Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Next-Generation Vision Consortium on ROK-US and the Indo-Pacific Application

KKL-JNF — Helping pre-military programs prepare for life beyond the military.

Parliamentary representation by women in Pacific Island countries remains stubbornly low at 8.4 percent. Yet women leaders across the region have been meeting every year for the past four decades to discuss goals and drive action to address gender inequality and the most pressing development challenges in the Pacific. One of the critical issues discussed […]

On October 11, the United Nations (UN) and its affiliated organizations hosted a conference discussing the increasingly dangerous and exploitative environment that plagues the internet and what can be done to protect children from being exposed to it. Speakers at this conference detailed the developing technologies that threaten children, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), which […]

Targeting the endocannabinoid (eCB) signaling system for pain relief is an important treatment option that is only now beginning to be mechanistically explored. In this review, we focus on two recently appreciated cannabinoid-based targeting strategies, treatments with cannabidiol (CBD) and α/β-hydrolase domain containing 6 (ABHD6) inhibitors, which have the exciting potential to produce pain relief through distinct mechanisms of action and without intoxication. We review evidence on plant-derived cannabinoids for pain, with an emphasis on CBD and its multiple molecular targets expressed in pain pathways. We also discuss the function of eCB signaling in regulating pain responses and the therapeutic promises of inhibitors targeting ABHD6, a 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG)-hydrolyzing enzyme. Finally, we discuss how the novel cannabinoid biosensor GRAB_eCB2.0 may be leveraged to enable the discovery of targets modulated by cannabinoids at a circuit-specific level.

The Registry of Fast Myocardial Perfusion Imaging with Next-Generation SPECT (REFINE SPECT) has been expanded to include more patients and CT attenuation correction imaging. We present the design and initial results from the updated registry. Methods: The updated REFINE SPECT is a multicenter, international registry with clinical data and image files. SPECT images were processed by quantitative software and CT images by deep learning software detecting coronary artery calcium (CAC). Patients were followed for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) (death, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, late revascularization). Results: The registry included scans from 45,252 patients from 13 centers (55.9% male, 64.7 ± 11.8 y). Correlating invasive coronary angiography was available for 3,786 (8.4%) patients. CT attenuation correction imaging was available for 13,405 patients. MACEs occurred in 6,514 (14.4%) patients during a median follow-up of 3.6 y (interquartile range, 2.5–4.8 y). Patients with a stress total perfusion deficit of 5% to less than 10% (unadjusted hazard ratio [HR], 2.42; 95% CI, 2.23–2.62) and a stress total perfusion deficit of at least 10% (unadjusted HR, 3.85; 95% CI, 3.56–4.16) were more likely to experience MACEs. Patients with a deep learning CAC score of 101–400 (unadjusted HR, 3.09; 95% CI, 2.57–3.72) and a CAC of more than 400 (unadjusted HR, 5.17; 95% CI, 4.41–6.05) were at increased risk of MACEs. Conclusion: The REFINE SPECT registry contains a comprehensive set of imaging and clinical variables. It will aid in understanding the value of SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging, leverage hybrid imaging, and facilitate validation of new artificial intelligence tools for improving prediction of adverse outcomes incorporating multimodality imaging.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS), with a putative autoimmune origin and complex pathogenesis. Modification of the natural history of MS by reducing relapses and slowing disability accumulation was first attained in the 1990 s with the development of the first-generation disease-modifying therapies. Glatiramer acetate (GA), a copolymer of L-alanine, L-lysine, L-glutamic acid, and L-tyrosine, was discovered due to its ability to suppress the animal model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Extensive clinical trials and long-term assessments established the efficacy and the safety of GA. Furthermore, studies of the therapeutic processes induced by GA in animal models and in MS patients indicate that GA affects various levels of the innate and the adaptive immune response, generating deviation from proinflammatory to anti-inflammatory pathways. This includes competition for binding to antigen presenting cells; driving dendritic cells, monocytes, and B-cells toward anti-inflammatory responses; and stimulating T-helper 2 and T-regulatory cells. The immune cells stimulated by GA reach the CNS and secrete in situ anti-inflammatory cytokines alleviating the pathological processes. Furthermore, cumulative findings reveal that in addition to its immunomodulatory effect, GA promotes neuroprotective repair processes such as neurotrophic factors secretion, remyelination, and neurogenesis. This review aims to provide an overview of MS pathology diagnosis and treatment as well as the diverse mechanism of action of GA.

Mammalian astrocytes have regional roles within the brain parenchyma. Indeed, the notion that astrocytes are molecularly heterogeneous could help explain how the central nervous system (CNS) retains embryonic positional information through development into specialized regions into adulthood. A growing body of evidence supports the concept of morphological and molecular differences between astrocytes in different brain regions, which might relate to their derivation from regionally patterned radial glia and/or local neuron inductive cues. Here, we review evidence for regionally encoded functions of astrocytes to provide an integrated concept on lineage origins and heterogeneity to understand regional brain organization, as well as emerging technologies to identify and further investigate novel roles for astrocytes.

New technologies will radically change the experience of living with and caring for someone with Alzheimer's, says Professor Fiona Carragher, chief policy and research officer at Alzheimer's Society, UK

M4 and M4 Pro get core count bumps; M4 Max relies on architectural improvements.

A voyage in this kind of spacecraft — while still conceptual — would take multiple lifetimes, crossing unimaginable gulfs of interstellar space. The theoretical exercise puts aside technical problems, including the propulsion system, and focusses on the design of the habitat and society.

Generational curses impact family patterns and behaviors. Learn how to identify, break, and heal from ancestral trauma to free yourself and future generations.

Asahi Kasei Medical has launched the Planova FG1, a next-generation virus removal filter featuring higher flux for the manufacture of biotherapeutics, in October 2024.

Pakistan's National Defense University's curriculum is designed to foster national pride, but many of its students and instructors have an anti-American bias.

This hyper-connected group uses mobile to manage every part of life.

Volvo HoloLens

The Est�e Edit by Estee Lauder brand video with Guest Editors Kendall Jenner and Irene Kim

Bayer MSMS �Say TkU� Campaign