On the genetics of malaria parasites, a memoir: Part II, the diversity and phylogeny of the rodent malaria parasites.

In this abbreviated extract of his memoirs of a life in malaria research, Richard Carter (1945-2021) describes the expansion and genetic characterisation of the rodent malaria parasite collection in Edinburgh, culminating in the description of four species, Plasmodium yoelii, Plasmodium berghei, Plasmodium chabaudi and Plasmodium vinckei, and the separation of these into multiple sub-species. The origins of the use of P. chabaudi for the investigation of the genetic determinants of drug resistance in malaria parasites is discussed.

Extended Tourniquet Times and the Impact on Wound Healing in Foot Surgery.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of tourniquet time less than or in excess of 120 minutes on foot surgery wound healing.

Null Hypothesis: A tourniquet time of over 120 minutes will not affect wound healing in foot surgery.

Design, Setting, Participants And Method: A retrospective comparative cohort analysis was performed on 96 patients undergoing complex hindfoot surgery in a large central teaching hospital.

On the genetics of malaria parasites, a memoir: Part III, Genetic crossing in human malaria parasites.

In this abbreviated extract of his memoirs of a life in malaria research, Richard Carter (1945-2021) describes the history of the first genetic cross with the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. This work followed on from Richard's initial involvement in the establishment of the field of malaria parasite genetics using the malaria parasites of rodents, the history of which is recounted in Parts I [1] and II [2] of this series. EDITORS' NOTE: This manuscript is an abridged excerpt from Richard Carter's first volume of memoirs describing his career in malaria research.

Sex Differences in the Impact of Aortic Valve Calcium Score on Mortality After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is now an approved alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement for the treatment of severe aortic stenosis. As the clinical adoption of TAVR expands, it remains important to identify predictors of mortality after TAVR. We aimed to evaluate the impact of sex differences in aortic valve calcium score (AVCS) on long-term mortality following TAVR in a large patient sample.

On the genetics of malaria parasites, a memoir: Part I, rodent malaria parasites and the first genetic crosses.

In this abbreviated extract of his memoirs of a life in malaria research, Richard Carter (1945-2021) describes the beginnings of malaria parasite genetics research at Edinburgh university, culminating in the first laboratory genetic cross between two strains of malaria parasites. EDITORS' NOTE: This manuscript is an abridged excerpt from Richard Carter's first volume of memoirs describing his career in malaria research. Both volumes, the first concerning malaria parasite genetics, the second focussing on transmission and transmission blocking, are housed in the Wellcome Collection, London [1,2].

Differential Antivenom and Small-Molecule Inhibition of Novel Coagulotoxic Variations in and American Viperid Snake Venoms.

Within Neotropical pit-vipers, the Mexican/Central-American clade consisting of , , , and is a wide-ranging, morphologically and ecologically diverse group of snakes. Despite their prevalence, little is known of the functional aspects of their venoms. This study aimed to fill the knowledge gap regarding coagulotoxic effects and to examine the potential of different therapeutic approaches.

A secretory form of Parkin-independent mitophagy contributes to the repertoire of extracellular vesicles released into the tumour interstitial fluid in vivo.

We characterized the in vivo interstitial fluid (IF) content of extracellular vesicles (EVs) using the GFP-4T1 syngeneic murine cancer model to study EVs in-transit to the draining lymph node. GFP labelling confirmed the IF EV tumour cell origin. Molecular analysis revealed an abundance of IF EV-associated proteins specifically involved in mitophagy and secretory autophagy.

Polymer Skulls With Integrated Transparent Electrode Arrays for Cortex-Wide Opto-Electrophysiological Recordings.

Electrophysiology and optical imaging provide complementary neural sensing capabilities - electrophysiological recordings have high temporal resolution, while optical imaging allows recording of genetically-defined populations at high spatial resolution. Combining these two modalities for simultaneous large-scale, multimodal sensing of neural activity across multiple brain regions can be very powerful. Here, transparent, inkjet-printed electrode arrays with outstanding optical and electrical properties are seamlessly integrated with morphologically conformant transparent polymer skulls.

Diagnosis of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction Among Patients With Unexplained Dyspnea.

Importance: Diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) among dyspneic patients without overt congestion is challenging. Multiple diagnostic approaches have been proposed but are not well validated against the independent gold standard for HFpEF diagnosis of an elevated pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) during exercise.

Objective: To evaluate H2FPEF and HFA-PEFF scores and a PCWP/cardiac output (CO) slope of more than 2 mm Hg/L/min to diagnose HFpEF.

The Pitfalls of Mining for QuantiFERON Gold in Severely Ill Patients With COVID-19.

Objective: To assess the proportion of indeterminate QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) results in patients admitted for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia and evaluate the factors associated with indeterminate QFT-Plus results.

Patients And Methods: Data on COVID-19 admissions at Mayo Clinic in Florida were extracted between October 13, 2020, and September 20, 2021, and data from a prepandemic cohort were extracted between October 13, 2018, and September 20, 2019. A secondary analysis of the COVID-19 cohort was performed using gradient boosting modeling to generate variable importance and SHapley Additive exPlanations plots.

Individualized and Generalized Learner Models for Predicting Missed Hepatic Metastases.

The diagnostic performance of radiologist readers exhibits substantial variation that cannot be explained by CT acquisition protocol differences. Studying reader detectability from CT images may help identify why certain types of lesions are missed by multiple or specific readers. Ten subspecialized abdominal radiologists marked all suspected metastases in a multi-reader-multi-case study of 102 deidentified contrast-enhanced CT liver scans at multiple radiation dose levels.

Structural and Morphological Analysis of the First Alloy/Dealloy of a Bulk Si-Li System at Elevated Temperature.

There have been tremendous improvements in the field of Si electrode materials, either by nanoscale or composite routes, and though silicon-containing carbon electrode materials have begun to penetrate the marketplace, the commercial capacities achieved by these cells still fall short of the promise of high capacity Si electrodes. Enabling a cheaper feedstock of Si in the bulk form would make this technology more accessible, though there are many challenges that must be overcome. Whereas other methods utilize nanomaterials and composites to overcome volume expansion and pulverization of a Si electrode, this study explores a thermal route to enable the use of carbon-free bulk Si.

Prospective cohort study reveals unexpected aetiologies of livestock abortion in northern Tanzania.

Livestock abortion is an important cause of productivity losses worldwide and many infectious causes of abortion are zoonotic pathogens that impact on human health. Little is known about the relative importance of infectious causes of livestock abortion in Africa, including in subsistence farming communities that are critically dependent on livestock for food, income, and wellbeing. We conducted a prospective cohort study of livestock abortion, supported by cross-sectional serosurveillance, to determine aetiologies of livestock abortions in livestock in Tanzania.

The relative efficacy of chemically diverse small-molecule enzyme-inhibitors against anticoagulant activities of Black Snake (Pseudechis spp.) venoms.

Snakebite remains a worldwide public health burden and a severely neglected tropical disease. Recent research has begun to focus on the potential use of repurposed small-molecule enzyme-inhibitors as early treatments to neutralise the effects of snake venoms. Black snakes (Pseudechis spp.

Diagnostic Performance in Low- and High-Contrast Tasks of an Image-Based Denoising Algorithm Applied to Radiation Dose-Reduced Multiphase Abdominal CT Examinations.

Anatomic redundancy between phases can be used to achieve denoising of multiphase CT examinations. A limitation of iterative reconstruction (IR) techniques is that they generally require use of CT projection data. A frequency-split multi-band-filtration algorithm applies denoising to the multiphase CT images themselves.

Retinoic acid promotes fibrinolysis and may regulate polyp formation.

Background: Patients with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) regularly exhibit severe nasal polyposis. Studies suggest that chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is characterized by excessive fibrin deposition associated with a profound decrease in epithelial tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). Retinoids, including vitamin A and its active metabolite retinoic acid (RA), are necessary for maintaining epithelial function and well-known inducers of tPA in endothelial cells.

Estimating the Clinical Impact of Photon-Counting-Detector CT in Diagnosing Usual Interstitial Pneumonia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical impact of a higher spatial resolution, full field-of-view investigational photon-counting detector computed tomography (PCD-CT) on radiologist confidence in imaging findings and diagnosis of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) compared with conventional energy-integrating detector CT (EID-CT).

Materials And Methods: Patients suspected of interstitial lung disease were scanned on a PCD-CT system after informed consent and a clinically indicated EID-CT. In 2 sessions, 3 thoracic radiologists blinded to clinical history and scanner type evaluated CT images of the right and left lungs separately on EID- or PCD-CT, reviewing each lung once/session, rating confidence in imaging findings of reticulation, traction bronchiectasis, honeycombing, ground-glass opacities (GGOs), mosaic pattern, and lower lobe predominance (100-point scale: 0-33, likely absent; 34-66, indeterminate; 67-100, likely present).

Multiparametric High-Content Cell Painting Identifies Copper Ionophores as Selective Modulators of Esophageal Cancer Phenotypes.

Esophageal adenocarcinoma is of increasing global concern due to increasing incidence, a lack of effective treatments, and poor prognosis. Therapeutic target discovery and clinical trials have been hindered by the heterogeneity of the disease, the lack of "druggable" driver mutations, and the dominance of large-scale genomic rearrangements. We have previously undertaken a comprehensive small-molecule phenotypic screen using the high-content Cell Painting assay to quantify the morphological response to a total of 19,555 small molecules across a panel of genetically distinct human esophageal cell lines to identify new therapeutic targets and small molecules for the treatment of esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Beyond the BMI: Validity and Practicality of Postpartum Body Composition Assessment Methods during Lactation: A Scoping Review.

The assessment of body composition during lactation is an important indicator of maternal nutritional status, which is central to the overall health of the mother and child. The lactating woman's nutritional status potentially impacts on breastmilk composition and the process of lactation itself. The purpose of this scoping review was to synthesize comparative studies that sought to validate various body composition assessment techniques for use in lactating women in the postpartum period.

A 25-reader performance study for hepatic metastasis detection: lessons from unsupervised learning.

There is substantial variability in the performance of radiologist readers. We hypothesized that certain readers may have idiosyncratic weaknesses towards certain types of lesions, and unsupervised learning techniques might identify these patterns. After IRB approval, 25 radiologist readers (9 abdominal subspecialists and 16 non-specialists or trainees) read 40 portal phase liver CT exams, marking all metastases and providing a confidence rating on a scale of 1 to 100.