Hazardous effects of heavy metal pollution on Nile tilapia in the aquatic ecosystem of the Eastern Delta in Egypt.

Introduction: Heavy metal pollution threatens the biodiversity and ecological equilibrium of the Nile River. This study investigates the impact of heavy metal pollution on aquatic animals such as Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in the Damietta branch of the River Nile and El-Rayah El-Tawfeeky canal in Benha City in Egypt.

Methods: Fish and water samples were collected from the Damietta branch and El-Rayah El-Tawfeeky during the fall of 2022.

Morphological and molecular characterization of a Sarcocystis bovifelis-like sarcocyst in American beef.

Background: Parasites in the apicomplexan genus Sarcocystis infect cattle worldwide. Assessing the economic importance of each such parasite species requires proper diagnosis. Sarcocystis cruzi, a thin-walled species, infects virtually all cattle.

Compensating elastic faults in a torque-assisted knee exoskeleton: functional evaluation and user perception study.

Wearable robots are often powered by elastic actuators, which can mimic the intrinsic compliance observed in human joints, contributing to safe and seamless interaction. However, due to their increased complexity, when compared to direct drives, elastic actuators are susceptible to faults, which pose significant challenges, potentially compromising user experience and safety during interaction. In this article, we developed a fault-tolerant control strategy for torque assistance in a knee exoskeleton and investigated user experience during a walking task while emulating faults.

The aluminum standard: using generative Artificial Intelligence tools to synthesize and annotate non-structured patient data.

Background: Medical narratives are fundamental to the correct identification of a patient's health condition. This is not only because it describes the patient's situation. It also contains relevant information about the patient's context and health state evolution.

Microbial adaptive pathogenicity strategies to the host inflammatory environment.

Pathogenic microorganisms can infect a variety of niches in the human body. During infection, microbes can only persist if they adapt adequately to the dynamic host environment and the stresses imposed by the immune system. While viruses entirely rely on host cells to replicate, bacteria and fungi use their pathogenicity mechanisms for the acquisition of essential nutrients that lie under host restriction.

KRAS inhibitors: resistance drivers and combinatorial strategies.

In 1982, the RAS genes HRAS and KRAS were discovered as the first human cancer genes, with KRAS later identified as one of the most frequently mutated oncogenes. Yet, it took nearly 40 years to develop clinically effective inhibitors for RAS-mutant cancers. The discovery in 2013 by Shokat and colleagues of a druggable pocket in KRAS paved the way to FDA approval of the first covalently binding KRAS inhibitors, sotorasib and adagrasib, in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Microsatellites markers fostering the understanding of malaria parasite biology, epidemiology and population genetics.

Microsatellites, or simple sequence repeats (SSRs), are short tandemly repeated DNA sequences widely dispersed throughout the genome. Their high variability, co-dominant inheritance, and ease of detection make them valuable genetic markers, frequently used to study genetic diversity, population structure, and evolutionary processes. In the context of malaria research, particularly with Plasmodium falciparum (P.

Malnutrition Diagnosed via Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) Criteria - Association with Clinical Outcomes and Predictive Value: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews.

Objectives: Malnutrition is very common in people with cancer. The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) recommendation on criteria has been proposed as a gold standard for diagnosing malnutrition. The diagnosis of malnutrition includes phenotypic criteria such as unintentional weight loss and etiologic criteria such as reduced food intake.

Targeting molecular pathways to control immune checkpoint inhibitor toxicities.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed cancer treatment but are frequently associated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs). This article offers a novel synthesis of findings from both preclinical and clinical studies, focusing on the molecular mechanisms driving irAEs across diverse organ systems. It examines key immune cells, such as T cell subsets and myeloid cells, which are instrumental in irAE pathogenesis, alongside an in-depth analysis of cytokine signaling [interleukin (IL)-6, IL-17, IL-4), interferon γ (IFN-γ), IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α)], integrin-mediated interactions [integrin subunits αITGA)4 and ITGB7], and microbiome-related factors that contribute to irAE pathology.

Polyneuropathy in Parkinson's Disease is Highly Prevalent and Not Related to Treatment.

Purpose: An increased prevalence of peripheral polyneuropathy (PN) in Parkinson's disease (PD) associated with greater functional impairment has previously been reported. A possible cause has been suggested as levodopa therapy. The aim of this real-world study was to assess the prevalence and the characteristics of PN in PD and to investigate the putative association between PN and oral levodopa.

Fluid overload trajectories and mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Background: Fluid overload remains critical in managing patients with end-stage kidney disease. However, there is limited empirical understanding of fluid overload's impact on mortality. This study analyzes fluid overload trajectories and their association with mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Assessing the impact of different donor milk treatments on infant health and growth: a systematic review protocol.

Introduction: Donor human milk (DHM) is the first alternative if mother's own milk is unavailable or contraindicated. Much DHM research has focused on its nutritional, immunological and biochemical composition in response to various maternal variables, standard human milk banking procedures and storage protocols. The current systematic review protocol, however, aims to systematically gather and analyse existing data pertaining to the impact of these aforementioned factors on the clinical, health-related and developmental outcomes observed in infants fed with DHM.

Oogenesis involves a novel nuclear envelop remodeling mechanism in Schmidtea mediterranea.

The cell nuclei of Ophisthokonts, the eukaryotic supergroup defined by fungi and metazoans, is remarkable in the constancy of their double-membraned structure in both somatic and germ cells. Such remarkable structural conservation underscores common and ancient evolutionary origins. Yet, the dynamics of disassembly and reassembly displayed by Ophisthokont nuclei vary extensively.

The role of biodegradable plastics in lignite anaerobic digestion: Changes of organics transformation and metabolic pathway.

Biodegradable plastics (BPs) and lignite, both rich in organic matter, present significant challenges for efficient conversion into clean energy. This study examined the anaerobic co-digestion of BPs and lignite under controlled laboratory conditions. The results demonstrated that the co-digestion of polylactic acid (PLA) and lignite (at a 1:2 mass ratio, with 5 g PLA and 10 g lignite as the model system) rapidly acclimated to the anaerobic environment, enhancing cumulative biogas production by 57 % compared to the mono-digestion of lignite alone.

Peripheral nerve injury induces dystonia-like movements and dysregulation in the energy metabolism: A multi-omics descriptive study in Thap1 mice.

DYT-THAP1 dystonia is a monogenetic form of dystonia, a movement disorder characterized by the involuntary co-contraction of agonistic and antagonistic muscles. The disease is caused by mutations in the THAP1 gene, although the precise mechanisms by which these mutations contribute to the pathophysiology of dystonia remain unclear. The incomplete penetrance of DYT-THAP1 dystonia, estimated at 40 to 60 %, suggests that an environmental trigger may be required for the manifestation of the disease in genetically predisposed individuals.

Clinical Spectrum and Prognosis of Atypical Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease Caused by Monoallelic Pathogenic Variants of IFT140.

Rationale & Objective: Monoallelic predicted Loss-of-Function (pLoF) variants in IFT140 have recently been associated with an autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD)-like phenotype. This study sought to enhance the characterization of this phenotype.

Study Design: Case series.

Deconstructing delay discounting in human cocaine addiction using computational modelling and neuroimaging.

Background: A preference for sooner-smaller over later-larger rewards, known as delay discounting, is a candidate transdiagnostic marker of waiting impulsivity and a research domain criterion. While abnormal discounting rates have been associated with many psychiatric diagnoses and abnormal brain structure, the underlying neuropsychological processes remain largely unknown. Here, we deconstruct delay discounting into choice and rate processes by testing different computational models and investigate their associations with white matter tracts.