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The formation of epithelial tissues requires both the generation of apical-basal polarity and the coordination of this polarity between neighbouring cells to form a central lumen. During de novo lumen formation, vectorial membrane transport contributes to

A method for the synthesis of stable aqueous sols of nanocrystalline solid solutions Ce 1−xGd xO 2-δ ( x = 0.10, 0.15, 0.20) and Y 0.9Eu 0.1VO 4 and nanocomposites Ce 1 − xGd xO 2-δ/Y 0.9Eu 0.1VO 4 stabilized by biocompatible low-molecular-weight polyacrylic acid was proposed. Polyacrylic acid was shown to be a promising matrix for the preparation of polyfunctional composite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oocyte meiotic maturation and viability of follicular granulosa cells in young and old experimental Balb/C and CBA mice in the presence of ceria nanoparticles were studied. Treatment of old Balb/c mice with ceria nanoparticles for three days once a day (at a dose of 45 mg/kg) leads to a positive effect on reproductive system. The number of oocytes in follicles increases and this effect is accompanied by an increase in the number of oocytes at metaphase I and metaphase II. The number of living granulosa cells increases, while percentage of the necrotic and apoptotic ones decreases relative to control group. Data obtained on CBA mice provided additional evidence for positive effect of ceria nanoparticles. Depending on the initial state of the reproductive system and dose of ceria nanoparticles the effectiveness of the treatment will vary. In case of old mice ceria nanoparticles protect ovarian cells against oxidative damage, working as anti-aging agent. The litter size in old mice treated with the CNs increases too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time characteristics of anti-HIV activity of the yeast RNA-tiloron molecular complex are studied in vitro and the antiviral effect is compared with the effectiveness of low temperature of incubation and the effects of azidothymidine, larifan, and poly(I)-poly(C). The effectiveness of cell protection against the cytopathogenic activity of HIV-1 and the levels of p24 antigen in culture medium and cell lysates were studied in MT-4 cells infected with HIV-I/IIIB. The molecular complex had the highest inhibitory effect at the stage of virus penetration in the cell. The probable mechanism of its anti-HIV activity is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Multidrug resistant microorganisms (MDRM) are common in clinical units and contaminate the environment and food. The problem is compounded by dramatic changes in typical microbial communities marked by the prevalence of potentially pathogenic species which replace normal biota representatives by spreading MDR genes. A search for smart composite materials with strongly defined and industrially proved properties might be a key issue in the prevention of the dissemination of MDRM in medicine and the food chain. Methods: In order to screen for MDRM, an ESBL test was performed for all potentially pathogenic microorganisms and food-borne pathogens isolated from different sources: air, water, edible plants, soil, raw material, foods, animals, humans, and hospitals. Edible plants and berries rich in biologically active compounds together with selected probiotic bacteria and nanoparticles of cerium dioxide were meticulously tested for their antimicrobial properties in vitro, in vivo, and in situ against chosen MDRM. Results: After all screening experiments were conducted, the most effective and completely synergic compositions of selected plants extracts, probiotic strains, and carrier molecules (nanoparticles and chitosan) acting strongly specifically against targeted MDRM (namely, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Streptococcus mutans, Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli (EPEC), Salmonella enterica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. oxytoca, and Listeria monocytogenes) were developed. No composition includes any components which can have an effect on normal typical commensal biota of each separately defined niche, except those which demonstrated their stimulating properties. The synergetic properties of all the components in the preparations most promising for implementation had been tested in a pilot study and the optimal ratios of components determined. The synbiotic preparation 'ProFiLactOr' is based on lactic acid bacteria strains due to their synergistic effect with plant carriers, and can be used for the normalization of mouth cavity and gut microbiota in children with caries and gastrointestinal disorders. The preparation's effect is unique due to its ability to selectively inhibit the growth of the main causative agents of periodontal tissue inflammation and intestinal colitis. The production technology of 'Enteronormin' and 'Enteronormin-Detox' is original and protected by patent. Strains used for the production of 'Enteronormin' are lodged in the depository of the Institute of Microbiology and Virology of NASU. The preparation is produced as a powder, whose main advantage is that it can be used as a suspension for oral hydration or as a 6% solution for aerosol treatment to disinfect feeds and buildings, as well as for external use, for example, for the prophylaxis and treatment of mastitis, vaginitis, and endometritis in animals. Conclusions: The synbiotic preparation 'ProFiLactOr' showed a strong antagonistic effect against indicators of decay and periodontal disease in children in a limited clinical trial. Two novel antimicrobial composite preparations, 'Enteronormin' and 'Enteronormin-Detox', were developed using classic biotechnological approaches, certified according to the state registration procedure, and applied in the livestock sector. An interventional study to evaluate nanoparticles as components for dressings promoting wound healing and burns is in progress. Currently, we are focusing on attempts to use novel antimicrobials which can specifically inhibit food-borne pathogens in the mitigation of biofilm formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amixine and Carboxymethylacridone (CMA) are representatives of the structurally broad class of the planar polycyclic compounds, most of which are active antivirals and IFN-inductors. CMA stands out of this class due to the presence of negative charge in the physiological conditions contrary to the positively charged other inducers, what, possibly, caused a speculation about uniqueness of this drug. We have synthesized and tested as antiviral and interferon inductors sodium salts of some planar polycyclic acids, notably: (1,3-dioxobenzo[de]isoquinolin-2-yl)-(3), benzoimidazo[1,2c]quinazolin-6-yl-(8), indoloqui-noxalin-6-yl-(10), (7-ethoxy-9-oxofluoren-2-yloxy)-(12), (7-carboxymethoxy-9-oxofluoren-2-yloxy)-(13) acetic acids, 3-(1,3-dioxobenzo[de]isoquinolin-2-yl)-(4) 3-benzoimidazo[1,2c]- quinazolin-6-yl-(9) propionic acid, 4-(1,3-dioxobenzo[de]isoquinolin-2-yl)-butyric acid (5), 6-(1,3-dioxobenzo[de]iso- quinolin-2-yl)-hexanoic acid (6), 3-(1,3-dioxobenzo[de]isoquinolin-2-yl)-benzoic acid (7), naphthofuran carboxylic acid (11). Cytotoxicity, IFN-inducing and antiviral properties were tested in the cell-culture assays. All tested compounds demonstrate low cytotoxicity ranking in the order: 3(>36)30.5)<5(16.4).6(15)<4(3.1)<12(>2.6)<11(2.4) <8(>1.5)<9(>1.4)=13(>1.4)<10(>1.3). All synthesized compounds with the exception of 3 demonstrate significant interferon induction in the micromolar concentration range, ranking in the order (IFN titer/concentration, μM): 12(1:32/0.9)>CMA(1:32/1.2)>8(1:32/2.3)=9(1:32/2.3)>10(1:28/1)>6(1:24/0.9)>7(1:16/0.9)>4(1:12/0.5)>5(1:10/1) >13(1:8/0.5)>>11(1:8/25.6). So, CMA isn't the only one, but one from the set of planar anionic interferon inductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) is a brain stimulation approach that holds promise for the treatment of brain-based disorders. Studies in humans have shown that tFUS can successfully modulate perfusion in focal sonication targets, including the amygdala; however, limited research has explored how tFUS impacts large-scale neural networks., Objective: The aim of the current study was to address this gap and examine changes in resting-state connectivity between large-scale network nodes using a randomized, double-blind, within-subjects crossover study design., Methods: Healthy adults ( n =  18) completed two tFUS sessions, 14 days apart. Each session included tFUS of either the right amygdala or the left entorhinal cortex (ErC). The inclusion of two active targets allowed for within-subjects comparisons as a function of the locus of sonication. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was collected before and after each tFUS session., Results: tFUS altered resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) within and between rs-network nodes. Pre-to-post sonication of the right amygdala modulated connectivity within nodes of the salience network (SAN) and between nodes of the SAN and the default mode network (DMN) and frontoparietal network (FRP). A decrease in SAN to FPN connectivity was specific to the amygdala target. Pre-to-post sonication of the left ErC modulated connectivity between the dorsal attention network (DAN) and FPN and DMN. An increase in DAN to DMN connectivity was specific to the ErC target., Conclusion: These preliminary findings may suggest that tFUS induces neuroplastic changes beyond the immediate sonication target. Additional studies are needed to determine the long-term stability of these effects., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Gorka, Jimmy, Koning, Phan, Rotstein, Hoang-Dang, Halavi, Spivak, Monti, Reggente, Bookheimer and Kuhn.)

Two service members were diagnosed with PTSD due to military trauma exposure. One presented with the classical manifestation; the other presented with the dissociative subtype. A statistical map revealed anterior localization of insula connectivity in the classical PTSD patient and posterior localization in the dissociative PTSD patient. These differences suggest that dissociative PTSD may be identified, understood, and treated as a disorder related to increased posterior insula connectivity. This double case study provides preliminary evidence for a concrete neuroanatomical discrepancy between insula function in classical and dissociative PTSD that may help explain the emergence of different coping strategies.

(Appeared originally in Brain Stimulation 2020; 13:1805-1812) Reprinted with permission from Elsevier., (Copyright © 2022 by the American Psychiatric Association.)

Background: This study sought to validate the clinical utility of multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques in the assessment of neurodegenerative disorders. We intended to demonstrate that advanced neuroimaging techniques commonly used in research can effectively be employed in clinical practice to accurately differentiate heathy aging and dementia subtypes., Methods: Twenty patients with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) and 18 patients with Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) were identified using gold-standard techniques. Twenty-three healthy, age and sex matched control participants were also recruited. All participants underwent multimodal MRI including T1 structural, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), arterial spin labeling (ASL), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). MRI modalities were evaluated by trained neuroimaging readers and were separately assessed using cross-validated, iterative discriminant function analyses with subsequent feature reduction techniques. In this way, each modality was evaluated for its ability to differentiate patients with dementia from healthy controls as well as to differentiate dementia subtypes., Results: Following individual and group feature reduction, each of the multimodal MRI metrics except MRS successfully differentiated healthy aging from dementia and also demonstrated distinct dementia subtypes. Using the following ten metrics, excellent separation (95.5% accuracy, 92.3% sensitivity; 100.0% specificity) was achieved between healthy aging and neurodegenerative conditions: volume of the left frontal pole, left occipital pole, right posterior superior temporal gyrus, left posterior cingulate gyrus, right planum temporale; perfusion of the left hippocampus and left occipital lobe; fractional anisotropy (FA) of the forceps major and bilateral anterior thalamic radiation. Using volume of the left frontal pole, right posterior superior temporal gyrus, left posterior cingulate gyrus, perfusion of the left hippocampus and left occipital lobe; FA of the forceps major and bilateral anterior thalamic radiation, neurodegenerative subtypes were accurately differentiated as well (87.8% accuracy, 95.2% sensitivity; 85.0% specificity)., Conclusions: Regional volumetrics, DTI metrics, and ASL successfully differentiated dementia patients from controls with sufficient sensitivity to differentiate dementia subtypes. Similarly, feature reduction results suggest that advanced analyses can meaningfully identify brain regions with the most positive predictive value and discriminant validity. Together, these advanced neuroimaging techniques can contribute significantly to diagnosis and treatment planning for individual patients., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/qims-20-1355). Author SEJ, MD is the owner of Synaptec Network, an MRI software analytics company. Authors SB and TK, PhD. are both part-time employees of Synaptec Network. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2021 Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery. All rights reserved.)

Background: Transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation method that may modulate deep brain structures. This study investigates whether sonication of the right anterior thalamus would modulate thermal pain thresholds in healthy individuals., Methods: We enrolled 19 healthy individuals in this three-visit, double-blind, sham-controlled, crossover trial. Participants first underwent a structural MRI scan used solely for tFUS targeting. They then attended two identical experimental tFUS visits (counterbalanced by condition) at least one week apart. Within the MRI scanner, participants received two, 10-min sessions of either active or sham tFUS spread 10 min apart targeting the right anterior thalamus [fundamental frequency: 650 kHz, Pulse repetition frequency: 10 Hz, Pulse Width: 5 ms, Duty Cycle: 5%, Sonication Duration: 30s, Inter-Sonication Interval: 30 s, Number of Sonications: 10, ISPTA. 0 995 mW/cm2, ISPTA. 3 719 mW/cm2, Peak rarefactional pressure 0.72 MPa]. The primary outcome measure was quantitative sensory thresholding (QST), measuring sensory, pain, and tolerance thresholds to a thermal stimulus applied to the left forearm before and after right anterior thalamic tFUS., Results: The right anterior thalamus was accurately sonicated in 17 of the 19 subjects. Thermal pain sensitivity was significantly attenuated after active tFUS. The pre-post x active-sham interaction was significant (F(1,245.95) = 4.03, p = .046). This interaction indicates that in the sham stimulation condition, thermal pain thresholds decreased 1.08 °C (SE = 0.28) pre-post session, but only decreased .51 °C (SE = 0.30) pre-post session in the active stimulation group., Conclusions: Two 10-min sessions of anterior thalamic tFUS induces antinociceptive effects in healthy individuals. Future studies should optimize the parameter space, dose and duration of this effect which may lead to multi-session tFUS interventions for pain disorders., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest AB is employed by BrainSonix, which manufactures the ultrasound device. He holds patents in this area. BWB owns minority stake in Bodhi NeuroTech Inc, which manufactures meditation enhancing devices and holds patents in this area. No other authors have any other conflicts., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A 29-year-old woman presented with head and neck dystonia, as well as functional seizures. The patient was an active military service member with a history of combat-related trauma. Resting blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI) scans of the brain demonstrated an increased anterior cingulate component of the salience network and hyper-connectivity between the insula and cingulate. Following neurological and psychiatric evaluation, she was diagnosed with dissociative post-traumatic stress disorder, partially presenting as a functional movement disorder. Inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was prescribed with the anterior cingulate as the primary target, and supplementary motor and premotor cortices as secondary targets. The treatment was intended to suppress tremors both directly and indirectly. Thirty-six sessions later, her symptoms were in remission, and she returned to active duty. This case demonstrates the potential efficacy of fMRI-guided rTMS in the treatment of dissociative PTSD.

The redox performance of CeO 2 - x nanocrystals (nanoceria) is always accompanied by the switching of cerium oxidation state between Ce 3+ and Ce 4+ . We monitored Ce 3+  → Ce 4+ oxidation of nanoceria stimulated by oxidant in aqueous colloidal solutions controlling the luminescence of Ce 3+ ions located at different distances from nanoceria surface. The observed Ce 3+ luminescence changes indicate that Ce 3+  → Ce 4+ reaction develops inside nanoceria being triggered by the diffusing oxygen originated from the water splitting on oxidized nanoceria surface. We present the first observation of the pronounced oscillations of Ce 3+ luminescence intensity arising from Ce 3+  ↔ Ce 4+ reversible switching. This threshold effect is to be driven by uptaking and releasing oxygen by nanoceria, when the concentration of oxygen vacancies in nanoceria lattice, oxidant concentration in colloidal solution, and temperature reach certain critical values. So, the ability of nanoceria to uptake and release oxygen depending on the environmental redox conditions really makes it the self-sufficient eternal antioxidant.

In experiments in vivo the effect of nanocerium (cerium oxide nanoparticles) on the stability of red blood cells to acid hemolysis, levels of both ROS and RNS generation and H2S pools in plasma and erythrocytes of old rats were investigated. In red blood cells of old rats the proton penetration into the matrix of erythrocytes showed a significant raising and the fate of labile "aging" erythrocytes in old animals compared with adult were up- regulated. These phenomena paralleled with significant up-regulation of ROS and RNS generation. Introduction for 14 days per os to old rats 0.1 mg/kg of nanocerium fully restored resistance of erythrocytes to acid hemolysis by ROS and RNS in both plasma and erythrocytes reduction. Nanocerium decreased the erythrocytes and, conversely, significantly increased the plasma's pools of H2S.