A Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1-Derived Influenza Vaccine Induces Balanced Adaptive Immune Responses and Protects Mice From Lethal Influenza Virus Challenge.

Influenza virus is a major respiratory viral pathogen responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands worldwide each year. Current vaccines provide protection primarily by inducing strain-specific antibody responses with the requirement of a match between vaccine strains and circulating strains. It has been suggested that anti-influenza T-cell responses, in addition to antibody responses may provide the broadest protection against different flu strains.

Targeting Cancers with oHSV-Based Oncolytic Viral Immunotherapy.

The recent success of cancer immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICIs), monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), cancer vaccines, and adoptive cellular therapies (ACTs), has revolutionized traditional cancer treatment. However, these immunotherapeutic modalities have variable efficacies, and many of them exhibit adverse effects. Oncolytic viral Immunotherapy (OViT), whereby viruses are used to directly or indirectly induce anti-cancer immune responses, is emerging as a novel immunotherapy for treating patients with different types of cancer.

Racial disparities in the incidence and survival outcomes in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in adolescents and young adults.

Diffuse large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The disease generally occurs in older patients. Although at a lower prevalence, the disease also occurs in the adolescent and young adult group (AYA).

Language in Nigerian Correctional Education: Incarcerated Persons Speak.

Purpose: Language, as an integral aspect of human interaction, plays a pivotal role in the reformation process within the correctional setting. Nigerian correctional centers consist of a diverse population of incarcerated individuals originating from various cultural backgrounds, each possessing distinct linguistic abilities and comprehension. However, a conspicuous gap in the literature remains concerning the language practices of instructors in Nigerian correctional education programs and the active participation of incarcerated individuals in shaping their own educational experiences.

A Diagnostic Dilemma: A Case of Neurosarcoidosis Without Systemic Sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disorder of unknown etiology characterized by non-caseating granulomas in involved organs. Approximately 10% of patients with sarcoidosis exhibit central nervous system involvement. However, the occurrence of isolated neurosarcoidosis without concurrent systemic signs is very rare, affecting less than 1% of patients.

Unlocking the Potential of Kinase Targets in Cancer: Insights from CancerOmicsNet, an AI-Driven Approach to Drug Response Prediction in Cancer.

Deregulated protein kinases are crucial in promoting cancer cell proliferation and driving malignant cell signaling. Although these kinases are essential targets for cancer therapy due to their involvement in cell development and proliferation, only a small part of the human kinome has been targeted by drugs. A comprehensive scoring system is needed to evaluate and prioritize clinically relevant kinases.

Incarcerated individuals and education programmes in Nigeria: A task for social workers.

Much is not known about education programmes for Nigerian incarcerated individuals. Consequently, different correctional institutions worldwide have different forms of correctional education offered to incarcerated individuals. Nigerian incarcerated individuals perceive that there are implementations of education programmes offered to them.

Malignant Pleural Effusion As the Initial Presentation of Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Renal cell carcinoma is the most common renal neoplasm. Its presentation is often very occult, and it may be discovered incidentally. It may present with the classic symptoms of back pain, flank pain, hematuria, or hypertension.

An Evaluation of Platelet Factor 4, Beta-Thromboglobulin and Mean Platelet Volume in the Assessment of Thrombotic Risks in Subjects with Diabetes Mellitus at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.

Background: Beta-thromboglobulin and platelet factor 4 are known platelet-specific proteins that are stored in the platelet alpha-granules and released during platelet activation. The measurement of these proteins can reflect the degree of platelet activation and indirectly suggest a pro-thrombotic state. This study aimed at determining serum levels of Betathromboglobulin, mean platelet volume, and platelet factor 4 in diabetes mellitus and control subjects in Lagos, Nigeria.

A snapshot of lung cancer: where are we now?-a narrative review.

Background And Objective: The global impact of cancer and cancer-related deaths has been a huge challenge and continues to be a setback in the health sector and beyond even in recent times. Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally with lung cancer (LC) being the second most prevalent malignancy and the leading cause of mortality amongst cancers in men and women worldwide. LC still constitutes a major burden despite recent advances in diagnostic and treatment tools.

Malignant Pleural Effusion Due to Uterine Serous Carcinoma: An Unusual Presentation.

Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female genital tract. It can rarely metastasize to the pleura and present as a malignant pleural effusion. Here we present the case of a 61-year-old female with two primary malignancies, breast and endometrium, who presented to us with shortness of breath.

Breast Cancer Complicated by Cardiac Tamponade in a Patient With Neurofibromatosis Type 1.

Pericardial effusion may occur as a result of malignant pericarditis, which may in turn result in cardiac tamponade. This paper reports on a rare case of cardiac tamponade that occurred in an African American patient with breast cancer and neurofibromatosis. Herein, we present a case of a 38-year-old woman with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and breast cancer.

Cardiac Tamponade in Patients With Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Cardiac tamponade is a rare presentation in breast cancer and may be associated with poor prognosis. In this article, we reviewed the characteristics and survival outcomes of patients with breast cancer who developed cardiac tamponade. Three databases (PubMed, EMBASE and SCOPUS) were searched for relevant articles published from 1978 to 2022 and 16 articles were identified comprising 64 cases.

Artificial intelligence to guide precision anticancer therapy with multitargeted kinase inhibitors.

Background: Vast amounts of rapidly accumulating biological data related to cancer and a remarkable progress in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) have paved the way for precision oncology. Our recent contribution to this area of research is CancerOmicsNet, an AI-based system to predict the therapeutic effects of multitargeted kinase inhibitors across various cancers. This approach was previously demonstrated to outperform other deep learning methods, graph kernel models, molecular docking, and drug binding pocket matching.

Sociocultural Factors as Predictor to Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) Practice among Nursing Mothers in some Communities in Eastern, Nigeria.

This study examined the demographic and sociocultural influences on the level of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) practices in Enugu state. The major instrument for data collection was a uniform set of structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews with the husbands, grandmothers/mothers-in-law, health workers, women leaders, and traditional/community leaders. Data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages and chi-squared test.

Utility of a Recombinant HSV-1 Vaccine Vector for Personalized Cancer Vaccines.

Current approaches to cancer immunotherapy include immune checkpoint inhibitors, cancer vaccines, and adoptive cellular therapy. These therapies have produced significant clinical success for specific cancers, but their efficacy has been limited. Oncolytic virotherapy (OVT) has emerged as a promising immunotherapy for a variety of cancers.

The Effect of Herpes Simplex Virus-Type-1 (HSV-1) Oncolytic Immunotherapy on the Tumor Microenvironment.

The development of cancer causes disruption of anti-tumor immunity required for surveillance and elimination of tumor cells. Immunotherapeutic strategies aim for the restoration or establishment of these anti-tumor immune responses. Cancer immunotherapies include immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), adoptive cellular therapy (ACT), cancer vaccines, and oncolytic virotherapy (OVT).

Cutaneous and Pulmonary Manifestations: COVID-19 Virus or Coccidioidomycosis?

COVID-19 viral pandemic continues to manifest itself in the form of various clinical symptoms. Due to concerns of COVID-19 in the setting of high rates of false-negative, there is increased likelihood of anchoring bias. We present a case of a 48-year-old white female who presented with two weeks of dry cough and diffuse pruritic nodular cutaneous rash.

Anti-viral immunity in the tumor microenvironment: implications for the rational design of herpes simplex virus type 1 oncolytic virotherapy.

Purpose Of Review: The design of novel herpes simplex type I (HSV-1)-derived oncolytic virotherapies is a balancing act between safety, immunogenicity and replicative potential. We have undertaken this review to better understand how these considerations can be incorporated into rational approaches to the design of novel herpesvirus oncolytic virotherapies.

Recent Findings: Several recent papers have demonstrated that enhancing the potential of HSV-1 oncolytic viruses to combat anti-viral mechanisms present in the tumor microenvironment leads to greater efficacy than their parental viruses.

Novel Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus 1 VC2 Promotes Long-Lasting, Systemic Anti-melanoma Tumor Immune Responses and Increased Survival in an Immunocompetent B16F10-Derived Mouse Melanoma Model.

Oncolytic virotherapy (OVT) is now understood to be an immunotherapy that uses viral infection to liberate tumor antigens in an immunogenic context to promote the development of antitumor immune responses. The only currently FDA-approved oncolytic virotherapy, T-Vec, is a modified type 1 herpes simplex virus (HSV-1). While T-Vec is associated with limited response rates, its modest efficacy supports the continued development of novel OVT viruses.

In utero tobacco smoke exposure alters lung inflammation, viral clearance, and CD8 T-cell responses in neonatal mice infected with respiratory syncytial virus.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy and exposure of infants to cigarette smoke are strongly associated with adverse health effects in childhood including higher susceptibility to respiratory viral infections. Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is the most important cause of lower respiratory tract infection among young infants. Exacerbation of respiratory disease, including HRSV bronchiolitis and higher susceptibility to HRSV infection, is well correlated with previous smoke exposure.

Distinguishing Lipid Subtypes by Amplifying Contrast from J-Coupling.

Previous work has highlighted the complicated and distinctive dynamics that set signal evolution during a train of spin echoes, especially with nonuniform echo spacing applied to complex molecules like fats. The work presented here regards those signal patterns as codes that can be used as a contrast mechanism, capable of distinguishing mixtures of molecules with an imaging sequence, sidestepping many challenges of spectroscopy. For particular arrays of echo spacings, non-monotonic and distinctive signal evolution can be enhanced to improve contrast between target species.

Interferon-Mediated Response to Human Metapneumovirus Infection.

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is one of the leading causes of respiratory diseases in infants and children worldwide. Although this pathogen infects mainly young children, elderly and immunocompromised people can be also seriously affected. To date, there is no commercial vaccine available against it.