Nanotechnology for colorectal cancer detection and treatment

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. Across the globe, people in the age group older than 50 are at a higher risk of CRC. Genetic and environmental risk factors play a significant role in the development of CRC. If detected early, CRC is preventable and treatable. Currently, available screening methods and therapies for CRC treatment reduce the incidence rate among the population, but the micrometastasis of cancer may lead to recurrence. Therefore, the challenge is to develop an alternative therapy to overcome this complication. Nanotechnology plays a vital role in cancer treatment and offers targeted chemotherapies directly and selectively to cancer cells, with enhanced therapeutic efficacy. Additionally, nanotechnology elevates the chances of patient survival in comparison to traditional chemotherapies. The potential of nanoparticles includes that they may be used simultaneously for diagnosis and treatment. These exciting properties of nanoparticles have enticed researchers worldwide to unveil their use in early CRC detection and as effective treatment. This review discusses contemporary methods of CRC screening and therapies for CRC treatment, while the primary focus is on the theranostic approach of nanotechnology in CRC treatment and its prospects. In addition, this review aims to provide knowledge on the advancement of nanotechnology in CRC and as a starting point for researchers to think about new therapeutic approaches using nanotechnology.     

Elevated telomere-telomere recombination in WRN-deficient, telomere dysfunctional cells promotes escape from senescence and engagement of the ALT pathway

Werner Syndrome (WS) is characterized by premature aging, genomic instability, and cancer. The combined impact of WRN helicase deficiency and limiting telomere reserves is central to disease pathogenesis. Here, we report that cells doubly deficient for telomerase and WRN helicase show chromosomal aberrations and elevated recombination rates between telomeres of sister chromatids. Somatic reconstitution of WRN function, but not a WRN helicase-deficient mutant, abolished telomere sister chromatid exchange (T-SCE), indicating that WRN normally represses T-SCEs. Elevated T-SCE was associated with greater immortalization potential and resultant tumors maintained telomeres via the alternative lengthening of telomere (ALT) pathway. We propose that the increased incidence of chromosomal instability and cancer in WS relates in part to aberrant recombinations between sister chromatids at telomeres, which facilitates the activation of ALT and engenders cancer-relevant chromosomal aberrations and tumor formation.     

Bronchial asthma with ABPA presenting as PTE

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), as a complication of asthma, is rare in children. The persistent and poorly-controlled asthma leading to cor pulmonale is not uncommon in adults but rarely described in the pediatric age group. Here, we report a case of asthma and ABPA complicated by pulmonary thrombo-embolism and cor pulmonale. To the best of our knowledge, such association has never been reported in the pediatric age group.     

Evaluation of a Short,On-Plate Formic Acid Extraction Method for Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry-Based Identification of Clinically Relevant Yeast Isolates

This report describes a short, on-plate formic acid (FA) extraction method for the identification of clinical yeast isolates using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). A total of 41.1% (78/190) and 63.7% (121/190) of yeasts were identified using species log score thresholds of >2.0 and >1.9, respectively. Overall, 97.4% (185/190) of yeasts were identified in combination with conventional FA extraction.     

Intraoral scanners: An American Dental Association Clinical Evaluators Panel survey

BackgroundDentists may choose to integrate intraoral scanners (IOSs) into their practices, but there are many different IOS technologies and system generations to choose from, posing a challenge for dentists who want to invest in them.MethodsA survey of IOS use rates, advantages, satisfaction, and training was developed and deployed through Qualtrics to the 968 members of the American Dental Association Clinical Evaluators (ACE) Panel on February 19, 2021. Nonrespondents were sent reminders, and data were analyzed in SAS Version 9.4 (SAS).ResultsA total of 369 panelists responded to the survey. IOS use was split among the ACE Panel; 53% indicated they use one in their practice. The top reason respondents began using IOSs was to improve clinical efficiency (70%). Ninety percent of respondents use IOSs for single tooth-supported crowns, and 58% began using IOSs less than 4 years ago. Most users are at least mostly satisfied (91%) with the results. Among nonusers, the top reason for not using an IOS was the high level of financial investment (66%); 34% and 40% of nonusers are thinking of buying or training with IOSs in 2021, respectively.ConclusionsUptake of IOSs is split; most users are satisfied with their results, and nonusers cited financial barriers as the most common reason for not investing in one.Practical ImplicationsAs IOSs continue to penetrate the market and dentists are faced with a decision whether to invest in one, they will need guidance on how to choose the most appropriate device for their patients.     

Effect of nutrition counselling with a digital job aid on child dietary diversity: Analysis of secondary outcomes from a cluster randomised controlled trial in rural Bangladesh

Adequate dietary diversity among infants is often suboptimal in developing countries. We assessed the impact of nutrition counselling using a digital job aid on dietary diversity of children aged 6–23 months using data from a cluster randomised controlled trial in Bangladesh. The trial had five arms, each with 25 clusters. The four intervention arms provided counselling using a digital job aid and different prenatal and post-natal combinations of lipid-based supplements and the comparison arm with usual practice. We enrolled 1500 pregnant women and followed them until the children reached their second birthday. We developed a tablet-based system for intervention delivery, data collection and project supervision. We combined the four intervention arms (n = 855), in which community health workers (CHWs) provided age-appropriate complementary feeding counselling, to compare against the comparison arm (n = 403). We calculated the outcome indicators from the children's 24-h dietary recalls. Overall, the intervention increased the mean dietary diversity score by 0.09 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.2–0.16) and odds of minimum dietary diversity by 18% (95% CI: 0.99–1.40). However, there was a significant interaction on the effect of the intervention on dietary diversity by age. The mean dietary diversity score was 0.24 (95% CI: 0.11–0.37) higher in the intervention than in the comparison arm at 9 months and 0.14 (95% CI: 0.01–27) at 12 months of age. The intervention effect was non-significant at an older age. Overall, consumption of flesh food was 1.32 times higher in the intervention arm (odds ratio [OR] 1.32, 95% CI: 1.11–1.57) in 6–23 months of age. The intervention significantly improved child dietary diversity score in households with mild and moderate food insecurity by 0.27 (95% CI: 0.06–0.49) and 0.16 (0.05–27), respectively, but not with food-secure and severely food-insecure households. Although the study did not evaluate the impact of digital job aid alone, the findings indicate the utility of nutrition counselling by CHWs using a digital job aid to improve child feeding practices in broader programmes.     

Suppression of atopic dermatitis in mice model by reducing inflammation utilizing phosphatidylserine-coated biodegradable microparticles

Controlling inflammatory response is important to avoid chronic inflammation in many diseases including atopic dermatitis (AD). In this research, we tried using a phosphatidylserine (PS)-coated microparticles in the AD mouse model for achieving the modulation of the macrophage phenotype to an anti-inflammatory state. Here, we prepared poly (D,L-lactic acid) microparticle coated with PS on the outside shell. We confirmed the cellular uptake of the PS-coated microparticle, which leads to the significant downregulation of the inflammatory cytokine production. In the mouse model of AD, the PS-coated microparticle was injected subcutaneously for a period of 12 days. The mice showed significant reduction in the development of AD symptoms comparing with the mice treated with the PC-coated microparticle.     

Demystifying the mist: Sources of microbial bioload in dental aerosols

The risk of transmitting airborne pathogens is an important consideration in dentistry and has acquired special significance in the context of recent respiratory disease epidemics. The purpose of this review, therefore, is to examine (1) what is currently known regarding the physics of aerosol creation, (2) the types of environmental contaminants generated by dental procedures, (3) the nature, quantity, and sources of microbiota in these contaminants and (4) the risk of disease transmission from patients to dental healthcare workers. Most dental procedures that use ultrasonics, handpieces, air-water syringes, and lasers generate sprays, a fraction of which are aerosolized. The vast heterogeneity in the types of airborne samples collected (spatter, settled aerosol, or harvested air), the presence and type of at-source aerosol reduction methods (high-volume evacuators, low volume suction, or none), the methods of microbial sampling (petri dishes with solid media, filter paper discs, air harvesters, and liquid transport media) and assessment of microbial bioload (growth conditions, time of growth, specificity of microbial characterization) are barriers to drawing robust conclusions. For example, although several studies have reported the presence of microorganisms in aerosols generated by ultrasonic scalers and high-speed turbines, the specific types of organisms or their source is not as well studied. This paucity of data does not allow for definitive conclusions to be drawn regarding saliva as a major source of airborne microorganisms during aerosol generating dental procedures. Well-controlled, large-scale, multi center studies using atraumatic air harvesters, open-ended methods for microbial characterization and integrated data modeling are urgently needed to characterize the microbial constituents of aerosols created during dental procedures and to estimate time and extent of spread of these infectious agents.     

The structures of the colonic mucosa-associated and luminal microbial communities are distinct and differentially affected by a prolonged murine stressor

The commensal microbiota of the human gastrointestinal tract live in a largely stable community structure, assisting in host physiological and immunological functions. Changes to this structure can be injurious to the health of the host, a concept termed dysbiosis. Psychological stress is a factor that has been implicated in causing dysbiosis, and studies performed by our lab have shown that restraint stress can indeed shift the cecal microbiota structure as well as increase the severity of a colonic infection caused by Citrobacter rodentium. However, this study, like many others, have focused on fecal contents when examining the effect of dysbiosis-causing stimuli (e.g. psychological stress) upon the microbiota. Since the mucosa-associated microbiota have unique properties and functions that can act upon the host, it is important to understand how stressor exposure might affect this niche of bacteria. To begin to understand whether chronic restraint stress changes the mucosa-associated and/or luminal microbiota mice underwent 7 16-hour cycles of restraint stress, and the microbiota of both colonic tissue and fecal contents were analyzed by sequencing using next-gen bacterial tag-encoded FLX amplicon technology (bTEFAP) pyrosequencing. Both control and stress groups had significantly different mucosa-associated and luminal microbiota communities, highlighting the importance of focusing gastrointestinal community structure analysis by microbial niche. Furthermore, restraint stress was able to disrupt both the mucosa-associated and luminally-associated colonic microbiota by shifting the relative abundances of multiple groups of bacteria. Among these changes, there was a significant reduction in the immunomodulatory commensal genus Lactobacillus associated with colonic mucosa. The relative abundance of Lactobacillus spp. was not affected in the lumen. These results indicate that stressor-exposure can have distinct effects upon the colonic microbiota situated at the mucosal epithelium in comparison to the luminal-associated microbiota.