Etoposide as a Key Therapeutic Agent in Lung Cancer: Mechanisms, Efficacy, and Emerging Strategies.

Topoisomerase II inhibitors, particularly etoposide, have long been integral to the treatment of lung cancer, especially small cell lung cancer. This review comprehensively examines the mechanisms of action of etoposide, its clinical efficacy, and its role in current lung cancer treatment regimens. Etoposide exerts its anticancer effects by inducing DNA strand breaks through the inhibition of topoisomerase II, leading to cancer cell apoptosis.

Effect of Stir-Frying, Boiling, and Baking on Hexaconazole Residue Levels in Welsh Onion ( L.).

Hexaconazole, a triazole insecticide, is widely used to control rust disease in Welsh onions. Residue levels of pesticides vary based on the cooking methods. Although studies on hexaconazole residue have involved vegetables such as cabbage, research on Welsh onion is limited.

Association of Alcohol Use Disorder and Perioperative Complications and Adverse Events After Spinal Fusion Surgery During the In-hospital Period: An Analysis of the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) Database.

Objective: Alcohol use disorder carries major effects shown to limit social support, increase recovery times, and lead to a higher incidence of surgical complications. This retrospective cohort study investigated the influence of AUD on perioperative outcomes and adverse events after spinal fusions in the largest sample size to date and spanning 11 years.

Methods: Data for adult (>18 years old) patients who underwent a spinal fusion as their primary surgery were identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database for the years 2009-2020.

Kalamari: a representative set of genomes of public health concern.

Kalamari is a resource that supports genomic epidemiology and pathogen surveillance. It consists of representative genomes and common contaminants. Kalamari also contains a custom taxonomy and software for downloading and formatting the data.

Artificial Intelligence Transforming Post-Translational Modification Research.

Post-Translational Modifications (PTMs) are covalent changes to amino acids that occur after protein synthesis, including covalent modifications on side chains and peptide backbones. Many PTMs profoundly impact cellular and molecular functions and structures, and their significance extends to evolutionary studies as well. In light of these implications, we have explored how artificial intelligence (AI) can be utilized in researching PTMs.

Exo- and Endo-1,5-α-L-Arabinanases and Prebiotic Arabino-Oligosaccharides Production.

There is growing interest in pentose-based prebiotic oligosaccharides as alternatives to traditional hexose-based prebiotics. Among these, arabino-oligosaccharides (AOS), derived from the enzymatic hydrolysis of arabinan polymers, have gained significant attention. AOS can selectively stimulate the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, including and species, and contribute to health-benefit functions such as blood sugar control, positioning AOS as a promising synbiotic candidate.

Assessing seepage sources of a tailings dump and fractionation of Mo and Zn isotopes.

Tracing the sources of each contaminant and its geochemical reactions requires a variety of geochemical tools. In this study, chemical compositions and isotopic ratios of O-H, Mo, and Zn were utilized to identify the sources and geochemical reactions of water, As, Mo, and Zn in the seepage from a mine tailings dump. The distinct chemical compositions observed between the seepage and monitoring well, along with the O-H isotopic ratios, suggested that the seepage originated from creek water rather than nearby groundwater, which was supported by a large seasonal variation of δMo in both the seepage and creek.

Intravascular Ultrasound-Guided vs Angiography-Guided Drug-Coated Balloon Angioplasty in Patients With Complex Femoropopliteal Artery Disease.

Background: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guidance has been shown to yield favorable outcomes for endovascular treatment of femoropopliteal artery (FPA) disease with drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty. However, the specific benefits of IVUS for treatment of complex FPA lesions remain uncertain.

Objectives: In this study, the authors compared the clinical impact of IVUS-guided vs angiography-guided DCB angioplasty in patients with complex or noncomplex FPA lesions.

Lifelike and Deformable Lung Phantoms for 4DCT Imaging: A Three-Dimensional Printing Approach.

Respiratory motion phantoms can be used for evaluation of CT imaging technologies such as motion artifact reduction algorithms and deformable image registration. However, current respiratory motion phantoms do not exhibit detailed lung tissue structures and thus do not provide a realistic testing environment. This paper presents PixelPrint, a method for 3D-printing deformable lung phantoms featuring highly realistic internal structures, suitable for a broad range of CT evaluations, optimizations, and research.

Point-of-need diagnostics in a post-Covid world: an opportunity for paper-based microfluidics to serve during syndemics.

Zoonotic outbreaks present with unpredictable threats to human health, food production, biodiversity, national security and disrupt the global economy. The COVID-19 pandemic-caused by zoonotic coronavirus, SARS-CoV2- is the most recent upsurge of an increasing trend in outbreaks for the past 100 years. This year, emergence of avian influenza (H5N1) is a stark reminder of the need for national and international pandemic preparedness.

The impact of regular physical activity on vertebral fractures: Korean nationwide population-based cohort study.

Background: Vertebral fractures are a common medical issue. Physical activity helps improve bone health and manage the risk of fractures. However, much controversy exists about the association between physical activity and vertebral fractures.

Ultrasound evaluation of clinical mimics of deep vein thrombosis: essential insights for radiologists in interpretation.

Ultrasonography (US) is a sensitive and radiation-free technique for diagnosing deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Therefore, when DVT is clinically suspected but not detected on US, radiologists should consider a range of alternative differential diagnoses. This review article presents the imaging findings of clinical conditions that mimic DVT, which can be distinguished using a multimodal radiologic approach.

Tendon-mimicking anisotropic alginate-based double-network composite hydrogels with enhanced mechanical properties and high impact absorption.

Tendons are anisotropic tissues with exceptional mechanical properties, which result from their unique anisotropic structure and mechanical behavior under stress. While research has focused on replicating anisotropic structures and mechanical properties of tendons, fewer studies have examined their specific mechanical behaviors. Here, we present a simple method for creating calcium-crosslinked alginate-based double-network hydrogels that mimics tendons by exhibiting anisotropic structure, high mechanical strength and toughness, and a distinctive "toe region" when stretched.

Deployable electronics with enhanced fatigue resistance for crumpling and tension.

Highly packable and deployable electronics offer a variety of advantages in electronics and robotics by facilitating spatial efficiency. These electronics must endure extreme folding during packaging and tension to maintain a rigid structure in the deployment state. Here, we present foldable and robustly deployable electronics inspired by Plantago, characterized by their tolerance to folding and tension due to integration of tough veins within thin leaf.

Bone Marrow Aspiration Concentrate in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis: A Review of its Current Clinical Application.

Background: Bone marrow aspiration concentrate (BMAC) has gained acceptance as a safe orthobiologic for treating osteoarthritis (OA), despite lacking robust supporting evidence. Although several publications have documented the use of BMAC in OA, evidence confirming its unequivocal efficacy remains limited.

Methods: This review aims to summarize the current clinical evidence regarding BMAC as a therapeutic for OA, while also presenting the author's perspective.

Bayesian Modeling of Cancer Outcomes Using Genetic Variables Assisted by Pathological Imaging Data.

With the increasing maturity of genetic profiling, an essential and routine task in cancer research is to model disease outcomes/phenotypes using genetic variables. Many methods have been successfully developed. However, oftentimes, empirical performance is unsatisfactory because of a "lack of information.

Pembrolizumab and chemotherapy in high-risk, early-stage, ER/HER2 breast cancer: a randomized phase 3 trial.

Addition of pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab improved outcomes in patients with high-risk, early-stage, triple-negative breast cancer. However, whether the addition of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab to chemotherapy would improve outcomes in high-risk, early-stage, estrogen receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (ER/HER2) breast cancer remains unclear. We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study (KEYNOTE-756) in which patients with previously untreated ER/HER2 grade 3 high-risk invasive breast cancer (T1c-2 (≥2 cm), cN1-2 or T3-4, cN0-2) were randomly assigned (1:1) to neoadjuvant pembrolizumab 200 mg or placebo Q3W given with paclitaxel QW for 12 weeks, followed by four cycles of doxorubicin or epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide Q2W or Q3W.

The structure and function of the ghrelin receptor coding for drug actions.

Drugs targeting the ghrelin receptor hold therapeutic potential in anorexia, obesity and diabetes. However, developing effective drugs is challenging. To tackle this common issue across a broad drug target, this study aims to understand how anamorelin, the only approved drug targeting the ghrelin receptor, operates compared to other synthetic drugs.

Facile Synthesis of Nanostructured Lithium-Incorporated Titanium Oxides (Li-TiO ) by Means of Wet Corrosion Process (WCP) and Their Potential Application for Batteries.

Currently, there is a growing demand for nanomaterials in the fields of materials and energy. Nanostructured metal oxides have been widely studied, owing to their unique and diverse physicochemical properties and potential applications in various fields. In recent years, considerable attention has been directed toward metal oxides, particularly lithium-incorporated titanium oxides (Li-TiO ), owing to their exceptional safety profiles.

Elucidating a Tumor-Selective Nanoparticle Delivery Mechanism at the Colorectal Lumen-Tumor Interface for Precise Local Cancer Therapy.

Although various colorectal cancer (CRC)-targeted nanoparticles have been developed to selectively deliver anticancer agents to tumor tissues, severe off-target side effects still persist due to unwanted systemic nanoparticle distribution, limiting the therapeutic outcome. Here, by elucidating a tumor-selective nanoparticle delivery mechanism occurring at the colorectal lumen-tumor interface, an alternative CRC-targeted delivery route is proposed, which enables highly tumor-selective delivery without systemic distribution, through direct drug delivery from the outside of the body (colorectal lumen) to tumors in the colorectum. Owing to the presence of accessible tumor-specific receptors such as CD44 at the colorectal lumen-tumor interface, but not at the colorectal lumen-normal tissue interface, colorectal luminal surface (CLS)-targeting ligand-functionalized nanoparticles selectively accumulate in CRC tissues without systemic distribution, resulting in successful local CRC therapy.

Particulate matter 2.5 (PM) - associated cognitive impairment and morbidity in humans and animal models: a systematic review.

Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 µm (PM) is one of the criteria air pollutants that (1) serve as an essential carrier of airborne toxicants arising from combustion-related events including emissions from industries, automobiles, and wildfires and (2) play an important role in transient to long-lasting cognitive dysfunction as well as several other neurological disorders. A systematic review was conducted to address differences in study design and various biochemical and molecular markers employed to elucidate neurological disorders in PM -exposed humans and animal models.

Social Media-Based Pain Neuroscience Education for Temporomandibular Joint Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: To examine the feasibility of a social networking site-based self-management intervention involving pain neuroscience education (PNE) for temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) among young adults and its initial efficacy in exploratory outcomes, including pain and somatization.

Design: Pilot randomized controlled trial.

Methods: Korean-speaking adults aged 20-29 with temporomandibular joint pain having smartphone Internet access.

Neuroanatomical and functional substrates of the short video addiction and its association with brain transcriptomic and cellular architecture.

Short video addiction (SVA) has emerged as a growing behavioral and social issue, driven by the widespread use of digital platforms that provide highly engaging, personalized, and brief video content. We investigated the neuroanatomical and functional substrates of SVA symptoms, alongside brain transcriptomic and cellular characteristics, using Inter-Subject Representational Similarity Analysis (IS-RSA) and transcriptomic approaches. Behaviorally, we found that dispositional envy was associated with SVA.

Efficacy, safety, and patient-reported outcomes across young to older age groups of patients with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer treated with ribociclib plus endocrine therapy in the randomized MONALEESA-2, -3, and -7 trials.

Background: Ribociclib + endocrine therapy (ET) showed significant progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) benefits in the MONALEESA trials in patients with HR+ /HER2 - advanced breast cancer (ABC). We report efficacy, safety, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) across age groups, including older patients, in these trials.

Methods: Data from the MONALEESA-2, -3, and -7 trials for pre- and postmenopausal patients receiving first-line treatment for ABC were pooled and analyzed by age (<65y, 65-74y, and ≥75y).