Nevin Manimala

Bioengineered. 2023 Dec;14(1):2250950. doi: 10.1080/21655979.2023.2250950.

ABSTRACT

Bioethanol is a renewable fuel widely used in road transportation and is generally regarded as a clean energy source. Although fermentation is one of the major processes in bioethanol production, studies on improving its efficiency through operational design are limited, especially compared to other steps (pretreatment and hydrolysis/saccharification). In this study, two adapted feeding strategies, in which feed medium addition (sugar delivery) was adjusted to increase the supply of fermentable sugar, were developed to improve ethanol productivity in 5-L fed-batch fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Specifically, a linear adapted feeding strategy was established based on changes in cell biomass, and an exponential adapted feeding strategy was developed based on cell biomass accumulation. By implementing these two feeding strategies, the overall ethanol productivity reached 0.88$\pm$0.04 and 0.87$\pm$0.06 g/L/h, respectively. This corresponded to ~20% increases in ethanol productivity compared to fixed pulsed feeding operations. Additionally, there was no residual glucose at the end of fermentation, and final ethanol content reached 95$\pm$3 g/L under the linear adapted operation and 104$\pm$3 g/L under the exponential adapted feeding strategy. No statistical difference was observed in the overall ethanol yield (ethanol-to-sugar ratio) between fixed and adapted feeding strategies (~91%). These results demonstrate that sugar delivery controlled by adapted feeding strategies was more efficient than fixed feeding operations, leading to higher ethanol productivity. Overall, this study provides novel adapted feeding strategies to improve sugar delivery and ethanol productivity. Integration into the current practices of the ethanol industry could improve productivity and reduce production costs of fermentation processes.

PMID:37655550 | DOI:10.1080/21655979.2023.2250950

J Psychoactive Drugs. 2023 Sep 1:1-10. doi: 10.1080/02791072.2023.2253798. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has increased among healthcare providers, while the effectiveness of conventional treatments remains limited. Ketamine-assisted therapy offers a promising alternative; however, few have integrated ketamine with a group-based therapeutic modality. We report a retrospective, secondary analysis of a 12-week pilot of a Community of Practice (CoP) oriented group therapy program with optional, adjunct ketamine for depression, anxiety, and PTSD in a sample of 57 healthcare providers. All participants moved through the treatment as one group, with 38 electing to also receive three adjunct ketamine sessions in addition to the weekly CoP. Symptoms were assessed at baseline and pilot completion with the PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety, and PCL-5 for PTSD. We observed significant reductions in the mean change among all participants, suggesting that benefit was derived from the CoP component, with or without ketamine as an adjunct. PHQ-9 scores decreased by 6.79 (95% CI: 5.09-8.49, p < .001), GAD-7 scores decreased by 5.57 (CI: 4.12-7.00, p < .001), and PCL-5 scores decreased by 14.83 (CI: 10.27-19.38, p < .001). Reductions were larger, but statistically nonsignificant, among those receiving ketamine. Further research is required to assess the impact of ketamine as an adjunct in group-based therapies.

PMID:37655532 | DOI:10.1080/02791072.2023.2253798

Span J Psychol. 2023 Sep 1;26:e24. doi: 10.1017/SJP.2023.23.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to contribute to the evidence regarding variables related to emotional symptom severity and to use them to exemplify the potential usefulness of logistic regression for clinical assessment at primary care, where most of these disorders are treated. Cross-sectional data related to depression and anxiety symptoms, sociodemographic characteristics, quality of life (QoL), and emotion-regulation processes were collected from 1,704 primary care patients. Correlation and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted to identify those variables associated with both depression and anxiety. Participants were then divided into severe and nonsevere emotional symptoms, and binomial logistic regression was used to identify the variables that contributed the most to classify the severity. The final adjusted model included psychological QoL (p < .001, odds ratio [OR] = .426, 95% CI [.318, .569]), negative metacognitions (p < .001, OR = 1.083, 95% CI [1.045, 1.122]), physical QoL (p < .001, OR = .870, 95% CI [.841, .900]), brooding rumination (p < .001, OR = 1.087, 95% CI [1.042, 1.133]), worry (p < .001, OR = 1.047, 95% CI [1.025, 1.070]), and employment status (p = .022, OR [.397, 2.039]) as independent variables, ρ² = .326, area under the curve (AUC) = .857. Moreover, rumination and psychological QoL emerged as the best predictors to form a simplified equation to determine the emotional symptom severity (ρ² = .259, AUC = .822). The use of statistical models like this could accelerate the assessment and treatment-decision process, depending less on the subjective point of view of clinicians and optimizing health care resources.

PMID:37655522 | DOI:10.1017/SJP.2023.23

Med Educ. 2023 Sep 1. doi: 10.1111/medu.15198. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Mayer’s theory of multimedia learning proposes that personalisation and embodiment (P/E) can improve outcomes in e-Learning. The authors hypothesised that an e-Learning module enhanced by P/E principles would lead to higher knowledge, perceived P/E and motivation among health care professionals, compared with an unenhanced module.

METHODS: The authors conducted a randomised trial comparing two versions of a 30-minute multimedia e-Learning module addressing the antibiotic management of pneumonia. The unenhanced format used slides with voiceover (human voice but no visible speaker), formal language and no specific P/E strategies. The enhanced format additionally implemented P/E strategies including conversational style, polite language, visible author, social congruence, human-like presence and professional presence by subtly changing the script and substituting several short videos of subject matter experts. Participants included pharmacists, physicians and advanced practice providers from three academic and several community hospitals. Outcomes included knowledge, perceived P/E (assessed by the Congruence Personalisation Questionnaire, CPQ), motivation (assessed via the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey [IMMS] and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire [MSLQ]) and course satisfaction.

RESULTS: There were 406 participants including 225 pharmacists, 109 physicians and 72 advanced practice providers. Post-module knowledge was slightly higher for the enhanced versus the unenhanced format, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (adjusted mean difference, 0.04 of 10 possible, [95% CI -0.26, 0.34], p = 0.78; Cohen d 0.02). Participant perceptions of P/E (measured via CPQ) were significantly greater for the enhanced format (difference 0.46 of 5 possible [0.35, 0.56], p < 0.001; Cohen d 0.85), as were motivational features of the e-Learning course (measured via IMMS) (difference 0.14 of 5 possible [0.02, 0.26], p = 0.02; Cohen d 0.24). Participants’ overall motivational orientation (measured via MSLQ) and course satisfaction were not significantly different between the two formats (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Application of P/E principles to an e-Learning module led to greater perceived P/E and motivational features but did not influence knowledge.

PMID:37655515 | DOI:10.1111/medu.15198

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2023 Sep;38(9):e5994. doi: 10.1002/gps.5994.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare the effectiveness of interventions in cognitive function and frailty status and rank these interventions.

METHODS: Data Sources-We searched PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), CNKI, Wanfang, VIP and Google scholar. Data synthesis-The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk bias assessment tool. Statistical heterogeneity was assessed using the Chi-square test and quantified by I² . The results were pooled using the standardized mean difference (SMD). The rank probability for each intervention was calculated using the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). Additionally, the quality of the evidence was evaluated using the GRADE approach.

RESULTS: A total of 10 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 1110 patients were included in our analysis. The network map of cognitive function comprised 9 RCTs with 1347 participants, examining eight different interventions. Nutritional support (SUCRA = 99.9%, SMD = 3.02, 95% CI: 2.53, 3.51) may be the most effective intervention to improve cognitive function. The network map of frailty (including 9 RCTs with 1017 participants and 9 interventions) suggested that multicomponent exercises (SUCRA = 96.4%, SMD = -5.10, 95% CI: -5.96, -4.23) tended to have a greater effect.

CONCLUSIONS: Community-based multicomponent exercises have shown significant benefits for improving cognitive function and frailty status in older adults, with moderate certainty. For hospitalized older patients with Cognitive frailty (CF), current evidence suggests that nutritional support yields the most improvement. Additionally, aerobic exercise and dual-task training have proven effective in managing CF. Further studies are needed to validate these preliminary findings and exploring more accessible and effective physical and cognitive interventions to prevent CF in aging.

PMID:37655500 | DOI:10.1002/gps.5994

Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2023 Sep 1. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.15077. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of maternal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination on preventing severe complications of COVID-19 in pregnant women.

METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in pregnant women infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during pregnancy and/or for up to 6 weeks postpartum between September 1, 2021, to January 30, 2022. The data was retrieved from a national database. The pregnant women were divided into two groups of vaccinated and unvaccinated. The proposed outcomes (the need for hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and mechanical ventilation and products of conception complications) were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS: Approximately 90 000 pregnant women infected with COVID-19 were included in the study. The data of the vaccinated (19 922) and unvaccinated (70 147) groups were analyzed and compared. Pregnant patients in the vaccinated group had a significantly lower rate of hospitalization (21.2% vs 29.4%) (odds ratio [OR], 0.648 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.625-0.673], P = 0.0001) and intensive care unit admission (3.7% vs 7.8%) (OR, 0.453 [95% CI, 0.382-0.535], P = 0.0001). The need for mechanical ventilation was also lower, although not statistically significant, in the vaccinated group than in the unvaccinated group (30 of 155 [19.4%] vs 418 of 1597 [26.2%]) (OR, 0.677 [95% CI, 0.448-1.024], P = 0.063). Cesarean section (54.3% vs 58.1%) (OR, 0.856 [95% CI, 0.751-0.977], P = 0.021) and stillbirth (0.4% vs 3.6%) (OR, 0.097 [95% CI, 0.026-0.252], P = 0.0001) were also significantly lower in the vaccinated patients. Most pregnant women in the vaccinated group (18 484-96.14%) received Sinopharm BIBP COVID-19 inactivated vaccine. No significant differences were seen in the effect of different types of COVID-19 vaccines on reducing COVID-19 complications in infected pregnant patients.

CONCLUSION: Maternal COVID-19 immunization is effective in reducing COVID-19 complications in infected pregnant women.

PMID:37655467 | DOI:10.1002/ijgo.15077

Soft Matter. 2023 Sep 1. doi: 10.1039/d3sm00298e. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

A suspension of dielectric particles rotating spontaneously when subjected to a DC electric field in two dimensions next to a no-slip electrode has proven to be an ideal model for active matter [Bricard et al., Nature, 2013, 503, 95-98]. In this system, an electrohydrodynamic (EHD) instability called Quincke rotation was exploited to create self-propelling particles which aligned with each other due to EHD interactions, giving rise to collective motion on large length scales. It is natural to question whether a suspension of such particles in three dimensions will also display collective motion and spontaneously flow like bacterial suspensions do. Using molecular dynamics type simulations, we show that dielectrophoretic forces responsible for chaining in the direction of the applied electric field in conventional electrorheological fluids and the counter-rotation of neighboring particles in these chains prevent collective motion in suspensions undergoing spontaneous particle rotations. Our simulations discover that the fundamental microstructural unit of a suspension under Quincke rotation is a pair of counter-rotating spheres aligned in the direction of the electric field. We perform a linear stability analysis that explains this observation.

PMID:37655464 | DOI:10.1039/d3sm00298e

J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2023 Sep 1. doi: 10.1111/jdv.19486. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Of all ultraviolet (UV) radiations reaching the earth, UVA1 rays have a higher potential of penetrating and producing clinically harmful consequences. While UV radiations up to 370 nm are well blocked by current sunscreens, a photoprotection gap remains for the UVA1 wavelengths between 370 and 400 nm.

OBJECTIVE: This study was to assess under outdoor summer conditions the impact on pigmentation and skin ageing signs of a protection against UVA1 using Methoxypropylamino Cyclohexenylidene Ethoxyethylcyanoacetate (MCE) filter added to a reference SPF50 sunscreen, in comparison with the same sunscreen without the MCE filter.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: This prospective randomized comparative intra-individual study was conducted in 113 women in Brazil and China. Subjects had their face and two forearms exposed twice-daily to a one-hour outdoor sunlight exposure over 8 weeks. Before exposure, the SPF50 sunscreen containing 3% MCE was applied on one half-face and one forearm and the same reference product without MCE on the other half-face and forearm. Primary study endpoint was skin colour changes (chromametry). Other endpoints included expert panel grading of pigmentation and facial skin ageing, and naïve panel assessment of facial skin radiance and homogeneity.

RESULTS: After 8 weeks, the skin was darker on both forearms, but the increase in sun-induced pigmentation was smaller with the SPF50/MCE sunscreen. Expert panel evaluations showed no change in severity scores for pigmentation and a decreased severity scores for facial skin ageing in areas protected with the SPF50/MCE product; severity scores in areas protected with the SPF50 alone were either increased (pigmentation) or unchanged (skin ageing). Naïve panel evaluations of skin radiance and homogeneity showed statistically significant superiority of the SPF50/MCE product.

CONCLUSION: Overall, this study demonstrates that a protection with the SPF50/MCE sunscreen significantly reduces pigmentation and ageing signs compared to the same SPF50 sunscreen.

PMID:37655436 | DOI:10.1111/jdv.19486

Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2023;123(8):98-106. doi: 10.17116/jnevro202312308198.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Typological differentiation of periodic catatonia in schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), in particular, schizoaffective disorder.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seventy-four patients with the verified diagnosis of schizophrenia and SSD (ICD-10 items F20, F21) were studied. The clinical, psychometric (BFCRS, SANS) and statistical methods were used. Clinical and psychometric study of seizures of periodic catatonia was carried out at the following stages: 1) manifestation of a seizure; 2) the maximum severity of psychopathological disorders. Also, at the end of the seizure, an additional assessment of the severity of negative symptoms was carried out using the SANS.

RESULTS: Three forms of periodic catatonia have been identified: hypokinetic, parakinetic, multikinetic. Clinical distinguishing indicators of periodic catatonia seizurs have been established (protracted – two-stage – form of seizures; the phenomenon of «secondary catatonia»). The psychometric study revealed significant differences between the variants of periodic catatonia seizures in terms of the severity of motor phenomena (at both stages of the seizure) and negative disorders. BFCRS scores at the first stage of seizures were as follows: hypokinetic – 9.7±0.4; parakinetic – 12.8±0.9; multikinetic – 32.3±1.6 (the differences were found between 1 and 2 (p<0.05); between 1 and 3, as well as 2 and 3 (p<0.01)). BFCRS scores at the second stage of seizures were 12.1±0.8; 19.9±1.2 and 47.7±1.9, respectively,with the differences between 1 and 2 (p<0.05); between 1 and 3, and also 2 and 3 (p<0.01). The scores on the SANS anhedonia-asociality subscale were 1.9±0.2 for hypokinetic; 2.3±0.3 for parakinetic and 3.2±0.2 for multikinetic with the differences between 1 and 2, 1 and 3, 2 and 3 (p<0.01).

CONCLUSION: Periodic catatonia is the clinical entity that includes a complex of progressively worsening seizures, the psychopathological systematics of which takes into account the clinical structure of motor disorders, their affiliations with positive and negative dimensions, and functional activity.

PMID:37655417 | DOI:10.17116/jnevro202312308198

Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2023;123(8):90-97. doi: 10.17116/jnevro202312308190.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term effects of annual course therapy with Cerebrolysin on cognitive functioning and the risk of transition to dementia in relatives of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with amnestic-type mild cognitive decline syndrome (aMCI) in comparison with the same group untreated relatives.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The cohort included 88 first-degree relatives of BA patients with aMCI syndrome aged 50 to 82 years (mean age 65.0±9.9 years) of which 46 people received course therapy with Cerebrolysin and 42 people were not treated. Clinical, neuropsychological, statistical methods were used. Conducted annual course therapy with Cerebrolysin (a total of 3 courses of infusion therapy: for a course of 20 intravenous infusions of 20 ml of Cerebrolysin in 100 ml of isotonic saline) followed by a follow-up study after 3 months after the end of the therapeutic period. The dynamics of cognitive functioning in the therapeutic group was compared with the corresponding dynamics in the comparison group over the same period. The assessment was carried out on day 0, by the end of 1, 14, 27 and 30 months research.

RESULTS: In the therapeutic group, according to the CGI-I scale, by the end of the 3rd course of therapy, in 95.7% of cases, a pronounced or moderate improvement was achieved after each of the courses on all scales and tests. In this group, by the end of the therapeutic period, a significant improvement in the initial mean group scores was established. According to the all scales and tests, a significant improvement of the initial average group scores was found after each course of therapy (p<0.05). In the comparison group there was a significant deterioration (p<0.05) of the average group scores of most of the cognitive scales and test by the end of the observation. The annual conversion from aMCI to dementia due to probable AD was 9.5% only in the comparison group. The average group indicators of all scales and tests significantly worsened starting from the 14th month of observation in the comparison group.

CONCLUSION: The absence of cases of aMCI conversion to dementia in the treated patients for 2.5 years of observation can serve as confirmation of a disease-modifying effect in Cerebrolysin. These results indicate the need for more extensive clinical studies of the preventive effects of Cerebrolysin and to explore the possibility of including such therapy in drug prevention programs for AD in people at high risk for this disease.

PMID:37655416 | DOI:10.17116/jnevro202312308190