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There is much public anxiety about how today's students use chatbots to complete assignments. But AI's integration within schools will more deeply impact the next generation of college graduates. The market value of future college degrees is far from certain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emergency Departments (ED) have seen an increasing number of older patients who are mostly referred following a call to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Long waiting times in settings, which are not designed to meet older patients' needs, may increase the risk of hospital‐acquired complications. Unnecessary visits should therefore be avoided as much as possible. The objective of the study was to evaluate whether a program to provide geriatric knowledge and tools to the dispatching physicians of the EMS could decrease ED referrals of older patients. Methods: Design: Before‐and‐after study with two 6‐month periods before and after intervention. Participants: All calls received by a dispatching physician of the Rhône EMS from 8 am to 6 pm concerning patients aged 75 years or above during the study period. Intervention: A program consisting of training dispatching physicians in the specific care of older patients and the developing, with a multidisciplinary team, of specific tools for dispatching physicians. Outcome: Proportion of ED referrals of patients aged 75 years or above after a call to the EMS. Results: A total of 2671 calls to the Rhône EMS were included corresponding to 1307 and 1364 patients in the pre‐and post‐intervention phases, respectively. There was no significant difference in the proportion of referrals to the ED between the pre‐intervention (61.7%) and the post‐intervention (62.8%) phases (p = 0.57). Contact of the patients with their General Practitioner (GP) in the month preceding the call was associated with a 22% reduced probability of being referred to an ED. Conclusions: No beneficial effect of the intervention was demonstrated. This strategy of intervention is probably not effective enough in such time‐constraint environment. Other strategies with a specific parallel dispatching of geriatric calls by geriatricians should be tested to avoid these unnecessary ED referrals. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials NCT02712450. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: In the present study, we evaluated the triage process particularly for older patients after calls to Emergency Medical Call Centers (ECC), according to the geriatric assessment tool. Methods: In this observational population‐based cross‐sectional study in the Rhône (France), we analyzed the audiotapes of all calls received by ECC concerning patients aged ≥75 years, during seven randomly selected days, over a period of 1 year. We analyzed whether information about seven key items, predefined by a panel of experts as essential for quality telephone triage of seniors, was actually collected. Results: Among 4168 calls, 712 (17.1%) concerned patients >75 years (mean ± SD, age 84.6 ± 5.6 years). The mean duration of calls was 3 min 28 s. Information about living arrangements (alone or not), dependency, multiple pathologies, polymedication, ability to walk independently or with help, and hospitalization in the previous 3 months was not collected in 20%, 42%, 40%, 45%, 58% and 61% of calls, respectively. All seven geriatric items were collected for only 54 (7.8%) calls, and only three criteria collected for 277 (40%) calls. Nurse‐managed calls were significantly associated with the collection of less geriatric items compared with physician‐managed calls. Conclusion: Key information is particularly important to guide the orientation, and further management of older patients may be lacking during the telephone triage of patients in ECCs. This may represent an important level of improvement of the triage process, to address the needs of older patients better and avoid inappropriate emergency department visits. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2023; 23: 54–59. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tracheal stenting currently using non‐degradable stents is commonplace for treatment of trauma, prolonged intubation related adult airway obstructions, and pediatric patients‐associated tracheal stenosis conditions. Degradable tracheal stent placement will avoid complications of stent removal and restenosis. Widespread reports exist on degradable magnesium alloys success for orthopedic and cardiovascular applications but none to date for intra tracheal use. This research explores the use of pure Mg, AZ31, and Mg‐3Y alloys for degradable tracheal stent assessment. In vitro evaluation of magnesium, prototype stents in a bioreactor simulate the airway environment and corrosion. Micro‐CT imaging and biocompatibility evaluation helped assess the 24‐week degradation of intraluminal alloy stents following implantation in a rat tracheal in vivo bypass model. Histological analysis indicate tissue response of the harvested stented trachea segments after each time point. Corrosion studies for each alloy indicate significant differences between the simulated and control in vitro conditions. AZ31 exhibited the lowest volume loss of 6.8% in saline, while pure Mg displayed the lowest volume loss of 4.6% in simulated airway fluid (SAF), both at 1‐week time points. Significant differences in percentage of total volume lost after 6 months were determined between the alloys over time. MgY alloy displayed the slowest corrosion losing only 15.1% volume after 24 weeks of immersion. Additionally, in vitro magnesium alloy corrosion was not significantly different from the percentage of total volume lost in vivo at 1‐week time point. The study demonstrates promise of magnesium alloys for intraluminal tracheal stent application albeit viability of a clinically translatable model warrants further studies. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B: 1844–1853, 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of zinc‐based catalysts was evaluated for their efficiency in decomposing formic acid into molecular hydrogen and carbon dioxide in the gas phase using quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry experiments. The effectiveness of the catalysts in the series [(L)Zn(H)]+, where L=2,2′:6′,2′′‐terpyridine (tpy), 1,10‐phenanthroline (phen) or 2,2′‐bipyrydine (bpy), was found to depend on the ligand used, which turned out to be fundamental in tuning the catalytic properties of the zinc complex. Specifically, [(tpy)Zn(H)]+ displayed the fastest reaction with formic acid proceeding by dehydrogenation to produce the zinc formate complex [(tpy)Zn(O2CH)]+ and H2. The catalysts [(L)Zn(H)]+ are reformed by decarboxylating the zinc formate complexes [(L)Zn(O2CH)]+ by collision‐induced dissociation, which is the only reaction channel for each of the ligands used. The decarboxylation reaction was found to be reversible, since the zinc hydride complexes [(L)Zn(H)]+ react with carbon dioxide yielding the zinc formate complex. This reaction was again substantially faster for L=tpy than L=phen or bpy. The energetics and mechanisms of these processes were modelled using several levels of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Experimental results are fully supported by the computational predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas‐phase C―C coupling reactions mediated by Ni (II) complexes were studied using a linear quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. Ternary nickel cationic carboxylate complexes, [(phen)Ni (OOCR¹)]+ (where phen = 1,10‐phenanthroline), were formed by electrospray ionization. Upon collision‐induced dissociation (CID), they extrude CO2 forming the organometallic cation [(phen)Ni(R¹)]+, which undergoes gas‐phase ion‐molecule reactions (IMR) with acetate esters CH3COOR² to yield the acetate complex [(phen)Ni (OOCCH3)]+ and a C―C coupling product R¹‐R² . These Ni(II)/phenanthroline‐mediated coupling reactions can be performed with a variety of carbon substituents R¹ and R² (sp³, sp², or aromatic), some of them functionalized. Reaction rates do not seem to be strongly dependent on the nature of the substituents, as sp³‐sp³ or sp²‐sp² coupling reactions proceed rapidly. Experimental results are supported by density functional theory calculations, which provide insights into the energetics associated with the C―C bond coupling step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work describes the use of cheap, safe, and easy-to-handle hydrosilatrane as the reductant in direct reductive amination reactions. This efficient method enables a facile, metal-free access to secondary and tertiary amines from a wide range of aldehydes and ketones, with the synthesis of tertiary amines requiring no additives at all. This reaction demonstrates excellent functional group tolerance, chemoselectivity, and scalability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of dynamic protein phosphorylation events is critical for understanding kinase/phosphatase-regulated signaling pathways. To date, protein phosphorylation and kinase expression have been examined independently in photosynthetic organisms. Here we present a method to study the global kinome and phosphoproteome in tandem in a model photosynthetic organism, the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Chlamydomonas), using mass spectrometry-based label-free proteomics. A dual enrichment strategy targets intact protein kinases via capture on immobilized multiplexed inhibitor beads with subsequent proteolytic digestion of unbound proteins and peptide-based phosphorylation enrichment. To increase depth of coverage, both data-dependent and data-independent (via SWATH, Sequential Windowed Acquisition of All Theoretical Fragment Ion Mass Spectra) mass spectrometric acquisitions were performed to obtain a more than 50% increase in coverage of the enriched Chlamydomonas kinome over coverage found with no enrichment. The quantitative phosphoproteomic dataset yielded 2250 phosphopeptides and 1314 localized phosphosites with excellent reproducibility across biological replicates (90% of quantified sites with coefficient of variation below 11%). This approach enables simultaneous investigation of kinases and phosphorylation events at the global level to facilitate understanding of kinase networks and their influence in cell signaling events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient method for the reduction of ketones with 1-hydrosilatrane is described. In the presence of a Lewis base activator, the resulting secondary alcohols are rapidly formed in good to excellent yields (20 examples, 71-99 % yields). The relative bulkiness of 1-hydrosilatrane also enables the diastereoselective reduction of (-)-menthone to (+)-neomenthol, and the use of a chiral alkoxide activator can lead to the enantioselective reduction of prochiral ketones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tethered bis-2,5-dimethylene-2,5-dihydrofurans were generated in the gas phase by flash vacuum pyrolysis (FVP) of diester precursors. These furan-based bis( p-quinodimethanes) are shown to undergo reactions leading to macrocycles. The observed products strongly support a mechanism involving cyclic diradical intermediates. Formation of the furan-based p-quinodimethane and the corresponding cyclization chemistry was studied by high-level ab initio calculations. The theoretical studies reveal the importance of the entropy-driven elimination steps in the high-temperature FVP chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tracheomalacia is a relatively rare problem, but can be challenging to treat, particularly in pediatric patients. Due to the presence of mechanically deficient cartilage, the trachea is unable to resist collapse under physiologic pressures of respiration, which can lead to acute death if left untreated. However, if treated, the outcome for patients with congenital tracheomalacia is quite good because the cartilage tends to spontaneously mature over a period of 12 to 18 months. The present study investigated the potential for the use of degradable magnesium-3% yttrium alloy (W3) to serve as an extraluminal tracheal stent in a canine model. The host response to the scaffold included the formation of a thin, vascularized capsule consisting of collagenous tissue and primarily mononuclear cells. The adjacent cartilage structure was not adversely affected as observed by bronchoscopic, gross, histologic, and mechanical analysis. The W3 stents showed reproducible spatial and temporal fracture patterns, but otherwise tended to corrode quite slowly, with a mix of Ca and P rich corrosion product formed on the surface and observed focal regions of pitting. The study showed that the approach to use degradable magnesium alloys as an extraluminal tracheal stent is promising, although further development of the alloys is required to improve the resistance to stress corrosion cracking and improve the ductility. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 102A: 611-620, 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of the composite three-layer ONIOM G2R3 (OG2R3) method to match experimental dissociation energies for group 13-15 donor-acceptor complexes was examined for a database of 34 complexes. The composite approach provides energies that agree reasonably with experiment, performing nearly as well as both the CCSD(T)/aug-CC-pVTZ and CCSD(T)/6-311+G(2df, 2p) models for small molecules and nearly as well as the latter for slightly larger ones. Broadly, all three models exhibit average absolute errors of ∼3 kcal mol, and root mean square errors of ∼4 kcal mol. The average signed error suggest that the OG2R3 approach systematically underbinds by ∼2.3 kcal mol; if this is used as a general correction, the approach performs as well or better than the pure CCSD(T) models. However, the OG2R3 model can be applied to molecules too large to be studied by the other CCSD(T) methods, as it requires only a fraction of the time and computer resources. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum have revealed some of the mechanisms which these desiccation-tolerant plants use to survive environments with extreme dehydration and restricted seasonal water. Most resurrection plants are polyploid with large genomes, which has hindered efforts to obtain whole genome sequences and perform mutational analysis. However, the application of deep sequencing technologies to transcriptomics now permits large-scale analyses of gene expression patterns despite the lack of a reference genome. Here we use pyro-sequencing to characterize the transcriptomes of C. plantagineum leaves at four stages of dehydration and rehydration. This reveals that genes involved in several pathways, such as those required for vitamin K and thiamin biosynthesis, are tightly regulated at the level of gene expression. Our analysis also provides a comprehensive picture of the array of cellular responses controlled by gene expression that allow resurrection plants to survive desiccation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wound healing represents a highly regulated, orchestrated response of cells recruited to sites of injury. High molecular weight hyaluronic acid was conjugated with monoclonal antibodies to the cytokine interleukin-1β to create a matrix-forming polymer capable of modifying healing. Using gel electrophoresis and fluorescence immunosorbent assays, we determined a degree of antibody functionalization per hyaluronic acid chain of 13.6±1.6%. The biological activity of the conjugate in vitro, measured using a nuclear factor-κB translocation assay in activated THP-1 monocytes, was comparable in inhibiting cytokine signaling to a similar level as the unconjugated antibody. Incisional wound studies in Sprague–Dawley rats indicates that viscous hyaluronic acid solutions were immunologically active, but covalent functionalization with antibodies against tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β resulted in significant reductions in the inflammatory response. Covalent attachment of cytokine-neutralizing antibodies to matrix-forming polymers could lead to the development of materials capable of locally regulating wound healing and inflammatory responses in the setting of tissue regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis: The objective of the study was to evaluate a naturally derived liver extracellular matrix (L-ECM) scaffold for repair of an acute injury to the vocal fold lamina propria in a canine model. Methods: The vocal fold lamina propria was removed bilaterally in four dogs. One vocal fold in each dog was repaired with a porcine L-ECM scaffold, which was chosen because it contains hepatocyte growth factor, an antifibrotic growth factor that aids the healing of vocal folds. The other vocal fold was left untreated. At 3 months after surgery, morphologic and histologic analysis was performed to assess the vocal fold shape, collagen density, collagen composition, elastic fiber content, and glycosaminoglycan content. Results: The L-ECM-treated vocal fold showed increased collagen density in the superficial aspect of the vocal fold ( P < .05). The L-ECM-treated vocal fold also showed an increased collagen III/I ratio as compared to the nontreated group ( P < .05). However, the elastic fiber content was found to be increased in both groups, and the glycosaminoglycan content was decreased in both groups as compared to the normal vocal fold ( P < .05) with no differences detected between groups. Conclusions: The L-ECM scaffold did not restore the biochemical composition or histologic appearance of the injured vocal fold as compared to normal. However, the increased ratio of collagen III/I and elastic fiber content suggests that L-ECM leads to formation of connective tissue that may be more pliable as compared to no treatment. Additional investigation, including functional assessment, is warranted. Laryngoscope, 2009 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article outlines various health risks for older people associated with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infections (COVID-19). According to the article, coronavirus infections can exacerbate complications for individuals with old age and comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. It also discusses the possible impact of COVID-19 among residents of long-term care facilities.

The extracellular matrix derived from porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS-ECM), an FDA-approved material currently used clinically for rotator cuff repair, has been shown to attract bone marrow-derived cells during in vivo remodeling of a subcutaneous implant and produce chemoattractant peptides following chemical degradation in vitro. The purpose of the present study was to determine if bone marrow-derived cells participate in the long-term remodeling of the Achilles tendon in a mouse model when repaired with SIS-ECM. A 2-mm gap was produced in the Achilles tendon of 40 chimeric mice produced to express green fluorescent protein (GFP) in all of their bone marrow-derived cells. Tendons were repaired by replacing the resected section with autologous tendon tissue or with a single layer sheet of lyophilized SIS-ECM. Four animals from each treatment group were sacrificed at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 weeks, and sections were harvested for histologic and fluorescence microscopy. Both groups showed accumulation of GFP-expressing marrow-derived cells at the site of tendon remodeling at 1 and 2 weeks that were associated with areas of angiogenesis and inflammation. By 16 weeks, the SIS-ECM-treated group showed GFP expressing cells throughout the remodeled tendon in the absence of any inflammatory response, while the autologous tendon repair group showed no GFP expressing cells within the tendon except for occasional cells in the lumen of blood vessels. An SIS-ECM scaffold used for tendon repair recruits a population of bone marrow-derived cells that participates in the long-term remodeling process. The ability of SIS-ECM to recruit a population of marrow-derived cells to the remodeling site may alter the default mechanism of tendon healing. The involvement of these cells in the remodeling process may explain in part the process of site specific constructive remodeling as opposed to scar tissue formation when the ECM is used as a biologic scaffold for tendon reconstruction. © 2006 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early psychological adjustment (PA) of mothers of children with cancer (MCC) and mothers of children with acute illnesses (MCA) were compared, and predictors and mediators of maternal adjustment were tested. Sixty-nine MCC and 22 MCA completed standardized measures of depression, anxiety, global mental health (GMH), concurrent stress and strains, social support, coping strategies and child behavior. MCC reported greater depressive symptomatology, emotion-focused coping, and social support than did MCA. For MCC, emotion-focused coping and child behavior both predicted depression, anxiety, and GMH; concurrent stress and strain mediated the relationship between child behavior and depression and between emotion-focused coping and each measure of adjustment. For MCA, only emotion-focused coping predicted PA and concurrent stress and strains mediated the relationship between emotion-focused coping and depression. These findings suggest that MCC have more PA difficulties that are uniquely related to their child's behavior than MCA. Concurrent stress and strains seems to be an important mediator of PA for both groups of mothers. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Small intestinal submucosa (SIS) from porcine has been successfully used as a collagen scaffold for the repair of various tissues, including those of the human vascular, urogenital, and musculoskeletal systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether SIS can be used to enhance the healing process of a medial collateral ligament (MCL) with a gap injury in a rabbit model.Methods: A 6 mm wide gap was surgically created in the right MCL of 20 skeletally mature, female New Zealand White rabbits. In 10 rabbits, a strip of SIS was sutured onto the two ends of the MCL, while for the other 10 animals their injured MCL remained untreated and served as a non-treated group. The left MCL of all animals was exposed and undermined serving as the sham-operated side. At 12 weeks post-healing, eight hind limbs from each group were used for mechanical testing. The cross-sectional areas (CSA) of the MCLs were measured. The femur–MCL–tibia complex (FMTC) was tensile tested to failure. The load–elongation curves representing the structural properties of the FMTC and the stress–strain curves representing the mechanical properties of the healing MCL were obtained. The remaining two animals from each group were prepared for histological evaluation.Results: The CSA between the SIS-treated and non-treated groups were not significantly different (p>0.05). Both treatment groups appeared to increase by nearly 40% compared to the sham-operated side, although statistical significance was not found for the non-treated group (p>0.05). The stiffness of the FMTC from the SIS-treated group was 56% higher than the non-treated group (45.7 ± 13.3 N/mm vs. 29.2 ± 9.2 N/mm, respectively, p<0.05) and the ultimate load also nearly doubled (117.434.5 N vs. 66.4 ± 31.4 N, respectively, p<0.05). These values were lower compared to the sham-operated side (89.7 ± 15.3 N/mm and 332.0 ± 50.8 N, respectively). The tangent modulus of the healing MCL (279.7 ± 132.1 MPa vs. 149.0 ± 76.5 MPa, respectively) and stress at failure (15.7 ± 4.1 MPa vs. 10.2 ± 3.9 MPa, respectively) both increased by more than 50% with SIS treatment (p<0.05). Yet, each remained lower compared to the sham-operated side (936.3 ± 283.6 MPa and 75.6 ± 14.2 MPa, respectively). Blinded histological comparisons between the SIS-treated MCL and the non-treated control demonstrated qualitatively that the SIS treated group had increased cellularity, greater collagen density, and improved collagen fiber alignment.Conclusion: Healing of a gap MCL injury was significantly enhanced with SIS. The improved mechanical properties and histological appearance of the MCL suggest that SIS treatment improves the quality of tissue and renders the possibility for future studies investigating functional tissue engineering of healing ligaments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

While a number of in vitro studies have shown that the tension on an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) replacement graft at the time of fixation has an affect on joint stability, most in vivo studies have reported little or no long-term difference in outcome. The objectives of this study were to (1) establish a large animal model in which differences in knee stability are present at time-zero after ACL reconstruction with grafts fixed at a low (5 N) and high (35 N) initial tension and to (2) quantitatively determine if these initial effects remain after six weeks of healing and if the tensile properties of an ACL replacement graft are influenced by initial graft tension. Seventeen skeletally mature female Saanan breed goats were used. Using the robotic/UFS testing system, the knee kinematics and in situ forces in the replacement graft in response to an externally applied 67 N anterior–posterior (A–P) tibial load were evaluated at time-zero and after six weeks of healing. Afterward, the femur-ACL graft–tibia complexes (FGTCs) from the six-week group were tested under uniaxial tension so that the stress relaxation and structural properties of the FGTC were obtained.At time-zero, knees fixed with a high initial graft tension could better reproduce the A–P translation of the intact knee in response to the 67 N A–P tibial load. Further, in situ forces in these grafts were also closer to those in the intact ACL under the same external loading condition. After six weeks of healing, the A–P translation of the knee and in situ forces in the replacement grafts became similar for the low and high tension groups, while both were significantly different from controls. Further, the percentage of stress relaxation as well as the stiffness, ultimate load at failure, ultimate elongation at failure, and energy absorbed of the FGTCs for both reconstruction groups were not significantly different from each other, but were significantly different from controls. These results demonstrate that while the high initial graft tension could better replicate the normal knee kinematics at time-zero, these effects may diminish during the early graft healing process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Considers the potential contributions of performance science to education. Reduction in instructional time; Improving effectiveness; Differences between performance and behavior science; Superstitious behavior as a major contributor to poor productivity in the workplace; Tactics for presenting instruction; Tactics for designing training; Scientific strategies for teaching; More.

Discusses the book `By the Grace of Guile: The Role of Deception in Natural History and Human Affairs,' by Loyal D. Rue. Deception as an essential part of life; Effective counter for nihilism; Role of deceit in the history of Western intellectual and moral traditions; Definition of deception; Deception in the general biological context and in the cultural context.

Review: 42 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]