Background. Salivary α-synuclein (aSyn) and its nitrated form, or 3-nitrotyrosine-α-synuclein (3-NT-αSyn), hold promise as biomarkers for idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). Nitrative stress that is characterized by an excess of 3-nitrotyrosine proteins (3-NT-proteins) has been proposed as a pathogenic mechanism in IPD. The objective is to study the pathological role of native αSyn, 3-NT-αSyn, and 3-NT-proteins in the saliva and submandibulary glands of patients with IPD. Methods. The salivary and serum αSyn and 3-NT-proteins concentration is evaluated with ELISA in patients and controls. Correlations of αSyn and 3-NT-proteins content with clinical features of the disease are examined. Immunohistochemical 3-NT-αSyn expression in submandibulary gland sections is analyzed. Results. (a) Salivary concentration and saliva/serum ratios of native αSyn and 3-NT-proteins are similar in patients and controls; (b) salivary αSyn and 3-NT-proteins do not correlate with any clinical feature; and (c) three patterns of 3-Nthat suggests that a biopsy of the submandibulary gland, if proven safe, could be a useful technique for diagnosing IPD. Finally, to our knowledge, this is also the first description of 3-NT-αSyn-immunoreactive intracytoplasmic bodies in cells that are located outside the nervous system. These intracytoplasmic bodies are present in duct cells of submandibulary gland sections from all subjects regardless of their pathology, and they can represent an aging or involutional change. Further immunostaining studies with different antibodies and larger samples are needed to validate the data.The number of diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing shoulder arthroplasty is growing. This study aims to compare perioperative outcomes of shoulder arthroplasty in diabetic patients at different renal function stages. Between 1998 and 2013, a total of 4443 diabetic patients with shoulder arthroplasty were enrolled 1174 (26%) had CKD without dialysis (CKD group), 427 (9%) underwent dialysis (dialysis group), and 3042 (68%) had no CKD (non-CKD group). Compared with the non-CKD group, the CKD (odds ratio [OR], 4.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.02-10.89) and dialysis (OR, 6.71; 95% CI, 1.63-27.73) groups had a high risk of in-hospital death. The dialysis group had a high risk of infection after shoulder arthroplasty compared with the CKD (subdistribution hazard ratio [SHR], 1.69; 95% CI, 1.07-2.69) and non-CKD (SHR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.14-2.73) groups. The dialysis group showed higher risks of all-cause readmission and mortality than the CKD and non-CKD groups after a 3-month follow-up. In conclusion, CKD was associated with worse outcomes after shoulder arthroplasty. Compared with those without CKD, CKD patients had significantly increased readmission and mortality risks but did not have an increased risk of surgical complications, including superficial infection or implant removal.Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) produces urease in order to improve its settlement and growth in the human gastric epithelium. Urease inhibitors likely represent potentially powerful therapeutics for treating H. pylori; however, their instability and toxicity have proven problematic in human clinical trials. In this study, we investigate the ability of a natural compound extracted from Zingiber zerumbet Smith, zerumbone, to inhibit the urease activity of H. pylori by formation of urease dimers, trimers, or tetramers. As an oxygen atom possesses stronger electronegativity than the first carbon atom bonded to it, in the zerumbone structure, the neighboring second carbon atom shows a relatively negative charge (δ-) and the next carbon atom shows a positive charge (δ+), sequentially. Due to this electrical gradient, it is possible that H. pylori urease with its negative charges (such as thiol radicals) might bind to the β-position carbon of zerumbone. Our results show that zerumbone dimerized, trimerized, or tetramerized with both H. pylori urease A and urease B molecules, and that this formation of complex inhibited H. pylori urease activity. Although zerumbone did not affect either gene transcription or the protein expression of urease A and urease B, our study demonstrated that zerumbone could effectively dimerize with both urease molecules and caused significant functional inhibition of urease activity. In short, our findings suggest that zerumbone may be an effective H. read more pylori urease inhibitor that may be suitable for therapeutic use in humans.The use of corrugated webs increases web shear stability and eliminates the need for transverse stiffeners in steel beams. Optimised regression learner techniques (ORLTs) are rarely used for calculating shear capacity in steel beam research. This study proposes a new approach for calculating the maximum shear capacity of steel beams with trapezoidal corrugated webs (SBCWs) by using ORLTs. A new shear model is proposed using ORLTs in accordance with plate buckling theory and previously developed formulas for predicting the shear strength of SBCWs. The proposed ORLT models are implemented using the regression learner toolbox of MATLAB software (2020b). The available data of more than 125 test results from different specimens prepared by previous researchers are used to create the model. In this study, web geometry and relevant web steel grades determine the shear capacity of SBCWs. Four regression methods are adopted. Results are compared with those of an artificial neural network model. The model output factor represents the ratio of the web vertical shear stress to the normalised shear stress. Shear capacity can be estimated on the basis of the resulting factor from the model. The proposed model is verified using two methods. In the first method, a series of tests are performed by the authors. In the second method, the results of the model are compared with the shear values obtained experimentally by other researchers. On the basis of the test results of previous studies and the current work, the proposed model provides an acceptable degree of accuracy for predicting the shear capacity of SBCWs. The results obtained using Gaussian process regression are the most appropriate because its recoded mean square error is 0.07%. The proposed model can predict the shear capacity of SBCWs with an acceptable percentage of error. The recoded percentage of error is less than 5% for 93% of the total specimens. By contrast, the maximum differential obtained is ±10%, which is recorded for 3 out of 125 specimens.