Lipidic folding pathway of α-Synuclein via a toxic oligomer.

Aggregation intermediates play a pivotal role in the assembly of amyloid fibrils, which are central to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. The structures of filamentous intermediates and mature fibrils are now efficiently determined by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy. By contrast, smaller pre-fibrillar α-Synuclein (αS) oligomers, crucial for initiating amyloidogenesis, remain largely uncharacterized.

Building Family Medicine Research Through Community Engagement: Leveraging Federal Awards to Develop Infrastructure.

Many academic departments and programs struggle with the challenge of how to begin a meaningful research program. A useful place to start is with the work they already are doing in communities. Using work in practices and other clinical venues as a springboard can build helpful relationships that can catalyze research and build infrastructure that matters to family medicine clinicians, researchers, and the communities they serve.

Expression, purification and characterization of phosphatidylserine-targeting antibodies for biochemical and therapeutic applications.

The externalization of Phosphatidylserine (PS) from the inner surface of the plasma membrane to the outer surface of the plasma membrane is an emblematic event during apoptosis and serves as a potent "eat-me" signal for the efferocytosis of apoptotic cells. Although less well understood, PS is also externalized on live cells in the tumor microenvironment and on live virus-infected cells whereby it serves as an immune modulatory signal that drives tolerance and immune escape. Given the importance of PS in cancer immunology and immune escape, PS-targeting monoclonal antibodies have been characterized with promising immunotherapeutic potential.

The (dys)regulation of energy storage in obesity.

Metabolic energy stored mainly as adipose tissue is homeostatically regulated. There is strong evidence that human body weight () is physiologically regulated, i.e.

Precision data-driven modeling of cortical dynamics reveals person-specific mechanisms underpinning brain electrophysiology.

Task-free brain activity affords unique insight into the functional structure of brain network dynamics and has been used to identify neural markers of individual differences. In this work, we present an algorithmic optimization framework that directly inverts and parameterizes brain-wide dynamical-systems models involving hundreds of interacting neural populations, from single-subject M/EEG time-series recordings. This technique provides a powerful neurocomputational tool for interrogating mechanisms underlying individual brain dynamics ("precision brain models") and making quantitative predictions.

Dispersionless Nonhybrid Density Functional.

A dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT+D) method has been developed. It includes a nonhybrid dispersionless generalized gradient approximation (GGA) functional paired with a literature-parametrized dispersion function. The functional's 9 adjustable parameters were optimized using a training set of 589 benchmark interaction energies.

Metastatic Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma to the Right Ventricle.

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is a rare, yet extremely aggressive form of thyroid cancer characterized by rapid growth and early metastasis to distant sites. Cardiac involvement is very uncommon and the presentation of cardiac metastasis in ATC can vary widely, highlighting the importance of early clinical recognition. We describe an extremely rare case of metastatic ATC that spread to the right ventricle.

Migration of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Into the Right Atrium.

A 40-year-old man with a medical history of hepatitis B presented with abdominal distention and leg swelling. A computed tomography scan of the abdomen revealed cirrhosis and a large mass extending from the liver into the inferior vena cava and extending into the right atrium. A transthoracic echocardiogram revealed a large right atrial mass extending from the inferior vena cava with possible attachment to the interatrial septum.

Queuing Theoretic Analysis of Dynamic Attribute-Based Access Control Systems.

Access resolution in Attribute-based Access Control (ABAC) is primarily through the enforcement of an ABAC policy. However, incremental user-specific authorizations are also often added to supplement the attribute-based accesses. As this auxiliary list of authorizations grows, enforcement becomes increasingly more inefficient, since both the ABAC policy and the specific authorizations are to be evaluated.

digitalMALDI: A Single-Particle-Based Mass Spectrometric Detection System for Biomolecules.

The development of a real-time system for characterizing individual biomolecule-containing aerosol particles presents a transformative opportunity to monitor respiratory conditions, including infections and lung diseases. Existing molecular assay technologies, although effective, rely on costly reagents, are relatively slow, and face challenges in multiplexing, limiting their use for real-time applications. To overcome these challenges, we developed digitalMALDI, a laser-based mass spectrometry system designed for single-particle characterization.

Class III Phosphatidylinositol-3 Kinase/Vacuolar Protein Sorting 34 in Cardiovascular Health and Disease.

Phosphatidylinositol-3 kinases (PI3Ks) play a critical role in maintaining cardiovascular health and the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Specifically, vacuolar Protein Sorting 34 (VPS34) or PIK3C3, the only member of Class III PI3K, plays an important role in CVD progression. The main function of VPS34 is inducing the production of phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate, which, together with other essential structural and regulatory proteins in forming VPS34 complexes, further regulates the mammalian target of rapamycin activation, autophagy, and endocytosis.

Global collaborations to change the paradigm of oral health education and care: 2024 ADEA Annual Session Chair of the Board Symposium, Proceedings.

The 2024 ADEA Annual Session Chair of the Board Symposium titled, Global Collaborations to Change the Paradigm in Oral Health Education and Care, aimed to highlight innovative global education models in oral health. The symposium sought to identify and explore opportunities for collaboration with international partners to ensure sustainable healthcare education to improve the oral health workforce. Additionally, it focused on discovering and adapting innovative solutions and best practices to enhance access to oral health services worldwide.

B cells enhance IL-1 beta driven invasiveness in triple negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype often characterized by high lymphocyte infiltration, including tumor-infiltrating B cells (TIBs). These cells are present even in early stages of TNBC and associated with microinvasion. This study shows that co-culturing TNBC cells with B cells increases Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) expression and secretion.

An atlas of neuropathic pain-associated molecular pathological characteristics in the mouse spinal cord.

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI)-induced neuropathic pain (NP) is a severe disease with high prevalence in clinics. Gene reprogramming and tissue remodeling in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and spinal cord (SC) drive the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain (NP). However, our understanding of the NP-associated spatial molecular processing landscape of SC and the non-synaptic interactions between DRG neurons and SC cells remains limited.

Resilience in Newly Hired Nursing Faculty: Practical Evidence of a Complex Construct.

Background: Resilience plays a role in workforce retention and has been linked to job satisfaction, quality of life, and organizational commitment in nursing faculty. Research on the nature of faculty resilience, however, remains sparse.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to contribute to the understanding of nurse faculty resilience by describing examples of specific ways that a group of newly hired nursing faculty enacted resilience during their first few years on the job.

Improving reading competence in aphasia with combined aerobic exercise and phono-motor treatment: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Aphasia, a communication disorder caused primarily by left-hemisphere stroke, affects millions of individuals worldwide, with up to 70% experiencing significant reading impairments. These deficits negatively impact independence and quality of life, highlighting the need for effective treatments that target the cognitive and neural processes essential to reading recovery. This Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) aims to test the efficacy of a combined intervention incorporating aerobic exercise training (AET) and phono-motor treatment (PMT) to enhance reading recovery in individuals with post-stroke aphasia.

A co-produced mixed methods protocol: Exploring perceptions of oral health care and quality of life in people with mental health conditions.

This planned mixed methods protocol is designed to explore oral health care for individuals living with serious mental health conditions (SMHC). It was co-produced by academics, people with lived experience of mental health conditions, and oral and mental health clinicians. The study seeks to explore oral health quality of life predictors and oral health care experiences of people diagnosed with serious mental health conditions (e.

Developing an alternative medium for in-space biomanufacturing.

In-space biomanufacturing provides a sustainable solution to facilitate long-term, self-sufficient human habitation in extraterrestrial environments. However, its dependence on Earth-supplied feedstocks renders in-space biomanufacturing economically nonviable. Here, we develop a process termed alternative feedstock-driven in-situ biomanufacturing (AF-ISM) to alleviate dependence on Earth-based resupply of feedstocks.

Kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activations during human locomotion over compliant terrains.

Walking on compliant terrains, like carpets, grass, and soil, presents a unique challenge, especially for individuals with mobility impairments. In contrast to rigid-ground walking, compliant surfaces alter movement dynamics and increase the risk of falls. Understanding and modeling gait control across such soft and deformable surfaces is thus crucial for maintaining daily mobility.

Racial/ethnic differences in the associations between social support and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Background: Despite the established link between social support and cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes, few studies have examined racial/ethnic variation in these associations. This study utilized data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) to investigate racial/ethnic differences in perceived social support and in the link between support and incident hard CVD events and mortality.

Method: Participants (N = 6,814) were 45-84 years of age who identified as White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, or Chinese without known clinical CVD at baseline (2000-2002).

I Did 10,000 Steps so I Earned This Treat: Problematic Smartwatch Use and Exercise Tracking Associations with Compensatory Eating and Sedentary Activity.

Smartwatches are digital devices, similar to smartphones, and come with the possibility of problematic use. Problematic technology use is the experience of psychological distress or reduced daily functioning in response to excessive or addictive technology use. The purpose of this study was to explore whether problematic use of smartwatch devices for exercise tracking influences user's health behaviors such as eating habits and sedentary activity.

Use of 3D Printing Technology to Improve Lead Shield Fabrication for Electron Therapy of the Face.

Superficial lesions of the face are often treated with an electron beam and surface collimation utilizing a conformal lead shield with an opening around the region of treatment (ROT). To fabricate the lead shield, an imprint of the patient face is needed. Historically, this was achieved using a laborious and time-consuming process that involved a gypsum imprinted model (GIM) of the patient topography.