利用 Verapamil 引發斑馬魚胚胎心衰竭模式並探討臨床心衰竭用藥 Dapagliflozin 和 Valsartan 之成效與機制
本研究利用 Verapamil 誘導斑馬魚胚胎心衰竭模式，並探討 Dapagliflozin 對斑馬魚胚胎表皮離子細胞的調控機制，以加深對 SGLT2 inhibitors 機制的了解。受精後第四天的斑馬魚在暴露於Verapamil 24小時後，除了抑制卵黃囊吸收以及造成心包膜水腫以外，對心臟整體功能(HR, EDV,ESV, SV, EF, CO)具負面影響。以粒線體染劑標記離子細胞，發現Verapamil使其密度上升，使用掃描式電子顯微鏡觀察，則可看到離子細胞頂端開口有明顯的萎縮，影響到正常功能。以抗體標記染色的方式檢測不同離子細胞亞型，顯示 Dapagliflozin 使富含 Na⁺-K⁺ ATPase 的 HR 細胞和富含 H⁺-ATPase 的 NaR 細胞密度上升。同時，心臟功能診斷標誌物的 mRNA 水平(naap, nppb,gata4, vmhc)暴露於Verapamil後上升，促進離子細胞代償性上調。
Natural resources utilization for the in-house production of fluorescence lipid nanoparticles
Nanotechnology, a transformative force, has steadily gained traction across multiple scientific disciplines, including physics, chemistry, engineering, and biology. It offers unprecedented capabilities, especially in the realm of nanoscale particles, ushering in new paradigms in various applications. One of the most revolutionary applications of nanotechnology is in the pharmaceutical sector. Here, nanoparticles have transformed drug and vaccine delivery systems, offering both efficacy and precision. Among these nanoparticles, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have stood out, especially for their role in delivering nucleic acid-based drugs and vaccines. These LNPs are intricate assemblies composed of lipids and nucleic acid complexes, offering an amalgamation of stability and deliverability. Such properties have rendered LNPs as invaluable tools in enhancing therapeutic efficacy while minimizing off-target side effects. The myriad of nanoparticles available includes the likes of silver, gold, and lipid nanoparticles. However, the emphasis of this research lies with lipid nanoparticles, given their widespread success in the pharmaceutical arena. LNPs have showcased their potential in delivering drugs with low therapeutic indices, emphasizing their capability to act as versatile platforms for novel drug development. Recent advances have further expanded the horizons of LNPs, paving the way for novel antisense oligonucleotides, innovative vaccines, and complex lipid nanoparticle formations. Characterizing these nanoparticles is paramount, not only for the development of novel drugs but also to comprehend their in vivo behavior. Their multifaceted nature, stemming from their unique excipients, core-bilayer design, and varying sizes, makes their characterization a critical step in the research and development pipeline.
KidneyLifePlus+ : Retinal Imaging Analysis for Kidney Disease Risk Assessment
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) represents a significant public health challenge, often referred to as a “silent disease” due to its asymptomatic progression during early stages (1–2). Consequently, most diagnoses occur during advanced stages (3 and beyond), where treatment options are more complex and outcomes are less favorable. Globally, CKD affects over 850 million individuals, with 434.3 million cases in Asia alone. Despite its prevalence, early-stage awareness remains alarmingly low, with only 5% of affected individuals aware of their condition. Existing screening methods are predominantly hospital-based, expensive, and time-intensive, limiting their accessibility, particularly in resource-constrained settings. This underscores an urgent need for more accessible and efficient diagnostic tools to enable early intervention. In response to this critical problem, we developed KidneyLifePlus+, an AI-powered platform that leverages advanced machine learning models, including U-net, ResNet-50, and YOLO v8, to analyze retinal images for early CKD detection. These models are integrated to ensure high screening accuracy by identifying subtle biomarkers indicative of CKD progression. Complementing the software, we designed proprietary hardware capable of capturing high-resolution retinal images, delivering performance comparable to hospital-grade equipment. By ensuring affordability and ease of use, the system extends screening capabilities beyond clinical environments, making it suitable for deployment in community healthcare settings. KidneyLifePlus+ addresses key limitations of traditional methods by offering a rapid, cost-effective, and highly accurate diagnostic solution. The platform’s potential to enhance early detection rates could significantly improve clinical outcomes and quality of life for CKD patients. Furthermore, this innovation contributes to global efforts to reduce the burden of CKD by promoting equitable access to diagnostic services, particularly in underserved regions.
Automated Alternative Compression/Traction of Lower Extremities AACT as a Musculoskeletal Countermeasure to Mitigate Bone Loss and Muscle Atrophy in Microgravity
Space Medicine and relevant sciences are still considered a new era; the first humankind steps toward the space took place since less than 60 years. It has been noticed the adverse effects of microgravity on the human body in different aspects, our concern here is the musculoskeletal aspect. On the ground we didn’t notice how we can stand up, or how our muscles and bones of the lower limbs can keep us standing up right. This is by a complicated process including the bones, the equilibrium, and the anti-gravitational muscles of the lower limbs which occurred without thinking about it. The force of Earth gravity against our bones of the lower limbs makes them harder and makes the muscles stronger, because they are interfacing the earth gravitational force every moment we are standing up, as per Newton’s third law (for every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction), such forces are unavailable in space and its effect being obvious on arrival to earth after long stay space flights, so being unable to keep standing upright easily on their arrival. On return to earth the routine medical examinations revealed loss of astronaut muscle mass and bone density particularly of their lower extremities because they did not use them in space for a long time. Currently, astronauts on board of ISS (International Space Station) they accomplish daily tasks including resistive exercises ARED “Advanced Resistive Exercise Device” in form of treadmill, ergometer, and weightlifting machine, to decrease the loss of bone density and muscle mass of their lower limbs. Despite their discipline to those exercises they still lose 1-2% of the muscle mass and bone density that give importance to add some protective measures to keep their muscles and bones healthy. Through this article, the idea is to make a device such AACT (Automated Alternative Compression/Traction) to be applied daily to the astronauts lower limbs as part of their daily exercise during space flight to give push/traction forces to astronauts lower limbs to prevent or at least decrease such loss, by AACT we are mimicking the gravitational force of earth on astounds lower limbs during long space flights to let them be healthy till they come back.