Preclinical models in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Head and neck cancer is the sixth most frequent cancer type. Drug resistance and toxicity are common challenges of the existing therapies, making the development of reliable preclinical models essential for the study of the involved molecular mechanisms as well as for eventual intervention approaches that improve the clinical outcome. Preclinical models of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma have been traditionally based on cell lines and murine models.

High IGKC-Expressing Intratumoral Plasma Cells Predict Response to Immune Checkpoint Blockade.

Resistance to Immune Checkpoint Blockade (ICB) constitutes the current limiting factor for the optimal implementation of this novel therapy, which otherwise demonstrates durable responses with acceptable toxicity scores. This limitation is exacerbated by a lack of robust biomarkers. In this study, we have dissected the basal TME composition at the gene expression and cellular levels that predict response to Nivolumab and prognosis.

Particleboard panels made with sugarcane bagasse waste-an exploratory study.

The reuse of natural fibers, in order to manufacture a new product, is already becoming popular due to the generation of a series of advantages in social areas. Sugarcane bagasse is a set of tangled fibers of cellulose, produced in large quantities due to increased acreage and industrialization of sugarcane resulting from public and private investments in production aimed for the alcohol industry. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of producing sheet timber manufacture from the sugarcane bagasse, analyzing mechanical strength properties.

Storage Duration Affects the Quantification of Oxidative Stress Markers in the Gastrocnemius, Heart, and Brain of Mice Submitted to a Maximum Exercise.

This study investigated the effect of sample storage duration on the quantification of oxidative stress markers in the gastrocnemius, heart, and brain of mice submitted to a maximum swimming exercise. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARSs), protein carbonyl derivatives, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were quantified in fresh tissues and in samples stored at -80°C for 1, 3, or 6 months, from exercised ( = 13) and nonexercised mice ( = 13). Except for protein carbonyl derivatives in the heart, the exercise resulted in the modification of all markers in all fresh-evaluated samples ( < 0.

Emerging noninvasive methylation biomarkers of cancer prognosis and drug response prediction.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide being responsible for 9.6 million deaths in 2018. Epigenetic alterations are key in directing the aberrant expression of tumor-associated genes that drive cellular malignant transformation and cancer progression.

An Intervention to Increase Situational Awareness and the Culture of Mutual Care (Foco) and Its Effects During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial and Qualitative Analysis.

Situational awareness is especially important to decision-making in health care. Comprehending the situation is crucial for anticipating any change in the environment and delivering optimal care. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a training to increase situational awareness and mutual care designed for health care workers (FoCo) in a randomized controlled trial with additional qualitative analysis.

Physiological and biochemical responses driven by different UV-visible radiation in Osmundea pinnatifida (Hudson) Stackhouse (Rhodophyta).

Light, or visible radiation, serves as a source of energy for photosynthesis of plants and most algae. In addition, light and ultraviolet radiation (UV-A and UV-B) act as a biological signal, triggering several cellular processes that are mediated by photoreceptors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological and biochemical responses of Osmundea pinnatifida driven by different radiations through putative photoreceptors.

Accuracy of the clinical indicators of ineffective health management in celiac people.

Objective: to analyze the accuracy of clinical indicators of "Ineffective health management" in celiac patients and to verify associations between sociodemographic characteristics and clinical indicators.

Method: a cross-sectional study, conducted from May to September 2017, with 83 celiac patients, through an interview. Accuracy measures were defined by latent class model.

Loss of MafA and MafB expression promotes islet inflammation.

Maf transcription factors are critical regulators of beta-cell function. We have previously shown that reduced MafA expression in human and mouse islets is associated with a pro-inflammatory gene signature. Here, we investigate if the loss of Maf transcription factors induced autoimmune processes in the pancreas.

Single Cell Gene Expression to Understand the Dynamic Architecture of the Heart.

The recent development of single cell gene expression technologies, and especially single cell transcriptomics, have revolutionized the way biologists and clinicians investigate organs and organisms, allowing an unprecedented level of resolution to the description of cell demographics in both healthy and diseased states. Single cell transcriptomics provide information on prevalence, heterogeneity, and gene co-expression at the individual cell level. This enables a cell-centric outlook to define intracellular gene regulatory networks and to bridge toward the definition of intercellular pathways otherwise masked in bulk analysis.

Loss of Canonical Notch Signaling Affects Multiple Steps in NK Cell Development in Mice.

Within the hematopoietic system, the Notch pathway is critical for promoting thymic T cell development and suppressing the B and myeloid lineage fates; however, its impact on NK lymphopoiesis is less understood. To study the role of Notch during NK cell development in vivo, we investigated different NK cell compartments and function in Rbp-JkVav-Cre mice, in which , the major transcriptional effector of canonical Notch signaling, was specifically deleted in all hematopoietic cells. Peripheral conventional cytotoxic NK cells in -deleted mice were significantly reduced and had an activated phenotype.

Term amniotic fluid: an unexploited reserve of mesenchymal stromal cells for reprogramming and potential cell therapy applications.

Background: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are currently being evaluated in numerous pre-clinical and clinical cell-based therapy studies. Furthermore, there is an increasing interest in exploring alternative uses of these cells in disease modelling, pharmaceutical screening, and regenerative medicine by applying reprogramming technologies. However, the limited availability of MSCs from various sources restricts their use.

Ontogenetic development of the inner ear saccule and utricle in the Lusitanian toadfish: Potential implications for auditory sensitivity.

Studies addressing structure-function relationships of the fish auditory system during development are sparse compared to other taxa. The Batrachoididae has become an important group to investigate mechanisms of auditory plasticity and evolution of auditory-vocal systems. A recent study reported ontogenetic improvements in the inner ear saccule sensitivity of the Lusitanian toadfish, Halobatrachus didactylus, but whether this results from changes in the sensory morphology remains unknown.

Retinoic acid regulates hematopoietic development from human pluripotent stem cells.

The functions of retinoic acid (RA), a potent morphogen with crucial roles in embryogenesis including developmental hematopoiesis, have not been thoroughly investigated in the human setting. Using an in vitro model of human hematopoietic development, we evaluated the effects of RA signaling on the development of blood and on generated hematopoietic progenitors. Decreased RA signaling increases the generation of cells with a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC)-like phenotype, capable of differentiation into myeloid and lymphoid lineages, through two separate mechanisms: by increasing the commitment of pluripotent stem cells toward the hematopoietic lineage during the developmental process and by decreasing the differentiation of generated blood progenitors.

Immunological mechanisms underlying delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions to glatiramer acetate.

Background: Delayed-type hypersensitivity to glatiramer acetate is rare, and the underlying immunological mechanisms are not completely understood.

Objective: To study the immunologic response in 2 patients with multiple sclerosis who developed maculopapular exanthema related with the administration of glatiramer acetate.

Methods: The allergologic study included general blood tests, viral serologic tests, and skin tests (patch and intradermal tests).

[Quality of life of patients with colorectal cancer receiving outpatient chemotherapy].

This is a cross-sectional study with a descriptive quantitative approach, which aimed to assess the quality of life (QOL) of patients with colorectal cancer receiving outpatient chemotherapy. The research was conducted in an Outpatient Chemotherapy Unit at a hospital in southern Brazil, whose patients were diagnosed with colorectal cancer and were treated with the 5-FU protocol. The sample had 48 participants who were undergoing chemotherapy for a period of six months.

Emergence of NK-cell progenitors and functionally competent NK-cell lineage subsets in the early mouse embryo.

The earliest stages of natural killer (NK)-cell development are not well characterized. In this study, we investigated in different fetal hematopoietic tissues how NK-cell progenitors and their mature NK-cell progeny emerge and expand during fetal development. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, that the counterpart of adult BM Lin(-)CD122(+)NK1.

[Practice of precocious diagnosis for prostate cancer among professors of the school of medicine, Minas Gerais Federal University- Brazil].

Background: The authors studied the practice of precocious diagnosis for prostate cancer among 289 professor-physicians of the School of Medicine, Minas Gerais Federal University, Brazil.

Methods: Replies on these preventive practices were received from 135 professor-physicians through a confidential questionnaire administered.

Results: Results show that 20.

Effect of tooth age on bond strength to dentin.

This in vitro study evaluated the effect of tooth age on the tensile bond strength of Prime & Bond NT adhesive system to dentin. Human third molars from the five age groups were analyzed: A- 17 to 20yrs, B- 21 to 30yrs, C- 31 to 40yrs, D- 41 to 50yrs and E- 51 to 63yrs. The occlusal enamel was removed using a diamond saw under water cooling and the dentin surface was wet-ground with 600-grit SiC paper to obtain flat surfaces.

Influence of smear layer pretreatments on bond strength to dentin.

Purpose: To evaluate the tensile bond strength of two self-etching adhesive systems and one one-bottle system applied on dentin surfaces after different smear layer treatments.

Materials And Methods: The crowns of 36 extracted third molars were transversally sectioned with a diamond saw to expose dentin. Flat dentin surfaces were abraded wet with 600-grit SiC paper and randomly assigned to 12 groups, according to three adhesive systems--Prime & Bond NT (PB), Clearfil Mega Bond (CMB) and Etch & Prime 3.