Adaptive Immunity Determines the Cancer Treatment Outcome of Oncolytic Virus and Anti-PD-1.

The immune checkpoint inhibitor, anti-programmed death protein-1 (anti-PD-1), enhances adaptive immunity to kill tumor cells, and the oncolytic virus (OV) triggers innate immunity to clear the infected tumor cells. We create a mathematical model to investigate how the interaction between adaptive and innate immunities under OV and anti-PD-1 affects tumor reduction. For different immunity strength, we create the corresponding virtual baseline patients and cohort patients to decipher the major factors determining the treatment outcome.

Impact of cardiac position, morphology and operative technique on long-term fontan outcomes in heterotaxy.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the outcomes of heterotaxy patients undergone the Fontan operation, focusing on morphological features and surgical techniques.

Methods: Eighty-two consecutive heterotaxy patients who underwent the Fontan operation from 1985 to 2021 were compared to 150 patients with tricuspid atresia (TA) and 144 patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard model were used to analyze transplant-free survival and predictor of outcomes.

Nano-delivery of a novel inhibitor of ERCC1-XPF for targeted sensitization of colorectal cancer to platinum-based chemotherapeutics.

In this study, a novel inhibitor of ERCC1/XPF heterodimerization, A4, was used as an inhibitor of repair for DNA damage by platinum-based chemotherapeutics. Nano-formulations of A4 were developed, using self-assembly of the following block copolymers: methoxy-poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(α-benzyl carboxylate-ε-caprolactone) (PEO-b-PBCL), methoxy-poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEO-b-PCL), or methoxy-poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly (D, L, lactide) (PEO-b-PDLA 50-50). The nano-formulations were characterized for their average diameter, polydispersity, morphology, A4 encapsulation and in vitro release.

The correlation between blastocyst morphological parameters and chromosomal euploidy, aneuploidy and other chromosomal abnormalities following pre-implantation genetic testing-a single center retrospective study.

Purpose: To examine the association between blastocyst morphology and chromosomal status utilizing pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A).

Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort study including 169 in-vitro fertilization cycles that underwent PGT-A using Next Generation Sequencing (2017-2022). Blastocysts were morphologically scored based on Gardner and Schoolcraft's criteria.

Risks and rates, and the mathematical link between them.

The risk over a given time span can be calculated as one minus the exponentiated value of the negative of the integral of the incidence density function (or hazard rate function) over that time span. This relationship is widely used but, in the few instances where textbooks have presented it, the derivations of it tend to be purely mathematical. I first review the historical contexts, definitions, distinctions and links.

Initial Results of the Québec Resilience Project (QRP): a Longitudinal and Representative Population-Based Study of Children's Development Prior to and During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2017-2022).

The COVID-19 pandemic instigated changes in almost all aspects of youth's life. While numerous studies have been implemented to understand how these changes are related to youth's development, few concerned large representative samples. This study introduces the methodology and initial results of the Quebec (Canada) Resilience Project (QRP), a representative longitudinal study.

Is There a Need to Reassess Protein Intake Recommendations Following Metabolic Bariatric Surgery?

Purpose Of Review: Protein intake is recognized as a key nutritional factor crucial for optimizing Metabolic Bariatric Surgery (MBS) outcomes by preventing protein malnutrition, preserving fat-free mass, and inducing satiety. This paper discusses the current evidence regarding protein intake and its impact on clinical outcomes following MBS.

Recent Findings: There are considerable gaps in the understanding of protein requirements following MBS, as existing guidelines are based on limited and inconsistent reports.

Prioritizing questions and topics for the development of guidelines and consensus-based recommendations supported by ILAE: A scoping review and proposal of prioritization criteria.

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and consensus-based recommendations (CBRs) require considerable effort, collaboration, and time-all within the constraints of finite resources. Professional societies, such as the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), must prioritize what topics and questions to address. Implementing evidence-based care remains a crucial challenge in clinical practice.

Revitalising strong cultural connections and resilience: Co-designing a pilot Elder-led mentorship program for Indigenous mothers in a remote northern community in Alberta, Canada.

Connecting with traditional knowledge and culture promotes the well-being of Indigenous parents and creates healthy environments for child development. Community Elders in a remote northern community in Alberta, Canada, collaborated with researchers to design a pilot Elders Mentoring Program. The programme aims to support young Indigenous mothers(-to-be), bringing back cultural traditions and teachings.

Budget impact analyses of hemoglobin A1c and lipid panel point-of-care testing with Afinion™ 2 in Canada and Italy.

Screening and monitoring of diabetes or dyslipidemia frequently involves a multi-step process requiring patients to obtain test requisitions from their primary care physician (PCP), followed by a laboratory visit and re-consultation. Point-of-care testing (POCT) for hemoglobin A (HbA) and lipid panel can streamline the patient care pathway. This study assessed the budget impact of introducing Afinion™ 2 POCT (Abbott Rapid Diagnostics) from the Canadian and Italian societal perspectives.

Fatal overdoses among people with HIV experiencing nonfatal overdoses in British Columbia, Canada.

The breadth of the overdose crisis is underestimated because of a lack of quantifying nonfatal overdoses. We estimate the proportion of nonfatal overdoses among all people with HIV (PWH) in British Columbia, Canada, and the prevalence of fatal overdoses among people who had a nonfatal overdose, stratified by sex. A small proportion of PWH who experienced a nonfatal overdose subsequently died of a fatal overdose, signaling opportunities for crucial interventions and treatment to prevent overdose death.

Aging with HIV and HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the most effective therapeutic intervention for HIV infection. With improved survival, comorbidities, including neuropsychiatric and HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment (NCI) are of increasing concern to aging people with HIV (PWH). The clinical features and the inter-individual variability of the aging process confound the elucidation of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction in aging PWH.

Individualizing musical tempo to spontaneous rates maximizes music-induced hypoalgesia.

Music has long been recognized as a noninvasive and cost-effective means of reducing pain. However, the selection of music for pain relief often relies on intuition rather than on a scientific understanding of the impact of basic musical attributes on pain perception. This study examines how a fundamental element of music-tempo-affects its pain-relieving properties.

Tranexamic dosing for major joint arthroplasty in adult patients with chronic kidney disease: A pharmacokinetic study and new dosing regimen.

Background: Tranexamic acid is an anti-fibrinolytic agent routinely used during hip and knee joint replacement surgery to minimize bleeding. Chronic kidney disease is a common chronic health problem seen among adults requiring major arthroplasty surgery. Tranexamic acid is renally cleared and may accumulate in chronic kidney disease.

A qualitative study of the role of hearing aid use and physical fit accessories in a sample of older adults.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to qualitatively describe the experiences of hearing aid and physical fit accessories use during physical activity and exercise participation in a sample of older adults with hearing loss.

Design: A prospective qualitative research design was employed with the use of focus groups with older adult participants who were fitted with hearing aids and physical fit accessories.

Study Sample: Twelve older adults with hearing loss (six experienced and six new hearing aid users, age range 64 - 88 years) were recruited in this study.

Assessing Physician Motivation to Engage in Continuing Professional Development on Artificial Intelligence.

To realize the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care, physicians must learn how to use AI-based tools effectively, safely, and equitably. Continuing professional development (CPD) activities are one way to learn how to do this. The purpose of this article is to describe a theory-based approach for assessing health professionals' motivation to participate in CPD on AI-based tools.

Perturbation of peptidoglycan recycling by anti-folates and design of a dual-action inhibitor.

Unlabelled: Peptidoglycan (PG) is an important bacterial macromolecule that confers cell shape and structural integrity, and is a key antibiotic target. Its synthesis and turnover are carefully coordinated with other cellular processes and pathways. Despite established connections between the biosynthesis of PG and the outer membrane, or PG and DNA replication, links between PG and folate metabolism remain comparatively unexplored.

Evidence that staphylococcal superantigens promote within-patient bacterial persistence following post-operative surgical site infection.

is a predominant cause of post-operative surgical site infections and persistent bacteremia. Here, we describe a patient who experienced three episodes of infection over a period of 4 months following a total knee arthroplasty. The initial bloodstream isolate (SAB-0429) was a clonal complex 5 (CC5) and methicillin-resistant (MRSA), whereas two subsequent isolates (SAB-0485 and SAB-0495) were CC5 isolates but methicillin-sensitive .

Structural analysis of extracellular ATP-independent chaperones of streptococcal species and protein substrate interactions.

Unlabelled: During infection, bacterial pathogens rely on secreted virulence factors to manipulate the host cell. However, in gram-positive bacteria, the molecular mechanisms underlying the folding and activity of these virulence factors after membrane translocation are not clear. Here, we solved the protein structures of two secreted parvulin and two secreted cyclophilin-like peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) ATP-independent chaperones found in gram-positive streptococcal species.

EZH2 inhibition enhances the activity of Carboplatin in aggressive-variant prostate cancer cell lines.

Background: Aggressive Variant Prostate Cancers (AVPCs) are incurable malignancies. Platinum-based chemotherapies are used for the palliative treatment of AVPC. The Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) promotes prostate cancer progression histone H3 Lysine 27 tri-methylation (H3K27me3).

Similitude laws for the vibroacoustic response of fluid-loaded plates under a turbulent boundary layer excitation.

The theory of similitudes provides simple laws by which the response of one system (usually of small size) can be used to predict the response of another system (usually larger). This paper establishes the exact conditions and laws of similitude for the vibrations and acoustic radiation of a panel immersed in a heavy fluid and excited by a turbulent boundary layer. Previous work on vibroacoustic similitude had not considered the problem of a panel radiating in heavy fluid, for which the radiation impedance of the structure must be scaled.

Proinflammatory synergy between protease and superantigen streptococcal pyogenic exotoxins.

Streptococcal pyogenic exotoxins (Spe proteins) secreted by (group A , GAS) are responsible for scarlet fever and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. Most Spes are superantigens that cause excessive inflammation by activating large numbers of T cells. However, Streptococcal pyogenic exotoxin B (SpeB) is an exception, which is pro-inflammatory through its protease activity.