Mimetism

The microbial composition and stress molecules are main drivers influencing the development and spread of antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARBs) and genes (ARGs) in the environment. A reliable and rapid method for identifying associations between microbiome composition and resistome remains challenging. In the present study, secondary metagenome data of sewage and hospital wastewaters were assessed for differential taxonomic and ARG profiling. Subsequently, Random Forest (RF)-based ML models were used to predict ARG profiles based on taxonomic composition and model validation on hospital wastewaters...

We aim to objectify the evaluation criteria of agglutination rate estimation in the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT). This study proposes a deep learning method that extracts free leptospires from dark-field microscopic images and calculates the agglutination rate. The experiments show the effect of objectification with real pictures.

Bacterial meningitis is an acute infection which requires rapid diagnosis and treatment due to the high mortality and serious consequences of the disease. The purpose of this study was to design a homemade multiplex PCR and a novel fluorescence biosensor on chip (FBC) to detect three important agents of meningitis including Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae), Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis), and Haemophilus influenzae (H. influenzae) . The homemade multiplex PCR can diagnose three bacterial species simultaneously...

Targeted protein backbone modification can recreate tertiary structures reminiscent of folds found in nature on artificial scaffolds with improved biostability. Incorporation of altered monomers in such entities is typically limited to sites distant from the hydrophobic core to avoid potential disruptions to folding. This is limiting, as it is advantageous in some applications to incorporate artificial connectivity at buried sites. Here, we report an examination of protein backbone modification targeted specifically to hydrophobic core positions and its impacts on tertiary folded structure and fold stability...

Lateral flow assays (LFAs) are currently the most popular point-of-care diagnostics, rapidly transforming disease diagnosis from expensive doctor checkups and laboratory-based tests to potential on-the-shelf commodities. Yet, their sensitive element, a monoclonal antibody, is expensive to formulate, and their long-term storage depends on refrigeration technology that cannot be met in resource-limited areas. In this work, LCB1 affibodies (antibody mimetic miniproteins) were conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) to afford a high-avidity synthetic capture (LCB1-BSA) capable of detecting the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein and virus like particles (VLPs)...

Endometriosis is a benign inflammatory onco-mimetic disease affecting 10-15% of women in the world. When it is refractory to medical treatments, surgery may be required. Usually, laparoscopy is the preferred approach, but robotic surgery has gained popularity in the last 15 years. This study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery (RAS) versus conventional laparoscopic surgery (LPS) in the treatment of endometriosis. This study adheres to PRISMA guidelines and is registered with PROSPERO...

BACKGROUND: Ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF) rearrest after successful resuscitation is common, and survival is poor. A mechanism of VT/VF, as demonstrated in ex vivo studies, is when repolarization alternans becomes spatially discordant (DIS ALT), which can be enhanced by impaired gap junctions (GJs). However, in vivo spontaneous DIS ALT-induced VT/VF has never been demonstrated, and the effects of GJ on DIS ALT and VT/VF rearrest are unknown. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine whether spontaneous VT/VF rearrest induced by DIS ALT occurs in vivo, and if it can be suppressed by preserving Cx43-mediated GJ coupling and/or connectivity...

An immunosuppressive microenvironment promotes the occurrence and development of tumors. Low apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) is closely related to tumor development, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. This study investigated the association between serum ApoA1 levels and the immune microenvironment in endometrial, ovarian, and lung cancers. The serum ApoA1 level was decreased significantly in patients with endometrial and ovarian cancers compared with healthy controls. In endometrial cancer tissues, the low serum ApoA1 group showed increased CD163+ macrophage infiltration and decreased CD8+ T-cell infiltration compared with the normal serum ApoA1 group...

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis, a T cell-mediated chronic inflammatory skin condition, is characterized by the interaction of T cells with various cell types, forming an inflammatory microenvironment that sustains psoriatic inflammation. The homeostasis of these tissue-resident T cells are supported by fibroblasts, the primary structural cells in the dermis. In psoriasis, there is an increased expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), mediating the structural alterations of skin tissues and the modulation of inflammation...

BACKGROUND: Chronic skin wounds are a leading cause of hospital admissions and reduced life expectancy among older people and individuals with diabetes. Delayed wound healing is often attributed to a series of cellular abnormalities. Matrine, a well-studied component found in Sophora flavescens , is recognized for its anti-inflammatory effects. However, its impact on wound healing still remains uncertain. This study aims to explore the potential of matrine in promoting wound healing. METHODS: In this study, we utilized gradient extrusion to produce fibroblast-derived exosome-mimetic vesicles as carriers for matrine (MHEM)...

We present a machine learning framework bridging manifold learning, neural networks, Gaussian processes, and Equation-Free multiscale approach, for the construction of different types of effective reduced order models from detailed agent-based simulators and the systematic multiscale numerical analysis of their emergent dynamics. The specific tasks of interest here include the detection of tipping points, and the uncertainty quantification of rare events near them. Our illustrative examples are an event-driven, stochastic financial market model describing the mimetic behavior of traders, and a compartmental stochastic epidemic model on an Erdös-Rényi network...

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) holds great promise for enhancing the wound healing process; however, its clinical application is hindered by its low stability and the challenge of maintaining its effective concentration at the wound site. Herein, we developed novel double-emulsion alginate (Alg) and heparin-mimetic alginate sulfate (AlgSulf)/polycaprolactone (PCL) nanoparticles (NPs) for controlled CTGF delivery to promote accelerated wound healing. The NPs' physicochemical properties, cytocompatibility, and wound healing activity were assessed on immortalized human keratinocytes (HaCaT), primary human dermal fibroblasts (HDF), and a murine cutaneous wound model...

INTRODUCTION: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common cancer with a five-year survival rate around 60%, indicating a need for new treatments. BH3 mimetics are small molecules that inhibit anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins, resulting in apoptosis induction. METHODS: We performed a high-throughput screen using a Myogel matrix to identify the synergy between irradiation and the novel BH3 mimetics A-1155463, A-1331852, and navitoclax in 12 HNSCC cell lines, normal (NOF) and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF), and dysplastic keratinocytes (ODA)...

Glutathione (GSH) is an essential antioxidant in the human body, but its detection is difficult due to the interference of complex components in serum. Herein, hollow double-layer Pt@CeO2 nanospheres were developed as oxidase mimetics, and the light-assisted oxidase mimetics effects were found. The oxidase activity was enhanced significantly by utilizing the synergistic effect of Schottky junction and the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Pt under UV light. A novel GSH colorimetric-fluorescent-SERS sensing platform was established, with the sensing performance notably boosted by using the light-assisted oxidase mimetics effects...

Both primary and acquired resistance mechanisms that involve intra-tumoral cell heterogeneity limit the use of BH3-mimetics to trigger tumor cell apoptosis. This article proposes a new quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP)-based methodology in which cell viability assays are used to calibrate virtual tumors (VTs) made of virtual cells whose fate is determined by simulations from an apoptosis QSP model. VTs representing SU-DHL-4 and KARPAS-422 cell lines were calibrated using in vitro data involving venetoclax (anti-BCL2), A-1155463 (anti-BCLXL), and/or A-1210477 (anti-MCL1)...

Current additive manufacturing technologies wherein as-printed simple two-dimensional (2D) structures morph into complex tissue mimetic three-dimensional (3D) shapes are limited to multi-material hydrogel systems, which necessitates multiple fabrication steps and specific materials. This work utilizes a single shape memory thermoplastic polymer (SMP), PLMC (polylactide- co -trimethylene carbonate), to achieve programmable shape deformation through anisotropic design and infill angles encoded during 3D printing...

Heterotrimeric G proteins (Gα, Gβ and Gγ) act downstream of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to mediate signaling pathways that regulate various physiological processes and human disease conditions. Previously, human Gαi and its yeast homolog Gpa1 have been reported to function as intracellular pH sensors, yet the pH sensing capabilities of Gαi and the underlying mechanism remain to be established. Herein, we identify a pH sensing network within Gαi, and evaluate the consequences of pH modulation on the structure and stability of the G-protein...

UNLABELLED: Persistent pain affects one in five people worldwide, often with severely debilitating consequences. Current treatment options, which can be effective for mild or acute pain, are ill-suited for moderate-to-severe persistent pain, resulting in an urgent need for new therapeutics. In recent years, the somatostatin receptor 4 (SSTR 4 ), which is expressed in sensory neurons of the peripheral nervous system, has emerged as a promising target for pain relief. However, the presence of several closely related receptors with similar ligand-binding surfaces complicates the design of receptor-specific agonists...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Dental veneers have become increasingly required among patients, but little is known about the optical properties of veneers obtained from the same ceramic material through different processing techniques. METHODS: In this study we compared the translucency and the opalescence parameters of zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate (ZLS) veneers restorations fabricated through CAD/CAM milling and hot-pressing techniques on the upper central incisor...

Plastics, omnipresent in the environment, have become a global concern due to their durability and limited biodegradability, especially in the form of microparticles and nanoparticles. Polystyrene (PS), a key plastic type, is susceptible to fragmentation and surface alterations induced by environmental factors or industrial processes. With widespread human exposure through pollution and diverse industrial applications, understanding the physiological impact of PS, particularly in nanoparticle form (PS-NPs), is crucial...