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Abstract Background Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections are a significant public health concern as they can cause serious illness and outbreaks. In England, STEC incidence is highest among children and guidance recommends that children under six diagnosed with STEC are excluded from childcare until two consecutive stool cultures are negative. We aimed to describe the barriers and facilitators to implementing exclusion and the impact of exclusion policies on young children and their families. Methods Individual level data was obtained from a wider study focusing on shedding duration among STEC cases aged

An instructional technology application of QR (quick response) codes for introducing commonly used chemistry laboratory apparatus for visually impaired students is presented. Audio commentaries describing commonly used apparatus were recorded. The commentaries consisted of concise introductions and applications of various apparatus used in high school and undergraduate chemistry laboratories. The QR code for each apparatus was produced and linked to the corresponding audio commentary via a unique URL. The QR code labels were attached to the apparatus. The QR codes were scanned on a mobile device and an audio commentary was played. Sixteen visually impaired students participated in testing the activity. The results of the testing activity underscored the efficacy of the technology offering an assisted physical learning experience. Technology presented in this article does not give visually impaired students an independent learning experience, rather it gives them an assisted learning experience which enhances their sense of inclusion in a laboratory environment.

Interlocking toy building blocks (e.g., Lego) as chemistry teaching modules are presented. Interlocking building blocks were assembled on a baseplate to depict chemistry concepts of Lewis structures, chemical bonding, conjugate acid-base pairs, types of chemical reactions, irregularity in ionization energy trends, and the decay of a radioactive isotope. The modules were presented to visualize these chemical concepts in undergraduate introductory and general chemistry classrooms. Modules were presented on a document camera in an online mode of delivery.

Purpose: To report the outcomes of pars plana insertion of Aurolab aqueous drainage implant (AADI) in adults with refractory glaucoma by the novel technique of making scleral tunnel instead of patch graft to cover the tube to prevent its migration. Methods: A retrospective study was done between April 2016 and April 2018 on patients with ≥12 months of follow-up. The main outcome measure was a surgical failure at 12 months. The failure was defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) >18 mmHg or IOP ≤5 mmHg on two consecutive follow-up visits after 3 months, reoperation for glaucoma, loss of light perception vision, or implant explantation. Alternate definitions of failure including IOP >21 and IOP >15 mmHg were also considered. Results: The study included 32 eyes of 32 patients. The mean age was 46.2 ± 17.5 years. The most common etiology is traumatic glaucoma (12 eyes, 37.5%). The mean preoperative IOP and anti-glaucoma medications were 43.3 ± 10.3 and 3.4 ± 0.5 mmHg, respectively; both the parameters at the final follow-up were reduced to 15.2 ± 8.1 and 1.6 ± 0.5 mmHg. The Kaplan–Meier survival estimates demonstrated that the cumulative probability of failure was 15.6% (95% CI; 6.8–33.5%) at 3 months, 18.7% (95% CI; 8.9–37.0%) at 6 months, and 25.0% (95% CI; 13.4–43.8%) at 12 months. Conclusion: Pars plana AADI implantation with a newer modification technique is a useful procedure in reducing IOP and the number of anti-glaucoma medications in the eyes with refractory glaucoma. The visual acuity may be stabilized with the concurrent treatment of posterior segment pathology.

A series of 21 sulfoester and sulfonamide derivatives comprising two aromatic rings was synthesized to investigate the effect of the presence of either electron-donating (ED) or electron-withdrawing (EW) groups on the intramolecular π-stacking assembly. The positioning of ED or EW moieties was carried out directly on one of the aromatic rings linked to the sulfonyl or sulfonamide moieties. In contrast, the other aromatic ring (phenyl or pyridine) was connected by a –CH2–CH2– spacer with the sulfonyl or sulfonamide moiety. The purpose of having an ethyl spacer between the two aromatic rings was to achieve conformational flexibility, facilitating the intramolecular π-stacking assembly between the two aromatic rings. The use of sulfoester/sulfonamide groups allowed more conformational flexibility to attain desired orientations in solids with the interplay of the hydrogen-bonding interactions. Between the two functional groups, sulfonamides offered a more hydrogen-rich environment due to the amine moiety and may exhibit higher H-bonding propensity than the sulfoester moiety. The central idea here was to study the interplay between the hydrogen-bonding and π⋯π interactions. The substituent groups chosen were categorized as strong electron-withdrawing (–CF3 and –CN), weak electron-withdrawing (–Cl and –Br), neutral (–H), and good electron-donating (–CH3 and –OCH3) groups. Crystal structure analysis revealed the syn conformation for all the derivatives, enabling intramolecular π⋯π interactions between the two aromatic rings, whereas in the sulfonamide derivatives, the molecule takes either midway or anti conformations, except for one pyridine sulfonamide derivative, which showed the syn orientation but lacked intramolecular π-stacking interactions. The absence of any conventional H-bond forming functional groups in the sulfoester derivatives may have resulted in the syn geometry facilitated by intramolecular π-stacking interactions. Conversely, H-bond-forming functional groups in the sulfonamide derivatives could have prevented the syn conformation. The conformational analysis carried out employing density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed the higher stability of the syn conformation over the midway and anti orientations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of multi-emission organic solid-state materials in response to external stimuli has sparked the scientific community due to their potential application in developing sophisticated optoelectronic sensors and bioanalytical tools. This article presents green fluorescent protein chromophore (GFPc) analogue-based polymorphs exhibiting significantly different emissions due to various noncovalent interactions in the supramolecular environment and conformational alterations in the crystalline state. In both compounds (A and B), the polymorphs undergo monotropic thermal phase transitions that are characterized by DSC, HSM, and VT-PXRD techniques. The distinct fluorescent emission characteristics of these polymorphs demonstrated morphology-related optical waveguiding features. Specifically, the plate-type Form A1 emitted light with a 2D blue hue, while the needle-type Form A2 emitted light with a yellowish-green colour. Additionally, the impressive waveguiding capabilities of Form B1 were explored in both straight and singly/doubly bending configurations to facilitate fluorescence propagation. Consequently, there is significant interest in developing organic materials based on GFP chromophores, which exhibit low emission in solution but display multi-fluorescent emission in the solid state. These materials are promising for applications such as optoelectronic devices, security tags, live cell imaging, and fluorescent inks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newborn primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) is an important subtype of PCG. Affected patients manifest specific signs that facilitate its recognition at birth and become important in the determination of appropriate treatment for this severe expression of PCG. Objective clinical evidence supports the occurrence of spontaneous resolution of PCG, explanation for which is unknown. Its mechanism could be related to continued postnatal development of the angle structures in eyes possessing milder angle abnormalities. The anterior segment findings are similar to those of patients with treated PCG such as normal intraocular pressures (IOPs), the optic nerve damage is stable, and filtration angles possess mild or moderate abnormalities. We describe a case of spontaneously resolved PCG in an 8 yearold female presenting with large cornea, Haab's striae, and normal IOP in one eye. Literature review shows limited data about such a case report being described from the Indian subcontinent.

Purpose: To evaluate the outcome of a nonvalved Aurolab aqueous drainage implant (AADI) in the management of refractory glaucoma. Methods: Retrospective case series of patients with refractory glaucoma underwent AADI implantation in posterior segment (PS group) or anterior chamber (AC group) with minimum follow-up of 1 year. Primary outcome criterion was success, defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) 6 mm Hg or IOP reduced to

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a constellation of risk factors that, if left untreated, will often progress to greater metabolic defects such as type 2 diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. While these risk factors have been established for over 40 years, the definition of MetS warrants reconsideration in light of the substantial data that have emerged from studies of the gut microbiome. In this Review we present the existing recent literature that supports the gut microbiome's potential influence on the various risk factors of MetS. The interplay of the intestinal microbiota with host metabolism has been shown to be mediated by a myriad of factors, including a defective gut barrier, bile acid metabolism, antibiotic use, and the pleiotropic effects of microbially produced metabolites. These data show that events that start in the gut, often in response to external cues such as diet and circadian disruption, have far-reaching effects beyond the gut., Introduction The gut microbiome has been implicated in the etiopathogenesis of multiple diseases ranging from the intestinal (inflammatory bowel diseases, colon cancer) to the neurological (Parkinson's disease, autism). However, definition [...]

Excluding children with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) from childcare until microbiologically clear of the pathogen, disrupts families, education, and earnings. Since PCR introduction, non-O157 STEC serotype detections in England have increased. We examined shedding duration by serotype and transmission risk, to guide exclusion advice. We investigated STEC cases aged <6 years, residing in England and attending childcare, with diarrhoea onset or sample date from 31 March 2018 to 30 March 2022. Duration of shedding was the interval between date of onset or date first positive specimen and earliest available negative specimen date. Transmission risk was estimated from proportions with secondary cases in settings attended by infectious cases. There were 367 cases (STEC O157 n  = 243, 66.2%; STEC non-O157 n  = 124, 33.8%). Median shedding duration was 32 days (IQR 20–44) with no significant difference between O157 and non-O157; 2% (n  = 6) of cases shed for ≥100 days. Duration of shedding was reduced by 17% (95% CI 4–29) among cases reporting bloody diarrhoea. Sixteen settings underwent screening; four had secondary cases (close contacts' secondary transmission rate = 13%). Shedding duration estimates were consistent with previous studies (median 31 days, IQR 17–41). Findings do not warrant guidance changes regarding exclusion and supervised return of prolonged shedders, despite serotype changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract P21‐activated kinase‐1 (PAK‐1) is a serine/threonine kinase involved in multiple signaling pathways that mediate cellular functions such as cytoskeletal motility, cell proliferation, and survival. PAK‐1 expression is altered in various cancers, including prostate and breast. Our recent studies showed that prostate cancer cells expressing higher levels of PAK‐1 were resistant to the cytotoxic effects of the PAK‐1 inhibitor, inhibitor targeting PAK‐1 activation‐3 (IPA‐3), compared to those with lower expression. This study expanded these findings to other cancers (breast and melanoma) by testing the hypothesis that genetic and pharmacological inhibition of PAK‐1 alters cell growth, migration, and invasion in prostate, breast, and skin cancer cell lines. We also tested the specificity of IPA‐3 for PAK‐1 and the hypothesis that gene silencing of PAK‐1 altered the efficacy of sterically stabilized liposomes (SSL) containing IPA‐3 (SSL‐IPA‐3). PAK‐1 expression was identified in four different breast cancer cell lines, and in a melanoma cell line. The expression of PAK‐1 correlated to the IC50 of IPA‐3 as measured by MTT staining. PAK‐1 inhibition using shRNA correlated with decreased cell migration and invasion in prostate cancer DU‐145 and breast cancer MCF‐7 cells. Decreased migration and invasion also correlated to decreased expression of E‐cadherin and alterations in C‐X‐C Chemokine Receptor type 4 and Homing Cell Adhesion Molecule expression. PAK‐1 inhibition increased the cytotoxicity of IPA‐3, and the cytotoxicity of SSL‐IPA‐3 to levels comparable to that of free drug. These data demonstrate that both pharmacological and molecular inhibition of PAK‐1 decreased growth in prostate, breast, and melanoma cancer cell lines, and increased the toxicity of IPA‐3 and its liposomal formulation. These data also show the specificity of IPA‐3 for PAK‐1, are some of the first data suggesting that IPA‐3 is a therapeutic treatment for breast cancer and melanoma, and demonstrate the efficacy of liposome‐encapsulated IPA‐3 in breast cancer cells.