As nano- and micro-sized plastics accumulate in the environment and the food chain of animals, including humans, it is imperative to assess the effects of nanoplastics in living organisms in a ...systematic manner, especially because of their ability to adsorb potential toxicants such as pollutants, heavy metals, and organic macromolecules that coexist in the environment. Using the zebrafish embryo as an animal model, we investigated the bioaccumulation and in vivo toxicity of polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics individually or in combination with the Au ion. We showed that smaller PS nanoplastics readily penetrated the chorion and developing embryos and accumulated throughout the whole body, mostly in lipid-rich regions such as in yolk lipids. We also showed that PS nanoplastics induced only marginal effects on the survival, hatching rate, developmental abnormalities, and cell death of zebrafish embryos but that these effects were synergistically exacerbated by the Au ion in a dose- and size-dependent manner. Such exacerbation of toxicity was well correlated with the production of reactive oxygen species and the pro-inflammatory responses synergized by the presence of PS, supporting the combined toxicity of PS and Au ions. The synergistic effect of PS on toxicity appeared to relate to mitochondrial damage as determined by ultrastructural analysis. Taken together, the effects of PS nanoplastics were marginal but could be a trigger for exacerbating the toxicity induced by other toxicants such as metal ions.
Among patients with endoscopically resected early gastric cancers who were infected with
Helicobacter pylori
, the incidence of metachronous gastric cancer was 50% lower among those who received ...active treatment with antibiotics than among controls.
Background
Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) is associated with the risk of various cancers, but the cumulative effect of IFG on gastrointestinal cancer risk remains unclear. This study evaluated the ...association between the cumulative exposure to IFG and gastrointestinal cancer risk.
Methods
The authors extracted data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service and health examination data sets. Among individuals ≥40 years old who were free of diabetes or cancer, 1,430,054 who underwent national health examinations over 4 consecutive years from 2009 to 2012 were selected and followed up until gastrointestinal cancer diagnosis, death, or December 31, 2019. The IFG exposure score (range, 0–4) was based on the number of IFG diagnoses over 4 years.
Results
The median follow‐up duration was 6.4 years. Consistent normoglycemia for 4 years was found in 44.3% of the population, whereas 5.0% had persistent IFG and 50.7% had intermittent IFG. Compared to the group with an IFG exposure score of 0, groups with IFG exposure scores of 1, 2, 3, and 4 had a 5%, 8%, 9%, and 12% increased risk of gastrointestinal cancer, respectively (score 1: adjusted hazard ratio aHR, 1.05; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.01–1.08; score 2: aHR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.04–1.12; score 3: aHR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.05–1.14; score 4: aHR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.06–1.19). Persistent IFG exposure was also associated with higher risks of individual cancer types (colorectum, stomach, pancreas, biliary tract, and esophagus).
Conclusions
Cumulative exposure to IFG is associated with an increased risk of developing gastrointestinal cancer, in a dose‐dependent manner.
Plain Language Summary
Hyperglycemia, including both diabetes and prediabetes, has been associated with an increased risk of various cancers.
However, the cumulative effect of impaired fasting glucose on the risk of developing gastrointestinal cancer remains unclear.
A frequent diagnosis of impaired fasting glucose was dose‐dependently associated with a higher risk of developing overall gastrointestinal cancer.
Furthermore, risks of individual cancer types increased with persistent impaired fasting glucose.
Early detection of hyperglycemia and strict glycemic control can lower the risk of gastrointestinal cancer by reducing hyperglycemic burden.
Additionally, for some individuals, lifestyle changes such as managing metabolic syndrome or abstaining from alcohol may also be helpful.
Cumulative exposure to impaired fasting glucose is dose‐dependently associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal cancer, and persistent exposure also increases risks of individual cancer types.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Background
Although depression is associated with poor treatment outcomes in patients with cancer, little is known about whether lifestyle modifications could help prevent depression. The authors ...aimed to identify the effect of lifestyle modifications, including smoking cessation, alcohol abstinence, and starting regular physical activity, on new‐onset depression in patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgery.
Methods
By using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgery between 2010 and 2017 were identified. Self‐reported lifestyle behaviors within 2 years before and after surgery were analyzed using the health examination database. Patients were classified according to changes in lifestyle behaviors, and their risk of new‐onset depression was compared.
Results
Among 18,902 patients, 2302 (12.19%) developed depression (26.00 per 1000 person‐years). Smoking cessation (hazard ratio HR, 0.77; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.66–0.91) and alcohol abstinence (HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.69–0.90) were associated with reduced risk of depression development compared with persistent smoking and persistent drinking, respectively. Starting regular physical activity was not associated with risk of depression. When lifestyle behaviors after gastrectomy were scored from 0 to 3 points (1 point each for not smoking, not drinking, and being physically active), the risk of depression tended to decrease as lifestyle scores increased from 0 points (reference) to 1 point (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.55–0.83), 2 points (HR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.50–0.76), and 3 points (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.45–0.68).
Conclusions
Smoking cessation and alcohol abstinence are associated with reduced risk of developing depression in patients with gastric cancer who undergo surgery.
Smoking cessation and alcohol abstinence are associated with reduced risk of developing depression in patients with gastric cancer who undergo gastrectomy compared with persistent smoking and persistent drinking, respectively. Health care providers should encourage patients to quit smoking and abstain from alcohol considering the potential effects of lifestyle modification on preventing depression.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Diatoms have long been used as living biological indicators for the assessment of water quality in lakes and rivers worldwide. While this approach benefits from the great diversity of these ...unicellular algae, established protocols are time‐consuming and require specialized equipment. Here, this work 3D prints diatom‐laden hydrogels that can be used as a simple multiplex bio‐indicator for water assessment. The hydrogel‐based living materials are created with the help of a desktop extrusion‐based printer using a suspension of diatoms, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and alginate as bio‐ink constituents. Rheology and mechanical tests are employed to establish optimum bio‐ink formulations, whereas cell culture experiments are utilized to evaluate the proliferation of the entrapped diatoms in the presence of selected water contaminants. Bioprinting of diatom‐laden hydrogels is shown to be an enticing approach to generate living materials that can serve as low‐cost bio‐indicators for water quality assessment.
A 3D printing platform is developed for the shaping of hydrogels loaded with metabolically active diatoms. By hosting diatom species with distinct sensitivities to contaminants, the printed engineered living materials are exploited as simple bioindicators for water quality assessment.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
A fundamental question in biology is how vertebrates evolved and differ from invertebrates, and little is known about differences in the regulation of translation in the two systems. Herein, we ...identify a threonyl-tRNA synthetase (TRS)-mediated translation initiation machinery that specifically interacts with eIF4E homologous protein, and forms machinery that is structurally analogous to the eIF4F-mediated translation initiation machinery via the recruitment of other translation initiation components. Biochemical and RNA immunoprecipitation analyses coupled to sequencing suggest that this machinery emerged as a gain-of-function event in the vertebrate lineage, and it positively regulates the translation of mRNAs required for vertebrate development. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that TRS evolved to regulate vertebrate translation initiation via its dual role as a scaffold for the assembly of initiation components and as a selector of target mRNAs. This work highlights the functional significance of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases in the emergence and control of higher order organisms.
For the first time, topological insulator bismuth selenide nanoparticles (Bi2Se3 NP) are core–shelled with gold (Au@Bi2Se3) i) to represent considerably small‐sized (11 nm) plasmonic nanoparticles, ...enabling accurate bioimaging in the near‐infrared region; ii) to substantially improve Bi2Se3 biocompatibility, iii) water dispersibility, and iv) surface functionalization capability through straightforward gold–thiol interaction. The Au@Bi2Se3 is subsequently functionalized for v) effective targeting of SH‐SY5Y cancer cells, vi) disrupting the endosome/lysosome membrane, vii) traceable delivery of antagomiR‐152 and further synergetic oncomiR knockdown and photothermal therapy (PTT). Unprecedentedly, it is observed that the Au shell thickness has a significant impact on evoking the exotic plasmonic features of Bi2Se3. The Au@Bi2Se3 possesses a high photothermal conversion efficiency (35.5%) and a remarkable surface plasmonic effect (both properties are approximately twofold higher than those of 50 nm Au nanoparticles). In contrast to the siRNA/miRNA delivery methods, the antagomiR delivery is based on strand displacement, in which the antagomiR‐152 is displaced by oncomiR‐152 followed by a surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy signal drop. This enables both cancer cell diagnosis and in vitro real‐time monitoring of the antagomiR release. This selective PTT nanoparticle can also efficiently target solid tumors and undergo in vivo PTT, indicating its potential clinical applications.
For the first time, the topological insulator (TI), bismuth selenide nanoparticle (Bi2Se3 NP) is core–shelled with Au (Au@Bi2Se3, 11 nm), representing considerable plasmonic features, biocompatibility and surface functionalization capability. Functionalization of Au@Bi2Se3 enabled efficient theranostics of neuroblastoma cells through the expression level determination and traceable delivery of antagomiR‐152 following by an efficient synergetic oncomiR inhibition and photothermal therapy in‐vivo.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Osteoporosis is a condition characterized by decreased bone mineral density (BMD) and reduced bone strength, leading to an increased risk of fractures. Here, to identify novel risk variants for ...susceptibility to osteoporosis-related traits, an exome-wide association study is performed with 6,485 exonic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 2,666 women of two Korean study cohorts. The rs2781 SNP in UBAP2 gene is suggestively associated with osteoporosis and BMD with p-values of 6.1 × 10
(odds ratio = 1.72) and 1.1 × 10
in the case-control and quantitative analyzes, respectively. Knockdown of Ubap2 in mouse cells decreases osteoblastogenesis and increases osteoclastogenesis, and knockdown of ubap2 in zebrafish reveals abnormal bone formation. Ubap2 expression is associated with E-cadherin (Cdh1) and Fra1 (Fosl1) expression in the osteclastogenesis-induced monocytes. UBAP2 mRNA levels are significantly reduced in bone marrow, but increased in peripheral blood, from women with osteoporosis compared to controls. UBAP2 protein level is correlated with the blood plasma level of the representative osteoporosis biomarker osteocalcin. These results suggest that UBAP2 has a critical role in bone homeostasis through the regulation of bone remodeling.
Background
Multiple medications are more effective than single agents for postoperative pain management. We investigated the analgesic effects of an intravenous combination of acetaminophen and ...ibuprofen immediately after thyroidectomy.
Methods
In this double‐blind clinical trial, 62 patients who underwent thyroidectomies were randomized to either the treatment (1000 mg acetaminophen, 300 mg ibuprofen) or control (1000 mg acetaminophen) group. Postoperative pain intensity was assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS) 0, 15, and 30 min after recovery room admission. Opioid rescue consumption was also recorded.
Results
The VAS scores were significantly lower in the treatment than in the control group 15 3 (2–4.3) vs. 5 (3–6); p = 0.015 and 30 3 (2–4.3) vs. 4 (3–5); p = 0.018 min after recovery room admission, as were the opioid rescue dose requirements (p = 0.033).
Conclusions
Combined intravenous acetaminophen and ibuprofen may be better than acetaminophen alone for immediately acute postoperative pain after thyroidectomy.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The formation of hyperphosphorylated intracellular Tau tangles in the brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Tau hyperphosphorylation destabilizes microtubules, promoting neurodegeneration ...in AD patients. To identify suppressors of tau-mediated AD, we perform a screen using a microRNA (miR) library in Drosophila and identify the miR-9 family as suppressors of human tau overexpression phenotypes. CG11070, a miR-9a target gene, and its mammalian orthologue UBE4B, an E3/E4 ubiquitin ligase, alleviate eye neurodegeneration, synaptic bouton defects, and crawling phenotypes in Drosophila human tau overexpression models. Total and phosphorylated Tau levels also decrease upon CG11070 or UBE4B overexpression. In mammalian neuroblastoma cells, overexpression of UBE4B and STUB1, which encodes the E3 ligase CHIP, increases the ubiquitination and degradation of Tau. In the Tau-BiFC mouse model, UBE4B and STUB1 overexpression also increase oligomeric Tau degradation. Inhibitor assays of the autophagy and proteasome systems reveal that the autophagy-lysosome system is the major pathway for Tau degradation in this context. These results demonstrate that UBE4B, a miR-9 target gene, promotes autophagy-mediated Tau degradation together with STUB1, and is thus an innovative therapeutic approach for AD.
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