Irreversible Electroporation and β-Glucan Induced Trained Innate Immunity for the Treatment of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Phase II Study.

Introduction: Irreversible electroporation(IRE) has augmented the effects of certain immunotherapies in pancreatic cancer(PDA). Yeast-derived particulate beta-glucan induces trained innate immunity and has successfully reduces murine PC tumor burden. This is a Phase II study to test the hypothesis that IRE may augment beta-glucan induced trained immunity in patients with PDA.

Efficient gene delivery admitted by small metabolites specifically targeting astrocytes in the mouse brain.

The development of efficient and targeted methods for delivering DNA in vivo has long been a major focus of research. In this study, we introduce a gene delivery approach admitted by small metabolites (gDAM) for the efficient and targeted delivery of naked DNA into astrocytes in the adult brains of mice. gDAM uses a straightforward combination of DNA and small metabolites, including glycine, L-proline, L-serine, L-histidine, D-alanine, Gly-Gly, and Gly-Gly-Gly, to achieve astrocyte-specific delivery of naked DNA, resulting in transient and robust gene expression in these cells.

CXCL12 ameliorates neutrophilia and disease severity in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Neutrophils, particularly low-density neutrophils (LDNs), are believed to contribute to acute COVID-19 severity. Here, we showed that neutrophilia can be detected acutely and even months after SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients and mice, while neutrophil depletion reduced disease severity in mice. A key factor in neutrophilia and severe disease in infected mice was traced to the chemokine CXCL12 secreted by bone marrow cells and unexpectedly, endothelial cells.

Enhancing university students' engagement in studying assistive technology by case-based active learning: a pilot study in Hong Kong.

Assistive technology (AT) professionals are in pressing need with nowadays growing aged/disabled population, so as well-designed higher education programs in this field. This study designed and implemented a case-based active learning approach within an undergraduate course related to AT in Hong Kong, and assessed its impact on enhancing student engagement over two academic years. A total of twelve multimedia patient case dossiers on six major physical disabilities were created.

A case report of adenomyosis-induced spontaneous rupture in an unscarred and unpregnant uterus.

Rationale: Spontaneous uterine rupture, although rare, is a life-threatening obstetric emergency with a high maternal and fetal mortality rate. It can occur without warning, leading to severe complications, including hemorrhage, shock, and fetal demise. The risk factors contributing to uterine rupture are diverse and include a history of uterine surgery (such as cesarean section), trauma to the uterus, abnormal uterine contractions during labor, and underlying conditions like adenomyosis.

B cell c-Maf signaling promotes tumor progression in animal models of pancreatic cancer and melanoma.

Background: The role of B cells in antitumor immunity remains controversial, with studies suggesting the protumor and antitumor activity. This controversy may be due to the heterogeneity in B cell populations, as the balance among the subtypes may impact tumor progression. The immunosuppressive regulatory B cells (Breg) release interleukin 10 (IL-10) but only represent a minor population.

Correction: Application of carbon-based nanomaterials in Alzheimer's disease.

Correction for 'Application of carbon-based nanomaterials in Alzheimer's disease' by Mengyao Bai , , 2024, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4MH01256A.

Somatosensory integration in robot-assisted motor restoration post-stroke.

Disruption of somatosensorimotor integration (SMI) after stroke is a significant obstacle to achieving precise motor restoration. Integrating somatosensory input into motor relearning to reconstruct SMI is critical during stroke rehabilitation. However, current robotic approaches focus primarily on precise control of repetitive movements and rarely effectively engage and modulate somatosensory responses, which impedes motor rehabilitation that relies on SMI.

Photocatalytic, photothermal, and blood-brain barrier-permeable carbon nanodots: A potent multifunctional scavenger for β-amyloid plaque.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with amyloid production and buildup in the brain, leading to neurodegeneration. In this study, we used a solvent-thermal technique to produce light-sensitive carbon nanodots (L-CNDs). L-CNDs exhibit outstanding photocatalytic properties, producing singlet oxygen (O) under 630 nm irradiation.

Application of carbon-based nanomaterials in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder marked by permanent impairment of brain function across the whole brain. This condition results in a progressive deterioration of cognitive function in patients and is frequently associated with psychological symptoms such as agitation and anxiety, imposing a significant burden on both patients and their families. Nanomaterials possess numerous distinctive physical and chemical features that render them extensively utilized.

Topology-Aware Uncertainty for Image Segmentation.

Segmentation of curvilinear structures such as vasculature and road networks is challenging due to relatively weak signals and complex geometry/topology. To facilitate and accelerate large scale annotation, one has to adopt semi-automatic approaches such as proofreading by experts. In this work, we focus on uncertainty estimation for such tasks, so that highly uncertain, and thus error-prone structures can be identified for human annotators to verify.

Chemical Space for Peptide-based Antimicrobials.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria represent a global public health threat, and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), derived from naturally occurring linear or cyclic peptides, can provide the solution. However, most AMPs are sensitive to proteases and have poor pharmacokinetics. The EU-funded ERC Advanced Grant SPACE4AMPS aims to identify new AMPs by applying the concepts of chemical space and ligand-based virtual screening, which are well known for small molecule drug discovery, to the world of peptides.

Hepatitis B virus in oocytes and embryos: pregnancy outcomes and children's health.

Objective: To investigate whether the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in oocytes and embryos affects pregnancy outcomes for in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (ET) as well as is related to the vertical transmission of HBV to children.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A university-affiliated fertility center.

The relationship between homework time and academic performance among K-12: A systematic review.

Background: Homework is a common educational task given to students around the world. It demands mental exertion, but staying focused can be challenging, especially for K-12 students. Too much homework can increase their cognitive load and mental fatigue, leading to decreased motivation and performance.

Controlled preparation of tannic acid-derived carbonized dots and their use to inhibit amyloid aggregation and promote aggregate disaggregation.

Tannic acid (TA)-derived carbon dots (TACDs) were synthesized for the first time via a solvothermal method using TA as one of the raw materials, which may effectively inhibit amyloid fibril aggregation and disaggregate mature fibril. The fluorescent property of TACDs were modulated by adjusting the ratio of TA to o-phenylenediamine (oPD), and TACDs fabricated with the precursor ratio as 1:1 showed the best fluorescent property. Circular dichroism spectra (CD) showed that the structure of β-sheet decreased as the concentration of TACDs increased.

Blood-brain barrier permeable carbon nano-assemblies for amyloid-β clearance and neurotoxic attenuation.

Abnormal amyloid β-protein (Aβ) fibrillation is a key event in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and photodynamic therapy (PDT) possesses great potential in modulating Aβ self-assembly. However, the poor blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration, low biocompatibility, and limited tissue penetration depth of existing photosensitizers limit the progress of photo-oxidation strategies. In this paper, novel indocyanine green-modified graphene quantum dot nano-assemblies (NBGQDs-ICGs) were synthesized based on a molecular assembly strategy of electrostatic interactions for PDT inhibition of Aβ self-assembly process and decomposition of preformed fibrils under near-infrared light.

Fenamates: Forgotten treasure for cancer treatment and prevention: Mechanisms of action, structural modification, and bright future.

Fenamates as classical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents are widely used for relieving pain. Preclinical studies and epidemiological data highlight their chemo-preventive and chemotherapeutic potential for cancer. However, comprehensive reviews of fenamates in cancer are limited.

The correlation between HOMA-IR and cardiometabolic risk index among different metabolic adults: a cross-sectional study.

Aims: This study aimed to explore the correlation between homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance(HOMA-IR)and cardiometabolic risk index(CMRI) among different metabolic adults to evaluate the value of HOMA-IR in predicting cardiometabolic risk.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted over 18 months (from August 1, 2020 to February 18, 2022) and included 1550 participants divided into non-metabolic syndrome (non-MetS) group (n = 628) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) group (n = 922) in three centers of China. Logistic regression analysis was employed to investigate the correlation between HOMA-IR, body fat percentage, BMI (body mass index), visceral fat index, waist-to-hip ratio, vitamin D, and CMRI.

Animal Pose Estimation Based on Contrastive Learning with Dynamic Conditional Prompts.

Traditional animal pose estimation techniques based on images face significant hurdles, including scarce training data, costly data annotation, and challenges posed by non-rigid deformation. Addressing these issues, we proposed dynamic conditional prompts for the prior knowledge of animal poses in language modalities. Then, we utilized a multimodal (language-image) collaborative training and contrastive learning model to estimate animal poses.