Clinical trials for patients with salivary gland cancers: A systematic review of worldwide registers and an evaluation of current challenges.

Background: Clinical trials (CT) are crucial for generating scientific evidence and improving clinical outcomes, but they can be challenging in the context of rare cancers. Salivary gland cancers (SGC) are rare and heterogeneous tumors, without standard-of-care approved systemic therapies. We analyzed completed and ongoing CTs to assess the current state of clinical research activity in the field.

Decreasing Hygroscopicity Slows Forsterite Carbonation under Low-Water Conditions.

A fundamental understanding of processes that slow divalent metal silicate carbonation is important for developing effective strategies to durably store carbon dioxide and mitigate atmospheric CO. This study presents a detailed investigation of a passivation effect unique to low-water conditions during the carbonation of forsterite (MgSiO) and highlights the importance of hygroscopicity in influencing metal silicate carbonation. Integrated in situ and ex situ experimental results showed that the decrease in the carbonation rate of forsterite observed after ∼10 h in humid supercritical CO (50 °C, 90 bar) correlates with a reduction in water film thickness, and in particular, weakly hydrogen bonded adsorbed water that facilitates ion transport.

Method to derive the infrared complex refractive indices n(λ) and k(λ) for organic solids from KBr pellet absorption measurements.

Obtaining the complex refractive index vectors (~) and (~) allows calculation of the (infrared) reflectance spectrum that is obtained from a solid in any of its many morphological forms. We report an adaptation to the KBr pellet technique using two gravimetric dilutions to derive quantitative (~)/(~) for dozens of powders with greater repeatability. The optical constants of bisphenol A and sucrose are compared to those derived by other methods, particularly for powdered materials.

Utilizing the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) to Assess Health Literacy at a Regional Academic Medical Center's Family Medicine Clinic.

Researchers examined the correlation between the physician's subjective assessment of health literacy rates and actual health literacy rates among patients as determined by the Newest Vital Sign (NVS). A sample of n = 150 patients, 18 years of age or older, were verbally interviewed using NVS tool before seeing their physician. After the physician met with the patient, the physician was asked to measure that patient's level of health literacy on a Likert-type scale and a "yes/no" scale.

Functional dissection and assembly of a small, newly evolved, W chromosome-specific genomic region of the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis.

Genetic triggers for sex determination are frequently co-inherited with other linked genes that may also influence one or more sex-specific phenotypes. To better understand how sex-limited regions evolve and function, we studied a small W chromosome-specific region of the frog Xenopus laevis that contains only three genes (dm-w, scan-w, ccdc69-w) and that drives female differentiation. Using gene editing, we found that the sex-determining function of this region requires dm-w but that scan-w and ccdc69-w are not essential for viability, female development, or fertility.

Enhancing CO Transport Across a PEEK-Ionene Membrane and Water-Lean Solvent Interface.

Efficient direct air capture (DAC) of CO will require strategies to deal with the relatively low concentration in the atmosphere. One such strategy is to employ the combination of a CO -selective membrane coupled with a CO capture solvent acting as a draw solution. Here, the interactions between a leading water-lean carbon-capture solvent, a polyether ether ketone (PEEK)-ionene membrane, CO , and combinations were probed using advanced NMR techniques coupled with advanced simulations.

Interlayer Cation Polarizability Affects Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Adsorption by Swelling Clays.

Several strategies for mitigating the build-up of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO) bring wet supercritical CO (scCO) in contact with phyllosilicates such as illites and smectites. While some work has examined the role of the charge-balancing cation and smectite framework features on CO/smectite interactions, to our knowledge no one has examined how the polarizability of the charge-balancing cation influences these behaviors. In this paper, the scCO adsorption properties of Pb, Rb, and NH saturated smectite clays at variable relative humidity are studied by integrating in situ high-pressure X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopic titrations, and magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) methods.

Recovery in Mind: A Recovery College's journey through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The Covid-19 restrictions of 2020-2021 are known to have undermined the UK population's mental health. Working alongside staff, peer trainers and students at Recovery in Mind (RiM), a Recovery College (RC) in West Berkshire, England, this mixed-methods study is amongst the first to investigate how an RC has responded to the pandemic.

Methods: Working in co-production with RiM staff and peer-trainers, this study employed a mixed-methods design, gathering Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) well-being outcome measures by questionnaire and student experience, learning and co-production by interviews.

Influence of intermolecular interactions on the infrared complex indices of refraction for binary liquid mixtures.

This paper investigates the accuracy of deriving the composite optical constants of binary mixtures from only the complex indices of refraction of the neat materials. These optical constants enable the reflectance spectra of the binary mixtures to be modeled for multiple scenarios (, different substrates, thicknesses, volume ratios), which is important for contact and standoff chemical detection. Using volume fractions, each mixture's complex index of refraction was approximated three different mixing rules.

Burn Intensity Drives the Alteration of Phenolic Lignin to (Poly) Aromatic Hydrocarbons as Revealed by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS).

High-intensity wildfires alter the chemical composition of organic matter, which is expected to be distinctly different from low-intensity prescribed fires. Herein, we used pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), in conjunction with solid-state C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, to assess chemical alterations from three wildfires and a long-term frequent prescribed fire site. Our results showed that black ash formed under moderate intensity burns contained less aromatic (ArH), polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), and nitrogen-containing compounds (Ntg) but more lignin (LgC) and phenol compounds (PhC), compared to white ash formed under high intensity burns.

Endogenous Retroviruses Augment Amphibian (Xenopus laevis) Tadpole Antiviral Protection.

The global amphibian declines are compounded by infections with members of the genus such as Frog Virus 3 (FV3). Premetamorphic anuran amphibians are believed to be significantly more susceptible to FV3 while this pathogen targets the kidneys of both pre- and postmetamorphic animals. Paradoxically, FV3-challenged Xenopus laevis tadpoles exhibit lower kidney viral loads than adult frogs.

Microsized Pore Structure Determination in EPDM Rubbers Using High-Pressure Xe NMR Techniques.

Microsized pore parameters, such as pore size and distance between pores in a series of model EPDM rubbers, were determined under the pressure of 500 psi using Xe nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques: spin-lattice () and spin-spin () relaxation measurements, pulsed-field gradient (PFG) NMR, and two-dimensional exchange spectroscopy (2D EXSY). The / (≫1) ratio for the xenon confined in the pores is larger than that for nonconfined free xenon. This suggests that almost the entire pore surface interacts with xenon atoms like a closed pore.

Integrated Capture and Conversion of CO to Methane Using a Water-lean, Post-Combustion CO Capture Solvent.

Integrated carbon capture and conversion of CO into materials (IC M) is an attractive solution to meet global energy demand, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and lower CO emissions. Herein, using a water-lean post-combustion capture solvent, [N-(2-ethoxyethyl)-3-morpholinopropan-1-amine] (2-EEMPA), >90 % conversion of captured CO to hydrocarbons, mostly methane, is achieved in the presence of a heterogenous Ru catalyst under relatively mild reaction conditions (170 °C and <15 bar H pressure). The catalytic performance was better in 2-EEMPA than in aqueous 5 m monoethanol amine (MEA).

A Polymer-in-Salt Electrolyte with Enhanced Oxidative Stability for Lithium Metal Polymer Batteries.

The lithium (Li) metal polymer battery (LMPB) is a promising candidate for solid-state batteries with high safety. However, high voltage stability of such a battery has been hindered by the use of polyethylene oxide (PEO), which oxidizes at a potential lower than 4 V versus Li. Herein, we adopt the polymer-in-salt electrolyte (PISE) strategy to circumvent the disadvantage of the PEO-lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) system with EO/Li ≤ 8 through a dry ball-milling process to avoid the contamination of the residual solvent.

Removing energy with an exoskeleton reduces the metabolic cost of walking.

Evolutionary pressures have led humans to walk in a highly efficient manner that conserves energy, making it difficult for exoskeletons to reduce the metabolic cost of walking. Despite the challenge, some exoskeletons have managed to lessen the metabolic expenditure of walking, either by adding or storing and returning energy. We show that the use of an exoskeleton that strategically removes kinetic energy during the swing period of the gait cycle reduces the metabolic cost of walking by 2.

Generation of cryopreserved macrophages from normal and genetically engineered human pluripotent stem cells for disease modelling.

Macrophages are innate immune cells that play critical roles in tissue homeostasis, inflammation, and immune oncology. Macrophages differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) overcome many limitations of using peripheral blood derived macrophages. The ability to scale up and cryopreserve a large amount of end stage macrophages from single clonal iPSCs from normal and disease specific donors offers a unique opportunity for genomic analysis and drug screening.

Advanced Low-Flammable Electrolytes for Stable Operation of High-Voltage Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Despite being an effective flame retardant, trimethyl phosphate (TMP ) is generally considered as an unqualified solvent for fabricating electrolytes used in graphite (Gr)-based lithium-ion batteries as it readily leads to Gr exfoliation and cell failure. In this work, by adopting the unique solvation structure of localized high-concentration electrolyte (LHCE) to TMP and tuning the composition of the solvation sheaths via electrolyte additives, excellent electrochemical performance can be achieved with TMP -based electrolytes in Gr∥LiNi Mn Co O cells. After 500 charge/discharge cycles within the voltage range of 2.

iPSC-derived hepatocytes generated from NASH donors provide a valuable platform for disease modeling and drug discovery.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects 30-40% of adults and 10% of children in the US. About 20% of people with NAFLD develop non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which may lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer, and is projected to be a leading cause of liver transplantation in the near future. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from NASH patients are useful for generating a large number of hepatocytes for NASH modeling applications and identification of potential drug targets.

Characterization of Dissolved Organic Matter from Wildfire-induced Microcystis aeruginosa Blooms controlled by Copper Sulfate as Disinfection Byproduct Precursors Using APPI(-) and ESI(-) FT-ICR MS.

Copper-based algaecides are usually used for controlling algae bloom triggered by the elevated levels of nutrients after wildfires, resulting in the promoted reactivity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in forming disinfectant byproducts (DBPs). To identify the best strategy for handling this source water, we employed Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) to characterize the DBPs precursors after 4-d Microcystis aeruginosa bloom cultured with black (BE) and white (WE) ash water extracts under 0, 0.5, and 1.

Enabling Ether-Based Electrolytes for Long Cycle Life of Lithium-Ion Batteries at High Charge Voltage.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with high-nickel (Ni) content LiNiMnCoO ( + + = 1) (NMC with Ni ≥ 0.6) cathodes operated at high charge voltages have been considered as one of the most promising candidates for addressing the challenge of increasing energy density demand. Conventional LiPF-organocarbonate electrolytes exhibit incompatibility with such cell chemistries under certain testing conditions because of the instability of electrode/electrolyte interphases.

Controls of nature: Secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure of the enamel protein amelogenin in solution and on hydroxyapatite.

Amelogenin, a protein critical to enamel formation, is presented as a model for understanding how the structure of biomineralization proteins orchestrate biomineral formation. Amelogenin is the predominant biomineralization protein in the early stages of enamel formation and contributes to the controlled formation of hydroxyapatite (HAP) enamel crystals. The resulting enamel mineral is one of the hardest tissues in the human body and one of the hardest biominerals in nature.

Infrared Optical Constants from Pressed Pellets of Powders: I. Improved and Values of (NH)SO from Single-Angle Reflectance.

In combination with other parameters, the real, (), and imaginary, (), components of the complex refractive index,  =  + i, can be used to simulate the optical properties of a material in different forms, e.g., its infrared spectra.

The energetic basis for hydroxyapatite mineralization by amelogenin variants provides insights into the origin of .

Small variations in the primary amino acid sequence of extracellular matrix proteins can have profound effects on the biomineralization of hard tissues. For example, a change in one amino acid within the amelogenin protein can lead to drastic changes in enamel phenotype, resulting in , enamel that is defective and easily damaged. Despite the importance of these undesirable phenotypes, there is very little understanding of how single amino acid variation in amelogenins can lead to malformed enamel.