Podocyte-specific KLF6 primes proximal tubule CaMK1D signaling to attenuate diabetic kidney disease.

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the main cause of chronic kidney disease worldwide. While injury to the podocytes, visceral epithelial cells that comprise the glomerular filtration barrier, drives albuminuria, proximal tubule (PT) dysfunction is the critical mediator of DKD progression. Here, we report that the podocyte-specific induction of human KLF6, a zinc-finger binding transcription factor, attenuates podocyte loss, PT dysfunction, and eventual interstitial fibrosis in a male murine model of DKD.

Concurrent Papillary Craniopharyngioma and Growth Hormone-Secreting Pituitary Adenoma: A Rare and Aggressive Collision Tumor.

Background/objective: Collision tumors composed of craniopharyngiomas and pituitary adenomas are extremely rare. We report a collision tumor formed by a papillary craniopharyngioma and a growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenoma, which is the first report of such a tumor, to the best of our knowledge.

Case Report: A 49-year-old man presented with 2 months of headaches and blurry vision.

In Vitro Evaluation of In Silico Screening Approaches in Search for Selective ACE2 Binding Chemical Probes.

New models for ACE2 receptor binding, based on QSAR and docking algorithms were developed, using XRD structural data and ChEMBL 26 database hits as training sets. The selectivity of the potential ACE2-binding ligands towards Neprilysin (NEP) and ACE was evaluated. The Enamine screening collection (3.

Creation of targeted compound libraries based on 3D shape recognition.

In the emerging field of drug discovery, rapid virtual screening methods become extremely valuable, especially when dealing with ultra-large databases of organic small bioactive molecules. In this work, we present a fast, computationally resource-efficient, and simple workflow for screening targeted compound libraries generated from ultra-large virtual chemical space. This workflow aims to find compounds with similar molecular 3D shapes with reference ones, and at the same time to expand chemical diversity and to identify new and potentially active scaffolds.

Virtual Screening in Search for a Chemical Probe for Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2).

We elaborate new models for ACE and ACE2 receptors with an excellent prediction power compared to previous models. We propose promising workflows for working with huge compound collections, thereby enabling us to discover optimized protocols for virtual screening management. The efficacy of elaborated roadmaps is demonstrated through the cost-effective molecular docking of 1.

Impact of preoperative antibiotics and other variables on integrated microbiome-host transcriptomic data generated from colorectal cancer resections.

Background: Integrative multi-omic approaches have been increasingly applied to discovery and functional studies of complex human diseases. Short-term preoperative antibiotics have been adopted to reduce site infections in colorectal cancer (CRC) resections. We hypothesize that the antibiotics will impact analysis of multi-omic datasets generated from resection samples to investigate biological CRC risk factors.

Outcomes and Healthcare Provider Perceptions of Real-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring (rtCGM) in Patients With Diabetes and COVID-19 Admitted to the ICU.

Objective: We assessed the clinical utility and accuracy of real-time continuous glucose monitoring (rtCGM) (Dexcom G6) in managing diabetes patients with severe COVID-19 infection following admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: We present retrospective analysis of masked rtCGM in 30 patients with severe COVID-19. rtCGM was used during the first 24 hours for comparison with arterial-line point of care (POC) values, where clinicians utilized rtCGM data to adjust insulin therapy in patients if rtCGM values were within 20% of point-of-care (POC) values during the masked period.

INTRAVENOUS LEVOTHYROXINE DURING HEMODIALYSIS IN A PATIENT WITH HYPOTHYROIDISM AND NON-ADHERENCE TO ORAL MEDICATIONS.

Objective: We describe an unusual and challenging clinical scenario: a patient with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis with severely uncontrolled hypothyroidism and worsening psychosis, who refused both oral and intramuscular levothyroxine, but was successfully treated with intravenous (IV) levothyroxine given on hemodialysis days.

Methods: The patient was interviewed and examined on admission and during hospitalization. Thyroid function was assessed through thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxine (T4), free T4, and triiodothyronine (T3) by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.

The Role of Podocytes and Podocyte-Associated Biomarkers in Diagnosis and Treatment of Diabetic Kidney Disease.

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is an important public health problem. Podocyte injury is a central event in the mechanism of DKD development. Podocytes are terminally differentiated, highly specialized glomerular visceral epithelial cells critical for the maintenance of the glomerular filtration barrier.

Mo recoil atoms yield in the Mo(p,x) reaction on cyclotron irradiation of Mo nanofilms.

We study the possibility of increasing the specific activity of Mo produced by irradiating molybdenum targets with the use of the Szilard-Chalmers effect. According to the Szilard-Chalmers effect, recoil atoms of the Mo radionuclide can be produced in nuclear reactions and retained in surrounding buffer substance. The objective of our work is to measure the yield of recoil atoms in the buffer as a function of the molybdenum layer thickness.

Paget's Disease of Bone: Diagnosis and Treatment.

Paget's disease of bone is a common bone disorder characterized by disorganized bone remodeling. The most likely etiology is a slow paramyxoviral infection in genetically susceptible individuals; however, the exact cause is unknown. Enhanced bone resorption due to an increased activity of osteoclasts recruits numerous osteoblasts to resorption sites, with large quantities of new bone matrix produced as a result.

Hyperthyroidism: Diagnosis and Treatment.

Hyperthyroidism is an excessive concentration of thyroid hormones in tissues caused by increased synthesis of thyroid hormones, excessive release of preformed thyroid hormones, or an endogenous or exogenous extrathyroidal source. The most common causes of an excessive production of thyroid hormones are Graves disease, toxic multinodular goiter, and toxic adenoma. The most common cause of an excessive passive release of thyroid hormones is painless (silent) thyroiditis, although its clinical presentation is the same as with other causes.

Cloud-enabled microscopy and droplet microfluidic platform for specific detection of Escherichia coli in water.

We report an all-in-one platform - ScanDrop - for the rapid and specific capture, detection, and identification of bacteria in drinking water. The ScanDrop platform integrates droplet microfluidics, a portable imaging system, and cloud-based control software and data storage. The cloud-based control software and data storage enables robotic image acquisition, remote image processing, and rapid data sharing.

[A rapid method of evaluation of the effectiveness of antibacterial drugs].

Efficacy of antibiotics in the treatment of experimental tularemia was studied comparatively on various biological models. It was shown that the antibiotics which proved active against the tularemia microbe in albino mice when studied by the rapid and routine methods were highly efficient in the treatment and prevention of experimental tularemia in rabbits and baboons (hamadryas). The experiments showed basic possibilities to perform rapid estimation (for at least 2 days) of drug efficacy in experimental glanders and melioidosis in golden hamsters.

[The use of DNA hybridization in situ for identifying chromosomal rearrangements in the karyotyping of cell lines].

A complex karyological analysis of three human cell lines (PLC-PRF-5, MT-4 and U937) was carried out that involved traditional methods of G-, C-banding and silver staining, in addition to the in situ hybridization technique using 4 alpha-satellite DNA probes: DNA specific for centromeric regions of chromosome 11, 6, 13, and 21, and 14 and 22. The application of this additional method allowed to identify, prove or detalize the structure of 13 markers in PLC-PRF-5 cells, 1 marker in MT-4 cells, and 3 markers in U937 cells. The results show that the in situ hybridization method would be successful in cell line karyotyping for a more objective identification of some markers difficult for analysis.

[Sensitivity spectrum of Francisella tularensis to antibiotics and synthetic antibacterial drugs].

Sensitivity of 6 F. tularensis strains to 57 antibiotics and synthetic antibacterial drugs was studied. It was shown that the strains were highly sensitive to aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, anzamycins, quinolones, chloramphenicol, nitrofurantoin, nitroxoline, novobiocin and fusidin and resistant to penicillins, cephalosporins, polypeptides, vancomycin and sulfanylamides.

[Preparation and study of the anthrax protective antigen. II. Development of test preparations for the assessment of the quality of anthrax chemical vaccines and of the antigens obtained at various stages of its preparation].

A homogeneous anthrax protective antigen (from the ST-I strain) characterized by a high immunogenicity and stability was obtained. Hyperimmune, monospecific to this preparation antiserum was prepared. It is suggested that these preparations can be used for the assessment of the quality of the anthrax chemical vaccine and of the antigens obtained at various stages of its preparation.

[Preparation and comparative evaluation of experimental anthrax diagnostic sera in experiments on animals].

The authors present the results of studies on obtaining and comparative assessment of experimental anthrax diagnostic sera in experiments on various animals. Donkeys, sheep, horses, rabbits and monkeys (Papio hamadryas) were immunized with the STI-I vaccine by a single scheme. The activity of the obtained sera was tested in the diffuse precipitation reaction by the amount of the detected antibodies and the titre.