New record of Carnidae (Diptera) from Taiwan and potential challenges in DNA barcode amplification due to pseudogene.

Background: The genus Nitzsch, 1818 comprises small ectoparasites that feed on the blood of juvenile avians. They are characterised by dealated adults with setose abdominal intersegmental membranes. Maa, 1968 was previously recorded in Malaysia and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, parasitising two owl species: (Horsfield, 1821) and (Cassin, 1852).

PEARL: A Phase Ib/II Biomarker Study of Adding Radiation Therapy to Pembrolizumab Before Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Negative Breast Cancer.

Purpose: To assess safety and immune biomarkers after preoperative radiation therapy (RT) and anti-PD1 therapy in breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: A phase I/IIb trial of pembrolizumab with RT was conducted in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2-) breast cancer. All received pembrolizumab followed by a second cycle + RT (anti-PD1/RT) of 24 Gy/three daily fractions delivered to the breast tumor and then neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

Bloodmeals fuel dengue virus replication in the female mosquito .

Unlabelled: Vector competence defines the ability of a vector to acquire, host, and transmit a pathogen. Understanding the molecular determinants of the mosquitos' competence to host dengue virus (DENV) holds promise to prevent its transmission. To this end, we employed RNA-seq to profile mRNA transcripts of the female mosquitos feeding on naïve vs viremic mouse.

Hepatic prohibitin 1 and methionine adenosyltransferase α1 defend against primary and secondary liver cancer metastasis.

Background & Aims: The liver is a common site of cancer metastasis, most commonly from colorectal cancer, and primary liver cancers that have metastasized are associated with poor outcomes. The underlying mechanisms by which the liver defends against these processes are largely unknown. Prohibitin 1 (PHB1) and methionine adenosyltransferase 1A (MAT1A) are highly expressed in the liver.

Atezolizumab plus stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for medically inoperable patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer: a multi-institutional phase I trial.

Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) is a standard-of-care for medically-inoperable-early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). One third of patients progress and chemotherapy is rarely used in this population. We questioned if addition of the immune-checkpoint-inhibitor (ICI) atezolizumab to standard-of-care SABR can improve outcomes.

Soluble CD93 lectin-like domain sequesters HMGB1 to ameliorate inflammatory diseases.

CD93, a C-type lectin-like transmembrane glycoprotein, can be shed in a soluble form (sCD93) upon inflammatory stimuli. sCD93 effectively enhances apoptotic cell clearance and has been proposed as an inflammatory disease biomarker. The function of sCD93 involved directly in inflammation remains to be determined.

Association of x-ray velocimetry (XV) ventilation analysis compared to spirometry.

Introduction: X-ray Velocimetry (XV) ventilation analysis is a 4-dimensional imaging-based method for quantifying regional ventilation, aiding in the assessment of lung function. We examined the performance characteristics of XV ventilation analysis by examining correlation to spirometry and measurement repeatability.

Methods: XV analysis was assessed in 27 patients receiving thoracic radiotherapy for non-lung cancer malignancies.

Updates on radiotherapy-immunotherapy combinations: Proceedings of 6 annual ImmunoRad conference.

Focal radiation therapy (RT) has attracted considerable attention as a combinatorial partner for immunotherapy (IT), largely reflecting a well-defined, predictable safety profile and at least some potential for immunostimulation. However, only a few RT-IT combinations have been tested successfully in patients with cancer, highlighting the urgent need for an improved understanding of the interaction between RT and IT in both preclinical and clinical scenarios. Every year since 2016, ImmunoRad gathers experts working at the interface between RT and IT to provide a forum for education and discussion, with the ultimate goal of fostering progress in the field at both preclinical and clinical levels.

Chronic antigen in solid tumors drives a distinct program of T cell residence.

Analyses of healthy tissue reveal signatures that identify resident memory CD8 T cells (T), which survey tissues without recirculating. The density of T phenotype cells within solid tumors correlates favorably with prognosis, suggesting that intratumoral residents control cancer. However, residence has not been directly tested, and intratumoral T phenotype cells could instead reflect aspects of the microenvironment that correlate with prognosis.

Lanternflies (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) of Taiwan.

The family Fulgoridae belongs to the order Hemiptera, superfamily Fulgoridea, with approximately 770 described species worldwide. Their extraordinary appearance attracts the attention of both entomologists and the public. In addition to the evolutionary issue of their special appearance, certain species are also considered notorious pests (, ).

Stereotactic Radiosurgery vs Conventional Radiotherapy for Localized Vertebral Metastases of the Spine: Phase 3 Results of NRG Oncology/RTOG 0631 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Spine metastasis can be treated with high-dose radiation therapy with advanced delivery technology for long-term tumor and pain control.

Objective: To assess whether patient-reported pain relief was improved with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) as compared with conventional external beam radiotherapy (cEBRT) for patients with 1 to 3 sites of vertebral metastases.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this randomized clinical trial, patients with 1 to 3 vertebral metastases were randomized 2:1 to the SRS or cEBRT groups.

A Single-Institution Retrospective Study of Three-Fraction HDR Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation.

Purpose: Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) delivered with high-dose-rate brachytherapy is a standard of care treatment typically delivered over 10 fractions. The TRIUMPH-T multi-institutional study recently demonstrated promising results using a shorter three fraction regimen, however there are limited additional published series using this regimen. Here, we report our experience and outcomes for patients treated as per the TRIUMPH-T regimen.

The chaperone BiP promotes dengue virus replication and mosquito vitellogenesis in Aedes aegypti.

Binding immunoglobulin protein (BiP, also known as GRP78), a chaperone and master regulator of the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway, plays an essential role in several flavivirus infections, but its functional role in regulating dengue virus replication in the mosquito remains largely unknown. We here demonstrated the interaction between a dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV2) and BiP in Aedes aegypti and report the discovery of a novel functional role of BiP in mosquito vitellogenesis. Silencing Ae.

Validating Healthy Eating Index, Glycemic Index, and Glycemic Load with Modern Diets for E-Health Era.

Predictors of healthy eating parameters, including the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), Glycemic Index (GI), and Glycemic Load (GL), were examined using various modern diets (n = 131) in preparation for personalized nutrition in the e-health era. Using Nutrition Data Systems for Research computerized software and artificial intelligence machine-learning-based predictive validation analyses, we included domains of HEI, caloric source, and various diets as the potentially modifiable factors. HEI predictors included whole fruits and whole grains, and empty calories.

Nursing Informatics and Epigenetics: Methodological Considerations for Big Data Analysis.

Nursing informatics requires an understanding of patient-centered data and clinical workflow, and epigenetic research requires an understanding of data analysis. The purpose of this article is to document the methodology that nursing informatics specialists can use to conduct epigenetic research and subsequently strengthen patient-centered care. A pilot study of a secondary methylation data analysis using The Cancer Genome Atlas data from individuals with colon cancer is utilized to illustrate the methodology.

Activated T cell therapy targeting glioblastoma cancer stem cells.

Naïve T cells become effector T cells following stimulation by antigen-loaded dendritic cells (DCs) and sequential cytokine activation. We aimed to develop procedures to efficiently activate T cells with tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) to glioblastoma (GBM) stem cells. To remove antigen presentation outside of the immunosuppressive tumor milieu, three different glioma stem cell (GSC) specific antigen sources to load DCs were compared in their ability to stimulate lymphocytes.

miR766-3p and miR124-3p Dictate Drug Resistance and Clinical Outcome in HNSCC.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a highly aggressive disease with poor prognosis, which is mainly due to drug resistance. The biology determining the response to chemo-radiotherapy in HNSCC is poorly understood. Using clinical samples, we found that miR124-3p and miR766-3p are overexpressed in chemo-radiotherapy-resistant (non-responder) HNSCC, as compared to responder tumors.

[Safety Climate in Hospitals: From Science to Policy-The Progress of Needlestick Prevention in Taiwan].

In hospitals, safety climate refers to the safety policies and regulations established by medical institutions and the measures taken to ensure medical personnel feel safe while working at these institutions. Safety climate can directly affect the overall work performance of medical personnel and indirectly affect patient care quality, which in turn impacts the rate of occupational hazards. Common occupational hazards in the medical workplace include contracting infectious diseases, overwork, irregular circadian rhythm due to working shifts, changes in sleep patterns and dietary habits, musculoskeletal discomfort, workplace violence, workplace stress, and needlestick injuries.

Validating Accuracy of an Internet-Based Application against USDA Computerized Nutrition Data System for Research on Essential Nutrients among Social-Ethnic Diets for the E-Health Era.

Internet-based applications (apps) are rapidly developing in the e-Health era to assess the dietary intake of essential macro-and micro-nutrients for precision nutrition. We, therefore, validated the accuracy of an internet-based app against the Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR), assessing these essential nutrients among various social-ethnic diet types. The agreement between the two measures using intraclass correlation coefficients was good (0.

Single-cell RNA-seq of a soft-tissue sarcoma model reveals the critical role of tumor-expressed MIF in shaping macrophage heterogeneity.

The standard of care is unsuccessful to treat recurrent and aggressive soft-tissue sarcomas. Interventions aimed at targeting components of the tumor microenvironment have shown promise for many solid tumors yet have been only marginally tested for sarcoma, partly because knowledge of the sarcoma microenvironment composition is limited. We employ single-cell RNA sequencing to characterize the immune composition of an undifferentiated pleiomorphic sarcoma mouse model, showing that macrophages in the sarcoma mass exhibit distinct activation states.

Obesity-Associated Differentially Methylated Regions in Colon Cancer.

Obesity with adiposity is a common disorder in modern days, influenced by environmental factors such as eating and lifestyle habits and affecting the epigenetics of adipose-based gene regulations and metabolic pathways in colorectal cancer (CRC). We compared epigenetic changes of differentially methylated regions (DMR) of genes in colon tissues of 225 colon cancer cases (154 non-obese and 71 obese) and 15 healthy non-obese controls by accessing The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. We applied machine-learning-based analytics including generalized regression (GR) as a confirmatory validation model to identify the factors that could contribute to DMRs impacting colon cancer to enhance prediction accuracy.

SUMOylation Is Essential for Dengue Virus Replication and Transmission in the Mosquito .

Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) is a reversible post-translational protein modifier. Protein SUMOylation regulates a wide variety of cellular processes and is important for controlling virus replication. Earlier studies suggest that dengue virus envelope protein interacts with Ubc9, the sole E2-conjugating enzyme required for protein SUMOylation in mammalian cells.

Quantitative Nodal Burden and Mortality Across Solid Cancers.

Background: Nodal staging systems vary substantially across solid tumors, implying heterogeneity in the behavior of nodal variables in various contexts. We hypothesized, in contradiction to this, that metastatic lymph node (LN) number is a universal and dominant predictor of outcome across solid tumors.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of 1 304 498 patients in the National Cancer Database undergoing surgery between 2004 and 2015 across 16 solid cancer sites.