Impaired retinal oxygen metabolism and perfusion are accompanied by plasma protein and lipid alterations in recovered COVID-19 patients.

The aim of the present study was to investigate retinal microcirculatory and functional metabolic changes in patients after they had recovered from a moderate to severe acute COVID-19 infection. Retinal perfusion was quantified using laser speckle flowgraphy. Oxygen saturation and retinal calibers were assessed with a dynamic vessel analyzer.

An APRI+ALBI Based Multivariable Model as Preoperative Predictor for Posthepatectomy Liver Failure.

Objective And Background: Clinically significant posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF B+C) remains the main cause of mortality after major hepatic resection. This study aimed to establish an APRI+ALBI, aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio (APRI) combined with albumin-bilirubin grade (ALBI), based multivariable model (MVM) to predict PHLF and compare its performance to indocyanine green clearance (ICG-R15 or ICG-PDR) and albumin-ICG evaluation (ALICE).

Methods: 12,056 patients from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database were used to generate a MVM to predict PHLF B+C.

The systemic and hepatic alternative renin-angiotensin system is activated in liver cirrhosis, linked to endothelial dysfunction and inflammation.

We aimed to assess the systemic and hepatic renin-angiotensin-system (RAS) fingerprint in advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD). This prospective study included 13 compensated (cACLD) and 12 decompensated ACLD (dACLD) patients undergoing hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) measurement. Plasma components (all patients) and liver-local enzymes (n = 5) of the RAS were analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

The systemic renin-angiotensin system in COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2 gains cell entry via angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) 2, a membrane-bound enzyme of the "alternative" (alt) renin-angiotensin system (RAS). ACE2 counteracts angiotensin II by converting it to potentially protective angiotensin 1-7. Using mass spectrometry, we assessed key metabolites of the classical RAS (angiotensins I-II) and alt-RAS (angiotensins 1-7 and 1-5) pathways as well as ACE and ACE2 concentrations in 159 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, stratified by disease severity (severe, n = 76; non-severe: n = 83).

Comparison of clinical characteristics among patients infected with alpha vs. delta SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has undergone different molecular changes, sprouting genetic variants of the original wildtype. Clinical comparisons between patients infected with alpha versus delta are scarce.

Methods: In this retrospective observational study, adult patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to confirmed SARS-CoV‑2 alpha or delta infection were included.

Predictive performance and clinical application of COV50, a urinary proteomic biomarker in early COVID-19 infection: a prospective multicentre cohort study.

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a worldwide challenge. The CRIT-CoV-U pilot study generated a urinary proteomic biomarker consisting of 50 peptides (COV50), which predicted death and disease progression from SARS-CoV-2. After the interim analysis presented for the German Government, here, we aimed to analyse the full dataset to consolidate the findings and propose potential clinical applications of this biomarker.

Camostat Mesylate Versus Lopinavir/Ritonavir in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19-Results From a Randomized, Controlled, Open Label, Platform Trial (ACOVACT).

To date, no oral antiviral drug has proven to be beneficial in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. In this randomized, controlled, open-label, platform trial, we randomly assigned patients ≥18 years hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia to receive either camostat mesylate (CM) (considered standard-of-care) or lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/RTV). The primary endpoint was time to sustained clinical improvement (≥48 h) of at least one point on the 7-category WHO scale.

A Model Predicting Mortality of Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients Four Days After Admission: Development, Internal and Temporal-External Validation.

Objective: To develop and validate a prognostic model for in-hospital mortality after four days based on age, fever at admission and five haematological parameters routinely measured in hospitalized Covid-19 patients during the first four days after admission.

Methods: Haematological parameters measured during the first 4 days after admission were subjected to a linear mixed model to obtain patient-specific intercepts and slopes for each parameter. A prediction model was built using logistic regression with variable selection and shrinkage factor estimation supported by bootstrapping.

Immunological Aspects of AXL/GAS-6 in the Context of Human Liver Regeneration.

AXL and its corresponding ligand growth arrest-specific 6 (GAS-6) are critically involved in hepatic immunomodulation and regenerative processes. Pleiotropic inhibitory effects on innate inflammatory responses might essentially involve the shift of macrophage phenotype from a pro-inflammatory M1 to an anti-inflammatory M2. We aimed to assess the relevance of the AXL/GAS-6-pathway in human liver regeneration and, consequently, its association with clinical outcome after hepatic resection.

Growth or decay of a coherent structure interacting with random waves.

Solitary waves interacting with random Rayleigh-Jeans distributed waves of a nonintegrable and noncollapsing nonlinear Schrödinger equation are studied. Two opposing types of dynamics are identified: First, the random thermal waves can erode the solitary wave; second, this structure can grow as a result of this interaction. These two types of behavior depend on a dynamical property of the solitary wave (its angular frequency), and on a statistical property of the thermal waves (the chemical potential).

Circulating metabolites as a concept beyond tumor biology determining disease recurrence after resection of colorectal liver metastasis.

Background: Micro-metastatic growth is considered the main source of early cancer recurrence. Nutritional and microenvironmental components are increasingly recognized to play a significant role in the liver. We explored the predictive potential of preoperative plasma metabolites for postoperative disease recurrence in colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRCLM) patients.

Sex differences in disease presentation, surgical and oncological outcome of liver resection for primary and metastatic liver tumors-A retrospective multicenter study.

Background: Sex differences are becoming of rising interest in many fields of medicine. It remains unknown whether sex has a role in postoperative and long-term outcome after hepatic resection (HR). The aim of this study was to investigate sex differences in disease presentation, surgical and oncological outcome after curative HR.

The von Willebrand Factor Facilitates Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Independent Risk Stratification on the Waiting List for Liver Transplantation.

Background And Aims: The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) is used for clinical decision-making and organ allocation for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) and was previously upgraded through inclusion of serum sodium (Na) concentrations (MELD-Na). However, MELD-Na may underestimate complications arising from portal hypertension or infection. The von Willebrand factor (vWF) antigen (vWF-Ag) correlates with portal pressure and seems capable of predicting complications in patients with cirrhosis.

The Combination of APRI and ALBI Facilitates Preoperative Risk Stratification for Patients Undergoing Liver Surgery After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NeoCTx) is performed for most patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRCLM). However, chemotherapy-associated liver injury (CALI) has been associated with poor postoperative outcome. To date, however, no clinically applicable and noninvasive tool exists to assess CALI before liver resection.

Elevated ADAMTS13 Activity is Associated with Poor Postoperative Outcome in Patients Undergoing Liver Resection.

Recently, von-Willebrand-Factor (vWF) has been shown to correlate with postoperative liver dysfunction (LD). Accordingly, "disintegrin-like metalloprotease with thrombospondin type1 motif" (ADAMTS13) is known to cleave vWF in less active fragments. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic potential of ADAMTS13-activity (ADAMTS13-AC) to identify patients with postoperative LD after hepatectomy.

Ensemble dynamics and the emergence of correlations in one- and two-dimensional wave turbulence.

We investigate statistical properties of wave turbulence by monitoring the dynamics of ensembles of trajectories. The system under investigation is a simplified model for surface gravity waves in one and two dimensions with a square-root dispersion and a four-wave interaction term. The simulations of decaying turbulence confirm the Kolmogorov-Zakharov spectral power distribution of wave turbulence theory.

Direct-Write Fabrication of Cellulose Nano-Structures via Focused Electron Beam Induced Nanosynthesis.

In many areas of science and technology, patterned films and surfaces play a key role in engineering and development of advanced materials. Here, we introduce a new generic technique for the fabrication of polysaccharide nano-structures via focused electron beam induced conversion (FEBIC). For the proof of principle, organosoluble trimethylsilyl-cellulose (TMSC) thin films have been deposited by spin coating on SiO2 / Si and exposed to a nano-sized electron beam.

Transition of weak wave turbulence to wave turbulence with intermittent collapses.

We study the dynamics of one-dimensional nonlinear waves with a square-root dispersion. This dispersion allows strong interactions of distant modes in wave-number space, and it leads to a modulational instability of a carrier wave interacting with distant sidebands. Weak wave turbulence is found when the system is damped and weakly driven.

Spontaneous breaking of the spatial homogeneity symmetry in wave turbulence.

We report a surprising new result for wave turbulence which may have broader ramifications for general turbulence theories. Spatial homogeneity, the symmetry property that all statistical moments are functions only of the relative geometry of any configuration of points, can be spontaneously broken by the instability of the finite flux Kolmogorov-Zakharov spectrum in certain (usually one dimensional) situations. As a result, the nature of the statistical attractor changes dramatically, from a sea of resonantly interacting dispersive waves to an ensemble of coherent radiating pulses.

Turbulent transfer of energy by radiating pulses.

We propose a new mechanism for turbulent transport in systems which support radiating nonlinear solitary wave packets or pulses. The direct energy cascade is provided by adiabatically evolving pulses, whose widths and carrier wavelengths decrease. The inverse cascade is due to the excitation of radiation.

Transition behavior of the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

Many nonlinear lattice systems exhibit high-amplitude localized structures, or discrete breathers. Such structures emerge in the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation when the energy is above a critical threshold. This paper studies the statistical mechanics at the transition and constructs the probability distribution in the regime where breathers emerge.