Publications by authors named "Umar Iqbal"

RNA-based agents (siRNA, miRNA, and mRNA) can selectively manipulate gene expression/proteins and are set to revolutionize a variety of disease treatments. Nanoparticle (NP) platforms have been developed to deliver functional mRNA or siRNA inside cells to overcome their inherent limitations. Recent studies have focused on siRNA to knock down proteins causing drug resistance or mRNA technology to introduce tumor suppressors.

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  • - Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a complex condition impacting 25-32% of Gulf War veterans, presenting symptoms like cognitive issues, fatigue, and gastrointestinal problems, believed to stem from toxic exposures and stress during deployment.
  • - A study created a mouse model to investigate whether exposure to the pesticide permethrin, followed by stress, could trigger depression-like behaviors and microglial activation in the brain.
  • - Using advanced single-cell RNA sequencing, researchers found significant changes in microglial populations related to the pathways affecting neuron development and communication, highlighting the potential link between permethrin exposure, stress, and psychiatric symptoms.
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The prevalence of depression significantly increases during puberty and adolescence. Puberty is the period during which sexual maturity is attained, while adolescence persists beyond puberty and includes physiological, social, emotional, and cognitive maturation. A stressor that has been shown previously to induce depression is chronic sleep disruption.

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The bidirectional relationship between the gut microbiota and the nervous system is known as the microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA). The MGBA controls the complex interactions between the brain, the enteric nervous system, the gut-associated immune system, and the enteric neuroendocrine systems, regulating key physiological functions such as the immune response, sleep, emotions and mood, food intake, and intestinal functions. Psychobiotics are considered tools with the potential to modulate the MGBA through preventive, adjunctive, or curative approaches, but their specific mechanisms of action on many aspects of health are yet to be characterized.

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Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies targeting B cell-restricted antigens CD19, CD20, or CD22 can produce potent clinical responses for some B cell malignancies, but relapse remains common. Camelid single-domain antibodies (sdAbs or nanobodies) are smaller, simpler, and easier to recombine than single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) used in most CARs, but fewer sdAb-CARs have been reported. Thus, we sought to identify a therapeutically active sdAb-CAR targeting human CD22.

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High-precision positioning from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) has garnered increased interest due to growing demand in various applications, like autonomous car navigation and precision agriculture. Precise Point Positioning (PPP) offers a distinct advantage over differential techniques by enabling precise position determination of a GNSS rover receiver through the use of external corrections sourced from either the Internet or dedicated correction satellites. However, PPP's implementation has been challenging due to the need to mitigate numerous GNSS error sources, many of which are eliminated in differential techniques such as Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) or overlooked in Standard Point Positioning (SPP).

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  • * Both male and female mice showed depression-like behavior from chronic stress; however, only female mice exhibited persistent symptoms related to microglia changes in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC).
  • * The study indicates that TLR4 signaling in microglia is closely connected to persistent depression-like behavior in female mice, with evidence that reducing TLR4 levels helps reverse these symptoms.
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  • This study examines how a blend of grape-derived polyphenols (BDPP) affects microglial responses and behaviors related to depression and anxiety.
  • Results show that BDPP reduces behaviors typical of depression and anxiety in stressed mice, without impacting their movement.
  • The findings indicate that BDPP can reverse microglial activation in key brain regions and influence inflammatory responses, suggesting it could help prevent stress-related psychiatric issues through the HMGB1-RAGE pathway.
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Over the past two decades, there has been a growing demand for generating digital surface models (DSMs) in real-time, particularly for aircraft landing in degraded visual environments. Challenging landing environments can hinder a pilot's ability to accurately navigate, see the ground, and avoid obstacles that may lead to equipment damage or loss of life. While many accurate and robust filtering algorithms for airborne laser scanning (ALS) data have been developed, they are typically computationally expensive.

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Scope: The goal of this study is to investigate the effects of a bioactive dietary polyphenol preparation (BDPP), which is made up of grape-derived polyphenols, on microglial responses, as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms in depression and anxiety-like behaviors.

Methods And Results: We find that treatment with BDPP significantly decreased depression-like and anxiety-like behaviors induced by chronic stress in mice, while leaving their locomotor activity unaffected. We also find that BDPP treatment reversed microglia activation in the amygdala and hippocampal formation, regions of the brain involved in emotional regulation, from an amoeboid shape to ramified shape.

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Background: We sought to investigate the impact of an NCCN-compliant multidisciplinary conference on treatment decisions of patients with localized prostate cancer.

Methods: A retrospective review of our quality assurance localized prostate cancer database was performed. All patients with localized prostate cancer who sought a second opinion at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center between 2009 and 2019 were presented to the multidisciplinary Localized Prostate Cancer Conference (LPCC) that includes urologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, and patient advocates.

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  • Intronic GC hexanucleotide repeat expansions (HRE) in the C9orf72 gene are the primary cause of familial frontotemporal dementia/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FTD/ALS) and lead to the production of toxic dipeptide repeat (DPR) proteins, particularly poly(glycine-arginine) (GR), which is harmful to brain cells.
  • Neuroinflammation, linked to activated microglia and the NLRP3 inflammasome, plays a key role in disease progression, with increased inflammatory markers like IL-1β observed in affected mice.
  • Genetic deletion of Nlrp3 in a mouse model not only improved survival but also alleviated behavioral and neurological deficits, highlighting its potential
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Archaeosomes, composed of sulfated lactosyl archaeol (SLA) glycolipids, have been proven to be an effective vaccine adjuvant in multiple preclinical models of infectious disease or cancer. They have classically been prepared using a thin-film hydration method with an average particle size of 100-200 nm. In this study, we developed methods to generate SLA archaeosomes at different sizes, i.

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Objectives: To investigate the oncologic outcomes of pT0 after robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC).

Methods: A retrospective review of the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium database was performed. Patients with pT0 after RARC were identified and analyzed.

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Background: Delivery of viral vectors as gene therapies to treat neurodegenerative diseases has been hampered by the inability to penetrate the blood brain barrier (BBB) and invasive or non-targeted delivery options prone to inducing immune responses. MR guided focused ultrasound (MR-g-FUS) and microbubbles have demonstrated safe, temporary, targeted BBB permeabilization clinically.

Methods: We developed clinically scalable, microbubble drug conjugates (MDCs) for the viral gene therapy, AAV.

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The blood-brain barrier (BBB) prevents the majority of drugs from crossing into the brain and reaching neurons. To overcome this challenge, safe and non-invasive technologies targeting receptor-mediated pathways have been developed. In this study, three single-domain antibodies (sdAbs; IGF1R3, IGF1R4, and IGF1R5) targeting the extracellular domain of the human insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF1R), generated by llama immunization, showed enhanced transmigration across the rat BBB model (SV-ARBEC) in vitro.

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Background: Open revision of ureteroenteric strictures (UESs) is associated with considerable morbidity. There is a lack of data evaluating the feasibility of robotic revisions.

Objective: To analyze the perioperative and functional outcomes of robot-assisted ureteroenteric reimplantation (RUER) for the management of UESs after radical cystectomy (RC).

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Objectives: To analyze the long-term effects of continent (neobladder) compared with incontinent (ileal conduit) urinary diversion.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective review of our departmental database. Estimated glomerular filtration rate was calculated using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation.

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Follicular lymphoma (FL) usually has an indolent course and presents with painless, waxing and waning lymphadenopathy in the absence of systemic symptoms. It is uncommon for FL to present outside of lymph nodes, although it can develop in the gastrointestinal tract, skin, thyroid, and testes. Central nervous system (CNS) involvement in FL is rare.

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Background And Purpose: Prospective data evaluating the role of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) for Merkel Cell Carcinoma(MCC) is lacking. To better understand the efficacy of adjuvant RT, a population-based patterns of failure study was conducted.

Methods: We identified MCC patients treated from 1988 to 2018.

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To develop a structured and objective scoring tool for assessment of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN): Scoring for Partial Nephrectomy (SPaN). : RAPN was deconstructed into 6 domains by a multi-institutional panel of 10 expert robotic surgeons. Performance on each domain was represented on a Likert scale of 1 to 5, with specific descriptions of anchors 1, 3, and 5.

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Objective: To compare perioperative and oncologic outcomes of intracorporeal (ICNB) and extracorporeal neobladder (ECNB) following robot assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) from a multi-institutional, prospectively maintained database, the International Robotic Cystectomy Consortium (IRCC).

Methods: A retrospective review of IRCC database between 2003 and 2020 (3742 patients from 33 institutions across 14 countries) was performed (I-79606). The Cochran-Armitage trend test was used to assess utilization of ICNB over time.

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Objective: To develop an algorithm for objective evaluation of distraction of surgeons during robot-assisted surgery (RAS).

Materials And Methods: Electroencephalogram (EEG) of 22 medical students was recorded while performing five key tasks on the robotic surgical simulator: Instrument Control, Ball Placement, Spatial Control II, Fourth Arm Tissue Retraction, and Hands-on Surgical Training Tasks. All students completed the Surgery Task Load Index (SURG-TLX), which includes one domain for subjective assessment of distraction (scale: 1-20).

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