Single spike mutation differentiating XBB.1 and XBB.1.5 enhances SARS-CoV-2 cell-to-cell transmission and facilitates serum-mediated enhancement.

Introduction: The ongoing emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants poses significant challenges to existing therapeutics. The spike (S) glycoprotein is central to both viral entry and cell-to-cell transmission via syncytia formation, a process that confers resistance to neutralizing antibodies. The mechanisms underlying this resistance, particularly in relation to spike-mediated fusion, remain poorly understood.

Local drug delivery challenges and innovations in spinal neurosurgery.

The development of novel therapeutics in the field of spinal neurosurgery faces a litany of translational challenges. Achieving precise drug targeting within the confined spaces associated with the spinal cord, canal and vertebra requires the development of next generation delivery systems and devices. These must be capable of overcoming inherent barriers related to drug diffusion, whilst concurrently ensuring optimal drug distribution and retention.

Neural circuit mechanisms underlying context-specific halting in Drosophila.

Walking is a complex motor programme involving coordinated and distributed activity across the brain and the spinal cord. Halting appropriately at the correct time is a critical component of walking control. Despite progress in identifying neurons driving halting, the underlying neural circuit mechanisms responsible for overruling the competing walking state remain unclear.

The Impact of Perception-Action Training Devices on Quickness and Reaction Time in Female Volleyball Players.

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of a training program utilizing action perception technology (PAD) tools on improving the motor reaction times and neuromuscular capabilities of the upper and lower limbs compared to a traditional training program. Twenty-four female volleyball players competing in the Italian national championship were randomized into two groups of 12 athletes each: an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). A preliminary analysis confirmed the absence of significant differences in age and anthropometric characteristics between the groups.

A new case of Echovirus 11 neonatal fulminant hepatitis involving male twins in a Northern Italy Tertiary University Hospital: Insight on a possible immunological clue.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has reported 19 cases of severe echovirus 11 infections in neonates since 2022, nine of which were fatal. We report a new fatal neonatal case that occurred in a male twin for which we evaluated the respiratory and intestinal mucosal innate immune response.

Combined Use of Phenotypic Screening and of a Novel Commercial Assay (REALQUALITY Carba-Screen) for the Rapid Molecular Detection of Carbapenemases: A Single-Center Experience.

Carbapenem resistance is a serious public health threat, causing numerous deaths annually primarily due to healthcare-associated infections. To face this menace, surveillance programs in high-risk patients are becoming a widespread practice. Here we report the performance of the combined use of a recently approved commercial multiplex real-time PCR assay (REALQUALITY Carba-Screen kit) with conventional phenotypic screening.

Torquetenovirus Viremia Quantification Using Real-Time PCR Developed on a Fully Automated, Random-Access Platform.

Quantification of Torquetenovirus (TTV) viremia is becoming important for evaluating the status of the immune system in solid organ transplant recipients, monitoring the appearance of post-transplant complications, and controlling the efficacy of maintenance immunosuppressive therapy. Thus, diagnostic approaches able to scale up TTV quantification are needed. Here, we report on the development and validation of a real-time PCR assay for TTV quantification on the Hologic Panther Fusion System by utilizing its open-access channel.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention before or after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Involving 1531 Patients.

The optimal timing to perform percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is not well established. In this meta-analysis, we aimed to compare the outcomes of patients undergoing PCI before versus after TAVR. A comprehensive literature search was performed including Medline, Embase, and Cochrane electronic databases up to 5 April 2024 for studies that compared PCI before and after TAVR reporting at least one clinical outcome of interest (PROSPERO ID: CRD42023470417).

Cognitive limits of larval : testing for conditioned inhibition, sensory preconditioning, and second-order conditioning.

larvae are an established model system for studying the mechanisms of innate and simple forms of learned behavior. They have about 10 times fewer neurons than adult flies, and it was the low total number of their neurons that allowed for an electron microscopic reconstruction of their brain at synaptic resolution. Regarding the mushroom body, a central brain structure for many forms of associative learning in insects, it turned out that more than half of the classes of synaptic connection had previously escaped attention.

Molecular characterization of emerging Echovirus 11 (E11) shed light on the recombinant origin of a variant associated with severe hepatitis in neonates.

Echovirus 11 (E11) has gained attention owing to its association with severe neonatal infections. Due to the limited data available, the World Health Organization (WHO) considers public health risk to the general population to be low. The present study investigated the genetic variation and molecular evolution of E11 genomes collected from May to December 2023.

ACOD1 deficiency offers protection in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity by maintaining a healthy gut microbiota.

Aconitate decarboxylase 1 (ACOD1) is the enzyme synthesizing itaconate, an immuno-regulatory metabolite tuning host-pathogen interactions. Such functions are achieved by affecting metabolic pathways regulating inflammation and microbe survival. However, at the whole-body level, metabolic roles of itaconate remain largely unresolved.

Keratitis: A Case Series and Review of Literature.

Background: is a filamentous fungus commonly used as an insecticide that rarely causes keratitis.

Methods: Patients affected by keratitis were retrospectively recruited at San Raffaele Hospital (Milan, Italy) between 2020 and 2022. All subjects underwent comprehensive ophthalmic evaluation, including in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) and microbiologic examination of corneal scrapings.

Acute non invasive brain stimulation improves performances in volleyball players.

Objectives: The ability to redirect one's attention in response to various environmental situations is a crucial aspect of selective attention in team sports. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in volleyball players can improve Posner test response and cortical excitability. This study had a double-blinded (participant and evaluator) matched-pair experimental design.

New Antimicrobials for Gram-Positive Sustained Infections: A Comprehensive Guide for Clinicians.

Antibiotic resistance is a public health problem with increasingly alarming data being reported. Gram-positive bacteria are among the protagonists of severe nosocomial and community infections. The objective of this review is to conduct an extensive examination of emerging treatments for Gram-positive infections including ceftobiprole, ceftaroline, dalbavancin, oritavancin, omadacycline, tedizolid, and delafloxacin.

Rewarding Capacity of Optogenetically Activating a Giant GABAergic Central-Brain Interneuron in Larval .

Larvae of the fruit fly are a powerful study case for understanding the neural circuits underlying behavior. Indeed, the numerical simplicity of the larval brain has permitted the reconstruction of its synaptic connectome, and genetic tools for manipulating single, identified neurons allow neural circuit function to be investigated with relative ease and precision. We focus on one of the most complex neurons in the brain of the larva (of either sex), the GABAergic anterior paired lateral neuron (APL).

Answer to July 2023 Photo Quiz.

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