Reduced response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is associated with impaired immunoglobulin class switch recombination in SLE patients.

Introduction: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients exhibit B-cell abnormalities. Although there are concerns about reduced antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, detailed data on B-cell-specific responses in SLE remain scarce. Understanding the responsiveness to novel vaccine-antigens, and boosters number, is important to avoid unnecessary prolonged isolation of immunocompromised individuals.

Frameshift mutations in the gene can have a bedaquiline-susceptible phenotype by retaining a protein structure and function similar to wild-type .

Bedaquiline (BDQ) is crucial for the treatment of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis, yet resistance threatens its effectiveness, mainly linked to mutations in the () gene. While frameshift mutations are thought to produce non-functional proteins, we hypothesize that they can result in conserved proteins through late-stop codons or alternative reading frames and remain BDQ susceptible. We extracted 512 isolates harboring frameshift mutations in from the World Health Organization (WHO) catalog and 68 isolates with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in mycobacterial growth indicator tube (MGIT) through a literature review.

A reproducible approach for the use of aptamer libraries for the identification of Aptamarkers for brain amyloid deposition based on plasma analysis.

An approach for the agnostic identification and validation of aptamers for the prediction of a medical state from plasma analysis is presented in application to a key risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. brain amyloid deposition. This method involved the use of a newly designed aptamer library with sixteen random nucleotides interspersed with fixed sequences called a Neomer library.

The effect of antibiotic selection on collateral effects and evolvability of uropathogenic .

Trimethoprim is recommended as a first-line treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the UK. In 2018, 31.4% of isolated from UTIs in England were trimethoprim-resistant, leading to overreliance on other first and second-line antibiotics.

Phylogenomic and genomic analysis reveals unique and shared genetic signatures of complex species.

Species belonging to the complex (MKC) are frequently isolated from humans and the environment and can cause serious diseases. The most common MKC infections are caused by the species (), leading to tuberculosis-like disease. However, a broad spectrum of virulence, antimicrobial resistance and pathogenicity of these non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are observed across the MKC.

Single nucleotide variation catalog from clinical isolates mapped on tertiary and quaternary structures of ESX-1-related proteins reveals critical regions as putative Mtb therapeutic targets.

Unlabelled: Proteins encoded by the ESX-1 genes of interest are essential for full virulence in all complex (Mtbc) lineages, the pathogens causing the highest mortality worldwide. Identifying critical regions in these ESX-1-related proteins could provide preventive or therapeutic targets for Mtb infection, the game changer needed for tuberculosis control. We analyzed a compendium of whole genome sequences of clinical Mtb isolates from all lineages from >32,000 patients and identified single nucleotide polymorphisms.

Melatonin reduces brain injury following inflammation-amplified hypoxia-ischemia in a translational newborn piglet study of neonatal encephalopathy.

There is a need to develop therapies for neonatal encephalopathy (NE) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where the burden of disease is greatest and therapeutic hypothermia (HT) is not effective. We aimed to assess the efficacy of melatonin following inflammation-amplified hypoxia-ischaemia (IA-HI) in the newborn piglet. The IA-HI model accounts for the contribution of infection/inflammation in this setting and HT is not cytoprotective.

Inferring diet, disease and antibiotic resistance from ancient human oral microbiomes.

The interaction between a host and its microbiome is an area of intense study. For the human host, it is known that the various body-site-associated microbiomes impact heavily on health and disease states. For instance, the oral microbiome is a source of various pathogens and potential antibiotic resistance gene pools.

Human Milk Cannabinoid Concentrations and Associations with Maternal Factors: The Lactation and Cannabis (LAC) Study.

As cannabis use increases among reproductive-aged women, there is a growing need to better understand the presence of cannabinoids in milk produced by women using cannabis. It is unclear how concentrations of cannabinoids such as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-THC) persist in milk after cannabis use and what factors contribute to variation in milk Δ-THC concentrations. Our objectives were to measure cannabinoids in human milk following cannabis abstention, after single and repeated instances of cannabis use, and identify factors contributing to concentration variation.

Factors Associated With Early Palliative Care Among Patients With Heart Failure.

Heart failure (HF) is a progressive, life-limiting illness for which palliative care (PC) is considered standard of care. Among patients that do receive PC, consultation tends to occur late in the illness course. Our primary aim was to examine patient factors associated with receiving PC in HF.

'They're Much Too young': The Entanglement of Porn, Pleasure and Age in Sex Education.

Most debates around the place of porn in the classroom focus on abstaining from porn through sex education. Any inclusion of pleasure often entails lengthy consideration of discourses of pornification and sexualization more broadly. In this study, I aimed to elicit young people's and teachers' views, concerns and suggestions about the place of porn, and pleasure more broadly, in sex education.

Analysis of the limited accessory genome reveals potential pitfalls of pan-genome analysis approaches.

Pan-genome analysis is a fundamental tool for studying bacterial genome evolution; however, the variety of methods used to define and measure the pan-genome poses challenges to the interpretation and reliability of results. To quantify sources of bias and error related to common pan-genome analysis approaches, we evaluated different approaches applied to curated collection of 151 ( ) isolates. is characterized by its clonal evolution, absence of horizontal gene transfer, and limited accessory genome, making it an ideal test case for this study.

Simultaneous Focal Boost With Stereotactic Radiation Therapy for Localized Intermediate- to High-Risk Prostate Cancer: Primary Outcomes of the SPARC Phase 2 Trial.

Purpose: Dose-escalated radiation therapy is associated with better biochemical control at the expense of toxicity. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) with dose escalation to the dominant intraprostatic lesion (DIL) provides a logical approach to improve outcomes in high-risk disease while limiting toxicity. This study evaluated the toxicity and quality of life (QoL) with CyberKnife-based SBRT and simultaneous integrated boost in localized prostate cancer.

Maternal Cannabis Use during Lactation and Potential Effects on Human Milk Composition and Production: A Narrative Review.

Cannabis use has increased sharply in the last 20 y among adults, including reproductive-aged women. Its recent widespread legalization is associated with a decrease in risk perception of cannabis use during breastfeeding. However, the effect of cannabis use (if any) on milk production and milk composition is not known.

Use of External Control Cohorts in Pediatric Brain Tumor Clinical Trials.

Why, when, and how to consider external control cohorts in pediatric brain tumor clinical trials.

Cannabis use, decision making, and perceptions of risk among breastfeeding individuals: the Lactation and Cannabis (LAC) Study.

Objective: Our primary objective was to understand breastfeeding individuals' decisions to use cannabis. Specifically, we investigated reasons for cannabis use, experiences with healthcare providers regarding use, and potential concerns about cannabis use.

Methods: We collected survey data from twenty breastfeeding participants from Washington and Oregon who used cannabis at least once weekly.

Weight change following diagnosis with psychosis: a retrospective cohort study in Greater Manchester, UK.

Introduction: Weight gain in the months/years after diagnosis/treatment of severe enduring mental illness (SMI) is a major predictor of future diabetes, dysmetabolic profile and increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases. There is limited data on the longer-term profile of weight change in people with a history of SMI and how this may differ between individuals. We here report a retrospective study on weight change over the 5 years following an SMI diagnosis in Greater Manchester UK, an ethnically and culturally diverse community, with particular focus on comparing non-affective psychosis (NAP) vs affective psychosis (AP) diagnoses.

Age-related alterations in the oscillatory dynamics serving verbal working memory processing.

Working memory (WM) is a foundational cognitive function involving the temporary storage of information. Unfortunately, WM is also one of the most sensitive cognitive functions to the detrimental effects of aging. Expanding the field's understanding of age-related WM changes is critical to advancing the development of strategies to mitigate age-related WM declines.

Genomic transmission clusters and circulating lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis among refugees residing in refugee camps in Ethiopia.

Background: Understanding the transmission dynamics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) could benefit the design of tuberculosis (TB) prevention and control strategies for refugee populations. Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) has not yet been used to document the Mtb transmission dynamics among refugees in Ethiopia. We applied WGS to accurately identify transmission clusters and Mtb lineages among TB cases in refugee camps in Ethiopia.

Borderline mutations transmit at the same rate as common mutations in a tuberculosis cohort in Bangladesh.

The spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a growing problem in many countries worldwide. Resistance to one of the primary first-line drugs, rifampicin, is caused by mutations in the gene. So-called borderline mutations confer low-level resistance, in contrast to more common mutations which confer high-level resistance.