Notes

Antenatal Bartter affliction: a whole new substance heterozygous mutation in exon 2 of KCNJ1 gene.
No statistical difference was observed in XCI patterns between PF and SLE patients. PF phenotype-XCI correlation analysis revealed that (i) skewed XCI patterns may be involved in the disease's subtype and (ii) it was more pronounced in the endemic group than the sporadic one. Furthermore, preferential XCI showed an increase in heterozygote genotypes of PF's susceptibility polymorphisms in immunity-related X genes (FOXP3, AR, and TLR7) in PF patients compared to HC.

Our results suggest that skewed XCI could lead to hemizygosity of X-linked alleles that might unmask X-linked deleterious alleles.
Our results suggest that skewed XCI could lead to hemizygosity of X-linked alleles that might unmask X-linked deleterious alleles.Quantifying the nanomechanical properties of soft-matter using multi-frequency atomic force microscopy (AFM) is crucial for studying the performance of polymers, ultra-thin coatings, and biological systems. Such characterization processes often make use of cantilever's spectral components to discern nanomechanical properties within a multi-parameter optimization problem. This could inadvertently lead to an over-determined parameter estimation with no clear relation between the identified parameters and their influence on the experimental data. In this work, we explore the sensitivity of viscoelastic characterization in polymeric samples to the experimental observables of multi-frequency intermodulation AFM. By performing simulations and experiments we show that surface viscoelasticity has negligible effect on the experimental data and can lead to inconsistent and often non-physical identified parameters. Our analysis reveals that this lack of influence of the surface parameters relates to a vanishing gradient and non-convexity while minimizing the objective function. By removing the surface dependency from the model, we show that the characterization of bulk properties can be achieved with ease and without any ambiguity. Our work sheds light on the sensitivity issues that can be faced when optimizing for a large number of parameters and observables in AFM operation, and calls for the development of new viscoelastic models at the nanoscale and improved computational methodologies for nanoscale mapping of viscoelasticity using AFM.
Chronic radiation fibrosis (CRF) is a long-term sequala of radiation therapy that has a significant impact on patient quality of life. There is no standard of care or single therapeutic modality that has been found to be consistently effective.

To describe our experience using fractional 10,600 nm carbon dioxide (CO
) laser therapy and vascular laser therapy in a series of patients with CRF.

Patients presenting to the dermatology service for CRF were evaluated for laser therapy eligibility. Patients were eligible if they had a clinical diagnosis of CRF confirmed by physical examination.

We identified five patients with CRF treated with fractional ablative CO
laser and vascular laser. Patients were a median age of 57 years old, and the amount of time between the initiation of radiotherapy and laser treatment ranged between 3 months and 40 years. The satisfactory response was achieved in all cases.

Lack of standardized laser protocol, small sample size, lack of a control group, different anatomical locations CONCLUSION Fractional ablative and vascular laser therapy may serve as an additional treatment for CRF, leading to functional improvements.
Lack of standardized laser protocol, small sample size, lack of a control group, different anatomical locations CONCLUSION Fractional ablative and vascular laser therapy may serve as an additional treatment for CRF, leading to functional improvements.The oxidative addition of C-C bonds in aromatic hydrocarbons by low valent main group species has attracted considerable attention from both theoretical and experimental chemists due to the big challenge in breaking their aromaticity. Herein, a general strategy to break the C-C bonds in benzene by cyclic (alkyl)(amino)aluminyl anion is demonstrated via density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results suggest that the activation of the C-C bond of benzene by this anion is both kinetically and thermodynamically unfavorable whereas introducing electron-withdrawing groups makes such C-C bond activation becomes favorable both kinetically and thermodynamically. Such a sharp change on the kinetics and thermodynamics could be rationalized by the frontier molecular orbital theory by decreasing the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals of the mono- and disubstituted benzenes. Aromaticity is found to stabilize the transition state for the ring open step. OTUB2-IN-1 All these findings can help develop the chemistry of small-molecule activation.Periadventitial biomaterials have been employed for nearly three decades to promote adaptive venous remodeling following hemodialysis vascular access creation in preclinical models and clinical trials. These systems are predicated on the combination of scaffolds, hydrogels, and/or particles with therapeutics (small molecules, proteins, genes, and cells) to prevent venous stenosis and subsequent maturation failure. Periadventitial biomaterial therapies have evolved from simple drug delivery vehicles for traditional drugs to more thoughtful designs tailored to the pathophysiology of access failure. The emergence of tissue engineering strategies and gene therapies are another exciting new direction. Despite favorable results in experimental and preclinical studies, no periadventitial therapy has been clinically approved to improve vascular access outcomes. After conducting an exhaustive review of the literature, we identify the seminal studies and clinical trials that utilize periadventitial biomaterials and discuss the key features of each biomaterial format and their respective shortcomings as they pertain to access maturation. This review provides a foundation from which clinicians, surgeons, biologists, and engineers can refer to and will hopefully inspire thoughtful, translatable treatments to finally address access failure.The treatment of diabetic wounds remains a great challenge for the medical community. Here, a smart patterned DNA double helix (duplex)-like fabric based on genetically modified spider silk protein (PDF-S) which is inspired by soft plant tendrils, is proposed for diabetic wound treatment. Benefiting from spider silk protein (spidroin); PDF-S is equipped with high strength; high toughness, and excellent biocompatibility. Notably, the fabric crimped through the biomimetic DNA double-helix-like structure can effectively adapt to tensile impact and the maximum stretch rate reaches 1500%. A pattern-based microfluidic channel of PDF-S allowed wound secretion to flow spontaneously through the channel. Meanwhile; due to the optical properties of the introduced photonic crystal structure; PDF-S is equipped with fluorescence enhancement properties; enabling PDF-S to display color-sensitive behavior suitable for wound monitoring and guiding clinical treatment. In addition, to enable sensitive motion monitoring, microelectronic circuits are integrated on the surface of the PDF-S. These unique material features suggest that this study will lead to a new generation of biomimetic artificial spider silk materials for design and application in the biomedical field.The imaging of hydrogel scaffolds by 19 F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) represents an attractive tool for straightforward and noninvasive monitoring of their morphology and in vivo fate. However, their further applications are significantly limited by a dilemma of insufficient signal resolution with low 19 F content, and/or hydrophobic aggregation of fluorine moieties-induced signal attenuation with high 19 F content. Herein, a novel label-free fluorinated hydrogel (PFCB) is fabricated with high fluorine content to realize noninvasive monitoring through 19 F MRI under ultrahigh scanning resolution (1 mm of scanning thickness). The integration of a zwitterionic unit into each fluorine moiety completely overcame the hydrophobic aggregation-induced signal attenuation, manifesting as high 19 F content and imaging performance. Importantly, 3D reconstruction of the PFCB hydrogel in vivo can be facilely and accurately performed with background free signals, providing detailed biological information of the implanted hydrogel. Additionally, PFCB hydrogel showed adjustable and high mechanical performance, and exhibited minimum foreign body reaction after implantation. As a proof of concept, PFCB hydrogel could be further applied as gel electrodes and wireless flexible sensors for healthcare monitoring. Overall, such label-free fluorinated PFCB hydrogel is an ideal flexible scaffold for eventual clinical applications integrating 19 F MRI-guided unequivocally 3D reconstruction and healthcare monitoring.
Addressing a literature gap on leaner agency in health profession education, this study explores students' perceptions on which aspects of a problem-based learning (PBL) environment cradle their leaner agency enactment.

Thirty-eight students from a newly established undergraduate dental medicine programme in Qatar participated in the study. Q methodology was adopted to collect and analyse data both qualitatively and quantitatively. A 40-statement Q-set was established based on a proposed conceptual framework of learner agency in PBL, including three dimensions-intrapersonal, behavioural and environmental.

Q methodological factor analysis identified four significantly different student viewpoints, which underscored participants' enactment of learner agency addressing the intrapersonal, behavioural and environmental dimensions of the conceptual framework. Despite differences in opinion regarding sources of learner agency, the four student viewpoints unanimously underscore the importance of PBL facilitatord support is needed for students having no prior PBL experiences to develop their learner agency at both intrapersonal and behavioural (self-regulated learning) dimensions, and to ensure they interact with their learning environment proactively.
Hybrid ablation (HA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) combines minimally invasive thoracoscopic epicardial ablation with transvenous endocardial electrophysiologic validation and touch-up of incomplete epicardial lesions if needed. While studies have reported on a bilateral thoracoscopic HA approach, data on a unilateral left-sided approach are scarce.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a unilateral left-sided thoracoscopic approach.

Retrospective analysis of a prospectively gathered cohort of all consecutive patients undergoing a unilateral left-sided HA for AF between 2015 and 2018 in the Maastricht University Medical Centre.

One-hundred nineteen patients were analyzed (mean age 64 ± 8, 28% female, mean bodymass index 28 ± 4 kg/m
, median CHA
DS
-VASc Score 2 [1-3], [longstanding]-persistent AF 71%, previous catheter ablation 44%). In all patients, a unilateral left-sided HA consisting of pulmonary vein (PV) isolation, posterior left atrial (LA) wall isolation, and LA appendage exclusion was at and allows for less complications.Cell segmentation refers to the body of techniques used to identify cells in images and extract biologically relevant information from them; however, manual segmentation is laborious and subjective. We present Topological Boundary Line Estimation using Recurrence Of Neighbouring Emissions (TOBLERONE), a topological image analysis tool which identifies persistent homological image features as opposed to the geometric analysis commonly employed. We demonstrate that topological data analysis can provide accurate segmentation of arbitrarily-shaped cells, offering a means for automatic and objective data extraction. One cellular feature of particular interest in biology is the plasma membrane, which has been shown to present varying degrees of lipid packing, or membrane order, depending on the function and morphology of the cell type. With the use of environmentally-sensitive dyes, images derived from confocal microscopy can be used to quantify the degree of membrane order. We demonstrate that TOBLERONE is capable of automating this task.
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