Submicron-oleogel particles for enhanced oral delivery of hydrophobic compounds: and proof of concept.

Oral administration is the preferred route for drug and bioactive delivery, although it raises great challenges due to the involvement of the gastrointestinal system and limited bioavailability. Herein, a novel submicron-oleogel particle system was developed using micro-structured edible oil to address the challenges associated with the low bioavailability of oral hydrophobic compounds. Oleogel particles were prepared using β-sitosterol and γ-oryzanol as oil structuring agents with dispersed dasatinib as a model drug.

Fibro predict a machine learning risk score for advanced liver fibrosis in the general population using Israeli electronic health records.

Liver diseases, notably cirrhosis, pose a substantial global health challenge, resulting in millions of annual deaths. Existing diagnostic methods primarily target high-risk groups, leaving a significant portion of patients undiagnosed. This study aims to develop and validate an a machine-learning prediction model, Fibro-Predict, for the early detection of advanced liver fibrosis in the general population using nationwide electronic health records (EHRs).

Fetal sex and the development of future type 2 diabetes: a 5-year cohort study.

Purpose: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) increases the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) postpartum, with emerging evidence suggesting that fetal sex may influence pregnancy outcomes. Some studies suggest that individuals carrying male fetuses experience diminished insulin sensitivity and higher glucose levels during pregnancy. However, it remains unclear whether fetal sex affects the long-term risk of T2DM after pregnancy.

Comparison of high-M and high-G alginate macro-carriers: Effects on bioavailability and growth dynamics in agricultural soil treatments.

Alginate-based carriers are widely used in agriculture for the controlled release of nutrients, pesticides, and bioactive compounds. This study provides a holistic assessment of alginate carrier performance in soil by integrating physicochemical, microbiological, and ecological assays in soil. Two formulations were tested high-G (high proportion of guluronic acid) and high-M (high proportion of mannuronic acid) alginate macro-carriers.

Symptoms, risk of future exacerbations, and response to long-term macrolide treatment in bronchiectasis: an observational study.

Background: Previous studies have suggested that daily symptoms are a marker of bronchiectasis disease activity and could therefore identify patients at increased risk of exacerbation. However, international bronchiectasis guidelines recommend long-term macrolide treatment only in patients with three or more exacerbations per year. We aimed to investigate if symptoms independently predict future exacerbations and therefore identify additional responders to long-term macrolide treatment.

Licking microstructure behavior classifies a spectrum of emotional states in mice.

Measuring precise emotional tagging for taste information, with or without the use of words, is challenging. While affective taste valence and salience are core components of emotional experiences, traditional behavioral assays for taste preference, which often rely on cumulative consumption, lack the resolution to distinguish between different affective states, such as innate versus learned aversion, which are known to be mediated by distinct neural circuits. To overcome this limitation, we developed an open-source system for high-resolution microstructural analysis of licking behavior in freely moving mice.

Once-Daily Versus Four-Times-Daily Intravenous Busulfan with Therapeutic Drug Monitoring as Conditioning for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Children.

Busulfan is a key component of myeloablative conditioning regimens in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for pediatric patients with acute myeloid leukemia, solid tumors, and certain non-malignant diseases. This study compares the clinical outcomes of once-daily (BU1) versus four-times-daily (BU4) busulfan dosing regimens in pediatric HSCT recipients. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 pediatric patients who underwent HSCT at Hadassah Medical Center between June 2018 and October 2023.

Sedation and Analgesia for Intubation, LISA, and INSURE Procedures in Israeli NICUs: Caregivers' Practices and Perspectives.

: Early pain exposure in newborns is linked to negative short- and long-term outcomes. Preterm infants often require endotracheal intubation for mechanical ventilation or brief laryngoscopy for surfactant administration via Less Invasive Surfactant Administration (LISA) or Intubation-Surfactant-Extubation (INSURE). While premedication before intubation is well-studied, data regarding premedication for LISA/INSURE are limited.

Ascites and Enterocolitis in a Preterm Infant with Acquired CMV Infection: A Case Study and Review of the Literature.

Postnatal cytomegalovirus (pCMV) infection is typically asymptomatic in term infants but poses significant risks to very preterm and very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. The primary mode of transmission of pCMV is breast milk from seropositive mothers. Here, we present the case of a 29-week preterm female who contracted pCMV and began to manifest symptoms at day of life (DOL) 50.

Short-Term Clinical and Biochemical Outcomes of Infants Born After 34 Weeks of Gestation with Mild-to-Moderate Cord Blood Acidosis-A Retrospective Study.

: Umbilical cord pH is used as a predictor of risk for poor neurologic outcome in high-risk newborns. While data on neonates with severe acidemia show a strong association with birth asphyxia and long-term adverse outcomes, the significance of mild-to-moderate acidemia is less clear. This study aimed to investigate short-term outcomes of late preterm and term infants born with mild-to-moderate cord blood acidosis and to compare the predictive ability of pH and base excess.

Clinical Impact of Appendiceal Morphology on Surgical Outcomes and Readmissions: Does Size Matter?

While the severity of acute appendicitis is routinely evaluated, the significance of its morphological characteristics remains underexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical impacts of appendiceal dimensions. This retrospective study included patients who underwent appendectomy.

Does a Dual-Mobility Cup Offer Better Stability than Conventional Bearings in Hip Arthroplasty Following Femoral Neck Fracture?

Instability following total hip arthroplasty (THA) remains a challenging complication. Dual-mobility (DM) hip components are aimed at improving joint stability by increasing the head-neck ratio and jump distance. However, data regarding the efficacy of these implants in the trauma setting are scarce.

CDK5 Inhibits Synphilin-1 Ubiquitination and Basal Mitophagy: Implications for Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and the presence of α-synuclein-positive inclusions known as Lewy bodies. Synphilin-1 is a protein of unknown function that interacts with α-synuclein and has been shown to exhibit cytoprotective effects in both in vitro and in vivo models. In this study, we investigated whether synphilin-1 is phosphorylated by pathological CDK5 and explored the consequences of this modification.

Partners in Practice: Primary Care Physicians Define the Role of Artificial Intelligence.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) shows strong potential to transform primary care by streamlining workflows, improving diagnostics, and enhancing patient outcomes. However, integration faces barriers, including PCPs' concerns about workflow disruptions, reliability, and loss of human connection. This study explored PCPs' perspectives and challenges around AI integration in primary care to inform the development of practical, human-centered tools.

Electrostatic-driven dehydration of ions in nanoporous membranes.

Surface charge critically affects ion-selective membrane performance, particularly in separating ions with similar size and charge, the key challenge in water treatment. Herein, we investigate the permeation of alkali chlorides (LiCl, KCl, and CsCl) through steric hindrance-free nanoporous membranes with tunable surface charge densities. Supported by molecular dynamics simulations, we confirm that electrostatic effects promote the dehydration of Cl, the counterions to the membrane charge, at the positively charged membrane surface.

From Rings to Properties: Understanding the Effect of Annelation on Pyrene.

Pyrene is a central building block in organic materials chemistry, valued for its rigid aromatic core, high fluorescence, and rich capacity for structural elaboration. However, the fundamental relationship between its annelation pattern and resulting electronic properties remains underexplored. In this work, we present a comprehensive computational study of 4,766 pyrene-based polybenzenoid hydrocarbons from the COMPAS-3D data set.

Enhanced Mechanophore Activation in Hydrogel Networks Driven by Swollen Network Pretension.

There is often a discrepancy between the strain required to activate mechanophores and incorporation in bulk materials, inhibiting these force sensors from many practical, commercial, and biological uses. The difference is particularly pronounced for biomimetic networks such as viscoelastic hydrogels, in which the distribution of strain is unclear due to dissipation. Here, we show that the activation of spiropyran mechanophores in alginate networks is related to cross-linking characteristics by comparing ionic and covalent bonds.

Light-Induced Persistent Electronic Chirality in Achiral Molecules Probed with Time-Resolved Electronic Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy.

Chiral systems exhibit unique properties traditionally linked to their asymmetric spatial arrangement. Recently, multiple laser pulses were shown to induce purely electronic chiral states without altering the nuclear configuration. Here, we propose and numerically demonstrate a simpler realization of light-induced electronic chirality that is long-lived and occurs well before the onset of nuclear motion and decoherence.

Genomic Insights at the Maternal-Fetal Interface: Preeclampsia Subtypes and Clinical Implications.

Recent advances in single-cell transcriptomics have provided significant insights into the pathophysiology of preeclampsia, uncovering cell-type-specific gene expression changes at the maternal-fetal interface. Key discoveries include dysregulated angiogenic factors, such as elevated sFlt-1 (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1) and reduced PlGF (placental growth factor), predominantly in syncytiotrophoblasts, alongside inflammatory and stress-related signatures in stromal and immune cells. These findings reinforce the clinically observed concept of 2 distinct preeclampsia subtypes: a placenta-dominant form and a maternal cardiovascular-dominant form, each characterized by unique etiologies, clinical presentations, and therapeutic implications.

The Moderating Effect of Cultural Tightness on the Influence of Personal Values and Social Norms on Behavior.

Introduction: Behavior is not solely determined by individual dispositions or situational demands, but by the dynamic interplay between them. The current research investigates the contextual sensitivity of behavioral determinants by examining how personal values and social norms influence behavior across tight and loose cultural contexts.

Method: We either measured (Study 1: n = 762) or manipulated (Study 2: n = 564) cultural tightness and examined how it moderates the influence of experimentally induced personal values and social norms on environmental behavior.

Cyber-Creativity: A Decalogue of Research Challenges.

Creativity is the primary driver of our cultural evolution. The astonishing potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and its possible application in the creative process poses an urgent and dramatic challenge for humanity; how can we maximize the benefits of AI while minimizing the associated risks? In this article, we identify all forms of human-AI collaboration in this realm as cyber-creativity. We introduce the following two forward-looking scenarios: a utopian vision for cyber-creativity, in which AI serves to enhance and not replace human creativity, and a dystopian view associated with the pre-emption of all human creative agency caused by the rise of AI.

Diagnostic Efficacy of C-Reactive Protein in Differentiating Various Causes of Exudative Pleural Effusion: Disease Research Should Not Be Exclusive to the Wealthy.

: Discrimination between various causes of exudative pleural effusion (PE) remains a major clinical challenge, and to date, definitive biochemical markers for this discrimination remain lacking. An increasing number of studies have reported that serum C-reactive protein (CRPs), pleural fluid CRP (CRPpf), and CRPpf/CRPs ratio (CRPr) are useful for the differential diagnosis of exudative PE; however, their efficacy rate is not similar in these studies. The majority of these studies were conducted on small groups of subjects, and the efficacy of the gradient between CRPs and CRPpf (CRPg-calculated as CRPs-CRPpf) in this differentiation has not been previously investigated.

Associative thinking and creative ability in older adulthood.

Successful problem-solving and enhanced creative ability may improve physical health, cognitive well-being, and overall independence of older adults. In general, older adults who are more creative, may be better able to cope with cognitive decline and navigate everyday tasks. While previous research on creative performance in older adulthood showed age-related stability, open questions remain regarding the specific underlying cognitive basis for this invariability across the lifespan.

Evolving Surgical Approaches in the Management of Pancreatic Masses: From Open Resection to Minimally Invasive and Robotic Techniques.

Pancreatic masses represent a heterogeneous spectrum of neoplasms, ranging from benign lesions such as serous cystadenomas to malignant tumors such as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Timely and accurate differentiation among these entities is essential for devising effective therapeutic strategies. Recent advancements in diagnostic modalities, surgical techniques, and perioperative care have significantly influenced the management of pancreatic masses.