The first example of a smart crystalline material, the 2:1 cocrystal of probenecid and 4,4′‐azopyridine, which responds reversibly to multiple external stimuli (heat, UV light, and mechanical ...pressure) by twisting, bending, and elastic deformation without fracture is reported. This material is also able to self‐heal on heating and cooling, thereby overcoming the main setbacks of molecular crystals for future applications as crystal actuators. The photo‐ and thermomechanical effects and self‐healing capabilities of the material are rooted in reversible trans–cis isomerization of the azopyridine unit and crystal‐to‐crystal phase transition. Fairly isotropic intermolecular interactions and interlocked crisscrossed molecular packing secure high elasticity of the crystals.
All‐in‐one: A cocrystal of probenecid and 4,4′‐azopyridine is a truly multifunctional polymorphic adaptive molecular crystalline material that responds to UV light, heat, and mechanical pressure by elastic bending and twisting, and is also capable of self‐healing. The mechanical response of this material is not only rapid, but it is also reversible and occurs with short recovery times.
Heme oxygenase (HO) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the degradation of heme, converting heme to biliverdin, during which iron is released and carbon monoxide (CO) is emitted; biliverdin is ...subsequently converted to bilirubin by biliverdin reductase. At least two isozymes possess HO activity: HO-1 represents the isozyme induced by diverse stressors, including ischemia, nephrotoxins, cytokines, endotoxin, oxidants, and vasoactive substances; HO-2 is the constitutive, glucocorticoid-inducible isozyme. HO-1 is upregulated in the kidney in assorted conditions and diseases. Interest in HO is driven by the capacity of this system to protect the kidney against injury, a capacity likely reflecting, at least in part, the cytoprotective properties of its products: in relatively low concentrations, CO exerts vasorelaxant, antiapoptotic, and anti-inflammatory effects while bile pigments are antioxidant and anti-inflammatory metabolites. This article reviews the HO system and the extent to which it influences the function of the healthy kidney; it summarizes conditions and stimuli that elicit HO-1 in the kidney; and it explores the significance of renal expression of HO-1 as induced by ischemia, nephrotoxins, nephritides, transplantation, angiotensin II, and experimental diabetes. This review also points out the tissue specificity of the HO system, and the capacity of HO-1 to induce renal injury in certain settings. Studies of HO in other tissues are discussed insofar as they aid in elucidating the physiologic and pathophysiologic significance of the HO system in the kidney.
The increasing consumer trends for zero to minimally-processed safe foods have boosted the trend of non-thermal processing technologies. The adaptation of non-thermal pre-processing and processing ...methodologies has proven to be very efficient in extending shelf life and enhancing product quality and safety. High-pressure processing (HPP) is a non-thermal, chemical residue-free processing method which involves the application of increased pressure on the products to achieve shelf-stable products by microbial and enzymatic inactivation with minimal impact on the nutritional and chemical composition of foods. The foods used for HPP are meat and meat products, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, nuts and seeds, eggs, and other highly perishable products or minimally processed products. The use of high pressure on the products can critically alter the textural properties such as firmness, hardness, cohesiveness and others. The texture is a very important organoleptic property, which can decide the consumer acceptance of the foods. HPP has proven to improve textural attributes in various food products with minimal deterioration. This review critically discusses the impact of HPP on the textural changes in different food matrices.
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•HPP critically alters the texture of food with minimal impact on nutritional and chemical composition of foods.•HPP alters the texture by modification of structural components such a protein, and inactivation/activate enzyme activity.•Texture modification helps to create food products with improved properties and desired functionality.•HPP combined with other technologies has significant impact on texture.
•Examines the impacts of ICT development on exports, imports, and total trade of ten service items.•Seven different ICT variables are used to construct a comprehensive ICT development index (IDI) ...that captures the access, use, and skill aspects of the technology.•ICT development has significant positive contributions to the growth of international trade in seven (of ten) service items.•ICT use is found to be more important than access and skills for trade in a number of services.
Using panel data for 49 countries from 2000 to 2013, this paper empirically examines the impacts of ICT development on exports, imports, and total trade of ten service items. Unlike most previous studies, seven different ICT variables are used to construct a comprehensive ICT development index (IDI) that captures the access, use, and skill aspects of the technology. The results indicate that ICT development has significant positive contributions to the growth of international trade in seven (of ten) service items. For two of these – financial and other business services – both exports and imports are significantly impacted by ICT. It also has significant positive effects only on exports of transportation services and only on imports of insurance services, royalty and license fees, telecommunication services, and travel. Five of these services are ICT-enabled: this technology plays an important role in the production and delivery of these services. When we consider total (exports plus imports) trade, ICT has significant positive effects on six of the items, including financial services, insurance services, other business services, royalty and license fees, transportation and travel. Among the three aspects, ICT use is found to be more important than access and skills for trade in a number of services. These results provide interesting policy insights for ICT development and growth of services trade.
The ISCHEMIA trial (International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness With Medical and Invasive Approaches) postulated that patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and moderate or ...severe ischemia would benefit from revascularization. We investigated the relationship between severity of CAD and ischemia and trial outcomes, overall and by management strategy.
In total, 5179 patients with moderate or severe ischemia were randomized to an initial invasive or conservative management strategy. Blinded, core laboratory-interpreted coronary computed tomographic angiography was used to assess anatomic eligibility for randomization. Extent and severity of CAD were classified with the modified Duke Prognostic Index (n=2475, 48%). Ischemia severity was interpreted by independent core laboratories (nuclear, echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, exercise tolerance testing, n=5105, 99%). We compared 4-year event rates across subgroups defined by severity of ischemia and CAD. The primary end point for this analysis was all-cause mortality. Secondary end points were myocardial infarction (MI), cardiovascular death or MI, and the trial primary end point (cardiovascular death, MI, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest).
Relative to mild/no ischemia, neither moderate ischemia nor severe ischemia was associated with increased mortality (moderate ischemia hazard ratio HR, 0.89 95% CI, 0.61-1.30; severe ischemia HR, 0.83 95% CI, 0.57-1.21;
=0.33). Nonfatal MI rates increased with worsening ischemia severity (HR for moderate ischemia, 1.20 95% CI, 0.86-1.69 versus mild/no ischemia; HR for severe ischemia, 1.37 95% CI, 0.98-1.91;
=0.04 for trend,
=NS after adjustment for CAD). Increasing CAD severity was associated with death (HR, 2.72 95% CI, 1.06-6.98) and MI (HR, 3.78 95% CI, 1.63-8.78) for the most versus least severe CAD subgroup. Ischemia severity did not identify a subgroup with treatment benefit on mortality, MI, the trial primary end point, or cardiovascular death or MI. In the most severe CAD subgroup (n=659), the 4-year rate of cardiovascular death or MI was lower in the invasive strategy group (difference, 6.3% 95% CI, 0.2%-12.4%), but 4-year all-cause mortality was similar.
Ischemia severity was not associated with increased risk after adjustment for CAD severity. More severe CAD was associated with increased risk. Invasive management did not lower all-cause mortality at 4 years in any ischemia or CAD subgroup. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01471522.
Electrospun membranes have the potential to act as an effective barrier for wounds from the external environment to prevent pathogens. In addition, materials with good antibacterial properties can ...effectively fight off the invading pathogens. In this paper, we report the development of a novel electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membrane containing biosynthesized silver nanoparticle (bAg) for wound dressing applications. Plant extract from a medicinal plant
Mimosa pudica
was utilized for the synthesis of bAg. Synthesized bAg were characterized by Ultraviolet-Visible (UV) Spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The morphology of bAg was obtained from Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and found that they were spherical in morphology with average particle size 7.63 ± 1.2 nm. bAg nanoparticles incorporated PVA membranes were characterized using several physicochemical techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis. Experimental results confirmed the successful incorporation of bAg in PVA fibers. PVA nanofiber membranes incorporated with bAg showed good mechanical strength, excellent exudate uptake capacity, antibacterial activity, blood compatibility and cytocompatibility.
White finger millet (WFM) starch was modified by hydrothermal (HS) and microwave (MS) methods. Modification methods had a significant change in the b* value observed in the HS sample, and it caused ...the higher chroma (∆C) value. The treatments have not significantly changed the chemical composition and water activity (aw) of native starch (NS) but reduced the pH value. The gel hydration properties of modified starch enhanced significantly, especially in the HS sample. The least NS gelation concentration (LGC) of 13.63 % increased to 17.74 % in HS and 16.41 % in MS. The pasting temperature of the NS got reduced during the modification process and altered the setback viscosity. The starch samples exhibit the shear thinning behavior and reduce starch molecules' consistency index (K). FTIR results exhibit that the modification process highly altered the short-range order of starch molecules more than the double helix structure. A significant reduction in relative crystallinity was observed in the XRD diffractogram, and the DSC thermogram depicts the significant change in the hydrogen bonding of starch granules. It can be inferred that the HS and MS modification method significantly alters the properties of starch, which can increase the food applications of WFM starch.
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Decisions to continue or suspend therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors are commonly guided by tumor dynamics seen on serial imaging. However, immunotherapy responses are uniquely challenging to ...interpret because tumors often shrink slowly or can appear transiently enlarged due to inflammation. We hypothesized that monitoring tumor cell death in real time by quantifying changes in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) levels could enable early assessment of immunotherapy efficacy.
We compared longitudinal changes in ctDNA levels with changes in radiographic tumor size and with survival outcomes in 28 patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. CtDNA was quantified by determining the allele fraction of cancer-associated somatic mutations in plasma using a multigene next-generation sequencing assay. We defined a ctDNA response as a >50% decrease in mutant allele fraction from baseline, with a second confirmatory measurement.
Strong agreement was observed between ctDNA response and radiographic response (Cohen's kappa, 0.753). Median time to initial response among patients who achieved responses in both categories was 24.5 days by ctDNA versus 72.5 days by imaging. Time on treatment was significantly longer for ctDNA responders versus nonresponders (median, 205.5 vs. 69 days;
< 0.001). A ctDNA response was associated with superior progression-free survival hazard ratio (HR), 0.29; 95% CI, 0.09-0.89;
= 0.03, and superior overall survival (HR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.05-0.62;
= 0.007).
A drop in ctDNA level is an early marker of therapeutic efficacy and predicts prolonged survival in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors for NSCLC.
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The historical rainfall data of 110 years (1901–2010) of the two neighbouring basins of Brahmaputra and Barak of Assam, Northeast India were analyzed for monthly, seasonal and annual trends. The ...Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope model were used to identify the trends and estimate the magnitude of change, respectively. The analysis revealed significant decreasing trend of rainfall during monsoon and post-monsoon seasons in the Barak basin during 1901–2010. Annual as well as monsoon rainfall during the recent 30-year normal period decreased significantly in both the basins. The last decade (2001–10) was the leanest decade in both the basins. Recent rainfall fluctuations with larger amplitudes indicate greater degree of uncertainties of heavy floods or short spell drought events.
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