Muscle relaxation enhances motor imagery capacity in people with anxiety: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: Motor imagery is the mental representation of a movement without physical execution. When motor imagery is performed to enhance motor learning and performance, participants must reach a temporal congruence between the imagined and actual movement execution. Identifying factors that can influence this capacity could enhance the effectiveness of motor imagery programs.

A Prospective Non-interventional Real-World Study of cabozantinib in Pretreated Patients With Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma Refractory to Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-Targeted Therapy (CASSIOPE).

Background: There is a lack of published data on real-world cabozantinib use in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma after prior vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapy.

Methods: CASSIOPE was a real-world, prospective, multicenter, non-interventional postauthorization safety study of cabozantinib in adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma in Europe following prior VEGF-targeted treatment (NCT03419572). Endpoints included cabozantinib utilization (dose modifications due to adverse events [AEs; primary endpoint], dose, dose modifications, and treatment duration), safety, effectiveness (progression-free survival [PFS], overall survival [OS], best overall response [BOR]), and healthcare resource utilization.

Peripapillary and Macular Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Predictors of Visual Improvement in Patients Treated with Vitrectomy for Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane.

Introduction: We investigated the changes of peripapillary and macular microvasculature in idiopathic macular epiretinal membrane (iERM) eyes before and after pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), aiming to identify potential optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) predictors of visual acuity improvement.

Methods: Fifty-seven eyes diagnosed with iERM were enrolled and underwent PPV with ERM and internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling. Data were collected before surgery and during the 12-month postoperative period.

Kupffer cell reverse migration into the liver sinusoids mitigates neonatal sepsis and meningitis.

In adults, liver-resident macrophages, or Kupffer cells (KCs), reside in the sinusoids and sterilize circulating blood by capturing rapidly flowing microbes. We developed quantitative intravital imaging of 1-day-old mice combined with transcriptomics, genetic manipulation, and in vivo infection assays to interrogate increased susceptibility of newborns to bloodstream infections. Whereas 1-day-old KCs were better at catching in vitro, we uncovered a critical 1-week window postpartum when KCs have limited access to blood and must translocate from liver parenchyma into the sinusoids.

Leveraging weak complementary labels enhances semantic segmentation of hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

In this paper we present a deep learning segmentation approach to classify and quantify the two most prevalent primary liver cancers - hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma - from hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained whole slide images. While semantic segmentation of medical images typically requires costly pixel-level annotations by domain experts, there often exists additional information which is routinely obtained in clinical diagnostics but rarely utilized for model training. We propose to leverage such weak information from patient diagnoses by deriving complementary labels that indicate to which class a sample cannot belong to.

Fetal Liver-like Organoids Recapitulate Blood-Liver Niche Development and Multipotent Hematopoiesis from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.

The fetal liver is a hematopoietic organ, hosting a diverse and evolving progenitor population. While human liver organoids derived from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) mimic aspects of embryonic and fetal development, they typically lack the complex hematopoietic niche and the interaction between hepatic and hematopoietic development. We describe the generation of human Fetal Liver-like Organoids (FLOs), that model human hepato-hematopoietic interactions previously characterized in mouse models.

Cyanocobalamin-loaded dissolving microneedles diminish skin inflammation in vivo.

Inflammatory diseases of the skin have a considerable high prevalence worldwide and negatively impact the patients' quality of life. First-line standard therapies for these conditions inherently entail important side effects when used long-term, particularly complicating the management of chronic cases. Therefore, there is a need to develop novel therapeutic strategies to offer reliable alternative treatments.

Low-frequency sounds combined with motor imagery elicits a transient disruption of force performance: A path to neuromotor reprogramming?

The effectiveness of motor imagery (MI) training on sports performance is now well-documented. Recently, it has been proposed that a single session of MI combined with low frequency sound (LFS) might enhance muscle activation. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this effect remain unknown.

Brain wave modulation and EEG power changes during auditory beats stimulation.

Auditory beats stimulation (ABS) has received increased attention for its potential to modulate neural oscillations through a phenomenon described as brain entrainment (i.e synchronization of brain's electrocortical activity to external stimuli at a specific frequency). Recently, a new form of ABS has emerged, inspired by isochronic tones stimulation (IT).

Liver macrophages revisited: The expanding universe of versatile responses in a spatiotemporal context.

The liver is a vital organ that continuously adapts to a wide and dynamic diversity of self-antigens and xenobiotics. This involves the active contribution of immune cells, particularly by the liver-resident macrophages, the Kupffer cells (KCs), which exert a variety of central functions in liver homeostasis and disease. As such, KCs interact with their microenvironment to shape the hepatic cellular landscape, control gut-derived signal integration, and modulate metabolism.

Imagery and motor learning: a special issue on the neurocognitive mechanisms of imagery and imagery practice of motor actions.

Human beings are able to imagine actions with the aim to change movement coordination and to learn particular movements. Meta-analyses to date have shown that when individuals systematically engage in imagery of a motor action without overt behavior this can improve motor performance and facilitate motor learning. Despite a considerable body of research in neuroscience, psychology, and sport science, however, there is at present no consensus on the neurocognitive mechanisms of imagery, and the mechanisms that lead to learning via imagined action are still being debated.

CDK4/6 inhibition enhances T-cell immunotherapy on hepatocellular carcinoma cells by rejuvenating immunogenicity.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) poses a significant clinical challenge, necessitating the integration of immunotherapeutic approaches. Palbociclib, a selective CDK4/6 inhibitor, has demonstrated promising efficacy in preclinical HCC models and is being evaluated as a novel therapeutic option in clinical trials. Additionally, CDK4/6 inhibition induces cellular senescence, potentially influencing the tumor microenvironment and immunogenicity of cancer cells.

Enhancing endurance performance with combined imagined and actual physical practice.

Purpose: The perception of effort exerts influence in determining task failure during endurance performance. Training interventions blending physical and cognitive tasks yielded promising results in enhancing performance. Motor imagery can decrease the perception of effort.

Acquisition of epithelial plasticity in human chronic liver disease.

For many adult human organs, tissue regeneration during chronic disease remains a controversial subject. Regenerative processes are easily observed in animal models, and their underlying mechanisms are becoming well characterized, but technical challenges and ethical aspects are limiting the validation of these results in humans. We decided to address this difficulty with respect to the liver.

Angiocrine signaling in sinusoidal homeostasis and liver diseases.

The hepatic sinusoids are composed of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), which are surrounded by hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and contain liver-resident macrophages called Kupffer cells, and other patrolling immune cells. All these cells communicate with each other and with hepatocytes to maintain sinusoidal homeostasis and a spectrum of hepatic functions under healthy conditions. Sinusoidal homeostasis is disrupted by metabolites, toxins, viruses, and other pathological factors, leading to liver injury, chronic liver diseases, and cirrhosis.

Advances in Microfluidic-Based Core@Shell Nanoparticles Fabrication for Cancer Applications.

Current research in cancer therapy focuses on personalized therapies, through nanotechnology-based targeted drug delivery systems. Particularly, controlled drug release with nanoparticles (NPs) can be designed to safely transport various active agents, optimizing delivery to specific organs and tumors, minimizing side effects. The use of microfluidics (MFs) in this field has stood out against conventional methods by allowing precise control over parameters like size, structure, composition, and mechanical/biological properties of nanoscale carriers.

Towards efficient motor imagery interventions after lower-limb amputation.

Background: The therapeutic benefits of motor imagery (MI) are now well-established in different populations of persons suffering from central nervous system impairments. However, research on similar efficacy of MI interventions after amputation remains scarce, and experimental studies were primarily designed to explore the effects of MI after upper-limb amputations.

Objectives: The present comparative study therefore aimed to assess the effects of MI on locomotion recovery following unilateral lower-limb amputation.

Implicit and explicit motor imagery ability after SCI: Moving the elbow makes the difference.

Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) causes dramatic sensorimotor deficits that restrict both activity and participation. Restoring activity and participation requires extensive upper limb rehabilitation focusing elbow and wrist movements, which can include motor imagery. Yet, it remains unclear whether MI ability is impaired or spared after SCI.

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation does not enhance the effects of motor imagery training of a sequential finger-tapping task in young adults.

When applied over the primary motor cortex (M), anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) could enhance the effects of a single motor imagery training (MIt) session on the learning of a sequential finger-tapping task (SFTT). This study aimed to investigate the effect of a-tDCS on the learning of an SFTT during multiple MIt sessions. Two groups of 16 healthy young adults participated in three consecutive MIt sessions over 3 days, followed by a retention test 1 week later.