Identification and Evaluation of Natural Compounds as Potential Inhibitors of NS2B-NS3 Zika Virus Protease: A Computational Approach.

The Zika virus (ZIKV), an arbovirus within the Flavivirus genus, is associated with severe neurological complications, including Guillain-Barré syndrome in affected individuals and microcephaly in infants born to infected mothers. With no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments available, there is an urgent need for effective therapeutic options. This study aimed to identify new natural compounds with inhibitory potential against the NS2B-NS3 protease (PDB ID: 5LC0), an essential enzyme in viral replication.

EAES rapid guideline: surgical management of complicated diverticulitis - with ESCP participation.

Background: The surgical management of complicated diverticulitis varies across Europe. EAES members prioritized this topic to be addressed by a clinical practice guideline through an online questionnaire.

Objective: To develop evidence-informed clinical practice recommendations for key stakeholders involved in the treatment of complicated diverticulitis; to improve operative and perioperative outcomes, patient experience and quality of life through a systematic evidence-to-decision approach by a diverse, multidisciplinary panel.

Surgical management of complicated diverticulitis: systematic review and individual patient data network meta-analysis : An EAES/ESCP collaborative project.

Background: We performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) of individualized patient data (IPD) to inform the development of evidence-informed clinical practice recommendations.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central in October 2023 to identify RCTs comparing Hartmann's resection (HR), primary resection and anastomosis (PRA), or laparoscopic peritoneal lavage (LPL) among patients with class Ib-IV Hinchey diverticulitis. Outcomes of interest were prioritized by an international, multidisciplinary panel including two patient partners.

From evidence to advice in France, Germany, and the UK: transparency, accountability, and participation in pandemic science advice.

Politicians often claim to be "following science" but their claims are, reasonably, disputed. To claim to be following the science can mean that scientific evidence affects or legitimates decisions. The evidence that politicians are following science often comes from formal systems of advice that translate science into advice.

Occurrence and ecological risks of antibiotics and antiparasitics in surface water in urban lakes in Hanoi city, Vietnam.

The presence of antibiotics in the environment is of significant concern due to their adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems. This study provides an assessment of potential ecological risks (RQ) associated with the concentrations of eight antibiotics and antiparasitics (amoxicillin-AMO, azithromycin-AZI, ciprofloxacine-CIP, ofloxacine-OFL, oxfendazole-OXF, lincomycin-LIN, sulfacetamide-SCE and sulfamethoxazole-SME) in the surface water of 13 urban lakes in Hanoi city, Vietnam during the period 2021-2023. The findings revealed considerable variations in the total concentrations of these 8 substances (T), ranging from below the method detection limit (< MDL) to 2240 ng L with an average of 330.

A stable combination of non-stable genes outperforms standard reference genes for RT-qPCR data normalization.

Gene expression profiling is of key importance in all domains of life sciences, as medicine, environment, and plants, for both basic and applied research. Despite the emergence of microarrays and high-throughput sequencing, qPCR remains a standard method for gene expression analyses, with its data normalization step being crucial for ensuring accuracy. Currently, the most widely used normalization method is based on the use of reference genes, assumed to be stably expressed across all experimental conditions.

Expanded and independent validation of the NoMoFA scale for Parkinson's disease: the Italian version.

Introduction: Non-motor symptoms (NMS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) can fluctuate daily, impacting patient quality of life. The Non-Motor Fluctuation Assessment (NoMoFA) Questionnaire, a recently validated tool, quantifies NMS fluctuations during ON- and OFF-medication states. Our study aimed to validate the Italian version of NoMoFA, comparing its results to the original validation and further exploring its clinimetric properties.

Size-Dependent Wetting Contact Angles at the Nanoscale Defined by Equimolar Surfaces and Surfaces of Tension.

The wetting characteristics of fluids play a crucial role in various fields of interface and surface science. Contact angle serves as a fundamental indicator of wetting behavior. However, accurate quantification of wetting phenomena even at the macroscale often poses challenges, particularly due to the hysteresis between receding and advancing contact angles.

A calibration framework toward model generalization for bacteria concentration estimation in water resource recovery facilities.

Reduced bacteria concentrations in wastewater is a key indicator of the efficacy of water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs). However, monitoring the presence of bacterial concentrations in real time at each stage of the WRRF is challenging as it requires taking and processing water samples offline. Although few studies have been proposed to predict bacterial concentrations using data-driven models, generalizing these models to unseen data from different WRRFs remains challenging.

A quantitative benchmark of neural network feature selection methods for detecting nonlinear signals.

Classification and regression problems can be challenging when the relevant input features are diluted in noisy datasets, in particular when the sample size is limited. Traditional Feature Selection (FS) methods address this issue by relying on some assumptions such as the linear or additive relationship between features. Recently, a proliferation of Deep Learning (DL) models has emerged to tackle both FS and prediction at the same time, allowing non-linear modeling of the selected features.

Etiological study of polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia in a French cohort of hospitalized patients and proposal of a diagnostic aid algorithm : Short title: polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia in a French cohort of hospitalized patients.

Serum protein electrophoresis can sometimes reveal polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia. This electrophoretic abnormality can be caused by a variety of conditions and can be difficult to investigate. We sought to investigate screening practices in patients with hypergammaglobulinemia in order to establish diagnostic guidance strategies.

Effects of minipuberty disruption on the expression of sexual behavior in female mice.

Sex steroids influence early organization of neural structures involved in expression of sexual behavior. A critical perinatal period during which testosterone surges occur has been identified in male rodents. Data are lacking for females, whose ovarian activity starts later in the postnatal period.

Salivary extracellular vesicles isolation methods impact the robustness of downstream biomarkers detection.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), crucial mediators in cell-to-cell communication, are implicated in both homeostatic and pathological processes. Their detectability in easily accessible peripheral fluids like saliva positions them as promising candidates for non-invasive biomarker discovery. However, the lack of standardized methods for salivary EVs isolation greatly limits our ability to study them.

Gene expression modulation in human aortic smooth muscle cells under induced physiological mechanical stretch.

In this study, we investigated gene expression in vitro of human primary Aortic smooth muscle cells (AoSMCs) in response to 9% physiological dynamic stretch over a 4 to 72-h timeframe using RT-qPCR. AoSMC were derived from primary culture and were exposed to continuous cycles of stretch and relaxation at 1 Hz by a computer-controlled Flex Jr.™ Tension System.

Ferrotoroidicity in CsFeCl·DO.

The promise of antiferromagnetic spintronics largely relies on the possibilities of electrical manipulation of antiferromagnetic states, which requires the exploration of innovative material platforms to meet the challenge. Erythrosiderite-type compounds constitute a class of non-oxide materials presenting magneto-electric couplings ranging from multiferroicity to linear magneto-electric behaviour. In this communication, we demonstrate that Cs[FeCl(DO)] shows evidence of another ferroic order, ferrotoroidicity, providing an alternative way of manipulating the magnetic states.

Gas transport mechanisms during high-frequency ventilation.

By virtue of applying small tidal volumes, high-frequency ventilation is advocated as a method of minimizing ventilator-induced lung injury. Lung protective benefits are established in infants, but not in other patient cohorts. Efforts to improve and extend the lung protection potential should consider how fundamental modes of gas transport can be exploited to minimize harmful tidal volumes while maintaining or improving ventilation.

Shear bond strength and ARI scores of metal brackets to glazed glass ceramics and zirconia: an in vitro study investigating surface treatment protocols.

Objective: To evaluate the shear bond strength (SBS) and adhesive remnant index (ARI) scores of metal brackets to glazed lithium disilicate reinforced glass-ceramics and zirconia according to various surface treatment protocols.

Methods: A total of 240 lithium disilicate ceramic (LD) and 240 zirconia (Zr) blocks were randomly divided according to sandblasting, hydrofluoric acid (HF) etching, universal primer use, and the adhesive system applied. A maxillary canine metal bracket was bonded to each sample with resin cement (Transbond XT, TXT).

Antimicrobial resistance, virulence gene profiling, and genetic diversity of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates in Mazandaran, Iran.

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major cause of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), particularly in immunocompromised patients, leading to high morbidity and mortality rates. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial resistance patterns, virulence gene profiles, and genetic diversity among P. aeruginosa isolates from hospitalized patients in Mazandaran, Iran.

Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii and Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum infections on tissue sections: diagnostic pitfalls and relevance of an integrated histomolecular diagnosis.

Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii and Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum may present atypical histopathological features inducing diagnostic errors. We aimed to estimate the frequency of these atypical features on formalin-fixed tissue samples (FT) and to assess the relevance of an integrated histomolecular diagnosis using specific Histoplasma capsulatum PCR and panfungal PCR followed by Sanger sequencing and/or targeted-massive parallel sequencing (MPS).

Scurvy in an 18-month-old child mimicking a clinical presentation of rickets.

Scurvy is now considered to be a rare disease in European countries, even among children, but it still exists. We report the case of an 18-month-old boy who was initially hospitalized for a walking disorder and ultimately diagnosed with scurvy. Radiographs were compatible with rickets, but biological analysis ruled out this diagnosis.

Impact of obesity on tolerance and persistence of statins in patients within 3months following an acute myocardial infarction: A real-world study.

Background: Recommended treatment after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) involves high-intensity statin therapy to achieve the low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) target of<1.4mmol/L (European guidelines), but many patients discontinue statins because of real or perceived side-effects. Whether body mass index (BMI) influences statin intolerance remains unclear.

Linking structural and functional changes during healthy aging and semantic dementia using multilayer brain network analysis.

Healthy aging is characterized by frontal and diffuse brain changes, while certain age-related pathologies such as semantic dementia will be associated with more focal brain lesions, particularly in the temporo-parietal regions. These changes in structural integrity could influence functional brain networks. Here we use multilayer brain network analysis on structural (DWI) and functional (fMRI) data in younger and older healthy individuals and patients with semantic dementia.

Pharmacists as independent prescribers in community pharmacy: A scoping review.

Background: There has been a growing interest in granting prescribing rights to pharmacists as a strategy to improve healthcare access. Researchers continue to explore the impact and implementation of pharmacist prescribing. Given the recent international changes in this field, an overview of current territories allowing pharmacist independent prescribing would provide a comprehensive understanding for researchers and policymakers.

Journey to the past: molecular de-extinction enables the discovery of ancient β-defensins and highlights their evolutionary history.

Molecular de-extinction is an innovative science aiming to discover, synthesize, and characterize molecules throughout evolution. Recent work by Ferreira et al. involved mining ancient genomes to search for antimicrobial defensins.