Temperature dependence on the mass susceptibility and mass magnetization of superparamagnetic Mn–Zn–ferrite nanoparticles as contrast agents for magnetic imaging of oil and gas reservoirs

The mass susceptibility (χmass) and mass magnetization (Mmass) were determined for a series of ternary manganese and zinc ferrite nanoparticles (Mn–Zn ferrite NPs, MnxZn1−xFe2O4) with different Mn:Zn ratios (0.08 ≤ x ≤ 4.67), prepared by the thermal decomposition reaction of the appropriate metal acetylacetonate complexes, and for the binary homologs (MxFe3−xO4, where M = Mn or Zn). Alteration of the Mn:Zn ratio in Mn–Zn ferrite NPs does not significantly affect the particle size. At room temperature and low applied field strength the mass susceptibility increases sharply as the Mn:Zn ratio increases, but above a ratio of 0.4 further increase in the amount of manganese results in the mass susceptibility decreasing slightly, reaching a plateau above Mn:Zn ≈ 2. The compositional dependence of the mass magnetization shows less of a variation at room temperature and high applied fields. The temperature dependence of the mass magnetization of Mn–Zn ferrite NPs is significantly less for Mn-rich compositions making them more suitable for downhole imaging at higher temperatures (>100 °C). For non-shale reservoirs, replacement of nMag by Mn-rich Mn–Zn ferrites will allow for significant signal-to-noise enhancement of 6.5× over NP magnetite

Demographic gaps and requirements for participation: A systematic review of clinical trial designs in Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that disproportionally affects women, as well as Black and biracial individuals. While adalimumab remains the only therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration for HS, many HS clinical trials for novel and re-tasked therapies are ongoing or upcoming. To optimize treatment equity, reflect the patient population, and facilitate trial participation, it is important to elucidate aspects of clinical trial protocols that may systematically exclude specific patient groups or impose hardships. Objective: The study aimed to systematically review inclusion and exclusion criteria as well as participant demographics in HS clinical trials. Methods: A literature search of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central, and Web of Science databases was conducted. Peer-reviewed publications of randomized controlled trials that were written in English and had at least 10 participants were included. Title and abstract screening and data extraction were completed by two independent reviewers, with disagreements resolved by a third. Results: Twenty-three studies totaling 1,496 adult participants met the inclusion criteria. Race and ethnicity were not reported in 473/1,496 (31.6%) and 1,420/1,496 (94.9%) trial participants, respectively. Trial participants were predominantly white (811/1,023, 79.3%) and female (1,057/1,457, 72.5%). The median of each study’s average age was 35.7 years (IQR 33.5–38.0), and 17/23 (73.9%) trials excluded pediatric patients. Nearly all participants had Hurley Stage II (499/958, 52.0%) or Hurley Stage III (385/958, 40.2%) disease. Many trials excluded patients who were pregnant (19/23, 82.6%) and breastfeeding (13/23, 56.5%), or who had HS that was “too severe” (8/23, 34.8%) or “too mild” (16/23, 70.0%). Frequently, trial protocols required prolonged washout periods from HS therapies, relatively long duration in the study’s placebo arm, and prohibited concurrent analgesic use. Conclusions: This systematic review of 23 HS clinical trials totaling 1,496 participants identified substantial hardships imposed by trial participation, high rates of missing race and ethnicity data, and low representation of key patient groups, including those who identify as Black. Future trials with pragmatic study designs, broader inclusion criteria, and study sites in diverse communities may alleviate burdens of trial participation and improve enrollment of diverse patient groups

Context-Responsive Anticoagulation Reduces Complications in Pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Purpose: We sought to determine the impact of a comprehensive, context-responsive anticoagulation and transfusion guideline on bleeding and thrombotic complication rates and blood product utilization during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).Design: Single-center, observational pre- and post-implementation cohort study.Setting: Academic pediatric hospital.Patients: Patients in the PICU, CICU, and NICU receiving ECMO support.Interventions: Program-wide implementation of a context-responsive anticoagulation and transfusion guideline.Measurements: Pre-implementation subjects consisted of all patients receiving ECMO between January 1 and December 31, 2012, and underwent retrospective chart review. Post-implementation subjects consisted of all ECMO patients between September 1, 2013, and December 31, 2014, and underwent prospective data collection. Data collection included standard demographic and admission data, ECMO technical specifications, non-ECMO therapies, coagulation parameters, and blood product administration. A novel grading scale was used to define hemorrhagic complications (major, intermediate, and minor) and major thromboembolic complications.Main Results: Seventy-six ECMO patients were identified: 31 during the pre-implementation period and 45 in the post-implementation period. The overall observed mortality was 33% with no difference between groups. Compared to pre-implementation, the post-implementation group experienced fewer major hemorrhagic and major thrombotic complications and less severe hemorrhagic complications and received less RBC transfusion volume per kg.Conclusions: Use of a context-responsive anticoagulation and transfusion guideline was associated with a reduction in hemorrhagic and thrombotic complications and reduced RBC transfusion requirements. Further evaluation of guideline content, compliance, performance, and sustainability is needed

Genetic Predictions of Prion Disease Susceptibility in Carnivore Species Based on Variability of the Prion Gene Coding Region

Mammalian species vary widely in their apparent susceptibility to prion diseases. For example, several felid species developed prion disease (feline spongiform encephalopathy or FSE) during the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic in the United Kingdom, whereas no canine BSE cases were detected. Whether either of these or other groups of carnivore species can contract other prion diseases (e.g. chronic wasting disease or CWD) remains an open question. Variation in the host-encoded prion protein (PrP(C)) largely explains observed disease susceptibility patterns within ruminant species, and may explain interspecies differences in susceptibility as well. We sequenced and compared the open reading frame of the PRNP gene encoding PrP(C) protein from 609 animal samples comprising 29 species from 22 genera of the Order Carnivora; amongst these samples were 15 FSE cases. Our analysis revealed that FSE cases did not encode an identifiable disease-associated PrP polymorphism. However, all canid PrPs contained aspartic acid or glutamic acid at codon 163 which we propose provides a genetic basis for observed susceptibility differences between canids and felids. Among other carnivores studied, wolverine (Gulo gulo) and pine marten (Martes martes) were the only non-canid species to also express PrP-Asp163, which may impact on their prion diseases susceptibility. Populations of black bear (Ursus americanus) and mountain lion (Puma concolor) from Colorado showed little genetic variation in the PrP protein and no variants likely to be highly resistant to prions in general, suggesting that strain differences between BSE and CWD prions also may contribute to the limited apparent host range of the latter

Girls and Boys Born before 28 Weeks Gestation: Risks of Cognitive, Behavioral, and Neurologic Outcomes at Age 10 Years

To compare the prevalence of cognitive, neurological, and behavioral outcomes at 10 years of age in 428 girls and 446 boys who were born extremely preterm (EP)

The Relationship of Maternal Prepregnancy Body Mass Index and Pregnancy Weight Gain to Neurocognitive Function at Age 10 Years among Children Born Extremely Preterm

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between maternal prepregnancy body mass index and adequacy of pregnancy weight gain in relation to neurocognitive function in school-aged children born extremely preterm. STUDY DESIGN: Study participants were 535 ten-year-old children enrolled previously in the prospective multicenter Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborns cohort study who were products of singleton pregnancies. Soon after delivery, mothers provided information about prepregnancy weight. Prepregnancy body mass index and adequacy of weight gain were characterized based on this information. Children underwent a neurocognitive evaluation at 10 years of age. RESULTS: Maternal prepregnancy obesity was associated with increased odds of a lower score for Differential Ability Scales-II Verbal IQ, for Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment-II measures of processing speed and visual fine motor control, and for Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-III Spelling. Children born to mothers who gained an excessive amount of weight were at increased odds of a low score on the Oral and Written Language Scales Oral Expression assessment. Conversely, children whose mother did not gain an adequate amount of weight were at increased odds of a lower score on the Oral and Written Language Scales Oral Expression and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-III Word Reading assessments. CONCLUSION: In this cohort of infants born extremely preterm, maternal obesity was associated with poorer performance on some assessments of neurocognitive function. Our findings are consistent with the observational and experimental literature and suggest that opportunities may exist to mitigate risk through education and behavioral intervention before pregnancy

Extremely low gestational age and very low birthweight for gestational age are risk factors for autism spectrum disorder in a large cohort study of 10-year-old children born at 23-27 weeks’ gestation

No prospective cohort study of high-risk children has used rigorous exposure assessment and optimal diagnostic procedures to examine the perinatal antecedents of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), separately among those with and without cognitive impairment

Mitochondrial regulation of microglial immunometabolism in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-associated terminal neurodegenerative disease with no effective treatments. Dysfunction of innate immunity is implicated in the pathogenesis of AD, with genetic studies supporting a causative role in the disease. Microglia, the effector cells of innate immunity in the brain, are highly plastic and perform a diverse range of specialist functions in AD, including phagocytosing and removing toxic aggregates of beta amyloid and tau that drive neurodegeneration. These immune functions require high energy demand, which is regulated by mitochondria. Reflecting this, microglia have been shown to be highly metabolically flexible, reprogramming their mitochondrial function upon inflammatory activation to meet their energy demands. However, AD-associated genetic risk factors and pathology impair microglial metabolic programming, and metabolic derailment has been shown to cause innate immune dysfunction in AD. These findings suggest that immunity and metabolic function are intricately linked processes, and targeting microglial metabolism offers a window of opportunity for therapeutic treatment of AD. Here, we review evidence for the role of metabolic programming in inflammatory functions in AD, and discuss mitochondrial-targeted immunotherapeutics for treatment of the disease.Ministry of Education (MOE)Nanyang Technological UniversityPublished versionAB acknowledges funding support from the Singapore Ministry of Education under its Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 1 (RG42/18), Nanyang Assistant Professorship from Nanyang Technological University Singapore, and the Alzheimer’s Association (AARG-18-566427)

Why RU Idling?

A comprehensive study of the effects of excessive and unlawful vehicular and Rutgers bus route idlingSpring 201