Region-selective and site-specific glycation of influenza proteins surrounding the viral envelope membrane.

Analysis of protein modifications is critical for quality control of therapeutic biologics. However, the identification and quantification of naturally occurring glycation of membrane proteins by mass spectrometry remain technically challenging. We used highly sensitive LC MS/MS analyses combined with multiple enzyme digestions to determine low abundance early-stage lysine glycation products of influenza vaccines derived from embryonated chicken eggs and cultured cells.

Encoder-decoder convolutional neural network for simple CT segmentation of COVID-19 infected lungs.

This work presents the application of an Encoder-Decoder convolutional neural network (ED-CNN) model to automatically segment COVID-19 computerised tomography (CT) data. By doing so we are producing an alternative model to current literature, which is easy to follow and reproduce, making it more accessible for real-world applications as little training would be required to use this. Our simple approach achieves results comparable to those of previously published studies, which use more complex deep-learning networks.

CHD4 R975H mutant activates tumorigenic pathways and promotes stemness and M2-like macrophage polarization in endometrial cancer.

Endometrial cancer (EC), one of the most prevalent carcinomas in females, is associated with increasing mortality. We identified the CHD4 R975H mutation as a high-frequency occurrence in EC patients through a comprehensive survey of EC databases. Computational predictions suggest that this mutation profoundly impacts the structural and functional integrity of CHD4.

Robust analysis of allele-specific copy number alterations from scRNA-seq data with XClone.

Somatic copy number alterations (CNAs) are major mutations that contribute to the development and progression of various cancers. Despite a few computational methods proposed to detect CNAs from single-cell transcriptomic data, the technical sparsity of such data makes it challenging to identify allele-specific CNAs, particularly in complex clonal structures. In this study, we present a statistical method, XClone, that strengthens the signals of read depth and allelic imbalance by effective smoothing on cell neighborhood and gene coordinate graphs to detect haplotype-aware CNAs from scRNA-seq data.

Image-Guided Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy on Detectable Prostate Bed Recurrence after Prostatectomy in RT-Naïve Patients.

Unlabelled: Purpose or Objective-The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SBRT on detectable prostate bed recurrence in RT-naïve prostate cancer patients.

Materials And Methods: Eighty-six patients who underwent SBRT for macroscopic bed recurrence after prostatectomy were retrospectively included. Patients were treated based on mpMRI or choline/PSMA PET.

Standard or high dose chemoradiotherapy, with or without the protease inhibitor nelfinavir, in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer: The phase 1/randomised phase 2 SCALOP-2 trial.

Background: The multi-centre two-stage SCALOP-2 trial (ISRCTN50083238) assessed whether dose escalation of consolidative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) or concurrent sensitization using the protease inhibitor nelfinavir improve outcomes in locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) following four cycles of gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel.

Methods: In stage 1, the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of nelfinavir concurrent with standard-dose CRT (50.4 Gy in 28 fractions) was identified from a cohort of 27 patients.

How can we optimize antifungal use and stewardship in the treatment of acute leukemia?

Introduction: The global need for antifungal stewardship is driven by spreading antimicrobial and antifungal resistance. Triazoles are the only oral and relatively well-tolerated class of antifungal medications, and usage is associated with acquired resistance and species replacement with intrinsically resistant organisms. On a per-patient basis, hematology patients are the largest inpatient consumers of antifungal drugs, but are also the most vulnerable to invasive fungal disease.

Reply to Bourgeois, P. Comment on "Devoogdt et al. The Effectiveness of Fluoroscopy-Guided Manual Lymph Drainage as Part of Decongestive Lymphatic Therapy on the Superficial Lymphatic Architecture in Patients with Breast Cancer-Related Lymphoedema: A Randomised Controlled Trial. 2023, , 1545".

We appreciate the commentary by Pierre Bourgeois [...

Ecological and human health impact assessments based on long-term monitoring of soil PAHs near a coal-fired power plant.

The combustion of coal in power plants releases significant amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are highly toxic and carcinogenic. This study assesses the ecological and human health impacts of PAHs contamination from a coal-fired power plant over 8 years. The monitoring site selection considered the distance from the power plant and the prevailing wind direction in the investigated area.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide and intermedin induce phosphorylation of p44/42 MAPK in primary human lymphatic endothelial cells in vitro.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and adrenomedullin 2/intermedin (AM2/IMD) play important roles in several pathologies, including cardiovascular disease, migraine and cancer. The efficacy of drugs targeting CGRP signalling axis for the treatment of migraine patients is sometimes offset by side effects (e.g.

Recent Therapeutic Gene Editing Applications to Genetic Disorders.

Recent years have witnessed unprecedented progress in therapeutic gene editing, revolutionizing the approach to treating genetic disorders. In this comprehensive review, we discuss the progression of milestones leading to the emergence of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based technology as a powerful tool for precise and targeted modifications of the human genome. CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease, base editing, and prime editing have taken center stage, demonstrating remarkable precision and efficacy in targeted ex vivo and in vivo genomic modifications.

Current status of bispecific antibodies and CAR-T therapies in multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM), a malignancy of plasma cells, is an incurable disease that is characterized by the neoplastic proliferation of plasma cells leading to extensive skeletal destruction. This includes osteolytic lesions, osteopenia, and pathologic fractures. MM is clinically manifested through bone pain, renal insufficiency, hypercalcemia, anemia, and recurrent infections.

Muscle-invasive bladder cancer in elderly and frail people: Is hypofractionated radiotherapy a feasible approach when no other local options are available?

Aim: The study aims to report the feasibility and safety of palliative hypofractionated radiotherapy targeting macroscopic bladder tumors in a monocentric cohort of frail and elderly bladder cancer patients not eligible for curative treatments.

Methods: Patients who underwent hypofractionated radiotherapy to the gross disease or to the tumor bed after transurethral resection of bladder tumor from 2017 to 2021 at the European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, were retrospectively considered. Schedules of treatment were 30 and 25 Gy in 5 fractions (both every other day, and consecutive days).

Backbone and methyl side-chain resonance assignments of the single chain Fab fragment of trastuzumab.

Trastuzumab is a therapeutic monoclonal antibody developed to target human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) present at higher levels in early cancers. Here we report the near complete resonance assignment of trastuzumab-scFab fragment backbone and the methyl groups of isoleucine, leucine and valine residues, as well as their stereo-assignments. The antibody fragment was produced using a single chain approach in Escherichia coli.

Blood microbial signatures associated with mortality in patients with sepsis: A pilot study.

Sepsis is a life-threatening illness caused by the dysregulated host response to infection. Nevertheless, our current knowledge of the microbial landscape in the blood of septic patients is still limited. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a sensitive method to quantitatively characterize microbiomes at various sites of the human body.

Assessment of antibiotic resistance genes in soils polluted by chemical and technogenic ways with poly-aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals.

Anthropogenic activities are leaving lots of chemical footprints on the soil. It alters the physiochemical characteristics of the soil thereby modifying the natural soil microbiome. The prevalence of antimicrobial-resistance microbes in polluted soil has gained attention due to its obvious public health risks.

Timing of radiotherapy (RT) after radical prostatectomy (RP): long-term outcomes in the RADICALS-RT trial (NCT00541047).

Background: The optimal timing of radiotherapy (RT) after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer has been uncertain. RADICALS-RT compared efficacy and safety of adjuvant RT versus an observation policy with salvage RT for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure.

Patients And Methods: RADICALS-RT was a randomised controlled trial enrolling patients with ≥1 risk factor (pT3/4, Gleason 7-10, positive margins, preoperative PSA≥10 ng/ml) for recurrence after radical prostatectomy.

Real-World Outcome of Treatment with Single-Agent Ibrutinib in Italian Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Final Results of the EVIdeNCE Study.

Real-world data in clinical practice are needed to confirm the efficacy and safety that ibrutinib has demonstrated in clinical trials of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We described the real-world persistence rate, patterns of use, and clinical outcomes in 309 patients with CLL receiving single-agent ibrutinib in first line (1L, = 118), 2L ( = 127) and ≥3L ( = 64) in the prospective, real-world, Italian EVIdeNCE study. After a median follow-up of 23.