Self-assembling and self-formulating prodrug hydrogelator extends survival in a glioblastoma resection and recurrence model.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and devastating type of primary brain cancer. Despite surgery and chemo/radiation therapy, recurrence often takes place and leads to patient death. We report here on the development of a camptothecin (CPT)-based self-assembling prodrug (SAPD) hydrogel that can be used as an adjunct therapy for local treatment of GBM following maximal tumor resection.

Unveiling the effect of electron tunneling on the plasmonic resonance of closely spaced gold particles.

Recent experimental techniques enable the nanoparticles' (NPs) ensembles to be made with an angstrom-level of interparticle gap widths. The theoretical description of their optical properties becomes more challenging because of the nonnegligible quantum mechanism (QM) effects such as electron tunneling and nonlocal screening. To demonstrate the microscopic mechanism of QM effects and quantitatively elucidate their impact on a variety of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) models of gold particle oligomers, in this work we performed a theoretical study on closely spaced Au cluster dimers and NP oligomers by the first-principles approach, and the classical or quantum-corrected electromagnetic models (CEM or QCM), respectively.

Toward a High-Throughput Wireless Smart Arena for Behavioral Experiments on Small Animals.

This work presents a high-throughput and scalable wirelessly-powered smart arena for behavioral experiments made of multiple EnerCage Homecage (HC) systems, operating in parallel in a way that they can fit in standard racks that are commonly used in animal facilities. The proposed system, which is referred to as the multi-EnerCage-HC (mEHC), increases the volume of data that can be collected from more animal subjects, while lowering the cost and duration of experiments as well as stress-induced bias by minimizing the involvement of human operators. Thus improving the quality, reproducibility, and statistical power of experiment outcomes, while saving precious lab space.

Self-assembling mertansine prodrug improves tolerability and efficacy of chemotherapy against metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is one of the most devastating cancer types. Systemic chemotherapy is necessary, but its clinical performance is largely limited by severe side effects. Herein, we report a mertansine prodrug, which could self-assemble into spherical nanoparticles in water and readily convert into active mertansine at the presence of glutathione.

α-Ketoglutarate Modulates Macrophage Polarization Through Regulation of PPARγ Transcription and mTORC1/p70S6K Pathway to Ameliorate ALI/ARDS.

As tissue-resident cells in the lung, alveolar macrophages display remarkable heterogeneity and play a crucial role in the development and control of septic acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS). Recent evidence suggests that α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) plays an important role in alternative activation of macrophage (M2) through metabolic and epigenetic reprogramming, and thus possesses anti-inflammatory properties. However, the underlying mechanisms of α-KG's effect on alveolar macrophage polarization and the potential effects of α-KG in ALI/ARDS remain unclear.

Prescription Value-Based Automatic Optimization of Importance Factors in Inverse Planning.

Objective: An automatic method for the optimization of importance factors was proposed to improve the efficiency of inverse planning.

Methods: The automatic method consists of 3 steps: (1) First, the importance factors are automatically and iteratively adjusted based on our proposed penalty strategies. (2) Then, plan evaluation is performed to determine whether the obtained plan is acceptable.

Energetic Butterfly: Heat-Resistant Diaminodinitro trans-Bimane.

Due to a significant and prolific activity in the field of design and synthesis of new energetic molecules, it becomes increasingly difficult to introduce new explosophore structures with attractive properties. In this work, we synthesized a trans-bimane-based energetic material-3,7-diamino-2,6-dinitro-1,5-pyrazolo-[1,2-a]pyrazole-1,5-dione (4), the structure of which was comprehensively analyzed by a variety of advanced spectroscopic methods and by X-ray crystallo-graphy (with density of 1.845 g·cm at 173 K).

Rational Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Supramolecular Anticancer Nanotubes.

Peptide self-assembly has been used to design an array of nanostructures that possess functional biomedical applications. Experimental studies have reported nanofilament and nanotube formation from peptide-based drug amphiphiles (DAs). These DAs have shown to possess an inherently high drug loading with a tunable release mechanism.

3D Lithiophilic "Hairy" Si Nanowire Arrays @ Carbon Scaffold Favor a Flexible and Stable Lithium Composite Anode.

Lithium metal anode is considered to be a promising candidate for high-energy-density lithium-based batteries. However, the safety issue induced by uncontrollable dendrite growth hinders the commercialization of a Li anode. Herein, self-supported three-dimensional flexible carbon cloth covered with a lithiophilic silicon nanowire array is constructed as the host for loading of molten Li to achieve the C/SiNW/Li composite anode.

Injectable peptide hydrogel as intraperitoneal triptolide depot for the treatment of orthotopic hepatocellular carcinoma.

Chemotherapy is among the limited choices approved for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at intermediate and advanced stages. Preferential and prolonged drug exposure in diseased sites is required to maximize the therapeutic index of the drug. Here, we report an injectable supramolecular peptide hydrogel as an intraperitoneal depot for localized and sustained release of triptolide for the treatment of orthotopic HCC.

Recent progress in supramolecular peptide assemblies as virus mimics for cancer immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy has revolutionized the field of cancer therapy. Nanomaterials can further improve the efficacy and safety of immunotherapy because of their tunability and multifunctionality. A supramolecular peptide assembly (SPA), as a close mimic of natural viruses, is a unique type of nanomaterial with high epitope valency, multifunctionality and biocompatibility.

Association between Parkinson's Disease and Risk of Cancer: A PRISMA-compliant Meta-analysis.

Previous studies exploring associations between Parkinson's disease (PD) and cancer risks provided controversial results. We conducted this study to examine the association between PD and cancer risks among different cancer types in worldwide populations. We searched for articles published before August 2019 in databases PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Medline, and Google Scholar.

Positive End-Expiratory Pressure During Anesthesia for Prevention of Postoperative Pulmonary Complications: A Meta-analysis With Trial Sequential Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Whether intraoperative positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) can reduce the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications remains controversial. We performed a systematic review of currently available literature to investigate whether intraoperative PEEP decreases pulmonary complications in anesthetized patients undergoing surgery.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared intraoperative PEEP versus zero PEEP (ZEEP) for postoperative pulmonary complications in adults.

Nanomedicine-Based Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Cancer Metastasis.

Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-associated death, with poor prognosis even after extensive treatment. The dormancy of metastatic cancer cells during dissemination or after colony formation is one major reason for treatment failure, as most drugs target cells of active proliferation. Immunotherapy has shown great potential in cancer therapy because the activity of effector cells is less affected by the metabolic status of cancer cells.

[Study of clustered damage in DNA after proton irradiation based on density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise algorithm].

The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule damage simulations with an atom level geometric model use the traversal algorithm that has the disadvantages of quite time-consuming, slow convergence and high-performance computer requirement. Therefore, this work presents a density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) clustering algorithm based on the spatial distributions of energy depositions and hydroxyl radicals (·OH). The algorithm with probability and statistics can quickly get the DNA strand break yields and help to study the variation pattern of the clustered DNA damage.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Growth Retardation and PD-1 Blockade Therapy Potentiation with Synthetic High-density Lipoprotein.

The long progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumors is an unmet clinical need. Imaging-guided in situ ablation and vaccination with nanoplatforms could be a promising way to achieve durable disease control and long PFS. In the present work, we show that a biomimetic nanoplatform, namely, synthetic high-density lipoprotein (sHDL), can transport photothermal agent DiR and other drugs preferentially into the cytosol of HCC cells, enabling imaging-guided combination therapy for HCC in vivo.

Author Correction: Co-delivery of docetaxel and silibinin using pH-sensitive micelles improves therapy of metastatic breast cancer.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

In Vitro and In Vivo Antimalarial Activity of LZ1, a Peptide Derived from Snake Cathelicidin.

Antimalarial drug resistance is an enormous global threat. Recently, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are emerging as a new source of antimalarials. In this study, an AMP LZ1 derived from snake cathelicidin was identified with antimalarial activity.

CircHIPK3 overexpression accelerates the proliferation and invasion of prostate cancer cells through regulating miRNA-338-3p.

Circular RNA is a type of endogenous RNA molecule with a stable closed-loop structure which is ubiquitous in mammals. Circular RNA HIPK3 (circHIPK3) is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma and promotes the growth of hepatoma cells. However, its role in prostate cancer (PCa) has not been reported.

A Dual-Band Wireless Power Transmission System for Evaluating mm-Sized Implants.

Distributed neural interfaces made of many mm-sized implantable medical devices (IMDs) are poised to play a key role in future brain-computer interfaces because of less damage to the surrounding tissue. Evaluating them wirelessly at preclinical stage (e.g.

Ultra-small gadolinium oxide nanocrystal sensitization of non-small-cell lung cancer cells toward X-ray irradiation by promoting cytostatic autophagy.

Background: Gadolinium-based nanoparticles (GdNPs) have been used as theranostic sensitizers in clinical radiotherapy studies; however, the biomechanisms underlying the radio-sensitizing effects of GdNPs have yet to be determined. In this study, ultra-small gadolinium oxide nanocrystals (GONs) were employed to investigate their radiosensitizing effects and biological mechanisms in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells under X-ray irradiation.

Method And Materials: GONs were synthesized using polyol method.

AGAMOUS AND TERMINAL FLOWER controls floral organ identity and inflorescence development in Medicago truncatula.

Angiosperms integrate a multitude of endogenous and environmental signals to control floral development, thereby ensuring reproductive success. Here, we report the identification of AGAMOUS AND TERMINAL FLOWER (AGTFL), a novel regulator of floral development in Medicago truncatula. Mutation of AGTFL led to the transformation of carpels and stamens into numerous sepals and petals and altered primary inflorescence identity.