A Copper-Binding Peptide with Therapeutic Potential against Alzheimer's Disease: From the Blood-Brain Barrier to Metal Competition.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia worldwide. AD brains are characterized by the accumulation of amyloid-β peptides (Aβ) that bind Cu and have been associated with several neurotoxic mechanisms. Although the use of copper chelators to prevent the formation of Cu-Aβ complexes has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy, recent studies show that copper is an important neuromodulator that is essential for a neuroprotective mechanism mediated by Cu binding to the cellular prion protein (PrP).

The reanimation of pseudoscience in machine learning and its ethical repercussions.

The present perspective outlines how epistemically baseless and ethically pernicious paradigms are recycled back into the scientific literature via machine learning (ML) and explores connections between these two dimensions of failure. We hold up the renewed emergence of physiognomic methods, facilitated by ML, as a case study in the harmful repercussions of ML-laundered junk science. A summary and analysis of several such studies is delivered, with attention to the means by which unsound research lends itself to social harms.

Surface Tension of Two Near-Ideal Binary Liquid Mixtures and the Influence of Adjacent Vapors.

The measured surface tension of a binary liquid is found to depend strongly on the constituents of the adjacent vapor and on whether equilibrium has been achieved, giving insight into the complex interfacial configuration. This dependence is quantified by three techniques that offer complementary insights: surface tension measurements with a constrained sessile drop surrounded by different vapors, surface tension measurements by surface light scattering spectroscopy in a sealed cell at equilibrium, and molecular dynamics simulations of the equilibrium surface tension and excess surface concentration. Ensuring homogeneity of the binary liquid, which is essential for surface light scattering, was found to be nontrivial and was assured by high-sensitivity Schlieren imaging.

Innovate, Educate, Elevate: Empowering Tomorrow's Health Professionals Through a Contemporary Learning Module in Digital Transformation of Health.

This manuscript describes the conception and development of a novel, innovative digital health and informatics learning module designed specifically for entry-to-practice physiotherapy university programs. The design process involved consultation with stakeholders, alignment with contemporary digital health competency guidelines for health professional education, and educational design workshopping with faculty to ensure relevance and success. Key curriculum components include modules on health system transformation, design-thinking approaches, solution refinement and innovation pitching in the context of digital health.

Translation Inhibition Mediated by Interferon-Stimulated Genes during Viral Infections.

Viruses often pose a significant threat to the host through the exploitation of cellular machineries for their own benefit. In the context of immune responses, myriad host factors are deployed to target viral RNAs and inhibit viral protein translation, ultimately hampering viral replication. Understanding how "non-self" RNAs interact with the host translation machinery and trigger immune responses would help in the development of treatment strategies for viral infections.

Enhancing COVID-19 Knowledge among Nursing Students: A Quantitative Study of a Digital Serious Game Intervention.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a digital serious game intervention about COVID-19 on pre-registration nursing student knowledge.

Method: This study included 282 nursing students from a university in Northern Ireland, with 210 students providing comparable pre-test and post-test results. The 'serious game' aimed to debunk common COVID-19 myths and provide accurate information about the virus.

MicroRNA biogenesis is broadly disrupted by inhibition of the splicing factor SF3B1.

In animals, microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis begins with cotranscriptional cleavage of the primary (pri-)miRNA by the Microprocessor complex. Cotranscriptional splicing has been shown to influence Microprocessor cleavage when miRNAs are hosted in introns of protein-coding pri-miRNAs, but the impact of splicing on production of miRNAs hosted in long non-coding (lnc)RNAs is largely unknown. Here, we investigated the role of splicing in the biogenesis of miR-122, an lncRNA-hosted, highly expressed, medically important, liver-specific miRNA.

Inhaled treprostinil in pulmonary hypertension associated with COPD: PERFECT study results.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) accompanying COPD (PH-COPD) is associated with worse outcomes than COPD alone. There are currently no approved therapies to treat PH-COPD. The PERFECT study (ClinicalTrials.

Honey bee colony behavior and ontogeny are adversely affected when exposed to a pesticide-contaminated environment.

Honey bees exhibit age polyethism and thus have a predictable sequence of behaviors they express through developmental time. Numerous laboratory studies show exposure to pesticides may impair critical honey bee behaviors (brood care, foraging, egg-laying, etc.) that adversely affect colony productivity and survival.

Hypofractionated Radiotherapy-Related Lymphopenia Is Associated With Worse Survival in Unresectable Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of radiotherapy (RT)-related lymphopenia, its predictors, and association with survival in unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) treated with hypofractionated-RT (HF-RT).

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 96 patients with unresectable ICC who underwent HF-RT (median 58.05 Gy in 15 fractions) between 2009 and 2022 was performed.

A Multi-Institutional Survey of Radiation Oncology Professionals' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice Behaviors Toward Sexual and Gender Minority Patients With Cancer.

Purpose: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals have an increased risk of poor health outcomes, in part due to knowledge and training gaps in health care education. This study sought to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practice behaviors of various health care role groups within radiation oncology toward SGM patients.

Methods And Materials: A 38-item web-based survey was emailed to 1045 staff across 2 large radiation oncology departments.

Implication of nucleotides near the 3' end of 16S rRNA in guarding the translational reading frame.

Loss of the translational reading frame leads to misincorporation and premature termination, which can have lethal consequences. Based on structural evidence that A1503 of 16S rRNA intercalates between specific mRNA bases, we tested the possibility that it plays a role in maintenance of the reading frame by constructing ribosomes with an abasic nucleotide at position 1503. This was done by specific cleavage of 16S rRNA at position 1493 using the colicin E3 endonuclease and replacing the resulting 3'-terminal 49mer fragment with a synthetic oligonucleotide containing the abasic site using a novel splinted RNA ligation method.

Fluid retention in endoscopes: A real-world study on drying effectiveness.

Background: Outbreaks linked to inadequate endoscope drying have infected numerous patients, and current standards and guidelines recommend at least 10 minutes of forced air for drying channels. This study evaluated a new forced-air drying system (FADS) for endoscopes.

Methods: Drying was assessed using droplet detection cards; visual inspection of air/water connectors, suction connectors, and distal ends; and borescope examinations of endoscope interiors.

Beyond Endoscopes: Pilot Study of Surgical Instrument Lumen Inspection.

Borescope examinations of endoscope channels are commonly described in literature, but no studies on surgical instrument lumen inspection have been published recently. Inadequately processed surgical instruments have been implicated in patient infections. This study assessed the utility of borescopes for inspecting surgical instruments.

Multicenter Evaluation of Radiation and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy in Mucosal Melanoma and Review of Recent Literature.

Purpose: Optimal integration of local therapy and systemic immune therapy for patients with mucosal melanoma (MM) is uncertain. We evaluated treatment patterns and outcomes following radiation therapy (RT) in combination with immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) in MM.

Methods And Materials: Thirty-seven patients with localized (n = 32, 87%) or node-positive (n = 5, 14%) MM were treated across 4 institutions with RT to the primary tumor with or without oncologic resection (n = 28, 76%) and ICI from 2012 to 2020.

Ethico-racial positioning in campaigns for COVID-19 research and vaccination featuring public figures.

This article analyses a set of videos which featured public figures encouraging racially minoritised people in the UK to take the COVID-19 vaccine or get involved in related research. As racially targeted health communication has both potentially beneficial and problematic consequences, it is important to examine this uniquely high-profile case. Using a purposive sample of 10 videos, our thematic content analysis aimed to reveal how racially minoritised people were represented and the types of concerns about the vaccine that were expressed.

Students experienced near peer-led simulation in physiotherapy education as valuable and engaging: a mixed methods study.

Questions: What is the student experience of near peer-led simulation in physiotherapy education from the perspectives of students (near peer learners and near peer teachers)? What are their expectations, perceptions and engagement in this as a teaching and learning activity? Are there any short-term benefits?

Design: Convergent mixed-methods study.

Participants: From a graduate entry Doctor of Physiotherapy course, 111 first-year and 20 second-year students participated.

Intervention: Near peer-led simulation was delivered within first-year cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and neurological physiotherapy curricula and as a precursor to second-year clinical placements.

Mechanical force of uterine occupation enables large vesicle extrusion from proteostressed maternal neurons.

Large vesicle extrusion from neurons may contribute to spreading pathogenic protein aggregates and promoting inflammatory responses, two mechanisms leading to neurodegenerative disease. Factors that regulate extrusion of large vesicles, such as exophers produced by proteostressed touch neurons, are poorly understood. Here we document that mechanical force can significantly potentiate exopher extrusion from proteostressed neurons.

Protocol for tissue processing and paraffin embedding of mouse brains following ex vivo MRI.

Combining histology and ex vivo MRI from the same mouse brain is a powerful way to study brain microstructure. Mouse brains prepared for ex vivo MRI are often kept in storage solution for months, potentially becoming brittle and showing reduced antigenicity. Here, we describe a protocol for mouse brain dissection, tissue processing, paraffin embedding, sectioning, and staining.

Re-using food resources from failed honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies and their impact on colony queen rearing capacity.

For over a decade, beekeepers have experienced high losses of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies due to a variety of stressors including pesticide exposure. Some of these chemical stressors may residually remain in the colony comb and food resources (pollen and nectar) of failed colonies and be later re-used by beekeepers when splitting and building back new colonies.

Clinical outcomes of radiation therapy for transgender and gender-expansive people with cancer.

Introduction: Approximately 1.6 million people in the US identify as transgender, many of whom undergo gender-affirming medical or surgical therapies. While transgender individuals are diagnosed with cancer at similar rates as those who are cisgender, the impacts of radiation therapy on outcomes of gender-affirming care in transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people with cancer are understudied.

Patient Perspectives on Transitions from Acute to Community-Based Physiotherapy Care Following Total Knee Replacement Surgery Within the Context of a Bundled Care Model.

Purpose: Research on fiscal implications of the bundled care (BC) model exist; however, patient-perceived experiences are less well known. As BC expands in Ontario, this study aims to examine these experiences with physiotherapy care within the total knee replacement (TKR) BC programme.

Methods: Qualitative cross-sectional study design.