The role of the urinary microbiome in genitourinary cancers.

Genitourinary cancers account for 20% of cancer instances globally and pose a substantial burden. The microbiome, defined as the ecosystem of organisms that reside within and on the human body, seems to be closely related to multiple cancers. Research on the gut microbiome has yielded substantial insights into the interactions of this entity with the immune system and cancer therapeutic efficacy, whereas the urinary microbiome has been relatively less well-studied.

Effects of Perioperative Exposure on the Microbiome and Outcomes From an Immune Challenge in C57Bl/6 Adult Mice.

Background: Previous work suggests that the gut microbiome can be disrupted by antibiotics, anesthetics, opiates, supplemental oxygen, or nutritional deprivation-all of which are common and potentially modifiable perioperative interventions that nearly all patients are exposed to in the setting of surgery. Gut microbial dysbiosis has been postulated to be a risk factor for poor surgical outcomes, but how perioperative care-independent of the surgical intervention-impacts the gut microbiome, and the potential consequences of this impact have not been directly investigated.

Methods: We developed a perioperative exposure model (PEM) in C57Bl/6 mice to emulate the most common elements of perioperative medicine other than surgery, which included 12 hours of nutritional deprivation, 4 hours of volatile general anesthetic, 7 hours of supplemental oxygen, surgical antibiotics (cefazolin), and opioid pain medication (buprenorphine).

Recent Insights into the Evolving Role of the Gut Microbiome in Critical Care.

This review explores the evolving understanding of gut microbiota's role in critical illness, focusing on how acute illness and exposures in intensive care unit (ICU) environment negatively impact the gut microbiota and the implications of these changes on host responses in critically-ill patients. Focusing on recent findings from clinical and preclinical studies, we discuss the effects of inflammation, enteral nutrient deprivation, and antibiotics on gut microbial dynamics. This review aims to enhance comprehension of microbial dynamics in the ICU and their implications for clinical outcomes and therapeutic strategies.

Fibromatosis of the breast: a case report and literature review.

Background: Fibromatosis of the breast, also known as desmoid-type fibromatosis (DTF), is a rare tumor marked by the development of non-metastatic, locally aggressive tumors in breast tissue. It represents only 0.2% of all breast tumors.

Fecal Microbiome Composition Correlates with Pathologic Complete Response in Patients with Operable Esophageal Cancer Treated with Combined Chemoradiotherapy and Immunotherapy.

: Preclinical and clinical data indicate that chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in combination with checkpoint inhibitors may prime an anti-tumor immunological response in esophageal cancer. However, responses to neoadjuvant therapy can vary widely and the key biomarkers to determine response remain poorly understood. The fecal microbiome is a novel and potentially modifiable biomarker of immunotherapy response, and both fecal and tumor microbes have been found to associate with outcomes in esophageal cancer.

The Impact of Silent Liver Disease on Hospital Length of Stay Following Isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery.

Risk assessment models for cardiac surgery do not distinguish between degrees of liver dysfunction. We have previously shown that preoperative liver stiffness is associated with hospital length of stay following cardiac surgery. The authors hypothesized that a liver stiffness measurement (LSM) ≥ 9.

Exceptional responses to PARP inhibitors in patients with metastatic breast cancer in oncologic crisis.

Purpose: Cancers deficient in homologous recombination DNA repair, such as those with BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) mutations rely on a pathway mediated by the enzyme poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP). PARP inhibitors (PARPi's) have demonstrated efficacy in treating patients with germline (g)BRCA1/2, somatic (s)BRCA1/2, and gPALB2 mutations in clinical trials. However, patients with a poor performance status (PS) and those with severe organ impairment are often excluded from clinical trials and cancer-directed treatment.

Racial and ethnic distribution of US randomized controlled trials in obstetrics: a retrospective review.

Objectives: To determine the racial and ethnic compositions of the participants in obstetric randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and compare them to the US general population.

Methods: RCTs published in two premier US journals, Gynecology from January 2010 to April 2020 were analyzed. The racial and ethnic distributions of the study participants were extracted and expressed as percentages for each article.

Enhanced Flavonoid Accumulation Reduces Combined Salt and Heat Stress Through Regulation of Transcriptional and Hormonal Mechanisms.

Abiotic stresses, such as salt and heat stress, coexist in some regions of the world and can have a significant impact on agricultural plant biomass and production. Rice is a valuable crop that is susceptible to salt and high temperatures. Here, we studied the role of flavanol 3-hydroxylase in response to combined salt and heat stress with the aim of better understanding the defensive mechanism of rice.

Trpm2 Ablation Accelerates Protein Aggregation by Impaired ADPR and Autophagic Clearance in the Brain.

TRPM2 a cation channel is also known to work as an enzyme that hydrolyzes highly reactive, neurotoxic ADP-ribose (ADPR). Although ADPR is hydrolyzed by NUT9 pyrophosphatase in major organs, the enzyme is defective in the brain. The present study questions the role of TRPM2 in the catabolism of ADPR in the brain.

CD38-cADPR-SERCA Signaling Axis Determines Skeletal Muscle Contractile Force in Response to β-Adrenergic Stimulation.

Background/aims: Cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) is a Ca2+ -mobilization messenger that acts on ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ channels in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ stores. Moreover, it has been proposed that cADPR serves an additional role in activating the sarcoendoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ -ATPase (SERCA) pump. The aim of this study was to determine the exact mechanism by which cADPR regulates SR Ca2+ stores in physiologically relevant systems.

Supporting Accurate Interpretation of Self-Administered Medical Test Results for Mobile Health: Assessment of Design, Demographics, and Health Condition.

Background: Technological advances in personal informatics allow people to track their own health in a variety of ways, representing a dramatic change in individuals' control of their own wellness. However, research regarding patient interpretation of traditional medical tests highlights the risks in making complex medical data available to a general audience.

Objective: This study aimed to explore how people interpret medical test results, examined in the context of a mobile blood testing system developed to enable self-care and health management.

Exercise induces muscle fiber type switching via transient receptor potential melastatin 2-dependent Ca signaling.

The aim of the present study was to examine whether transient receptor potential melastatin 2 (TRPM2) plays a role in muscle fiber-type transition during exercise. Mice were trained at a speed of 12 m/min at a slope of 0° for 60 min for 5 consecutive days/wk for 4 wk. Exhaustion tests were performed on the treadmill (the speed was set at 6 m/min at a slope of 0° and increased at a rate of 1 m/min every 6 min).

The critical role of uterine CD31 as a post-progesterone signal in early pregnancy.

CD31 has been shown to play a role in endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis, which are critical to the formation and function of the endometrium and myometrium in uterine development during early pregnancy. However, the role of CD31 in uterine receptivity during blastocyst implantation is poorly understood. The pregnancy rate in female mice mated with male mice was higher than that observed in female mice mated with male mice.

ironPhone: Mobile device-coupled point-of-care diagnostics for assessment of iron status by quantification of serum ferritin.

Iron deficiency (ID) is an urgent public health problem that has devastating effects on maternal and child health. However, due to poor access and affordability, screening and diagnosis for ID is often limited to proxy hemoglobin measurements alone. Here, we report the development and validation of ironPhone, a mobile-device coupled portable diagnostics for quantification of serum ferritin concentrations, an iron status biomarker, within a few minutes, from a drop of fingerprick blood.

Rainer Gross Award Lecture 2016: A Laboratory in Your Pocket: Enabling Precision Nutrition.

The need for improving methods of nutritional assessment and delivering primary health care globally cannot be overemphasized. While advances in medical technology typically create more disparities because of access being limited to resource-rich settings, a transition of health care to a mobile platform is increasingly leveling the field. Technological advances offer opportunities to scale laboratory procedures down to mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets.

Precision nutrition - review of methods for point-of-care assessment of nutritional status.

Precision nutrition encompasses prevention and treatment strategies for optimizing health that consider individual variability in diet, lifestyle, environment and genes by accurately determining an individual's nutritional status. This is particularly important as malnutrition now affects a third of the global population, with most of those affected or their care providers having limited means of determining their nutritional status. Similarly, program implementers often have no way of determining the impact or success of their interventions, thus hindering their scale-up.

Single wall carbon nanotube electrode system capable of quantitative detection of CD4 T cells.

Development of CNT-based CD4 T cell imunosensors remains in its infancy due to the poor immobilization efficiency, lack of reproducibility, and difficulty in providing linear quantification. Here, we developed a fully-integrated single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-based immunosensor capable of selective capture and linear quantification of CD4 T cells with greater dynamic range. By employing repeated two-step oxygen (O) plasma treatment processes with 35 days of recovery periods, we achieved the enhanced functionalization of the CNT surface and the removal of the byproduct of spray-coated SWCNTs that hinders charge transfer and stable CD4 T cell sensing.

Two-Color Lateral Flow Assay for Multiplex Detection of Causative Agents Behind Acute Febrile Illnesses.

Acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses (AFIs) represent a significant health burden worldwide. AFIs can be caused by infection with a number of different pathogens including dengue (DENV) and Chikungunya viruses (CHIKV), and their differential diagnosis is critical to the proper patient management. While rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for the detection of IgG/IgM against a single pathogen have played a significant role in enabling the rapid diagnosis in the point-of-care settings, the state-of-the-art assay scheme is incompatible with the multiplex detection of IgG/IgM to more than one pathogen.

NutriPhone: a mobile platform for low-cost point-of-care quantification of vitamin B12 concentrations.

Vitamin B12 is necessary for formation of red blood cells, DNA synthesis, neural myelination, brain development, and growth. Vitamin B12 deficiency is often asymptomatic early in its course; however, once it manifests, particularly with neurological symptoms, reversal by dietary changes or supplementation becomes less effective. Access to easy, low cost, and personalized nutritional diagnostics could enable individuals to better understand their own deficiencies as well as track the effects of dietary changes.