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ABSTRACT Purpose: To test the use of rainbow trout skin as a surgical mesh in abdominal hernioplasties in rats. Methods: The experiment involved 20 Wistar rats receiving implants of trout skin processed for disinfection in 0.5% glutaraldehyde and preserved in 100% glycerin. The animals were divided into four groups, divided at 7, 15, 30, and 90 days postoperatively. Clinical and infrared thermography evaluations were performed, and after euthanasia, assessments of adhesion formations and sample collection for histological evaluation were conducted. Results: The implant was observed to be intact, ensuring the integrity of the abdominal wall, support for the viscera, and normal mobility for the rats for up to 90 days. Low rates of clinical alterations were observed, with an intense inflammatory reaction up to day 7, chronic inflammation and the onset of angiogenesis at day 15, and a low inflammatory reaction with collagenous infiltrate and fibrosis at day 30. At day 90, the implants showed a collagenous and fibrotic infiltrate with a minimal inflammatory infiltrate. Conclusions: The surgical mesh of trout skin performed well, making it a potential alternative for surgical procedures in muscle aponeurotic corrections in the abdominal wall.

Repurposed drugs provide a rich source of potential therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders (NDD). Repurposed drugs have information from non-clinical studies, phase 1 dosing, and safety and tolerability data collected with the original indication. Computational approaches, "omic" studies, drug databases, and electronic medical records help identify candidate therapies. Generic repurposed agents lack intellectual property protection and are rarely advanced to late-stage trials for AD/NDD. In this review we define repurposing, describe the advantages and challenges of repurposing, offer strategies for overcoming the obstacles, and describe the key contributions of repurposing to the drug development ecosystem. Repurposed drugs provide a rich source of potential therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders (NDD). In this review, the authors discuss the advantages and challenges of repurposing, offer strategies for overcoming the obstacles and describe the key contributions of repurposing to drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Penicillium expansum is a ubiquitous pathogenic fungus that causes blue mold decay of apple fruit postharvest, and another member of the genus, Penicillium chrysogenum, is a well-studied saprophyte valued for antibiotic and small molecule production. While these two fungi have been investigated individually, a recent discovery revealed that P. chrysogenum can block P. expansum-mediated decay of apple fruit. To shed light on this observation, we conducted a comparative genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic study of two P. chrysogenum (404 and 413) and two P. expansum (Pe21 and R19) isolates. Global transcriptional and metabolomic outputs were disparate between the species, nearly identical for P. chrysogenum isolates, and different between P. expansum isolates. Further, the two P. chrysogenum genomes revealed secondary metabolite gene clusters that varied widely from P. expansum. This included the absence of an intact patulin gene cluster in P. chrysogenum, which corroborates the metabolomic data regarding its inability to produce patulin. Additionally, a core subset of P. expansum virulence gene homologues were identified in P. chrysogenum and were similarly transcriptionally regulated in vitro. Molecules with varying biological activities, and phytohormone-like compounds were detected for the first time in P. expansum while antibiotics like penicillin G and other biologically active molecules were discovered in P. chrysogenum culture supernatants. Our findings provide a solid omics-based foundation of small molecule production in these two fungal species with implications in postharvest context and expand the current knowledge of the Penicillium-derived chemical repertoire for broader fundamental and practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Complications associated with central venous catheters (CVC), such as right atrial thrombosis, are a common but poorly recognized complication. Therefore, it is important to describe the follow-up and the various forms of treatment along with the responses associated with it. Delayed approach leads to a higher rate of complications, morbidity, and mortality. This case series presents three patients with catheter-related thrombosis. Case Presentation: The initial patient was a 55-year-old male with short bowel syndrome who required parenteral nutrition through a CVC. Unfortunately, this was complicated by thrombosis. During the approach, the patient's condition remained stable, and he was managed with anticoagulation, with an adequate response. The 2nd case involved a 56-year-old woman with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who underwent renal replacement therapy (RRT) with hemodialysis. However, her condition deteriorated due to thrombus formation in the Mahurkar catheter, resulting in obstruction of the tricuspid valve. Consequently, she underwent surgical thrombectomy, which yielded a favorable outcome. The 3rd patient was a 31-year-old male with CKD and RRT via hemodialysis, complicated by thrombus formation in the Mahurkar catheter. He remained hemodynamically stable and was treated with anticoagulation therapy alone, with a favorable resolution. Conclusions: Despite the absence of a uniform approach to treatment, the selection of an appropriate strategy and the management of these patients must be based on the experience and expertise of the medical center, the characteristics of the thrombus, and the patient's hemodynamic status. It is therefore essential to highlight the use of various treatments in our series, which were adapted to the characteristics of the cases and led to satisfactory clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joseph Kosuth’s “One and Three Chairs” is considered the materialization of his 1969 essay “Art after Philosophy”, where he defined Conceptual Art, in which Meaning relied solely in its authors mind, expressed through a tireless repetition. Although this kind of reiteration could become means for an understanding, the fact that no effort was made (so to speak) in explaining one’s personal views, deprived the observer of the needed resources for its interpretation. Here lies a dilemma where Conceptual Art can be criticised, since, if an artist can hide behind the observer’s lack of understanding, he can, in fact, propose something that, also for him, is devoid of meaning. This is why Kosuth’s work may consist not in the materialization of Conceptual Art itself, but in the defence that at the foundation of an artist's work there must be strong ethical values, manifested precisely through a correlation between Sign, Signifier and Signified, in which “One and Three Chairs”, and his subsequent work, repeatedly dwells, defending the expression of an honesty that should guide Conceptual Art, in its own defence, but also of its authors’ and appreciators’ defence.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, leading to a range of motor and non-motor symptoms. Background/Objectives: Over the past decade, studies have identified a potential link between the microbiome and PD pathophysiology. The literature suggests that specific bacterial communities from the gut, oral, and nasal microbiota may be involved in neuroinflammatory processes, which are hallmarks of PD. This review aims to comprehensively analyze the current research on the composition, diversity, and dysbiosis characteristics of the nasal and oral microbiota in PD. Methods: Through a comprehensive search across scientific databases, we identify twenty original studies investigating the nasal and oral microbiota in PD. Results: Most of these studies demonstrate the substantial roles of bacterial communities in neuroinflammatory pathways associated with PD progression. They also underscore the influences of microbiota-derived factors on key aspects of PD pathology, including alpha-synuclein aggregation and immune dysregulation. Conclusions: Finally, we discuss the potential diagnostic and therapeutic implications of modulating the nasal and oral microbiota in PD management. This analysis seeks to identify potential avenues for future research in order to clarify the complex relationships between these microorganisms and PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fresh-cut romaine lettuce's high perishability challenges ready-to-eat (RTE) salad production. Selecting cultivars less prone to browning and decay is crucial for extending shelf life. Traditional quality evaluation methods using instrumentation and trained panelists are time-consuming and logistically complex. This study investigated the effectiveness of untrained volunteers in assessing fresh-cut romaine lettuce quality. Given that the average consumer in the USA is familiar with the flavor characteristics of romaine lettuce, this study proposed to investigate the value of having untrained volunteers discern the quality of fresh-cut romaine lettuce. Therefore, six romaine lettuce accessions (Green Forest, King Henry, Parris Island Cos, PI 491224, SM13-R2, and Sun Valley) were assessed for sensory quality attributes (browning, green color, decay, and overall quality) and compared with instrumentation analyses (gas composition including O2 and CO2, electrolyte leakage, and color). The results showed significant quality differences (p < 0.05) among the accessions, with some seasonal variability. Very importantly, the consumers' (n = 159) assessments revealed similar results to those produced by either instrumentation or a trained panel. The consumers provided sensory scores that allowed for the grouping of accessions based on their postharvest quality, which efficiently matched their pedigree relationship. In conclusion, ad hoc consumer panels can be an effective way to characterize the quality of romaine lettuce for RTE salads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popularity of ready-to-eat (RTE) salads has prompted novel technology to prolong the shelf life of their ingredients. Fresh-cut romaine lettuce is widely used in RTE salads; however, its tendency to quickly discolor continues to be a challenge for the industry. Selecting the ideal lettuce accessions for use in RTE salads is essential to ensure maximum shelf life, and it is critical to have a practical way to assess and compare the quality of multiple lettuce accessions that are being considered for use in fresh-cut applications. Thus, in this work we aimed to determine whether a computer vision system (CVS) composed of image acquisition, processing, and analysis could be effective to detect visual quality differences among 16 accessions of fresh-cut romaine lettuce during postharvest storage. The CVS involved a post-capturing color correction, effective image segmentation, and calculation of a browning index, which was tested as a predictor of quality and shelf life of fresh-cut romaine lettuce. The results demonstrated that machine vision software can be implemented to replace or supplement the scoring of a trained panel and instrumental quality measurements. Overall visual quality, a key sensory parameter that determines food preferences and consumer behavior, was highly correlated with the browning index, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of −0.85. Other important sensory decision parameters were also strongly or moderately correlated with the browning index, with Pearson correlation coefficients of −0.84 for freshness, 0.79 for off odor, and 0.57 for browning. The ranking of the accessions according to quality acceptability from the sensory evaluation produced a similar pattern to those obtained with the CVS. This study revealed that multiple lettuce accessions can be effectively benchmarked for their performance as fresh-cut sources via a CVS-based method. Future opportunities and challenges in using machine vision image processing to predict consumer preferences for RTE salad greens is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]