Beta-variant recombinant SARS CoV-2 vaccine induces durable cross-reactive antibodies against Omicron BA variants.

Background: We previously reported the safety and immunogenicity data from a randomized trial comparing the booster responses of vaccinees who received monovalent (MV) recombinant protein Beta-variant (MVB.1.351) and MV ancestral protein (MVD614) vaccines with AS03 adjuvant (Sanofi/GSK) to booster response of vaccinees who received mRNA MV ancestral strain BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech).

Fluid status assessment in heart failure patients: pilot validation of the Maastricht Decompensation Questionnaire.

Background: eHealth products have the potential to enhance heart failure (HF) care by identifying at-risk patients. However, existing risk models perform modestly and require extensive data, limiting their practical application in clinical settings. This study aims to address this gap by validating a more suitable risk model for eHealth integration.

Pulsed processing by cold plasma, applied to industrial emission control.

A promising pollution control technology is cold plasma driven chemical processing. The plasma is a pulsed electric gas discharge inside a near atmospheric-pressure-temperature reactor. The system is energized by a continuous stream of very short high-voltage pulses.

Inflammation, sepsis severity and neurodevelopmental outcomes of late-onset sepsis in preterm neonates.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between inflammatory biomarkers (C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin-6 (IL-6)) and sepsis severity (neonatal-Sequential-Organ-Failure-Assessment (nSOFA)) and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years, among very preterm neonates.

Methods: Data on preterm neonates (gestational age <30 weeks) from 2016 until 2020 were reviewed. Outcomes of interest were NDI (no, mild, severe) and the motor and cognitive score on the Dutch-Bayley-Scales-of-Infant-and-Toddler-Development (Bayley-III-NL) assessed at the corrected age of 2 years.

Application of Bayesian approaches in drug development: starting a virtuous cycle.

The pharmaceutical industry and its global regulators have routinely used frequentist statistical methods, such as null hypothesis significance testing and p values, for evaluation and approval of new treatments. The clinical drug development process, however, with its accumulation of data over time, can be well suited for the use of Bayesian statistical approaches that explicitly incorporate existing data into clinical trial design, analysis and decision-making. Such approaches, if used appropriately, have the potential to substantially reduce the time and cost of bringing innovative medicines to patients, as well as to reduce the exposure of patients in clinical trials to ineffective or unsafe treatment regimens.

Deep learning models for histologic grading of breast cancer and association with disease prognosis.

Histologic grading of breast cancer involves review and scoring of three well-established morphologic features: mitotic count, nuclear pleomorphism, and tubule formation. Taken together, these features form the basis of the Nottingham Grading System which is used to inform breast cancer characterization and prognosis. In this study, we develop deep learning models to perform histologic scoring of all three components using digitized hematoxylin and eosin-stained slides containing invasive breast carcinoma.

Results of the Diaphragmatic Plication Database: 10 Years' Experience.

Background: Unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis or paresis (UDP) in adults is an often overlooked disease which relevantly impairs the patient's lung function and quality of life. Particularly in idiopathic UDP, there is no evidence for conservative therapy and only little evidence for surgical therapy.

Methods: The method involves retrospective single-center analysis of patients with UDP persistent for at least 1 year who were operated by diaphragmatic resection, plication, and augmentation with a polypropylene mesh.

Genetic Heterogeneity of MET-Aberrant NSCLC and Its Impact on the Outcome of Immunotherapy.

Introduction: Robust data on the outcome of MET-aberrant NSCLC with nontargeted therapies are limited, especially in consideration of the heterogeneity of MET-amplified tumors (METamp).

Methods: A total of 337 tumor specimens of patients with MET-altered Union for International Cancer Control stage IIIB/IV NSCLC were analyzed using next-generation sequencing, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry. The evaluation focused on the type of MET aberration, co-occurring mutations, programmed death-ligand 1 expression, and overall survival (OS).

Catamenial chest pain and spontaneous coronary artery dissection: A case report.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare cause of myocardial infarction, presenting mostly in healthy, young women. The pathogenesis is still poorly understood. A 45-year-old woman presented with an ST-elevation myocardial infarction, caused by SCAD of the mid left anterior descending coronary artery.

(Im)mobilization and speciation of lead under dynamic redox conditions in a contaminated soil amended with pine sawdust biochar.

Biochar can reduce the mobility and availability of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soils and improve soil properties. However, immobilization efficiencies of biochar can be varied according to environmental conditions, such as pH and redox potential (E), especially for soils under flood-dry cycles. In the current study, biochar produced at 300 and 550 °C (referred as BC300 and BC550, respectively) and its feedstock (pine sawdust biomass, BM) were used to amend a lead (Pb)-contaminated soil under pre-defined redox windows (from -300 to +250 mV).

Is there an association between oocyte number and embryo quality? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis determined the association between aspirated after ovarian stimulation and top/good quality embryos obtained in women undergoing ovarian stimulation for IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched for English-language publications on top/good-quality embryos at cleavage (day 2/3) and/or blastocyst (day 5/6) developmental stages, up to 18 November 2017. Twenty-eight studies (three prospective and 25 retrospective) reporting data on 291,752 assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles were considered eligible.

An evaluation of the use and handling errors of currently available recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone pen injectors by women with infertility and fertility nurses.

: This study compared preference ratings of women with infertility and nurses before and after simulated injection, and handling errors, with the GONAL-f®, Bemfola®, Ovaleap® and Rekovelle® pen injectors. : Injector-naïve women and injector-experienced fertility nurses tested injectors with masked labels in a randomized testing order. Injections were made into a foam pad and injectors were rated before and after use.

Mobilization of mercury species under dynamic laboratory redox conditions in a contaminated floodplain soil as affected by biochar and sugar beet factory lime.

Mercury and its species are toxic and therefore strategies to immobilize them or to impede the formation of bioaccumulative MeHg are a hot topic of ongoing research. Biochar (BC) and sugar beet factory lime (SBFL) are suggested to have the potential to meet these goals. However, their ability to restrain the mobilization of total Hg (Hg), methylmercury (MeHg), and ethylmercury (EtHg) or the formation of MeHg and EtHg has not been examined to date.

Impact of biochar on mobilization, methylation, and ethylation of mercury under dynamic redox conditions in a contaminated floodplain soil.

Mercury (Hg) is a highly toxic element, which is frequently enriched in flooded soils due to its anthropogenic release. The mobilization of Hg and its species is of ultimate importance since it controls the transfer into the groundwater and plants and finally ends in the food chain, which has large implications on human health. Therefore, the remediation of those contaminated sites is an urgent need to protect humans and the environment.

Pine sawdust biomass and biochars at different pyrolysis temperatures change soil redox processes.

To date, no investigation has been carried out to explore the effects of biochars produced at different pyrolysis temperatures on the dynamics of redox potential (E) and pH in a contaminated floodplain soil. Thus, we aimed to quantify the dynamics of E and pH in contaminated flooded soils treated with 70tha of pine sawdust biomass (S&BM) and biochars pyrolyzed at 300°C (S&BC300) and 550°C (S&BC550) and pre-incubated for 105days in an automated biogeochemical microcosm system. Microbial community composition was also determined via analyzing phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA).

The impact of preoperative elevated serum C-reactive protein on postoperative morbidity and mortality after anatomic resection for lung cancer.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine whether preoperative elevated serum C-reactive protein (CRP) is an independent risk factor of postoperative morbidity and mortality after pulmonary resection for lung cancer.

Material And Methods: A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on 1414 consecutive patients that underwent an anatomic resection for lung cancer was performed. Patients' characteristics, operative procedures and the postoperative outcome were assessed with a standardised data entry form.

Mobility and phytoavailability of As and Pb in a contaminated soil using pine sawdust biochar under systematic change of redox conditions.

Biochar has been adopted to control the mobility and phytoavailability of trace elements (TEs) in soils. To date, no attempt has been made to determine the mobility and phytoavailability of arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) in a contaminated soil with biochars as amendments under predefined redox potentials (E). Thus, in this study, a soil contaminated with As and Pb (2047 and 1677 mg kg, respectively) was pre-incubated for 105 days with three amendments (pine sawdust biomass (BM) and two biochars produced from the same feedstock at 300 °C (BC300) and 550 °C (BC550)).

Spontaneous regression of non-small cell lung cancer after biopsy of a mediastinal lymph node metastasis: a case report.

Introduction: Spontaneous regression of cancer is defined as a complete or partial, temporary or permanent disappearance of tumor in the absence of specific therapy. With only a few cases reported, spontaneous regression is extremely rare in primary lung cancer. Regarding spontaneous regression in lung cancer, recent investigations revealed the role of immunological mechanisms, thus indicating potential treatment options by specific immunotherapy in the future.

A Comparison of Atrial Fibrillation Monitoring Strategies After Cryptogenic Stroke (from the Cryptogenic Stroke and Underlying AF Trial).

Ischemic stroke cause remains undetermined in 30% of cases, leading to a diagnosis of cryptogenic stroke. Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major cause of ischemic stroke but may go undetected with short periods of ECG monitoring. The Cryptogenic Stroke and Underlying Atrial Fibrillation trial (CRYSTAL AF) demonstrated that long-term electrocardiographic monitoring with insertable cardiac monitors (ICM) is superior to conventional follow-up in detecting AF in the population with cryptogenic stroke.

Unilateral Lobe Resection by Video-Assisted Thoracoscopy Leads to the Most Optimal Functional Improvement in Severe Emphysema.

Background Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) is a well-established treatment option for pulmonary emphysema, but the most advantageous technical approach remains debatable. Methods Short- and long-term outcomes were comparably assessed in pulmonary emphysema patients who underwent unilateral LVRS with either lobe or sublobe (segment or wedge) resection. Patients were consecutively enrolled in the study after careful conventional and computer-based definition of the target region.

Absence of amplification of the FGFR1-gene in human malignant mesothelioma of the pleura: a pilot study.

Background: Mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare malignant disease with a worse outcome. Fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGFR1) may be an interesting target for selective tyrosine kinases inhibitors (TKI) in MPM. The aim of this study was to evaluate the amplification of the FGFR1 gene in patients suffering from MPM.

Cryptogenic stroke and underlying atrial fibrillation.

Background: Current guidelines recommend at least 24 hours of electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring after an ischemic stroke to rule out atrial fibrillation. However, the most effective duration and type of monitoring have not been established, and the cause of ischemic stroke remains uncertain despite a complete diagnostic evaluation in 20 to 40% of cases (cryptogenic stroke). Detection of atrial fibrillation after cryptogenic stroke has therapeutic implications.

Species-specificity of the BamA component of the bacterial outer membrane protein-assembly machinery.

The BamA protein is the key component of the Bam complex, the assembly machinery for outer membrane proteins (OMP) in gram-negative bacteria. We previously demonstrated that BamA recognizes its OMP substrates in a species-specific manner in vitro. In this work, we further studied species specificity in vivo by testing the functioning of BamA homologs of the proteobacteria Neisseria meningitidis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Bordetella pertussis, Burkholderia mallei, and Escherichia coli in E.

Benign stenosis of the trachea.

Benign stenosis of trachea results mainly from tracheotomy, ventilation, or trauma. The combination of a defect of the mucosa or the tracheal wall and infection produce secondary scar tissue healing with shrinkage of the tracheal lumen or instability of the tracheal wall. Standard of treatment consists of resection of the pathologic segment of the trachea with end-to-end anastomosis.