Primary Stability of Dental Implants in Human Jawbones: Experiments & FE Analyses.

Objectives: Primary stability (PS) is a key factor for promoting osseointegration and long-term success of dental implants particularly for immediate loading protocols. Beyond the current assessments of PS, an accurate pre-operative evaluation of PS would contribute to the improvement of surgical planning and treatment outcome. This study used biomechanical testing and homogenized finite element (hFE) analysis to objectively measure PS in the laboratory, and digitally estimate PS from prior μCT reconstructions.

Li NMR Spectroscopy: A Tool for Determining Dimerization Constants and Averaged Dimerization Constants of the Monomer/Dimer Equilibrium of Hierarchical Helicates.

Li nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an ideal tool to study hierarchically assembled helicates of the form Li[LiLTi]. Internally bound and external lithium ions can be well distinguished by solution- or solid-state NMR spectroscopy and dimerization constants of the monomer/dimer equilibrium can be easily determined in solution. Averaged dimerization constants can be estimated in case of statistical mixtures of helicates formed from mixtures of ligands.

Durvalumab Plus Gemcitabine and Cisplatin in Patients with Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer: An Exploratory Analysis of Real-World Data.

Background: The combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin (gem/cis) with the anti-PD-L1-antibody durvalumab was recently approved as first line therapy for biliary tract cancer (BTC) based on the results of the TOPAZ-1 trial.

Objective: We aim to analyse the feasibility and efficacy of the triple combination therapy in patients with BTC in a real-world setting and in correspondence with the genetic alterations of the cancer.

Methods: In this single-centre retrospective analysis, all patients with BTC and treated with durvalumab plus gem/cis from April 2022 to September 2023 were included.

Predicted vs. measured paraspinal muscle activity in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients: EMG validation of optimization-based musculoskeletal simulations.

Musculoskeletal (MSK) models offer great potential for predicting the muscle forces required to inform more detailed simulations of vertebral endplate loading in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). In this work, simulations based on static optimization were compared with in vivo measurements in two AIS patients to determine whether computational approaches alone are sufficient for accurate prediction of paraspinal muscle activity during functional activities. We used biplanar radiographs and marker-based motion capture, ground reaction force, and electromyography (EMG) data from two patients with mild and moderate thoracolumbar AIS (Cobb angles: 21° and 45°, respectively) during standing while holding two weights in front (reference position), walking, running, and object lifting.

Impact of the ileal microbiota on colon cancer.

Besides tumor cell-intrinsic oncogenic pathways, host and environmental factors have a major impact on cancer immunosurveillance and the efficacy of immunotherapeutics. Several modalities of anticancer treatments including immunogenic chemotherapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors lose their efficacy in patients treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics, pointing to a key role for the gut microbiota. The complex interactions between intestinal microbes, gut immunity and anti-tumor responses constitute an emerging field of investigation.

Combining Structural with Functional Model Properties in Iron Synthetic Analogue Complexes for the Active Site in Rabbit Lipoxygenase.

Iron complexes that model the structural functional properties of the active iron site in rabbit lipoxygenase are described. The ligand sphere of the mononuclear pseudo-octahedral -(carboxylato)(hydroxo)iron(III) complex, which is completed by a tetraazamacrocyclic ligand, reproduces the first coordination shell of the active site in the enzyme. In addition, two corresponding iron(II) complexes are presented that differ in the coordination of a water molecule.

Dysregulated Host Response in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2-Induced Critical Illness.

Background: Impaired immune response has been reported to be the cause of the development of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related respiratory failure. Further studies are needed to understand the immunopathogenesis and to enable an improved stratification of patients who are at risk for critical illness.

Methods: Thirty-two severely ill patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were recruited in our center at the University Hospital Heidelberg.

SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence and Clinical Features of COVID-19 in a German Liver Transplant Recipient Cohort: A Prospective Serosurvey Study.

Background: In liver transplant (LT) recipients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), fatal outcome has been reported in a substantial subset of patients. Whether LT recipients are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 compared with the general population is controversial. Here we report the results of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serosurvey in a large LT recipient cohort.

Ketogenic diet and ketone bodies enhance the anticancer effects of PD-1 blockade.

Limited experimental evidence bridges nutrition and cancer immunosurveillance. Here, we show that ketogenic diet (KD) - or its principal ketone body, 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB), most specifically in intermittent scheduling - induced T cell-dependent tumor growth retardation of aggressive tumor models. In conditions in which anti-PD-1 alone or in combination with anti-CTLA-4 failed to reduce tumor growth in mice receiving a standard diet, KD, or oral supplementation of 3HB reestablished therapeutic responses.

Ileal immune tonus is a prognosis marker of proximal colon cancer in mice and patients.

Ileal epithelial cell apoptosis and the local microbiota modulate the effects of oxaliplatin against proximal colon cancer by modulating tumor immunosurveillance. Here, we identified an ileal immune profile associated with the prognosis of colon cancer and responses to chemotherapy. The whole immune ileal transcriptome was upregulated in poor-prognosis patients with proximal colon cancer, while the colonic immunity of healthy and neoplastic areas was downregulated (except for the Th17 fingerprint) in such patients.

Intrahepatic biliary strictures after liver transplantation are morphologically similar to primary sclerosing cholangitis but immunologically distinct.

Objective: Biliary strictures are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in primary hepatic disease and after liver transplantation (LT). We aimed to characterize inflammatory cytokines in biliary fluids in biliary strictures to investigate their immunological origin.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on 72 patients with strictures after LT, eight patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and 15 patients with secondary sclerosing cholangitis (SSC).

Shedding Light on the Interactions of Hydrocarbon Ester Substituents upon Formation of Dimeric Titanium(IV) Triscatecholates in DMSO Solution.

The dissociation of hierarchically formed dimeric triple lithium bridged triscatecholate titanium(IV) helicates with hydrocarbyl esters as side groups is systematically investigated in DMSO. Primary alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl as well as benzyl esters are studied in order to minimize steric effects close to the helicate core. The H NMR dimerization constants for the monomer-dimer equilibrium show some solvent dependent influence of the side chains on the dimer stability.

Prevalence of human herpesviruses in biliary fluid and their association with biliary complications after liver transplantation.

Background: Beta-herpesviruses are common opportunistic pathogens that cause morbidity after liver transplantation (LT).

Methods: Objective of the study was to evaluate the prevalence and correlation of herpesviruses in bile, blood and liver tissue and to investigate their association with biliary complications and retransplantation (re-LT) free survival after LT. The study design is a single-center case-control study.

Kinetic investigation of the dissociation of dinuclear hierarchically assembled titanium(iv) helicates.

Hierarchically assembled helicates consisting of lithium-bridged triscatecholate titanium(iv) complexes represent a powerful self-assembled supramolecular system with applications as e.g. molecular balances for the evaluation of weak interactions, stereoselectivity switches in asymmetric synthesis or molecular switches.

Biliary calprotectin, lactoferrin and dimeric pyruvate kinase after liver transplantation are associated with biliary damage and graft survival in a case-control study.

Background: After liver transplantation (LT), biliary complications are associated with reduced graft survival. We tested inflammation markers for their association with biliary damage and graft loss in bile.

Material And Methods: The study design was a retrospective case-control study.

From One-Pot NH-Sulfoximidations of Thiophene Derivatives to Dithienylethene-Type Photoswitches.

Thiophene NH-sulfoximines have been synthesized using a one-pot NH-sulfoximidation reaction of thiophenes. The reactivity of the products was investigated, and the developed protocols were used for the synthesis of a new class of dithienylethene-type photoswitches containing a sulfoximidoyl group.

A Helicate-Based Three-State Molecular Switch.

The control of structural transformations triggered by external signals is important for the development of novel functional devices. In the present study, it is demonstrated that helicates can be designed to structurally respond to the presence of different counterions and to adopt either a compressed or an expanded structure. Reversible switching is not only possible between those two states, furthermore, the twist of the aggregate also can be controlled.

Impact of age at diagnosis on disease progression in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Background: The median age of diagnosis of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is ∼30-40 years.

Objective: We aimed to analyse disease progression and liver-dependent survival in patients diagnosed with PSC after 50 years of age.

Methods: Patients with PSC were analysed with regard to their age at diagnosis.

Hypercalcemia, necrotizing pancreatitis and bone lesions: a benign cause.

Primary Hyperparathyroidism is asymptomatic in most patients (PHPT). We report a case of PHPT in a young male patient. He presented with severe pancreatitis due to hypercalcemia and multiple bone lesions resulting in pathological fractures.

Gut microbiome influences efficacy of PD-1-based immunotherapy against epithelial tumors.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis induce sustained clinical responses in a sizable minority of cancer patients. We found that primary resistance to ICIs can be attributed to abnormal gut microbiome composition. Antibiotics inhibited the clinical benefit of ICIs in patients with advanced cancer.