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Fulltext Vinyl chloride accident unleashes a toxic legacy

Li C, Gao P, Yu R, Zhong H, Wu M, Lam SS, et al.

Environ Sci Ecotechnol, 2023 Apr;14:100259.
PMID: 36949895 DOI: 10.1016/j.ese.2023.100259
Mitigation of oxidative stress damage caused by abiotic stress to improve biomass yield of microalgae: A review

Zhu J, Cai Y, Wakisaka M, Yang Z, Yin Y, Fang W, et al.

Sci Total Environ, 2023 Oct 20;896:165200.
PMID: 37400020 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165200

Microalgae have been recognized as emerging cell factories due to the high value-added bio-products. However, the balance between algal growth and the accumulation of metabolites is always the main contradiction in algal biomass production. Hence, the security and effectiveness of regulating microalgal growth and metabolism simultaneously have drawn substantial attention. Since the correspondence between microalgal growth and reactive oxygen species (ROS) level has been confirmed, improving its growth under oxidative stress and promoting biomass accumulation under non-oxidative stress by exogenous mitigators is feasible. This paper first introduced ROS generation in microalgae and described the effects of different abiotic stresses on the physiological and biochemical status of microalgae from these aspects associated with growth, cell morphology and structure, and antioxidant system. Secondly, the role of exogenous mitigators with different mechanisms in alleviating abiotic stress was concluded. Finally, the possibility of exogenous antioxidants regulating microalgal growth and improving the accumulation of specific products under non-stress conditions was discussed.
Fulltext Does laryngeal reinnervation or type I thyroplasty give better voice results for patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis (VOCALIST): study protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial

Blackshaw H, Carding P, Jepson M, Mat Baki M, Ambler G, Schilder A, et al.

BMJ Open, 2017 Sep 29;7(9):e016871.
PMID: 28965097 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016871

INTRODUCTION: A functioning voice is essential for normal human communication. A good voice requires two moving vocal folds; if one fold is paralysed (unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP)) people suffer from a breathy, weak voice that tires easily and is unable to function normally. UVFP can also result in choking and breathlessness. Current treatment for adults with UVFP is speech therapy to stimulate recovery of vocal fold (VF) motion or function and/or injection of the paralysed VF with a material to move it into a more favourable position for the functioning VF to close against. When these therapies are unsuccessful, or only provide temporary relief, surgery is offered. Two available surgical techniques are: (1) surgical medialisation; placing an implant near the paralysed VF to move it to the middle (thyroplasty) and/or repositioning the cartilage (arytenoid adduction) or (2) restoring the nerve supply to the VF (laryngeal reinnervation). Currently there is limited evidence to determine which surgery should be offered to adults with UVFP.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A feasibility study to test the practicality of running a multicentre, randomised clinical trial of surgery for UVFP, including: (1) a qualitative study to understand the recruitment process and how it operates in clinical centres and (2) a small randomised trial of 30 participants recruited at 3 UK sites comparing non-selective laryngeal reinnervation to type I thyroplasty. Participants will be followed up for 12 months. The primary outcome focuses on recruitment and retention, with secondary outcomes covering voice, swallowing and quality of life.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was received from National Research Ethics Service-Committee Bromley (reference 11/LO/0583). In addition to dissemination of results through presentation and publication of peer-reviewed articles, results will be shared with key clinician and patient groups required to develop the future large-scale randomised controlled trial.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN90201732; 16 December 2015.
Fulltext Validating a functional near-infrared spectroscopy diagnostic paradigm for Major Depressive Disorder

Husain SF, Yu R, Tang TB, Tam WW, Tran B, Quek TT, et al.

Sci Rep, 2020 06 16;10(1):9740.
PMID: 32546704 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-66784-2

Reduced haemodynamic response in the frontotemporal cortices of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) has been demonstrated using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Most notably, changes in cortical oxy-haemoglobin during a Japanese phonetic fluency task can differentiate psychiatric patients from healthy controls (HC). However, this paradigm has not been validated in the English language. Therefore, the present work aimed to distinguish patients with MDD from HCs, using haemodynamic response measured during an English letter fluency task. One hundred and five HCs and 105 patients with MDD took part in this study. NIRS signals during the verbal fluency task (VFT) was acquired using a 52-channel system, and changes in oxy-haemoglobin in the frontal and temporal regions were quantified. Depression severity, psychosocial functioning, pharmacotherapy and psychiatric history were noted. Patients with MDD had smaller changes in oxy-haemoglobin in the frontal and temporal cortices than HCs. In both regions of interest, oxy-haemoglobin was not associated with any of the clinical variables studied. 75.2% and 76.5% of patients with MDD were correctly classified using frontal and temporal region oxy-haemoglobin, respectively. Haemodynamic response measured by fNIRS during an English letter fluency task is a promising biomarker for MDD.
Mechanism behind the Controlled Generation of Liquid Metal Nanoparticles by Mechanical Agitation

Nor-Azman NA, Ghasemian MB, Fuchs R, Liu L, Widjajana MS, Yu R, et al.

ACS Nano, 2024 Apr 30;18(17):11139-11152.
PMID: 38620061 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c12638

The size-controlled synthesis of liquid metal nanoparticles is necessary in a variety of applications. Sonication is a common method for breaking down bulk liquid metals into small particles, yet the influence of critical factors such as liquid metal composition has remained elusive. Our study employs high-speed imaging to unravel the mechanism of liquid metal particle formation during mechanical agitation. Gallium-based liquid metals, with and without secondary metals of bismuth, indium, and tin, are analyzed to observe the effect of cavitation and surface eruption during sonication and particle release. The impact of the secondary metal inclusion is investigated on liquid metals' surface tension, solution turbidity, and size distribution of the generated particles. Our work evidences that there is an inverse relationship between the surface tension and the ability of liquid metals to be broken down by sonication. We show that even for 0.22 at. % of bismuth in gallium, the surface tension is significantly decreased from 558 to 417 mN/m (measured in Milli-Q water), resulting in an enhanced particle generation rate: 3.6 times increase in turbidity and ∼43% reduction in the size of particles for bismuth in gallium liquid alloy compared to liquid gallium for the same sonication duration. The effect of particles' size on the photocatalysis of the annealed particles is also presented to show the applicability of the process in a proof-of-concept demonstration. This work contributes to a broader understanding of the synthesis of nanoparticles, with controlled size and characteristics, via mechanical agitation of liquid metals for diverse applications.
Fulltext Cortical haemodynamic response measured by functional near infrared spectroscopy during a verbal fluency task in patients with major depression and borderline personality disorder

Husain SF, Tang TB, Yu R, Tam WW, Tran B, Quek TT, et al.

EBioMedicine, 2020 Jan;51:102586.
PMID: 31877417 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.11.047

BACKGROUND: Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) provides a direct and quantitative assessment of cortical haemodynamic function during a cognitive task. This functional neuroimaging modality may be used to elucidate the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, and identify neurophysiological differences between co-occurring psychiatric disorders. However, fNIRS research on borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been limited. Hence, this study aimed to compare cerebral haemodynamic function in healthy controls (HC), patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and patients with BPD.
METHODS: fNIRS signals during a verbal fluency task designed for clinical assessment was recorded for all participants. Demographics, clinical history and symptom severity were also noted.
FINDINGS: Compared to HCs (n = 31), both patient groups (MDD, n = 31; BPD, n = 31) displayed diminished haemodynamic response in the frontal, temporal and parietal cortices. Moreover, haemodynamic response in the right frontal cortex is markedly lower in patients with MDD compared to patients with BPD.
INTERPRETATION: Normal cortical function in patients with BPD is disrupted, but not as extensively as in patients with MDD. These results provide further neurophysiological evidence for the distinction of patients with MDD from patients with BPD.