Editor's Highlights-February 2025.

Understanding the pathophysiology of inflammatory skin diseases, including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis (AD), and prurigo nodularis (PN), has led to the development of innovative treatments. In the February issue of the Journal, we provide insight into the global epidemiology and psychosocial impact of psoriasis. We also discuss the role of tissue-resident memory T cells in disease recurrence and evaluate the effectiveness of tildrakizumab in treating difficult areas in psoriasis.

Encapsulation and Melanization Are Not Correlated to Successful Immune Defense Against Parasitoid Wasps in .

Parasitoid elimination in involves special hemocytes, called lamellocytes, which encapsulate the eggs or larvae of the parasitoid wasps. The capsules are melanized, and metabolites of the melanization reaction may play a potential role in parasitoid killing. We have observed a variation in the melanization capacity of different, commonly used strains, such as Canton-S, Oregon-R, and BL5905, BL6326.

Effects of Manual Therapy on Fascial Distortion Model in Adolescent Ankle Sprain: A Pilot Study.

Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the feasibility of investigating the effects of manual therapy on ankle functional muscle strength, static balance, and disability in adolescent patients with an ankle sprain.

Methods: The study was a nonrandomized prepost clinical feasibility trial. From September 2021 to February 2022, 31 patients with ankle sprain received manual therapy.

Three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography-derived deformation analysis of the morphologic left ventricle in adults with corrected dextro-transposition of the great arteries-insights from the CSONGRAD Registry and MAGYAR-Path Study.

Background: Dextro-transposition of the great arteries (dTGA) stands out as a prevalent cyanotic congenital heart defect (CHD), characterized by an intricate reversal in the arrangement of the major arteries. In the past, several surgical procedures have been used to treat dTGA, including the atrial switch. Although the method is no longer used, survivors of the procedure still living among us.

More than just a happy talk? Evidence for functional pitch and utterance length modifications in infant-, spouse-, and dog-directed communication.

By comparing infant-directed speech to spouse- and dog-directed talk, we aimed to investigate how pitch and utterance length are modulated by speakers considering the speech context and the partner's expected needs and capabilities. We found that mean pitch was modulated in line with the partner's attentional needs, while pitch range and utterance length were modulated according to the partner's expected linguistic competence. In a situation with a nursery rhyme, speakers used the highest pitch and widest pitch range with all partners suggesting that infant-directed context greatly influences these acoustic features.

Mind the gap in kidney care: Translating what we know into what we do.

Historically, it takes an average of 17 years to move new treatments from clinical evidence to daily practice. Given the highly effective treatments now available to prevent or delay kidney disease onset and progression, this is far too long. The time is now to narrow the gap between what we know and what we do.

Limited Evidence of Functional Benefit After Upper Limb Botulinum Toxin Treatment in Children With Cerebral Palsy: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objectives: This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials aimed to summarize the reported functional effects of upper limb botulinum toxin treatment in children with spastic cerebral palsy.

Design: Six databases were searched in October 2022. Two independent authors screened and extracted data on upper limb function, body function, life quality, muscle tone, spasticity, goals, pain, adverse events, and client satisfaction.

Real-world evidence of remdesivir in formerly hospitalized COVID-19 patients: patient-reported and functional outcomes.

Background: Post-COVID condition (PCC) is characterized by persisting symptoms after the resolution of acute COVID-19. Remdesivir (RDV), a broad-spectrum antiviral drug, has been widely used in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 requiring oxygen therapy. We aimed to evaluate the effects of RDV on PCC by assessing patient-reported and functional outcomes.

Prospective validation of ORACLE, a clonal expression biomarker associated with survival of patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Human tumors are diverse in their natural history and response to treatment, which in part results from genetic and transcriptomic heterogeneity. In clinical practice, single-site needle biopsies are used to sample this diversity, but cancer biomarkers may be confounded by spatiogenomic heterogeneity within individual tumors. Here we investigate clonally expressed genes as a solution to the sampling bias problem by analyzing multiregion whole-exome and RNA sequencing data for 450 tumor regions from 184 patients with lung adenocarcinoma in the TRACERx study.

Assessment of the predictive power the radiation-induced lymphocyte apoptosis method in prostate cancer patients.

Due to the better survival of patients with tumorous diseases, it is increasingly important to predict the side effects of radiotherapy, for which the Radiation-Induced Lymphocyte Apoptosis (RILA) method is proving to be effective in multicentric studies. Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men worldwide, which is usually treated with radiotherapy. We recruited 49 patients with localized prostate cancer and performed RILA measurements before radiotherapy.

Unexpected renal side effects of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines; a single-center experience and short review.

Background: In late 2019, the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus disease 2019 a global emergency. Since then, many vaccines have been developed to combat the pandemic. Millions of people have received one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines; unfortunately, some adverse events also have been recorded.

Driving under the influence of drugs - The failed quest of finding medical signs indicative to driving impairment.

Motor vehicle accidents (MVA) are the leading cause of death in childhood and young adult age. One of the most important factors behind MVA is driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA) and drugs (DUID). The importance of DUID is rising together with the increasing drug abuse.

Spectroscopic characterization of radicals formed by hydrogen-atom abstraction from γ-valerolactone and γ-butyrolactone.

γ-valerolactone (GVL) and its unmethylated counterpart, γ-butyrolactone (GBL), are important compounds with a wide range of potential uses. For example, GVL is proposed as an ideal alternative renewable energy source, while GBL can be utilized as an electrolyte. Understanding the combustion mechanisms of these compounds is crucial for optimizing their use as energy sources and monitoring the products formed during combustion.

Knee position affects medial gastrocnemius and soleus activation during dynamic plantarflexion: no evidence for an inter-muscle compensation in healthy young adults.

Knee joint position influences ankle torque, but it is unclear whether the soleus compensates to counteract the reductions in gastrocnemius output during knee-flexed versus knee-extended plantarflexions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of knee joint position and plantarflexion contraction velocity on ankle plantarflexion torque and electromyography activity of the medial gastrocnemius and soleus in healthy young adults. Healthy male participants (n=30) performed concentric plantar flexions in a custom-built dynamometer from 15° dorsiflexion to 30° plantarflexion at gradually increasing velocities during each contraction at 30, 60, 120, 180, and 210° s-1 in a supine position with the knee fully extended and while kneeling with the knee fixed in 90° flexion.

Hybrid Pennisetum colonization by Bacillus megaterium BM18-2 labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) under Cd stress.

Researchers have reported that Bacillus megaterium BM18-2 reduces Cd toxicity in Hybrid Pennisetum, but understanding the interaction between plants and associated endophytes is crucial for understanding phytoremediation strategies under heavy metal stress. The current study aims to monitor the colonization patterns of GFP-labeled endophytic bacteria BM18-2 on Hybrid Pennisetum grass. Additionally, it will monitor Cd's effect on plant bacterial colonization.

Occurrence and Time of Onset of Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Preterm Neonates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Individual Patient Data.

Importance: Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) has been described to typically occur during the early hours of life (HOL); however, the exact time of onset is still unknown.

Objective: To investigate the temporal distribution of IVH reported in very preterm neonates.

Data Sources: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched on May 9, 2024.

Identification of f.a., sp. nov. and large indels in the rRNA cistron that split the genus.

Yeast strains representing a novel asexual ascomycetous species were isolated from seven flowers. Sequencing of the chromosomal regions coding for the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit ribosomal RNA, the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 segments and parts of the gene coding for the small subunit ribosomal RNA showed that the isolates were conspecific.

Pulmonary Function Testing in Healthy Infants in Rural Bangladesh: Feasibility Study.

Background: Infant pulmonary function testing (iPFT) in low- and middle-income countries is limited. We evaluated the early feasibility of iPFT in rural Bangladesh.

Methods: Experts established an iPFT laboratory at Zakiganj Upazila Health Complex in Sylhet, Bangladesh and trained staff.

Fractal cycles of sleep, a new aperiodic activity-based definition of sleep cycles.

Sleep cycles are defined as episodes of non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep followed by an episode of REM sleep. Fractal or aperiodic neural activity is a well-established marker of arousal and sleep stages measured using electroencephalography. We introduce a new concept of 'fractal cycles' of sleep, defined as a time interval during which time series of fractal activity descend to their local minimum and ascend to the next local maximum.

The effect of unilateral endoscopic arytenoid abduction lateropexy on swallowing in cases of bilateral vocal fold palsy.

Objective: Endoscopic arytenoid abduction lateropexy (EAAL) is a minimally invasive surgical technique for the immediate management of bilateral vocal fold palsy (BVFP). Specifically, it achieves a stable and adequate airway by lateralizing the arytenoid cartilage without resecting laryngeal structures. Thus, this study evaluated the effect of EAAL on swallowing in cases of BVFP.

Serotype distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility of Streptococcus suis isolates from porcine diagnostic samples in Hungary, 2020-2023.

Background: Streptococcus suis (S. suis) is a major swine pathogen and a significant zoonotic agent, causing substantial economic losses in the swine sector and having considerable public health importance. The control and management of S.