Improvement within GeneEditing Engineering involving Zebrafish

To reduce and ideally eliminate exposure to smoke/aerosol emitted from tobacco products in nicotine-naïve adolescents, individual and family-centered interventions, coupled with state-wide tobacco prevention strategies are warranted.
Release of norepinephrine (NE) from neuronal cardiac nerve endings and/or blood-borne catecholamines (CATs), mainly epinephrine (EPI), may mediate TTS. The aim of this study was to document the levels of NE, EPI, and dopamine (DA) in patients with TTS.
A qualitative/quantitative meta-analysis of CATs and their relationship to age, gender, and triggers, was carried out, employing the world literature on TTS, published in PubMed.
NE/EPI/DA in108 patients with TTS, 65.2 ± 16.4 years old, 89 (82.4%) women, revealed that NE was measured more frequently than EPI, and EPI than DA; the timing of the measurements was variable; CATs were reported variably (qualitatively/quantitatively/with/without upper limits of normal); NE/EPI or NE/EPI/DA rose to the same degree; CATs were normal, or mildly/moderately elevated, with only 6 patients showing markedly elevated NE/EP/DA; NE, EPI, and DA were similar in patients with physical triggers and NE was similar in patients with physical, emotional, or no triggers (
 = 0.47); EPI was higher than NE in patients with emotional triggers and EPI was higher in patients with emotional than physical triggers (
 = 0.012); NE, EPI, and DA rose to the same proportion in men and women; types of TTS triggers were distributed proportionally in men and women.
NE, EPI, and DA rise proportionally in patients with TTS; CATs are mildly/moderately, and rarely markedly elevated; measurements of CATs should become more systematised; although CATs may not be essential for TTS diagnosis, they may contribute to prognosis and elucidation of the pathophysiology of TTS.
NE, EPI, and DA rise proportionally in patients with TTS; CATs are mildly/moderately, and rarely markedly elevated; measurements of CATs should become more systematised; although CATs may not be essential for TTS diagnosis, they may contribute to prognosis and elucidation of the pathophysiology of TTS.Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a relatively new drug that is used for recovery of chemotherapy-associated neutropenia. It is known to cause bone pain, headache and fatigue as side-effects; however, large-vessel vasculitis is extremely rare and its relation with G-CSF remains unknown. We describe a 49-year-old woman in whom arteritis developed after chemotherapy and subsequent G-CSF administration. She had experienced pinealoma 3 months ago and received surgery and chemotherapy, leading to neutropenia. After administration of lenograstim at 100 μg/day for 1 week, high fever and neck pain appeared. White blood cell count and serum levels of C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 were increased to 37,930/μL, 23.71 mg/dL, and 241 pg/mL, respectively. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed thickened walls of large vessels including the bilateral common carotid artery (CCA), right brachiocephalic artery, and ascending aorta. Ultrasonography showed wall thickening of the CCA (maximum of intima media thickness right, 2.9 mm; left, 3.2 mm). As differential diagnoses, infection, chemotherapy, autoimmune diseases, and cancer were considered other than G-CSF. Blood culture tests, lumbar puncture, β-D-glucan tests, and tests for viral antibodies indicated no active infection, and autoantibodies were negative. Empirical antibiotic therapy was ineffective. The score of Naranjo's algorithm to lenograstim was 6, indicating "probable" causality. Considering the clinical course and test results, we made a diagnosis of G-CSF-associated arteritis and commenced glucocorticoid therapy, which drastically improved the symptoms and inflammation. Clinicians should be aware of this uncommon but significant complication of GCS-F administration, for which glucocorticoid treatment can be a useful therapeutic option.The utilization of photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been rapidly increasing due to its advantage as an effective treatment modality for cancer. The organic photosensitizers employed for PDT have some disadvantages, including high toxicity, non-selectivity toward tumors and poor absorption of light. The low light penetration into the tumor sites resulting from low wavelength of absorption and long-term skin photosensitivity. Hence, the attention toward non-toxic inorganic photosensitizers like noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) has been increasing nowadays. In bioscience, NPs are replacing organic dyes since they have photostability and non-toxicity. Generally, nanomaterials can easily form compounds with other substances as well as organic materials and the modified NPs surface enhances the chemical activity. Among the metal NPs, noble metals, especially gold and silver are attractive because of their size and shape-dependent unique optoelectronic properties. The coating of inorganic/organic materials on top of the noble metal makes the NPs bio-compatible and less toxic. Furthermore, Ag- and Au-based inorganic/organic complex NPs could offer a new possibility because of their unique structures. Meanwhile, the coating of inorganic/organic complex NPs protects the noble metals and stabilizes them against chemical corrosion and enhances the production of reactive oxygen species. Thus, in this review, we have highlighted the role of Ag- and Au-based inorganic/organic hybrid nano-photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.Novel approaches to treat carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) infections are urgently needed and anti-virulence drugs represent promising alternatives, but our knowledge on potential targets is scarce. We searched for potential A. baumannii virulence factors by whole-genome sequencing-based comparisons of CRAB clinical isolates causing bloodstream infections secondary to ventilator-associated pneumonia from demographics and clinically homogeneous patients, who received optimal treatment but with different clinical outcomes. Thus, the carO gene was interrupted in CRAB isolates from surviving patients, while it was intact in isolates from non-surviving patients, and proteomic/immunoblot techniques corroborated it. When the virulence role of A. baumannii CarO was analyzed in model systems, isogenic ΔcarO mutants and a CRAB clinical isolate with truncated CarO, showed lower ability to adhere and invade A549 cells and in vivo virulence. This unnoticed virulence role for CarO postulate this A. ULK activator baumannii outer membrane protein as a potential target for new therapies against CRAB infections.Syllable-final nasals /n/ and /ŋ/ in Taiwan Mandarin have been reported to be undergoing merging. Perceptual studies have reported that the alleged merging is context-sensitive and the merging directions are vowel-dependent. These findings have been mostly attributed to dialectal and social factors. The current study uses ultrasonography to capture postures of the entire tongue during the production of syllable-final nasals. The results, though confirming previous findings that the merging directions of syllable-final nasals are vowel-dependent, are best accounted for by the biomechanics of the tongue, as supported by computational 3D model simulations. Furthermore, for some speakers, although nasals were merged in terms of tongue posture, the degrees of nasalization of the preceding vowel were contrastive, suggesting that the merging process may be incomplete.Rotenone is an industrial and environmental toxicant that has been strongly associated with neurodegeneration. It is clear that rotenone induces inflammatory and oxidative stress; however, information on the role of histone acetylation in neurotoxicity is limited. Epigenetic alterations, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress play a role in the progression of neurodegeneration and can be caused by exposure to environmental chemicals, such as rotenone. Histone modifications, such as methylation and acetylation, play an important role in mediating epigenetic changes. Therefore, we here investigated the effects of histone acetylation on rotenone-induced inflammation and oxidative stress in both primary mouse microglia and hippocampal HT-22 cells using the pan-histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA). Our results showed that SAHA suppressed the inflammatory response by decreasing nuclear factor kappa B and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression. Additionally, SAHA inhibited the rotenone-induced elevation of interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor α levels in both cell lines. Furthermore, SAHA improved the rotenone-induced antioxidant status by mitigating the decrease in cellular glutathione levels. Additionally, SAHA prevented the rotenone-induced increase in the HDAC activity in microglial and hippocampal HT-22 cells. Together, our results showed that SAHA reduced rotenone-induced inflammatory and oxidative stress, suggesting a role for histone deacetylation in environmental-related neurotoxicity.
Smoking is linked to disease and survival in the general and transplant population. We studied the smoking history, disease and survival of patients after heart transplantation.
A total of 130 patients who underwent heart transplantation between 1995 and 2019 received a questionnaire to document their smoking history. We assessed patient characteristics, comorbidities and survival.
Sixty-five per cent of patients were active or former smokers prior to heart transplantation. All patients stopped smoking; 26% of the former smokers resumed smoking after transplantation. Patients who resumed smoking were younger at the time of transplantation, used fewer statins and were more likely to be treated with azathioprine after transplantation. The mean follow-up for all patients was 11 ± 5.5 years. Patients who resumed smoking were more likely to develop solid organ cancers (45%) compared to those who remained abstinent (23%) and those who never smoked (13%) (
0.014). A Cox proportional hazards regression analysis identified smoking resumption, with a RR of 2.31 (1.14-4.68,
0.02), and age at transplantation, with a RR of 1.03 (1-1.06,
0.034), as significant for survival. Patients resuming smoking after transplantation had a significantly higher risk of dying from solid organ cancer, with a RR of 2.54 (1.03, 6.28;
0.04) with a short median survival time (25th-75th percentile) of (1 (0-5) months,
0.007).
Patients who resume smoking after heart transplantation have worse survival and are at higher risk of dying from solid organ cancer. Implementing a smoking cessation plan throughout the post-transplant period is important.
Patients who resume smoking after heart transplantation have worse survival and are at higher risk of dying from solid organ cancer. Implementing a smoking cessation plan throughout the post-transplant period is important.To elucidate the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in therapeutics for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Five databases were searched (December 2019-May 2020). We included both published and pre-print original articles in English that applied AI, machine learning or deep learning in drug repurposing, novel drug discovery, vaccine and antibody development for COVID-19. Out of 31 studies included, 16 studies applied AI for drug repurposing, whereas 10 studies utilized AI for novel drug discovery. Only four studies used AI technology for vaccine development, whereas one study generated stable antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Approx. 50% of studies exclusively targeted 3CLpro of SARS-CoV-2, and only two studies targeted ACE/TMPSS2 for inhibiting host viral interactions. Around 16% of the identified drugs are in different phases of clinical evaluation against COVID-19. AI has emerged as a promising solution of COVID-19 therapeutics. During this current pandemic, many of the researchers have used AI-based strategies to process large databases in a more customized manner leading to the faster identification of several potential targets, novel/repurposing of drugs and vaccine candidates.