Mechanical Strength Comparison of Hydrated and Dehydrated Pteridium Stems

In this experiment, the mechanical strength of Pteridium stems was tested in two differing conditions: hydrated and dehydrated. It was hypothesized that there would be an increased performance of hydrated stems in the presence of mechanical stress. In order to test this hypothesis, twelve 20 cm pieces of stems were cut in alternation, separating those that would be dehydrated (6) with those that were hydrated (6). The dehydrated specimens were left to dry over a period of 24 hours. The diameters of each individual stem were measured to account for variation in size and remove excess variables. All twelve stems were placed into the Instron individually and their MOE and MOR were measured. Based on the raw data that was obtained from these tests and analysis of the data performed in the form of a paired t-test, it was concluded that there is not a significant difference between the two. Both the MOE’s and MOR’s of the hydrated and dehydrated stems resulted in p values that were more than the significant 0.05 level. Although the data was found not significantly different, it is an important discovery in the scientific community

Targeting small molecule drugs to T cells with antibody-directed cell-penetrating gold nanoparticles

We sought to develop a nanoparticle vehicle that could efficiently deliver small molecule drugs to target lymphocyte populations. The synthesized amphiphilic organic ligand-protected gold nanoparticles (amph-NPs) were capable of sequestering large payloads of small molecule drugs within hydrophobic pockets of their ligand shells. These particles exhibit membrane-penetrating activity in mammalian cells, and thus enhanced uptake of a small molecule TGF-β inhibitor in T cells in cell culture. By conjugating amph-NPs with targeting antibodies or camelid-derived nanobodies, the particles' cell-penetrating properties could be temporarily suppressed, allowing targeted uptake in specific lymphocyte subpopulations. Degradation of the protein targeting moieties following particle endocytosis allowed the NPs to recover their cell-penetrating activity in situ to enter the cytoplasm of T cells. In vivo, targeted amph-NPs showed 40-fold enhanced uptake in CD8+ T cells relative to untargeted particles, and delivery of TGF-β inhibitor-loaded particles to T cells enhanced their cytokine polyfunctionality in a cancer vaccine model. Thus, this system provides a facile approach to concentrate small molecule compounds in target lymphocyte populations of interest for immunotherapy in cancer and other diseases.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (Contract W911NF-13-D-0001)Melanoma Research AllianceNational Cancer Institute (U.S.) (David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. (Support (Core) Grant P30-CA14051)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant CA174795)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant CA172164)Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (European Commission). FutureNanoNeeds Projec

Targeted gene sanger sequencing should remain the first-tier genetic test for children suspected to have the five common X-linked inborn errors of immunity

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.To address inborn errors of immunity (IEI) which were underdiagnosed in resource-limited regions, our centre developed and offered free genetic testing for the most common IEI by Sanger sequencing (SS) since 2001. With the establishment of The Asian Primary Immunodeficiency (APID) Network in 2009, the awareness and definitive diagnosis of IEI were further improved with collaboration among centres caring for IEI patients from East and Southeast Asia. We also started to use whole exome sequencing (WES) for undiagnosed cases and further extended our collaboration with centres from South Asia and Africa. With the increased use of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), we have shifted our diagnostic practice from SS to WES. However, SS was still one of the key diagnostic tools for IEI for the past two decades. Our centre has performed 2,024 IEI SS genetic tests, with in-house protocol designed specifically for 84 genes, in 1,376 patients with 744 identified to have disease-causing mutations (54.1%). The high diagnostic rate after just one round of targeted gene SS for each of the 5 common IEI (X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) 77.4%, Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome (WAS) 69.2%, X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (XCGD) 59.5%, X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (XSCID) 51.1%, and X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome (HIGM1) 58.1%) demonstrated targeted gene SS should remain the first-tier genetic test for the 5 common X-linked IEI.The Hong Kong Society for Relief of Disabled Children and Jeffrey Modell Foundation.http://www.frontiersin.org/Immunologyam2023Paediatrics and Child Healt

Raman laser damage threshold of rat pial cortex

INTRODUCTION: Raman spectroscopy utilizes a label-free modality of optical imaging that measures scattered photon shifts to give a unique biochemical signature. Its diagnostic capabilities are currently being explored including its applications to intraoperatively identify tissue and oncologic surgical margins. The goal of the present safety study was to assess the threshold at which a 785nM raman laser damages rat pial cortex. METHODS: Sprague Dawley Rats underwent a craniotomy/durotomy and were randomly assigned to either a sham surgery or exposed to a 785nM raman laser. Initial experiments at 100mW failed to show any damage, and the laser was maximally increased to 180mW and exposure time increased to 10 minutes. Animals were then sacrificed immediately, 3 days and 7 days postoperatively and brains processed for pathologic analysis by 2 neuropathologists using H&E, NFAP, GFAP and Luxol fast blue staining. RESULTS: Two neuropathologists examined all slides and did not detect any changes on sham or exposed brains, thus the laser power was increased to 180mW and exposure time to 10 minutes. Even at the increased power and exposure time, there were no observed differences. CONCLUSION: A 785nM 180mW raman laser does not cause thermal damage to the rat pial cortical surface even with 10 minutes of exposure time. Current diagnostic lasers utilize much lower powers and exposure times. Since the absorption of cerebral components is similar in rat and human tissue, these diagnostic tools are likely safe to use intraoperatively. Further studies are needed at higher laser powers, increasing survival times and human tissue to observe delayed changes that may be detected by stains such as NFAP, GFAP and luxol blue