Enzyme-responsive hydrogels, formed by step growth photopolymerization of biscysteine peptide linkers with alkene functionalized polyethylene glycol, provide interesting opportunities as biomaterials and drug delivery systems. In this study, we developed stimuli-responsive, specific, and cytocompatible hydrogels for delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. We designed peptide linkers with optimized sensitivity towards matrix metalloproteinases, a family of proteolytic enzymes overexpressed in the extracellular matrix of the skin during inflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) is defined as disordered bowel function following rectal resection, which is detrimental to quality of life (QoL). A recent international consensus definition of LARS stresses the importance of focusing on both the symptoms and the consequences that the symptoms have for the individual patient as studies indicate that LARS has a negative impact on patients' QoL. However, an ongoing PROM study investigating late sequelae after rectal cancer finds that a minor proportion of patients scoring major LARS experience none or only little impact on quality of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn patients with primary calcaneal malignancies, such as Ewing's sarcoma, radical treatment with amputation of the foot can result in serious functional impairment and chronic pain. Total calcanectomy followed by the reconstruction of the calcaneal defect offers an alternative treatment to amputation. Capanna et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHow the highly curved phagophore membrane is stabilized during autophagy initiation is a major open question in autophagosome biogenesis. Here, we use in vitro reconstitution on membrane nanotubes and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate how core autophagy proteins in the LC3 (Microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3) lipidation cascade interact with curved membranes, providing insight into their possible roles in regulating membrane shape during autophagosome biogenesis. ATG12(Autophagy-related 12)-ATG5-ATG16L1 was up to 100-fold enriched on highly curved nanotubes relative to flat membranes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiological networks are often used to represent complex biological systems, which can contain several types of entities. Analysis and visualization of such networks is supported by the Cytoscape software tool and its many apps. While earlier versions of stringApp focused on providing intraspecies protein-protein interactions from the STRING database, the new stringApp 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia (CIT) is a severe complication in patients with cancer that can lead to impaired therapeutic outcome and survival. Clinically, therapeutic options for CIT are limited by severe adverse effects and high economic burdens. Here, we demonstrate that ketogenic diets alleviate CIT in both animals and humans without causing thrombocytosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF18F-FDG-PET/CT is standard to assess response in Hodgkin lymphoma by quantifying metabolic activity with the Deauville score. PET/CT, however, is time-consuming, cost-extensive, linked to high radiation and has a low availability. As an alternative, we investigated radiomics from non-contrast-enhanced computed tomography (NECT) scans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe eggNOG (evolutionary gene genealogy Non-supervised Orthologous Groups) database is a bioinformatics resource providing orthology data and comprehensive functional information for organisms from all domains of life. Here, we present a major update of the database and website (version 6.0), which increases the number of covered organisms to 12 535 reference species, expands functional annotations, and implements new functionality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, we extend a previously developed Raman bond model to periodic slab systems for interpreting chemical enhancements of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The Raman bond model interprets chemical enhancements as interatomic charge flow modulations termed Raman bonds. Here, we show that the Raman bond model offers a unified interpretation of chemical enhancements for localized and periodic systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To compare the efficacy and safety of the dual-therapy CD34 antibody-covered sirolimus-eluting Combo stent (DTS) and the sirolimus-eluting Orsiro stent (O-SES) in patients with and without acute coronary syndrome (ACS) included in the SORT OUT X study.
Background: The incidence of target lesion failure (TLF) after treatment with modern drug-eluting stents has been reported to be significantly higher in patients with ACS when compared to patients without ACS. Whether the results from the SORT OUT X study apply to patients with and without ACS remains unknown.
Much of the complexity within cells arises from functional and regulatory interactions among proteins. The core of these interactions is increasingly known, but novel interactions continue to be discovered, and the information remains scattered across different database resources, experimental modalities and levels of mechanistic detail. The STRING database (https://string-db.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe phase 3 KEYNOTE-177 study evaluated pembrolizumab versus chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab or cetuximab in patients with newly diagnosed, microsatellite-instability-high (MSI-H)/mismatch-repair-deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) per RECIST v1.1 by blinded independent central review (BICR) and overall survival (OS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis special issue of the (JRSS) focuses on rural population health and aging. It showcases the work of scholars from several backgrounds and social science disciplines to advance knowledge in a critical field of investigation. Assembled through an open call for submissions coordinated through the National Institute on Aging (NIA) funded Interdisciplinary Network on Rural Population Health and Aging (INRPHA), the collection of articles helps inform a more nuanced understanding of the factors associated with rural places, which often have different health outcomes and aging patterns than their urban counterparts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Influenza vaccination early after myocardial infarction (MI) improves prognosis but vaccine effectiveness may differ dependent on type of MI.
Methods: A total of 2,571 participants were prospectively enrolled in the Influenza vaccination after myocardial infarction (IAMI) trial and randomly assigned to receive in-hospital inactivated influenza vaccine or saline placebo. The trial was conducted at 30 centers in eight countries from October 1, 2016 to March 1, 2020.
Approximately 80% of trafficked individuals access health care during their victimization. The emergency department is a frontline of care. This study examines current screening practices of Western Washington emergency department nurses to determine nurse and facility readiness for improved identification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Patients undergoing microvascular reconstruction after head and neck cancer typically have several comorbidities, and the procedures are often followed by complications and prolonged hospitalization. Consequently, the application of (ERAS) for these patients undergoing microvascular reconstruction has gained attention in recent years. ERAS is a peri- and postoperative care concept that has repeatedly shown beneficial results for a wide variety of surgical procedures, including microvascular reconstruction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToxicity resulting from off-target effects, beyond acetylcholine esterase inhibition, for the commonly used organophosphate (OP) insecticides chlorpyrifos (CPS) and malathion (MA) was investigated using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Caenorhabditis elegans model systems. Mitochondrial damage and dysfunction were observed in yeast following exposure to CPS and MA, suggesting this organelle is a major target. In the C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChlorosphaerolactylate B, a newly discovered antimicrobial halometabolite from the cyanobacterium sp. LEGE 00249 has been synthesized in three steps by using 12-bromododecanoic acid as starting material. A total of 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethylated homeobox A9 (meth-HOXA9) is tumor specific and has been suggested as a prognostic biomarker in several types of cancer. ctDNA measured as meth-HOXA9 may be a valuable biomarker in the decision-making process about last-line treatment of biliary tract cancer (BTC). The aim of the study was to investigate the clinical impact of meth-HOXA9 in plasma from patients receiving erlotinib and bevacizumab for late-stage BTC and to investigate the treatment effect and adverse events.
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