Immunotherapeutic targeting of aging-associated isoDGR motif in chronic lung inflammation.

Accumulation of damaged biomolecules in body tissues is the primary cause of aging and age-related chronic diseases. Since this damage often occurs spontaneously, it has traditionally been regarded as untreatable, with typical therapeutic strategies targeting genes or enzymes being ineffective in this domain. In this report, we demonstrate that an antibody targeting the isoDGR damage motif in lung tissue can guide immune clearance of harmful damaged proteins in vivo, effectively reducing age-linked lung inflammation.

Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced and Locally Recurrent Colon Cancer.

Aims: While systemic management of high risk colon cancer is well addressed, advances in local management remain incremental. This study aims to identify a group of colon cancer patients where local management remains a challenge, and where intensifying local treatment with radiotherapy is potentially beneficial to minimise the risk of an R1 resection.

Materials And Methods: The patients with select cT4 locally advanced primary colon (LAPC) (n = 40) and locally recurrent colon (LRC) (n = 48) adenocarcinomas who received neoadjuvant radiotherapy from 2005 to 2020 were studied.

Enhanced Cognition and Modulation of Brain Connectivity in Mild Neurocognitive Disorder: The Promise of Transcranial Pulse Stimulation.

Existing pharmacological treatments for mild neurocognitive disorder (NCD) offer limited effectiveness and adverse side effects. Transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS) utilizing ultrashort ultrasound pulses reaches deep brain regions and may circumvent conductivity issues associated with brain stimulation. This study addresses the gap in TPS research for mild NCD during a critical intervention period before irreversible cognitive degradation.

The differential effect of emotional loneliness and social loneliness on late-life depression.

Objectives: Loneliness adversely affects the prognosis, treatment, and remission of late-life depression. However, no clear distinction of the cause or definition of loneliness was imposed in existing literatures, resulting in mixed findings of the effect of loneliness to late-life depression (LLD). The aim of this study was to explore the association between different facets of loneliness and risk factors of LLD, specifically, if age of onset in LLD possess a different clinical profile in the clinical group.

The modulation effect of cognition on mentalization in late-life depression: a study of gaze perception-a potential screening tool for high-risk group of late-life depression.

Introduction: Impairment in mentalization is implicated in the development and maintenance of depression. Major depressive disorders showed significant impairment in social cognition and such impairment appears to be positively associated with the severity of depression. Self-referential gaze perception (SRGP), a measurement of mentalization, was predominantly measured in patients with psychosis but rarely examined in late-life depression (LLD).

Partially Ablative Body Radiotherapy (PABR): A novel approach for palliative radiotherapy of locally advanced bulky unresectable sarcomas.

Background: Locally advanced, bulky, unresectable sarcomas cause significant tumour mass effects, leading to burdensome symptoms. We have developed a novel Partially Ablative Body Radiotherapy (PABR) technique that delivers a high, ablative dose to the tumour core and a low, palliative dose to its periphery aiming to increase overall tumour response without significantly increasing treatment toxicity.

Aim: This study aims to report the safety and oncologic outcomes of PABR in patients with bulky, unresectable sarcomas.

Smoothed particle hydrodynamics implementation to enhance vertebral fracture finite element model in a cervical spine segment under compression.

Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) can arise from compression loading when a vertebra fractures and bone fragments are pushed into the spinal canal. Experimental studies have demonstrated the importance of both fracture initiation and post-fracture response in the investigation of vertebral fractures and spinal canal occlusion resulting from compression. Finite element models, such as the Global Human Body Models Consortium (GHBMC) model, focused on predicting the initiation location of fractures using element erosion to model hard tissue fracture.

Trioxidized cysteine in the aging proteome mimics the structural dynamics and interactome of phosphorylated serine.

Aging is the primary risk factor for the development of numerous human chronic diseases. On a molecular level, it significantly impacts the regulation of protein modifications, leading to the accumulation of degenerative protein modifications (DPMs) such as aberrant serine phosphorylation (p-Ser) and trioxidized cysteine (t-Cys) within the proteome. The altered p-Ser is linked to abnormal cell signaling, while the accumulation of t-Cys is associated with chronic diseases induced by oxidative stress.

Differential systemic decellularization in vivo to study molecular changes in each vasculature layer in murine models of disease.

Vascular dysfunction underlies the onset and progression of many life-threatening diseases, highlighting the need for improved understanding of its molecular basis. Here, we present differential systemic decellularization in vivo (DISDIVO), a protocol that enables systemic and independent study of the molecular changes in each vasculature layer in murine models of disease. We describe steps for anesthesia, perfusion surgery, and exsanguination.

Transcranial pulse stimulation in the treatment of mild neurocognitive disorders.

Objective: There are limited effectiveness and potential side effects of existing pharmacological approach in treating mild neurocognitive disorder (NCD). Transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS) applies repetitive single high-pressure ultrashort shockwave pulses to stimulate the brain, which has been shown to effectively improve cognition in major NCD. However, the effectiveness of TPS in mild NCD patients remained unknown.

Interrater reliability of the Standing and Walking Assessment Tool for spinal cord injury.

Study Design: Psychometric study.

Objectives: The Standing and Walking Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a standardized approach to the evaluation of standing and walking capacity following traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) in Canada. The SWAT classifies individuals with a tSCI into 12 stages of standing and walking capacity that are paired with well-established outcome measures, such as the Berg Balance Scale and 10-m Walk Test.

Cell-active, irreversible covalent inhibitors that selectively target the catalytic lysine of EGFR by using fluorosulfate-based SuFEx chemistry.

EGFR signaling is involved in multiple cellular processes including cell proliferation, differentiation and development, making this protein kinase one of the most valuable drug targets for the treatment of non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC). Herein, we describe the design and synthesis of a series of potential covalent inhibitors targeting the catalytically conserved lysine (K745) of EGFR on the basis of Erlotinib, an FDA-approved first-generation EGFR drug. Different amine-reactive electrophiles were introduced at positions on the Erlotinib scaffold proximal to K745 in EGFR.

pCR and 2-Year Disease-Free Survival: A Combination of the Two Endpoints as a New Classification for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer Patients-An Updated Pooled Analysis of Eleven International Randomized Trials.

LARC is managed by multimodal treatments whose intensity can be highly modulated. In this context, we need surrogate endpoints to help predict long-term outcomes and better personalize treatments. A previous study identified 2yDFS as a stronger predictor of OS than pCR in LARC patients undergoing neoadjuvant RT.

Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a growing prevalence of sleep problems associated with significant behavioral problems and more severe autism clinical presentation. Little is known about the relationships between autism traits and sleep problems in Hong Kong. Therefore, this study aimed to examine whether children with autism have increased sleep problems than non-autistic children in Hong Kong.

Intensification of Local Therapy With High Dose Rate, Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (HDR-IORT) and Extended Resection for Locally Advanced and Recurrent Colorectal Cancer.

Background: We report our long-term experience with high dose rate intraoperative radiotherapy (HDR-IORT) in a single, quaternary institution.

Patients/methods: From 2004 to 2020, 60 HDR-IORT procedures for locally advanced colorectal cancer (LACC) and 81 for locally recurrent colorectal cancer (LRCC) were done in our institution. Preoperative radiotherapy was done prior to majority of the resections (89%, 125/141).

pSILAC-Based Determination of Cellular Protein Sorting into Extracellular Vesicles.

The protein cargo of extracellular vesicles (EVs) determines their impact on recipient cell types and the downstream effects on biological function. Environmental cues can modify EV loading with proteins derived from the plasma membrane via endocytosis, obtained from the preexisting cytosolic pool via active sorting, or packaging with newly synthesized proteins drawn from trans-golgi networks. Given the major impact these pathways exert on EV content and functional potential, it is important to study how defined stimuli influence protein sorting into these vesicles for dispersal.

High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) as augmentation therapy in late-life depression (LLD) with suboptimal response to treatment-a study protocol for a double-blinded randomized sham-controlled trial.

Background: Late-life depression (LLD) has a poorer prognosis and higher relapse rate than younger adults, with up to one third of patients with LLD showing suboptimal response to antidepressant therapy. LLD has been associated with significant impairment in cognition and daily functioning. Few studies have evaluated the therapeutic effects of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) on depressive and cognitive symptoms of LLD.

Classification of Mindfulness Meditation and Its Impact on Neural Measures in the Clinical Population.

Different forms of mindfulness meditation are increasingly integrated in the clinical practice in the last three decades. Previous studies have identified changes in the neurophysiology and neurochemistry of the brain resulting from different mindfulness meditation practices in the general population. However, research on neural correlates of different types of meditation, particularly on the clinical outcomes, is still very sparse.

Bayesian network structure for predicting local tumor recurrence in rectal cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by surgery.

Background And Purpose: Tumor recurrence, a characteristic of malignant tumors, is the biggest concern for rectal cancer survivors. The epidemiology of the disease calls for a pressing need to improve healthcare quality and patient outcomes. Prediction models such as Bayesian networks, which can probabilistically reason under uncertainty, could assist caregivers with patient management.