Qualitative study exploring the views and perceptions of parents/carers of young children with CF regarding the introduction of CFTR modulator therapy (The REVEAL study; PaRents pErspectiVEs of KAftrio in chiLdren aged 2-5).

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is associated with a historically high treatment burden which causes anxiety and exhaustion for parents of children with CF, especially in the early years of a child's life. Recently, a new medication, elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ETI), has become available to some people with CF, which has had a significant impact on the quality of life of older children and adults. This medication will soon be available for children ages 2-5 in the UK.

Optical metabolic imaging identifies metabolic shifts and mitochondria heterogeneity in POLG mutator macrophages.

The polymerase gamma (POLG) gene mutation is associated with mitochondria and metabolism disorders, resulting in heterogeneous responses to immunological activation and posing challenges for mitochondrial disease therapy. Optical metabolic imaging captures the autofluorescent signal of two coenzymes, NADH and FAD, and offers a label-free approach to detect cellular metabolic phenotypes, track mitochondria morphology, and quantify metabolic heterogeneity. In this study, fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) of NAD(P)H and FAD revealed that POLG mutator macrophages exhibit a decreased NAD(P)H lifetime, and optical redox ratio compared to the wild-type macrophages, indicating an increased dependence on glycolysis.

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy for metabolic analysis of LDHB inhibition in triple negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer with no targeted treatments currently available. TNBC cells participate in metabolic symbiosis, a process that optimizes tumor growth by balancing metabolic processes between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation through increased activity by the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase B (LDHB). Metabolic symbiosis allows oxidative cancer cells to function at a similar rate as glycolytic cancer cells, increasing overall metabolic activity and proliferation.

Label-free Detection and Characterization of Metabolism in Fresh and Cryopreserved Macrophages.

Cryopreservation is a widely used technique to preserve biological samples for extended periods of time at low temperatures. Even though it is known to have significant effects on cell viability, its effect on their metabolism remains unexplored. Studying how cryopreservation influences the metabolism of cells is important to guarantee the reliability of samples transported between sites for analysis.

Sulfur Vacancies Limit the Open-Circuit Voltage of SbS Solar Cells.

Antimony sulfide (SbS) is a promising candidate as an absorber layer for single-junction solar cells and the top subcell in tandem solar cells. However, the power conversion efficiency of SbS-based solar cells has remained stagnant over the past decade, largely due to trap-assisted nonradiative recombination. Here we assess the trap-limited conversion efficiency of SbS by investigating nonradiative carrier capture rates for intrinsic point defects using first-principles calculations and Sah-Shockley statistics.