Low-level laser therapy for treatment of tinnitus in Red Sea scuba divers: a randomized clinical study

Background Scuba diving has become a popular hobby. However, diving puts the auditory system at the risk of a wide variety of complaints including tinnitus. Low-level laser therapy is a new modality in treatment of tinnitus. This study evaluates effect of laser therapy on tinnitus of scuba divers in Red Sea. This randomized study included 200 scuba diving patients with tinnitus without any other audiological symptoms. They were randomly divided into two groups: GI (n=100) patients were subjected to 60 sessions of laser therapy, and in the other group GII (n=100), the machine was off while doing the procedure. The Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ) was done every 20 days to evaluate the severity of the tinnitus for both groups. Results Both groups were matched regarding age and sex distribution. GI group experienced significantly decreased tinnitus severity compared to GII after laser therapy. There was no relation between duration of diving and laser therapy effect in GI. Conclusion Laser therapy is effective in treatment of tinnitus of scuba divers and its effect is increased by number of laser sessions.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Effect on Emotion Regulation and Death Anxiety in Older Female Adults

This study examined the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy intervention on emotion regulation and death anxiety in old women. This quasi-experimental study was conducted using a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The research population included elderly women aged 60–75 years who were members of the Tehran Municipality Retirees Association in 2020. A total of 30 women were assigned to intervention and control groups (15 persons in each group). The participants in the intervention group received the dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) intervention for 10 sessions while the participants in the control group did not receive any intervention. The results of the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that there was a significant difference between the women in the intervention and control groups in terms of cognitive emotion regulation and death anxiety on the posttest. This therapy can be used for the elderly living in nursing homes and aging associations and institutions.

In vitro and in vivo MRI imaging and photothermal therapeutic properties of Hematite (α-Fe2O3) Nanorods

Herein we report synthesis of hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanorods by calcinating hydrothermally synthesized goethite nanorods at 5000C. The structural, optical and MRI imaging guided cancer therapeutic properties of fabricated nanorods have been discussed in this manscript. FESEM and TEM imaging techniques were used to confirm the nanorod like morphology of as prepared materials. As we know that Fe2O3 nanorods with size in the range of 25–30 nm exhibit super magnetism. After coating with the PEG, the as prepared nanorods can be used as T2 MR imaging contrast agents. An excellent T2 MRI contrast of 38.763 mM–1s–1 achieved which is highest reported so far for α-Fe2O3. Besides the as prepared nanorods display an excellent photothermal conversion efficiency of 39.5% thus acts as an excellent photothermal therapeutic agent. Thus, we envision the idea of testing our nanorods for photothermal therapy and MR imaging application both in vitro and in vivo, achieving an excellent T2 MRI contrast and photothermal therapy effect with as prepared PEGylated nanorods.

Co-delivery of paclitaxel and doxorubicin using polypeptide-engineered nanogels for combination therapy of tumor

Loading of chemotherapeutic agents into nanoparticles has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy for cancer therapy. However, simultaneous delivery of different functional drugs to tumor sites for chemotherapy still remains challenging. In this study, nanogels formed by an engineered coiled-coil polypeptide PC10A were designed and prepared as a carrier for co-delivery of paclitaxel (PTX) and doxorubicin (DOX) through ultrasonic treatment and electrostatic adsorption. The drug loading content and encapsulation efficiency of PTX and DOX in the PC10A/PTX/DOX nanogels were 5.98 wt.%, 70 wt.%, and 8.55 wt.%, 83 wt.%, respectively. Because the polypeptide PC10A was non-toxic and biodegradable, the PC10A/PTX/DOX nanogels exhibited good biocompatibility. The in vitro and in vivo antitumor experiments showed that the PC10A/PTX/DOX nanogels possessed obviously synergistic therapy effect of tumors and lower side effects compared with free PTX/DOX. Therefore, the PC10A/PTX/DOX nanogels are promising to provide a new strategy for combination therapy of different functional drugs.

An Accurate Prognostic Model and Treatment for Pancreatic Carcinoma Based on the Tumor Immune Microenvironment

BackgroundPancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is a highly malignant cancer with a poor prognosis. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is closely related to tumorigenesis, progression, and treatment. However, the relationship between TME immune cell genes and prognosis in PAAD is currently unclear.Methodsn this study, we identified three prognostic subtypes based on the TME by using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) database and University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) database. The Silhouette plot analysis was used to evaluate 758 immune genes expression in PAAD from each database, then to divide all samples into three subtypes (Clusters A, B, C) by Lasso’s binomial logistic regression. We analyzed the relationship between subtypes and prognosis by the survival R package. CIBERSORT was used for evaluating the expression changes of immune cells. We detect the copy number variation areas between two groups through GISTIC 2.0 algorithm. The TIDE network tool was used to predict the response of immune therapy.ResultsWe defined three clusters (Clusters A, B, and C) based on the analysis of immune gene expression. Cluster B got a worse prognosis than the other two clusters. The Cluster B group had the highest level of Macrophages M0 and Macrophage M2. NK cell resting was much higher in Cluster B than other groups in TME. Gene KRAS was mutated in 77% of all samples. Cluster C had a better immune therapy effect than others.ConclusionsWe found a news model to predicted patients’ prognosis who with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Cluster B had the significant worse prognosis than other groups. Patients in Cluster C could get batter treatment effect by using immunotherapy.

Biomass Microcapsules with Stem Cell Encapsulation for Bone Repair

Bone defects caused by trauma, tumor, or osteoarthritis remain challenging due to the lack of effective treatments in clinic. Stem cell transplantation has emerged as an alternative approach for bone repair and attracted widespread attention owing to its excellent biological activities and therapy effect. The attempts to develop this therapeutic approach focus on the generation of effective cell delivery vehicles, since the shortcomings of direct injection of stem cells into target tissues. Here, we developed a novel core-shell microcapsule with a stem cell-laden core and a biomass shell by using all-aqueous phase microfluidic electrospray technology. The designed core-shell microcapsules showed a high cell viability during the culture procedure. In addition, the animal experiments exhibited that stem cell-laden core-shell microcapsules have good biocompatibility and therapeutic effect for bone defects. This study indicated that the core-shell biomass microcapsules generated by microfluidic electrospray have promising potential in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.