Engineered ipilimumab variants that bind human and mouse CTLA-4.

Testing of candidate monoclonal antibody therapeutics in preclinical models is an essential step in drug development. Identification of antibody therapeutic candidates that bind their human targets and cross-react to mouse orthologs is often challenging, especially for targets with low sequence homology. In such cases, surrogate antibodies that bind mouse orthologs must be used.

AI as your ally: The effects of AI-assisted venting on negative affect and perceived social support.

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have made significant strides in generating human-like conversations. With AI's expanding capabilities in mimicking human interactions, its affordability and accessibility underscore the potential of AI chatbots to facilitate negative emotional disclosure or venting. The study's primary objective is to highlight the potential benefits of AI-assisted venting by comparing its effectiveness to venting through a traditional journaling platform in reducing negative affect and increasing perceived social support.

Negative work-to-family spillover stress and heightened cardiovascular risk biomarkers in midlife and older adults.

Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the health implications of negative work-to-family spillover on cardiovascular risk biomarkers.

Methods: In a large-scale cross-sectional dataset of working or self-employed midlife and older adults in the United States (N = 1179), we examined five biomarkers linked to cardiovascular risk, including high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein. Negative work-to-family spillover, measured using a four-item self-reported questionnaire, was included into our model to study its association with these cardiovascular risk biomarkers.

The Link Between Dysregulated Immunometabolism and Vascular Damage: Implications for the Development of Atherosclerosis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Other Rheumatic Diseases.

A bimodal pattern of mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) exists. Early-stage deaths are predominantly caused by infection, whereas later-stage deaths are mainly caused by atherosclerotic disease. Further, although SLE-related mortality has reduced considerably in recent years, cardiovascular (CV) events remain one of the leading causes of death in people with SLE.

Biophysical characterization of PVR family interactions and therapeutic antibody recognition to TIGIT.

The clinical successes of immune checkpoint blockade have invigorated efforts to activate T cell-mediated responses against cancer. Targeting members of the PVR family, consisting of inhibitory receptors TIGIT, CD96, and CD112R, has been an active area of clinical investigation. In this study, the binding interactions and molecular assemblies of the PVR family receptors and ligands have been assessed .

Impact of Drug Conjugation on Thermal and Metabolic Stabilities of Aglycosylated and -Glycosylated Antibodies.

N-linked glycosylation is one of the most common and complex posttranslational modifications that govern the biological functions and physicochemical properties of therapeutic antibodies. We evaluated thermal and metabolic stabilities of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with payloads attached to the C'E loop in the immunoglobulin G (IgG) Fc CH2 domain, comparing the glycosylated and aglycosylated Fc ADC variants. Our study revealed that introduction of small-molecule drugs into an aglycosylated antibody can compensate for thermal destabilization originating from structural distortions caused by elimination of N-linked glycans.

Parental Knowledge on Nephrotic Syndrome and Disease Relapse in children.

Introduction: Parental knowledge on nephrotic syndrome and disease relapse is important for early recognition and treatment of relapse to prevent the complications. Parental knowledge on nephrotic syndrome was reported to be inadequate from published studies. To date, there is no study on parental knowledge on childhood nephrotic syndrome in Malaysia.

Genetic polymorphism in DTNBP1 gene is associated with methamphetamine-induced panic disorder.

Objective: The dysbindin-1 (dystrobrevin-binding protein-1 [DTNBP-1]) gene has repeatedly been shown to be associated with psychotic disorder across diverse populations. In this study, we attempted to investigate the association of the rs3213207 (P1635) genetic polymorphism of the DTNBP1 gene with methamphetamine dependence and with methamphetamine-induced psychosis, manic episodes, and panic disorder in a male Malaysian population.

Methods: This polymorphism was genotyped in 233 male methamphetamine-dependent subjects and in 301 male controls of the following 4 different ethnicities: Malay, Chinese, Kadazan-Dusun, and Bajau.

Quantitation of methadone and metabolite in patients under maintenance treatment.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry quantitative method was developed to monitor concentrations of methadone and its metabolite 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP) in plasma and urine of patients. The developed method was simple, accurate and reproducible to quantify methadone and EDDP in plasma and urine samples in the concentration range of 15-1,000 and 50-2,000 ng/mL, respectively. The proposed analytical method was applied to plasma and urine samples obtained from 96 patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) with daily methadone doses of 2-120 mg/day.

The effects of neuroticism and extraversion on cardiovascular reactivity during a mental and an emotional stress task.

Unlabelled: Evidence suggests that physiological reactivity to mental and emotional stress may be influenced by personality traits.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the relationship between, emotionally based personality traits, Neuroticism (N) and Extraversion (E), and cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) during mental arithmetic (MA) and anger recall (AR).

Methods: Heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac output and total peripheral resistance were measured in 114 Singaporean male patrol officers from the Singapore Police Force while they performed MA and AR tasks.

Appraisal underpinnings of affective chronometry: the role of appraisals in emotion habituation.

In light of the lack of studies examining the cognitive components of affective chronometry, this research examined the appraisals associated with emotion habituation, using anger as the emotion of focus. Anger and its appraisals were assessed repeatedly over a day in the participants' naturalistic contexts. The trajectory of decline in anger over time after its first appearance was found to be a function of chronic coping styles.

The use of ecological momentary assessment to test appraisal theories of emotion.

Although appraisal theories have received strong empirical support, there are methodological concerns about the research, including biased recall, heuristic responding, ethical issues, and weak and unrealistic induction of emotions in laboratories. To provide a more ecologically valid test of appraisal theories, the authors used ecological momentary assessment, in which the emotions and appraisals of Singaporean police officers were measured online over the course of an ordinary workday. The research focused on happiness.

The relationship of hostility, negative affect and ethnicity to cardiovascular responses: an ambulatory study in Singapore.

This study tested the hypotheses that ambulatory heart rate and blood pressure would be higher for individuals high but not low in hostility when they experienced negative affect or social stress and that this interaction would be stronger for Indians compared with other Singapore ethnic groups. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was done on 108 male Singapore patrol officers as they went about their daily duties. After each BP measurement participants completed a computerized questionnaire including items on emotional experience.

Cardiovascular reactivity of Singaporean male police officers as a function of task, ethnicity and hostility.

Objective: This research examined hemodynamic processes in cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) as a function of task, ethnicity and trait hostility.

Method: One hundred and fourteen male patrol officers from the Singapore Police Force participated in this experimental study. Trait hostility was measured using the interpersonal hostility assessment technique to derive a hostile behavior index (HBI).

Job demands, decisional control, and cardiovascular responses.

The demand-control model for coronary heart disease was tested using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Male patrol officers (N = 118) wore ambulatory blood pressure monitors during 1 of their day shifts with readings taken every 30 min. Following each reading, officers completed a questionnaire using a handheld computer.

Breastfeeding and Chinese mothers living in Australia.

This study sought information on the breastfeeding rates, knowledge and beliefs of 101 migrant Chinese mothers living in south-west Sydney. Differences in beliefs about breastfeeding and bottle-feeding practices between migrant and indigenous groups of mothers were also examined. Sixty-five percent of Chinese mothers were fully breastfeeding their infants on discharge, with a further 6.