Notes

Mid-infrared multispectral confocal microscopic lense employing off-axis parabolic and decorative mirrors to review epiretinal filters.
Body composition parameters (BCp) have been associated with outcome in different tumor types. However, their prognostic value in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (BC) receiving first line treatment with dual anti-HER2 antibody blockade is unknown. see more Preclinical evidences suggest that adipocytes adjacent to BC cells can influence response to anti-HER2 treatments. We retrospectively analyzed Computed Tomography (CT)-based BCp from 43 patients with HER2-positive metastatic BC who received first line pertuzumab/trastuzumab-based treatment between May 2009 and March 2020. The impact of baseline CT-based BCp on progression-free survival (PFS) was tested using Kaplan-Meier estimates and univariate and multivariate Cox regression models. We found a significantly worse PFS for patients with high baseline subcutaneous fat index (median 7.9 vs 16.1 months, p = 0.047, HR = 2.04, 95%CI 1-4.17) and for those with high total abdominal fat index (8.1 vs 18.8 months, p = 0.030, HR = 2.17, 95%CI 1.06-4.46). Patients with baseline sarcopenia did not show shorter PFS compared to those without sarcopenia (10.4 vs 9.2 months, p = 0.960, HR = 0.98, 95%CI 0.47-2.03). Total abdominal fat index remained a significant predictor of PFS at multivariate analysis. Our findings suggest that a high quantity of total abdominal fat tissue is a poor prognostic factor in patients receiving trastuzumab/pertuzumab-based first-line treatment for HER2-positive metastatic BC.Glaesserella parasuis is the etiological agent of Glässer's disease, a common pathology in the pork industry with higher prevalence in the postweaning period. Vaccination is one of the strategies to control this disease. Here, we investigated the effect that sow vaccination against virulent strains of G. parasuis had in the nasal microbiota of their offspring. Nasal swabs from fifteen days-old piglets from vaccinated (vs-P, n = 11) and unvaccinated sows (cs-P, n = 11) were obtained and DNA was extracted for 16S amplicon sequencing. Microbiota composition was different, with lower diversity in vs-P, and a strong clustering of the groups in beta diversity analysis. Among the 1509 sequences associated to either study group, all the sequences classified as G. parasuis (10 ASVs) had lower relative abundance in the vs-P group. A list of 32 inferred metabolic pathways were statistically different between groups. A distinctive structure of the two microbial networks was detected, with modules in the cs-P not conserved in the vs-P network. In conclusion, vaccination of the sows had a large effect in the microbiota composition of their offspring that went beyond the effect on the targeted pathogen. The mechanisms underneath these changes may include alteration of the microbiota network due to the elimination of the targeted pathogen and/or immunological changes.Radiological incidents or terrorist attacks would likely expose civilians and military personnel to high doses of ionizing radiation, leading to the development of acute radiation syndrome. We examined the effectiveness of prophylactic administration of a developmental radiation countermeasure, γ-tocotrienol (GT3), in a total-body irradiation (TBI) mouse model. CD2F1 mice received GT3 24 h prior to 11 Gy cobalt-60 gamma-irradiation. This dose of radiation induces severe hematopoietic acute radiation syndrome and moderate gastrointestinal injury. GT3 provided 100% protection, while the vehicle control group had 100% mortality. Two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis was followed by mass spectrometry and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Analysis revealed a change in expression of 18 proteins in response to TBI, and these changes were reversed with prophylactic treatment of GT3. IPA revealed a network of associated proteins involved in cellular movement, immune cell trafficking, and inflammatory response. Of particular interest, significant expression changes in beta-2-glycoprotein 1, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein 1, alpha-2-macroglobulin, complement C3, mannose-binding protein C, and major urinary protein 6 were noted after TBI and reversed with GT3 treatment. This study reports the untargeted approach, the network, and specific serum proteins which could be translated as biomarkers of both radiation injury and protection by countermeasures.Deregulated energy homeostasis represents a hallmark of aging and results from complex gene-by-environment interactions. Here, we discovered that reducing the expression of the gene ech-6 encoding enoyl-CoA hydratase remitted fat diet-induced deleterious effects on lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans, while a basal expression of ech-6 was important for survival under normal dietary conditions. Lipidomics revealed that supplementation of fat in ech-6-silenced worms had marginal effects on lipid profiles, suggesting an alternative fat utilization for energy production. Transcriptomics further suggest a causal relation between the lysosomal pathway, energy production, and the longevity effect conferred by the interaction between ech-6 and fat diets. Indeed, enhancing energy production from endogenous fat by overexpressing lysosomal lipase lipl-4 recapitulated the lifespan effects of fat diets on ech-6-silenced worms. Collectively, these results suggest that the gene ech-6 is potential modulator of metabolic flexibility and may be a target for promoting metabolic health and longevity.Several studies suggest the involvement of dietary habits and gut microbiome in allergic diseases. However, little is known about the nutritional and gut microbial factors associated with the risk of allergic rhinitis (AR). We recruited 186 participants with symptoms of AR and 106 control subjects without symptoms of AR at the Hitachi Health Care Center, Japan. The habitual consumption of 42 selected nutrients were examined using the brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire. Faecal samples were collected and subjected to amplicon sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene hypervariable regions. Association analysis revealed that four nutrients (retinol, vitamin A, cryptoxanthin, and copper) were negatively associated with AR. Among 40 genera examined, relative abundance of Prevotella and Escherichia were associated with AR. Furthermore, significant statistical interactions were observed between retinol and Prevotella. The age- and sex-adjusted odds of AR were 25-fold lower in subjects with high retinol intake and high Prevotella abundance compared to subjects with low retinol intake and low Prevotella abundance. Our data provide insights into complex interplay between dietary nutrients, gut microbiome, and the development of AR.Gleason grading, a risk stratification method for prostate cancer, is subjective and dependent on experience and expertise of the reporting pathologist. Deep Learning (DL) systems have shown promise in enhancing the objectivity and efficiency of Gleason grading. However, DL networks exhibit domain shift and reduced performance on Whole Slide Images (WSI) from a source other than training data. We propose a DL approach for segmenting and grading epithelial tissue using a novel training methodology that learns domain agnostic features. In this retrospective study, we analyzed WSI from three cohorts of prostate cancer patients. 3741 core needle biopsies (CNBs) received from two centers were used for training. The κquad (quadratic-weighted kappa) and AUC were measured for grade group comparison and core-level detection accuracy, respectively. Accuracy of 89.4% and κquad of 0.92 on the internal test set of 425 CNB WSI and accuracy of 85.3% and κquad of 0.96 on an external set of 1201 images, was observed. The system showed an accuracy of 83.1% and κquad of 0.93 on 1303 WSI from the third institution (blind evaluation). Our DL system, used as an assistive tool for CNB review, can potentially improve the consistency and accuracy of grading, resulting in better patient outcomes.Teacher well-being is a prominent issue in policy and public debates. Those teachers working in private schools deserve concern given concerns about their working environment. Focus of this study to learn about the level and main characteristics of teacher well-being in private schools and to explore the impact of working environment on their well-being.
The data were collected via an online questionnaire among 1161 language teachers at 58 China's private colleges in 22 provinces, and were quantitatively analyzed with SPSS 23.0.

These teachers have an intermediate level of overall well-being. Performance evaluation, student academic foundation, and pressure of research work are the main negative impacting factors; while social support from leaders and colleagues, work autonomy, training and development opportunities, and appraisal feedback guide are key resources enhancing their well-being.

The impacting factors of working environment on teacher well-being in private schools are unique due to the special scenarios.

The results of this study may apply to similar private schools, suggesting pertinent stakeholders to take targeted measures, to guarantee enough economic input into running school, and to put democratic and professional leadership into practice for promoting teacher well-being in the private education sector.
The results of this study may apply to similar private schools, suggesting pertinent stakeholders to take targeted measures, to guarantee enough economic input into running school, and to put democratic and professional leadership into practice for promoting teacher well-being in the private education sector.To inhibit the agglomeration of nanotitanium dioxide, a poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) composite film doped with folic acid-modified titanium dioxide was synthesized and characterized using X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The average grain size of the folic acid-modified titanium dioxide was found to decrease by 1.3 nm, indicating that the cohesiveness of the nanoparticles is decreased. The lowest temperature for 1.0% thermal decomposition of PVC was determined to be 230.0 °C. The decomposition rate at the peak temperature is found to be 39.6% lower than that of a control sample. The stability of the PVC is improved due to a lower number of surface chlorine atoms as well intermolecular attraction. A mechanism for folic acid modification of titanium dioxide-doped PVC is proposed. After doping, the ester groups in the plasticizer show a significant decrease in the vibration peak intensities observed at 1264 cm-1, 1736 cm-1 and 1106 cm-1. The doped PVC film suppresses the release of CO2, and the strongest vibration peak at 1264 cm-1 is found to be 17.2% lower than that for the blank sample, indicating that doping is beneficial for plasticizer recovery.Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterised by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Although its aetiology remains unknown, environmental and genetic factors are involved in its development. Regarding genetics, more than 200 loci have been associated with IBD but the transferability of those signals to the Basque population living in Northern Spain, a population with distinctive genetic background, remains unknown. We have analysed 5,411,568 SNPs in 498 IBD cases and 935 controls from the Basque population. We found 33 suggestive loci (p  0.68. In conclusion, we report on the genetic architecture of IBD in the Basque population, and explore the performance of European-descent genetic risk scores in this population.
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