Bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicle (OMV)-Encapsulated TiO Nanoparticles: A Dual-Action Strategy for Enhanced Radiotherapy and Immunomodulation in Oral Cancer Treatment.

Oral squamous-cell carcinoma (OSCC) poses significant treatment challenges due to its high recurrence rates and the limitations of current therapies. Titanium dioxide (TiO) nanoparticles are promising radiosensitizers, while bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are known for their immunomodulatory properties. This study investigates the potential of OMV-encapsulated TiO nanoparticles (TiO@OMV) to combine these effects for improved OSCC treatment.

Realizing Highly Stable Quasi-2D Blue Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes Using Energy Cascades Generated by Biomolecule-Derived Plasmonic Nanostructures.

Blue perovskite light-emitting diodes (LEDs) lag behind green and red LEDs, which have made considerable strides in efficiency and stability. The main disadvantage is its unmodulated phase domains and low energy transfer efficiency, which impede the efficiency, optical purity, and operational stability of the devices. Herein, we show that using biomolecule-derived plasmonic nanostructures can significantly promote defect passivation, van der Waals gap reduction, and cascade energy transfer through synergistic small-molecule interactions and localized surface plasmonic contributions, thereby improving the electroluminescence (EL) properties and operational stability.

Exposure to Psychotropic Drugs and Colorectal Cancer Risk in Patients with Affective Disorder: A Nested Case-Control Study.

Background: This study aimed to assess the association between the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and exposure to mood stabilizers, antidepressants, and antipsychotics in patients with affective disorders.

Methods: This nested case-control study used data from the National Health Insurance Database of Taiwan collected between 2001 and 2011. All participants in this study had affective disorders.

Molecular epidemiology of rubella during the pre- and post-elimination eras in the Americas.

Since the last case of indigenous rubella virus (RuV) was detected in 2009 in the Region of the Americas, sporadic rubella and congenital rubella cases have been confirmed, and subsequently, a low number of associated sequences have been reported. Fifty-one sequences of wild-type RuV, representing four genotypes (1E, 1G, 1J, and 2B), were reported from five countries, with confirmed sources of exposure for 46 cases. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the diversity of these viruses, showing no associations with sustained endemic transmission from previously endemic strains.

Resistance to antidepressant treatment among patients with major depressive disorder: a nationwide study.

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) has great clinical importance because it has the highest disability burden of all depressive conditions. We investigated the prevalence of TRD and identified the risk and protective factors associated with antidepressant resistance among adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). A total of 176 132 adult patients with MDD were selected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 2001 and 2010 and followed for 1 year.

Genomic Landscape of Thrombosis Recurrence Risk Across Venous Thromboembolism Subtypes.

Venous thromboembolism (VT) is a frequent (annual incidence of 1 to 2 per 1,000) and potentially life-threatening (case-fatality rate up to 10%) disease. VT is associated with serious short-term and long-term complications including a recurrence rate of approximately 20% within five years. Anticoagulant therapy, the mainstay of VT treatment, drastically reduces the risk of early VT recurrence, but it exposes patients to a substantial risk of bleeding.

Reduced Deltex1 expression in T cells indicates increased disease activity in Sjögren's disease.

Objectives: Deltex1 is a transcriptional target of NFAT that promotes T cell anergy. However, whether Deltex1 affects the properties of regulatory T cells (Tregs), which are involved in the pathogenesis of Sjögren's disease (SjD), is unknown.

Methods: T cells were purified from peripheral blood using a negative selection method.

Decreases in pH from effluent had a devastating but reversible impact on the coastal plankton communities.

An event of releasing untreated effluent caused serious decreases in surface seawater pH from 8.1 to lower than 7.5 in seven years and increased back to prior levels after 15 years.

Biochemical response to neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy before radiation therapy and the risk of death in patients with unfavorable-risk prostate cancer: A secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial.

Introduction: A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level >0.5 ng/mL after 9 to 10 weeks of neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy and before radiation therapy (RT) was associated with an increased PSA-failure risk; however, the impact on all-cause mortality (ACM) risk after adjusting for serum testosterone level remains unknown.

Methods: From 2005 to 2015, 350 patients with localized, unfavorable-risk prostate cancer (PC) were randomly assigned to receive androgen deprivation therapy and RT plus docetaxel vs standard of care (SOC) with androgen deprivation therapy and RT.

Progesterone suppresses rhinovirus-induced airway inflammation by inhibiting neutrophil infiltration and extracellular traps formation.

Background: The process of NETosis is observed in a range of inflammatory conditions. Progesterone (P4) has been shown to alleviate inflammation caused by viral infections such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2. However, the precise molecular mechanisms responsible for this effect are not yet fully understood.

Effects of Intra-Articular Stromal Vascular Fraction Injection on Clinical Symptoms and Cartilage Health in Osteoarthritic Knees: A Single-Center Pilot Study.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent form of arthritis worldwide. Intra-articular stromal vascular fraction (SVF) injections are a potential therapeutic option for patients with OA. This study aims to assess the effects of intra-articular SVF injections on knee OA.

Hepatic Events During Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment Between Liver and Non-Liver Malignancies in Hepatitis B Endemic Areas.

Background: Notable advances have been made in immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for cancer treatment. However, the adverse effects of ICIs, especially hepatotoxicity, remain a challenging problem. Whether patients in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-endemic areas are prone to developing hepatic adverse events during ICI treatment warrants further exploration.

Efficacy and safety of durvalumab rechallenge in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients refractory to prior anti-PD-1 therapy.

Background/purpose: Recently, anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (anti-PD-1) and anti-PD-L1 therapies were approved for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the effectiveness of rechallenging with one immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) after failure of another remains unclear. This study explores the efficacy and safety of anti-PD-L1 rechallenge in patients who failed anti-PD-1 therapy.

Real-world effectiveness and prognostic factors of durvalumab plus chemotherapy in a multicentric cohort with advanced biliary tract cancer.

Background: Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is an aggressive biliary tract cancer, arising from the bile ducts and gallbladder, with a poor prognosis. The TOPAZ-1 trial of durvalumab plus first-line chemotherapy (gemcitabine plus cisplatin) showed improved survival vs chemotherapy alone. This real-world study aimed to confirm the effectiveness of this regimen.

Framing emission gain layers for perovskite light-emitting diodes using polycaprolactone-silver nanoparticles featuring Förster resonance energy transfer and Purcell effects.

In this study, a new emission gain layer for perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) is presented to improve their performance. The emission gain layer consisting of absorption-stable silver nanoparticles is prepared using the post-addition method of the polycaprolactone capping agent (PCL@AgNPs-P). This layer (PCL@AgNPs-P) effectively improves the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the low- (minor) and high- (major) phases in a quasi2D perovskite system, thereby increasing the major emission intensity and efficiency.

Parental mental disorders and ages of onset of severe mental disorders in offspring: A nationwide family-link study.

Objective: The current study used a retrospective study design to investigate the association between age of onset of severe mental disorders in offspring and the likelihood of diagnoses of parental mental disorder.

Method: We enrolled 212,333 people with severe mental disorder, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (BD), or major depressive disorder (MDD) and 2,123,329 controls matched for age, sex, and demographics from the National Health Insurance Database of Taiwan. Poisson regression models were used to examine the likelihood of diagnoses of five mental disorders in their parents compared to the parents of the controls (reported as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval), including schizophrenia, BD, MDD, alcohol use disorder (AUD), and substance use disorder (SUD).

Creeping Fat-Derived Free Fatty Acids Induce Hyperplasia of Intestinal Muscularis Propria Muscle Cells: A Novel Link Between Fat and Intestinal Stricture Formation in Crohn's Disease.

Background & Aims: In Crohn's disease, wrapping of mesenteric fat around the bowel wall, so-called "creeping fat," is highly associated with strictures. The strongest contributor to luminal narrowing in strictures is a thickening of the human intestinal muscularis propria (MP). We investigated creeping fat-derived factors and their effect on mechanisms of human intestinal MP smooth muscle cell (HIMC) hyperplasia.

Sex-dependent differences in hematopoietic stem cell aging and leukemogenic potential.

Sex influences many biological outcomes, but how sex affects hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) aging and hematological disorders is poorly understood. The widespread use of young animal models to study age-related diseases further complicates these matters. Using aged and long-lived BALB/c mouse models, we discovered that aging mice exhibit sex-dependent disparities, mirroring aging humans, in developing myeloid skewing, anemia, and leukemia.

Application of machine learning in predicting health perception through military personnel's sense of empowerment.

The promotion of health and provision of care services for new recruits are issues of constant concern for military leaders and healthcare providers, as they are crucial to maintaining and operating military forces. The enhancement of military personnel's empowerment has been recognized as a core value in promoting health perception. However, the pathways between military personnel's sense of empowerment and health perception have not been thoroughly explored.