Refractory fungal infection: Three case reports highlighting good practice.

Refractory invasive fungal disease is a significant clinical problem, with high morbidity, mortality and costs. The complex causes of refractory infection include breakthrough infection due to antifungal resistance (both innate and acquired), suboptimal therapy and impaired immune responses in critically ill or immunocompromised patients. This case series details three reports on the identification and management of refractory fungal infections, two cases of azole resistance and one case of resistant candidiasis, highlighting the importance of accurate diagnosis, monitoring, implementation of biomarkers (serological markers, PCR), antifungal susceptibility testing and antifungal stewardship to optimise management and minimise risks of emergence of drug resistance.

Disentangling Sources of Momentum Fluctuations in Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.

High-energy nuclear collisions create a quark-gluon plasma, whose initial condition and subsequent expansion vary from event to event, impacting the distribution of the eventwise average transverse momentum [P([p_{T}])]. Disentangling the contributions from fluctuations in the nuclear overlap size (geometrical component) and other sources at a fixed size (intrinsic component) remains a challenge. This problem is addressed by measuring the mean, variance, and skewness of P([p_{T}]) in ^{208}Pb+^{208}Pb and ^{129}Xe+^{129}Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.

Large-Area Transfer of Nanometer-Thin C Films.

Fullerenes, with well-defined molecular structures and high scalability, hold promise as fundamental building blocks for creating a variety of carbon materials. The fabrication and transfer of large-area films with precisely controlled thicknesses and morphologies on desired surfaces are crucial for designing and developing fullerene-based materials and devices. In this work, we present strategies for solid-state transferring C molecular nanometer-thin films, with dimensions of centimeters in lateral size and thicknesses controlled in the range of 1-20 nm, onto various substrates.

CD19 CAR-T cell therapy: a new dawn for autoimmune rheumatic diseases?

Autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs), such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and systemic sclerosis, involve dysregulated immune responses causing chronic inflammation and tissue damage. Despite advancements in clinical management, many patients do not respond to current treatments, which often show limited efficacy due to the persistence of autoreactive B cells. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy, which has shown success in oncology for B cell malignancies, targets specific antigens and involves the adoptive transfer of genetically engineered T cells.

Widening Racial Disparities in the US Overdose Epidemic.

Introduction: . More Americans died in 2021 from drug overdose than from vehicle accidents and firearms combined. Unlike earlier phases, the current epidemic is marked by its disproportionate impact on communities of color.