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Parkinson's disease (PD) is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that is rarely diagnosed at an early stage. Although the understanding of PD-related mechanisms has greatly improved over the last decade, the diagnosis of PD is still based on neurological examination through the identification of motor symptoms, including bradykinesia, rigidity, postural instability, and resting tremor. The early phase of PD is characterized by subtle symptoms with a misdiagnosis rate of approximately 16-20%. The difficulty in recognizing early PD has implications for the potential use of novel therapeutic approaches. For this reason, it is important to discover PD brain biomarkers that can indicate early dopaminergic dysfunction through their changes in body fluids, such as saliva, urine, blood, or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). For the CFS-based test, the invasiveness of sampling is a major limitation, whereas the other body fluids are easier to obtain and could also allow population screening. Following the identification of the crucial role of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) in the pathology of PD, a very large number of studies have summarized its changes in body fluids. However, methodological problems have led to the poor diagnostic/prognostic value of this protein and alternative biomarkers are currently being investigated. The aim of this paper is therefore to summarize studies on protein biomarkers that are alternatives to α-syn, particularly those that change in nigrostriatal areas and in biofluids, with a focus on blood, and, eventually, saliva and urine.

The fretting corrosion at the head-neck interface of artificial hip joints is an important reason for the failure of prostheses. The Ti6Al4V alloy-zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) ceramic combination has been widely used to make the head and neck of artificial hip joints. In this study, its fretting corrosion behavior in simulated body fluid was studied by electrochemical monitoring, surface morphology characterization, and chemical composition analysis. A running condition fretting map (RCFM) of load and displacement was established, including three regimes, namely partial slip regime (PSR), mixed fretting regime (MFR), and gross slip regime (GSR). The friction dissipation energy increased gradually from the PSR to MFR and GSR. In the PSR, the damage mechanisms were slight abrasive wear and tribocorrosion at the edge of contact area, as well as extremely slight adhesive wear at the center. In the MFR, the damage mechanisms were mainly adhesive wear, abrasive wear, and corrosive wear. In the GSR, the damage mechanism was serious abrasive wear, fatigue wear, and corrosive wear combined with slight adhesive wear. Finally, an ion-concentration map was created, displaying the material-loss transition of different displacements and loads. The material loss increased with the increased displacement, and increased first and then decreased with the increased load., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Small extracellular vesicles (sMEVs) from bovine milk are studied for delivering therapeutics. Here, we estimated sMEV bioavailability of an oral dose of sMEVs. Bovine sMEVs were labeled covalently with HiLyte TM 750 (MEV-750) and administered by oral gavage to C57BL/6J mice. Plasma, urine, feces, and tissues were harvested at timed intervals for up to 24 h and fluorescence was assessed. Fecal excretion amounted to approximately 55% of the oral MEV-750 dose in males and females. The levels of MEV-750 peaked in the intestinal mucosa and plasma approximately 6 h after oral gavage and returned to baseline at time point 24 h. MEV-750 were detectable in peripheral tissues approximately 12 h after gavage. MEV-750 excretion in urine peaked approximately 6 h after oral gavage and returned to background levels after 24 h. Analysis by size exclusion chromatography suggested that HiLyte TM detached from sMEVs in artificial gastric fluid but not in plasma, i.e., HiLyte TM allows to estimate sMEV bioavailability with comparably high confidence. We conclude that the apparent bioavailability of sMEVs is 45%, and sMEVs are transported to peripheral tissues in C57BL/6J mice; excretion in feces and urine are the main routes of sMEV elimination., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Vanadium pentoxide (V 2 O 5 ) has shown great potential to be used in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), but it has limited applications because it has cycle instability and poor rate capability, and its lithiation mechanism is not well understood. In this work, hollow porous V 2 O 5 microspheres (HPVOM) were obtained by a facile poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and ethylene glycol-assisted soft-template solvothermal method. Half cells with HPVOM exhibited good capacity, rate capability, and stability, delivering 407.9 mAh g -1 at 1.0 A g -1 after 700 cycles. Furthermore, a LiFePO 4 /HPVOM full cell had a discharge capacity of 109.9 mAh g -1 after 150 cycles at 0.1 A g -1 . Using an equivalent circuit model (ECM) and distribution of relaxation times (DRT), we found that the charge-transfer (including the solid-state interface resistance) and bulk resistances varied regularly with the charge/discharge state, while the electrolyte resistance was largely maintained. The bulk resistance finally vanished, indicative of dynamic activation. The method used to prepare the hollow microspheres, as well as the display of electrode kinetics via ECM and DRT, could be broadly applied in developing efficient electrodes for LIBs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Nickel sulfides, as promising candidate for aqueous rechargeable battery, have aroused broad attention on account of abundant natural resources, rich phases, moderate price and high theoretical capacity. Nevertheless, tremendous volume expansion during repeated charging-discharging procedure leads to the poor rate capability and cycling stability of nickel sulfide electrodes. Therefore, in this work, core-shell NiS 2 @C encapsulated by thin hydrothermal carbon (HC) layer (NiS 2 @C/HC) has been designed and prepared without any surfactants or templates assistance, which avoid tedious process and shorten preparation cycle greatly. When matched with the treated iron powder (TIP) electrode to form NiS 2 @C/HC//TIP aqueous rechargeable battery, the NiS 2 @C/HC//TIP battery exhibits a high discharge capacity of 205.1 mAh g -1 at 1 A g -1 , remarkable rate ability (176.4 mAh g -1 at 5 A g -1 , about 86% capacity conversation) and superiorly durable stability (80.8 % capacity retention after 10,000 cycles at ultra-high current density of 15 A g -1 ). The outstanding high-rate capability and cycling stability for aqueous rechargeable battery can be ascribed to the distinct cowpea-like architecture and intrinsic properties of NiS 2 @C/HC. Specifically, the interior porous carbon provides a space to tolerate the volume expansion of the NiS 2 nanoparticles and prevent NiS 2 nanoparticles from aggregation, guaranteeing its high-rate capability. Meanwhile, the exterior HC layer is conducive to improve the electric conductivity to facilitate the electrons transfer and promote the mechanical strength of the whole active materials, ensuring its robust cycling stability., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Analysis of dried urine spots (DUSs) is becoming an emerging technique in clinical, toxicological, and forensic chemistry due to the fully non-invasive collection, facile transportation, and simple storage of DUS samples. Correct DUS collection and elution is of the utmost importance because inadequate DUS sampling/processing may have direct consequences on quantitative DUS analyses and these aspects were, for the first time, comprehensively investigated in this contribution. Various groups of endogenous and exogenous species were selected as model analytes and their concentrations were monitored in DUSs collected on standard cellulose-based sampling cards. Strong chromatographic effects were observed for most analytes having a crucial impact on their distribution within the DUSs during sampling. Concentrations of target analytes were up to 3.75-fold higher in the central DUS sub-punch in comparison to the liquid urine. Consequently, substantially reduced concentrations of these analytes were determined in peripheral DUS sub-punches demonstrating that sub-punching, often applied to dried material spots, is not acceptable for quantitative DUS analyses. Hence, a simple, rapid, and user-friendly procedure was suggested, which employed an in-vial collection of a known urine volume on a pre-punched sampling disc (using a low-cost micropipette designed for patient-centric clinical sampling) and in-vial processing of the whole DUS. Excellent accuracy (0.20%) and precision (0.89%) of liquid transfers were achieved by the micropipette, which was also applied to remote DUS collection by laic and expert users. The resulting DUS eluates were analysed by capillary electrophoresis (CE) for the determination of endogenous urine species. The CE results demonstrated no significant differences between the two user groups, elution efficiencies of 88-100% (in comparison to the liquid urine), and precision better than 5.5%., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests are used in forensics to conduct rapid screening for semen in vaginal swab samples from alleged victims of sexual abuse. Although PSA membrane tests have been applied to autopsy specimens, no study has evaluated predictors of false-positive test results in relation to factors such as age, cause of death, postmortem interval, drugs, and alcohol. This study describes the results obtained with the Seratec® PSA SemiQuant Kit test in 283 deceased women, with or without a history of sexual assault. Overall, 18.4% (52/283) of the vaginal swab samples tested positive for PSA. However, 63.5% (33/52) of the PSA-positive vaginal swab samples had no sperm detected. The proportion of false-positives in positive PSA results was 94.4% in those aged over 60 years. Multivariate logistic regression for PSA-positive samples showed that the proportion of false-positives in positive PSA results increased with the age of the deceased. However, the cause of death, postmortem interval, and presence of drugs or alcohol in the blood or urine of the deceased did not affect the PSA determination. These results show that PSA membrane tests are relatively unreliable and can be misleading, especially when derived from vaginal swab samples of older women, obtained at autopsy. In forensic cases, positive PSA screening test results may have an impact on subsequent legal actions and criminal charges brought against the accused. These findings are important for both forensic pathologists and the police to ensure accurate screening of older women in cases of suspected sex crimes., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Riverine fish in densely populated areas is constantly exposed to wastewater-borne contaminants from effluent discharges. These can enter the organism through the skin, gills or by ingestion. Whereas most studies assessing the contaminant burden in exposed fish have focused either on muscle or a limited set of tissues. Here we set out to generate a more comprehensive overview of the distribution of pollutants across tissues by analyzing a panel of matrices including liver, kidney, skin, brain, muscle, heart, plasma and bile. To achieve a broad analyte coverage with a minimal bias towards a specific contaminant class, sample extracts from four fish species were analyzed by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) - high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) for the presence of 600 wastewater-borne pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) with known environmental relevance in river water through a suspect-screening analysis. A total of 30 compounds were detected by suspect screening in at least one of the analyzed tissues with a clear prevalence of antidepressants. Of these, 15 were detected at confidence level 2.a (Schymanski scale), and 15 were detected at confidence level 1 following confirmation with authentic standards, which furthermore enabled their quantification. The detected PhACs confirmed with level 1 of confidence included acridone, acetaminophen, caffeine, clarithromycin, codeine, diazepam, diltiazem, fluoxetine, ketoprofen, loratadine, metoprolol, sertraline, sotalol, trimethoprim, and venlafaxine. Among these substances, sertraline stood out as it displayed the highest detection frequency. The values of tissue partition coefficients for sertraline in the liver, kidney, brain and muscle were correlated with its physicochemical properties. Based on inter-matrix comparison of detection frequencies, liver, kidney, skin and heart should be included in the biomonitoring studies of PhACs in riverine fish., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The identification of biological fluids or materials in forensic samples is a key requirement in forensic science that relies on chemical and biological based tests, most of which exhibit false positivity. When reporting results from such tests, Forensic Scientists use words such as probable, possible, and likely, without always being able to provide robust support for these conclusions. In collating information about false positive rates for a number of these tests, we found limited research into the cross reactions observed from 'other' biological samples in commonly encountered case sample stains. By 'other' we mean biological fluids or materials that are not the primary target of the presumptive test being used. Here we carry out a specificity study to fill gaps in the literature for a number of the presumptive chemical, biological and immunochromatographic tests used to presumptively screen for blood, semen and saliva. The tests selected for this study are the widely used tests: Luminol, TMB/Combur 3 Test® E, Kastle-Meyer (KM), RSID™ - Blood, ABAcard® HemaTrace®, Acid Phosphatase (AP), ABAcard® p30, RSID™ - Semen, Phadebas® 'Tube' Test, Phadebas® 'Press' Test, and RSID™ - Saliva tests. Specificity for each of these was tested in known samples, from volunteers, of blood, semen, saliva, urine, sweat, vaginal material, faeces and breast milk, and then false positive rates were determined., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Despite non-invasive instant monitoring of sweat metabolites is becoming a general trend in early diagnostics and screening, the reliability and accuracy of the on-skin electrochemical biosensors in real-life scenarios still remain questionable. As a rule, mass transport effects in scantily excreted liquids are ignored, when considering the design of such wearable setups. Here we provide a comprehensive investigation of the disruption factors for commonly used Prussian Blue based (bio)sensors under different hydrodynamic conditions (2 × 10 -5 - 5 × 10 0  mm s -1 electrolyte velocity). A huge effect of flow on the (bio)sensors response has been revealed and explained with transport limitations for both analyte influx and reaction product outflux. It suggests no need for improving the sensor sensitivity, while minimizing analyte consumption and enhancing product withdrawal. Some strategies concerning measurement schemes and sensor design ensuring reliable sweat analysis have been discussed and illustrated for lactate and glucose on-skin monitoring., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Messenger RNA (mRNA) expression analysis is increasingly used in casework, in the form of multiplex two-step reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) assays such as CellTyper 2 (CT2), developed by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR). This paper presents the development of a one-step endpoint RT-PCR workflow to improve the efficiency and precision of confirmatory body fluid identification. A comparative study of commercial one-step RT-PCR kits was undertaken, with the highest performing kit (RNA to C T ) retained for further development. Sensitivity, specificity across body fluids, and precision was assessed simultaneously using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. An optimal RFU cut-off value which maximised sensitivity and specificity was determined for each marker. All assays performed significantly better when compared to the equivalent of a completely uninformative test (area under the curve of 0.5) for their target body fluid. Sensitivity varied between different donors, but the limit of detectionss were estimated as follows; saliva markers HTN3: 1 in 100 dilution of a whole buccal swab and FDCSP: 1 in 10 dilution of a whole buccal swab, circulatory blood marker SLC4A1: 0.1 µL blood, menstrual fluid markers STC1, MMP10: 1 in 10 dilution of a whole menstrual swab, spermatozoa markers PRM1, TNP1: 0.1 µL semen, seminal fluid markers KLK2: 0.1 µL semen and MSMB: 0.01 µL semen, and vaginal material marker CYP2B7P: 1 in 1000 dilution of a whole vaginal swab. The method successfully detected most body fluids in a range of simple mixtures with 77 out of 80 markers observed when expected. The developed one-step endpoint RT-PCR assays lack the sensitivity and precision required for forensic casework and provide little benefit when compared with standard two-step endpoint RT-PCR, other than minimal time and cost savings, similar sensitivity, and improved precision for some markers. As both methods utilise endpoint RT-PCR, they have the same narrow linear dynamic range. The novel method is therefore similarly susceptible to varied RNA input, a major disadvantage of this approach. The limited sensitivity and precision consistently encountered with endpoint RT-PCR - regardless of cDNA synthesis strategy - could be addressed by a real-time PCR approach., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Biological matrix reference material is a reference material that combines the target material with the biological matrix. The biological matrix reference material has higher consistency with the authentic specimens in forensic toxicology, and its application has a positive effect on improving the accuracy of test results. This paper reviews the research on the matrix reference materials corresponding to three common biological test materials (blood, urine and hair). In order to provide reference for the development and application of biological matrix reference materials in forensic toxicology, this paper mainly introduces the research progress of preparation technology of biological matrix reference materials and some existing products and their parameters evaluation.

The use of dried urine spots (DUS) can simplify sample handling, shipment and storage when compared to liquid urine samples. To prepare DUS, a small amount of urine is pipetted on a filter paper card. The subsequent drying of the specimen can prevent the post-sampling formation or degradation of substances (e.g., caused by bacteria). To evaluate the potential of DUS screening, 17 authentic urine samples, containing a broad range of substances, were extracted and analyzed on a Sciex TripleTOF® 5600+ System using a non-targeted screening and library searching approach. The screening results were compared to the analysis of the same urine sample in liquid form, using the same high-resolution liquid chromatography--quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry method. More than 65 different legal and illegal drugs were successfully identified within the investigated 17 urine samples using the DUS screening approach. When compared to the analysis of liquid urine, the following compounds could not be identified: 1x ecgonine methyl ester, 1x nicotine, 1x promazine and 1x 11-nor-9-carboxy-∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Overall, 95.2% of the target substances that have been detected in liquid urine were identified correctly using the DUS approach. In conclusion, DUS screening offers a simple, cost-effective and easier sample handling alternative to the traditional use of liquid urine and provides the detection of the most important substances for forensic requirements. Furthermore, the DUS sample preparation can be fully automated (sample documentation, internal standard application and extraction)., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma is an emerging technique for effective bioaerosol decontamination and is promising to be used in indoor environments to reduce infections. However, fundamental knowledge of the dose and dose-response characteristics of plasma-based disinfection technology is very limited. By examining the single-pass removal efficiency of S. lentus aerosol by in-duct grating-like DBD plasma reactors with varied discharge setups (gap distance, electrode size, number of discharge layers, frequency, dielectric material), it was found that the specific input energy (SIE) could be served as the dose for disinfection, and the efficiency was exponentially dependent on SIE in most cases. The corresponding susceptibility constants (Z values) were obtained hereinafter. Humidity was a prominent factor boosting the efficiency with a Z value of 0.36 L/J at relative humidity (RH) of 20% and 1.68 L/J at RH of 60%. MS2 phage showed a much higher efficiency of 2.66-3.08 log 10 of reduction than those of S. lentus (38-85%) and E. coli (42%-95%) under the same condition. Using SIE as the dose, the performance of plasma reactors in the literature was compared and evaluated. This work provides a theoretical and engineering basis for air disinfection by plasma-based technology., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

For systemically administered monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with pharmacological targets in the epithelial lining fluid (ELF), information on the partitioning of mAb between plasma and ELF is instrumental for dose predictions. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) combined with measurements of urea as indicator of sample dilution is often used to estimate ELF concentrations of a drug. However, unbalanced extraction of mAb and urea could potentially lead to a systematic bias in the back-calculated ELF concentration. In the present study 0.5, 1, or 4 mL phosphate-buffered saline was instilled to lungs of rats to obtain lavage samples after systemic dosing of mAb and tool small molecule (n≥4/group). Furthermore, extraction of urea, mAb and the small molecule was assessed by repeatedly lavaging the lung (n = 4). There was no statistically significant difference in the calculated partitioning into ELF between the evaluated instillation volumes. Repeated BAL demonstrated that urea and the small molecule were extracted from other sources than the ELF. In contrast, there was limited to none in-flow of mAb into the lavage fluid. The unbalanced extraction of urea and mAb could theoretically result in underestimated ELF concentrations and the calculated partitioning of 0.17±0.062 might therefore constitute a lower boundary for the true partitioning., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interests The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 American Pharmacists Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Indoor particle release from toner printing equipment (TPE) is a major health concern and has received wide attention. In this study, nine printing centers were randomly selected and three working phases were simulated, namely, non-working, normal printing/copying, and heavy printing/copying. The dynamics of the ozone (O 3 ), volatile organic compound (VOC), and particle emissions from TPE were determined by portable detectors. Results showed that particles, VOCs, and O 3 were indeed discharged, and particles and VOCs concentrations remained at high levels. Among them, 44% of the rooms represented high-level particle releases. Submicrometer-sized particles, especially nanoparticles, were positively correlated with VOCs, but were inversely proportional to the O 3 concentration. Four elements, Ca, Al, Mg and Ni, were usually present in nanoparticles because of the discharge of paper. Si, Al, K, Ni and Pb were found in the submicrometer-sized particles and were consistent with the toner composition. The potential particle precursors were identified, which suggested that styrene was the most likely secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursor. Overall, the use of the toner formulation and the discharge of paper attribute to the TPE-emitted particles, in which styrene is a specific monitoring indicator for the formation of SOA., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Under the guidance of the traditional pattern differentiation system of wei, qi, ying and blood, most TCM doctors believe that a critical condition appears when the pathogenic factor enters the blood level in the development of warm diseases, while ignore that it could also occur in a qi level pattern. Based on Professor Jiang Liangduo's new view that " severe warm diseases could occur at qi level" developed based on his experience in the prevention and treatment of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), combined with the theory of " differentiation and treatment based on one ' s body condition", this paper elaborates on the theoretical basis, pathogenesis evolution, prevention and treatment method of severe warm diseases at qi level, and points out that the occurrence of severe warm diseases at qi level is closely related to the physiological dysfunction of lung qi. Thus, this paper summarizes the pathogenesis of severe COVID-19 cases at qi level as follows: dampness toxic epidemic pathogenic factors attack the lung, damaging the lung and making it unable to disperse and descend qi and body fluids as normal. The debilitated lung qi can neither promote body fluid circulation nor constrain fluids, which in turn leads to the expiry of lung qi. Correspondingly, the main principle of treatment is to diffuse the lung, replenish lung qi and constrain body fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal oxidation (TO) of a titanium (Ti) surface was carried out at diverse conditions of temperature and time. The major goal of this paper is to study the influence of the TO treatment on the bio-wettability and corrosion behavior of investigated Ti alloy in simulated body fluid (SBF). The results revealed a substantial improvement is obtained in the biowettability and corrosion resistance of Ti alloy samples after TO compared to an untreated sample. Also, the optimal contact angle and corrosion resistance were observed for the sample treated at 850oC for 8 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a major component of the inorganic minerals in the hard tissues of humans and has been widely used as a biomedical ceramic material in orthopedic and dentistry applications. Because human bone contains several impurities, including carbonates, chlorides, fluorides, magnesium, and strontium, human bone minerals differ from stoichiometric HA. Additionally, natural bone is composed of nano-sized HA, and the nanoscale particles exhibit a high level of biological activity. In this paper, HA is prepared via the hydrothermal process because its reaction conditions are easy to control and it has been shown to be quite feasible for large-scale production. Therefore, the hydrothermal process is an effective and convenient method for the preparation of HA. Furthermore, eggshell is adopted as a source of calcium, and mulberry leaf extract is selectively added to synthesize HA. The eggshell accounts for 11% of the total weight of a whole egg, and it consists of calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, magnesium carbonate, and organic matter. Eggshell contains a variety of trace elements, such as magnesium and strontium, making the composition of the synthesized HA similar to that of the human skeleton. These trace elements exert considerable benefits for bone growth. Moreover, the use of eggshell as a raw material can permit the recycling of biowaste and a reduction in process costs. The purpose of this study is to prepare HA powder via the hydrothermal method and to explore the effects of hydrothermal conditions on the structure and properties of the synthesized HA. The room-temperature precipitation method is used for the control group. Furthermore, the results of an immersion test in simulated body fluid confirm that the as-prepared HA exhibits good apatite-forming bioactivity, which is an essential requirement for artificial materials to bond to living bones in the living body and promote bone regeneration. In particular, it is confirmed that the HA synthesized with the addition of the mulberry leaf extract exhibits good in vitro biocompatibility. The morphology, crystallite size, and composition of the carbonated nano-HA obtained herein are similar to those of natural bones. The carbonated nano-HA appears to be an excellent material for bioresorbable bone substitutes or drug delivery. Therefore, the nano-HA powder prepared in this study has great potential in biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Blood and semen stains are the most common biological stains encountered at crime scenes. The washing of biological stains is a common application that perpetrators use to spoil the crime scene. With a structured experiment approach, this study aims to investigate the effects of washing with various chemicals on the ATR-FTIR detection of blood and semen stains on cotton., Materials and Methods: On cotton pieces, a total of 78 blood and 78 semen stains were applied, and each group of six stains was immersed or mechanically cleaned in water, 40% methanol, 5% sodium hypochlorite solution, 5% hypochlorous acid solution, 5 g/L soap dissolved pure water, and 5 g/L dishwashing detergent dissolved water. ATR-FTIR spectra gathered from all stains and analyzed with chemometric tools., Results and Discussion: According to performance parameters of developed models, PLS-DA is a powerful tool for discrimination of washing chemical for both washed blood and semen stains. Results from this study show that FTIR is promising for use in detecting blood and semen stains that have become invisible to the naked eye due to washing of the findings., Conclusion: Our approach allows blood and semen to be detected on cotton pieces using FTIR combined with chemometrics, even though it is not visible to the naked eye. Washing chemicals also can be distinguished via FTIR spectra of stains., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Preclinical research remains the essential platform in the development and optimization of medical therapies and advancements in translational medicines. However, specifically to animal research, federal laws, and institutional policies require investigators to apply the principles of the 3R's (replacement, reduction, and refinement). The concept of benchtop models utilizing isolated organs, in which multiple variables can be controlled to recreate human function, has been innovative advancements in preclinical research models that adhere to these principles. More specifically, isolated perfused kidney (IPK) models have been invaluable preclinical tools that have led to numerous advancements over the decades, including understanding renal physiology, pharmacologic therapies, and improvements in renal transplantation. However, pre-existing IPK models are not without their own limitations, leaving areas for improvement. An isolated perfused kidney apparatus was designed to best recreate human use conditions as a preclinical tool. Porcine renal blocks were chosen over the more commonly used rodent models, due to their greater similarities to human anatomies. Sixteen porcine kidney pairs obtained en bloc were extracted and placed onto an apparatus where aortic flows, pressures, and overall systemic temperatures were controlled. Organ viability was assessed in 10 renal blocks (n = 8 fresh and n = 2 previously frozen specimens) via both urinary flows and compositions at timepoints up to 180 min. Multimodality imaging, which included fluoroscopy, ultrasound, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and video scopes, was also employed to capture internal and external images to determine renal artery orientations and dimensions. Anatomical measurements and viability assessments of porcine renal blocks were successfully achieved in our perfusion model. Renal main artery diameters averaged smaller in our sample size than in human anatomy while also having more superior takeoff angles. Yet, the average lengths of each main segment were comparable to human anatomy: 32.09 ± 7.97 mm and 42.23 ± 7.33 mm in the left and right renal main artery, respectively. Urine production and urine composition of the fresh renal blocks, when compared to the frozen blocks and baseline perfusate, showed kidney viabilities of up to 3 h via excretion and retention of various metabolites. In this paper, we described a protocol for an isolated perfused kidney apparatus using large mammalian renal blocks. We believe this protocol to be an improvement from similar pre-existing models in better representing human physiologic function while allowing for multimodal imaging. The resulting Visible Kidney™ preclinical model, which has shown viability after isolation and reperfusion, can be a fast and reliable tool for the development of medical devices while also reducing the unnecessary use of animals for research., (© 2023 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.)

Sexual assault casework requires the collaboration of multiple agency staff to formalise an investigative pipeline running from crime scene to court. While the same could be said of many other forensic investigations, few require the additional support of health care staff and the combined forensic involvement of body-fluid examiners, DNA experts and analytical chemists. The sheer amount of collaborative effort between agencies is laid out through a detailed examination of the investigative workflow from crime scene to courtroom with each step in the pipelines detailed and discussed. Beginning with a review of sexual assault legislation in the United Kingdom this article details how sexual assault investigations are initiated by police and supported by sexual assault referral centre (SARC) staff who are often the first responders providing primary healthcare and patient support to victims while simultaneously collecting and assessing forensic evidence. Detailing the myriad of evidential material that can be documented and collected at the SARC, the review identifies and categorises key forensic tests to first detect and identify body-fluids recovered from evidence through to the secondary analysis of DNA to help identify the suspect. This review also focusses on the collection and analysis of biological material used to support the allegation that the sexual activity was non-consensual and provides a breakdown of common marks and trauma as well as a review of common analytical methods used to infer Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault (DFSA). The culmination of the investigative pipeline is discussed by reviewing the Rape and Serious Sexual Assault (RASSO) workflow used by the Crown Prosecution Service before providing our thoughts on the future of forensic analysis and possible changes to the described workflows., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Crown Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper describes the use of cyclodextrins (CDs) to improve the determination of fluoroquinolone antibiotics in human body fluids using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). CDs were used to (i) prepare the CD-SERS substrate (synthesis and stabilization of silver nanoparticles), (ii) increase the sensitivity of the assay by enhancing the interaction between analyte molecules and the substrate, and (iii) improve the analysis accuracy by reducing the interaction between the substrate and endogenous components of body fluids. Two native CDs (α-CD and β-CD) and two of their derivatives with hydroxypropyl groups were tested, and the best results were obtained with CD-SERS substrate prepared using native β-CD. The CD-SERS assay has been developed and optimized for the determination of commonly used and structurally related fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, pefloxacin, and levofloxacin) in urine and blood plasma samples. Importantly, the non-significant difference in the interaction of the CD-modified SERS substrate with various fluoroquinolones has been successfully used to develop a versatile assay suitable for the analyte-class-specific analysis. Calibration plots were obtained for concentration ranges suitable for the determination of the antibiotics in urine (50-500 μg mL -1 ) and blood plasma (1-6 μg mL -1 ). The following figures of merit were obtained (for urine and blood plasma, respectively): RSD values are ≤15% and ≤23%, LOD values are 2.9-5.8 and 0.05-0.34 μg mL -1 , recovery ranges are 96-105% and 91-111%. In addition, the influence of excessive concentrations of some main endogenous components of the body fluids on the analytical signal was studied. This step was used to evaluate possible limitations of the assay associated with the deviation of the composition of the body fluid matrix. Therefore, accounting for the short analysis time (≤15 min) and the use of a portable Raman spectrometer, the proposed assay can be suggested for therapeutic drug monitoring in hospitals., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper, (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this paper is to present novel highly sensitive and stretchable strain sensors using data analysis to report on human live parameters using the Arduino embedded system as a proof of concept in developing new and innovative solutions for health care. The article introduces the solution of textile sensor origination with electrical resistance measurement using the mobile Arduino microcontroller in the designed/elaborated textile printed sensor. The textile sensor was developed by the screen printing technique based on the water dispersion of carbon nanotubes during printing composition. By stretching and squeezing the T-shirt during breathing, the electrical resistances of the printed sensor were changed. The measured resistance corresponded to the number of breaths of the person wearing the T-shirt. The microcontroller calculated the number of breaths as a number of electrical resistance peaks, which then led to monitoring human live parameters.

People constantly move their heads during conversation, as such movement is an important non-verbal mode of communication. Head movement alters the direction of people's expired air flow, therefore affecting their conversational partners' level of exposure. Nevertheless, there is a lack of understanding of the mechanism whereby head movement affects people's exposure. In this study, a dynamic meshing method in computational fluid dynamics was used to simulate the head movement of a human-shaped thermal manikin. Droplets were released during the oral expiration periods of the source manikin, during which it was either motionless, was shaking its head or was nodding its head, while the head of a face-to-face target manikin remained motionless. The results indicate that the target manikin had a high level of exposure to respiratory droplets when the source manikin was motionless, whereas the target manikin's level of exposure was significantly reduced when the source manikin was shaking or nodding its head. The source manikin had the highest level of self-exposure when it was nodding its head and the lowest level of self-exposure when its head was motionless. People's level of exposure during close contact is highly variable, highlighting the need for further investigations in more realistic conversational scenarios., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most frequently occurring vaginal infection worldwide, yet it remains significantly underdiagnosed as a majority of patients are asymptomatic. Untreated BV poses a serious threat as it increases one's risk of STI acquisition, pregnancy complications, and infertility. We aim to minimize these risks by creating a low-cost disposable sensor for at-home BV diagnosis. A clinical diagnosis of BV is most commonly made according to the Amsel criteria. In this method, a fish-like odor, caused by increased levels of trimethylamine (TMA) in vaginal fluid, is used as a key diagnostic. This paper outlines the development of a Home-Based Electrochemical Rapid Sensor (HERS), capable of detecting TMA in simulated vaginal fluid (sVF). Instead of odor-based detection of volatilized TMA, we identify TMA in trimethylammonium form by utilizing HERS and a potentiometric readout. We fabricated the ion selective electrode using a carbon-black-coated cotton string and a TMA-selective membrane consisting of calix[4]arene and sodium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate. When paired with a standard reference electrode, our device was able to quantify TMA concentration in deionized (DI) water, as well as sVF samples at multiple pH levels with a clinically relevant limit of detection (8.66 µM, and theoretically expected Nernstian slope of 55.14 mV/decade).

The origin, location and cause of Parkinson's oscillation are not clear at present. In this paper, we establish a new cortex-basal ganglia model to study the origin mechanism of Parkinson beta oscillation. Unlike many previous models, this model includes two direct inhibitory projections from the globus pallidus external (GPe) segment to the cortex. We first obtain the critical calculation formula of Parkinson's oscillation by using the method of Quasilinear analysis. Different from previous studies, the formula obtained in this paper can include the self-feedback connection of GPe. Then, we use the bifurcation analysis method to systematically explain the influence of some key parameters on the oscillation. We find that the bifurcation principle of different cortical nuclei is different. In general, the increase of the discharge capacity of the nuclei will cause oscillation. In some special cases, the sharp reduction of the discharge rate of the nuclei will also cause oscillation. The direction of bifurcation simulation is consistent with the critical condition curve. Finally, we discuss the characteristics of oscillation amplitude. At the beginning of the oscillation, the amplitude is relatively small; with the evolution of oscillation, the amplitude will gradually strengthen. This is consistent with the experimental phenomenon. In most cases, the amplitude of cortical inhibitory nuclei (CIN) is greater than that of cortical excitatory nuclei (CEX), and the two direct inhibitory projections feedback from GPe can significantly reduce the amplitude gap between them. We calculate the main frequency of the oscillation generated in this model, which basically falls between 13 and 30 Hz, belonging to the typical beta frequency band oscillation. Some new results obtained in this paper can help to better understand the origin mechanism of Parkinson's disease and have guiding significance for the development of experiments.

In this study, the widely used varieties in China were selected to explore the low starch digestive properties of highland barley from three aspects of composition, starch structural orders, and kernel structure. Two digestive systems were constructed, with highland barley in flour and chyme forms, to investigate the contribution of these inherent properties to starch digestion under different physical forms. Compared with white and black highland barley, blue varieties showed poor chemical composition, lower starch crystallinity, and higher short-range structural order degree, but the starch digestibility as flour was only slightly higher. All varieties of chyme demonstrated lower starch digestibility compared to flour; however, blue highland barley chyme showed much lower starch digestibility than other chyme. Furthermore, kernel structural analysis showed that the blue highland barley kernel structure effectively inhibited digestion. These results indicated that the kernel structure had a critical influence on the starch digestibility of highland barley., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

(1) Background: Colorectal cancer is the second commonest cause of cancer deaths worldwide; recently, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been proposed as potential biomarkers of this disease. In this paper, we aim to identify and review the available literature on the influence of mechanical bowel preparation on VOC production and measurement. (2) Methods: A systematic search for studies was carried out for articles relevant to mechanical bowel preparation and its effects on volatile organic compounds. A total of 4 of 1349 papers initially derived from the search were selected. (3) Results: Two studies with a total of 134 patients found no difference in measured breath VOC profiles after bowel preparation; one other study found an increase in breath acetone in 61 patients after bowel preparation, but no other compounds were affected. Finally, the last study showed the alteration of urinary VOC profiles. (4) Conclusions: There is limited data on the effect of bowel preparation on VOC production in the body. As further studies of VOCs are conducted in patients with symptoms of gastrointestinal disease, the quantification of the effect of bowel preparation on their abundance is required.

In this study, an amphiphilic near-infrared fluorescent molecule (denoted BCPB) was employed as a fluorescent probe to detect free bilirubin. In an aqueous solution, the micellar assemblies of BCPB possess a strong excimer emission at 660 nm, which was dramatically quenched upon the addition of bilirubin. It has been proven that fluorescence quenching is mainly attributed to photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from BCPB to bilirubin. As a fluorescent probe of bilirubin, BCPB showed advantages, such as fast response (<1 min), good anti-interference ability, and low limit of detection (0.33 μmol L -1 , S/N = 3). BCPB was successfully applied to detect free bilirubin in human serum and urine, and the detection showed very high accuracy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Exogenous microparticles including microplastics are novel pollutants that could persist in the environment with potential health effects, while crucial data on their exposure in humans are still lacking. To understand the panorama of microparticles including microplastics exposure and distribution characteristics in different kinds of body fluids. A non-targeted microparticle internal exposure landscape analysis was done in thirteen kinds of human enclosed body fluids covering eight body systems. Totally 104 patients aged 24-96 years with an average age of 56 years were included in this study. After sample digestion, non-soluble microparticles were detected and identified with one Raman Microspectroscope under a strict quality control-particle detection system. Totally 702 microparticles with size ranging from 2.15 to 103.27 µm were detected in samples. Microparticles were identified into 84 substances or 66 molecules, most of which were firstly reported inside human body. Nine kinds of microplastics were originally reported in human body fluids with their size ranging from 19.66 to 103.27 µm. Microparticles exposure was unexpectedly high inside the human body despite the protection of biological barriers and membranes, raising awareness of the impact of particle pollution on sustainable development., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

In this study, a heat-resistant and high-wettability lithium-ion batteries separator (PI-CPM-PI) composed of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and aramid fibers (PMIA chopped fiber/PPTA pulp) with the reinforced concrete structure was fabricated via a traditional heterogeneous paper-making process. CNF played crucial roles in optimizing the pore structure and improving the wettability of PI-CPM-PI separator. The effects of composition on separator properties were investigated and the results indicated that the optimal compositions were 0.5 wt% CNF, 0.5 wt% PMIA chopped fiber/PPTA pulp (ratio of 5:5), 0.05 wt% diatomite and 1.5 wt% polyimide. Relevant tests demonstrated that the performance advantages of PI-CPM-PI separators were exhibited at the wettability and thermal stability compared to the commercial separator (PP). Additionally, batteries assembled with PI-CPM-PI separators showed excellent electrochemical and cycling performance (ionic conductivity of 1.041 mS.cm -1 , the first discharge capacity of 158.2 mAh.g -1 at 0.2C and capacity retention ratio of 99.76 % after 100 cycles)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper presents the first results of a study of the LH transition on the new spherical Globus-M2 tokamak using the Doppler backscattering (DBS) diagnostic. New data characterizing the H-mode of discharges with higher values of the plasma parameters, such as magnetic field B t up to 0.9 T and plasma current I p up to 450 kA, were collected and analyzed. An upgraded neutral beam injection (NBI) system was used to initiate the LH transition. DBS allows the measurement of the poloidal rotation velocity and the turbulence amplitude of the plasma. The multi-frequency DBS system installed on Globus-M2 can simultaneously collect data in different areas spanning from the separatrix to the plasma core. This allowed for the radial profiles of the rotation velocity and electric field to be calculated before and after the LH transition. In addition, the values and temporal evolution of the velocity shear were obtained. The associated turbulence suppression after the transition to the H-mode was investigated using DBS.

The exploration of nucleoside changes in human biofluids has profound potential for cancer diagnosis. Herein, we developed a rapid methodology to quantify 17 nucleosides by UHPLC-MS/MS. Five pairs of isomers were successfully separated within 8 min. The ME was mostly eliminated by sample dilution folds of 1000 for urine and 40 for CCS. The optimized method was firstly applied to screen potential nucleoside biomarkers in CCS by comprising bladder cancer cell lines (5637 and T24) and normal human bladder cell line SV-HUC-1 together with student's t-test and OPLS-DA. Nucleosides with significant differences in the supernatant of urine samples were also uncovered comparing BCa with the non-tumor group, as well as a comparison of BCa recurrence group with the non-recurrence group. By intersecting the differential nucleosides in CCS and urine supernatant, and then further confirmed using validation sets, the combination of m 3 C and m 1 A with AUC of 0.775 was considered as a potential biomarker for bladder cancer diagnosis. A panel of m 3 C, m 1 A, m 1 G, and m 2 G was defined as potential biomarkers for bladder cancer prognosis with an AUC of 0.819. Above all, this method provided a new perspective for diagnosis and recurrence monitoring of bladder cancer. SIGNIFICANCE: The exploration of nucleoside changes in body fluids has profound potential for the diagnosis and elucidation of the pathogenesis of cancer. In this study, we developed a rapid methodology for the simultaneous quantitative determination of 17 nucleosides in the supernatant of cells and urine samples using UHPLC-MS/MS to discover and validate bladder cancer related excreted nucleoside biomarkers. The results of this paper provide a new strategy for diagnosis and postoperative recurrence monitoring of bladder cancer and provide theoretical support for the exploration of its pathogenesis.2 G was defined as potential biomarkers for bladder cancer prognosis with an AUC of 0.819. Above all, this method provided a new perspective for diagnosis and recurrence monitoring of bladder cancer. SIGNIFICANCE: The exploration of nucleoside changes in body fluids has profound potential for the diagnosis and elucidation of the pathogenesis of cancer. In this study, we developed a rapid methodology for the simultaneous quantitative determination of 17 nucleosides in the supernatant of cells and urine samples using UHPLC-MS/MS to discover and validate bladder cancer related excreted nucleoside biomarkers. The results of this paper provide a new strategy for diagnosis and postoperative recurrence monitoring of bladder cancer and provide theoretical support for the exploration of its pathogenesis., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The present study examined the corrosion and tribological behavior of novel Ti-5Cu-xNb alloy synthesized via powder metallurgy as a new biomedical material in a simulated bodily fluid (SBF) solution. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) study reveals the formation of two protective layers on the surface of alloys during the test. The alloys spontaneously produce a passivating oxide coating on their surfaces, and the breakdown potential (1.14-1.17 V) and re-passivation current density (2.07-3.04 μAcm -2 ) were observed during the potentiodynamic polarization test. The highest corrosion resistance was observed for the alloy Ti-5Cu-10Nb (i corr  = 21.44 nA-cm -2 ). The SEM and XPS analysis of the corroded surface showed the formation of oxide on the surfaces of the alloys. The samples were tested at 10 N, 15 N, and 20 N loads against the zirconia counterpart to investigate the effect of loading on friction and wear. The lowest coefficient of friction was obtained for Ti-5Cu-5Nb (0.25-0.41) at 20 N loading, while the maximum for Ti-5Cu-10Nb at 15 N load falls in the range of (0.71-0.25). Additionally, they present the wear rate in the range of (5.3 × 10 -8 -1.45 × 10 -6  mm 3 /mm), in accordance with the change in microstructure and mechanical properties. However, the wear rate increases with the addition of niobium and reaches the maximum for Ti-5Cu-15Nb at 20 N loading condition, but it is relatively deficient compared to commonly used implant material. Therefore, it is suggested that this β-type Ti-5Cu-xNb alloy is a promising candidate, more suitable than the commercially used Ti and Ti-6Al-4V for dental applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)