Functional assessment of the cell-autonomous role of NADase CD38 in regulating CD8+ T cell exhaustion.

Exhausted CD8+ T cells with limited effector functions and high expression of multiple co-inhibitory receptors are one of the main barriers hindering antitumor immunity. The NADase CD38 has received considerable attention as a biomarker of CD8+ T cell exhaustion, but it remains unclear whether the increased CD38 directly promotes T cell dysfunctionality. Here, we surprisingly found that although Cd38 deficiency partially reverses NAD+ degradation and T cell dysfunction in vitro, the terminal exhausted differentiation of adoptively transferred CD8+ T cells in tumor is not impacted by either deficiency or overexpression of CD38. Monitoring the dynamic NAD+ levels shows that NAD+ levels are comparable between tumor infiltrated WT and Cd38 -/- OT-1 cells. Therefore, our results suggest that decreased NAD+ are correlated with T cell dysfunction, but deficiency of CD38 is not enough for rescuing NAD+ in tumor infiltrated CD8+ T cells and fails to increase the efficacy of antitumor T cell therapy.

Muscle Energy Technique plus Neurac Method in Stroke Patients with Hemiplegia Complicated by Diabetes Mellitus and Assessment of Quality of Life.

Objective: To analyze the role of muscle energy technique (MET) plus Neurac method in stroke patients with hemiplegia complicated by diabetes mellitus and the impact on quality of life. Methods: From January 2021 to December 2021, 100 stroke patients with hemiplegia complicated by diabetes mellitus treated in our institution and assessed for eligibility were recruited and randomly assigned (1 : 3) via the random sampling method to either the conventional rehabilitation group or the experimental group. The patients in the experimental group were randomized (1 : 1 : 1) into either the MET group (receives MET), the Neurac group (receives Neurac), or the joint group (receives MET plus Neurac). The primary endpoint is the clinical efficacy, and the second endpoint is the quality of life. Results: The eligible patients had similar pretreatment Barthel index scores, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores, Berg balance scale (BBS) scores, Tinetti scores, Fugl-Meyer scores, and quality of life (QoL) scores (P > 0.05). The treatment herein achieved significant improvements in Barthel index scores, VAS scores (2.71 ± 0.28), BBS scores, Tinetti scores, Fugl-Meyer scores, and QoL scores (99.67 ± 10.62), and MET plus Neurac method obtained the best results versus both the conventional rehabilitation and monotherapy of either MET or Neurac (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Neurac method plus MET improves the independent mobility of stroke patients with hemiplegia and diabetes, relieves pain, enhances balance and stability, mitigates limb dysfunction, and boosts patients' quality of life, so it is worthy of clinical application.

Price Discrepancy Between Sellers and Buyers When Making Decisions for the Self and Others.

In daily life, people make decisions not only for themselves but also on behalf of others. There may be differences in terms of the endowment effect when making decisions in these two situations. In Study 1, this question was investigated with an existing dataset exploring the traditional endowment effect, in which 86 students (M age = 20.8 years, SD = 5.0) at Harvard University were asked to make a decision on selling or buying a coffee mug for themselves or for others as brokers. When making decisions for the self, the average price demanded by sellers was much higher than that offered by buyers; while making decisions for others, the price discrepancy disappeared. In Study 2, a similar study was conducted with a sample of 42 Chinese university students (M age = 22.3 years, SD = 2.5), and a similar pattern of results was obtained. Further analysis indicated that when making decisions for others, only buyers increased their valuations, therefore mitigating the seller-buyer price discrepancy. Finally, the findings were interpreted from the perspective of Construal Level Theory.