Symptom severity reflected by NYHA grade is independently associated with pruritus in chronic heart failure patients.

Background: Pruritus is a symptom profoundly impairing patients' quality of life (QoL). It is a common symptom in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients of yet unknown nature. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk factors of pruritus in CHF patients.

The effect of Si/Al ratio of ZSM-12 zeolite on its morphology, acidity and crystal size for the catalytic performance in the HTO process.

In this research, ZSM-12 zeolite with six Si/Al ratios (20 to 320) was synthesized by a hydrothermal method and systematically investigated. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized nano zeolites were evaluated and compared by XRD, FE-SEM,ICP-AES, NH-TPD, BET, FT-IR, and TGA analyses. The results show that when the Si/Al ratio increases, the amount of microcrystals increases with the dominant competitive phase of cristobalite by decreasing the MTW phase.

[Heart failure: update of the ESC 2023 guidelines].

The 2023 update of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines recommends (class IA) the administration of sodium-glucose transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) also for patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and mildly reduced EF (HFmrEF). Thus, SGLT2i are the only medication that should be given to all heart failure patients for improvement of prognosis independent of left ventricular EF. The rapid administration of the fantastic four drugs and their prompt titration after a heart failure decompensation is now included in the guidelines with a class IB recommendation.

Targeting Enterococci with Antimicrobial Activity against from Poultry.

Necrotic enteritis (NE), caused by is an emerging issue in poultry farming. New approaches, other than antibiotics, are necessary to prevent NE development and the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Enterococci are commensal microorganisms that can produce enterocins, antimicrobial peptides with activities against pathogens, and could be excellent candidates for protective cultures.

A practical approach to the guideline-directed pharmacological treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

Over the last 15-20 years, remarkable developments of heart failure (HF) pharmacotherapies have been achieved. However, HF remains a global healthcare challenge with more than 64 million patients worldwide. Optimization of guideline-directed chronic HF medical therapy is highly recommended with every patient visit to improve outcomes in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction.

[A practical approach to guideline-directed pharmacological treatment for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction].

The 2021 guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure recommend the early implementation of all four mortality-lowering drug classes for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), i. e. angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) or angiotensin receptor II blocker-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI), betablocker (BB), mineralocorticoid receptor-antagonists (MRA), and sodium-glucose linked transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i).

Cardiac Rhythm Monitoring Using Wearables for Clinical Guidance before and after Catheter Ablation.

Mobile health technologies are gaining importance in clinical decision-making. With the capability to monitor the patient's heart rhythm, they have the potential to reduce the time to confirm a diagnosis and therefore are useful in patients eligible for screening of atrial fibrillation as well as in patients with symptoms without documented symptom rhythm correlation. Such is crucial to enable an adequate arrhythmia management including the possibility of a catheter ablation.

In vitro assessment of skin sensitization, irritability and toxicity of bacteriocins and reuterin for possible topical applications.

Bacteriocins and reuterin are promising antimicrobials for application in food, veterinary, and medical sectors. In the light of their high potential for application in hand sanitizer, we investigated the skin toxicity of reuterin, microcin J25, pediocin PA-1, bactofencin A, and nisin Z in vitro using neutral red and LDH release assays on NHEK cells. We determined their skin sensitization potential using the human cell line activation test (h-CLAT).

[Raw meat, lots of problems: rare infection in a patient after mechanical valve replacement and liver transplantation].

We report about a 43-year-old man who presented to the emergency department in septic shock with nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms. Sonography and computed tomography (CT) could not identify the location of the infection in the patient who had undergone liver transplantation and has a mechanical mitral valve. Blood cultures were positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

Bacteriocin-Based Synergetic Consortia: a Promising Strategy to Enhance Antimicrobial Activity and Broaden the Spectrum of Inhibition.

Bacteria-derived natural antimicrobial compounds such as bacteriocins, reruterin, and organic acids have recently received substantial attention as food preservatives or therapeutic alternatives in human or animal sectors. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of different bacteria-derived antimicrobials, alone or in combination, against a large panel of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Bacteriocins, including microcin J25, pediocin PA-1, nisin Z, and reuterin, were investigated alone or in combination with lactic acid and citric acid, using a checkerboard assay.

Gastrointestinal Stability and Cytotoxicity of Bacteriocins From Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria: A Comparative Study.

Bacteriocins are receiving increased attention as potent candidates in food preservation and medicine. Although the inhibitory activity of bacteriocins has been studied widely, little is known about their gastrointestinal stability and toxicity toward normal human cell lines. The aim of this study was to evaluate the gastrointestinal stability and activity of microcin J25, pediocin PA-1, bactofencin A and nisin using models.

Malignant External Otitis in a Patient With Diabetes Mellitus: Comparison of Bone Scan SPECT/CT and 68Ga-Citrate PET/CT.

We reported a 66-year-old woman with malignant external otitis who was referred to our department for evaluation of disease extension. Both 99mTc-MDP bone SPECT/CT and 68Ga-citrate PET/CT were done for the patient. Both studies showed concordant areas of increased uptake in the petrous bone.

[Guidelines of the ESC 2021 on heart failure].

The new 2021 guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure include a new terminology for heart failure (HF) with a left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) of 41-49%. This group of patients is now defined as HF with mildly reduced EF (HFmrEF; formerly mid-range). For this form of HF there are now for the first time recommendations for treatment with the standard medications, which are also used for HFrEF.

investigation of gastrointestinal stability and toxicity of 3-hyrdoxypropionaldehyde (reuterin) produced by .

Reuterin (3-hyrdoxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA)) is a highly potent metabolite of , which has applications in food, health, and veterinary sectors. Similar to other natural antimicrobial compounds, the approval of reuterin as a bio-preservative or therapeutic agent by regulatory agencies relies on sufficient data on its cytotoxicity and behavior in the gastrointestinal environment. Although the antimicrobial activity of reuterin has been broadly studied, its safety and toxicity are yet to be explored in detail.

Blood-based protein profiling identifies serum protein c-KIT as a novel biomarker for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is one of the most common hereditary heart diseases and can be classified into an obstructive (HOCM) and non-obstructive (HNCM) form. Major characteristics for HCM are the hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes and development of cardiac fibrosis. Patients with HCM have a higher risk for sudden cardiac death compared to a healthy population.

Bacteriocins as a new generation of antimicrobials: toxicity aspects and regulations.

In recent decades, bacteriocins have received substantial attention as antimicrobial compounds. Although bacteriocins have been predominantly exploited as food preservatives, they are now receiving increased attention as potential clinical antimicrobials and as possible immune-modulating agents. Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been declared as a global threat to public health.

Phenomic and genomic approaches to studying the inhibition of multiresistant Salmonella enterica by microcin J25.

In livestock production, antibiotics are used to promote animal growth, control infections and thereby increase profitability. This practice has led to the emergence of multiresistant bacteria such as Salmonella, of which some serovars are disseminated in the environment. The objective of this study is to evaluate microcin J25 as an inhibitor of Salmonella enterica serovars of various origins including human, livestock and food.

Multicomponent reactions of ammonium thiocyanate, acyl chlorides, alkyl bromides, and enaminones: a facile one-pot synthesis of thiophenes.

An efficient synthesis of thiophene derivatives is described via one-pot reaction between ammonium thiocyanate, acyl chlorides, α-halocarbonyls, and enaminones under solvent-free conditions at 65 °C. The mild reaction conditions and high yields of the products exhibit the good synthetic advantage of these methods.