Development of a hybrid CuS-ICG polymeric photosensitive vector and its application in antibacterial photodynamic therapy.

At the present time, owing to the extremely high growth of microbial resistance to antibiotics and, consequently, the increased healthcare associated costs and the loss of efficacy of current treatments, the development of new therapies against bacteria is of paramount importance. For this reason, in this work, a hybrid synergetic nanovector has been developed, based on the encapsulation of a NIR (near infrared) photosensitive molecule (indocyanine green, ICG) in biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles (NPs). In addition, copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuS NPs), optically sensitive to NIR, were anchored on the polymeric nanoparticle shell in order to boost the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon NIR irradiation.

Prevalence of functional diarrhea in children and adolescents.

Background: Functional diarrhea (FDr) is a common disorder in toddlers and adults. In children, the Rome criteria define FDr as a disorder of children younger than 5 years old exclusively. However, in clinical practice, school-aged children and adolescents sometimes consult for symptoms that mimic the diagnosis of FDr.

Genotype-phenotype correlations in 294 pediatric patients with osteogenesis imperfecta.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is an inherited disorder characterized by bone fragility with extraskeletal manifestations mostly due to and variants. Currently, 23 genes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of OI; however, literature on genotype-phenotype correlation and incidence of non-skeletal clinical features are limited. This study aims to identify genotype-phenotype correlations in patients with OI, allowing clinicians to better inform families of prognosis, optimize patient care, and facilitate evidence-based clinical decision-making.

Evaluating Scholastic Achievement in Pediatric Brain Tumor Survivors Compared With Healthy Controls.

Purpose: Radiation therapy (RT) causes cognitive deficits in pediatric brain tumor survivors (PBTS). Traditionally, this is measured using neuropsychological testing, which lack prediagnosis baseline and do not necessarily trigger action. This pilot project investigated a novel patient-centered outcome of scholastic performance using state-collected educational data.

Targeting the Complexity of In Vitro Skin Models: A Review of Cutting-Edge Developments.

Skin in vitro models offer much promise for research, testing drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices, reducing animal testing and extensive clinical trials. There are several in vitro approaches to mimicking human skin behavior, ranging from simple cell monolayer to complex organotypic and bioengineered 3-dimensional models. Some have been approved for preclinical studies in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals.

Potential healthcare resource use and associated costs of every 2 month injectable cabotegravir plus rilpivirine long-acting regimen implementation in the Spanish National Healthcare System compared to daily oral HIV treatments.

Introduction: HIV treatment currently consists of daily oral antiretroviral therapy (ART). Cabotegravir + rilpivirine long-acting (CAB + RPV LA) is the first ART available in Spain administered every 2 months through intramuscular injection by a healthcare professional (HCP). The objective of this analysis was to assess potential healthcare resource use (HRU) and cost impact of implementing CAB + RPV LA vs.

Understanding the genetic sex-determining mechanism in Hyla eximia treefrog inferred from H-Y antigen.

Genetic sex-determining mechanisms have been extensively elucidated in mammals; however, the sex chromosomes, sex-determining genes, and gene regulatory networks involved in sex differentiation remain poorly understood in amphibians. In this study, we investigated the sex-determining mechanism in the Hyla eximia treefrog based on karyotypic analysis and identification of H-Y antigen, a sex-linked peptide that is present in the gonads of the heterogametic sex (XY or ZW) in all vertebrates. Results show a diploid chromosome number 2n = 24 with homomorphic sex chromosomes.

Programming Positive Mechanofluorescence in Liquid Crystalline Elastomers.

Liquid single crystal elastomers (LSCEs) containing organic fluorophores within their polymeric network are attractive materials to detect forces with simple spectroscopic measurements. Hitherto, all mechanoluminescent LSCEs decrease their emission intensity upon mechanical stimulation; that is, they display negative mechanofluorescence. Such behavior is governed by the mechanically induced approximation of the quenching mesogenic units and the fluorophores.

Expanded phenotypic spectrum of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorder Bryant-Li-Bhoj syndrome with 38 additional individuals.

Bryant-Li-Bhoj syndrome (BLBS), which became OMIM-classified in 2022 (OMIM: 619720, 619721), is caused by germline variants in the two genes that encode histone H3.3 (H3-3A/H3F3A and H3-3B/H3F3B) [1-4]. This syndrome is characterized by developmental delay/intellectual disability, craniofacial anomalies, hyper/hypotonia, and abnormal neuroimaging [1, 5].

Which people with diabetes are treated with a disposable, half-unit insulin pen? A real-world, retrospective, database study in Spain.

Introduction: Insulin lispro 100 units/mL Jr KwikPen is the first prefilled, disposable, half-unit insulin pen that delivers 0.5-30 units in increments of 0.5 units for the treatment of patients with diabetes.

Technological advances in fibrin for tissue engineering.

Fibrin is a promising natural polymer that is widely used for diverse applications, such as hemostatic glue, carrier for drug and cell delivery, and matrix for tissue engineering. Despite the significant advances in the use of fibrin for bioengineering and biomedical applications, some of its characteristics must be improved for suitability for general use. For example, fibrin hydrogels tend to shrink and degrade quickly after polymerization, particularly when they contain embedded cells.

In vitro induction of hair follicle signatures using human dermal papilla cells encapsulated in fibrin microgels.

Cellular spheroids have been described as an appropriate culture system to restore human follicle dermal papilla cells (hFDPc) intrinsic properties; however, they show a low and variable efficiency to promote complete hair follicle formation in in vivo experiments. In this work, a conscientious analysis revealed a 25% cell viability in the surface of the dermal papilla spheroid (DPS) for all culture conditions, questioning whether it is an appropriate culture system for hFDPc. To overcome this problem, we propose the use of human blood plasma for the generation of fibrin microgels (FM) with encapsulated hFDPc to restore its inductive signature, either in the presence or in the absence of blood platelets.

Vaccination from the early second trimester onwards gives a robust SARS-CoV-2 antibody response throughout pregnancy and provides antibodies for the neonate.

Objectives: Preventive measures against COVID-19 are essential for pregnant women. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to emerging infectious pathogens due to alterations in their physiology. We aimed to determine the optimum timing of vaccination to protect pregnant women and their neonates from COVID-19.

A clustering of heterozygous missense variants in the crucial chromatin modifier WDR5 defines a new neurodevelopmental disorder.

WDR5 is a broadly studied, highly conserved key protein involved in a wide array of biological functions. Among these functions, WDR5 is a part of several protein complexes that affect gene regulation via post-translational modification of histones. We collected data from 11 unrelated individuals with six different rare germline missense variants in ; one identical variant was found in five individuals and another variant in two individuals.

Evaluation of different methodologies for primary human dermal fibroblast spheroid formation: automation through 3D bioprinting technology.

Cell spheroids have recently emerged as an effective tool to recapitulate native microenvironments of living organisms in anscenario, increasing the reliability of the results obtained and broadening their applications in regenerative medicine, cancer research, disease modeling and drug screening. In this study the generation of spheroids containing primary human dermal fibroblasts was approached using the two-widely employed methods: hanging-drop and U-shape low adhesion plate (LA-plate). Moreover, extrusion-based three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting was introduced to achieve a standardized and scalable production of cell spheroids, decreasing considerably the possibilities of human error.

Preparation and Characterization of Plasma-Derived Fibrin Hydrogels Modified by Alginate di-Aldehyde.

Fibrin hydrogels are one of the most popular scaffolds used in tissue engineering due to their excellent biological properties. Special attention should be paid to the use of human plasma-derived fibrin hydrogels as a 3D scaffold in the production of autologous skin grafts, skeletal muscle regeneration and bone tissue repair. However, mechanical weakness and rapid degradation, which causes plasma-derived fibrin matrices to shrink significantly, prompted us to improve their stability.

Powder X-ray diffraction as a powerful tool to exploit in organic electronics: shedding light on the first N,N',N''-trialkyldiindolocarbazole.

The first crystal structure of a fully N-alkylated diindolocarbazole derivative, namely, 5,8,14-tributyldiindolo[3,2-b;2',3'-h]carbazole (1, CHN), has been determined from laboratory powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) data. A complex trigonal structure with a high-volume unit cell of 12987 Å was found, with a very long a(=b) [52.8790 (14) Å] and a very short c [5.

GXP: Analyze and Plot Plant Omics Data in Web Browsers.

Next-generation sequencing and metabolomics have become very cost and work efficient and are integrated into an ever-growing number of life science research projects. Typically, established software pipelines analyze raw data and produce quantitative data informing about gene expression or concentrations of metabolites. These results need to be visualized and further analyzed in order to support scientific hypothesis building and identification of underlying biological patterns.

Consolidation of the clinical and genetic definition of a related neurodevelopmental syndrome.

Background: A neurodevelopmental syndrome was recently reported in four patients with heterozygous missense variants in the high-mobility-group (HMG) DNA-binding domain. The present study aimed to consolidate clinical and genetic knowledge of this syndrome.

Methods: We newly identified 17 patients with variants, predicted variant pathogenicity using in silico tests and in vitro functional assays and analysed the patients' phenotypes.

Selection of AmpC β-Lactamase Variants and Metallo-β-Lactamases Leading to Ceftolozane/Tazobactam and Ceftazidime/Avibactam Resistance during Treatment of MDR/XDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections.

Infections caused by ceftolozane-tazobactam and ceftazidime-avibactam-resistant P. aeruginosa infections are an emerging concern. We aimed to analyze the underlying ceftolozane-tazobactam and ceftazidime-avibactam resistance mechanisms in all multidrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant (MDR/XDR) P.

Erratum: Publisher's Note: "Skin-on-a-chip models: General overview and future perspectives" [APL Bioengineering , 030901 (2021)].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1063/5.0046376.

Nonuniversal large-size asymptotics of the Lyapunov exponent in turbulent globally coupled maps.

Globally coupled maps (GCMs) are prototypical examples of high-dimensional dynamical systems. Interestingly, GCMs formed by an ensemble of weakly coupled identical chaotic units generically exhibit a hyperchaotic "turbulent" state. A decade ago, Takeuchi et al.