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This article discusses the potential therapeutic effects of interferon-lambda (IFN-λ) inhalation on allergic asthma. The study found that inhalation of IFN-λ reduced airway hyperresponsiveness, improved lung histopathology, and suppressed Th2 immune responses in mice with allergic asthma. Additionally, IFN-λ inhalation led to a decrease in the production of interleukin-33 (IL-33) in the respiratory epithelial cells, which is a key cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma. These findings suggest that delivering IFN-λ to the respiratory epithelium could be an effective treatment for allergic asthma. The research was supported by grants from the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been associated with advanced stage cancer at diagnosis, higher mortality, and lower long‐term all‐cause survival. This was a RCT pilot study to examine the feasibility of a nurse‐led T2D intervention for adults with newly diagnosed cancer (≤3 months), and T2D, undiagnosed or untreated with medication, conducted at an outpatient oncology clinic affiliated with a large academic institution. Methods: Participants needed to meet the eligibility criteria including a HbA1c level between 6.5% and 9.9%. Randomization was 1:1 to a 3‐month intervention that consisted of nursing‐led diabetes education and immediate initiation of metformin versus referral to primary care for usual care (control). Results: Three hundred and seventy nine patients were screened using EHR, 55 agreed to participate, and 3 had eligible HbA1c levels and were randomized in the study. Primary reasons for study exclusion included life expectancy ≤2 years (16.9%), current use or inability to tolerate metformin (14.8%), and abnormal labs that contraindicated metformin use (13.9%). Conclusion: This study was not feasible due to recruitment inefficiencies, but acceptable to all who qualified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: l‐Leucine powder (LP) was added to green Robusta coffee beans in order to reduce the difference in flavour between Robusta and Arabica coffee. l‐Leucine was selected as an additive based on the Maillard reaction. The pre‐treatment method conducted in this study was a short soaking (M1) or spraying procedure (M2), then LP was added at varying levels up to 3% (w/w, 30 g kg−1). All samples were roasted (240 °C for 15 min) and extracted using an espresso machine. Volatile compounds were analysed by solid‐phase microextraction‐gas chromatography‐mass selective detection. RESULTS: Thirty volatile compounds (six pyrroles, eight pyrazines, three phenols, nine furans, two ketones, two aldehydes) were analysed. In 15 coffee samples, the levels of total volatile compounds (based on peak area ratios) ranged from 8.9 (M1‐1) to 15. Non‐treated Robusta had higher levels of bitter aroma compounds than Arabica coffee, and Robusta coffee had lower levels of bitter aroma compounds when pre‐treated with LP. The sum of bitter volatiles (phenols, pyrroles, pyrazines) was lowest in M1‐5 (3% LP), M2‐1 (1% LP; both dried at 50 °C for 15 min) and M2‐7 (3% LP, dried at 70 °C for 15 min) compared with non‐treated Robusta (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: From the results of this study it can be shown that pre‐treatment with LP can improve the flavour of Robusta. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐resolution 3D‐printable hydrogels with high mechanical strength and biocompatibility are in great demand because of their potential applications in numerous fields. In this study, a material system comprising Pluronic F‐127 dimethacrylate (FDMA) is developed to function as a direct ink writing (DIW) hydrogel for 3D printing. FDMA is a triblock copolymer that transforms into micelles at elevated temperatures. The transformation increases the viscosity of FDMA and preserves its structure during DIW 3D printing, whereupon the printed structure is solidified through photopolymerization. Because of this viscosity shift, various functionalities can be incorporated through the addition of other materials in the solution state. Acrylic acid is incorporated into the pregel solution to enhance the mechanical strength, because the carboxylate group of poly(acrylic acid) ionically crosslinks with Fe3+, increasing the toughness of the DIW hydrogel 37 times to 2.46 MJ m−3. Tough conductive hydrogels are also 3D printed by homogenizing poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate into the pregel solution. Furthermore, the FDMA platform developed herein uses DIW, which facilitates multicartridges 3D printing, and because all the materials included are biocompatible, the platform may be used to fabricate complex structures for biological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pesticides and veterinary drugs are generally employed to control pests and insects in crop and livestock farming. However, remaining residues are considered potentially hazardous to human health and the environment. Therefore, regular monitoring is required for assessing and legislation of pesticides and veterinary drugs. Various approaches to determining residues in various agricultural and animal food products have been reported. Most analytical methods involve sample extraction, purification (cleanup), and detection. Traditional sample preparation is time‐consuming labor‐intensive, expensive, and requires a large amount of toxic organic solvent, along with high probability for the decomposition of a compound before the analysis. Thus, modern sample preparation techniques, such as the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method, have been widely accepted in the scientific community for its versatile application; however, it still requires a laboratory setup for the extraction and purification processes, which also involves the utilization of a toxic solvent. Therefore, it is crucial to elucidate recent technologies that are simple, portable, green, quick, and cost‐effective for onsite and infield residue detections. Several technologies, such as surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy, quantum dots, biosensing, and miniaturized gas chromatography, are now available. Further, several onsite techniques, such as ion mobility–mass spectrometry, are now being upgraded; some of them, although unable to analyze field sample directly, can analyze a large number of compounds within very short time (such as time‐of‐flight and Orbitrap mass spectrometry). Thus, to stay updated with scientific advances and analyze organic contaminants effectively and safely, it is necessary to study all of the state‐of‐art technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite improved survival rates, cancer survivors are experiencing worse health outcomes with complications of treatment, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), that may deteriorate survivorship. The purpose of this review was to provide a comprehensive review of T2D incidence following cancer diagnosis. Methods: The study included: (1) cohort studies, (2) cancer diagnosis by a doctor, (3) incidence of T2D after diagnosis of cancer, and (4) adult patients over 18 years. Studies that focused on patients who had T2D as a preexisting condition at cancer diagnosis were excluded. Results: Of a total of 16 studies, overall incidence of T2D ranged from 5.4% to 55.3%. The highest T2D incidence rate was observed in colorectal patients with cancer (53%). While results in prostate patients with cancer were mixed, patients who underwent androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) had a significantly higher incidence of new‐onset T2D (12.8%, p = 0.01). Patients treated with chemotherapy within 1–5 years of initial diagnosis of colorectal cancer were at approximately 30% higher risk of T2D. One study found that 48% of T2D was preventable with optimal management during the process of patient care. Conclusion: Blood glucose management may allow physicians to intervene early and improve outcomes among patients with cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To develop and validate a risk assessment tool called the Prescription Medication Non‐Adherence Prediction Tool (Rx‐NAPT) to predict medication nonadherence in patients with fibromyalgia. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using claims data from South Carolina Medicaid. Patients with fibromyalgia who were ≥18 years old and who had filled at least 1 prescription medication for pregabalin, duloxetine, or milnacipran from January 1, 2005, through June 30, 2011 were included. Medication possession ratios (MPRs) were calculated to classify patients as adherent (MPR ≥ 80%) or nonadherent (MPR < 80%). Multivariable logistic models using 100 bootstrap replications (with replacement) were used to identify factors associated with medication nonadherence, including age, gender, race, days' supply, medication type, and fibromyalgia‐related comorbidity score. Weighted β coefficients of the predictors were used to create the Rx‐NAPT. Youden's J statistic was used to classify nonadherent patients into different levels of risk. Results: The study sample comprised 6,626 patients with fibromyalgia, where 4,804 (72.50%) were non‐adherent and 1,822 (27.50%) were adherent to their prescribed medication(s). Logistic regression models showed that 7 predictors (gender, age, race, fibromyalgia‐related comorbidity score, medication type, health maintenance organization coverage, emergency room visit) were statistically significant in ≥50% of the bootstrapped samples. The final model demonstrated reasonable discrimination (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.6224) and calibration (Hosmer‐Lemeshow goodness‐of‐fit; P > 0.05) statistics and was validated internally (AUC = 0.6372). Conclusion: Poor adherence with medication remains an important barrier to providing optimal care. Our risk prediction model provides an easy tool to help clinicians better identify patients with fibromyalgia who may not take their medications as prescribed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly dispersive Au nanoparticles on carbon black (Au NPs/CB) were synthesized in situ with co‐present two different reducing agents of NaBH4 at various concentrations and citrate at a constant concentration of 3 mM. The average diameters of Au NPs on carbon support were in the range from 5.8 (±2.4) to 2.0 (±0.4) nm, with 50 particles quantified. Electrocatalytic activities of as‐prepared Au NPs/CB were explored for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in basic solution with rotating disk electrode (RDE) and rotating ring‐disk electrode (RRDE) voltammetry. In results, the Au NPs/CB synthesized with 0.2 mM NaBH4 (2.0 nm of Au NPs diameter) represented the highest ORR catalytic activity with electron transfer number of 3.9 and mass activity of 0.25 mA cm−2 μg−1as well as a perfect resistance to methanol contamination. Especially, the half‐wave potential of ORR curve which related to the kinetics of oxygen reduction was more positive compared with previously reported Au‐based ORR catalysts. In addition, the Au NPs/CB prepared with 0.2 mM NaBH4 was also examined as a CO2 reduction catalyst in KHCO3 with KCl solution with scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). CO2 was reduced to CO selectively without hydrogen evolution at Au NPs/CB substrate electrode, which was directly monitored with an electrochemical CO microsensor as a tip electrode in SECM. In addition, we have identified the products of CO2 reduction through gas chromatography (GC)‐mass spectrometry (MS), flame ionization detector (FID), and thermal conductivity detector (TCD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have electrodeposited palladium and gold micropatternings using scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) with the metal precursor ions generated via anodic dissolution of the ultramicroelectrode (UME) tip itself. Concurrently, in‐situ reduction of the metal ions occurred at the substrate electrode, where the deposition parameters were optimized. In particular, this is the first direct Pd patterning using Pd dissolution without any mediators. The catalytic activities of oxygen reduction on the Pd or Au were studied with tip generation‐substrate collection mode of SECM. The possibility of simultaneous co‐deposition of Pd and Au was also demonstrated using a dual Pd and Au UME. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To examine medication adherence and healthcare costs for combination prescription initiators (duloxetine/milnacipran/venlafaxine with pregabalin) vs. monotherapy initiators (duloxetine, milnacipran, venlafaxine, and pregabalin) among patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Methods: Our retrospective cohort study used claims data for the South Carolina Blue Cross Blue Shield State Health Plan (SHP). Patients with FMS ≥ 18 years of age, with prescription initiation from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2010, and SHP enrollment for 12 months pre‐ and post‐index periods were included (combination: n = 100; pregabalin: n = 665; duloxetine: n = 713; milnacipran: n = 131; venlafaxine: n = 272). Medication adherence measures included high adherence (medication possession ratio ≥ 80%) and total supply days. Healthcare costs comprised direct medical expenditures. Propensity score methods of inverse probability of treatment weights were used to control for selection bias due to differing pre‐index characteristics. Results: Odds ratios for high adherence were significantly increased (P < 0.05) among the combination cohort vs. the venlafaxine (2.15), duloxetine (1.39), and pregabalin (2.20) cohorts. Rate ratios for total supply days were significantly higher (P < 0.05) for combination vs. venlafaxine (1.23), duloxetine (1.08), and pregabalin (1.32) cohorts. Expenditures for total health care were significantly higher (P < 0.05) for combination vs. duloxetine ($26,291 vs. $17,190), milnacipran ($33,638 vs. $22,886), and venlafaxine ($26,586 vs. $16,857) cohorts. Conclusions: Medication adherence was considerably better for combination prescription initiators; however, expenditures for total health care were higher. Still, our findings suggest important clinical benefits with the use of combination prescription therapy, and prospective studies of medication adherence are warranted to examine causal relationships with outcomes not captured by healthcare claims databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we have carried out electrodeposition of tantalum (Ta) nanostructures on pencil lead electrode in non-aqueous media at room temperature by applying a constant potential. The deposited Ta on pencil lead was examined for the catalytic effect regarding hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) reduction with voltammetry and amperometry. Ta/pencil lead electrode exhibited amperometric sensitivity of 0.317 μA mM−1 cm−2 and fast response time of 0.75 s, where selective detection of H2O2 was fulfilled without interruption from common electroactive biomaterials such as O2, uric acid, ascorbic acid, dopamine, acetamidophenol, and glucose. For practical applications, the dynamic concentration changes of H2O2 during catalase and glucose oxidase-involved reactions, either eliminating or producing H2O2, were successfully traced in real time with as-prepared electrode. From the kinetics study for catalase and glucose oxidase, we evaluated Michaelis constants ( Kmapp) as 7.8 mM for catalase and 37 mM for glucose oxidase, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously reported that the prognosis of microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) gastric cancer is similar to that of MSI-low/microsatellite stable (MSI-L/MSS) gastric cancer. The reason for this seemed to be related to the effects of chemotherapy. To verify this hypothesis, we expanded the study population and reanalyzed the prognosis of MSI-H gastric cancer. Data from 1,276 patients with Stage II and III gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy with curative intent between January 2005 and June 2010 were reviewed. The prognosis of MSI-H tumors in comparison with MSI-L/MSS tumors was analyzed, according to the administration of chemotherapy and other clinicopathologic features. A total of 361 (28.3%) patients did not receive chemotherapy (MSI-H = 47 and MSI-L/MSS = 314), whereas 915 (71.7%) patients did receive chemotherapy (MSI-H = 58 and MSI-L/MSS = 857). The hazard ratio of MSI-H versus MSI-L/MSS was 0.49 (95% confidence interval: 0.26-0.94, p = 0.031) when chemotherapy was not received and 1.16 (95% confidence interval: 0.78-1.71, p = 0.466) when chemotherapy was received. In subgroup analyses, the prognosis of MSI-H was better in Stage III, women, with lymph node metastasis, and undifferentiated histology subgroups when chemotherapy was not received. However, in patients treated with chemotherapy, prognosis was worse for MSI-H tumors in Stage III, undifferentiated histology, and diffuse type subgroups of gastric cancer. In conclusion, MSI-H tumors were associated with a good prognosis in Stage II and III gastric cancer when patients were treated by surgery alone, and the benefits of MSI-H status were attenuated by chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to evaluate the acid stability, release property and antimicrobial efficacy of Escherichia coli O157:H7 bacteriophages encapsulated in chitosan-alginate microspheres under the simulated gastrointestinal conditions. The bacteriophages belonging to Myoviridae family were stable at the pH above 4 in trypticase soy broth. The chitosan-alginate microspheres exhibited protective effect on the viability of bacteriophages in the simulated gastric conditions at pH 2.0 and pH 2.5, showing 4.8 and 5.6 log PFU mL-1, respectively, after 1 h of incubation at 37 °C. The release per cent of bacteriophages from microspheres gradually increased up to 65% in the simulated intestinal condition ( pH 7.5) at 37 °C for 6 h. The lytic efficacy of chitosan- and alginate-encapsulated bacteriophages against E. coli O157:H7 was significantly maintained in the simulated intestinal conditions to 10 h of incubation (1.3 log reduction). The results suggest that the chitosan-alginate microspheres can be used as a reliable delivery system for bacteriophages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work reports the facile synthesis and characterization of carbon-supported porous Pd shell coated Au nanochain networks (AuPdNNs/C). By using Co nanoframes as sacrificial templates, AuPdNNs/C series have been prepared by a two-step galvanic replacement reaction (GRR) technique. In the first step, the Au metal precursor, HAuCl4, reacts spontaneously with the formed Co nanoframes through the GRR, resulting in Au nanochain networks (AuNNs). The second GRR is performed with various concentrations of Pd precursor (0.1, 1, and 10 mM PdCl2), resulting in AuPdNNs/C. The synthesized AuPdNNs/C series are investigated as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solution. The physical properties of the AuPdNNs/C catalysts are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Rotating disk electrode (RDE) voltammetric studies show that the Au0.8Pd0.2NNs/C (prepared using 1 mM PdCl2) has the highest ORR activity among all the AuPdNNs/C series, which is comparable to commercial Pt catalyst (E-TEK). The ORR activity of AuPdNNs/C is presumably due to the enhanced Pd surface area and high porosity of Pd nanoshells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]