Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, with many patients experiencing recurrence following treatment. Antigens delivered on virus-like particles (VLPs) induce a targeted immune response and here we investigated whether the co-delivery of multiple antigens could induce a superior anti-cancer response for BC immunotherapy. VLPs were designed to recombinantly express murine survivin and conjugated with an aberrantly glycosylated mucin-1 (MUC1) peptide using an intracellular cleavable bis-arylhydrazone linker. Western blotting, electron microscopy and UV absorption confirmed survivin-VLP expression and MUC1 conjugation. To assess the therapeutic efficacy of VLPs, orthotopic BC tumours were established by injecting C57mg.MUC1 cells into the mammary fat pad of mice, which were then vaccinated with surv.VLP-SS-MUC1 or VLP controls. While wild-type mice vaccinated with surv.VLP-SS-MUC1 showed enhanced survival compared to VLPs delivering either antigen alone, MUC1 transgenic mice vaccinated with surv.VLP-SS-MUC1 showed no enhanced survival compared to controls. Hence, while co-delivery of two tumour antigens on VLPs can induce a superior anti-tumour immune response compared to the delivery of single antigens, additional strategies must be employed to break tolerance when targeted tumour antigens are expressed as endogenous self-proteins. YAP inhibitor Using VLPs for the delivery of multiple antigens represents a promising approach to improving BC immunotherapy, and has the potential to be an integral part of combination therapy in the future.With a limited number of vaccines and healthcare capacity shortages, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, vaccination programs should seek the most efficient strategy to reduce the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemics. This study aims at assessing several scenarios of delivering the vaccine to people in Indonesia. We develop a model for several scenarios of delivering vaccines without vaccination, fair distribution, and targeted distribution to five and eight districts with the highest COVID-19 incidence in West Java, one of the most COVID-19-affected regions in Indonesia. We calculate the needs of vaccines and healthcare staff for the program, then simulate the model for the initial 4-month and one-year scenarios. A one-year vaccination program would require 232,000 inoculations per day by 4833 vaccinators. Targeted vaccine allocation based on the burden of COVID-19 cases could benefit the COVID-19 vaccination program by lowering at least 5000 active cases. The benefits would increase by improving the number of vaccines and healthcare staff. Amidst lacking available vaccines, targeted vaccine allocation based on the burden of COVID-19 cases could increase the benefit of the COVID-19 vaccination program but still requires progressive efforts to improve healthcare capacity and vaccine availability for optimal protection for people.Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute, immune-mediated inflammatory peripheral polyneuropathy characterized by ascending paralysis. Most GBS cases follow gastrointestinal or chest infections. Some patients have been reported either following or concomitant with head trauma, neurosurgical procedures, and rarely hemorrhagic stroke. The exact pathogenesis is not entirely understood. However, blood-brain barrier damage may play an essential role in triggering the autoimmune activation that leads to post-stroke GBS. Here, we present two cases of fulminant GBS following hemorrhagic stroke to remind clinicians to be aware of this rare treatable complication if a stroke patient develops unexplainable flaccid paralysis with or without respiratory distress.We introduce a shape memory alloy (SMA) actuated micropump optimized for drug delivery applications. The proposed novel design integrates a built-in replaceable drug reservoir within the pump package forming a self-contained preloaded capsule pump with an overall pump volume of 424.7 μL. The new design results in a compact, simple, and inexpensive micropump and reduces the probability of contamination with attained almost zero dead volume values. The pump consists of NiTi-alloy SMA wires coiled on a flexible polymeric enclosure and actuated by joule heating. Unlike diaphragm and peristaltic SMA micropump designs that actuate transversely, our design is actuated longitudinally along the direction of the highest mechanical compliance resulting in large strokes in the order of 5.6 mm at 27% deflection ratio, actuation speed up to 11 mm/s, and static head pressures up to 14 kPa (105 mmHg) at 7.1 W input power; thus, high throughputs exceeding 2524 μL/min under free convention conditions could be achieved. A model was developed to optimize the pump's geometrical parameters and the enclosure material. The model concluded that low stiffness enclosure material combined with thinner SMA wire diameter would result in the maximum deflection at the lowest power rating. To prove its viability for drug delivery applications, the pump was operated at a constant discharge volume at a relatively constant static head pressure. Furthermore, a design of bicuspid-inspired polymeric check-valves is presented and integrated onto the pump to regulate the flow. Since the built-in reservoir is replaceable, the pump capsule can be reused multiple times and for multiple drug types.HDL particles can be structurally modified in atherosclerotic disorders associated with low HDL cholesterol level (HDL-C). We studied whether the lipidome of the main phosphatidylcholine (PC), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) and sphingomyelin (SM) species of HDL2 and HDL3 subfractions is associated with premature coronary heart disease (CHD) or metabolic syndrome (MetS) in families where common low HDL-C predisposes to premature CHD. The lipidome was analyzed by LC-MS. Lysophosphatidylcholines were depleted of linoleic acid relative to more saturated and shorter-chained acids containing species in MetS compared with non-affected subjects the ratio of palmitic to linoleic acid was elevated by more than 30%. A minor PC (160/161) was elevated (28-40%) in MetS. The contents of oleic acid containing PCs were elevated relative to linoleic acid containing PCs in MetS; the ratio of PC (160/181) to PC (160/182) was elevated by 11-16%. Certain PC and SM ratios, e.g., PC (180/203) to PC (160/182) and a minor SM 362 to an abundant SM 341, were higher (11-36%) in MetS and CHD.