Affinity of Malassezia and Other Yeasts for Pulmonary Lipids.

Pulmonary surfactant, the primary substance lining the epithelium of the human Lower Respiratory Tract (LRT), is rich in lipids, with dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) being the most abundant. Although surfactants are known to have antifungal activity against some yeast species, the significant presence of species like Malassezia restricta in the lung mycobiome suggests that these yeasts may exhibit some level of lipo-tolerance or even lipo-affinity for pulmonary lipids. This study explored the affinity and tolerance of yeasts, identified as significant members of the lung microbiome, to pulmonary lipids through culture-based methods.

Complete combinatorial mutational enumeration of a protein functional site enables sequence-landscape mapping and identifies highly-mutated variants that retain activity.

Understanding how proteins evolve under selective pressure is a longstanding challenge. The immensity of the search space has limited efforts to systematically evaluate the impact of multiple simultaneous mutations, so mutations have typically been assessed individually. However, epistasis, or the way in which mutations interact, prevents accurate prediction of combinatorial mutations based on measurements of individual mutations.

A concept for international societally relevant microbiology education and microbiology knowledge promulgation in society.

Executive Summary: Microbes are all pervasive in their distribution and influence on the functioning and well-being of humans, life in general and the planet. Microbially-based technologies contribute hugely to the supply of important goods and services we depend upon, such as the provision of food, medicines and clean water. They also offer mechanisms and strategies to mitigate and solve a wide range of problems and crises facing humanity at all levels, including those encapsulated in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) formulated by the United Nations.

Relationship of depression with empathy, emotional intelligence, and symptoms of a weakened immune system.

Introduction: Previous studies have used different individual scales to examine the relationship of depression with emotional intelligence, empathy, and immune-based diseases. In this study, we used a combination of psychometric scales to examine the relationships of depression with emotional intelligence (intrapersonal and interpersonal), empathy (affective and cognitive), and symptoms of weakened immune system.

Methods: This cross-sectional prospective study examined 158 volunteers (39 males and 119 females).

First report on mycetoma in Turkana County-North-western Kenya.

Mycetoma is one of the six Neglected Tropical Diseases that are prevalent in Turkana County (northwest Kenya). The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of mycetoma in the county, as well as to describe the main causative agents involved in the disease using methods affordable locally. Based on the data collected by the team of cooperative medicine Cirugia en Turkana (Surgery in Turkana), a specific study for mycetoma was started during the 16th humanitarian medicine campaign in February 2019.

Rapid quantification of 3D ultrasound fields with wavefront sensing and Schlieren tomography.

The rapid and precise characterization of three-dimensional (3D) pressure fields inside water is paramount for ultrasound (US) applications in fields as relevant as biomedicine and acoustic trapping. The most conventional way is to scan point-by-point a needle hydrophone across the field of interest, which is an intrinsically invasive and slow process. With typical acquisition times of hours and even days, this method remains impractical in many realistic scenarios.

[F]F13640: a selective agonist PET radiopharmaceutical for imaging functional 5-HT receptors in humans.

Purpose: F13640 (a.k.a.

Complete Combinatorial Mutational Enumeration of a protein functional site enables sequence-landscape mapping and identifies highly-mutated variants that retain activity.

Understanding how proteins evolve under selective pressure is a longstanding challenge. The immensity of the search space has limited efforts to systematically evaluate the impact of multiple simultaneous mutations, so mutations have typically been assessed individually. However, epistasis, or the way in which mutations interact, prevents accurate prediction of combinatorial mutations based on measurements of individual mutations.

SARS-Cov-2 incubation period according to vaccination status during the fifth COVID-19 wave in a tertiary-care center in Spain: a cohort study.

Background: The incubation period of an infectious disease is defined as the elapsed time between the exposure to the pathogen and the onset of symptoms. Although both the mRNA-based and the adenoviral vector-based vaccines have shown to be effective, there have been raising concerns regarding possible decreases in vaccine effectiveness for new variants and variations in the incubation period.

Methods: We conducted a unicentric observational study at the Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Barcelona, using a structured telephone survey performed by trained interviewers to estimate the incubation period of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant in a cohort of Spanish hospitalized patients.

Medical students' experiences of compulsory rural service in Guatemala: a qualitative study.

Introduction: Compulsory rural service is one method of addressing limitations in health care access in marginalized areas of low- and middle-income countries, including Guatemala. This study aimed to explore Guatemalan medical students' experiences of compulsory rural service and the impact of rural service on their professional development.

Methods: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 medical school graduates who completed compulsory rural service between 2012 and 2017.

D1/5 dopamine receptors are necessary for learning a novel context.

Dopamine participates in encoding memories and could either encode rewarding/aversive value of unconditioned stimuli or act as a novelty signal triggering contextual learning. Here we show that intraperitoneal injection of the dopamine D1/5R antagonist SCH23390 impairs contextual fear conditioning and tone-shock association, while intrahippocampal injection only impairs contextual fear conditioning. By using the context pre-exposure facilitation effect test, we show that SCH23390 is able to block the encoding of the context during the pre-exposure phase.

Detection of ISUP ≥2 prostate cancers using multiparametric MRI: prospective multicentre assessment of the non-inferiority of an artificial intelligence system as compared to the PI-RADS V.2.1 score (CHANGE study).

Introduction: Prostate multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) has shown good sensitivity in detecting cancers with an International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade of ≥2. However, it lacks specificity, and its inter-reader reproducibility remains moderate. Biomarkers, such as the Prostate Health Index (PHI), may help select patients for prostate biopsy.

Computing the daily reproduction number of COVID-19 by inverting the renewal equation using a variational technique.

The COVID-19 pandemic has undergone frequent and rapid changes in its local and global infection rates, driven by governmental measures or the emergence of new viral variants. The reproduction number indicates the average number of cases generated by an infected person at time and is a key indicator of the spread of an epidemic. A timely estimation of is a crucial tool to enable governmental organizations to adapt quickly to these changes and assess the consequences of their policies.

Exposure to particulate matter: Direct and indirect role in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Knowing the transmission factors and the natural environment that favor the spread of a viral infection is crucial to stop outbreaks and develop effective preventive strategies. This work aims to evaluate the role of Particulate Matter (PM) in the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing especially on that of PM as a vector for SARS-CoV-2. Exposure to PM has been related to new cases and to the clinical severity of people infected by SARS-CoV-2, which can be explained by the oxidative stress and the inflammatory response generated by these particles when entering the respiratory system, as well as by the role of PM in the expression of ACE-2 in respiratory cells in human hosts.

Sizing the Depth and Width of Narrow Cracks in Real Parts by Laser-Spot Lock-In Thermography.

We present a complete characterization of the width and depth of a very narrow fatigue crack developed in an Al-alloy dog bone plate using laser-spot lock-in thermography. Unlike visible micrographs, which show many surface scratches, the thermographic image clearly identifies the presence of a single crack about 1.5 mm long.

causing cryptococcoma of the beak of an African grey parrot (), Portugal.

We report a severe case of rhinothecal cryptococcoma in a 13-year-old female African Grey Parrot (). The bird was born and bred in captivity in Portugal. The beak was deformed and showed several round soft masses, and microscopic examination revealed the presence of cells suggestive for .

Paediatric teams in front of childhood obesity: A qualitative study within the STOP project.

Introduction: Understanding the underlying factors that influence the approach to overweight and obesity in children is basic to best support families searching a solution to this important public health problem.

Objective: To assess attitudes and feelings of paediatric staff in addressing overweight and childhood obesity to parents, exploring perceived barriers and facilitators, for an effective care.

Participants And Method: Qualitative study by means of individual semi-structured questionnaires of paediatric staff (paediatricians and paediatrician nurses; n = 57; 68% female) of primary health care centres and hospitals in Mallorca.

Forgery Detection in Digital Images by Multi-Scale Noise Estimation.

A complex processing chain is applied from the moment a raw image is acquired until the final image is obtained. This process transforms the originally Poisson-distributed noise into a complex noise model. Noise inconsistency analysis is a rich source for forgery detection, as forged regions have likely undergone a different processing pipeline or out-camera processing.

Successful Isavuconazole Salvage Therapy for a Cryptococcus deuterogattii (AFLP6/VGII) Disseminated Infection in a European Immunocompetent Patient.

Members of the Cryptococcus gattii species complex are notorious causes of cryptococcosis as they often cause severe, life-threatening infections. Here we describe a case of a severe disseminated C. deuterogattii infection in a previously healthy patient who was initially treated with amphotericin B, 5-fluorocytosine and fluconazole, which led to a good neurological response, but the infection in the lungs remained unaltered and was not completely resolved until switching the antifungal therapy to isavuconazole.

Nutritional Status and Implementation of a Nutritional Education Program in Young Female Artistic Gymnasts.

Adolescent high-performance gymnasts are considered to be at risk for low energy intake. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of implementing a nutritional education program during the sports season on the nutritional status and nutrition knowledge of the female artistic gymnasts from the Technification Center of the Balearic Islands (n = 24; age, 14.1 ± 2.