Lung tumor microphysiological system with 3D endothelium to evaluate modulators of T-cell migration.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, with only a fraction of patients responding to immunotherapy. The correlation between increased T-cell infiltration and positive patient outcomes has motivated the search for therapeutics promoting T-cell infiltration. While transwell and spheroid platforms have been employed, these models lack flow and endothelial barriers, and cannot faithfully model T-cell adhesion, extravasation, and migration through 3D tissue.

Community health workers as change agents in improving equity in birth outcomes in Detroit.

We examined whether pairing pregnant women with community health workers improved pregnancy outcomes among 254 Black women with singleton pregnancies participating in the Women-Inspired Neighborhood (WIN) Network: Detroit using a case-control design. A subset (N = 63) of women were recontacted and asked about program satisfaction, opportunities, and health behaviors. Michigan Vital Statistics records were used to ascertain controls (N = 12,030) and pregnancy and infant health outcomes.

Digital divide and teaching modality: It's role in technology and instructional strategies.

This quantitative study aimed to better understand how teachers implement technology in a variety of teaching modalities to enhance content delivery and student engagement. More specifically, it aimed to investigate the digital divide of technology usage based upon school setting and usage frequency. Responses were collected using a random sampling method of full-time K-12 public school teachers in a Mid-Atlantic state.

Teleost Nonapeptides, Isotocin and Vasotocin Administration Released the Milt by Abdominal Massage in Male Catfish, .

In the present work the nonapeptides i.e., isotocin and vasotocin alone or in a combination were tested in to evaluate their effect on stripping by abdominal massage.

Gonadotropin inhibitory hormone receptors (GnIHRs): Molecular characterization and synergistic effect of different drugs in Indian major carp, Labeo catla.

After the discovery of Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) in birds in 2000, it showed different roles in different vertebrate classes and even in different species of same classes. In birds and mammals, GnIH inhibits the expression of gonadotropins during reproduction, while in fishes it exerts both inhibitory and stimulatory effect on reproduction. The current study evaluates the role of GnIH during reproduction in Labeo catla.

Enhanced substrate stress relaxation promotes filopodia-mediated cell migration.

Cell migration on two-dimensional substrates is typically characterized by lamellipodia at the leading edge, mature focal adhesions and spread morphologies. These observations result from adherent cell migration studies on stiff, elastic substrates, because most cells do not migrate on soft, elastic substrates. However, many biological tissues are soft and viscoelastic, exhibiting stress relaxation over time in response to a deformation.

Characterization, Docking and Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Gonadotropin-Inhibitory Hormone Receptor (GnIHR2) in Labeo Catla.

Background/aims: GnIH receptors (GnIHRs) belong to the family of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and play a key role in the regulation of reproduction from fishes to mammals, either by inhibiting or stimulating the expression of gonadotropins. The aim of this study was to characterize GnIH receptor (GnIHR2) from Indian Major Carp, Labeo catla and its docking and simulation with GnIH antagonist RF313.

Methods: The full length sequence of GnIHR2 was obtained with RACE PCR.

Increased Stiffness Inhibits Invadopodia Formation and Cell Migration in 3D.

Cancer cells typically invade through basement membranes (BMs) at key points during metastasis, including primary tumor invasion, intravasation, and extravasation. Cells extend invadopodia protrusions to create channels in the nanoporous BM through which they can invade, either via proteolytic degradation or mechanical force. Increased matrix stiffness can promote cancer progression, and two-dimensional (2D) culture studies indicate that increased stiffness promotes invadopodia degradation activity.

Patient and Family Engaged Care: An Essential Element of Health Equity.

In this paper, we emphasize and explore health equity as an integral component of a culture of patient and family engaged care (PFEC), rather than an isolated or peripheral outcome. To examine the role of PFEC in addressing health inequities, we build on the 2017 NAM Perspectives discussion paper "Harnessing Evidence and Experience to Change Culture: A Guiding Framework for Patient and Family Engaged Care." Informed by both scientific evidence and the lived experience of patients, their care partners, practitioners, and health system leaders, the paper by Frampton et al.

Ontogenetic and tissue-specific expression of gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) and its receptors in Catla catla.

Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) is an RFamide peptide, and its role in reproduction is well studied from fish to mammals, but very few reports are available about the function of GnIH during larval development. In this study, we examined the GnIH and GnIH receptors (GnIHRs) expression from embryogenesis to adult stage and tissue-specific expression in adult Catla catla using quantitative real-time (qRT) PCR. The qRT PCR analysis of GnIH mRNA during ontogenetic development showed the increasing trend from early developmental stages to the adult stage with the highest expression in 24 months fish.

Chitosan grafting onto single-walled carbon nanotubes increased their stability and reduced the toxicity in vivo (catfish) model.

The present work was aimed to develop the tissue benign, modified acid-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube (COOH-SWCNT) chitosan (CS) hybrid (COOH-SWCNT-CS). Chitosan-nanotube hybrids were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetry Analysis (TGA), Raman spectroscopy, Emission Gun-Scanning Electron Microscopes (FEG-SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Micronuclei test of blood cells, comet assay of liver tissue and histological analysis of liver and kidney tissues were conducted after different treatments to evaluate the toxicity.

Covalent cross-linking of basement membrane-like matrices physically restricts invasive protrusions in breast cancer cells.

The basement membrane (BM) provides a physical barrier to invasion in epithelial tumors, and alterations in the molecular makeup and structural integrity of the BM have been implicated in cancer progression. Invadopodia are the invasive protrusions that enable cancer cells to breach the nanoporous basement membrane, through matrix degradation and generation of force. However, the impact of covalent cross-linking on invadopodia extension into the BM remains unclear.

Molecular characterization of gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) gene and effect of intramuscular injection of GnIH peptide on the reproductive axis in .

Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) plays an important role in reproduction by inhibiting the expression of gonadotropins in birds and mammals, but in fishes, it is ambiguous. In this study, we cloned 606 bp long cDNA of GnIH from brain (cGnIH). The encoded preproGnIH peptide generated three putative peptides (cGnIH-I, -II, -III) of different size.

Matrix mechanical plasticity regulates cancer cell migration through confining microenvironments.

Studies of cancer cell migration have found two modes: one that is protease-independent, requiring micron-sized pores or channels for cells to squeeze through, and one that is protease-dependent, relevant for confining nanoporous matrices such as basement membranes (BMs). However, many extracellular matrices exhibit viscoelasticity and mechanical plasticity, irreversibly deforming in response to force, so that pore size may be malleable. Here we report the impact of matrix plasticity on migration.

3D Cell Culture in Interpenetrating Networks of Alginate and rBM Matrix.

Altered tissue mechanical properties have been implicated in many key physiological and pathological processes. Hydrogel-based materials systems, made with native extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, nonnative biopolymers, or synthetic polymers are often used to study these processes in vitro in 3D cell culture experiments. However, each of these materials systems present major limitations when used in mechanobiological studies.

Effects of Water pH on Life History Parameters of a New Bosminid Cladocera: Bosmina (Bosmina) Tripurae (Korinek, Saha and Bhattachaya, 1999) in Laboratory Condition.

The effects of water pH on life history parameters of Bosmina tripurae have been studied to determine the most suitable water pH desired for the maximum growth and development of this newly discovered cladoceran species. The study was carried out under the laboratory condition at 20 ± 2°C. Five pH ranges 5.

Socioeconomic and Racial Disparities: a Case-Control Study of Patients Receiving Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement for Severe Aortic Stenosis.

Background: We sought to quantify socioeconomic disparities in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) at an urban, tertiary referral center.

Methods: This retrospective case-control study identified 67 patients with severe AS (aortic valve [AV] area ≤1 cm or AV area index ≤0.60 cm/m or AV velocity ≥40 mmHg) who underwent TAVR from November 5, 2013 to June 10, 2014.

Use it or lose it: multiscale skeletal muscle adaptation to mechanical stimuli.

Skeletal muscle undergoes continuous turnover to adapt to changes in its mechanical environment. Overload increases muscle mass, whereas underload decreases muscle mass. These changes are correlated with, and enabled by, structural alterations across the molecular, subcellular, cellular, tissue, and organ scales.

Self-cleaning of superhydrophobic surfaces by self-propelled jumping condensate.

The self-cleaning function of superhydrophobic surfaces is conventionally attributed to the removal of contaminating particles by impacting or rolling water droplets, which implies the action of external forces such as gravity. Here, we demonstrate a unique self-cleaning mechanism whereby the contaminated superhydrophobic surface is exposed to condensing water vapor, and the contaminants are autonomously removed by the self-propelled jumping motion of the resulting liquid condensate, which partially covers or fully encloses the contaminating particles. The jumping motion off the superhydrophobic surface is powered by the surface energy released upon coalescence of the condensed water phase around the contaminants.

Using social cognitive theory to predict physical activity and fitness in underserved middle school children.

Few researchers have used social cognitive theory and environment-based constructs to predict physical activity (PA) and fitness in underserved middle-school children. Hence, we evaluated social cognitive variables and perceptions of the school environment to predict PA and fitness in middle school children (N = 506, ages 10-14 years). Using multiple regression analyses we accounted for 12% of the variance in PA and 13-21% of the variance in fitness.

Screening for diabetes in an African American community: identifying characteristics associated with abnormal blood glucose readings.

Objective: To identify characteristics associated with abnormal blood glucose readings among African Americans and to determine the potential value of a more targeted approach to community-based screenings for type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Data were collected from 7113 participants with no previous diagnosis of diabetes at mobile screening events in Detroit, Michigan. Data collected included gender, race, age, self-reported height and weight, total diabetes risk score, blood pressure, and random capillary blood glucose.