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High energy states in the self-conjugate 16O nucleus were investigated by analyzing 13C(3He,α)12C reactions in the bombarding energy range 1.4–2.2 MeV. Thanks to a low-threshold and high-resolution array, we succeed in measuring cross sections of the decay channel where an α particle is emitted in coincidence with a 12C nucleus in the Hoyle state, leading to 4α particles in the final channel. The analysis of angular distributions indicates the occurrence of two low-spin resonant states, respectively with Jπ=2+ and 3−, at energies of ≈ 24.1 and 24.5 MeV. In this energy window, the observed branching ratios for the transition involving the emission of the Hoyle state are well larger than calculations based on barrier penetration, signaling the possible occurrence of high-energy states in 16O with a large cluster component.

Introduction: Bone involvement in Multiple Myeloma results from increased osteoclast formation and activity that occurs in proximity to myeloma cells. The role of Alkaline Phosphatse (ALP) in this process and the diagnostic significance of plasma levels in patients with MM are unclear. Aim: To compare plasma ALP levels in patients with MM and solid cancers and metastatic lesions to the bone. Results: In this observational retrospective study we enrolled 901 patients were enrolled: 440 patients (49%) with Multiple Myeloma, 461 (51%) with solid cancers. All 901 patients had bone lesions. Among patients with Multiple Myeloma, ALP values were mainly in the range of normality than those observed in patients with solid cancers and bone lesions. This difference is independent of stage, number and type of bone lesions. Conclusion: This study suggests that plasma ALP has a different clinical significance in MM than in other neoplasms and could be used as a discriminating marker in presence of bone lesions. In particular, lower or normal values, should suggest further investigations such as urinary and serum electrophoresis, associated with bone marrow aspirate in case of the presence of a monoclonal component, in order to confirm or exclude a MM diagnosis.

Estuary management is limited by lack of consensus on operational tools for handling multiple conflicting management objectives. One critical step to this goal is a shift from individual problems to a focus on maintaining ecosystem functions that benefit humans. If function is maintained, then the ecosystem is said to be functionally equivalent to its unimpacted state, which is sufficient for management. We propose an adaptation of a functional equivalency (FE) assessment approach from marine fishery management and use a case study demonstration to address how this approach can be integrated into existing ecosystem assessment tools. The functional equivalency framework has three components for implementation: definition of target ecosystem functions, measurable metrics of ecosystem functions, and policy-based thresholds for each metric that indicate when functional equivalency is lost and must be restored. Each case study is an application of available data, models, and management policy to define these ecosystem function components. We intend to foster discussion and future work on integrating the FE approach into existing ecosystem assessment tools. Data requirements are high, as is the necessary integration between science and policy. The results can be a more integrated management approach focused on maintenance of ecosystem functions most beneficial to humans. Keywords: Ecosystem services, Assessment, Modeling, Habitat, Nutrients, Production

Background: Although a rare complication of catheter based ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF), atrioesophageal fistula (AEF) is a serious and fatal event [1–5]. Most reports of AEF are single cases or small case series. Objective: The purpose of this study was to perform a comprehensive literature search of all published atrioesophageal fistula following catheter ablation for AF in order to identify the mortality rates associated with therapeutic modalities and suggest the most definitive management in reducing mortality. Methods: A comprehensive literature review of reported observational cases of atrioesophageal fistula post catheter based ablation for atrial fibrillation was performed. Results: Sixty-five cases of AEF post atrial fibrillation ablation were reviewed. The mean age was 55 years old. 73.8% (48/65) of the identified cases occurred in males (p

Dried serum spots that are well prepared can be attractive alternatives to frozen serum samples for shelving specimens in a medical or research center's biobank and mailing freshly prepared serum to specialized laboratories. During the pre-analytical phase, complications can arise which are often challenging to identify or are entirely overlooked. These complications can lead to reproducibility issues, which can be avoided in serum protein analysis by implementing optimized storage and transfer procedures. With a method that ensures accurate loading of filter paper discs with donor or patient serum, a gap in dried serum spot preparation and subsequent serum analysis shall be filled. Pre-punched filter paper discs with a 3 mm diameter are loaded within seconds in a highly reproducible fashion (approximately 10% standard deviation) when fully submerged in 10 μl of serum, named the "Submerge and Dry" protocol. Such prepared dried serum spots can store several hundred micrograms of proteins and other serum components. Serum-borne antigens and antibodies are reproducibly released in 20 μl elution buffer in high yields (approximately 90%). Dried serum spot-stored and eluted antigens kept their epitopes and antibodies their antigen binding abilities as was assessed by SDS-PAGE, 2D gel electrophoresis-based proteomics, and Western blot analysis, suggesting pre-punched filter paper discs as handy solution for serological tests., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a source of ongoing challenges and presents an increased risk of illness in group environments, including jails, long-term care facilities, schools, and residential college campuses. Early reports that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was detectable in wastewater in advance of confirmed cases sparked widespread interest in wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) as a tool for mitigation of COVID-19 outbreaks. One hypothesis was that wastewater surveillance might provide a cost-effective alternative to other more expensive approaches such as pooled and random testing of groups. In this paper, we report the outcomes of a wastewater surveillance pilot program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a large urban university with a substantial population of students living in on-campus dormitories. Surveillance was conducted at the building level on a thrice-weekly schedule throughout the university's fall residential semester. In multiple cases, wastewater surveillance enabled the identification of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases that were not detected by other components of the campus monitoring program, which also included in-house contact tracing, symptomatic testing, scheduled testing of student athletes, and daily symptom reporting. In the context of all cluster events reported to the University community during the fall semester, wastewater-based testing events resulted in the identification of smaller clusters than were reported in other types of cluster events. Wastewater surveillance was able to detect single asymptomatic individuals in dorms with resident populations of 150-200. While the strategy described was developed for COVID-19, it is likely to be applicable to mitigation of future pandemics in universities and other group-living environments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A large portion of plastic produced each year is used to make single-use packaging and other short-lived consumer products that are discarded quickly, creating significant amounts of waste. It is important that such waste be managed appropriately in line with circular-economy principles. One option for managing plastic waste is chemical recycling via pyrolysis, which can convert it back into chemical feedstock that can then be used to manufacture virgin-quality polymers. However, given that this is an emerging technology not yet used widely in practice, it is not clear if pyrolysis of waste plastics is sustainable on a life cycle basis and how it compares to other plastics waste management options as well as to the production of virgin plastics. Therefore, this study uses life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare the environmental impacts of chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste (MPW) via pyrolysis with the established waste management alternatives: mechanical recycling and energy recovery. Three LCA studies have been carried out under three perspectives: waste, product and a combination of the two. To ensure robust comparisons, the impacts have been estimated using two impact assessment methods: Environmental footprint and ReCiPe. The results suggest that chemical recycling via pyrolysis has a 50% lower climate change impact and life cycle energy use than the energy recovery option. The climate change impact and energy use of pyrolysis and mechanical recycling of MPW are similar if the quality of the recyclate is taken into account. Furthermore, MPW recycled by pyrolysis has a significantly lower climate change impact (-0.45 vs 1.89 t CO 2 eq./t plastic) than the equivalent made from virgin fossil resources. However, pyrolysis has significantly higher other impacts than mechanical recycling, energy recovery and production of virgin plastics. Sensitivity analyses show that some assumptions have notable effects on the results, including the assumed geographical region and its energy mix, carbon conversion efficiency of pyrolysis and recyclate quality. These results will be of interest to the chemical, plastics and waste industries, as well as to policy makers., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: This study was funded by BASF., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine whether intra-oral de novo regenerated mucosa (D) that grew over free fibula flap reconstructed-mandibles resembled the donor tissue i.e. external skin (S) of the lateral leg, or the recipient site tissue, i.e. keratinized oral mucosa (K)., Materials and Methods: Differential proteome analysis was performed with ten tissue samples from each of the three groups: de novo regenerated mucosa (D), external skin (S), and keratinized oral mucosa (K). Expression differences of cornulin and involucrin were validated by Western blot analysis and their spatial distributions in the respective tissues were ascertained by immunohistochemistry., Results: From all three investigated tissue types a total of 1188 proteins were identified, 930 of which were reproducibly and robustly quantified by proteome analysis. The best differentiating proteins were assembled in an oral mucosa proteome signature that encompasses 56 differentially expressed proteins. Principal component analysis of both, the 930 quantifiable proteins and the 56 oral mucosa signature proteins revealed that the de novo regenerated mucosa resembles keratinized oral mucosa much closer than extra-oral skin. Differentially expressed cornification-related proteins comprise proteins from all subclasses of the cornified cell envelope. Prominently expressed in intra-oral mucosa tissues were (i) cornifin-A, cornifin-B, SPRR3, and involucrin from the cornified-cell-envelope precursor group, (ii) S100A9, S100A8 and S100A2 from the S100 group, and (iii) cornulin which belongs to the fused-gene-protein group., Conclusion: According to its proteome signature de novo regenerated mucosa over the free fibula flap not only presents a passive structural surface layer but has adopted active tissue function., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Interaction of circulating leukocytes and vascular endothelium plays an important role in vasoconstriction, endothelial dysfunction, and vascular injury. Dilation procedures of grafts before coronary artery bypass graft surgery might lead to vascular injury and subsequent bypass graft disease., Methods: We analyzed in vitro the adherence of fluorescence-labeled polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) to endothelium of human saphenous vein grafts or internal mammary artery grafts after stimulation with thrombin (0.5 to 2 U/mL) or dilating procedures. Furthermore, we investigated endothelial function of prepared grafts., Results: Thrombin stimulation resulted in a dose-dependent increase of PMN adherence to the endothelium of saphenous vein and internal mammary artery, which was attenuated by the selectin-blocking carbohydrate fucoidin or anti-P-selectin monoclonal antibody. Mechanical dilation of saphenous vein or internal mammary artery led to a marked increase in PMN adherence (65 +/- 5 versus 5 +/- 3 PMN/mm2; p < 0.01), which was significantly attenuated by fucoidin or anti-P-selectin monoclonal antibodies. Treatment of internal mammary artery with the vasodilator papaverine led to a marked increase of PMN adherence (59 +/- 8 versus 12 +/- 4 PMN/mm2; p < 0.01) when papaverine was administered directly into the vessel. However, external treatment with papaverine did not affect PMN adhesion. Endothelial dysfunction was observed in dilated venous grafts and in arterial grafts internally treated with papaverine; in contrast, external treatment did not affect endothelial function., Conclusions: This study showed that mechanical or pharmacologic dilation of venous or arterial coronary grafts, usually performed before anastomosis of aortocoronary bypass grafts, led to increased selectin-mediated PMN adhesion on vascular endothelium and subsequent endothelial dysfunction.

Affinity-based conjugation methods for antibodies can produce defined and reproducible conjugates. This requires that the target antibody has an affinity site for the ligand and that the ligand has a reactive site. These requirements are critical for the conjugation of antibodies designed for diagnostic and therapeutic application. Our laboratory has discovered a novel affinity of antibodies for the amino acid tryptophan using an azido derivative of tryptophan. Here we show that tryptophan without the azido group can be photo-cross-linked to antibodies. Biotinylated tryptophan peptides are photolysed into monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies and such biotinylated antibodies are used in avidin-based ELISA. With the simple and gentle tryptophan-affinity photo-conjugation of peptides, antibodies can be conjugated with peptides to enhance their potency and expand their targeting range.

The present study examined the level of the mRNA coding for the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+)-ATPase in isolated ventricular myocytes from streptozotocin-diabetic rats and genetically obese (fa/fa) rats using Northern blotting techniques. In both animal models one single transcript with a mean size of 4.12 kb could be detected. In insulin-deficient rats the Ca(2+)-ATPase transcript level decreased by 51% when compared to normal rats. In obese animals a modest decrease in the Ca(2+)-ATPase mRNA content to 77% of lean controls has been detected. Decreased mRNA expression of the SR Ca(2+)-ATPase may partly explain the delayed diastolic relaxation observed in the diabetic heart.