Biomarker studies are needed to test the hypothesis that resilience of the elderly during a pandemic can be improved by countering chronic inflammation and/or removing senescent cells. Our review suggests that more samples should be taken and saved systematically, following minimum standards, and data be made available, to maximize healthspan & minimize frailty, leading to savings in health care, gains in quality of life, and preparing us better for the next pandemic, all at the same time.Background While endoscopy is recommended at one year after colorectal cancer (CRC) resection to detect locally recurrent CRC, prior work at our Veterans Affairs (VA) facility demonstrated that 35% of patients achieve this metric. Study design The interdisciplinary team used quality improvement methods to standardize processes and implement a gastroenterology-managed virtual surveillance clinic. The intervention clinic was implemented in August 2014. Veterans who underwent resection for stage I-III CRC at a single VA facility from January 2010 - December 2017 were included, with those undergoing resection between January 2010 - July 2014 considered pre-intervention and those undergoing resection between August 2014 - December 2017 considered post-intervention. The primary outcome was the proportion of eligible patients for whom endoscopy was completed within 1 year of resection. Secondary outcomes were the proportion who completed endoscopy within 18 months of resection or at any time post-resection, and time to surveillance endoscopy. Results A total of 186 patients underwent resection for stage I-III CRC from 2010-2017; of these 160 (86%) were eligible for endoscopy at 1-year post-resection (98 pre-intervention and 62 post-intervention). In the pre-intervention period, 30/98 (30.6%) underwent surveillance endoscopy within one year versus 31/62 (50.0%) post-intervention (P=0.031). When evaluated at 18 months after resection, 56/98 (57.1%) in the pre-intervention group versus 52/62 (83.9%) in the post-intervention group underwent surveillance endoscopy (P=0.001). Median time from resection to endoscopy decreased over the study period, from 1.19 years pre-intervention (Interquartile range [IQR] 0.93, 1.74) to 1.0 years post-intervention (IQR 0.93, 1.09) (P=0.006). Conclusions Implementation of a virtual surveillance clinic with standardized processes was associated with increased guideline-concordant endoscopic surveillance after CRC resection.Purpose This study aimed to compare lamina cribrosa (LC) parameters obtained by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) of eyes with exfoliation syndrome (PXS), exfoliation glaucoma (PXG) and healthy subjects. Methods In this cross-sectional comparative study, 206 eyes of 206 subjects were included. The Bruch's membrane opening distance (BMOd), the anterior and posterior borders of the LC (LC thickness) and the anterior laminar depth (ALD) were imaged using the enhanced depth imaging (EDI) mode of SD-OCT. Results There were 96 eyes in the PXG group, 55 eyes in the PXS group, and 55 eyes in the control group. The LC thickness was the thinnest in the PXG group (151.10 ± 51.18 µm), followed in the PXS group (158.76 ± 49.62 µm), and the thickest in the control group (181.00 ± 39.10 µm) (p = 0.002). In PXG cases where LC was observed in the deepest location, the ALD value was highest (423.92 ± 111.75 µm) in the PXG group, followed by the control group (403.08 ± 63.56 µm), and PXS group (357.43 ± 80.87 µm) (p less then 0.001).  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/rvx-208.html  The BMOd values ​​were largest in the PXG group (1542.43 ± 152.99 µm), followed by the control group (1506.52 ± 169.09 µm) and PXS group (1435.74 ± 141.06 µm) (p less then 0.001). In the PXG group, peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness, BCVA, and cup to disc (C/D) ratio were also statistically different from the other groups (p less then 0.001). Conclusion We found thinner LC thickness in PXG and PXS cases relative to the control group. Although its severity is associated with the diagnosis and severity of glaucoma, LC thinning can be encountered as an isolated condition in the presence of exfoliation.Background Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective and safe treatment modality for acne vulgaris, and a variety of light sources have been investigated. Sunlight has been used as a PDT light source in limited acne studies over the past years. However, to date, a comparative study of conventional PDT (C-PDT) and daylight PDT (DL-PDT) on acne is still lacking. Objectives This study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of DL-PDT vs. C-PDT in the treatment of acne vulgaris. Methods Eighty patients with facial moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris were randomly assigned to either DL-PDT group or C-PDT group. All patients got two to three treatment sessions at two-week intervals. The lesions were photographed with VISIA digital imaging system at baseline and weeks 2, 4, and 6. Follow-up monthly for 3 months. The endpoints include efficacy (lesion response), safety (VAS pain score) and patient satisfaction. Results A total of 77 patients completed the study. There was no statistics difference in objective response rate between DL-PDT group and C-PDT group at weeks 2, 4, and 6, respectively (40.0%, 90.0%, and 94.7% vs. 45.0%, 85.0%, and 92.3%, p > 0.05). The IGA score of DL-PDT group has no difference from C-PDT at baseline and at weeks 6, respectively (3.3 ± 0.4, 1.5 ± 0.7 vs. 3.4 ± 0.5, 1.6 ± 0.7, p > 0.05). The VAS pain score of DL-PDT group was lower than that of C-PDT group (1.8 ± 0.2, vs. 5.8 ± 0.3, p 0.05). Conclusions DL-PDT is an effective and well-tolerated alternative regimen for moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris compared with C-PDT.Self-assembling prodrugs represents a robust and effective nanotherapeutic approach for delivering poorly soluble anticancer drugs. With numerous intrinsic advantages, self-assembling prodrugs possess the maximum drug loading capacity, controlled drug release kinetics, prolonged blood circulation, and preferential tumor accumulation based on the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. These prodrug conjugates allow for efficient self-assembly into nanodrugs with the potential of encapsulating other therapeutic agents that have different molecular targets, enabling simultaneous temporal-spatial release of drugs for synergistic antitumor efficacy with reduced systemic side effects. The aim of this review is to summarize the recent progress of self-assembling prodrug cancer nanotherapeutics that are made through conjugating therapeutically active agents to Polyethylene glycol, Vitamin E, or drugs with different physicochemical properties via rational design, for synergistic tumor targeted drug delivery.