The first example of photocatalytic trifluoromethoxylation of arenes and heteroarenes under continuous-flow conditions is described. Application of continuous-flow microreactor technology allowed to ...reduce the residence time up to 16 times in comparison to the batch procedure, while achieving similar or higher yields. In addition, the use of inorganic bases was demonstrated to increase the reaction yield under batch conditions.
A new pandemic is ongoing in several parts of the world. The agent responsible is the newly emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The symptoms associated with this ...virus are known as the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). In this review, we summarize the published data on virus specific antibodies in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 disease, patients recovered from the disease and the individuals who are asymptomatic with SARS-CoV-2 infections. The review highlights the following: i) an adjunct role of antibody tests in the diagnosis of COVID-19 in combination with RT-PCR; ii) status of antibodies from COVID-19 convalescent patients to select donors for plasma therapy; iii) the potential confounding effects of other coronaviruses, measles, mumps and rubella in antibody testing due to homology of certain viral genes; and iv) the role of antibody testing for conducting surveillance in populations, incidence estimation, contact tracing and epidemiologic studies.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2); Diagnosis of COVID-19; Antibody tests; RT-PCR.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common form of dementia which is characterized by the deposition of amyloids in affected neurons and a cholinergic neurotransmission deficit in the brain. The current ...therapeutic intervention for AD is primarily based on the inhibition of brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) to restore the brain acetylcholine level. Cryptotanshinone (CT) is a diterpene extracted from the root of Salvia miltiorrhiza, a herb that is commonly prescribed in Chinese medicine to treat cardiovascular disease. In the present study, we demonstrated that CT is an inhibitor of both human acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) with IC(50) values of 4.09 and 6.38 microM, respectively. The IC(50) ratio of CT for BuChE:AChE was 1.56. CT inhibited human AChE in a reversible manner, and the inhibition showed the characteristics of mixed-type as both the KM and V(max) were affected by CT. The effect of CT on learning impairment in scopolamine-treated rats was also evaluated by the acquisition protocol of the Morris water maze. The task learning ability of scopolamine-treated rats was significantly reversed by CT (5 mg/kg), and the CT-fed rats were able to develop a spatial searching strategy comparable to that of the control animals. In addition, chronic CT treatment did not cause hepatotoxicity as measured by blood alanine transferase (ALT) level. Our findings demonstrate the ability of CT to improve task learning in rats with scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment. These results suggest that CT has the potential as a therapeutic drug for treating AD.
Nipah virus (NiV) is a re-emerging pathogen that causes severe disease in animals and humans. Current treatment measures for NiV infection are insufficient, and there is no approved vaccine against ...NiV for either humans or animals. Nipah virus is listed as a high-priority pathogen for vaccine and therapeutic research by the World Health Organization (WHO). In the present study, we employed synthetic enhanced DNA technologies developed to design and produce novel consensus NiV Fusion (NiV-F) and Glycoprotein (NiV-G) antigen sequences for inclusion in synthetic DNA vaccines for NiV. The expression of each vaccine antigen was confirmed
in vitro
using immune-binding assays. Electroporation-enhanced intramuscular injection of each NiV-F and NiV-G into mice induced potent cellular immune responses to multiple epitopes of NiV-G and NiV-F that included antigen-specific CD8
+
T cells. Both vaccines elicited high antibody titers in mice, with a single immunization sufficient to seroconvert 100% of immunized animals. Additionally, the NiV-F vaccine also induced antibodies to neutralize NiV-F-pseudotyped virus particles. These data support further study of these novel synthetic enhanced NiV nucleic acid-based antigens as potential components of an effective vaccine against the Nipah virus.
Background Blunt thoracic aortic injury (BTAI) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are the leading causes of death after blunt trauma, and TBI is common among patients with BTAI. Although aspects of ...aortic management, such as repair timing and procedural anticoagulation therapy, may complicate TBI, the optimal management of these patients is undefined. Methods Adults with BTAI and moderate to severe TBI admitted to a level I trauma center over 12 years were retrospectively analyzed; patients presenting in extremis were excluded. The primary outcome was neurologic progression within 48 hours of aortic repair. Patients undergoing nonoperative aortic management served as controls for baseline TBI progression. Secondary outcomes were aortic morbidity and mortality and overall inpatient survival. Results Of 309 patients with BTAI, 138 had concurrent TBI, and 75 were included for analysis. Twenty-two (29%) were treated nonoperatively, 29 (39%) had early aortic repair (17 open, 12 endovascular), and 24 (32%) had delayed repair (3 open, 21 endovascular). The severity of TBI was similar between groups. Early aortic repair within 24 hours of admission was independently associated with worsening TBI, regardless of repair modality or anticoagulation use. In contrast, patients undergoing delayed repair had no perioperative neurologic progression despite procedural anticoagulation therapy. Early aortic repair was also associated with increased aortic morbidity and mortality. Conclusions For patients with BTAI and TBI, early aortic intervention is associated with progressive TBI regardless of repair modality, as well as increased aortic morbidity and mortality. Patients not requiring emergent intervention can undergo delayed repair with full anticoagulation therapy.
Society relies on family caregivers of children who depend on medical technology (e.g. mechanical ventilation), to provide highly skilled and vigilant care in their homes 24 hours per day. Sleep ...disturbance is among the most common complaints of these caregivers. The purpose of this review is to systematically examine studies reporting on sleep outcomes in family caregivers of technology dependent children.
All relevant databases were systematically searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL. Given the heterogeneity of the studies, a qualitative analysis was completed and thus results of this review are presented as a narrative.
Thirteen studies were retrieved that met eligibility criteria for inclusion. All of the studies reported on family caregivers of children with medical complexity living at home. Moreover, all of the studies relied entirely on self-report, not objective sleep measures. No intervention studies were found. Sleep disturbance was found to be common (51-100%) along with caregiver reports of poor sleep quality. Sleep quantity was seldom measured, but was found in the few studies that did, to be approximately 6 hours, or less than recommendations for optimal health and daytime function. Multiple caregiver, child and environmental factors were also identified that may negatively influence caregiver sleep, health and daytime function.
Findings of this review suggest that family caregivers of children with medical complexity who depend on medical technology achieve poor sleep quality and quantity that may place them at risk of the negative consequences of sleep deprivation. Recommendations for practice include that health care providers routinely assess for sleep disturbance in this vulnerable population. The review also suggests that studies using objective sleep measurement are needed to more fully characterize sleep and inform the development of targeted interventions to promote sleep in family caregivers of technology dependent children.
Background
Nasal osteotomy is a commonly performed procedure during rhinoplasty for both functional and cosmetic reasons. Teaching and learning this procedure proves difficult due to the reliance on ...nuanced tactile feedback. For surgical simulation, trainees are traditionally limited to cadaveric bones, which can be costly and difficult to obtain.
Objective
This study aimed to design and print a low-cost midface model for nasal osteotomy simulation.
Methods
A 3D reconstruction of the midface was modified using the free open-source design software Meshmixer (Autodesk Inc). The pyriform aperture was smoothed, and support rods were added to hold the fragments generated from the simulation in place. Several models with various infill densities were printed using a desktop 3D printer to determine which model best mimicked human facial bone.
Results
A midface simulation set was designed using a desktop 3D printer, polylactic acid filament, and easily accessible tools. A nasal osteotomy procedure was successfully simulated using the model.
Conclusions
3D printing is a low-cost, accessible technology that can be used to create simulation models. With growing restrictions on trainee duty hours, the simulation set can be used by programs to augment surgical training.
In 2013, Anthony Chen's Ilo Ilo/Pa ma bu zai jia became the first Singaporean film to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival. Set in Singapore during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the film ...portrays the lives of an ordinary middle-class family and their Filipino maid, Teresa. This article explores the affective ties to the 'Singapore Story,' an authoritative narrative of the city-state's nation-building history and progress determining (economic) success. Drawing on Lauren Berlant's notion of 'cruel optimism,' I argue that the film's main characters are dangerously attached to the idea of living the Singapore story. I further contend that Teresa's migrant domestic labor, which both sustains and troubles the Singapore story, exposes for audiences issues of loss, absence and dislocation. Employing Kathleen Stewart's notion of 'ordinary affects,' the characters' everyday interactions and bonds formed through the figure of Teresa manifest her outsider status and the undesired costs of maintaining the Singapore story, such as dysfunctional family relations and other social issues attributed to foreign domestic workers. Using affect theory to examine Singaporean cinema, this paper interrogates what constitutes Singapore's national identity by tracking the modes of affective investment in the Singapore story.
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) recombination can result in chimeric capsid protein subunits whose ability to assemble into an oligomeric capsid, package a genome, and transduce cells depends on the ...inheritance of sequence from different AAV parents. To develop quantitative design principles for guiding site-directed recombination of AAV capsids, we have examined how capsid structural perturbations predicted by the SCHEMA algorithm correlate with experimental measurements of disruption in seventeen chimeric capsid proteins. In our small chimera population, created by recombining AAV serotypes 2 and 4, we found that protection of viral genomes and cellular transduction were inversely related to calculated disruption of the capsid structure. Interestingly, however, we did not observe a correlation between genome packaging and calculated structural disruption; a majority of the chimeric capsid proteins formed at least partially assembled capsids and more than half packaged genomes, including those with the highest SCHEMA disruption. These results suggest that the sequence space accessed by recombination of divergent AAV serotypes is rich in capsid chimeras that assemble into 60-mer capsids and package viral genomes. Overall, the SCHEMA algorithm may be useful for delineating quantitative design principles to guide the creation of libraries enriched in genome-protecting virus nanoparticles that can effectively transduce cells. Such improvements to the virus design process may help advance not only gene therapy applications but also other bionanotechnologies dependent upon the development of viruses with new sequences and functions.
Introduction:
PICU hospitalization can have a profound impact on child survivors and their families. There is limited research on children's long-term recovery within the context of the family ...following critical illness. This study aimed to explore children's and parents' perceptions of long-term psychological and behavioral responses within the context of the family one year following PICU hospitalization.
Materials and Methods:
Caring Intensively is a mixed methods multi-site prospective cohort study that aims to examine children's psychological and behavioral responses over a 3-year period following PICU hospitalization. In this study, part of the qualitative arm of Caring Intensively, an interpretive descriptive design was used to explore children's recovery one year post-discharge. Purposive sampling was used to select 17 families, including 16 mothers, 6 fathers, and 9 children. Semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews were conducted. Data were analyzed iteratively using the constant comparison method.
Results:
Families described efforts to readapt to routine life and find a new normal following PICU hospitalization. Finding a New Normal consisted of four major themes: (1) Processing PICU Reminders and Memories, (2) Changing Perceptions of Health and Illness, (3) We Are Not the Same, and (4) Altered Relationships. Participants described significant emotional and behavioral changes during the year following discharge. The psychological impact of individual family members' experiences led to changes in their sense of self, which affected family dynamics. PICU memories and reminders impacted participants' perceptions of childhood health and illness and resulted in increased vigilance. Parents and siblings demonstrated increased concern for the child survivor's health, and the experience of long absences and new or altered caregiving roles resulted in changes in relationships and family dynamics.
Conclusion:
PICU hospitalization impacted the psychological well-being of all family members as they sought to re-establish a sense of normalcy one year following discharge. Parent and child experiences and responses were closely interconnected. Findings highlight the importance of increased follow-up care aimed at supporting the family's psychological recovery.
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