ERBB2 Comprehensive Profiling and Prognostication in Stage III Colon Cancer: Findings From PETACC8 and IDEA-France Cohorts.

Background & Aims: ERBB2 pathway activation, through amplification or activating mutations, represents a new target for colon cancer (CC) treatment. Molecular methods were compared with the gold standard for assessing ERBB2 status, and the prognostic value of ERBB2 amplification, mutations, and expression was determined using data from 2 phase 3 trials involving nearly 3000 patients with stage III CC.

Methods: In the PETACC8 trial, immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization, DNA, and RNA analysis were performed on 1813, 1719, and 1733 samples, respectively.

A novel whole blood assay to quantify the release of T cell associated cytokines in response to Bordetella pertussis antigens.

Background: Bordetella pertussis continues to cause whooping cough globally even in countries with high immunisation coverage. Booster vaccinations with acellular pertussis vaccines are thus used in children, adolescents, and adults. T cell immunity is crucial for orchestrating the immune response after vaccination.

Computational surgery in the management of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms: Opportunities, challenges, and future directions.

Computational surgery (CS) is an interdisciplinary field that uses mathematical models and algorithms to focus specifically on operative planning, simulation, and outcomes analysis to improve surgical care provision. As the digital revolution transforms the surgical work environment through broader adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning, close collaboration between surgeons and computational scientists is not only unavoidable, but will become essential. In this review, the authors summarize the main advances, as well as ongoing challenges and prospects, that surround the implementation of CS techniques in vascular surgery, with a particular focus on the care of patients affected by abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs).

Acyl-CoA binding protein is required for lipid droplet degradation in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.

Diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) accumulate neutral storage lipids in lipid droplets during stress conditions, which can be rapidly degraded and recycled when optimal conditions resume. Since nutrient and light availability fluctuate in marine environments, storage lipid turnover is essential for diatom dominance of marine ecosystems. Diatoms have garnered attention for their potential to provide a sustainable source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Beyond Avoiding Hemiplegia after Glioma Surgery: The Need to Map Complex Movement in Awake Patient to Preserve Conation.

Improving the onco-functional balance has always been a challenge in glioma surgery, especially regarding motor function. Given the importance of conation (i.e.

Validation of a Denoising Method Using Deep Learning-Based Reconstruction to Quantify Multiple Sclerosis Lesion Load on Fast FLAIR Imaging.

Background And Purpose: Accurate quantification of WM lesion load is essential for the care of patients with multiple sclerosis. We tested whether the combination of accelerated 3D-FLAIR and denoising using deep learning-based reconstruction could provide a relevant strategy while shortening the imaging examination.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-eight patients with multiple sclerosis were prospectively examined using 4 implementations of 3D-FLAIR with decreasing scan times (4 minutes 54 seconds, 2 minutes 35 seconds, 1 minute 40 seconds, and 1 minute 15 seconds).

Use of Dental Defects Associated with Low-Dose di(2-Ethylhexyl)Phthalate as an Early Marker of Exposure to Environmental Toxicants.

Background: Markers of exposure to environmental toxicants are urgently needed. Tooth enamel, with its unique properties, is able to record certain environmental conditions during its formation. Enamel formation and quality are dependent on hormonal regulation and environmental conditions, including exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

Boron-Based Neutron Scintillator Screens for Neutron Imaging.

In digital neutron imaging, the neutron scintillator screen is a limiting factor of spatial resolution and neutron capture efficiency and must be improved to enhance the capabilities of digital neutron imaging systems. Commonly used neutron scintillators are based on LiF and gadolinium oxysulfide neutron converters. This work explores boron-based neutron scintillators because B has a neutron absorption cross-section four times greater than Li, less energetic daughter products than Gd and Li, and lower γ-ray sensitivity than Gd.

Targeting of the Tec Kinase ITK Drives Resolution of T Cell-Mediated Colitis and Emerges as Potential Therapeutic Option in Ulcerative Colitis.

Background & Aims: The molecular checkpoints driving T cell activation and cytokine responses in ulcerative colitis (UC) are incompletely understood. Here, we studied the Tec kinase ITK in UC.

Methods: We analyzed patients with inflammatory bowel disease (n = 223) and evaluated ITK activity as well as the functional effects of cyclosporine-A (CsA).

Preparing to React: A Behavioral Study on the Interplay between Proactive and Reactive Action Inhibition.

Motor preparation, based on one's goals and expectations, allows for prompt reactions to stimulations from the environment. Proactive and reactive inhibitory mechanisms modulate this preparation and interact to allow a flexible control of responses. In this study, we investigate these two control mechanisms with an cued Go/NoGo Simon paradigm in a within-subjects design, and by measuring subliminal motor activities through electromyographic recordings.

Breast Cancer Risk in Association with Atmospheric Pollution Exposure: A Meta-Analysis of Effect Estimates Followed by a Health Impact Assessment.

Background: The epidemiological literature of associations between atmospheric pollutant exposure and breast cancer incidence has recently strongly evolved.

Objectives: We aimed to perform ) a meta-analysis of studies considering this relationship, correcting for publication bias and taking menopausal status and cancer hormone responsiveness into account; and ) for the pollutants most likely to affect breast cancer, an assessment of the corresponding number of attributable cases in France and of the related economic costs.

Methods: We conducted a literature review and random-effects meta-analyses of epidemiological studies examining the association of fine particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to (), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 μm (), and long-term exposure with breast cancer incidence; additional analyses were stratified on menopausal status and on tumor hormone responsiveness status.

SARS-CoV-2-related MIS-C: A key to the viral and genetic causes of Kawasaki disease?

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) emerged in April 2020 in communities with high COVID-19 rates. This new condition is heterogenous but resembles Kawasaki disease (KD), a well-known but poorly understood and clinically heterogenous pediatric inflammatory condition for which weak associations have been found with a myriad of viral illnesses. Epidemiological data clearly indicate that SARS-CoV-2 is the trigger for MIS-C, which typically occurs about 1 mo after infection.

The AXL-PYK2-PKCα axis as a nexus of stemness circuits in TNBC.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are implicated in tumor initiation, metastasis and drug resistance, and considered as attractive targets for cancer therapy. Here we identified a clinically relevant signaling nexus mediated by AXL receptor, PYK2 and PKCα and show its impact on stemness in TNBC. AXL, PYK2, and PKCα expression correlates with stemness signature in basal-like breast cancer patients, and their depletion in multiple mesenchymal TNBC cell lines markedly reduced the number of mammosphere-forming cells and cells harboring CSCs characteristic markers.

Autoantibody-mediated impairment of DNASE1L3 activity in sporadic systemic lupus erythematosus.

Antibodies to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) are prevalent in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), particularly in patients with lupus nephritis, yet the nature and regulation of antigenic cell-free DNA (cfDNA) are poorly understood. Null mutations in the secreted DNase DNASE1L3 cause human monogenic SLE with anti-dsDNA autoreactivity. We report that >50% of sporadic SLE patients with nephritis manifested reduced DNASE1L3 activity in circulation, which was associated with neutralizing autoantibodies to DNASE1L3.

Computational quantification of patient-specific changes in ventricular dynamics associated with pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) causes an increase in the mechanical loading imposed on the right ventricle (RV) that results in progressive changes to its mechanics and function. Here, we quantify the mechanical changes associated with PAH by assimilating clinical data consisting of reconstructed three-dimensional geometry, pressure, and volume waveforms, as well as regional strains measured in patients with PAH ( = 12) and controls ( = 6) within a computational modeling framework of the ventricles. Modeling parameters reflecting regional passive stiffness and load-independent contractility as indexed by the tissue active tension were optimized so that simulation results matched the measurements.

Application of Artificial Intelligence to Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Since 2010, substantial progress has been made in artificial intelligence (AI) and its application to medicine. AI is explored in gastroenterology for endoscopic analysis of lesions, in detection of cancer, and to facilitate the analysis of inflammatory lesions or gastrointestinal bleeding during wireless capsule endoscopy. AI is also tested to assess liver fibrosis and to differentiate patients with pancreatic cancer from those with pancreatitis.

Bayesian Estimation of Population Size Changes by Sampling Tajima's Trees.

The large state space of gene genealogies is a major hurdle for inference methods based on Kingman's coalescent. Here, we present a new Bayesian approach for inferring past population sizes, which relies on a lower-resolution coalescent process that we refer to as "Tajima's coalescent." Tajima's coalescent has a drastically smaller state space, and hence it is a computationally more efficient model, than the standard Kingman coalescent.

Reticulocyte and red blood cell deformation triggers specific phosphorylation events.

The capacity to undergo substantial deformation is a defining characteristic of the red blood cell (RBC), facilitating transit through the splenic interendothelial slits and microvasculature. Establishment of this remarkable property occurs during a process of reticulocyte maturation that begins with egress through micron-wide pores in the bone marrow and is completed within the circulation. The requirement to undertake repeated cycles of deformation necessitates that both reticulocytes and erythrocytes regulate membrane-cytoskeletal protein interactions in order to maintain cellular stability.