To investigate the safety and efficacy of subretinal injection of human Wharton's Jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hWJ-MSCs) on retinal structure and function in Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) ...rats.
RCS rats were divided into 2 groups: hWJ-MSCs treated group (n = 8) and placebo control group (n = 8). In the treatment group, hWJ-MSCs from healthy donors were injected into the subretinal space in one eye of each rat at day 21. Control group received saline injection of the same volume. Additional 3 animals were injected with nanogold-labelled stem cells for in vivo tracking of cells localisation using a micro-computed tomography (microCT). Retinal function was assessed by electroretinography (ERG) 3 days before the injection and repeated at days 15, 30 and 70 after the injection. Eyes were collected at day 70 for histology, cellular and molecular studies.
No retinal tumor formation was detected by histology during the study period. MicroCT scans showed that hWJ-MSCs stayed localised in the eye with no systemic migration. Transmission electron microscopy showed that nanogold-labelled cells were located within the subretinal space. Histology showed preservation of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) in the treated group but not in the control group. However, there were no significant differences in the ERG responses between the groups. Confocal microscopy showed evidence of hWJ-MSCs expressing markers for photoreceptor, Müller cells and bipolar cells.
Subretinal injection of hWJ-MSCs delay the loss of the ONL in RCS rats. hWJ-MSCs appears to be safe and has potential to differentiate into retinal-like cells. The potential of this cell-based therapy for the treatment of retinal dystrophies warrants further studies.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Aim
Hong Kong's existing mental health services are inadequate in addressing young people's needs. The LevelMind@JC project established an early intervention platform of community‐based ...youth‐specific mental health centres involving youth workers, cross‐disciplinary professionals, and young people. The project intends to (1) pilot a community platform that incorporates a youth‐friendly early screening tool with preventative intervention capabilities, (2) set up a state‐of‐the‐art training system for youth mental health workers, (3) establish a community clinical support team and (4) develop a timely evaluation system to monitor the service and evaluate its outcome and cost‐effectiveness against generic youth services.
Methods
Six hundred LevelMind@JC service users will be assessed alongside 600 young people visiting generic youth centres and 100 young people in the community. Participants will be matched according to age, gender, years of education, socioeconomic status, and level of distress. Assessments, administered at baseline and at 3, 6 and 12 months, will cover demographic characteristics, psychological distress, quality of life, depressive and anxiety symptoms, functioning, physical health and lifestyle, personality and social measures, cognitive measures and health economics. Mixed‐model ANOVAs will be used to indicate interactions between services and between time points.
Conclusion
Built upon a community‐based support model, LevelMind@JC aims to promote positive mental health in young people through the collaboration of cross‐disciplinary mental health professionals. If efficacy and cost‐effectiveness are established, the project could be scaled up, implicating a wider reach of care. We anticipate its success to be critical in combatting mental health issues stemming from both personal and population‐level stressors.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
In this paper, we propose a new metasurface that is able to reflect a known incoming electromagnetic wave into an arbitrary direction, with perfect power efficiency. This seemingly simple task, which ...we hereafter call perfect anomalous reflection, is actually highly nontrivial because of the differing wave impedances and complex interference between the incident and reflected waves. Heretofore, proposed metasurfaces that achieve perfect anomalous reflection require complicated, deeply subwavelength and/or multilayer element structures, which allow them to couple to and from leaky and/or evanescent waves. In contrast, we demonstrate that using a bipartite Huygens’ metasurface (BHM)—a passive and lossless metasurface with only two cells per period—perfect anomalous reflection can be achieved over a wide angular and frequency range. Through simulations and experiments at 24 GHz, we show that a properly designed BHM can anomalously reflect an incident electromagnetic wave fromθi=50°toθr=−22.5°, with perfect power efficiency to within experimental precision.
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CMK, CTK, FMFMET, IJS, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the comorbidities, symptoms, clinical characteristics and treatment of COVID-19 patients. Epidemiological studies published in 2020 (from ...January-March) on the clinical presentation, laboratory findings and treatments of COVID-19 patients were identified from PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase databases. Studies published in English by 27th March, 2020 with original data were included. Primary outcomes included comorbidities of COVID-19 patients, their symptoms presented on hospital admission, laboratory results, radiological outcomes, and pharmacological and in-patient treatments. 76 studies were included in this meta-analysis, accounting for a total of 11,028 COVID-19 patients in multiple countries. A random-effects model was used to aggregate estimates across eligible studies and produce meta-analytic estimates. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (18.1%, 95% CI 15.4-20.8%). The most frequently identified symptoms were fever (72.4%, 95% CI 67.2-77.7%) and cough (55.5%, 95% CI 50.7-60.3%). For pharmacological treatment, 63.9% (95% CI 52.5-75.3%), 62.4% (95% CI 47.9-76.8%) and 29.7% (95% CI 21.8-37.6%) of patients were given antibiotics, antiviral, and corticosteroid, respectively. Notably, 62.6% (95% CI 39.9-85.4%) and 20.2% (95% CI 14.6-25.9%) of in-patients received oxygen therapy and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, respectively. This meta-analysis informed healthcare providers about the timely status of characteristics and treatments of COVID-19 patients across different countries.PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42020176589.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The growing epidemic of obesity, which causes nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the more severe phenotype nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), has paralleled the increasing incidence of ...hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Accumulating evidence demonstrates that overnutrition and metabolic pathways can trigger modifications of DNA and histones via deregulation of chromatin modifiers, resulting in aberrant transcriptional activity. However, the epigenetic regulation of HCC development in NAFLD remains obscure. Here, we uncover key epigenetic regulators using both dietary and genetic obesity-promoted HCC models through quantitative expression profiling and characterize the oncogenic activities of histone deacetylase HDAC8 in NAFLD-associated hepatocarcinogenesis. HDAC8 is directly upregulated by the lipogenic transcription factor SREBP-1 where they are coexpressed in dietary obesity models of NASH and HCC. Lentiviral-mediated HDAC8 attenuation in vivo reversed insulin resistance and reduced NAFLD-associated tumorigenicity. HDAC8 modulation by genetic and pharmacologic approaches inhibited p53/p21-mediated apoptosis and G2-M phase cell-cycle arrest and stimulated β-catenin-dependent cell proliferation. Mechanistically, HDAC8 physically interacted with the chromatin modifier EZH2 to concordantly repress Wnt antagonists via histone H4 deacetylation and H3 lysine 27 trimethylation. In human NAFLD-associated HCC, levels of SREBP-1, HDAC8, EZH2, H4 deacetylation, H3K27me3, and active β-catenin were all correlated positively in tumors compared with nontumor tissues. Overall, our findings show how HDAC8 drives NAFLD-associated hepatocarcinogenesis, offering a novel epigenetic target to prevent or treat HCC in obese patients.
This paper reviews the concentrations of persistent organic pollutants such as flame retardants (PBDEs), dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls ...(PCBs) and heavy metals/metalloid concentrations of different environmental media at Guiyu, a traditional rice-growing village located in southeastern Guangdong Province (PR China), which has turned into an intensive electronic-waste (e-waste) recycling site. Incomplete combustion of e-waste in open air and dumping of processed materials are the major sources of various toxic chemicals. By comparing with existing data available in other areas and also guidelines adopted in different countries, it is obvious that the environment is highly contaminated by these toxic chemicals derived from the recycling processes. For example, the monthly concentration of the sum of 22 PBDE congeners contained in PM
2.5 (16.8
ng
m
−3) of air samples at Guiyu was 100 times higher than published data. In order to safeguard the environment and human health, detailed investigations are urgently needed, especially on tracking the exposure pathways of different toxic chemicals which may affect the workers and local residents especially mothers, infants and children.
Uncontrolled e-waste recycling is ruining the environment.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Restrictive COVID-19 measures can have significant mental health impacts, particularly on young people. How such measures may influence day-to-day momentary affect, nonetheless, remains to be ...explored. Experience sampling data were collected from 165 young people (aged 15–24) as part of a larger epidemiological youth mental health study in Hong Kong. We examined the impact of one of the most stringent COVID-19 measures – dine-in restrictions – on momentary positive and negative affect and current contexts and activities of these young people. The effects of a milder form of COVID-19 measure – school suspension – were separately examined. Multilevel analysis revealed that those in the dine-in ban group, compared to dining-as-usual, showed significantly reduced momentary positive affect (
β
= −0.17,
SE
= 0.06,
p
= 0.003). Its effect remained significant even when accounting for baseline depressive and anxiety symptoms and socioeconomic status (
β
= −0.15,
SE
= 0.05,
p
= 0.008). The effect of dine-in ban on reduced momentary positive affect was found specifically when participants were in indoor locations (e.g., home, office), alone, and engaged in passive leisure activities. This pattern was not observed when participants were at school or at other outdoor locations, with friends, or engaged in active leisure activities. No significant effect of school suspension on momentary affect was observed. More severe COVID-19 measures, such as dine-in ban, can have significant impacts on the momentary positive affect of young people. Certain contexts and activities may offer protection against the consequences of COVID-19 measures. The current findings may help to inform future designs of mental health interventions and public health policies.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Background
The college years represent a period of increased vulnerability for a wide range of mental health (MH) challenges. The onset of common psychiatric conditions occurs during this period of ...development. Increases in depression, anxiety, and suicidality among U.S. college students have been observed. This study identified prevalence and correlates of MH diagnoses and suicidality in a recent sample of U.S. college students.
Methods
The Spring 2015 American College Health Association‐National College Health Assessment (ACHA‐NCHA) survey assessed MH diagnoses and suicidality from U.S. undergraduate students (n = 67,308) across 108 institutions.
Results
Stress was strongly associated with a greater likelihood of suicide attempts and MH diagnoses, even among students reporting 1–2 stressful events (OR odds ratio range 1.6–2.6, CI confidence interval = 1.2–3.2). Bisexual students were more likely to report MH diagnoses and suicidality, compared to heterosexual and gay/lesbian students (OR range 1.5–3.9, CI = 1.8–4.3), with over half engaging in suicidal ideation and self‐harm, and over a quarter reporting suicide attempts. Transgender students reported a higher rate of MH diagnoses and suicidality relative to females (OR range 1.9–2.4, CI = 1.1–3.4). Racial/ethnic minority students were generally less likely to report MH diagnoses relative to Whites, although the likelihood for suicidality was mixed.
Conclusions
The high rate of multiple stress exposures among the U.S. college population and the high impacts of stress on MH and suicidality point to an urgent need for service utilization strategies, especially among racial/ethnic, sexual, or gender minorities. Campuses must consider student experiences to mitigate stress during this developmental period.
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DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Charge density wave (CDW) formation in solids is a critical phenomenon involving the collective reorganization of the electrons and atoms in the system into a wave structure, and it is expected to be ...sensitive to the geometric constraint of the system at the nanoscale. Here, we study the CDW transition in TiSe2, a quasi-two-dimensional layered material, to determine the effects of quantum confinement and changing dimensions in films ranging from a single layer to multilayers. Of key interest is the characteristic length scale for the transformation from a two-dimensional case to the three-dimensional limit. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements of films with thicknesses up to six layers reveal substantial variations in the energy structure of discrete quantum well states; however, the temperature-dependent band gap renormalization converges at just three layers. The results indicate a layer-dependent mixture of two transition temperatures and a very-short-range CDW interaction within a three-dimensional framework.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Trigonal tellurium, a small-gap semiconductor with pronounced magneto-electric and magneto-optical responses, is among the simplest realizations of a chiral crystal. We have studied by spin- and ...angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy its unconventional electronic structure and unique spin texture. We identify Kramers–Weyl, composite, and accordionlike Weyl fermions, so far only predicted by theory, and show that the spin polarization is parallel to the wave vector along the lines in k space connecting high-symmetry points. Our results clarify the symmetries that enforce such spin texture in a chiral crystal, thus bringing new insight in the formation of a spin vectorial field more complex than the previously proposed hedgehog configuration. Our findings thus pave the way to a classification scheme for these exotic spin textures and their search in chiral crystals.
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CMK, CTK, FMFMET, IJS, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
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