Invasive candidiasis (IC) remains as a major cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Amphotericin B (AmB) is one of the most effective antifungal agents commonly used to treat this infection. However, it induces severe side effects such as nephrotoxicity, cardiac alterations, nausea, fever, and liver damage. The utilization of drug delivery systems has been explored to overcome these limitations. Several AmB lipid formulations have been developed and are currently available in the market. Although they have the ability to reduce the main side effects of free AmB, their high cost, necessity of repeated intravenous injections for successful treatment, and incidence of pulmonary toxicity have limited their use. In the last decades, alginate has gained significant interest in drug delivery applications as a cost-effective strategy to improve the safety and therapeutic effect of toxic drugs. In this work, the clinically relevant drug AmB was encapsulated into alginate microparticles using the ess of the alginate-based microplatform toward Candida albicans cells. In addition, this vehicle may not require several infusions for a successful treatment while reducing the pulmonary toxic effect induced by commercial lipid formulations.Studies have been directed towards the production of new titanium alloys, aiming for the replacement of Ti-6 Aluminium-4 Vanadium (TiAlV) alloy in the future. Many mechanisms related to biocompatibility and chemical characteristics have been studied in the field of implantology, but enzymatic defenses against oxidative stress remain underexplored. Bone marrow stromal cells have been explored as source of cells, which have the potential to differentiate into osteoblasts and therefore could be used as cells-based therapy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in porous scaffolds of Ti-6 Aluminium-4 Vanadium (TiAlV), Ti-35 Niobium (TiNb), and Ti-35 Niobium-7 Zirconium-5 Tantalum (TiNbZrTa) on mouse bone marrow stromal cells. Porous titanium alloy scaffolds were prepared by powder metallurgy. After 24 hours, cells plated on the scaffolds were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The antioxidant enzyme activity was measured 72 hours after cell plating. Quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed after 3, 7, and 14 days, and Runx2 (Runt-related transcription factor2) expression was evaluated. The SEM images showed the presence of interconnected pores and growth, adhesion, and cell spreading in the 3 scaffolds. Although differences were noted for SOD and CAT activity for all scaffolds analyzed, no statistical differences were observed (p > 0.05). The osteogenic gene Runx2 presented high expression levels for TiNbZrTa at day 7, compared to the control group (TiAlV day 3). At day 14, all scaffolds had more than 2-fold induction for Runx2 mRNA levels, with statistically significant differences compared to the control group. Even though we were not able to confirm statistically significant differences to justify the replacement of TiAlV regarding antioxidant enzymes, TiNbZrTa was able to induce faster bone formation at early time points, making it a good choice for biomedical and tissue bioengineering applications.Thiol-containing natural products possess a wide range of bioactivities. The burst of synthetic biology technology facilitates the discovery of new thiol-containing active ingredients. Herein, we report a sensitive, quick, and robust surface-enhanced Raman scattering technology for specific and multiplex detection of thiol-containing compounds without purification requirements and also indicating the thiols with different chemical environments. Using this platform, we successfully demonstrated the simultaneous detection of thiol-containing compounds from as low as 1 μM of analytes spiked in complex culture matrices.Salt is a common cause of damage to building materials used in cultural and historical buildings. The damage to aged wood in historical wooden buildings has not been extensively studied, resulting in the need for a more detailed analysis. In this work, Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, a typical historical wooden structure, was taken as the research object. Multichemical analyses were conducted to evaluate and understand the salt-induced damage to the aged wood using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer, sulphur K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and attenuated total reflectance fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. The results showed the presence of invasive salt crystallisations and ions in the aged samples. The source of these invasive elements was deduced by identifying the type, amount, and valency of the elements; they were found to be derived from environmental factors such as acid rain and atmospheric pollutant. The unique damage mechanism and route induced by salt in historical buildings made of wood were summarised; the damage was attributed to the accumulation of sulphate salt causing hydrolysis of the carbohydrates and salt crystallisation resulting in mechanical damage. This interdisciplinary study is significant for decision making in studies related to the preservation and evaluation of historical wooden buildings.Herein, a rapid and highly sensitive amperometric biosensor for the detection of α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) was constructed via an electrochemical approach, in which the glutamate dehydrogenase (GLUD) was modified on the surface of reduced graphene oxide-gold nanoparticle composite (rGO-Aunano composite). The rGO-Aunano composite was one-step electrodeposited onto glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface and was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and electrochemical techniques. In addition, the rGO-Aunano/GCE was also found to electrocatalyze the oxidation of β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) at the peak potential of 0.3 V, which was negatively shifted compared with that at bare GCE or Aunano/GCE, illustrating better catalytic performance of rGO-Aunano. After the modification of GLUD, the GLUD/rGO-Aunano/GCE led to effective amperometric detection of α-KG through monitoring the NADH consumption and displayed a linear response in the range of 66.7 and 494.5 μM, with the detection limit of 9.2 μM. Moreover, the prepared GLUD/rGO-Aunano/GCE was further evaluated to be highly selective and used to test α-KG in human serum samples. The recovery and the RSD values were calculated in the range of 97.9-102.4% and 3.8-4.5%, respectively, showing a great prospect for its real application.Mume Fructus (MF) contains a variety of organic acids, free amino acids, and nucleoside components, and studies have not yet analyzed the relationship between the components of free amino acids and nucleosides with the varieties of MF. A rapid and sensitive method was established for simultaneous determination of 21 free amino acids and 9 nucleosides in MF by ultrafast liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The analysis was carried out on a Waters XBridge Amide column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 3.5 μm) with elution by the mobile phase of 0.2% aqueous formic acid (A) and 0.2% formic acid acetonitrile (B) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min with 1 μL per injection. The column temperature was maintained at 30°C. The target compounds were analyzed by the positive ion multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The comprehensive evaluation of the samples was carried out by principal component analysis (PCA) and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) analysis. Results showed the method could simultaneously determine 30 components in MF. The content of total analytes in six mainstream varieties was different, exhibited the order Nangao > Daqingmei > Zhaoshuimei > Yanmei > Shishengme > Baimei, and aspartic acid and adenosine were the most abundant amino acid and nucleoside. PCA and OPLS-DA could easily distinguish the samples, and 11 components could be chemical markers of sample classification. TOPSIS implied that the quality of Nangao and Daqingmei was superior to the other varieties. The results could provide a reliable basis for quality evaluation and utilisation of medicinal and edible MF.

A dental loupe is a tool used by many dentists and dental students to improve visual field and performance. This study aims to assess the practices and attitudes about dental magnification loupes and their relationship to musculoskeletal disorders.

A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 400 dental students and dentists in four dental colleges in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The mean age was 28.35 years (SD = 8.50), and 56% of the participants were male. Also, 70.75% were students or interns, while 29.25% were dentists. Data gathering was conducted using a questionnaire that was composed of four sections demographic, magnification devices usage, attitude toward dental loupes, and the Nordic questionnaire to assess musculoskeletal disorders.

A total of 66% of participants had used dental magnification tools before, but only 12.25% were using dental loupes at the time of the study. The main reported advantages of dental loupes were comfort in vision (59.25%) and improved work accuracy (53%), while the main disadvantage was difficulty in visual measurement (28.5%). A total of 73.25% reported that price was the main barrier to the use of dental loupes. Lower back (63.5%), neck (65.25%), and shoulder (46.25%) pain were the most frequently reported areas of discomfort. There was a significant relationship (<0.05) between the use of dental loupes and lowered levels of reported discomfort in the lower back, neck, shoulders, elbows, upper back, and feet.

There are few dental professionals who use dental loupes in Saudi Arabia. There was a significant relationship between dental loupes use and reduction of musculoskeletal disorders among dental students and dentists.

There are few dental professionals who use dental loupes in Saudi Arabia. There was a significant relationship between dental loupes use and reduction of musculoskeletal disorders among dental students and dentists.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate a user-friendly, comprehensive, fully integrated web- and mobile-based application that was specifically developed to guide learners and help them practice and train in pulpal and periapical diagnosis.

The software was designed for assistance in the diagnosis of the pulpal and the periapical area. The software contained questions and tests, e.g., presence or absence of signs and symptoms, cold test, percussion, palpation, and radiographic examination that the user must answer to arrive at the final diagnosis. An electronic survey was prepared to evaluate the effectiveness, productivity, and accurateness of the software. The software and the electronic evaluation survey were sent by e-mail to dental students, endodontist, general dentists, and dental interns who study or work in four Saudi dental colleges. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.

A total of 203 questionnaires were completed. Results showed that 29% of the participants were highly satisfied with the software; 40% gave a very good rating about the application satisfaction, while only 2% reported a poor degree of satisfaction with the software.