Diagnostic Performance of Kaiser score in MRI BI-RADS 3 Lesions: A Promising tool to reduce unnecessary biopsies.

Purpose: To evaluate the possibility of reducing unnecessary biopsies in patients with BI-RADS 3 lesions by implementing Kaiser score (KS).

Method: In this retrospective, single-center study, we included 79 female patients with BI-RADS 3 lesions and risk factors who underwent biopsy following magnetic resonance imaging. Three readers (two experienced breast radiologists and a radiology resident) blinded evaluated the lesions using KS.

Advancements in Cardiac CT Imaging: The Era of Artificial Intelligence.

In the last decade, artificial intelligence (AI) has influenced the field of cardiac computed tomography (CT), with its scope further enhanced by advanced methodologies such as machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL). The AI-driven techniques leverage large datasets to develop and train algorithms capable of making precise evaluations and predictions. The realm of cardiac CT is expanding day by day and multiple tools are offered to answer different questions.

Phage-Templated Synthesis of Targeted Photoactive 1D-Thiophene Nanoparticles.

Thiophene-based nanoparticles (TNPs) are promising therapeutic and imaging agents. Here, using an innovative phage-templated synthesis, a strategy able to bypass the current limitations of TNPs in nanomedicine applications is proposed. The phage capsid is decorated with oligothiophene derivatives, transforming the virus in a 1D-thiophene nanoparticle (1D-TNP).

Unraveling the molecular determinants of a rare human mitochondrial disorder caused by the P144L mutation of FDX2.

Episodic mitochondrial myopathy with or without optic atrophy and reversible leukoencephalopathy (MEOAL) is a rare, orphan autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in ferredoxin-2 (FDX2), which is a [2Fe-2S] cluster-binding protein participating in the formation of iron-sulfur clusters in mitochondria. In this biosynthetic pathway, FDX2 works as electron donor to promote the assembly of both [2Fe-2S] and [4Fe-4S] clusters. A recently identified missense mutation of MEOAL is the homozygous mutation c.

BioID-based intact cell interactome of the Kv1.3 potassium channel identifies a Kv1.3-STAT3-p53 cellular signaling pathway.

Kv1.3 is a multifunctional potassium channel implicated in multiple pathologies, including cancer. However, how it is involved in disease progression is not fully clear.

Biomimetic Plasmonic Nanophages by Head/Tail Self-Assembling: Gold Nanoparticle/Virus Interactions.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), because of their dual plasmonic and catalytic functionalities, are among the most promising nanomaterials for the development of therapeutic and diagnostic tools for severe diseases such as cancer and neurodegeneration. Bacteriophages, massively present in human biofluids, are emerging as revolutionary biotechnological tools as they can be engineered to display multiple specific binding moieties, providing effective targeting ability, high stability, low cost, and sustainable production. Coupling AuNPs with phages can lead to an advanced generation of nanotools with great potential for biomedical applications.

Cardiac magnetic resonance in advanced heart failure.

Heart failure (HF) is a chronic and progressive disease that often progresses to an advanced stage where conventional therapy is insufficient to relieve patients' symptoms. Despite the availability of advanced therapies such as mechanical circulatory support or heart transplantation, the complexity of defining advanced HF, which requires multiple parameters and multimodality assessment, often leads to delays in referral to dedicated specialists with the result of a worsening prognosis. In this review, we aim to explore the role of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in advanced HF by showing how CMR is useful at every step in managing these patients: from diagnosis to prognostic stratification, hemodynamic evaluation, follow-up and advanced therapies such as heart transplantation.

Molecular engineering of a spheroid-penetrating phage nanovector for photodynamic treatment of colon cancer cells.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) represents an emerging strategy to treat various malignancies, including colorectal cancer (CC), the third most common cancer type. This work presents an engineered M13 phage retargeted towards CC cells through pentavalent display of a disulfide-constrained peptide nonamer. The M13 nanovector was conjugated with the photosensitizer Rose Bengal (RB), and the photodynamic anticancer effects of the resulting M13-RB bioconjugate were investigated on CC cells.

Searching for Frataxin Function: Exploring the Analogy with Nqo15, the Frataxin-like Protein of Respiratory Complex I from .

Nqo15 is a subunit of respiratory complex I of the bacterium , with strong structural similarity to human frataxin (FXN), a protein involved in the mitochondrial disease Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA). Recently, we showed that the expression of recombinant Nqo15 can ameliorate the respiratory phenotype of FRDA patients' cells, and this prompted us to further characterize both the Nqo15 solution's behavior and its potential functional overlap with FXN, using a combination of in silico and in vitro techniques. We studied the analogy of Nqo15 and FXN by performing extensive database searches based on sequence and structure.

Ceftazidime-Avibactam Improves Outcomes in High-Risk Neutropenic Patients with Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacterales Bacteremia.

Few studies have evaluated the efficacy of ceftazidime-avibactam (CA) for carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales bacteremia (KPC-PEB) in high-risk neutropenic patients. This is a prospective multicenter observational study in high-risk neutropenic patients with multi-drug resistant Enterobacterales bacteremia. They were compared according to the resistance mechanism and definitive treatment provided: KPC-CPE treated with CA (G1), KPC-CPE treated with other antibiotics (G2), and patients with ESBL-producing Enterobacterales bacteremia who received appropriate definitive therapy (G3).

Human frataxin, the Friedreich ataxia deficient protein, interacts with mitochondrial respiratory chain.

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is a rare, inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by an expanded GAA repeat in the first intron of the FXN gene, leading to transcriptional silencing and reduced expression of frataxin. Frataxin participates in the mitochondrial assembly of FeS clusters, redox cofactors of the respiratory complexes I, II and III. To date it is still unclear how frataxin deficiency culminates in the decrease of bioenergetics efficiency in FRDA patients' cells.

A modular phage vector platform for targeted photodynamic therapy of Gram-negative bacterial pathogens.

Growing antibiotic resistance has encouraged the revival of phage-inspired antimicrobial approaches. On the other hand, photodynamic therapy (PDT) is considered a very promising research domain for the protection against infectious diseases. Yet, very few efforts have been made to combine the advantages of both approaches in a modular, retargetable platform.

Early patello-femoral condropathy assessment through quantitative analyses via T2 mapping magnetic resonance after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Background: Patellar femoral chondropathy (FPC) is a common problem in patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R) surgery, which, if left untreated, predisposes to arthrosis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the non-invasive gold standard for morphological evaluation of cartilage, while in recent years advanced MRI techniques (such as T2 mapping) have been developed to detect early cartilage biochemical changes. This study evaluates the different onset of early PFC between B-TP-B and HT through T2 mapping.

The Non-Invasive Diagnosis of Chronic Coronary Syndrome: A Focus on Stress Computed Tomography Perfusion and Stress Cardiac Magnetic Resonance.

Coronary artery disease is still a major cause of death and morbidity worldwide. In the setting of chronic coronary disease, demonstration of inducible ischemia is mandatory to address treatment. Consequently, scientific and technological efforts were made in response to the request for non-invasive diagnostic tools with better sensitivity and specificity.

Development of a Clinical Score to Stratify the Risk for Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales Bacteremia in Patients with Cancer and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Identifying the risk factors for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) bacteremia in cancer and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients would allow earlier initiation of an appropriate empirical antibiotic treatment. This is a prospective multicenter observational study in patients from 12 centers in Argentina, who presented with cancer or hematopoietic stem-cell transplant and developed Enterobacterales bacteremia. A multiple logistic regression model identified risk factors for CRE bacteremia, and a score was developed according to the regression coefficient.

Light-Enhanced Cytotoxicity of Doxorubicin by Photoactivation.

The combination of photodynamic therapy with chemotherapy (photochemotherapy, PCT) can lead to additive or synergistic antitumor effects. Usually, two different molecules, a photosensitizer (PS) and a chemotherapeutic drug are used in PCT. Doxorubicin is one of the most successful chemotherapy drugs.

Carrying Temoporfin with Human Serum Albumin: A New Perspective for Photodynamic Application in Head and Neck Cancer.

Temoporfin (mTHPC) is approved in Europe for the photodynamic treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Although it has a promising profile, its lipophilic character hampers the full exploitation of its potential due to high tendency of aggregation and a reduced ROS generation that compromise photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy. Moreover, for its clinical administration, mTHPC requires the presence of ethanol and propylene glycol as solvents, often causing adverse effects in the site of injection.