Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS) in Severe COVID-19 Patients: Two Controversial and Interesting Case Reports and Literature Review.

Background: Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) represents a potentially life-threatening and systematic inflammatory response where it is noted an increase of secretion of proinflammatory cytokines from lymphocytes, myeloid cells like macrophages, dendritic cells, and monocytes. This syndrome is characteristic of some conditions such as viral infections, administration of antibody-based therapy, auto immune disease, and immunotherapy, especially in severe COVID-19 patients.

Case Reports: We presented two cases of COVID-19 patients in which the clinical picture significantly deteriorated during hospitalization, where the value of CRP, ferritin, LDH, and IL-6 dramatically increased, especially values of IL-6 were recorded over 2000.

Unusual complications of non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) and high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC): A systematic review.

The first application of modern non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) can be traced back to over 30 years ago when a patient suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy was successfully ventilated. Since then, the use of NIV has been on the rise throughout the world. Although a very modern and safe therapy, complications during its application are inevitable.

Third-order transport coefficient tensor of charged-particle swarms in electric and magnetic fields.

Third-order transport coefficient tensor of charged-particle swarms in neutral gases in the presence of spatially uniform electric and magnetic fields is considered using a multiterm solution of Boltzmann's equation and Monte Carlo simulation technique. The structure of the third-order transport coefficient tensor and symmetries along its individual components in varying configurations of electric and magnetic fields are addressed using a group projector technique and through symmetry considerations of the Boltzmann equation. In addition, we focus upon the physical interpretation of the third-order transport coefficient tensor by considering the extended diffusion equation which incorporates the contribution of the third-order transport coefficients to the density profile of charged particles.

Third-order transport coefficients for localised and delocalised charged-particle transport.

We derive third-order transport coefficients of skewness for a phase-space kinetic model that considers the processes of scattering collisions, trapping, detrapping and recombination losses. The resulting expression for the skewness tensor provides an extension to Fick's law which is in turn applied to yield a corresponding generalised advection-diffusion-skewness equation. A physical interpretation of trap-induced skewness is presented and used to describe an observed negative skewness due to traps.

The mechanism of pre-transfer editing in yeast mitochondrial threonyl-tRNA synthetase.

Accurate translation of mRNA into protein is a fundamental biological process critical for maintaining normal cellular functions. To ensure translational fidelity, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) employ pre-transfer and post-transfer editing activities to hydrolyze misactivated and mischarged amino acids, respectively. Whereas post-transfer editing, which requires either a specialized domain in aaRS or a trans-protein factor, is well described, the mechanism of pre-transfer editing is less understood.

Yeast mitochondrial threonyl-tRNA synthetase recognizes tRNA isoacceptors by distinct mechanisms and promotes CUN codon reassignment.

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) ensure faithful translation of mRNA into protein by coupling an amino acid to a set of tRNAs with conserved anticodon sequences. Here, we show that in mitochondria of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a single aaRS (MST1) recognizes and aminoacylates two natural tRNAs that contain anticodon loops of different size and sequence. Besides a regular tRNA(2Thr) with a threonine (Thr) anticodon, MST1 also recognizes an unusual tRNA(1Thr), which contains an enlarged anticodon loop and an anticodon triplet that reassigns the CUN codons from leucine to threonine.

Ankyrin recognizes both surface character and shape of the 14-15 di-repeat of beta-spectrin.

The spectrin-based cytoskeleton is critical for cell stability, membrane organization and membrane protein trafficking. At its core is the high-affinity complex between beta-spectrin and ankyrin. Defects in either of these proteins may cause hemolytic disease, developmental disorders, neurologic disease, and cancer.

The structure of the ankyrin-binding site of beta-spectrin reveals how tandem spectrin-repeats generate unique ligand-binding properties.

Spectrin and ankyrin participate in membrane organization, stability, signal transduction, and protein targeting; their interaction is critical for erythrocyte stability. Repeats 14 and 15 of betaI-spectrin are crucial for ankyrin recognition, yet the way spectrin binds ankyrin while preserving its repeat structure is unknown. We have solved the crystal structure of the betaI-spectrin 14,15 di-repeat unit to 2.

Comparative analysis of EspF from enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli in alteration of epithelial barrier function.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) are related intestinal pathogens that harbor highly similar pathogenicity islands known as the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE). Despite their genetic similarity, these two pathogens disrupt epithelial tight junction barrier function with distinct kinetics.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli activates ezrin, which participates in disruption of tight junction barrier function.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is an important human intestinal pathogen, especially in infants. EPEC adherence to intestinal epithelial cells induces the accumulation of a number of cytoskeletal proteins beneath the bacteria, including the membrane-cytoskeleton linker ezrin. Evidence suggests that ezrin can participate in signal transduction.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli dephosphorylates and dissociates occludin from intestinal epithelial tight junctions.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) increases tight junction permeability in part by phosphorylating the 20 kDa myosin light chain (MLC20) that induces cytoskeletal contraction. The impact of this enteric pathogen on specific tight junction (TJ) proteins has not been investigated. We examined the effect of EPEC infection on occludin localization and phosphorylation in intestinal epithelial cells.

The native metastable fold of C1-inhibitor is stabilized by disulfide bonds.

C1-inhibitor is a member of the serpin family of proteinase inhibitors and is an important inhibitor of complement and contact system proteinases. The native protein has the characteristic serpin feature of being in a kinetically trapped metastable state rather than in the most stable state it could adopt. A consequence of this is that it readily forms loop-sheet dimers and polymers, by a mechanism believed to be the same as observed with other serpins.

Superiority of Mi-ADMS to DMSA as parenteral treatment for decreasing mercury (203Hg) body burden in rats.

The efficiency of meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) and the monoisoamyl ester of meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (Mi-ADMS) in decreasing 203Hg retention was evaluated in rats in relation to age and time of treatment. The experiments were performed on six-week- and seven-day-old Wistar rats, which received 203Hg by intraperitoneal administration. The chelators DMSA or Mi-ADMS were also administered intraperitoneally, twice, on two consecutive days, in doses of 0.

Decreasing 203Hg retention by intraperitoneal treatment with monoalkyl esters of meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid in rats.

The effect of nine monoalkyl esters of meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) on 203Hg retention after a single i.p. dose was evaluated in 6-7 week-old female albino rats.

Fine needle aspiration cytology in the preoperative diagnosis of ultrasonically enlarged parathyroid glands.

The value of fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology in the diagnosis of ultrasonically suspected parathyroid gland enlargements was reviewed for a six-year series of cases. In 146 patients, 277 FNA biopsies under ultrasound guidance were performed on suspected enlarged parathyroid glands. Smears were routinely stained by the Pappenheim (May-Grünwald-Giemsa) method, and the Grimelius silver stain was used to demonstrate argyrophilic granules in the cytoplasm of parathyroid cells.

Factors influencing the efficiency of chelation therapy.

The purpose of the present study was to obtain new data on the effect of age, route, dose and time of metal and chelating agent administration on the efficiency of chelation therapy. The experiments were performed on 1-2 and 6-week-old rats which received radioisotopes of metals--203Pb, 115 mCd, 203Hg and 141Ce intraperitoneally or orally. Chelating agents calcium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (CaEDTA), calcium and zinc diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (CaDTPA, ZnDTPA), 2,3-dimercapto-propane-sulfonate-1 (DMPS), dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) and sodium N-(4-methoxybenzyl)-D-glucamine dithiocarbamate monohydrate (MeOBDCG) were administered twice by intraperitoneal or oral administration as early (immediately and 24 hr after metals) or delayed treatment (24 and 48 or 48 and 72 hr after metals).

131I dose to the human fetal thyroid in the Zagreb district, Yugoslavia, from the Chernobyl accident.

The 131I activity was measured in 30 human fetal thyroids in Zagreb district after the Chernobyl accident. A model of radioiodine metabolism in the mother and human fetus which takes into account the age dependence of the uptake and retention of radioiodine in the fetal thyroid was developed. Having assessed that the total intake by the average mother was about 1330 Bq, a good correlation between calculated and measured fetal thyroid activities was found (r = 0.

Effect of imaging time on the values of the sacroiliac index.

Quantitative scintigraphy of the sacroiliac joints was performed in a group of normal subjects and a group of subjects with unilateral and bilateral sacroiliitis. The aim of the study was to determine whether the time intervals of imaging had any effect on the values of the sacroiliac index. Imaging was performed every 30 min up to 300 min and the indices were calculated at the time intervals mentioned.

Developmental pattern of the testicular androgen response to gonadotrophin stimulation in vitro and its modification by chronic hypoprolactinaemia.

Developing male rats were treated chronically with bromocriptine (BR, 3 mg/kg b.w. daily) to maintain severe hypoprolactinaemia throughout postnatal development.

Rapid naloxone-induced alterations of androgen variables in the growing male rat.

Contrary to earlier views on the inability of naloxone to affect androgen variables by way of general circulation, systemically applied naloxone (2.5 mg/kg body weight, single i.p.

The effect of composite oral treatment for internal contamination with several radionuclides on 131I thyroid uptake in humans.

The efficiency of a composite oral treatment on 131I thyroid uptake was investigated in three adult volunteers. The treatment consisted of 10 g of calcium alginate, 3 g ferrihexacyanoferrate(II), 130 mg of potassium iodide and 5 g of Zn-DTPA. This mixture when administered 30 min before 131I almost completely blocked the 131I thyroid uptake.