EXPRESS: Transposition and substitution letter effects in a flanker task: evidence from children and adults.

Several studies have shown that parafoveal processing is essential in reading development. In this study, we explore the effect of transposing and substituting inner and outer letters in a flanker lexical decision task administered to 78 children and 65 adults. The results show a significant interaction between the Group factor and the Flanker factor, suggesting differences in the effects of flankers for children and adults. In the case of adults, transposed and substituted letters generated benefit of the same magnitude in comparison to the unrelated condition, but of lesser magnitude than the Identity condition. In the case of children, the results show facilitation for the transposed conditions of the same magnitude as the Identity condition. However, the substitution conditions failed to generate any benefit in comparison to the unrelated condition. The results for the adults are in line with the predictions of the open bigram model, while the results for the children are explained through a developmental perspective of the dual-route architecture and open bigram framework.

Low-cost, open-source device for simultaneously subjecting rodents to different circadian cycles of light, food, and temperature.

Exposure of experimental rodents to controlled cycles of light, food, and temperature is important when investigating alterations in circadian cycles that profoundly influence health and disease. However, applying such stimuli simultaneously is difficult in practice. We aimed to design, build, test, and open-source describe a simple device that subjects a conventional mouse cage to independent cycles of physiologically relevant environmental variables. The device is based on a box enclosing the rodent cage to modify the light, feeding, and temperature environments. The device provides temperature-controlled air conditioning (heating or cooling) by a Peltier module and includes programmable feeding and illumination. All functions are set by a user-friendly front panel for independent cycle programming. Bench testing with a model simulating the CO2 production of mice in the cage showed: a) suitable air renewal (by measuring actual ambient CO2), b) controlled realistic illumination at the mouse enclosure (measured by a photometer), c) stable temperature control, and d) correct cycling of light, feeding, and temperature. The cost of all the supplies (retail purchased by e-commerce) was <300 US$. Detailed technical information is open-source provided, allowing for any user to reliably reproduce or modify the device. This approach can considerably facilitate circadian research since using one of the described low-cost devices for any mouse group with a given light-food-temperature paradigm allows for all the experiments to be performed simultaneously, thereby requiring no changes in the light/temperature of a general-use laboratory.

"I don't know who you are": anomia for people's names in Alzheimer's disease.

It is well known that difficulty in the retrieval of people's names is an early symptom of Alzheimer's Disease Dementia (ADD), but there is a controversy about the nature of this deficit. In this study, we analyzed whether the nature of the difficulty in retrieving proper names in ADD reflects pre-semantic, semantic, or post-semantic difficulties. To do so, 85 older adults, 35 with ADD and 50 cognitively healthy (CH), completed a task with famous faces involving: recognition, naming, semantic questions, and naming with phonological cues. The ADD group scored lower than the CH group in all tasks. Both groups showed a greater capacity for recognition than naming, but this difference was more pronounced in the ADD group. Additionally, the ADD group showed significantly fewer semantic errors than the CH group. Overall results suggest that the difficulties people with ADD have in naming reflect a degradation at semantic level.

Repurposing Study of 4-Acyl-1-phenylaminocarbonyl-2-substituted-piperazine Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents-In Vitro Evaluation against Breast Cancer Cells.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women. Although current treatments can increase patient survival, they are rarely curative when the disease is advanced (metastasis). Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new cytotoxic drugs with a high selectivity toward cancer cells. Since repurposing approved drugs for cancer therapy has been a successful strategy in recent years, in this study, we screened a library of antiviral piperazine-derived compounds as anticancer agents. The compounds included a piperazine ring and aryl urea functions, which are privileged structures present in several anti-breast cancer drugs. The selective cytotoxic activity of a set of thirty-four 4-acyl-2-substituted piperazine urea derivatives against MCF7 breast cancer cells and MCF 10A normal breast cells was determined. Compounds 31, 32, 35, and 37 showed high selective anticancer activity against breast cancer cells and were also tested against another common type of cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (A549 lung cancer cells versus MRC-5 lung normal cells). Compounds 35 and 37 also showed selectivity against lung cancer cells. These results suggest that compounds 35 and 37 may be promising hit compounds for the development of new anticancer agents.

Evaluation of Anticancer Activity of 76 Plant Species Collected in Andalusia (Spain) against Lung Cancer Cells.

Every year, cancer kills millions of people around the world. Finding more selective anticancer agents is essential to improve the low survival rates of patients with metastatic cancers. Since the research of natural products is a valuable approach to the discovery of new compounds and the Iberian flora offers a rich source of unstudied plants, we have carried out a random screening of 76 plant species from 43 families collected in Andalusia (South of Spain). Using non-malignant cells (HaCaT) and lung cancer cells (A549), we found that the extract from Arum italicum Mill. subsp. italicum (Araceae), Mandragora autumnalis Bertol. (Solanaceae), Rhamnus alaternus L. (Rhamnaceae), and Lomelosia simplex (Desf.) Raf. subsp. dentata (Jord. & Fourr.) Greuter & Burdet (Dipsacaceae) showed selective cytotoxicity against lung cancer cells. Extracts of plant species belonging to the Iridaceae family showed high selective activity against cancer cells, highlighting that the Xiphion xiphium (L.) M.B. Crespo, Mart.-Azorín & Mavrodiev flower extract was more selective against lung cancer cells than the standard anticancer drugs, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. This extract also showed modest selective cytotoxicity against bladder carcinoma cells (T24). The number of cells in the G1 phase increased after treatment with the extract from Xiphion xiphium. Our research indicates that various plants are potential sources for the isolation and development of new anticancer drugs.

El efecto de la pandemia sobre el desarrollo del lenguaje en los dos primeros años de vida / The effect of the pandemic on language development in the first two years of life

Antecedentes y objetivo: Los efectos que la pandemia por la COVID-19 ha podido tener en el desarrollo del lenguaje de la población infantil son todavía poco conocidos. En este estudio investigamos el efecto de la pandemia sobre el desarrollo del lenguaje evaluando el nivel de vocabulario y el nivel morfosintáctico en una muestra de niños y niñas de entre 18 y 31meses. Participantes y método: La muestra está compuesta por 153 niños y niñas de entre 18 y 31meses de edad. De estos participantes, 82 nacieron y se evaluaron antes de la pandemia (grupo PRE) y los otros 71 nacieron durante la pandemia y se evaluaron al final del curso 2021/2022, el último curso en el que se han mantenido medidas restrictivas derivadas de la pandemia en el contexto escolar (grupo POST). Los dos grupos de niños estaban igualados por edad y por nivel de estudios de las madres, y asistían a escuelas infantiles de similares características socioeconómicas. Resultados: Se observan puntuaciones más bajas tanto en nivel de vocabulario como de desarrollo morfosintáctico en los participantes del grupo POST que en los participantes del grupo PRE. Estos hallazgos son consistentes con los escasos estudios previos sobre el desarrollo lingüístico de los niños durante la pandemia. Conclusiones: Las medidas adoptadas durante la pandemia de la COVID-19 han tenido un impacto negativo en el desarrollo del lenguaje de los niños y niñas menores de 3años de edad. Es necesario prestar una atención especial a las necesidades de estos niños en el futuro próximo.(AU)

Background and objectives: The effects that the COVID-19 pandemic may have had on the language development of children are still poorly understood. In this study, we examine the effect of the pandemic on this development by analyzing the vocabulary and the morphosyntactic level in a sample of toddlers. Participants and method: One hundred and fifty-three boys and girls between 18 and 31months of age participated in the study. Of these participants, 82 were born and evaluated before the pandemic (PRE group) and the other 71 were born during the pandemic and were evaluated at the end of the 2021/2022 academic year, the last academic year in which restrictive measures derived from the pandemic were maintained in the schools (POST group). Both groups were matched by age and mother's educational level and attended nursery schools with similar socioeconomic characteristics. Results: We found lower scores both in vocabulary and morphosyntactic development in the POST group than in the PRE group. These findings are consistent with the scarce previous studies on children's language development during the pandemic. Conclusions: The measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic have had a negative impact on the language development of children under 3years of age. It is necessary to pay special attention to these children due to the needs they may require in the immediate future.(AU)

Low-cost and open-source neonatal incubator operated by an Arduino microcontroller.

An unacceptably large number of newborn infants die in developing countries. For a considerable number of cases (particularly in preterm infants), morbidity and mortality can be reduced by simply maintaining newborn thermal homeostasis during the first weeks of life. Unfortunately, deaths caused by prematurity remain inordinately common in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to reduced access to incubators in light of the high cost of commercially available devices. We herein describe and test a low-cost and easy-to-assemble neonatal incubator created with inexpensive materials readily available in LMICs. The incubator is based on an Arduino microcontroller. It maintains controlled temperature and relative humidity inside the main chamber while continuously measuring newborn weight progress. Moreover, the incubator has a tilting bed system and an additional independent safety temperature alarm. The performance of the novel low-cost neonatal incubator was evaluated and successfully passed the IEC 60601-2-19 standards. In the present work, we provide all the necessary technical information, which is distributed as open source. This will enable assembly of very low-cost (<250 €) and fully functional incubators in LMICs that should help reduce neonatal mortality.

[The effect of the pandemic on language development in the first two years of life]. / El efecto de la pandemia sobre el desarrollo del lenguaje en los dos primeros años de vida.

Background and objectives: The effects that the COVID-19 pandemic may have had on the language development of children are still poorly understood. In this study, we examine the effect of the pandemic on this development by analyzing the vocabulary and the morphosyntactic level in a sample of toddlers. Participants and method: One hundred and fifty-three boys and girls between 18 and 31 months of age participated in the study. Of these participants, 82 were born and evaluated before the pandemic (PRE group) and the other 71 were born during the pandemic and were evaluated at the end of the 2021/2022 academic year, the last academic year in which restrictive measures derived from the pandemic were maintained in the schools (POST group). Both groups were matched by age and mother's educational level and attended nursery schools with similar socioeconomic characteristics. Results: We found lower scores both in vocabulary and morphosyntactic development in the POST group than in the PRE group. These findings are consistent with the scarce previous studies on children's language development during the pandemic. Conclusions: The measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic have had a negative impact on the language development of children under 3 years of age. It is necessary to pay special attention to these children due to the needs they may require in the immediate future.

Dietary Manipulation of Amino Acids for Cancer Therapy.

Cancer cells cannot proliferate and survive unless they obtain sufficient levels of the 20 proteinogenic amino acids (AAs). Unlike normal cells, cancer cells have genetic and metabolic alterations that may limit their capacity to obtain adequate levels of the 20 AAs in challenging metabolic environments. However, since normal diets provide all AAs at relatively constant levels and ratios, these potentially lethal genetic and metabolic defects are eventually harmless to cancer cells. If we temporarily replace the normal diet of cancer patients with artificial diets in which the levels of specific AAs are manipulated, cancer cells may be unable to proliferate and survive. This article reviews in vivo studies that have evaluated the antitumor activity of diets restricted in or supplemented with the 20 proteinogenic AAs, individually and in combination. It also reviews our recent studies that show that manipulating the levels of several AAs simultaneously can lead to marked survival improvements in mice with metastatic cancers.

Artificial Diets with Selective Restriction of Amino Acids and Very Low Levels of Lipids Induce Anticancer Activity in Mice with Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) need new therapies to improve the low survival rates achieved with standard treatments. In this work, we show for the first time that the survival of mice with metastatic TNBC can be markedly increased by replacing their normal diet with artificial diets in which the levels of amino acids (AAs) and lipids are strongly manipulated. After observing selective anticancer activity in vitro, we prepared five artificial diets and evaluated their anticancer activity in a challenging model of metastatic TNBC. The model was established by injecting 4T1 murine TNBC cells into the tail vein of immunocompetent BALB/cAnNRj mice. First-line drugs doxorubicin and capecitabine were also tested in this model. AA manipulation led to modest improvements in mice survival when the levels of lipids were normal. Reducing lipid levels to 1% markedly improved the activity of several diets with different AA content. Some mice fed the artificial diets as monotherapy lived much longer than mice treated with doxorubicin and capecitabine. An artificial diet without 10 non-essential AAs, with reduced levels of essential AAs, and with 1% lipids improved the survival not only of mice with TNBC but also of mice with other types of metastatic cancers.

Artificial Diets with Altered Levels of Sulfur Amino Acids Induce Anticancer Activity in Mice with Metastatic Colon Cancer, Ovarian Cancer and Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Sulfur-containing amino acids methionine (Met), cysteine (Cys) and taurine (Tau) are common dietary constituents with important cellular roles. Met restriction is already known to exert in vivo anticancer activity. However, since Met is a precursor of Cys and Cys produces Tau, the role of Cys and Tau in the anticancer activity of Met-restricted diets is poorly understood. In this work, we screened the in vivo anticancer activity of several Met-deficient artificial diets supplemented with Cys, Tau or both. Diet B1 (6% casein, 2.5% leucine, 0.2% Cys and 1% lipids) and diet B2B (6% casein, 5% glutamine, 2.5% leucine, 0.2% Tau and 1% lipids) showed the highest activity and were selected for further studies. Both diets induced marked anticancer activity in two animal models of metastatic colon cancer, which were established by injecting CT26.WT murine colon cancer cells in the tail vein or peritoneum of immunocompetent BALB/cAnNRj mice. Diets B1 and B2B also increased survival of mice with disseminated ovarian cancer (intraperitoneal ID8 Tp53-/- cells in C57BL/6JRj mice) and renal cell carcinoma (intraperitoneal Renca cells in BALB/cAnNRj mice). The high activity of diet B1 in mice with metastatic colon cancer may be useful in colon cancer therapy.

Manipulation of Amino Acid Levels with Artificial Diets Induces a Marked Anticancer Activity in Mice with Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Targeted therapies with antiangiogenic drugs (e.g., sunitinib) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g., anti-PD-1 antibodies) are the standard of care for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Although these treatments improve patient survival, they are rarely curative. We previously hypothesized that advanced cancers might be treated without drugs by using artificial diets in which the levels of specific amino acids (AAs) are manipulated. In this work, after showing that AA manipulation induces selective anticancer activity in renal cell carcinoma cells in vitro, we screened 18 artificial diets for anticancer activity in a challenging animal model of renal cell carcinoma. The model was established by injecting murine renal cell carcinoma (Renca) cells into the peritoneum of immunocompetent BALB/cAnNRj mice. Mice survival was markedly improved when their normal diet was replaced with our artificial diets. Mice fed a diet lacking six AAs (diet T2) lived longer than mice treated with sunitinib or anti-PD-1 immunotherapy; several animals lived very long or were cured. Controlling the levels of several AAs (e.g., cysteine, methionine, and leucine) and lipids was important for the anticancer activity of the diets. Additional studies are needed to further evaluate the therapeutic potential and mechanism of action of this simple and inexpensive anticancer strategy.

The Effect of Semantic Transparency in a Flanker Task.

This study tried to replicate and extend the semantic transparency morphological effect using the flanker lexical decision paradigm (Grainger et al., 2020). In the first experiment, stems were used as flankers of target words that could be truly morphological (hunt hunter hunt), pseudomorphological (corn corner corn), or form-related with the flanker (broth brothel broth). In half of the trials, a related flanker was employed, and in the other half, an unrelated word was presented as flanker (e.g., table player table). The results showed a facilitative effect for the related condition as a main effect with no difference between experimental conditions. These results were interpreted in terms of an orthographic facilitation taking place when whole stems are presented as flankers. In the second experiment, short derivational suffixes were used as flankers of the same targets employed in the first experiment. The results showed an inhibitory effect of the same magnitude for the transparent and pseudomorphological conditions with no effect for the form condition. This finding suggests an inhibitory effect by which morphemes activate several lexical candidates that compete for recognition. Overall, the results are interpreted in terms of the cognitive requirements of the experimental task, the items selected, and the current models of morphological processing.

Device for Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in Low-Resource Regions: Open-Source Description and Bench Test Evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Negative (vacuum) pressure therapy promotes wound healing. However, commercially available devices are unaffordable to most potential users in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), limiting access to many patients who could benefit from this treatment. This study aimed to design and test a cheap and easy-to-build negative pressure device and provide its detailed open-source description, thereby enabling free replication. METHODS: the negative pressure device was built using off-the-shelf materials available via e-commerce and was based on a small pump, a pressure transducer, and the simplest Arduino controller with a digital display (total retail cost ≤ 75 US$). The device allows the user to set any therapeutic range of intermittent negative pressure and has two independent safety mechanisms. The performance of the low-cost device was carefully tested on the bench using a phantom wound, producing a realistic exudate flow rate. RESULTS: the device generates the pressure patterns set by the user (25-175 mmHg of vacuum pressure, 0-60 min periods) and can drain exudate flows within the clinical range (up to 1 L/h). CONCLUSIONS: a novel, low-cost, easy-to-build negative pressure device for wound healing displays excellent technical performance. The open-source hardware description provided here, which allows for free replication and use in LMICs, will facilitate the application and wider utilization of this therapy to patients.

Simple low-cost construction and calibration of accurate pneumotachographs for monitoring mechanical ventilation in low-resource settings.

Assessing tidal volume during mechanical ventilation is critical to improving gas exchange while avoiding ventilator-induced lung injury. Conventional flow and volume measurements are usually carried out by built-in pneumotachographs in the ventilator or by stand-alone flowmeters. Such flow/volume measurement devices are expensive and thus usually unaffordable in low-resource settings. Here, we aimed to design and test low-cost and technically-simple calibration and assembly pneumotachographs. The proposed pneumotachographs are made by manual perforation of a plate with a domestic drill. Their pressure-volume relationship is characterized by a quadratic equation with parameters that can be tailored by the number and diameter of the perforations. We show that the calibration parameters of the pneumotachographs can be measured through two maneuvers with a conventional resuscitation bag and by assessing the maneuver volumes with a cheap and straightforward water displacement setting. We assessed the performance of the simplified low-cost pneumotachographs to measure flow/volume during mechanical ventilation as carried out under typical conditions in low-resource settings, i.e., lacking gold standard expensive devices. Under realistic mechanical ventilation settings (pressure- and volume-control; 200-600 mL), inspiratory tidal volume was accurately measured (errors of 2.1% on average and <4% in the worst case). In conclusion, a simple, low-cost procedure facilitates the construction of affordable and accurate pneumotachographs for monitoring mechanical ventilation in low- and middle-income countries.

Artificial Diets Based on Selective Amino Acid Restriction versus Capecitabine in Mice with Metastatic Colon Cancer.

New therapies are needed to improve the low survival rates of patients with metastatic colon cancer. Evidence suggests that amino acid (AA) restriction can be used to target the altered metabolism of cancer cells. In this work, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of selective AA restriction in colon cancer. After observing anticancer activity in vitro, we prepared several artificial diets and evaluated their anticancer activity in two challenging animal models of metastatic colon cancer. These models were established by injecting CT26.WT murine colon cancer cells in the peritoneum (peritoneal dissemination) or in the tail vein (pulmonary metastases) of immunocompetent BALB/cAnNRj mice. Capecitabine, which is a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic colon cancer, was also evaluated in these models. Mice fed diet TC1 (a diet lacking 10 AAs) and diet TC5 (a diet with 6% casein, 5% glutamine, and 2.5% leucine) lived longer than untreated mice in both models; several mice survived the treatment. Diet TC5 was better than several cycles of capecitabine in both cancer models. Cysteine supplementation blocked the activity of diets TC1 and TC5, but cysteine restriction was not sufficient for activity. Our results indicated that artificial diets based on selective AA restriction have therapeutic potential for colon cancer.

Chirality influence on the cytotoxic properties of anionic chiral bis(N-heterocyclic carbene)silver complexes.

Complexes Na3[Ag(NHCR)2], 2a-e and 2b'-c', where NHCR is a N-heterocyclic carbene of the 2,2'-(1H-2λ3,3λ4-imidazole-1,3-diyl)dicarboxylate type, were prepared by treatment of compounds HLR, 1a-e and 1b'-c' (2-(1-(carboxyalkyl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium-3-yl)carboxylate), with silver oxide in the presence of aqueous sodium hydroxide. They were characterized by analytical, spectroscopic (infrared, IR, 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR, and circular dichroism) and X-ray methods (2a). In the solid state, the anionic part of complex 2a, [Ag(NHCH)2]3-, shows a linear disposition of Ccarbene-Ag-Ccarbene atoms and an eclipsed conformation of the two NHC ligands. The proposed bis(NHC) nature of the silver complexes was maintained in solution according to NMR and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The cytotoxic activity of compounds 2 was evaluated against four cancer cell lines and one non-cancerous cell line and several structure-activity correlations were found for these complexes. For instance, the activity decreased when the bulkiness of the R alkyl group in Na3[Ag(NHCR)2] increased. More interesting is the detected chirality-anticancer relationship, where complexes Na3[Ag{(S,S)-NHCR}2] (R = Me, 2b; iPr, 2c) showed better anticancer activity than those of their enantiomeric derivatives Na3[Ag{(R,R)-NHCR}2] (R = Me, 2b'; iPr, 2c').

Opium, Street Opium, and Cancer Risk.

Opium is defined as the air-dried latex obtained by incision from the unripe capsules of Papaver somniferum L. Opium is a complex mixture that contains approximately 10% morphine and 2% codeine. It is commonly used to prepare opium tinctures for people with chronic diarrhea. Morphine and related opioids are powerful but highly addictive analgesics; designing less addictive opioids is an active area of pharmaceutical research that may lead to significant improvements in chronic pain management. Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified opium consumption as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in human studies. However, all human studies analyzed by the IARC Working Group included participants who consumed opium that was mixed, adulterated, and/or contaminated with known and probable human carcinogens (e.g., tarry residues of combusted opium, arsenic, lead, and chromium). The working group considered that these carcinogens were part of the complex mixture that opium is, rather than co-exposure or confounders. No evidence of carcinogenicity was available for pure opium in human, animal, or mechanistic studies. To avoid confusion and concern among health professionals and patients using medicinal opium preparations and in scientists involved in the design and development of new opium derivatives, opium should be classified in Group 3 (not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans). The term 'street opium' could be used to refer to opium that probably contains human carcinogens not present in pure opium and should remain in Group 1 (carcinogenic to humans).

pH-temperature dual-sensitive nucleolipid-containing stealth liposomes anchored with PEGylated AuNPs for triggering delivery of doxorubicin.

Liposomes (Lip) are useful nanocarriers for drug delivery and cancer nanomedicine because of their ability to efficiently encapsulate drugs with different physical and chemical properties. The pH gradient between normal and tumoral tissues, and their rapid metabolism that induces hyperthermia encourage the development of pH- and thermo-sensitive Lip for delivering anticancer drugs. Nucleolipids have been studied as scaffolding material to prepare Lip, mainly for cancer therapy. Herein, we report for the first time the use of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-(cytidine diphosphate) (DG-CDP) to develop pH/thermo-sensitive nucleolipid-containing stealth Lip stabilized by combination with 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and cholesterol, anchored with NH2-PEGylated gold nanoparticles (PEG-AuNPs, 15 nm) for triggering delivery of doxorubicin (Dox). The optimal composition of DPPC, DG-CDP and cholesterol (94:3:3) was established by Langmuir isotherms. Unloaded and Dox-loaded Lip and AuNPs-Lip exhibited nano-scale sizes (415-650 nm), acceptable polydispersity indexes (<0.33), spherical shapes, and negative Z-potential (-23 to -6.6 mV) due to the phosphate groups of DG-CDP, which allowed the anchoring with positively charged AuNPs. High EE% were achieved (>78%) and although efficient control in the Dox release towards different receptor media was observed, the release of Dox from PEG-AuNPs-Lip-Dox was significantly triggered at acidic pH and hyperthermia conditions, demonstrating its responsiveness to both stimuli. Dox-loaded Lip showed high cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and SK-OV-3 ovarian cancer cells, suggesting that Dox was released from these nanocarriers over time. Overall, the liposomal formulations showed promising properties as stimuli-responsive nanocarriers for cancer nanomedicine, with prospects for hyperthermia therapy.

A Low-Cost, Easy-to-Assemble Device to Prevent Infant Hyperthermia under Conditions of High Thermal Stress.

High ambient temperature and humidity greatly increase the risk of hyperthermia and mortality, particularly in infants, who are especially prone to dehydration. World areas at high risk of heat stress include many of the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where most of their inhabitants have no access to air conditioning. This study aimed to design, evaluate, and test a novel low-cost and easy-to-assemble device aimed at preventing the risk of infant hyperthermia in LMICs. The device is based on optimizing negative heat transfer from a small amount of ice and transferring it directly to the infant by airflow of refrigerated air. As a proof of concept, a device was assembled mainly using recycled materials, and its performance was assessed under laboratory-controlled conditions in a climatic chamber mimicking realistic stress conditions of high temperature and humidity. The device, which can be assembled by any layperson using easily available materials, provided sufficient refrigerating capacity for several hours from just 1-2 kg of ice obtained from a domestic freezer. Thus, application of this novel device may serve to attenuate the adverse effects of heat stress in infants, particularly in the context of the evolving climatic change trends.