The Chromosome Passenger Complex (CPC) Components and Its Associated Pathways Are Promising Candidates to Differentiate Between Normosensitive and Radiosensitive ATM-Mutated Cells.

Background: Sensitivity to ionizing radiation differs between individuals, but there is a limited understanding of the biological mechanisms that account for these variations. One example of such mechanisms are the mutations in the ATM (mutated ataxia telangiectasia) gene, that cause the rare recessively inherited disease Ataxia telangiectasia (AT). Hallmark features include chromosomal instability and increased sensitivity to ionizing radiation (IR).

Likelihood of Post-COVID Condition in people with hybrid immunity; data from the German National Cohort (NAKO).

Objectives: The risk of Post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) under hybrid immunity remains unclear.

Methods: Using data from the German National Cohort (NAKO Gesundheitsstudie), we investigated risk factors for self-reported post-infection symptoms (any PCC is defined as having at least one symptom, and high symptom burden PCC as having nine or more symptoms).

Results: Sixty percent of 109,707 participants reported at least one previous SARS-CoV-2 infection; 35% reported having had any symptoms 4-12 months after infection; among them 23% reported nine or more symptoms.

The cumulative niche approach: A framework to assess the performance of ecological niche model projections.

Ecological Niche Models (ENMs) are often used to project species distributions within alien ranges and in future climatic scenarios. However, ENMs depend on species-environment equilibrium, which may be absent for actively expanding species. We present a novel framework to estimate whether species have reached environmental equilibrium in their native and alien ranges.

Epidemiology of respiratory viruses among children during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to assess the prevalence of respiratory viruses among children under the special conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Five databases were systematically searched to assess the pooled prevalence of various respiratory viruses in different age groups, regions, seasons, and in patients with and without confirmed SARS-CoV-2 coinfection. Moreover, we looked at the virus distribution in the first and second half of the pandemic and countries with distinct economic status.

Global prevalence of respiratory virus infections in adults and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts have been made to contain the spread of the virus. However, the epidemiological burden of other respiratory viruses during the pandemic is unclear. We aim to address the epidemiology of respiratory viruses on adults/adolescents since the beginning of the pandemic.

Update of European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases coronavirus disease 2019 guidelines: diagnostic testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

Scope: Since the onset of COVID-19, several assays have been deployed for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2. The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) published the first set of guidelines on SARS-CoV-2 in vitro diagnosis in February 2022. Because the COVID-19 landscape is rapidly evolving, the relevant ESCMID guidelines panel releases an update of the previously published recommendations on diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2.

Modernizing persistence-bioaccumulation-toxicity (PBT) assessment with high throughput animal-free methods.

The assessment of persistence (P), bioaccumulation (B), and toxicity (T) of a chemical is a crucial first step at ensuring chemical safety and is a cornerstone of the European Union's chemicals regulation REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals). Existing methods for PBT assessment are overly complex and cumbersome, have produced incorrect conclusions, and rely heavily on animal-intensive testing. We explore how new-approach methodologies (NAMs) can overcome the limitations of current PBT assessment.

Comparing outcomes of ILD patients managed in specialised versus non-specialised centres.

Background: Early appropriate diagnosis and treatment of interstitial lung diseases (ILD) is crucial to slow disease progression and improve survival. Yet it is unknown whether initial management in an expert centre is associated with improved outcomes. Therefore, we assessed mortality, hospitalisations and health care costs of ILD patients initially diagnosed and managed in specialised ILD centres versus non-specialised centres and explored differences in pharmaceutical treatment patterns.

Liquid BIOpsy for MiNimal RESidual DiSease Detection in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (LIONESS)-a personalised circulating tumour DNA analysis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remain a substantial burden to global health. Cell-free circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) is an emerging biomarker but has not been studied sufficiently in HNSCC.

Methods: We conducted a single-centre prospective cohort study to investigate ctDNA in patients with p16-negative HNSCC who received curative-intent primary surgical treatment.

Activation of PPARα by Fenofibrate Attenuates the Effect of Local Heart High Dose Irradiation on the Mouse Cardiac Proteome.

Radiation-induced cardiovascular disease is associated with metabolic remodeling in the heart, mainly due to the inactivation of the transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), thereby inhibiting lipid metabolic enzymes. The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential protective effect of fenofibrate, a known agonist of PPARα on radiation-induced cardiac toxicity. To this end, we compared, for the first time, the cardiac proteome of fenofibrate- and placebo-treated mice 20 weeks after local heart irradiation (16 Gy) using label-free proteomics.

Microbial regulation of hexokinase 2 links mitochondrial metabolism and cell death in colitis.

Hexokinases (HK) catalyze the first step of glycolysis limiting its pace. HK2 is highly expressed in gut epithelium, contributes to immune responses, and is upregulated during inflammation. We examined the microbial regulation of HK2 and its impact on inflammation using mice lacking HK2 in intestinal epithelial cells (Hk2).

Adsorption-desorption and leaching behavior of diuron on selected Kenyan agricultural soils.

In this work, the adsorption-desorption dynamics of diuron in three typical Kenyan agricultural soils, Nzoia (NZ), Thika (TH) and Machakos (MK) was investigated. The equilibrium adsorption data, tested against three classical nonlinear adsorption isotherms, was best described by the Freundlich model. The Freundlich adsorption constant, (K), increased in the order MK > TH > NZ soil.

Circ-ZDHHC5 Accelerates Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression via miR-217/ZEB1 Axis.

Circular RNA (circRNA) exhibits a covalently closed circular conformation and is structurally stable. Nevertheless, the precise effects exerted by circRNA in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains uncertain. circRNA was ascertained by a human circRNA array study and was confirmed by the quantification of reverse transcriptase polymerase reactions.

Insulin sensitivity predicts cognitive decline in individuals with prediabetes.

Introduction: Epidemiological studies indicate an association between type 2 diabetes and cognitive dysfunction that appear to start already in the prediabetic state. Although cross-sectional studies have linked insulin resistance to impaired cognition, the potential predictive value of insulin resistance has not yet been sufficiently studied longitudinally without confounding by overt diabetes (and its pharmacological treatment).

Research Design And Methods: We investigated longitudinal data from participants of the 'Tübinger Evaluation of Risk Factors for Early Detection of Neurodegeneration' Study.

Neuroimaging of hypothalamic mechanisms related to glucose metabolism in anorexia nervosa and obesity.

BACKGROUNDGiven the heightened tolerance to self-starvation in anorexia nervosa (AN), a hypothalamic dysregulation of energy and glucose homeostasis has been hypothesized. Therefore, we investigated whether hypothalamic reactivity to glucose metabolism is impaired in AN.METHODSTwenty-four participants with AN, 28 normal-weight participants, and 24 healthy participants with obesity underwent 2 MRI sessions in a single-blind, randomized, case-controlled crossover study.

Data independent acquisition mass spectrometry of irradiated mouse lung endothelial cells reveals a STAT-associated inflammatory response.

Pulmonary inflammation is an adverse consequence of radiation therapy in breast cancer. The aim of this study was to elucidate biological pathways leading to this pathology. Lung endothelial cells were isolated 24 h after thorax-irradiation (sham or 10 Gy X-ray) from female C57Bl/6 mice and cultivated for 6 days.

Maternal Weight, Weight Gain, and Metabolism are Associated with Changes in Fetal Heart Rate and Variability.

Objective: Prepregnancy obesity and extensive weight gain can lead to diseases in the offspring later in life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of anthropometric and metabolic factors on the fetal autonomic nervous system (ANS) in uncomplicated pregnancies.

Methods: A total of 184 pregnant women in the second or third trimester were included, and for 104 women, maternal insulin sensitivity (ISI) was determined.

The alpha- and beta-noradrenergic receptors blockade in the dorsal raphe nucleus impairs the panic-like response elaborated by medial hypothalamus neurons.

Dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) neurons are reciprocally connected to the locus coeruleus (LC) and send neural pathways to the medial hypothalamus (MH). The aim of this work was to investigate whether the blockade of α-, α- or β-noradrenergic receptors in the DRN or the inactivation of noradrenergic neurons in the LC modify defensive behaviours organised by MH neurons. For this purpose, Wistar male rats received microinjections of WB4101, RX821002, propranolol (α- α- and β-noradrenergic receptor antagonists, respectively) or physiological saline in the DRN, followed 10 min later by MH GABA receptor blockade.

Comparison of methods to isolate proteins from extracellular vesicles for mass spectrometry-based proteomic analyses.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived membrane-bound organelles that have generated interest as they reflect the physiological condition of their source. Mass spectrometric (MS) analyses of protein cargo of EVs may lead to the discovery of biomarkers for diseases. However, for a comprehensive MS-based proteomics analysis, an optimal lysis of the EVs is required.

Metabolic Functions of Gut Microbes Associate With Efficacy of Tumor Necrosis Factor Antagonists in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

Background & Aims: Altered interactions between the mucosal immune system and intestinal microbiota contribute to pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). It is not clear how inhibitors of cytokines, such as antagonists of tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF), affect the intestinal microbiome. We investigated the effects of anti-TNF agents on gut microbe community structure and function in a longitudinal 2-step study of patients with IBD.

Sodium chloride is an ionic checkpoint for human T2 cells and shapes the atopic skin microenvironment.

The incidence of allergic diseases has increased over the past 50 years, likely due to environmental factors. However, the nature of these factors and the mode of action by which they induce the type 2 immune deviation characteristic of atopic diseases remain unclear. It has previously been reported that dietary sodium chloride promotes the polarization of T helper 17 (T17) cells with implications for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Real-world benefits of allergen immunotherapy for birch pollen-associated allergic rhinitis and asthma.

Background: Real-world evidence is sparse on the benefits of allergen immunotherapy [AIT; subcutaneous/sublingual immunotherapy (SCIT/SLIT)], the only disease-modifying intervention for allergic rhinitis (AR) with long-term efficacy. This real-life study evaluated the effect of six AITs (native pollen SLIT/SCIT, four allergoid SCITs) vs symptomatic medication use, on AR symptoms and asthma symptoms/onset, in patients with birch pollen-associated AR and/or asthma.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort analysis of a German longitudinal prescription database, AIT patients received ≥2 successive seasonal treatment cycles; non-AIT patients had ≥3 AR prescriptions in three seasons or previous month.

Computational phantoms, ICRP/ICRU, and further developments.

Phantoms simulating the human body play a central role in radiation dosimetry. The first computational body phantoms were based upon mathematical expressions describing idealised body organs. With the advent of more powerful computers in the 1980s, voxel phantoms have been developed.