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Correction: The antimicrobial activity of an antiseptic soap against Candida Albicans and Streptococcus Mutans single and dual-species biofilms on denture base and reline acrylic resins
1, 4-benzodioxan-substituted Thienyl chalcone derivatives as novel reversible inhibitors of human monoamine oxidase B with anti-neuroinflammatory activity
Research on the Polishing Process of Wolter-I Type Grazing Incidence Mirrors
As the demand for solar X-ray observation devices continues to rise, the Wolter-I type grazing incidence mirror has emerged as a critical component in these instruments, particularly for high-precision imaging. This mirror efficiently focuses X-rays, enabling astronomers to detect fainter celestial signals. It plays a key role in providing essential data for understanding the origin and evolution of the universe. The operating principle of the Wolter-I type grazing incidence mirror is based on grazing incidence reflection. This reflection guides X-rays to a focal point through a specific surface structure, enabling high-resolution imaging. This paper presents the design of a super-precision optical processing system for the Wolter-I type mirror. The system features a coaxial Confocal structure, consisting of a rotating parabolic surface and a rotating hyperbolic surface. It also includes a radial adjustment fixture and an automatic polishing fluid supply device. The paper outlines the imaging principles of the Wolter-I mirror, analyzes the impact of surface shape accuracy on imaging performance, and selects microcrystalline glass as the mirror substrate. Using the custom-designed processing system, the rough-turned workpiece undergoes several steps. After diamond wheel grinding, the workpiece is subjected to 160 hours of rough polishing. It then undergoes 720 hours of fine and super-fine polishing, using cerium oxide polishing fluids with particle sizes of W2, W1, and W0.8, respectively. The final surface shape accuracy of the mirror is characterized by a peak-to-valley (PV) value of 253 nm, a root mean square (RMS) value of 3.5 nm, and a root mean square roughness (Rq) of 4.6 nm. These values meet the requirements for composite extreme ultraviolet-soft X-ray telescopes. Experimental results show that the designed super-precision optical processing system effectively improves surface shape accuracy. It is well-suited for processing the unique internal surfaces of Wolter-I type grazing incidence mirrors. This system enhances the mirror's imaging performance and lays a solid foundation for future high-resolution X-ray astronomical observations. Future research will focus on optimizing the processing techniques further, exploring the impact of different materials on imaging quality, and developing more advanced optical systems to meet emerging observational needs.
The chromatin accessibility landscape of pediatric AML
Effects of racemic anisodamine in combination with orthokeratology and defocus incorporated multiple segment spectacle lenses for myopia control in adolescents
Indications and endoscopic findings of upper gastrointestinal diseases in Africa: A systematic review & meta-analysis
Background Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (UGIE) plays a crucial role in diagnosis of gastrointestinal pathology. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the indications and findings UGIE, while exploring their regional distribution and temporal trend across Africa. Methods Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis of pooled prevalence for various indications and endoscopic findings were analyzed from multiple studies in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Results Seventeen common indication were identified. Of these dyspepsia was the most prevalent indication 52.4%, followed by abdominal pain 17.4%, hematemesis 13.9%, and GERD symptoms 11.2%. Other indications included dysphagia 9.2%, vomiting 9.2, odynophagia 3.5%, and melena 6.2% were identified. Rare indications such as anemia 2.3%, weight loss 2.6% were also reported. Regarding endoscopic findings, thirty-one common findings were identified by UGIE. Gastritis (33.3%) was the most common findings followed by normal findings 21.8%, the third most common was PUD 15.1%, particularly duodenal ulcer (10%), gastric cancer 3.3% were also prevalent in stomach. Related to esophageal findings, GERD 9.6%, esophagitis 8.3%, esophageal varices 7.2% and esophageal cancer 6.1% were identified. Regional difference were apparent, with esophageal cancer prevalent in Eastern (10%) and Southern Africa (10%). Gastritis (45%) and GERD (18%) were more apparent and common in Northern Africa. Even though it is not significant, temporal trends showed an increase in prevalence of gastritis (26 to 36%) and esophagitis (6 to 10%) from 2000-2010 to 2011-2024. Conclusion Most UGIE indications resulted significant UGIT pathology. However, this analysis did not assess age, sex based indications and findings and their relationship among specific indications and UGIE findings. So, future analysis should focus on age and sex based difference in indications and findings, and explore their relationship among specific indication and corresponding UGIE findings.
Antiaging for Ph-like ALL: targeting senescence
Diffusion MRI with double diffusion encoding and variable mixing times disentangles water exchange from transient kurtosis
Abstract Double diffusion encoding (DDE) makes diffusion MRI sensitive to a wide range of microstructural features, and the acquired data can be analysed using different approaches. Correlation tensor imaging (CTI) uses DDE to resolve three components of the diffusional kurtosis: isotropic, anisotropic, and microscopic kurtosis. The microscopic kurtosis is estimated from the contrast between single diffusion encoding (SDE) and parallel DDE signals at the same b-value. Another approach is multi-Gaussian exchange (MGE), which employs DDE to measure exchange. Sensitivity to exchange is obtained by contrasting SDE and DDE signals at the same b-value. CTI and MGE exploit the same signal contrast to quantify microscopic kurtosis and exchange, and this study investigates the interplay between these two quantities. We perform Monte Carlo simulations in different geometries with varying levels of exchange and study the behaviour of the parameters from CTI and MGE. We conclude that microscopic kurtosis from CTI is sensitive to the exchange rate and that intercompartmental exchange and the transient kurtosis of individual compartments are distinct sources of microscopic kurtosis. In an attempt to disentangle these two sources, we propose a heuristic signal representation referred to as tMGE (MGE incorporating transient kurtosis) that accounts for both effects by exploiting the distinct signatures of exchange and transient kurtosis with varying mixing time: exchange causes a slow dependence of the signal on mixing time while transient kurtosis arguably has a much faster dependence. We find that applying tMGE to data acquired with multiple mixing times for both parallel and orthogonal DDE may enable estimation of the exchange rate as well as isotropic, anisotropic, and transient kurtosis.
Rock hunters, tree huggers and taxi drivers: Books in brief
Efficacy and safety of venetoclax plus azacitidine for patients with treatment-naive high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes
Abstract Outcomes are poor in patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (HR MDS) and frontline treatment options are limited. This phase 1b study investigated safety and efficacy of venetoclax, a selective B-cell lymphoma 2 inhibitor, at the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D; 400 mg for 14 days per 28-day cycle), in combination with azacitidine (75 mg/m2 for 7 days per 28-day cycle) for treatment-naive HR MDS. Safety was the primary outcome, and complete remission (CR) rate was the primary efficacy outcome. Secondary outcomes included rates of modified overall response (mOR), hematologic improvement (HI), overall survival (OS), and time to next treatment (TTNT). As of May 2023, 107 patients received venetoclax and azacitidine combination at the RP2D. Best response of CR or marrow CR was observed in 29.9% and 50.5% (mOR, 80.4%), respectively. Median OS was 26.0 months, with 1- and 2-year survival estimates of 71.2% and 51.3%, respectively. Among 59 patients with baseline red blood cell and/or platelet transfusion–dependence, 24 (40.7%) achieved transfusion independence on study, including 11 (18.6%) in CR. Fifty-one (49.0%) of 104 evaluable patients achieved HI. Median TTNT excluding transplantation was 13.4 months. Adverse events reflected known safety profiles for venetoclax and azacitidine, including constipation (53.3%), nausea (49.5%), neutropenia (48.6%), thrombocytopenia (44.9%), febrile neutropenia (42.1%), and diarrhea (41.1%). Overall, venetoclax plus azacitidine at the RP2D was well tolerated and had favorable outcomes. A phase 3 study (NCT04401748) is ongoing to confirm survival benefit of this combination. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT02942290.
Characterising the performance of a drone-mounted real-time methane imaging system
Abstract We demonstrate a methane gas imaging system mounted to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is shown to perform real-time detection at distances up to 10m whist airborne. Laser diodes that switch between on- and off- resonance with a $${1.6}{{\upmu \hbox {m}}}$$ 1.6 μ m methane absorption line are used to flood-illuminate a scene. The scene is imaged with an infrared InGaAs camera and the differential of the on-resonance and off-resonance back-scatter images are used to reveal the gas distribution. The performance of the system was characterised against a range of back-scatter surfaces, showing promising applicability to realistic gas sensing environments. We demonstrate that the system is capable of detecting a gas concentration of 5000 ppm.metre up to a range of 13.6m.
Selenoprotein-mediated redox regulation shapes the cell fate of HSCs and mature lineages
Abstract The maintenance of cellular redox balance is crucial for cell survival and homeostasis and is disrupted with aging. Selenoproteins, comprising essential antioxidant enzymes, raise intriguing questions about their involvement in hematopoietic aging and potential reversibility. Motivated by our observation of messenger RNA downregulation of key antioxidant selenoproteins in aged human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and previous findings of increased lipid peroxidation in aged hematopoiesis, we used selenocysteine transfer RNA (tRNASec) gene (Trsp) knockout (KO) mouse model to simulate disrupted selenoprotein synthesis. This revealed insights into the protective roles of selenoproteins in preserving HSC stemness and B-lineage maturation, despite negligible effects on myeloid cells. Notably, Trsp KO exhibited B lymphocytopenia and reduced HSCs’ self-renewal capacity, recapitulating certain aspects of aged phenotypes, along with the upregulation of aging-related genes in both HSCs and pre-B cells. Although Trsp KO activated an antioxidant response transcription factor NRF2, we delineated a lineage-dependent phenotype driven by lipid peroxidation, which was exacerbated with aging yet ameliorated by ferroptosis inhibitors such as vitamin E. Interestingly, the myeloid genes were ectopically expressed in pre-B cells of Trsp KO mice, and KO pro-B/pre-B cells displayed differentiation potential toward functional CD11b+ fraction in the transplant model, suggesting that disrupted selenoprotein synthesis induces the potential of B-to-myeloid switch. Given the similarities between the KO model and aged wild-type mice, including ferroptosis vulnerability, impaired HSC self-renewal and B-lineage maturation, and characteristic lineage switch, our findings underscore the critical role of selenoprotein-mediated redox regulation in maintaining balanced hematopoiesis and suggest the preventive potential of selenoproteins against aging-related alterations.
Phenolic compounds and safety of improved and local peanut varieties grown in Burkina Faso
The surprising culprit for the loss of huge swathes of tropical forest
Low counts count after CAR-T for ALL
Robot multi-target high performance grasping detection based on random sub-path fusion
Heat-insoluble cryoglobulin in peripheral blood
DFT investigation of iron-doped boron nitride nanoparticles for anastrozole drug delivery and molecular interaction
Development of ALL-Hematotox: predicting post-CAR T-cell hematotoxicity in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Abstract Immune effector cell–associated hematotoxicity (ICAHT) is a major B-cell targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell related toxicity. Although ICAHT incidence and severity is documented in large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), and multiple myeloma (MM), ICAHT has not been described in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Similarly, the CAR-HEMATOTOX (CAR-HT) model, designed to predict severe prolonged neutropenia (≥14 days of absolute neutrophil count [ANC] <500/μL), has been validated in LBCL, MCL, and MM, but not in B-ALL. As B-ALL bone marrow (BM) infiltration can impact cytopenias, we sought to describe ICAHT and assess CAR-HT for predicting hematotoxicity in B-ALL. In a cohort of 156 children and young adults with relapsed/refractory B-ALL, the median duration of severe neutropenia (ANC <500/μL) was 13 days (95% confidence interval, 10-16 days), with 83 (53%) experiencing grade ≥3 ICAHT. Applying CAR-HT, nearly 90% were classified as high risk, demonstrating limited discriminative power and prompting further development. Using the association identified between BM disease burden and postinfusion neutropenia (r = 0.64, P < .0001), we developed the ALL-Hematotox (ALL-HT) score, which substitutes BM disease burden for ferritin in CAR-HT. The ALL-HT score associated with severe prolonged neutropenia (area under the curve = 0.84, P < .0001), and appropriately discriminated high-risk patients (47%) who had more cumulative days of neutropenia (26 vs 4 days; P < .0001), fewer rates of complete response (88% vs 98%; P = .03), and shorter median overall survival (9.8 vs 24 months; log-rank P = .0002). ALL-HT was also validated in 2 independent cohorts. The ALL-HT score refines a widely accepted predictive model of postinfusion hematotoxicity, which is applicable in B-ALL.