A prodrug strategy for sustained release of lactic acid from silicone elastomer vaginal rings.

Lactic acid is the most abundant organic weak acid in the healthy human vagina and plays a pivotal role in maintaining an acidic vaginal environment protective against exogenous bacteria and viruses. However, in dysbiotic or non-optimal vaginal environments, significantly decreased concentrations of lactobacilli result in reduced lactic acid production, increased vaginal pH, and enhanced risk of sexually transmitted infections (including human immunodeficiency virus), and bacterial vaginosis. Various gel-based products are marketed to administer lactic acid vaginally for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis and non-hormonal contraception, and there is interest in developing vaginal ring products for sustained/controlled release of lactic acid.

Reduced complex I activity in the retinal pigment epithelium, but not in rod photoreceptors, affects light signaling without impacting cell survival.

Mutations in the mitochondrial respiratory complex I accessory subunit NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit S4 (ndufs4) can cause the mitochondrial disease Leigh syndrome, which may be associated with vision loss. We previously demonstrated that mice with global deletion of ndufs4 exhibited impaired in vivo photoreceptor light responses prior to the early death of the mice around postnatal day 50. However, ex vivo electrophysiology recordings performed on retinas from ndufs4 mice were normal, suggesting that the in vivo phenotype may reflect altered homeostasis of the extracellular environment of photoreceptors rather than their intrinsic metabolic dysfunction.

GWAS and haplotype analysis reveal the intricate interplay of hormones in rice seed germination under hypoxic conditions.

Unlabelled: Genome-wide association mapping of the BAAP panel revealed 14 QTLs significantly associated with anaerobic germination tolerance (AGT), distributed across eight chromosomes. Among these, chromosome 11 emerged as a key region, harbouring two prominent QTL hotspots qAG11.1 and qAG11.

Examining the Relationship Between Hospital Nurses' Structural Empowerment, Missed Nursing Care and Quality of Care: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Aim: To examine relationships between structural empowerment, missed nursing care and quality of care among hospital-based, direct-care nurses.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: A convenience sample of 161 nurses completed the Conditions for Work Effectiveness-II Questionnaire, the MISSCARE and a single-question rating of quality of care.

Multi-Experiment and Multi-Locus Genome-Wide Association Mapping for Grain Arsenic in Rice Population.

Rice is a globally important crop and is particularly efficient at assimilating arsenic (As). Identifying QTLs and genes associated with grain As is essential for breeding low-As rice cultivars. In this study, data on As accumulation in grains of Rice Diversity Panel 1 in five field environments at four diverse geographic sites were reanalyzed to compare genome-wide association (GWA) methods.