Use of Korean dramas to facilitate precision mental health understanding and discussion for Asian Americans

Precision mental health holds great potential for revolutionizing care and reducing the burden of mental illness. All races and ethnicities such as Asian Americans, the fastest growing racial group in the United States (U.S.), need to be engaged in precision mental health research. Owing to its global popularity, Korean drama ('K-drama') television shows may be an effective educational tool to increase precision mental health knowledge, attitudes and behaviors among Asian Americans. This qualitative study examined the participants' perspectives about and acceptance of using K-dramas to educate and engage Asian Americans about precision mental health. Twelve workshops were conducted in English, Vietnamese and Korean with a convenience sample in the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. (n = 122). Discussions were coded for themes. Findings revealed that all language groups reported positive reactions to using K-dramas to learn about precision health, genetics and mental health. Overall, participants shared that they learned about topics that are not generally talked about (e.g. precision health; genetic testing; mental health), from other people's perspectives, and the importance of mental health. Participants expressed how much they enjoyed the workshop, how they felt relieved due to the workshop, thought the workshop was interesting, and had an opportunity for self-reflection/healing. This pilot test demonstrated that K-dramas has promise to be used as a health educational tool in a workshop format focused on mental health among a diverse group of Asian Americans. Given the widespread access to K-dramas, they present a scalable opportunity for increasing awareness about specific health topics

Comparative study of the cellular uptake and intracellular behavior of a library of cyclic peptide–polymer nanotubes with different self-assembling properties

Particle shape has been described as a key factor in improving cell internalization and biodistribution among the different properties investigated for drug-delivery systems. In particular, tubular structures have been identified as promising candidates for improving drug delivery. Here, we investigate the influence of different design elements of cyclic peptide–polymer nanotubes (CPNTs) on cellular uptake including the nature and length of the polymer and the cyclic peptide building block. By varying the composition of these cyclic peptide–polymer conjugates, a library of CPNTs of lengths varying from a few to over a 150 nm were synthesized and characterized using scattering techniques (small-angle neutron scattering and static light scattering). In vitro studies with fluorescently labeled CPNTs have shown that nanotubes comprised of a single polymer arm with a size between 8 and 16 nm were the most efficiently taken up by three different mammalian cell lines. A mechanistic study on multicellular tumor spheroids has confirmed the ability of these compounds to penetrate to their core. Variations in the proportion of paracellular and transcellular uptake with the self-assembling potential of the CPNT were also observed, giving key insights about the behavior of CPNTs in cellular systems

Hierarchical self-assembled photo-responsive tubisomes from cyclic peptide-bridged amphiphilic block copolymer

Typically, the morphologies of the self-assembled nanostructures from block copolymers are limited to spherical micelles, wormlike micelles and vesicles. Herein, we report a new generation of materials with unique shape and structures, cylindrical soft matter particles (tubisomes), obtained from the hierarchical self-assembly of cyclic peptide-bridged amphiphilic diblock copolymers. Additionally, the capacity of obtained photo-responsive tubisomes as potential drug carriers is evaluated. The supramolecular tubisomes described here paves an alternative way for fabricating polymeric tubular structures, and will expand the toolbox for the rational design of functional hierarchical nanostructures

Recent experimental probes of shear banding

Recent experimental techniques used to investigate shear banding are reviewed. After recalling the rheological signature of shear-banded flows, we summarize the various tools for measuring locally the microstructure and the velocity field under shear. Local velocity measurements using dynamic light scattering and ultrasound are emphasized. A few results are extracted from current works to illustrate open questions and directions for future research.Comment: Review paper, 23 pages, 11 figures, 204 reference

RNA-binding activity of TRIM25 is mediated by its PRY/SPRY domain and is required for ubiquitination

Background TRIM25 is a novel RNA-binding protein and a member of the Tripartite Motif (TRIM) family of E3 ubiquitin ligases, which plays a pivotal role in the innate immune response. However, there is scarce knowledge about its RNA-related roles in cell biology. Furthermore, its RNA-binding domain has not been characterized. Results Here, we reveal that the RNA-binding activity of TRIM25 is mediated by its PRY/SPRY domain, which we postulate to be a novel RNA-binding domain. Using CLIP-seq and SILAC-based co-immunoprecipitation assays, we uncover TRIM25’s endogenous RNA targets and protein binding partners. We demonstrate that TRIM25 controls the levels of Zinc Finger Antiviral Protein (ZAP). Finally, we show that the RNA-binding activity of TRIM25 is important for its ubiquitin ligase activity towards itself (autoubiquitination) and its physiologically relevant target ZAP. Conclusions Our results suggest that many other proteins with the PRY/SPRY domain could have yet uncharacterized RNA-binding potential. Together, our data reveal new insights into the molecular roles and characteristics of RNA-binding E3 ubiquitin ligases and demonstrate that RNA could be an essential factor in their enzymatic activity