Optical coherence tomography enables longitudinal evaluation of cell graft-directed remodeling in stroke lesions.

Stem cell grafting can promote glial repair of adult stroke injuries during the subacute wound healing phase, but graft survival and glial repair outcomes are perturbed by lesion severity and mode of injury. To better understand how stroke lesion environments alter the functions of cell grafts, we employed optical coherence tomography (OCT) to longitudinally image mouse cortical photothrombotic ischemic strokes treated with allogeneic neural progenitor cell (NPC) grafts. OCT angiography, signal intensity, and signal decay resulting from optical scattering were assessed at multiple timepoints across two weeks in mice receiving an NPC graft or an injection of saline at two days after stroke.

Optical coherence tomography enables longitudinal evaluation of cell graft-directed remodeling in stroke lesions.

Stem cell grafting can promote glial repair of adult stroke injuries during the subacute wound healing phase, but graft survival and glial repair outcomes are perturbed by lesion severity and mode of injury. To better understand how stroke lesion environments alter the functions of cell grafts, we employed optical coherence tomography (OCT) to longitudinally image mouse cortical photothrombotic ischemic strokes treated with allogeneic neural progenitor cell (NPC) grafts. OCT angiography, signal intensity, and signal decay resulting from optical scattering were assessed at multiple timepoints across two weeks in mice receiving an NPC graft or an injection of saline at two days after stroke.

High-throughput deep tissue two-photon microscopy at kilohertz frame rates.

High-speed laser scanning microscopes are essential for monitoring fast biological phenomena. However, existing strategies that achieve millisecond time resolution with two-photon microscopes (2PMs) are generally technically challenging and suffer from compromises among imaging field of view, excitation efficiency, and depth penetration in thick tissue. Here, we present a versatile solution that enables a conventional video-rate 2PM to perform 2D scanning at kilohertz frame rates over large fields of view.

High throughput detection of capillary stalling events with Bessel beam two-photon microscopy.

Significance: Brief disruptions in capillary flow, commonly referred to as capillary "stalling," have gained interest recently for their potential role in disrupting cerebral blood flow and oxygen delivery. Approaches to studying this phenomenon have been hindered by limited volumetric imaging rates and cumbersome manual analysis. The ability to precisely and efficiently quantify the dynamics of these events will be key in understanding their potential role in stroke and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Interdisciplinary Analyses of Bronze Age Communities from Western Hungary Reveal Complex Population Histories.

In this study, we report 21 ancient shotgun genomes from present-day Western Hungary, from previously understudied Late Copper Age Baden, and Bronze Age Somogyvár-Vinkovci, Kisapostag, and Encrusted Pottery archeological cultures (3,530-1,620 cal Bce). Our results indicate the presence of high steppe ancestry in the Somogyvár-Vinkovci culture. They were then replaced by the Kisapostag group, who exhibit an outstandingly high (up to ∼47%) Mesolithic hunter-gatherer ancestry, despite this component being thought to be highly diluted by the time of the Early Bronze Age.

Optical coherence tomography-based design for a real-time motion corrected scanning microscope.

While two-photon fluorescence microscopy is a powerful platform for the study of functional dynamics in living cells and tissues, the bulk motion inherent to these applications causes distortions. We have designed a motion tracking module based on spectral domain optical coherence tomography which compliments a laser scanning two-photon microscope with real-time corrective feedback. The module can be added to fluorescent imaging microscopes using a single dichroic and without additional contrast agents.

UK recommendations for the management of transgender and gender-diverse patients with inherited cancer risks.

As the rate of people openly identifying as transgender or gender diverse (TGD) is increasing, UK cancer genetics services are seeing growing numbers of TGD patients. Lack of appropriate clinical guidelines and a scarcity of robust data about the impact of gender-affirming treatments on cancer risk has led to uncertainty of how best to support TGD patients, and inequity in standards of care. To address this gap, the UK Cancer Genetics Group and Central & South Genomic Medicine Service Alliance facilitated a 2-day meeting to develop national consensus to support the management of TGD patients with inherited cancer risks.

Neurovascular Uncoupling Is Linked to Microcirculatory Dysfunction in Regions Outside the Ischemic Core Following Ischemic Stroke.

Background Normal brain function depends on the ability of the vasculature to increase blood flow to regions with high metabolic demands. Impaired neurovascular coupling, such as the local hyperemic response to neuronal activity, may contribute to poor neurological outcome after stroke despite successful recanalization, that is, futile recanalization. Methods and Results Mice implanted with chronic cranial windows were trained for awake head-fixation before experiments.

Spotlight on Genetic Kidney Diseases: A Call for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine Solutions.

Nanoparticles as drug delivery carriers have benefited diseases, including cancer, since the 1990s, and more recently, their promise to quickly and efficiently be mobilized to fight against global diseases such as in the COVID-19 pandemic have been proven. Despite these success stories, there are limited nanomedicine efforts for chronic kidney diseases (CKDs), which affect 844 million people worldwide and can be linked to a variety of genetic kidney diseases. In this Perspective, we provide a brief overview of the clinical status of genetic kidney diseases, background on kidney physiology and a summary of nanoparticle design that enable kidney access and targeting, and emerging technological strategies that can be applied for genetic kidney diseases, including rare and congenital kidney diseases.

Researching the Aftermath of Slavery in Mainland East Africa: Methodological, Ethical, and Practical Challenges.

This article examines ethical, practical, and methodological challenges in researching the aftermath of slavery in continental East Africa away from the coastal plantation belt. Interest in post-slavery there is recent and inspired by the apparent contrast with West Africa, where the issue is much more salient. The article explains this silence by highlighting politically-motivated avoidance of the issue in colonial sources and the preference of post-colonial historians for 'useful' pasts.

Measuring capillary flow dynamics using interlaced two-photon volumetric scanning.

Two photon microscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT) are two standard methods for measuring flow speeds of red blood cells in microvessels, particularly in animal models. However, traditional two photon microscopy lacks the depth of field to adequately capture the full volumetric complexity of the cerebral microvasculature and OCT lacks the specificity offered by fluorescent labeling. In addition, the traditional raster scanning technique utilized in both modalities requires a balance of image frame rate and field of view, which severely limits the study of RBC velocities in the microvascular network.

Epithelial layer unjamming shifts energy metabolism toward glycolysis.

In development of an embryo, healing of a wound, or progression of a carcinoma, a requisite event is collective epithelial cellular migration. For example, cells at the advancing front of a wound edge tend to migrate collectively, elongate substantially, and exert tractions more forcefully compared with cells many ranks behind. With regards to energy metabolism, striking spatial gradients have recently been reported in the wounded epithelium, as well as in the tumor, but within the wounded cell layer little is known about the link between mechanical events and underlying energy metabolism.

Functional Ultrasound Speckle Decorrelation-Based Velocimetry of the Brain.

A high-speed, contrast-free, quantitative ultrasound velocimetry (vUS) for blood flow velocity imaging throughout the rodent brain is developed based on the normalized first-order temporal autocorrelation function of the ultrasound field signal. vUS is able to quantify blood flow velocity in both transverse and axial directions, and is validated with numerical simulation, phantom experiments, and in vivo measurements. The functional imaging ability of vUS is demonstrated by monitoring the blood flow velocity changes during whisker stimulation in awake mice.

Chronic Imaging of Mouse Brain: From Optical Systems to Functional Ultrasound.

Utilization of functional ultrasound (fUS) in cerebral vascular imaging is gaining popularity among neuroscientists. In this article, we describe a chronic surgical preparation method that allows longitudinal studies and therefore is applicable to a wide range of studies, especially on aging, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases. This method can also be used with awake mice; hence, the deleterious effects of anesthesia on neurovascular responses can be avoided.

Constraining Axion Inflation with Gravitational Waves across 29 Decades in Frequency.

We demonstrate that gravitational waves generated by efficient gauge preheating after axion inflation generically contribute significantly to the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom N_{eff}. We show that, with existing Planck limits, gravitational waves from preheating already place the strongest constraints on the inflaton's possible axial coupling to Abelian gauge fields. We demonstrate that gauge preheating can completely reheat the Universe regardless of the inflationary potential.

Dynamic capillary stalls in reperfused ischemic penumbra contribute to injury: A hyperacute role for neutrophils in persistent traffic jams.

Ever since the introduction of thrombolysis and the subsequent expansion of endovascular treatments for acute ischemic stroke, it remains to be identified why the actual outcomes are less favorable despite recanalization. Here, by high spatio-temporal resolution imaging of capillary circulation in mice, we introduce the pathological phenomenon of dynamic flow stalls in cerebral capillaries, occurring persistently in salvageable penumbra after reperfusion. These stalls, which are different from permanent cellular plugs of no-reflow, were temporarily and repetitively occurring in the capillary network, impairing the overall circulation like small focal traffic jams.

Nonlinear Dynamics of Preheating after Multifield Inflation with Nonminimal Couplings.

We study the postinflation dynamics of multifield models involving nonminimal couplings using lattice simulations to capture significant nonlinear effects like backreaction and rescattering. We measure the effective equation of state and typical timescales for the onset of thermalization, which could affect the usual mapping between predictions for primordial perturbation spectra and measurements of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation. For large values of the nonminimal coupling constants, we find efficient particle production that gives rise to nearly instantaneous preheating.

Reverse-Correlation Analysis of the Mechanosensation Circuit and Behavior in C. elegans Reveals Temporal and Spatial Encoding.

Animals must integrate the activity of multiple mechanoreceptors to navigate complex environments. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the general roles of the mechanosensory neurons have been defined, but most studies involve end-point or single-time-point measurements, and thus lack dynamic information. Here, we formulate a set of unbiased quantitative characterizations of the mechanosensory system by using reverse correlation analysis on behavior.

Anionic Phospholipids Bind to and Modulate the Activity of Human TRESK Background K Channel.

The background K channel TRESK regulates sensory neuron excitability, and changes in its function/expression contribute to neuronal hyperexcitability after injury/inflammation, making it an attractive therapeutic target for pain-related disorders. Factors that change lipid bilayer composition/properties (including volatile anesthetics, chloroform, chlorpromazine, shear stress, and cell swelling/shrinkage) modify TRESK current, but despite the importance of anionic phospholipids (e.g.

TrueNTH sexual recovery study protocol: a multi-institutional collaborative approach to developing and testing a web-based intervention for couples coping with the side-effects of prostate cancer treatment in a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Over half of men who receive treatment for prostate suffer from a range of sexual problems that affect negatively their sexual health, sexual intimacy with their partners and their quality of life. In clinical practice, however, care for the sexual side effects of treatment is often suboptimal or unavailable. The goal of the current study is to test a web-based intervention to support the recovery of sexual intimacy of prostate cancer survivors and their partners after treatment.

Pyrethroids inhibit K2P channels and activate sensory neurons: basis of insecticide-induced paraesthesias.

Pyrethroid insecticides are widely used for pest control in agriculture or in human public health commonly as a topical treatment for scabies and head lice. Exposure to pyrethroids such as permethrin or tetramethrin (TM) causes sensory alterations such as transient pain, burning, stinging sensations, and paraesthesias. Despite the well-known effects of pyrethroids on sodium channels, actions on other channels that control sensory neuron excitability are less studied.

Departures from the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertston-Walker Cosmological Model in an Inhomogeneous Universe: A Numerical Examination.

While the use of numerical general relativity for modeling astrophysical phenomena and compact objects is commonplace, the application to cosmological scenarios is only just beginning. Here, we examine the expansion of a spacetime using the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura formalism of numerical relativity in synchronous gauge. This work represents the first numerical cosmological study that is fully relativistic, nonlinear, and without symmetry.

Ion Channels in the Eye: Involvement in Ocular Pathologies.

The eye is the sensory organ of vision. There, the retina transforms photons into electrical signals that are sent to higher brain areas to produce visual sensations. In the light path to the retina, different types of cells and tissues are involved in maintaining the transparency of avascular structures like the cornea or lens, while others, like the retinal pigment epithelium, have a critical role in the maintenance of photoreceptor function by regenerating the visual pigment.