Rapid versus slow degeneration and complications of biomaterials in patients with congenital heart disease.

Objectives: Re-operations due to material degeneration carry a burden for patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). The study aim was to compare rapid vs. slow degeneration of biomaterials in CHD patients.

Mass-forming intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: treatment outcomes after curative-intent resection in an Australian tertiary referral hospital.

Background: Mass-forming intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (MF-ICC) is the second most common primary liver cancer and liver resection offers the best chance of possible cure. This study aimed to assess treatment outcomes and prognostic factors for long-term survival in patients who underwent curative-intent liver resection.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on prospectively collected data from patients with MF-ICC managed at the Royal North Shore/North Shore Private Hospital from January 1998 to October 2023.

Recruitment of autophagy initiator TAX1BP1 advances aggrephagy from cargo collection to sequestration.

Autophagy mediates the degradation of harmful material within lysosomes. In aggrephagy, the pathway mediating the degradation of aggregated, ubiquitinated proteins, this cargo material is collected in larger condensates prior to its sequestration by autophagosomes. In this process, the autophagic cargo receptors SQSTM1/p62 and NBR1 drive cargo condensation, while TAX1BP1, which binds to NBR1, recruits the autophagy machinery to facilitate autophagosome biogenesis at the condensates.

Exploration of Solid Phase Peptoid Synthesis for the Design of Trifunctional Hapten-Lipid-TLR7/8 Agonist Antibody-Recruiting Oligomers That Combine Innate Effector with Innate Activation Function.

The strategic engagement of innate immunity is a promising avenue for cancer treatment. Antibody-recruiting molecules (ARMs) direct endogenous antibodies to target tumor sites, eliciting innate immune effector killing responses. In this study, we report the synthesis of ARMs by employing solid-phase peptoid synthesis to construct three libraries of antibody-recruiting oligomers.

Increased sensitivity to social hierarchy during social competition versus cooperation.

Social hierarchy is a typical feature of social organization. The ability to quickly recognize social hierarchy information is crucial for adapting to social contexts. Here, we adopted fast periodic visual stimulation with electroencephalography to assess the neural responses to social hierarchy during social competition and cooperation, respectively.

Optimization of whole slide imaging scan settings for computer vision using human lung cancer tissue.

Digital pathology has become increasingly popular for research and clinical applications. Using high-quality microscopes to produce Whole Slide Images of tumor tissue enables the discovery of insights into biological aspects invisible to the human eye. These are acquired through downstream analyses using spatial statistics and artificial intelligence.

The frozen elephant trunk technique in acute aortic dissection: the ultimate solution? An institutional experience.

Objective: Acute aortic dissection remains a serious emergency in the field of cardiovascular medicine and a challenge for cardiothoracic surgeons. In the present study, we seek to compare the outcomes of different surgical techniques in the repair of type A acute aortic dissection.

Methods: Between April 2015 and May 2023, 213 patients (82 women, aged: 63.

Alterations in Gray Matter Structural Networks in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Source-Based Morphometry Study.

Background: Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), considered as the prodromal stage of Alzheimer's disease, is characterized by isolated memory impairment and cerebral gray matter volume (GMV) alterations. Previous structural MRI studies in aMCI have been mainly based on univariate statistics using voxel-based morphometry.

Objective: We investigated structural network differences between aMCI patients and cognitively normal older adults by using source-based morphometry, a multivariate approach that considers the relationship between voxels of various parts of the brain.

A hitchhiker's guide to autophagy.

Macroautophagy (autophagy) mediates the degradation of cytoplasmic materials within lysosomes. In this issue, Takeda et al, identify an as-yet unknown mechanism that specifically attaches cytoplasmic components to lipidated ATG8 proteins during starvation-induced autophagy. This mechanism may be widely employed in autophagic pathways.

Control of mitophagy initiation and progression by the TBK1 adaptors NAP1 and SINTBAD.

Mitophagy preserves overall mitochondrial fitness by selectively targeting damaged mitochondria for degradation. The regulatory mechanisms that prevent PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) and E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin (PINK1/Parkin)-dependent mitophagy and other selective autophagy pathways from overreacting while ensuring swift progression once initiated are largely elusive. Here, we demonstrate how the TBK1 (TANK-binding kinase 1) adaptors NAP1 (NAK-associated protein 1) and SINTBAD (similar to NAP1 TBK1 adaptor) restrict the initiation of OPTN (optineurin)-driven mitophagy by competing with OPTN for TBK1.

Tau fibrils evade autophagy by excessive p62 coating and TAX1BP1 exclusion.

The accumulation of protein aggregates is a hallmark of many diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. As a major pillar of the proteostasis network, autophagy mediates the degradation of protein aggregates. The autophagy cargo receptor p62 recognizes ubiquitin on proteins and cooperates with TAX1BP1 to recruit the autophagy machinery.

Surgery of Neoaortic Pseudoaneurysm with Transsternal Penetration in a HLHS Patient.

Neoaortic pseudoaneurysm after previous surgery is rare and life-threatening. We present a case of a 6th redo surgery in a 23-year-old male patient with a history of hypoplastic left heart syndrome presenting with transsternal penetration of aortic pseudoaneurysm. The previously implanted Dacron prosthesis showed semicircular dehiscence.

Multicenter comparison of Etest, Vitek2 and BD Phoenix to broth microdilution for beta-lactam susceptibility testing of Streptococcus pneumonia.

Purpose: To assess performance of Etest®, Vitek®2 and BD Phoenix™ to determine the susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains to penicillin, ampicillin and cefotaxime.

Methods: Sixty unique S. pneumoniae challenge strains were selected to cover a wide range of penicillin, ampicillin and cefotaxime minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs).

Determination of Self-Heating in Silicon Photomultipliers.

The main consequence of radiation damage on a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) is a significant increase in the dark current. If the SiPM is not adequately cooled, the power dissipation causes it to heat up, which alters its performance parameters. To investigate this heating effect, a measurement cycle was developed and performed with a KETEK SiPM glued to an AlO substrate and with HPK SiPMs glued to either an AlO substrate or a flexible PCB.

Assessment and Partial Characterization of Candidate Genes in Dihydrochalcone and Arbutin Biosynthesis in an Apple-Pear Hybrid by Transcriptome Assembly.

Apples ( Borkh.) and pears ( L.) are valuable crops closely related within the Rosaceae family with reported nutraceutical properties derived from secondary metabolites including phloridzin and arbutin, which are distinctive phenolic metabolites characterizing apples and pears, respectively.

Biophysics-inspired spike rate adaptation for computationally efficient phenomenological nerve modeling.

This study introduces and evaluates the PHAST+ model, part of a computational framework designed to simulate the behavior of auditory nerve fibers in response to the electrical stimulation from a cochlear implant. PHAST+ incorporates a highly efficient method for calculating accommodation and adaptation, making it particularly suited for simulations over extended stimulus durations. The proposed method uses a leaky integrator inspired by classic biophysical nerve models.

Large-scale chemoproteomics expedites ligand discovery and predicts ligand behavior in cells.

Chemical modulation of proteins enables a mechanistic understanding of biology and represents the foundation of most therapeutics. However, despite decades of research, 80% of the human proteome lacks functional ligands. Chemical proteomics has advanced fragment-based ligand discovery toward cellular systems, but throughput limitations have stymied the scalable identification of fragment-protein interactions.

Comparative Evaluation of Secondary Metabolite Chemodiversity of Genebank Collection in Greece: Can the Peel be More than Waste?

fruits are among the most economically important crops in the world. In the global market, the Citrus peel is often considered a byproduct but substitutes an important phenotypic characteristic of the fruit and a valuable source of essential oils, flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenolic acids with variable concentrations. The Mediterranean basin is a particularly dense area of autochthonous genotypes of that are known for being a source of healthy foods, which can be repertoires of valuable genes for molecular breeding with the focus on plant resistance and quality improvement.

Faa1 membrane binding drives positive feedback in autophagosome biogenesis via fatty acid activation.

Autophagy serves as a stress response pathway by mediating the degradation of cellular material within lysosomes. In autophagy, this material is encapsulated in double-membrane vesicles termed autophagosomes, which form from precursors referred to as phagophores. Phagophores grow by lipid influx from the endoplasmic reticulum into Atg9-positive compartments and local lipid synthesis provides lipids for their expansion.

Correcting the Non-Linear Response of Silicon Photomultipliers.

The finite number of pixels in a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) limits its dynamic range to light pulses up to typically 80% of the total number of pixels in a device. Correcting the non-linear response is essential to extend the SiPM's dynamic range. One challenge in determining the non-linear response correction is providing a reference linear light source.

The Role of ATG9 Vesicles in Autophagosome Biogenesis.

Autophagy mediates the degradation and recycling of cellular material in the lysosomal system. Dysfunctional autophagy is associated with a plethora of diseases including uncontrolled infections, cancer and neurodegeneration. In macroautophagy (hereafter autophagy) this material is encapsulated in double membrane vesicles, the autophagosomes, which form upon induction of autophagy.

Generation and characterisation of an Arabidopsis thaliana f3h/fls1/ans triple mutant that accumulates eriodictyol derivatives.

Background: Flavonoids are plant specialised metabolites, which derive from phenylalanine and acetate metabolism. They possess a variety of beneficial characteristics for plants and humans. Several modification steps in the synthesis of tricyclic flavonoids cause for the amazing diversity of flavonoids in plants.