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In gravitational lensing, central images in quads can serve as a powerful probe of the inner regions of lens galaxies. The presence of an offset central supermassive black hole (SMBH) has the potential to distort the time-delay surface in a way such that 3 central images form: a strongly de-magnified image near the SMBH, and two less de-magnified (and potentially observable) images at a central maximum and saddle point. Using a quad lens macro model, we simulate the constraints that could be placed on various lens galaxy parameters based on their central images probability of detection or non-detection. Informed by a recent low-redshift distribution of off-nucleus AGN, we utilize Bayesian inference to constrain the mean SMBH off-nucleus distance and galactic core radius for a sample of 6 quads. In general, we find that a detection of the central image in any quad would favor larger SMBH off-nucleus distances and galaxy core sizes. Assuming a linear relationship between core radii and velocity dispersion $r_c = b\sigma$, these results similarly imply strong constraints on $b$, where the likely case of a central image non-detection in each quad constraining $b$ to $3.11^{+2.72}_{-2.26} \times 10^{-4}$ kpc km$^{-1}$ s. Our results show that tight constraints on lens galaxy parameters can be made regardless of a detection or non-detection of a central image. Therefore, we recommend observational searches for the central image, possibly using our suggested novel detection technique in UV filters, to formalize stronger constraints on lens galaxy parameters., Comment: MNRAS, Accepted, 20 pages, 15 figures

Biallelic pathogenic variants in lipoprotein lipase (LPL) cause familial chylomicronemia syndrome with severe hypertriglyceridemia (HTG), defined as plasma triglycerides (TG)10 mmol/L (885 mg/dL). TG levels in individuals with one copy of a pathogenic LPL gene variant is less familiar; some assume that the phenotype is intermediate between homozygotes and controls.We undertook an evaluation of the longitudinal TG phenotype of individuals heterozygous for pathogenic LPL variants.Medically stable outpatients were evaluated based on having: (1) a single copy of a rare pathogenic LPL variant; and (2) serial fasting TG measurements obtained over1.5 years of follow-up.Fifteen patients with a single pathogenic LPL variant were followed for a mean of 10.3 years (range 1.5 to 30.3 years). TG levels varied widely both within and between patients. One patient had normal TG levels2.0 mmol/L (175 mg/dL) continuously, while four patients had at least one normal TG level. Most patients fluctuated between mild-to-moderate and severe HTG: five patients had only mild-to-moderate HTG, with TG levels ranging from 2.0 to 9.9 mmol/L (175 to 885 mg/dL), while 6 patients had at least one instance of severe HTG. Of the 203 total TG measurements from these patients, 14.8%, 67.0% and 18.2% were in the normal, mild-to-moderate and severe HTG ranges, respectively.The heterozygous LPL deficient phenotype is highly variable both within and between patients. Heterozygosity confers susceptibility to a wide range of TG phenotypes, with severity likely depending on secondary factors.

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CLINICAL RELEVANCE This study identifies key signs and symptoms of acute conjunctivitis, that when combined with a point-of-care test, can improve clinician accuracy of diagnosing adenoviral conjunctivitis. BACKGROUND Adenoviral conjunctivitis is a common ocular infection with the potential for high economic impact due to widespread outbreaks and subsequent furloughs from work and school. In this report, we describe clinical signs and participant-reported symptoms that most accurately identify polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed adenoviral conjunctivitis. METHODS Adults with 'red eye' symptoms of four days or less were enrolled. Participants rated 10 ocular symptoms from 0 (not bothersome) to 10 (very bothersome), and indicated the presence or absence of systemic flu-like symptoms. Clinicians determined the presence or absence of swollen lymph nodes and rated the severity of eight ocular signs using a 5-point scale. An immunoassay targeting adenovirus antigen was utilised for the point-of-care test, and conjunctival swab samples were obtained for subsequent adenovirus detection by PCR analyses. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify symptoms and signs associated with PCR-confirmed adenoviral conjunctivitis. The diagnostic accuracy of these clinical findings, and the potential benefit of incorporating point-of-care test results, was assessed by calculating areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC). RESULTS Clinician-rated bulbar conjunctival redness, participant-rated eyelid swelling and overall ocular discomfort had the best predictive value in the multivariate logistic regression model with an AUC of 0.83. The addition of the point-of-care test results to these three clinical sign/symptom scores improved diagnostic accuracy, increasing the AUC to 0.94. CONCLUSIONS Conjunctival redness severity and participant-reported eyelid swelling and overall discomfort, along with adenoviral point-of-care test results, were highly predictive in identifying individuals with PCR-confirmed adenoviral conjunctivitis. Improved diagnostic accuracy by clinicians at the initial presenting visit could prevent unnecessary work furloughs and facilitate earlier treatment decisions.

Introduction Iliac crest bone grafts (ICBG) are commonly used to heal non-union fractures in orthopaedic and maxillofacial surgery. The most common complications are pain, haematoma, neurovascular injury and scarring however one complication that is mentioned less frequently is herniation of abdominal contents. We emphasise the importance of this complication, and describe a technique that can be used to repair this when there is herniation. Case A 76 year old gentleman developed squamous cell carcinoma of the right mandible in 2019. The right mandible was resected, followed by an iliac crest free flap from the left side with a prophylactic prolene mesh which was performed in 2020. The patient then received adjuvant chemotherapy. Shortly thereafter, the patient developed a lump which became increasingly painful. The patient was referred onto the general surgical team after a CT scan showed herniation of colon and small bowel loops at the donor site. The patient underwent a hernia repair in November 2022 and is recovering well. Discussion and conclusion Herniation of abdominal contents following ICBG are rare and potentially dangerous complication that can lead to significant morbidity and even mortality. Here we present an open repair of a recurrent hernia, using a pre-peritoneal mesh. A pre-peritoneal plane was developed all around to ensure there is good overlap of the mesh and was anchored to a mini-plate that was fixed to the iliac bone. Pre-peritoneal meshes should be preferred to fix hernia defects caused from ICBGs, which otherwise can cause significant morbidity in patients with ICBGs.

Discarded waste rubber has become a major problem to the environment due to the increase of rubber usage in the modern world. As a solution, waste rubber can be embedded in rubberized concrete by partially replacing the fine and coarse aggregates. Due to the nature of rubber, there is a high potential for the rubberized concrete to have high impact absorbent properties. Most of the firing rang walls are made with normal concrete and bricks in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this study focuses on investigating the use of rubberized concrete for firing range walls. The study consists of an experimental analysis of live fire tests and a numerical analysis of the high velocity impacts. Penetration depth and crater diameter were taken as the scales of measuring the level of damage to the walls. Numerical analysis results show lower penetration depth in rubberized concrete than in normal concrete. However, experimental analysis shows higher penetration depth in rubberized concrete compared to normal concrete. However, it is worth noticing that the crater diameter and cracks around the penetration are comparatively improved in the case of rubberized concrete. Therefore, rubberized concrete appeared to be a better alternative for firing range walls.

Vat photopolymerization is a versatile 3D printing method that produces parts using polymeric materials with uniform mechanical properties, high quality surface finish and high-resolution features. However, it is challenging to make composite materials with vat photopolymerization mainly due to the imperfect filler dispersion in the photo resin. Herein, we describe a methodology to incorporate aramid nanofibers (ANFs) into a 3D printable photoresin as a dispersion, followed by a solvent exchange process that limits anisotropic shrinkage and cracking of the printed polymer. By incorporating 0.60 wt.% of ANFs, both the tensile strength and toughness increased by 264 % and 219 % respectively, while the Young’s modulus had a 406 % increase compared to the control photoresin.

Mycotoxins have become a serious issue in the animal feed industry and have also affected the aquaculture industry. Mycotoxins can create serious health problems in aquatic and terrestrial animals, and their presence in agricultural products may result in significant economic losses. To reduce the impact of mycotoxins on Nile tilapia fry, two commercially available products—Organically Modified Clinoptilolite (OMC) and multi-component mycotoxin detoxifying agent (MMDA)—were used in this study. Six diets as treatments (T1 = Control (C); T2 = Control + OMC 2 g/kg (OMC); T3 = Control + MMDA 2 g/kg (MMDA); T4 = AFB1 0.5 mg/kg (AF); T5 = AFB1 0.5 mg/kg + 2 g/kg OMC (AFOMC); T6 = AFB1 0.5 mg/kg + MMDA 2 g/kg (AFMMDA)) with similar crude protein levels (35.75 ± 0.35%) were formulated and fed to Nile tilapia fry (1.97 ± 0.1 g) for a period of 84 days. These fish were housed in 18 aquaria (100 L) at a density of 50 fish/aquarium. The results from this study showed that MMDA significantly (p < 0.05) improved the survival of fish by 16% as compared to the control group. Nevertheless, growth parameters were not affected among the treatments. These results also indicated that protein intake was significantly higher in the control and OMC diet (T2) compared to aflatoxin B1-fed tilapia. The protein efficiency ratio (PER) was significantly higher in the AFMMDA as compared to the control and MMDA. A 14-day bacterial challenge test with Aeromonas hydrophila demonstrated that diets containing MMDA or OMC improved survival when AFB1 was present in the diet. Therefore, the supplementation of feed with MMDA or OMC is recommended to ameliorate the negative effects of AFB1 in Nile Tilapia feeds.

BackgroundFemale underrepresentation in oncology clinical trials can result in outcome disparities. We evaluated female participant representation in US oncology trials by intervention type, cancer site, and funding.Materials and MethodsData were extracted from the publicly available Aggregate Analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov database. Initially, 270 172 studies were identified. Following the exclusion of trials using Medical Subject Heading terms, manual review, those with incomplete status, non-US location, sex-specific organ cancers, or lacking participant sex data, 1650 trials consisting of 240 776 participants remained. The primary outcome was participation to prevalence ratio (PPR): percent females among trial participants divided by percent females in the disease population per US Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program data. PPRs of 0.8-1.2 reflect proportional female representation.ResultsFemales represented 46.9% of participants (95% CI, 45.4-48.4); mean PPR for all trials was 0.912. Females were underrepresented in surgical (PPR 0.74) and other invasive (PPR 0.69) oncology trials. Among cancer sites, females were underrepresented in bladder (odds ratio [OR] 0.48, 95% CI 0.26-0.91, P = .02), head/neck (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.29-0.68, P < .01), stomach (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.23-0.70, P < .01), and esophageal (OR 0.40 95% CI 0.22-0.74, P < .01) trials. Hematologic (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.09-1.82, P < .01) and pancreatic (OR 2.18, 95% CI 1.46-3.26, P < .01) trials had higher odds of proportional female representation. Industry-funded trials had greater odds of proportional female representation (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.09-1.82, P = .01) than US government and academic-funded trials.ConclusionsStakeholders should look to hematologic, pancreatic, and industry-funded cancer trials as exemplars of female participant representation and consider female representation when interpreting trial results.

Background: Early-life stress is associated with alterations in telomere length, a marker of accumulated stress and aging, and a risk factor for psychiatric disorders. Nonhuman primate maternal variable foraging demand (VFD) is a validated early-life stress model, resulting in anxiety- and depressive-like symptoms in offspring. Previous studies reported increased plasma glucagon-like peptide 1 (pGLP-1) along with insulin resistance in this model. We investigated whether VFD rearing related to adult telomere length and to these neuroendocrine markers. Methods: Adult leukocyte telomere length was measured in VFD-reared (12 males, 13 females) and non-VFD–reared (9 males, 26 females) bonnet macaques. Associations between adult telomere length and adolescent fasting pGLP-1 or insulin resistance in VFD-reared versus non-VFD–reared groups were examined using regression modeling, controlling for sex, weight, and age. Results: VFD subjects had relatively longer telomeres than non-VFD subjects (p = .017), and females relatively longer than males (p = .0004). Telomere length was positively associated with pGLP-1 (p = .0009) and with reduced insulin sensitivity (p < .0001) in both sexes, but not as a function of rearing group. Conclusions: Unexpectedly, VFD was associated with longer adult telomere length. Insulin resistance may lead to higher pGLP-1 levels in adolescence, which could protect telomere length in VFD offspring as adults. Associations between adult telomere length and adolescent insulin resistance and high pGLP-1 may reflect an adaptive, compensatory response after early-life stress exposure.

The efficacy and specificity of protein, DNA, and RNA-based drugs have made them popular in the clinic; however, their susceptibility to environmental stressors adds significant challenges to formulating biomacromolecules into delivery systems where the kinetics of release can be tuned. Further, these drugs are often delivered via injection, which requires skilled medical personnel and produces biohazardous waste. Here, we report an approach that allows for the controlled delivery of DNA and protein therapeutics to allow for either burst or slow-release kinetics without altering the formulation; further, we show we can deliver these materials into the tissues of very different organisms without the use of needles. We show that biomaterials encapsulated within the highly porous metal-organic Framework ZIF-8 are stable as a powder formulation that can be shot into tissue with a low-cost gas-powered “MOF-Jet” for direct delivery into living tissues of plants and animals and the release of the biomaterials can be controlled by judiciously choosing the compressed gas used in the gun. Many MOFs, including ZIF-8, are acid labile and readily dissolve at low pH. When CO2 is used as the carrier gas to shoot MOFs into moist tissue, we show that we can create a transient and weakly acidic local environment that causes the near-instantaneous release of the biomolecules. Conversely, when air is used, the MOF is delivered into tissue and degrades slowly over a week, releasing biomolecules. This innovation represents the first example of biolistic-mediated controlled delivery of biomolecules with ZIF-8 and provides a powerful tool for fundamental and applied plant and animal sciences research.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn.) is an important medicinal and spice crop which belongs to the family Zingiberaceae. Rhizomes are the commercially valuable part of the plant, commonly used as planting material in conventional propagation. Normally large portion (20-25%) of good quality rhizomes must be allocated as planting materials from the fresh harvest. Higher susceptibility to soil borne diseases is also a problem in using rhizomes as planting materials. Therefore, development of novel propagation techniques is important. The in vitro propagation has been considered as an effective alternative method for rapid regeneration of turmeric. Based on the above facts it is important to review the in-vitro propagation studies conducted in worldwide in order to identify best in-vitro propagation protocol suitable for local condition. In this regard, explant sterilization is a crucial factor; 70% ethanol, Carbendazim (fungicide), mercuric chloride and Clorox (commercial bleach) are mainly used to sterilize sprouting rhizome buds. Hormones such as BAP (6-Benzylaminopurine), BA (Benzyl Adenine), Kn (Kinetin) alone or in combination with NAA (Naphthalene Acetic Acid) or IAA (Indole-3-Acetic Acid) are commonly used in shoot multiplication as they play a vital role in bud production (2.0-4.0 mg/l of BAP were found as best hormone concentrations for shoot initiation). Roots were mainly induced by auxins like IBA (Indole Butyric Acid), IAA and NAA (2.0mg/l IBA). When acclimatization was done properly with Sand: Soil: Peat (1:1:1) combination as the potting media 70-90% of survival rate could be observed from regenerated plantlets.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation method that is rapidly growing in popularity for studying causal brain-behavior relationships. However, its dose-dependent direct neural mechanisms and indirect sensory co-stimulation effects remain hotly debated. Understanding how TMS modulates neural activity at different scales and how stimulation parameters affect brain responses is vital for the rational design of TMS protocols. Studying these mechanisms in humans is challenging due to the limited spatiotemporal resolution of available non-invasive neuroimaging methods. Here, we leverage invasive recordings of local field potentials in non-human primates and show that mesoscale early TMS-evoked potentials are dose and location dependent. Further, we employ several control conditions to dissociate direct neural responses from auditory and somatosensory co-activation. These results provide crucial evidence regarding TMS neural effects at the brain circuit level. Our findings are highly relevant for interpreting human TMS studies and biomarker developments for TMS target engagement in clinical applications.