Immunogenic Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer Using Targeted Carbon Nanotube Mediated Photothermal Therapy in Combination with Anti-Programmed Cell Death Protein-1.

The high prevalence of breast cancer is a global health concern, compounded by the lack of safe or effective treatments for its advanced stages. These facts urge the development of novel treatment strategies. Annexin A5 (ANXA5) is a natural human protein that binds with high specificity to phosphatidylserine, a phospholipid tightly maintained in the inner leaflet of the cell membrane on most healthy cells but externalized in tumor cells and the tumor vasculature.

Development and Validation of a Machine Learning System to Identify Reflux Events in Esophageal 24-Hour pH/Impedance Studies.

Introduction: Esophageal 24-hour pH/impedance testing is routinely performed to diagnose gastroesophageal reflux disease. Interpretation of these studies is time-intensive for expert physicians and has high inter-reader variability. There are no commercially available machine learning tools to assist with automated identification of reflux events in these studies.

Dysregulated Smooth Muscle Cell BMPR2-ARRB2 Axis Causes Pulmonary Hypertension.

Objective: Mutations in (bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2) are associated with familial and sporadic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The functional and molecular link between loss of BMPR2 in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) and PAH pathogenesis warrants further investigation, as most investigations focus on BMPR2 in pulmonary artery endothelial cells. Our goal was to determine whether and how decreased BMPR2 is related to the abnormal phenotype of PASMC in PAH.

Comprehensive evaluation of human-derived anti-poly-GA antibodies in cellular and animal models of disease.

Hexanucleotide GC repeat expansions in the gene are the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. Dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs) generated by translation of repeat-containing RNAs show toxic effects in vivo as well as in vitro and are key targets for therapeutic intervention. We generated human antibodies that bind DPRs with high affinity and specificity.

Insights From a Large-Scale Whole-Genome Sequencing Study of Systolic Blood Pressure, Diastolic Blood Pressure, and Hypertension.

Background: The availability of whole-genome sequencing data in large studies has enabled the assessment of coding and noncoding variants across the allele frequency spectrum for their associations with blood pressure.

Methods: We conducted a multiancestry whole-genome sequencing analysis of blood pressure among 51 456 Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine and Centers for Common Disease Genomics program participants (stage-1). Stage-2 analyses leveraged array data from UK Biobank (N=383 145), Million Veteran Program (N=318 891), and Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (N=10 643) participants, along with whole-exome sequencing data from UK Biobank (N=199 631) participants.

Measurement of the Nucleon F_{2}^{n}/F_{2}^{p} Structure Function Ratio by the Jefferson Lab MARATHON Tritium/Helium-3 Deep Inelastic Scattering Experiment.

The ratio of the nucleon F_{2} structure functions, F_{2}^{n}/F_{2}^{p}, is determined by the MARATHON experiment from measurements of deep inelastic scattering of electrons from ^{3}H and ^{3}He nuclei. The experiment was performed in the Hall A Facility of Jefferson Lab using two high-resolution spectrometers for electron detection, and a cryogenic target system which included a low-activity tritium cell. The data analysis used a novel technique exploiting the mirror symmetry of the two nuclei, which essentially eliminates many theoretical uncertainties in the extraction of the ratio.

Accelerated Degradation of Perfluorosulfonates and Perfluorocarboxylates by UV/Sulfite + Iodide: Reaction Mechanisms and System Efficiencies.

The addition of iodide (I) in the UV/sulfite system (UV/S) significantly accelerated the reductive degradation of perfluorosulfonates (PFSAs, CFSO) and perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs, CFCOO). Using the highly recalcitrant perfluorobutane sulfonate (CFSO) as a probe, we optimized the UV/sulfite + iodide system (UV/S + I) to degrade = 1-7 PFCAs and = 4, 6, 8 PFSAs. In general, the kinetics of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) decay, defluorination, and transformation product formations in UV/S + I were up to three times faster than those in UV/S.

Factors associated with sufficient knowledge of antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance in the Japanese general population.

We conducted two online surveys about antibiotics targeted at the Japanese general population in March 2017 and February 2018. In total, 6,982 participants completed the questionnaire. Factors associated with knowledge of antibiotics, knowledge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and appropriate behavioural changes were evaluated by a machine learning approach using DataRobot.

[Health Assessment of the Stream Ecosystem in the North Canal River Basin, Beijing, China].

With increasing urbanization, the stream ecosystem in Beijing has faced great challenges. Phytoplankton, benthic macroinvertebrates, and water quality were investigated based on 25 sampling sites in the North Canal River basin in July 2015, and the quality of the habitat was assessed in situ. A total of 22 metrics, including aquatic organism, hydrology, water quality, and habitat, were calculated to be the candidate indicators.

In Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, Reduced BMPR2 Promotes Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition via HMGA1 and Its Target Slug.

Background: We previously reported high-throughput RNA sequencing analyses that identified heightened expression of the chromatin architectural factor High Mobility Group AT-hook 1 (HMGA1) in pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (PAECs) from patients who had idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in comparison with controls. Because HMGA1 promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in cancer, we hypothesized that increased HMGA1 could induce transition of PAECs to a smooth muscle (SM)-like mesenchymal phenotype (endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition), explaining both dysregulation of PAEC function and possible cellular contribution to the occlusive remodeling that characterizes advanced idiopathic PAH.

Methods And Results: We documented increased HMGA1 in PAECs cultured from idiopathic PAH versus donor control lungs.

A facile one-step electrochemical strategy of doping iron, nitrogen, and fluorine into titania nanotube arrays with enhanced visible light photoactivity.

Highly ordered iron, nitrogen, and fluorine tri-doped TiO2 (Fe, (N, F)-TiO2) nanotube arrays were successfully synthesized by a facile one-step electrochemical method in an NH4F electrolyte containing Fe ions. The morphology, structure, composition, and photoelectrochemical property of the as-prepared nanotube arrays were characterized by various methods. The photoactivities of the samples were evaluated by the degradation of phenol in an aqueous solution under visible light.