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Background and Objectives: Apheresis platelets products and plasma are essential for medical interventions, but both still have inherent risks associated with contamination and viral transmission. Platelet products are vulnerable to bacterial contamination due to storage conditions, while plasma requires extensive screening to minimize virus transmission risks. Here we investigate rapid irradiation to sterilizing doses for bacteria and viruses as an innovative pathogen reduction technology., Materials and Methods: We configured a clinical linear accelerator to deliver ultra-high dose rate (6 kGy/min) irradiation to platelet and plasma blood components. Platelet aliquots spiked with 10 5 CFU of E.coli were irradiated with 0.1-20 kGy, followed by E.coli growth and platelet count assays. COVID Convalescent Plasma (CCP) aliquots were irradiated at a virus-sterilizing dose of 25 kGy and subsequently, RBD-specific antibody binding was assessed., Results: 1 kGy irradiation of bacteria-spiked platelets reduced E.coli growth by 2.7-log without significant change of platelet count, and 5 kGy or higher produced complete growth suppression. The estimated sterilization (6-log bacterial reduction) dose was 2.3 kGy, corresponding to 31% platelet count reduction. A 25 kGy virus sterilizing dose to CCP produced a 9.2% average drop of RBD-specific IgG binding., Conclusion: This study shows proof-of-concept of a novel rapid blood sterilization technique using a clinical linear accelerator. Promising platelet counts and CCP antibody binding were maintained at bacteria and virus sterilizing doses, respectively. This represents a potential point-of-care blood product sterilization solution. If additional studies corroborate these findings, this may be a practical method for ensuring blood products safety., Competing Interests: CONFLICT OF INTEREST: BWL is a co-founder and board member of TibaRay. BWL is a consultant on a clinical trial steering committee for Beigene and has received lecture honoraria from Mevion. All other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Background: FLASH radiation therapy (RT) offers a promising avenue for the broadening of the therapeutic index. However, to leverage the full potential of FLASH in the clinical setting, an improved understanding of the biological principles involved is critical. This requires the availability of specialized equipment optimized for the delivery of conventional (CONV) and ultra-high dose rate (UHDR) irradiation for preclinical studies. One method to conduct such preclinical radiobiological research involves adapting a clinical linear accelerator configured to deliver both CONV and UHDR irradiation., Purpose: We characterized the dosimetric properties of a clinical linear accelerator configured to deliver ultra-high dose rate irradiation to two anatomic sites in mice and for cell-culture FLASH radiobiology experiments., Methods: Delivered doses of UHDR electron beams were controlled by a microcontroller and relay interfaced with the respiratory gating system. We also produced beam collimators with indexed stereotactic mouse positioning devices to provide anatomically specific preclinical treatments. Treatment delivery was monitored directly with an ionization chamber, and charge measurements were correlated with radiochromic film measurements at the entry surface of the mice. The setup for conventional dose rate irradiation utilized the same collimation system but at increased source-to-surface distance. Monte Carlo simulations and film dosimetry were used to characterize beam properties and dose distributions., Results: The mean electron beam energies before the flattening filter were 18.8 MeV (UHDR) and 17.7 MeV (CONV), with corresponding values at the mouse surface of 17.2 and 16.2 MeV. The charges measured with an external ion chamber were linearly correlated with the mouse entrance dose. The use of relay gating for pulse control initially led to a delivery failure rate of 20% (± 1 pulse); adjustments to account for the linac latency improved this rate to < 1/20. Beam field sizes for two anatomically specific mouse collimators (4 × 4 cm 2 for whole-abdomen and 1.5 × 1.5 cm 2 for unilateral lung irradiation) were accurate within < 5% and had low radiation leakage (< 4%). Normalizing the dose at the center of the mouse (∼0.75 cm depth) produced UHDR and CONV doses to the irradiated volumes with > 95% agreement., Conclusion: We successfully configured a clinical linear accelerator for increased output and developed a robust preclinical platform for anatomically specific irradiation, with highly accurate and precise temporal and spatial dose delivery, for both CONV and UHDR irradiation applications., (© 2024 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.)

Background: Human rhinovirus (HRV), traditionally recognized as the primary etiological agent of the common cold, has become the second most important viral agent in bronchopulmonary conditions, such as pneumonia and asthma exacerbations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, several viruses exhibited changes in their epidemiological behavior. This study aims to evaluate the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of children with HRV pneumonia before and during the pandemic in Mexico. Methods: A comparative ambispective longitudinal epidemiological study of two cohorts (prepandemic and pandemic periods) was carried out. Two databases were compared: one from 2010 to 2013 and the other from 2021 to 2023. Children under 5 years of age diagnosed with HRV pneumonia were included. Student's t -test, χ 2 tests, and logistic regression were used to assess risk factors associated with severe pneumonia. Incidence density was calculated as HRV cases per 10 new cases of pneumonia per month for each year. Results: During the pandemic, the age of presentation shifted from 5 months to 16 months. There was a higher incidence of HRV pneumonia in children during the pandemic, particularly in the second half of 2021, with a peak in July and August. In addition, there was an increase in severity (53% vs. 63%, p =0.006) and coinfections (51.3% vs. 76% p < 0.001). A higher prevalence of all risk factors was observed in the second cohort. Conclusions: During the pandemic, a shift toward older age, a higher percentage of coinfections, and increased severity associated to HRV pneumonia were observed. These findings highlight the need for the development and implementation of targeted prevention and treatment measures for HRV., Competing Interests: Maria del Carmen Espinosa-Sotero is a member of the Pfizer, Sanofi, and MSD speaker's bureau; Daniel E. Noyola has participated as a member of the AbbVie, Sanofi Pasteur, and AstraZeneca speakers' bureau and served on the advisory board for Sanofi Pasteur, GSK, and Pfizer. Rosa María Wong-Chew is a member of the Seegene, Asofarma, AstraZeneca, and Sanofi Pasteur speaker's bureau and served on the advisory board for Sanofi Pasteur, Asofarma, and AstraZeneca. The rest of the authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Fanny Yasmin Ortega-Vargas et al.)

Background/Objectives: A well-established association exists between the development of hypertension and sleep quality. The connection between self-reported sleep quality and the onset of hypertension is particularly significant in populations with metabolic deterioration, such as in Mexico. Methods: The Tlalpan 2020 Cohort was analyzed to explore this association. Clinical and anthropometric characteristics, along with the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale (MOS-SS), were compared between participants who developed hypertension and those who did not over a follow-up period of 30.8 months. The potential role of poor sleep quality in the development of hypertension was assessed. Results: Among 1520 participants, 12% developed hypertension. These individuals had higher anthropometric and laboratory values and reported poorer sleep quality. An elevated sleep problems index was associated with a 50% higher relative risk of developing hypertension (OR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.087 to 2.069). Additionally, self-reported snoring was associated with hypertension onset (36.3 vs. 43.3; p = 0.019). Conclusions: Poor sleep quality and respiratory disturbances during sleep increase the risk of developing hypertension. Furthermore, hypertension was associated with snoring, highlighting the importance of early interventions to improve sleep quality.

Hydrogen is a promising alternative to meet the world's energy demand in the future because of its energetic characteristics. Microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) produces hydrogen from organic matter using exoelectrogenic bacteria. Shewanella oneidensis stands out for having the capacity to produce hydrogen using different electron transfer mechanisms. The present research aims to evaluate the hydrogen production efficiency in a MEC inoculated with a pure culture of S. oneidensis in different operational conditions. Since the use of a catalyst accounts for most of the MEC cost, no catalyst was used for anode or cathode. Experiments were performed in semi-continuous and batch mode using different electrodes, voltages applied, and medium in aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The highest hydrogen production rate (HPR) was 0.107 m 3 of H 2 /m 3 day obtained in a semi-continuous experiment using graphite plates and stainless steel electrodes. In batch experiments, a HPR occurred at 0.7 V, with a value of 0.048 m 3 of H 2 /m 3 day versus 0.037 m 3 of H 2 /m 3 day with 0.9 V. HPR was higher with carbon felt electrode (0.056 m 3 of H 2 /m 3 day). However, current density dropped after 38 h, with carbon felt electrodes, and did not recover. Results of the present research showed that the MEC using a pure culture of S. oneidensis can be considered an alternative for hydrogen production without using a catalyst. Also, S. oneidensis produced hydrogen in both anaerobic and aerobic conditions with low methane production. Optimization can be proposed to improve hydrogen production based on the operational conditions tested in these experiments., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Triacylglycerols (TAGs) are a primary energy source for marine mammals during lipid digestion. Walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) consume prey with a high content of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids; however, their digestive physiology and lipid digestion remain poorly studied. The present study aims to model and characterize the gastric (PWGL) and pancreatic (PWPL) lipases of Pacific walruses using an in-silico approach. The confident 3D models of PWGL and PWPL were obtained via homology modeling and protein threading and displayed the structural features of lipases. Molecular docking analysis demonstrated substrate selectivity for long-chain TAG (Trieicosapentaenoin; TC20:5n-3) in PWGL and short-chain TAG (Trioctanoin; TC8:0) in PWPL. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that PWGL bound to tridocosahexaenoin (TC22:6n-3), the protein is considerably stable at all three salinity conditions, but fluctuations are observed in the regions associated with catalytic sites and the lid, indicating the potential hydrolysis of the substrate. This is the first study to report on the digestion of TAGs in walruses, including modeling and lipases characterization and proposing a digestive tract for pinnipeds., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Purpose: Ultrahigh-dose-rate (FLASH) irradiation has been reported to reduce normal tissue damage compared with conventional dose rate (CONV) irradiation without compromising tumor control. This proof-of-concept study aims to develop a deep learning (DL) approach to quantify the FLASH isoeffective dose (dose of CONV that would be required to produce the same effect as the given physical FLASH dose) with postirradiation mouse intestinal histology images., Methods and Materials: Eighty-four healthy C57BL/6J female mice underwent 16 MeV electron CONV (0.12 Gy/s; n = 41) or FLASH (200 Gy/s; n = 43) single fraction whole abdominal irradiation. Physical dose ranged from 12 to 16 Gy for FLASH and 11 to 15 Gy for CONV in 1 Gy increments. Four days after irradiation, 9 jejunum cross-sections from each mouse were hematoxylin and eosin stained and digitized for histological analysis. CONV data set was randomly split into training (n = 33) and testing (n = 8) data sets. ResNet101-based DL models were retrained using the CONV training data set to estimate the dose based on histological features. The classical manual crypt counting (CC) approach was implemented for model comparison. Cross-section-wise mean squared error was computed to evaluate the dose estimation accuracy of both approaches. The validated DL model was applied to the FLASH data set to map the physical FLASH dose into the isoeffective dose., Results: The DL model achieved a cross-section-wise mean squared error of 0.20 Gy 2 on the CONV testing data set compared with 0.40 Gy 2 of the CC approach. Isoeffective doses estimated by the DL model for FLASH doses of 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 Gy were 12.19 ± 0.46, 12.54 ± 0.37, 12.69 ± 0.26, 12.84 ± 0.26, and 13.03 ± 0.28 Gy, respectively., Conclusions: Our proposed DL model achieved accurate CONV dose estimation. The DL model results indicate that in the physical dose range of 13 to 16 Gy, the biologic dose response of small intestinal tissue to FLASH irradiation is represented by a lower isoeffective dose compared with the physical dose. Our DL approach can be a tool for studying isoeffective doses of other radiation dose modifying interventions., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

ABSTRACT Tequila production occurs in Mexico's designated area of origin, principally in the Jalisco State. Its residues are a challenge in treatment and tracking due to a lack of technology, non-economic treatments available, low environmental consciousness and incipient control from authorities. In 2021, average production was close to 1.5 million tequila litres per day with an estimated residue yield of 10-12 litres of stillage (tequila vinasses) per tequila litre produced, including volatile fractions. This research aims to reduce organic matter by electrooxidation (EO) from 5 distillation volatile residual effluents (two-stage still distillation) from three tequila distilleries, first and second-stage heads and heads and tails and second-stage non-evaporated fraction. Round 3 mm titanium (grade-1) electrodes (one anode and one cathode) were used, with fixed voltage to a value of 30 VDC at 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 h with 75 experiments. Gas chromatography was used to analyse methanol, ethanol, acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, n-propanol, sec-butanol, iso-butanol, n-butanol, iso-amyl, n-amyl, and ethyl lactate content. Treatment shows positive results, reducing organic matter content in all effluents in a Chemical Oxygen Demand COD range of 580-1880 mg/L.h, particularly useful in the second-stage non-evaporated fraction for water recovery.HIGHLIGHTSResidual effluent treatment is beneficial to environmental and resource sustainability.Process without adding materials achieving cleaner treated effluents.Process aimed as the final step to recover water.This process could help the Tequila industry to reach a higher sustainability level by reducing water usage and untreated residues.

Background: Despite infection control guidance, sporadic nosocomial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks occur. We describe a complex severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) cluster with interfacility spread during the SARS-CoV-2 δ (delta) pandemic surge in the Midwest., Setting: This study was conducted in (1) a hematology-oncology ward in a regional academic medical center and (2) a geographically distant acute rehabilitation hospital., Methods: We conducted contact tracing for each COVID-19 case to identify healthcare exposures within 14 days prior to diagnosis. Liberal testing was performed for asymptomatic carriage for patients and staff. Whole-genome sequencing was conducted for all available clinical isolates from patients and healthcare workers (HCWs) to identify transmission clusters., Results: In the immunosuppressed ward, 19 cases (4 patients, 15 HCWs) shared a genetically related SARS-CoV-2 isolate. Of these 4 patients, 3 died in the hospital or within 1 week of discharge. The suspected index case was a patient with new dyspnea, diagnosed during preprocedure screening. In the rehabilitation hospital, 20 cases (5 patients and 15 HCWs) positive for COVID-19, of whom 2 patients and 3 HCWs had an isolate genetically related to the above cluster. The suspected index case was a patient from the immune suppressed ward whose positive status was not detected at admission to the rehabilitation facility. Our response to this cluster included the following interventions in both settings: restricting visitors, restricting learners, restricting overflow admissions, enforcing strict compliance with escalated PPE, access to on-site free and frequent testing for staff, and testing all patients prior to hospital discharge and transfer to other facilities., Conclusions: Stringent infection control measures can prevent nosocomial COVID-19 transmission in healthcare facilities with high-risk patients during pandemic surges. These interventions were successful in ending these outbreaks.

Background: The origin of novel SARS-CoV-2 spike sequences found in wastewater, without corresponding detection in clinical specimens, remains unclear. We sought to determine the origin of one such cryptic wastewater lineage by tracking and characterising its persistence and genomic evolution over time., Methods: We first detected a cryptic lineage, WI-CL-001, in municipal wastewater in Wisconsin, USA, in January, 2022. To determine the source of WI-CL-001, we systematically sampled wastewater from targeted sub-sewershed lines and maintenance holes using compositing autosamplers. Viral concentrations in wastewater samples over time were measured by RT digital PCR. In addition to using metagenomic 12s rRNA sequencing to determine the virus's host species, we also sequenced SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor binding domains, and, where possible, whole viral genomes to identify and characterise the evolution of this lineage., Findings: We traced WI-CL-001 to its source at a single commercial building. There we detected the cryptic lineage at concentrations as high as 2·7 × 10 9 genome copies per L. The majority of 12s rRNA sequences detected in wastewater leaving the identified source building were human. Additionally, we generated over 100 viral receptor binding domain and whole-genome sequences from wastewater samples containing the cryptic lineage collected over the 13 consecutive months this virus was detectable (January, 2022, to January, 2023). These sequences contained a combination of fixed nucleotide substitutions characteristic of Pango lineage B.1.234, which circulated in humans in Wisconsin at low levels from October, 2020, to February, 2021. Despite this, mutations in the spike gene and elsewhere resembled those subsequently found in omicron variants., Interpretation: We propose that prolonged detection of WI-CL-001 in wastewater indicates persistent shedding of SARS-CoV-2 from a single human initially infected by an ancestral B.1.234 virus. The accumulation of convergent omicron-like mutations in WI-CL-001's ancestral B.1.234 genome probably reflects persistent infection and extensive within-host evolution. People who shed cryptic lineages could be an important source of highly divergent viruses that sporadically emerge and spread., Funding: The Rockefeller Foundation, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Center for Research on Influenza Pathogenesis and Transmission., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests YK has received unrelated funding support from Daiichi Sankyo Pharmaceutical, Toyama Chemical, Tauns Laboratories, Shionogi, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, KM Biologics, Kyoritsu Seiyaku, Shinya Corporation, and Fuji Rebio. DHO, MCJ, and TCF have a provisional patent (US patent application number 63/394,159, Method for selecting antigenic viral vaccine and therapeutic sequences) that describes the use of cryptic lineage sequences in variant forecasting. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Jellyfish are economically important organisms in diverse countries, carnivorous organisms that consume various prey (crustaceans, mollusks, bivalves, etc .) and dissolved carbohydrates in marine waters. This study was focused on detecting and quantifying the activity of digestive glycosidases from the cannonball jellyfish ( Stomolophus sp. 2) to understand carbohydrate digestion and its temporal-spatial variation. Twenty-three jellyfish gastric pouches were collected in 2015 and 2016 in the Gulf of California in three localities (Las Guásimas, Hermosillo, and Caborca). Nine samples were in intra-localities from Las Guásimas. Chitinase (Ch), β -glucosidase ( β -glu), and β - N -acetylhexosaminidase ( β -NAHA) were detected in the gastric pouches. However, cellulase, exoglucanase, α -amylase, polygalacturonase, xylanase, and κ -carrageenase were undetected. Detected enzymes showed halotolerant glycolytic activity ( i = 0-4 M NaCl), optimal pH, and temperature at 5.0 and 30-50 °C, respectively. At least five β -glucosidase and two β -N-acetylhexosaminidase were detected using zymograms; however, the number of proteins with chitinase activity is not precise. The annual variation of cannonball jellyfish digestive glycosidases from Las Guásimas between 2015-2016 does not show significant differences despite the difference in phytoplankton measured as chlorophyll α (1.9 and 3.4 mg/m 3 , respectively). In the inter-localities, the glycosidase activity was statistically different in all localities, except for β - N -acetylhexosaminidase activity between Caborca and Hermosillo (3,009.08 ± 87.95 and 3,101.81 ± 281.11 mU/g of the gastric pouch, respectively), with chlorophyll α concentrations of 2.6, 3.4 mg/m 3 , respectively. For intra-localities, the glycosidase activity did not show significant differences, with a mean chlorophyll α of 1.3 ± 0.1 mg/m 3 . These results suggest that digestive glycosidases from Stomolophus sp. 2 can hydrolyze several carbohydrates that may belong to their prey or carbohydrates dissolved in marine waters, with salinity over ≥ 0.6 M NaCl and diverse temperature (4-80 °C) conditions. Also, chlorophyll α is related to glycosidase activity in both seasons and inter-localities, except for chitinase activity in an intra-locality (Las Guásimas)., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2023 Martinez-Perez et al.)

Objective: The current study's objective is to characterize a new throm-bin-like enzyme called TLBro that was obtained from Bothrops roedingeris snake from a biochemical and hemostatic perspective. Methodology: One chromatographic step was used to purify it, producing the serine protease TLBro. Molecular mass was estimated by SDS-PAGE to be between reduced and unreduced by 35 kDa. Tryptic peptide sequencing using Swiss Prot provided the complete amino acid sequence. Expasy.org by conducting a search that is limited to Crotalinae snake serine proteases and displaying a high degree of amino acid sequence. Results: Ser (182) is inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), and TLBro demonstrated the presence of Asp (88) residues. It also deduced the positions of His (43) and Ser (182) in the set of three coordinated amino acids in serine proteases. It was discovered that this substrate had high specificity for BANA, Michaelis-Menten behavior with KM 0 point85 mM and Vmax 1 point89 nmoles -NA/L/min, and high stability between temperatures (15 to 70°C) and pHs (2 point0 to 10 point0). According to doses and incubation times, TLBro degraded fibrin preferentially on the B-chain; additionally, its activities were significantly diminished after preincubation with divalent ions (Zn 2 and Cd 2 ). When incubated with PMSF, a particular serine protease inhibitor, enzymatic activities and platelet aggregation were inhibited. Conclusion: The findings revealed distinct structural and functional differences between the serine proteases, adding to the information and assisting in the improvement of the structure-function relationship., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Vilca-Quispe, Alvarez-Risco, Gomes Heleno, Ponce-Fuentes, Vera-Gonzales, Zegarra-Aragon, Aquino-Puma, Talavera-Núñez, Del-Aguila-Arcentales, Yáñez and Ponce-Soto.)

Background and Purpose: The impact of radiotherapy (RT) at ultra high vs conventional dose rate (FLASH vs CONV) on the generation and repair of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) is an important question that remains to be investigated. Here, we tested the hypothesis as to whether FLASH-RT generates decreased chromosomal translocations compared to CONV-RT., Materials and Methods: We used two FLASH validated electron beams and high-throughput rejoin and genome-wide translocation sequencing (HTGTS-JoinT-seq), employing S. aureus and S. pyogenes Cas9 "bait" DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) in HEK239T cells, to measure differences in bait-proximal repair and their genome-wide translocations to "prey" DSBs generated after various irradiation doses, dose rates and oxygen tensions (normoxic, 21% O 2 ; physiological, 4% O 2 ; hypoxic, 2% and 0.5% O 2 ). Electron irradiation was delivered using a FLASH capable Varian Trilogy and the eRT6/Oriatron at CONV (0.08-0.13 Gy/s) and FLASH (1x10 2 -5x10 6 Gy/s) dose rates. Related experiments using clonogenic survival and γH2AX foci in the 293T and the U87 glioblastoma lines were also performed to discern FLASH-RT vs CONV-RT DSB effects., Results: Normoxic and physioxic irradiation of HEK293T cells increased translocations at the cost of decreasing bait-proximal repair but were indistinguishable between CONV-RT and FLASH-RT. Although no apparent increase in chromosome translocations was observed with hypoxia-induced apoptosis, the combined decrease in oxygen tension with IR dose-rate modulation did not reveal significant differences in the level of translocations nor in their junction structures. Furthermore, RT dose rate modality on U87 cells did not change γH2AX foci numbers at 1- and 24-hours post-irradiation nor did this affect 293T clonogenic survival., Conclusion: Irrespective of oxygen tension, FLASH-RT produces translocations and junction structures at levels and proportions that are indistinguishable from CONV-RT., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest BWL Jr. has received research support outside this work from Varian Medical Systems, is a co-founder and board member of TibaRay, and is a consultant on a clinical trial steering committee for BeiGene. PGM is a co-founder of TibaRay. The other authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Data-driven diabetes research has increased its interest in exploring the heterogeneity of the disease, aiming to support in the development of more specific prognoses and treatments within the so-called precision medicine. Recently, one of these studies found five diabetes subgroups with varying risks of complications and treatment responses. Here, we tackle the development and assessment of different models for classifying Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) subtypes through machine learning approaches, with the aim of providing a performance comparison and new insights on the matter., Methods: We developed a three-stage methodology starting with the preprocessing of public databases NHANES (USA) and ENSANUT (Mexico) to construct a dataset with N = 10,077 adult diabetes patient records. We used N = 2,768 records for training/validation of models and left the remaining (N = 7,309) for testing. In the second stage, groups of observations -each one representing a T2DM subtype- were identified. We tested different clustering techniques and strategies and validated them by using internal and external clustering indices; obtaining two annotated datasets Dset A and Dset B. In the third stage, we developed different classification models assaying four algorithms, seven input-data schemes, and two validation settings on each annotated dataset. We also tested the obtained models using a majority-vote approach for classifying unseen patient records in the hold-out dataset., Results: From the independently obtained bootstrap validation for Dset A and Dset B, mean accuracies across all seven data schemes were [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) and [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]), respectively. Best accuracies were [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. Both validation setting results were consistent. For the hold-out dataset, results were consonant with most of those obtained in the literature in terms of class proportions., Conclusion: The development of machine learning systems for the classification of diabetes subtypes constitutes an important task to support physicians for fast and timely decision-making. We expect to deploy this methodology in a data analysis platform to conduct studies for identifying T2DM subtypes in patient records from hospitals., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Crassostrea virginica was exposed to different light crude oil levels to assess the effect on transcriptomic response and metabolic rate. The exposure time was 21 days, and levels of 100 and 200 μg/L were used, including a control. The most significant difference among treatments was the overexpression of several genes associated with energy production, reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulation, immune system response, and inflammatory response. Also, a hydrocarbon concentration-related pattern was identified in ROS regulation, with a gene expression ratio near 1.8:1 between 200 and 100 μg/L treatments. Statistical analysis showed no interaction effect for metabolic rate; however, significant differences were found for oil concentration and time factors, with a higher oxygen consumption at 200 μg/L. Our findings provide novel information about the metabolic response of C. virginica during hydrocarbons exposure. In addition, our results point out which biological processes should be investigated as targets for searching bioindicators., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Arsenic presence in the water has become one of the most concerning environmental problems. Electrocoagulation is a technology that offers several advantages over conventional treatments such as chemical coagulation. In the present work, an electrocoagulation system was optimized for arsenic removal at initial concentrations of 100 µg/L using response surface methodology. The effects of studied parameters were determined by a 2 3 factorial design, whereas treatment time had a positive effect and current intensity had a negative effect on arsenic removal efficiency. With a p -value of 0.1629 and a confidence of level 99%, the type of electrode material did not have a significant effect on arsenic removal. Efficiency over 90% was reached at optimal operating conditions of 0.2 A of current intensity, and 7 min of treatment time using iron as the electrode material. However, the time necessary to accomplish with OMS arsenic guideline of 10 µg/L increased from 7 to 30 min when real arsenic-contaminated groundwater with an initial concentration of 80.2 ± 3.24 µg/L was used. The design of a pilot-scale electrocoagulation reactor was determined with the capacity to meet the water requirement of a 6417 population community in Sonora, Mexico. To provide the 1.0 L/s required, an electrocoagulation reactor with a working volume of 1.79 m 3 , a total electrode effective surface of 701 m 2 , operating at a current intensity of 180 A and an operating cost of 0.0208 US$/day was proposed. Based on these results, electrocoagulation can be considered an efficient technology to treat arsenic-contaminated water and meet the drinking water quality standards.

The straightforward approach to eye-tracker calibration considers that the calibration data do not have erroneous associations, and the calibration function is defined. The violation of the non-erroneous assumption could cause an arbitrarily large bias. The MMransac algorithm proposed in this paper is a modified version of the Random Sample Consensus. that achieves robust calibrations. On the other hand, polynomials in two variables (i.e., with terms in the form κx a y b ) are commonly used to map eye-tracker measurements to points on the screen. High-degree polynomials tend to be more accurate; however, as the order is increased, the function becomes more complex and less smooth, which could cause over-fitting. In this sense, this paper proposes an algorithmic approach that enables model selection criteria even in the presence of outliers. This approach was tested using different model selection criteria. Results show that more accurate calibrations are obtained with the combined robust fitting and model selection approach using the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the Kullback information criterion (KIC).

The observation of an enhanced therapeutic index for FLASH radiotherapy in mice has created interest in practical laboratory-based FLASH irradiators. To date, systems capable of 3D conformal FLASH irradiation in mice have been lacking. We are developing such a system, incorporating a high-current linear accelerator to produce a collimated X-ray beam in a stationary beamline design, rotating the mouse about a longitudinal axis to achieve conformal irradiation from multiple beam directions. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the reproducibility of mouse anatomy under rotation at speeds compatible with conformal FLASH delivery. Three short-hair mice and two hairless mice were immobilized under anesthesia in body weight-specific contoured plastic molds, and subjected to three rotational (up to 3 revolutions/s) and two non-rotational movement interventions. MicroCT images were acquired before and after each intervention. The displacements of 11 anatomic landmarks were measured on the image pairs. The displacement of the anatomical landmarks with any of the interventions was 0.5 mm or less for 92.4% of measurements, with a single measurement out of 275 (11 landmarks × 5 interventions × 5 mice) reaching 1 mm. There was no significant difference in the displacements associated with rotation compared to those associated with moving the immobilized mouse in and out of a scanner or with leaving the mouse in place for 5 min with no motion. There were no significant differences in displacements between mice with or without hair, although the analysis is limited by small numbers, or between different anatomic landmarks. These results show that anatomic reproducibility under rotation speed corresponding to FLASH irradiation times appears to be compatible with conformal/stereotactic irradiation in mice., (©2020 by Radiation Research Society. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.)

Radiation therapy, along with surgery and chemotherapy, is one of the main treatments for cancer. While radiotherapy is highly effective in the treatment of localized tumors, its main limitation is its toxicity to normal tissue. Previous preclinical studies have reported that ultra-high dose-rate (FLASH) irradiation results in reduced toxicity to normal tissues while controlling tumor growth to a similar extent relative to conventional-dose-rate (CONV) irradiation. To our knowledge this is the first report of a dose-response study in mice comparing the effect of FLASH irradiation vs. CONV irradiation on skin toxicity. We found that FLASH irradiation results in both a lower incidence and lower severity of skin ulceration than CONV irradiation 8 weeks after single-fraction hemithoracic irradiation at high doses (30 and 40 Gy). Survival was also higher after FLASH hemithoracic irradiation (median survival >180 days at doses of 30 and 40 Gy) compared to CONV irradiation (median survival 100 and 52 days at 30 and 40 Gy, respectively). No ulceration was observed at doses 20 Gy or below in either FLASH or CONV. These results suggest a shifting of the dose-response curve for radiation-induced skin ulceration to the right for FLASH, compared to CONV irradiation, suggesting the potential for an enhanced therapeutic index for radiation therapy of cancer., (©2020 by Radiation Research Society. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.)