Raman microscopy allows to follow internalization, subcellular accumulation and fate of iron oxide nanoparticles in cells.

An important issue in the context of both potenial toxicity of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONP) and their medical applications is tracking of the internalization process of these nanomaterials into living cells, as well as their localization and fate within them. The typical methods used for this purpose are transmission electron microscopy, confocal fluorescence microscopy as well as light-scattering techniques including dark-field microscopy and flow cytometry. All the techniques mentioned have their advantages and disadvantages.

Mechanisms of mitotic inhibition in human aorta endothelial cells: Molecular and morphological in vitro spectroscopic studies.

Mitotic inhibitors are drugs commonly used in chemotherapy, but their nonspecific and indiscriminate distribution throughout the body after intravenous administration can lead to serious side effects, particularly on the cardiovascular system. In this context, our investigation into the mechanism of the cytotoxic effects on endothelial cells of mitotic inhibitors widely used in cancer treatment, such as paclitaxel (also known as Taxol) and Vinca alkaloids, holds significant practical implications. Understanding these mechanisms can lead to more targeted and less harmful cancer treatments.

Publishing negative results is good for science.

Scientists face challenges in publishing negative results, because most scientific journals are biassed in accepting positive and novel findings. Despite their importance, negative results often go unpublished, leading to duplication of efforts, biassed meta-analyses, and ethical concerns regarding animal and human studies. In this light, the initiative by to collect and publish negative results in the field of microbiology is a very important and valuable contribution towards unbiassed science.

Rookery through rehabilitation: Microbial community assembly in newborn harbour seals after maternal separation.

Microbial community assembly remains largely unexplored in marine mammals, despite its potential importance for conservation and management. Here, neonatal microbiota assembly was studied in harbour seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) at a rehabilitation facility soon after maternal separation, through weaning, to the time of release back to their native environment. We found that the gingival and rectal communities of rehabilitated harbour seals were distinct from the microbiotas of formula and pool water, and became increasingly diverse and dissimilar over time, ultimately resembling the gingival and rectal communities of local wild harbour seals.

Correction of scientific literature: Too little, too late!

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the limitations of the current scientific publication system, in which serious post-publication concerns are often addressed too slowly to be effective. In this Perspective, we offer suggestions to improve academia's willingness and ability to correct errors in an appropriate time frame.

Do individual and institutional predictors of misconduct vary by country? Results of a matched-control analysis of problematic image duplications.

Pressures to publish, perverse incentives, financial interest and gender are amongst the most commonly discussed risk factors for scientific misconduct. However, evidence of their association with actual data fabrication and falsification is inconclusive. A recent case-controlled analysis of articles containing problematic image duplications suggested that country of affiliation of first and last authors is a significant predictor of scientific misconduct.

Raman and fluorescence imaging of phospholipidosis induced by cationic amphiphilic drugs in endothelial cells.

Cationic amphiphilic drugs (CADs) are known from lysosomotropism, drug-induced phospholipidosis (DIPL), activation of autophagy, and decreased cell viability, but the relationship between these events is not clear and little is known about DIPL in the endothelium. In this work, the effects of fluoxetine, amiodarone, clozapine, and risperidone on human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) were studied using a combined methodology of label-free Raman imaging and fluorescence staining. Raman spectroscopy was applied to characterize biochemical changes in lipid profile and their distribution in the cellular compartments, while fluorescence staining (LysoTracker, LipidTOX, LC3B, and JC-1) was used to analyze lysosome volume expansion, activation of autophagy, lipid accumulation, and mitochondrial membrane depolarization.

Outcome of pregnancy in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Background: Data on the clinical course of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) during pregnancy remain scarce. Herein, we assessed the maternal and fetal outcomes of pregnancy in this condition.

Methods: We reviewed 104 consecutive female outpatients with PSC using a structured questionnaire.

Chloroquine-Induced Accumulation of Autophagosomes and Lipids in the Endothelium.

Chloroquine (CQ) is an antimalarial drug known to inhibit autophagy flux by impairing autophagosome-lysosome fusion. We hypothesized that autophagy flux altered by CQ has a considerable influence on the lipid composition of endothelial cells. Thus, we investigated endothelial responses induced by CQ on human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1).

Lipid droplets in mammalian eggs are utilized during embryonic diapause.

Embryonic diapause (ED) is a temporary arrest of an embryo at the blastocyst stage when it waits for the uterine receptivity signal to implant. ED used by over 100 species may also occur in normally "nondiapausing" mammals when the uterine receptivity signal is blocked or delayed. A large number of lipid droplets (LDs) are stored throughout the preimplantation embryo development, but the amount of lipids varies greatly across different mammalian species.

Fixed versus live endothelial cells: The effect of glutaraldehyde fixation manifested by characteristic bands on the Raman spectra of cells.

This work shows an impact of glutaraldehyde (GA) fixation on endothelial cells. Raman spectroscopy imaging was used as a method to monitor biochemical content of the cells due to GA fixation since this is an approach frequently used for studying cells by means of Raman imaging. To get a deeper insight into the changes and to understand them better the measurements of live and fixed cells were performed using two lasers, i.

Lipid Droplet Composition Varies Based on Medaka Fish Eggs Development as Revealed by NIR-, MIR-, and Raman Imaging.

In fertilized fish eggs, lipids are an energy reservoir for the embryo development and substrate for organogenesis. They occur in the cytoplasmic area and form lipid droplets (LDs), but also the yolk egg is composed of lipids and proteins. Insight on the LD formation and distribution and their interactions with other cellular organelles could provide information about the role based on the egg development.

Reduced Gut Microbiome Diversity and Metabolome Differences in Rhinoceros Species at Risk for Iron Overload Disorder.

Iron overload disorder (IOD) affects many wildlife species cared for . Two of the four rhinoceros species in human care, Sumatran rhinoceros () and black rhinoceros (), are susceptible, whereas the other two, white rhinoceros () and greater one-horned (GOH) rhinoceros (), are relatively resistant to IOD. Complex interrelationships exist between mammalian hosts, their indigenous gut microbiota, metabolome, physical condition, and iron availability.

A novel sequencing-based vaginal health assay combining self-sampling, HPV detection and genotyping, STI detection, and vaginal microbiome analysis.

The composition of the vaginal microbiome, including both the presence of pathogens involved in sexually transmitted infections (STI) as well as commensal microbiota, has been shown to have important associations for a woman's reproductive and general health. Currently, healthcare providers cannot offer comprehensive vaginal microbiome screening, but are limited to the detection of individual pathogens, such as high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV), the predominant cause of cervical cancer. There is no single test on the market that combines HPV, STI, and microbiome screening.

Relevance of Preoperative Hyperbilirubinemia in Patients Undergoing Hepatobiliary Resection for Hilar Cholangiocarcinoma.

Preoperative hyperbilirubinemia is known to increase the risk of mortality and morbidity in patients undergoing resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma. The aim of this study was to characterize the associations between the preoperative bilirubin concentration and the risk of postoperative mortality and severe complications to guide decision-making regarding preoperative biliary drainage. Eighty-one patients undergoing liver and bile duct resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma between 2005 and 2015 were analyzed retrospectively.

Correction: 16S rRNA gene sequencing and healthy reference ranges for 28 clinically relevant microbial taxa from the human gut microbiome.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

The role of a sequencing-based clinical intestinal screening test in patients at high-risk for Clostridium difficile and other pathogens: a case report.

Background: Hospitalization and antibiotic treatment can put patients at high risk for Clostridium difficile infection, where a disturbance of the gut microbiome allows for Clostridium difficile proliferation and associated symptoms, including mild, moderate, or severe diarrhea. Clostridium difficile infection is challenging to treat, often recurrent, and leads to almost 30,000 annual deaths in the USA alone. Here we present a case where SmartGut™, an at-home, self-administered sequencing-based clinical intestinal screening test, was used to identify the presence of Clostridium difficile in a patient with worsening diarrhea.

Impact of Donor Risk Index on Risk of Hepatic Artery Thrombosis in Patients After Orthotopic Liver Transplantation.

Background: Hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) is one of the most severe complications after liver transplantation (LT). HAT can lead to early graft loss and retransplantation or death of the recipient.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from patients treated between January 2008 and December 2013 in the Department of General, Transplant and Liver Surgery at the Medical University of Warsaw.