Bacterial infection-driven lymphomagenesis

Phytochemical characterization and toxicological activity attributed to the acetonic extract of South American Vassobia breviflora

The particular plant species found in southern Brazil, Vassobia breviflora (Solanaceae) has only a few apparent studies examining its biological effect. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine the activity of the acetone extract fraction derived from V. breviflora. Four compounds were identified by ESI-qTOF-MS: eucalrobusone R, aplanoic acid B, pheophorbide A, and pheophytin A. In addition, 5 compounds were identified by HPLC-PDA-MS/MS: all-trans-lutein, 15-cis-lutein, all-trans-β-carotene, 5,8-epoxy-β-carotene, and cis-β-carotene. Cell lines A549 (lung cancer), A375 (melanoma cancer) and HeLa (cervical cancer) were incubated with different concentrations of each studied extract using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and 2'-7'dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA) assays. The acetonic extract exhibited cytotoxic activity at a concentration of 0.03 mg/ml in the HeLa strain and 0.1 mg/ml in the others. In addition to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Antibacterial activity was assessed utilizing minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) in 9 ATCCs strains and 7 clinical isolates, as well as determination of biofilm production. Data demonstrated that MIC and MBC were approximately 256 mg/ml in most of the strains tested and antibiofilm effect at S. aureus, S. epidermidis, A. baumannii, and E. faecalis, concentrations below the MIC. Genotoxic activity on plasmid DNA did not produce significant elevated levels in breaks in the isolated genetic material.

Emerging bacterial infectious diseases/pathogens vectored by human lice

Human lice have always been a major public health concern due to their vector capacity for louse-borne infectious diseases, like trench fever, louse-borne relapsing fever, and epidemic fever, which are caused by Bartonella quintana, Borrelia recurrentis, and Rickettsia prowazekii, respectively. Those diseases are currently re-emerging in the regions of poor hygiene, social poverty, or wars with life-threatening consequences. These louse-borne diseases have also caused outbreaks among populations in jails and refugee camps. In addition, antibodies and DNAs to those pathogens have been steadily detected in homeless populations. Importantly, more bacterial pathogens have been detected in human lice, and some have been transmitted by human lice in laboratories. Here, we provide a comprehensive review and update on louse-borne infectious diseases/bacterial pathogens.

Marginal zone lymphomas

The three main types of marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), recognized by the current lymphoma classifications are the extranodal MZL of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, the splenic MZL, and the nodal MZL. They share some karyotype lesions (trisomies of chromosomes 3 and 18, deletions at 6q23), and alterations of the nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB) pathway are also common in all of them. However, they differ in the presence of recurrent translocations, mutations affecting the Notch signaling pathway (NOTCH2 and less commonly NOTCH1), the transcription factors Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) or the receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase delta (PTPRD). This review summarizes the most recent and significant advances in our understanding of the epidemiology, genetics, and biology of MZLs and outlines the current principles of the standard management of MZL at different anatomic sites.

Modular Design in Triboelectric Sensors: A Review on the Clinical Applications for Real-Time Diagnosis

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have garnered considerable interest as a promising technology for energy harvesting and stimulus sensing. While TENGs facilitate the generation of electricity from micro-motions, the modular design of TENG-based modular sensing systems (TMSs) also offers significant potential for powering biosensors and other medical devices, thus reducing dependence on external power sources and enabling biological processes to be monitored in real time. Moreover, TENGs can be customised and personalized to address individual patient needs while ensuring biocompatibility and safety, ultimately enhancing the efficiency and security of diagnosis and treatment. In this review, we concentrate on recent advancements in the modular design of TMSs for clinical applications with an emphasis on their potential for personalised real-time diagnosis. We also examine the design and fabrication of TMSs, their sensitivity and specificity, and their capabilities of detecting biomarkers for disease diagnosis and monitoring. Furthermore, we investigate the application of TENGs to energy harvesting and real-time monitoring in wearable and implantable medical devices, underscore the promising prospects of personalised and modular TMSs in advancing real-time diagnosis for clinical applications, and offer insights into the future direction of this burgeoning field.

Adaptive Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Long-Term Self-Treatment: A Review

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) were initially invented as an innovative energy-harvesting technology for scavenging mechanical energy from our bodies or the ambient environment. Through adaptive customization design, TENGs have also become a promising player in the self-powered wearable medical market for improving physical fitness and sustaining a healthy lifestyle. In addition to simultaneously harvesting our body's mechanical energy and actively detecting our physiological parameters and metabolic status, TENGs can also provide personalized medical treatment solutions in a self-powered modality. This review aims to cover the recent advances in TENG-based electronics in clinical applications, beginning from the basic working principles of TENGs and their general operation modes, continuing to the harvesting of bioenergy from the human body, and arriving at their adaptive design toward applications in chronic disease diagnosis and long-term clinical treatment. Considering the highly personalized usage scenarios, special attention is paid to customized modules that are based on TENGs and support complex medical treatments, where sustainability, biodegradability, compliance, and bio-friendliness may be critical for the operation of clinical systems. While this review provides a comprehensive understanding of TENG-based clinical devices that aims to reach a high level of technological readiness, the challenges and shortcomings of TENG-based clinical devices are also highlighted, with the expectation of providing a useful reference for the further development of such customized healthcare systems and the transfer of their technical capabilities into real-life patient care.