Common Questions and Misconceptions About Energy Drinks: What Does the Scientific Evidence Really Show?

Energy drinks are a commonly consumed beverage, and studies suggest a possible performance-enhancing effect. A Google Scholar search using the keywords "energy drinks" and "exercise" yields numerous results, underscoring the voluminous research on this topic. However, there are questions regarding the effectiveness and safety of energy drinks.

Demonstration of T-Cell Monotypia Using Anti-TCRbeta1/2 (/2) Immunostaining as a Rapid and Cost-Effective Alternative to PCR-Based Clonality Studies for the Diagnosis of T-Cell Lymphoma.

Background/objectives: T-cell lymphomas are often histologically indistinguishable from benign T-cell infiltrates, and diagnosis typically relies on slow, complex, and expensive multiplexed PCR reactions, requiring significant training and experience to interpret them. We aimed to raise highly specific antibodies against the two alternatively used and very similar T-cell receptor beta constant regions, TCRbeta1 and TCRbeta2, encoded by the and gene segments, respectively. We sought to demonstrate the feasibility of detecting TCRbeta1 and TCRbeta2 immunohistochemically in routine clinical (formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE)) tissue sections as a novel diagnostic strategy for T-cell lymphomas.

Antibiotic Treatment for 7 versus 14 Days in Patients with Bloodstream Infections.

Background: Bloodstream infections are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Early, appropriate antibiotic therapy is important, but the duration of treatment is uncertain.

Methods: In a multicenter, noninferiority trial, we randomly assigned hospitalized patients (including patients in the intensive care unit [ICU]) who had bloodstream infection to receive antibiotic treatment for 7 days or 14 days.

Associations Between Instrumented Mouthguard-Measured Head Acceleration Events and Post-Match Biomarkers of Astroglial and Axonal Injury in Male Amateur Australian Football Players.

Background: Advances in instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) allow for accurate quantification of single high-acceleration head impacts and cumulative head acceleration exposure in collision sports. However, relationships between these measures and risk of brain cell injury remain unclear.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to quantify measures of non-concussive head impact exposure and assess their association with blood glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neurofilament light (NfL) and phosphorylated-tau-181 (p-tau-181) levels in male Australian football players.

Assessing Communication Impairments in a Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorder: The Clinical Trials Readiness Study.

Background And Objectives: -related disorders (-RDs) entail severe impairments in multiple domains that could serve as nonseizure outcomes in clinical trials. This study evaluated the fitness for purpose of several clinical instruments with both standardized and alternative scoring and with some measures used out of their intended age range for assessing communication in -affected participants.

Methods: Parents of -affected children were recruited through FamilieSCN2A Foundation outreach for a combined cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

Meta-Analysis of Interobserver Agreement in Assessment of Interstitial Lung Disease Using High-Resolution CT.

Background High-resolution CT (HRCT) is central to the assessment of interstitial lung disease (ILD), and accurate classification of disease has important implications for patients. Evaluation of imaging features can be challenging, even for experienced thoracic radiologists. Previous work has provided equivocal evidence on the interpretation of HRCT features at ILD-related imaging.

Systematic Evaluation of Regiochemistry and Lipidation of Aryl Trehalose Mincle Agonists.

The Macrophage-Inducible C-type Lectin receptor (Mincle) plays a critical role in innate immune recognition and pathology, and therefore represents a promising target for vaccine adjuvants. Innovative trehalose-based Mincle agonists with improved pharmacology and potency may prove useful in the development of Th17-mediated adaptive immune responses. Herein, we report on in vitro and in silico investigations of specific Mincle ligand-receptor interactions required for the effective receptor engagement and activation of Th17-polarizing cytokines.

Interleukin-21 engineering enhances NK cell activity against glioblastoma via CEBPD.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive brain cancer with limited therapeutic options. Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune cells with strong anti-tumor activity and may offer a promising treatment strategy for GBM. We compared the anti-GBM activity of NK cells engineered to express interleukin (IL)-15 or IL-21.

Efficacy of a yeast postbiotic on cold/flu symptoms in healthy children: A randomized-controlled trial.

Background: Children attending school/daycare are at high risk of acute respiratory tract infections. EpiCor postbiotic, derived from yeast fermentate, has been demonstrated to improve immune function in adults, reducing the incidence of cold/flu-like or allergy symptoms. As such, studies are warranted in children as available pharmaceutical options have unwanted side effects.

Vaccination with Mincle agonist UM-1098 and mycobacterial antigens induces protective Th1 and Th17 responses.

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is one of the top infectious killers in the world. The only licensed vaccine against TB, Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), provides variable protection against pulmonary TB, especially in adults. Hence, novel TB vaccine approaches are urgently needed.

Stromal Cell-SLIT3/Cardiomyocyte-ROBO1 Axis Regulates Pressure Overload-Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy.

Background: Recently shown to regulate cardiac development, the secreted axon guidance molecule SLIT3 maintains its expression in the postnatal heart. Despite its known expression in the cardiovascular system after birth, SLIT3's relevance to cardiovascular function in the postnatal state remains unknown. As such, the objectives of this study were to determine the postnatal myocardial sources of SLIT3 and to evaluate its functional role in regulating the cardiac response to pressure overload stress.

Percutaneous Left Ventricular Unloading During High-Risk Coronary Intervention: Rationale and Design of the CHIP-BCIS3 Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Percutaneous coronary intervention for complex coronary disease is associated with a high risk of cardiogenic shock. This can cause harm and limit the quality of revascularization achieved, especially when left ventricular function is impaired at the outset. Elective percutaneous left ventricular unloading is increasingly used to mitigate adverse events in patients undergoing high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention, but this strategy has fiscal and clinical costs and is not supported by robust evidence.

Disrupting CD38-driven T cell dysfunction restores sensitivity to cancer immunotherapy.

A central problem in cancer immunotherapy with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) is the development of resistance, which affects 50% of patients with metastatic melanoma. T cell exhaustion, resulting from chronic antigen exposure in the tumour microenvironment, is a major driver of ICB resistance. Here, we show that CD38, an ecto-enzyme involved in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) catabolism, is highly expressed in exhausted CD8 T cells in melanoma and is associated with ICB resistance.

Adjuvanted Vaccine Induces Functional Antibodies against Filamentous Bacteriophages.

(), a WHO priority 1 pathogen, resulted in approximately 559,000 deaths globally in 2019. has a multitude of host-immune evasion strategies that enhance virulence. Most clinical isolates of are infected by a phage called Pf that has the ability to misdirect the host-immune response and provide structural integrity to biofilms.

Clonal Hematopoiesis in Clinical and Experimental Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Background: Clonal hematopoiesis (CH), which results from an array of nonmalignant driver gene mutations, can lead to altered immune cell function and chronic disease, and has been associated with worse outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction. However, the role of CH in the prognosis of HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) has been understudied. This study aimed to characterize CH in patients with HFpEF and elucidate its causal role in a murine model.

TRPA1 and TPRV1 Ion Channels Are Required for Contact Lens-Induced Corneal Parainflammation and Can Modulate Levels of Resident Corneal Immune Cells.

Purpose: Contact lens wear can induce corneal parainflammation involving CD11c+ cell responses (24 hours), γδ T cell responses (24 hours and 6 days), and IL-17-dependent Ly6G+ cell responses (6 days). Topical antibiotics blocked these CD11c+ responses. Because corneal CD11c+ responses to bacteria require transient receptor potential (TRP) ion-channels (TRPA1/TRPV1), we determined if these channels mediate lens-induced corneal parainflammation.

Digital health and acute kidney injury: consensus report of the 27th Acute Disease Quality Initiative workgroup.

Acute kidney injury (AKI), which is a common complication of acute illnesses, affects the health of individuals in community, acute care and post-acute care settings. Although the recognition, prevention and management of AKI has advanced over the past decades, its incidence and related morbidity, mortality and health care burden remain overwhelming. The rapid growth of digital technologies has provided a new platform to improve patient care, and reports show demonstrable benefits in care processes and, in some instances, in patient outcomes.

The replication crisis has led to positive structural, procedural, and community changes.

The emergence of large-scale replication projects yielding successful rates substantially lower than expected caused the behavioural, cognitive, and social sciences to experience a so-called 'replication crisis'. In this Perspective, we reframe this 'crisis' through the lens of a credibility revolution, focusing on positive structural, procedural and community-driven changes. Second, we outline a path to expand ongoing advances and improvements.

A lipidated TLR7/8 adjuvant enhances the efficacy of a vaccine against fentanyl in mice.

Opioid use disorders (OUD) and opioid-related fatal overdoses are a public health concern in the United States. Approximately 100,000 fatal opioid-related overdoses occurred annually from mid-2020 to the present, the majority of which involved fentanyl or fentanyl analogs. Vaccines have been proposed as a therapeutic and prophylactic strategy to offer selective and long-lasting protection against accidental or deliberate exposure to fentanyl and closely related analogs.

Randomized Trial of Early Detection and Treatment of Postpartum Hemorrhage.

Background: Delays in the detection or treatment of postpartum hemorrhage can result in complications or death. A blood-collection drape can help provide objective, accurate, and early diagnosis of postpartum hemorrhage, and delayed or inconsistent use of effective interventions may be able to be addressed by a treatment bundle.

Methods: We conducted an international, cluster-randomized trial to assess a multicomponent clinical intervention for postpartum hemorrhage in patients having vaginal delivery.