Disseminated histoplasmosis and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in a patient receiving TNF-alpha inhibitor therapy.

Histoplasmosis commonly presents as an asymptomatic or self-limited infection in immunocompetent patients, but immunocompromised hosts may present with severe and disseminated disease. Herein, we present a 26-year-old male with history of ulcerative colitis receiving long-term TNF-alpha inhibitor therapy who presented with six months of diarrhea and recently fever and hematochezia. On admission, he was febrile and hypotensive, with initial workup revealing pancytopenia and imaging reporting pulmonary infiltrates, pancolitis, and enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes.

A large scale multi-laboratory suspect screening of pesticide metabolites in human biomonitoring: From tentative annotations to verified occurrences.

Within the Human Biomonitoring for Europe initiative (HBM4EU), a study to determine new biomarkers of exposure to pesticides and to assess exposure patterns was conducted. Human urine samples (N = 2,088) were collected from five European regions in two different seasons. The objective of the study was to identify pesticides and their metabolites in collected urine samples with a harmonized suspect screening approach based on liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) applied in five laboratories.

Comprehensive investigation of persistent and mobile chemicals and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in urine of flemish adolescents using a suspect screening approach.

Persistent and mobile chemicals (PMs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are groups of chemicals that have received recent global attention due to their potential health effects on the environment and humans. In this study, exposure to a broad range of PMs and PFAS was investigated in Flemish adolescents' urine samples (n = 83) using a suspect screening approach. For this purpose, three sample preparation methods were evaluated, and a basic liquid-liquid extraction was optimized for urine analysis based on the extraction efficiency of PMs (53-80%) and PFAS (>70%).

Development and validation of a low-cost laparoscopic simulation box.

Introduction: The acquisition of laparoscopic technique skills in an operating room is conditioned by the expertise of the tutor and the number of training interventions by the trainee. For students and surgeons to use a laparoscopic simulator to train their skills, it must be validated beforehand.

Methods: A laparoscopic simulator box was designed, along with 6 interchangeable training games.

Comprehensive suspect screening for the identification of contaminants of emerging concern in urine of Flemish adolescents by liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry.

The increasing human exposure to contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) cannot be fully assessed by targeted biomonitoring methods alone as these are limited to a subset of known analytes. On the contrary, suspect screening approaches based on liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) allow the simultaneous detection of a high number of CECs and/or their (predicted) metabolites leading to a more comprehensive assessment of possible human exposure to these compounds. Within this study, 83 urine samples of Flemish adolescents (47 males, 36 females) collected in the frame of the 4th cycle of the Flemish Environment and Health Study (FLEHS IV) were selected with the aim of including a high and a low exposure group based on the overall exposure of 45 known contaminants.

Longitudinal Clinical and Cognitive Changes Along the Alzheimer Disease Continuum in Down Syndrome.

Importance: Alzheimer disease (AD) is the main medical problem in adults with Down syndrome (DS). However, the associations of age, intellectual disability (ID), and clinical status with progression and longitudinal cognitive decline have not been established.

Objective: To examine clinical progression along the AD continuum and its related cognitive decline and to explore the presence of practice effects and floor effects with repeated assessments.

COVID-19 Booster Uptake among First Responders and Their Household Members May Be Lower than Anticipated.

(1) Background: COVID-19 vaccination status varies widely among law enforcement and emergency medical services professionals. Though at high risk of exposure, these first responders have demonstrated significant vaccine hesitancy, with only 70% reportedly vaccinated. We sought to understand whether similar vaccine hesitancy exists for first responders and their household contacts around COVID-19 boosters.

Sputtered Ultrathin TiO as Electron Transport Layer in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell Technology.

This work presents the implementation of ultrathin TiO films, deposited at room temperature by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering, as electron-selective contacts in silicon heterojunction solar cells. The effect of the working pressure on the properties of the TiO layers and its subsequent impact on the main parameters of the device are studied. The material characterization revealed an amorphous structure regardless of the working pressure; a rougher surface; and a blue shift in bandgap in the TiO layer deposited at the highest-pressure value of 0.

Raytracing Modelling of Infrared Light Management Using Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS) as a Back-Reflector Layer in a Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell (SHJ).

The silicon heterojunction solar cell (SHJ) is considered the dominant state-of-the-art silicon solar cell technology due to its excellent passivation quality and high efficiency. However, SHJ's light management performance is limited by its narrow optical absorption in long-wave near-infrared (NIR) due to the front, and back tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) layer's free carrier absorption and reflection losses. Despite the light-trapping efficiency (LTE) schemes adopted by SHJ in terms of back surface texturing, the previous investigations highlighted the ITO layer as a reason for an essential long-wavelength light loss mechanism in SHJ solar cells.

Exploratory Analysis of Serial F-fluciclovine PET-CT and Multiparametric MRI during Chemoradiation for Glioblastoma.

Anti-1-amino-3-fluorine-fluorocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid (F-fluciclovine) positron emission tomography (PET) shows preferential glioma uptake but there is little data on how uptake correlates with post-contrast T1-weighted (Gd-T1) and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) activity during adjuvant treatment. This pilot study aimed to compare F-fluciclovine PET, DCE-MRI and Gd-T1 in patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy for glioblastoma (GBM), and in a parallel pre-clinical GBM model, to investigate correlation between F-fluciclovine uptake, MRI findings, and tumour biology. F-fluciclovine-PET-computed tomography (PET-CT) and MRI including DCE-MRI were acquired before, during and after adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (60 Gy in 30 fractions with temozolomide) in GBM patients.

Anti-glomerular Basement Membrane Glomerulonephritis: A Study in Real Life.

Introduction: Anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) disease is a severe entity with few therapeutic options including plasma exchange and immunosuppressive agents. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical and pathological features that predict the evolution of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and the kidney survival in a cohort of patients with anti-GBM disease with renal involvement in real life.

Methods: A retrospective multicentre observational study including 72 patients from 18 nephrology departments with biopsy-proven anti-GBM disease from 1999 to 2019 was performed.

Brain Metastasis from Pancreatic Cancer: Our Experience and Systematic Review.

Objective: To systematically review existing literature on the neurosurgical management and outcomes of brain metastasis from pancreatic cancer in comparison with our institutional experience of this patient cohort.

Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic literature review was performed using PubMed, Ovid Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from date of database inception to March 2022. Studies were selected based on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Midwives' ability during third stage of childbirth to estimate postpartum haemorrhage.

Objective: Correctly assessing the amount of blood loss is crucial in order to adequately treat postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) at an early stage and diminish any related symptoms and/or complications.The aim of our study is to analyse correctness in visually estimated blood loss during labour and to measure the differences between subjectively measured and weighted blood losses (ml).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Social networks as education strategies for indigenous patients with rheumatoid arthritis during COVID-19 pandemic. Are they useful?

Introduction: The use of online education strategies has been introduced as a tool to support health care in patients with rheumatic disease. However, it is important to consider the patient's sociocultural environment.

Objective: To design and assessment of bilingual audiovisual material acceptability, by means of two social networks, for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the qom community in Argentina.

Population replacement of benzimidazole-resistant Haemonchus contortus with susceptible strains: evidence of changes in the resistance status.

The spread of anthelmintic resistance (AR) in nematode populations threatens the viability of sheep production systems worldwide, and warrants the adoption of sensitive, practical, and standardized tests to detect AR. The aim of this study was to characterize the replacement of an Haemonchus contortus population resistant to benzimidazoles (BZDs) by a susceptible one, by means of both phenotypic and genotypic techniques. Phenotypic methods to assess BZD resistance included in vivo tests, such as the fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT), and in vitro tests, such as the egg hatch assay (EHA).

Surgical anatomy of the lingual nerve for palate surgery: where is located and how to avoid it.

Purpose: To describe the anatomic relationship of the lingual nerve with the lateral oropharyngeal structures.

Methods: An anatomic dissection of the lateral oropharyngeal wall was conducted in eight sides from four fresh-frozen cadaveric heads. Small titanium clips were placed along the lingual nerve and the most anterior and medial border of the medial pterygoid muscle.

Mission, Organization, and Future Direction of the Serological Sciences Network for COVID-19 (SeroNet) Epidemiologic Cohort Studies.

Background: Global efforts are needed to elucidate the epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the underlying cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including seroprevalence, risk factors, and long-term sequelae, as well as immune responses after vaccination across populations and the social dimensions of prevention and treatment strategies.

Methods: In the United States, the National Cancer Institute in partnership with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, established the SARS-CoV-2 Serological Sciences Network (SeroNet) as the nation's largest coordinated effort to study coronavirus disease 2019. The network comprises multidisciplinary researchers bridging gaps and fostering collaborations among immunologists, epidemiologists, virologists, clinicians and clinical laboratories, social and behavioral scientists, policymakers, data scientists, and community members.

Sublingual Atropine Administration as a Tool to Decrease Salivary Glands' PSMA-Ligand Uptake: A Preclinical Proof of Concept Study Using [Ga]Ga-PSMA-11.

Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA)-directed radionuclide therapy has gained an important role in the management of advanced castration-resistant prostate cancer. Although extremely promising, the prolongation in survival and amelioration of disease-related symptoms must be balanced against the direct toxicities of the treatment. Xerostomia is amongst the most common and debilitating of these, particularly when using an alpha emitter.

Clinical evaluation of the BioFire Global Fever Panel for the identification of malaria, leptospirosis, chikungunya, and dengue from whole blood: a prospective, multicentre, cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study.

Background: Acute febrile illness is a common presentation for patients at hospitals globally. Assays that can diagnose a variety of common pathogens in blood could help to establish a diagnosis for targeted disease management. We aimed to evaluate the performance of the BioFire Global Fever Panel (GF Panel), a multiplex nucleic acid amplification test performed on whole blood specimens run on the BioFire FilmArray System, in the diagnosis of several pathogens that cause acute febrile illness.

Structural basis for tunable affinity and specificity of LxCxE-dependent protein interactions with the retinoblastoma protein family.

The retinoblastoma protein (Rb) and its homologs p107 and p130 are critical regulators of gene expression during the cell cycle and are commonly inactivated in cancer. Rb proteins use their "pocket domain" to bind an LxCxE sequence motif in other proteins, many of which function with Rb proteins to co-regulate transcription. Here, we present binding data and crystal structures of the p107 pocket domain in complex with LxCxE peptides from the transcriptional co-repressor proteins HDAC1, ARID4A, and EID1.

[Hepatitis associated aplastic anemia during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic].

The hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia is one of the acquired bone marrow failure syndromes. It is a stereotyped form of presentation of aplastic anemia and accounts for 2 - 5 % of the cases in the West. Its treatment, which does not differ from that of aplastic anemia, consists of immunosuppression when bone marrow transplant is not possible.