Antibody drug conjugates in the clinic.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), chemotherapeutic agents conjugated to an antibody to enhance their targeted delivery to tumors, represent a significant advancement in cancer therapy. ADCs combine the precise targeting capabilities of antibodies and the potent cell-killing effects of chemotherapy, allowing for enhanced cytotoxicity to tumors while minimizing damage to healthy tissues. Here, we provide an overview of the current clinical landscape of ADCs, highlighting 11 U.

The Micropaleoecology Framework: Evaluating Biotic Responses to Global Change Through Paleoproxy, Microfossil, and Ecological Data Integration.

The microfossil record contains abundant, diverse, and well-preserved fossils spanning multiple trophic levels from primary producers to apex predators. In addition, microfossils often constitute and are preserved in high abundances alongside continuous high-resolution geochemical proxy records. These characteristics mean that microfossils can provide valuable context for understanding the modern climate and biodiversity crises by allowing for the interrogation of spatiotemporal scales well beyond what is available in neo-ecological research.

Intermittent spontaneous CSF rhinorrhea exacerbated by hormonal fluctuations associated with menstrual cycles.

This case underscores the importance of recognizing the potential link between hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle and idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), which could lead to spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea. Eliciting a history of intermittent clear rhinorrhea with the onset of menstrual cycle if presenting with menstrual migraines could allow for a more prompt diagnosis and treatment of IIH and CSF leak. Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial to prevent serious complications.

Meristic co-evolution and genomic co-localization of lateral line scales and vertebrae in Central American cichlid fishes.

Meristic traits are often treated as distinct phenotypes that can be used to differentiate and delineate recently diverged species. For instance, the number of lateral line scales and vertebrae, two traits that vary substantially among Neotropical Heroine cichlid species, have been previously suggested to co-evolve. These meristic traits could co-evolve due to shared adaptive, developmental, or genetic factors.

Niche partitioning and host specialisation in fish-parasitising isopods: Trait-dependent patterns from three ecosystems on the east coast of India.

Due to their large size and obligate nature, Cymothoid isopods inflict a high degree of tissue damage to fish. Still, they are understudied at an ecosystem level despite their global presence and ecological role. In this work, we collected fish host-isopod parasite data, along with their life history and ecological traits, from the northern part of the east coast of India and investigated patterns in host specialisation and preference of isopod parasites using a trait-based network perspective.

Digital droplet RT-LAMP increases speed of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA detection.

Nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) remains one of the most reliable methods for pathogen identification. However, conventional bulk NAATs may not be sufficiently fast or sensitive enough for the detection of clinically-relevant pathogens in point-of-care testing. Here, we have developed a digital droplet RT-LAMP (ddRT-LAMP) assay that rapidly and quantitatively detects the SARS-CoV-2 viral E gene in microfluidic drops.

Fragility analysis and systematic review of patellar resurfacing versus non-patellar resurfacing in total knee arthroplasty.

Introduction: Fragility analysis is a method of further characterising the robustness of statistical outcomes. This study evaluates the statistical fragility of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing patellar resurfacing versus non-patellar surfacing in total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Methods: PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for RCTs comparing outcomes in TKA based on patellar resurfacing.

The diet-intestinal microbiota dynamics and adaptation in an elevational migration bird, the Himalayan bluetail ().

Migratory birds experience changes in their environment and diet during seasonal migrations, thus requiring interactions between diet and gut microbes. Understanding the co-evolution of the host and gut microbiota is critical for elucidating the rapid adaptations of avian gut microbiota. However, dynamics of gut microbial adaptations concerning elevational migratory behavior, which is prevalent but understudied in montane birds remain poorly understood.

Historical tree phenology data reveal the seasonal rhythms of the Congo Basin rainforest.

Tropical forest phenology directly affects regional carbon cycles, but the relation between species-specific and whole-canopy phenology remains largely uncharacterized. We present a unique analysis of historical tropical tree phenology collected in the central Congo Basin, before large-scale impacts of human-induced climate change. Ground-based long-term (1937-1956) phenological observations of 140 tropical tree species are recovered, species-specific phenological patterns analyzed and related to historical meteorological records, and scaled to characterize stand-level canopy dynamics.

The role of biogeographical barriers on the historical dynamics of passerine birds with a circum-Amazonian distribution.

Common distributional patterns have provided the foundations of our knowledge of Neotropical biogeography. A distinctive pattern is the "circum-Amazonian distribution", which surrounds Amazonia across the forested lowlands south and east of the basin, the Andean foothills, the Venezuelan Coastal Range, and the Tepuis. The underlying evolutionary and biogeographical mechanisms responsible for this widespread pattern of avian distribution have yet to be elucidated.

Cancer vaccines in the clinic.

Vaccines are an important tool in the rapidly evolving repertoire of immunotherapies in oncology. Although cancer vaccines have been investigated for over 30 years, very few have achieved meaningful clinical success. However, recent advances in areas such antigen identification, formulation development and manufacturing, combination therapy regimens, and indication and patient selection hold promise to reinvigorate the field.

Digital phenotyping: An equal opportunity approach to reducing disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementia research.

A rapidly aging world population is fueling a concomitant increase in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD). Scientific inquiry, however, has largely focused on White populations in Australia, the European Union, and North America. As such, there is an incomplete understanding of AD in other populations.

In vivo synergistic tumor therapies based on copper sulfide photothermal therapeutic nanoplatforms.

Tumor cells may be eliminated by increasing their temperature. This is achieved via photothermal therapy (PTT) by penetrating the tumor tissue with near-infrared light and converting light energy into heat using photothermal agents. Copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuS NPs) are commonly used as PTAs in PTT.

The nature of science: The fundamental role of natural history in ecology, evolution, conservation, and education.

There is a contemporary trend in many major research institutions to de-emphasize the importance of natural history education in favor of theoretical, laboratory, or simulation-based research programs. This may take the form of removing biodiversity and field courses from the curriculum and the sometimes subtle maligning of natural history research as a "lesser" branch of science. Additional threats include massive funding cuts to natural history museums and the maintenance of their collections, the extirpation of taxonomists across disciplines, and a critical under-appreciation of the role that natural history data (and other forms of observational data, including Indigenous knowledge) play in the scientific process.

Mutualistic interactions between ants and fungi: A review.

The large amount of dead plant biomass caused by the final extinction events triggered a fungi proliferation that mostly differentiated into saprophytes degrading organic matter; others became parasites, predators, likely commensals, and mutualists. Among the last, many have relationships with ants, the most emblematic seen in the Neotropical myrmicine Attina that cultivate Basidiomycota for food. Among them, leaf-cutting, fungus-growing species illustrate an ecological innovation because they grow fungal gardens from fresh plant material rather than arthropod frass and plant debris.

Digital therapeutics in the clinic.

Digital therapeutics are emerging as a new form of therapeutic interventions. Unlike conventional therapeutics, digital therapeutics deliver interventions directly to patients using an evidence-based, clinically evaluated software to treat, manage, or prevent diseases. Digital therapeutics manifest in diverse forms such as web-based applications, mobile applications on smart devices, virtual reality, and video games.

Hydrogel viscoelasticity modulates migration and fusion of mesenchymal stem cell spheroids.

Multicellular spheroids made of stem cells can act as building blocks that fuse to capture complex aspects of native in vivo environments, but the effect of hydrogel viscoelasticity on cell migration from spheroids and their fusion remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effect of viscoelasticity on migration and fusion behavior of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) spheroids using hydrogels with a similar elasticity but different stress relaxation profiles. Fast relaxing (FR) matrices were found to be significantly more permissive to cell migration and consequent fusion of MSC spheroids.

Rapid radiation of ant parasitic butterflies during the Miocene aridification of Africa.

Africa has undergone a progressive aridification during the last 20 My that presumably impacted organisms and fostered the evolution of life history adaptations. We test the hypothesis that shift to living in ant nests and feeding on ant brood by larvae of phyto-predaceous butterflies was an adaptive response to the aridification of Africa that facilitated the subsequent radiation of butterflies in this genus. Using anchored hybrid enrichment we constructed a time-calibrated phylogeny for and its closest, non-parasitic relatives in the section (Poloyommatini).

Cycad phylogeny predicts host plant use of butterflies.

butterflies are obligate herbivores of , the most diverse neotropical genus of cycads. interactions have been characterized mainly for species distributed in North and Central America. However, larval host plant use by the southern clade remains largely unknown, precluding a comprehensive study of co-evolution between the genera.

Feasibility of an online consensus approach for the diagnosis of cognitive impairment and dementia in rural South Africa.

Introduction: We describe the development and feasibility of using an online consensus approach for diagnosing cognitive impairment and dementia in rural South Africa.

Methods: Cognitive assessments, clinical evaluations, and informant interviews from Cognition and Dementia in the Health and Aging in Africa Longitudinal Study (HAALSI Dementia) were reviewed by an expert panel using a web-based platform to assign a diagnosis of cognitively normal, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia.

Results: Six hundred thirty-five participants were assigned a final diagnostic category, with 298 requiring adjudication conference calls.

An Old World leaf-cutting, fungus-growing ant: A case of convergent evolution.

The African myrmicine ant is a territorially dominant arboreal species that constructs very hard carton nests. Noting that workers cut off leaves from different plant species while building or repairing their nests, we asked ourselves if there was a correlation. We conducted scanning electron microscopic observations of nest walls that revealed the presence of fungal mycelia.

Engineering of bioactive nanocomplexes on dental floss for targeted gingival therapy.

Periodontitis induced by chronic subgingival infection is a ubiquitous disease that causes systemic inflammatory consequences and poses a negative impact on quality of life. The disease is treated and potentially prevented by patient's self-care aimed at eliminating the oral pathogens from the region. Currently available products for interdental self-care, including dental floss and interdental brush, have limited ability to prevent the disease.

Ultrasound-mediated delivery of flexibility-tunable polymer drug conjugates for treating glioblastoma.

Effective chemotherapy delivery for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is limited by drug transport across the blood-brain barrier and poor efficacy of single agents. Polymer-drug conjugates can be used to deliver drug combinations with a ratiometric dosing. However, the behaviors and effectiveness of this system have never been well investigated in GBM models.