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This paper discusses the increasing severity of droughts due to climate change. It emphasises the complexity of defining drought and the diverse perspectives among stakeholders. Lots of stakeholders with unclear responsibilities are involved, which can lead to uncertainty and indecisiveness in addressing the issue. To tackle this, the present paper proposes a methodology to dissect drought systems and reveal the intricate relationships between their components. This approach combines a comprehensive definition of drought with the "Water Resilience Assessment Framework" and an "Actor-Relational Approach", visualised through network analysis. The methodology was applied to a case study situated in the Leie Basin of Flanders, Belgium. By employing this strategy, policymakers and mediators can gain a deeper understanding of drought, identify its root causes, and prioritise necessary changes for more effective drought and water management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shadow maternal subjectivities manifest in complexes deadly for children, but are born of trauma and patriarchal oppression of mothers. If maternal subjectivity is the Self that is informed by the psychological and physical experiences of giving and nurturing the life of a child, and shadow is a Jungian concept that refers to the unconscious aspect of the personality that contains all the elements of ourselves that we deny, repress, or disown, shadow maternal subjectivity is the destructive life-taking energies of a mother. These shadow subjectivities at times come alive in complexes. Complexes, another concept developed by Carl Jung, are unconscious emotionally charged and organized sets of memories, fantasies, and behavior patterns constellated around a core element. Enough stress can manifest a shadow mother complex, when maternal shadow energies fuel a complex that overwhelms consciousness and causes mothers to act out in their relationships with her children. There are several ways shadow maternal complexes manifest, such as the vampire mother, the depressed/addicted mother, the puella aeterna mother, the Aphrodite mother, the Munchausen by proxy mother, and the devouring mother. This paper explores these complexes and how a patriarchal idealization of motherhood precludes mothers from admitting their own finitude or any negative maternal feelings. At times these repressed negative feelings, or shadow subjectivities, become destructive, sometimes fatally. What is required is a greater range of acceptance of maternal subjectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible Summary: What the paper adds to existing knowledge?: Personality disorder is a serious mental health condition affecting up to 52% of psychiatric outpatients and 70% of inpatients and forensic patients. People with a diagnosis of personality disorder have higher morbidity and mortality than those without.Service users and carers reported a lack of training for staff in the management of individuals with a diagnosis of personality disorder, particularly with regard to self‐harm and suicidal behaviours.Staff burnout creates barriers to compassionate person‐centred care for individuals with a diagnosis of personality disorder as staff struggled to accommodate the nature of the presentation when under significant emotional, psychological and professional strain caused by understaffing and lack of support. What are the implications for practice?: This paper adds new knowledge by informing services of ways to improve care provision from the perspectives of both carers and service users.A more holistic and less medicalised approach to the treatment of problems associated with a diagnosis of a personality disorder should be adopted, and personality disorder training introduced for all healthcare practitioners, to improve patient outcomes. Introduction: There is limited understanding of the experience of people with complex mental health (CMH) needs, including those with a diagnosis of personality disorder (PD) and carers of those individuals. Little is known about carers of those in inpatient forensic settings, yet it has been identified that they may have additional needs when compared to general carers. Research highlights that community carer support services were perceived as inadequate and out‐of‐area placements were described as putting an added strain on ability to support loved ones. Understanding PD within a population of people with CMH needs and how a diagnosis described as PD impacts on care and treatment experience is vital to providing high‐quality care. Aim: To evaluate the care experience of service users and carers with lived experience of a diagnosis of PD and out‐of‐area placements. Method: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with six service users and four carers to explore the experiences and perspectives of people with a diagnosis of PD. Interviews were audio recorded and thematically analysed. Results: Four interrelated themes were developed; Influence of a diagnosis of PD on Staff, Early and Appropriate Intervention, Recognition of the Individual and Training and Knowledge of people with a diagnosis of PD. Discussion: Anti‐stigma interventions for staff, research on care provision and structural changes to services including more evidence‐based therapy for individuals with a diagnosis of PD may help reduce disparate treatment and improve prognosis for recovery. Implications for Practice: This paper informs services of ways to improve care provision from the perspective of carers and service users. A more holistic and less medicalised approach to the treatment of problems associated with diagnoses of PD should be adopted, and PD training for all healthcare practitioners to improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The INCOSE Complex Systems Working Group Heuristics Team has selected 67 Principles and Heuristics that are considered to be particularly relevant to Complex Systems. These have been incorporated into a Difficulty Assessment Tool that prioritizes the list of Principles and Heuristics based on scoring of a matrix of four Difficulty Elements and six System Elements (to characterize the nature of the complexity). The purpose of this paper is to describe an initial assessment of the effectiveness and usefulness of the Difficulty Assessment Tool. The Tool has been used to assess eight Case Studies by five assessment teams — one with three people working together, one with two people and the remaining three with individual assessments. The results of these assessments have been compared using four different correlation methods, using the total weighted Heuristic score, the maximum weighted Heuristic score, a Match / Mismatch analysis of the top fifteen and bottom seven Heuristics, and a difference ranking between pairs of assessors of all 67 Principles and Heuristics. The last two assessment methods are shown to be more insightful. The assessment teams then reviewed the relevance of the highest and lowest‐ranked Principles and Heuristics to the full Case Study definitions (Problem and Outcome). There is good agreement of relevance for the highest‐ranking Principles and Heuristics, less so for the lowest‐ranking ones. Based on this initial assessment, the DAT shows promise to help people develop complex systems. The paper concludes with recommendations for further assessment of the Difficulty Assessment Tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil cadmium (Cd) contamination has emerged as a significant global environmental concern, posing numerous risks to individual organisms and entire ecosystems. Concurrently, the global increase in pesticide usage has elevated the influx of chloride ions (Cl-) into the soil. Given Cl-'s robust ability to coordinate and complex with various heavy metal ions, understanding its influence on the migration and transformation of Cd in soil-rice systems is essential for the rational application of pesticides and the effective mitigation of soil heavy metal pollution. In this paper, we explained the effect of Cl- on the environmental behavior of Cd in the soil-rice system in terms of growth traits, Cd uptake and accumulation by rice, and Cd solid-solution phase interface behavior through pot experiments and sand culture experiments. The results showed that Cd concentrations in all parts of the rice treated with CaCl2 during the filling period were lower than those in the Ca(NO3)2-treated group, with Cd accumulation diminishing as Cl- concentration increased. This suggests that the filling period is critical for Cd uptake and accumulation in rice. Unlike the accompanying anion NO3 -, exogenous Cl- reduced Cd concentrations in the soil solution but increased them in rice. Notably, when the Cd/Cl ratio ranged from 0.625 to 2.5, Cl- formed predominantly CdCl+-complexes with free Cd2+ in the soil solution, enhancing the mobilization of Cd bound to soil particles and its subsequent absorption by rice. This study aims to assess Cl-'s effect on Cd migration and transformation in soil-rice systems, providing insights for safe rice production on Cd-contaminated soils and rational use of chlorine-containing pesticides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we give an alternative approach to the C2,α,β estimate for complex Monge-Ampère equations with cone singularities along simple normal crossing divisors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Methods Results Conclusions Healthcare for childbearing women with complex needs demands a multi‐disciplinary approach requiring transitions between care providers, paradigms, and models of care. These transitions may create disconnects between women and the maternity care “system.” Poorly managed care transitions can lead to women becoming hostage to the power struggles between healthcare organizations and the professionals working within them, further increasing the risk of poor outcomes. This paper presents the findings of a study that aimed to better understand how midwives provide woman‐centered care for women with complex needs in the real world of maternity services.A constructivist grounded theory approach, using Clarke's situational analysis to extend critical and feminist perspectives in data analysis. Qualitative data were obtained from two sources: publicly available data, and individual interviews with providers of care (midwives) and recipients of care (women with complex pregnancies).Woman‐centered care is defined as care in which the woman is seen, heard, and known. “The midwifery capabilities theory” describes the process whereby midwives create opportunities to develop women's capabilities. Capabilities are enabled through the midwifery relationship creating space, moments in time, and equalizing power and positionality.Aligning with contemporary theories surrounding the provision of midwifery care, the midwifery capabilities theory recognizes the individual health and social status of women and the rights to self‐determination. This centers care around each individual's needs, which, in addition to improving health and well‐being outcomes, contributes to improved self‐confidence, enhancing engagement through authentic professional relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An INCOSE‐wide initiative has exposed at least 600 heuristics. Previous work indicates that rationalizing and simplifying this set to make it useful and memorable is difficult, if not intractable. Difficulty Assessment Tools (DATs) have been used for years to characterize the difficulty of a problem and provide tailored advice. This paper explores using a DAT to characterize the problem, and using the outputs to provide heuristic and other forms of advice. To test this approach, 50 heuristics and 10 principles were scored and embedded into an online DAT. An experiment was conducted to determine whether the DAT discussion, recommended approach, and heuristic/principles advice were useful. All teams considered the discussion very useful. As might be expected, the results indicated that the heuristic usefulness was a function of the teams' experience and familiarity with the task. The tool prioritization of suitable heuristics met developers' expectations, but was undetected by the users. This maybe because the heuristics were a hand‐picked set of 50 Heuristics from a set of 600+, meaning all were highly useful. Further work is proposed to check this assessment. The DAT usefulness results indicate that Systems Engineers should use the DAT to inform their approach throughout the lifecycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the increasing severity of droughts due to climate change. It emphasises the complexity of defining drought and the diverse perspectives among stakeholders. Lots of stakeholders with unclear responsibilities are involved, which can lead to uncertainty and indecisiveness in addressing the issue. To tackle this, the present paper proposes a methodology to dissect drought systems and reveal the intricate relationships between their components. This approach combines a comprehensive definition of drought with the “Water Resilience Assessment Framework” and an “Actor-Relational Approach”, visualised through network analysis. The methodology was applied to a case study situated in the Leie Basin of Flanders, Belgium. By employing this strategy, policymakers and mediators can gain a deeper understanding of drought, identify its root causes, and prioritise necessary changes for more effective drought and water management.

Bilirubin (BR) serves as a crucial clinical marker for jaundice and liver dysfunction, making its quantitative detection amidst numerous biomolecular interferences of paramount importance. In this work, 5, 10, 15, 20-tetrakis(4-methoxycarbonylphenyl)porphyrin (TPPCOOMe) was utilized as the fluorophore, and Fe3+ was used as the mediator to achieve quantitative detection of BR in human serum through the "on-off-on" fluorescence signal change. The non-fluorescent metalloporphyrin complex TPPCOOMe@Fe3+ generated by the interaction between Fe3+ and TPPCOOMe served as the fluorescence sensing platform. With the addition of BR, the good binding ability between BR and Fe3+ released TPPCOOMe into the sensing medium and restored red fluorescence, while creating conditions for the redox reaction between BR and Fe3+. The fluorescence probe exhibited a good linear relationship with BR in the concentration range of 0–8 μM, the detection limit was as low as 14 nM and the response time was 2 min. Furthermore, a test paper strip-based sensor coupled with a smartphone color-read App was employed to test the fluorescence color changes of TPPCOOMe@Fe3+ for BR sensing, and this intelligent sensing platform had been successfully achieved for the actual detection of BR in human serum without the influence of other metal ions and important biomolecules. [Display omitted] • A near-infrared molecule (TPPCOOMe) based on Fe3+ mediation for detecting bilirubin was reported. • Rapid and sensitive detection of bilirubin was achieved based on an "on-off-on" fluorescent signal response. • A portable smartphone system with test strips had been applied to detect bilirubin in real samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The optimized structures of β-ionone-HP-β-CD inclusion complex was obtained. • β-ionone as a whole donates electrons and HP-β-CD accepts electrons. • The negative binding energy and chemical potential indicate spontaneous process. • The deformation is a driving factor of the formation of inclusion complex. • Reactivity and electrophilicity changed after the formation of inclusion complex. As an aroma material, beta-ionone also has a range of pharmacological activities. To solve its problems such as low bioavailability, water-immiscibility, thermo-instability, and volatility, beta-ionone was successfully encapsulated in 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) in our previous work. However, the structure of the product, the interaction between beta-ionone and HP-beta-CD, and the mechanism of action were not clear. In this paper, in order to gain a more profound understanding of the structure and chemical behavior of beta-ionone-HP-beta-CD inclusion complex, the interaction between beta-ionone and HP-beta-CD was investigated by molecular simulation. The optimized structures, binding energy, deformation energy, charge transfer, frontier orbital energy gap, chemical hardness, chemical potential, and electrophilicity index were obtained. In the complex, beta-ionone denotes electrons to HP-beta-CD and carries a positive charge. The negative chemical potential of inclusion complex indicates that complex process is spontaneous. The complex shows a relatively higher reactivity and electrophilicity than beta-ionone and HP-beta-CD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Retos: Nuevas Perspectivas de Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación is the property of Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The applications of alkali-activated slag (AAS) face challenges such as poor workability, rapid setting, and high autogenous shrinkage, which require chemical admixtures (CAs) to adjust the performance of AAS. Unfortunately, there are limited specific CAs available to tune AAS properties. To address this gap, this study proposes using a ubiquitous, naturally occurring compound, L-ascorbic acid (LAA), as a multifunctional performanceenhancing additive for AAS to overcome the major challenges of AAS. The findings showed that LAA can function as a retarder, plasticizer, strength enhancer, and autogenous shrinkage reducer for AAS. When 0.5% LAA was added, the compressive strengths of AAS mortars at 3 and 28 days increased by 28.9% and 19.6%, respectively, and the 28-day autogenous shrinkage decreased by 43.1%. Both surface adsorption and ion complexation have been confirmed as the working mechanisms of LAA in hydrated AAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upstream frameshift 1 (UPF1) is an RNA helicase involved in a number of mRNA regulatory processes including nonsense-mediated decay. Mutations in the UPF1 locus that reduce its expression have been associated with adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas, a particularly aggressive form of the disease. To determine the effect of Upf1 suppression in a murine model of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, we silenced with shRNA Upf1 in cells derived from an autochthonous tumor in an LSL-KrasG12D/+; Trp53R172H/+; Pdx-1Cre/+ mouse (KPC) and orthotopically implanted these cells in the pancreas of C57BL/6 mice. Tumors derived from Upf1-deficient cells were markedly larger than those derived from control cells, a difference observed only in immunocompetent mice. The immune infiltrate of Upf1-deficient tumors was enriched in myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and depleted of CD8+ cells compared to control KPC tumors. Upf1-deficient KPC cells secreted inflammatory cytokines including G-CSF and CXCL2, known to recruit MDSCs. Cytokine secretion from Upf1-deficient KPC cells was induced by increased levels of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS), which in turn were due to an increase in complex I activity in the electron transport chain. Thus, Upf1 helicase deficiency leads to increased mitochondrial complex I activity which produces ROS that signals for cytokine release that drives immune suppression and enhanced tumor growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Current local food environments encourage poor diets, posing a significant threat to public and planetary health. Acknowledging and addressing its inherent complexity is vital to making meaningful improvements to the food environment. Using a participatory approach with local stakeholders, this study aims to gain insight into the factors and mechanisms underlying the local food environment and to identify leverage points and system-based actions to foster healthy and sustainable local food environments. Methods: A systems-thinking approach was used in a Dutch municipality in 2022. Two group model building (GMB) workshops were held with community stakeholders (e.g. local policymakers, retailers and residents). During the first workshop (June 2022), factors and mechanisms influencing the local food environment were identified and visualized through a causal loop diagram (CLD). During the second workshop, leverage points and system-based actions to improve food environments were identified by the stakeholders. Four months after (October 2022), an action-implementation meeting was organized to stimulate the implementation of selected actions. Progress was monitored through brief telephone interviews 6 and 12 months after the second workshop. Results: The CLD visualises the factors and mechanisms influencing the local food environment from the point of view of the community stakeholders. The CLD consists of 46 factors shaping the local food environment, which were categorized into four identified subsystems: societal factors, individual, socio-economic factors, commercial factors and political factors. Eight leverage points were identified within the CLD, for example, 'lobby from food industry', 'governmental food policies' and 'e-commerce and platform economy'. Stakeholders formulated 20 actions targeting the identified leverage points. During the action-implementation meeting, long-term plans were created for five actions. After 1 year, only one participant (policy advisory role) remained actively engaged in three of these actions. Conclusions: This study yields insight into the numerous factors and mechanisms underlying the local food environment and identified system-based actions as perceived by local stakeholders to improve this food environment locally. The CLD offers stakeholders valuable insights on employing a systems approach when enhancing food environments. More research is necessary, especially into the long-term processes and effects of implementing system-oriented actions to improve local food environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The zinc boron complex formation was studied as a function of temperature (25, 50 and 70 °C) in boric acid solutions of various concentration (0.25, 0.50 and 0.68 mol·kg−1). pH was monitored during zinc ion addition by galvanostatic dissolution of a zinc metal electrode, in a solution of boric acid. The determination of the complex formation showed the importance of an accurate model of the polyborate speciation, recalculated for this work based on the previous literature data mainly potentiometric measurements completed by Raman spectroscopy and Ab Initio calculations. Modelling of our experimental results, considering various scenarios of boric acid speciation, was performed using R and PhreeqC, suggesting the formation of an aqueous triborate-zinc (II) complex, ZnB 3 O 3 (OH) 4 (aq) + , according to the reaction: Zn 2 + + 3 B (OH) 3 ⇌ ZnB 3 O 3 (OH) 4 (aq) + + 2 H 2 O + H + . The nature and structure of this aqueous complex disagrees with the results reported previously in the literature. Three formation constants of the triborate-zinc (II) complex were determined at 25, 50 and 70 °C as log 10 K ZnB = − 4.73 ± 0.10, − 4.21 ± 0.16 and − 4.94 ± 0.12, respectively. The evolution of zinc boron complex formation as a function of temperature (between 25 and 70 °C) provides information on the effect of the polyborate predominance in the solution on the complexation of zinc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Farmacia is the property of Societatea de Stiinte Farmaceutice Romania and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

ADP-ribosylation is a ubiquitous modification of proteins and other targets, such as nucleic acids, that regulates various cellular functions in all kingdoms of life. Furthermore, these ADP-ribosyltransferases (ARTs) modify a variety of substrates and atoms. It has been almost 60 years since ADP-ribosylation was discovered. Various ART structures have been revealed with cofactors (NAD+ or NAD+ analog). However, we still do not know the molecular mechanisms of ART. It needs to be better understood how ART specifies the target amino acids or bases. For this purpose, more information is needed about the tripartite complex structures of ART, the cofactors, and the substrates. The tripartite complex is essential to understand the mechanism of ADP-ribosyltransferase. This review updates the general ADP-ribosylation mechanism based on ART tripartite complex structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new iron(III) complex (Et3NH)2[Fe(L)2](ClO4)·MeOH (1) where H2L = 2-{(E)-[2-hydroxyphenyl)imino]methyl}phenol has been synthesised and characterised by single crystal XRD, elemental analysis and DC magnetic susceptibility measurements. The dianionic ligands L2− coordinate in a tridentate fashion with the Fe(III) through their deprotonated phenolic oxygens and azomethine nitrogen atoms, resulting in a trans-FeO4N2 chromophore. Variable-temperature magnetic measurements were performed between 300 and 5 K under an applied field of 0.1 T and show that 1 is in the high spin state (S = 5/2) over the whole measured temperature range. This is confirmed by Mössbauer spectroscopy at 77 and 300 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, A novel novel cadmium (II) co-crystal binary coordination compound with 3-FBINH ligand and nitrate anionic ligand were synthesized and characterized. The structure of co-crystal (3-FBINH is the abbreviation of 3-flouro benzylidene iso nicotine hydrazide) ([Cd (3-FBINH)2 (NO3)2 (H2O)] [Cd (3-FBINH)2 (NO3) (C2H6O) (H2O)].NO3 (1) was characterized by single-crystal X-ray analysis. The X-ray structure revealed that the compound has two Cd (II) metal centers with 7 and 6 coordination numbers. The adjacent frameworks connected by labile interactions like strong hydrogen -bonding interactions, CH ...π interactions CH ...CH interactions that the self-assembly occurs in the structure. Consequently, the labile interactions also allow the structure to form a 3D supramolecular coordination system. Cd O nanoparticles were obtained by thermolysis of 1 at 550 °C. The morphology and size of the prepared Cd O nanoparticles were further studied using SEM and XRD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we give an alternative approach to the C 2,α,β estimate for complex Monge-Ampère equations with cone singularities along simple normal crossing divisors.

A new 3D metal–organic frameworks [Cd6(L)4(bipy)3(H2O)2·H2O] (1) was gained by employing Cd(II) and organic ligand [H3L = 4,4′,4′′-(benzene-1,3,5-triyltris(oxy))tribenzoic acid)benzene acid; bipy = 4,4′-bipyridine] in the solvothermal condition, which has been fully examined via single-X ray diffraction, FTIR and elemental analysis and so on. Using natural polysaccharides hyaluronic acid (HA) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) as raw materials, we successfully prepared HA/CMCS hydrogels and observed their internal micromorphology by scanning electron microscopy. Using doxorubicin (Dox) as a drug model, we synthesized a novel metal gel particle loaded with doxorubicin, and their encapsulation and release effects were studied using fluorescence spectroscopy, followed by further investigation of their components through thermogravimetric analysis. Based on this, the therapeutic effect on leukemia was evaluated. Finally, an enhanced learning method for automatically designing new ligand structures from host ligands was proposed. Through generative modeling and molecular docking simulations, the biological behavior of the host and predicted cadmium complexes was extensively studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review presents an overview of the biological applications of coordinative compounds based on unsaturated carboxylates accompanied by other ligands, usually N-based heterocyclic species. The interest in these compounds arises from the valuable antimicrobial and antitumor activities evidenced by some species, as well as from their ability to generate metal-containing polymers suitable for various medical purposes. Therefore, we describe the recently discovered aspects related to the synthesis, structure, and biological activity of a wide range of unsaturated carboxylate-containing species and metal ions, originating mostly from 3d series. The unsaturated carboxylates encountered in coordinative compounds are acrylate, methacrylate, fumarate, maleate, cinnamate, ferulate, coumarate, and itaconate. Regarding the properties of the investigated compounds, it is worth mentioning the good ability of some to inhibit the development of resistant strains or microbial biofilms on inert surfaces or, even more, exert antitumor activity against resistant cells. The ability of some species to intercalate into DNA strands as well as to scavenge ROS species is also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil/water (O/W) emulsions were prepared using the complex of quarternized cellulose nanofiber (QCNF) and octanoyl gelatin (OC−Gel) as an emulsifier, and the effect of pH value on their stability was investigated. OC−Gel was prepared through a condensation reaction, confirmed by 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT−IR) spectroscopy. It reduced air/water interfacial tension more effectively than unmodified gelatin. The complexation degree of OC−Gel and QCNF, measured by optical density, showed its maximum at a QCNF/OC−Gel mass ratio of 1/8 when the pH value of the medium was 7.4, and it increased in a saturated manner with increasing pH value. The signals of QCNF were found in the FT−IR and X−ray diffraction spectra of the complex, suggesting that the positively charged CNF were included in the OC−Gel−based complex. The complex formed a rough surface with smooth debris because the surface roughness of the complex aggregation reflected that of both QCNF and OC−Gel aggregation. QCNF could stabilize oil droplets to form a Pickering O/W emulsion. The complex of QCNF/OC−Gel was also a good emulsifier. QCNF and the complex were as potent as OC−Gel in emulsifying mineral oil in water. Most of the droplets fell within 5–25 µm, regardless of what the emulsifier was. The emulsion stabilized with OC−Gel increased in its oil droplet size more than two times in 20 days at all the pH vales tested (pH 3, 5, 7.4, 9), whereas the emulsion stabilized with QCNF remained almost constant in size during the same period regardless of the pH values. The droplet size of emulsion stabilized with the QCNF/OC−Gel complex did not change appreciably when the pH value was 5, 7.4, and 9. The complex seemed to act as a capsule wall and prevent the coalescence of the droplets. However, it increased dramatically due to the coalescence at pH 3, possibly because the complex could be dissolved under a strong acidic condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): Prescription of ibuprofen as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug is limited by its gastrointestinal side effects and poor aqueous solubility. It was shown that phospholipid-association (PA) can lead to assembling assembly of the micellar form, thereby improving solubility of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs solubility and reducing their gastrointestinal side effects. Materials and Methods: Ibuprofen in PA form was prepared and its interaction, crystallinity, and particle size were evaluated. Conventional ibuprofen and PA pellets in different drug contents were prepared by extrusion-spheronization. The mMorphology, shape factors, mechanical strength, and drug content of pellets were investigated. The dissolution test also was conducted in an intestinal-simulated medium and a gastric-simulated medium. Results: The results showed that PA micelles of ibuprofen were demonstrated to be formed, amorphous, and in an acceptable size range. Using a suitable composition of solid components and granulation fluid, pellets with desirable size, shape, and sphericity could be produced. All pellets have had plastic mechanical properties and the strength of formulations were decreased with increasing PA ratio. The PA-pellet formulation had faster drug release compared to conventional ibuprofen pellets, via increasing ibuprofen solubility by reducing crystallinity in solid state and micelle formation in dissolution media. Moreover, ibuprofen solubility in a gastric-simulated medium was decreased and might result in reduced gastrointestinal side effects. Conclusion: Due to the demonstrated bioavailability advantages of PA-pellets, they can be considered for further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diglycolamide (DGA) extractant is a kind of rare-earth extractant with promising applications that has the advantages of high extraction capacity, ease of synthesis, good thermal stability and good radiation stability. It is a green extractant that contains only four elements, C, H, O and N, and produces no residue after incineration. The properties of DGAs containing branched N , N ′-alkyl substituents have been much studied in recent years, and it has been shown that branched side chains lead to better separation. The introduction of structurally rigid elements in DGA provides new possibilities for separation of rare earth elements (REEs). Owing to the tiny differences in the chemical properties of adjacent REES, the simple use of DGA extractant cannot meet all separation requirements, and a masking agent is added to the aqueous phase to improve the separation by coextraction to meet the requirements of different processes. This review presents the structural analysis of the complexes and crystals of diglycolamide extractants with rare-earth ions through different characterization means, and the effects of different structural extractants, solvents, nitric acid and phase modifiers on extraction behavior are reviewed. This review pays special attention to the effect of the side chain structure of diglycolamide on extraction behavior, which provides a theoretical basis and guiding direction for the field of separation of the REEs by diglycolamide extractants. In the analytical methods for the extraction of rare-earth elements (REEs) by diglycolamide (DGA), liquid–liquid extraction experiments can demonstrate basic extraction properties, spectroscopic techniques can provide information on the inner-sphere coordination of REEIII–DGA complexes, and scattering techniques can be used to study the size and morphology of aggregates with nanoscale structures. (Image credits: bottom right, G. B. Deacon et al. ; other images, A. Gong.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the many negative effects of increasing resistance to traditional antibiotics on living organisms, the development of new antibiotic classes has become imperative and macrocyclic compounds come to the fore for the solution of this problem. In this paper, the Pillar [5]arenes including ten and five quinoline units were synthesized and characterized by some procedures such as magnetic susceptibility, FT-IR, elemental analyses, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, melting point. Moreover, zinc(II) and copper (II) complexes were prepared to compare the antimicrobial effects with macrocyclic ligands. In the complex compounds, the metal:ligand ratios were determined with Job method as 1:2 and 1:1 for deca and penta units, respectively. The magnetic properties of the copper (II) complexes are 1.83 BM and 1.87 BM while zinc complexes have a diamagnetic character. The target macrocyclic ligands (Compound 7 and 8) and their metal complexes (Cu(II) and Zn(II)) were screened for the antimicrobial properties against the bacterial strains of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ATCC 43300, Klebsiella pneumoniae. ATCC 70603, Salmonella enteritidis ATTC 13076, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Bacillus cereus ATTC 11778, Sarcina lutea ATCC 9341, and yeast Candida albicans NRRL Y-417 by using broth microdilution method. Compound 7 has the optimum MIC values for S. aureus (MRSA), B. cereus, C. albicans and P. aeruginosa microorganisms that they were determined as 23.43, 46.87, 93.75 and 187 μg/mL, respectively. Moreover, Compound 8-Cu(II) complex was defined as an excellent antimicrobial agent against MRSA, B. cereus and C. albicans strains that the MIC values were determined as 3.9 μg/mL for both bacteria. The metal complexes of the target macrocyclic ligands have a more antimicrobial effect than the reactants and the target macrorings. Moreover, they have more successful results for Gram positive derivatives rather than Gram negative microorganisms. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A three-dimensional crystal synthesized by carboxylic acid ligand and nitrogen-containing ligand. • The selective detection for Fe3+, Cr6+ and nitroimidazole antibiotics species in aqueous solution were investigated. • The quenching mechanism of the selective detection including theoretical calculation was presented. A novel complex of [Zn(L)(HEA)] n (1) has been successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method based on the double ligands of H 2 HEA (H 2 HEA = 1,2-Phenylenediacetic acid) and L (L = 1,1′-((2,4,6-trimethyl-1,3-phenylene)bis(methylene))bis(1H-1,2,4-triazole)). The single crystal structure of the complex was analyzed by X-ray single crystal diffraction, indicating that complex 1 was stacked into a 3D crystal structure through intermolecular π···π and C-H···π weak interaction. The complex was characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, PXRD and TGA. Additionally, fluorescence experiments showed that complex 1 could be used as a fluorescent probe for detecting Fe(III), Cr(VI), and Metronidazole (MDZ), Ornidazole (ODZ), Dimetridazole (DTZ) in aqueous solutions. Detection limits were obtained for ions (3.2×10−7 M for Cr 2 O 7 2−, 5.4×10−7 M for CrO 4 2− and 3.6 × 10−7 M for Fe3+) and nitroimidazole antibiotics (1.3×10−7 M for MDZ, 9.7×10−8 M for ODZ and 4.4×10−8 M for DTZ). The possible fluorescence quenching mechanism has been studied in the paper. One novel complex, namely, [Zn(L)(HEA)] n (1) (L = 1,1′-((2,4,6-trimethyl-1,3-phenylene)bis(methylene))bis(1H-1,2,4-triazole), H 2 HEA = 1,2-phenylenediacetic acid) was synthesized. The oxygen-containing chain in complex 1 extends in a zigzag shape along the a -axis, while the nitrogen-containing chain extends in a W-shape along the b -axis, a 2D planar structure was obtained in the ab plane. Through the formation of π···π (Cg (2)···Cg (2)) and C-H ··π (C5-H5···Cg2) interactions between the 2D layers, the 3D supermolecule structure of 1 was formed along the c -axis. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the fields of implementation science and health equity, understanding and being responsive to local contexts is of utmost importance to better inform the development, implementation, and evaluation of healthcare and public health interventions to increase their uptake and sustainment. Contexts are multi-level and include political, historical, economic, and social factors that influence health, as well as organizational characteristics, reflecting the richness of members' views, resources, values, and needs. Poor alignment between solutions and those contextual characteristics could have an impact on inequities. The PRISM (Practical Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model) is a context-based implementation science framework that incorporates RE-AIM outcomes (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) and offers guidance to researchers, practitioners, and their patient and community partners on how to conceptualize, assess, and address contextual domains with a focus on health equity. Drawing from systems thinking, participatory engagement, and health equity principles, this commentary expands on previous work to 1) offer a novel perspective on how to align an intervention's core functions and forms with the PRISM's contextual domains, and 2) foster an ongoing and iterative engagement process with diverse partners throughout the research and practice process using a co-creation approach. We recommend intervention-to-context alignment through iterative cycles. To that end, we present the RE-AIM Framework's 'outcomes cascade' to illustrate touch points of opportunity and gaps within and across each of the five RE-AIM outcomes to illustrate 'where things go wrong'. We present a case study to illustrate and offer recommendations for research and practice efforts to increase contextual responsiveness, and enhance alignment with context before, during, and after implementation efforts and to ensure equity is being addressed. We strive to make a conceptual contribution to advance the field of pragmatic research and implementation of evidence-based practices through the application of the contextually-based PRISM framework with a focus on health equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naringin is one of the common flavonoids in grapefruit, which has anti-cancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. However, its poor solubility limits its wide application. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of naringin combined with chitooligosaccharides with good biocompatibility by constructing a mouse model of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). The results showed that the naringin–chitooligosaccharide (NG-COS) complex significantly inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced weight loss, reduced food intake, tissue inflammatory infiltration, and proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, TNF-α, INF-γ, and IL-1β levels. The complex also significantly affected the content of malondialdehyde and the activities of MPO, SOD, and GSH in the liver, spleen, lungs, and serum of mice with systemic inflammation. In addition, NG-COS significantly inhibited the mRNA expression of inflammatory factors in the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. Principal component analysis showed that the complexes could inhibit LPS-induced systemic inflammation in mice, and the effect was significantly better than that of naringin and chitooligosaccharides alone. This study explored the synergistic effects of chitosan and naringin in reducing inflammation and could contribute to the development of novel biomedical interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease causes the destruction of cranial nerve cells and is said to be caused by neuronal cell death due to the accumulation of amyloid-β protein. One method for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease is to reduce the toxicity of the amyloid beta protein. Among the possibilities is to reduce toxicity by changing the secondary structure of the protein. In this study, the secondary structure of the protein was verified by binding a zinc complex to the protein and irradiating it with an infrared free-electron laser (IR-FEL). By binding Salen-Type zinc complexes to human serum albumin (HSA) and irradiating it with IR-FEL, structural changes were observed in the α-helix and β-sheet, the secondary structure of HSA. In addition to researching the possibility of binding zinc complexes to small proteins, docking simulations were examined. GOLD docking simulations showed that it is possible to bind zinc complexes to lysozyme (Lyz), a small protein. These results suggest that binding zinc complexes to amyloid-β and inducing a secondary conformational change through IR-FEL irradiation could be used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease by making the complexes lose their toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]