Lifeboat Foundation

A collaborative study has found that immunization with the vaccine SinoVac might improve responses to treatment in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC). The research is published as a “Letter to the Editor” in the journal Annals of Oncology.

Fears that COVID-19 vaccination may interfere with cancer treatment

Cancer cells are clever. They can adapt methods to avoid or divert the body’s immune response to protect their growth and prevent being destroyed. One approach is to target a protein found on T cells called programmed cell death protein 1, or PD-1. When PD-1 is bound to its ligand, PD-L1, it prevents T cells from killing malignant cells. Drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors can block PD-1, releasing the “brakes” on the immune response such that the T cells’ ability to kill cancer cells is unleashed.

Year 2021 😀 😍

The COVID-19 pandemic has reached direct and indirect medical and social consequences with a subset of patients who rapidly worsen and die from severe-critical manifestations. As a result, there is still an urgent need to identify prognostic biomarkers and effective therapeutic approaches. Severe-critical manifestations of COVID-19 are caused by a dysregulated immune response. Immune checkpoint molecules such as Programmed death-1 (PD-1) and its ligand programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) play an important role in regulating the host immune response and several lines of evidence underly the role of PD-1 modulation in COVID-19. Here, by analyzing blood sample collection from both hospitalized COVID-19 patients and healthy donors, as well as levels of PD-L1 RNA expression in a variety of model systems of SARS-CoV-2, including in vitro tissue cultures, ex-vivo infections of primary epithelial cells and biological samples obtained from tissue biopsies and blood sample collection of COVID-19 and healthy individuals, we demonstrate that serum levels of PD-L1 have a prognostic role in COVID-19 patients and that PD-L1 dysregulation is associated to COVID-19 pathogenesis. Specifically, PD-L1 upregulation is induced by SARS-CoV-2 in infected epithelial cells and is dysregulated in several types of immune cells of COVID-19 patients including monocytes, neutrophils, gamma delta T cells and CD4+ T cells. These results have clinical significance since highlighted the potential role of PD-1/PD-L1 axis in COVID-19, suggest a prognostic role of PD-L1 and provide a further rationale to implement novel clinical studies in COVID-19 patients with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors.

COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) holds the world in thrall since early March 2020. COVID-19 manifests a spectrum of signs and symptoms from mild illness to acute pneumonia. Unfortunately, a considerable percentage of patients rapidly worse to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) requiring intensive care (1, 2).

Continue reading “PD-L1 Dysregulation in COVID-19 Patients” »

A new airplane seat concept that allows wheelchair users to stay in their own chair throughout a flight was revealed this week by a subsidiary of US airline Delta, a move welcomed as a “huge step” by potential customers.

“Unbelievably excited,” is how power wheelchair user and avid traveler Cory Lee described his reaction after a working prototype of the design was demonstrated by Delta Flight Products (DFP) at the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, Germany, a symposium spotlighting airplane cabin innovations.

DFP’s concept seamlessly converts to and from a traditional airplane seat. The built-in seat folds up to allow a wheelchair to be docked into place. The seat would be installed into pre-existing aircraft seat track systems, so would not involve any structural change to the airplane.

One promising planet turned out not to have an atmosphere. But there are six more where it came from.

Google’s aiming to make it easier to use and secure passwords — at least, for users of the Password Manager tool built into its Chrome browser.

Today, the tech giant announced that Password Manager, which generates unique passwords and autofills them across platforms, will soon gain biometric authentication on PC. (Android and iOS have had biometric authentication for some time.) When enabled, it’ll require an additional layer of security, like fingerprint recognition or facial recognition, before Chrome autofills passwords.

Exactly which types of biometrics are available in Password Manager on desktop will depend on the hardware attached to the PC, of course (e.g. a fingerprint reader), as well as whether the PC’s operating system supports it. Beyond “soon,” Google didn’t say when to expect the feature to arrive.

Two AI tools will be added to Adobe Express: the ability to generate images from text prompts and text effects, where lettering can filled with textures. For example, you might apply a pink balloon… More.

Adobe is bringing its AI tools to Adobe Express as part of a huge upgrade to the content creation service.

Adobe Express can be used to create anything from social media posts to printed posters to promotional flyers. An update being announced today will add even more feathers to its bow, including the ability to create video content and edit PDFs.

Continue reading “Adobe Express Adds AI As Part Of Massive Update” »

The haze of smoke from Canadian wildfires that smothered New York and New England in dark clouds Tuesday night is expected to linger throughout the week, and intensify in some areas as officials urge residents to stay inside and schools cancel outdoor activity amid “unhealthy” and “hazardous” air-quality levels.

New York City

Continue reading “Here’s Where Air Quality Will Worsen As New York, Philadelphia And Toronto Are Blanketed In Wildfire Smoke” »

😀 😍 Basically chat gpt 4 is a big disruptive program but the positives outweigh the negatives. For instance we could get our usual work done really fast in seconds instead of hours. Much like the Jetsons chat gpt4 will allow us to be free of the grind of too much labor or work but allow for better lifestyles. Too often mental labor was too hard to do or only for people who were talented enough but now anyone can do any task with chat gpt4 this will create a greater AI gold rush also allow for better start ups to achieve what was once only for the few.

Explore the transformative impact of AI in reshaping work hours and fostering flexibility for a healthier work-life balance.

Tobi Alaji grew up as an artist who loved designing and creating new things. Today, she has merged her love for art and skill in software development to build the tech empire, ‘TECHTEE’ which she runs. TechTee is a digital agency and software house that creates an all-around digital experience by combining the best software with the most intriguing customer-centered designs.

TechTee is one of the world’s first Black-owned and woman-founded digital agency according to nftnow. The company boasts of collaborations with famous companies like Deutsche Bank, La Perla, NBC, M&S, and Apple, among others.

In an interview with Business Leader, she shared that she never wanted to own a business growing up because she never understood what it entailed. However, when she was 17, Tobi taught herself Java from a software development book she picked in the Shepherds Bush Library. Since then, she continued to teach herself and practice coding.