The Effectiveness of Technology-Enhanced Learning in Prosthodontic Education: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) with traditional learning in prosthodontic education.

Methods: The protocol was registered before commencement [CRD42023390277]. The search was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) focused on comparative assessment of TEL and traditional learning in prosthodontic education up to 6 June 2024.

Design Principle of Heparanase Inhibitors: A Combined In Vitro and In Silico Study.

Heparanase (HPSE) is an enzyme that cleaves heparan sulfate (HS) side chains from heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs). Overexpression of HPSE is associated with various types of cancer, inflammation, and immune disorders, making it a highly promising therapeutic target. Previously developed HPSE inhibitors that have advanced to clinical trials are polysaccharide-derived compounds or their mimetics; however, these molecules tend to suffer from poor bioavailability, side effects via targeting other saccharide binding proteins, and heterogeneity.

Novel PET Imaging Probe for Quantitative Detection of Senescence In Vivo.

Real-time detection of cellular senescence remains a clinical challenge. Here, we aimed to develop a positron emission tomography (PET) imaging probe targeting senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal), the most widely used biomarker of cellular senescence, and investigate its performance for real-time in vivo quantitative detection of cellular senescence. A stable PET imaging agent was obtained with a high labeling yield (90.

Discovery and development of small-molecule heparanase inhibitors.

Heparanase-1 (HPSE) is a promising yet challenging therapeutic target. It is the only known enzyme that is responsible for cleavage of heparan sulfate (HS) side chains from heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), and is the key enzyme involved in the remodeling and degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Overexpression of HPSE is found in various types of diseases, including cancers, inflammations, diabetes, and viral infections.

A Universal and Modular Scaffold for Heparanase Activatable Probes and Drugs.

Heparanase (HPSE) is an endo-β-glucuronidase involved in extracellular matrix remodeling in rapidly healing tissues, most cancers and inflammation, and viral infection. Its importance as a therapeutic target warrants further study, but such is hampered by a lack of research tools. To expand the toolkits for probing HPSE enzymatic activity, we report the design of a substrate scaffold for HPSE comprised of a disaccharide substrate appended with a linker, capable of carrying cargo until being cleaved by HPSE.

Overlapping but Disparate Inflammatory and Immunosuppressive Responses to SARS-CoV-2 and Bacterial Sepsis: An Immunological Time Course Analysis.

Both severe SARS-CoV-2 infections and bacterial sepsis exhibit an immunological dyscrasia and propensity for secondary infections. The nature of the immunological dyscrasias for these differing etiologies and their time course remain unclear. In this study, thirty hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were compared with ten critically ill patients with bacterial sepsis over 21 days, as well as ten healthy control subjects.

Noninvasive NIR Imaging of Senescence Labeling.

Cellular senescence, a process that arrests the cell cycle, is a cellular response mechanism for various stresses and is implicated in aging and various age-related diseases. However, the understanding of senescence in living organisms is insufficient, largely due to the scarcity of sensitive tools for the detection of cellular senescence . Herein, we describe the development of a self-immobilizing near-infrared (NIR) fluorogenic probe that can be activated by senescence-associated βgalactosidase (SA-βGal), the most widely used senescence marker.

The Relationship of Alcohol to ART Adherence Among Black MSM in the U.S.: Is it Any Different Among Black MSM in the South?

Alcohol-using Black MSM (Men who have sex with men) are disproportionately impacted by HIV in the U.S.-particularly in the southern U.

A Transcriptomic Severity Metric That Predicts Clinical Outcomes in Critically Ill Surgical Sepsis Patients.

Objectives: Clinically deployable methods for the rapid and accurate prediction of sepsis severity that could elicit a meaningful change in clinical practice are currently lacking. We evaluated a whole-blood, multiplex host-messenger RNA expression metric, Inflammatix-Severity-2, for identifying septic, hospitalized patients' likelihood of 30-day mortality, development of chronic critical illness, discharge disposition, and/or secondary infections.

Design: Retrospective, validation cohort analysis.

Dual-Mechanism Quenched Fluorogenic Probe Provides Selective and Rapid Detection of Cathepsin L Activity*.

Cathepsin L (CTL) is a cysteine protease demonstrating upregulated activity in many disease states. Overlapping substrate specificity makes selective detection of CTL activity difficult to parse from that of its close homologue CTV and the ubiquitous CTB. Current probes of CTL activity have limited applications due to either poor contrast or extra assay steps required to achieve selectivity.

Responsive Fluorophore Aggregation Provides Spectral Contrast for Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging.

Fluorophores experience altered emission lifetimes when incorporated into and liberated from macromolecules or molecular aggregates; this trend suggests the potential for a fluorescent, responsive probe capable of undergoing self-assembly and aggregation and consequently altering the lifetime of its fluorescent moiety to provide contrast between the active and inactive probes. We developed a cyanobenzothioazole-fluorescein conjugate (1), and spectroscopically examined the lifetime changes caused by its reduction-induced aggregation in vitro. A decrease in lifetime was observed for compound 1 in a buffered system activated by the biological reducing agent glutathione, thus suggesting a possible approach for designing responsive self-aggregating lifetime imaging probes.

Real-time imaging of senescence in tumors with DNA damage.

Detection of cellular senescence is important not only in the study of senescence in various biological systems, but also in various practical applications such as image-guided surgical removal of senescent cells, as well as the monitoring of drug-responsiveness during cancer therapies. Due to the lack of suitable imaging probes for senescence detection, particularly in living subjects, we have developed an activatable near-infrared (NIR) molecular probe with far-red excitation, NIR emission, and high "turn-on" ratio upon senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SABG) activation. We present here the first successful demonstration of NIR imaging of DNA damage-induced senescence both in vitro and in human tumor xenograft models.

Antibiotic Regimen after a Total Abdominal Colectomy with Ileostomy for Fulminant Clostridium difficile Colitis: A Multi-Institutional Study.

Background: Fulminant Clostridium difficile colitis (fCDC) is a highly lethal disease with mortality rates ranging between 12% and 80%. Although often these patients require a total abdominal colectomy (TAC) with ileostomy, there is no established management protocol for post-operative antibiotics. In this study we aim to make some recommendations for post-operative antibiotic usage, while describing the practice across different institutions.

Anxiety and marital adjustment in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator and their spouses.

Purpose: Device-related fears are a pervasive psychosocial difficulty that patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) experience. Spouses also encounter anxieties that may influence patient and spouse adjustment. This study examined anxiety and marital adjustment among ICD patients and spouses, as well as intersex differences between female and male patients.

Measurement of patient fears about implantable cardioverter defibrillator shock: an initial evaluation of the Florida Shock Anxiety Scale.

Background: Psychological distress is both a precipitant and a consequence of ICD shock. Therefore, the assessment of patient anxiety and concerns related to receiving an ICD shock may prompt appropriate psychological referrals and treatment.

Methods: The purpose of this study is to assess the initial validity and clinical utility of the Florida Shock Anxiety Scale (FSAS).

Predictors of quality of life in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

Few studies have prospectively examined characteristics of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients as predictors of postimplant outcome. In this study the authors considered the association between preimplant psychological characteristics, ICD shocks, and postimplant quality of life at short- and long-term follow-ups, controlling for age and ejection fraction (N=88). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that history of depression, trait anxiety, optimism, social support, and ICD shocks accounted for 41.

Sleep quality among patients treated with implantable atrial defibrillation therapy: effect of nocturnal shock delivery and psychological distress.

Introduction: The Medtronic ICD-AT has atrial/ventricular therapies, which can be programmed to deliver atrial defibrillation during sleep, intended to potentially decrease shock anxiety/pain and lifestyle disruption. However, these shocks may diminish sleep quality. This study examined atrial shock characteristics (i.

Predicting quality of life with a pretransplantation assessment battery: A prospective study of cardiac recipients.

This study provides descriptive data on the prevalence of symptoms and quality of life of cardiac transplantation recipients and tests the predictive validity of a pre-cardiac transplantation psychological assessment battery on posttransplantation quality of life. Following the formation of four cluster groups of pretransplantation MMPI profiles based on previous research, frequency analysis found that the cluster groups were not equally represented among cardiac recipients, such that the "Distressed/Confused" cluster had only one recipient member. Tests of significance among the three remaining cluster groups on the posttransplantation quality of life variables found no significant differences.