Monoubiquitinated H2B, a Main Chromatin Target of Formaldehyde, Is Important for S-Phase Checkpoint Signaling and Genome Stability.

Formaldehyde (FA) is a human carcinogen with ubiquitous environmental exposures and significant endogenous formation. Genotoxic activity of FA stems from its reactivity with DNA-NH groups. Histone lysines are another source of aldehyde-reactive amino groups in chromatin, however, chromatin/histone damage responses to FA and their biological significance are poorly understood.

Sensitive Detection of Histones and γ-H2AX by Immunoblotting: Problems and Solutions.

Histones and their posttranslational modifications (PTMs) are critical regulators of gene expression. Differentiation, environmental stressors, xenobiotics, and major human diseases cause significant changes in histone variants and PTMs. Western blotting is the mainstay methodology for detection of histones and their PTMs in the majority of studies.

Impact of musculoskeletal disorders in patients using orthopedic equipment on sternotomy wound healing after cardiac surgery - preliminary report.

Background: The presence of locomotive disorders may negatively impact the outcome of cardiac surgeries. This retrospective study aimed to assess the effect of preoperative diagnosis of locomotive disorders requiring the continuous use of orthopedic devices on postoperative rehabilitation and stable sternum adhesion.

Material And Methods: The study included 122 patients who underwent cardiac surgery, with 68 patients in the study group having a musculoskeletal disorder and 54 patients in the control group without such disorders.

The Impact of Acute EBV Infection on Changes in the Serum Proteome in Children-A Pilot Study.

This study investigates the impact of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection on children's proteomes across different phases of the disease, utilising seventy-nine blood samples categorised into three groups: EBV-naive patients, acute infectious mononucleosis (IM) cases, and convalescents followed up for 12 months post-IM. The aim is to identify proteins influenced by EBV infection, shedding light on the chronic processes triggered by the virus. The results reveal thirty-nine proteins distinguishing between naive patients and those with IM, including actin, lumican, peroxiredoxin-2, fibulin-1, gelsolin, and alpha-2-macroglobulin, which are involved in immune responses, cell adhesion, and inflammation.

Comprehensive proteomics of monocytes indicates oxidative imbalance functionally related to inflammatory response in chronic kidney disease-related atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis-induced cardiovascular events are the leading cause of mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Monocytes are involved in the formation of atherosclerotic plaques and mediate in the overproduction of ROS, promoting inflammation and oxidative stress. However, the relationship between monocytes, inflammation, and oxidative status in CKD-associated atherosclerosis has not been thoroughly investigated.

HMGB1 Carried by Small Extracellular Vesicles Potentially Plays a Role in Promoting Acquired Middle Ear Cholesteatoma.

Cholesteatoma is a specific medical condition involving the abnormal, non-cancerous growth of skin-like tissue in the middle ear, potentially leading to a collection of debris and even infections. The receptor for advanced glycation (RAGE) and its ligand, high-mobility box 1 (HMGB1), are both known to be overexpressed in cholesteatoma and play a potential role in the pathogenesis of the disease. In this study, we investigated the role of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) in carrying HMGB1 and inducing disease-promoting effects in cholesteatoma.

Atypical genotoxicity of carcinogenic nickel(II): Linkage to dNTP biosynthesis, DNA-incorporated rNMPs, and impaired repair of TOP1-DNA crosslinks.

Cancer is a genetic disease requiring multiple mutations for its development. However, many carcinogens are DNA-unreactive and nonmutagenic and consequently described as nongenotoxic. One of such carcinogens is nickel, a global environmental pollutant abundantly emitted by burning of coal.

Cryo IR spectroscopy and cryo kinetics of dinitrogen activation and cleavage by small tantalum cluster cations.

We investigate small tantalum clusters Tan+, n = 2-4, for their capability to cleave N2 adsorption spontaneously. We utilize infrared photon dissociation (IR-PD) spectroscopy of isolated and size selected clusters under cryogenic conditions within a buffer gas filled ion trap, and we augment our experiments by quantum chemical simulations (at DFT level). All Tan+ clusters, n = 2-4, seem to cleave N2 efficiently.

Glutathione kinetically outcompetes reactions between dimedone and a cyclic sulfenamide or physiological sulfenic acids.

Dimedone and its derivates are used as selective probes for the nucleophilic detection of sulfenic acids in biological samples. Qualitative analyses suggested that dimedone also reacts with cyclic sulfenamides. Furthermore, under physiological conditions, dimedone must compete with the highly concentrated nucleophile glutathione.

Strength and ductility loss of Magnesium-Gadolinium due to corrosion in physiological environment: Experiments and modeling.

We propose a computational framework to study the effect of corrosion on the mechanical strength of magnesium (Mg) samples. Our work is motivated by the need to predict the residual strength of biomedical Mg implants after a given period of degradation in a physiological environment. To model corrosion, a mass-diffusion type model is used that accounts for localised corrosion using Weibull statistics.

The ACOUCOU platform: Online acoustic education developed by an interdisciplinary team.

The ACOUCOU platform is a web-based, interactive, acoustics training platform that includes a set of free educational materials in various technical fields of acoustics. Educational materials are designed to serve as a modern self-development tool for students and engineers, as well as a comprehensive solution for professional education in the work environment. On the other hand, the provided materials of the platform can be a useful tool, supporting teachers, company researchers, and academic lecturers in the process of teaching acoustics.

Vulnerability of HIF1α and HIF2α to damage by proteotoxic stressors.

Transcription factors HIF1 and HIF2 are central regulators of physiological responses to hypoxia and important for normal functioning of tissue stem cells and maintenance of healthy microvasculature. Even modest decreases in HIF activity exert detrimental effects in tissues although it is unclear what factors can directly impair HIF functions. We hypothesized that the presence of functionally important, large intrinsically disordered regions in HIFα subunits of HIF1/2 could make them structurally vulnerable to protein-damaging conditions.

Dynamic monitoring of fracture healing process in response to magnesium implant with multimodal imaging: pilot longitudinal study in a rat external fixation model.

Rodent models are commonly used in pre-clinical research of magnesium (Mg)-based and other types of biomaterials for fracture treatment. Most studies selected unstable fixation methods, and there is a lack of multimodal longitudinal monitoring of bone healing. The purpose of this study is to develop a rat femoral fracture model stabilized by external fixation with intra-medullary Mg implant, and to investigate the dynamic bone union process with several imaging techniques offering complementing insights into the process.

Arrested in Glass: Actin within Sophisticated Architectures of Biosilica in Sponges.

Actin is a fundamental member of an ancient superfamily of structural intracellular proteins and plays a crucial role in cytoskeleton dynamics, ciliogenesis, phagocytosis, and force generation in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. It is shown that actin has another function in metazoans: patterning biosilica deposition, a role that has spanned over 500 million years. Species of glass sponges (Hexactinellida) and demosponges (Demospongiae), representatives of the first metazoans, with a broad diversity of skeletal structures with hierarchical architecture unchanged since the late Precambrian, are studied.

Adipocytokines as Risk Factors for Development of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children.

Background: Noninvasive diagnostics of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common cause of liver dysfunction in children, are based on imaging, biochemical tests and their compilation. The study aimed to evaluate the serological biomarkers of steatosis, inflammation and liver fibrosis to assess the risk of NAFLD in children.

Methods: A total of 73 children were included in the prospective study; 50 of them were diagnosed with NAFLD based on ultrasound, and 23 formed a control group.

Influence of Virtual Reality Devices on Pain and Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Cystoscopy Performed under Local Anaesthesia.

Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies. Its diagnosis is based on transurethral cystoscopy. Virtual reality (VR) is a three-dimensional world generated through the projection of images, the emission of sounds and other stimuli.

Pain reduction methods during transurethral cystoscopy.

Transurethral cystoscopy (CS) is a common urological procedure, performed mostly for diagnostic but also for therapeutic purposes. Although CS is generally well tolerated, some patients describe the pain related to the procedure as high or even "unbearable". As a result, many patients fear and avoid both primary and/or follow-up cystoscopies.