Activity-Dependent Effects of ERK1/2 on Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

Background: Liver transplantation remains the only cure for end-stage liver disease, but ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) limits graft availability. Although extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) signaling is involved in cellular responses to IRI, its precise role in hepatic IRI remains unclear. We investigated the role of ERK1/2 in hepatic IRI by modulating its activity using small-molecule chemical inhibitors.

Defect-Rich CuO Nanospheres as a Fenton-Like Catalyst for Cu(III) Generation: Enhanced Inactivation of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Genes.

Cupryl species (Cu(III)) are promising oxidants for degrading recalcitrant organic contaminants and harmful microorganisms in water. In this study, defect-rich cuprous oxide (D-CuO) nanospheres (NSs) are introduced as a Fenton-like catalyst to generate Cu(III) for the inactivation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). D-CuO, in the presence of HO, achieved inactivation efficiencies 3.

Multi-ancestry polygenic risk scores for the prediction of type 2 diabetes and complications in diverse ancestries.

Background: Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) improve type 2 diabetes (T2D) prediction beyond clinical risk factors but perform poorly in non-European populations, where T2D burden is often higher, undermining their global clinical utility.

Methods: We conducted the largest global effort to date to harmonize T2D genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analyses across five ancestries-European (EUR), African/African American (AFR), Admixed American (AMR), South Asian (SAS), and East Asian (EAS)-including 360,000 T2D cases and 1·8 million controls (41% non-EUR). We constructed ancestry-specific and multi-ancestry PRSs in training datasets including 11,000 T2D cases and 32,000 controls, and validated their performance in independent datasets including 39,000 T2D cases and 126,000 controls of diverse ancestries.

UANV: UNet-based attention network for thoracolumbar vertebral compression fracture angle measurement.

Kyphosis is a prevalent spinal condition where the spine curves in the sagittal plane, resulting in spine deformities. Curvature estimation provides a powerful index to assess the deformation severity of scoliosis. In current clinical diagnosis, the standard curvature estimation method for quantitatively assessing the curvature is performed by measuring the vertebral angle, which is the angle between two lines, drawn perpendicular to the upper and lower endplates of the involved vertebra.

Acute Response of Hepatocyte MRP2 Internalization as an Indicator of Ischemia-reperfusion Injury in Liver Transplantation.

Background: The introduction of normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) offers new opportunities to evaluate liver graft viability before liver transplantation (LT). Under ischemic stress, multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (MRP2) translocates from the hepatocyte membrane to the cytoplasm, resulting in loss of function.

Methods: We measured the cytoplasmic proportion of MRP2 (MRP2 internalization index, MII) by immunofluorescence colocalization analysis using CD13 as a canalicular membrane marker.

Photocatalytic remediation of organic pollutants in contaminated water using trimetallic zeolitic imidazole framework: From methylene blue to wastewater.

Photocatalysts have recently attracted significant attention for their ability to efficiently degrade organic contaminants in wastewater under sunlight irradiation conditions. In this study, trimetallic Zn-ZIF photocatalyst is synthesized by incorporating Ni- and Cd-dopant atoms to enhance photocatalytic performance. Morphological and crystallographic analyses confirm the formation of the ZIF-L structure.

A snapshot of challenges and opportunities faced by the scientific workforce in liver transplantation-a survey of the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).

Basic and translational research (B&TR) in liver transplantation (LT) underwent considerable changes and shifts over the past decade. To capture the current landscape and future potential of B&TR in LT, we conducted an online survey within the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) community. The survey aimed to collect comprehensive data on the respondents' characteristics, qualifications, experiences, and research activities, providing the present state and future directions of B&TR in LT.

Proceedings of the 29th Annual Congress of the International Liver Transplantation Society.

The 2024 Annual Congress of the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) was from May 1-4 in Houston, Texas, USA, under the theme "Liver Disease and Transplantation: Breaking Barriers and Exploring New Frontiers." In addition to a robust scientific program, the congress also hosted a hands-on cadaveric robotic liver surgery course, a machine perfusion workshop, and a transesophageal echocardiography course. In this report, the ILTS Vanguard and Basic Sciences Committees present a summary of the congress proceedings.

Enhanced Fe═O Generation via Peroxymonosulfate Activation by an Edge-Site Engineered Single-Atom Iron Catalyst.

As an oxidant, the ferryl-oxo complex (Fe═O) offers excellent reactivity and selectivity for degrading recalcitrant organic contaminants. However, enhancing Fe═O generation on heterogeneous surfaces remains challenging because the underlying formation mechanism is poorly understood. This study introduces edge defects onto a single-atom Fe catalyst (FeNC-edge) to promote Fe═O generation via peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation.

Prognostic Efficacy of the Albumin-Bilirubin Score and Treatment Outcomes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Large-Scale, Multi-Center Real-World Database Study.

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally, with treatment outcomes closely tied to liver function. This study evaluates the prognostic utility of the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score compared to the traditional Child-Pugh (CP) grading, leveraging real-world evidence from a large-scale, multi-center database.

Methods: The Liver Cancer IN Korea (LINK) research network, a multi-center initiative, retrospectively collected electronic health records from three academic hospitals in South Korea, encompassing HCC patients diagnosed between 2015 and 2020.

Enhanced bactericidal effects of povidone-iodine in the presence of silver ions.

The rising prevalence of antibiotic-resistant infections worldwide necessitates the development of innovative antimicrobial systems for effective pathogen control. This study investigates the synergistic bactericidal effects of a combined system comprising povidone-iodine (PVP-I) and silver ions (Ag(I)). The PVP-I/Ag(I) system exhibited enhanced bactericidal activity against four key surrogate bacterial species: two Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli (E.

Enhanced virucidal activity of facet-engineered Cu-doped TiO nanorods under visible light illumination.

Crystal facet engineering has emerged as a promising approach to enhance photocatalytic activity of semiconductors by preferentially accumulating charge carriers (electrons and holes) on specific facets. This facilitates efficient electron and hole transfer across the semiconductor/cocatalyst interface, enabling their transport to the cocatalyst surface for redox reactions. In this study, three Cu-doped TiO nanorods with small, medium, and large ratios of reductive {110} to oxidative {111} facets were synthesized (namely Cu-TiO-SR, Cu-TiO-MR, and Cu-TiO-LR, respectively).

Prolonged warm ischemia time increases mitogen-activated protein kinase activity and decreases perfusate cytokine levels in rat liver machine perfusion.

Introduction: Machine perfusion is increasingly being utilized in liver transplantation in lieu of traditional cold static organ preservation. Nevertheless, better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) during perfusion is necessary to improve the viability of liver grafts after transplantation using machine perfusion technology. Since key cellular signaling pathways involved in hepatic IRI may allow a chance for designing a promising approach to improve the clinical outcomes from this technology, we determined how warm ischemia time (WIT) during procurement affects the activity of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and perfusate concentration of cytokines in an rat liver machine perfusion model.

Assessing the degree of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury using physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling of sodium fluorescein disposition in ex vivo machine-perfused livers.

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is an intrinsic risk associated with liver transplantation. Ex vivo hepatic machine perfusion (MP) is an emerging organ preservation technique that can mitigate IRI, especially in livers subjected to prolonged warm ischemia time (WIT). However, a method to quantify the biological response to WIT during MP has not been established.

Transcriptional Profiling Underscores the Role of Preprocurement Allograft Metabolism and Innate Immune Status on Outcomes in Human Liver Transplantation.

Objective: The adverse effects of ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) remain a principal barrier to a successful outcome after lifesaving orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Gene expression during different phases of IRI is dynamic and modified by individual exposures, making it attractive for identifying potential therapeutic targets for improving the number of suitable organs for transplantation and patient outcomes. However, data remain limited on the functional landscape of gene expression during liver graft IRI, spanning procurement to reperfusion and recovery.

Bioreactor development for skeletal muscle hypertrophy and atrophy by manipulating uniaxial cyclic strain: proof of concept.

Skeletal muscles overcome terrestrial, gravitational loading by producing tensile forces that produce movement through joint rotation. Conversely, the microgravity of spaceflight reduces tensile loads in working skeletal muscles, causing an adaptive muscle atrophy. Unfortunately, the design of stable, physiological bioreactors to model skeletal muscle tensile loading during spaceflight experiments remains challenging.

Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Hemofence (Thorombin Cross-Linked Sodium Hyaluronate Gel Matrix) in Hemostasis for Intractable Exudative Bleeding in Spinal Surgery: A Multicenter, Randomized, Phase III Clinical Trial.

Objective: To demonstrate the noninferiority of the novel hemostatic agent, Hemofence (BMI Korea Co., Ltd., thrombin cross-linked sodium hyaluronate gel matrix) compared to the established agent, Floseal Hemostatic Matrix (Baxter, thrombin-gelatin matrix) in achieving hemostasis for spinal surgeries, with secondary objectives to assess additional efficacy and safety.

Admix-kit: an integrated toolkit and pipeline for genetic analyses of admixed populations.

Summary: Admixed populations, with their unique and diverse genetic backgrounds, are often underrepresented in genetic studies. This oversight not only limits our understanding but also exacerbates existing health disparities. One major barrier has been the lack of efficient tools tailored for the special challenges of genetic studies of admixed populations.

Electrochemical production of hydroxylamine from nitrate on metal electrodes: A comparative study of selectivity and efficiency.

Despite the great potential of electrochemical nitrate reduction as a hydroxylamine production method, this strategy has not been sufficiently examined, and the effects of electrode material type on the selectivity and efficiency of this reduction remain underexplored. To bridge this gap, the present study evaluated six metals (Ag, Cu, Ni, Sn, Ti, and Zn) as cathode materials for the electrochemical reduction of nitrate to hydroxylamine, showing that the selectivity of hydroxylamine production was maximal for Sn, while the corresponding faradaic and energy utilization efficiencies were maximal for Ti. Although all tested materials favored nitrate reduction over hydrogen evolution, the disparity in the onset potentials of these reactions did not adequately explain the variations in nitrate removal efficiency, which was found to be influenced by material resistance and charge-transfer properties.

Initial experience with the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols in gynecologic surgery at an urban academic tertiary medical center.

Background: The enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols have been consistently associated with improved patient experience and surgical outcomes. Despite the release of ERAS Society guidelines specific to gynecologic oncology, the adoption of ERAS in gynecology on global level has been disappointingly low and some centers have shown minimal improvement in clinical outcomes after adopting ERAS. The aim of this study is to describe the development and early experience of ERAS protocols in gynecologic surgery at an urban academic tertiary medical center.

A Global Overview on the Evolution, Debate, and Research Output on Liver Transplant Perfusion Machines.

Objectives: Machine perfusion of liver grafts has gained popularity for its abilities to preserve liver grafts,reduce cold storage damage, and evaluate graft viability before transplant. However, debate persists regarding the optimal solutions, logistics, and biomarkers for assessing graft quality. To shed light on the lengthy debates surrounding the use of machine perfusion in liver graft preservation,this study utilized bibliometric analysis to evaluate the status and development trends of main research areas.

Virucidal activity of Cu-doped TiO nanoparticles under visible light illumination: Effect of Cu oxidation state.

Copper (Cu) is an effective antimicrobial material; however, its activity is inhibited by oxidation. Titanium dioxide (TiO) photocatalysis prevents Cu oxidation and improves its antimicrobial activity and stability. In this study, the virucidal efficacy of Cu-doped TiO nanoparticles (Cu-TiO) with three different oxidation states of the Cu dopant (i.

Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling of Blood Clearance of Liver Fluorescent Markers for the Assessment of the Degree of Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

During liver transplantation, ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is inevitable and decreases the overall success of the surgery. While guidelines exist, there is no reliable way to quantitatively assess the degree of IRI present in the liver. Our recent study has shown a correlation between the bile-to-plasma ratio of FDA-approved sodium fluorescein (SF) and the degree of hepatic IRI, presumably due to IRI-induced decrease in the activity of the hepatic multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (MRP2); however, the contribution of SF blood clearance via the bile is still convoluted with other factors, such as renal clearance.