Simple Screening Research Articles

Screening of Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors by Capillary Electrophoresis with Oriented-Immobilized Enzyme Microreactors Based on Gold Nanoparticles.

A facial and efficient method for the screening of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors by capillary electrophoresis was developed. Based on the specific affinity of concanavalin A (Con A) for binding to the glycosyl group of AChE, enzyme molecules were oriented-immobilized on the surface of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs@Con A@AChE). Then, these modified nanoparticles were bounded to the capillary inlet (about 1.0 cm) by electrostatic self-assembly to obtain the oriented-immobilized enzyme microreactor (OIMER). Compared to an IMER with a free enzyme, the peak area of the product obtained by the OIMER increased by 52.6%. The Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) was as low as (0.061 ± 0.003) mmol/L. The method exhibits good repeatability with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.3% for 100 consecutive runs. The system was successfully applied to detect the IC50 values of donepezil and four components from Chinese medicinal plants. This work demonstrates the potential of this method as a low cost, simple, and accurate screening method for other enzyme inhibitors.

Accelerating Real-Time Analysis of Gas Diffusion Electrodes Using Different Coupled Mass Spectrometry Techniques

Due to the rapid development of new catalysts, simple electrochemical screening methods are needed to evaluate the activity and stability of catalyst layers. Setups for these applications already exist: the so-called Scanning Flow Cells (SFCs) unify real-time electrochemical activity and dissolution stability analysis in a high-throughput fashion and find applications in a broad range of topics, such as battery research, 1 oxygen evolution reaction catalysts performance,2 and photo-electrochemistry.3 Yet, the low current densities reached in the system hinder the direct comparison of the results to real devices.4 Gas diffusion electrode (GDE) based setups present a promising alternative to Aqueous Model Systems (AMS) due to their ability to achieve higher current densities. Compared to two electrode full cells (fuel cell or water electrolyser), GDE half-cells are operated in a three-electrode configuration with liquid electrolyte. However, as in fuel cells, gasses reach the catalyst layer through a flow field, achieving relevant current densities up to 2 A cm-2. The GDE half- cell offers the advantage of studying the isolated reaction of the working electrode by applying controlled potentials with a reference electrode. While the GDE offers a simplified approach, the assembly process can be time-consuming, and the overall catalyst throughput analysis could be further optimised.5,6 In this context, we present a novel setup that enables the rapid examination of catalyst layers for fuel cells, providing more realistic conditions while simultaneously investigating degradation processes. The setup consists of an optimised SFC based on lower internal resistance and an additional flow field to purge the catalyst layer with different gasses. As the common SFC, the presented Scanning Gas Diffusion Electrode half cell (S-GDE) can be connected to an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) to quantify the dissolution of metals in real-time. Furthermore, the gas-sensitive Mass Spectrometer can be connected to the gas stream of the cell, enabling the detection of volatile products via on-line electrochemical mass spectrometry (OLEMS). The simple replacement of catalyst layers in the S-GDE allows fast analysis of multiple catalysts consecutively. Still, as the aim is to facilitate high-throughput electrochemistry, developing the S-GDE is ongoing. Furthermore, the optimised cell can reach higher current densities than cells of a similar design, allowing accelerated stress tests (ASTs) and the performance of polarisation curves.The S-GDE will offer a new perspective on realistic catalyst layers, their performance, and catalyst/support degradation processes, e.g. Pt dissolution and carbon corrosion. The increasing demand for new catalyst materials highlights the need for their rapid evaluation under realistic conditions, taking into account not only their electrochemical performance but also their stability. Lüchtefeld J, Hemmelmann H, Wachs S, Mayrhofer KJ, Elm MT, Berkes BB. Effect of Water Contamination on the Transition Metal Dissolution in Water-Enriched Electrolyte: A Mechanistic Insight into a New Type of Dissolution. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 2022;126(40):17204–11.Zlatar M, Nater D, Escalera-López D, Joy RM, Pobedinskas P, Haenen K, et Evaluating the stability of Ir single atom and Ru atomic cluster oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts. Electrochimica Acta. 2023;444:141982.Jenewein KJ, Kormányos A, Knöppel J, Mayrhofer KJJ, Cherevko S. Accessing In Situ Photocorrosion under Realistic Light Conditions: Photoelectrochemical Scanning Flow Cell Coupled to Online ICP-MS. ACS Measurement Science Au. 2021;1(2):74–81.Ehelebe K, Escalera-López D, Cherevko S. Limitations of aqueous model systems in the stability assessment of electrocatalysts for oxygen reactions in fuel cell and Current Opinion in Electrochemistry. 2021;29:100832.Ehelebe K, Knöppel J, Bierling M, Mayerhöfer B, Böhm T, Kulyk N, et Platinum Dissolution in Realistic Fuel Cell Catalyst Layers. Angewandte Chemie (International ed in English). 2021;60(16):8882–8.Ehelebe K, Seeberger D, Paul MTY, Thiele S, Mayrhofer KJJ, Cherevko S. Evaluating Electrocatalysts at Relevant Currents in a Half-Cell: The Impact of Pt Loading on Oxygen Reduction Reaction. Journal of The Electrochemical Society. 2019;166(16):F1259-F68. Figure 1: The S-GDE unifies the real conditions approach of the GDE and the high throughput approach of the SFC and the connection to two mass spectrometer enables the real time detection of dissolved catalyst (ICP-MS) and volatile products (OLEMS). Figure 1

ESTIMATED ARTERIAL STIFFNESS, COGNITIVE DECLINE, AND DEMENTIA AMONG MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS

Abstract Prior research suggests arterial stiffness may be a useful vascular biomarker that predicts age-related cognitive decline. In this paper, we use the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the relationship between estimated pulse wave velocity (ePWV), which is an under-analyzed but readily available estimate of arterial stiffness, and cognitive decline. The HRS assesses cognitive function with the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS). In this 27-point TICS measure, scores between 7 and 11 indicate cognitively impaired but no dementia (CIND) and scores between 0 and 6 indicate dementia. We modeled the relationship between ePVW and cognitive status change from 2006/2008 through 2018. The findings indicate ePWV increases the odds of having CIND and dementia relative to having no CIND or dementia. In addition, ePWV increases the odds of transitioning into CIND and dementia from a higher cognitive functioning state. The results are robust to controlling for: age, age squared, age cubed, systolic and diastolic blood pressure along with sociodemographic characteristics (gender, race, ethnicity, wealth, income, education), health status (history of cardiovascular disease (CVD,) diabetes, and stroke and related medication use), health behaviors (smoking, physical activity, body mass index), and CVD-related biomarkers (C-reactive protein, cystatin-C, hemoglobin A1c, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol). These findings suggest that ePWV is a simple screening tool and novel biomarker that can be used to monitor vascular cognitive aging and CIND progression in middle-aged and older adults.

SPHYNCS: The Use of the Swiss Narcolepsy Scale in a New Cohort of Patients with Narcolepsy and Its Borderland and Review of the Literature

Introduction and aims: Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is a central disorder of hypersomnolence (CDH) characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy. The Swiss Narcolepsy Scale (SNS), which includes the updated and short (sSNS) versions, has recently been introduced as a reliable diagnostic tool for identifying NT1. This study aims to assess the validity of the SNS scales in a new cohort of patients with CDH, while also introducing the French and Italian versions of the SNS and providing a summary of the existing literature on SNS. Materials and methods: The current study is based on the international Swiss Primary Hypersomnolence and Narcolepsy Cohort Study (iSPHYNCS) which aims to identify new biomarkers for CDH. Diagnostic accuracy of the SNS was assessed by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. Results: In our population, 108 participants with suspected CDH (including 28 NT1 patients) and 14 healthy controls completed the scale. Original SNS, updated SNS and sSNS scores showed a high sensitivity (86%, 89% and 79%, respectively) and high specificity (96%, 90% and 95%, respectively) for diagnosing NT1 compared to other CDH. The French version was completed by 5 participants, and the Italian version by 8 participants. Regarding previous studies, the SNS has now been assessed in six different populations, involving a total of 1247 subjects (including 326 with narcolepsy with cataplexy/NT1), suggesting high sensitivity (85–100%) and specificity (86–100%) of the SNS for the diagnosis of NT1. Conclusion: The SNS is a simple screening tool validated in seven languages (German, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Turkish and Japanese), demonstrating high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of NT1.

Detection of H. pylori outer membrane protein (HopQ) biomarker using electrochemical impedimetric immunosensor with polypyrrole nanotubes and carbon nanotubes nanocomposite on screen-printed carbon electrode

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is classified as a class I carcinogen that colonizes the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The detection at low concentrations is crucial in combatting H. pylori. HopQ protein is located on H. pylori's outer membrane and is expressed at an early stage of contamination, which signifies it as an ideal biomarker. In this study, we presented the development of an electrochemical impedimetric immunosensor for the ultra-sensitive detection of HopQ at low concentrations. The sensor employed polypyrrole nanotubes (PPy-NTs) and carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH) nanocomposite. PPy-NTs were chosen for their excellent conductivity, biocompatibility, and redox capabilities, simplifying sample preparation by eliminating the need to add redox probes upon measurement. MWCNT-COOH provided covalent binding sites for HopQ antibodies (HopQ-Ab) on the biosensor surface. Characterization of the biosensor was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle measurements, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), complemented by numerical semiempirical quantum calculations. The results demonstrated a dynamic linear range of 5 pg/mL to 1.063 ng/mL and an excellent selectivity, with the possibility of excluding interference using EIS data, specifically charge transfer resistance and double-layer capacitance as multivariants for the calibration curve. Using two EIS components, the limit of detection is calculated to be 2.06 pg/mL. The biosensor was tested with a spiked drinking water sample and showed a signal recovery of 105.5% when detecting 300 pg/mL of HopQ. This novel H. pylori biosensor offers reliable, simple, portable, and rapid screening of the bacteria.

Evaluation of a novel instrument for detecting bipolar disorders in China: The Rapid Mood Screener (RMS)

ObjectiveBipolar disorder is easily misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). The Rapid Mood Screener (RMS) was developed to address this unmet clinical need. This study aims to translate and evaluated the reliability and validity of the RMS in Chinese adults with bipolar I/II disorder (BD-I/II). MethodsBrislin's translation and Delphi method were conducted to formulate the RMS-Chinses version (RMS-C). Patients with MDD (N = 99), BD-I (N = 77) and BD-II (N = 78) were included to assess the validity and reliability of RMS-C. The area under the curve (AUC) was computed to ascertain the ability of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) and RMS-C to distinguish BD-I and BD-II from MDD. The optimal cut-off scores for classification were also calculated by the maximum sensitivity and specificity. ResultsThe intraclass correlation coefficient of the RMS-C was 0.82 (95%CI, 0.71–0.89). The content validity index by six items were 0.71, 0.86, 1.00, 0.86, 1.00, and 1.00 in turn, and by scales was 0.90. The AUCs of the RMS-C in both BD-I/II, BD-I alone and BD-II alone were 0.83 (95 % CI, 0.78–0.89), 0.82 (95 % CI, 0.75–0.89) and 0.85 (95 % CI, 0.79–0.91), respectively, and were comparably to the MDQ. The optimal RMS-C values of the presence of BD-I and BD-II were >4 and 3, respectively. ConclusionThe RMS-C is a valid, simple self-administer screening tool to help identify BD-I or BD-II in persons experiencing a depressive episode. Validating the impact of screening with the RMS-C on health outcomes and health economics is warranted.

Cognitive screening and rehabilitation after cardiac arrest: only afew hurdles to take.

Dutch and European guidelines recommend systematic screening for cognitive and emotional impairments in cardiac arrest survivors. We aimed to clarify opinions on cognitive screening and rehabilitation, identify barriers and facilitators for implementation in the Netherlands, and arrive at recommendations in this field. We conducted 22semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders using the Tailored Implementation in Chronic Diseases checklist. There is broad-based acknowledgement of the relevance of cognitive impairment and apositive attitude regarding early cognitive screening among health professionals and patients. Barriers to implementation include alack of practical recommendations on how, where and when to screen, insufficient knowledge of cognitive consequences of cardiac arrest, insufficient collaboration and knowledge sharing among different specialties within hospitals, insufficient resources, and insufficient evidence of the effectiveness of screening and therapy to justify financial compensation. Most of the identified barriers to implementation are solvable: national guidelines need practical recommendations and knowledge gaps among healthcare workers can be bridged by in-hospital collaboration. Fulfilling these requirements should be sufficient for the implementation of simple screening and tailored advice. More extensive cognitive rehabilitation therapy needs stronger evidence of efficacy in order to warrant stronger guideline recommendations and financial reimbursement.

A Pilot Study of a Finger Kinematic Parameter-Based Tool for Evaluating Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy.

This is a cross-sectional study. To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel finger Kinematic Parameter-Based Tool in the grip and release (G&R) test for assessing degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM). The development and progression of DCM symptoms are gradual and obscure. Although previous studies have objectively evaluated hand movements specific to myelopathy using the G&R test, virtual reality, or wearable sensors, these methods have limitations, such as limited discrimination or inconvenience for simple screening. Consequently, there is a need to develop effective screening methods. Totally, 297 asymptomatic volunteers and 258 DCM patients were enrolled. This system comprises a wearable acceleration/gyro sensor. The acceleration/gyro sensor was placed on the little finger of the participants to perform 40 cycles of full-range G&R as quickly as possible. The collected data were then transformed into kinematic parameters using sensor-based software and R studio software (version: RStudio 2022.07.2+576, Boston, USA). Gender, age, and body mass index (BMI) subgroups (classified as BMI<18.5-below normal weight; 18.5≤BMI<25-normal weight group; BMI≥25-overweight group) were matched as predictor variables, and 201 pairs were matched. Nonparametric analysis using the Mann-Whitney U test was used for diagnosing the differences between the two groups, and Kruskal-Wallis's test followed by the Mann-Whitney U test was used for analyzing the differences among three different age groups (<40, 41-60, and >60 yr group). The cut-off value of 10s G&R cycles and a combined parameter were determined using receiver operating characteristics curve analysis, area under the curve, and Youden index. The authors found that little finger kinematic parameters were significantly lower in DCM patients than in asymptomatic participants. The optimal diagnostic indicator appeared to be the average of the top 10 linear accelerations with an area under the curve of 0.923. The Finger Kinematic Test System is an objective, practical, and quantitative utility that appears to have the capacity to diagnose and evaluate the severity of DCM. 3.

Amplified fluorogenic immunoassay for early diagnosis and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease from tear fluid

Accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in its earliest stage can prevent the disease and delay the symptoms. Therefore, more sensitive, non-invasive, and simple screening tools are required for the early diagnosis and monitoring of AD. Here, we design a self-assembled nanoparticle-mediated amplified fluorogenic immunoassay (SNAFIA) consisting of magnetic and fluorophore-loaded polymeric nanoparticles. Using a discovery cohort of 21 subjects, proteomic analysis identifies adenylyl cyclase-associated protein 1 (CAP1) as a potential tear biomarker. The SNAFIA demonstrates a low detection limit (236 aM), good reliability (R2 = 0.991), and a wide analytical range (0.320–1000 fM) for CAP1 in tear fluid. Crucially, in the verification phase with 39 subjects, SNAFIA discriminates AD patients from healthy controls with 90% sensitivity and 100% specificity in under an hour. Utilizing tear fluid as a liquid biopsy, SNAFIA could potentially aid in long-term care planning, improve clinical trial efficiency, and accelerate therapeutic development for AD.

Prediabetes in children and adolescents: An updated review.

Prediabetes, the precursor of type 2 diabetes mellitus, is an intermediate stage between normal glucose homeostasis and overt diabetes. This asymptomatic metabolic state is increasingly prevalent in pediatric population and is very difficult to detect without appropriate screening. Studies have shown that a certain proportion of children with prediabetes will develop diabetes in a few years. Even more alarming is the evidence that youth-onset diabetes has a more aggressive clinical course with progressive beta-cell decline and accelerated end-organ damage. Despite its importance, several aspects involving prediabetes in childhood are disputed or unknown. This review presents the latest insights into this challenging entity and outlines a simplified screening approach to aid clinical practice. In summary, childhood prediabetes is an important clinical condition indicating the need for proper screening and timely intervention.

Screening for early rheumatoid arthritis using high-frequency ultrasound, serum RANKL, and OPG detection.

To conduct a comparative study of high-frequency ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with serum RANKL and OPG detection, and assess the efficacy of high-frequency ultrasound with RANKL and OPG detection in screening early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). High-frequency ultrasound and MRI were performed on both carpal joints of 60 patients with early RA, and the frequencies of synovitis, joint effusion, tenosynovitis, and bone erosion detected by high-frequency ultrasound and MRI were observed. The serum levels of receptor activator for nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) and osteoclastogenesis inhibitory factor (OPG) were also detected. The serum levels of RANKL and OPG were also detected in 80 normal healthy examinees. The data were recorded and statistically analyzed. The detection rates of carpal synovitis, joint effusion, tenosynovitis, and bone erosion in RA patients by high-frequency ultrasound were 81.66%, 69.16%, 63.33%, and 1.66%, respectively, while the detection rates by MRI were 80.00%, 71.66%, 65.00%, and 15.00%, respectively. There was no significant difference between high-frequency ultrasound and MRI in the detection rates of carpal synovitis, joint effusion, and tenosynovitis in RA patients (P>0.05), while the detection rate of bone erosion by high-frequency ultrasound was significantly lower than that by MRI. The serum levels of RANKL and OPG in RA patients were 231.47 and 68.71, respectively, while the serum levels of RANKL and OPG in normal healthy examinees were 123.51 and 385.05, respectively. The serum RANKL levels of RA patients were significantly higher than those of healthy examinees, while the serum OPG levels of RA patients were significantly lower than those of healthy examinees, which were statistically significant (P < 0.01). The AUC values of the ROC curves obtained by high-frequency ultrasound and MRI combined with serum RANKL and OPG detection in Synovitis modeling were 0.955 and 0.954, respectively. The AUC values of the ROC curves obtained from the joint fusion modeling using high-frequency ultrasound and MRI combined with serum RANKL and OPG detection were 0.949 and 0.950, respectively. The AUC values of the ROC curves obtained from modeling Tenosynovitis using high-frequency ultrasound and MRI combined with serum RANKL and OPG detection were 0.941 and 0.949, respectively. The AUC values of ROC curves obtained by combining high-frequency ultrasound and MRI with serum RANKL and OPG detection in Bone erosion modeling were 0.908 and 0.923, respectively. High-frequency ultrasound combined with serum RANKL and OPG detection has comparable effects to MRI on screening early RA, providing a safe, simple, and cost-effective screening method for the early detection of RA patients. Key Points • High-frequency ultrasound and MRI can effectively detect early lesions of the wrist joints in RA patients. • Ultrasound diagnosis has the advantages of being quick, inexpensive, and repeatable, making it the preferred choice of imaging examination for RA patients at an early stage.

Assessment of the risk of developing type 2 diabetes using the Indian diabetes risk score in an urban community in Chandigarh, India: A cross-sectional study.

The urban poor is a group that is known to be vulnerable to the adoption of a more urbanized lifestyle that places them at a higher risk for diabetes. Identification of at-risk individuals using simple screening tools like the Indian diabetes risk score developed by Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF-IDRS) and appropriate lifestyle interventions could greatly help in preventing or postponing the onset of diabetes and thus reducing the burden of the disease on the community and the nation as a whole. A cross-sectional study was conducted on individuals ≥30 years (n = 1533) of both genders in an urban colony of Chandigarh during a period of 1 year. A stratified two-stage systematic random sampling was adopted. The risk of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus was assessed using IDRS. The total risk score of each participant was analyzed and compared. Biochemical investigations, including blood glucose and lipid profiles for detecting diabetes, were conducted. Data were presented in percentages and proportions. The statistical analysis of the data was performed by using the Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of diabetes was 3.1% in the present study. Overall, the mean IDRS was found to be 52.14 ± 16.01. Elderly persons aged 60 years and above had higher IDRS. IDRS showed significant variability with age (P < 0.001). Females had significantly higher IDRS as compared to males (P = 0.002). The association between socioeconomic class and risk status was highly significant statistically (P < 0.001). IDRS among individuals with diabetes was found to be significantly higher (64.29 ± 13.92) as compared to non-diabetics. Among all, 749 (48.7%) had high IDRS, whereas 54 (3.5%) had low IDRS. There were 734 (47.8%) with moderate IDRS. IDRS was found to be highly sensitive for detecting the risk of diabetes, suggesting its potential use as a screening tool in community setup for the purpose of detecting diabetes.

Screening for the social determinants of health: Referring patients to community-based services.

Screening patients for the social determinants of health (SDOH) allows clinicians to identify those needs and tailor referral efforts. Due to constraints on clinic time and monetary resources, a simple screening tool incorporated into existing clinic workflow increases its usefulness and impact. Our free, nurse-led, mobile health clinic (MHC) needed an enhanced process or tool for screening patients for SDOH. The purpose of this quality-improvement project was to screen adult patients in the MHC for SDOH needs and to increase volunteer staff perceptions of their knowledge and confidence in referring patients to relevant community-based services. A screening process and tool was developed using guidelines from the Health Leads to identify patients' SDOH needs and related requests for assistance. The tool was introduced to and tested among volunteer staff through pretest/posttest surveys. Patients who visited the clinic were screened for the SDOH within the project period, and volunteer staff were surveyed about their perceptions of the screening tool. Sixty-four patients were screened for SDOH needs. Twenty-three percent reported food insecurity, 27% housing insecurity, 14% difficulty obtaining utilities, and 17% difficulty obtaining transportation; 28% requested assistance with their reported SDOH needs. Seventeen percent of patients reported two or more SDOH needs. At posttest, 100% of volunteer staff ( N = 9) indicated satisfaction with the SDOH screening questions, reported feeling knowledgeable about resources to use for patient referrals, and were confident in referring patients to needed resources. The screening tool aptly guided practice and was evaluated as "easy to use" for clinic patients and volunteer staff.

Effect of Hydrogen Pressure and Punch Velocity on the Hydrogen Embrittlement Susceptibility of Pipeline Steels Using Small Punch Tests under Gaseous Hydrogen Environments at Room Temperature

The in situ small punch (SP) test method is a simple screening technology developed to assess the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) characteristics of structural steels. This method can easily adjust the influencing parameters such as test temperature, gas pressure, and punch velocity depending on the hydrogen service environment. With increased hydrogen consumption, using pipelines for mass hydrogen transportation is being considered. This study evaluated the HE susceptibility of API-X52 and API-X70 steels, considering the hydrogen usage environment. The study investigated the effects of hydrogen pressure and punch velocity on the HE behaviors of each pipe steel at room temperature using the SP energy and relative reduction in thickness (RRT) to determine their effect on HE susceptibility quantitatively. The study found that hydrogen pressure produced a different HE effect; the lower the hydrogen pressure, the more HE was relieved. Particularly, when the punch velocity was high, such as 1 mm/min, the HE effect was significantly relaxed. However, when the punch velocity was below 0.01 mm/min, HE occurred even at low hydrogen pressure conditions, meaning hydrogen diffusion within the specimen during the SP testing reached a critical hydrogen concentration to create a brittle fracture. Both pipeline steels showed similar HE behaviors under a wide range of H2 pressures and punch velocities, showing an inverse S-curve for quantitative factors of SP energy and RRT against the H2 pressure at 1.0 mm/min punch velocity. The study classified the observed HE behaviors into four types based on quantitative and qualitative aspects. These findings confirm that the in situ SP test is a useful screening technique, and the factor RRT can be effectively applied to the HE screening of pipeline steels in low and high-pressure hydrogen environments.

Exploring Asthma Mechanism of Belamcanda Chinensis by "Dose-effect Weighted Coefficient" Network Pharmacology and Experiment Validation.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that seriously endangers human health. Belamcanda chinensis (BC), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been used to counteract asthma as it has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory and regulatory immunity properties. The study aimed to investigate the mechanisms of action of BC in the treatment of asthma; a "dose-effect weighted coefficient" network pharmacology method was established to predict potential active compounds. Information on the components and content of BC was obtained by UPLC-QEOrbitrap- MS spectrometry. Based on BC content, oral bioavailability, and molecular docking binding energy, dose-effect weighting coefficients were constructed. With the degree greater than average as the index, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) database was used to obtain the core key targets for asthma under dose-effect weighting. GO function and KEGG pathway analyses of the core targets were performed using DAVID software. Finally, MTT and ELISA assays were used to assess the effects of active components on 16HBE cell proliferation. The experimental results using the 16HBE model demonstrated BC to have a potential protective effect on asthma. Network pharmacology showed SYK, AKT1, and ALOX5 to be the main key targets, and Fc epsilon RI as the promising signaling pathway. Eight components, such as tectoridin, mangiferin, luteolin, and isovitexin were the main active compounds, Finally, we analyzed the LPS-induced 16HBE proliferation of each active ingredient. Based on the activity verification study, all five predicted components promoted the proliferation of 16HBE cells. These five compounds can be used as potential quality markers for asthma. This study provides a virtual and practical method for the simple and rapid screening of active ingredients in natural products.

ANDeS: An automated nanoliter droplet selection and collection device

The Droplet Microarray (DMA) has emerged as a tool for high-throughput biological and chemical applications by enabling miniaturization and parallelization of experimental processes. Due to its ability to hold hundreds of nanoliter droplets, the DMA enables simple screening and analysis of samples such as cells and biomolecules. However, handling of nanoliter volumes poses a challenge, as manual recovery of nanoliter volumes is not feasible, and traditional laboratory equipment is not suited to work with such low volumes, and small array formats. To tackle this challenge, we developed the Automated Nanoliter Droplet Selection device (ANDeS), a robotic system for automated collection and transfer of nanoliter samples from DMA.ANDeS can automatically collect volumes from 50 to 350 nL from the flat surface of DMA with a movement accuracy of ±30 µm using fused silica capillaries. The system can automatically collect and transfer the droplets from DMA chip into other platforms, such as microtiter plates, conical tubes or another DMA. In addition, to ensure high throughput and multiple droplet collection, the uptake of multiple droplets within a single capillary, separated by air gaps to avoid mixing of the samples within the capillary, was optimized and demonstrated.This study shows the potential of ANDeS in laboratory applications by using it for the collection and transfer of biological samples, contained in nanoliter droplets, for subsequent analysis. The experimental results demonstrate the ability of ANDeS to increase the versatility of the DMA platform by allowing for automated retrieval of nanoliter samples from DMA, which was not possible manually on the level of individual droplets. Therefore, it widens the variety of analytical techniques that can be used for the analysis of content of individual droplets and experiments performed using DMA. Thus, ANDeS opens up opportunities to expand the development of miniaturized assays in such fields as cell screening, omics analysis and combinatorial chemistry.

Establishing international optimal cut-offs of waist-to-height ratio for predicting cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents aged 6–18 years

BackgroundWaist-to-height ratio (WHtR) has been proposed as a simple and effective screening tool for assessing central obesity and cardiometabolic risk in both adult and pediatric populations. However, evidence suggests that the use of a uniform WHtR cut-off of 0.50 may not be universally optimal for pediatric populations globally. We aimed to determine the optimal cut-offs of WHtR in children and adolescents with increased cardiometabolic risk across different countries worldwide.MethodsWe used ten population-based cross-sectional data on 24,605 children and adolescents aged 6–18 years from Brazil, China, Greece, Iran, Italy, Korea, South Africa, Spain, the UK, and the USA for establishing optimal WHtR cut-offs. We performed an external independent test (9,619 children and adolescents aged 6–18 years who came from other six countries) to validate the optimal WHtR cut-offs based on the predicting performance for at least two or three cardiometabolic risk factors.ResultsBased on receiver operator characteristic curve analyses of various WHtR cut-offs to discriminate those with ≥ 2 cardiometabolic risk factors, the relatively optimal percentile cut-offs of WHtR in the normal weight subsample population in each country did not always coincide with a single fixed percentile, but varied from the 75th to 95th percentiles across the ten countries. However, these relatively optimal percentile values tended to cluster irrespective of sex, metabolic syndrome (MetS) criteria used, and WC measurement position. In general, using ≥ 2 cardiometabolic risk factors as the predictive outcome, the relatively optimal WHtR cut-off was around 0.50 in European and the US youths but was lower, around 0.46, in Asian, African, and South American youths. Secondary analyses that directly tested WHtR values ranging from 0.42 to 0.56 at 0.01 increments largely confirmed the results of the main analyses. In addition, the proposed cut-offs of 0.50 and 0.46 for two specific pediatric populations, respectively, showed a good performance in predicting ≥ 2 or ≥ 3 cardiometabolic risk factors in external independent test populations from six countries (Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, Korea, and the USA).ConclusionsThe proposed international WHtR cut-offs are easy and useful to identify central obesity and cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents globally, thus allowing international comparison across populations.

Associations of Electrocardiographic Abnormalities in Stable Type 2 Diabetes Subjects: Experience from a Tertiary Health Facility in South Eastern Nigeria

Introduction: Cardiovascular abnormalities are prevalent in the setting of diabetes mellitus, even among stable subjects, necessitating the need for a regular cardiovascular disease screening for this group of patients. Electrocardiogram is a simple and reliable screening test for cardiovascular abnormalities that could be easily accessible even in resource poor and rural settings. This study was carried out to determine the association between cardiovascular risk factors and electrocardiographic abnormalities in stable type 2 diabetes subjects in South Eastern Nigeria.&#x0D; Materials and Methods: One hundred and thirty-six stable adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited consecutively from the out-patient diabetes clinic of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital in South Eastern Nigeria. They were assessed for the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases that included smoking, obesity, dyslipidaemia, poor glycaemic control, hypertension, lack of exercise, presence of chronic kidney disease and metabolic syndrome. They also had a 12 lead electrocardiogram done. Results were analyzed using SPSS version 25. P value of ˂ 0.05 was considered significant.&#x0D; Result: A total of 128 subjects had complete results and were analyzed. There were 63 males and 65 females with a mean age of 58.43 ± 12.85 years and mean diabetes duration of 9.03 ± 7.36 years. A total of 45.3% of the subjects had electrocardiographic abnormalities. Hypertension was present in 54.9%, dyslipidaemia in 91.4%, central obesity in 74.3%, metabolic syndrome in 76.6% and chronic kidney disease in 57.9% of the subjects. Significant association was found between smoking and occurrence of AV block (p = 0.008), central obesity and QRS axis abnormality (p = 0.002), dyslipidaemia and ST segment abnormality (p = 0.001) and lack of exercise and ST segment abnormality (p = 0.000). No significant association was found between age, sex of the subjects, duration of DM, treatment modality for DM, level of glycaemic control, hypertension, presence of CKD and metabolic syndrome and any of the electrocardiographic abnormalities.&#x0D; Conclusion: Electrocardiographic abnormalities are common in stable type 2 diabetic subjects. There was significant association between smoking habit, central obesity, dyslipidaemia, lack of exercise and ECG abnormalities that included AV block, QRS axis and ST segment abnormalities.

The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index Predicts Prognosis in Japanese Patients with LATITUDE High-Risk Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer: A Multi-Center Study.

Malnutrition is associated with prognosis in cancer. The geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), based on the ratio of actual to ideal body weight and also serum albumin level, is a simple screening tool for assessing nutrition. We investigated the GNRI as a prognostic factor for oncological outcomes in patients with high-risk metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) using a Japanese multicenter cohort. This study included a total of 175 patients with LATITUDE high-risk mHSPC, of whom 102 had received androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) plus upfront abiraterone acetate, and 73 had received ADT plus bicalutamide (Bica), from 14 institutions associated with the Tokai Urologic Oncology Research Seminar. Patients were classified into GNRI-low (<98) or GNRI-high (≥98) groups. The GNRI was based on the body mass index and serum albumin level. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the median overall survival (OS) of a GNRI-low group (median 33.7 months; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 26.2-not reached [NR]) was significantly worse than that of a GNRI-high group (median: NR; 95% CI: NR-NR; p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified Bica and low GNRI (<98) as independent prognostic factors for reduced times to both castration-resistant prostate cancer and OS, and, therefore, a poor prognosis. Our findings indicate the GNRI may be a practical prognostic indicator in the evaluation of survival outcomes in patients with LATITUDE high-risk mHSPC.

Simple and selective screening method for the synthetic cathinone MDPT in forensic samples using carbon nanofiber screen-printed electrodes

3′,4′-Methylenedioxy-N-tert-butylcathinone (MDPT), also known as tBuONE or D-Tertylone, is a synthetic cathinone (SC) frequently abused for recreational purposes due to its potent stimulant effects and similarity to illegal substances like methamphetamine and ecstasy. The structural diversity and rapid introduction of new SC analogs to the market poses significant challenges for law enforcement and analytical methods for preliminary screening of illicit drugs. In this work, we present, for the first time, the electrochemical detection of MDPT using screen-printed electrodes modified with carbon nanofibers (SPE-CNF). MDPT exhibited three electrochemical processes (two oxidations and one reduction) on SPE-CNF. The proposed method for MDPT detection was optimized in 0.2 mol L−1 Britton-Robinson buffer solution at pH 10.0 using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The SPE-CNF showed a high stability for electrochemical responses of all redox processes of MDPT using the same or different electrodes, with relative standard deviations less than 4.7% and 1.5% (N = 3) for peak currents and peak potentials, respectively. Moreover, the proposed method provided a wide linear range for MDPT determination (0.90–112 μmol L−1) with low LOD (0.26 μmol L−1). Interference studies for two common adulterants, caffeine and paracetamol, and ten other illicit drugs, including amphetamine-like compounds and different SCs, showed that the proposed sensor is highly selective for the preliminarily identification of MDPT in seized forensic samples. Therefore, SPE-CNF with DPV can be successfully applied as a fast and simple screening method for MDPT identification in forensic analysis, addressing the significant challenges posed by the structural diversity of SCs.