Profile and Usefulness of Serum Cytokines to Predict Prognosis in Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease.

Objectives: To characterize the serum cytokine profile in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) at onset and during follow-up and assess their utility for predicting relapses and disability.

Methods: This retrospective multicentric cohort study included patients aged 16 years and older meeting MOGAD 2023 criteria, with serum samples collected at baseline (≤3 months from disease onset) and follow-up (≥6 months from the baseline), and age-matched and time to sampling-matched patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Eleven cytokines were assessed using the ELLA system.

Five-year results of a prospective trial of IORT-photon boost and hypofractionated whole-breast irradiation after breast-conserving surgery.

Aim: To assess for the first time the safety and feasibility of combining photon-IntraOperative RadioTherapy (ph-IORT) with hypofractionated whole-breast irradiation (hWBI) in patients referred to adjuvant radiotherapy after Breast-Conserving Surgery (BCS).

Methods: From February 2019 to August 2020, patients referred for breast-conserving surgery (BCS) in our institution were prospectively included in the present trial. BCS was discussed in the multidisciplinary tumor board (MTB).

Plasma Neurodegenerative Biomarkers in Cognitively Preserved Nonagenarians.

Plasma biomarkers represent promising tools for the screening and diagnosis of patients with neurodegenerative conditions. However, it is crucial to account for the effects of aging on biomarker profiles, especially in the oldest segments of the population. Additionally, biomarkers in this sample can offer in vivo insights into the physiological mechanisms underlying brain aging while concomitantly supporting cognitive preservation.

Sortase A-Based Post-translational Modifications on Encapsulin Nanocompartments.

Protein-based encapsulin nanocompartments, known for their well-defined structures and versatile functionalities, present promising opportunities in the fields of biotechnology and nanomedicine. In this investigation, we effectively developed a sortase A-mediated protein ligation system in to site-specifically attach target proteins to encapsulin, both internally and on its surfaces without any further steps. We explored the potential applications of fusing sortase enzyme and a protease for post-translational ligation of encapsulin to a green fluorescent protein and anti-CD3 scFv.

A Scalable Microfluidic Platform for Nanoparticle Formulation: For Exploratory- and Industrial-Level Scales.

Nanoparticle synthesis on microfluidic platforms provides excellent reproducibility and control over bulk synthesis. While there have been plenty of platforms for producing nanoparticles (NPs) with controlled physicochemical properties, such platforms often operate in a narrow range of predefined flow rates. The flow rate limitation restricts either up-scalability for industrial production or down-scalability for exploratory research use.

TEG-based transfusion protocol is associated with decreased blood product use without increased risk of hemoperitoneum.

Background: Thromboelastography (TEG) informs the need for blood product transfusions to prevent procedural bleeding complications in patients with cirrhosis. We aimed to evaluate the impact of using a TEG-based transfusion protocol on blood product utilization before paracentesis and the post-paracentesis hemoperitoneum (PPH) incidence.

Methods: We conducted an ambispective analysis of patients with cirrhosis who underwent paracentesis from 2017 to 2021.

Single-cell profiling reveals inflammatory polarization of human carotid versus femoral plaque leukocytes.

Femoral atherosclerotic plaques are less inflammatory than carotid plaques histologically, but limited cell-level data exist regarding comparative immune landscapes and polarization at these sites. We investigated intraplaque leukocyte phenotypes and transcriptional polarization in 49 patients undergoing femoral (n = 23) or carotid (n = 26) endarterectomy using single-cell RNA-Seq (scRNA-Seq; n = 13), flow cytometry (n = 24), and IHC (n = 12). Comparative scRNA-Seq of CD45+-selected leukocytes from femoral (n = 9; 35,265 cells) and carotid (n = 4; 30,655 cells) plaque revealed distinct transcriptional profiles.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs): what do we currently know about the effect they have against anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapies?

Recent advances in cancer treatment such as PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors have prompted multiple research studies to determine all of the factors that influence response or failure to these new treatments. One of those identified factors is myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). These cells were identified and described for the first time in 2007 in laboratory mice and cancer patients.

Gene Variants in AD Patients and Their Relationship to CSF Protein Levels.

ADAM10 is the main α-secretase acting in the non-amyloidogenic processing of APP. We hypothesized that certain rare variants could increase the risk for AD by conferring the age-related downregulation of α-secretase. The gene was sequenced in 103 AD cases (82% familial) and 96 cognitively preserved nonagenarians.

Psychosocial and Health Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic Experienced by Staff Employed in Social Welfare Facilities in Poland and Spain.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a very significant negative impact on the physical and mental health of various professional groups. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the psychosocial and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by staff employed in social welfare institutions in Poland and Spain. The study involved 407 people, including 207 from Poland and 200 from Spain (346 women and 61 men), working in social care facilities.

TRIM25 mutation (p.C168*), coding for an E3 ubiquitin ligase, is a cause of early-onset autosomal dominant dementia with amyloid load and parkinsonism.

Introduction: Patients with familial early-onset dementia (EOD) pose a unique opportunity for gene identification studies.

Methods: We present the phenotype and whole-exome sequencing (WES) study of an autosomal dominant EOD family. Candidate genes were examined in a set of dementia cases and controls (n = 3712).

Hepatic artery pseudoaneurysms and hepatic ischaemic injury: a rare complication of polyarteritis nodosa.

A woman in her 70s presented with months of intermittent fevers, severe fatigue, headaches, abdominal pain and haematuria. She developed acute onset left-sided weakness and was found to have radiographic evidence of right frontal and left parietal intraparenchymal haemorrhages with subarachnoid haemorrhage. She also had markedly elevated liver transaminases with subsequent abdominal MRI that revealed hepatic artery pseudoaneurysms (HAP) requiring embolisation.

IgG4-related disease presenting with multiorgan involvement.

Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a rare fibroinflammatory immune-mediated condition which can affect multiple organ systems and form mass-like lesions. Initial presentation can mimic other diseases such as pancreatic malignancy when there is pancreatic involvement or tuberculosis (TB) when there are pulmonary lesions or hypertrophic pachymeningitis (HP). Here, we report a novel case of IgG4-RD presenting as bilateral subdural haematomas with additional findings.

Results and student perspectives on a web-scraping assignment from Utah State University's data technologies course to evaluate the African activity in the statistical computing community.

In 2019, members of the Executive Committee of the International Association for Statistical Computing (IASC) were contacted by members of the IASC from Africa asking whether it would be feasible to establish a new regional IASC section in Africa. The establishment of a new regional section requires several steps that are outlined in the IASC Statutes at https://iasc-isi.org/statutes/.

Initiation of antiretroviral therapy in treatment-naive adults with HIV infection at the first specialist appointment.

Background: Fast initiation of ART has been associated with higher rates of retention in HIV care and viral suppression at 48 weeks and with lower mortality rates. However, scarce evidence exists in our setting, where diagnosis and treatment are carried out in different contexts.

Methods: An observational retrospective study evaluating efficacy and safety of ART prescribed at the first specialist appointment, without baseline laboratory data, in a tertiary hospital in downtown Madrid.

The use of occupation-based interventions and assessments in hand therapy: A cross-sectional survey.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to gather information on how hand therapists incorporate occupation-based interventions in their clinical practice and what outcome measures hand therapists use to measure the occupational performance of their clients STUDY DESIGN: Cross-Sectional Survey Design.

Methods: The 16-item Survey was distributed to members of the American Society of Hand Therapists on two occasions.

Results: Three hundred eleven hand therapists responded to the survey.

De Novo PS1 Mutation (Pro436Gln) in a Very Early-Onset Posterior Variant of Alzheimer's Disease Associated with Spasticity: A Case Report.

We report a patient with sporadic Alzheimer's disease with onset in his twenties found to carry the de novo Pro436Gln mutation in the presenilin 1 gene (PS1). Clinical phenotype featured a posterior cortical syndrome with severe visual agnosia and mild limb spasticity with brisk reflexes. Brain MRI and FDG-PET scans revealed severe parieto-occipital atrophy/hypometabolism.

Check dam storage capacity calculation based on high-resolution topogrammetry: Case study of the Cutou Gully, Wenchuan County, China.

Debris flows are a common natural trigger of disasters in mountainous areas, and check dams are standard structural measures for controlling debris flows. Despite their prevalence in debris flow-prone areas worldwide, the capacity of check dams is still calculated using empirical formulas, which lead to large calculation errors. This paper proposes a new method that uses GIS to calculating the design storage capacity of a check dam in the debris flow-prone Cutou Gully in Wenchuan County, China.

α-Secretase nonsense mutation (ADAM10 Tyr167*) in familial Alzheimer's disease.

Background: The disintegrin metalloproteinase 10 (ADAM10) is the main α-secretase acting in the non-amyloidogenic processing of APP. Some ADAM10 gene variants have been associated with higher susceptibility to develop late-onset AD, though clear clinical-genetic correlates remain elusive.

Methods: Clinical-genetic and biomarker study of a first family with early- and late-onset AD associated with a nonsense ADAM10 mutation (p.

COVID-19 in people living with HIV: A multicenter case-series study.

Objectives: Information on how COVID-19 affects people living with HIV (PLHIV) remains scarce.

Methods: An observational study was conducted in four public hospitals in Madrid. All HIV patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 were included and compared with COVID-19 patients without HIV infection.

Preoperative Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography and Clinical Factors for Assessment of Cardiac Risk after Noncardiac Surgery.

Background: The role of dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) in the risk stratification of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery in the current era is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the yield of DSE and the additive role of DSE to clinical criteria for preoperative risk stratification of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery.

Methods: The study included 4,494 patients undergoing DSE ≤90 days before noncardiac surgery.

Methicillin resistance and biofilm production in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus in México.

Introduction: Infections associated with health care caused by S. aureus and coagulase-negative Staphylococci multi-resistant to antibiotics cause a high epidemiological impact due to their high morbidity and mortality. Biofilm formation, which has been associated with antimicrobial resistance, can also occur.

Chronic enteroviral meningoencephalitis in a patient on rituximab for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis: A case report and brief literature review.

Enteroviruses are RNA viruses within the family. Enteroviruses derive their name from the way they are typically transmitted via the intestinal tract. They commonly infect millions of people every year and often do not cause severe disease in immunocompetent patients with few exceptions.

[Cerebral cryptococcosis and immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. Case report].

We report a 45-year-old male with AIDS who had a Cryptococcus neoformans central nervous system infection. He was treated with amphotericin B deoxycholate subsequently changed to voriconazole due to systemic toxicity of the former. Plasma levels of voriconazole were insufficient with a standard dose (0.