Finding the rhythm: Humans exploit nonlinear intrinsic dynamics of compliant systems in periodic interaction tasks.

Activities like ball bouncing and trampoline jumping showcase the human ability to intuitively tune to system dynamics and excite motions that the system prefers intrinsically. This human sensitivity to resonance has been experimentally supported for interactions with simple linear systems but remains a challenge to validate in more complex scenarios where nonlinear dynamics cannot be predicted analytically. However, it has been found that many nonlinear systems exhibit periodic orbits similar to the eigenmodes of linear systems.

Safety and Feasibility of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in COVID-19 Patients: A Case Series.

In 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a decrease in interventional treatment for structural heart disease worldwide. In this context, the management of patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS) or bioprosthetic valve dysfunction (BVD) represents a clinical challenge, as a delay in aortic valve replacement procedures may increase short-term morbidity and mortality. We report four cases of TAVR performed in patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

The variety, terroir, and harvest types affect the yield and the phenolic and sterolic profiles of hemp seed oil.

In this work, considering the rising interest towards the exploitation of hemp seed oil in human nutrition, 45 hemp seeds from mono-variety fields were analyzed for their yield, oil content, in vitro antioxidant activity, followed by a comprehensive assessment of phenolic and sterolic composition. The results demonstrated that seed dimension is inversely correlated to total oil content, thus being a potential reference for quality assessment of seeds and for further improvement of hemp varieties. The UHPLC-QTOF metabolomic analysis revealed a large abundance of phytosterols, lower-molecular-weight phenolic acids, and lignanamides.

An alternative procedure to leukapheresis for peripheral hematopoietic progenitor cell collection in very-low-weight children: A single pediatric center experience.

Background: PBSC collection using a blood cell separator in very low weight patients can be frequently complicated by severe adverse effects and technical difficulties.

Material And Methods: From March 2013 to January 2017, 14 PBSC collections were performed in 12 children weighing less than 10 kg, affected by different solid tumours. PBSC collection was performed with a "homemade" aseptically assembled circuit.

Quantitative In Vivo Proteomics of Metformin Response in Liver Reveals AMPK-Dependent and -Independent Signaling Networks.

Metformin is the front-line treatment for type 2 diabetes worldwide. It acts via effects on glucose and lipid metabolism in metabolic tissues, leading to enhanced insulin sensitivity. Despite significant effort, the molecular basis for metformin response remains poorly understood, with a limited number of specific biochemical pathways studied to date.

Transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation for treatment of severe aortic regurgitation in a patient with previous aortic valve-sparing operation according to David.

The regurgitation of the native aortic valve in patient with previous David operation may represent a clinical challenge because the morbidity and mortality risk of re-operation is not negligible. Here we describe the case of a patient suffering from late severe aortic regurgitation, many years after David operation, efficaciously treated with transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of such treatment in a patient with aortic regurgitation and previous David operation.

∆F508 CFTR interactome remodelling promotes rescue of cystic fibrosis.

Deletion of phenylalanine 508 of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (∆F508 CFTR) is the major cause of cystic fibrosis, one of the most common inherited childhood diseases. The mutated CFTR anion channel is not fully glycosylated and shows minimal activity in bronchial epithelial cells of patients with cystic fibrosis. Low temperature or inhibition of histone deacetylases can partly rescue ∆F508 CFTR cellular processing defects and function.

Curation of the Mammalian Palmitoylome Indicates a Pivotal Role for Palmitoylation in Diseases and Disorders of the Nervous System and Cancers.

Palmitoylation involves the reversible posttranslational addition of palmitate to cysteines and promotes membrane binding and subcellular localization. Recent advancements in the detection and identification of palmitoylated proteins have led to multiple palmitoylation proteomics studies but these datasets are contained within large supplemental tables, making downstream analysis and data mining time-consuming and difficult. Consequently, we curated the data from 15 palmitoylation proteomics studies into one compendium containing 1,838 genes encoding palmitoylated proteins; representing approximately 10% of the genome.

Registro Absorb Italiano (BVS-RAI): an investigators-owned and -directed, open, prospective registry of consecutive patients treated with the Absorb™ BVS: study design.

Background: The Absorb™ BVS is a bioresorbable, everolimus-eluting scaffold approved and marketed for coronary use. Published data on long-term results after treatment are limited to a small number of patients, most of them with elective PCI of simple lesions. The importance of scaffold resorption is variably appreciated among cardiologists, and indications for use from health technology assessment bodies or guidelines are missing.

Co-nonsolvency of PNiPAM at the transition between solvation mechanisms.

We investigate the co-nonsolvency of poly-N-isopropyl acrylamide (PNiPAM) in different water-alcohol mixtures and show that this phenomenon is due to two distinct solvation contributions governing the phase behavior of PNiPAM in the water-rich and alcohol-rich regime respectively. While hydrophobic hydration is the predominant contribution governing the phase behavior of PNiPAM in the water-rich regime, the mixing contributions governing the phase behavior of classical polymer solutions determine the phase behavior of PNiPAM in the alcohol-rich regime. This is evidenced by distinct scaling relations denoting the energetic state of the aqueous medium as a key parameter for the phase behavior of PNiPAM in the water-rich regime, while the volume fractions of respectively water, alcohol and PNiPAM become relevant parameters in the alcohol-rich regime.

Secretome of the biocontrol agent metarhizium anisopliae induced by the cuticle of the cotton pest Dysdercus peruvianus reveals new insights into infection.

Metarhizium anisopliae is an entomopathogenic fungus that has evolved specialized strategies to infect insect hosts. Here we analyzed secreted proteins related to Dysdercus peruvianus infection. Using shotgun proteomics, abundance changes in 71 proteins were identified after exposure to host cuticle.

Hydrophobic hydration of poly-N-isopropyl acrylamide: a matter of the mean energetic state of water.

The enthalpically favoured hydration of hydrophobic entities, termed hydrophobic hydration, impacts the phase behaviour of numerous amphiphiles in water. Here, we show experimental evidence that hydrophobic hydration is strongly determined by the mean energetics of the aqueous medium. We investigate the aggregation and collapse of an amphiphilic polymer, poly-N-isopropyl acrylamide (PNiPAM), in aqueous solutions containing small amounts of alcohol and find that the thermodynamic characteristics defining the phase transitions of PNiPAM evolve relative to the solvent composition at which the excess mixing enthalpy of the water/alcohol mixtures becomes minimal.

Proteomic profile of Cryptococcus neoformans biofilm reveals changes in metabolic processes.

Cryptococcus neoformans, a pathogenic yeast, causes meningoencephalitis, especially in immunocompromised patients, leading in some cases to death. Microbes in biofilms can cause persistent infections, which are harder to treat. Cryptococcal biofilms are becoming common due to the growing use of brain valves and other medical devices.

An X-ray chamber for in situ structural studies of solvent-mediated nanoparticle self-assembly.

Spontaneous ordering of nanoparticles (NPs) occurring as a consequence of solvent evaporation can yield highly ordered and extended NP superlattices bearing both fundamental scientific interest and potential for technological application. A versatile experimental chamber has been developed allowing (i) controlled in situ deposition of NP solutions on solid substrates, (ii) rate-controlled evaporation of the bulk solvent, and (iii) adsorption/desorption of nano-thick solvent films onto preformed NP assemblies. Within this hermetically sealed chamber all the stages of self-assembly, including macroscopic solution evaporation, NP thin-film formation and its subsequent structural transformation induced by nano-thick solvent films, can be characterized in situ by X-ray scattering techniques.

Characterization of a novel angiogenic model based on stable, fluorescently labelled endothelial cell lines amenable to scale-up for high content screening.

Background: Blood vessel formation is important for many physiological and pathological processes and is therefore a critical target for drug development. Inhibiting angiogenesis to starve a tumour or promoting 'normalization' of tumour vasculature in order to facilitate delivery of anticancer drugs are both areas of active research. Recapitulation of vessel formation by human cells in vitro allows the investigation of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in a controlled environment and is therefore a crucial step in developing HCS (high content screening) and HTS (high throughput screening) assays to search for modulators of blood vessel formation.

Lentiviral vectors and protocols for creation of stable hESC lines for fluorescent tracking and drug resistance selection of cardiomyocytes.

Background: Developmental, physiological and tissue engineering studies critical to the development of successful myocardial regeneration therapies require new ways to effectively visualize and isolate large numbers of fluorescently labeled, functional cardiomyocytes.

Methodology/principal Findings: Here we describe methods for the clonal expansion of engineered hESCs and make available a suite of lentiviral vectors for that combine Blasticidin, Neomycin and Puromycin resistance based drug selection of pure populations of stem cells and cardiomyocytes with ubiquitous or lineage-specific promoters that direct expression of fluorescent proteins to visualize and track cardiomyocytes and their progenitors. The phospho-glycerate kinase (PGK) promoter was used to ubiquitously direct expression of histone-2B fused eGFP and mCherry proteins to the nucleus to monitor DNA content and enable tracking of cell migration and lineage.

Search algorithms as a framework for the optimization of drug combinations.

Combination therapies are often needed for effective clinical outcomes in the management of complex diseases, but presently they are generally based on empirical clinical experience. Here we suggest a novel application of search algorithms -- originally developed for digital communication -- modified to optimize combinations of therapeutic interventions. In biological experiments measuring the restoration of the decline with age in heart function and exercise capacity in Drosophila melanogaster, we found that search algorithms correctly identified optimal combinations of four drugs using only one-third of the tests performed in a fully factorial search.

Strut fracture: a further concern with drug-eluting stents.

A potential cause of drug-eluting stent restenosis is strut fracture. To date, few cases have been reported in the available literature and a best treatment method has not been established. We describe two cases of sirolimus-eluting stent fracture combined with focal restenosis and also review those previously reported.

Validation of a European standard for the determination of hexavalent chromium in solid material.

A European standard for the determination of Cr(vi) in solid material has been elaborated in the framework of an international co-operation and finally validated in the course of an interlaboratory comparison. The procedure is based on the alkaline digestion prescribed by EPA method 3060A followed by ion chromatography and determines an operationally defined content of Cr(vi), including water-soluble and insoluble chromates. A preliminary robustness study was carried out in order to compare different extraction methodologies and to study the equivalency of different analytical methods for the determination of Cr(vi) in alkaline extracts of soil and waste materials.

Selective control of the apoptosis signaling network in heterogeneous cell populations.

Background: Selective control in a population is the ability to control a member of the population while leaving the other members relatively unaffected. The concept of selective control is developed using cell death or apoptosis in heterogeneous cell populations as an example. Control of apoptosis is essential in a variety of therapeutic environments, including cancer where cancer cell death is a desired outcome and Alzheimer's disease where neuron survival is the desired outcome.

High-risk percutaneous coronary intervention using the intracardiac microaxial pump 'Impella recover'.

Patients with multivessel coronary artery disease and severe left ventricular dysfunction are considered to be at high risk for percutaneous coronary intervention, and often are poor surgical candidates because of severe comorbidity. We report a case of high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention in a 67-year-old man with a severe left ventricular dysfunction and three-vessel coronary artery disease using a novel left ventricular assist device.

Abnormal total ejection isovolume index as early noninvasive marker of chronic rejection in heart transplantation.

Abnormally high myocardial performance index (MPI) is a Doppler-derived marker of combined systolic and diastolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. To identify early stage allograft dysfunction by MPI, we studied 154 long-term heart transplantation (HT) recipients (131 male, aged 51 +/- 13 years at HT, mean follow up 8.4 +/- 3.

C2 is superior to C0 as predictor of renal toxicity and rejection risk profile in stable heart transplant recipients.

To assess whether cyclosporine A (CsA) 2-h peak (C2) is superior to trough levels (C0) for Neoral dose monitoring in heart transplantation (HT), we studied 928 C0-C2 paired determinations from 313 stable HT patients (257 male, aged 50 +/- 14 years at HT, follow-up 6.9 +/- 4 years), on a C0-based regimen. Our target C0 levels (ng/ml) were 150-400 (first 3 months), 150-300 (4-12 months), 100-250 (>12 months).