CD47 predominates over CD24 as a macrophage immune checkpoint in cancer.

Macrophages hold tremendous promise as effectors of cancer immunotherapy, but the best strategies to provoke these cells to attack tumors remain unknown. Here, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of targeting two distinct macrophage immune checkpoints: CD47 and CD24. We found that antibodies targeting these antigens could elicit maximal levels of phagocytosis when combined together in vitro.

Unbiased discovery of antibody therapies that stimulate macrophage-mediated destruction of B-cell lymphoma.

Macrophages are critical effectors of antibody therapies for lymphoma, but the best targets for this purpose remain unknown. Here, we sought to define a comprehensive repertoire of cell surface antigens that can be targeted to stimulate macrophage-mediated destruction of B-cell lymphoma. We developed a high-throughput assay to screen hundreds of antibodies for their ability to provoke macrophages to attack B-cell lymphoma cells.

Targeted therapies prime oncogene-driven lung cancers for macrophage-mediated destruction.

Macrophage immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as anti-CD47 antibodies, show promise in clinical trials for solid and hematologic malignancies. However, the best strategies to use these therapies remain unknown, and ongoing studies suggest they may be most effective when used in combination with other anticancer agents. Here, we developed an unbiased, high-throughput screening platform to identify drugs that render lung cancer cells more vulnerable to macrophage attack, and we found that therapeutic synergy exists between genotype-directed therapies and anti-CD47 antibodies.

MMD collaborates with ACSL4 and MBOAT7 to promote polyunsaturated phosphatidylinositol remodeling and susceptibility to ferroptosis.

Ferroptosis is a form of regulated cell death with roles in degenerative diseases and cancer. Excessive iron-catalyzed peroxidation of membrane phospholipids, especially those containing the polyunsaturated fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA), is central in driving ferroptosis. Here, we reveal that an understudied Golgi-resident scaffold protein, MMD, promotes susceptibility to ferroptosis in ovarian and renal carcinoma cells in an ACSL4- and MBOAT7-dependent manner.

Targeted therapies prime oncogene-driven lung cancers for macrophage-mediated destruction.

Macrophage immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as anti-CD47 antibodies, show promise in clinical trials for solid and hematologic malignancies. However, the best strategies to use these therapies remain unknown and ongoing studies suggest they may be most effective when used in combination with other anticancer agents. Here, we developed a novel screening platform to identify drugs that render lung cancer cells more vulnerable to macrophage attack, and we identified therapeutic synergy exists between genotype-directed therapies and anti-CD47 antibodies.

Adapting the World Health Organization rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA) to the Italian context: implementation of a TRAPD-based approach.

Background: Measuring access to assistive technology (AT) has become a global priority. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the rapid assistive technology assessment (rATA), a population-based household survey that measures the use, need, unmet need, and barriers to accessing AT.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to report on the translation and adaptation process undertaken to implement the rATA survey in the Italian context.

Spatial transcriptomics reveals antiparasitic targets associated with essential behaviors in the human parasite Brugia malayi.

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a chronic debilitating neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by mosquito-transmitted nematodes that afflicts over 60 million people. Control of LF relies on routine mass drug administration with antiparasitics that clear circulating larval parasites but are ineffective against adults. The development of effective adulticides is hampered by a poor understanding of the processes and tissues driving parasite survival in the host.

Telemedicine and urban diabetes during COVID-19 pandemic in Milano, Italy during lock-down: epidemiological and sociodemographic picture.

Background: Since 2010, more than half of World population lives in Urban Environments. Urban Diabetes has arisen as a novel nosological entity in Medicine. Urbanization leads to the accrual of a number of factors increasing the vulnerability to diabetes mellitus and related diseases.

FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT AND DYNAMIC BALANCE IN ENTRY LEVEL UNIVERSITY DANCERS.

Background: Dance requires integration and synergy between movement, postural stability, and body alignment to effectively execute the technical and aesthetic requirements of the performance. Evaluation of movement competency and dynamic balance provides opportunity to identify dysfunctional movement which may negatively impact both artistic and technical aspects of dance performance. Investigation of the relationships between movement competency and postural control may aid in technical development, performance improvement, and ultimately injury reduction.

A major role for noncoding regulatory mutations in the evolution of enzyme activity.

The quantitative evolution of protein activity is a common phenomenon, yet we know little about any general mechanistic tendencies that underlie it. For example, an increase (or decrease) in enzyme activity may evolve from changes in protein sequence that alter specific activity, or from changes in gene expression that alter the amount of protein produced. The latter in turn could arise via mutations that affect gene transcription, posttranscriptional processes, or copy number.

Urban diabetes: the case of the metropolitan area of Rome.

Background: The world is rapidly urbanizing, causing alarming health problems to their citizens. The Cities Changing Diabetes program aims to address the social factors and cultural determinants that can increase type 2 diabetes (T2D) vulnerability among people living in cities.

Methods: Public data of Italian Institute for Statistics (ISTAT) and available scientific reports were reviewed and findings integrated.

Concise Review: Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived from Human Pluripotent Cells, an Unlimited and Quality-Controllable Source for Therapeutic Applications.

Despite the long discrepancy over their definition, heterogeneity, and functions, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have proved to be a key player in tissue repair and homeostasis. Generally, somatic tissue-derived MSCs (st-MSCs) are subject to quality variations related to donated samples and biosafety concern for transmission of potential pathogens from the donors. In contrast, human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are unlimited in supply, clear in the biological background, and convenient for quality control, genetic modification, and scale-up production.

InAlAs/InGaAs avalanche photodiode arrays for free space optical communication.

In free space optical communication, photodetectors serve not only as communications receivers but also as position sensitive detectors (PSDs) for pointing, tracking, and stabilization. Typically, two separate detectors are utilized to perform these tasks, but recent advances in the fabrication and development of large-area, low-noise avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays have enabled these devices to be used both as PSDs and as communications receivers. This combined functionality allows for more flexibility and simplicity in optical system design without sacrificing the sensitivity and bandwidth performance of smaller, single-element data receivers.

Gain of cis-regulatory activities underlies novel domains of wingless gene expression in Drosophila.

Changes in gene expression during animal development are largely responsible for the evolution of morphological diversity. However, the genetic and molecular mechanisms responsible for the origins of new gene-expression domains have been difficult to elucidate. Here, we sought to identify molecular events underlying the origins of three novel features of wingless (wg) gene expression that are associated with distinct pigmentation patterns in Drosophila guttifera.

Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.

Background: Measuring disease and injury burden in populations requires a composite metric that captures both premature mortality and the prevalence and severity of ill-health. The 1990 Global Burden of Disease study proposed disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) to measure disease burden. No comprehensive update of disease burden worldwide incorporating a systematic reassessment of disease and injury-specific epidemiology has been done since the 1990 study.

Years lived with disability (YLDs) for 1160 sequelae of 289 diseases and injuries 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.

Background: Non-fatal health outcomes from diseases and injuries are a crucial consideration in the promotion and monitoring of individual and population health. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) studies done in 1990 and 2000 have been the only studies to quantify non-fatal health outcomes across an exhaustive set of disorders at the global and regional level. Neither effort quantified uncertainty in prevalence or years lived with disability (YLDs).

Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.

Background: Reliable and timely information on the leading causes of death in populations, and how these are changing, is a crucial input into health policy debates. In the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 (GBD 2010), we aimed to estimate annual deaths for the world and 21 regions between 1980 and 2010 for 235 causes, with uncertainty intervals (UIs), separately by age and sex.

Methods: We attempted to identify all available data on causes of death for 187 countries from 1980 to 2010 from vital registration, verbal autopsy, mortality surveillance, censuses, surveys, hospitals, police records, and mortuaries.

Imaging multispectral polarimetric sensor: single-pixel design, fabrication, and characterization.

A discrete-component approach was taken to establish the operational feasibility of a novel, imaging, midinfrared, multispectral, polarimetric sensor for remote-sensing application. The sensor is designed to exploit the spectral and polarimetric characteristics of the scene as discriminants. Pixelated multispectral filters and polarization filters were designed and fabricated on sapphire and Si substrates, respectively, and both were characterized.

Evolution of yellow gene regulation and pigmentation in Drosophila.

Background: Changes in developmental gene expression are central to phenotypic evolution, but the genetic mechanisms underlying these changes are not well understood. Interspecific differences in gene expression can arise from evolutionary changes in cis-regulatory DNA and/or in the expression of trans-acting regulatory proteins, but few case studies have distinguished between these mechanisms. Here, we compare the regulation of the yellow gene, which is required for melanization, among distantly related Drosophila species with different pigment patterns and determine the phenotypic effects of divergent Yellow expression.

Early views of nurse practitioners: a Medline search.

Nurses have been functioning in expanded roles as nurse practitioners (NPs) since 1965. The role has been characterized by controversy regarding economics, scope of practice, level of independence, accountability, and training since its inception. This article examines the response of the medical community to NPs during the first 15 years of their development.

Comparison of cultural methods and DNA probe analyses for the detection of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides gingivalis, and Bacteroides intermedius in subgingival plaque samples.

The purpose of this study was to compare DNA probe analyses to cultural methods for detecting three periodontal pathogens, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides gingivalis, and Bacteroides intermedius, in human subgingival plaque. Subgingival sites from patients diagnosed as either healthy or showing evidence of gingivitis or juvenile or adult periodontitis were sampled using two paper points. The number of these pathogens from one paper point was determined using microbiologic media and speciated by biochemical tests.

A cross-reactivity study of whole genomic DNA probes for Haemophilus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides intermedius, and Bacteroides gingivalis.

In this study, we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of whole genomic DNA probes for the periodontal pathogens Haemophilus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides intermedius, and Bacteroides gingivalis. By means of these probes, DNA hybridizations were performed against other organisms found in the oral cavity and organisms previously determined to be genetically similar. All three probes were sensitive to 10(3) cells for their respective organism.

Protein-enhanced fluorescein chemiluminescence used in an immunoassay for rubella antibody in serum.

The chemiluminescence of fluorescein derivatives is greatly enhanced when they are conjugated to proteins. We exploited this property in devising a chemiluminescence immunoassay for rubella antibodies. In this sequential "sandwich"-type assay, tubes coated with rubella antigen are used for antibody separation and goat antibody to human IgG conjugated with fluorescein isothiocyanate is used for detection of bound rubella antibodies.

Monensin inhibits catecholamine synthesis in pheochromocytoma cells.

The carboxylic ionophore monensin inhibits the activity of tyrosine 3-monooxygenase and decreases the rate of catecholamine synthesis in pheochromocytoma cells incubated in vitro. The ionophore inhibits dopa production in intact pheochromocytoma cells, but does not itself inhibit tyrosine 3-monooxygenase and does not produce a stable inactivation of the enzyme as assayed in cell-free extracts of the cells. The inhibition of dopa production by monensin is dependent upon extracellular Na+, but does not require extracellular Ca++.