Long-term Issues Research Articles

Human Cord Blood Endothelial Progenitor Cells and Pregnancy Complications (Preeclampsia, Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, and Fetal Growth Restriction).

Hemangioblasts give rise to endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), which also express the cell surface markers CD133 and c-kit. They may differentiate into the outgrowth endothelial cells (OECs) that control neovascularization in the developing embryo. According to numerous studies, reduced levels of EPCs in circulation have been linked to human cardiovascular disorders. Furthermore, preeclampsia and senescence have been linked to levels of EPCs produced from cord blood. Uncertainties surround how preeclampsia affects the way EPCs function. It is reasonable to speculate that preeclampsia may have an impact on the function of fetal EPCs during the in utero period; however, the present literature suggests that maternal vasculopathies, including preeclampsia, damage fetal circulation. Additionally, the differentiation potential and general activity of EPCs may serve as an indicator of the health of the fetal vascular system as they promote neovascularization and repair during pregnancy. Thus, the purpose of this review is to compare-through the assessment of their quantity, differentiation potency, angiogenic activity, and senescence-the angiogenic function of fetal EPCs obtained from cord blood for normal and pregnancy problems (preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, and fetal growth restriction). This will shed light on the relationship between the angiogenic function of fetal EPCs and pregnancy complications, which could have an effect on the management of long-term health issues like metabolic and cardiovascular disorders in offspring with abnormal vasculature development.

Synthesis and investigation of the cholinesterase inhibitory and antioxidant capacities of some novel N'-(quinolin-4-ylmethylene)propanehydrazides against Alzheimer's disease.

One of the worst long-term health issues of the past few decades is Alzheimer's disease (AD). Unfortunately, there are currently insufficient choices for treating and caring for AD, which makes it a popular subject for drug development research. Studies on the development of drugs for AD have primarily concentrated on the use of multitarget directed ligands.Following this strategy, we designed new ChE inhibitors with additional antioxidant and metal chelator effects. In this research, eight novel N'-(quinolin-4-ylmethylene)propanehydrazide derivatives were synthesized and characterized. We then evaluated the inhibition potency of all the final compounds for cholinesterase enzymes. Among them, 4e (IC50 acetylcholinesterase[AChE] = 0.69 µM and butyrylcholinesterase[BChE]= 26.00 µM) and 4h (IC50's AChE= 7.04 µM and BChE= 16.06 µM) were found to be the most potent AChEand BChEinhibitors, respectively.

The Knowledge and Practice of Family Planning Among Muslim Women in Rural Karnataka, India.

Introduction Women's health is significantly impacted by undesirable pregnancies and unsafe abortions, leading to the deaths of thousands of women and causing many others to suffer from infertility and long-term reproductive health issues. To address this problem, the use of modern contraception methods is increasing, regardless of economic status and dwelling, allowing women to exercise their rights and access reproductive health services. Objective The objective of this study is to examine the knowledge and practiceof family planning and the factors associated with it. Settingand design A cross-sectional study was conducted among Muslim women (n=461) using a two-stage stratified random sampling method with a semi-structured questionnaire in the five taluks of Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka. Methods and materials The required study sample was drawn by adopting the two-stage stratified random sampling technique. The study population was divided into different strata consisting of panchayats and wards. The number of households was selected from these panchayats/wards. Statistical analysis The association between faith in family planningand the knowledge and practice of family planning is studied using a chi-squared test. The factors associated with the practice of family planningare identified using a univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)version 27 (IBM SPSS Statistics, Armonk, NY). Results There is a significant association between faith in family planning and its practice, with a p-value of less than 0.0001. Age was also found to be a significant factor associated with the practice of family planning. Specifically, women aged 31-40 were less likely to practice family planning compared to women aged 21-30, with a p-value of 0.012. The majority of individuals indicated the preferred child (23.9%) and going against the custom (16.5%) as their reasons for not using family planning. Conclusions Muslim women are reasonably well-informed about modern methods of contraception, but their usage remains relatively low. Outreach initiatives, health worker mobilization from within the community, and health education and information sharing are examples of program interventions that could help address this issue.

The Dynamics of the Concentration and Speciation of Arsenic in Private Drinking Water Wells in Eastern Wisconsin, USA

About 2.5 billion people rely on groundwater as their main drinking water source, and arsenic pollution within the groundwater system can cause serious short- and long-term health issues. Within the natural environment, arsenic generally exists as oxyanions which have two oxidation states, As(III) and As(V). Under ambient pH conditions, As(V) is primarily present as an anion (i.e., H2AsO4−) while As(III) tends to be uncharged (i.e., H3AsO3), making it much more difficult to remove As(III) through existing treatment techniques such as adsorption and reverse osmosis (RO). In Eastern Wisconsin, the dolomite and dolomite/sandstone aquifers represent a major drinking water source and high arsenic concentrations have been observed. Previous studies showed that arsenic can be released into private drinking water wells due to the oxidation of sulfide-bearing minerals with arsenic impurities that are usually dispersed within the dolomite and sandstone bedrock. However, there is a lack of information on the concentrations of each arsenic species as well as arsenic dynamics during water pumping/usage. The primary goals of this research were (1) to quantify the baseline concentrations of each arsenic species within selected Eastern Wisconsin private drinking water wells, and (2) to determine how the arsenic concentrations and species could be affected by continuous water usage. Our results showed that As(III) was the dominant species of arsenic, and during continuous water usage, there could be an upward trend in arsenic concentration (there was minimal change in arsenic speciation). Upon the completion of water pumping, arsenic concentrations decreased over time and returned to pre-pumping levels. Our findings highlighted the importance of quantifying the speciation and dynamics of arsenic during water use to the assessment of public health risks and the design of appropriate water treatment techniques.

Kegiatan Pengabdian Masyarakat Terhadap Deteksi Dini Gangguan Perilaku, Emosional, dan Psikososial di Sekolah Dasar Negeri Caringin

Parents and other mental health stakeholders are becoming more concerned about emotional and behavioral disorders (EBPs) in teenagers. These issues, which typically arise in infancy or adolescence, have an impact on relationships, academic achievement, and other areas. They may even persist into adulthood as mental health disorders (MHD). Using the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC-17) questionnaire, the risk of behavioral, emotional, and psychosocial disorders was assessed in this activity. It is anticipated that early detection—made possible by instruments like the PSC-17—will avert long-term issues brought on by behavioral, emotional, and psychological illnesses.

High-performance quasi-2D perovskite solar cells enabled by using π-conjugated spacer

The excellent photoelectric properties and low fabrication cost of perovskite solar cells have attracted extensive research attention. Despite this, long-term stability issues associated with perovskite solar cells continue to pose a significant barrier to commercialization. A new generation of two-dimensional (2D) and quasi-2D perovskites and newly introduced members of the 2D material family, have attracted growing attention due to their excellent stability and physical properties in contrast to their three-dimensional (3D) counterparts. Herein, we have presented the feasibility of using 4,4[Formula: see text]-dipyridyl as an additive material for quasi-2D perovskite solar cells. As a result of the addition of 4,4[Formula: see text]-dipyridyl, the solar cell device achieves a power conversion efficiency of 17.92% and a fill factor of 76.5%. Additionally, this strategy can be expanded to quasi-2D perovskite solar cells with an open-circuit voltage of 1.05[Formula: see text]V.

Complete Blood Count-Derived Inflammation Indexes Are Useful in Predicting Metabolic Syndrome in Children and Adolescents with Severe Obesity.

Background: Childhood obesity is a globally increasing pathological condition leading to long-term health issues such as cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome (MetS). This study aimed to determine the clinical value of the Complete Blood Count-derived inflammation indexes Monocyte/HDL-C ratio (MHR), Lymphocyte/HDL-C ratio (LHR), Neutrophil/HDL-C ratio (NHR), and System Inflammation Response Index (SIRI) to predict the presence of metabolic syndrome and its association with cardiovascular risk markers (HOMA-IR, TG/HDL-C, and non-HDL-C) in children and adolescents with obesity. Methods: The study included a total of 552 children/adolescents with severe obesity (BMI: 36.4 [32.7-40.7] kg/m2; 219 males, 333 females; age: 14.8 [12.9-16.3] years), who were further subdivided based on the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome (MetS+ and MetS respectively). Results: The MHR, LHR, and NHR indexes (p < 0.0001), but not SIRI (p = 0.524), were significantly higher in the MetS+ compared to the MetS- subgroup, showing a positive correlation with the degree of MetS severity (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, MHR, LHR, and NHR were positively associated with cardiometabolic risk biomarkers (HOMA-IR: MHR p = 0.000, LHR p = 0.001, NHR p < 0.0001; TG/HDL-C: MHR, LHR, NHR p < 0.000; non-HDL-C: MHR, LHR p < 0.0001, NHR p = 0.000). Finally, the ROC curve analysis demonstrated that among the analyzed indexes, only MHR, LHR, and NHR had diagnostic value in distinguishing MetS patients among children and adolescents with obesity (MHR: AUC = 0.7045; LHR: AUC = 0.7205; NHR: AUC = 0.6934; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: In conclusion, the MHR, LHR, and NHR indexes, but not the SIRI index, can be considered useful tools for pediatricians to assess the risk of MetS and cardiometabolic diseases in children and adolescents with obesity and to develop multidisciplinary intervention strategies to counteract the widespread disease.

Understanding Vatavyadhi as a Sequelaeae of Metabolic Syndrome And Its Management - A Review

The increasing occurrence of metabolic syndrome in children and teenagers is alarming due to the potential for significant long-term health issues. Recognizing and addressing this condition early are essential to avoid permanent harm. Traditional Ayurvedic perspectives offer valuable insights into this issue. Conditions such as Sthaulya (Obesity), Prameha (Diabetes), Shonita Dusti (Blood Impurity), and Dhamani Pratichaya (Vascular Diseases) share similarities with metabolic syndrome. These arise from excessive intake and accumulation (Santarpana nidana), leading to a build-up of Kapha (one of three senses of humor having unctuous property) and Medha (fat), eventually affecting other Doshas (humor) and multiple tissues. Ayurvedic treatments aim to manage these conditions, as they tend to be chronic and prone to complications, potentially progressing to Vatavyadhi (neurological disorders) over time. The interplay of kapha and medha in blocking channels (Margavarana) is a crucial consequence of these conditions, contributing to the development of vatavyadhi. This review article highlights the importance of early intervention and traditional Ayurvedic approaches in managing metabolic syndrome-like conditions in children and adolescents to prevent long-term complications.

K1K2NN: A novel multi-label classification approach based on neighbors for predicting COVID-19 drug side effects

COVID-19, a novel ailment, has received comparatively fewer drugs for its treatment. Side Effects (SE) of a COVID-19 drug could cause long-term health issues. Hence, SE prediction is essential in COVID-19 drug development. Efficient models are also needed to predict COVID-19 drug SE since most existing research has proposed many classifiers to predict SE for diseases other than COVID-19. This work proposes a novel classifier based on neighbors named K1 K2 Nearest Neighbors (K1K2NN) to predict the SE of the COVID-19 drug from 17 molecules' descriptors and the chemical 1D structure of the drugs. The model is implemented based on the proposition that chemically similar drugs may be assigned similar drug SE, and co-occurring SE may be assigned to chemically similar drugs. The K1K2NN model chooses the first K1 neighbors to the test drug sample by calculating its similarity with the train drug samples. It then assigns the test sample with the SE label having the majority count on the SE labels of these K1 neighbor drugs obtained through a voting mechanism. The model then calculates the SE-SE similarity using the Jaccard similarity measure from the SE co-occurrence values. Finally, the model chooses the most similar K2 SE neighbors for those SE determined by the K1 neighbor drugs and assigns these SE to that test drug sample. The proposed K1K2NN model has showcased promising performance with the highest accuracy of 97.53% on chemical 1D drug structure and outperforms the state-of-the-art multi-label classifiers. In addition, we demonstrate the successful application of the proposed model on gene expression signature datasets, which aided in evaluating its performance and confirming its accuracy and robustness.

The Influence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus on Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes: A Retrospective Study in Rzeszów, Poland.

BACKGROUND Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects 5.8-12.9% of pregnant women, while pre-gestational diabetes mellitus (PGDM) affects 0.4-1.1%. GDM increases the risk of perinatal complications and long-term health issues. This retrospective study from a single centre in Rzeszów, Poland aimed to evaluate maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnancy of 65 women with gestational diabetes mellitus. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study group consisted 65 women with GDM. The control group consisted 60 women without. GDM were diagnosed with carbohydrate metabolism disorders during pregnancy based on the results of the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Methods of evaluation of the mothers: age, body mass before pregnancy, body height, body mass index (BMI), gravidity, parity, the number of miscarriages, length of stay (LOS) of mother, gestational weight gain (GWG), duration of pregnancy, type of delivery, treatment of diabetes. Methods of evaluation of the child: LOS, birth weight, Apgar points. RESULTS Women with diabetes stayed in hospital longer than women without, similarly applies the length of stay (LOS) of the child (p<0.001). It turned out that the women with GDM were significantly more likely to deliver by caesarean section (CS) (p=0.024) and these women most often had gestational weight gain (GWG) within the recommended range (p<0.001). Body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy was significantly higher in the women with GDM (p=0.023). CONCLUSIONS The above study confirms that the occurrence of GDM has an undoubted impact on prolonged LOS of the mother and child, more frequent CS delivery and normal GWG.

Patient satisfaction after removal of locking plates in proximal humeral fractures – worth the surgery under functional and cosmetic aspects?

BackgroundLocking plates are one of the most frequently used implants in surgical treatment of displaced proximal humeral fractures. In spite of this established implant and standardized approach, reduced shoulder function might remain a mid- to long-term issue, furthermore scars may influence patient satisfaction as a cosmetic issue. Indications for a second surgery to remove implant and/or scar revision are common questions in this context.Aim of the present study was to assess the benefit of a second surgery including implant removal and scar revision surgery on patients’ satisfaction under functional and cosmetic aspects. MethodsPatients following displaced proximal humeral fractures treated by open reduction and internal fixation with a locking plate osteosynthesis via a delto-pectoral approach and following implant removal were included retrospectively. Follow-up took place anamnestically before the incident or the primary surgery [A], before second surgery [B] and after second surgery (Scar revision/implant removal) [C]. Functional outcome (Constant Score (CS)) of both shoulders was obtained using a PROM to evaluate the contralateral side as well as percentage CS (%CS). Furthermore, cosmetic outcome was evaluated for color, contour and size. ResultsClinical data of n=81 patients with displaced proximal humeral fractures and consecutive open reduction and internal fixation (=ORIF) with a locking plate (51 women ≙ 63,0% and 30 men ≙ 37,0%; mean age: 53.7 ± 16.6 years) via a standardized deltopectoral approach could be included. The mean Constant Score (CS) before sustaining the humeral fracture/primary surgery [A] was anamnestically 85.8 ± 8.5 points and %CS 99.4 ± 8.4%. After ORIF with a locking plate osteosynthesis [B] the mean CS was 72.2 ± 9.1 points and %CS 84.5 ± 8.7%. Following scheduled implant removal and scar revision [C] the CS was 80 ± 13.1 points and %CS 92.3 ± 14.1%.After primary surgery 26 patients (32.1%) complained about the scar because of color, contour or size before second surgery and 23 patients (28.4%) afterwards. ConclusionImplant removal after locking plate osteosynthesis in proximal humeral fractures via a delto-pectoral approach leads to an improved outcome both functionally and cosmetically. Constant score as well as scar situation and patients’ overall satisfaction could be improved with a secondary surgery. Nevertheless, need for secondary surgery depends on the patients’ functional and cosmetical demand.

The Role of Medicinal Plants in the Treatment and Management of Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract: Diabetes is a severe metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia is a hallmark of diabetes, a life-threatening metabolic condition. There are a variety of oral hypoglycemic drugs in the market for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, including biguanides, sulphonylurea, and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors. On the other hand, these conventional methods of treating diabetes are costly and associated with a variety of long-term issues, whereas medicinal herbs used to treat diabetes are inexpensive and have no harmful consequences or side effects. Because of the existence of different therapeutically relevant active phytochemicals such as tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, and other compounds in medicinal plants, they can be used in treating diabetes. Various medicinal plants used to treat diabetes mellitus and their bioactive components are discussed in this review article. In this review, the prospects of these medicinal plants, as well as the challenges associated with their use, are discussed.

Effect of "Tiaoshen" acupuncture technique on mild depression and its underlying mechanism: A randomized controlled trial study protocol

BackgroundMild depression is not just a mental disease, but also a serious and long-term public health issue. It affects the quality of life of patients and can quickly develop into major depression. There are currently no effective drug treatments with high efficacy and few adverse reactions. Acupuncture may be an alternative treatment option. Preliminary experiments and practices have demonstrated that "Tiaoshen" acupuncture improves symptoms in patients who have depression, however the underlying data and method remain unclear at present. MethodsThis is a prospective, single-center, single-blind, randomized controlled trial. We plan to recruit 70 participants and randomly assign them to receive "Tiaoshen" acupuncture or traditional acupuncture at a ratio of 1:1. Then, all the participants will receive the appropriate acupuncture treatment for four weeks. The results of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDSR-24) will serve as the primary outcome, while the results of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) will serve as secondary outcomes. Evaluations will be conducted at baseline, 1, 2, and 4 weeks after treatment initiation, and 1 and 3 months after treatment completion. The safety of the intervention will be evaluated every week using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) and the Treatment Emergent Symptoms Scale (TESS). Serum levels of oxidative stress markers 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α), superoxide dismutase (SOD), uric acid (UA), and total bilirubin (TBIL) will be measured at baseline and the end of the treatment. We will conduct a statistical analysis of intention to treat (ITT) and conformance to protocol set (PPS) data. DiscussionThis research aims to provide high-quality evidence for the efficacy and safety of "Tiaoshen" acupuncture as a treatment for mild depression. In addition, the mechanism through which acupuncture heals mild depression will be investigated.

The influence of preinjury mental health problems on post-concussion outcome: A meta-analysis

It is difficult to anticipate may suffer long-term health issues as a result of a Postconcussion (PC) sustained while participating in sports. This research analyzes the relationship between Pre-Injury Mental Health (PMH) issues and the clinical result of a sports-related PC. The following databases were the basis for the research: SPORT Discus, Web of Science, EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO. Studies distributed before February 2019 that looked at MHP as a possible signal of a worse Clinical Outcome (CO) or a slower clinical improvement from a PC was considered. In the end, 12 types of research with subjects were considered after 355 entire texts of the 4046 publications that were reviewed were examined. In 9 out of 12 studies, individuals who have experienced prior to the Studies varied greatly in their approaches, and most did not emphasize MH as a primary predictor or prognostic factor. For the inst ad, it is better to utilize it as a secondary or even a third predictor. Most studies were small or small sample sizes for those exhibiting PMH concerns. There was no information given on the beginning age, kind, course, severity, or duration of MH issues. While doing baseline tests before the season, it was not specified to what extent MH problems were visible. The co of a sport-related pc may be worse for athletes with preexisting Mental Health Conditions (MHC). Research is needed to understand the mechanisms at play here better, to more accurately measure the risk for each MHC, to build superior, advanced treatment and recuperation strategies regarding these students-athletes by comprehending the procedures that underlie the higher risk.

The Effectiveness of Various Brands of the Drugs Fenbendazole and Ivermectin in Treating Horses with Strongyle Nematodes in Holeta, Oromia, Central Ethiopia

Introduction: Gastrointestinal parasites have always been a problem, and they are likely to continue to be a long-term issue that threatens the livestock industry. Methods: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of various fenbendazole and ivermectin brands against Strongyle nematodes in naturally infected horses in Holeta, central Ethiopia. A total of 120 horses were divided into three groups at random. Group 1 horses were left untreated (n=12), while group 2 horses were given five different brands of ivermectin (SG-Ivermectin 1%, Tecmectin, Ivertong, ivermectin 1%, and Ivervik 1%), and group 3 horses were given four different brands of fenbendazole (Fenbendazole, Fenacure 750 mg, Hunter 22%, and Fenacure 22%). Fecal samples were collected rectally and parasitologically processed using the modified McMaster method and fecal culture, respectively, to determine egg per gram (EPG) and Strongyle species. The efficacy of these anthelmintics was determined by comparing the EPG before (day 0) and after treatment using a fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) (day 14). Results: The results of this study revealed that the efficacy of ivermectin brands was superior to that of fenbendazole brands. Horses treated with Ivervik 1%, Hunter 22%, SG-Ivermectin 1%, Tecmectin, Ivertong, and Fenacure 22% had the highest reduction in fecal egg counts, followed by horses treated with fenbendazole, ivermectin 1%, and Fenacure 750 mg. Conclusion: Based on the results of this field study, it can be concluded that the various brands of ivermectin and fenbendazole are effective against Strongyle spp. and P. equorum in horses.

Glycosylated Haemoglobin Testing: A Review

The following article discusses the discovery, biochemistry, laboratory determination, clinical applications, and error for glycosylated haemoglobin. There is no one test method that is appropriate for all applications, and the development of widely recognized standards and reference ranges is unlikely in the near year. Nonetheless, the introduction of glycosylated haemoglobin tests represents a significant step forward. They provide the most accurate way of determining diabetic management. As a result of a growing awareness that chronic hyperglycemia is a substantial predictor of long-term issues, there has been a surge in interest in diabetes management monitoring. As a result, the discovery of glycosylated haemoglobin came at an ideal moment; measuring it should provide a more objective control evaluation than previously achievable. Therefore, before this promise can be fully fulfilled, technological difficulties must be solved

Abstract 5474: Biorepository yields potential for personalized medicine approach in pediatric brain cancer patients

Abstract Childhood brain cancer, with a 12% mortality rate, stands as the most lethal cancer among children. Out of the annual 4,000 diagnoses, 30% involve low-grade gliomas, with a troubling 10% progressing to lethal high-grade gliomas within 2 years. While surgery can often cure the remaining 90%, 50% necessitate adjuvant therapies like chemotherapy and molecular targeting, with radiation sparingly used. Alarmingly, 66% of survivors grapple with long-term health, mental, and cognitive issues due to treatment toxicity, emphasizing the urgent need for innovative biological therapies in pediatric glioma treatment.Our proposed strategy involves the acute analysis of freshly discarded tissue from brain cancer craniotomies, departing from the use of FFPE-preserved tissue, which may exhibit suboptimal quality. All patients provided informed consent, and by prospectively preserving viable tissue, we enable its utilization in ten or more subsequent analyses. These encompass cell-culture-based assays, viability assays, bulk, single cell, and single nucleus RNA sequencing, DNA sequencing, single-cell proteome analyses, flow cytometry, and immunofluorescence.Our findings highlight a direct correlation between surgical sample size and analysis feasibility. Bulk RNA sequencing proves valuable in acutely isolated surgical tissue and cryostored or flash-frozen tissue for identifying novel therapeutic targets in individual patients. Viable cells retrieved from cryopreserved tissue of the same patient allow ex vivo functional validation of therapeutic targets, eliminating the need for establishing patient-derived cell lines and xenografts, particularly challenging for low-grade gliomas. These findings establish the feasibility of a personalized bedside-to-bench approach, contingent on an adequate supply of surgical material.Expanding this approach to encompass all childhood brain cancer types, we plan to investigate using our comprehensive biorepository, housing viable tissue and single-cell suspensions from 122 childhood brain cancer patients. Among these, 51 cases yielded tissue for single-cell RNA-seq and viable cryoprotection. The most common tumor histology identified was low-grade glioma (32), primarily pilocytic astrocytoma (19), followed by embryonal (12) and ependymal tumors (4).In summary, we developed a standard operating procedure for analyzing fresh and cryopreserved surgical discards, identifying novel targets in childhood brain cancer tissue, and functionally validating them in patient-matched samples. This personalized medicine approach holds promise in circumventing the tedious development of patient-derived models. Citation Format: Anna Pronina, Emon Nasajpour, Caitlynn Tran, Troy Schouten, Eden Gibson, Jeffrey Nirschl, Laura Marie Prolo, Kelly Mahaney, Hannes Vogel, Claudia Katharina Petritsch. Biorepository yields potential for personalized medicine approach in pediatric brain cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 5474.

Yeast-Based Screening of Anti-Viral Molecules.

Viruses are minuscule infectious agents that reproduce exclusively within the living cells of an organism and are present in almost every ecosystem. Their continuous interaction with humans poses a significant threat to the survival and well-being of everyone. Apart from the common cold or seasonal influenza, viruses are also responsible for several important diseases such as polio, rabies, smallpox, and most recently COVID-19. Besides the loss of life and long-term health-related issues, clinical viral infections have significant economic and social impacts. Viral enzymes, especially proteases which are essential for viral multiplication, represent attractive drug targets. As a result, screening of viral protease inhibitors has gained a lot of interest in the development of anti-viral drugs. Despite the availability of anti-viral therapeutics, there is a clear need to develop novel curative agents that can be used against a given virus or group of related viruses. This review highlights the importance of yeasts as an in vivo model for screening viral enzyme inhibitors. We also discuss the advantages of yeast-based screening platforms over traditional assays. Therefore, in the present article, we discuss why yeast is emerging as a model of choice for in vivo screening of anti-viral molecules and why yeast-based screening will become more relevant in the future for screening anti-viral and other molecules of clinical importance.

Long-term issues with the Energy-Only Market design in the context of deep decarbonization

There has been fierce controversy in the literature over the long-run efficiency of the energy-only market (EOM) design ever since its inception. In this paper, we provide novel insights to illuminate this historical controversy, and we revisit it with a focus on contemporary issues and the profound changes brought about by the energy transition. Specifically, we develop an analytical and modeling framework to quantitatively investigate how EOM outcomes hinge on the underlying behavioral, informational and structural assumptions. We apply our framework to a case study calibrated on Californian fundamentals that captures the key features of energy systems under deep decarbonization. We characterize how EOM outcomes can substantially deviate from the long-run optimum as soon as one assumption is relaxed compared to theoretical requirements. This leads to pathways with higher electricity prices, lower security of supply and delayed decarbonization. In particular, we highlight how market price signals alone are prone to a dynamic entry-exit coordination problem between investment in low-carbon assets and the phaseout of fossil-fired assets. This calls for a market design reform to complement price signals that accounts for realistic assumptions.

The third age interrupted: experiences of living in a retirement village during the first year of COVID-19 in Victoria, Australia

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia has profoundly affected older adults, particularly in the state of Victoria, which experienced strict lockdown restrictions six times since the pandemic began in 2020; totalling 245 days over three years. This study explored the experiences of older adults living in retirement villages during the first three lockdowns in Victoria from March 2020 to February 2021. We draw on the concept of the ‘third age’ to explore how residents’ post-retirement social and lifestyle aspirations were disrupted by the pandemic and associated lockdowns. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 14 residents during January and February 2021. All data were analysed using thematic mapping. Five key themes were identified: (1) benefits and frustrations of retirement village living during a pandemic; (2) the loss of amenities and activities; (3) heightened loneliness and social isolation; (4) reaching out to others; and (5) variable experiences of operators’ response. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted short-term and long-term issues around social isolation and the management of retirement villages, it has also demonstrated the resilience of residents and the strength of community ties and relationships. Retirement villages are promoted as age-friendly environments that enable an active and healthy post-retirement lifestyle. Yet our findings reveal heterogeneity within village populations. When services closed during lockdowns, this revealed a tension between the policy assumption that retirement villages are a housing consumption choice, and the unmet needs of those residents who depend on village services for day-to-day functioning.