What is the Optimal Management of Metastatic Spine Patients With Intermediate Spinal Instability Neoplastic Scores: To Operate or Not to Operate?

Study Design: Systematic review.

Objective: In patients with extradural metastatic spine disease, we sought to systematically review the outcomes and complications of patients with intermediate Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS) lesions undergoing radiation therapy, percutaneous interventions, minimally invasive surgeries, or open spinal surgeries.

Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the Cochrane Center Register of Controlled Trials were queried for studies that reported on SINS intermediate patients who underwent: 1) radiotherapy, 2) percutaneous intervention, 3) minimally invasive, or 4) open surgery.

Targeting the transferrin receptor to transport antisense oligonucleotides across the mammalian blood-brain barrier.

Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) are promising therapeutics for treating various neurological disorders. However, ASOs are unable to readily cross the mammalian blood-brain barrier (BBB) and therefore need to be delivered intrathecally to the central nervous system (CNS). Here, we engineered a human transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) binding molecule, the oligonucleotide transport vehicle (OTV), to transport a tool ASO across the BBB in human TfR knockin (TfR KI) mice and nonhuman primates.

Paired organoids from primary gastric cancer and lymphatic metastasis are useful for personalized medicine.

Background: Organoids are approved by the US FDA as an alternative to animal experiments to guide drug development and for sensitivity screening. Stable organoids models of gastric cancer are desirable for personalized medicine and drug screening.

Methods: Tumor tissues from a primary cancer of the stomach and metastatic cancer of the lymph node were collected for 3D culture.

Drug-induced senescence by aurora kinase inhibitors attenuates innate immune response of macrophages on gastric cancer organoids.

Diffuse-type gastric cancer (DGC) is a subtype of gastric cancer with aggressiveness and poor prognosis. It is of great significance to find sensitive drugs for DGC. In the current study, a total of 20 patient-derived organoids (PDOs) were analyzed for screening the therapeutic efficacy of small molecule kinases inhibitors on gastric cancers, especially the therapeutic difference between intestinal-type gastric cancer (IGCs) and DGCs.

Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Punjabi Version of EPIC.

Background: With earlier prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis and increased survivorship, post-treatment quality of life (QoL) has become increasingly important. The Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) is a widely adopted QoL instrument for PCa. We aimed to create a Punjabi version of EPIC to further research in the Punjabi-speaking population.

Do Women with Skin of Color Think They Are Well Represented in Skin Aging Prevention Information?

Objective: There are clinical differences in healthy skin requirements and skin-aging features by race and ethnicity. However, individuals of color are underrepresented in dermatology-related medical information. We sought to gather information from women of color regarding their attitudes about the importance of the prevention of skin aging, available information, and perception of representation in skin-aging prevention information.

Music Timing Differentiates Fatigue Perception and Performance during Isometric Strength Exercises: A Crossover Randomised Trial.

Music is well-known to elicit ergogenic effects on exercise performance; however, the moderating role of application timing remains unclear. This study examined the effects of the timing of music on fatigue perception and performance during isometric strength exercises. Using a within-subject, randomised crossover design, twelve recreationally active young adults performed two isometric strength tasks (plank-hold and wall-sit) in three separate conditions (MEE: music played during the entire exercise task; MDF: music played during fatigue alone; CON: no music).

Benchmark for establishment of organoids from gastrointestinal epithelium and cancer based on available consumables and reagents.

Gastrointestinal cancers are a public health problem that threatens the lives of human being. A good experimental model is a powerful tool to promote the uncovering pathogenesis and establish novel treatment methods. High-quality biomedical research requires experimental models to recapitulate the physiological and pathological states of their parental tissues as much as possible.

Timing is Everything: Stochastic Optogenetic Stimulation Reduces Adaptation in Retinal Ganglion Cells.

Optogenetics gives us unprecedented power to investigate brain connectivity. The ability to activate neural circuits with single cell resolution and its ease of application has provided a wealth of knowledge in brain function. More recently, optogenetics has shown tremendous utility in prosthetics applications, including vision restoration for patients with retinitis pigmentosa.

Late Toxicity of Prostate Ultrahypofractionated Radiation Therapy Compared With Moderate Hypofractionation in a Randomized Trial.

Purpose: We report late toxicity, quality of life (QOL), and urinary symptom score with prostate cancer radiation therapy in a randomized trial comparing moderate hypofractionation and ultrahypofrationation.

Methods And Materials: Patients with intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer were randomized to either Arm 1 (70 Gy/28 fractions) or Arm 2 (36.25 Gy/5 weekly fractions).

A quick and reliable image-based AI algorithm for evaluating cellular senescence of gastric organoids.

Objective: Organoids are a powerful tool with broad application prospects in biomedicine. Notably, they provide alternatives to animal models for testing potential drugs before clinical trials. However, the number of passages for which organoids maintain cellular vitality remains unclear.

Characterization of thylakoid division using chloroplast dividing mutants in Arabidopsis.

Chloroplasts are double membrane bound organelles that are found in plants and algae. Their division requires a number of proteins to assemble into rings along the center of the organelle and to constrict in synchrony. Chloroplasts possess a third membrane system, the thylakoids, which house the majority of proteins responsible for the light-dependent reactions.

Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment for younger outpatients with severe mental illness: protocol for a feasibility study.

Introduction: Individuals with severe mental illness are at risk of becoming prematurely frail. There is a critical unmet need for an intervention that reduces the risk of frailty and minimises the associated negative outcomes in this population. This study aims to provide novel evidence on the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) to improve health outcomes among people with co-occurring frailty and severe mental illness.

Infrapyloric (No. 206) and greater curvature (No. 204) lymph node metastasis in adenocarcinoma located in the right half of the transverse colon (InCLART Study): protocol for a multicentre prospective observational study.

Introduction: In the case of right-sided transverse colon cancer (RTCC) and hepatic flexure colon cancer (HFCC), there is a potential connection of lymph drainage between mesentery and greater omentum. However, most previous reports have been limited case series with No. 206 and No.

Web-Based Peer Navigation for Men with Prostate Cancer and Their Family Caregivers: A Pilot Feasibility Study.

This study assessed the feasibility, acceptability and potential effects of True North Peer Navigation (PN)—a web-based peer navigation program for men with prostate cancer (PC) and their family caregivers. A one-arm, pre-post pilot feasibility study was conducted at two cancer centres in Canada. Participants were matched through a web-app with a specially trained peer navigator who assessed needs and barriers to care, provided support and encouraged a proactive approach to health for 3 months.

Top 10 Research Themes for Dystonia in Cerebral Palsy: A Community-Driven Research Agenda.

Dystonia in cerebral palsy (DCP) is a common, debilitating, but understudied condition. The CP community (people with CP and caregivers) is uniquely equipped to help determine the research questions that best address their needs. We developed a community-driven DCP research agenda using the well-established James Lind Alliance methodology.

RadStat: An open-source statistical analysis tool for counts obtained by a GM counter.

The interaction of ionizing radiation with matter is a stochastic process and statistical analysis of such a process would be a crucial step in understanding radioactivity. Geiger-Müller (GM) counter is a widely used radiation detector used in nuclear radiation surveying, which produces counts upon exposure to a radioactive source. There are a variety of multi-purpose software that can be used to perform statistical analysis of measured counts from a GM counter.

Acute Toxicity of Ultrahypofractionation Compared With Moderate Hypofractionation in Prostate Cancer Treatment: A Randomized Trial.

Purpose: We report on the early toxic effects and quality of life of localized prostate cancer radiation therapy in a randomized trial comparing moderate hypofractionation (MHF) with ultrahypofractionation (UHF).

Methods And Materials: We randomized patients with intermediate- to high-risk localized prostate cancer to radiation therapy with MHF (70 Gy in 28 daily fractions) or UHF (36.25 Gy in 5 weekly fractions).

Digital taxation to promote frugal innovation in institutions of higher learning: a three-decade systematic literature review.

In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0), digital taxation emerged as a tool for accelerating the economic growth of a nation. While Industry 4.

[Prostate health index for the diagnosis of prostate cancer in Asians in Macau with a PSA level of 4－10 μg/L].

Objective: To evaluate the prostate health index (PHI) as a tool for the diagnosis of PCa with a PSA level of 4－10 μg/L and determine the best cut-off value of PHI.

Methods: Fifty-eight patients with a PSA level of 4－10 μg/L underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided prostatic biopsy in our hospital between April 2017 and June 2019. We constructed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for the relationship of the biopsy results with the level of PSA, the ratio of ［－2］ proPSA to fPSA and PHI, and calculated the area under the ROC curves (AUC).

NogoA-expressing astrocytes limit peripheral macrophage infiltration after ischemic brain injury in primates.

Astrocytes play critical roles after brain injury, but their precise function is poorly defined. Utilizing single-nuclei transcriptomics to characterize astrocytes after ischemic stroke in the visual cortex of the marmoset monkey, we observed nearly complete segregation between stroke and control astrocyte clusters. Screening for the top 30 differentially expressed genes that might limit stroke recovery, we discovered that a majority of astrocytes expressed RTN4A/ NogoA, a neurite-outgrowth inhibitory protein previously only associated with oligodendrocytes.

Recurrent Multivalvular Endocarditis Causing Complete Heart Block after TAVR.

Prosthetic valve endocarditis after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (PVE after TAVR) is a feared complication most often observed during the early postprocedural period. We report a case of severe, multivalvular PVE after TAVR with complete heart block caused by an uncommon organism. A 78-year-old female with prior mitral valve endocarditis treated with antibiotics presented one year later with severe, symptomatic aortic insufficiency.