Anti-ceramide antibody and sphingosine-1-phosphate as potential biomarkers of unresectable non-small cell lung cancer.

Objectives: Spingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and ceramides are bioactive sphingolipids that influence cancer cell fate. Anti-ceramide antibodies might inhibit the effects of ceramide. The aim of this study was to assess the potential role of circulating S1P and anti-ceramide antibody as biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Stackable Guides: Digital Workflows for Full Arch Dental Implant Rehabilitation.

Computer-guided full-arch dental rehabilitation, which is highly technique-sensitive, benefits from advancements in 3-dimensional-printed guides and open-source software. Critical pre-surgical planning includes patient selection, health history evaluations, and detailed imaging like cone beam computed tomography scans. Various surgical guides-freehand, static, dynamic, stackable, and interchangeable-are used based on case complexity, with stackable guides improving workflow efficiency.

Identifying retinal pigment epithelium cells in adaptive optics-optical coherence tomography images with partial annotations and superhuman accuracy.

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells are essential for normal retinal function. Morphological defects in these cells are associated with a number of retinal neurodegenerative diseases. Owing to the cellular resolution and depth-sectioning capabilities, individual RPE cells can be visualized in vivo with adaptive optics-optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT).

Contrast Enhancement of Cochlea after Direct Microneedle Intracochlear Injection of Gadodiamide through the Round Window Membrane with Minimal Dosage.

Rationale And Objectives: The potential of contrast-enhanced MRI for diagnosing endolymphatic hydrops is limited by long wait times following intravenous (IV) or intratympanic (IT) delivery, high contrast dosages, and inconsistent signal intensity enhancements. This study investigates microneedle-mediated intracochlear (IC) gadodiamide injection for consistent and efficient contrast delivery with minimal contrast dosage.

Materials And Methods: A 100 µm diameter microneedle with 35 µm lumen was used to inject 1 µL of diluted gadodiamide (17.

Micropinch formation dynamics in X pinches.

High temporal resolution x-ray streak camera studies of micropinch formation in Cu hybrid x pinches reveal key plasma conditions. Analysis of Ne-like Cu lines indicate an average electron temperature of about 200 eV and 4.5×10^{28}m^{-3} electron density.

Measurement of retinal blood flow precision in the human eye with multimodal adaptive optics imaging.

Impaired retinal blood flow (RBF) autoregulation plays a key role in the development and progression of several ocular diseases, including glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Clinically, reproducible RBF quantitation could significantly improve early diagnosis and disease management. Several non-invasive techniques have been developed but are limited for retinal microvasculature flow measurements due to their low signal-to-noise ratio and poor lateral resolution.

imaging of human retinal ganglion cells using optical coherence tomography without adaptive optics.

Retinal ganglion cells play an important role in human vision, and their degeneration results in glaucoma and other neurodegenerative diseases. Imaging these cells in the living human retina can greatly improve the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma. However, owing to their translucent soma and tight packing arrangement within the ganglion cell layer (GCL), successful imaging has only been achieved with sophisticated research-grade adaptive optics (AO) systems.

Immediate inferior alveolar nerve reconstruction: Improving warfighter quality of life following mandibulectomy or traumatic avulsion of the mandible.

Background: Mandibular reconstruction has historically been challenging due to the complex, highly functional, and esthetic nature of the anatomy. The most common etiologies of these defects requiring resection include trauma, benign tumors, and malignant pathology. Mandibular defects have been treated with little consideration for neural reconstruction, leaving patient's orally incompetent with associated social stigma.

Inhibition of Mac-1 allows human macrophages to migrate against the direction of shear flow on ICAM-1.

All immune cells must transit from the blood to distal sites such as the lymph nodes, bone marrow, or sites of infection. Blood borne monocytes traffic to the site of inflammation by adhering to the endothelial surface and migrating along endothelial intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) by their ligand's macrophage 1 antigen (Mac-1) and lymphocyte functional antigen 1 (LFA-1) to transmigrate through the endothelium. Poor patient prognoses in chronic inflammation and tumors have been attributed to the hyper recruitment of certain types of macrophages.

Microneedle-Mediated Delivery of siRNA via Liposomal-Based Transfection for Inner Ear Gene Therapy.

Hypothesis: Microneedle-mediated intracochlear injection of siRNA-Lipofectamine through the round window membrane (RWM) can be used to transfect cells within the cochlea.

Background: Our laboratory has developed 100-μm diameter hollow microneedles for intracochlear injection through the guinea pig RWM. In this study, we test the feasibility of microneedle-mediated injection of siRNA and Lipofectamine, a commonly used reagent with known cellular toxicity, through the RWM for cochlear transfection.

Compact Linear Flow Phantom Model for Retinal Blood-Flow Evaluation.

Impaired retinal blood flow is associated with ocular diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. Among several ocular imaging techniques developed to measure retinal blood flow both invasively and non-invasively, adaptive optics (AO)-enabled scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AO-SLO) resolves individual red blood cells and provides a high resolution with which to measure flow across retinal microvasculature. However, cross-validation of flow measures remains a challenge owing to instrument and patient-specific variability in each imaging technique.

Quantification of Human Photoreceptor-Retinal Pigment Epithelium Macular Topography with Adaptive Optics-Optical Coherence Tomography.

Photoreceptors (PRs) and retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells form a functional unit called the PR-RPE complex. The PR-RPE complex plays a critical role in maintaining retinal homeostasis and function, and the quantification of its structure and topographical arrangement across the macula are important for understanding the etiology, mechanisms, and progression of many retinal diseases. However, the three-dimensional cellular morphology of the PR-RPE complex in living human eyes has not been completely described due to limitations in imaging techniques.

Donor Limb Functional Restoration via a Novel Clinical Care Pathway following Fibula Free Flap Harvest for Head and Neck Reconstruction.

Patients undergoing head and neck skeletal reconstruction (HNR) often require free tissue transfer from the extremities to ensure proper restoration of form and function. This requires a team-based, highly reliable medical system centered around the patient needs. Surgical intervention across multiple sites and harvesting of donor tissue results in short- and long-term physical impairments.

A microfluidic platform for the synthesis of polymer and polymer-protein-based protocells.

In this study, we demonstrate the fabrication of polymersomes, protein-blended polymersomes, and polymeric microcapsules using droplet microfluidics. Polymersomes with uniform, single bilayers and controlled diameters are assembled from water-in-oil-in-water double-emulsion droplets. This technique relies on adjusting the interfacial energies of the droplet to completely separate the polymer-stabilized inner core from the oil shell.

Immediate dental rehabilitation in fibula free flaps for malignancy: Is it feasible?

Background: Fibula free flap reconstruction has revolutionized maxillofacial reconstruction. While immediate dental rehabilitation with dental implants and teeth has shown benefits, it remains uncommon, especially for patients with malignancy.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study at a single institution explored immediate dental rehabilitation in fibula flaps for patients with malignant disease.

Increasing teachers' confidence during health emergencies: A hands-on quality improvement program led by the school nurse.

Introduction: One in four school-age children has a chronic health condition, with approximately 6% of them having multiple chronic health conditions. These students are at an elevated risk of individual health emergencies during school hours. While teachers receive online training to assist in these emergencies, they lack practicing with rescue medications.

Revealing speckle obscured living human retinal cells with artificial intelligence assisted adaptive optics optical coherence tomography.

Background: In vivo imaging of the human retina using adaptive optics optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) has transformed medical imaging by enabling visualization of 3D retinal structures at cellular-scale resolution, including the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, which are essential for maintaining visual function. However, because noise inherent to the imaging process (e.g.

Free flap jaw reconstruction with dental implantation: A single-institution experience.

Background: We sought to review our institution's experience with dental implant placement in free flap jaw reconstruction to determine factors impacting restoration of dental occlusion.

Methods: Exactly 48 patients underwent free flap jaw reconstruction with or without dental restoration from 2017 to 2022. Primary outcome was achievement of restored dental occlusion after jaw free flap reconstruction.

Determinants that enable disordered protein assembly into discrete condensed phases.

Cells harbour numerous mesoscale membraneless compartments that house specific biochemical processes and perform distinct cellular functions. These protein- and RNA-rich bodies are thought to form through multivalent interactions among proteins and nucleic acids, resulting in demixing via liquid-liquid phase separation. Proteins harbouring intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) predominate in membraneless organelles.

Examining food insecurity in a regional New Zealand emergency department: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of food insecurity (FI) among patients in a regional New Zealand ED, factors associated with FI and feasibility of an ED-based FI screening programme with voluntary social work (SW) follow up.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of patients presenting to the Whangarei Hospital ED, using the validated two-item Hunger Vital Sign screening tool to assess for FI. Participants were offered SW follow up to discuss community food resources.

Not all (cells) who wander are lost: Upstream migration as a pervasive mode of amoeboid cell motility.

Leukocytes possess the ability to migrate upstream-against the direction of flow-on surfaces of specific chemistry. Upstream migration was first characterized for T-cells on surfaces comprised of intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). Upstream migration occurs when the integrin receptor αβ (also known as lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1, or LFA-1) binds to ICAM-1.

Cellular-Level Visualization of Retinal Pathology in Multiple Sclerosis With Adaptive Optics.

Purpose: To apply adaptive optics-optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) to quantify multiple sclerosis (MS)-induced changes in axonal bundles in the macular nerve fiber layer, ganglion cell somas, and macrophage-like cells at the vitreomacular interface.

Methods: We used AO-OCT imaging in a pilot study of MS participants (n = 10), including those without and with a history of optic neuritis (ON, n = 4), and healthy volunteers (HV, n = 9) to reveal pathologic changes to inner retinal cells and structures affected by MS.

Results: We found that nerve fiber layer axonal bundles had 38% lower volume in MS participants (1.

Dental prosthesis extraoral indexing and pick-up technique for mandibular full arch immediate rehabilitation in fibula free flap reconstruction.

Same-day ablative and reconstructive surgeries for the treatment of head and neck pathologies are gaining in popularity with the recognition that single-day surgeries reduce morbidity and increase quality of life. Implant-borne prosthetics on the donor graft provide immediate dental reconstruction. This report describes a novel technique for extraoral pickup of a full arch immediate prosthesis from the donor site free flap.