Transcranial magnetic stimulation TMS coils allow only a slow, mechanical adjustment of the stimulating electric field E-field orientation in the cerebral tissue Fast E-field control is needed to synchronize the stimulation with the ongoing brain activity Also, empirical models that fully describe the relationship between evoked responses and the stimulus orientation and intensity are still missing
 
  We aimed to 1 develop a TMS transducer for manipulating the E-field orientation electronically with high accuracy at the neuronally meaningful millisecond-level time scale and 2 devise and validate a physiologically based model describing the orientation selectivity of neuronal excitability
 
  We designed and manufactured a two-coil TMS transducer The coil windings were computed with a minimum-energy optimization procedure, and the transducer was controlled with our custom-made electronics The electronic E-field control was verified with a TMS characterizer The motor evoked potential amplitude and latency of a hand muscle were mapped in 3° steps of the stimulus orientation in 16 healthy subjects for three stimulation intensities We fitted a logistic model to the motor response amplitude
 
  The two-coil TMS transducer allows one to manipulate the pulse orientation accurately without manual coil movement The motor response amplitude followed a logistic function of the stimulus orientation; this dependency was strongly affected by the stimulus intensity
 
  The developed electronic control of the E-field orientation allows exploring new stimulation paradigms and probing neuronal mechanisms The presented model helps to disentangle the neuronal mechanisms of brain function and guide future non-invasive stimulation protocols
 The developed electronic control of the E-field orientation allows exploring new stimulation paradigms and probing neuronal mechanisms The presented model helps to disentangle the neuronal mechanisms of brain function and guide future non-invasive stimulation protocolsProstate cancer PCa is one of the most common cancers worldwide but it presents many subtypes and patient heterogeneity It is necessary to discriminate localised not aggressive PCa and metastatic cancer in order to better define the personalised treatment The identification of an appropriate biomarker to combine with Gleason grading system, that is one of the most important prognostic factors in prostate cancer outcome, remains a major clinical issue We have tested AT-rich interactive domain 1A ARID1A in prostate tissue is order to verify its possible role as morphological marker for prostate cancer progression ARID1A is a tumour suppressor protein playing a pivotal role in chromatin remodelling during transcriptional regulation It was decreased in many cancers correlating with tumour aggressiveness Our data shown that ARID1A had a nuclear staining and that it is significantly decreased in prostate cancers suggesting that it can be involved in this neoplasm but it is not able to discriminate prostate cancer progressionA main pathogenic factor of atherosclerosis is the local oxidative stress microenvironment Probucol PU has anti-inflammatory, antioxidative and hypolipidemic effects, showing great potential to treat atherosclerosis However, its low bioavailability limits its development Herein, PU was encapsulated to form RP-PU with star-shaped polymers and red blood cell membranes Star-shaped polymers show lower solution viscosity, a smaller hydrodynamic radius and a higher drug loading content than linear polymers RP-PU had a good sustained-release effect and excellent biocompatibility RP-PU can be efficiently internalized by cells to improve biodistribution ApoE-/- mice were treated with RP-PU, and the contents of lipids and related metabolic enzymes were effectively reduced The collagen fibers in the aortic root sections were reduced by RP-PU compared with control and PU Moreover, RP-PU inhibited foam cell formation, decreased ICAM-1 and MCP-1 expression and delayed lesion formation Consequently, RP-PU biomimetic nanoparticles can be developed as an anti-atherosclerotic nanotherapeuticThe development of integrated nanomedicine for prevention and early diagnosis of thrombosis is highly significant Platelet plays a vital role in thrombotic disorders, offering an ideal target for thromboprophylaxis and imaging of thrombi We herein fabricated cycloRGD peptide-decorated AgNPs designated cRGD-AgNPs for active targeting platelet-rich thrombi In vitro cytotoxicity and hemolysis assays demonstrated that cRGD-AgNPs have acceptable biocompatibility pattern  https//wwwselleckchemcom/products/molidustat-bay85-3934html  Both PEG-AgNPs non-targeted version and cRGD-AgNPs can inhibit agonist-mediated platelet aggregation, whereas the latter exhibited significant attenuation on platelet activation and adhesion onto collagen and fibrinogen matrix Furthermore, the superior binding ability of cRGD-AgNPs with platelet-rich thrombus was demonstrated in static/dynamic condition in vitro In vivo studies revealed that cRGD-AgNPs could actively target thrombi in a mouse model of carotid artery thrombi with favorable safety Our results here suggest that cRGD-AgNPs with intrinsic anti-platelet potential might be promising nano theranostics for thromboprophylaxis and active thrombus targeting
  Tubo-ovarian abscess TOA is generally seen in sexually active women It is rarely reported in virginal adolescent girls
 
  A 12-year-old virginal girl was referred to us for repeated fever and right lower abdominal pain She had undergone an appendectomy for a perforated appendix with abscess 5 years previously Laparoscopic surgery revealed pelvic adhesions associated with TOA in the right pelvis At 2 months after laparoscopic drainage, she underwent resection of the affected tube with wedge resection of the ipsilateral ovary due to the recurrence of TOA
 
  Late occurrence of TOA should be considered in the differential diagnosis of repeated abdominal pain and fever in virginal adolescent girls with a history of appendectomy for complicated appendicitis, even if the history is remote
 Late occurrence of TOA should be considered in the differential diagnosis of repeated abdominal pain and fever in virginal adolescent girls with a history of appendectomy for complicated appendicitis, even if the history is remoteThe dynamics of cell mechanics and epigenetic signatures direct cell behaviour and fate, thus influencing regenerative outcomes In recent years, the utilisation of 2D geometric ie square, circle, hexagon, triangle or round-shaped substrates for investigating cell mechanics in response to the extracellular microenvironment have gained increasing interest in regenerative medicine due to their tunable physicochemical properties In contrast, there is relatively limited knowledge of cell mechanobiology and epigenetics in the context of 3D biomaterial matrices, ie, hydrogels and scaffolds Scaffold geometry provides biophysical signals that trigger a nucleus response regulation of gene expression and modulates cell behaviour and function In this review, we explore the potential of additive manufacturing to incorporate multi length-scale geometry features on a scaffold Then, we discuss how scaffold geometry direct cell and nuclear mechanosensing We further discuss how cell epigenetics, particularly DNA/ context, the current review presents a unique perspective and highlights the importance of 3D architectures dimensionality and geometries on cell and nuclear mechanics and epigenetics Insight into current challenges around the study of mechanobiology and epigenetics utilising additively manufactured 3D scaffold geometries will progress biomaterials research in this spaceLung implantable devices have been widely adopted as mechanical interventions for a wide variety of pulmonary pathologies Despite successful initial treatment, long-term efficacy can often be impacted by fibrotic or granulation tissue formation at the implant sites This study aimed to explore the lung-device interface by identifying the adhered proteome on lung devices explanted from patients with severe emphysema In this study, scanning electron microscopy is used to visualize the adhesion of cells and proteins to silicone and nitinol surfaces of explanted endobronchial valves By applying high-resolution mass-spectrometry, the surface proteome of eight explanted valves is characterized, identifying 263 unique protein species to be mutually adsorbed on the valves This subset is subjected to gene enrichment analysis, matched with known databases and further validated using immunohistochemistry Enrichment analyses reveal dominant clusters of functionally-related ontology terms associated with coagulation,ses revealed that these proteins are associated with coagulation, pattern recognition receptor signaling, immune responses, cytoskeleton organization, cell adhesion and migration Furthermore, we identified that especially extracellular matrix proteins and damage-associated molecular patterns were cardinal in the formation of the surface proteomeThe sclera provides mechanical support to retina and protects internal contents of the eye against external injuries The scleral extracellular matrix is mainly composed of collagen fibers and proteoglycans PGs At physiological pH, collagen molecules are neutral but PGs contain negatively charged glycosaminoglycan chains Thus, the sclera can be considered as a polyelectrolyte hydrogel and is expected to exhibit mechanical response when subjected to electrical stimulations In this study, we mounted scleral strips, dissected from the posterior part of porcine eyes, at the center of a custom-designed container between two electrodes The container was filled with NaCl solution and the bending deformation of scleral strips as a function of the applied electric voltage was measured experimentally It was found that scleral strips reached to an average bending angle of 3°, 10° and 23° when subjected to 5V, 10V, and 15V, respectively We also created a chemo-electro-mechanical finite element model for simulatinue under an electric field This work is significant because it shows that the sclera is an electroactive polyanionic hydrogel and it provides new information about the underlying mechanisms governing its mechanical and electrical propertiesManganese has recently been exploited for cancer immunotherapy, fenton-like reaction-mediated chemo-dynamic therapy, and magnetic resonance imaging The integration of multiple roles of manganese into one platform is of great significance for cancer theranostics and tumor inhibition Here, we designed a multifunctional nanoplatform based on manganese, which consisted of a manganese-containing inner core and a phospholipid bilayer shell co-loaded with glucose oxidase GOx, paclitaxel PTX, and a NIR fluorescent dye NanoMn-GOx-PTX In a pH-dependent manner, the nanoplatform released manganese ions and payloads inside the tumor cells In vitro characterization and cellular experiments indicated that NanoMn-GOx-PTX could catalyze the conversion of glucose into reactive oxygen species ROS through a cascade Fenton-like reaction as well as release free PTX The consumption of glucose, ROS production, and the chemotherapeutic effect of PTX contributed to the superior cytotoxicity and apoptosis of 4T1 cancer cells