Is the Time Right to Enact Autonomy-Only Assisted Dying Laws?

An increasing number of jurisdictions worldwide have enacted assisted dying laws allowing persons to end their lives with assistance. All existing frameworks have in common that they restrict access to persons who (1) act autonomously and (2) suffer from certain illnesses. The second restriction has been criticised on the basis that it makes judgments about which lives are worth living by only allowing persons with specific medical conditions, but not others, to die with assistance.

Medical Termination of Pregnancy: Law and Controversies in the United States and Australia.

This editorial reviews the changes over two decades in the United States and Australia in relation to the law governing access to drugs enabling medical termination of pregnancy. It also scrutinises three contentious decisions by the United States Supreme Court between 2022 and 2024 in relation to abortion. It argues that the receptive environment in the United States Supreme Court, as it is currently constituted, to challenges to the lawfulness of terminations of pregnancy and abortion medications is likely to inspire comparable challenges as part of the "Abortion Wars" in other countries, including Australia.

Mesenchymal stromal cells promote the formation of lung cancer organoids via Kindlin-2.

Background: Patient-derived lung cancer organoids (PD-LCOs) demonstrate exceptional potential in preclinical testing and serve as a promising model for the multimodal management of lung cancer. However, certain lung cancer cells derived from patients exhibit limited capacity to generate organoids due to inter-tumor or intra-tumor variability. To overcome this limitation, we have created an in vitro system that employs mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) or fibroblasts to serve as a supportive scaffold for lung cancer cells that do not form organoids.

Retrospective analysis of the occurrence, potential risk factors and medical significance of pulmonary complications after total shoulder arthroplasty from the National Inpatient Sample database (2010-2019).

Background: In USA, total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) ranks amongst the top five surgeries that require hospitalization. As a result, the healthcare system in USA could face a considerable financial strain due to the emergence of subsequent pulmonary problems. This study aimed to conduct a thorough examination of the prevalence, influential factors and medical importance of pulmonary complications, with emphasis on pneumonia, respiratory failure and pulmonary embolism (PE) following total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) procedures in USA.

Platinum nanoparticles in cancer therapy: chemotherapeutic enhancement and ROS generation.

Platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) offer significant promise in cancer therapy by enhancing the therapeutic effects of platinum-based chemotherapies like cisplatin. These nanoparticles improve tumor targeting, reduce off-target effects, and help overcome drug resistance. PtNPs exert their anti-cancer effects primarily through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which induce oxidative stress and apoptosis in cancer cells.

Relationship between VEGF to PEDF ratio and in-hospital mortality in acute respiratory distress syndrome patients.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has a high mortality rate worldwide; thus, identifying death risk factors related to ARDS is critical for risk stratification in patients with ARDS. In the present study, we conducted a single-center retrospective cohort analysis. Out of 278 patients with ARDS admitted from January 2016 to June 2022, 226 were included in this study.

The nuclear matrix stabilizes primed-specific genes in human pluripotent stem cells.

The nuclear matrix, a proteinaceous gel composed of proteins and RNA, is an important nuclear structure that supports chromatin architecture, but its role in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) has not been described. Here we show that by disrupting heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U (HNRNPU) or the nuclear matrix protein, Matrin-3, primed hPSCs adopted features of the naive pluripotent state, including morphology and upregulation of naive-specific marker genes. We demonstrate that HNRNPU depletion leads to increased chromatin accessibility, reduced DNA contacts and increased nuclear size.

Suppression of epileptic seizures by transcranial activation of K-selective channelrhodopsin.

Optogenetics is a valuable tool for studying the mechanisms of neurological diseases and is now being developed for therapeutic applications. In rodents and macaques, improved channelrhodopsins have been applied to achieve transcranial optogenetic stimulation. While transcranial photoexcitation of neurons has been achieved, noninvasive optogenetic inhibition for treating hyperexcitability-induced neurological disorders has remained elusive.

Integrated healthy lifestyle even in late-life mitigates cognitive decline risk across varied genetic susceptibility.

It remains unclear whether the benefits of adhering to a healthy lifestyle outweigh the effects of high genetic risk on cognitive decline. We examined the association of combined lifestyle factors and genetic risk with changes in cognitive function and six specific dimensions of cognition among older adults from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (1998-2018, n = 18,811, a subset of 6301 participants with genetic information). Compared to participants with an unfavorable lifestyle, those with a favorable lifestyle showed a 46.

Sex hormone-dependent host-microbiome interactions and cardiovascular risk (XCVD): design of a longitudinal multi-omics cohort study.

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) present differently in women and men, influenced by host-microbiome interactions. The roles of sex hormones in CVD outcomes and gut microbiome in modifying these effects are poorly understood. The XCVD study examines gut microbiome mediation of sex hormone effects on CVD risk markers by observing transgender participants undergoing gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), with findings expected to extrapolate to cisgender populations.

Exploring undergraduate medical students and faculty perspectives on blended learning: a qualitative study in China.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the views and expectations of medical students and faculty members on blended learning following university-wide teaching reforms, focusing on its influence on self-directed learning (SDL) and educational effectiveness.

Design: A qualitative study employing grounded theory methodology with semistructured individual and group interviews.

Setting: A tertiary medical university after institution-wide educational reforms.

Peer reviewers' conflicts of interest in biomedical research: scoping review.

Background: Peer review may improve the quality of research manuscripts and aid in editorial decisions, but reviewers can have conflicts of interest that impact on their recommendations.

Objectives: The objective was to systematically map and describe the extent and nature of empirical research on peer reviewers' conflicts of interest in biomedical research.

Design: Scoping review METHODS: In this scoping review, we included studies investigating peer reviewers' conflicts of interest in journal manuscripts, theses and dissertations, conference abstracts, funding applications and clinical guidelines.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)-based biosensors for advanced extracellular vesicle detection: A review.

Background: Extracellular Vesicles (EVs), as nano-scale vesicles rich in biological information, hold an indispensable status in the biomedical field. However, due to the intrinsic small size and low abundance of EVs, their effective detection presents significant challenges. Although various EV detection techniques exist, their sensitivity and ease of operation still need enhancement.

Single-Cell Heterogeneity of EGFR Pathway Is Linked to Unique Signatures of Drug Response and Malignancy in Patient Derived Glioblastoma Stem Cells.

Purpose: In glioblastoma, the therapeutically intractable and resistant phenotypes can be derived from glioma stem cells, which often have different underlying mechanisms from non-stem glioma cells. Aberrant signaling across the EGFR-PTEN-AKT-mTOR pathways have been shown as common drivers of glioblastoma. Revealing the inter and intra-cellular heterogeneity within glioma stem cell populations in relations to signaling patterns through these pathways may be key to precision diagnostic and therapeutic targeting of these cells.

[Study on the safety profile of dual plasma molecular adsorption system application in patients with liver failure and refractory hyperbilirubinemia].

To retrospectively analyze the dual plasma molecular adsorption system (DPMAS) treatment technology and the laboratory data before and after treatment in patients with liver failure and refractory hyperbilirubinemia, so as to provide a clinical basis for the prediction and prevention of common related complications. A retrospective study was conducted on 161 cases with liver failure and 68 cases with refractory hyperbilirubinemia who underwent DPMAS treatment in our department from October 2022 to July 2024. The general clinical data characteristics, DPMAS treatment status, DPMAS-related complications, and changes in important laboratory indicators before and after the initial DPMAS treatment in both patient groups were analyzed.

[Comparison of the effectiveness and safety profile of centrifugal and membrane plasma separation in artificial liver therapy with a dual plasma molecular adsorption system].

To compare the effectiveness and safety profile of centrifugal and membrane plasma separation model in artificial liver therapy with a dual plasma molecular adsorption system (DPMAS). A retrospective study was conducted. Data of inpatients with liver failure who were treated with DPMAS therapy in the Liver Disease Center of Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, from October 2022 to June 2024 were included.

[Progress and prospects on liver support therapy for liver failure].

Recently, organ support therapy for liver failure has made rapid progress in the direction of clearing bile acids, blood ammonia, and inflammatory factors. However, there is still a lack of high-level evidence-based medicine, necessitating extensive research on the pathogenesis of major subtypes of liver failure so as to explore collaborative key points of clinical research design decisions for appropriate organ support therapy.

The first Ranatuerin antimicrobial peptide with LPS-neutralizing and anti-inflammatory activities in vitro and in vivo.

Pelophylax nigromaculata, common traditional Chinese medicinal material used for several hundreds of years, is one of the most widely distributed amphibians in China. In this study, a novel Ranatuerin-2 family antimicrobial peptide, Rana-2PN, was identified and characterized from its skin, and its structural characteristics and functional activities were studied extensively. First, Rana-2PN exhibited a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity, displaying minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 12.

Neural Correlates of Olfactory Working Memory in the Human Brain.

Previous research has revealed that the insula, pallidum, thalamus, hippocampus, middle frontal gyrus, and supplementary motor area are activated during odor memory and that the performance of olfactory working memory is affected by the verbalization of odors. However, the neural mechanisms underlying olfactory working memory and the role of verbalization in olfactory working memory are not fully understood. Twenty-nine participants were enrolled in a study to complete olfactory and visual n-back tasks using high- and low-verbalizability stimuli while undergoing fMRI imaging.

Erythrocyte fatty acid patterns are associated with skeletal muscle mass in Chinese children.

Background: Nutritional factors are important for skeletal muscle mass and grip strength development in children.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between erythrocyte membrane fatty acid patterns and skeletal muscle mass and grip strength in children.

Methods: A total of 452 children aged 6-9 years were included in this study.

Association between dietary fructose and human colon DNA methylation: implication for racial disparities in colorectal cancer risk using a cross-sectional study.

Background: An increasing body of evidence has linked fructose intake to colorectal cancer (CRC). African American (AA) adults consume greater quantities of fructose and are more likely to develop right-side colon cancer than European American (EA) adults.

Objective: We examined the hypothesis that fructose consumption leads to epigenomic and transcriptomic differences associated with CRC tumor biology.

Repurposing of a gill gene regulatory program for outer ear evolution.

How novel structures emerge during evolution has long fascinated biologists. A dramatic example is how the diminutive bones of the mammalian middle ear arose from ancestral fish jawbones. In contrast, the evolutionary origin of the outer ear, another mammalian innovation, remains a mystery, in part because it is supported by non-mineralized elastic cartilage rarely recovered in fossils.

Biological sex matters in brain aging.

Every cell in the body has a biological sex. The expansion of aging research to investigate female- and male-specific biology heralds a major advance for human health. Unraveling and harnessing mechanistic etiologies of sex differences may reveal new diagnostics and therapeutics for the aging brain.

Toward a functional future for the cognitive neuroscience of human aging.

The cognitive neuroscience of human aging seeks to identify neural mechanisms behind the commonalities and individual differences in age-related behavioral changes. This goal has been pursued predominantly through structural or "task-free" resting-state functional neuroimaging. The former has elucidated the material foundations of behavioral decline, and the latter has provided key insight into how functional brain networks change with age.