Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) possess unique magnetic properties and the ability to function at the cellular and molecular level of biological interactions making them an attractive platform as ...contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and as carriers for drug delivery. Recent advances in nanotechnology have improved the ability to specifically tailor the features and properties of MNPs for these biomedical applications. To better address specific clinical needs, MNPs with higher magnetic moments, non-fouling surfaces, and increased functionalities are now being developed for applications in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of malignant tumors, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disease. Through the incorporation of highly specific targeting agents and other functional ligands, such as fluorophores and permeation enhancers, the applicability and efficacy of these MNPs have greatly increased. This review provides a background on applications of MNPs as MR imaging contrast agents and as carriers for drug delivery and an overview of the recent developments in this area of research.
Korean Transnational-split Families (KTSF) are some of the most unique Living Apart Together relationships. However, little is known about their acculturation to a new host country and its ...relationship with leisure and life satisfaction. Using a convergent mixed-method design, this study investigated the relationship between leisure, acculturation, and life satisfaction of KTSF in the U.S. An online survey and in-depth interviews with 10 KTSF adults were conducted. The results from structural equation modeling showed that leisure time with Koreans negatively impacted acculturation, yet it positively affected life satisfaction. Leisure time with Americans did not significantly affect acculturation and life satisfaction. Acculturation positively affected life satisfaction. Most qualitative data supported the quantitative findings. The data also showed other important issues in KTSF's life satisfaction, such as the academic and personal success of children, "laid back" American lifestyles, less emphasis on materialism, quality natural environment, and lack of obligation to extended family.
Abstract Emerging evidence implicates cancer stem cells (CSCs) as primary determinants of the clinical behavior of human cancers, representing an ideal target for next-generation anti-cancer ...therapies. However CSCs are difficult to propagate in vitro , severely limiting the study of CSC biology and drug development. Here we report that growing cells from glioblastoma (GBM) cell lines on three dimensional (3D) porous chitosan-alginate (CA) scaffolds dramatically promotes the proliferation and enrichment of cells possessing the hallmarks of CSCs. CA scaffold-grown cells were found more tumorigenic in nude mouse xenografts than cells grown from monolayers. Growing in CA scaffolds rapidly promoted expression of genes involved in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition that has been implicated in the genesis of CSCs. Our results indicate that CA scaffolds have utility as a simple and inexpensive means to cultivate CSCs in vitro in support of studies to understand CSC biology and develop more effective anti-cancer therapies.
Following uncontrolled proliferation, a subset of primary tumour cells acquires additional traits/mutations to trigger phenotypic changes that enhance migration and are hypothesized to be the ...initiators of metastasis. This study reveals an adaptive mechanism that harnesses synergistic paracrine signalling via IL-6/8, which is amplified by cell proliferation and cell density, to directly promote cell migration. This effect occurs in metastatic human sarcoma and carcinoma cells- but not in normal or non-metastatic cancer cells-, and likely involves the downstream signalling of WASF3 and Arp2/3. The transcriptional phenotype of high-density cells that emerges due to proliferation resembles that of low-density cells treated with a combination of IL-6/8. Simultaneous inhibition of IL-6/8 receptors decreases the expression of WASF3 and Arp2/3 in a mouse xenograft model and reduces metastasis. This study reveals a potential mechanism that promotes tumour cell migration and infers a strategy to decrease metastatic capacity of tumour cells.
Both new materialist philosophy of science and Indigenous studies scholarship have developed theories about the agency of non-human things. There has, however, been relatively little articulation ...between these two literatures in the qualitative social sciences. This essay looks at the possible reasons for this lack of engagement–including the relatively recent emergence of new materialism, pervasive racism within the academy, and foundational differences in the priorities and philosophical assumptions informing these two literatures. Addressing new materialist scholars, the essay inventories the ethical, political, and intellectual reasons social scientists using Karen Barad’s concept of agential realism should also be reading and citing Indigenous studies literature on agent ontologies. It makes the case that the Indigenous studies literature on agent ontologies have strengths in precisely some of the places new materialist social science is facing challenges. Examples are provided and the broader political implications of such work are examined.
The molecular characterization of cancer through genomics, data from multiomics technologies, molecular-driven clinical trials, and internet-enabled devices capturing patient context and real-world ...data are creating an unprecedented big data revolution across the cancer research-care continuum. While big data has translated to benefit for some patients, it has also created new problems. Our intent in this brief communication is to explore some examples of progress and key challenges that remain. The problems are not intractable, but success will require rethinking and rebuilding an information and evidence-based learning system that moves beyond paralysis to shape a better future for patients with cancer.
Although nature-based recreation areas are among the most popular tourism destinations in the U.S., African Americans are far less likely to visit them compared to White Americans. This paper offers ...a critical analysis of the phenomenon often labeled Black under-participation or under-representation (BUPR) in nature tourism. First, I use the concept of the White racial frame to unpack the White centrism and normalism embedded in the notion of BUPR and explain how it erases Black Americans' historical relationship with nature while concealing centuries of Black exclusion in great outdoors. Second, I use the notion of the White-Savior Industry Complex to critique diversity initiatives of public park and tourism agencies, namely lack of strong sense of ownership in their historical Black exclusion. Finally, I make three recommendations for rectifying the enduring racial oppression in nature tourism.
The actin filament cytoskeleton mediates cell motility and adhesion in somatic cells. However, whether the function and organization of the actin network are fundamentally different in pluripotent ...stem cells is unknown. Here we show that while conventional actin stress fibers at the basal surface of cells are present before and after onset of differentiation of mouse (mESCs) and human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), actin stress fibers of the actin cap, which wrap around the nucleus, are completely absent from undifferentiated mESCs and hESCs and their formation strongly correlates with differentiation. Similarly, the perinuclear actin cap is absent from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), while it is organized in the parental lung fibroblasts from which these hiPSCs are derived and in a wide range of human somatic cells, including lung, embryonic, and foreskin fibroblasts and endothelial cells. During differentiation, the formation of the actin cap follows the expression and proper localization of nuclear lamin A/C and associated linkers of nucleus and cytoskeleton (LINC) complexes at the nuclear envelope, which physically couple the actin cap to the apical surface of the nucleus. The differentiation of hESCs is accompanied by the progressive formation of a perinuclear actin cap while induced pluripotency is accompanied by the specific elimination of the actin cap, and that, through lamin A/C and LINC complexes, this actin cap is involved in progressively shaping the nucleus of hESCs undergoing differentiation. While, the localization of lamin A/C at the nuclear envelope is required for perinuclear actin cap formation, it is not sufficient to control nuclear shape.
Previous studies on environmental justice have paid limited attention to procedural injustice in parks. Using the concept of slow violence, this paper interrogates the ideological and philosophical ...foundations of American public parks in order to unearth enduring structural patterns of procedural injustice. The paper illustrates that community, state, and national parks in the U.S. were founded upon the elitism, eugenics, and racism of affluent and powerful White conservationists and social reformers. To materialize their own interests, the White elite defined, built, and managed public parks by displacing, excluding, and criminalizing the Indigenous, the poor, people of color, and immigrants. As such, many of today's park injustices, such as inequitable park availability and quality, gentrification, and non-visitation of people of color, originated from the beginning of the public parks in the 19
th
century and have been sustained ever since. The paper discusses corrective justice strategies to alleviate the enduring slow violence in parks.
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