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avior, which might be relevant in diseases where tissue stiffness is altered and might potentially provide a basis for new strategies to modulate inflammatory responses.Leukocyte transendothelial migration is crucial for innate immunity and inflammation. Upon tissue damage or infection, leukocytes exit blood vessels by adhering to and probing vascular endothelial cells (VECs), breaching endothelial cell-cell junctions, and transmigrating across the endothelium. Transendothelial migration is a critical rate-limiting step in this process. Thus, leukocytes must quickly identify the most efficient route through VEC monolayers to facilitate a prompt innate immune response. Biomechanics play a decisive role in transendothelial migration, which involves intimate physical contact and force transmission between the leukocytes and the VECs. While quantifying these forces is still challenging, recent advances in imaging, microfabrication, and computation now make it possible to study how cellular forces regulate VEC monolayer integrity, enable efficient pathfinding, and drive leukocyte transmigration. Here we review these recent advances, paying particular attention to leukocyte adhesion to the VEC monolayer, leukocyte probing of endothelial barrier gaps, and transmigration itself. To offer a practical perspective, we will discuss the current views on how biomechanics govern these processes and the force microscopy technologies that have enabled their quantitative analysis, thus contributing to an improved understanding of leukocyte migration in inflammatory diseases.Paclitaxel (PTX) has been used for cancer treatment for decades and has become one of the most successful chemotherapeutics in the clinic and financially. However, serious problems with its use still exist, owing to its poor solubility and non-selective toxicity. With respect to these issues, recent advances have addressed the water solubility and tumor specificity related to PTX application. Many measures have been proposed to remedy these limitations by enhancing tumor recognition via ligand-receptor-mediated targeting as well as other associated strategies. CDDOIm In this review, we investigated various kinds of ligands that have emerged as PTX tumor-targeting tools. In particular, this article highlights small molecule-, protein-, and aptamer-functionalized conjugates and nanoparticles (NPs), providing a promising approach for PTX-based individualized treatment prospects.This mini-review presents the structural investigations of the self-assembled peptide nanotubes using X-ray scattering techniques. As compared to electron microscopy, scattering methods enable studies of nanotubes in solution under the appropriate physicochemical conditions and probe their formation mechanism. In addition, a combination of X-ray scattering methods allow the elucidation of structural organization from the molecular scale to the dimension of nanotubes.The transdermal route of administration provides numerous advantages over conventional routes i.e., oral or injectable for the treatment of different diseases and cosmetics applications. The skin also works as a reservoir, thus deliver the penetrated drug for more extended periods in a sustained manner. It reduces toxicity and local irritation due to multiple sites for absorption and owes the option of avoiding systemic side effects. However, the transdermal route of delivery for many drugs is limited since very few drugs can be delivered at a viable rate using this route. The stratum corneum of skin works as an effective barrier, limiting most drugs' penetration posing difficulty to cross through the skin. Fortunately, some non-invasive methods can significantly enhance the penetration of drugs through this barrier. The use of nanocarriers for increasing the range of available drugs for the transdermal delivery has emerged as a valuable and exciting alternative. Both the lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs can be delivered via a range of nanocarriers through the stratum corneum with the possibility of having local or systemic effects to treat various diseases. In this review, the skin structure and major obstacle for transdermal drug delivery, different nanocarriers used for transdermal delivery, i.e., nanoparticles, ethosomes, dendrimers, liposomes, etc., have been discussed. Some recent examples of the combination of nanocarrier and physical methods, including iontophoresis, ultrasound, laser, and microneedles, have also been discussed for improving the therapeutic efficacy of transdermal drugs. Limitations and future perspectives of nanocarriers for transdermal drug delivery have been summarized at the end of this manuscript.During the COVID-19 pandemic, a certified laboratory of Tamaulipas, Mexico has processed over 100,000 samples of COVID-19 suspected patients, working a minimum of 100 tests daily. Thus, it would be beneficial for such certified laboratories nationwide to reduce the time and cost involved in performing the diagnosis of COVID-19, from sample collection, transportation to local lab, processing of samples, and data acquisition. Here, 30 nasopharyngeal swab and saliva samples from the same COVID-19 individuals were assessed by a standard nucleic acid extraction protocol, including protein lysis with proteinase K followed by binding to column, washing, and elution, and by the SalivaDirect protocol based on protein lysis, skipping the other steps to reduce processing time and costs. The genomic RNA was amplified using a SARS-CoV-2 Real-Time PCR kit. A variation (P > 0.05) in the 95% CIs = 72.6%-96.7% was noted by using the SalivaDirect protocol and saliva samples (sensitivity of 88.2%) in comparison to those of standard protocol with oropharyngeal swab samples (95% CIs = 97.5%-100%; sensitivity of 100%) as reported elsewhere. However, when using nasopharyngeal swab samples in the SalivaDirect protocol (sensitivity of 93.6%; 95% CIs = 79.2%-99.2%), it was in concordance (P less then 0.05) with those of the standard one. The logical explanation to this was that two samples with Ct values of 38, and 40 cycles for gene E produced two false negatives in the SalivaDirect protocol in relation to the standard one; thus, there was a reduction of the sensitivity of 6.4% in the overall assay performance.