Toll-like receptor activation by helminths or helminth products to alleviate inflammatory bowel disease

Helminth infection may modulate the expression of Toll like receptors (TLR) in dendritic cells (DCs) and modify the responsiveness of DCs to TLR ligands. This may regulate aberrant intestinal inflammation in humans with helminthes and may thus help alleviate inflammation associated with human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Epidemiological and experimental data provide further evidence that reducing helminth infections increases the incidence rate of such autoimmune diseases. Fine control of inflammation in the TLR pathway is highly desirable for effective host defense. Thus, the use of antagonists of TLR-signaling and agonists of their negative regulators from helminths or helminth products should be considered for the treatment of IBD

Fiber‐specific regulation of lignin biosynthesis improves biomass quality in Populus

Lignin is a major component of cell wall biomass and decisively affects biomass utilisation. Engineering of lignin biosynthesis is extensively studied, while lignin modification often causes growth defects. We developed a strategy for cell‐type‐specific modification of lignin to achieve improvements in cell wall property without growth penalty. We targeted a lignin‐related transcription factor, LTF1, for modification of lignin biosynthesis. LTF1 can be engineered to a nonphosphorylation form which is introduced into Populus under the control of either a vessel‐specific or fibre‐specific promoter. The transgenics with lignin suppression in vessels showed severe dwarfism and thin‐walled vessels, while the transgenics with lignin suppression in fibres displayed vigorous growth with normal vessels under phytotron, glasshouse and field conditions. In‐depth lignin structural analyses revealed that such cell‐type‐specific downregulation of lignin biosynthesis led to the alteration of overall lignin composition in xylem tissues reflecting the population of distinctive lignin polymers produced in vessel and fibre cells. This study demonstrates that fibre‐specific suppression of lignin biosynthesis resulted in the improvement of wood biomass quality and saccharification efficiency and presents an effective strategy to precisely regulate lignin biosynthesis with desired growth performance

Prediction and Identification of Potential Immunodominant Epitopes in Glycoproteins B, C, E, G, and I of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2

Twenty B candidate epitopes of glycoproteins B (gB2), C (gC2), E (gE2), G (gG2), and I (gI2) of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) were predicted using DNAstar, Biosun, and Antheprot methods combined with the polynomial method. Subsequently, the biological functions of the peptides were tested via experiments in vitro. Among the 20 epitope peptides, 17 could react with the antisera to the corresponding parent proteins in the EIA tests. In particular, five peptides, namely, gB2466–473 (EQDRKPRN), gC2216–223 (GRTDRPSA), gE2483–491 (DPPERPDSP), gG2572–579 (EPPDDDDS), and gI2286-295 (CRRRYRRPRG) had strong reaction with the antisera. All conjugates of the five peptides with the carrier protein BSA could stimulate mice into producing antibodies. The antisera to these peptides reacted strongly with the corresponding parent glycoproteins during the Western Blot tests, and the peptides reacted strongly with the antibodies against the parent glycoproteins during the EIA tests. The antisera against the five peptides could neutralize HSV-2 infection in vitro, which has not been reported until now. These results suggest that the immunodominant epitopes screened using software algorithms may be used for virus diagnosis and vaccine design against HSV-2

Safety and effectiveness of indocyanine green fluorescence imaging-guided laparoscopic hepatectomy for hepatic tumor: a systematic review and meta-analysis

IntroductionPrevious clinical investigations have reported inconsistent findings regarding the feasibility of utilizing indocyanine green fluorescence imaging (ICGFI) in laparoscopic liver tumor removal. This meta-analysis aims to comprehensively evaluate the safety and effectiveness of ICGFI in laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH).MethodsA systematic search of pertinent clinical studies published before January 30th, 2023 was conducted in databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science. The search strategy encompassed key terms such as “indocyanine green fluorescence,” “ICG fluorescence,” “laparoscopic hepatectomy,” “hepatectomies,” “liver Neoplasms,” “hepatic cancer,” and “liver tumor.” Additionally, we scrutinized the reference lists of included articles to identify supplementary studies. we assessed the quality of the incorporated studies and extracted clinical data. Meta-analysis was performed using STATA v.17.0 software. Either a fixed-effects or a random-effects model was employed to compute combined effect sizes, accompanied by 95% confidence intervals (CIs), based on varying levels of heterogeneity.ResultsThis meta-analysis encompassed eleven retrospective cohort studies, involving 959 patients in total. Our findings revealed that, in comparison to conventional laparoscopic hepatectomy, patients receiving ICGFI-guided LH exhibited a higher R0 resection rate (OR: 3.96, 95% CI: 1.28, 12.25, I2 = 0.00%, P = 0.778) and a diminished incidence of intraoperative blood transfusion (OR: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.22, 0.81, I2 = 51.1%, P = 0.056). Additionally, they experienced shorter postoperative hospital stays (WMD: −1.07, 95% CI: −2.00, −0.14, I2 = 85.1%, P = 0.000). No statistically significant differences emerged between patients receiving ICGFI-guided LH vs. those undergoing conventional LH in terms of minimal margin width and postoperative complications.ConclusionICGFI-guided LH demonstrates marked superiority over conventional laparoscopic liver tumor resection in achieving R0 resection and reducing intraoperative blood transfusion rates. This technique appears to hold substantial promise. Nonetheless, further studies are needed to explore potential long-term benefits associated with patients undergoing ICGFI-guided LH.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD 42023398195

Enhancing Mentoring in Palliative Care: An Evidence Based Mentoring Framework

Background: Growing concerns over ethical issues in mentoring in medicine and surgery have hindered efforts to reinitiate mentoring for Palliative Care (PC) physicians following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. Ranging from the misappropriation of mentee’s work to bullying, ethical issues in mentoring are attributed to poor understanding and structuring of mentoring programs, underlining the need for a consistent approach to mentoring practices. Methods: Given diverse practices across different settings and the employ of various methodologies, a novel approach to narrative reviews (NR)s is proposed to summarize, interpret, and critique prevailing data on novice mentoring. To overcome prevailing concerns surrounding the reproducibility and transparency of narrative reviews, the Systematic Evidenced Based Approach (SEBA) adopts a structured approach to searching and summarizing the included articles and employed concurrent content and thematic analysis that was overseen by a team of experts. Results: A total of 18 915 abstracts were reviewed, 62 full text articles evaluated and 41 articles included. Ten themes/categories were ascertained identified including Nature; Stakeholders; Relationship; Approach; Environment; Benefits; Barriers; Assessments; Theories and Definitions. Conclusion: By compiling and scrutinizing prevailing practice it is possible to appreciate the notion of the mentoring ecosystem which sees each mentee, mentor, and host organization brings with them their own microenvironment that contains their respective goals, abilities, and contextual considerations. Built around competency based mentoring stages, it is possible to advance a flexible yet consistent novice mentoring framework. </jats:sec

CCR5 is a suppressor for cortical plasticity and hippocampal learning and memory

Although the role of CCR5 in immunity and in HIV infection has been studied widely, its role in neuronal plasticity, learning and memory is not understood. Here, we report that decreasing the function of CCR5 increases MAPK/CREB signaling, long-term potentiation (LTP), and hippocampus-dependent memory in mice, while neuronal CCR5 overexpression caused memory deficits. Decreasing CCR5 function in mouse barrel cortex also resulted in enhanced spike timing dependent plasticity and consequently, dramatically accelerated experience-dependent plasticity. These results suggest that CCR5 is a powerful suppressor for plasticity and memory, and CCR5 over-activation by viral proteins may contribute to HIV-associated cognitive deficits. Consistent with this hypothesis, the HIV V3 peptide caused LTP, signaling and memory deficits that were prevented by Ccr5 knockout or knockdown. Overall, our results demonstrate that CCR5 plays an important role in neuroplasticity, learning and memory, and indicate that CCR5 has a role in the cognitive deficits caused by HIV