Recent Advances Research Articles

Constrained Off-policy Learning over Heterogeneous Information for Fairness-aware Recommendation

Fairness-aware recommendation eliminates discrimination issues to build trustworthy recommendation systems. Existing fairness-aware approaches ignore accounting for rich user and item attributes and thus cannot capture the impact of attributes on affecting recommendation fairness. These real-world attributes severely cause unfair recommendations by favoring items with popular attributes, leading to item exposure unfairness in recommendations. Moreover, existing approaches mostly mitigate unfairness for static recommendation models, e.g., collaborative filtering. Static models can not handle dynamic user interactions with the system that reflect users’ preferences shift through time. Thus, static models are limited in their ability to adapt to user behavior shifts to gain long-run user satisfaction. As user and item attributes are largely involved in modern recommenders and user interactions are naturally dynamic, it is essential to develop a novel method that eliminates unfairness caused by attributes meanwhile embrace the dynamic modeling of user behavior shifts. In this article, we propose Constrained Off-policy Learning over Heterogeneous Information for Fairness-aware Recommendation (Fair-HINpolicy) , which uses recent advances in context-aware off-policy learning to produce fairness-aware recommendations with rich attributes from a Heterogeneous Information Network. In particular, we formulate the off-policy learning as a Constrained Markov Decision Process (CMDP) by dynamically constraining the fairness of item exposure at each iteration. We also design an attentive action sampling to reduce the search space for off-policy learning. Our solution adaptively receives HIN-augmented corrections for counterfactual risk minimization, and ultimately yields an effective policy that maximizes long-term user satisfaction. We extensively evaluate our method through simulations on large-scale real-world datasets, obtaining favorable results compared with state-of-the-art methods.

Adolescent caffeine use and problematic school behavior: A longitudinal analysis of student survey data and teacher observations.

Caffeine is a psychostimulant possessing arousal, motor activation, and reinforcing properties, which is consumed daily by most adolescents aged 12-19 years. Although current understanding of the implications of adolescent caffeine consumption for school behaviors remains incomplete, studies have shown that in addition to acute effects of the drug, in common with other habit-forming psychoactive substances, regular use leads to physical dependence, evidenced by recurring negative withdrawal symptoms. Employing two waves of longitudinal data, we tested the prospective association between daily caffeine use and homeroom teacher-observed self-control and problem behavior in a sample of middle-school students in 20 schools in West Virginia in the United States. Caffeine was operationalized with two dichotomized variables, daily consumption of <100 mg, and daily consumption of >100 mg, versus no daily use. Gender, mother's education, family financial status, social support by primary caregiver and adults in school, and school climate, were applied as covariates in linear mixed models. Daily caffeine use of >100 mg was robustly and inversely associated with self-control and positively associated with problem behavior. Caffeine consumption and associated withdrawal symptoms may be an important factor in problematic school behavior among adolescents. Recent advent of highly concentrated caffeine products (e.g., caffeine "shots") commonly marketed directly at youth, should give rise to concerns including consideration about limiting caffeine consumption among children and youth.

High cost of chemotherapy for gynecologic malignancies.

The prognosis of gynecological malignancies has improved with the recent advent of molecularly targeted drugs and immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, these drugs are expensive and contribute to the increasing costs of medical care. The Japanese Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG) Health Economics Committee conducted a questionnaire survey of JCOG-affiliated facilities from July 2021 to June 2022 to assess the prevalence of high-cost regimens. A total of 57 affiliated facilities were surveyed regarding standard regimens for advanced ovarian and cervical cancers for gynecological malignancies. Responses were obtained from 39 facilities (68.4%) regarding ovarian cancer and 37 (64.9%) concerning cervical cancer, with respective case counts of 854 and 163. For ovarian cancer, 505 of 854 patients (59.1%) were treated with regimens that included PARP inhibitors, costing >500 000 Japanese yen monthly, while 111 patients (13.0%) received treatments that included bevacizumab, with costs exceeding 200 000 Japanese yen monthly. These costs are ~20 and ~10 times higher than those of the conventional regimens, respectively. For cervical cancer, 79 patients (48.4%) were treated with bevacizumab regimens costing >200 000 Japanese yen per month, ~10 times the cost of conventional treatments. In this survey, >70% of patients with ovarian cancer were treated with regimens that included poly (adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors or bevacizumab; ~50% of patients with cervical cancer were treated with regimens containing bevacizumab. These treatments were ~10 and ~20 times more expensive than conventional regimens, respectively. These findings can inform future health economics studies, particularly in assessing cost-effectiveness and related matters.

The current state of renal sympathetic denervation in hypertension

This review provides an overview of the efficacy and safety of renal sympathetic denervation as a therapeutic approach for resistant hypertension. While the initial enthusiasm was sparked by the results of early clinical trials, it was dampened by the findings of the Symplicity HTN-3 study. However, recent advances in catheter technology and more refined patient selection criteria have yielded more promising results. Subsequent studies, such as SPYRAL HTN-OFF MED and RADIANCE II, demonstrated significant reductions in blood pressure, even in patients with mild to moderate hypertension. Despite the lack of robust data on major clinical outcomes, investigations into the time in therapeutic range for patients undergoing renal sympathetic denervation suggested potential cardiovascular benefits. Nevertheless, further research is needed to thoroughly understand the long-term impact, assess cost-effectiveness, and accurately identify which patient subgroups may derive the greatest benefits from this therapy.

The cytochrome P450 subfamilies CYP392A and CYP392D are key players in acaricide metabolism in Tetranychusurticae

The spider mite Tetranychus urticae is a major agricultural pest with a global distribution, extremely diverse host range and a remarkable ability to develop resistance to a wide variety of acaricides. P450 mono‐oxygenases have been frequently associated with resistance development in this species. In particular enzymes of the CYP392A-subfamily were shown to metabolize a number of key acaricides, including abamectin, amitraz, fenpyroximate and the active metabolite of pyflubumide. However, transcriptomic studies comparing highly resistant and susceptible populations have often revealed high expression of members of the CYP392D-subfamily, but these have been only poorly studied. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis of gene expression data of 20 populations and identified two key enzymes of this family, CYP392D2 and CYP392D8, whose expression is associated with resistance. We subsequently functionally expressed these enzymes, together with CYP392A11 and CYP392A16 as known metabolizers, and compared their potential to accept a wide diversity of acaricides as substrate. This study overall confirms previous discovered substrates for CYP392A11 and CYP392A16, but also reveals unreported metabolic activity towards new acaricides. These include carbaryl, chlorpyrifos and etoxazole for CYP392A16 and carbaryl, chlorpyrifos and NNI-0711-NH pyflubumide for CYP392A11. For the newly studied CYP392D-family, we show that CYP392D2 metabolizes pyridaben, fenpyroximate, etoxazole and chlorpyrifos, while CYP392D8 metabolizes carbaryl, fenazaquin and tebufenpyrad. Last, we observed that both CYP392A- and CYP392D-subfamily enzymes activate chlorpyrifos to its corresponding oxon. Our study indicates that there is both overlap and specificity in the activity of A- and D-subfamily enzymes against acaricides and model substrates. With the recent advent of highly efficient CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing protocols in T. urticae, the way is now paved to conduct further genetic experiments revealing and quantifying the role of these enzymes in the resistance phenotype in field populations.

Data-driven image mechanics (D2IM): A deep learning approach to predict displacement and strain fields from undeformed X-ray tomography images – Evaluation of bone mechanics

The recent advent of deep learning (DL) has enabled data-driven models to pave the way for the full exploitation of rich image datasets from which physics can be learnt. Here we propose a novel data-driven image mechanics (D2IM) approach that learns from digital volume correlation (DVC) displacement fields of vertebrae, predicting displacement and strain fields from undeformed X-ray computed tomography (XCT) images. D2IM successfully predicted the displacements in all directions, particularly in the cranio-caudal direction of the vertebra, where high correlation (R2=0.94) and generally minimal errors were obtained compared to the measured displacements. The predicted axial strain field in the cranio-caudal direction of the vertebra was also consistent in distribution with the measured one, displaying generally reduced errors in the regions within the vertebral body. The application of D2IM to lower resolution imaging in initial testing provides promising results indicating the future viability of integrating this technology into a clinical setting. This is the first study using experimental full-field measurements on bone structures from DVC to inform DL-based models such as D2IM, which represents a major contribution in the prediction of displacement and strain fields based only on the greyscale content of undeformed XCT images. In future, D2IM will incorporate a range of biological structures and loading scenarios for accurate prediction of physical fields, aiming at clinical translation for improved diagnostics. Data AvailabilityCode for preparing dataset, training D2IM model and visualising/analysing results has been hosted on GitHub: https://github.com/PeterSoar/D2IM_PrototypeThe dataset used for this study can be found on Figshare: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25404220.v1

Correlations between Etiopathogenic Factors and Persistence on Anti-IL-17 Therapies in Patients with Psoriasis Vulgaris

With recent advances in the understanding of psoriatic disease, it is increasingly considered a systemic inflammatory condition rather than limited to the skin and joints. A variety of biologics are available today for the treatment of psoriasis, but with them, characteristics such as rapidity of onset, long-term efficacy, safety profile, and effects on comorbidities differ. We designed an observational, non-interventional, retrospective study of patients with severe psoriasis receiving biologic treatment with IL-17 inhibitors and aimed to investigate the correlations between etiopathogenic factors and the efficacy and persistence of these therapies in a group of psoriasis patients from Romania. Study results show that patients treated with ixekizumab had better persistence and high adherence compared to those treated with secukinumab. In this study, ixekizumab demonstrated lower risks of non-persistence, discontinuation, and switching and a higher likelihood of high adherence compared with secukinumab. This study contributes to the understanding of the persistence of anti-IL17 biologic therapies in psoriasis and the factors that may influence it.

The role of HSP40 in cancer: Recent advances.

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are a family of proteins involved in protein folding and maturation that are expressed by cells in response to stressors including heat shock. Recent studies have demonstrated that HSPs play major roles in carcinogenesis by regulating angiogenesis, cell proliferation, migration, invasion, metastasis, apoptosis, as well as therapy resistance to certain anticancer drugs. Despite being the largest and most diverse subgroup of the HSP family, HSP40 (DNAJ) is an understudied family of co-chaperones. HSP40 family members are also known to be involved in various types of cancers. In this article, we review the involvement of human HSP40 family members in various aspects of cancer biology. In addition, we highlight the possible potential of HSP40 as a tumor biomarker or drug target for improving the prognosis and treatment of cancer patients in the future.

The combined effect of Weisella cibaria and Fusarium oxysporum nanoparticles on cervical cancer cells

من المتوقع أن يتجاوز عبء السرطان العالمي المتوقع 20 مليون حالة سرطان جديدة بحلول عام 2025. على الرغم من التقدم الأخير في علاج الأورام ، لا يزال علاج السرطان الناجح يمثل تحديًا. يوفر مجال تكنولوجيا النانو الناشئ فرصًا رائعة لتشخيص السرطان ، والتصوير ، وعلاج السرطان. يعتبر التخليق الحيوي لجسيمات الفضة النانوية عن طريق الفطريات طريقة نظيفة وغير سامة بيئيًا مقارنة بالطرق الفيزيائية والكيميائية الأخرىالغرض من هذه الدراسة هو تحديد التأثير التآزري للجسيمات النانوية المركبة من Fusarium oxysporum مع Weisella cibaria ضد خلايا سرطان عنق الرحمأجريت هذه الدراسة من عام 2022 إلى مارس 2023 في معمل ميكروبيولوجيا الغذاء في قسم الأحياء / كلية العلوم / الجامعة المستنصرية. تم عزل بكتيريا حمض اللاكتيك (LAB) من مصادر الغذاء (الشلغم ، اللهانه ، الشوندر والقرنابيط) ، بعد خطوات متسلسلة من كلوريد الصوديوم المعالج ، ثم تم تربيتها في مرق MRS (Man-Rogosa-Sharpe) ، وتم فحصها تحت المجهر. تم الكشف عن النشاط المضاد للبكتيريا في المواد الطافية الخالية من الخلايا (CFS) التي تنتجها هذه العزلات لاختيار الأفضل وتشخيصها عن طريق تسلسل تفاعل البوليميراز المتسلسل والحمض النووي. تم الحصول على الجسيمات النانوية (AgNo3) التي تم إنتاجها من Fusarium oxysporum بالتخليق الحيوي من مختبر الدراسات العليا للفطريات ، وتم إخضاع هذه الفطريات لاختبار السمية. تمت دراسة تأثير التآزر للجسيمات النانوية المختارة من LAB و Fusarium oxysporum ضد خلايا سرطان عنق الرحم. أظهرت هذه الدراسة أن جميع مصادر الغذاء كانت غنية بـ LAB وأن أفضل نشاط مضاد للجراثيم كان مصدر اللفت ووفقًا للتشخيص الجزيئي كان Weisella cibaria والذي سجل في NCBI كـ (MG7865551). أظهر التأثير التآزري لـ Weisella cibaria والجسيمات النانوية انخفاض معدل بقاء خط السرطان بعد 72 ساعة من التعرض لهذا التأثير.

Recent Advances in Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitors.

Uric acid is a product of purine nucleotide metabolism, and high concentrations of uric acid can lead to hyperuricemia, gout and other related diseases. Xanthine oxidase, the only enzyme that catalyzes xanthine and hypoxanthine into uric acid, has become a target for drug development against hyperuricemia and gout. Inhibition of xanthine oxidase can reduce the production of uric acid, so xanthine oxidase inhibitors are used to treat hyperuricemia and related diseases, including gout. In recent years, researchers have obtained new xanthine oxidase inhibitors through drug design, synthesis, or separation of natural products. This paper summarizes the research on xanthine oxidase inhibitors since 2015, mainly including natural products, pyrimidine derivatives, triazole derivatives, isonicotinamide derivatives, chalcone derivatives, furan derivatives, coumarin derivatives, pyrazole derivatives, and imidazole derivatives, hoping to provide valuable information for the research and development of novel xanthine oxidase inhibitors.

Current Landscape of Various Techniques and Methods of Gene Therapy through CRISPR Cas9 along with its Pharmacological and Interventional Therapies in the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is frequently referred to as a "lifestyle illness". In 2000, India (31.7 million) had the greatest global prevalence of diabetes mellitus, followed by China (20.8 million), the United States (17.7 million), and other countries. In recent years, the treatment of gene therapy (T2DM) has attracted intensive interest. We aimed to critically review the literature on the various techniques and methods, which may be a possible novel approach through the gene therapy CRISPR Cas9 and some other gene editing techniques for T2DM. Interventional and pharmacological approaches for the treatment of T2DM were also included to identify novel therapies for its treatment. An extensive literature survey was done on databases like PubMed, Elsevier, Science Direct and Springer. It can be concluded from the study that recent advancements in gene-editing technologies, such as CRISPR Cas9, have opened new avenues for the development of novel therapeutic approaches for T2DM. CRISPR Cas9 is a powerful tool that enables precise and targeted modifications of the genome.

Quinoline Derivatives as Promising Scaffolds for Antitubercular Activity: A Comprehensive Review.

Heterocyclic compounds and their derivatives play a significant role in the design and development of novel quinoline drugs. Among the various pharmacologically active heterocyclic compounds, quinolines stand out as the most significant rings due to their broad pharmacological roles, specifically antitubercular activity, and their presence in plant-based compounds. Quinoline is also known as benzpyridine, benzopyridine, and 1-azanaphthalene. It has a benzene ring fused with a pyridine ring, and both rings share two carbon atoms. The importance of quinoline lies in its incorporation as a key component in various natural compounds found in medicinal plant families like Fumariaceae, Berberidaceae, Rutaceae, Papavaraceae, and others. This article is expected to have a significant impact on the advancement of effective antitubercular drugs. Through harnessing the potent activity of quinoline derivatives, the research aims to make valuable contributions to combating tuberculosis more efficiently and ultimately reducing the global burden of this infectious disease. Numerous nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds exhibit significant potential as antitubercular agents. These chemicals have fused aromatic nitrogen-heterocyclic nuclei that can change the number of electrons they have, which can change their chemical, physical, and biological properties. This versatility comes from their ability to bind with the receptors in multiple modes, a critical aspect of drug pharmacological screening. Among these compounds, quinoline stands out as it incorporates a stable fusion of a benzene ring with a pyridine nucleus. Quinolines have demonstrated a diverse range of pharmacological activities, including but not limited to anti-tubercular, anti-tumor, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, antimalarial, anti-HIV, and antimicrobial effects. Some molecules, such as lone-paired nitrogen species, include pyrrole, pyrazole, and quinoline. These molecules contain nitrogen and take part in metabolic reactions with other molecules inside the cell. However, an excessive accumulation of reactive nitrogen species can lead to cytotoxicity, resulting in damage to essential biological macromolecules. Among these compounds, quinoline stands out as the oldest and most effective one, exhibiting a wide range of significant properties such as antitubercular, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, and anticonvulsant activities. Notably, naturally occurring quinoline compounds, such as quinine, have proven to be potent antimalarial drugs. This review highlights quinoline derivatives' antitubercular potential, emphasizing recent research advancements. Utilizing IC50 values, the study emphasizes the efficacy of various quinoline substitutions, hybrids, and electron-withdrawing groups against MTB H37Rv. Continued research is essential for developing potent, low-toxicity quinoline derivatives to combat tuberculosis.

Casein kinase 2 affects epilepsy by regulating ion channels: a potential mechanism.

Epilepsy, characterized by recurrent seizures and abnormal brain discharges, is the third most common chronic disorder of the Central Nervous System (CNS). Although significant progress has been made in the research on antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), approximately one-third of patients with epilepsy are refractory to these drugs. Thus, research on the pathogenesis of epilepsy is ongoing to find more effective treatments. Many pathological mechanisms are involved in epilepsy, including neuronal apoptosis, mossy fiber sprouting, neuroinflammation, and dysfunction of neuronal ion channels, leading to abnormal neuronal excitatory networks in the brain. CK2 (Casein kinase 2), which plays a critical role in modulating neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission, has been shown to be associated with epilepsy. However, there is limited research on the mechanisms involved. Recent studies have suggested that CK2 is involved in regulating the function of neuronal ion channels by directly phosphorylating them or their binding partners. Therefore, in this review, we will summarize recent research advances regarding the potential role of CK2 regulating ion channels in epilepsy, aiming to provide more evidence for future studies.

Recent Development and Advancement in Quantum Dots in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Fields for the Delivery of Drugs

Abstract: Nanoscale semiconductors known as quantum dots (QDs) are essential for drug testing because they bridge the gap between nanotechnology and the testing of drugs. QDs are a valuable tool in theranostics and treatment because of their unique physicochemical features. Due to their photoluminescence and electronic properties, including broad and continuous absorption spectra, narrow emission spectra from visible to near-infrared wavelengths, and long-lasting and high brightness, they are suitable probe materials for use in (bio)sensing (immunological) platforms. Several studies use QDs due to their optical, magnetic, electrical, photochemical, and biological features that allow them to be employed in various scientific domains. When utilized in drug delivery systems, fluorescent markers, such as QDs, can track the metabolism of drugs in the human body. Many medicinal applications, such as disease diagnosis and medication research, can benefit from these fluorescent tests. In this review article, the application of QD in drug delivery and immunoassay sensing has been described in detail.

A Review on Nanostructured Lipid Carriers as Promising Drug Delivery Vehicle to Target Various Cancers via Oral Route: A Step towards “Chemotherapy at Home”

Abstract: Oral drug administration is largely preferred owing to enhanced patient compliance, convenience of self-intake of dose, non-invasiveness, and low manufacturing cost. Cancer is a condition that starts with aberrant cell division at an uncontrolled rate. The clinical effectiveness of many anticancer drugs is limited by their physicochemical characteristics and physiological circumstances in the GI tract. Nanostructured lipid carriers have the potential to enhance the bio-availability of anticancer drugs by entrapping them. The NLCs, by virtue of their nanosize and their biocompatibility, can bypass the first-pass metabolism and be taken up by M cells of Peyer’s patches to deliver the drug to the deeper tumours. The proposed review highlights the potential of NLCs in oral drug delivery for the management of various cancers. It discusses various strategies, method of preparation, mechanism of uptake, and their applications in the treatment of cancer via oral delivery. Further, it explains the recent advances and future perspectives.

Transforming Aquaculture through Vaccination: A Review on Recent Developments and Milestones.

Aquaculture has rapidly emerged as one of the fastest growing industries, expanding both on global and on national fronts. With the ever-increasing demand for proteins with a high biological value, the aquaculture industry has established itself as one of the most efficient forms of animal production, proving to be a vital component of global food production by supplying nearly half of aquatic food products intended for human consumption. As in classic animal production, the prevention of diseases constitutes an enduring challenge associated with severe economic and environmental repercussions. Nevertheless, remarkable strides in the development of aquaculture vaccines have been recently witnessed, offering sustainable solutions to persistent health-related issues challenging resilient aquaculture production. These advancements are characterized by breakthroughs in increased species-specific precision, improved vaccine-delivery systems, and innovations in vaccine development, following the recent advent of nanotechnology, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence in the -omics era. The objective of this paper was to assess recent developments and milestones revolving around aquaculture vaccinology and provide an updated overview of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the sector, by incorporating and comparatively discussing various diffuse advances that span across a wide range of topics, including emerging vaccine technologies, innovative delivery methods, insights on novel adjuvants, and parasite vaccine development for the aquaculture sector.

The work role identity in flux of professional staff in a VUCA environment

Orientation: Volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) represents the environment in which business organisations operate, illuminated by the post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the recent advent of artificial intelligence (AI). The VUCA environment epitomises pervasive unpredictability, shaping the challenges faced by businesses.Research purpose: This article focuses on the dynamics of individuals within private higher education institutions (PHEIs), driven by a bottom line; they compete to attract students, face greater scrutiny from outside constituencies and subjected to higher accountability. It explores the hierarchical structure of management levels and how the interrelatedness of the business environments can facilitate the navigation of the work role identity in flux in the face of constant change.Motivation for the study: The fast-paced and ever-changing nature of today’s business landscape significantly affects employees’ core identities, as the constant need to adapt and perform at their best creates feelings of insecurity and uncertainty. Consequently, it influences institutional and individual outcomes.Research approach/design and method: This qualitative study collected data from qualified staff in senior-level positions within academia, with titles such as CEO or head of campus (HOC) (N = 15) at selected PHEIs. The data were analysed using ATLAS.ti.Main findings: The findings show an extended framework highlighting elements vital to the increased institutional brand image and improved professional identity.Practical/managerial implications: How individuals in the workplace experience and respond to constant unprecedented change affects the institutional brand and the role of management causes a significant influence.Contribution/value-add: Leaders can drive organisations to adapt, change and evolve to the conditions of their organisational environment.

Tailoring the nonclassicality of light states via mode detuning in waveguide beam splitters

The recent advent of integrated waveguide systems with reconfigurable propagation constants and coupling coefficients has opened the door to using waveguide detuning as a resource for readily tailoring the quantum properties of light states. Here we theoretically demonstrate that waveguide mode detuning can be used for molding the nonclassical properties of two interacting quantum optical fields in integrated waveguide couplers. In particular, we explore the states that are generated by conditional measurements when one of the input ports of the waveguide coupler is excited by coherent states, squeezed vacuum states, and thermal states, while the other port is excited by a single-photon Fock state. We explore the detuning range required to attain nonclassical states. Our findings could pave the way for a robust integrated-optics protocol, providing enhanced control and engineering capabilities over multiphoton quantum states.

The Dual Roles of S-Nitrosylation of Proteins in Cancer: Molecular Mechanisms and Recent Advancements

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Nunito; color: #212529; background: white;"&gt;Protein S-nitrosylation (SNO), emerging as an important posttranslational modification, involves covalent addition of nitric oxide (NO) to the sulfur atom of cysteine in proteins. Accumulated evidence suggests that protein SNO plays crucial roles in pathophysiological mechanisms in cancer, which is attracting great attention. However, there are still controversies about whether S-nitrosylated proteins act as oncogenic proteins or tumor suppressors in cancer. In this review, we provide an overview of the early and latest evidence regarding the underlying mechanism and dual roles of SNO in cancer, in an effort to clarify its contribution in tumor progression. It has been well established that S-nitrosylated proteins restrain tumor progression in several types of cancer, while they have exhibited activities in promoting cell proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis in some other kinds of cancer. Interestingly, emerging evidence also has highlighted both its anti-cancer and pro-tumorigenic roles in several other cancer diseases. Finally, current limitations and future research prospects are presented. The overview of targeting SNO in cancer will provide new opportunities for drug development through in-depth exploration of SNO-mediated signaling pathways.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Clinical outcome, radiological findings, and genetic features of IDH-mutant brainstem glioma in adults.

With the recent advent of genetic testing, IDH-mutant glioma has been found among adult brainstem gliomas. However, the clinical outcome and prognosis of IDH-mutant brainstem gliomas in adults have not been elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the clinical outcome, radiological findings, and genetic features of adult patients with IDH-mutant diffuse brainstem gliomas. Data from adult patients with brainstem glioma at Hokkaido University Hospital between 2006 and 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Patient characteristics, treatment methods, genetic features, and prognosis were evaluated. Of 12 patients with brainstem glioma with proven histopathology, 4 were identified with IDH mutation. All patients underwent local radiotherapy with 54 Gray in 27 fractions combined with chemotherapy with temozolomide. Three patients had IDH1 R132H mutation and one had IDH2 R172G mutation. The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 68.4months and 85.2months, respectively, longer than that for IDH-wildtype gliomas (5.6months and 12.0months, respectively). At the time of initial onset, contrast-enhanced lesions were observed in two of the four cases in magnetic resonance imaging. As some adult brainstem gliomas have IDH mutations, and a clearly different prognosis from those with IDH-wildtype, biopsies are proactively considered to confirm the genotype.