Impact of Measured and Predicted Prosthesis-Patient Mismatch After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Background: Prosthesis-patient mismatch after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) can be measured echocardiographically (measured prosthesis-patient mismatch [PPMm]) or predicted (predicted prosthesis-patient mismatch [PPMp]) using published effective orifice area (EOA) reference values. However, the clinical implications of PPM post-TAVR remain unclear.

Objectives: This study aimed to elucidate the prevalence of PPMm and PPMp post-TAVR and their impact on mortality in a large international cohort.

Implementing the MIRROR-TCM Randomised Control Trial During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation.

Aim: To evaluate the implementation of the Transitional Care Model (TCM), an evidence-based, advanced practice registered nurse-led multi-component intervention, as part of a randomised controlled trial during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: Parallel convergent mixed-methods approach.

Methods: Data for this study were collected between June 2020 and February 2021.

Incompletely Observed Nonparametric Factorial Designs With Repeated Measurements: A Wild Bootstrap Approach.

In many life science experiments or medical studies, subjects are repeatedly observed and measurements are collected in factorial designs with multivariate data. The analysis of such multivariate data is typically based on multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) or mixed models, requiring complete data, and certain assumption on the underlying parametric distribution such as continuity or a specific covariance structure, for example, compound symmetry. However, these methods are usually not applicable when discrete data or even ordered categorical data are present.

The self-relevant spotlight metaphor: Self-relevant targets diminish distractor-response-binding effects.

Recently, it has been proposed that self-relevance of a stimulus enhances executive control and reduces the impact of distractors on current task performance. The present study aimed to test whether the binding between a distractor and a response is influenced by self-relevance, too. We assumed that targets' self-relevance should increase executive control processes and therefore reduce the influence of distractors on current performance.

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling IL-22.

Defense of the human body against damaging and pathogenic insults is a heavily regulated affair. A primary mechanism of defense at sites of insult are soluble mediators whose defensive maneuvers increase barrier integrity and promote pro-reparative and resolution processes. IL-22 is a cytokine in the IL-10 cytokine family that has garnered increased attention in recent years due to its intimate link in promoting resolution of inflammatory insults, while simultaneously being over expressed in certain fibrotic and chronic inflammatory-skewed diseases.

Impact of mAb-FcRn affinity on IgG transcytosis across human well-differentiated airway epithelium.

Effective treatment and immunoprophylaxis of viral respiratory infections with neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) require maintaining inhibitory concentrations of mAbs at the airway surface. While engineered mAbs with increased affinity to the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) are increasingly employed, little is known how increased affinity of Fc to FcRn influences basal-to-apical transepithelial transport (transcytosis) of mAbs across the airway epithelium. To investigate this, we utilized a model of well-differentiated human airway epithelium (WD-HAE) that exhibited robust FcRn expression, and measured the transepithelial transport of a mAb against SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein (CR3022) with either wildtype IgG-Fc or Fc modified with YTE or LS mutations known to increase affinity for FcRn.

Monitoring corn stover processing by the fungus Ustilago maydis.

A key aspect of sustainable bioeconomy is the recirculation of renewable, agricultural waste streams as substrates for microbial production of high-value compounds. One approach is the bioconversion of corn stover, an abundant maize crop byproduct, using the fungal maize pathogen Ustilago maydis. U.

Pathogenic PHIP Variants are Variably Associated With CAKUT.

Introduction: Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) represent the most common cause of chronic kidney disease in children. Although only 20% of cases can be genetically explained, the majority remain without an identified underlying etiology. The neurodevelopmental disorder Chung-Jansen syndrome (CHUJANS) is caused by haploinsufficiency of Pleckstrin homology domain-interacting protein (PHIP) and was previously associated with genital malformations.

Sample Size Calculation Under Nonproportional Hazards Using Average Hazard Ratios.

Many clinical trials assess time-to-event endpoints. To describe the difference between groups in terms of time to event, we often employ hazard ratios. However, the hazard ratio is only informative in the case of proportional hazards (PHs) over time.

Repeat length in spinocerebellar ataxia type 4 (SCA4) predicts age at onset and disease severity.

Background: Recently, an exonic GGC repeat expansion (RE) was identified by long-read genome sequencing in the ZFHX3 gen, causing spinocerebellar ataxia type 4 (SCA4), a dominant form of ataxia with sensory neuropathy. However, the analysis of larger cohorts of patients remained demanding, resulting in a challenge to diagnose patients and leaving the question of anticipation in SCA4 unanswered.

Objectives: We aimed to develop a GGC repeat test for clinical SCA4 screening and to apply this test to screen two large German SCA pedigrees and samples of unrelated patients collected over the last 25 years.

Feeding strategies of the pelagic stingray (Pteroplatytrygon violacea) in the western Mediterranean Sea.

Elasmobranchs play crucial roles as predators in marine ecosystems. Understanding their trophic strategies and interactions is necessary for comprehending food web dynamics and developing ecosystem-based management strategies. Although, feeding strategies can change depending on several factors, including fluctuations in prey availability throughout the year.

Comprehensive EHMT1 variants analysis broadens genotype-phenotype associations and molecular mechanisms in Kleefstra syndrome.

The shift to a genotype-first approach in genetic diagnostics has revolutionized our understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders, expanding both their molecular and phenotypic spectra. Kleefstra syndrome (KLEFS1) is caused by EHMT1 haploinsufficiency and exhibits broad clinical manifestations. EHMT1 encodes euchromatic histone methyltransferase-1-a pivotal component of the epigenetic machinery.

Carbon usage in yellow-fleshed Manihot esculenta storage roots shifts from starch biosynthesis to cell wall and raffinose biosynthesis via the myo-inositol pathway.

Cassava is a crucial staple crop for smallholder farmers in tropical Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Although high yield remains the top priority for farmers, the significance of nutritional values has increased in cassava breeding programs. A notable negative correlation between provitamin A and starch accumulation poses a significant challenge for breeding efforts.

A novel deforestation risk and baseline allocation model for the next generation of nested REDD+ projects.

Nature-based solutions that use a counterfactual scenario depend heavily on the methodology used to determine the business as usual (BAU) case, i.e., the "baseline.

Azacitidine as epigenetic priming for chemotherapy is safe and well-tolerated in infants with newly diagnosed -rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia: Children's Oncology Group trial AALL15P1.

Infants less than 1 year old diagnosed with KMT2A-rearranged (KMT2A-r) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are at high risk of failure to achieve remission, relapse, and death due to leukemia, despite intensive therapies. Infant KMT2A-r ALL blasts are characterized by DNA hypermethylation. Epigenetic priming with DNA methyltransferase inhibitors increases the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy in preclinical studies.

Is employment group insurance financing of expensive gene therapies threatened in the United States?

Despite the potential of gene therapy to transform the lives of patients with rare genetic diseases, serious concern has been raised about the financing of the high up-front costs for such treatments and about the ability of the employer-sponsored insurance system in the United States, particularly in small firms, to pay for discoveries of this type. In this paper, we provide a conceptual framework and empirical evidence to support the proposition that, at present, private group insurance financing of cost-effective gene therapies is not only feasible and competitively necessary in the labor market for employers, regardless of group size, but also that, currently, the number of US workers in small firms who might be stressed by very high-priced claims is a tiny fraction of the group market for genetic treatments. The current system of employer-paid self-insurance supplemented by stop-loss coverage should be able to facilitate the use of new cost-effective gene therapies.

Nature-Inspired Helicoidal Nanocellulose-Based Multi-Compartment Assemblies with Tunable Chiroptical Properties.

Cellulose-based nanocomposites are highly appealing for the development of next-generation sustainable functional materials. Although many advances have been made in this direction, the true potential of fibrillar nanocomposites has yet to be realized because available fabrication approaches are inadequate for achieving precise structural control at the sub-micrometer scale. Here a spray-assisted alignment methodology of cellulose nanofibrils is combined with the layer-by-layer assembly into an additive manufacturing process in which the alignment direction of each cellulose layer is rationally selected to achieve thin films with a helicoidal arrangement of the nanofibrils.

Severe manifestation of Rauch-Azzarello syndrome associated with biallelic deletion of CTNND2.

CTNND2 encodes δ-catenin, a component of an adherens junction complex, and plays an important role in neuronal structure and function. To date, only heterozygous loss-of-function CTNND2 variants have been associated with mild neurodevelopmental delay and behavioral anomalies, a condition, which we named Rauch-Azzarello syndrome. Here, we report three siblings of a consanguineous family of Syrian descent with a homozygous deletion encompassing the last 19 exons of CTNND2 predicted to disrupt the transcript.

Coordination of copper within a crystalline carbon nitride and its catalytic reduction of CO.

Inherently disordered structures of carbon nitrides have hindered an atomic level tunability and understanding of their catalytic reactivity. Starting from a crystalline carbon nitride, poly(triazine imide) or PTI/LiCl, the coordination of copper cations to its intralayer -triazine groups was investigated using molten salt reactions. The reaction of PTI/LiCl within CuCl or eutectic KCl/CuCl molten salt mixtures at 280 to 450 °C could be used to yield three partially disordered and ordered structures, wherein the Cu cations are found to coordinate within the intralayer cavities.

Nutritional and reproductive status affect amino acid appetite in house crickets .

We examined amino acid appetite in the omnivorous house cricket (), a common model organism for both research and teaching. Our first experiment addressed the hypothesis that house crickets can discriminate between sucrose and essential amino acids (EAA), and that preference for the latter would be affected by prior feeding experience. To test this hypothesis, we compared feeding responses of juvenile and adult crickets following pre-feeding with sucrose or an essential amino acid mixture, predicting that sucrose-only pre-feeding would enhance subsequent intake of amino acids in a two-choice preference test.

Nivolumab Plus 5-Azacitidine in Pediatric Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML): Phase I/II Trial Results from the Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia and Lymphoma (TACL) Consortium.

Improvements in survival have been made over the past two decades for childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but the approximately 40% of patients who relapse continue to have poor outcomes. A combination of checkpoint-inhibitor nivolumab and azacitidine has demonstrated improvements in median survival in adults with AML. This phase I/II study with nivolumab and azacitidine in children with relapsed/refractory AML (NCT03825367) was conducted through the Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia & Lymphoma consortium.

Equity Investment in Physician Practices: What's All This Brouhaha?

There have been two waves of equity-based investment in physician practices. Both used a combination of public and private sources but in different mixes. The first investment wave, in the 1990s, was led by public equity and physician practice management companies, with less involvement by private equity (PE).

Confirmation and expansion of the phenotype of the TCEAL1-related neurodevelopmental disorder.

Numerous contiguous gene deletion syndromes causing neurodevelopmental disorders have previously been defined using cytogenetics for which only in the current genomic era the disease-causing genes have become elucidated. One such example is deletion at Xq22.2, previously associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder which has more recently been found to be caused by de novo loss-of-function variants in TCEAL1.