Rituximab and mycophenolate mofetil combination in patients with interstitial lung disease (EVER-ILD): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Standard of care for interstitial lung disease (ILD) with a nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) pattern proposes mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) as one of the first-step therapies while rituximab is used as rescue therapy.

Methods: In a randomised, double-blind, two-parallel group, placebo-controlled trial (NCT02990286), patients with connective tissue disease-associated ILD or idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (with or without autoimmune features) and a NSIP pattern (defined on NSIP pathological pattern or on integration of clinicobiological data and a NSIP-like high-resolution computed tomography pattern) were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive rituximab (1000 mg) or placebo on day 1 and day 15 in addition to MMF (2 g daily) for 6 months. The primary end-point was the change in percent predicted forced vital capacity (FVC) from baseline to 6 months analysed by a linear mixed model for repeated measures analysis.

RevGel-seq: instrument-free single-cell RNA sequencing using a reversible hydrogel for cell-specific barcoding.

Progress in sample preparation for scRNA-seq is reported based on RevGel-seq, a reversible-hydrogel technology optimized for samples of fresh cells. Complexes of one cell paired with one barcoded bead are stabilized by a chemical linker and dispersed in a hydrogel in the liquid state. Upon gelation on ice the complexes are immobilized and physically separated without requiring nanowells or droplets.

Antibiotic Therapy for 6 or 12 Weeks for Prosthetic Joint Infection.

Background: The management of prosthetic joint infection usually consists of a combination of surgery and antimicrobial therapy. The appropriate duration of antimicrobial therapy for this indication remains unclear.

Methods: We performed an open-label, randomized, controlled, noninferiority trial to compare 6 weeks with 12 weeks of antibiotic therapy in patients with microbiologically confirmed prosthetic joint infection that had been managed with an appropriate surgical procedure.

A protein isolated from human oviductal tissue in vitro secretion, identified as human lactoferrin, interacts with spermatozoa and oocytes and modulates gamete interaction.

Study Question: Is lactoferrin (LF) (detected in oviductal secretion) able to bind to oocytes and sperm and modulate gamete interaction?

Summary Answer: LF binds to zona pellucida (ZP) and spermatozoa (depending upon the capacitation stage and acrosome status) and inhibits gamete interaction in vitro.

What Is Known Already: Proteins from human oviductal tissue secretion modulate gamete interaction and parameters of sperm function in vitro and some of them bind to sperm, but they remain to be isolated and identified.

Study Design, Size, Duration: Proteins were isolated from human oviductal tissue secretion using their sperm membrane binding ability.