Septins as key players in spermatogenesis, fertilisation and pre-implantation embryogenic cytoplasmic dynamics.

Septins are a family of cytokinesis-related proteins involved in regulating cytoskeletal design, cell morphology, and tissue morphogenesis. Apart from cytokinesis, as a fourth component of cytoskeleton, septins aid in forming scaffolds, vesicle sorting and membrane stability. They are also known to be involved in the regulation of intracellular calcium (Ca) via the STIM/Orai complex.

Differences in leucocytes and inflammation-based indices among critically ill patients owing to SARS-CoV-2 variants during several successive waves of COVID-19 pandemic.

Background/aim: Inflammatory indices are useful informative markers in assessing the severity of the COVID-19 disease course; however, their involvements during series waves of SARS-CoV-2 virus outbreaks in critical patients with COVID-19 remain unclear. Hence, we aimed to ascertain the changing dynamics of the combined inflammatory indices (NLR, dNLR, CLR, LMR, PLR, SII, and SIRI) and their associations with clinical outcomes in severe COVID-19 patients during serial waves of SARS-CoV-2.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 163 severe COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU during six SARS-CoV-2 waves.

Square-Wave Voltammetry Enables Measurement of Light-Activated Oxidations and Reductions on n-Type Semiconductor/Metal Junction Light-Addressable Electrochemical Sensors.

Light-addressable electrochemical (LAE) sensing is a photoelectrochemical technique that enables high-density, individually addressed electrochemical measurements using light to activate an electrochemical reaction at the surface of a semiconducting photoelectrode. However, one major challenge is that only one electrochemical reaction (oxidation or reduction) will be activated by light. Here, we used square-wave voltammetry (SWV) to enable measurement of both types of electrochemical reactions using n-Si/Au NP LAE sensors.

Antidepressant-Like Activity of Solvent Fractions of the Root Bark of Linn. (Apocynaceae) in Rodents Involves Multiple Signaling Pathways.

Background: The root bark of Linn. (Apocynaceae) is claimed to be used for the management of depression in Ethiopian folkloric medicine, and the crude extract has been reported to possess antidepressant-like activity in rodents.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the antidepressant-like effect of different fractions of the root bark in rodents and the possible underlying mechanisms in rats.

Case Report: Tropical sprue, diagnostic challenges of an old but unrecognized disease.

Tropical sprue (TS) is a post-infective disease of the small bowel characterized by a malabsorption syndrome affecting tropics inhabitants and visitors. Diagnosis of TS remains challenging since it can be confused with common diarrheal diseases, especially in non-endemic areas. We report a Tunisian case of latent TS.

Evaluation of individual and combined NLR, LMR and CLR ratio for prognosis disease severity and outcomes in patients with COVID-19.

Object: The study aimed to utilize the peripheral blood immunological parameters and resulting individual and combined inflammatory indices [neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR) and C-reactive protein/lymphocyte ratio (CLR)] in predicting the prognosis and mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Materials And Methods: The measurements of individual and combined inflammatory indices (NLR, LMR and CLR) were performed at hospital admission and at last day of hospitalization for COVID-19 patients.

Results: Prominent elevation of NLR and CLR among patients with refractory disease admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and deceased patients was found when compared with moderate ill patients and healthy controls.

The COVID-19 AAGP Online Trainee Curriculum: Development and Method of Initial Evaluation.

Objective: One effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is the disruption of in-person clinical experiences within geriatric psychiatry residency education. Online resources for trainees are needed to fill resultant gaps.

Methods: The American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) Teaching and Training Committee leadership collaborated with geriatric psychiatry experts to develop a web-based geriatric psychiatry curriculum for psychiatry residents and other learners.

Discovery and characterization of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 inhibitor peptides that potentiate meropenem-dependent killing of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae.

Objectives: Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are an emerging class of antimicrobial resistance enzymes that degrade β-lactam antibiotics, including last-resort carbapenems. Infections caused by carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) are increasingly prevalent, but treatment options are limited. While several serine-dependent β-lactamase inhibitors are formulated with commonly prescribed β-lactams, no MBL inhibitors are currently approved for combinatorial therapies.

Engineering of Cry Proteins to Enhance the Activity against Western Corn Rootworm.

A novel Cry protein, Cry8Hb, active against (Western corn rootworm, WCRW) was discovered. Unexpectedly, the anti-rootworm activity of the Cry8Hb toxin was enhanced significantly by fusing maltose binding protein (MBP) to this Cry toxin. While the exact mechanism of the activity enhancement remains indefinite, it is probable that the enhancement is a result of increased solubility of the MBP-Cry8Hb fusion in the rootworm midgut.