Using infographics in disseminating healthy lifestyle information on social media is likely to increase uptake and sharing.

BACKGROUND: Infographics facilitate rapid information dissemination with enriched eye-catching content on social media, but it is unclear what factors affect the adoption of information presented in this way. OBJECTIVES: We tested whether the Information Acceptance Model applies to infographics on healthy lifestyle and fitness topics. METHODS: Two hundred and four university students were invited to participate in an online survey on their acceptance after reading some healthy lifestyle and fitness topics infographics shared on social media. The data collected were analysed using Partial Least Square path modelling. RESULTS: The results confirmed information usefulness as a predictor of information adoption; attitude towards information and information adoption were the predictors of behavioural intention. Information credibility and attitude towards information, but not information quality and needs, were significantly related to information usefulness. Social media usage and education level were factors affecting infographics impressions. DISCUSSION: Results support most hypotheses. It confirms information usefulness as a predictor of infographics adoption. Attitudes towards information and information adoption are predictors of behavioural intentions of following healthy lifestyle and fitness suggestions through social media infographics. CONCLUSION: Social media facilitates interpersonal communication, information exchange and knowledge sharing, and infographics may draw people into healthy lifestyle and fitness information items relevant to them.

Intramolecular Heteroatom and Styryl Diels-Alder Reactions, Asymmetric Cycloadditions of Chiral 3-Phenylallyl Maleic Esters.

Polycyclic aryl naphthalene and tetralin dihydro arylnaphthalene lactone lignans possess anticancer and antibiotic activity. Related furo[3,4-c]pyranones, typified by the sequester-terpenoid isobolivianine, show similar antiproliferative bioactivity. Efficient syntheses of compounds featuring these polycyclic cores have proven challenging due to low yields and poor stereoselectivity. We report the synthesis of chiral cinnamyl but-2-enanoates and 3,3-diphenylallyl-but-2-enoates 1 as new Diels-Alder substrates. These compounds undergo [4 + 2]-cycloadditions to give furo[3,4-c]pyranones 2 in good yield (70%) and diastereoselectivity (7:1), together with naphthyl 3 and dihydronaphthyl tetralins 4 as minor products. Molecular structures and stereochemistries of the major products were verified using X-ray diffraction. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the cycloaddition process involves a bispericyclic/ambimodal process where there is a single transition state that leads to both intramolecular styryl Diels-Alder (ISDA) 3, 4 and intramolecular hetero Diels-Alder (IHDA) cycloadducts 2. With the elevated temperature conditions after cycloaddition, the resulting ISDA cycloadduct either undergoes [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement to the more stable major IHDA product or aromatization leading to the phenyltetralin.

Social media aids for business learning: A quantitative evaluation with the 5E instructional model.

Social media use is widely accepted in higher education, connecting students' learning with daily life. Considering the potential of social media to revolutionize the whole spectrum of teaching and learning, this study examines social media usage of business school students of different majors and their perception of social media as learning aids through a quantitative online survey guided by the 5E instructional model, with 423 valid responses from students majoring in accounting, finance, and economics. Results indicated that respondents perceived social media as influential in helping them access study-related information. It facilitated comprehensive learning, information access, information sharing, and student communication with instructors. Significant differences in perceptions of using social media as aids for business learning were found among students of different demographics, including gender, education level, and residence, but not quite for different majors. While various studies have examined the use of social media in education, scant studies focus on business school students under the lens of the 5E instructional model, especially Asians.

Glycosylation in Cervical Cancer: New Insights and Clinical Implications.

Cervical cancer has become the most frequent female malignancy and presents as a general health challenge in many countries undergoing economic development. Various human papillomaviruses (HPV) types have appeared as one of the most critically identifiable causes of widespread cervical cancers. Conventional cervical cytological inspection has limitations of variable sensitivity according to cervical cytology. Glycobiology has been fundamental in related exploration in various gynecologic and reproductive fields and has contributed to our understanding of cervical cancer. It is associated with altered expression of N-linked glycan as well as abnormal expression of terminal glycan structures. The analytical approaches available to determine serum and tissue glycosylation, as well as potential underlying molecular mechanisms involved in the cellular glycosylation alterations, are monitored. Moreover, cellular glycosylation influences various aspects of cervical cancer biology, ranging from cell surface expressions, cell-cell adhesion, cancer signaling, cancer diagnosis, and management. In general, discoveries in glycan profiling make it technically reproducible and affordable to perform serum glycoproteomic analyses and build on previous work exploring an expanded variety of glycosylation markers in the majority of cervical cancer patients.

Applying the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons quality outcomes metrics to a UK oncology and reconstructive surgery service - benchmarking the data.

The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is soon to implement the Quality Outcomes in Oral in Maxillofacial Surgery (QOMS) to provide a platform for quality management across the specialty in the UK. The initial oncology and reconstruction audits for QOMS involves data collection on specific procedures and metrics. The aim of this report is to determine their appropriateness using extant audit datasets in our institution that overlap substantially with the QOMS audits. Pre-existing datasets comprising information on patients treated for oral cavity SCC with curative intent were analysed. Data on surgical margins, lymphadenectomy lymph node yield, delay between surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy, duration of hospital stay, and complications including flap failures were analysed. All statistical analyses were performed with SPSS 25. Run charts describing longitudinal data were generated using SPC for Excel version 6. Twenty three patients (3.1%) of 701 resections had a positive surgical margin reported. Seventeen (4.3%) of patients had less than 18 LNs in the ND specimen analysed. Mean time to start date of adjuvant therapy was 62 days. Only 9% of patients commenced adjuvant therapy within 6 weeks. The median duration of stay was 18 days. In 1153 free flaps a failure rate of 4.3% was identified. A total of 1349 complications (CD I-V) were recorded in the 1111 patients undergoing major surgery with free flap reconstruction. The QOMS selected metrics for oncology and reconstruction are clinically relevant, readily measurable, and likely to be actionable by the surgical team.

Stopping healthcare misinformation: The effect of financial incentives and legislation.

Fake news and misinformation have become a major social issue. And yet, many researchers concern primarily about political misinformation, leaving healthcare misinformation less emphasized. Nevertheless, healthcare misinformation may create consequences such as delayed diagnosis or treatment of patients or even public health crisis. We conducted an online experiment to test the role of financial incentives and legislation on disseminating online healthcare misinformation. Our findings revealed that financial incentives have a positive but diminishing impact on the likelihood of sharing online healthcare information regardless of validity. However, financial incentives have a stronger impact on attracting readers to share healthcare misinformation that they perceived to be fake. Surprisingly, legislation may deter the sharing of healthcare information that users perceive to be true but cannot deter them from sharing the healthcare misinformation they perceive to be fake. We also provided some practical implications for formulating measures of battling against healthcare misinformation for policymakers.

HucMSC-exosomes carrying miR-326 inhibit neddylation to relieve inflammatory bowel disease in mice.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic intestinal inflammation that is a risk factor for many gastrointestinal cancers. Exosomes are gradually gaining attention as an emerging treatment method for IBD due to their important biological characteristics. NF-κB is an important pro-inflammatory transcription factor kept inactive by IκB protein in the cytoplasm by masking the nuclear localization signal of NF-κB. The deterioration of IκB is mainly ubiquitination, and this depends on neddylation. METHODS: In this study, we established a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced IBD model in BABL/C mice to evaluate the effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (hucMSC-exosomes, hucMSC-Ex) on the repair of IBD. At the same time, human colorectal mucosa cells (FHC) were stimulated by LPS (lipopolysaccharide) in vitro to activate the inflammatory environment to study the mechanism of hucMSC-Ex regulating neddylation. The microRNA (miRNA) obtained by sequencing and transfection with hucMSC-Ex was used to verify the role of miR-326/neddylation/IκB/NF-κB signaling pathway in IBD repair. RESULTS: HucMSC-Ex inhibited the process of neddylation in relieving DSS-induced IBD in mice. The binding of NEDD8 (neural precursor cell-expressed, developmentally downregulated gene 8) to cullin 1 and the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway were suppressed along with reduced expression levels of neddylation-related enzyme molecules. The same phenomenon was observed in FHC cells. The miRNA comparison results showed that miR-326 was highly expressed in hucMSC-Ex and played an important role in inhibiting the neddylation process. The therapeutic effect of hucMSC-Ex with high expression of miR-326 on IBD mice was significantly stronger than that of ordinary hucMSC-Ex. CONCLUSIONS: HucMSC-Ex relieves DSS-induced IBD in a mouse model by inhibiting neddylation through miR-326.

Exosome-mediated effects and applications in inflammatory bowel disease.

Gut mucosal barriers, including chemical and physical barriers, spatially separate the gut microbiota from the host immune system to prevent unwanted immune responses that could lead to intestinal inflammation. In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), there is mucosal barrier dysfunction coupled with immune dysregulation and dysbiosis. The discovery of exosomes as regulators of vital functions in both physiological and pathological processes has generated much research interest. Interestingly, exosomes not only serve as natural nanocarriers for the delivery of functional RNAs, proteins, and synthetic drugs or molecules, but also show potential for clinical applications in tissue repair and regeneration as well as disease diagnosis and prognosis. Biological or chemical modification of exosomes can broaden, change and enhance their therapeutic capability. We review the modulatory effects of exosomal proteins, RNAs and lipids on IBD components such as immune cells, the gut microbiota and the intestinal mucosal barrier. Mechanisms involved in regulating these factors towards attenuating IBD have been explored in several studies employing exosomes derived from different sources. We discuss the potential utility of exosomes as diagnostic markers and drug delivery systems, as well as the application of modified exosomes in IBD.

Effectiveness of overnight learning commons: A comparative study.

This study explores the overnight usage of Chi Wah Learning Commons and The University of Hong Kong Libraries on the same campus. By adopting quantitative research, it investigates students' preferences in these areas and levels of social capital in the library, further, it explores the similarities and differences of user behavior between the university's undergraduate and postgraduate students. Our findings showed that HKUL had not taken full advantage of its prime location and comprehensive collection in the main library, and the full potential of overnight services. The results of this study contribute to the library management in understanding the changing needs of users and propose the potential enhancements on social capital among students and the community.

Targeted laser therapy synergistically enhances efficacy of antibiotics against multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

The growing prevalence of biofilm-associated multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria necessitates the innovation of non-traditional approaches to improve the effectiveness of mainstay antibiotics. Here, we evaluated the use of gold nanoparticle (GNP)-targeted pulsed laser therapy to enhance antibiotic efficacy against in vitro methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Treatment with antibody-conjugated GNPs followed by nanosecond-pulsed laser irradiation at 532 nm (~1.0 J/cm2) dispersed 96-99% of the biofilms relative to controls. GNP-targeted laser therapy combined with gentamicin or amikacin caused a synergistic 4- and 5-log reduction in the viability of MRSA and P. aeruginosa biofilms, respectively, whereas GNP-targeted laser therapy or antibiotics alone decreased biofilm viability by only ~1 log. Notably, GNP-targeted laser therapy was able to increase the antibiotic susceptibility of the biofilms to the level of drug sensitivity observed in planktonic MRSA and P. aeruginosa cultures, further indicating effective biofilm dispersal via this novel approach.

Multiple transmission optimization of medical images in recourse-constraint mobile telemedicine systems.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In the state-of-the-art image transmission methods, multiple large medical images are usually transmitted one by one which is very inefficient. The objective of our study is to devise an effective and efficient multiple transmission optimization scheme for medical images called Mto via analyzing the visual content of the multiple images based on the characteristics of a recourse-constraint mobile telemedicine system (MTS) and the medical images; METHODS: To better facilitate the efficient Mto processing, two enabling techniques, i.e., 1) NIB grouping scheme, and 2) adaptive RIB replicas selection are developed. Given a set of transmission images (Ω), the correlation of these transmission images is first explored, the pixel resolutions of the corresponding MIBs keep high, the NIBs are grouped into k clusters based on the visual similarity in which the k RIBs are obtained. An optimal pixel resolution for the RIBs is derived based on the current network bandwidth and their corresponding areas, etc. Then, the candidate MIBs and the k RIBs are transmitted to the receiver node based on their transmission priorities. Finally, the IBs are reconstructed and displayed at the receiver node level for different users. RESULTS: The experimental results show that our approach is about 45% more efficient than the state-of-the-art methods, significantly minimizing the response time by decreasing the network communication cost while improving the transmission throughput; CONCLUSIONS: Our proposed Mto method can be seamlessly applied in a recourse-constraint MTS environment in which the high transmission efficiency and the acceptable image quality can be guaranteed.

Unveiling the in Vivo Protein Corona of Circulating Leukocyte-like Carriers.

Understanding interactions occurring at the interface between nanoparticles and biological components is an urgent challenge in nanomedicine due to their effect on the biological fate of nanoparticles. After the systemic injection of nanoparticles, a protein corona constructed by blood components surrounds the carrier's surface and modulates its pharmacokinetics and biodistribution. Biomimicry-based approaches in nanotechnology attempt to imitate what happens in nature in order to transfer specific natural functionalities to synthetic nanoparticles. Several biomimetic formulations have been developed, showing superior in vivo features as a result of their cell-like identity. We have recently designed biomimetic liposomes, called leukosomes, which recapitulate the ability of leukocytes to target inflamed endothelium and escape clearance by the immune system. To gain insight into the properties of leukosomes, we decided to investigate their protein corona in vivo. So far, most information about the protein corona has been obtained using in vitro experiments, which have been shown to minimally reproduce in vivo phenomena. Here we directly show a time-dependent quantitative and qualitative analysis of the protein corona adsorbed in vivo on leukosomes and control liposomes. We observed that leukosomes absorb fewer proteins than liposomes, and we identified a group of proteins specifically adsorbed on leukosomes. Moreover, we hypothesize that the presence of macrophage receptors on leukosomes' surface neutralizes their protein corona-meditated uptake by immune cells. This work unveils the protein corona of a biomimetic carrier and is one of the few studies on the corona performed in vivo.

Enzymatic degradation of in vitro Staphylococcus aureus biofilms supplemented with human plasma.

Enzymatic debridement is a therapeutic strategy used clinically to remove necrotic tissue from wounds. Some of the enzymes utilized for debridement have been tested against bacterial pathogens, but the effectiveness of these agents in dispersing clinically relevant biofilms has not been fully characterized. Here, we developed an in vitro Staphylococcus aureus biofilm model that mimics wound-like conditions and employed this model to investigate the antibiofilm activity of four enzymatic compounds. Human plasma at concentrations of 0%-50% was supplemented into growth media and used to evaluate biofilm biomass accumulation over 24 hours and 48 hours in one methicillin-sensitive and five methicillin-resistant strains of S. aureus. Supplementation of media with 10% human plasma resulted in the most robust biofilms in all six strains. The enzymes α-amylase, bromelain, lysostaphin, and papain were then tested against S. aureus biofilms cultured in 10% human plasma. Quantification of biofilms after 2 hours and 24 hours of treatment using the crystal violet assay revealed that lysostaphin decreased biomass by up to 76%, whereas α-amylase, bromelain, and papain reduced biomass by up to 97%, 98%, and 98%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the dispersal agents detached the biofilm exopolysaccharide matrix and bacteria from the growth surface. Lysostaphin caused less visible dispersal of the biofilms, but unlike the other enzymes, induced morphological changes indicative of bacterial cell damage. Overall, our results indicate that use of enzymes may be an effective means of eradicating biofilms and a promising strategy to improve treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.

A specifically designed nanoconstruct associates, internalizes, traffics in cardiovascular cells, and accumulates in failing myocardium: a new strategy for heart failure diagnostics and therapeutics.

AIMS: Ongoing inflammation and endothelial dysfunction occurs within the local microenvironment of heart failure, creating an appropriate scenario for successful use and delivery of nanovectors. This study sought to investigate whether cardiovascular cells associate, internalize, and traffic a nanoplatform called mesoporous silicon vector (MSV), and determine its intravenous accumulation in cardiac tissue in a murine model of heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: In vitro cellular uptake and intracellular trafficking of MSVs was examined by scanning electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, time-lapse microscopy, and flow cytometry in cardiac myocytes, fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells. The MSVs were internalized within the first hours, and trafficked to perinuclear regions in all the cell lines. Cytotoxicity was investigated by annexin V and cell cycle assays. No significant evidence of toxicity was found. In vivo intravenous cardiac accumulation of MSVs was examined by high content fluorescence and confocal microscopy, with results showing increased accumulation of particles in failing hearts compared with normal hearts. Similar to observations in vitro, MSVs were able to associate, internalize, and traffic to the perinuclear region of cardiomyocytes in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Results show that MSVs associate, internalize, and traffic in cardiovascular cells without any significant toxicity. Furthermore, MSVs accumulate in failing myocardium after intravenous administration, reaching intracellular regions of the cardiomyocytes. These findings represent a novel avenue to develop nanotechnology-based therapeutics and diagnostics in heart failure.

Prevalence of diabetes and its associated risk factors in south-western Uganda

Diabetes mellitus is a major pandemic disease globally with both high morbidity and mortality and a high health cost, especially in developing countries. Hence there is a need to establish its prevalence and risk factors. This article reports on a group of diabetic patients in Sheema district, south-western Uganda. The records of 701 adult diabetic out-patients were reviewed, as well as a cross-sectional study of 100 in-patients (both diabetic and non-diabetic) at Kitagata Hospital, Sheema District, south-western Uganda. Questionnaires were used for data collection and data analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16. The differences in proportion were tested using the Chi-square test, and p value significance was set at p<0.05. The prevalence of diabetes in the hospital was 2.5%. Type 2 diabetes was the most predominant (79%), having an increased prevalence in those >30 years old; women were mostly affected (60%). There was a strong relationship between diabetes type and age (p<0.001) and gender (p=0.035). Risk factors included family history (74%, p<0.001), smoking (48%, p=0.002), hypertension (45%, p<0.001), and alcohol intake (36%, p=0.795). We conclude that diabetes is common in our hospital population, and major risk factors identified include family history, smoking, and hypertension. Everyone above the age of 35 years with a diabetic relative and/or with hypertension should be routinely screened for diabetes

Intravital Microscopy Imaging Approaches for Image-Guided Drug Delivery Systems.

Rapid technical advances in the field of non-linear microscopy have made intravital microscopy a vital pre-clinical tool for research and development of imaging-guided drug delivery systems. The ability to dynamically monitor the fate of macromolecules in live animals provides invaluable information regarding properties of drug carriers (size, charge, and surface coating), physiological, and pathological processes that exist between point-of-injection and the projected of site of delivery, all of which influence delivery and effectiveness of drug delivery systems. In this Review, we highlight how integrating intravital microscopy imaging with experimental designs (in vitro analyses and mathematical modeling) can provide unique information critical in the design of novel disease-relevant drug delivery platforms with improved diagnostic and therapeutic indexes. The Review will provide the reader an overview of the various applications for which intravital microscopy has been used to monitor the delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic agents and discuss some of their potential clinical applications.

Mild hyperthermia enhances transport of liposomal gemcitabine and improves in vivo therapeutic response.

Obstructive biological barriers limit the transport and efficacy of cancer nanotherapeutics. Creative manipulation of tumor microenvironment provides promising avenues towards improving chemotherapeutic response. Such strategies include the use of mechanical stimuli to overcome barriers, and increase drug delivery and therapeutic efficacy. The rational use of gold nanorod-mediated mild hyperthermia treatment (MHT) alters tumor transport properties, increases liposomal gemcitabine (Gem Lip) delivery, and antitumor efficacy in pancreatic cancer CAPAN-1 tumor model. MHT treatment leads to a threefold increase in accumulation of 80-nm liposomes and enhances spatial interstitial distribution. I.v. injection of Gem Lip and MHT treatment lead to a threefold increase in intratumor gemcitabine concentration compared to chemotherapeutic infusion alone. Furthermore, combination of MHT treatment with infusion of 12 mg kg(-1) Gem Lip leads to a twofold increase in therapeutic efficacy and inhibition of CAPAN-1 tumor growth when compared to equimolar chemotherapeutic treatment alone. Enhanced therapeutic effect is confirmed by reduction in tumor size and increase in apoptotic index where MHT treatment combined with 12 mg kg(-1) Gem Lip achieves similar therapeutic efficacy as the use of 60 mg kg(-1) free gemcitabine. In conclusion, improvements in vivo efficacy are demonstrated resulting from MHT treatment that overcome transport barriers, promote delivery, improve efficacy of nanomedicines.