Necrotizing pancreatitis is a severe acute inflammation of the pancreas that disrupts the release of pancreatic enzymes necessary for digestion and the production of insulin needed to stabilize blood glucose levels. Common complications associated with necrotizing pancreatitis include diet intolerance, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, decreased oral intake, and hyperglycemia. If the patient cannot meet their estimated nutritional requirements via an oral diet, supplemental nutrition support, such as enteral nutrition (EN) through a feeding tube or parenteral nutrition intravenously through a peripheral or central line, must be considered to prevent malnutrition. When necessary, early initiation of supplemental nutrition support within 24-48 hours of admission is associated with shorter hospital stays. To improve diet tolerance and reduce symptoms while utilizing EN, patients with necrotizing pancreatitis may be fed elemental or semi-elemental formulas through a feeding tube placed in a post-pyloric position. Additionally, insulin therapy may be utilized in cases where patients experience hyperglycemia due to exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. The target blood glucose range for hospitalized patients is less than 180 mg/dL, or less than 140 mg/dL if there is no significant risk of hypoglycemia. Insulin therapy should be initiated when a patient experiences a blood glucose level greater than or equal to 180 mg/dL at least twice within a 24-hour period. This case report evaluates the management of EN intolerance and hyperglycemia when treating individuals with necrotizing pancreatitis.

Decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis is failure of the liver due to alcohol use, accompanied by complications such as portal hypertension, bleeding varices, ascites, and encephalopathy. Nutrition is vital in managing cirrhosis as the loss of hepatocytes from liver damage impairs gluconeogenesis, causing the body to use amino acids and fatty acids for energy, thereby increasing resting energy expenditure. Malnutrition is often diagnosed in patients with decompensated cirrhosis due to increased nutrition needs and comorbidities like altered mental status and ascites, which cause early satiety and negatively affect oral intake. Therefore, nutrition interventions to treat or prevent malnutrition are essential. Evidence indicates cirrhotic patients are at risk for malnutrition should eat three to five meals plus snacks to shorten fasting periods. If calorie and protein needs cannot be met through oral intake, initiating enteral nutrition may be appropriate. Enteral nutrition is preferred unless it is contraindicated, in which case parenteral nutrition would be utilized. Nocturnal enteral feeds may be permissible to shorten fasting periods if oral intake is tolerated but intake does not meet nutritional needs. Nutrient recommendation ranges for cirrhotic patients are 35 calories per kilogram and 1-2 grams of protein per kilogram, based on actual or estimated body weight. Vitamin and mineral supplementation may be needed for patients with a history of alcohol abuse, specifically thiamin, niacin, folate, magnesium, and zinc. This case report explores the complex nutrition needs and goals of care in a patient with decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis and severe chronic protein-calorie malnutrition.

Ga2O3, an ultrawide-bandgap semiconducting material, sees widespread use in optoelectronic, pharmaceutical, and other industrial applications. Additionally, as antibiotic resistance grows, interest rises in the antibacterial properties of Ga2O3 and other gallium-containing compounds. In many cases, GaOOH is a precursor to synthesis of Ga2O3 with similar physiochemical properties. For microparticles, surface effects become heavily amplified. In particular, the surface effects may significantly influence antibacterial action. We synthesize GaOOH and Ga2O3 microparticles via hydrothermal growth. We employ scanning electron microscopy to image samples and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to characterize the stoichiometry. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy is used by us to monitor bulk structural differences between the GaOOH precursor and Ga2O3. To monitor crystal defects we utilize photoluminescence spectroscopy. For antibacterial assays, we test our materials against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria using optical density measurement at 600 nm.

Several viruses can cause cells to fuse into large multinucleated cells called syncytia. Syncytia formation allows the virus to spread without entering the extracellular space, where it might be exposed to immune responses. However, there is evidence that antibodies can also hinder the fusion process. This project uses mathematical analysis to find different possible infection outcomes. A stability analysis of the coinfection model is used to find the fixed points of the model and their stability. This gives us parameter space regions that lead to different possible infection outcomes. Simulations were made to verify the mathematical analysis and see how different syncytia formation properties affect the resulting dynamics. These findings could help develop strategies for controlling viral spread.

Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs) are nanoscale carbon based graphene sheets that exhibit unique fluorescent properties throughout a wide range of wavelengths. Given their uniquely small size, low toxicity, biocompatibility, and fluorescent capabilities, GQDs have many unique and important roles. To name a few, GQDs are used in drug delivery, fluorescent imaging, and biosensing thanks to their unique ability to fluoresce under different wavelengths of light. Furthermore, there are different types of GQDs with their own unique properties. Knowing this, five amphipathic molecules, called surfactants, were added to two different types of GQDs to test if they would impact the resulting fluorescence. Furthermore, concentrations of these added surfactants were varied to test how different concentrations of a given surfactant might affect the fluorescence for a given GQD. We observed that some of these surfactants provided a beneficial boost to GQDs fluorescence, while others slightly inhibited the fluorescence. Moreover, we saw that the increase in fluorescence varied based on the concentration of surfactant added yielding lower fluorescence for extremely low and high concentrations, while increasing the fluorescence at a more moderate concentration.

With cancer rates increasing at an alarming rate, many traditional methods for cancer treatment begin to feel outdated. This is where engineering nanomaterials, such as Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs), offer a promising approach to making chemotherapy a more targeted treatment and therefore minimizing the side effects. This study focuses on optimizing drug delivery mechanisms using GQDs, specifically Reduced Graphene Quantum Dots (RGQDs) synthesized via a top-down approach from reduced graphene oxide, and Hyaluronic Acid Graphene Quantum Dots (HAGQDs) synthesized bottom-up from hyaluronic acid. The process is done by loading chemotherapeutics Gemcitabine, Paclitaxel, and Doxorubicin (DOX) HCl onto GQDs through sonication, this is followed by a centrifugal purification which isolates properly drug-loaded GQDs. To evaluate their controlled release, photothermal properties of GQDs are utilized. Samples are excited with an 808 nm laser at 1, 5, and 10 minutes, and they are later compared to a control group. This analysis provides insights into how laser stimulation affects drug release efficiency, paving the way for advancements in GQD based cancer treatments.

We introduce a structural method used for quantifying the spatial heterogeneity(or clumpiness) of viral syncytial cells in a transfection bioassay. The solution lies in an inter-disciplinary process based on simplicial topology being applied to a biological system. Our method revolves around using topological theories including Delaunay tessellations and Voronoi graphs to signify cell-cell interaction probability. The main emphasis is the subset of Delaunay tessellation called Alpha shapes. By applying a filtration to the overall Delaunay tessellation, we can obtain unique Alpha Shapes that have cell-cell interactions removed. The emphasis of the filtration is to find the correct shape where there were no connection crossing syncytia, only between healthy neighborhoods of cells. The process allows for the associated alpha number to be assigned to the clumpiness. Alpha numbers can then be used to separate different bioassays, or quantify temporal changes found in a single viral transfection due to syncytia.

In virology, mathematical models are often deployed to examine and test various behaviors of viruses. For example, one for the flu it is speculated that lethality is linked to the virus’s ability to propagate down the trachea, specifically in how ciliated cells push virus up through mucous layers in a process known as advection. We propose a model for this process, believing that this model can reveal links and critical points between lethality and advection. To solve this model, we utilize three techniques: Laplacian transform, non-linear analysis, and quasi-state analysis. We discuss the findings of each method.

Our neighboring galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), interact with each other as they move through the hot, outer region of the Milky Way. This interaction can pull and sweep away gas from the edges of the galaxies, forming large, stretched-out clouds of gas. The LMC has two gas filaments that resemble arms, which connect to a region where stars are formed, possibly hinting toward their origin or their final destination. In this study, we used radio observations and data from the Hubble Space Telescope to search for signs of these gas arms near the star-forming region. We find a continuous stream of gas that could be the arms located at least partially in front of the LMC. The positioning of these arms raises two competing questions: 1) Is the gas flow fueling new star formation in the LMC, or 2) Is gas from exploded stars in the LMC flowing out into these arms? While the inflow of gas makes sense for these gas flows, we also conducted simulations of outflows from the starburst region. Our results suggest that it is possible for debris from exploded stars to be swept into the arms. Future observations will help us better reconstruct the arms’ evolutionary history.

Some viruses have the ability to form syncytia. Syncytia are multi-nucleated cells formed via membrane fusion. Syncytia formation allows viruses to spread infection to other cells without entering the extracellular space where it could be exposed to antiviral drugs or immune responses such as antibodies. This project explores how syncytia formation can help viruses avoid antiviral drugs. Drug efficacy parameters are applied to a mathematical model of differential equations to explore the impact of antiviral drugs on cell infection, cell fusion, and viral production to model respiratory syncytial virus. The models show that as syncytia formation increases the drugs become less effective. This information will help physicians treat patients with syncytia forming viruses.