Delivery of sorafenib by myofibroblast-targeted nanoparticles for the treatment of renal fibrosis.

Fibrosis is an excessive accumulation of the extracellular matrix within solid organs in response to injury and a common pathway that leads functional failure. No clinically approved agent is available to reverse or even prevent this process. Herein, we report a nanotechnology-based approach that utilizes a drug carrier to deliver a therapeutic cargo specifically to fibrotic kidneys, thereby improving the antifibrotic effect of the drug and reducing systemic toxicity.

Association of Asef and Cdc42 expression to tubular injury in diseased human kidney.

Background: Cdc42 is a small guanosine-5'-triphosphatase of the Rho family and plays essential roles in the establishment of cellular polarity and tight junctions in epithelial cells. Adenomatous polyposis coli-associated exchange factor (Asef) is a canonical guanine nucleotide exchange factor of Cdc42 and renders Cdc42 to be guanosine-5'-triphosphate bound and activated. The expression patterns and their significance in human renal diseases are unknown.

The effect of an intervention combining self-efficacy theory and pedometers on promoting physical activity among adolescents.

Aim: To study the effect of an intervention combining self-efficacy theory and pedometers on promoting physical activity among adolescents.

Background: The beneficial effects of regular physical activity on health in youths are well-documented. However, adolescence is found to be the age of greatest decline in physical activity participation.