KCL TEST: an open-source inspired asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 surveillance programme in an academic institution.

Rapid and accessible testing was paramount in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our university established KCL TEST: a SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic testing programme that enabled sensitive and accessible PCR testing of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in saliva. Here, we describe our learnings and provide our blueprint for launching diagnostic laboratories, particularly in low-resource settings.

Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells orchestrate NK cell recruitment and activation in acute inflammatory liver injury.

Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) rapidly clear lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from the bloodstream and establish intimate contact with immune cells. However, their role in regulating liver inflammation remains poorly understood. We show that LSECs modify their chemokine expression profile driven by LPS or interferon-γ (IFN-γ), resulting in the production of the myeloid- or lymphoid-attracting chemokines CCL2 and CXCL10, respectively, which accumulate in the serum of LPS-challenged animals.

Cuff meshoma post-laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy: vaginal-endoscopic mesh excision.

Introduction And Hypothesis: The objective was to present endoscopic images of a meshoma and describe the complete excision of a complicated mesh after sacrocolpopexy (SCP) using a combined vaginal-endoscopic technique.

Methods: We present a video documentation of an innovative technique. A 58-year-old woman was referred with painless, foul-smelling vaginal discharge and recurrent vaginal mesh erosions.

Adhesion Molecules as Prognostic Biomarkers in Coronary Artery Disease.

Atherosclerosis is a progressive disease, culminating in the production of atherosclerotic plaques in arteries through intricate pathophysiological processes. The progression of this disorder is based on the effect of triggering factors -mainly hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, and smoking- on the endothelium. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is an atherosclerotic disease with a higher prevalence among individuals.

Extracellular Matrix Remodeling Biomarkers in Coronary Artery Disease.

Atherosclerosis and one of its most serious consequences, coronary artery disease, are important sources of morbidity and mortality globally, necessitating early detection and treatment. Considering their complex pathophysiology, including several harmful processes, a comprehensive approach to diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy is very desirable. Extracellular matrix remodeling is a major component of this dangerous cascade, including the cleavage of constituents (collagen, elastin, proteoglycans) and the propagation or exacerbation of the inflammatory response.

On the Thermochemical Transition Depression of Cellulose Acetate Composite Membranes.

Gallic acid (GA) and quercetin (QU) are two important bioactive molecules with increased biomedical interest. Cellulose acetate (CA) is a polymer derived from cellulose and is used in various applications. In this work, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to study the thermal behavior of electrospun CA membranes loaded with quercetin or gallic acid.

Logometro: The psychometric properties of a norm-referenced digital battery for language assessment of Greek-speaking 4-7 years old children.

In educational and clinical settings, few norm-referenced tests have been utilized until now usually focusing on a single or a few language subcomponents, along with very few language rating scales for parents and educators. The need for a comprehensive language assessment tool for preschool and early school years children which could form the basis for valid and reliable screening and diagnostic decisions, led to the development of a new norm-referenced digital tool called Logometro®. The aim of the present study is to describe Logometro® as well as its psychometric characteristics.

Advantages, Pitfalls, and Developments of All Optical Interrogation Strategies of Microcircuits .

The holy grail for every neurophysiologist is to conclude a causal relationship between an elementary behaviour and the function of a specific brain area or circuit. Our effort to map elementary behaviours to specific brain loci and to further manipulate neural activity while observing the alterations in behaviour is in essence the goal for neuroscientists. Recent advancements in the area of experimental brain imaging in the form of longer wavelength near infrared (NIR) pulsed lasers with the development of highly efficient optogenetic actuators and reporters of neural activity, has endowed us with unprecedented resolution in spatiotemporal precision both in imaging neural activity as well as manipulating it with multiphoton microscopy.

Allogeneic CD20-targeted γδ T cells exhibit innate and adaptive antitumor activities in preclinical B-cell lymphoma models.

Objectives: Autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) αβ T-cell therapies have demonstrated remarkable antitumor efficacy in patients with haematological malignancies; however, not all eligible cancer patients receive clinical benefit. Emerging strategies to improve patient access and clinical responses include using premanufactured products from healthy donors and alternative cytotoxic effectors possessing intrinsic tumoricidal activity as sources of CAR cell therapies. γδ T cells, which combine innate and adaptive mechanisms to recognise and kill malignant cells, are an attractive candidate platform for allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy.

Visual stimulation with blue wavelength light drives V1 effectively eliminating stray light contamination during two-photon calcium imaging.

Background: Brain visual circuits are often studied in vivo by imaging Ca indicators with green-shifted emission spectra. Polychromatic white visual stimuli have a spectrum that partially overlaps indicators´ emission spectra, resulting in significant contamination of calcium signals.

New Method: To overcome light contamination problems we choose blue visual stimuli, having a spectral composition not overlapping with Ca indicator´s emission spectrum.

Evaluation of Methodologies for Assessing Self-Healing Performance of Concrete with Mineral Expansive Agents: An Interlaboratory Study.

Self-healing concrete has the potential to optimise traditional design approaches; however, commercial uptake requires the ability to harmonize against standardized frameworks. Within EU SARCOS COST Action, different interlaboratory tests were executed on different self-healing techniques. This paper reports on the evaluation of the effectiveness of proposed experimental methodologies suited for self-healing concrete with expansive mineral additions.

Goal-dependent tuning of muscle spindle receptors during movement preparation.

Voluntary movements are believed to undergo preparation before they are executed. Preparatory activity can benefit reaction time and the quality of planned movements, but the neural mechanisms at work during preparation are unclear. For example, there are no overt changes in muscle force during preparation.

Oral Language and Story Retelling During Preschool and Primary School Years: Developmental Patterns and Interrelationships.

Oral language and narrative skills constitute very critical factors for children's academic performance and social competence. The aim of the present study was to investigate the developmental patterns of story retelling, as well as the relationship between oral language and story retelling in preschool and primary school children. Two hundred and thirty-seven Greek-speaking children (4-5, 5-6 and 6-7 years old) participated in the study.

The Dimensionality of Oral Language Ability: Evidence From Young Greek Children.

Purpose This study investigated component skills in oral language development utilizing and validating a new assessment battery in a large ( = 800) and representative sample of Greek students 4-7 years of age. Method All participants enrolled in public schools from four geographical regions (Attica, Thessaly, Macedonia, and Crete) that varied demographically (urban, semiurban, and rural). For the individualized language assessments, we utilized mobile devices (tablet PC) to ensure children's interest and joyful participation as well as reliable administration procedures across sites.

Acute Coronary Syndrome with Non-ruptured Plaques (NONRUPLA): Novel Ideas and Perspectives.

Purpose Of Review: In this review article, we focus on the mechanisms and features of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) with no ruptured plaque (NONRUPLA) highlighting the uncertainties over diagnostic evaluation and treatment.

Recent Findings: The most common cause of ACS is obstruction due to atherosclerotic plaque ruptured or erosion. In 14% of patients who present in the Emergency Department as myocardial infarction, the final diagnosis is ACS with NONRUPLA.

Isolated aberrant right cysticohepatic duct injury during laparoscopic cholecystectomy: Evaluation and treatment challenges of a severe postoperative complication associated with an extremely rare anatomical variant.

A typical bile duct branching patterns represent one of the major causes of bile duct injury (BDI) during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). The most common classified variations of bile duct branching, involve the right posterior sectoral duct (RPSD) and its joining with the right anterior or left hepatic duct. Variant bile duct anatomy can rarely be extremely complex and unclassified.

Pro-inflammatory Cytokines in Acute Coronary Syndromes.

Background: Over the last decades, the role of inflammation and immune system activation in the initiation and progression of coronary artery disease (CAD) has been established.

Objectives: The study aimed to present the interplay between cytokines and their actions preceding and shortly after ACS.

Methods: We searched in a systemic manner the most relevant articles to the topic of inflammation, cytokines, vulnerable plaque and myocardial infarction in MEDLINE, COCHRANE and EMBASE databases.

Plasma signature of apoptotic microvesicles is associated with endothelial dysfunction and plaque rupture in acute coronary syndromes.

Objective: Circulating microvesicles (MV) are surrogate biomarkers of atherosclerosis. However, their role in acute coronary syndromes (ACS) has not been fully elucidated yet. We sought to examine the association of circulating apoptotic MVs with ACS pathophysiology.

The Role of Inflammation in Diabetes: Current Concepts and Future Perspectives.

Diabetes is a complex metabolic disorder affecting the glucose status of the human body. Chronic hyperglycaemia related to diabetes is associated with end organ failure. The clinical relationship between diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is well established.

In silico identification and experimental validation of hits active against KPC-2 β-lactamase.

Bacterial resistance has become a worldwide concern, particularly after the emergence of resistant strains overproducing carbapenemases. Among these, the KPC-2 carbapenemase represents a significant clinical challenge, being characterized by a broad substrate spectrum that includes aminothiazoleoxime and cephalosporins such as cefotaxime. Moreover, strains harboring KPC-type β-lactamases are often reported as resistant to available β-lactamase inhibitors (clavulanic acid, tazobactam and sulbactam).

Coronary Microcirculation and the No-reflow Phenomenon.

The no-reflow phenomenon refers to the post-percutaneous coronary intervention condition in which, despite re-establishing epicardial coronary vessel patency, the flow to the previously ischemic myocardium is markedly reduced. When it does occur, it attenuates the beneficial effect of reperfusion therapy and substantial regions of the myocardium fail to receive adequate perfusion. The pathophysiology of this phenomenon is not completely understood.

CMOS plasmonics in WDM data transmission: 200 Gb/s (8 × 25Gb/s) transmission over aluminum plasmonic waveguides.

We demonstrate wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) 200 Gb/s (8 × 25 Gb/s) data transmission over 100 μm long aluminum (Al) surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) waveguides on a SiN waveguide platform at telecom wavelengths. The Al SPP waveguide was evaluated in terms of signal integrity by performing bit-error-rate (BER) measurements that revealed error-free operation for all eight 25 Gb/s non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modulated data channels with power penalties not exceeding 0.2 dB at 10.

Combined high dose rate brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy for clinically localised prostate cancer.

Purpose: To report the clinical outcomes and treatment-related toxicities after combined high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy (BRT) with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for patients with clinically localised high-risk prostate cancer.

Material And Methods: Between 2008 and 2012, three hundred and three consecutive patients with organ-confined high-risk prostate cancer were treated with definitive radiotherapy consisting of HDR-BRT followed by supplemental EBRT. The transrectal 3D-ultrasound-based HDR-BRT boost consisted of two single-fraction implants of 10.