Explore the vast range of titles available.

With dozens of boats sailing for Gaza to try to end the Israeli siege, one medic tells Stephanie Santos Paulo why he has decided to join the effort

Biochemical–chemical sensing with plasmonic sensors is widely performed by tracking the responses of surface plasmonic resonance peaks to changes in the medium. Interestingly, consistent sensitivity and resolution improvements have been demonstrated for gold nanoparticles by analyzing other spectral features, such as spectral inflection points or peak curvatures. Nevertheless, such studies were only conducted on planar platforms and were restricted to gold nanoparticles. In this work, such methodologies are explored and expanded to plasmonic optical fibers. Thus, we study—experimentally and theoretically—the optical responses of optical fiber-doped gold or silver nanospheres and optical fibers coated with continuous gold or silver thin films. Both experimental and numerical results are analyzed with differentiation methods, using total variation regularization to effectively minimize noise amplification propagation. Consistent resolution improvements of up to 2.2× for both types of plasmonic fibers are found, demonstrating that deploying such analysis with any plasmonic optical fiber sensors can lead to sensing resolution improvements.

Instagram and TikTok accounts of patients with lived experience of their conditions are the new “Dr Google.” Stephanie Santos Paulo speaks to four “patient influencers” about misinformation, medical gaslighting, and paid-for promotions

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) are among the most common and powerful label-free refractive index-based biosensing techniques available nowadays. Focusing on LSPR sensors, their performance is highly dependent on the size, shape, and nature of the nanomaterial employed. Indeed, the tailoring of those parameters allows the development of LSPR sensors with a tunable wavelength range between the ultra-violet (UV) and near infra-red (NIR). Furthermore, dealing with LSPR along optical fiber technology, with their low attenuation coefficients at NIR, allow for the possibility to create ultra-sensitive and long-range sensing networks to be deployed in a variety of both biological and chemical sensors. This work provides a detailed review of the key science underpinning such systems as well as recent progress in the development of several LSPR-based biosensors in the NIR wavelengths, including an overview of the LSPR phenomena along recent developments in the field of nanomaterials and nanostructure development towards NIR sensing. The review ends with a consideration of key advances in terms of nanostructure characteristics for LSPR sensing and prospects for future research and advances in this field.

ABSTRACTSPurposeGynecological tumors, which correspond to the group of neoplasms that affect the female reproductive system, have high incidence and mortality rates. This systematic review aimed to summarize the most recent advances in identifying pharmacogenetic variants associated with the clinical outcomes of carboplatin-paclitaxel chemotherapy in these patients. MethodsA comprehensive literature search was conducted across eight databases to identify studies published up to July 17, 2024. Two reviewers independently selected the studies and extracted the data; disagreements were resolved by two additional reviewers. FindingsOut of the 2375 records that were found, only 20 met the eligibility criteria. The main findings were: (1) The three most extensively investigated genes were ATP binding cassette subfamily C member 1 ( ABCB1), cytochrome P450 2C8 ( CYP2C8), and glutathione S-transferase P1 ( GSTP1); (2) three variants, rs1128503 ( ABCB1), rs10509681 and rs11572080 ( CYPC28), appear to have a significant association with important adverse drug reactions (in particular, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and peripheral sensory neuropathy). Others, as is the case with rs1045642 ( ABCB1) and rs1695 ( GSTP1), have inconsistent results, and the extent to which these results can be extrapolated is still limited; and (c) most of the included studies concerned Asian or European patients. ImplicationsTherefore, future research should include more extensive analyses with more inclusive cohorts. As a limitation of the study, a meta-analysis was not possible due to the significant heterogeneity among the studies.

Background Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) represent a growing concern for public health worldwide, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Adolescents and young adults are disproportionately affected. Factual knowledge and personal beliefs seem to play a role in preventing sexual risk behaviours. Furthermore, adequate health literacy has been shown to improve health outcomes. Understanding the determinants of safer sexual practices is essential for developing more effective sexual health education interventions. Accordingly, this study aims to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards STIs and health literacy levels in Portuguese young adults. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among students at the University of Porto from September 2024 to January 2025. An online, structured, and anonymised questionnaire focused on STI aetiology, modes of transmission, clinical aspects, sexual risk behaviours, preventive practices, sociodemographic characteristics, and health literacy. Data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential methods. Lastly, the Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, and multiple linear regression were used. Results Among 790 participants (median age 22.0 years), 84.0% had already initiated their sexual activity. Around half (49.7%) had problematic health literacy levels. HIV infection, genital herpes, and hepatitis B were the most widely known infections. Meanwhile, 50.9% were unaware of trichomoniasis, and 65.8% did not recognise parasites as potential etiological agents for STIs. Half of them expressed concern about contracting an STI, and similar proportions had used condoms at their last sexual intercourse (47.7%) and had been tested for HIV (51.5%). Regression models revealed that work experience in healthcare and better health literacy predict higher knowledge of STIs. In turn, knowledge was the strongest predictor of better attitudes. Moreover, being female, currently in a relationship, and having had a sexual debut at an older age were associated with safer sexual practices. Conclusions This study identifies relevant knowledge gaps, determinants of sexual risk behaviours, and insufficient health literacy levels in Portuguese university students. These findings reinforce the need for accessible, proactive sexual health education interventions capable of empowering individuals and that are tailored to the values and beliefs of today’s youth.

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) strongly modulate the shallow electric potential in piezoelectric materials. In semiconductor heterostructures such as GaAs/AlGaAs, SAWs can thus be employed to transfer individual electrons between distant quantum dots. This transfer mechanism makes SAW technologies a promising candidate to convey quantum information through a circuit of quantum logic gates. Here we present two essential building blocks of such a SAW-driven quantum circuit. First, we implement a directional coupler allowing to partition a flying electron arbitrarily into two paths of transportation. Second, we demonstrate a triggered single-electron source enabling synchronisation of the SAW-driven sending process. Exceeding a single-shot transfer efficiency of 99%, we show that a SAW-driven integrated circuit is feasible with single electrons on a large scale. Our results pave the way to perform quantum logic operations with flying electron qubits. Surface acoustic waves are promising candidates to convey flying qubits through semiconductor circuits. The authors investigate the central building block of such a circuit in an experiment and present a route to realise quantum logic gates with flying electrons that are surfing on a sound-wave.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a major complication of diabetes, is driven by chronic inflammation in which retinal microglial cells play a central role. The Hippo pathway kinases NDR1/2 regulate macrophage function, but their role in microglia and DR remain unknown. This study investigates the function of the NDR2 kinase in microglial cells under high-glucose (HG) conditions. Using CRISPR-Cas9, we partially knocked out the Ndr2/Stk38l gene in BV-2 mouse microglial cells and analyzed metabolic activity, phagocytosis, migration, and cytokine release. We confirmed NDR2 expression in microglia and observed increased levels under HG, suggesting a role in hyperglycemia-induced stress. Ndr2/Stk38l (hereafter referred to as Ndr2) downregulation impaired mitochondrial respiration and reduced metabolic flexibility, indicating defective stress adaptation. Functionally, microglia with a partial downregulation of Ndr2 displayed reduced phagocytic and migratory capacity—both dependent on cytoskeletal dynamics. Moreover, Ndr2 downregulation altered the secretory profile, elevating pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF, IL-17, IL-12p70) even under normal glucose levels. These findings identify NDR2 protein kinase as a key regulator of microglial metabolism and inflammatory behavior under diabetic conditions. By modulating immune and metabolic responses, NDR2 may contribute to the neuroinflammatory processes underlying DR. Targeting NDR2 function in microglia may offer novel therapeutic strategies to mitigate retinal inflammation and progression of DR.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic introduced a set of mitigation measures based on personal behavior and attitudes. In the absence of vaccination or specific treatment, it became essential to comply with these measures to reduce infection transmission. Health literacy is the basis for changing behaviors. AIM: To characterize the impact of literacy on knowledge and attitudes towards preventive strategies against COVID-19. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved an online questionnaire applied to students of the University of Porto, Portugal, containing questions about knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19 based on European guidelines. Health literacy was assessed through the Newest Vital Sign questionnaire. Logistic regression estimated the relationship between health literacy and both knowledge and attitudes. RESULTS: We included 871 participants (76.3% female), with a median age of 22 years old. We found adequate literacy in 92% of our sample, irrespective of gender and age. In the global analysis, 78.6% of the participants had adequate knowledge, and 90.4% had adequate attitudes. We found that better literacy was significantly associated with attitudes towards COVID-19, but not with better knowledge. In a model adjusted for gender, age, and previous education in the health field, female gender and previous education in the health field were associated with better knowledge and attitudes. CONCLUSION: Better health literacy is associated with better attitudes towards preventive strategies against COVID-19. We should invest in ways to improve health literacy, so we can improve people’s attitudes and consequently reduce coronavirus’ transmission.