Rate of hepatitis C reinfection after successful direct-acting antivirals treatment among people who inject drugs in Spain: the LIVERate study.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) reinfection following successful treatment threatens the achievement of HCV elimination. The primary aim of this study is to assess reinfection rate three years after sustained virologic response (SVR) in people who inject drugs (PWID) that are on opioid agonist treatment (OAT) who underwent anti-HCV treatment with interferon-free regimens.

Methods: Observational, non-interventional, prospective, descriptive study carried out in Spanish tertiary public hospitals between 2017 and 2022.

Temporal superficial arteritis as differential diagnosis in patients with atherosclerotic changes due to advanced chronic renal disease: case report and review of the literature.

Giant cell arteritis is an autoimmune disease that affects medium and large caliber vessels, creating deposits of inflammatory clusters on the arterial wall. It is the most common form of large vessel vasculitis, but given the variability of biopsy efficiency and of other diagnostic strategies employed, the diagnosis of this disease is challenging. We report the case of a 69-year-old female patient who presented with neurological deficit and increased bilateral sensation in the temporal region associated with excruciating headache.

Comprehensive Simulation of Ca Transients in the Continuum of Mouse Skeletal Muscle Fiber Types.

Mag-Fluo-4 has revealed differences in the kinetics of the Ca transients of mammalian fiber types (I, IIA, IIX, and IIB). We simulated the changes in [Ca] through the sarcomere of these four fiber types, considering classical (troponin -Tn-, parvalbumin -Pv-, adenosine triphosphate -ATP-, sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca pump -SERCA-, and dye) and new (mitochondria -MITO-, Na/Ca exchanger -NCX-, and store-operated calcium entry -SOCE-) Ca binding sites, during single and tetanic stimulation. We found that during a single twitch, the sarcoplasmic peak [Ca] for fibers type IIB and IIX was around 16 µM, and for fibers type I and IIA reached 10-13 µM.

Calibration of mammalian skeletal muscle Ca transients recorded with the fast Ca dye Mag-Fluo-4.

Background: Mag-Fluo-4 is increasingly employed for studying Ca signaling in skeletal muscle; however, the lack of information on the Ca-Mag-Fluo-4 reaction limits its wider usage.

Methods: Fluorescence and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments were performed to determine the binding stoichiometry (n) and thermodynamics (enthalpy (ΔH) and entropy (ΔS) changes), as well as the in vitro and in situ K of the Ca-Mag-Fluo-4 reaction. Rate constants (k, k), fluorescence maximum (F), minimum (F), and the dye compartmentalization were also estimated.

Diagnostic Performance of the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index Self-Administered Online at Home by Patients With Ulcerative Colitis: CRONICA-UC Study.

Objectives: New e-health technologies can improve patient-physician communication and contribute to optimal patient care. We compared the diagnostic performance of the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index (SCCAI) self-administered by patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) at home (through a website) with the in-clinic gastroenterologist-assessed SCCAI.

Methods: Patients were followed-up over 6 months.

Electrochemical DNA sensors based on enzyme dendritic architectures: an approach for enhanced sensitivity.

The modification of enzymes with multiple single-stranded oligonucleotides opens up a new concept for the development of DNA sensors with enhanced sensitivity. This work describes the generation of reporter sequences labeled with an enzyme for the demonstration of their ability to specifically hybridize and to permit signal amplification by successive hybridization steps. The synthetic pathway for the labeling of GOx with oligonucleotide sequences is based on the oxidation of the glycosidic residues of the enzyme and their covalent binding with 5'-end amine-modified oligonucleotides.