[Influence of the treatment setting on the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis within the delegation to rheumatological specialist assistants - A post hoc analysis of the StärkeR study].

Background: The StärkeR study has shown the non-inferiority of a team-based form of care with delegation to rheumatological specialist assistants (RFA) compared to standard care in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Objective: Exploratory analyses regarding a possible influence of the treatment setting (specialist practice/outpatient clinic) on various outcome parameters in patients with RA or PsA in the context of delegation to RFA.

Material And Methods: Patients with RA or PsA and stable adjustment with low disease activity from 3 outpatient clinics and 14 rheumatological specialist practices that participated in the StärkeR study were included in this post hoc analysis.

Ezrin drives adaptation of monocytes to the inflamed lung microenvironment.

Ezrin, an actin-binding protein, orchestrates the organization of the cortical cytoskeleton and plasma membrane during cell migration, adhesion, and proliferation. Its role in monocytes/macrophages (MΦs) is less understood. Here, we used a monocyte/MΦ-specific ezrin knock-out mouse model to investigate the contribution of ezrin to monocyte recruitment and adaptation to the lung extracellular matrix (ECM) in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Consensus Statement on Brillouin Light Scattering Microscopy of Biological Materials.

Brillouin Light Scattering (BLS) spectroscopy is a non-invasive, non-contact, label-free optical technique that can provide information on the mechanical properties of a material on the sub-micron scale. Over the last decade it has seen increased applications in the life sciences, driven by the observed significance of mechanical properties in biological processes, the realization of more sensitive BLS spectrometers and its extension to an imaging modality. As with other spectroscopic techniques, BLS measurements not only detect signals characteristic of the investigated sample, but also of the experimental apparatus, and can be significantly affected by measurement conditions.

Three-Dimensional-Bioprinted Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Models in a Mouse Phantom for Radiotherapy Research.

Lung cancer continues to have one of the highest morbidity and mortality rates of any cancer. Although radiochemotherapy, in combination with immunotherapy, has significantly improved overall survival, new treatment options are urgently needed. However, preclinical radiotherapy testing is often performed in animal models, which has several drawbacks, including species-specific differences and ethical concerns.

CCR2+ monocytes are dispensable to resolve acute pulmonary Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in WT and Cystic Fibrosis mice.

Extravasation of CCR2-positive monocytes into tissue and to the site of injury is a fundamental immunological response to infections. Nevertheless, exuberant recruitment and/or activity of these monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages can propagate tissue damage, especially in chronic inflammatory disease conditions. We have previously shown that inhibiting the recruitment of CCR2-positive monocytes ameliorates lung tissue damage caused by chronic neutrophilic inflammation in cystic fibrosis (CF) mouse models.

A Super-Ionic Solid-State Block Copolymer Electrolyte.

Polymer solid-state electrolytes offer great promise for battery materials with high energy density, mechanical stability, and improved safety. However, their low ion conductivities have so far limited their potential applications. Here, it is shown for poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymers that the super-stoichiometric addition of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (LiTFSI) as lithium salt leads to the formation of a crystalline PEO block copolymer phase with exceptionally high ion conductivities and low activation energies.

Aplastic anemia in association with multiple myeloma: clinical and pathophysiological insights.

We investigated immune cytopenia in multiple myeloma (MM) patients with concurrent acquired aplastic anemia (AA), focusing on three clinical cases treated with plasma cell-directed therapy. All three patients achieved partial response in MM and one patient experienced complete resolution of AA. Two patients had partial improvement in transfusion requirement but continued to suffer from severe AA, leading to immunosuppressive therapy (IST) with improvement of transfusion requirement in both patients.

CS-PHOC: weekly census counts of Southern Ocean phocids at Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island.

Rapid climatic warming of the Antarctic Peninsula is driving regional population declines and distribution shifts of predators and prey. Affected species include Antarctic ice seals and the southern elephant seal, all of which rely on the peninsula region for critical stages of their life cycle. However, data collection is difficult in this remote region, and therefore long-term time series with which to identify and investigate population trends in these species are rare.

CDK9 phosphorylates RUNX1 to promote megakaryocytic fate in megakaryocytic-erythroid progenitors.

The specification of megakaryocytic (Mk) or erythroid (E) lineages from primary human megakaryocytic-erythroid progenitors (MEPs) is crucial for hematopoietic homeostasis, yet the underlying mechanisms regulating fate specification remain elusive. In this study, we identify RUNX1 as a key modulator of gene expression during MEP fate specification. Overexpression of RUNX1 in primary human MEPs promotes Mk specification, whereas pan-RUNX inhibition favors E specification.

Differential inflammatory conditioning of the bone marrow by acute myeloid leukemia and its impact on progression.

Inflammation promotes solid tumor progression, but how regulatory mechanisms of inflammation may affect leukemia is less well studied. Using annexin A5 (ANXA5), a calcium-binding protein known for apoptosis, which we discovered to be differentially expressed in the bone marrow microenvironment (BMM) of mice with acute myeloid (AML) vs chronic myeloid leukemia, as a model system, we unravel here a circuit in which AML-derived tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) dose-dependently reduces ANXA5 in the BMM. This creates an inflammatory BMM via elevated levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2).

Single-cell analysis reveals transcriptional dynamics in healthy primary parathyroid tissue.

Studies on human parathyroids are generally limited to hyperfunctioning glands owing to the difficulty in obtaining normal human tissue. We therefore obtained non-human primate (NHP) parathyroids to provide a suitable alternative for sequencing that would bear a close semblance to human organs. Single-cell RNA expression analysis of parathyroids from four healthy adult reveals a continuous trajectory of epithelial cell states.

Online Anticipatory Cues During Practice Disrupt Intentional and Incidental Sequence Learning.

In the Serial Reaction Time Task, participants respond to several stimuli usually being unaware that the stimuli follow a predefined sequence while still learning the sequence. In the present study, we aimed to clearly separate explicit intentional learning from implicit incidental learning by either informing participants about all details of the sequence or not informing participants about the existence of the sequence. Further, we explored the influence of anticipatory cues during practice while anticipatory cues were either presented (extrinsically triggered anticipation) or not presented (self-reliant intrinsic anticipation).

Engineering an inducible leukemia-associated fusion protein enables large-scale ex vivo production of functional human phagocytes.

Ex vivo expansion of human CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells remains a challenge due to rapid differentiation after detachment from the bone marrow niche. In this study, we assessed the capacity of an inducible fusion protein to enable sustained ex vivo proliferation of hematopoietic precursors and their capacity to differentiate into functional phagocytes. We fused the coding sequences of an FK506-Binding Protein 12 (FKBP12)-derived destabilization domain (DD) to the myeloid/lymphoid lineage leukemia/eleven nineteen leukemia (MLL-ENL) fusion gene to generate the fusion protein DD-MLL-ENL and retrovirally expressed the protein switch in human CD34+ progenitors.

The Capsular Polysaccharide Obstructs Wall Teichoic Acid Functions in Staphylococcus aureus.

Background: The cell envelope of Staphylococcus aureus contains 2 major secondary cell wall glycopolymers: capsular polysaccharide (CP) and wall teichoic acid (WTA). Both CP and WTA are attached to the cell wall and play distinct roles in S. aureus colonization, pathogenesis, and bacterial evasion of host immune defenses.

Cyclophilin A supports translation of intrinsically disordered proteins and affects haematopoietic stem cell ageing.

Loss of protein function is a driving force of ageing. We have identified peptidyl-prolyl isomerase A (PPIA or cyclophilin A) as a dominant chaperone in haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Depletion of PPIA accelerates stem cell ageing.

An immunophenotype-coupled transcriptomic atlas of human hematopoietic progenitors.

Analysis of the human hematopoietic progenitor compartment is being transformed by single-cell multimodal approaches. Cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing (CITE-seq) enables coupled surface protein and transcriptome profiling, thereby revealing genomic programs underlying progenitor states. To perform CITE-seq systematically on primary human bone marrow cells, we used titrations with 266 CITE-seq antibodies (antibody-derived tags) and machine learning to optimize a panel of 132 antibodies.

Switching Off Vascular MAPK Signaling: A Novel Strategy to Prevent Delayed Cerebral Ischemia Following Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

Patients who initially survive the rupture and repair of a brain aneurysm often take a devastating turn for the worse some days later and die or suffer permanent neurologic deficits. This catastrophic sequela is attributed to a delayed phase of global cerebral ischemia (DCI) following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), but we lack effective treatment. Here we present our view, based on 20 years of research, that the initial drop in blood flow at the time of rupture triggers genomic responses throughout the brain vasculature that manifest days later as increased vasoconstriction and decreased cerebral blood flow.

Oxygenation influences xylose fermentation and gene expression in the yeast genera Spathaspora and Scheffersomyces.

Background: Cost-effective production of biofuels from lignocellulose requires the fermentation of D-xylose. Many yeast species within and closely related to the genera Spathaspora and Scheffersomyces (both of the order Serinales) natively assimilate and ferment xylose. Other species consume xylose inefficiently, leading to extracellular accumulation of xylitol.

Detecting Artificial Intelligence-Generated Personal Statements in Professional Physical Therapist Education Program Applications: A Lexical Analysis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the lexical sophistication of personal statements submitted by professional physical therapist education program applicants with those generated by OpenAI's Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer (ChatGPT).

Methods: Personal statements from 152 applicants and 20 generated by ChatGPT were collected, all in response to a standardized prompt. These statements were coded numerically, then analyzed with recurrence quantification analyses (RQAs).

Acute effects of an isometric neck warm-up programme on neck performance characteristics and ultrasound-based morphology.

Objective: Athletic performance can be enhanced immediately after an isometric warm-up, a phenomenon termed post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE). While isometric warm-ups can improve lower extremity sprint and jump performance, neck-specific isometric warm-ups need development and validation for mild traumatic brain disorders and neck pain. This study examined acute effects of isometric warm-ups on neck performance and morphology.

Core Needle Biopsies as an Alternative Source for Ex Vivo Expanded TIL for Adoptive Cell Therapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Adoptive transfer of ex vivo expanded tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have produced long-term response in metastatic cancers. TILs have traditionally been expanded from surgically resected specimens. Ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy (CNB) is an alternative method that avoids the morbidity of surgery and have added benefits which may include patients not amenable to surgery as well as the potential to produce TILs from multiple lesions in the same patient.