In the past few years, Drosophila has gained prominence as a tool for drug development due to its capacity to screen tiny compounds against intricate disease phenotypes in the setting of a complete animal. Gene-compound interaction studies combine compound feeding with complex genetic modifications in order to better investigate the compound mechanisms of response and resistance. These studies allow for a more in-depth exploration of the compound response and resistance mechanisms. In this section, I will discuss how the chemical screening and testing procedures performed on Drosophila may be applied to the process of generating novel cancer medicines in the present day. A framework for a Drosophila-based cancer drug discovery strategy is what I propose in order to assist the Drosophila research community in making the most of the benefits that Drosophila offers in terms of locating possible treatments and progressing our discoveries into the clinical setting.

Cancer is the cumulative symptomatology of a cluster of illnesses that affect several systems and are connected to one another. For the better part of the last few decades, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has served as a model for researchers looking at human cancers, and they have had a great deal of success doing so. Drosophila is advantageous over other model systems in that it is genetically straightforward and provides researchers with access to a wide variety of genetic analysis tools. As a result, it provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity to address concerns about the beginning and progression of cancer, which would be extremely challenging to do using other model systems. In this chapter, we provide a historical overview of Drosophila as a model organism for cancer research, summarize the wide variety of genetic tools available, and compare various model organisms and cell culture platforms used in cancer studies. In addition, we briefly discuss some of the most cutting-edge models and concepts in recent Drosophila cancer research.

We investigate the relative entropies, suitable weak solutions and weak-strong uniqueness to the compressible micropolar fluids model. Motivated by Feireisl et al.[[8]](#ref-0008), we introduce the relative entropy functional E( ρ, u , ω; r, U, W), and define the finitie weak solutions to the the compressible micropolar fluids model, similarly. Then, we show that any finitie weak solutions satisfy the relative entropy inequality. As an application, we obtain the weak-strong uniqueness property, meaning that any finitie weak solutions coincide with strong solutions emanating from the same initial data as long as the latter exist.

Abstract The quality and thermo-oxidative stability of soybean oil (SO), palm olein oil (POO), canola oil (CO) and their blends were evaluated. The binary blends of SO:POO and CO:POO were formulated in a ratio of (75:25) and ternary blend were prepared by blending CO:POO:SO in a ratio of (35:30:35). To monitor the thermal stability of pure oils and their blends, they were subjected to temperature (180°C) at different time intervals. The results revealed that at elevated temperature the quality of pure and blended oils deteriorate significantly. Heating process led to a substantial increase in free fatty acid (FFA), peroxide value (PV), p-anisidine value (p-AV), and saponification value (SV), while iodine value (IV) and oxidative stability index (OSI) decreased. However, blends comparatively showed better nutritional status and stability than the pure ones. The Principal component analysis (PCA) of all parameters was also performed. The data provide three significant principal components (PCs with eigenvalue ˃1), which collectively report 98.8% of the total variance. PC1 contributed mainly with total (50.1%) followed by PC2 (36.2%) and PC3 (12.5%) in the data. This work suggests that blending POO with other oils that contain more unsaturatation could be an effective and eco-friendly procedure which enhances the chemical sustainability and nutritional content of the oil.

A document by Christian Hagendorf. Click on the document to view its contents.

A document by Moshe Segal. Click on the document to view its contents.

Biofilm formation ability of E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes in the presence of promotor bacteria R. insidiosa was evaluated on stainless steel, polycarbonate, PTFE, and EPDM coupon surfaces under hydrodynamic shear stresses of 0.013, 0.043 and 0.088 N/m 2. Surface roughness and topography of coupons were recorded; surface roughness of stainless steel, EPDM, polycarbonate, and PTFE was 0.71, 1.11, 2.36 and 3.17 µm; respectively. Coupons used in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention biofilm reactor (CBR) were inoculated with 1 ml of individual bacterial inoculum (~9 log CFU/ml). Single species E. coli O157:H7 biofilms were significantly higher on polycarbonate compared to EPDM at 0.043 and 0.088 shear stresses. At lower shear stress of 0.013 N/m 2, the single species E. coli O157:H7 population were similar on all materials indicating that single species E. coli O157:H7 biofilm formation is non-surface-specific at this shear stress. Higher L. monocytogenes biofilm formation was observed in presence of R. insidiosa on PTFE at 0.043 N/m 2, and PTFE and EPDM at 0.088 N/m 2. Our study emphasizes the importance of surface skewness, peaks, valleys, flatter areas, over surface’s roughness while selecting the material for food processing environments.

Primary cardiac tumors are extremely rare, and can lead to significant neurologic symptoms if not diagnosed and treated appropriately. Simultaneous myxoma and valvular insufficiency is rare. This is the rare case of a patient with a left atrial myxoma and aortic insufficiency leading to cerebrovascular symptoms.

Bouveret syndrome (BS) is an extremely rare disease. We report the case of a 54-year-old man who presented to our department with acute vomiting. An upper digestive endoscopy was first done, revealing an enclaved gallstone in the second duodenum. The correct diagnosis was then made using cross-sectional imaging.

In this study, We report a 12-year-old male with acquired, recurrent erythematous lesions, A clinical examination revealed multiple, non-bleeding groups of red to crimson macules typically less than 1 mm in size, and a histopathological biopsy showed dilated blood vessels in the papillary dermis.

Global food demand is expected to increase in the next decades pushing agricultural expansion and deforestation. However, food production in agricultural lands is just one dimension of food security, to which forest goods and services also contribute. In this paper, we aimed to explore the relationship between forest cover and food security. We hypothesised that food security is improved by both human-made and green infrastructure combined. To test this relationship, we explore the relationships between forest cover and a multidimensional index of food security that included both socioeconomic and natural variables taken from Brazilian official databases for 1,141 municipalities of the Brazilian Caatinga (a seasonally tropical dry forest). The index was formed by 12 principal components axes (12 PCs) and we found that financial poverty (PC 1) and economic inequality (PC 2) were the main determinants of food insecurity in Caatinga. We found that lowest food security values were found in two contrasting contexts: one is represented by poor and unequal municipalities with high forest cover while the other refers to poor and less unequal municipalities but with little forest cover. Municipalities with intermediate levels of forest cover had slightly higher food security, a consistent pattern across time (2006 and 2017). Win-win scenarios where both forest cover and food security increased with time were almost as common as lose-lose situations (25% and 22% respectively). This suggests a sort of balance between forests and human-made land uses and reinforces that natural capital contributes to food security. Zero-hunger is a main issue for sustainable development goals and our results adds to the notion that both sustainable use of forests and socioeconomic improvements must coexist rather than being treated as antagonistic policies.

Introduction: Childhood immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by isolated thrombocytopenia. Prolonged ITP (persistent and chronic) leads to a reduced quality of life for children in many domains. To provide optimal support for children, with ITP, it is important to be able to predict those who will develop prolonged ITP. This study aimed to develop a mathematical model based on platelet recovery that allows the early prediction of prolonged ITP. Methods: In this retrospective study, we used platelet counts from the six months following the diagnosis of ITP to model the kinetics of platelet evolution using a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model. Results: In a learning set (n=103), platelet counts were satisfactorily described by our kinetic model. The K heal parameter, which describes spontaneous platelet recovery, allowed a distinction between acute and prolonged ITP with an AUC of 0.74. In a validation set (n=58), spontaneous platelet recovery was robustly predicted using platelet counts from 15 (AUC=0.76) or 30 (AUC=0.82) days after ITP diagnosis. Discussion: In our model, platelet recovery quantified using the k heal parameter allowed prediction of the clinical course of ITP. Future prospective studies are needed to improve the predictivity of this model, in particular, by combining it with the predictive scores previously reported in the literature.

We present a case of new-onset hyperthyroidism with autoimmune thyroid disease which developed four weeks after COVID-19 infection. The patient responded well to methimazole and beta blockers in combination. Three similar cases have been described and their clinical features and investigation results are compared with those in our case.

Background: COVID-19 vaccine is critical in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission. However, obesity’s effect on immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines is still unknown. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of the literature and compared immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines among persons with and without obesity. We used Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library to identify all related studies up to April 2022. The Stata.14 software was used to analyze the selected data. Results: Totally, 11 studies were included in the present meta-analysis. Five of them provided absolute values of antibody titers in the obese group and non-obese group. Overall, we found that the obese population was significantly associated with lower antibody titers (SMD = -0.228, 95% CI (-0.437, -0.019), P<0.001) after COVID-19 vaccination. Significant heterogeneity was present in most pooled analyses but was reduced after subgroup analyses. No publication bias was observed in the present analysis. The Trim and Fill method did not change the results in the primary analysis. Conclusion: The present meta-analysis suggested that obesity was significantly associated with decreased responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Future studies should be performed to unravel this relationship to prevent COVID-19 infection and transmission.

Abstract: Background: One of the most important tasks of human resource management in the field of health is to maintain and preserve professional staff after employment. This study aims to determine the factors related to the non-retention of newly hired based on the survival analysis approach in Iran. Methods: This historical cohort analysis comprised 6811 employees who began working at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences between 2005 and 2020. To analyze the data, appropriate descriptive indices and Log-rank test and the Cox proportional-hazards model were used. Results: The likelihood of workplace change for a person within one year, two years, and five years of employment was 0.12, 0.16, and 0.27, respectively. The likelihood of workplace change throughout the study period was not statistically different between men and women (p = 0.573) and between personnel with healthcare occupations and non-healthcare occupations (p = 0.351). Employees whose current workplace was not the same as their birthplace had a significantly higher likelihood of workplace change (p <0.001). The risk of workplace change for a single person is 1.22 times higher than the married ones. Conclusion: The policy of “native-born selection” in employment tests, the priority of hiring married people over single ones, and/or requiring single candidates to pledge to stay in the organization of employment can lead to increased staff retention and reducing the costs of re-hiring including induction, on-the-job training, board and lodge, and other expenses related to living away from home and family

The impact of exposure to air pollutants, such as fine particulate matter (PM), on the immune system and its consequences on pediatric asthma are not well understood. We investigated whether the ambient levels of fine PM with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 microns (PM 2.5) are associated with alterations in circulating monocytes in children with or without asthma. Increased exposure to ambient PM 2.5 was linked to specific monocyte subtypes, particularly in children with asthma. Mechanistically, we hypothesized that innate trained immunity is evoked by a primary exposure to fine PM and accounts for an enhanced inflammatory response after secondary stimulation in vitro. We determined that the trained immunity was induced in circulating monocytes by fine particulate pollutants, and it was characterized by upregulation of proinflammatory mediators, such as TNF, IL-6, and IL-8, upon stimulation with house dust mite or LPS. This phenotype was epigenetically controlled by enhanced H3K27ac marks in circulating monocytes. The specific alterations of monocytes after ambient pollution exposure suggest a possible prognostic immune signature for pediatric asthma, and pollution-induced trained immunity may provide a potential therapeutic target for asthmatic children living in areas with increased air pollution.

Anaphylaxis to watermelon seedsTo the EditorWatermelon seeds have long been a delicacy in Asian dining, yet historically have been overlooked by western populations. Watermelon seeds contain a rich repertoire of nutrients such as proteins and unsaturated fatty acids, minerals, and carotenoids1. Subsequently, there has been an increase in watermelon seed derivative products arising in the global market including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. Watermelon seeds are ingested in teas and snack products. Little is known about the potential allergenicity of watermelon seeds with no current published cases that we are aware of describing watermelon seed allergy. Here we report a patient found to have an IgE mediated anaphylactic reaction to watermelon seed paste.A 2-year-old female with a past medical history of atopic dermatitis and food allergies to lentils, chickpea, egg, tree nut, shellfish, fish, macadamia, flaxseed, sesame seed and sunflower seed presented with a recent anaphylactic episode. Within minutes of eating less than a quarter teaspoon of a “Manuka Honey Plus Immunity Snack Pack”, she developed lip swelling and urticaria, for which she received an appropriate dose of cetirizine. However, the symptoms progressed to vomiting and concerns for a compromised airway developed due to gasping and excess drooling. Epinephrine was administered, with prompt resolution of symptoms.The full list of ingredients in the Manuka Honey Plus Immunity snack pack were as follows: raw manuka honey, watermelon seed paste, prebiotic tapioca fiber, apple juice concentrate, elderberry juice concentrate, cranberry juice concentrate, chicory root fiber, acerola cherry extract and bee propolis extract. Complete review of the patient’s dietary intake prior to this reaction revealed regular and recent tolerance to manuka honey, flesh of watermelon fruit, and fruit juices with no reactions. Watermelon seed paste/butter had never been ingested previously. Skin prick testing (SPT) performed with the Manuka Honey plus immunity snack pack, and concentrated watermelon seed butter (containing organic watermelon seeds, organic powdered sugar, organic cane sugar, organic tapioca starch, organic expeller pressed sunflower oil, sea salt) were positive, with full results shown in Table 1. Additionally, given the nonexistence of standardized watermelon seed extract, skin testing with watermelon seed paste was performed on a control subject with no food allergies. The control demonstrated a positive histamine skin test and negative skin test to both saline and watermelon seed butter. Serum allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) levels for honey, seeds (watermelon seed not commercially available) and venom (given the presence of bee honey) were tested, results shown in Table 2.Overall, the positive skin test to watermelon seed butter and the honey nutrition pack, with the convincing history of an IgE mediated reaction, suggests that the patient reacted to concentrated watermelon seed. Although the presence of bee venom allergen in the honey in the snack pack cannot be excluded, negative IgE testing and previous tolerance of honey made this an unlikely culprit. As a result, we recommended strict avoidance of watermelon seed.Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family which includes pumpkin/gourds, cucumber and melons. Within this family there has been documented cases of pumpkin seed hypersensitivity where patients were able to ingest the pumpkin flesh however reacted to seed ingestion.2, 3 Similarly in this case the patient was able to tolerate watermelon flesh but not the seed. Thus far, there have been no published reports characterizing watermelon seed allergens or confirmed protein homologies to other seeds or nuts. Of note several months after the watermelon seed reaction, our patient reported an anaphylactic reaction after a first-time ingestion of raw pumpkin seeds. Skin testing confirmed allergy to pumpkin seed. Thus, clinicians should be aware of possible cross-reactivity among plant seeds in the family and provide anticipatory guidance regarding avoidance.In summary, we present a novel food allergy with anaphylaxis to watermelon seed. Limitations include non-standardized skin testing of watermelon seed, lack of commercially available serum allergen specific IgE test for watermelon seed, and the lack of oral food challenge to confirm the allergy. The high risk of severe reaction to watermelon paste based on history of the initial ingestion outweighed the benefit of a confirmatory oral food challenge. Although one of the limitations was lack of availability of standardized skin testing with watermelon seed, the lack of a localized IgE mediated reaction to the skin test using watermelon seed in the control subject gives additional confidence on the interpretation of the positive testing seen in the case. Future studies should include further characterization of major allergens within watermelon seed. This case demonstrates the importance of increased allergist awareness of watermelon seed allergy as more products enter the market.Kimberley Cousins M.D.a, Scott Sicherer M.D.a, Amanda Agyemang M.D.aa Division of Allergy and Clinical ImmunologyDepartment of Medicine and PediatricsJaffe Food Allergy InstituteIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiOne Gustave L. Levy PlaceNew York, New York, 10029

Background and Purpose: S1P receptors control endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and survival. Evidence of the ability of S1P receptor modulators to influence multiple endothelial cell functions suggests their potential use for antiangiogenic effect. The main purpose of our study was to investigate the potential of siponimod for the inhibition of ocular angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Experimental Approach: We investigated the effects of siponimod on the metabolic activity (MTT assay), basal proliferation and growth factor induced proliferation (BrdU assay), and migration (transwell migration assay) of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMEC). The effects of siponimod on HRMEC monolayer integrity, and barrier function under basal conditions and TNF-α induced disruption were assessed using the trans-endothelial electrical resistance (TEER) and FITC-dextran permeability assays. Siponimod’s effect on TNF-α induced claudin-5 distribution in HRMEC was investigated using immunofluorescence. Finally, the effect of siponimod on ocular neovascularization in vivo was assessed using suture-induced corneal neovascularization in albino rabbits. Key Results: Siponimod did not affect endothelial cell proliferation or metabolic activity, but significantly inhibited endothelial cell migration, increased HRMEC barrier integrity, and reduced TNF-α induced barrier disruption. Siponimod also protected against TNF-α induced disruption of claudin-5 in HRMEC. These actions are mainly mediated by S1PR1 receptor modulation. Finally, siponimod prevented the progression of suture-induced corneal neovascularization in albino rabbits. Conclusion and Implications: The effects of siponimod on various processes known to be involved in angiogenesis support its therapeutic potential in disorders associated with ocular neovascularization.

The process of producing high viscosity polyester by transesterification polycondensation needs to adjust the operating conditions and equipment structure of pre-polycondensation kettle and final polycondensation kettle to realize process intensification. In view of this, the fluid volume function (VOF) method of CFD was used to investigate the film formation and surface renewal characteristics of horizontal polycondensation kettle under different operating conditions, including viscosity, rotating speed and liquid height. The results show that the viscosity and rotating speed were positively correlated with the film area and surface renewal in the pre-polycondensation stage. However, increasing the viscosity by several orders of magnitude in the final polycondensation kettle, the larger the film area and film thickness, but the overall surface renewal of the disk decreased. Therefore, a hexagonal hole disk is designed. It is found that the film is more uniform and the power consumption can be reduced by more than 20 %.

Background and aim Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is the commonest hearing disorder prevalent. Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochete whose infection has been shown to result in SNHL. This systematic review aims to investigate the prevalence and association of B. burgdorferi infection in SNHL. Methods A systematic literature search on the databases PubMed, Google Scholar, and UpToDate® was performed. Study selection process was done in accordance with the PRISMA guideline. In brief, studies were selected first by title and abstract screening followed by a full-text inspection. The quality assessment of the included studies was performed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tool. Data on study characteristics, patient demographics, audiological, microbiological, symptomatological, and therapeutical findings were extracted. Results The study search retrieved a total of 8,772 studies and 9 of them met out eligibility requirement. There were altogether 964 SNHL patients. 71 (7.3%) were tested positive for B. burgdorferi infection. The commonest symptoms in infected SNHL patients were tinnitus (53%) and vertigo (47%). Patients treated with steroids along with ceftriaxone showed a higher hearing recovery rate. Conclusion Borrelia burgdorferi infection is responsible for a substantial proportion of sensorineural hearing loss and should be investigated whenever no other reasons of hearing loss are established.

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics of infant congenital tongue base cysts. Methods: This retrospective study involved 37 infants with congenital tongue base cysts in our hospital. Results: The median age at admission was 95 (15-360) d for these babies. The main clinical manifestations were laryngeal stridor (33/37 89.2%), dyspnea (8/37 21.6%), inspiratory trisomy (6/37 16.2%), and choking and vomiting milk (14/37 37.8%). Eight cases (21.6%) were misdiagnosed as laryngomalacia in another hospital, while 4 cases (10.8%) were misdiagnosed as pneumonia. One case required emergency intubation for rescue due to dyspnea before surgery. The root of the tongue was found to occupy space during intubation. Six cases (16.2%) had cysts found through CT examination. Three cases (8%) had cysts found during bronchoscopy due to pneumonia. The remaining cysts were found in the root of the tongue through laryngoscopy. Laryngoscopy was performed in all children before the operation, and CT examination in 28 patients before the operation showed that the median diameter of the cyst was 10 mm (5-20 mm), All children underwent radiofrequency ablation of glossal root cysts through laryngoscopy. Eight patients were transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) for treatment post-operatively. The median intubation time was 4.5 days (2-5 days). Conclusion: Infancy congenital tongue base cysts have an early onset and atypical clinical manifestations. Electronic laryngoscopy combined with neck CT should be performed promptly in patients with laryngeal stridor and feeding difficulty to facilitate accurate diagnosis, and timely surgery is needed.

Biodiesel has prospective to greatly provide to sustainability of fuels for transportation. Biodiesel manufacturing is complex and nonlinear and consumption processes need the usage of rapid and accurate modelling tools for their design and optimization. The predictive ability of ANFIS approaches has been shown. This work is devoted to a full evaluation and critical discussion of ANFIS technology applications for biodiesel research modelling applications. In biodiesel research, ANFIS technology has been widely employed to model various trans esterification processes. As a result, future research appears to be focused on using ANFIS approaches for real-world biodiesel production monitoring to improve efficiency, feasibility, and sustainability.

Early warning signals (EWSs) represent a potentially universal tool for identifying whether a system is approaching a tipping point, and have been applied in fields including ecology, epidemiology, economics, and physics. This potential universality has led to the development of a suite of computational approaches aimed at improving the reliability of these methods. Classic methods based on univariate data have a long history of use, but recent theoretical advances have expanded EWSs to multivariate datasets, particularly relevant given advancements in remote sensing. More recently, novel machine learning approaches have been developed but have not been made accessible in the R environment. Here, we present EWSmethods – an R package that provides a unified syntax and interpretation of the most popular and cutting edge EWSs methods applicable to both univariate and multivariate time series. EWSmethods provides two primary functions for univariate and multivariate systems respectively, with two forms of calculation available for each: classical rolling window time series analysis, and the more robust expanding window. It also provides an interface to the Python machine learning model EWSNet which predicts the probability of a sudden tipping point or a smooth transition, the first of its form available to R users. This note details the rationale for this open-source package and delivers an introduction to its functionality for assessing resilience. We have also provided vignettes and an external website to act as further tutorials and FAQs.

As climate change progresses, reef-building corals face multiple environmental stressors that they must adapt to. Can corals adapt to all these stressors at the same time, or would some adaptations exclude others (i.e., a genetic tradeoff)? Here, we reanalyzed RNA-seq and Tag-seq data from four studies that compared gene expression in corals from tidal pools of different daily heat stress levels, with varying proximity to a CO2 seep, containing different kinds of algal symbionts, and separated by 15 degrees of latitude. We computed both the genetic divergence (FST) and log-fold expression change per gene for each contrast, and then compared these results to see whether the same genes were involved in adaptation and/or acclimatization to different environmental gradients. We find that genetic divergence patterns are entirely independent from each other (with the exception of just two shared FST outliers between the two cases of CO2 adaptation), while at the gene expression level there is significant overlap in up- and down-regulated genes among multiple environmental contrasts. These results suggest that coral populations maximize their local fitness predominantly via gene expression plasticity (involving similar pathways) rather than through selection-driven genetic divergence. Still, there remains the possibility of highly polygenic adaptation with extensive redundancy (many alternative genetic ways to achieve the same phenotype). Regardless of the mechanism, the overall lack of tradeoffs that we observed here suggests that corals have substantial capacity to withstand multiple simultaneous stressors.