Cathepsin D is essential for the degradomic shift of macrophages required to resolve liver fibrosis.

Background And Objectives: Fibrosis contributes to 45% of deaths in industrialized nations and is characterized by an abnormal accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM). There are no specific anti-fibrotic treatments for liver fibrosis, and previous unsuccessful attempts at drug development have focused on preventing ECM deposition. Because liver fibrosis is largely acknowledged to be reversible, regulating fibrosis resolution could offer novel therapeutical options.

Disruption of the mitochondrial network in a mouse model of Huntington's disease visualized by in-tissue multiscale 3D electron microscopy.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by an expanded CAG repeat in the coding sequence of huntingtin protein. Initially, it predominantly affects medium-sized spiny neurons (MSSNs) of the corpus striatum. No effective treatment is still available, thus urging the identification of potential therapeutic targets.

Comparative study of postpartum sexual function: Second-degree tears versus episiotomy outcomes.

Purpose: The effects of episiotomy and second-degree tears on postpartum sexual function are key areas of enquiry in women's health research. Episiotomy and second-degree tears are common procedures and injuries that occur during childbirth. Understanding their impact on post-childbirth sexuality is crucial to women's overall well-being.

Progressive alterations in polysomal architecture and activation of ribosome stalling relief factors in a mouse model of Huntington's disease.

Given their highly polarized morphology and functional singularity, neurons require precise spatial and temporal control of protein synthesis. Alterations in protein translation have been implicated in the development and progression of a wide range of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders, including Huntington's disease (HD). In this study we examined the architecture of polysomes in their native brain context in striatal tissue from the zQ175 knock-in mouse model of HD.

NLRP3 Contributes to Sarcopenia Associated to Dependency Recapitulating Inflammatory-Associated Muscle Degeneration.

Sarcopenia, a complex and debilitating condition characterized by progressive deterioration of skeletal muscle, is the primary cause of age-associated disability and significantly impacts healthspan in elderly patients. Despite its prevalence among the aging population, the underlying molecular mechanisms are still under investigation. The NLRP3 inflammasome is crucial in the innate immune response and has a significant impact on diseases related to inflammation and aging.

Parascapular Flap for Severe Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic inflammatory disease which affects apocrine glands and hair follicles of the skin, primarily in the axillary and groin regions. This condition can be highly debilitating, causing painful lesions and a negative psychological impact on patients. While medical and minimally invasive treatments are available, surgical intervention may be necessary for severe cases.

Carbon capture from biomass flue gases for CO enrichment in greenhouses.

Heating and CO enrichment systems can improve yields in intensive greenhouse agriculture Combining both techniques, which are currently applied commercially, can potentially enhance their effect. The CO must be separated from the other noxious gases present (such as CO, NO, and SO) to avoid them becoming part of the supply. The CO is then provided to the greenhouse on demand in the same way as the heating.

Recurrent Pediatric Extranasopharyngeal Angiofibroma of the Epiglottis: Case Report.

Angiofibroma is a non-encapsulated, highly vascular tumor that usually originates in the nasopharynx. Laryngeal cases of extranasopharyngeal angiofibroma (ENA) are a very rare pathology, especially in children. Only eight ENA laryngeal cases have been described in the literature, and only one of them is a pediatric case.

The impact of teleworking technostress on satisfaction, anxiety and performance.

The aim of the research project is to find out how technostress influences the satisfaction, anxiety and performance of teleworkers and university students. The growth of technology and the use of digital platforms has given rise to a phenomenon called teleworking, a modality of work that involves remote work with the use of ICTs. However, the faster the use of ICTs in organisations grows, the more difficult it becomes for teleworkers, leading to anxiety and stress.

Ductular reaction-associated neutrophils promote biliary epithelium proliferation in chronic liver disease.

Background & Aims: Ductular reaction expansion is associated with poor prognosis in patients with advanced liver disease. However, the mechanisms promoting biliary cell proliferation are largely unknown. Here, we identify neutrophils as drivers of biliary cell proliferation and the defective wound-healing response.

Discriminant Model for Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetic Patients.

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus tend to have insulin resistance, a condition that is evaluated using expensive methods that are not easily accessible in routine clinical practice. To determine the anthropometric, clinical, and metabolic parameters that allow for the discrimination of type 2 diabetic patients who have insulin resistance from those who do not. A cross-sectional analytical observational study was carried out in 92 type 2 diabetic patients.

Structure-preserving Gaussian denoising of FIB-SEM volumes.

FIB-SEM (Focused Ion Beam-Scanning Electron Microscopy) is an imaging technique that allows 3D ultrastructural analysis of cells and tissues at the nanoscale. The acquired FIB-SEM data are highly noisy, which makes denoising an essential step prior to volume interpretation. Gaussian filtering is a standard method in the field because it is fast and straightforward.

Functional continuum: independent predictor of one-year mortality and key decision-making element in older adults with severe aortic stenosis amenable to aortic valve replacement.

Objectives: The impact of functional capacity over the entire functional continuum in older adults undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) has not been studied to date. This study aims to analyze 1.- the distribution of a cohort of older adults presenting severe aortic stenosis (AS) amenable to AVR in the different categories of the Functional Continuum Scale (FCS); 2.

Within-subject biological variation estimates using an indirect data mining strategy. Spanish multicenter pilot study (BiVaBiDa).

Objectives: The estimates of biological variation (BV) have traditionally been determined using direct methods, which present limitations. In response to this issue, two papers have been published addressing these limitations by employing indirect methods. Here, we present a new procedure, based on indirect methods that analyses data collected within a multicenter pilot study.

Optical flow driven interpolation for isotropic FIB-SEM reconstructions.

Background And Objective: Focused Ion Beam - Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) allows three-dimensional ultrastructural analysis of cells and tissues at the nanoscale. The technique iteratively removes a section of the sample with a FIB and takes an SEM image from the exposed surface. The section thickness is usually higher than the image pixel size to reduce acquisition time, thus resulting in anisotropic resolution.

Androgen-Dependent Prostate Cancer Cells Reprogram Their Metabolic Signature upon GLUT1 Upregulation by Manganese Superoxide Dismutase.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer in men across the globe. The prostate gland accounts for some unique glycolytic metabolic characteristics, which causes the metabolic features of prostate tumor initiation and progression to remain poorly characterized. The mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (SOD2) is one of the major redox metabolism regulators.

Factors Associated with Quality of Life in Relatives of Adults with Serious Mental Illness: A Systematic Review.

Caring for a family member with a serious mental illness often has an impact on the quality of life (QoL) of caregivers. This could have negative repercussions on their caring skills and thus affect the care provided to that individual. The aim of this paper is to identify current evidence on QoL factors affecting relatives of individuals suffering from serious mental illness.

TransOral UltraSonic surgery (TOUSS) for oral cavity, oropharyngeal and supraglottic malignancy: A prospective study of feasibility, safety, margins, functional and survival outcomes.

Introduction/background: With the advent of TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) the ease of transoral procedures has been dramatically improved. TORS is already established for its feasibility, functional and oncological outcomes for selected lesions of oral cavity, oropharynx and laryngopharynx. This study reports on preliminary results with TransOral UltraSonic Surgery (TOUSS) for oncologic resections of oral cavity, oropharyngeal and supraglottic malignancies.

Covid-19 and tourism vulnerability.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted tourism and leisure activities worldwide, especially in the hospitality sector. This paper has a conceptual and empirical motivation based on two objectives. First, it identifies several of the primary factors behind the vulnerability of tourism to COVID-19 (tourism dependency, market structure, the supply of rural accommodation, and health incidence of the pandemic).

The CO waveguide laser with flexible fiber in transoral resection of oral and oropharyngeal cancers: a retrospective cohort study on postoperative and quality of life outcomes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the CO waveguide laser (WG CO laser) with flexible fiber (Lumenis Ltd., Yokneam, Israel) in the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers, specifically focusing on postoperative outcomes, pain, and quality of life (QoL). Eighty-one patients, 43 women and 38 men, with oral or oropharyngeal cancer who consecutively underwent transoral resection by WG CO laser from August 2015 to April 2020 were retrospectively enrolled.

The Role of INAPERTURATE POLLEN1 as a Pollen Aperture Factor Is Conserved in the Basal Eudicot (Papaveraceae).

Pollen grains show an enormous variety of aperture systems. What genes are involved in the aperture formation pathway and how conserved this pathway is in angiosperms remains largely unknown. () encodes a protein of unknown function, essential for aperture formation in Arabidopsis, rice and maize.

Dating historical droughts from religious ceremonies, the international pro pluvia rogation database.

Climate proxy data are required for improved understanding of climate variability and change in the pre-instrumental period. We present the first international initiative to compile and share information on pro pluvia rogation ceremonies, which is a well-studied proxy of agricultural drought. Currently, the database has more than 3500 dates of celebration of rogation ceremonies, providing information for 153 locations across 11 countries spanning the period from 1333 to 1949.

The multifaceted role of cathepsins in liver disease.

Proteases are the most abundant enzyme gene family in vertebrates and they execute essential functions in all living organisms. Their main role is to hydrolase the peptide bond within proteins, a process also called proteolysis. Contrary to the conventional paradigm, proteases are not only random catalytic devices, but can perform highly selective and targeted cleavage of specific substrates, finely modulating multiple essential cellular processes.