Objectives: An increasing incidence of positive blood cultures has been reported in several countries. This represents an important challenge for public health due to the large number of hospital admissions with high mortality among these patients. This study aims to characterize the epidemiology and mortality associated with positive blood cultures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is a lack of knowledge on effective treatment methods for comorbid benzodiazepine dependence in populations undergoing opioid agonist treatment (OAT). Tapering and discontinuation of benzodiazepines has long been considered the standard treatment, even though there is limited evidence for this practice. There is also limited research on benzodiazepine agonist treatment; however, peer and clinical experiences indicate that such approaches may be beneficial for a subgroup of the patients with long-lasting benzodiazepine dependence not responding to other treatment approaches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransglutaminases (TGases) are enzymes highly conserved among prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, where their role is to catalyze protein cross-linking. One of the putative TGases of has previously been shown to be localized to the cell wall. Based on sequence similarity we were able to identify six more genes annotated as putative TGases and show that these seven genes group together in phylogenetic analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCD163, a macrophage-specific receptor, plays a critical role in scavenging hemoglobin released during hemolysis, protecting against oxidative effects of heme iron. In the bloodstream, hemoglobin is bound by haptoglobin, leading to its immediate endocytosis by CD163. While haptoglobin's structure and function are well understood, CD163's structure and its interaction with the haptoglobin-hemoglobin complex have remained elusive.
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