Transcriptional Systems Vaccinology Approaches for Vaccine Adjuvant Profiling.

Adjuvants are a diverse group of substances that can be added to vaccines to enhance antigen-specific immune responses and improve vaccine efficacy. The first adjuvants, discovered almost a century ago, were soluble crystals of aluminium salts. Over the following decades, oil emulsions, vesicles, oligodeoxynucleotides, viral capsids, and other complex organic structures have been shown to have adjuvant potential.

Life satisfaction around the world: Measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups.

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a widely used self-report measure of subjective well-being, but studies of its measurement invariance across a large number of nations remain limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset-with data collected between 2020 and 2022 -to assess measurement invariance of the SWLS across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups (N = 56,968). All participants completed the SWLS under largely uniform conditions.

A case of corneal opacity caused by atovaquone administration.

Purpose: Atovaquone is an alternative drug that is used for the prevention and treatment of pneumonia when the first-line drug, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (ST combination), cannot be used due to side effects. However, atovaquone is known to cause ocular side effects including oculomucocutaneous syndrome and vortex keratopathy. In this report, we describe a patient who developed bilateral white granular diffuse corneal opacity that extended from the corneal sub-epithelium to the stroma after continuous oral atovaquone administration for 14 months.

Rational Synthesis of Highly Fluorescent N, S Co-Doped Carbon Dots Using Biogenic Creatinine for Cu Analysis in Drinking Water.

Herein, highly fluorescent sulfur and nitrogen co-doped carbon dots (N, S-CDs) had been employed as a fluorescent probe to analyze Cu in drinking water. The biogenic creatinine is known to form a stable complex with Cu; hence, it was rationally selected as a bioinspired nitrogen substrate for the first time to enhance N, S-CDs selectivity towards Cu. Moreover, the literature was surveyed to guide the selection of sulfur and carbon sources to optimize N, S-CDs quantum yield (QY), so thiourea and disodium edetate are co-carbonized with biogenic creatinine at 270°C for 40 min and characterized using different techniques.

The ability of diaphragmatic excursion after extubation to predict the need for resumption of ventilatory support in critically ill surgical patients.

Background: This study evaluated the ability of diaphragmatic excursion (DE), measured 2 h after extubation, to predict the need for resumption of ventilatory support within 48 h in surgical critically ill patients.

Methods: This prospective observational study included adult surgical critically ill patients intubated for > 24 h and extubated after a successful spontaneous breathing trial. Sonographic measurement of the DE was performed 2 h after extubation.

Evaluation of the antibacterial and antibiofilm effect of mycosynthesized silver and selenium nanoparticles and their synergistic effect with antibiotics on nosocomial bacteria.

Background: The healthcare sector faces a growing threat from the rise of highly resistant microorganisms, particularly Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDR P. aeruginosa). Facing the challenge of antibiotic resistance, nanoparticles have surfaced as promising substitutes for antimicrobial therapy.

Minimally invasive neurosurgery: application of burr-hole technique across a spectrum of brain lesions.

Objective: The burr-hole technique is a minimally invasive transcranial approach designed to minimize the surgical incision size and reduce disruption to brain tissue. We aimed to share our experience with the burr-hole technique for removing brain lesions and to evaluate its effectiveness in treating appropriately sized intra-axial brain lesions.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed the clinical features, radiological characteristics, surgical techniques, and outcomes of patients who underwent burr-hole surgery for intra-axial brain lesions between January 2019 and December 2023.

An internet-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy program for anxious affect, depression, and wellbeing: A randomized, parallel, two-group, waitlist-controlled trial in a Middle Eastern sample of college students.

Background: College students during the young adult years are at elevated risk for the development of anxiety and depressive difficulties. Moreover, a preliminary body of evidence suggests that, for those who reside in Middle Eastern contexts, despite an established need, sociocultural impediments prevent active psychological help-seeking. Internet-delivered, self-directed mental health programs may hold significant promise to alleviate these difficulties in contexts where individuals would otherwise not enlist the support of a mental health practitioner.

Biopsychosocial Impact of Multiple Sclerosis in Omani Patients: A Multicenter Comparative Study.

: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by various clinical presentations and manifestations that include biopsychosocial impediments. This study has three interrelated goals relevant to biopsychosocial functioning: (i) compare reasoning ability, neuropsychological functioning, affective range, and quality of life (QoL) between people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and healthy controls; (ii) explore gender differences in reasoning ability and neuropsychological functioning, affective symptoms, and QoL among PwMS; and (iii) examine the relationship between QoL and cognitive performance in PwMS, focusing on those with inadequate vs. adequate QoL.

Repurposing of sericin combined with dactolisib or vitamin D to combat non-small lung cancer cells through computational and biological investigations.

This study aims to repurpose sericin in combating non-small lung cancer cells (A549 and H460) by combining it with dactolisib or vitamin D to reduce the dose of dactolisib and boost the anticancer effectiveness of dactolisib and vitamin D. Therefore, the binding affinities of individual and combined drugs were examined using in silico and protein-protein interaction studies, targeting NF-κB, Cyclin D1, p-AKT, and VEGF1 proteins. The findings manifested remarkable affinities for combinatorial drugs compared to individual compounds.

Translating and validating the Ghosting Questionnaire into Arabic: results from classical test theory and item response theory analyses : Short title: the arabic version of the Ghosting Questionnaire.

Background: Ghosting refers to the sudden cessation of communication in interpersonal relationships. Ghosting has gained attention as a phenomenon commonly encountered in the context of digital communication. Earlier studies on ghosting mostly focused on Western societies while, in Arab societies, research into this practice has yet to be initiated.

Hikikomori in the Middle East: The role of problematic gaming, social media use, and loneliness.

Hikikomori, a form of severe social withdrawal has been found to be associated with behavioral addictions such as gaming addiction and problematic social media use (PSMU). Since literature related to hikikomori is lacking in the Middle East, this study aimed to determine whether there are significant differences in hikikomori-like traits between two different types of social media users and gamers and investigate loneliness as a potential mediator between hikikomori and the two types of problematic behaviors. A cross-sectional, correlational design was employed, collecting a final sample of 220 participants residing in Middle Eastern countries using a mixture of convenience and snowball sampling.

Identifying and as sustainable organisms to bioconvert glucosamine into valuable biomass.

Chitin is a major component of various wastes such as crustacean shells, filamentous fungi, and insects. Recently, food-safe biological and chemical processes converting chitin to glucosamine have been developed. Here, we studied microalgae that can uptake glucosamine as vital carbon and nitrogen sources for valuable alternative protein biomass.

The translation and validation of the surgical anxiety questionnaire into the modern standard Arabic language: results from classical test theory and item response theory analyses.

Background: Preoperative anxiety is commonly found in patients who are waiting for surgery and can lead to negative surgical outcomes. Understanding the sources of surgical anxiety allows healthcare providers to identify at-risk patients and implement psychosocial interventions such as counseling, relaxation techniques, and cognitive‒behavioral therapy to minimize anxiety. Few comprehensive psychiatric measures are available to assess preoperative anxiety in Arabic.

Unveiling the antitumor synergy between pazopanib and metformin on lung cancer through suppressing p-Akt/ NF-κB/ STAT3/ PD-L1 signal pathway.

Pazopanib, an inhibitor of the VEGF receptor tyrosine kinase, has demonstrated significant antitumor effects in lung cancer. However, its application as a standard treatment for this type of cancer is limited by its drug resistance and toxicity. Metformin has the potential to combat lung cancer by modifying the tumor's immune microenvironment.

Evaluation of the cytotoxic activity of chemically characterized propolis originating from different geographic regions and vitamin D co-supplementation against human ovarian cancer cells.

Ovarian cancer is the second most common and lethal gynecologic malignancy. Among natural product-based therapy, the honeybee products, particularly propolis, serve a valuable source contributing directly to human nutrition and health.In the present study, we determined the chemical composition of different types of propolis originating from Egypt, Germany and France using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A randomized controlled study of neoadjuvant metformin with chemotherapy in nondiabetic breast cancer women: The METNEO study.

Aims: Clinical data demonstrate that metformin exhibits antiproliferative, proapoptotic and antimetastatic actions. Here, correlative molecular studies were undertaken to determine the roles of transmembrane tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand death receptors (DRs) and CD133, a glycoprotein biomarker of breast cancer (BC) stem cells, in the advantageous action of metformin on pathological and clinical outcomes in BC patients on neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: We randomly assigned 70 nondiabetic BC patients in a 1:1 ratio to either neoadjuvant AC-T chemotherapy (4 cycles of adriamycin 60 mg/m and cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m, followed by 12 cycles of weekly paclitaxel 80 mg/m) or AC-T with adjunct metformin (850 mg twice/day).

The relationship between quality of life, sleep quality, mental health, and physical activity in an international sample of college students: a structural equation modeling approach.

Objective: We assessed the direct and indirect relationships between sleep quality, mental health, and physical activity with quality of life (QOL) in college and university students.

Methods: In a cross-sectional design, 3,380 college students (60% females; age = 22.7 ± 5.

Gestationally administered RAS modulators reprogram endotoxic cardiovascular and inflammatory profiles in adult male offspring of preeclamptic rats.

Previous studies showed that preeclampsia (PE) amplifies cardiovascular dysfunction induced by endotoxemia in adult male, but not female, offspring. Here, we asked if such aggravated endotoxic insult could be nullified by modulators of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). PE was induced by gestational administration of N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester(L-NAME, a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor).

Topical amlodipine-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles for enhanced burn wound healing: A repurposed approach.

Burn wounds are a complicated process with ongoing psychological and physical issues for the affected individuals. Wound healing consists of multifactorial molecular mechanisms and interactions involving; inflammation, proliferation, angiogenesis, and matrix remodeling. Amlodipine (ADB), widely used in cardiovascular disorders, demonstrated antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in some non-cardiovascular studies.

Suppression by central adenosine A3 receptors of the cholinergic defense against cardiovascular aberrations of sepsis: role of PI3K/MAPKs/NFκB signaling.

Despite the established role of peripheral adenosine receptors in sepsis-induced organ dysfunction, little or no data is available on the interaction of central adenosine receptors with sepsis. The current study tested the hypothesis that central adenosine A3 receptors (A3ARs) modulate the cardiovascular aberrations and neuroinflammation triggered by sepsis and their counteraction by the cholinergic antiinflammatory pathway. Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in rats pre-instrumented with femoral and intracisternal (i.

Bioinspired Carbon Dots-Based Fluorescent Sensor for the Selective Determination of a Potent Anti-Inflammatory Drug in the Presence of Its Photodegradation Products.

Herein, we synthesized biogenic carbon dots (CDs) with blue-shifted maximum excitation (λ/λ of 320/404 nm) from largely wasted tangerine seeds for the first time via a one-step hydrothermal method. The biogenic CDs exhibit a maximum excitation wavelength that overlaps with the absorption spectrum of ketorolac tromethamine (KETO) at 320 nm. The developed CDs serve as a turn-off fluorescent probe via an inner filter effect (IFE) quenching mechanism.