Impact of feralization on evolutionary trajectories in the genomes of feral cat island populations.

Feralization is the process of domesticated animals returning to the wild and it is considered the counterpart of domestication. Molecular genetic changes are well documented in domesticated organisms but understudied in feral populations. In this study, the genetic differentiation between domestic and feral cats was inferred by analysing whole-genome sequencing data of two geographically distant feral cat island populations, Dirk Hartog Island (Australia) and Kaho'olawe (Hawaii) as well as domestic cats and European wildcats.

Influenza transmission dynamics quantified from RNA in wastewater in Switzerland.

Introduction: Influenza infections are challenging to monitor at the population level due to many mild and asymptomatic cases and similar symptoms to other common circulating respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. Methods for tracking cases outside of typical reporting infrastructure could improve monitoring of influenza transmission dynamics. Influenza shedding into wastewater represents a promising source of information where quantification is unbiased by testing or treatment-seeking behaviours.

Letermovir Prophylaxis for CMV Reactivation in Allogeneic Stem Cell Recipients: A Retrospective Single Center Analysis.

Background/aim: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation is one of the most clinically significant complications in allogeneic stem cell recipients and a frequent cause for transplantation related mortality. Letermovir is a newly available and recently approved drug for CMV prophylaxis. In a retrospective single center analysis, we investigated the benefit of letermovir as CMV prophylaxis in allogeneic stem cell recipients.

Human impact on the recent population history of the elusive European wildcat inferred from whole genome data.

Background: The extent and impact of evolutionary change occurring in natural populations in response to rapid anthropogenic impact is still poorly understood on the genome-wide level. Here, we explore the genetic structure, demographic history, population differentiation, and domestic introgression based on whole genome data of the endangered European wildcat in Germany, to assess potential genomic consequences of the species' recent spread across human-dominated cultural landscapes.

Results: Reconstruction of demographic history and introgression rates based on 47 wildcat and 37 domestic cat genomes suggested late introgression between wild and domestic cat, coinciding with the introduction of domestic cat during the Roman period, but overall relatively low rates of hybridization and introgression from domestic cats.

Conditioning with fludarabine and treosulfan compared to FLAMSA-RIC in allogeneic stem cell transplantation for myeloid malignancies: a retrospective single-center analysis.

Reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) and reduced toxicity conditioning (RTC) regimens enable allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) to more patients due to reduction in transplant-related mortality (TRM). The conditioning regimens with fludarabine and treosulfan (Flu/Treo) or fludarabine, amsacrine, cytarabine (FLAMSA)-RIC have shown their efficacy and tolerability in various malignancies. So far, no prospective study comparing the two regimens is available.

Reproductive number of the COVID-19 epidemic in Switzerland with a focus on the Cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft.

The reproductive number in Switzerland was between 1.5 and 2 during the first third of March, and has consistently decreased to around 1. After the announcement of the latest strict measure on 20 March 2020, namely that gatherings of more than five people in public spaces are prohibited, the reproductive number dropped significantly below 1; the authors of this study estimate the reproductive number to be between 0.

Osteomyelitis of the First Metatarsal Head Treated With Joint-Preserving Surgery and a Synthetic Resorbable Bone Graft Substitute: A Case Report.

Managing infections of the first metatarsophalangeal joint can be demanding because many patients present with late-stage infection and partial or total amputation of the first ray or the phalanx could be necessary. We describe such a patient who was successfully treated with a calcium-based resorbable bone substitute that preserved the first metatarsophalangeal joint. A 38-year-old female presented to our department with a foot infection.

Structural Failure of a Modern Knee Tumor Megaendoprosthesis.

Modular knee megaendoprotheses are commonly used devices for distal femur or proximal tibia replacement in tumor surgery as well as for treatment of some periprosthetic fractures around a loose or failed total knee arthroplasty. Structural failures of the prosthesis are well-known postoperative complications and have been reported for various prosthesis types. In the majority of the cases, the polyethylene parts fail.

Feral Cat Globetrotters: genetic traces of historical human-mediated dispersal.

Endemic species on islands are highly susceptible to local extinction, in particular if they are exposed to invasive species. Invasive predators, such as feral cats, have been introduced to islands around the world, causing major losses in local biodiversity. In order to control and manage invasive species successfully, information about source populations and level of gene flow is essential.

First report of an aneurysmal bone cyst presenting as subungual mass.

Painful subungual tumor masses in the toes usually emerge as glomus tumors or subungual exostoses. We present a patient with an aneurysmal bone cyst located subungually in whom the diagnosis was delayed due to inadequate diagnostic procedures, which led to marked destruction of the distal phalanx of the great toe of the right foot. After biopsy, the distal phalanx could not be preserved due to critical soft tissue involvement and the size of the process.

Two-stage protocol and spacer implantation in the treatment of destructive septic arthritis of the hip joint.

Introduction: The ideal treatment of the destructive septic arthritis of the hip joint remains controversial. The aim of the present retrospective study was to report on our experience about the use of antibiotic-loaded cement spacers in the treatment of destructive bacterial coxitis.

Materials And Methods: 22 consecutive patients (11 male, 11 female, mean age 59.

Helicobacter pylori activates the TLR2/NLRP3/caspase-1/IL-18 axis to induce regulatory T-cells, establish persistent infection and promote tolerance to allergens.

The Gram-negative bacterium Helicobacter pylori is both a normal constituent of the human gastric microbiota as well as a pathogen tightly associated with severe gastric disorders. The ability of H. pylori to activate the inflammasome and caspase-1 in antigen-presenting and other cells, and the resulting processing and release of caspase-1-dependent cytokines, impacts both the immunomodulatory and pathogenic activities of H.

H. pylori-Induced DNA Strand Breaks Are Introduced by Nucleotide Excision Repair Endonucleases and Promote NF-κB Target Gene Expression.

The human bacterial pathogen Helicobacter pylori exhibits genotoxic properties that promote gastric carcinogenesis. H. pylori introduces DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) in epithelial cells that trigger host cell DNA repair efforts.

Helicobacter urease-induced activation of the TLR2/NLRP3/IL-18 axis protects against asthma.

Inflammasome activation and caspase-1-dependent (CASP1-dependent) processing and secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 are critical events at the interface of the bacterial pathogen Helicobacter pylori with its host. Whereas IL-1β promotes Th1 and Th17 responses and gastric immunopathology, IL-18 is required for Treg differentiation, H. pylori persistence, and protection against allergic asthma, which is a hallmark of H.

A simple technique for adjustment of the femoral offset at the site of hip spacer implantation.

The decrease of femoral offset might play a role in the emergence of hip spacer dislocations, but it has not been discussed in the literature yet. The present work describes a technique for femoral offset adjustment. Either a bended blade plate or a dynamic hip screw can be used.

Pharmacokinetic properties and systemic safety of vancomycin-impregnated cancellous bone grafts in the treatment of spondylodiscitis.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the local pharmacokinetic properties and the systemic safety of vancomycin-impregnated cancellous bone grafts in the treatment of spondylodiscitis. Between 2010 and 2012, 8 patients (5 females, 3 males, mean age 68.75 y.

Caspase-1 has both proinflammatory and regulatory properties in Helicobacter infections, which are differentially mediated by its substrates IL-1β and IL-18.

The proinflammatory cysteine protease caspase-1 is autocatalytically activated upon cytosolic sensing of a variety of pathogen-associated molecular patterns by Nod-like receptors. Active caspase-1 processes pro-IL-1β and pro-IL-18 to generate the bioactive cytokines and to initiate pathogen-specific immune responses. Little information is available on caspase-1 and inflammasome activation during infection with the gastric bacterial pathogen Helicobacter pylori.

NMR spectroscopy of intermetallic compounds: an experimental and theoretical approach to local atomic arrangements in binary gallides.

The results of the investigation of MGa(2) with M = Ca, Sr, Ba and of MGa(4) with M = Na, Ca, Sr, Ba by a combined application of NMR spectroscopy and quantum mechanical calculations are comprehensively evaluated. The electric-field gradient (EFG) was identified as the most reliable measure to study intermetallic compounds, since it is accessible with high precision by quantum mechanical calculations and, for nuclear spin I>1/2, by NMR spectroscopy. The EFG values obtained by NMR spectroscopy and quantum mechanical calculations agree very well for both series of investigated compounds.

Electronic structure, chemical bonding, and solid-state NMR spectroscopy of the digallides of Ca, Sr, and Ba.

Combined application of (69,71)Ga NMR spectroscopy and quantum mechanical calculations reveals the chemical bonding in the digallides of Ca, Sr, and Ba. An analysis of the electron localization function (ELF) shows honeycomb-like 6(3) nets of the Ga atoms as the most prominent structural features in SrGa(2) and BaGa(2). For CaGa(2) a description of a 3+1-coordinated Ga atom is revealed by the ELF and by an analysis of interatomic distances.

Identification and isolation of Dictyostelium microtubule-associated protein interactors by tandem affinity purification.

Tandem affinity purification (TAP) is a method originally established in yeast to isolate highly purified protein complexes in a very gentle and efficient way. In this work, we have modified TAP for Dictyostelium applications and have proved it as a useful method to specifically isolate and identify microtubule-associated protein (MAP) complexes. MAPs are known to interact with other proteins to fulfill their complex functions in balancing the dynamic instability of microtubules as well as anchoring microtubules at the cell cortex, controlling mitosis at the centrosome and guiding transport along them.

Deletion of mdmB impairs mitochondrial distribution and morphology in Aspergillus nidulans.

Mitochondria form a dynamic network of interconnected tubes in the cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae or filamentous fungi such as Aspergillus nidulans, Neurospora crassa, or Podospora anserina. The dynamics depends on the separation of mitochondrial fragments, their movement throughout the cell, and their subsequent fusion with the other parts of the organelle. Interestingly, the microtubule network is required for the distribution in N.