Hyperspectral microscopy is an advanced visualization technique that combines hyperspectral imaging with state‐of‐the‐art optics and computer software to enable the rapid identification of materials ...at the micro‐ and nanoscales. Achieving this level of resolution has traditionally required time‐consuming and costly electron microscopy techniques. While hyperspectral microscopy has already been applied to the analysis of bulk materials and biologicals, it shows extraordinary promise as an analytical tool to locate individual nanoparticles and aggregates in complex samples through rapid optical and spectroscopic identification. This technique can be used to not only screen for the presence of nanomaterials, but also to locate, identify, and characterize them. It could also be used to identify a subset of samples that would then move on for further analysis via other advanced metrology. This review will describe the science and origins of hyperspectral microscopy, examine current and emerging applications in life science, and examine potential applications of this technology that could improve research efficiency or lead to novel discoveries. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2015, 7:565–579. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1330
This article is categorized under:
Diagnostic Tools > In Vitro Nanoparticle-Based Sensing
Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology
Toxicology and Regulatory Issues in Nanomedicine > Toxicology of Nanomaterials
Tamoxifen is widely used to treat estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Recent findings that tamoxifen and its derivative 4-hydroxytamoxifen (OHT) can exert estrogen receptor-independent ...cytotoxic effects have prompted the initiation of clinical trials to evaluate its use in estrogen receptor-negative malignancies. For example, tamoxifen and OHT exert cytotoxic effects in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) where estrogen is not involved. In this study, we gained insights into the estrogen receptor-independent cytotoxic effects of OHT by studying how it kills MPNST cells. Although caspases were activated following OHT treatment, caspase inhibition provided no protection from OHT-induced death. Rather, OHT-induced death in MPNST cells was associated with autophagic induction and attenuated by genetic inhibition of autophagic vacuole formation. Mechanistic investigations revealed that OHT stimulated autophagic degradation of K-Ras, which is critical for survival of MPNST cells. Similarly, we found that OHT induced K-Ras degradation in breast, colon, glioma, and pancreatic cancer cells. Our findings describe a novel mechanism of autophagic death triggered by OHT in tumor cells that may be more broadly useful clinically in cancer treatment.
Introduction
Public health responses often lack the infrastructure to capture the impact of public health emergencies on pregnant women and infants, with limited mechanisms for linking pregnant women ...with their infants nationally to monitor long-term effects. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in close collaboration with state, local, and territorial health departments, began a 5-year initiative to establish population-based mother–baby linked longitudinal surveillance, the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET).
Objectives
The objective of this report is to describe an expanded surveillance approach that leverages and modernizes existing surveillance systems to address the impact of emerging health threats during pregnancy on pregnant women and their infants.
Methods
Mother–baby pairs are identified through prospective identification during pregnancy and/or identification of an infant with retrospective linking to maternal information. All data are obtained from existing data sources (e.g., electronic medical records, vital statistics, laboratory reports, and health department investigations and case reporting).
Results
Variables were selected for inclusion to address key surveillance questions proposed by CDC and health department subject matter experts. General variables include maternal demographics and health history, pregnancy and infant outcomes, maternal and infant laboratory results, and child health outcomes up to the second birthday. Exposure-specific modular variables are included for hepatitis C, syphilis, and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The system is structured into four relational datasets (maternal, pregnancy outcomes and birth, infant/child follow-up, and laboratory testing).
Discussion
SET-NET provides a population-based mother–baby linked longitudinal surveillance approach and has already demonstrated rapid adaptation to COVID-19. This innovative approach leverages existing data sources and rapidly collects data and informs clinical guidance and practice. These data can help to reduce exposure risk and adverse outcomes among pregnant women and their infants, direct public health action, and strengthen public health systems.
Pregnant women with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at increased risk for severe illness and might be at risk for preterm birth (1-3). The full impact of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus ...that causes COVID-19, in pregnancy is unknown. Public health jurisdictions report information, including pregnancy status, on confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases to CDC through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.* Through the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET), 16 jurisdictions collected supplementary information on pregnancy and infant outcomes among 5,252 women with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection reported during March 29-October 14, 2020. Among 3,912 live births with known gestational age, 12.9% were preterm (<37 weeks), higher than the reported 10.2% among the general U.S. population in 2019 (4). Among 610 infants (21.3%) with reported SARS-CoV-2 test results, perinatal infection was infrequent (2.6%) and occurred primarily among infants whose mother had SARS-CoV-2 infection identified within 1 week of delivery. Because the majority of pregnant women with COVID-19 reported thus far experienced infection in the third trimester, ongoing surveillance is needed to assess effects of infections in early pregnancy, as well the longer-term outcomes of exposed infants. These findings can inform neonatal testing recommendations, clinical practice, and public health action and can be used by health care providers to counsel pregnant women on the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including preterm births. Pregnant women and their household members should follow recommended infection prevention measures, including wearing a mask, social distancing, and frequent handwashing when going out or interacting with others or if there is a person within the household who has had exposure to COVID-19.
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Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is transmitted by Aedes species mosquitoes and is the cause of an acute febrile illness characterized by potentially debilitating arthralgia. After emerging in the Caribbean ...in late 2013, the first locally-acquired case reported to public health authorities in Puerto Rico occurred in May 2014. During June-August 2014, household-based cluster investigations were conducted to identify factors associated with infection, development of disease, and case reporting.
Residents of households within a 50-meter radius of the residence of laboratory-positive chikungunya cases that had been reported to Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) were offered participation in the investigation. Participants provided a serum specimen and answered a questionnaire that collected information on demographic factors, household characteristics, recent illnesses, healthcare seeking behaviors, and clinical diagnoses. Current CHIKV infection was identified by rRT-PCR, and recent CHIKV infection was defined by detection of either anti-CHIKV IgM or IgG antibody. Among 250 participants, 74 (30%) had evidence of CHIKV infection, including 12 (5%) with current and 62 (25%) with recent CHIKV infection. All specimens from patients with CHIKV infection that were collected within four days, two weeks, and three weeks of illness onset were positive by RT-PCR, IgM ELISA, and IgG ELISA, respectively. Reporting an acute illness in the prior three months was strongly associated with CHIKV infection (adjusted odds ratio aOR = 21.6, 95% confidence interval CI: 9.24-50.3). Use of air conditioning (aOR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.3-0.9) and citronella candles (aOR = 0.4, 95% CI = 0.1-0.9) were associated with protection from CHIKV infection. Multivariable analysis indicated that arthralgia (aOR = 51.8, 95% CI = 3.8-700.8) and skin rash (aOR = 14.2, 95% CI = 2.4-84.7) were strongly associated with CHIKV infection. Hierarchical cluster analysis of signs and symptoms reported by CHIKV-infected participants demonstrated that fever, arthralgia, myalgia, headache, and chills tended to occur simultaneously. Rate of symptomatic CHIKV infection (defined by arthralgia with fever or skin rash) was 62.5%. Excluding index case-patients, 22 (63%) participants with symptomatic CHIKV infection sought medical care, of which 5 (23%) were diagnosed with chikungunya and 2 (9%) were reported to PRDH.
This investigation revealed high rates of CHIKV infection among household members and neighbors of chikungunya patients, and that behavioral interventions such as use of air conditioning were associated with prevention of CHIKV infection. Nearly two-thirds of patients with symptomatic CHIKV infection sought medical care, of which less than one-quarter were reportedly diagnosed with chikungunya and one-in-ten were reported to public health authorities. These findings emphasize the need for point-of-care rapid diagnostic tests to optimize identification and reporting of chikungunya patients.
Many practitioners and researchers describe academic and environmental benefits of environmental education for kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) students. To consider the empirical ...underpinnings of those program descriptions, we systematically analyzed the peer-reviewed literature (1994-2013), focusing on outcomes of environmental education programs with K-12 students. In the resulting sample of 119 articles, we identified 121 unique outcomes, finding that most articles reported positive findings from the programs under study. Reflections stemming from the review highlight the versatility of environmental education, while also suggesting opportunities for bolder and more diversified approaches in research design and thinking.
Objectives. To describe prevalence of breast milk feeding among people with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection during pregnancy and examine associations between ...breast milk feeding, timing of maternal infection before delivery, and rooming-in status during delivery hospitalization.
Methods. We performed a retrospective cohort study using data from Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee of whether people with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy in 2020 initiated breast milk feeding at birth.
Results. Among 11 114 (weighted number) people with SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy, 86.5% (95% confidence interval CI = 82.4%, 87.6%) initiated breast milk feeding during birth hospitalization. People with infection within 14 days before delivery had significantly lower prevalence of breast milk feeding (adjusted prevalence ratio APR = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.83, 0.94) than did those with infection at least 14 days before delivery. When stratified by rooming-in status, the association between timing of infection and breast milk feeding remained only among infants who did not room in with their mother (APR = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.68, 0.88).
Conclusions. Pregnant and postpartum people with SARS-CoV-2 infection should have access to lactation support and be advised about the importance of breast milk feeding and how to safely feed their infants in the same room. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(S8):S787–S796. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307023 )
Collaborative research approaches can promote social learning by curating a structure that facilitates inclusive dialogue and reflection. Within an epistemological frame that upholds notions of ...emergence rather than extraction, such modes can foster collective reflection in ways that contribute to reversing traditional notions of expertise. In this paper, we describe 'Community Listening Sessions', an approach drawing on focus group, learning circle, and participatory research literature. We developed Community Listening Sessions to study the interactional contexts of environmental learning - an inherently social, collective process. In our initial application, through 14 listening sessions hosted across the San Francisco Bay Area (California, USA), we engaged more than 100 community members in discussing how they learn about and take action related to the environment in their daily lives. We make recommendations for future use of Community Listening Sessions for collecting qualitative data in a participatory, equitable way in what can be challenging, high-social-cost discussions, yet those that are critical for addressing issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, socio-environmental justice, and others that are essential to the future of our species and planet.
Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are currently employed by many industries and have different physical and chemical properties from their bulk counterparts that may confer different toxicity. ...Nanoparticles used or generated in semiconductor manufacturing have the potential to enter the municipal waste stream via wastewater and their ultimate fate in the ecosystem is currently unknown. This study investigates the fate of ENMs used in chemical mechanical planarization (CMP), a polishing process repeatedly utilized in semiconductor manufacturing. Wastewater sampling was conducted throughout the wastewater treatment (WWT) process at the fabrication plant's on-site wastewater treatment facility. The goal of this study was to assess whether the WWT processes resulted in size-dependent filtration of particles in the nanoscale regime by analyzing samples using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Statistical analysis demonstrated no significant differences in particle size between sampling points, indicating low or no selectivity of WWT methods for nanoparticles based on size. All nanoparticles appeared to be of similar morphology (near-spherical), with a high variability in particle size. EDX verified nanoparticles composition of silicon- and/or aluminum-oxide. Nanoparticle sizing data compared between sampling points, including the final sampling point before discharge from the facility, suggested that nanoparticles could be released to the municipal waste stream from industrial sources.
Objectives: To determine whether caregiver relationship and race modify associations between physical functioning of persons with dementia (PWD) and their caregiver's burden and general depressive ...symptoms.
Method: We pooled data from four behavioral intervention trials (N = 1,211). Using latent growth modeling, we evaluated associations of PWD physical functioning with the level and rate of change in caregiver burden and caregivers' general depressive symptoms and stratified these associations by caregiver relationship and race.
Results: PWD were, on average, 81 years old (68% female) with mean follow-up of 0.5 years. More baseline PWD physical impairment was associated with less worsening in caregiver burden over time (β = −0.23, 95% CI: −0.29, −0.14), but this relationship was not modified by caregiver characteristics. More impaired baseline PWD physical functioning was not associated with changes in depressive symptoms (β = −0.08, 95% CI: −0.17, 0.00), but was associated with less worsening in depressive symptoms among spousal (β = −0.08, 95% CI: −0.17, 0.00) and non-white (β = −0.08, 95% CI: −0.17, 0.00) caregivers.
Conclusions: Dementia caregivers may experience reduced caregiver-related burden because of adjustment to PWD functional status, while spousal and non-white caregivers may experience less depressive symptoms resultant of adjustment to functional status.
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