Advances in photodynamic therapy and its combination strategies for breast cancer.

Breast cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with treatment resistance and recurrence posing significant challenges to conventional therapies such as chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy. Photosensitiser-assisted treatment strategies, particularly photodynamic therapy (PDT), have emerged as a promising alternative for breast cancer due to its targeted nature and minimally invasive approach. This review provides an overview of PDT as a treatment strategy for breast cancer.

What Do We Know About Prevention of Frailty in Women?

Frailty is a multidimensional syndrome associated with a state of vulnerability to external stressors. Though women have a longer life expectancy than men, they have a higher risk of frailty. Frailty is prevalent in women, affecting ∼9-15% of community-dwelling older women, and over 50% of nursing home residents.

Lithium fine-tunes biodegradation of Zn-based implant to promote osseointegration through immunomodulation.

The intricate degradation dynamics exhibited by biodegradable alloys significantly influence host responses during the implantation process, posing challenges in achieving stable osseointegration. It is thus critical to tailor the biodegradation profiles of these implants to establish a conductive tissue microenvironment for bone tissue regeneration. In this study, we demonstrate that Zn-Li alloy forms a layer of Li-containing degradation products at the bone-implant interface to accommodate the bone regeneration process.

The Perinatal Experience of Women With a History of Intimate Partner Violence: The Birth Experience Study.

Background: Experiencing intimate partner violence impacts the ongoing physical and psychological health of women and can contribute to poorer maternal and neonatal health during the perinatal period.

Methods: In a national maternity experiences cross-sectional online survey, 1198 (13.6%) women identified as experiencing IPV in their lifetime.

Environmental factors have a greater influence on photosynthetic capacity in C plants than biochemical subtypes or growth forms.

Our understanding of how photosynthetic capacity varies among C species and across growth and measurement conditions remains limited. We collated 1696 CO response curves of net CO assimilation rate (A/C curves) from C species grown and measured at various environmental conditions and used these data to estimate the apparent maximum carboxylation activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (V) and CO-saturated net photosynthetic rate (A), two key parameters describing photosynthetic capacity. We examined how V and A vary with species-specific traits, growth and measurement conditions.

Integrated Health-Social Hubs for Migrant Women and Infants.

Background And Objectives: Migrant families have reduced access to universal child and family health (CFH) services, including CFH nursing visits, wherein infant and maternal surveillance offers a key opportunity to identify maternal health and child developmental concerns. Evidence is emerging on the effectiveness of integrated health and social care hubs (Hubs) to improve access to CFH services. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of Hubs at 2 sites in Sydney, Australia for migrant women and their infants on attendance to CFH nursing visits until 12 months postpartum for infant and maternal surveillance.

Liposomal drug delivery system for lung diseases: Recent advancement and future perspectives.

Lung diseases such as asthma, chronic respiratory diseases, and lung cancer are among the most prevalent and vulnerable health conditions. Various therapeutic approaches, including nucleic acids, peptides, and small molecules have been developed along with different delivery strategies for their treatment. Liposomes have been recognized as promising delivery candidates attributed to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and ability to encapsulate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs effectively.

Indoor plants produce negative air ions: a comparison across species, temperature and humidity.

Negative air ions (NAI) are negatively charged gas ions, commonly released within the natural environment via plant metabolic activity. Exposure to NAI-enriched environments has been shown to provide substantial health benefits, and the ability to charge particulate matter (PM) and precipitate it from the airstream, leading it to be proposed as potential contributors to indoor botanical air purification systems. Current literature indicates low levels of NAI production by indoor plants, while there is a general consensus that reasonable levels of NAI can be produced by plants under correct physiological and microclimate conditions, the mechanisms of plant NAI generation remain insufficiently studied.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in agriculture and its potential conflict with circular economy.

This review explores the contamination of agricultural systems by Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and its potential conflict with circular economy principles. PFAS contamination, originating from soil and water sources, poses significant environmental and ecological risks, affecting agricultural productivity and ecosystem health. The migration of PFAS into soil and crops is a substantial concern, with potential food safety risks associated with both plant uptake and livestock exposure.

Harvest Time-Dependent Changes in the Composition and Function of Microglia-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles.

Microglia are dynamic macrophage-like cells that survey the central nervous system (CNS) and mediate neuroinflammatory responses. Even under homeostatic conditions, they exhibit phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental cues. Microglia-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), which are lipid bilayer vesicles encapsulating proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, reflect the physiological state of their parent cells and influence recipient cell function.

Surveillance of decreased fetal movements: A critical appraisal of Australian antenatal guidelines.

Background: Maternal concerns regarding decreased fetal movement is one of the most common reasons for hospital presentation in the antenatal period. Decreased fetal movement is associated with adverse perinatal outcomes such as stillbirth as well as higher rates of induced labour and caesarean section. Compared to other OECD nations over the last decade, Australia's rate of obstetric intervention is increasing without a commensurate reduction in stillbirth rates.

"The credential did make a difference": eating disorder treatment with ANZAED credentialed clinicians: carer perspectives.

Background: The Australia & New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED) has developed the Credential that recognises the qualifications, knowledge and professional development training, including continuing professional development (CPD), that comprise the minimum standard for the safe and effective delivery of treatment for an eating disorder. The current study sought to explore whether the anticipated benefits have translated into positive eating disorder treatment experiences with credentialed clinicians from carers' perspectives.

Methods: Thirteen carers of people living with an eating disorder (ED) were interviewed about their perceptions and experiences of ED treatment from clinicians awarded the ANZAED Eating Disorder Credential.

Voice-Based Assessment of Extrapyramidal Symptoms Using Deep Learning.

Extrapyramidal symptoms encompass features of Parkinsonism, including bradykinesia, cogwheel rigidity, and resting tremors, which contribute to motor impairments hindering handwriting and speech. In this study, we analyzed voice data captured using a voice sensor setup from 94 patients exhibiting varying levels of EPS and 30 unaffected controls. Each participant provided 13 recordings of repeated vowel and consonant sounds.

Fibroblast-Myofibroblast Transition in Osteoarthritis Progression: Current Insights.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial joint disease traditionally characterized by cartilage degradation, while growing evidence underscores the critical role of synovial fibrosis in driving disease progression. The synovium exhibits pathological remodeling in OA, primarily due to the phenotypic transition of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) into myofibroblasts. This fibroblast-myofibroblast transition (FMT) results in excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) and increased tissue stiffness and contractility, collectively contributing to chronic inflammation and fibrotic stiffening of the joint capsule.

A Standard Operating Procedure for Dual-Task Training to Improve Physical and Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Scoping Review.

Background/objectives: Dual task (DT) training consists of practicing exercises while simultaneously performing a concurrent motor or cognitive task. This training modality seems to have beneficial effects on both domains. Various forms of DT training have been implemented for older adults in recent years, but no official guidelines currently exist.

The association between childhood left-behind experience, help-seeking, and mental health status among university students in rural China: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The experience of being left behind by parents in the care of other relatives during childhood is common in China. Students with such experiences may be vulnerable to adverse mental health outcomes, but seeking help may mitigate the impact. The relationships among childhood left-behind experience, help-seeking, and mental health status are yet to be explored, particularly in rural China.

Survival Prediction in Allogeneic Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients Using Pre- and Post-Transplant Factors and Computational Intelligence.

Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) predictive models have emerged as valuable tools for predicting survival outcomes in allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). These models primarily focus on pre-transplant factors, while algorithms incorporating changes in patient's status post-allo-HSCT are lacking. The aim of this study was to develop a predictive soft computing model assessing survival outcomes in allo-HSCT recipients.

Recognizing nurse practitioners: Value beyond measure.

Background: Nurses' contributions are central to health care but are often shaped and constrained by structural, cultural, and policy forces that limit how their value is understood. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian Nurse Practitioners (NPs) faced heightened demands for leadership and adaptability, yet many reported a lack of recognition and sustained visibility. This tension between contribution and recognition raises questions about how NP value is defined and legitimized.

Factors that facilitate treatment uptake for women with alcohol use disorders in high-income countries: A systematic review.

Background: Harmful alcohol use among some groups of women is increasing globally. Despite being susceptible to negative health impacts, women are less likely than men to seek treatment and can face barriers of access, acceptability, and affordability to treatment.

Objectives: This study aims to identify key factors affecting treatment access for women with alcohol use disorders (AUDs), and to identify individual, social, and organizational factors that facilitate treatment uptake.

Magnetic hyperthermia-based therapies for cancer targeting: current progress and future perspectives.

Cancer has complicated pathological events, and conventional cancer therapy has limitations in the lack of selectivity, cytotoxicity, and the development of multidrug resistance. Hyperthermia, based on mild elevation in temperature up to 45 °C, can result in cancer cell death. However, the clinical applicability of MNPs for heating malignant cells is impeded by the difficulties of efficiently and selectively heating the tumors.

Revealing genetic drivers of ovarian cancer and chemoresistance: insights from whole-genome CRISPR-knockout library screens.

Understanding genetic dependencies in cancer is key to identifying novel actionable drug targets to advance precision medicine. Whole-genome CRISPR-knockout library screening methods have facilitated this goal. Pooled libraries of single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) targeting over 90% of the annotated protein coding genome are used to induce gene knockouts in pre-clinical cancer models.

The Value of Radiation Therapists in Online Adaptive Radiotherapy.

Value-based health care (VBHC) is an evolving paradigm in healthcare that prioritises patient outcomes relative to the costs incurred. VBHC emphasises efficiency, quality, and patient satisfaction as metrics and determinants of healthcare. A VBHC approach is becoming increasingly significant as healthcare systems worldwide grapple with rising costs, staff shortages, and the ongoing need for improved patient care.

Prey bioluminescence-mediated visual luring in a sit and wait predator.

As behavioural and physiological processes can be costly for animals to employ, deception and other dishonest strategies may become necessary for sit-and-wait predators. Sheet-web spiders Psechrus clavis have been known to use their body colour and webs as visual cues to deceptively lure and immediately consume lepidopteran insects. However, they do not immediately consume trapped male fireflies Diaphanes lampyroides; instead, the spiders retain them in their webs while the fireflies continue to emit their bioluminescent signal for up to an hour.