The formation and architecture of surface-initiated polymer brush gene delivery complexes.

Understanding the architecture and mechanism of assembly of polyelectrolyte-nucleic acid complexes is critical to the rational design of their performance for gene delivery. Surface-initiated polymer brushes were recently found to be particularly effective at delivering oligonucleotides and maintaining high knock down efficiencies for prolonged periods of time, in highly proliferative cells. However, what distinguishes their binding capacity for oligonucleotides from that of larger therapeutic macromolecules remains unknown.

Primary Intra-operative Embolisation During Urgent Parallel Graft Endovascular Repair in Paravisceral Symptomatic Aortic Pseudoaneurysm.

Objective: Paravisceral aortic lesions present significant challenges for endovascular treatment. This retrospective analysis of consecutively treated patients from April 2017 to June 2021 aimed to analyse the outcome of primary intra-operative embolisation of aortic complicated pseudoaneurysms and gutter channels during parallel graft (PG) repair of paravisceral symptomatic aortic pseudoaneurysms.

Methods: Patients with symptomatic pseudoaneurysms of the paravisceral aorta treated with PGs using chimney or periscope configurations were included.

Design and Test of a Calibration System for Avalanche Photodiodes Used in X-Ray Compton Polarimeters for Space.

The development and calibration of a measurement system designed for assessing the performance of the avalanche photodiodes (APDs) used in the Compton scattering polarimeter of the CUSP project is discussed in this work. The designed system is able to characterize the APD gain GAPD and energy resolution across a wide range of temperatures (from -20 °C to +60 °C) and bias voltages Vbias (from 260 V to 410 V). The primary goal was to experimentally determine the GAPD dependence on the and Vbias in order to establish a strategy for stabilizing GAPD by compensating for fluctuations, acting on Vbias.

Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Antibiotic Consumption and Stewardship Program in a Southern Italian Hospital.

Background/objectives: Antibiotic resistance is a growing global threat that significantly impacts public health and healthcare costs. The Italian National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (PNCAR) was introduced in 2017 to address this issue by improving antibiotic stewardship. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the PNCAR in enhancing antibiotic management practices in a hospital in southern Italy before and after its implementation.

Role of exciton delocalization in chiroptical properties of benzothiadiazole carbon nanohoops.

Development of chiral organic materials with a strong chiroptical response is crucial to advance technologies based on circularly polarized luminescence, enantioselective sensing, or unique optical signatures in anti-counterfeiting. The progress in the field is hampered by the lack of structure-property relationships that would help designing new chiral molecules. Here, we address this challenge by synthesis and investigation of two chiral macrocycles that integrate in their structure a pseudo-meta [2.

Digital quantification of somatostatin receptor subtypes 2 and 5 in growth hormone-secreting pituitary tumors.

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) of somatostatin receptor subtype 2 can predict response to first-generation somatostatin receptor ligands (fg-SRLs) in acromegaly. Recently, we validated an open-source digital image analysis (DIA) to quantify somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (SSTR2) expression. We aimed to validate the DIA also on somatostatin receptor subtype 5 (SSTR5) in a new cohort of growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary tumors, with IHC performed in a different laboratory, and to correlate fg-SRL response with SSTs expression.

Investigation of choroid plexus variability in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders-insights from a multimodal study.

Previous studies have suggested that choroid plexus (ChP) enlargement occurs in individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD) and is associated with peripheral inflammation. However, it is unclear whether such an enlargement delineates a biologically defined subgroup of SSD. Moreover, it remains elusive how ChP is linked to brain regions associated with peripheral inflammation in SSD.

Muscle fat infiltration: a narrative review of the magnetic resonance (MR)-based evaluation methods and their clinical applications.

Background And Objective: Muscle fat infiltration (MFI) can be seen in several pathologies of various origin including neuromuscular, endocrinological, or musculoskeletal etiologies. Its evaluation is possible through medical imaging, especially MRI, using qualitative or quantitative methods. This paper is an overview of the techniques used to evaluate MFI in different pathologies.

Heterogeneous Surface CD79b Expression in Aggressive B-Cell Lymphomas Assessed by Flow Cytometry on Lymph Node Biopsies.

CD79b is a B-cell-specific antigen that is crucial to the B-cell receptor and is considered a key target for treatment in aggressive B-cell lymphomas. While immunohistochemical studies have shown widespread expression of CD79b in mature B-cell-derived lymphomas, flow cytometry allows for precise measurement and differentiation between surface and intracellular localization. In our comparative analysis, we discovered that CD79b expression percentages and mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) were lower in a group of 127 cases of aggressive B-cell lymphomas compared to a control group of benign reactive hyperplasia.

Antibiotic treatment of bacterial lung infections in cystic fibrosis.

Bacterial infections of the lower airways are the main cause of mortality and morbidity in cystic fibrosis. The most frequently isolated pathogens are S. aureus and P.

Enhanced Circularly Polarized Luminescence of Urea-Bridged Dimers of Axially Chiral BODIPY-Carbohydrate Hybrids.

Herein, we report the synthesis of novel dimeric urea-bridged BODIPY-carbohydrate conjugates, which display circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). The dimers are composed of diastereomerically pure, axially chiral (P or M) BODIPY monomers containing a pendant glucose (d- or l-) unit. The latter was intended to add chirality, biocompatibility, and enhanced water solubility and facilitate the chromatographic resolution of the intermediate atropisomers.

Prescriptive Appropriateness in an Outpatient Primary and Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention Service.

Introduction: In the absence of appropriateness specific guidelines, one important cause of health resources waste could be overuse of diagnostic procedures. Since arterial hypertension is a very frequent disease there could be such a risk in its management.

Aim: To evaluate the prescriptive appropriateness of non-invasive diagnostic tests (echocardiography, carotid ultrasound, ECG exercise test, 24 h Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring-ABPM) in a primary and secondary prevention outpatient's service.

A Pipeline and Recommendations for Population and Individual Diagnostic SNP Selection in Non-Model Species.

Despite substantial reductions in the cost of sequencing over the last decade, genetic panels remain relevant due to their cost-effectiveness and flexibility across a variety of sample types. In particular, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panels are increasingly favoured for conservation applications. SNP panels are often used because of their adaptability, effectiveness with low-quality samples, and cost-efficiency for population monitoring and forensics.

Determinants of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 vaccine confidence in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of qualitative evidence and thematic synthesis.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the immediate risk for global and public health posed by vaccination inequities worldwide. The regions most affected are low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In addition to systemic challenges, vaccine hesitancy driven by low vaccine confidence has been identified as a threat to vaccine uptake.

Probing antimicrobial synergy by novel lipopeptides paired with antibiotics.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is fast becoming a major global challenge in both hospital and community settings as many current antibiotics and treatment processes are under the threat of being rendered less effective or ineffective. Synergistic combination of an antibiotic and an aiding agent with a different set of properties provides an important but largely unexploited option to 'repurpose' existing biomaterial's space while addressing issues of potency, spectrum, toxicity and resistance in early stages of antimicrobial drug discovery. This work explores how to combine tetracycline/minocycline (TC/MC) with a broad-spectrum antimicrobial lipopeptide that has been designed to improve the efficiency of membrane targeting and intramembrane accumulation, thereby enhancing antimicrobial efficacy.

Distribution of group B streptococci serotypes on women nasopharynx.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a significant pathogen responsible for neonatal infections, primarily transmitted through maternal carriage. However, current preventive strategies, such as intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis, present limitations and are ineffective in preventing late-onset neonatal infections. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and serotype distribution of GBS in the nasopharynx of women of reproductive age, providing data to the potential implementation of a novel hexavalent capsular vaccine (GBS6).

Search for Soft Unclustered Energy Patterns in Proton-Proton Collisions at 13 TeV.

The first search for soft unclustered energy patterns (SUEPs) is performed using an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data at sqrt[s]=13  TeV, collected in 2016-2018 by the CMS detector at the LHC. Such SUEPs are predicted by hidden valley models with a new, confining force with a large 't Hooft coupling. In events with boosted topologies, selected by high-threshold hadronic triggers, the multiplicity and sphericity of clustered tracks are used to reject the background from standard model quantum chromodynamics.

Creating an Empirical Dermatology Dataset Through Crowdsourcing With Web Search Advertisements.

Importance: Health datasets from clinical sources do not reflect the breadth and diversity of disease, impacting research, medical education, and artificial intelligence tool development. Assessments of novel crowdsourcing methods to create health datasets are needed.

Objective: To evaluate if web search advertisements (ads) are effective at creating a diverse and representative dermatology image dataset.

Radiomics in advanced gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms: Identifying responders to somatostatin analogs.

To evaluate a radiomic strategy for predicting progression in advanced gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (GEP-NET) patients treated with somatostatin analogs (SSAs). Fifty-eight patients with GEP-NETs and liver metastases, with baseline computerized tomography (CT) scans from June 2013 to November 2020, were studied retrospectively. Data collected included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), tumor grading, death, and Ki67 index.

Harnessing Deep Eutectic Solvents for Regioselective Polar Additions to α, β Unsaturated Ketones and Aldehydes.

Advancing the use of air-sensitive polar organometallic Grignard and organolithium reagents under more environmentally benign conditions, here we report the addition of these reagents to α,β-unsaturated ketones and aldehydes using the deep eutectic solvent (DES) choline chloride (ChCl): glycerol (Gly) (1 : 2), under air. Reactions occur at room temperature within seconds with excellent regioselective control. Furthering understanding of how these C-C bond forming processes take place in these reaction media, we have explored the surface concentration of the organic substrate (chalcone) in DES using interfacial tension and neutron reflectivity measurements, finding that chalcone is concentrated at the DES-hydrocarbon interface compared to the bulk concentration, although the interfacial chalcone concentration is still relatively low in this system.

Alignment considerations in degenerative spinal conditions: A narrative review.

Background: With an aging population, degenerative spinal diseases are contributing significantly to the healthcare's burden. Spinal alignment in the context of adult spinal deformities has become an important domain of research.

Methods: We conducted a narrative review of the latest considerations in spinal alignment within the context of degenerative spinal conditions, discussed current strategies for morphological assessment and finally identified potential areas for future research.