The effects of various inhibitors on crude, commercial and partially purified commercial mushroom tyrosinase were examined by comparing IC50 values. Kojic acid, salicylhydroxamic acid, tropolone, methimazole, and ammonium tetrathiomolybdate had relatively similar IC50 values for the crude, commercial and partially purified enzyme. 4-Hexylresorcinol seemed to have a somewhat higher IC50 value using crude extracts, compared to commercial or purified tyrosinase. Some inhibitors (NaCl, esculetin, biphenol, phloridzin) showed variations in IC50 values between the enzyme samples. In contrast, hydroquinone, lysozyme, Zn2+, and anisaldehyde showed little or no inhibition in concentration ranges reported to be effective inhibitors. Organic solvents (DMSO and ethanol) had IC50 values that were similar for some of the tyrosinase samples. Depending of the source of tyrosinase and choice of inhibitor, variations in IC50 values were observed.

Word Count (text, references, and endnotes): 7863 Abstract:Scholars of sexuality have argued that "moral panics" about sexuality often stand in for broader conflicts over nationality and belonging. Canada has spent decades cultivating a national image founded on multiculturalism and democratic equality. The Ontario sexuality education curriculum introduced in 2015 drew audible condemnation from a variety of groups. Drawing from Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Race Theory, we argue that the public discourse surrounding these protests exposed the limits of Canadian pluralism, fueling a metadebate about the "Canadianness" of recent immigrants and the incompatibility of liberal values with those of non-Westerners, especially Muslims. We explain this in terms of contextual factors such as Ontario's publicly funded Catholic school system and anti-Muslim xenophobia in the post-9/11 era. Our analysis speaks to the importance of intersectional social justice efforts as part of the movement for comprehensive sex education.

Curriculum change involves struggles among political actors and interest groups, and those efforts related to sex education have been noted for their particularly vexatious character. When Doug Ford was elected Premier of Ontario, Canada in 2018, he immediately repealed the comprehensive health curriculum of 2015 and attempted to muzzle teachers during the 2018-2019 school year, only to unveil a strikingly similar "new" curriculum for 2019-2020. This article analyses Ford's treatment of sex education as part of a conservative populist agenda. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, we divide the government's approach into six components that illustrate how anti-elitism and fact-bending drove curriculum policy. Our analysis contributes to discussions in curriculum studies and educational politics by connecting the recently ascendant political ideologies in the West with the already contentious area of sex education.

Objective: To assess follow-up mortality and reoperation rate in patients undergoing Bentall-De Bono operation according to the type of composite valve graft used. Methods: All consecutive adult patients operated on between May 1997 and December 2019 at our institution were included in the analysis and classified according to the use of a biological or a mechanical composite valve graft (bCVG or mCVG). The primary outcomes were follow-up mortality and reoperation rate. Secondary outcomes were operative mortality and major adverse events (MAEs) including operative mortality, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, dialysis, tracheostomy, and re-exploration for bleeding. Kaplan-Meier and competing risk analyses were used. Propensity matching analysis was used to balance differences in baseline characteristics between procedures. Results: Of 1,210 included patients, 798 received a bCVG and 412 a mCVG. The mean follow-up was 6.64 ± 0.21 years. The ten-year mortality rate was higher in the mCVG group (25.3% vs. 16.4%, P = 0.023). The ten-year reoperation rate was higher in the bCVG group (7.4% vs. 1.1%, P < 0.001). Overall operative mortality was 0.7%, and MAEs occurred in 6.2% of patients, with no significant differences between groups. Older age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI: 1.04-1.08], P < 0.01), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR 1.63, 95%CI: [1.01-2.64], P = 0.04), preoperative renal dysfunction (HR 3.08, 95%CI: [1.98-4.78], P < 0.001), New York Heart Association Class III/IV (HR 1.48, 95%CI: [1.04-2.10], P = 0.031), and mCVG (HR 2.15, 95%CI: [1.42-3.26], P < 0.001) were associated with higher risk of follow-up mortality. After propensity matching, the differences in mortality and reoperation remained significant. Conclusions: The Bentall-De Bono operation can be performed with consistently good results in experienced centers. Early outcomes are excellent regardless of the valve choice. In our study, the Bentall-De Bono operation with bCVG was associated with lower 10-year mortality but carried a higher risk of aortic reoperation. While the risk of reoperation is largely tied to valve choice, follow-up mortality is more likely to be influenced by patient comorbidities and risk factors.