UGS design principles were then assessed based on the existing literature. These principles will be taken into account when this area is revitalized in 2021. Thus, there will be an opportunity to measure whether these design principles did indeed contribute to residents’ health.Starches were extracted from chickpea (C.P.), corn (C.S.), Turkish bean (T.B.), sweet potato (S.P.S.), and wheat starches (W.S.). These starches exhibited different amylose contents. The extracted starches were annealed in excess water and in germinated sorghum extract (GSE) (1.0 g starch/9 mL water). The α-amylase concentration in the GSE was 5.0 mg/10 mL. Annealing was done at 40, 50, and 60 °C for 30 or 60 min. The pasting properties of annealed starches were studied using Rapid Visco-Analyzer (RVA), in addition to the swelling power. These starches exhibited diverse pasting properties as evidenced by increased peak viscosity with annealing, where native starches exhibited peak viscosity as 2828, 2438, 1943, 2250, and 4601 cP for the C.P., C.S., T.B., W.S., and S.P.S., respectively, which increased to 3580, 2482, 2504, 2514, and 4787 cP, respectively. High amylose content did not play a major role on the pasting properties of the tested starches because sweet potato starch (S.P.S.) (22.4% amylose) exhibited the highest viscosity, whereas wheat starch (W.S.) (25% amylose) had the least. Therefore, the dual effects of granule structure and packing density, especially in the amorphous region, are determinant factors of the enzymatic digestion rate and product. Swelling power was found to be a valuable predictive tool of amylose content and pasting characteristics of the tested starches. The studied starches varied in their digestibility and displayed structural differences in the course of α-amylase digestion. Based on these findings, W.S. was designated the most susceptible among the starches and S.P.S. was the least. The most starch gel setback was observed for the legume starches, chickpeas, and Turkish beans (C.P. 2553 cP and T.B. 1172 cP). These results were discussed with regard to the underlying principles of swelling tests and pasting behavior of the tested starches. Therefore, GSE is an effortless economic technique that can be used for starch digestion (modification) at industrial scale.Treatment using light-activated photosensitizers (photodynamic therapy, PDT) has shown limited efficacy in pigmented melanoma, mainly due to the poor penetration of light in this tissue. Here, an optical clearing agent (OCA) was applied topically to a cutaneous melanoma model in mice shortly before PDT to increase the effective treatment depth by reducing the light scattering. This was used together with cellular and vascular-PDT, or a combination of both. The effect on tumor growth was measured by longitudinal ultrasound/photoacoustic imaging in vivo and by immunohistology after sacrifice. In a separate dorsal window chamber tumor model, angiographic optical coherence tomography (OCT) generated 3D tissue microvascular images, enabling direct in vivo assessment of treatment response. The optical clearing had minimal therapeutic effect on the in control, non-pigmented cutaneous melanomas but a statistically significant effect (p less then 0.05) in pigmented lesions for both single- and dual-photosensitizer treatment regimes. The latter enabled full-depth eradication of tumor tissue, demonstrated by the absence of S100 and Ki67 immunostaining. These studies are the first to demonstrate complete melanoma response to PDT in an immunocompromised model in vivo, with quantitative assessment of tumor volume and thickness, confirmed by (immuno) histological analyses, and with non-pigmented melanomas used as controls to clarify the critical role of melanin in the PDT response. The results indicate the potential of OCA-enhanced PDT for the treatment of pigmented lesions, including melanoma.While the use of topical drops for the delivery of drugs to the anterior of the eye is well accepted, it is far from efficient with as little as 5% of the drug instilled on the eye actually reaching the target tissue. The ability to prolong the residence time on the eye is desirable. Based on the acceptability of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate based polymers in contact lens applications, the current work focuses on the development of a poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)) nanoparticle system. The particles were modified to allow for degradation and to permit mucoadhesion. Size and morphological analysis of the final polymer products showed that nano-sized, spherical particles were produced. FTIR spectra demonstrated that the nanoparticles comprised poly(HEMA) and that 3-(acrylamido)phenylboronic acid (3AAPBA), as a mucoadhesive, was successfully incorporated. Degradation of nanoparticles containing N,N’-bis(acryloyl)cystamine (BAC) after incubation with DL-dithiothreitol (DTT) was confirmed by a decrease in turbidity and through transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Nanoparticle mucoadhesion was shown through an in-vitro zeta potential analysis.With a shifting climate pattern and enhancement of human activities, coastal areas are exposed to threats of groundwater environmental issues. This work takes the eastern coast of Laizhou Bay as a research area to study the response of a coastal groundwater system to natural and human impacts with a combination of statistical, hydrogeochemical, and fuzzy classification methods. First, the groundwater level dynamics from 1980 to 2017 were analyzed. The average annual groundwater level dropped 13.16 m with a descent rate of 0.379 m/a. The main external environmental factors that affected the groundwater level were extracted, including natural factors (rainfall and temperature), as well as human activities (irrigated area, water-saving irrigated area, sown area of high-water-consumption crops, etc.). Back-propagation artificial neural network was used to model the response of groundwater level to the above driving factors, and sensitivity analysis was conducted to measure the extent of impact of these factors onan factors resulted in this difference were discussed based on the natural background of the groundwater environment, and the types and intensity of human activity.Granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine produced by immune cells. Recent evidence suggests that GM-CSF plays an important role in multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis. We investigated the expression and regulation of GM-CSF in different immune cells in MS. We also investigated the differentiation and frequency of GM-CSF-producing Th cells that do not co-express interferon (IFN)-γ or interleukin-17 (IL-17) (Th-GM cells) in MS. We found a significant increase in the percentage of GM-CSF-expressing Th cells, Th1 cells, Th-GM cells, cytotoxic T (Tc) cells, monocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, and B cells in PBMC from MS patients stimulated with T cell stimuli. Stimulated PBMC culture supernatants from MS patients contained significantly higher levels of IL-2, IL-12, IL-1β, and GM-CSF and significantly lower levels of transforming growth factor (TGF-)β. Blocking IL-2 reduced the frequency of Th-GM cells in PBMC from MS patients. The frequency of Th-GM cells differentiated in vitro from naïve CD4+ T cells was significantly higher in MS patients and was further increased in MS with IL-2 stimulation. These findings suggest that all main immune cell subsets produce more GM-CSF in MS after in vitro stimulation, which is associated with defective TGF-β and increased IL-2 and IL-12 production. Th-GM cells are increased in MS. GM-CSF may be a potential therapeutic target in MS.

Choline is an essential micronutrient with a pivotal role in several metabolic pathways contributing to liver, neurological, and hematological homeostasis. Although choline is commonly administered to improve physical performance, its effects on muscle are still unclear. The aim of this scoping review is to analyze the role of choline on skeletal muscle in terms of biological effects and clinical implications.

A technical expert panel (TEP) of 6 medical specialists with expertise in muscle physiology and skeletal muscle disorders performed the review following the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) model. The TEP planned a research on PubMed selecting „choline” as MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) term adding to PubMed Search Builder the terms „skeletal muscle” and „muscle striated”. TEP considered for eligibility articles published in the last 30 years, including original researches, particularly in vitro studies, and animal and clinical studies in the English language.

From the 1239 studies identified, TEP included 14 studies, 3 in vitro, 9 animal, and 2 clinical studies.

Our scoping review elucidates and summarizes the crucial role of choline in modulating muscle fat metabolism, muscle proteins homeostasis, and the modulation of inflammation and autophagy.

Our scoping review elucidates and summarizes the crucial role of choline in modulating muscle fat metabolism, muscle proteins homeostasis, and the modulation of inflammation and autophagy.The advances of the Internet of Things, robotics, and Artificial Intelligence, to give just a few examples, allow us to imagine promising results in the development of smart buildings in the near future. In the particular case of elderly care, there are new solutions that integrate systems that monitor variables associated with the health of each user or systems that facilitate physical or cognitive rehabilitation. In all these solutions, it is clear that these new environments, usually called Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), configure a Cyber-Physical System (CPS) that connects information from the physical world to the cyber-world with the primary objective of adding more intelligence to these environments. This article presents a CPS-AAL for caregiving centers, with the main novelty that includes a Socially Assistive Robot (SAR). The CPS-AAL presented in this work uses a digital twin world with the information acquired by all devices. The basis of this digital twin world is the CORTEX cognitive architecture, a set of software agents interacting through a Deep State Representation (DSR) that stored the shared information between them. The proposal is evaluated in a simulated environment with two use cases requiring interaction between the sensors and the SAR in a simulated caregiving center.As the world endures the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the conditions of 35 million vulnerable individuals struggling with substance use disorders (SUDs) worldwide have not received sufficient attention for their special health and medical needs. Many of these individuals are complicated by underlying health conditions, such as cardiovascular and lung diseases and undermined immune systems. During the pandemic, access to the healthcare systems and support groups is greatly diminished. Current research on COVID-19 has not addressed the unique challenges facing individuals with SUDs, including the heightened vulnerability and susceptibility to the disease. In this systematic review, we will discuss the pathogenesis and pathology of COVID-19, and highlight potential risk factors and complications to these individuals. We will also provide insights and considerations for COVID-19 treatment and prevention in patients with SUDs.