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.