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Irisin, a polypeptide hormone that is released from skeletal muscle in response to exercise found to improve endothelial functions, protect against endothelial injuries and change blood pressure which also affected blood vessels. The aim of this study is to study the histological changes of the rat thoracic aorta in response to irisin injection. Thirty rats were used. Then divided into two groups; the control group without irisin injection, and the irisin injected group was subdivided into four subgroups with different irisin concentrations (20, 40 and 160 nM, respectively) twice a week for four weeks, the control group and each subgroup consisted of 6 rats each. After 4 weeks all rats were sacrificed, and the descending thoracic aorta was treated for histological evaluation. Sections were stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H and E) and orcein stains. Morphometric measurement included: intima-media thickness (IMT), number of elastic lamellae and number of smooth muscle cells nuclei. Histological study has shown that intraperitoneal injection of different concentrations of irisin (20, 40 and 160 nM) in rats has increased intima-media thickness, number of smooth muscle cell's nuclei, and increase the number of elastic lamellae in media layer of the thoracic aorta in a dose dependent manner. Irisin has significantly affected the morphology of the wall of the rat thoracic aorta indicating a role for irisin in influencing the growth factors of the thoracic aorta walls and activate smooth muscle cells in the thoracic aorta layers.

الملخص: أهداف البحث: إن معرفة الأجزاء التشريحية أثناء العمليات الجراحية يؤدي إلى تقليل المضاعفات، ومن هنا كان الهدف الرئيس للدراسة هو معرفة الأجزاء التشريحية التي يعتبرها أطباء الاختصاص مهمة؛ ويجب أن يكون المقيم المتدرب في مستوى السنة الثالثة قادرا على تحديدها أثناء العمليات الجراحية. بالإضافة إلى ذلك قمنا بدراسة العوامل التي قد تؤثر على آراء الأطباء الاختصاصيين. طرق البحث: شملت الدراسة أطباء اختصاصيين في التوليد والجراحة النسائية، الذين يعملون في مستشفيات يوجد فيها برامج تدريب للأطباء المقيمين وذلك في الفترة ما بين ١/٢/٢٠١٩ و٣٠/١٠/٢٠١٩. وطُلب من أطباء الاختصاص تقييم أهمية الأجزاء التشريحية التي يجب أن يكون المقيم المتدرب في السنة الثالثة قادرا على معرفتها أثناء العمليات الجراحية. ثم تم تحليل الاستجابات بناء على عمر الطبيب الاختصاصي وجنسه ونوع الممارسة إذا كانت في مستشفى عام أو خاص وعدد سنوات الخبرة وعبء العمل الجراحي. النتائج: استجاب للدراسة ١٦٥ اختصاصيا، وذلك بمعدل استجابة ٦٩.٣٪. وكان متوسط العمر ٤٦.١ سنة، ومتوسط عدد سنوات الخبرة ١٣.٤. بالإضافة إلى ذلك؛ صنف ٨٦.٦٪ من الاختصاصيين جميع الأجزاء على أنها ''أكثر أهمية''. لم تكن الأهمية حسب تصنيف االاختصاصيين مرتبطة بالجنس أو عدد سنوات الخبرة أو عبء العمل الجراحي. كما تم تصنيف أهمية ٦٣٪ من الأجزاء التشريحية ''أعلى'' من قبل الاختصاصيين المبتدئين مقارنة بالاختصاصيين الأكثر خبرة. الاستنتاجات: المعرفة بالتشريح الجراحي مهمة للتدريب في برامج الإقامة في التوليد والجراحة النسائية. إن تصور الاختصاصيين لأهمية الأجزاء التشريحية المختلفة يعكس فهمهم لمتطلبات التدريب. سلطت نتائجنا الضوء على الأجزاء التشريحية المهمة التي من المتوقع أن يعرفها الأطباء المقيمون في السنة الثالثة من التدريب أثناء العمليات الجراحية. قد يؤسس هذا البحث مدخلا لبحوث مستقبلية تشمل جميع سنوات التدريب وتعمل على تشكيل مرجعا لماهية المعرفة التشريحية المطلوبة لكل سنة تدريب. Abstract: Objectives: Intraoperative identification of anatomical structures can potentially reduce the risk of surgical complications. This study aims to report specialists' perspectives about the anatomical structures that third-year residents should be able to identify during surgical operations. In addition, the factors which may influence specialists' opinions are discussed. Materials and methods: This qualitative cross-sectional study was conducted on obstetricians and gynaecologists between 1/2/2019 and 30/10/2019. The specialists practising in a hospital with a residency programme were included, and were asked to rate the importance of structures that a third-year resident should be able to identify during operations. We performed a comparison of responses based on specialists' age, gender, practice type, years of experience, and surgical workload. Results: One hundred and sixty-five specialists were recruited with a response rate of 69.3%. The mean age of respondents was 46.1 years, and they had a mean experience of 13.4 years. Furthermore, 86.6% of specialists rated all the anatomical structures as “more important”. The importance of surgical structures, as rated by specialists, was not related to gender, years of experience, or surgical workload. The importance of 63% of the anatomical structures was rated higher by junior specialists than senior specialists. Conclusion: Knowledge of anatomical structures is vital for gynaecologic residency training. Specialist's perceptions of the importance of various anatomical structures reflect their understanding of the training requirements. Our results highlighted the important anatomical structures that third-year residents are expected to identify during surgical operations. Future research may establish a reference for the core anatomy knowledge essential for each training year.

In bacteria, ribosome kinetics are considered rate-limiting for protein synthesis and cell growth. Enhanced ribosome kinetics may augment bacterial growth and biomanufacturing through improvements to overall protein yield, but whether this can be achieved by ribosome-specific modifications remains unknown. Here, we evolve 16S ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) from Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Vibrio cholerae towards enhanced protein synthesis rates. We find that rRNA sequence origin significantly impacted evolutionary trajectory and generated rRNA mutants with augmented protein synthesis rates in both natural and engineered contexts, including the incorporation of noncanonical amino acids. Moreover, discovered consensus mutations can be ported onto phylogenetically divergent rRNAs, imparting improved translational activities. Finally, we show that increased translation rates in vivo coincide with only moderately reduced translational fidelity, but do not enhance bacterial population growth. Together, these findings provide a versatile platform for development of unnatural ribosomal functions in vivo., Ribosome kinetics are rate-limiting for protein synthesis. Here the authors evolve diverse 16S rRNAs for enhanced protein synthesis rates and genetic code expansion efficiencies in vivo.

This study aimed to determine the impact of DM, HTN and age on IVC dimensions as measured by CT scan relevant to guide interventions in a Jordanian population. Two hundred patients were selected from those referred to the Radiology Department, Jordan University Hospital, Amman, Jordan for clinical evaluation. Patients were divided into three age subgroups. Age, sex, and comorbidities such as DM and HTN were identified and saved for later use. All dimensions of the IVC were measured using an abdomino-pelvic CT scanner. A full morphometric analysis of the IVC would provide a better understanding of the dynamicity of the IVC in relation to its blood flow. Our results revealed that the length of the IVC was significantly shorter with age (P = 0.003). DM significantly affected the length of the IVC (P = 0.044). Hypertension also significantly affected the length of the IVC (P = 0.031), but it did not significantly affect the anterio-posterior or the transverse diameters of the IVC. The length of the IVC was significantly shorter with age, DM and hypertension. Morphometric measures of the IVC are of great clinical importance as they may assist in medical or surgical intervention and follow-up.

This study aims to evaluate the chemopreventive activity of two antioxidants (curcumin [CUM] and caffeic acid [CAF]), focusing on how these antioxidants could reduce cytotoxicity induced by short term secondhand exposure of waterpipe tobacco smoking. Forty-eight adult male BALB/c albino mice were equally divided into four groups. Antioxidants were delivered intraperitoneally, and the exposure to waterpipe smoking (WPS) was performed using a smoking machine. This experiment lasts for 14 consecutive days. Serum were collected from mice before dissection to quantify the activity of some liver enzymes, kidney function tests and proinflammatory cytokines. Lung, heart, and kidney were isolated and processed for light microscopy technique. Parallel treatment of CUM or CAF along with exposure to WPS showed less inflammation, less vacuolized, and more inflated alveoli, less deteriorations in cortex part of kidney, and less disintegration of cardiac myofibers in comparison to waterpipe only. Besides, CUM and CAF significantly reduced the activity of aspartate aminotransferase and proinflammatory cytokines. CUM and CAF were found to have anti-inflammatory and ameliorative effects against the cytotoxicity induced by exposure to waterpipe tobacco smoking, and CUM showed better chemopreventive activity than CAF.

Background and aims: Smoking posse’s serious health problems because there is no specific substance alleviate its toxicity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effective plant extract containing antioxidants(turmeric and cocoa), that may reduce the cytotoxicity induced by secondhand exposure of cigarettes and waterpipe smoking. Material and Methods: Seventy-two adult male albino rats were equally divided into 9 group (n=8 per group). Extracts were delivered to each group intraperitoneal, and the exposure to cigarette and waterpipe smoking was performed using a smoking machine for a period of 30 days. After the exposure period, tissues of interest (liver and small intestine) were removed and processed for transmission electron microscopy. Results: Oral treatment of turmeric and cocoa extract with smoking exposure showed less vacuolization and better cellular architecture with regular nuclear envelope of hepatocytes, reduce or absence of blebbing, retain the normal shape and size of mitochondria, increase the proportion of euchromatic chromatin in nuclei,but turmeric extract showed better enhancement in term of reducing vacuolization. turmeric or cocoa crude extract preserve the typical length of microvilli with a uniform organization from the apical part of enterocytes and decreased vacuolization in the cytosol of enterocytes. However, mitochondria appeared less polymorphic in shapes with distinct cristae and matrix in enterocytes of the turmeric treated group than the cocoa once. Conclusion: Tobacco smoking-induced adverse effects on hepatocytes and enterocytes, this study showed that treatment with turmeric and cocoa attenuatethe toxicity of tobacco smoking.

Synthetic biology strives to reliably control cellular behavior, typically in the form of user-designed interactions of biological components to produce a predetermined output. Engineered circuit components are frequently derived from natural sources and are therefore often hampered by inadvertent interactions with host machinery, most notably within the host central dogma. Reliable and predictable gene circuits require the targeted reduction or elimination of these undesirable interactions to mitigate negative consequences on host fitness and develop context-independent bioactivities. Here, we review recent advances in biological orthogonalization, namely the insulation of researcher-dictated bioactivities from host processes, with a focus on systematic developments that may culminate in the creation of an orthogonal central dogma and novel cellular functions.

The ribosome represents a promising avenue for synthetic biology, but its complexity and essentiality have hindered significant engineering efforts. Heterologous ribosomes, comprising rRNAs and r-proteins derived from different microorganisms, may offer opportunities for novel translational functions. Such heterologous ribosomes have previously been evaluated in E. coli via complementation of a genomic ribosome deficiency, but this method fails to guide the engineering of refractory ribosomes. Here, we implement orthogonal ribosome binding site (RBS):antiRBS pairs, in which engineered ribosomes are directed to researcher-defined transcripts, to inform requirements for heterologous ribosome functionality. We discover that optimized rRNA processing and supplementation with cognate r-proteins enhances heterologous ribosome function for rRNAs derived from organisms with ≥76.1% 16S rRNA identity to E. coli. Additionally, some heterologous ribosomes undergo reduced subunit exchange with E. coli-derived subunits. Cumulatively, this work provides a general framework for heterologous ribosome engineering in living cells., Synthetic biologists often co-opt heterologous parts to affect new functions in living cells, yet such an approach has rarely been extended to structural components of the ribosome. Here, the authors describe generalizable methods to express ribosomes from divergent microbes in E. coli and maximize their function.

Aluminum composites are preferred in many kinds of applications such as aviation, space, automotive, and marine, owing to their outstanding properties, high strength, and corrosion resistance. The main objective of the current study is to evaluate the mechanical properties of aluminum alloy 6061/titanium dioxide (micro-TiO

Lipoma is the most common soft tissue benign tumor in the body. It can occur in the head and neck area as well. Fibrolipoma is a variant of lipoma that contains fibrous tissue. Fibrolipomas of the head and neck are relatively rare, and their presentation depends largely on their size and location; some slowly growing tumors might go unnoticed until they reach significant size and become symptomatic. Here, we report a case of 64-year-old male who presented with large pedunculated oropharyngeal fibrolipoma that originated from the posterior oropharyngeal wall and extended downward into the postcricoid area and cervical esophagus. It was excised transorally using rigid endoscope, and ACE Harmonic scalpel was utilized to excise this 16.7 cm long mass. The postoperative pain was minimal, the surgical site showed complete healing, and oral diet was resumed easily in 5 days.

SUMMARY: Thorough knowledge of splenic artery course and morphology may help clinician to provide better practice. This Study aims at finding out if there was a relationship between splenic artery tortuosity index and age, sex, Body Mass Index (BMI) and abdominal cavity diameters. Routine abdominal Computerized Tomography (CT) scan images were retrospectively analyzed for 219 patients. Splenic artery tortuosity index was calculated. Abdominal cavity diameters were measured. Age, sex, and BMI were recorded. Splenic artery straight length (x) mean was 9.41 cm (SD 1.33). Splenic artery tortuous length mean was 15.15 cm (SD 3.31). Splenic artery tortuosity index mean was 1.63 (SD 0.36). Pearson correlation coefficient for Splenic artery tortuosity index vs. age was: 0.02 (P value 0.80). Splenic artery tortuosity index for females vs. males were 1.70 vs. 1.57 (P value 0.01). Pearson correlation coefficient for Splenic artery tortuosity index vs. BMI was 0.02 (P value 0.75). Pearson correlation coefficient for Splenic artery tortuosity index vs. abdominal cavity diameters were: Anterior-Posterior (AP) diameter -0.01 (P value 0.88) and transverse diameter 0.00 (P value 0.98). There may be a relationship between splenic artery tortuosity and female sex, but not with age, BMI and abdominal cavity diameters (AP and Transverse).

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the commonest genetically inherited cardiac condition affecting 1 in 500 of the population. [1] The amelioration of patient symptomatology and decreased morbidity after surgical myectomy is previously documented. [2]. However, no data is available regarding the associated electrocardiographic changes that may occur after surgical myectomy, especially in patients showed improvement of functional status. Aim of study: The study was conducted to investigate the electrocardiographic changes following surgical myectomy in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) patients, and its relation to cardiac mechanics Methods The study included 25 patients (mean age: 35.44 ± 12.3 years, 52% male) with HOCM who were subjected to successful surgical myectomy. 12-lead surface ECG and echocardiographic examination including 2D strain imaging were performed pre and post myectomy. Results Postoperatively, 84% of patients developed new complete left bundle branch block (LBBB), 4% developed right BBB (RBBB) and 4% developed complete AV block necessitating permanent pacing. These Changes were associated with increased QRS width and QT interval prolongation in almost all patients (p Conclusion Left bundle branch block is a common conduction abnormality after septal myectomy but it did not influence the clinical improvement or structural remodeling. Post myectomy, prolongation of QRS duration was a powerful aspect of mechanical dysfunction especially of septal mechanics than QT interval prolongation. Electrical and mechanical dysfunction is commonly associated while mechanical heterogeneity is not always coexisting.

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Objectives The impairment of left atrial mechanics(LA) is previously described in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). It is independently influenced by left ventricular(LV) mechanics and correlated to the severity of LV phenotype. We examined the alterations in LA structure and mechanics following surgical septal myectomy using vector velocity imaging. Methods Twenty-five HCM patients, 60% males with mean age (34.5 ± 12 years) were investigated before and six months after surgical myectomy using VVI. In addition to LA size and volume index (LAD, LAVI), LA reservoir function using peak systolic strain(εsys) & systolic strain rate(SRsys), and LA conduit(SRe) and LA contractile(SRa) functions were analyzed. Electrophysiologic properties of the LA were investigated using the difference between longest and shortest cycle; time to peak SRa(TTP-d) and the standard deviation(SD) of TTP-mean derived from regional SRa curves. Similar longitudinal εsys parameters were quantified in LV and right ventricle (RV) from apical views. The magnitude of changes in LA function (Δ) was expressed as the difference between pre and post myectomy values. Results Post myectomy, the studied cohort demonstrated atrial reverse remodeling and 68% of patients showed normalization of LAVI ( Conclusion Surgical myectomy is associated with improvement of LA mechanical properties and reverse remolding in HCM patient with symptomatic improvement despite subclinical reduction of LV and RV systolic mechanics.

Decay spectroscopy of the odd-proton nuclei $^{249}$Md and $^{251}$Md has been performed. High-K isomeric states were identified for the first time in these two nuclei through the measurement of their electromagnetic decay. An isomeric state with a half-life of 2.8(5) ms and an excitation energy $\ge 910$ keV was found in $^{249}$Md. In $^{251}$Md, an isomeric state with a half-life of 1.4(3) s and an excitation energy $\ge 844$ keV was found. Similarly to the neighbouring $^{255}$Lr, these two isomeric states are interpreted as 3 quasi-particle high-K states and compared to new theoretical calculations. Excited nuclear configurations were calculated within two scenarios: via blocking nuclear states located in proximity to the Fermi surface or/and using the quasiparticle Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer method. Relevant states were selected on the basis of the microscopic-macroscopic model with a deformed Woods–Saxon potential. The most probable candidates for the configurations of K-isomeric states in Md nuclei are proposed. Decay spectroscopy of the odd-proton nuclei $^{249}$Md and $^{251}$Md has been performed. High-$K$ isomeric states were identified for the first time in these two nuclei through the measurement of their electromagnetic decay. An isomeric state with a half-life of $2.8(5)$ ms and an excitation energy $\geq 910$ keV was found in $^{249}$Md. In $^{251}$Md, an isomeric state with a half-life of $1.4(3)$ s and an excitation energy $\geq 844$ keV was found. Similarly to the neighbouring $^{255}$Lr, these two isomeric states are interpreted as 3 quasi-particle high-$K$ states and compared to new theoretical calculations. Excited nuclear configurations were calculated within two scenarios: via blocking nuclear states located in proximity to the Fermi surface or/and using the quasiparticle Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer method. Relevant states were selected on the basis of the microscopic-macroscopic model with a deformed Woods-Saxon potential. The most probable candidates for the configurations of $K$-isomeric states in Md nuclei are proposed.

Inaccurate expression of the genetic code, also known as mistranslation, is an emerging paradigm in microbial studies. Growing evidence suggests that many microbial pathogens can deliberately mistranslate their genetic code to help invade a host or evade host immune responses. However, discovering different capacities for deliberate mistranslation remains a challenge because each group of pathogens typically employs a unique mistranslation mechanism. In this study, we address this problem by studying duplicated genes of aminoacyl-transfer RNA (tRNA) synthetases. Using bacterial prolyl-tRNA synthetase (ProRS) genes as an example, we identify an anomalous ProRS isoform, ProRSx, and a corresponding tRNA, tRNA(ProA), that are predominately found in plant pathogens from Streptomyces species. We then show that tRNA(ProA) has an unusual hybrid structure that allows this tRNA to mistranslate alanine codons as proline. Finally, we provide biochemical, genetic, and mass spectrometric evidence that cells which express ProRSx and tRNA(ProA) can translate GCU alanine codons as both alanine and proline. This dual use of alanine codons creates a hidden proteome diversity due to stochastic Ala→Pro mutations in protein sequences. Thus, we show that important plant pathogens are equipped with a tool to alter the identity of their sense codons. This finding reveals the initial example of a natural tRNA synthetase/tRNA pair for dedicated mistranslation of sense codons.

Fast-timing measurements at the focal plane of a separator can suffer from poor timing resolution. This is due to the variations in time-of-flight (ToF) for photons travelling to a given detector, which arise from the changes in the implantation positions of the recoil nuclei emitting the γ rays of interest. In order to minimise these effects on timing measurements, a procedure is presented that improves fast-timing data by performing ToF corrections on an event-by-event basis. This method was used to correct data collected with an array of eight LaBr 3 detectors, which detected γ rays from spatially distributed 138Gd recoil-implants at the focal plane of the Recoil-Ion-Transport-Unit (RITU) spectrometer. The Generalised Centroid Difference (GCD) method was used to extract a lifetime from data in conjunction with a new procedure to calibrate the time walk. The lifetime of the first 2 + state in 138Gd, populated by the decay of the K π = 8 − isomeric state, was measured to be 229(24) ps using the ToF-corrected data, which is consistent within three standard deviations to the literature value. The results together with Monte-Carlo simulations show that the ToF correction procedure reduced the uncertainty in the measured lifetimes by 3 % in the case of the spatially distributed nuclei at the focal plane of RITU. However, ∼ 12 % has been estimated for a similar experiment when using a larger focal plane i.e. the Super-FRS at the FAIR facility.

Antibiotics are essential weapons in our fight against infectious disease, yet the consequences of broad-spectrum antibiotic use on microbiome stability and pathogen resistance are prompting investigations into more selective alternatives. Echoing the advent of precision medicine in oncology, precision antibiotics with focused activities are emerging as a means of addressing infections without damaging microbiomes or incentivizing resistance. Historically, antibiotic design principles have been gleaned from Nature, and reinvestigation of overlooked antibacterials is now providing scaffolds and targets for the design of pathogen-specific drugs. In this perspective, we summarize the biosynthetic and antibacterial mechanisms used to access these activities, and discuss how such strategies may be co-opted through engineering approaches to afford precision antibiotics.

Two new excited bands built on the πh11/2 configuration have been identified in Nd135 in addition to the known πh11/2 band. The energy spectra of the excited bands and the available electromagnetic transition probabilities are in good agreement with theoretical results obtained using quasiparticle-plus-triaxial-rotor model calculations. The properties of the bands identify them as tilted precession bands instead of wobbling bands. Our results give a new insight into the interpretation of the low-lying bands in odd-A mass nuclei, and can stimulate future studies to address the nuclear triaxiality.

The neutron-deficient gold (Z=79) isotopes in the vicinity of the neutron midshell N=104 provide prolific examples of shape coexistence and isomerism at low excitation energy. They can be probed via a number of different experimental techniques. In this study, two new isomeric states with half-lives of 294(7) and 373(9) ns have been observed in the neutron-deficient odd-odd nuclide Au178 (N=99) in an experiment at the RITU gas-filled separator at JYFL, Jyvaskyla. This result was achieved due to the use of a segmented planar germanium detector with a high efficiency at low energies. By applying the recoil-decay tagging technique, they were assigned to decay to two different long-lived α-decaying states in Au178.

Antibiotic biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) produce bioactive metabolites that impart a fitness advantage to their producer, providing a mechanism for natural selection. This selection drives antibiotic evolution and adapts BGCs for expression in different organisms, potentially providing clues to improve heterologous expression of antibiotics. Here, we use phage-assisted continuous evolution (PACE) to achieve bioactivity-dependent adaptation of the BGC for the antibiotic bicyclomycin (BCM), facilitating improved production in a heterologous host. This proof-of-principle study demonstrates that features of natural bioactivity-dependent evolution can be engineered to access unforeseen routes of improving metabolic pathways and product yields., Biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) make small molecules with fitness-enhancing activities that drive BGC evolution. Here, the authors show that synthetic biology can leverage bioactivity to achieve continuous evolution of an antibiotic BGC in the lab and improve antibiotic production in a new host.

Genetic code expansion technologies supplement the natural codon repertoire with assignable variants in vivo, but are often limited by heterologous translational components and low suppression efficiencies. Here, we explore engineered Escherichia coli tRNAs supporting quadruplet codon translation by first developing a library-cross-library selection to nominate quadruplet codon–anticodon pairs. We extend our findings using a phage-assisted continuous evolution strategy for quadruplet-decoding tRNA evolution (qtRNA-PACE) that improved quadruplet codon translation efficiencies up to 80-fold. Evolved qtRNAs appear to maintain codon-anticodon base pairing, are typically aminoacylated by their cognate tRNA synthetases, and enable processive translation of adjacent quadruplet codons. Using these components, we showcase the multiplexed decoding of up to four unique quadruplet codons by their corresponding qtRNAs in a single reporter. Cumulatively, our findings highlight how E. coli tRNAs can be engineered, evolved, and combined to decode quadruplet codons, portending future developments towards an exclusively quadruplet codon translation system., Genetic code expansion strategies are limited to specific codons that can be reassigned to new amino acids. Here the authors show that quadruplet-decoding tRNAs (qtRNAs) can be rapidly discovered and evolved to decode new quadruplet codons, enabling four independent decoding events in a single protein in living cells.

Experimental signatures of moderately enhanced octupole correlations at high spin in 136 Nd are indicated for the first time. The extracted dipole moments of two negative-parity bands are only two times smaller than those of the lanthanide nuclei with N ≈ 90 which present well-established octupole correlations. Calculations using the cranked quasiparticle random phase approximation and a model of quadrupole-octupole rotations with octupole vibrations reveal the structure of the bands and the enhanced octupole correlations at high spin in 136 Nd .

The jurogam 3 spectrometer has been constructed for in-beam $$\gamma $$γ-ray spectroscopy experiments in the Accelerator Laboratory of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. jurogam 3 consists of germanium-detector modules in a compact geometry surrounding a target to measure $$\gamma $$γ rays emitted from radioactive nuclei. jurogam 3 can be employed in conjunction with one of two recoil separators, the mara vacuum-mode separator or the ritu gas-filled separator, and other ancillary devices.

Our aim was to investigate the variation in the vertebral levels of the origins of the celiac artery, superior and inferior mesenteric arteries, paired renal arteries, and common iliac arteries. We conducted a retrospective imaging study in a large public secondary hospital on a nonrandom sample of 227 participants. We consecutively included adult patients who had undergone computed tomography angiography of the abdomen and excluded patients with a history of any vertebral abnormality or whose images revealed evidence of a vertebral abnormality or a congenital anomaly of any of the branches of the abdominal aorta. The primary outcome was the frequency distribution of the vertebral levels of the landmarks. The secondary outcomes were the intercorrelations of the vertebral levels of the landmarks and their relationships with age, sex, weight, height, and body mass index. The celiac artery originated at T11/T12-L1/L2, followed by the superior mesenteric artery at T12-L2, the paired renal arteries at T12/L1-L2/L3, the inferior mesenteric artery at L2-L4, and the common iliac arteries at L3-L5. The vertebral levels of the landmarks were positively intercorrelated and stronger between proximate pairs. In addition, the vertebral levels of the landmarks were related to age, but not sex, weight, height, or body mass index. The intercorrelations suggest that a considerable proportion of the variation is accounted for by 'trickle-down' variation; variation in the vertebral level of a proximal landmark results in variation in the vertebral level of the immediate distal landmark. The overarching parameter remains unidentified.

Due to the rapid emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, there is a growing need to discover new antibiotics. To address this challenge, we trained a deep neural network capable of predicting molecules with antibacterial activity. We performed predictions on multiple chemical libraries and discovered a molecule from the Drug Repurposing Hub—halicin—that is structurally divergent from conventional antibiotics and displays bactericidal activity against a wide phylogenetic spectrum of pathogens including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Halicin also effectively treated Clostridioides difficile and pan-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections in murine models. Additionally, from a discrete set of 23 empirically tested predictions from >107 million molecules curated from the ZINC15 database, our model identified eight antibacterial compounds that are structurally distant from known antibiotics. This work highlights the utility of deep learning approaches to expand our antibiotic arsenal through the discovery of structurally distinct antibacterial molecules. A trained deep neural network predicts antibiotic activity in molecules that are structurally different from known antibiotics, among which Halicin exhibits efficacy against broad-spectrum bacterial infections in mice., Defence Threat Reduction Agency (Grant HDTRA1-15- 1-0051)

Background: The cephalic vein is one of the most distinguished superficial veins of the upper limb. Its clinical value lies in venous access. There is little known about the variation of its formation in relation to the anatomical snuffbox. Hence, anatomical variants in the origin of the cephalic vein are important in clinical practice. Subsequently, this study was designed to examine the variation of the cephalic vein formation in relation to the anatomical snuffbox. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study of 438 subjects (722 hands), was prepared to study the cephalic vein among Jordanian students and staff of one of the major governmental Medical College in Jordan, by using infrared illumination system. The obtained data was analysed according to; gender, sidedness, and handedness. Results: Four sites for the formation of the cephalic vein in relation to the anatomical snuffbox were found. There was a significant relation between gender and sidedness, and the sites of formation of the cephalic vein (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.048, respectively). Conclusions: For the first time this study identified different sites for the formation of the cephalic vein in relation to the anatomical snuffbox. However, regardless of its sites of formation, the cephalic vein was running in 98% of the examined hands in the anatomical snuffbox.

Decay spectroscopy of No250 has been performed using digital electronics and pulse-shape analysis of the fast nuclear decays for the first time. Previous studies of No250 reported two distinct fission decay lifetimes, related to the direct fission of the ground state and to the decay of an isomeric state but without the possibility to determine if the isomeric state decayed directly via fission or via internal electromagnetic transitions to the ground state. The data obtained in the current experiment allowed the puzzle to finally be resolved, attributing the shorter half-life of t1/2=3.8±0.3μs to the ground state and the longer half-life t1/2=34.9−3.2+3.9μs to the decay of an isomeric state. No250 becomes, thus, one of a very few examples of very heavy nuclei with an isomeric state living considerably longer than its ground state. This phenomenon has important consequences for the nuclear-structure models aiming to determine the borders of the island of stability of superheavy elements.

Two new bands have been identified in $^{137}$Nd from a high-statistics JUROGAM II gamma-ray spectroscopy experiment. Constrained density functional theory and particle rotor model calculations are used to assign configurations and investigate the band properties, which are well described and understood. It is demonstrated that these two new bands can be interpreted as chiral partners of previously known three-quasiparticle positive- and negative-parity bands. The newly observed chiral doublet bands in $^{137}$Nd represent an important support to the existence of multiple chiral bands in nuclei. The present results constitute the missing stone in the series of Nd nuclei showing multiple chiral bands, which becomes the most extended sequence of odd–even and even-even nuclei presenting multiple chiral bands in the Segré chart. Two new bands have been identified in $^{137}$Nd from a high-statistics JUROGAM II gamma-ray spectroscopy experiment. Constrained density functional theory and particle rotor model calculations are used to assign configurations and investigate the band properties, which are well described and understood. It is demonstrated that these two new bands can be interpreted as chiral partners of previously known three-quasiparticle positive- and negative-parity bands. The newly observed chiral doublet bands in $^{137}$Nd represent an important support to the existence of multiple chiral bands in nuclei. The present results constitute the missing stone in the series of Nd nuclei showing multiple chiral bands, which becomes the most extended sequence of nuclei presenting multiple chiral bands in the Segr\'e chart.

Excited states in the extremely neutron-deficient nucleus $$^{172}{\mathrm {Pt}}$$172Pt were populated via $$^{96}\mathrm {Ru}(^{78}\mathrm {Kr},2p)$$96Ru(78Kr,2p) and $$^{92}\mathrm {Mo}(^{83}\mathrm {Kr},3n)$$92Mo(83Kr,3n) reactions. The level scheme has been extended up to an excitation energy of $$\approx 5~\hbox {MeV}$$≈5MeV and tentative spin-parity assignments up to $$I^\pi = 18^+$$Iπ=18+. Linear polarization and angular distribution measurements were used to determine the electromagnetic E1 character of the dipole transitions connecting the positive-parity ground-state band with an excited side-band, firmly establishing it as a negative-parity band. The lowest member of this negative-parity structure was firmly assigned spin-parity $$3^-$$3-. In addition, we observed an E3 transition from this $$3^-$$3- state to the ground state, providing direct evidence for octupole collectivity in $$^{172}{\mathrm {Pt}}$$172Pt. Large-scale shell model (LSSM) and total Routhian surface (TRS) calculations have been performed, supporting the interpretation of the $$3^-$$3- state as a collective octupole-vibrational state.

SUMMARY: Anatomy is considered the core of surgery. Surgeons often complain about deficiencies in their junior doctor's level of knowledge in anatomy. The study aim was to compare opinions of final year medical students and consultant surgeons regarding current methods of teaching anatomy and which methods should be utilized to enhance medical student's anatomy knowledge. Two questionnaires were developed: one for consultant surgeons and the other one was for medical students. These questionnaires surveyed consultant surgeons and senior medical students regarding their views on various aspects of undergraduate anatomy teaching including: increasing time for anatomy teaching, anatomy knowledge level, surgeons participation in teaching, best methods of teaching and examination of anatomy, areas of strength and weakness among students, and adequacy of current teaching to understand radiology images, laparoscopic and endoscopic views. The response rate for consultants and students was 62.6 %. Surgeons who encouraged increasing the time for undergraduate anatomy teaching were 77.1 %. A significant percentage of surgeons and students thought that their junior surgeons / student level of anatomical knowledge was poor (63.4 % and 46.6 % respectively). Additionally, over two thirds of surgeons and students thought that surgeons participation in anatomy teaching in the first 3 years in medical schools may be useful (68.0 % and 69.0 % respectively). Cadaveric teaching was selected as best method of anatomy teaching by 81.0 % surgeons and 79.6 % students. Only 33.1 % surgeons and 35.4 % student thought that our current anatomy teaching was adequate to understand radiologic, laparoscopic and endoscopic views. Surgeons and students were in agreement regarding students' reduced levels of anatomy knowledge. One particular aspect of such deprivation was students' inability to interpret radiological pictures, laparoscopic and endoscopic views. Increasing time dedicated for anatomy teaching, involving surgeons in the process of anatomy teaching and redirecting the focus on cadaveric dissection may be beneficial.

We report the development of soluble expression phage-assisted continuous evolution (SE-PACE), a system for rapidly evolving proteins with increased soluble expression. Through use of a PACE-compatible AND gate that uses a split-intein pIII, SE-PACE enables two simultaneous positive selections to evolve proteins with improved expression while maintaining their desired activities. In as little as three days, SE-PACE evolved several antibody fragments with >5-fold improvement in expression yield while retaining binding activity. We also developed an activity-independent form of SE-PACE to correct folding-defective variants of maltose-binding protein (MBP) and to evolve variants of the eukaryotic cytidine deaminase APOBEC1 with improved expression properties. These evolved APOBEC1 variants were found to improve the expression and apparent activity of Cas9-derived base editors when used in place of the wild-type cytidine deaminase. Together, these results suggest that SE-PACE can be applied to a wide variety of proteins to rapidly improve their soluble expression.

Alternanthera sessilis, an edible succulent herb, has been widely used as herbal drug in many regions around the globe. Inflammation is a natural process of the innate immune system, accompanied with the increase in the level of proinflammatory mediators, for example, nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin (PGE2); cytokines such as interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα); and enzymes including inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) via the activation and nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) subunit p65 due to the phosphorylation of inhibitory protein, IκBα. Inflammation over a short period of time is essential for its therapeutic effect. However, prolonged inflammation can be detrimental as it is related to many chronic diseases such as delayed wound healing, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and autoimmune disorders. Therefore, ways to curb chronic inflammation have been extensively investigated. In line with that, in this present study, we attempted to study the suppression activity of the proinflammatory cytokines and mediators as a characteristic of anti-inflammatory action, by using stem extract of A. sessilis in the lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line. The results showed that the extract has significantly inhibited the production of the proinflammatory mediators including NO and PGE2; cytokines comprising IL-6, IL-1β, and TNFα; and enzymes covering the iNOS and COX-2 by preventing the IκBα from being degraded, to inhibit the nuclear translocation of NF-κB subunit p65 in order to hinder the inflammatory pathway activation. These results indicated that the stem extract of A. sessilis could be an effective candidate for ameliorating inflammatory-associated complications.

Genetic variation fuels Darwinian evolution, yet spontaneous mutation rates are maintained at low levels to ensure cellular viability. Low mutation rates preclude the exhaustive exploration of sequence space for protein evolution and genome engineering applications, prompting scientists to develop methods for efficient and targeted diversification of nucleic acid sequences. Directed evolution of biomolecules relies upon the generation of unbiased genetic diversity to discover variants with desirable properties, whereas genome-engineering applications require selective modifications on a genomic scale with minimal off-targets. Here, we review the current toolkit of mutagenesis strategies employed in directed evolution and genome engineering. These state-of-the-art methods enable facile modifications and improvements of single genes, multicomponent pathways, and whole genomes for basic and applied research, while simultaneously paving the way for genome editing therapeutic interventions.

Genome editing methods have commonly relied on the initial introduction of double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs), resulting in stochastic insertions, deletions, and translocations at the target genomic locus. To achieve gene correction, these methods typically require the introduction of exogenous DNA repair templates and low-efficiency homologous recombination processes. In this perspective we describe alternative, mechanistically motivated strategies to perform chemistry on the genome of unmodified cells without introducing DSBs. One such strategy, base editing, uses chemical and biological insights to directly and permanently convert one target base pair to another. Despite its recent introduction, base editing has already enabled a number of new capabilities and applications in the genome editing community. We summarize these advances here and discuss the new possibilities that this method has unveiled, concluding with a brief analysis of future prospects for genome and transcriptome editing without double-stranded DNA cleavage.