Concomitant Usage of H1-Antihistamines and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors on Cancer Patient Survival.

Purpose: Recent research (Li et al. 2021) suggests an upregulated expression and activation of H1 receptors on macrophages in the tumor microenvironment, and concomitant H1-antihistamine use is associated with improved overall survival in patients with lung and skin cancers receiving immunotherapy. Therefore, we retrospectively evaluated the impacts of H1-antihistamine use in cancer patients during immunotherapy.

Predictors of hepatic flares after nucleos(t)ide analogue cessation - Results of a global cohort study (RETRACT-B study).

Background & Aims: Flares after nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) cessation are common and potentially harmful. Predictors of flares are required for risk stratification and to guide off-treatment follow-up.

Method: This multicenter cohort study included virally suppressed patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who were hepatitis B e antigen negative at NA cessation.

A massively parallel reporter assay library to screen short synthetic promoters in mammalian cells.

Cellular responses to stimuli underpin discoveries in drug development, synthetic biology, and general life sciences. We introduce a library comprising 6144 synthetic promoters, each shorter than 250 bp, designed as transcriptional readouts of cellular stimulus responses in massively parallel reporter assay format. This library facilitates precise detection and amplification of transcriptional activity from our promoters, enabling the systematic development of tunable reporters with dynamic ranges of 50-100 fold.

Prospective appraisal of clinical diagnostic algorithms for hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B infection.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is often detected at advanced stages among patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV), underscoring the urgency for more precise surveillance tests. Here, we compare the clinical performance of the novel - GAAD (gender [biological sex], age, alpha-fetoprotein [AFP], protein-induced by vitamin K absence-II [PIVKA-II]) and GALAD (gender [biological sex], age, AFP, Lens-culinaris AFP [AFP-L3]), PIVKA-II) algorithms to assess the utility of AFP-L3 for distinguishing HCC from benign chronic liver disease (CLD) in Chinese patients with predominantly chronic HBV infection. Eligible adults were enrolled, and biomarkers were measured using Elecsys (Cobas) or µTASWAKO assays.

Histological severity, clinical outcomes and impact of antiviral treatment in indeterminate phase of chronic hepatitis B: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background & Aims: Current international guidelines recommend close monitoring and evaluation of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in the indeterminate phase, and treatment of patients at high risk of adverse outcomes. Clinical outcomes and the effect of antiviral therapy on the indeterminate phase remain unclear. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the incidence of adverse clinical outcomes including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cirrhosis, and hepatic decompensation, and the effect of antiviral therapy, in the indeterminate phase.

A Retrospective Review of Clinical Characteristics and Risk Factors of Dysphagia in Patients with Dermatomyositis.

Background: Dermatomyositis is a rare autoimmune-mediated disease characterised by distinctive rash and progressive muscle weakness. Patients with dermatomyositis may develop swallowing disorders (dysphagia) due to the inflammation of muscles involved in swallowing which may lead to serious health consequences. However, to date, the clinical characteristics of and risk factors for dysphagia in dermatomyositis remain poorly understood.

Interaction of retinal electrophysiology and novel orthokeratology lens use on myopia control efficacy in children.

Aims: The relationship between retinal electrophysiological function and myopia progression was evaluated in school-aged children wearing Breath-O-Correct Orthokeratology (OK) lenses compared with those wearing single vision (SV) lenses over 24 months.

Methods: In this randomised, single-blind, parallel controlled trial, children aged 8-12 years with -1.00 to -4.

Eight-year efficacy and safety of tenofovir alafenamide for treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection: Final results from two randomised phase 3 trials.

Background: In two phase 3 studies, tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) showed non-inferior efficacy versus tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), with more favourable renal and bone safety in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Aims: Here, we report the studies' final 8-year results.

Methods: CHB patients (hepatitis B e antigen [HBeAg]-negative and HBeAg-positive) were randomised (2:1) to double-blind TAF 25 mg/day or TDF 300 mg/day for up to 3 years, followed by open-label (OL) TAF through year 8.

Machine Learning a Simple Interpretable Short-Range Potential for Silica.

A wide array of models, spanning from computationally expensive ab initio methods to a spectrum of force-field approaches, have been developed and employed to probe silica polymorphs and understand growth processes and atomic-level dynamical transitions in silica. However, the quest for a model capable of making accurate predictions with high computational efficiency for various silica polymorphs is still ongoing. Recent developments in short-range machine-learned models, such as GAP and NNPScan, have shown promise in providing reasonable descriptions of silica, but their computational cost remains high compared to force fields such as BKS which are based on simple interpretable functional forms.

Dynamic Changes in ELF Score Predict Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Receiving Antiviral Treatment.

Enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) score is a noninvasive assessment for liver fibrosis. We aimed to evaluate the performance of changes in ELF score 3 years apart in combination with liver stiffness measurement (LSM)-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) score to predict HCC in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. This is a prospective cohort study.

Focal point technology: Controlling treatment depth and pattern of skin injury by a novel highly focused laser.

Background: Selective photothermolysis has limitations in efficacy and safety for dermal targets. We describe a novel concept using scanned focused laser microbeams for precise control of dermal depth and pattern of injury, using a 1550 nm laser that generates an array of conical thermal zones while minimizing injury to the epidermis.

Objective: To characterize the conical thermal zones in vivo and determine safe starting parameters to transition to a second phase to explore potential clinical indications.

Lycium barbarum glycopeptide promotes neuroprotection in ET-1 mediated retinal ganglion cell degeneration.

Background: Vascular dysregulation is one of the major risk factors of glaucoma, and endothelin-1 (ET-1) may have a role in the pathogenesis of vascular-related glaucoma. Fruit extract from Lycium Barbarum (LB) exhibits anti-ageing and multitarget mechanisms in protecting retinal ganglion cells (RGC) in various animal models. To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of LB glycoproteins (LbGP) in ET-1 induced RGC degeneration, LbGP was applied under pre- and posttreatment conditions to an ET-1 mouse model.

PHF8 facilitates transcription recovery following DNA double-strand break repair.

Transient halting of transcription activity on the damaged chromatin facilitates DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. However, the molecular mechanisms that facilitate transcription recovery following DSB repair remain largely undefined. Notably, failure to restore gene expression in a timely manner can compromise transcriptome signatures and may impose deleterious impacts on cell identity and cell fate.

A pilot integrated model nurse clinic increases the uptake of antiviral treatment for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HBV.

Background And Aims: Mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) may still occur despite birth-dose HBV vaccinations when pregnant women are positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) with high viral loads (HBV DNA ≥ 200 000 IU/mL). A pilot integrated model nurse clinic (IMNC) was started in 2020 to implement the pre-emptive antiviral therapy with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF). We aimed to evaluate the performance of IMNC on uptake of TDF.

Ab Initio-Based Bond Order Potential for Arsenene Polymorphs Developed via Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning.

Arsenene, a less-explored two-dimensional material, holds the potential for applications in wearable electronics, memory devices, and quantum systems. This study introduces a bond-order potential model with Tersoff formalism, the ML-Tersoff, which leverages multireward hierarchical reinforcement learning (RL), trained on an ab initio data set. This data set covers a spectrum of properties for arsenene polymorphs, enhancing our understanding of its mechanical and thermal behaviors without the complexities of traditional models requiring multiple parameter sets.

Coenzyme Q10 eyedrops conjugated with vitamin E TPGS alleviate neurodegeneration and mitochondrial dysfunction in the diabetic mouse retina.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of blindness and vision impairment worldwide and represents one of the most common complications among diabetic patients. Current treatment modalities for DR, including laser photocoagulation, intravitreal injection of corticosteroid, and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents, target primarily vascular lesions. However, these approaches are invasive and have several limitations, such as potential loss of visual function, retinal scars and cataract formation, and increased risk of ocular hypertension, vitreous hemorrhage, retinal detachment, and intraocular inflammation.

Joint host-pathogen genomic analysis identifies hepatitis B virus mutations associated with human NTCP and HLA class I variation.

Evolutionary changes in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome could reflect its adaptation to host-induced selective pressure. Leveraging paired human exome and ultra-deep HBV genome-sequencing data from 567 affected individuals with chronic hepatitis B, we comprehensively searched for the signatures of this evolutionary process by conducting "genome-to-genome" association tests between all human genetic variants and viral mutations. We identified significant associations between an East Asian-specific missense variant in the gene encoding the HBV entry receptor NTCP (rs2296651, NTCP S267F) and mutations within the receptor-binding region of HBV preS1.

A new biomarker panel for differential diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma: Results from an exploratory analysis.

Introduction: Diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) can be challenging due to unclear imaging criteria and difficulty obtaining adequate tissue biopsy. Although serum cancer antigen 19-9 and carcinoembryonic antigen have been proposed as potential diagnostic aids, their use remains limited by insufficient sensitivity and specificity. This exploratory analysis aimed to identify individual- and combinations of serum biomarkers to distinguish CCA from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and chronic liver disease (CLD) controls using samples from a published study.

Limited Sustained Remission After Nucleos(t)ide Analog Withdrawal: Results From a Large, Global, Multiethnic Cohort of Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B (RETRACT-B Study).

Introduction: Complete viral suppression with nucleos(t)ide analogs (NAs) has led to a profound reduction in hepatocellular carcinoma and mortality among patients with chronic hepatitis B. Finite therapy yields higher rates of functional cure; however, initial hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevations are almost certain after treatment interruption. We aimed to analyze off-treatment outcomes beyond 12 months after NA cessation.

Preclinical Characterization of the Anti-Leukemia Activity of the CD33/CD16a/NKG2D Immune-Modulating TriNKET CC-96191.

Increasing efforts are focusing on natural killer (NK) cell immunotherapies for AML. Here, we characterized CC-96191, a novel CD33/CD16a/NKG2D immune-modulating TriNKET. CC-96191 simultaneously binds CD33, NKG2D, and CD16a, with NKG2D and CD16a co-engagement increasing the avidity for, and activation of, NK cells.