Browse Articles

The biodegradable polymer poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) modulates the community structures of actively growing bacteria in rotifer culture water

Effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on CD14 + CD16 + monocytes and soluble CD163 in Egyptian breast cancer patients

Abstract Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) influences the anticancer response by favourably altering the immune microenvironment. However, the effects of NACT on peripheral monocytes and their prognostic contribution to the NACT response have not yet been clarified. We aimed to evaluate the potential therapeutic responses and possible predictive value of double-positive (CD14 + CD16 +) monocytes and soluble CD163 (sCD163) in Egyptian breast cancer patients. Blood samples were obtained before and after neoadjuvant therapy from 30 patients with invasive breast cancer, and the expression of CD14 and CD16 was assessed via flow cytometry. The patients’ sCD163 levels were also determined in both the serum and culture supernatant using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results revealed that NACT was associated with a significant decrease in double-positive monocytes and sCD163 levels. In addition, both double-positive monocytes and serum sCD163 were significantly associated with a partial clinical response. Double-positive monocytes and serum sCD163 levels may be related to therapeutic response, suggesting their possible predictive value in breast cancer patients receiving NACT.

Long non-coding RNA NEAT1 promotes colorectal cancer progression via interacting with SIRT1

BRD4 interacting genes as prognostic biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma for optimized treatment strategies

Effects of dual intake channels on energy efficiency and emissions of the uniflow scavenging opposed-piston engine

Objective and subjective suicidal intent are differentially associated with attempt lethality based on age of onset of suicidal behavior

Changes in physical fitness in acute leukemia patients during chemotherapy

Joint analysis of time-varying effect of vaccine and antiviral drug for preventing severe complications and mortality

Singlet fission in heterogeneous lycopene aggregates

Rurality and relative poverty drive acquisition of a stable and diverse gut microbiome in early childhood in a non-industrialized setting

Abstract There are limited longitudinal data from non-industrialized settings on patterns and determinants of gut bacterial microbiota development in early childhood. We analysed epidemiological data and stool samples collected from 60 children followed from early infancy to 5 years of age in a rural tropical district in coastal Ecuador. Data were collected longitudinally on a wide variety of individual, maternal, and household exposures. Extracted DNA from stool samples were analysed for bacterial microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Both alpha and beta diversity indices suggested stable profiles towards 5 years of age. Greater alpha diversity and lower beta diversity were associated with factors typical of rural poverty including low household incomes, overcrowding, and greater agricultural and animal exposures. Consumption of unpasteurized milk was consistently associated with greater alpha diversity indices. Delivery method and antibiotic exposures during pregnancy and early childhood appeared to have limited effects on developmental trajectories of gut microbiota. Infants living in a non-industrialized setting in conditions of greater poverty and typically rural exposures appeared to acquire more rapidly a stable and diverse gut bacterial microbiome during childhood.

Deep learning-based organ-wise dosimetry of 64Cu-DOTA-rituximab through only one scanning

Effect of PM2.5 exposure on susceptibility to allergic asthma in elderly rats treated with allergens

Classification patterns identification of immunogenic cell death-related genes in heart failure based on deep learning

9-aminominocycline potentiates the efficacy of EIDD-1931 and PF-332 by targeting the papain like protease enzyme of SARS-CoV-2

Conflict-based strategy combined integrated optimal conflict avoidance algorithm

Performance of the Nottingham hip fracture score (NHFS) as a predictor of 30-day mortality after proximal femur fracture in an older people Brazilian cohort

The complexity of comorbidity distribution and pathogenesis in the elderly based on a dependency network simulation

Cognitive function moderates the mediation of resilience in the relationship between perceived receipt of filial piety and loneliness among community-dwelling older adults with multiple long-term conditions

Circular intuitionistic fuzzy Hamacher aggregation operators for multi-attribute decision-making

Long-lived photoexcitation probed by photo-induced enhanced Raman spectroscopy: unveiling charge dynamics in Ag–TiO2 nano-heterojunctions

Abstract This work explores Photo-Induced Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (PIERS) as a tool to investigate charge carrier dynamics in nanometer-thick Ag–TiO2 heterojunctions with a Schottky barrier. Due to the light-induced charge transfer process at the semiconductor–metal interface, PIERS provides a significant signal enhancement over traditional Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). In turn, a remarkably stable PIERS signal lasting over 10 days after UVC light illumination cannot be explained exclusively by the presence and the lifetime of the induced oxygen vacancies, so other features of the Ag–TiO2 heterojunction must be responsible for this effect. Time-resolved Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL), UV–Vis, XPS, and I–V characterization were used to explore charge migration mechanisms further to prove PIERS applicability. While PL showed rapid healing of oxygen vacancies, the correlation of the PIERS signal with changes in the Schottky barrier height and relative changes in the electron density under various lighting conditions indicates that both Hot Electron Injection (HEI) and Plasmon-Induced Resonance Energy Transfer (PIRET) are responsible for the Raman signal changes over time. We showed that both phenomena can be probed by in situ PIERS spectroscopy. This proof-of-principle paves the way for developing more advanced photoactive semiconductor–metal composites suitable for energy conversion or storage, as well as SERS and PIERS analytics.