Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein oligomers.

Oligomers of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein are characterized by pronounced instability resulting in fast degradation. This property likely relates to two contrasting behaviors of the N protein: genome stabilization through a compact nucleocapsid during cell evasion and genome release by nucleocapsid disassembling during infection. In vivo, the N protein forms rounded complexes of high molecular mass from its interaction with the viral genome.

Semaphorin 3F (SEMA3F) influences patient survival in esophageal adenocarcinoma.

In esophageal adenocarcinoma, the presence of lymph node metastases predicts patients' survival even after curative resection. Currently, there is no highly accurate marker for detecting the presence of lymph node metastasis. The SEMA3F/NRP2 axis was initially characterized in axon guidance and recent evidence has revealed its significant involvement in lymphangiogenesis, angiogenesis, and carcinogenesis.

Hexokinase 2 as an independent risk factor for worse patient survival in esophageal adenocarcinoma and as a potential therapeutic target protein: A retrospective, single‑center cohort study.

Cancer cells exhibit a distinct metabolic profile that features an upregulation of less efficient glycolysis accompanied by lactate production for energy generation, in contract to the characteristic metabolism of normal cells. Consequently, cancer research has focused on the enzymes that participate in these cancer metabolic pathways. Among them, hexokinase 2 (HK2) has an important position as the initial enzyme in the glycolytic pathway.

Optimal Treatment Strategies for cT2 Staged Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagus and the Gastroesophageal Junction: A Multinational, High-volume Center Retrospective Cohort Analysis.

Objective: To evaluate outcomes after primary surgery (PS) or neoadjuvant treatment followed by surgery (NAT/S) in cT2 staged adenocarcinomas of the esophagus (EAC) and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ), a multinational high-volume center study was undertaken.

Background: The optimal treatment approach with either NAT/S or PS for clinically staged cT2cN any or cT2N0 EAC and GEJ remains unknown due to the lack of randomized controlled trials.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained databases from 10 centers was performed.

Skill progress during a dedicated societal robotic surgery training curriculum including several robotic surgery platforms.

Background: Robot-assisted procedures are increasingly common, and several systems are available for thoraco-abdominal surgery. Specific structured training is necessary, while access to these systems is still limited. This study aimed to assess surgeons' skill progress during consecutive training days of a curriculum with exposure to different robotic systems.

Obscurity of chlorophyll tails - Is chlorophyll with farnesyl tail incorporated into PSII complexes?

Chlorophyll is essential in photosynthesis, converting sunlight into chemical energy in plants, algae, and certain bacteria. Its structure, featuring a porphyrin ring enclosing a central magnesium ion, varies in forms like chlorophyll a, b, c, d, and f, allowing light absorption at a broader spectrum. With a 20-carbon phytyl tail (except for chlorophyll c), chlorophyll is anchored to proteins.

The role of length of oral resection margin and survival in esophageal cancer surgery after neoadjuvant therapy: A retrospective propensity score-matched study.

Background: Multimodal therapy regimens became the standard of care for patients with esophageal cancer, whereas surgical resection remains at the center of curative treatment modalities. Current guidelines provide no recommendations on the extent of the oral resection margin, especially in the era of neoadjuvant therapy. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the oral tumor-free resection margin and overall survival.

Cryo-electron microscopy reveals hydrogen positions and water networks in photosystem II.

Photosystem II starts the photosynthetic electron transport chain that converts solar energy into chemical energy and thus sustains life on Earth. It catalyzes two chemical reactions: water oxidation to molecular oxygen and plastoquinone reduction. Coupling of electron and proton transfer is crucial for efficiency; however, the molecular basis of these processes remains speculative owing to uncertain water binding sites and the lack of experimentally determined hydrogen positions.

Towards extending the aircraft flight envelope by mitigating transonic airfoil buffet.

In the age of globalization, commercial aviation plays a central role in maintaining our international connectivity by providing fast air transport services for passengers and freight. However, the upper limit of the aircraft flight envelope, i.e.

Measurements of Oxygen Evolution in Photosynthesis.

This chapter compares two different techniques for monitoring photosynthetic O production; the wide-spread Clark-type O electrode and the more sophisticated membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) technique. We describe how a simple membrane inlet for MIMS can be made out of a commercial Clark-type cell and outline the advantages and drawbacks of the two techniques to guide researchers in deciding which method to use. Protocols and examples are given for measuring O evolution rates and for determining the number of chlorophyll molecules per active photosystem II reaction center.

Germline homozygosity and allelic imbalance of HLA-I are common in esophagogastric adenocarcinoma and impair the repertoire of immunogenic peptides.

Background: The individual HLA-I genotype is associated with cancer, autoimmune diseases and infections. This study elucidates the role of germline homozygosity or allelic imbalance of HLA-I loci in esophago-gastric adenocarcinoma (EGA) and determines the resulting repertoires of potentially immunogenic peptides.

Methods: HLA genotypes and sequences of either (1) 10 relevant tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) or (2) patient-specific mutation-associated neoantigens (MANAs) were used to predict good-affinity binders using an in silico approach for MHC-binding (www.

Impact of FAPI-46/dual-tracer PET/CT imaging on radiotherapeutic management in esophageal cancer.

Background: Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is expressed in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of various cancers. In our analysis, we describe the impact of dual-tracer imaging with Gallium-68-radiolabeled inhibitors of FAP (FAPI-46-PET/CT) and fluorodeoxy-D-glucose (FDG-PET/CT) on the radiotherapeutic management of primary esophageal cancer (EC).

Methods: 32 patients with EC, who are scheduled for chemoradiation, received FDG and FAPI-46 PET/CT on the same day (dual-tracer protocol, 71%) or on two separate days (29%) We compared functional tumor volumes (FTVs), gross tumor volumes (GTVs) and tumor stages before and after PET-imaging.

Automated surgery planning for an obstructed nose by combining computational fluid dynamics with reinforcement learning.

Septoplasty and turbinectomy are among the most common interventions in the field of rhinology. Their constantly debated success rates and the lack of quantitative flow data of the entire nasal airway for planning the surgery necessitate methodological improvement. Thus, physics-based surgery planning is highly desirable.

Treatment of local recurrence of esophageal cancer following Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy-Experiences of a high-volume center.

Purpose: Patients with local recurrence of esophageal cancer have a highly decreased overall survival. There is currently no standardized treatment algorithm for this group. This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the survival of patients with local recurrence, despite receiving individualized treatment options.

A senior surgical resident can safely perform complex esophageal cancer surgery after surgical mentoring program-experience of a European high-volume center.

Previous studies have shown that surgical residents can safely perform a variation of complex abdominal surgeries when provided with adequate training, proper case selection, and appropriate supervision. Their outcomes are equivalent when compared to experienced board-certified surgeons. Our previously published training curriculum for robotic assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy already demonstrated a possible reduction in time to reach proficiency.

Combined score of Y chromosome loss and T-cell infiltration improves UICC based stratification of esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Background: Staging, especially clinical lymph node staging in esophageal adenocarcinoma has only moderate sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, we evaluated combined molecular markers to predict prognosis.

Patients And Methods: 890 tumor tissue samples were obtained from patients who underwent surgery for esophageal adenocarcinoma with curative intent.

Copy-number-gain of telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is associated with an unfavorable prognosis in esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Esophageal adenocarcinoma exhibits one of the highest mortality rates among all cancer entities. Multimodal therapy strategies have improved patients' survival significantly. However, patients in early stages are currently limited to receiving only local therapies, even though some patients within this group showcase short survival periods.

Postesophagectomy Diaphragmatic Prolapse after Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy (RAMIE).

Background: Postesophagectomy diaphragmatic prolapse (PDP) is a major complication after esophagectomy with significant mortality and morbidity. However, in the current literature, treatment and outcomes are not evaluated for patients undergoing an Ivor Lewis Robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (IL-RAMIE). The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of PDP after IL-RAMIE.

High NANOG expression correlates with worse patients' survival in esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Background: Patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer demonstrate a low overall survival even despite the established multimodal therapy as the current standard of care. Therefore, further biomarkers for patients with high-risk and additional therapy options are needed. NANOG is a transcription factor, which can be found in stem cells and is known to support tumorigenesis.

Acoustic source characterization of simulated subsonic jet noise using spherical harmonics.

As subsonic jets remain one of the major contributions to aircraft noise emissions, near-field flow simulations should be included in aircraft design at an early stage using quantitatively predicted sound pressure levels and the time-domain signal properties of the noise data. In this regard, the interface from the near-field data to the far-field radiation-under consideration of acoustic reflections from objects such as fuselage and wings-remains as bottleneck. This study presents the computation of a spherical equivalent source model of jet noise with minimal complexity by means of spherical harmonic (SH) coefficients.