Does Smell Loss Influence Cognition?

Cognition is essential for regulating day-to-day living. People rely on their cognitions to acquire, process and understand information. Cognition involves both conscious and unconscious thinking. It comprises a series of mental activities, including memory, learning, attention, reasoning, language, judging, and decision making. As the aging population continues to grow, more older adults are at risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Therefore, it is essential to identify potentially easy and cost-effective ways to detect early signs of cognitive decline. There is a growing body of literature showing a potential relationship between smell loss and cognitive impairment. Several short odor identification assessments explored in research settings show good validity and reliability in measuring olfactory functioning in elderly populations. The purpose of the current study is to review the current literature examining the relationship between olfactory dysfunction and the risk of cognitive decline among older adults. The present literature review will help guide a future population-based longitudinal study on a similar research topic currently under planning. Knowledge about how olfactory impairment might impact cognition may help healthcare professionals detect early signs of cognitive decline and develop individualized interventions

Antibody-Drug Gold Nanoantennas with Raman Spectroscopic Fingerprints for in Vivo Tumour Theranostics

Inspired by the ability of SERS nanoantennas to provide an integrated platform to enhance disease targeting in vivo, we developed a highly sensitive probe for in vivo tumoral recognition with the capacity to target specific cancer biomarkers such as epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) on human cancer cells and xenograft tumour models. Here, we used ~90 nm gold nanoparticles capped by a Raman reporter, encapsulated and entrapped by larger polymers and a FDA antibody-drug conjugate –Cetuximab (Erbitux®) – that specifically targets EGFR and turns off a main signalling cascade for cancer cells to proliferate and survive. These drug/SERS gold nanoantennas present a high Raman signal both in cancer cells and in mice bearing xenograft tumours. Moreover, the Raman detection signal is accomplished simultaneously by extensive tumour growth inhibition in mice, making these gold nanoantennas ideal for cancer nanotheranostics, i.e. tumour detection and tumoral cell inhibition at the same time

Which factors affect the live birth outcome of the first single euploid frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer in couples with balanced chromosomal translocations?

ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to investigate the factors that influence the live birth rate (LBR) of the first single euploid frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer (FBT) cycles after preimplantation genetic testing for structural rearrangements (PGT-SR) in couples with balanced chromosomal translocations (BCT).DesignSingle center, retrospective and observational study.MethodsA total of 336 PGT-SR and the first single euploid FBT cycles between July 2016 and December 2022 were included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups according to the live birth outcomes. The parameters of the study population, controlled ovarian stimulation cycles, and FBT cycles were analyzed. Multivariable binary logistic regression was performed to find the factors that affected the LBR.ResultsThe percentage of blastocysts at developmental stage Day 5 compared to Day 6 (51.8% vs. 30.8%; P<0.001) and with morphology ≥BB compared to <BB (49.7% vs. 32.2%; P=0.001) was significantly different between the group that resulted in live births (n=193) and the group that did not (n=143). The results of the multivariable binary logistic regression analysis indicated that the developmental stage (adjusted OR: 2.068, 95%CI 1.291-3.313; P=0.003) and morphology (adjusted OR: 1.697, 95%CI 1.039-2.773; P=0.035) of the blastocyst were significantly correlated with live birth. Patients with blastocysts that reached the developmental stage at Day 5 and had a morphology of ≥BB had a higher likelihood of having a live birth.ConclusionThe developmental stage and morphology of blastocyst affect the live birth outcome of the first single euploid FBT in BCT carriers undergoing PGT-SR

One Step Quick Detection of Cancer Cell Surface Marker by Integrated NiFe-based Magnetic Biosensing Cell Cultural Chip

RGD peptides has been used to detect cell surface integrin and direct clinical effective therapeutic drug selection. Herein we report that a quick one step detection of cell surface marker that was realized by a specially designed NiFe-based magnetic biosensing cell chip combined with functionalized magnetic nanoparticles. Magnetic nanoparticles with 20-30 nm in diameter were prepared by coprecipitation and modified with RGD-4C, and the resultant RGD-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles were used for targeting cancer cells cultured on the NiFe-based magnetic biosensing chip and distinguish the amount of cell surface receptor-integrin. Cell lines such as Calu3, Hela, A549, CaFbr, HEK293 and HUVEC exhibiting different integrin expression were chosen as test samples. Calu3, Hela, HEK293 and HUVEC cells were successfully identified. This approach has advantages in the qualitative screening test. Compared with traditional method, it is fast, sensitive, low cost, easy-operative, and needs very little human intervention. The novel method has great potential in applications such as fast clinical cell surface marker detection, and diagnosis of early cancer, and can be easily extended to other biomedical applications based on molecular recognition

Different Bacterial Communities Involved in Peptide Decomposition between Normoxic and Hypoxic Coastal Waters

RGD peptides has been used to detect cell surface integrin and direct clinical effective therapeutic drug selection. Herein we report that a quick one step detection of cell surface marker that was realized by a specially designed NiFe-based magnetic biosensing cell chip combined with functionalized magnetic nanoparti- cles. Magnetic nanoparticles with 20-30 nm in diameter were prepared by coprecipitation and modified with RGD-4C, and the resultant RGD-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles were used for targeting cancer cells cul- tured on the NiFe-based magnetic biosensing chip and distinguish the amount of cell surface receptor-integrin. Cell lines such as Calu3, Hela, A549, CaFbr, HEK293 and HUVEC exhibiting different integrin expression were chosen as test samples. Calu3, Hela, HEK293 and HUVEC cells were successfully identified. This approach has advantages in the qualitative screening test. Compared with traditional method, it is fast, sensitive, low cost, easy-operative, and needs very little human intervention. The novel method has great potential in applications such as fast clinical cell surface marker detection, and diagnosis of early cancer, and can be easily extended to other biomedical applications based on molecular recognition

A Quick and Parallel Analytical Method Based on Quantum Dots Labeling for ToRCH-Related Antibodies

Quantum dot is a special kind of nanomaterial composed of periodic groups of II–VI, III–V or IV–VI materials. Their high quantum yield, broad absorption with narrow photoluminescence spectra and high resistance to photobleaching, make them become a promising labeling substance in biological analysis. Here, we report a quick and parallel analytical method based on quantum dots for ToRCH-related antibodies including Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella virus, Cytomegalovirus and Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) and 2 (HSV2). Firstly, we fabricated the microarrays with the five kinds of ToRCH-related antigens and used CdTe quantum dots to label secondary antibody and then analyzed 100 specimens of randomly selected clinical sera from obstetric outpatients. The currently prevalent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were considered as “golden standard” for comparison. The results show that the quantum dots labeling-based ToRCH microarrays have comparable sensitivity and specificity with ELISA. Besides, the microarrays hold distinct advantages over ELISA test format in detection time, cost, operation and signal stability. Validated by the clinical assay, our quantum dots-based ToRCH microarrays have great potential in the detection of ToRCH-related pathogens

Development of Polysorbate 80/Phospholipid mixed micellar formation for docetaxel and assessment of its in vivo distribution in animal models

Docetaxel (DTX) is a very important member of taxoid family. Despite several alternative delivery systems reported recently, DTX formulated by Polysorbate 80 and alcohol (Taxotere®) is still the most frequent administration in clinical practice. In this study, we incorporated DTX into Polysorbate 80/Phospholipid mixed micelles and compared its structural characteristics, pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and blood compatibility with its conventional counterparts. Results showed that the mixed micelles loaded DTX possessed a mean size of approximately 13 nm with narrow size distribution and a rod-like micelle shape. In the pharmacokinetics assessment, there was no significant difference between the two preparations (P > 0.05), which demonstrated that the DTX in the two preparations may share a similar pharmacokinetic process. However, the Polysorbate 80/Phospholipid mixed micelles can increase the drug residence amount of DTX in kidney, spleen, ovary and uterus, heart, and liver. The blood compatibility assessment study revealed that the mixed micelles were safe for intravenous injection. In conclusion, Polysorbate 80/Phospholipid mixed micelle is safe, can improve the tumor therapeutic effects of DTX in the chosen organs, and may be a potential alternative dosage form for clinical intravenous administration of DTX

RNAi-based Glyconanoparticles Trigger Apoptotic Pathways for In Vitro and In Vivo Enhanced Cancer-Cell Killing

biotechnology and material science due to their amazing physical, chemical and biological properties. Here, siRNA GlycoNPs (AuNP@PEG@Glucose@siRNA) in comparison to PEGylated GlycoNPs (AuNP@PEG@Glucose) were applied in vitro to a luciferase-CMT/167 adenocarcinoma cancer cell line and in vivo via intratracheal instillation directly into the lung of B6 albino mice grafted with luciferase-CMT/167 adenocarcinoma cells. siRNA GlycoNPs but not PEGylated GlycoNPs induced the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins such as Fas/CD95 and caspases 3 and 9 in CMT/167 adenocarcinoma cells in a dose dependent manner, independent from the inflammatory response, evaluated by bronchoalveolar lavage cell counting. Moreover, in vivo pulmonary delivered siRNA GlycoNPs were capable of targeting c-Myc gene expression (a crucial regulator of cell proliferation and apoptosis) via in vivo RNAi in tumour tissue, leading to a ~80% reduction in tumour size without inflammation associated