Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein oligomers.

Oligomers of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein are characterized by pronounced instability resulting in fast degradation. This property likely relates to two contrasting behaviors of the N protein: genome stabilization through a compact nucleocapsid during cell evasion and genome release by nucleocapsid disassembling during infection. In vivo, the N protein forms rounded complexes of high molecular mass from its interaction with the viral genome.

Obscurity of chlorophyll tails - Is chlorophyll with farnesyl tail incorporated into PSII complexes?

Chlorophyll is essential in photosynthesis, converting sunlight into chemical energy in plants, algae, and certain bacteria. Its structure, featuring a porphyrin ring enclosing a central magnesium ion, varies in forms like chlorophyll a, b, c, d, and f, allowing light absorption at a broader spectrum. With a 20-carbon phytyl tail (except for chlorophyll c), chlorophyll is anchored to proteins.

Cryo-electron microscopy reveals hydrogen positions and water networks in photosystem II.

Photosystem II starts the photosynthetic electron transport chain that converts solar energy into chemical energy and thus sustains life on Earth. It catalyzes two chemical reactions: water oxidation to molecular oxygen and plastoquinone reduction. Coupling of electron and proton transfer is crucial for efficiency; however, the molecular basis of these processes remains speculative owing to uncertain water binding sites and the lack of experimentally determined hydrogen positions.

Obstetric and Perinatal Outcomes in Pregnant Women with Lupus: Retrospective Study in a Portuguese Tertiary Center.

Objective:  Pregnancy in women with lupus poses a higher risk of complications compared with the general population. The present study aimed to determine and describe the obstetric and neonatal outcomes of pregnant women with lupus.

Materials And Methods:  We conducted an observational retrospective study of pregnant women with the diagnosis of lupus, who were selected and followed at the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Clinic of our institution between January 2013 and July 2018.

Early-onset fetal growth restriction: comparison of two management protocols in a single tertiary center.

Objective: Compare the neonatal outcomes of two protocols of diagnosis and surveillance of pregnancies complicated by early-onset FGR in a tertiary hospital.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of pregnant women diagnosed with early-onset FGR between 2017 and 2020. We compared the obstetric and perinatal outcomes between two different management protocols (before and after 2019).

The SDBC is active in quenching oxidative conditions and bridges the cell envelope layers in Deinococcus radiodurans.

Deinococcus radiodurans is known for its remarkable ability to withstand harsh stressful conditions. The outermost layer of its cell envelope is a proteinaceous coat, the S-layer, essential for resistance to and interactions with the environment. The S-layer Deinoxanthin-binding complex (SDBC), one of the main units of the characteristic multilayered cell envelope of this bacterium, protects against environmental stressors and allows exchanges with the environment.

Delivery Mode and Neurological Complications in Very Low Birth Weight Infants.

Objective: The risk of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and periventricular leukomalacia is associated with low birth weight and gestational age. Caesarean section (CS) may reduce the risk of IVH, although it has been a matter of debate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the mode of delivery (MOD) on the development of IVH and cystic periventricular leukomalacia (cPVL).

High-resolution model of Arabidopsis Photosystem II reveals the structural consequences of digitonin-extraction.

In higher plants, the photosynthetic process is performed and regulated by Photosystem II (PSII). Arabidopsis thaliana was the first higher plant with a fully sequenced genome, conferring it the status of a model organism; nonetheless, a high-resolution structure of its Photosystem II is missing. We present the first Cryo-EM high-resolution structure of Arabidopsis PSII supercomplex with average resolution of 2.

Use of Therapeutic Hypothermia in Sudden Unexpected Postnatal Collapse: A Retrospective Study.

Introduction: Sudden and unexpected postnatal collapse is a rare event with potentially dramatic consequences. Intervention approaches are limited, but hypothermia has been considered after postnatal collapse. The aim of this study was to analyse sudden and unexpected postnatal collapse cases that underwent therapeutic hypothermia in the five Portuguese hypothermia centres.

Uncomplicated intraventricular hemorrhage is not associated with lower estimated cerebral volume at term age.

Background And Aims: Cerebral lesions detected using cerebral ultrasound (cUS) in very preterm infants are associated with increased risk for neurodevelopmental problems. However, uncomplicated intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) has no consistent association with poor outcome. In this study we evaluate the effect of uncomplicated IVH on estimated brain volume at term-equivalent age (TEA), using a model based on measurements made from cUS.

[Morbidity in Prematurity Associated with Fetal Growth Restriction: Experience of a Tertiary Care Center].

Introduction: Prematurity and low birth weight have been associated with increased neonatal morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to evaluate possible risk factors for prematurity associated with fetal growth restriction and being small for gestational age and to determine the incidence of morbidity in these two groups of infants.

Material And Methods: Retrospective case-control study of newborns with gestational age of less than 32 weeks, with obstetric diagnosis of fetal growth restriction and with the clinical diagnosis of small for gestational age, admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary hospital for a period of six years.

Persistent periventricular echogenicities in preterms are not related to smaller brains at term-equivalent age.

Background: Periventricular white matter (PWM) is particularly vulnerable in very preterm infants. Non-cystic white matter injury, known as non-cystic periventricular leukomalacia (ncPVL), is the commonest 'lesion' affecting the preterm brain. There is no consensus about whether ncPVL can be reliably identified from cerebral ultrasound (cUS) or whether there is any reliable correlate of ncPVL on cUS at term-equivalent age (TEA).

Preterm cerebellum at term age: ultrasound measurements are not different from infants born at term.

Background: Reduced supratentorial brain growth has been shown in preterm-born infants at term-equivalent age (TEA), but cerebellar growth may be preserved in the absence of supratentorial injury. Our study aims to compare cerebellar size assessed using cerebral ultrasound (cUS) at TEA between preterm infants and term-born controls.

Methods: Cerebellar dimensions (including transverse cerebellar diameter (TCD), cerebellar vermis height, anteroposterior vermis diameter (APVD), and cerebellar vermis area (CVA)) were measured using Image Arena software (TomTec Imaging Systems, Unterschleissheim, Germany) in 71 infants <32-wk gestation without significant scan abnormality at TEA and in 58 term-born control infants.

Cerebral volume at term age: comparison between preterm and term-born infants using cranial ultrasound.

Background And Aims: Very preterm infants are at particular risk of neurodevelopmental impairments. This risk can be anticipated when major lesions are seen on cerebral ultrasound (cUS). However, most preterm infants do not have such lesions yet many have a relatively poor outcome.

Antibiotic prophylaxis in premature rupture of membranes at term: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To determine whether prophylactic antibiotic administration in women presenting with premature rupture of membranes (PROM) at term can alter the rates of maternal and neonatal infections.

Methods: In a randomized, controlled, nonblinded trial, women at low risk with singleton term pregnancies presenting with PROM were assigned to either antibiotic administration or no treatment. Main outcomes evaluated were rates of maternal infection (chorioamnionitis and endometritis) and neonatal infection.

[Conditions for neonatal resuscitation in Portuguese delivery rooms: a national survey (2009)].

Introduction: In Portugal, since 1989, the rates of maternal, perinatal and neonatal mortality present a significant decrease, after the implemented perinatal network. The continuous assessment of the existing conditions at the different levels of perinatal care is essential to identify deviations from normality and may allow the optimization of quality of care.

Objectives: To obtain information on and to evaluate the conditions and practices of neonatal resuscitation at the Portuguese delivery rooms, in order to propose measures for improvement of neonatal care.

Assessment of gestational age using cerebellar measurements at cranial ultrasound: what is the best approach?

Background And Aims: Clinical assessment of gestational age (GA) in preterm infants can be challenging. Several ultrasound approaches for estimating GA using cerebellar measurements are reported, claiming to be simpler and more accurate than clinical assessment, but they are not widely used. We aimed to compare the accuracy of four previously described measurements and compare their use in preterm infants.

[Congenital or neonatal cytomegalovirus infection?].

Congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection occurs in about 1% of the newborns, but it is clinically unapparent in around 90% of the cases during the newborn period. This congenital infection may be the cause of neurological sequelae of variable severity, namely neuro-sensorial hearing loss. In most cases of hearing loss secondary to congenital CMV infection, the newborn was asymptomatic.

[Sliding tracheoplasty: a good choice for the treatment of congenital tracheal stenosis].

When infants with recurrent wheezing have a clinical course inconsistent with a common diagnosis, anatomic malformations should be considered in diagnostic workup, followed by medical stabilization and early therapy. A careful history and physical examination could reveal important diagnostic clues that indicate the need to perform a fiberoptic bronchoscopy, which in the reported case showed tracheal stenosis in the transition between the first and second third of the trachea. Chest CT scan revealed a long funnel-shaped tracheal stenosis and along with an echocardiogram, excluded associated cardiovascular malformations.