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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) imply the missing link between resonantly stabilized free radicals and carbonaceous nanoparticles, commonly referred to as soot particles in combustion systems and interstellar grains in deep space. Whereas gas phase formation pathways to the simplest PAH - naphthalene (C10H8) - are beginning to emerge, reaction pathways leading to the synthesis of the 14π Hückel aromatic PAHs anthracene and phenanthrene (C14H10) are still incomplete. Here, by utilizing a chemical microreactor in conjunction with vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization (PI) of the products followed by detection of the ions in a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ReTOF-MS), the reaction between the 1'- and 2'-methylnaphthyl radicals (C11H9•) with the propargyl radical (C3H3•) accesses anthracene (C14H10) and phenanthrene (C14H10) via the Propargyl Addition-BenzAnnulation (PABA) mechanism in conjunction with a hydrogen assisted isomerization...

A method was developed for the determination of tropane alkaloids (TAs), including atropine, scopolamine, anisodamine and homatropine in buckwheat and related products. This work presents an optimised methodology based on QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) extraction procedure followed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the determination of TAs (atropine, scopolamine, anisodamine and homatropine) in buckwheat samples. The analytical methodology was successfully validated, demonstrating good linearity, low limit of quantification, repeatability (RSDr  < 15%), inter-day precision (RSDR  < 19%) and recovery (74-113%)...

Sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting (SAWH) is a promising technology to alleviate freshwater scarcity. Recently, hygroscopic salt-hydrogel composites (HSHCs) have emerged as attractive candidates with their high water uptake, versatile designability, and scale-up fabrication. However, achieving high-performance SAWH applications for HSHCs has been challenging because of their sluggish kinetics, attributed to their limited mass transport properties. Herein, a universal network engineering of hydrogels using a cryogelation method is presented, significantly improving the SAWH kinetics of HSHCs...

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Rabies control remains challenging in low and middle-income countries, mostly due to lack of financial resources, rapid turnover of dog populations and poor accessibility to dogs. Rabies is endemic in Cambodia, where no national rabies vaccination program is implemented. The objective of this study was to assess the short and long-term vaccination-induced immunity in Cambodian dogs under field conditions, and to propose optimized vaccination strategies. A cohort of 351 dogs was followed at regular time points following primary vaccination only (PV) or PV plus single booster (BV)...

BACKGROUND: Mozambique has one of the highest burdens of neglected tropical diseases in Africa. Lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths are being targeted for elimination as part of integrated mass drug administration campaigns. The progress made towards interruption of transmission has been affected by recent conflict in Cabo Delgado province. The aim of this paper was to determine the potential impact of this crisis on the neglected tropical diseases programme and the challenges in reaching the elimination goals of 2030...

BACKGROUND: Antenatal care (ANC) is one of the recommended interventions to reduce stillbirth, maternal, neonatal, and child mortality through early identification and management of pregnancy complications or pre-existing conditions. Although increasing number of ANC is a key priority of the 2016 WHO recommendations, ANC uptake in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) is insufficient. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate factors associated with the number of ANC contacts in LMICs...

BACKGROUND: Theoretical studies have suggested that the integration of sports and medicine with one another could positively affect children's health. By monitoring the variation characteristics of children's sleep, body mass index (BMI), and heart rate variability (HRV), we explored and compared the influences of and differences between two interventions - physical exercise and an intervention integrating sports and medicine - on improving children's health. METHODS: We conducted a randomised controlled study, where we randomly divided 136 children into the physical exercise group (PEG), the integration of sports and medicine group (ISMG), and the control group...

BACKGROUND: Subtotal esophagectomy with lymph node dissection followed by neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is the standard treatment for stage II-III esophageal cancer. Esophagectomy is still associated with high morbidity rates, and reducing these rates remains challenging. Among several complications, postoperative pneumonia (PP) is sometimes fatal, which has been reportedly caused by sarcopenia. Thus, nutritional support and rehabilitation may be promising for preventing skeletal muscle mass loss and reduce the incidence of PP...

Self-reported weight and height serve as important metrics in estimating overweight and obesity prevalence within epidemiological studies, primarily due to their cost and time efficiency. However, the accuracy and reliability of these self-reported measures remain controversial, with conflicting reports emerging from different regions. This study aims to compare self-reported weight and height with measured values among young female adults in the United Arab Emirates. A cross-sectional study of 131 female university students aged 17-27 reported their weight and height on a self-administered questionnaire and on the same day had their height and weight measured...

Incidence of endometrial cancer (EC) is rising in the developed world. The current standard of care, hysterectomy, is often infeasible for younger patients and those with high body mass index. There are limited non-surgical treatment options and a lack of biologically relevant research models to investigate novel alternatives to surgery for EC. The aim of the present study was to develop a long-term, patient-derived explant (PDE) model of early-stage EC and demonstrate its use for investigating predictive biomarkers for a current non-surgical treatment option, the levonorgestrel intra-uterine system (LNG-IUS)...

The red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) represents North America's most important aquaculture species. Its hepatopancreas is rich in cellulases and other polysaccharide-degrading enzymes, which provide it the remarkable ability to digest cellulose-rich macroalgae; nevertheless, its cellulolytic systems are poorly explored. This manuscript describes some functional and structural properties of an endogenous trimeric glycosylated endoglucanase from H. rufescens. The purified enzyme showed a molecular mass of 23...

Experimental results are presented showing the variation in the relationship between odd isotopes of tin (Sn) in mass-independent fractionation caused by the magnetic isotope effect (MIE), which has previously only been observed for mercury. These results are consistent with the trend predicted from the difference between the magnitudes of nuclear magnetic moments of odd isotopes with a nuclear spin. However, the correlation between odd isotopes in fractionation induced by the MIE for the reaction system used in this study (solvent extraction using a crown ether) was different from that reported for the photochemical reaction of methyltin...

INTRODUCTION: Infection by hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major issue in public health. The prevalence of HBV in Chad is 12.4%, all age groups considered. Here, we aimed to determine the prevalence of HBV and its associated factors among university students in N'Djamena, the country's capital. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of students at either the University of N'djamena or Emi Koussi University was conducted from 3 to 23 July 2021. All participating students provided signed, informed consent and were included in the study consecutively...

In various diseases characterized by inflammation, the C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) serves as a marker of inflammation. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is frequently complicated by diabetic neuropathy (DN) and timely diagnosis is crucial for treatment and potential reversal of this complication. Since both DN and T2DM are associated with chronic, low-grade inflammation, our study aimed to evaluate CAR levels in type 2 diabetic subjects with DN and compare them to those in subjects without DN. Patients presenting to our institutional outpatient clinics were divided into two groups based on the presence of DN...

Biological functions of glycans are intimately linked to fine details in branches and linkages, which make structural identification extremely challenging. Here, we present a protocol for automated N-glycan sequencing using multi-stage mass spectrometry (MSn ). We describe steps for release/purification and derivation of glycans and procedures for MSn scanning. We then detail "glycan intelligent precursor selection" to computationally guide MSn experiments. The protocol can be used for both discrete individual glycans and isomeric glycan mixtures...

Protein lipidation dynamically controls protein localization and function within cellular membranes. A unique form of protein O -fatty acylation in Corynebacterium , termed protein O -mycoloylation, involves the attachment of mycolic acids─unusually large and hydrophobic fatty acids─to serine residues of proteins in these organisms' outer mycomembrane. However, as with other forms of protein lipidation, the scope and functional consequences of protein O -mycoloylation are challenging to investigate due to the inherent difficulties of enriching and analyzing lipidated peptides...

AbstractLong-term social and genetic monogamy is rare in animals except birds, but even in birds it is infrequent and poorly understood. We investigated possible advantages of monogamy in a colonial, facultative cooperatively breeding bird from an arid, unpredictable environment, the sociable weaver ( Philetairus socius ). We documented divorce and extrapair paternity of 703 pairs over 10 years and separated effects of pair duration from breeding experience by analyzing longitudinal and cross-sectional datasets...

In this paper, a bimetallic Na0.13 Mg0.02 V2 O5 ·0.98H2 O (NMVO) material with an interlayer spacing of 11.67 Å was synthesized by a simple preintercalation method as a cathode for zinc ionic batteries (ZIBs). The large layer spacing provides a wide channel for the embedding of Zn2+ , resulting in high reversible capacity and ion diffusion kinetics. In addition, by virtue of the high electronic conductivity of metal ions, NMVO exhibits excellent electronic conductivity under the combined action of Na+ and Mg2+ bimetallic intercalation...

CONTEXT: Obesity is a risk factor for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related outcomes; however, the mechanism remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this analysis was to determine whether inflammation mediates the association between obesity and COVID-19 outcomes. DESIGN: The International Study of Inflammation in Covid-19 (ISIC): A Prospective Multi-Center Observational Study Examining the Role of Biomarkers of Inflammation in Predicting Covid-19 Related Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients...