Optimizing Subretinal Bleb Formation for Visual Streak Involvement in a Porcine Model for Retinal Gene Therapy.

Purpose: Subretinal (SR) injection in porcine models is a promising avenue for preclinical evaluation of cell and gene therapies. Targeting of the subretinal fluid compartment (bleb) is critical to the procedure, especially if treatment of the cone-rich area centralis is required (i.e.

Photobiomodulation and Physical Exercise Modulate of Cell Survival Proteins in the Skeletal Muscle of Rats with Heart Failure and Diabetes Mellitus.

Heart failure (HF) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) are global health problems that often lead to muscle atrophy. These conditions are associated with increased autophagy and apoptosis in the muscle cells, resulting in decreased muscle mass. Physical exercise associated with photobiomodulation (PBM) seems promising to attenuate the skeletal muscle changes caused by HF and DM2, due to its direct effects on mitochondria, which may result in an increase in antioxidant capacity.

Real world evidence on the effectiveness and safety of tofacitinib in ulcerative colitis in Lebanon.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of tofacitinib in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) in clinical practice in Lebanon.

Design: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. The data were collected from hospital records.

Hemophilia A: Economic burden, therapeutic advances, and future forecasts in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Hemophilia A, a severe hereditary hemorrhagic disorder characterized by a deficiency in blood clotting factors, imposes a significant economic burden on individuals, healthcare systems, and society, with inhibitors exacerbating the socioeconomic impact. The detrimental impact on the quality of life for patients and caregivers, including functional limitations, is particularly pronounced during bleeding episodes and in the presence of inhibitors. The increasing prevalence of Hemophilia A across the MENA region is evident, marked by the approval of various therapies and intensified research and development efforts focusing on treatment innovations.

Role of land-ocean interactions in stepwise Northern Hemisphere Glaciation.

The investigation of triggers causing the onset and intensification of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (NHG) during the late Pliocene is essential for understanding the global climate system, with important implications for projecting future climate changes. Despite their critical roles in the global climate system, influences of land-ocean interactions on high-latitude ice sheets remain largely unexplored. Here, we present a high-resolution Asian dust record from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1208 in the North Pacific, which lies along the main route of the westerlies.

Photobiomodulation improves cell survival and death parameters in cardiomyocytes exposed to hypoxia/reoxygenation.

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Ischemic heart disease is one of the most harmful conditions to cellular structure and function. After reperfusion treatment, a spectrum of adverse effects becomes evident, encompassing altered cell viability, heightened oxidative stress, activated autophagy, and increased apoptosis.

Hemodynamics in pig-to-baboon heterotopic thoracic cardiac xenotransplantation: Recovery from perioperative cardiac xenograft dysfunction and impairment by cardiac overgrowth.

Introduction: Orthotopic cardiac xenotransplantation has seen notable improvement, leading to the first compassionate use in 2022. However, it remains challenging to define the clinical application of cardiac xenotransplantation, including the back-up strategy in case of xenograft failure. In this regard, the heterotopic thoracic technique could be an alternative to the orthotopic procedure.

Multiple sclerosis: economic burden, therapeutic advances, and future forecasts in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a persistent condition characterized by immune-mediated processes in the central nervous system, affecting around 2.8 million individuals globally. While historically less prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, recent trends mirror the global rise in MS.

DPF2-related Coffin-Siris syndrome type 7 in two generations.

To date 11 patients with Coffin-Siris syndrome type 7 (OMIM 618027) have been described since the first literature report. All reported patients carried de novo variants with presumed dominant negative effect, which localized in the PHD1/PHD2 domains of DPF2. Here we report on the first familial case of Coffin-Siris syndrome type 7.

Survivors of polymicrobial sepsis are refractory to G-CSF-induced emergency myelopoiesis and hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell mobilization.

Sepsis survivors exhibit immune dysfunction, hematological changes, and increased risk of infection. The long-term impacts of sepsis on hematopoiesis were analyzed using a surgical model of murine sepsis, resulting in 50% survival. During acute disease, phenotypic hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) were reduced in the bone marrow (BM), concomitant with increased myeloid colony-forming units and extramedullary hematopoiesis.

Effect of free and nanoemulsified β-caryophyllene on monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), right ventricular (RV) failure and premature death. Compounds with vasodilatory characteristics, such as β-caryophyllene, could be promising therapeutics for PAH. This study aimed to determine the effects of free and nanoemulsified β-caryophyllene in lung oxidative stress and heart function in PAH rats.

Seasonality and Objective Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour among Older Adults from Four European Countries.

Objective: The present study aimed to explore the relationship between objective physical activity and sedentary behaviour with seasonality among a sample of older adults living in four European countries.

Methods: A sample of 169 older adults living in Croatia, Greece, Portugal, and Poland (mean age = 72.2 ± 6.

Xenografts Show Signs of Concentric Hypertrophy and Dynamic Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Obstruction After Orthotopic Pig-to-baboon Heart Transplantation.

Background: Orthotopic cardiac xenotransplantation has seen substantial advancement in the last years and the initiation of a clinical pilot study is close. However, donor organ overgrowth has been a major hurdle for preclinical experiments, resulting in loss of function and the decease of the recipient. A better understanding of the pathogenesis of organ overgrowth after xenotransplantation is necessary before clinical application.

Systemic deletion of exon 51 rescues clinically severe Duchenne muscular dystrophy in a pig model lacking exon 52.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal X-linked disease caused by mutations in the gene, leading to complete absence of dystrophin and progressive degeneration of skeletal musculature and myocardium. In DMD patients and in a corresponding pig model with a deletion of exon 52 (Δ52), expression of an internally shortened dystrophin can be achieved by skipping of exon 51 to reframe the transcript. To predict the best possible outcome of this strategy, we generated Δ51-52 pigs, additionally representing a model for Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD).

Immature human engineered heart tissues engraft in a guinea pig chronic injury model.

Engineered heart tissue (EHT) transplantation represents an innovative, regenerative approach for heart failure patients. Late preclinical trials are underway, and a first clinical trial started recently. Preceding studies revealed functional recovery after implantation of in vitro-matured EHT in the subacute stage, whereas transplantation in a chronic injury setting was less efficient.

Recapitulating porcine cardiac development : from expanded potential stem cell to embryo culture models.

Domestic pigs () share many genetic, anatomical, and physiological traits with humans and therefore constitute an excellent preclinical animal model. Fundamental understanding of the cellular and molecular processes governing early porcine cardiogenesis is critical for developing advanced porcine models used for the study of heart diseases and new regenerative therapies. Here, we provide a detailed characterization of porcine cardiogenesis based on fetal porcine hearts at various developmental stages and cardiac cells derived from porcine expanded pluripotent stem cells (pEPSCs), i.

Moist and warm conditions in Eurasia during the last glacial of the Middle Pleistocene Transition.

The end of the Middle Pleistocene Transition (MPT, ~ 800-670 thousand years before present, ka) was characterised by the emergence of large glacial ice-sheets associated with anomalously warm North Atlantic sea surface temperatures enhancing moisture production. Still, the direction and intensity of moisture transport across Eurasia towards potential ice-sheets is poorly constrained. To reconstruct late MPT moisture production and dispersal, we combine records of upper ocean temperature and pollen-based Mediterranean forest cover, a tracer of westerlies and precipitation, from a subtropical drill-core collected off South-West Iberia, with records of East Asia summer monsoon (EASM) strength and West Pacific surface temperatures, and model simulations.