#Printing silicon on paper, with lasers Recently, a group of researchers at Delft University of Technology,
"We coated liquid polysilane directly on paper by doctor-blading, or skimming it by a blade directly in an oxygen-free environment.
"The process can be expanded to biomedical sensor and solar-cell areas, "Ishihara said, "and will also realize stretchable--and even edible--electronics
The findings could have therapeutic implications specific to this rare form of the disease, say the authors.
Research from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New jersey shows genomic profiling identifies genomic mutations in a gene associated with a rare subset of breast cancer--mutations that cannot otherwise be identified with standard clinical analysis of cells and tissue.
being presented as part of a poster presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) being held in Philadelphia,
could have therapeutic implications specific to this rare form of the disease, say the authors.
Invasive lobular carcinoma is a cancer that starts in the lobules, an area of the breast where milk is produced.
It is normally very sensitive to estrogen-targeting therapies because of high expression of the estrogen receptor protein,
Pleomorphic invasive lobular carcinoma is a unique subset of lobular breast cancer that has abnormally aggressive tumor cells and results in poorer outcomes than the classic lobular breast cancer.
which is tested routinely for using standard pathologic techniques. As part of the precision medicine initiative at the Cancer Institute of New jersey, investigators--which include colleagues from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical school and RUCDR Infinite Biologics, the world's largest university-based biorepository,
located within the Human genetics Institute of New jersey--wanted to define the relationship of ERBB2 alterations in the pleomorphic form of the disease."
"Figuring out specific differences that are not visible under the microscope allows us to intervene with more appropriate and potentially lifesaving therapy.
With genomic sequencing detecting ERBB2 alterations in this form of cancer, we have an opportunity to identify anticancer therapies that would specifically target that abnormality
and that would otherwise not be given to those patients who could benefit. These genomic abnormalities would be overlooked with current,
standard of care laboratory testing for breast cancer,"says lead author Kim M. Hirshfield, MD, Phd, breast medical oncologist at the Cancer Institute and assistant professor of medicine at Rutgers
Robert Wood Johnson Medical school. Utilizing the invasive breast cancer data set of 962 cases in The Cancer Genome Atlas
all breast cancers with alterations in the CDH1 gene (that gives instructions to make a protein that causes cancer cells to stick to one another
and defines lobular breast cancers) were identified. Tumors were evaluated by a pathologist at the microscopic level to classify them as either classic or pleomorphic lobular breast cancer.
Independent identification of ERBB2 gene alterations was completed and frequency of that alteration, as well as others in the PTEN, PIK3CA and TP53 genes, were determined.
An additional 16 cases from the Cancer Institute were evaluated using an advanced form of tumor DNA sequencing at RUCDR.
Of 116 eligible breast cancers from The Cancer Genome Atlas 86 were invasive lobular breast cancer. Of that number, 21 cases were found to be the pleomorphic type.
There were no significant differences in the frequency of the other gene alterations examined between the two types of cancer.
With that, investigators say the alterations in the ERBB2 gene strongly associate with pleomorphic lobular breast cancer but not the classic form of the disease.
Data from the additional 16 cases from the Cancer Institute validate the findings observed on breast cancers from The Cancer Genome Atlas."
"In identifying a specific abnormality in a patient's cancer instead of the overall organ where it first presented,
the opportunity exists to provide tailored therapies for patients,"notes Lorna Rodriguez, MD, Phd, director of the precision medicine initiative at the Cancer Institute and professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences
such findings can also aid in developing the next generation of therapies through clinical trials. It is our aim at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New jersey to build upon this work,"notes senior author of the work, Shridar Ganesan, MD, Phd, associate director for translational science at the Cancer Institute
and associate professor of medicine and pharmacology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical school l
#Natural reparative capacity of teeth elucidated These results are published in the journal Stem Cells. The tooth is a mineralised organ, implanted in the mouth by a root.
The"living"part of the tooth or dental cavity is the dental pulp (in yellow in the photograph shown opposite) composed of vessels and nerves.
When a dental lesion appears, the dormant stem cells in the pulp awaken and try to repair the tooth by an unknown process.
the researchers from Inserm and Paris Descartes University at Unit 1124,"Toxicology, Pharmacology and Cellular Signaling,"have succeeded in extracting
two neurotransmitters that are essential to the body (see schema on page 2). The presence of these receptors on the surface of these stem cells indicated that they had the ability to respond to the presence of dopamine and serotonin in the event of a lesion.
activated by the dental lesion, are responsible for releasing a large quantity of serotonin and dopamine. Once released, these neurotransmitters then recruit the stem cells to repair the tooth by binding to their receptors (see schema on page 2). The research team was able to confirm this result by observing that dental repair was absent in rats with modified platelets that do not produce serotonin or dopamine,
"Currently, dentists use pulp capping materials (calcium hydroxide) and tricalcium phosphate-based biomaterials to repair the tooth and fill lesions.
Our results lead us to imagine unprecedented therapeutic strategies aimed at mobilising the resident pulpal stem cells
in order to magnify the natural reparative capacity of teeth without use of replacement materials, "concludes Odile Kellermann.
#Researchers discover new drugs to combat the root cause of multiple sclerosis At the pathological level,
MS is a disease in which the immune system attacks the protective myelin sheath, a type of insulation that covers nerves,
"Current therapies focus on stopping immune system attacks, slowing the progression of the disease. Our research is focused on trying to repair the brain itself,
to stop the disease rather than slow it, "said Robert Miller, Ph d.,co-author of the study and senior associate dean for research, Vivian Gill Distinguished Research Professor,
and professor of anatomy and regenerative biology at the George washington University School of medicine and Health Sciences."
researchers discovered the therapeutic compounds for enhancing myelination from oligodendrocyte progenitor cells through screening a library of bioactive small molecules.
Finding this cellular target for pharmacological intervention, Miller and co-author Paul Tesar, Ph d.,the Dr. Donald and Ruth Weber Goodman Professor of Innovative Therapeutics
#Researchers develop Ebola treatment effective 3 days after infection The study results, in the April 22 edition of Nature Journal, demonstrated that the treatment is the first to be shown effective against the new Makona outbreak strain of Ebola in animals that were infected with the virus
and exhibited symptoms of the disease. The treatment uses a sequence specific short strand of RNA, known as sirna,
"said UTMB's Thomas Geisbert, professor of microbiology and immunology.""We were able to protect all of our nonhuman primates against a lethal Makona Ebola infection
when treatment began three days following infection. At this point, those infected showed clinical signs of disease
and had detectable levels of virus in their blood.""Although all infected animals showed evidence of advanced disease,
those receiving treatment had milder symptoms and recovered fully. The untreated controls succumbed to the disease on days eight and nine,
which is reported similar to that in the field after patients begin showing symptoms of Ebola. This treatment also protected against liver
and kidney dysfunction and blood disorders that occur during an Ebola infection. These results indicate that the treatment may confer protective benefits that go beyond improving survival rates and effective control of virus levels in the body."
"This study demonstrates that we can rapidly and accurately adapt our sirna-LNP technology to target genetic sequences emerging from new Ebola virus outbreaks,
The Tekmira sirna-based therapeutic is now being evaluated in Ebola-infected patients in Sierra leone e
Phd, uncovered the critical role in pain processing of a gene associated with a rare disease.
Mutations in this gene also cause a rare human disease called the Nail-patella syndrome (NPS
or perhaps as biomimetic surfaces for implantable tissue scaffolds or neural implants. The work was the result of collaboration between Wong's biomedical engineering lab and the lab of Robert Hurt, professor of engineering at Brown,
The results reveal serious obstacles to using the method in medical applications. The scientists have tried to head off ethical concerns by using'nonviable'embryos,
that were obtained from local fertility clinics. However the work is very controversial, with some warning it could be the start of a slippery slope towards designer babies.
"Dr Yalda Jamshidi, Senior Lecturer in Human genetics, St george's University Hospital Foundation Trust, said:""Inherited genetic conditions often result
and promise to be a powerful approach for many human diseases which don't yet have an effective treatment.
"Prof Shirley Hodgson, Professor of Cancer Genetics, St george's University of London, said:""I think that this is a significant departure from currently accepted research practice.
and you are trying to figure out the body's immune response to a particular pathogen, for example,
which could prove useful in biomedical applications, among other uses
#Electrical power converter allows grid to easily accept power from renewable energy Doctoral student Joseph Carr developed the system with his adviser, Juan Balda, University Professor and head of the department of electrical engineering.
Then, combining that tissue-specific functional signal with the relevant disease's DNA-based genome-wide association studies (GWAS),
and diseases that would otherwise be undetectable. The resulting technique, which they called a'network-guided association study,
and identify genes underlying complex human diseases. And because the technique is driven completely data Netwas avoids bias toward better-studied genes
The paper goes on to describe functional gene disruptions for diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity.
Many human cell types important to disease cannot be studied by traditional direct experimentation, so the ability to instead work with these rich datasets was a critical workaround."
and in many other disease-relevant tissues and cell types.""These findings have important implications for our understanding of normal gene function,
"Biomedical researchers can use these networks and the pathways that they uncover to understand drug action and side effects in the context of specific disease-relevant tissues,
and to repurpose drugs,"Troyanskaya says.""These networks can also be useful for understanding how various therapies work and to help with developing new therapies."
"The researchers have created also an online resource so that other scientists may use Netwas and access the tissue-specific networks.
and analyze data from genetic studies to find genes that cause disease. Aaron K. Wong, a data scientist at SCDA and formerly a graduate student in the computer science department at Princeton, led the way in creating GIANT."
"Our goal was to develop a resource that was accessible to biomedical researchers, "he says."
"For example, with GIANT, researchers studying Parkinson's disease can search the substantia nigra network, which represents the brain region affected by Parkinson's,
and pathways involved in the disease.""Wong is one of three co-first authors of the paper.
Other key collaborators on this study were Emanuela Ricciotti, Garret A. Fitzgerald and Tilo Grosser of the pharmacology department and the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics at the Perelman School of medicine, University of Pennsylvania;
Daniel I. Chasman of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical school in Boston; and Kara Dolinski at the Lewis-Sigler Institute at Princeton university."
"This is an exciting time in biomedical research, and I believe we are still at the early stages of developing new ways to think about biological networks and their control,
polymer solutions were spun in an electrical field to form very fine threads and wound onto a spool."
"We did not find any aneurysms, thromboses or inflammation. Endogenous cells had colonized the vascular prostheses
A few more preclinical trials are necessary before the artificial blood vessels can be used in humans. However, based on the results so far, the research team is very confident that the new method will prove itself for use in humans in a few years time e
A new report published in the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) describes the effectiveness of a new computer-based vision-screening test, the Jaeb Visual acuity Screener (JVAS),
which is suitable for use in schools and pediatrician's offices.""Broad adoption of this tool would result in a more standardized approach to pediatric vision screening in diverse medical
and community office settings,"commented lead investigator Tomohiko Yamada, OD, of the Department of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota."
"In comparison to traditional vision testing methodologies, this software-based tool provides the advantage of running on any windows-based PC in a pediatrician's examination room--avoiding testing in distracting office hallways."
who then received a complete eye examination by an optometrist, which served as the study gold standard.
The examining optometrist was kept unaware of the initial JVAS vision screening results. No children who already wore glasses,
had been treated for amblyopia, or had undergone ocular surgery were included in the screening. The average screening time was 84 seconds, with a range of 23 to 357 seconds across all age groups.
There were three different failure criteria evaluated:(1) failure to identify at least three of any four normal threshold letters in either eye;(
Of the 65 children failing the gold standard examination, 86%failed for reduced visual acuity (56), 35%for hyperopia (23), 23%for astigmatism (15), 11%for anisometropia (7), 9%for myopia (6),
and 5%for strabismus (3), with some patients failing the gold standard for more than one reason.
For the 56 children with reduced visual acuity, the primary cause assigned hierarchically was uncorrected refractive error in 31 of 56 (55%),unilateral amblyopia in 7 (13%),bilateral amblyopia in 8 (14%
and the investigators encourage elementary school nurses, pediatricians, and other professionals who work with children ages 3-7 years to download
could allow biomedical engineers to identify appropriate binding sites for drugs used to treat cancer and other diseases.
In that case, jumping to the conclusion that the fruit was to blame for a bout of illness might help the animal steer clear of the same danger in the future.
for example, you might blame a new food you tried for an illness when in fact it was harmless,
and effect might lie at the heart of some psychiatric disorders that involve delusional thinking, such as schizophrenia."
The device is intended for use in remote laboratory settings to diagnose various types of cancers and nervous system disorders
as well as detect drug resistance in infectious diseases. To use the camera it is necessary to first isolate
Ozcan's group next plans to test their device in the field to detect the presence of malaria-related drug resistance e
#Uncovering new functions of a gene implicated in cancer growth opens new therapeutic possibilities Two decades ago,
was also present in cancer patients and contributing to tumor progression. The present study reveals another way that Id1 works, hijacking a normal pathway in immune cell development and interfering with the entire immune system, starting in the bone marrow.
Without competent immune cells, the body can't fight off tumors, and instead, cancer is allowed to grow,
spread and thrive.""Targeting Id1 offers the potential to restore overall immune function, "said senior author Dr. David Lyden, the Stavros S. Niarchos Professor in Pediatric Cardiology and a professor of pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College."
"When the immune system is functioning, treatment options are more plentiful. Given the increased incidence and death rates tied to advanced stage metastatic cancers,
there is also an increased urgency to understand how pro-metastatic, immunosuppressive mechanisms, like those driven by Id1,
work.""The investigators discovered that a tumor-secreted protein called transforming growth factor beta (TGF? promotes the activation of Id1.
The gene then sets off a chain reaction that redirects immune cells down a new pathway that churns out immature suppressor cells,
and allowing cancer to grow and spread unabated.""Normally, the bone marrow produces, among other immune cell types, dendritic cells,
and growth of tumors,"said first author Dr. Marianna Papaspyridonos, who was a Fulbright Cancer Research Fellow at Cornell University in Dr. Lyden's lab."But when TGF?
is released by the tumor and Id1 is upregulated, the normal generation of dendritic cells is interrupted,
and instead another subset of immune cells, which suppresses the immune system, is formed.""Those immune cells, called myeloid-derived suppressor cells,
allow cancer to more readily grow and spread. The researchers validated this finding in advanced melanoma patients,
who have increased TGF? plasma levels and higher levels of Id1 in myeloid peripheral blood cells. Targeting Id1 might provide a three-pronged therapeutic approach,
which would first reduce the metastatic potential of the tumor itself, then reduce the tumor's ability to form new blood vessels, a process called vasculogenesis,
and finally restore the patient's systemic immune function.""With this approach, immune cells will recognize a tumor as foreign and attack it,
"said Dr. Lyden, who also has appointments in the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center and the Gale and Ira Drukier Institute for Children's Health at Weill Cornell Medical College."
"This will improve vaccine development, lead to better treatment outcomes and ultimately benefit cancer patients
#Can photosynthesis be measured over large areas? Scientists find a way"Plant photosynthesis is a fundamental process that drives all ecosystem functions.
Despite established knowledge on how to measure and model photosynthesis on the leaf scale, measuring photosynthesis on the canopy scale has been challenging,
Viruses responsible for 50 percent of gastroenteritis Noroviruses, a group of viruses responsible for over 50%of global gastroenteritis cases, can spread by air up to several meters from an infected person
The discovery, details of which are presented in the latest issue of Clinical Infectious diseases, suggests that measures applied in hospitals during gastroenteritis outbreaks may be insufficient to effectively contain this kind of infection.
The team led by Caroline Duchaine, professor at Université Laval's Faculty of science and Engineering and researcher at the Québec Heart and Lung Institute (IUCPQ) Research Centre
conducted the study at 8 hospitals and long-term care facilities affected by gastroenteritis outbreaks. Researchers gathered air samples at a distance of 1 meter from patients, at the doors to their rooms,
and at nursing stations. Noroviruses were found in the air at six of the eight facilities studied.
The viruses were detected in 54%of the rooms housing patients with gastroenteritis, 38%of the hallways leading to their rooms,
A dose of 20 norovirus particles is usually enough to cause gastroenteritis. According to Professor Duchaine
this previously unknown mode of norovirus propagation could explain why gastroenteritis outbreaks are so hard to contain:"
Use of mobile air filtration units or the wearing of respiratory protection around patients with gastroenteritis are measures worth testing. i
However, if cells are exposed to oxidative stress, SIRT1 ubiquitination promotes cell death. These results are important
potentially leading to more effective therapeutic drugs in the future.""SIRT1 is known to be expressed abnormally in a variety of cancers
and might be a good target for therapy. Ubiquitin-proteasome inhibitors have already been used successfully in cancer therapy and clinical trials.
Therefore, this research might provide molecular bases and insights for developing additional therapeutic strategies in the future,"explained Ed Seto, Ph d.,senior member of the Cancer Biology and Evolution Program at Moffitt t
#Percentage of Texans without health insurance drops dramatically The report found that from September 2013 to March 2015, the percentage of uninsured adult Texans ages 18-64 dropped from 25 to 17 percent."
"This is a dramatic drop that's unprecedented in Texas, "said Elena Marks, president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation and a health policy scholar at the Baker Institute."
"It's almost entirely attributable to newly insured individuals who purchased their own health insurance plans.
"said Vivian Ho, the chair in health economics at Rice's Baker Institute, a professor of economics at Rice and a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine."
"Right now, those at the lowest incomes must rely on health care that is highly subsidized by county and state tax dollars,
or get by without needed health care.""The 31 percent decrease in the rate of uninsured Texans was similar to drops in other states that did not expand Medicaid coverage,
2015 in Molecular Cell, offer guidance for improving stem cell therapies. The new work also reveals more about certain cancers that arise
when these processes go astray, for example, when the Wnt signaling step becomes inappropriately reactivated, as happens in most colon cancers."
and optimizing the efficiency of stem cell therapies.""When they looked closer at the genes that both pathways activated,
"Both the Wnt and Activin signaling processes operate differently in cancer, compared to stem cells.
The aberrant behavior of the Activin process, meanwhile, is tied to the metastasis of many cancers."
because these would have strong anticancer activity for many tumor types, "says Estar#s ."Because the environment of stem cells and cancer cells are quite distinct,
and regulation that we have defined in stem cells operates in the cells of a tumor. u
NONO helps to mend the damage The study appeared as advanced online publication on Oncogene, a journal in cancer research from the Nature Publishing Group.
a multifunctional protein involved in melanoma development and progression, in the cellular response to UV radiations.
or transmitted to daughter cells during mitosis. Luigi Alfano, Phd of the National Cancer Institute of Naples-Pascale Foundation-CROM-Cancer Research center of Mercogliano,
"Considering that many studies are identifying NONO alterations in cancer, our findings will likely help to shed light on the molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis, especially in tumour types like melanoma, in which exposure to UV radiations plays such a prominent part.
Our work also provides the preclinical framework supporting the development of new agents targeting NONO that could be used to sensitize cancer cells to a variety of drugs that cause DNA damage,
such as common chemotherapy agents,"states Francesca Pentimalli Phd from the National Cancer Institute of Naples co-corresponding of the study with Antonio Giordano,
Director of the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, at Temple University, Philadelphia a
#Online voting a step closer thanks to breakthrough in security technology Taking inspiration from the security devices issued by some banks,
#New test predicts sudden cardiac death in hemodialysis patients ICNC is organised by the Nuclear Cardiology
and Cardiac CT section of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI), a registered branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC),
because they often have latent ischaemic heart disease which reduces blood flow to the heart. Latent means they don't have any clinical signs
or symptoms, making it very difficult to predict a future heart attack.""He continued:""Ischaemic heart disease should be diagnosed at an early stage
so that preventive therapies can be given. But exercise stress testing is inappropriate for diagnosis in hemodialysis patients who have multiple complications including muscle weakness, osteoporosis and peripheral arterial disease."
"The current study investigated the ability of 3 methods, alone or in combination, to predict the risk of sudden cardiac death in hemodialysis patients.
All 3 methods were performed at rest. The first was a nuclear medicine radioisotope technique called beta-methyl-p-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) scintigraphy1
which could be caused by latent ischaemic heart disease and may lead to fatal cardiac events.""He added:"
"An abnormal Q wave indicates the presence of previous myocardial infarction or serious myocardial injury responsible for low cardiac output, heart failure and/or potentially fatal arrhythmias.
High C reactive-protein protein levels reflect any active inflammatory reactions such as infection or atherosclerosis.""Dr Hashimoto continued:"
Abnormal BMIPP identifies specific myocardial injury which could be an effective therapeutic target for preventing sudden cardiac death."
"He concluded:""Further diagnostic tests should be considered in high risk patients with abnormal BMIPP scintigraphy.
Cardiac function assessment for heart failure, coronary angiography for ischaemic heart disease and Holter ECG monitoring for lethal arrhythmias can identify the type of myocardial injury
and help physicians select a prophylactic therapeutic strategy against sudden cardiac death in hemodialysis patients."
It detects scar tissue formed after the heart muscle is damaged by a heart attack. 3. C reactive-protein protein is a nonspecific test used to detect inflammation in the body.
#New test predicts sudden cardiac death in hemodialysis patients ICNC is organised by the Nuclear Cardiology
and Cardiac CT section of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI), a registered branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC),
because they often have latent ischaemic heart disease which reduces blood flow to the heart. Latent means they don't have any clinical signs
or symptoms, making it very difficult to predict a future heart attack.""He continued:""Ischaemic heart disease should be diagnosed at an early stage
so that preventive therapies can be given. But exercise stress testing is inappropriate for diagnosis in hemodialysis patients who have multiple complications including muscle weakness, osteoporosis and peripheral arterial disease."
"The current study investigated the ability of 3 methods, alone or in combination, to predict the risk of sudden cardiac death in hemodialysis patients.
All 3 methods were performed at rest. The first was a nuclear medicine radioisotope technique called beta-methyl-p-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) scintigraphy1
which could be caused by latent ischaemic heart disease and may lead to fatal cardiac events.""He added:"
"An abnormal Q wave indicates the presence of previous myocardial infarction or serious myocardial injury responsible for low cardiac output, heart failure and/or potentially fatal arrhythmias.
High C reactive-protein protein levels reflect any active inflammatory reactions such as infection or atherosclerosis.""Dr Hashimoto continued:"
Abnormal BMIPP identifies specific myocardial injury which could be an effective therapeutic target for preventing sudden cardiac death."
"He concluded:""Further diagnostic tests should be considered in high risk patients with abnormal BMIPP scintigraphy.
Cardiac function assessment for heart failure, coronary angiography for ischaemic heart disease and Holter ECG monitoring for lethal arrhythmias can identify the type of myocardial injury
and help physicians select a prophylactic therapeutic strategy against sudden cardiac death in hemodialysis patients
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