Oncolytic adenoviruses are being developed as new anti-cancer agents. Their efficacy can be improved by incorporating RNA interference (RNAi) molecules. RNAi molecules can be expressed in various precursor formats. The aim of this study was to determine the most effective format. To this end, we constructed three Δ24-type oncolytic adenoviruses, with human microRNA-1 (miR-1) expression cassettes in short hairpin RNA (shRNA), precursor microRNA (pre-miRNA), and primary miRNA (pri-miRNA) format, respectively. The viruses were compared for virus replication, mature miR-1 expression, and target gene silencing in cancer cells.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/indisulam.html  Incorporation of the cassettes had only minor effects on virus replication. Mature miR-1 expression from the pri-miRNA format reached on average 100-fold higher levels than from the other two formats. This expression remained stable upon long-term virus propagation. Infection with the pri-miR-1-expressing virus silenced the validated miR-1 targets FOXP1 and MET. Drosha knockout almost completely abrogated mature miR-1 expression, confirming that processing of adenovirus-encoded pri-miR-1 was dependent on the host cell miRNA machinery. Using simple in vitro recombination cloning, a similar virus expressing miR-26b was made and shown to silence the validated miR-26b target PTGS2. We thus provide a platform for construction of oncolytic adenoviruses with high expression of RNAi molecules of choice.Oncolytic virotherapy relies on the induction of anti-tumor immune responses to achieve therapeutic efficacy. The factors that influence the induction of these responses, however, are not well understood. To begin to address this lack of knowledge, we asked how decreasing the susceptibility of malignant cells to direct viral infection would impact the induction of immune responses and therapeutic efficacy caused by oncolytic myxoma virus treatment. To accomplish this, we used CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing to remove the essential sulfation enzyme N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase-1 from B16/F10 murine melanoma cells. This eliminates the negative cell surface charges associated with glycosaminoglycan sulfation, which reduces a cell's susceptibility to infection with the myxoma virus by ∼3- to 10-fold. With the use of these cells as a model of reduced susceptibility to oncolytic infection, our data demonstrate that 3- to 10-fold reductions in in vivo infection do not hinder the ability of the oncolytic myxoma virus to induce anti-tumor immunity and do not lower the overall efficacy of localized treatment. Additionally, our data show that in mice bearing multiple distinct tumor masses, the choice to treat a less-susceptible tumor mass does not reduce the overall therapeutic impact against either the injected or noninjected lesion. Taken together, these data suggest that minor changes in the susceptibility of malignant cells to direct oncolytic infection do not necessarily influence the overall outcomes of treatment.The authors consider theory in the animal-metacognition literature. Theoretical interpretation was long dominated by associative descriptions, as illustrated in the 2009 special issue. We suggest that this approach risks a self-limiting understanding of animal mind, and an imprecise understanding of the cognitive requirements inherent in metacognition tasks. In fact, some tasks self-entail the need for higher-level decision-making processes, processes that-in humans-we would call explicit, declarative, and conscious. These points are illustrated using the inaugural study on dolphin metacognition. We urge researchers to turn more toward illuminating the cognitive architecture of capacities like metacognition, including illuminating the depth, and structure, the learning/memory systems, the cognitive levels, and the declarative awareness possibly present in animals' minds. The empirical development of this literature demonstrates that researchers are now prepared to do so. This study can produce strong synergies across the allied fields of biopsychology, comparative and cognitive psychology, and neuroscience.
  Heart failure (HF) prognosis without therapy is poor, however introduction of a range of drugs has improved it. We aimed to perform a systematic review on the effects and safety of sodium-glucose transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in HF patients.
 
  We carried out a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on SGLT2i compared to placebo for HF patients. We searched in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and EMBASE, with no language restriction, from inception to 31 August 2020. We included nine RCTs comprising three arms (empagliflozin, dapagliflozin and placebo). Effects sizes for continuous variables were expressed as mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Effects sizes for dichotomous variables were expresses as risk ratio (RR) and 95% CIs. We used random-effect models with the inverse variance method. We performed subgroup meta-analyses by intervention drug and follow-up period.
 
  SGLT2i significantly reduced all-cause mortality (RR 0.88, 95%CI 0.79-0.98, I2=0%), cardiovascular mortality (RR 0.87, 95%CI 0.77-0.99, I2=0%), HF hospitalization (RR 0.73, 95%CI 0.66-0.81, I2=0%) and emergency room visits due to HF (RR 0.40, 95%CI 0.21-0.76, I2=0%), as well as composite outcomes including the previous ones. Besides, it significantly improved the score of the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ, MD 1.70, 95%CI 1.67-1.73, I2=54%). SGLT2i reduced any serious adverse events, blood pressure and weight. However, it increased hematocrit and creatinine. The meta-analysis of RCTs of>12weeks of follow-up showed that SGTL2i significantly reduced NT-proBNP.
 
  SGLT2i showed to improve critical outcomes in HF patients, and it is apparently safe.
 SGLT2i showed to improve critical outcomes in HF patients, and it is apparently safe.
  To investigate the effect of the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the acute treatment of patients with ST-segment elevation (STEMI) and Non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).
 
  We retrospectively identified patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with suspected ACS. We evaluated the number of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) for STEMI, NSTE-ACS, and elective PCI cases. In STEMI patients, we assessed the time from chest pain onset (cpo) to ED presentation, post-infarction left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and time from ED presentation to PCI. We directly compared cases from two time intervals January/February 2020 versus March/April 2020 (defined as 2months before and after the COVID-19 outbreak). In a secondary analysis, we directly compared cases from March/April 2020 with patients from the same time interval in 2019.
 
  From January to April 2020, 765 patients presented with acute chest pain to the ED. A dramatic reduction of ED presentations after compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak (31% relative reduction) was observed.