Modeling biochar-soil depth dependency on fecal coliform straining under subsurface drip irrigation

Funding Information: This work was supported by Shahrekord University, Iran. N. Sepehrnia is funded by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship, United Kingdom under the grant agreement No. 101026287. We acknowledge University of Aberdeen, UK for supporting this project.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Combination of Dental Capping Agents With LowLevel Laser Therapy Increases the Cell Viability Percent of Stem Cells From Apical Papilla (SCAPs)

Introduction: Stem cells from apical papillae (SCAPs) are adult stem cells capable of differentiating into multiple cell lineages. Dental pulp capping materials promote the differentiation of stem cells of the apical papilla (SCAPs). Higher proliferation and cell viability of stem cells have been reported upon exposure to low-level laser therapy (LLLT). However, there is limited evidence on the combinational effects of dental pulp capping materials and low-level laser radiation. In this study, the effects of dental dressing materials combined with laser on the SCAPs viability will assess. Methods: SCAPs isolation was performed from two immature third molar teeth through collagenase type I enzymatic activity. Isolated stem cells were then cultured with DMEM and α-MEM media enriched with 15% and 10% FBS, respectively. After reaching 70-80% confluency, cells were seeded in a 96-well plate. Cell viability percent was assessed using MTT assay after treatment by MTA, EMD, CEM, and LLLT alone and in combination for 24, 48, and 168 h. Results: A combination of MTA, CEM, EMD, and LLLT could result in significantly increased SCAPs viability as compared with other treatment groups. Increased levels of SCAPs proliferation and viability were observed in groups treated with the combination of MTA and CEM with EMD. SCAPs viability percent in all defined times was reduced with MTA and CEM treatment. Conclusion: LLLT is a stimulator of SCAPs cell viability percent and differentiation rate when applied with dental capping agents such as MTA, EMD, and CEM, which is a therapeutic option for stem cell-based therapy

MIBI Uptake in a Huge Breast Mass Obscuring the Anterior and Lateral Myocardial Walls in Perfusion Imaging

Background: Cardiac risk assessment with myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is a common practice for some elderly breast cancer patients who are candidates for operation. In rare cases the tumor may become visible in the images. Case presentation: This is the report of a case with a huge slow-growing breast tumor suspicious for malignancy and presenting with methoxy-isobutyl-isonitrile (MIBI) uptake in the tumor. The patient was referred to the nuclear medicine department for preoperative cardiac risk assessment with MPI. Conclusion: There was high uptake in the tumor was note worthy in two different aspects: 1)high MIBI uptake in the tumor is more suggestive of malignant rather than benign tumors and thus, underscores the importance of extra-cardiac uptake sites in pre-operation MPI; and 2)high uptake in the left breast tumor may obscure the MPI image and hinder proper interpretation

Testicular Tissue Vitrification: a Promising Strategy for Male Fertility Preservation

Destruction of spermatogonial stem cells in juvenile men survivors of pediatric cancers leads to infertility as a side effect of gonadotoxic therapies. Sperm freezing before cancer treatment is commonly used in the clinic for fertility preservation, but this method is not applicable for prepubertal boys due to the lack of mature sperm. In these cases, cryopreservation of testicular tissues is the only option for fertility preservation. Although controlled slow freezing (CSF) is the most common procedure for testicular tissue cryopreservation, vitrification can be used as an alternative method. Controlled vitrification has prevented cell damage and formation of ice crystals. Procedures were done easily and quickly with a brief exposure time to high concentration of cryoprotectants without expensive equipment. Different studies used vitrification of testicular tissues and they assessed the morphology of seminiferous tubules, apoptosis, and viability of spermatogonial cells. Transplantation of vitrified testicular tissue into infertile recipient mice as well as in vitro culture of vitrified tissues was done in previous studies and their findings showed complete spermatogenesis and production of mature sperm. Review articles usually have compared controlled slow freezing with vitrification. In this review, we focused only on the vitrification method and its results. Despite promising results, many studies have been done for finding an optimal cryopreservation protocol in order to successfully preserve fertility in prepubertal boys

50 Therapeutic opportunities in the master transcription factor circuitries of clear cell carcinomas

Objectives: Transcription factors are emerging as targets for novel therapeutics for the treatment of malignancies. We sought to evaluate functions of PAX8 and HNF1B in both clear cell ovarian cancer (CCOC) and clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) to ask whether these factors control tissue-specific or shared molecular functions and to assess their candidacy for targeted therapy. Methods: We used two prototypic human cell lines for each cell type. We determined differential expression of PAX8 and HNF1B byquantification of protein in western blots. HNF1B and PAX8 expression was depleted using siRNA and the Incucyte® Live-Cell Analysis System to monitor continuous growth of cells grown as monolayers and as three-dimensional spheroids. RNA-sequencing and CUT&RUN was performed to determine the transcriptional targets and binding sites of these factors. Results: PAX8 was found to be more highly expressed in CCOC than ccRCC however there was no difference in expression of HNF1B. Knockdown of PAX8 caused decrease in expression of HNF1B in both cell lines but no change in expression of two other factors ETS2 and EPAS1. Knockdown of HNF1B did not affect expression of the other transcription factors tested. The knockdown of HNF1B and PAX8 caused a significant decrease in growth rate of both cell lines in monolayer culture and had heterogeneous effects on spheroid growth. Depletion of these factors resulted in varying degrees of global transcriptional repression or activation, with evidence of a hierarchy dominated by HNF1B and PAX8, and negative crosstalk between ETS2 and EPAS1. Key downstream pathways include immune signaling, PDGF signaling and autophagy. Conclusions: PAX8 is more highly expressed in CCOC than ccRCC. PAX8, HNF1B, ETS2 and EPAS1 exhibit a strong degree of connectedness, suggesting they form a core regulatory circuit in both CCOC and ccRCC. Critically PAX8 and HNF1B are required for normal cellular proliferation in both CCOC and ccRCC in both monolayer and spheroid culture. Ongoing integrated multi-omic analyses have identified the autophagy pathway as a novel therapeutic opportunity in PAX8 and HNF1B-driven clear cell tumors

Quantitative Assessment of Resting-State Functional Connectivity MRI to Differentiate Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment, Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease From Normal Subjects

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer disease (AD) is a neurological disorder with brain network dysfunction. Investigation of the brain network functional connectivity (FC) alterations using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) can provide valuable information about the brain network pattern in early AD diagnosis. PURPOSE: To quantitatively assess FC patterns of resting-state brain networks and graph theory metrics (GTMs) to identify potential features for differentiation of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and late-onset AD from normal. STUDY TYPE: Prospective. SUBJECTS: A total of 14 normal, 16 aMCI, and 13 late-onset AD. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: A 3.0 T; rs-fMRI: single-shot 2D-EPI and T1-weighted structure: MPRAGE. ASSESSMENT: By applying bivariate correlation coefficient and Fisher transformation on the time series of predefined ROIs' pairs, correlation coefficient matrixes and ROI-to-ROI connectivity (RRC) were extracted. By thresholding the RRC matrix (with a threshold of 0.15), a graph adjacency matrix was created to compute GTMs. STATISTICAL TESTS: Region of interest (ROI)-based analysis: parametric multivariable statistical analysis (PMSA) with a false discovery rate using (FDR)-corrected P  24.05) and clustering-coefficient (25 > 20.18) were found in aMCI compared to normal. DATA CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated resting-state FC potential as an indicator to differentiate AD, aMCI, and normal. GTA revealed brain integration and breakdown by providing concise and comprehensible statistics. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 1. TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2

Predicting the Social-Emotional Competence Based on Childhood Trauma, Internalized Shame, Disability/Shame Scheme, Cognitive Flexibility, Distress Tolerance and Alexithymia in an Iranian Sample Using Bayesian Regression.

The purpose of this study was to predict Social Emotional Competence based on childhood trauma, internalized shame, disability/shame scheme, cognitive flexibility, distress tolerance, and alexithymia in an Iranian sample using Bayesian regression. The participants in this research were a sample of 326 (85.3% female and 14.7% male) people living in Tehran in 2021 who were selected by convenience sampling through online platforms. The survey assessments included demographic characteristics (age and gender), presence of childhood trauma, social-emotional competence, internalized shame, the Toronto Alexithymia scales, Young's measure of disability/shame together with measures of cognitive flexibility and distress tolerance. The results from Bayesian regression and Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) indicated that internalized shame, cognitive flexibility and distress tolerance can be predictive of Social Emotional Competence. These results suggested that Social Emotional Competence can be explained by some important personality factors

Single-cell transcriptomics identifies gene expression networks driving differentiation and tumorigenesis in the human fallopian tube

The human fallopian tube harbors the cell of origin for the majority of high-grade serous "ovarian" cancers (HGSCs), but its cellular composition, particularly the epithelial component, is poorly characterized. We perform single-cell transcriptomic profiling of around 53,000 individual cells from 12 primary fallopian specimens to map their major cell types. We identify 10 epithelial subpopulations with diverse transcriptional programs. Based on transcriptional signatures, we reconstruct a trajectory whereby secretory cells differentiate into ciliated cells via a RUNX3high intermediate. Computational deconvolution of advanced HGSCs identifies the "early secretory" population as a likely precursor state for the majority of HGSCs. Its signature comprises both epithelial and mesenchymal features and is enriched in mesenchymal-type HGSCs (p = 6.7 × 10-27), a group known to have particularly poor prognoses. This cellular and molecular compendium of the human fallopian tube in cancer-free women is expected to advance our understanding of the earliest stages of fallopian epithelial neoplasia

Expression of the BAD pathway is a marker of triple-negative status and poor outcome

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has few therapeutic targets, making nonspecific chemotherapy the main treatment. Therapies enhancing cancer cell sensitivity to cytotoxic agents could significantly improve patient outcomes. A BCL2-associated agonist of cell death (BAD) pathway gene expression signature (BPGES) was derived using principal component analysis (PCA) and evaluated for associations with the TNBC phenotype and clinical outcomes. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the relative expression levels of phospho-BAD isoforms in tumour samples. Cell survival assays evaluated the effects of BAD pathway inhibition on chemo-sensitivity. BPGES score was associated with TNBC status and overall survival (OS) in breast cancer samples of the Moffitt Total Cancer Care dataset and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). TNBC tumours were enriched for the expression of phospho-BAD isoforms. Further, the BPGES was associated with TNBC status in breast cancer cell lines of the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE). Targeted inhibition of kinases known to phosphorylate BAD protein resulted in increased sensitivity to platinum agents in TNBC cell lines compared to non-TNBC cell lines. The BAD pathway is associated with triple-negative status and OS. TNBC tumours were enriched for the expression of phosphorylated BAD protein compared to non-TNBC tumours. These findings suggest that the BAD pathway it is an important determinant of TNBC clinical outcomes.National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of HealthUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Cancer Institute (NCI) [1R21 CA-181617-01]; Total Cancer Care Initiative; Collaborative Data Services Core at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center [P30-CA076292]; DeBartolo Family; Tissue Core at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center [P30-CA076292]; Cancer Informatics Core at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center [P30-CA076292]; Analytic Microscopy Core at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center [P30-CA076292]Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]