First Experience with the NPseal®: A Novel Mechanically Powered Negative Pressure Dressing Applied to Colorectal Surgery Wounds.

Background: The use of prophylactic closed-incisional negative pressure wound therapy after colorectal procedures has been shown to reduce postoperative wound complications and surgical site infection. We present our experience with a novel, closed-incision, mechanically powered negative pressure (MP-NPD) dressing after colorectal procedures.

Methods: This was a prospective, single-center, single-arm observational study assessing patient reported and wound healing outcomes of colorectal surgical incisions dressed with a MP-NPD.

Patient Compliance With Bowel Preparation for Elective Colorectal Surgery.

Introduction: Studies show that mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) plus oral antibiotics (OAs) is associated with decreased rates of postoperative complications after elective colorectal surgery. However, there is a lack of literature regarding patient compliance with bowel preparation (BP).

Materials And Methods: Patients undergoing elective colorectal surgeryfrom April 2020 to March 2022 at a tertiary care academic hospital (TCAH) and safety net hospital (SNH) were administered a BP compliance survey.

PSA Levels and Mortality in Prostate Cancer Patients.

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PC) is the second most common cancer among men around the world. Several smaller studies have explored the relationship between elevated PSA and mortality, but results have been conflicting. Additionally, studies have shown that Black men are more likely to be diagnosed with PC at late-stages and may have a twofold increase in mortality risk.

Chimeric oncolytic adenovirus evades neutralizing antibodies from human patients and exhibits enhanced anti-glioma efficacy in immunized mice.

Oncolytic viruses are a promising treatment for patients with high-grade gliomas, but neutralizing antibodies can limit their efficacy in patients with prior virus exposure or upon repeated virus injections. Data from a previous clinical trial using the oncolytic adenovirus Delta-24-RGD showed that generation of anti-viral neutralizing antibodies may affect the long-term survival of glioma patients. Past studies have examined the effects of neutralizing antibodies during systemic virus injections, but largely overlooked their impact during local virus injections into the brain.

Systemic inflammation, enteropathogenic E. Coli, and micronutrient insufficiencies in the first trimester as possible predictors of preterm birth in rural Bangladesh: a prospective study.

Background: An incomplete understanding of preterm birth is especially concerning for low-middle income countries, where preterm birth has poorer prognoses. While systemic proinflammatory processes are a reportedly normal component of gestation, excessive inflammation has been demonstrated as a risk factor for preterm birth. There is minimal research on the impact of excessive maternal inflammation in the first trimester on the risk of preterm birth in low-middle income countries specifically.

Less neutralization evasion of SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 than XBB sublineages and CH.1.1.

The highly mutated BA.2.86, with over 30 spike protein mutations in comparison to Omicron BA.

Inking outside the box: systematic review on the utility of tattooing lesions in rectal cancer.

Purpose: Endoscopic tattooing in rectal cancer is infrequently utilized for fear of tattoo ink obscuring anatomical planes, increasing the difficulty of surgical excision. Colon cancer tattooing has demonstrated increased lymph node yields and increased accuracy in establishing adequate margins. Rectal cancer tattooing may be especially helpful after neoadjuvant chemoradiation, where complete clinical responses could limit lesion identification and lymph node yields are typically less robust.

Missed Opportunities for Screening or Surveillance Among Patients with Newly Diagnosed Non-cardia Gastric Adenocarcinoma.

Background: Screening for gastric cancer is not recommended despite rising rates in certain U.S.

Populations: We determined possible missed opportunities for the detection and surveillance of preneoplastic lesions among gastric cancer patients in a VA hospital.

High-strength cellulose nanofiber/graphene oxide hybrid filament made by continuous processing and its humidity monitoring.

Human-made natural-fiber-based filaments are attractive for natural fiber-reinforced polymer (NFRP) composites. However, the composites' moisture distribution is critical, and humidity monitoring in the NFRP composites is essential to secure stability and keep their life span. In this research, high strength and humidity sensing filament was developed by blending cellulose nanofiber (CNF) and graphene oxide (GO), wet-spinning, coagulating, and drying, which can overcome the heterogeneous mechanical properties between embedded-type humidity sensors and NFRP composites.

Androgen Receptor Inhibitor Enhances the Antitumor Effect of PARP Inhibitor in Breast Cancer Cells by Modulating DNA Damage Response.

The androgen receptor (AR) is expressed in 60%-70% of breast cancers regardless of estrogen receptor status, and has been proposed as a therapeutic target in breast cancers that retain AR. In this study, the authors aimed to investigate a new treatment strategy using a novel AR inhibitor AZD3514 in breast cancer. AZD3514 alone had a minimal antiproliferative effect on most breast cancer cell lines irrespective of AR expression level, but it downregulated the expressions of DNA damage response (DDR) molecules, including ATM and chk2, which resulted in the accumulation of damaged DNA in some breast cancer cells.

Performance improvement of miniaturized ZnO nanowire accelerometer fabricated by refresh hydrothermal synthesis.

Miniaturized accelerometers are necessary for evaluating the performance of small devices, such as haptics, robotics and simulators. In this study, we fabricated miniaturized accelerometers using well-aligned ZnO nanowires. The layer of ZnO nanowires is used for active piezoelectric layer of the accelerometer, and copper was chosen as a head mass.

AZD6738, A Novel Oral Inhibitor of ATR, Induces Synthetic Lethality with ATM Deficiency in Gastric Cancer Cells.

Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) can be considered an attractive target for cancer treatment due to its deleterious effect on cancer cells harboring a homologous recombination defect. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential use of the ATR inhibitor, AZD6738, to treat gastric cancer.In SNU-601 cells with dysfunctional ATM, AZD6738 treatment led to an accumulation of DNA damage due to dysfunctional RAD51 foci formation, S phase arrest, and caspase 3-dependent apoptosis.

Amphiregulin confers trastuzumab resistance via AKT and ERK activation in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Purpose: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) heterodimerizes and shares common signaling pathways with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). In this study, we investigated the clinical implication of amphiregulin, a ligand for EGFR, on trastuzumab therapy in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Methods: Serum amphiregulin levels were quantified in 50 consecutive patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who received first-line trastuzumab plus taxane chemotherapy between October 2004 and July 2009.

Histone deacetylase inhibitor, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), enhances anti-tumor effects of the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib in triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Introduction: Olaparib, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, has been found to have therapeutic potential for treating cancers associated with impaired DNA repair capabilities, particularly those with deficiencies in the homologous recombination repair (HRR) pathway. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are important for enabling functional HRR of DNA by regulating the expression of HRR-related genes and promoting the accurate assembly of HRR-directed sub-nuclear foci. Thus, HDAC inhibitors have recently emerged as a therapeutic agent for treating cancer by inhibiting DNA repair.

A phased consent policy for cord blood donation.

This article focuses on ethical and policy questions concerning when consent may be sought for the collection and donation of cord blood. It reviews the advantages and disadvantages of alternative times for securing consent, challenges common objections to seeking consent during labor or after collection, and describes a phased consent process--a process that permits consent during early labor to the ex utero collection of cord blood followed by after-consent collection to donation. The phased consent policy attends to the unique characteristics of cord blood collection and donation, respects donors and their families, maximizes the number and diversity of cord blood units collected, preserves the relationship between providers and patients, and preserves public trust in cord blood and other types of tissue banking.