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The use of ultrasound as a medical diagnostic tool began in the 1940s. Ever since, the medical applications of ultrasound have included imaging, tumor ablation, and lithotripsy; however, an ever-increasing body of literature demonstrates that ultrasound has potential in other medical applications, including targeted drug delivery. Site-specific drug delivery involves delivering drugs to diseased areas with a high degree of precision, which is particularly advantageous in cancer treatment as it would minimize the adverse side effects experienced by patients. This review addresses the ability of ultrasound to induce localized and controlled drug release from nanocarriers, namely micelles and liposomes, utilizing thermal and/or mechanical effects. The interactions of ultrasound with micelles and liposomes, the effects of the lipid composition, and ultrasound parameters on the release of encapsulated drugs are discussed. In addition, a survey of the literature detailing some in vitro and in vivo ultrasound triggered drug delivery systems is presented.

We analyzed TCGA dataset and observed the downregulation of CTBP1-AS2 in ovarian cancer (OC), while the function of CTBP1-AS2 has only been investigated in diabetes and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, but not in cancer biology. We therefore analyzed the involvement of CTBP1-AS2 in OC.

We found that CTBP1-AS2 was downregulated in OC and predicted poor survival. CTBP1-AS2 in luciferase activity assay interacted with miR-216a, while overexpression of CTBP1-AS2 and miR-216a had no significant effects on the expression of each other. However, increased expression level of PTEN, a target of miR-216a, was observed after CTBP1-AS2 overexpression. Increased proliferation rate of OC cells was observed after the overexpression of miR-216a. CTBP1-AS2 and PTEN overexpression resulted in the reduced proliferation rate of OC cells and reduced effects of miR-216a overexpression.

CTBP1-AS2 regulates miR-216a/PTEN to suppress OC cell proliferation.

CTBP1-AS2 regulates miR-216a/PTEN to suppress OC cell proliferation.

Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a common complication of pregnancy. The impact of pregnancy complications on placental function suggests that extraembryonic stem cells in the placenta may also be affected during pregnancy. Neonatal tissue-derived stem cells, with the advantages of their differentiation capacity and non-invasive isolation processes, have been proposed as a promising therapeutic avenue for GDM management through potential cell therapy approaches. However, the influence of GDM on autologous stem cells remains unclear. Thus, studies that provide comprehensive understanding of stem cells isolated from women with GDM are essential to guide future clinical applications.

Human chorionic membrane-derived stem cells (CMSCs) were isolated from placentas of healthy and GDM pregnancies. Transcriptional profiling was performed by DNA microarray, and differentially regulated genes between GDM- and Healthy-CMSCs were used to analyse molecular functions, differentiation, and pathway enrichment. Altered gene impaired cellular metabolic activity may negatively affect any perceived benefit.

Our combined transcriptional analysis and in vitro functional characterisation have provided novel insights into fundamental biological differences in GDM- and Healthy-CMSCs. Enhanced mobility of GDM-CMSCs may promote MSC migration toward injured sites; however, impaired cellular metabolic activity may negatively affect any perceived benefit.

Support supervision improves performance outcomes among health workers. However, the national professional guidelines for new licenses and renewal for Class C drug shops in Uganda prescribe self-supervision of licensed private drug sellers. Without support supervision, inappropriate treatment of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea among children under 5years of age continues unabated. This study assessed experiences of drug sellers and peer supervisors at the end of a peer supervision intervention in Luuka District in East Central Uganda.

Eight in-depth interviews (IDIs) were held with peer supervisors while five focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted among registered drug sellers at the end of the peer supervision intervention. selleck inhibitor The study assessed experiences and challenges of peer supervisors and drug sellers regarding peer supervision. Transcripts were imported into Atlas.ti 7 qualitative data management software where they were analysed using thematic content analysis.

Initially, peer supervisors peer supervision challenges mentioned.

Drug sellers benefitted from peer supervision by developing a good relationship with peer supervisors. This relationship guaranteed reliable and predictable supervision ultimately leading to improved treatment practices. There is need to explore the minimum resources needed for peer supervision of drug sellers to further inform practice and policy.

Drug sellers benefitted from peer supervision by developing a good relationship with peer supervisors. This relationship guaranteed reliable and predictable supervision ultimately leading to improved treatment practices. There is need to explore the minimum resources needed for peer supervision of drug sellers to further inform practice and policy.

The increasing incidence of cancer and intestinal mucositis induced by chemotherapeutics are causing worldwide concern. Many approaches such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) have been used to minimize mucositis. However, it is still unknown whether FMT from a donor with beneficial gut microbiota results in more effective intestinal function in the recipient. Recently, we found that alginate oligosaccharides (AOS) benefit murine gut microbiota through increasing “beneficial” microbes to rescue busulfan induced mucositis.

In the current investigation, FMT from AOS-dosed mice improved small intestine function over FMT from control mice through the recovery of gene expression and an increase in the levels of cell junction proteins. FMT from AOS-dosed mice showed superior benefits over FMT from control mice on recipient gut microbiotas through an increase in “beneficial” microbes such as Leuconostocaceae and recovery in blood metabolome. Furthermore, the correlation of gut microbiota and blood metabolites suggested that the “beneficial” microbe Lactobacillales helped with the recovery of blood metabolites, while the “harmful” microbe Mycoplasmatales did not.