A pancancer examination uncovering the part of TIGIT in tumour microenvironment
EV TF activity was also associated with severity and mortality.
Our results indicate that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection induces the release of TF-positive EVs into the circulation that are likely to contribute to thrombosis in patients with COVID-19. EV TF activity was also associated with severity and mortality.
The objective of this study is to determine the role of SPA (surfactant protein A) in vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) phenotypic modulation and vascular remodeling. Approach and Results PDGF-BB (Platelet-derived growth factor-BB) and serum induced SPA expression while downregulating SMC marker gene expression in SMCs. SPA deficiency increased the contractile protein expression. Mechanistically, SPA deficiency enhanced the expression of myocardin and TGF (transforming growth factor)-β, the key regulators for contractile SMC phenotype. In vivo, SPA was induced in medial and neointimal SMCs following mechanical injury in both rat and mouse carotid arteries. SPA knockout in mice dramatically attenuated the wire injury-induced intimal hyperplasia while restoring SMC contractile protein expression in medial SMCs. These data indicate that SPA plays an important role in SMC phenotype modulation and vascular remodeling in vivo.
SPA is a novel protein factor modulating SMC phenotype. Blocking the abnormal elevation of SPA may be a potential strategy to inhibit the development of proliferative vascular diseases.
SPA is a novel protein factor modulating SMC phenotype. Blocking the abnormal elevation of SPA may be a potential strategy to inhibit the development of proliferative vascular diseases.COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU have high incidence of AKI requiring prolonged renal replacement therapy and often necessitate the placement of a tunneled dialysis catheter (TDC). We describe our experience with two cases of COVID-19 patients who underwent successful bedside placement of TDC under ultrasound guidance using anatomical landmarks without fluoroscopy guidance. Tunneled dialysis catheter placement under direct fluoroscopy remains the standard of care; but in well selected patients, placement of tunneled dialysis catheter at the bedside using anatomic landmarks without fluoroscopy can be safely and successfully performed without compromising the quality of care and avoid transfer of COVID-19 infected patients outside the ICU.A strengthened evidence base and earmarked federal funding have spurred the implementation of coordinated specialty care (CSC) for people experiencing early psychosis. However, existing funding mechanisms are insufficient and unsustainable to support population-wide deployment of CSC. This article describes the design framework of an innovative payment model for CSC that includes a bundled case rate payment and an optional outcome-based payment. To assist CSC payer and provider organizations in designing payment systems tailored to local preferences and circumstances, the research team is developing a decision-support tool that allows users to define design choices and provide input. The authors document the analytical algorithms underlying the tool and discuss how it could be further developed or expanded for CSC and other behavioral health interventions that feature an interdisciplinary team of clinicians and nonclinical professionals, public education and outreach, patient centeredness, and a recovery orientation.
The authors sought to quantify the rates of psychological distress among health care workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify job-related and personal risk and protective factors.
From April 1 to April 28, 2020, the authors conducted a national survey advertised via e-mail lists, social media, and direct e-mail. Participants were self-selecting, U.S.-based volunteers. Scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, General Anxiety Disorder-7, Primary Care Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Screen, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C were used. The relationships between personal resilience and risk factors, work culture and stressors and supports, and COVID-19-related events were examined.
Of 1,685 participants (76% female, 88% White), 31% (404 of 1,311) endorsed mild anxiety, and 33% (427 of 1,311) clinically meaningful anxiety; 29% (393 of 1,341) reported mild depressive symptoms, and 17% (233 of 1,341) moderate to severe depressive symptoms; 5% (64 of 1,326) endorsed suicidal ideation; and 14% (184 of 1,300) screened positive for posttraumatic stress disorder. Pediatric HCWs reported greater anxiety than did others. HCWs' mental health history increased risk for anxiety (odds ratio [OR]=2.78, 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.09-3.70) and depression (OR=3.49, 95% CI=2.47-4.94), as did barriers to working, which were associated with moderate to severe anxiety (OR=2.50, 95% CI=1.80-3.48) and moderate depressive symptoms (OR=2.15, 95% CI=1.45-3.21) (p<0.001 for all comparisons).
Nearly half of the HCWs reported serious psychiatric symptoms, including suicidal ideation, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived workplace culture and supports contributed to symptom severity, as did personal factors.
Nearly half of the HCWs reported serious psychiatric symptoms, including suicidal ideation, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived workplace culture and supports contributed to symptom severity, as did personal factors.
Research has examined the effect of Medicaid expansion on access to physicians with buprenorphine waivers, but less attention has been paid to Medicaid's impact on opioid use disorder medication availability within the specialty substance use disorder treatment system. To address this gap in the literature, this study examined the impact of Medicaid expansion on availability of opioid medications in specialty programs.
This study used data from the National Survey of the Substance Abuse Treatment Services (2002-2017), containing all known substance use disorder treatment programs in the United States, to examine the effect of Medicaid expansion on the availability of opioid use disorder medications by treatment program ownership type (publicly owned, private for profit, and private nonprofit) among opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and non-OTPs.
The effects of Medicaid expansion were limited to nonprofit and for-profit OTPs. Medicaid expansion was associated with 135.1% and 57.5% increases in the number of nonprofit and for-profit OTPs offering injectable naltrexone, respectively, and with a 64.4% increase in the number of nonprofit OTPs offering buprenorphine. Nonprofit and for-profit OTPs compose <10% of the treatment system, indicating that improvements in opioid use disorder treatment associated with Medicaid expansion were limited to a small share of the specialty system.
The limited impact of Medicaid expansion on the specialty treatment system may perpetuate disparities in the accessibility and quality of opioid use disorder treatment for Medicaid enrollees and fail to alleviate high rates of opioid use disorder and opioid overdose deaths in this vulnerable population.
The limited impact of Medicaid expansion on the specialty treatment system may perpetuate disparities in the accessibility and quality of opioid use disorder treatment for Medicaid enrollees and fail to alleviate high rates of opioid use disorder and opioid overdose deaths in this vulnerable population.Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune condition that is described by infected skin patches. selleck chemicals llc Ultradeformable vesicles have been a novel carrier for the treatment of psoriasis in topical and transdermal therapy. The systemic route may induce adverse effects and the drug concentration may not be localized when applied topically to the psoriasis skin due to their physicochemical properties. These limitations can be overcome by a vesicular delivery system such as transferosomes. link2 Research on transferosomes is ongoing. Transferosomes are flexible deformable vesicular structures, which consist of a bilayer softening agent such as an edge activator, which allows it to penetrate deeper dermal layers. This review outlines the use of transferosomes in the treatment of deeply rooted dermal disorders like psoriasis.Objective To compare perioperative, functional, and oncologic outcomes between robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) and laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) for renal hilar tumors. Methods We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent minimally invasive partial nephrectomy for renal hilar tumors at our institution between January 2014 and August 2018. The entire cohort was divided into two groups according to surgical approach RAPN and LPN group. Perioperative, functional, and oncologic outcomes of the two groups were collected and compared. Results A total of 116 patients with renal hilar tumors were identified, including 52 patients who underwent RAPN and 64 patients who underwent LPN, respectively. Demographic baseline characteristics were similar in two groups. There were no differences between the RAPN and LPN groups for operative time, transfusion rate, conversion rate, surgical margin, perioperative complication, and hospital stay. Compared with the LPN group, the RAPN group was associated with significant less estimated blood loss (100 vs 150 mL; p less then 0.001), shorter warm ischemia time (20.3 vs 24.5 minutes; p = 0.001), and higher direct cost (p less then 0.001). Percentage of estimated glomerular filtration rate change at 6 months after surgery was lower in RAPN group than LPN group (10.4% vs 15.2%; p = 0.020). link3 No significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of oncologic outcomes. Conclusions For hilar tumors, both RAPN and LPN were safe and feasible surgical treatments. RAPN might be associated with superior perioperative outcomes (less estimated blood loss and shorter warm ischemia time) and better postoperative renal functional preservation. RAPN might be the preferred option when condition permits for renal hilar tumors.In addition to proteins and nucleic acids, polysaccharides are an important type of biomacromolecule widely distributed in plants, animals, and microorganisms. Polysaccharides are considered as promising biomaterials due to their significant bioactivities, natural abundance, immunoactivity, and chemical modifiability for tissue engineering (TE) applications. Due to the similarities of the biochemical properties of polysaccharides and the extracellular matrix of human bodies, polysaccharides are increasingly recognized and accepted. Furthermore, the degradation behavior of these macromolecules is generally nontoxic. Certain delicate properties, such as remarkable mechanical properties and tunable tissue response, can be obtained by modifying the functional groups on the surface of polysaccharide molecules. The applications of polysaccharide-based biomaterials in the TE field have been growing intensively in recent decades, for example, bone/cartilage regeneration, cardiac regeneration, neural regeneration, and skin regeneration. This review summarizes the main essential properties of polysaccharides, including their chemical properties, crosslinking mechanisms, and biological properties, and focuses on the association between their structures and properties. The recent progress in polysaccharide-based biomaterials in various TE applications is reviewed, and the prospects for future studies are addressed as well. We intend this review to offer a comprehensive understanding of and inspiration for the research and development of polysaccharide-based materials in TE.