Tar

Mesophase pitch is usually prepared by radical polymerization or catalytic polymerization from coal tar, petroleum, and aromatic compounds, and the catalytic synthesis of mesophase pitch from pure aromatic compounds is more controllable in the preparation of high-quality mesophase pitch. However, the corrosive and highly toxic nature of the catalyst has limited the further development of this method. In this study, mesophase pitch was synthetized using ethylene tar and naphthalene as raw materials and boron trifluoride diethyl etherate as a catalyst...

Bladder cancer is the 10th most popular cancer in the world, and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is diagnosed in ~80% of all cases. Treatments for NMIBC include transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT) and intravesical instillations of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Treatment of BCG-unresponsive tumors is scarce and usually leads to Radical Cystectomy. In this paper, we review recent advancements in conservative treatment of BCG-unresponsive tumors. The main focus of the paper is FDA-approved medications: Pembrolizumab and Nadofaragene Firadenovec (Adstiladrin)...

PURPOSE: This study aims to systematically review the efficacy and safety of total ankle replacement (TAR) and ankle fusion (AF) as treatment options for end-stage ankle arthritis. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on data from multiple databases, including PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Construction and Building Materials, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus for RCTs and prospective cohort studies comparing TAR and AF in patients with end-stage ankle arthritis from inception up to June, 2023...

Ascertaining the utility of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in pregnancy complicated by diabetes is a rapidly evolving area, as the prevalence of type 1 diabetes (T1D), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) escalates. The seminal randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating CGM use added to standard care in pregnancy in T1D demonstrated significant improvements in maternal glycemia and neonatal health outcomes. Current clinical guidance recommends targets for percentage time in range (TIR), time above range (TAR), and time below range (TBR) during pregnancy complicated by T1D that are widely used in clinical practice...

BACKGROUND: Maternal diabetes adversely affects fetal cardiovascular system development. Previous studies have reported that the fetuses of mothers with diabetes exhibit both structural and functional changes; nevertheless, prior studies have not examined the association between glucose control and fetal cardiac morphology and performance. Thus, the objective was to determine the association between fetal cardiac morphology and function and maternal glucose control in type 1 diabetes and to compare the differences in measured cardiac parameters between the fetuses of mothers with diabetes and healthy controls...

AIMS: It is not clear whether there are differences in glycemic control between the Equil patch and the MMT-712 insulin pump. Our objective was to compare two types of insulin pumps in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) metrics and profiles. METHODS: This was a randomized case-crossover clinical trial. Participants were hospitalized and randomly allocated to two groups and underwent two types of insulin pump treatments (group A: Equil patch-Medtronic MMT-712 insulin pump; group B: Medtronic MMT-712-Equil patch insulin pump) separated by a 1-day washout period...

INTRODUCTION: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) introduces novel indicators of glycemic control. METHODS: This cross-sectional study, based on the Swedish National Diabetes Register, examines 27,980 adults with type 1 diabetes. It explores the relationships between HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin) and various CGM-derived metrics, including TIR (time in range, representing the percentage of time within the range of 4-10 mmol/l for 2 weeks), TAR (time above range), TBR (time below range), mean glucose, standard deviation (SD), and coefficient of variation (CV)...

High engagement in lifestyle health behaviors appears to be protective against cognitive decline in aging. We investigated the association between patterns of modifiable lifestyle health behaviors and common brain neuropathologies of dementia as a possible mechanism. We examined 555 decedents from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, free of dementia at their initial concurrent report of lifestyle health behaviors of interest (physical, social, and cognitive activities, and healthy diet) and who underwent a postmortem neuropathology evaluation...

Background : Pregnant women with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) face an elevated risk of complications for both themselves and their newborns. Experts recommend strict glycemic control. The advanced hybrid closed-loop (AHCL) system, though not officially approved for pregnant T1DM patients, is promising for optimal glycemic control. Methods : We collected CGM metrics, HbA1c levels, insulin pump settings, and doses from a 33-year-old pregnant woman with 23-year history of T1DM from the 6th week of gestation to birth...

Based on the anatomic proximity, connectivity, and functional similarities between the anterior insula and amygdala, we tested the hypothesis that the anterior insula is an important focus in the progression of TDP-43 pathology in LATE-NC. Blinded to clinical and neuropathologic data, phospho-TDP (pTDP) inclusion pathology was assessed in paired anterior and posterior insula samples in 105 autopsied patients with Alzheimer disease, Lewy body disease, LATE-NC and hippocampal sclerosis (HS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and other conditions...

This review paper delves into the diverse ways in which carbonaceous resources, sourced from renewable and sustainable origins, can be used in catalytic processes. Renewable carbonaceous materials that come from biomass-derived and waste feedstocks are key to developing more sustainable processes by replacing traditional carbon-based materials. By examining the potential of these renewable carbonaceous materials, this review aims to shed light on their significance in fostering environmentally conscious and sustainable practices within the realm of catalysis...

A definite diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases is required for neuropathological examination during an autopsy. Each neurodegenerative disease has specific vulnerable regions and affected systems (system degeneration), and is typified by an accumulation of abnormal protein with the formation of characteristic morphological aggregates in the nerve and glial cells, called proteinopathy. The most common neurodegenerative diseases are tauopathy, such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), and Pick's disease (PiD); α-synucleinopathy, including multiple system atrophy (MSA); and TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) proteinopathy, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD)...

With the increasing requirements for clean and effective utilization, coal swelling pretreatment provides a good theoretical basis for coal molecular structure, application in coal pyrolysis, and liquefaction. Ionic liquids containing magnetic anionic groups were designed, synthesized, and used as solvents to study the effect on swelling pyrolysis performance. Studies have shown magnetism enhancement with the growth of alkyl chains. The growth of the MIL alkyl side chain made the modification effect of coal more obvious, and the swelling degree showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing with the increase of temperature and time, and at the temperature of 35 °C, the swelling degree is the largest when the modification time is 8 h...

BACKGROUND: Hypertension guidelines recommend diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with hypertension. The mandibular advancement device (MAD) is an oral appliance therapy for patients who decline or cannot tolerate CPAP. OBJECTIVE: We compared the relative effectiveness of MAD versus CPAP in reducing 24-hour ambulatory BP. METHODS: In an investigator-initiated, randomized, non-inferiority trial (pre-specified margin 1...

Transcriptional responses in bacteria following antibiotic exposure offer insights into antibiotic mechanism of action, bacterial responses, and characterization of antimicrobial resistance. We aimed to define the transcriptional antibiotic response (TAR) in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) isolates for clinically relevant drugs by pooling and analyzing Mtb microarray and RNA-seq data sets. We generated 99 antibiotic transcription profiles across 17 antibiotics, with 76% of profiles generated using 3-24 hours of antibiotic exposure and 49% within one doubling of the WHO antibiotic critical concentration...

UNLABELLED: C-terminally phosphorylated TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) marks the proteinaceous inclusions that characterize a number of age-related neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal lobar degeneration and Alzheimer's disease. TDP-43 phosphorylation at S403/S404, and especially at S409/S410, is in fact accepted as a biomarker of proteinopathy. These residues are located within the low complexity domain (LCD), which also drives the protein's liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS)...

Individuals within the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia disease spectrum (ALS/FTD) often experience disruptive mental behaviors and sleep-wake disturbances. The hallmark of ALS/FTD is the pathological involvement of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43). Understanding the role of TDP-43 in the circadian clock holds promise for addressing these behavioral abnormalities. In this study, we unveil TDP-43 as a pivotal regulator of the circadian clock. TDP-43 knockdown induces intracellular arrhythmicity, disrupts transcriptional activation regulation, and diminishes clock genes expression...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Patients with intermediate-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (IR NMIBC) have a high risk of recurrence and need effective therapies to reduce the risk of disease recurrence or progression. This phase 1b study (NCT02720367) assessed the safety and tolerability of TAR-200, an intravesical drug delivery system, in participants with IR NMIBC. METHODS: Participants with recurrent IR NMIBC were eligible. Participants received either two 7-d or two 21-d TAR-200 dosing cycles over a 4-6-wk period in a marker lesion/ablation design...

BACKGROUND: Revision of failed total ankle replacement (TAR) is challenging and associated with increased morbidity. Given the increased popularity of TAR in treating end-stage ankle arthritis (ESAA), viable revision options are needed. The objective of this case series is to present a minimum 2-year clinical and radiographic outcomes of patient-specific custom 3D-printed total ankle total talus (TATR) prostheses in this unique subset of patients. METHODS: 19 participants with ESAA and failed primary TAR who underwent TATR by a single surgeon at our institution from 2019 to 2021 were retrospectively identified...

Retirement is one of the most impactful career transitions athletes face. Researchers recognise the role that athletic identity plays in this, but analysis of identity content and change processes is limited. Addressing this gap, we conducted a qualitative study exploring the experience of identity change in 21 competitive and successful elite athletes who had retired from sport. All participated in a one-session psychoeducational program that explored the challenges of transitioning out of sport before being interviewed about their understanding of identity in sport, and their experiences negotiating identity loss and change in retirement...