• Fox Huynh posted an update 5 hours, 39 minutes ago

    High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has been widely used in clinical treatment of cervical cancer for its non-invasiveness and sharp treatment margins with very low complication rates. However, how to intensify the therapeutic efficacy of HIFU by specifically focusing the ultrasound energy on targeting pathological tissues is still a bottleneck for it to realize successful cancer ablation. Herein, a multifunctional organic-inorganic hybrid nanovesicles, by coating ultrathin silica shell on the surface of poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) loaded with perfluorocarbon (PFOB), hydrophobic antitumor ruthenium complex (RuPOP) and superparamagnetic Fe3O4, has been designed to achieve synchronous ultrasound (US)/magnetic resonance imaging (MR) dual mode imaging-guided HIFU-triggered chemotherapy. The introduction of PFOB in this nanosystem could cause phase transition and make it gasification to cause collapse of the outer ultrathin silicon shell under HIFU irradiation, which results in enhanced intensive mechanical stress during blasting and enhanced therapeutic effect. The blasting behavior of this nanosystem triggered by HIFU also induced the on-demand RuPOP burst release in tumor site, thus maximizing the inhibition on residual tumor induced by inhomogeneous HIFU ablation. Taken together, this treatment strategy could overcome the inevitable tumor recurrence and significantly reduces systemic side effects of HIFU, thus could be further developed for noninvasive cancer therapy.Studying the changes of serum N-glycome during mouse aging is beneficial to explore the molecular basis behind the alterations reported in human. However, such studies remainscarce and lack some information such as sialylation due to the method limitation. Here, we introduced Bionic Glycome method to quantify the serum N-glycome changes during C57BL/6 mouse aging (from the pubertal period to the old age stage). This technique enabled reliable and comprehensive quantitation of the expression level changes of more than 20 N-glycans in mouse serum at 12 time points in both genders for the first time, involving the analysis of sialic acid and its different linkages. The results demonstrated that the expression level of total glycans increased from middle age to old age. Interestingly, sex-specific N-glycome profiles and alterations were observed. Female mice showed higher level of serum fucosylation and lower level of serum afucosylation than male mice (fucosylation p less then 1.0E-6; afucosylation p less then 1.0E-6). Obviously, higher increase of serum fucosylation level was found in female mice than in male mice from middle age to old age. In addition, the opposite alterations of the afucosylated glycans with α2,3-linked sialic acid and those only with α2,6-linked sialic acid were observed at old age in male mice. These findings suggested that N-glycome could be a valuable target for investigating aging and possible contributors to aging.

    We investigated whether systolic blood pressure (SBP) dipping is associated with mobility outcomes and brain volume in older adults without dementia.

    We conducted an exploratory analysis of data from 345 community-dwelling older adults (mean age [SD] 69.9 [7.1], 60% women) who underwent 24-h BP measurement and mobility assessment. Mobility measures included usual and dual-task (DT) gait velocity, step length, and variability. For DT assessment, participants performed naming animals (NA) and serial sevens (S7) tasks. A subsample of participants (N=32) also underwent magnetic resonance imaging to estimate total grey matter, white matter, and hippocampal brain volumes. We conducted hierarchical regression models to examine the association between SBP dipping and mobility outcomes, after adjusting for age, years of education, sex, Montreal Cognitive Assessment score, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, other cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal conditions, and study cohort. Similar models were conducSBP dipping could be targeted in future therapeutic interventions in older adults at risk for mobility and cognitive impairment.

    To assess whether point-of-care devices designed for collecting cellular components from blood or bone marrow could be used to isolate viable stem cells from synovial fluid.

    Male and female patients older than 18 years old with either an acute, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury or knee osteoarthritis (OA) with a minimum estimated 20 mL of knee effusion volunteered. Ten patients with an ACL injury and 10 patients with OA were enrolled. Two milliliters of collected synovial effusion were analyzed and cultured for cellular content. The remaining fluid was combined with whole blood and processed using a buffy-coat based platelet-rich plasma (PRP) processing system. Specimens were analyzed for cell counts, colony-forming unit (CFU) assays, differentiation assays, and flow cytometry.

    ACL effusion fluid contained 42.1 ± 20.7 CFU/mL and OA effusion fluid contained 65.4 ± 42.1 CFU/mL. After PRP processing, the counts in ACL-PRP were 101.6 ± 66.1 CFU/mL and 114.8 ± 73.4 CFU/mL in the OA-PRP. Cells showed tri-lineage differentiation potential when cultured under appropriate parameters. When analyzed with flow cytometry, >95% of cells produced with culturing expressed cell surface markers typically expressed by known stem cell populations, specifically CD45-, CD73+, CD29+, CD44+, CD105+, and CD90+.

    Multipotent viable stem cells can be harvested from knee synovial fluid, associated with an ACL injury or OA, and concentrated with a buffy coat-based PRP-processing device.

    PRP devices can be used to harvest stem cells from effusion fluids. Methods to use effusion fluid associated with an ACL injury and OA should be investigated further.

    PRP devices can be used to harvest stem cells from effusion fluids. Methods to use effusion fluid associated with an ACL injury and OA should be investigated further.

    To quantitatively evaluate degeneration of articular cartilage using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2 mapping before and after arthroscopic surgery for discoid lateral meniscus (DLM).

    We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent arthroscopic reshaping surgery for symptomatic DLM from September 2013 to October 2017 and who had undergone follow-up for ≥2 years. MRI T2 relaxation examinations had been performed preoperatively and at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. selleck products The T2 relaxation times of the whole lateral femoral condyle and the tibial plateau were assessed. In addition, the lateral femoral condyle was divided into 3 subcompartmental areas anterior, middle, and posterior.

    In total, 30 knees of 27 patients were included in this study. The patients’ mean age at operation was 13.3 years (range 6-23 years), and the mean follow-up period was 31.6 months. Saucerization alone was performed in 3 knees and saucerization with repair in 27 knees. The T2 relaxation time of the whole lateral femoral condyle was significantly increased at 3 and 6 months postoperatively and significantly decreased at 12 and 24 months.