Delayed open-heart operation to remove migrated intracardiac inferior vena cava stents in a living donor liver transplantation recipient: a case report.

Intracardiac migration of inferior vena cava (IVC) filter or stent is a rare but potentially fatal complication of endovascular venous device placement. There is no consensus whether migrated stents should be surgically removed by open cardiac surgery or retrieved by the percutaneous endovascular route and whether an intervention should be performed immediately or expectantly. Herein, we report a 39-year-old female who received emergent left lobe living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) owing to posthepatectomy liver failure.

Construction of in situ modulated controlled growth of MOF-on-mof impedimetric assembly for the practical minimal level assessment of anti-mullerian hormone.

Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) detection receives much attention since it is used as an ideal biomarker for quantitative assessment of ovarian reserve. The present study proposed a first report on the use of MOF-on-MOF as an electrochemical sensor for recognizing AMH in buffer and serum media. The MOF-on-MOF, MIL-88 B@UiO66NH was synthesized by the internal extended growth method (IEGM) involving MIL-88 B on UiO66NH by in situ method for the first time.

Impact of Pre-existing Anti-polyethylene Glycol Antibodies on the Pharmacokinetics and Efficacy of a COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine (Comirnaty) In Vivo.

The presence of anti-polyethylene glycol (anti-PEG) antibodies can hinder the therapeutic efficacy of PEGylated drugs. With the widespread use of a PEGylated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) messenger RNA vaccine (Comirnaty), the impact of pre-existing anti-PEG antibodies on vaccine potency has become a point of debate. To investigate this, we established mouse models with pre-existing anti-PEG antibodies and divided them into 3 groups: group 1 with anti-PEG immunoglobulin G + immunoglobulin M concentrations of 0.

Precise Control of Intracellular Trafficking and Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis in Living Cells and Behaving Animals.

Intracellular trafficking, an extremely complex network, dynamically orchestrates nearly all cellular activities. A versatile method that enables the manipulation of target transport pathways with high spatiotemporal accuracy in vitro and in vivo is required to study how this network coordinates its functions. Here, a new method called RIVET (Rapid Immobilization of target Vesicles on Engaged Tracks) is presented.

Identifying novel radioprotective drugs via salivary gland tissue chip screening.

During head and neck cancer treatment, off-target ionizing radiation damage to the salivary glands commonly causes a permanent loss of secretory function. Due to the resulting decrease in saliva production, patients have trouble eating, speaking and are predisposed to oral infections and tooth decay. While the radioprotective antioxidant drug Amifostine is FDA approved to prevent radiation-induced hyposalivation, it has intolerable side effects that limit its use, motivating the discovery of alternative therapeutics.

Identifying novel radioprotective drugs via salivary gland tissue chip screening.

During head and neck cancer treatment, off-target ionizing radiation damage to the salivary glands commonly causes a permanent loss of secretory function. Due to the resulting decrease in saliva production, patients have trouble eating, speaking and are predisposed to oral infections and tooth decay. While the radioprotective antioxidant drug Amifostine is approved to prevent radiation-induced hyposalivation, it has intolerable side effects that limit its use, motivating the discovery of alternative therapeutics.

A phase Ib/II trial of PEP503 (NBTXR3, radioenhancer) with radiotherapy and chemotherapy in patients with rectal cancer.

To investigate the safety profile, dose-limiting toxicity and antitumor activity of PEP503 (NBTXR3) nanoparticles with radiotherapy and concurrent chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced or unresectable rectal cancer. Patients will receive a single intratumoral injection of the nanoparticles, followed by radiotherapy and intravenous infusion of fluorouracil or oral capecitabine concurrently. In phase Ib (escalation phase, 3 + 3 design), volume escalation is based on the tumor volume of 5, 10, 15 and 22% of total baseline tumor volume.

Slow hydrogel matrix degradation enhances salivary gland mimetic phenotype.

We recently developed a salivary gland tissue mimetic (SGm), comprised of salivary gland cells encapsulated in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-degradable poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels within arrays of ∼320 µm diameter spherical cavities molded in PDMS. The SGm provides a functional and physiologically relevant platform well-suited to high-throughput drug screening for radioprotective compounds. However, the utility of the SGm would benefit from improved retention of acinar cell phenotype and function.

Development of NS2B-NS3 protease inhibitor that impairs Zika virus replication.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that causes severe neurological disorders, such as microcephaly in fetuses. Most recently, an outbreak of ZIKV started in Brazil in 2015. To date, no therapeutic agents have been approved to treat ZIKV infection in the clinic.

Use of the P300 event-related potential component to index transcranial direct current stimulation effects in drug users.

Drug use causes significant social and financial problems and these are exacerbated by difficulties in stopping use and subsequent maintenance of abstinence. There is also difficulty in identifying the beneficial treatment for an individual, made more problematic given the high drop-out rates in treatment programs. Here, the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the amplitude of the P300 event-related potential component, previously suggested to be indicative of successful remission, was measured in recently abstinent amphetamine users.

Acute Exercise Improves Inhibitory Control but Not Error Detection in Male Violent Perpetrators: An ERPs Study With the Emotional Stop Signal Task.

Violence has been linked to the co-occurrence of cognitive dysfunction and altered activations in several brain regions. Empirical evidence demonstrated the benefits of acute exercise on motor inhibition and error detection and their neuronal processing. However, whether such effects also hold for the population with violent behaviors remains unknown.

Curcuminoids Inhibit Angiogenic Behaviors of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells via Endoglin/Smad1 Signaling.

Background: Angiogenesis is primarily attributed to the excessive proliferation and migration of endothelial cells. Targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is therefore significant in anti-angiogenic therapy. Although these treatments have not reached clinical expectations, the upregulation of alternative angiogenic pathways (endoglin/Smad1) may play a critical role in drug (VEGF-neutralizing agents) resistance.

The experience of use of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainages for early biliary complications after liver transplantation.

This study aimed to describe our experience and discuss the results, controversies, and the use of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) in patients with biliary complications after liver transplantation (LT). Between November 2009 and August 2020, 76 consecutive patients who underwent 77 LTs (44 deceased donor LTs and 33 living donor LTs [LDLT]) were enrolled retrospectively. Endoscopic therapy as initial approach and PTBD as rescue therapy were used for patients with biliary complications.

Thermosensitive Polyester Hydrogel for Application of Immunosuppressive Drug Delivery System in Skin Allograft.

Tacrolimus (FK506) is a common immunosuppressive drug that is capable of suppressing acute rejection reactions, and is used to treat patients after allotransplantation. A stable and suitable serum concentration of tacrolimus is desirable for better therapeutic effects. However, daily drug administration via oral or injection routes is quite inconvenient and may encounter drug overdose or low patient compliance problems.

The comparisons of inhibitory control and post-error behaviors between different types of athletes and physically inactive adults.

To properly behave and correct mistakes, individuals must inhibit inappropriate actions and detect errors for future behavioral adjustment. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that athletes are superior in cognitive functions and this benefit varied dependent on the types of sport that individuals involved in, but less is known on whether athletes have a different error-related behavioral pattern. The purpose of this study was to compare the behavioral performance of inhibition and error monitoring between individuals who participated in an open-skill sport (n = 12), a closed-skill sport (n = 12), and a sedentary lifestyle (n = 16).

Migration and invasion of NSCLC suppressed by the downregulation of Src/focal adhesion kinase using single, double and tetra domain anti- CEACAM6 antibodies.

Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecules 6 (CEACAM6) is a cell adhesion receptor. Expression of CEACAM6 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) associated with tumor progression and metastatic condition via Src/FAK signaling pathway. We established three anti-CEACAM6 antibodies with valences, which were designed to be monomeric sdAb, bivalent sdAb (2Ab), and tetravalent sdAb (4Ab).

Double attack strategy for leukemia using a pre-targeting bispecific antibody (CD20 Ab-mPEG scFv) and actively attracting PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin to enhance anti-tumor activity.

Background: Tumor-targeted nanoparticles hold great promise as new tools for therapy of liquid cancers. Furthermore, the therapeutic efficacy of nanoparticles can be improved by enhancing the cancer cellular internalization.

Methods: In this study, we developed a humanized bispecific antibody (BsAbs: CD20 Ab-mPEG scFv) which retains the clinical anti-CD20 whole antibody (Ofatumumab) and is fused with an anti-mPEG single chain antibody (scFv) that can target the systemic liquid tumor cells.

Utilization of silicon nanowire field-effect transistors for the detection of a cardiac biomarker, cardiac troponin I and their applications involving animal models.

This study develops an ultrasensitive electrical device, the silicon nanowire-field effect transistor (SiNW-FET) for detection of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in obesity induced myocardial injury. The biosensor device utilizes metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) compatible top-down methodology for the fabrication process. After fabrication, the surface of the SiNW is modified with the cTnI monoclonal antibody (Mab-cTnI) upon covalent immobilization to capture cTnI antigen.

Humanized bispecific antibody (mPEG × HER2) rapidly confers PEGylated nanoparticles tumor specificity for multimodality imaging in breast cancer.

Background: Developing a universal strategy to improve the specificity and sensitivity of PEGylated nanoaparticles (PEG-NPs) for assisting in the diagnosis of tumors is important in multimodality imaging. Here, we developed the anti-methoxypolyethylene glycol (mPEG) bispecific antibody (BsAb; mPEG × HER2), which has dual specificity for mPEG and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), with a diverse array of PEG-NPs to confer nanoparticles with HER2 specificity and stronger intensity.

Result: We used a one-step formulation to rapidly modify the nanoprobes with mPEG × HER2 and optimized the modified ratio of BsAbs on several PEG-NPs (Lipo-DiR, SPIO, Qdot and AuNP).

Electrophysiological investigation of the effects of Tai Chi on inhibitory control in older individuals.

The possibility that improved inhibitory control in older adults is associated with engagement in non-contact sporting activity, Tai Chi, was investigated. Three groups of participants were compared; a group who regularly took part in Tai Chi (TC), a regularly exercising (RE) group, and a sedentary group (SG). Concurrent electroencephalographic recordings were obtained while a stop-signal inhibitory control task, where speeded responses are needed for most trials, but these must occasionally be withheld when a 'stop signal' is displayed, was performed.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits tumor angiogenesis: involvement of endoglin/Smad1 signaling in human umbilical vein endothelium cells.

Strategies targeting endoglin are currently being investigated in clinical trials as an anti-angiogenic therapy. The redundancy between endoglin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling in angiogenesis was verified. Increased endoglin signaling after an anti-VEGF treatment was observed in patients.

Mutant Kras-induced upregulation of CD24 enhances prostate cancer stemness and bone metastasis.

Prostate cancer (PCA), one of the most common malignant tumors in men, is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in males worldwide. We report here that PCA models harboring conditional LSL/Kras or BRAF allele with prostate-specific abrogated p53 function recapitulate human PCA precursor lesions, histopathology, and clinical behaviors. We found that the development of reprogrammed EMT-like phenotypes and skeleton metastatic behavior requires concurrent activated Kras and p53 depletion in PCA.

Development of a novel thermal-sensitive multifunctional liposome with antibody conjugation to target EGFR-expressing tumors.

A novel EGFR-targeting, thermal-sensitive multifunctional liposome (TSML) was developed based on manganese-doped magnetism-engineered iron oxide nanoparticles (MnMEIOs) and gold nanorods (AuNRs) for efficient photothermal therapy and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. An Erbitux-conjugated TSML (Erb-TSML) was encapsulated with doxorubicin and gold nanorods conjugated with manganese-doped magnetism-engineered iron oxide nanoparticles, for theranostic applications of EGFR-positive tumors. The Erb-TSML selectively targeted EGFR-positive tumors and promoted tumor destruction by laser activation.

Right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex involvement in proactive and reactive aggression: a transcranial direct current stimulation study.

To investigate whether modulation of the excitability of the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (rVLPFC) using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) would alter proactive aggression, reactive aggression, or both. The Taylor Aggression Paradigm, considered to provide measures indicative of the two types of aggression, was presented with delivery of either anodal tDCS or sham tDCS over rVLPFC. Participants were required to select levels of negative feedback to delivery should they win on a competitive reaction-time task and the levels selected on initial trials (with no feedback from the opponent) were taken as measures of proactive aggression, whereas levels on subsequent trials (with feedback from the opponent) were indicators of reactive aggression.