has been the subject of wide-ranging inquiry. It is well established that people tend to struggle to solve problems that require an insight-and that this limitation is not readily alleviated. What can help produce more successful creative cognition? We propose a benefit from increased focus on the relations that hold between the elements of a problem situation.

A Comprehensive Review of Phenolic Compounds in Chia Seeds and Their Applications in the Food Industry.

Chia seeds (Salvia hispanica L.) have emerged as a significant focus in the food industry due to their rich nutritional profile and health-promoting attributes. They are a major powerhouse of bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, and tocopherols that have been shown to possess anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-cholesterol functions, enhance cognitive performance, and improve heart health.

Absolute quantification of amine metabolites in human cerebrospinal fluid via MS1-centric isotopic N,N-dimethyl leucine (iDiLeu) labeling.

Quantitative measurement of metabolites is essential to understand biological and disease processes. Absolute quantification by spiking heavy isotope-labeled internal standards and analyzing on mass spectrometry (MS) platform is a key method to determine the concentration of metabolites in biological samples. However, MS-based absolute quantification is often challenged by the commercial availability and high costs of isotope-labeled internal standards.

One-Pot Chlorination and Cross-Electrophile Coupling of Alcohols with Aryl Chlorides.

Although alkyl alcohols and aryl chlorides are the two most abundant substrate pools for cross-electrophile coupling, methods to couple them remain limited. Herein we demonstrate a simple procedure for the in situ deoxychlorination of alcohols followed by XEC with aryl chlorides. A broad substrate scope can be achieved by tuning the rate of the reaction via halide exchange.

An Enigmatic Wild Passerine Mortality Event in the Eastern United States.

The ability to rapidly respond to wildlife health events is essential. However, such events are often unpredictable, especially with anthropogenic disturbances and climate-related environmental changes driving unforeseen threats. Many events also are short-lived and go undocumented, making it difficult to draw on lessons learned from past investigations.

A Martingale-Free Introduction to Conditional Gaussian Nonlinear Systems.

The conditional Gaussian nonlinear system (CGNS) is a broad class of nonlinear stochastic dynamical systems. Given the trajectories for a subset of state variables, the remaining follow a Gaussian distribution. Despite the conditionally linear structure, the CGNS exhibits strong nonlinearity, thus capturing many non-Gaussian characteristics observed in nature through its joint and marginal distributions.

Preservation of Bilateral Corticospinal Projections from Injured Hemisphere After Perinatal Stroke.

Background: Perinatal brain injury is a leading cause of developmental disabilities, including cerebral palsy. However, further work is needed to understand early brain development in the presence of brain injury. In this case report, we examine the longitudinal neuromotor development of a term infant following a significant loss of right-hemispheric brain tissue due to a unilateral ischemic stroke.

Your clinical interview data: The benefit of telehealth appointments to triage referrals made to pediatric neuropsychology.

: We conducted a project to manage a high volume of referrals to pediatric neuropsychology. We aimed to manage referrals for children and adolescents without known medical risk factors. We proposed that a clinical neurodevelopmental interview conducted telehealth would reduce the number of patients on the waitlist and identify those who do not need neuropsychological evaluation.

A Longitudinal Investigation of Trans and Nonbinary Youth Identity: Individual Processes and Family Agreement in the Trans Teen and Family Narratives Project.

Few studies have focused on transgender and nonbinary youths' (TNBY) gender development and even less well understood is how family members understand TNBY identity. The current study investigated: a) how TNBY describe their gender identity over time, and b) how family members understand TNBY gender identity over time. The baseline sample included 96 members of 33 families (33 TNBY, 48 cisgender caregivers, 15 siblings) from the United States; 30 families continued after Wave 1.

Effects of Increasing Vocal Tract Insertion Depth in Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Exercises on an Excised Canine Model.

Introduction: Straw phonation therapy, a form of semi-occluded vocal tract (SOVT) exercise, is commonly used to help treat various voice disorders. Although straw phonation therapy has been studied extensively for decades, the impact of straw depth on vocal function remains unexplored. This study aims to quantify the effects of various straw vocal tract insertion depths (VTID) into the vocal tract on common aerodynamic parameters such as phonation threshold pressure (PTP), phonation threshold flow (PTF), and phonation threshold power (PTW) in an ex vivo canine model.