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A large number of people suffer from alopecia or hair loss worldwide. Drug-based therapies using minoxidil and finasteride for the treatment of alopecia are available, but they have shown various side effects in patients. Thus, the use of new therapeutic approaches using bioactive products to reduce the risk of anti-hair-loss medications has been emphasized. Natural products have been used since ancient times and have been proven safe, with few side effects. Several studies have demonstrated the use of plants and their extracts to promote hair growth. Moreover, commercial products based on these natural ingredients have been developed for the treatment of alopecia. Several clinical, animal, and cell-based studies have been conducted to determine the anti-alopecia effects of plant-derived biochemicals. This review is a collective study of phytochemicals with anti-alopecia effects, focusing mainly on the mechanisms underlying their hair-growth-promoting effects.

Gene therapy would benefit from a miniature CRISPR system that fits into the small adeno-associated virus (AAV) genome and has high cleavage activity and specificity in eukaryotic cells. One of the most compact CRISPR-associated nucleases yet discovered is the archaeal Un1Cas12f1. However, Un1Cas12f1 and its variants have very low activity in eukaryotic cells. In the present study, we redesigned the natural guide RNA of Un1Cas12f1 at five sites: the 5′ terminus of the trans -activating CRISPR RNA (tracrRNA), the tracrRNA–crRNA complementary region, a penta(uridinylate) sequence, the 3′ terminus of the crRNA and a disordered stem 2 region in the tracrRNA. These optimizations synergistically increased the average indel frequency by 867-fold. The optimized Un1Cas12f1 system enabled efficient, specific genome editing in human cells when delivered by plasmid vectors, PCR amplicons and AAV. As Un1Cas12f1 cleaves outside the protospacer, it can be used to create large deletions efficiently. The engineered Un1Cas12f1 system showed efficiency comparable to that of SpCas9 and specificity similar to that of AsCas12a. A miniature CRISPR system may enable genome editing using single AAV vectors.

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR ) mutations exhibit an unfavorable response to PD-1 inhibitor through unclear mechanisms. Hypothesizing that EGFR mutations alter tumor-immune interactions, we compare tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes between EGFR mutant (EGFR-MT) and wild type (EGFR-WT) tumors through single-cell transcriptomic analysis. We find that B cells, CXCL13-producing follicular helper CD4 + T (T FH )-like cells, and tissue-resident memory CD8 + T (T RM )-like cells decreased in EGFR-MT tumors. The NOTCH-RBPJ regulatory network, which is vital for persistence of T RM state, is perturbed, and the interactions between T FH and B cells through the CXCL13-CXCR5 axis disappear in EGFR-MT tumors. Notably, the proportion of T RM -like cells is predictive for anti-PD-1 response in NSCLC. Our findings suggest that the impairment of T FH -B-T RM cooperation in tertiary lymphoid structure formation, accompanied by the dysregulation of T RM homeostasis and the loss of T FH -B crosstalk, underlies unfavorable anti-PD-1 response in EGFR-MT lung tumors. EGFR mutant lung tumours do not respond favourably to immunotherapy. Here, using single cell sequencing, the authors find that tissue resident memory CD8 + T like cells are reduced in the immune landscape of EGFR mutant tumours in comparison to wild type tumours and the presence of these cells may predict response to immunotherapy.

Background This study aimed to look at emotions perceived about the attributes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that were widespread across the world and identify their relevance to knowledge about infectious diseases and preventative behaviors. Methods Texts to measure emotional cognition were selected through a pre-test, and 282 people were chosen as participants based on the survey conducted for 20 days from August 19 to August 29, 2020, created with Google Forms. IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0 was used for the primary analysis, and the SNA package in R (version 4.0.2) was utilized to conduct the network analysis. Results It was found that universal negative emotions such as feeling “anxious” (65.5%), “afraid” (46.1%), and “scared” (32.7%) commonly appeared among most people. Also, they were found to be feeling both positive (“caring” [42.3%] and “strict” [28.2%]) and negative (“frustrating” [39.1%] and “isolated” [31.0%]) emotions about efforts to prevent and curb the spread of COVID-19. In terms of emotional cognition for the diagnosis and treatment of such diseases, “reliable” (43.3%) took the biggest ratio among the replies. The level of understanding about infectious diseases showed differences in emotional cognition, thereby affecting people’s emotions. However, no differences were found in the practice of preventative behaviors. Conclusions Emotions associated with cognition in the context of pandemic infectious diseases have been found to be mixed. Furthermore, it can be seen that feelings vary depending on the degree of understanding of the infectious disease.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of team-based learning (TBL) methods in Korean nursing education, focusing on their impact on students’ key learning competencies. Specifically, this study examined the effects of TBL on communication ability, self-efficacy, learning ability, and problem-solving skills while also assessing the overall efficacy of TBL compared to other teaching methods. This was a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental and quasi-experimental studies. The relevant literature was sourced from Medline/PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Complete, Google Scholar, and the reference lists of the retrieved papers. The literature was selected based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guidelines. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool and the Risk of Bias for Nonrandomized Studies tool. Standardized mean differences and a random effects model were employed to determine effect sizes. A total of twelve studies met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. The overall standardized mean difference was 0.69 (confidence interval = 0.43–0.94, p < 0.001), indicating a moderate to strong effect of TBL on nursing students’ learning competencies. However, due to a substantial degree of heterogeneity (89%), subgroup analyses were conducted to assess the impact of TBL on specific learning competencies. The standardized mean difference for communication ability, self-efficacy, and learning ability was 0.74 (confidence interval = 0.22–1.26, p = 0.004), 0.32 (confidence interval = 0.13–0.51, p = 0.005), and 0.44 (confidence interval = 0.26–0.63, p < 0.001), respectively. Notably, TBL had the most significant impact on problem-solving ability, with a standardized mean difference of 1.10 (confidence interval = 0.37–1.83, p = 0.006), suggesting that TBL is particularly effective in fostering problem-solving skills among nursing students. All the findings were statistically significant. Team-based learning interventions have a substantial positive impact on key learning competencies in nursing education, particularly in enhancing problem-solving skills. However, while TBL demonstrates clear benefits, current evidence remains insufficient to definitively establish its superiority over alternative instructional methods. Further research is needed to compare TBL with other active learning strategies and to explore its long-term effectiveness in clinical and academic settings.

Background T cells exhibit heterogeneous functional states in the tumor microenvironment. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can reinvigorate only the stem cell-like progenitor exhausted T cells, which suggests that inhibiting the exhaustion progress will improve the efficacy of immunotherapy. Thus, regulatory factors promoting T cell exhaustion could serve as potential targets for delaying the process and improving ICI efficacy. Methods We analyzed the single-cell transcriptome data derived from human melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) samples and classified the tumor-infiltrating (TI) CD8 + T cell population based on PDCD1 (PD-1) levels, i.e., PDCD1 -high and PDCD1 -low cells. Additionally, we identified differentially expressed genes as candidate factors regulating intra-tumoral T cell exhaustion. The co-expression of candidate genes with immune checkpoint (IC) molecules in the TI CD8 + T cells was confirmed by single-cell trajectory and flow cytometry analyses. The loss-of-function effect of the candidate regulator was examined by a cell-based knockdown assay. The clinical effect of the candidate regulator was evaluated based on the overall survival and anti-PD-1 responses. Results We retrieved many known factors for regulating T cell exhaustion among the differentially expressed genes between PDCD1 -high and PDCD1 -low subsets of the TI CD8 + T cells in human melanoma and NSCLC. TOX was the only transcription factor (TF) predicted in both tumor types. TOX levels tend to increase as CD8 + T cells become more exhausted. Flow cytometry analysis revealed a correlation between TOX expression and severity of intra-tumoral T cell exhaustion. TOX knockdown in the human TI CD8 + T cells resulted in downregulation of PD-1, TIM-3, TIGIT, and CTLA-4, which suggests that TOX promotes intra-tumoral T cell exhaustion by upregulating IC proteins in cancer. Finally, the TOX level in the TI T cells was found to be highly predictive of overall survival and anti-PD-1 efficacy in melanoma and NSCLC. Conclusions We predicted the regulatory factors involved in T cell exhaustion using single-cell transcriptome profiles of human TI lymphocytes. TOX promoted intra-tumoral CD8 + T cell exhaustion via upregulation of IC molecules. This suggested that TOX inhibition can potentially impede T cell exhaustion and improve ICI efficacy. Additionally, TOX expression in the TI T cells can be used for patient stratification during anti-tumor treatments, including anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.

Objectives: This descriptive study aimed to explore self-stigma’s mediating effect on the association between self-efficacy and coping strategy among Korean patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: This study included 189 participants with type 2 diabetes diagnosed by an endocrinologist. Data were collected from 1 November to 28 December 2023, using a self-report questionnaire focusing on self-efficacy, coping strategy, and self-stigma. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS; the mediating effect was examined using SPSS PROCESS Macro. Results: The mean self-efficacy, coping strategy, and self-stigma scores were 6.29 (±10.80), 2.84 (±0.54), and 2.72 (±0.82), respectively. Self-efficacy was negatively correlated with coping strategy (r = −0.52, p < 0.001) and self-stigma (r = −0.45, p < 0.001). Coping strategy was positively correlated with self-stigma (r = 0.78, p < 0.001). Further, self-stigma partially mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and coping strategy, accounting for 64.0% of the variance. Conclusions: These results suggest the importance of tailoring self-stigma reduction strategies to enable patients with diabetes to develop positive coping strategies. Moreover, incremental and tailored programs for reducing self-stigma must be developed.

Costoclavicular brachial plexus block is emerging as a promising infraclavicular approach performed just below the clavicle. However, there are relatively little data regarding the hemidiaphragmatic paralysis (HDP) compared to the commonly performed supraclavicular block. We hypothesized that the incidence of HDP in costoclavicular block is lower than supraclavicular block like classical infraclavicular approach. Eighty patients were randomly assigned to ultrasound-guided supraclavicular (group S) or costoclavicular (group C) block with 25 mL of local anesthetics (1:1 mixture of 1% lidocaine and 0.75% ropivacaine). The primary outcome was the incidence of HDP, defined as less than 20% of fractional change in the diaphragm thickness on ultrasound M-mode. Also, pulmonary function test and chest radiograph were assessed before and after the surgery. The incidence of HDP was 4/35 (11.4%) in the group C and 19/40 (47.5%) in the group S (risk difference, − 36%; 95% CI − 54 to − 17%; P = 0.002). The mean (SD) change of DTF values were 30.3% (44.0) and 56.9% (39.3) in the group C and S, respectively (difference in means, − 26.6%; 95% CI − 45.8 to − 7.4%; P = 0.007). The pulmonary function was more preserved in group C than in group S. The determined diagnostic cut off value of the diaphragm elevation on chest radiograph was 29 mm. Despite the very contiguous location of the two approaches around the clavicle, costoclavicular block can significantly reduce the risk of HDP compared with supraclavicular block.

In this study, we propose a novel wideband aperture-coupled magneto-electric (ME) dipole antenna that achieves enhanced bandwidth by simultaneously leveraging ME resonance and aperture-coupled excitation. Building upon the conventional ME dipole architecture, the antenna integrates a pair of horizontal metal patches forming the electric dipole and a pair of vertical metal patches forming the magnetic dipole. A key innovation is the aperture-coupled feeding mechanism, where electromagnetic energy is transferred from a tapered microstrip line to the dipole structure through a slot etched in the ground plane. This design not only excites the characteristic ME resonances effectively but also significantly improves impedance matching, delivering a markedly broader impedance bandwidth. To validate the proposed concept, a prototype antenna was fabricated and experimentally characterized. Measurements show an impedance bandwidth of 84.48% (3.61–8.89 GHz) for S11 ≤ −10 dB and a maximum in-band gain of 7.88 dBi. The antenna also maintains a stable, unidirectional radiation pattern across the operating band, confirming its potential for wideband applications such as 5G wireless communications.

Carotenoids have essential roles in light-harvesting processes and protecting the photosynthetic machinery from photo-oxidative damage. Phytoene synthase (PSY) and Orange (Or) are key plant proteins for carotenoid biosynthesis and accumulation. We previously isolated the sweetpotato ( Ipomoea batatas ) Or gene ( IbOr ), which is involved in carotenoid accumulation and salt stress tolerance. The molecular mechanism underlying IbOr regulation of carotenoid accumulation was unknown. Here, we show that IbOr has an essential role in regulating IbPSY stability via its holdase chaperone activity both in vitro and in vivo . This protection results in carotenoid accumulation and abiotic stress tolerance. IbOr transcript levels increase in sweetpotato stem, root, and calli after exposure to heat stress. IbOr is localized in the nucleus and chloroplasts, but interacts with IbPSY only in chloroplasts. After exposure to heat stress, IbOr predominantly localizes in chloroplasts. IbOr overexpression in transgenic sweetpotato and Arabidopsis conferred enhanced tolerance to heat and oxidative stress. These results indicate that IbOr holdase chaperone activity protects IbPSY stability, which leads to carotenoid accumulation, and confers enhanced heat and oxidative stress tolerance in plants. This study provides evidence that IbOr functions as a molecular chaperone, and suggests a novel mechanism regulating carotenoid accumulation and stress tolerance in plants.