Oncologic impact of delay between diagnosis and radical nephroureterectomy

PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate the oncological outcome of delayed surgical wait time from the diagnosis of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) to radical nephroureterectomy (RNU).MethodsIn this multicenter retrospective study, medical records were collected between 1988 and 2021 from 18 participating Taiwanese hospitals under the Taiwan UTUC Collaboration Group. Patients were dichotomized into the early (≤90 days) and late (>90 days) surgical wait-time groups. Overall survival, disease-free survival, and bladder recurrence-free survival were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Multivariate analysis was performed using stepwise linear regression.ResultsOf the 1251 patients, 1181 (94.4%) were classifed into the early surgical wait-time group and 70 (5.6%) into the late surgical wait-time group. The median surgical wait time was 21 days, and the median follow-up was 59.5 months. Our study showed delay-time more than 90 days appeared to be associated with worse overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] 1.974, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.166−3.343, p = 0.011), and disease-free survival (HR 1.997, 95% CI 1.137−3.507, p = 0.016). This remained as an independent prognostic factor after other confounding factors were adjusted. Age, ECOG performance status, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), surgical margin, tumor location and adjuvant systemic therapy were independent prognostic factors for overall survival. Tumor location and adjuvant systemic therapy were also independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival.ConclusionsFor patients with UTUC undergoing RNU, the surgical wait time should be minimized to less than 90 days. Prolonged delay times may be associated with poor overall and disease-free survival

Characterization of Juice Extracted from Ultrasonic-Treated Red Pitaya Flesh

Red pitaya is a tropical fruit rich in phytonutrients essential for human health. The fruit is savored either through its processed products or raw consumption. This study aimed to assess the physicochemical properties of red pitaya juice extracted from ultrasonic-pretreated flesh. The red pitaya flesh was cut into cubes and subjected to different durations (20, 40, and 60 min) of ultrasonic treatment. The total soluble solids, pH, and titratable acidity of the juice were unaffected by pretreatment durations. Compared with the non-ultrasonic pretreated sample, the levels of organic acids, phenolics, and anthocyanins in red pitaya juice increased (p < 0.05) following 60 min of ultrasonic pretreatment. The duration of sonication pretreatment influenced the antioxidant activity of red pitaya juice. This pilot study shows that pretreatment of the red pitaya flesh using ultrasound enhances the quality of its juice

Kitty

Life and death weigh heavily on the shoulders of veterinarian Kitty Huang, who runs Furiends Veterinary Clinic. Heading home, she returns to two young children, three dogs and thirty cats – many of which are community strays inherited from her late mother. With most of her life devoted to serving animals, the lines between Kitty’s professional duties as a vet and personal duties as a mother have become blurred. When she opened her clinic, Furiends, three years ago, Xiao Xiao – a rescued stray cat diagnosed with the feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) and the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) – became her clinic’s faithful resident and an affectionate companion. But as the curtains close in on this cat, what does this mean for Dr Kitty Huang?Bachelor of Communication Studie

Stealth coating of nanoparticles in drug-delivery systems

Nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as a powerful drug-delivery tool for cancer therapies to enhance the specificity of drug actions, while reducing the systemic side effects. Nonetheless, NPs interact massively with the surrounding physiological environments including plasma proteins upon administration into the bloodstream. Consequently, they are rapidly cleared from the blood circulation by the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) or complement system, resulting in a premature elimination that will cause the drug release at off-target sites. By grafting a stealth coating layer onto the surface of NPs, the blood circulation half-life of nanomaterials can be improved by escaping the recognition and clearance of the immune system. This review focuses on the basic concept underlying the stealth behavior of NPs by polymer coating, whereby the fundamental surface coating characteristics such as molecular weight, surface chain density as well as conformations of polymer chains are of utmost importance for efficient protection of NPs. In addition, the most commonly used stealth polymers such as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(2-oxazoline) (POx), and poly(zwitterions) in developing long-circulating NPs for drug delivery are also thoroughly discussed. The biomimetic strategies, including the cell-membrane camouflaging technique and CD47 functionalization for the development of stealth nano-delivery systems, are highlighted in this review as well

Usefulness of Inter-IS1 Spacer Polymorphisms for Subtyping of Shigella sonnei Isolates

Shigella sonnei contains numerous IS1 elements. The existence of polymorphisms in the length of the inter-IS1 spacer is a basis for the development of a PCR-based method for the subtyping of S. sonnei strains. The usefulness of inter-IS1 spacer typing (IST) was evaluated and compared with that of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) by characterization of S. sonnei isolates from epidemiologically nonrelated cases and outbreaks and of isolates that were indistinguishable by PFGE and that were collected from independent infection events. IST was less discriminatory than PFGE, with discriminatory indices of 0.96 and 0.63, respectively, but was able to compensate for the drawbacks of PFGE. PFGE exhibited a high level of discriminatory power for S. sonnei isolates; however, PFGE was also, at times, too discriminatory, which was a disadvantage in constructing the clonal relationships among strains circulating over a period of months or years. Furthermore, IST provided greater subtyping information for isolates indistinguishable by PFGE. The present study indicates that IST is more useful than PFGE for investigating the genetic relationships among S. sonnei strains circulating over a longer time span and also for discriminating certain strains which are indistinguishable by PFGE

Sleep complaints and memory in psychotropic drug-free euthymic patients with bipolar disorder

Few studies have been conducted examining the genuine sleep condition and memory in patients with euthymic bipolar disorder. Thus we evaluated sleep complaints and memory functions in psychotropic drug-free euthymic patients with bipolar disorder. Methods: Twenty-two psychotropic drug-free euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and 44 healthy controls matched by age and sex were recruited and assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Wechsler Memory Scale–Revised (WMS-R). Results: The quality of sleep and memory function of the euthymic patients with bipolar disorder were significantly poorer than those of the controls. Both years of education and the hypnotic use sub-item of the PSQI were significantly correlated with visual memory index of the WMS-R. Conclusion: Sleep complaints management is important in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder

Mechanical strain modulates age-related changes in the proliferation and differentiation of mouse adipose-derived stromal cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies on the effects of aging in human and mouse mesenchymal stem cells suggest that a decline in the number and differentiation potential of stem cells may contribute to aging and aging-related diseases. In this report, we used stromal cells isolated from adipose tissue (ADSCs) of young (8-10 weeks), adult (5 months), and old (21 months) mice to test the hypothesis that mechanical loading modifies aging-related changes in the self-renewal and osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation potential of these cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show that aging significantly reduced the proliferation and increased the adipogenesis of ADSCs, while the osteogenic potential is not significantly reduced by aging. Mechanical loading (10% cyclic stretching, 0.5 Hz, 48 h) increased the subsequent proliferation of ADSCs from mice of all ages. Although the number of osteogenic colonies with calcium deposition was increased in ADSCs subjected to pre-strain, it resulted from an increase in colony number rather than from an increase in osteogenic potential after strain. Pre-strain significantly reduced the number of oil droplets and the expression of adipogenic marker genes in adult and old ADSCs. Simultaneously subjecting ADSCs to mechanical loading and adipogenic induction resulted in a stronger inhibition of adipogenesis than that caused by pre-strain. The reduction of adipogenesis by mechanical strain was loading-magnitude dependent: loading with 2% strain only resulted in a partial inhibition, and loading with 0.5% strain could not inhibit adipogenesis in ADSCs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We demonstrate that mechanical stretching counteracts the loss of self-renewal in aging ADSCs by enhancing their proliferation and, at the same time, reduces the heightened adipogenesis of old cells. These findings are important for the further study of stem cell control and treatment for a variety of aging related diseases.</p

Shielding of hepatitis B virus-like nanoparticle with poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)

Virus-like nanoparticles (VLNPs) have been studied extensively as nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery to cancer cells. However, VLNPs have intrinsic drawbacks, in particular, potential antigenicity and immunogenicity, which hamper their clinical applications. Thus, they can be eliminated easily and rapidly by host immune systems, rendering these nanoparticles ineffective for drug delivery. The aim of this study was to reduce the antigenicity of hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) VLNPs by shielding them with a hydrophilic polymer, poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx). In the present study, an amine-functionalized PEtOx (PEtOx-NH2) was synthesized using the living cationic ring-opening polymerization (CROP) technique and covalently conjugated to HBcAg VLNPs via carboxyl groups. The PEtOx-conjugated HBcAg (PEtOx-HBcAg) VLNPs were characterized with dynamic light scattering and UV-visible spectroscopy. The colloidal stability study indicated that both HBcAg and PEtOx-HBcAg VLNPs maintained their particle size in Tris-buffered saline (TBS) at human body temperature (37 °C) for at least five days. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) demonstrated that the antigenicity of PEtOx-HBcAg VLNPs reduced significantly as compared with unconjugated HBcAg VLNPs. This novel conjugation approach provides a general platform for resolving the antigenicity of VLNPs, enabling them to be developed into a variety of nanovehicles for targeted drug delivery