Hounsfield unit values are a better predictor than DXA T-score for adjacent vertebral fracture following balloon kyphoplasty.

Background: Hounsfield unit values (HU) are known to correlate with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and they are gaining attention as a new method for assessing Bone mineral density (BMD) that is not affected by the limitations of DXA, such as degeneration, scoliosis, and vascular calcification. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of HU and DXA T-scores in predicting adjacent vertebral fractures (AVF) following balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) using the same computed tomography and DXA at one institution.

Methods: The study included 84 cases (20 males, 64 females, mean age 79.

Experimental tools and emerging principles of organellar mechanotransduction.

Mechanotransduction is the process by which cells detect mechanical forces and convert them into biochemical or electrical signals. This process occurs across various cellular compartments, including the plasma membrane, cytoskeleton, and intracellular organelles. While research has focused mainly on force sensing at the plasma membrane, the mechanisms and significance of intracellular mechanotransduction are just beginning to be understood.

Response to the Letter to the Editor: Lack of association between classical HLA genes and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.

This letter highlights the crucial distinction between studying HLA alleles in unvaccinated individuals during the acute phase of primary SARS-CoV-2 infection versus any SARS-CoV-2 infection including re-infections, breakthrough infections, and primary infections in vaccinated individuals.

Structural studies of the IFNλ4 receptor complex using cryoEM enabled by protein engineering.

IFNλ4 has posed a conundrum in human immunology since its discovery in 2013, with its expression linked to complications with viral clearance. While genetic and cellular studies revealed the detrimental effects of IFNλ4 expression, extensive structural and functional characterization has been limited by the inability to express and purify the protein, complicating explanations of its paradoxical behavior. In this work, we report a method for robust production of IFNλ4.

Towards a Theory of Compassion Fatigue in Palliative Care and Oncology: A Systematic Scoping Review.

Background: In their care of terminally ill patients, palliative care physicians and oncologists are increasingly predisposed to physical and emotional exhaustion, or compassion fatigue (CF). Challenges faced by physicians include complex care needs; changing practice demands, and sociocultural contextual factors. Efforts to better understand CF have, however, been limited.

Akkermansia muciniphila Mediated the Preventive Effect of Disulfiram on Acute Liver Injury via PI3K/Akt Pathway.

Acetaminophen induced acute liver injury (ALI) has a high incidence and is a serious medical problem, but there is a lack of effective treatment. The enterohepatic axis is one of the targets of recent attention due to its important role in liver diseases. Disulfiram (DSF) is a multitarget drug that has been proven to play a role in a variety of liver diseases and can affect intestinal flora, but whether it can alleviate ALI is not clear.

Patterns of Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteremic dissemination from the lung.

Bacteremia, a leading cause of death, generally arises after bacteria establish infection in a particular tissue and transit to secondary sites. Studying dissemination from primary sites by solely measuring bacterial burdens does not capture the movement of individual clones. By barcoding Klebsiella pneumoniae, a leading cause of bacteremia, we track pathogen dissemination following pneumonia.

Novel Quinazoline Derivatives Inhibit Splicing of Fungal Group II Introns.

We report the discovery of small molecules that target the RNA tertiary structure of self-splicing group II introns and display potent antifungal activity against yeasts, including the major public health threat . High-throughput screening efforts against a yeast group II intron resulted in an inhibitor class which was then synthetically optimized for enhanced inhibitory activity and antifungal efficacy. The most highly refined compounds in this series display strong, gene-specific antifungal activity against .

Long somatic DNA-repeat expansion drives neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease.

In Huntington's disease (HD), striatal projection neurons (SPNs) degenerate during midlife; the core biological question involves how the disease-causing DNA repeat (CAG) in the huntingtin (HTT) gene leads to neurodegeneration after decades of biological latency. We developed a single-cell method for measuring this repeat's length alongside genome-wide RNA expression. We found that the HTT CAG repeat expands somatically from 40-45 to 100-500+ CAGs in SPNs.

Nucleic acid recognition during prokaryotic immunity.

Parasitic elements often spread to hosts through the delivery of their nucleic acids to the recipient. This is particularly true for the primary parasites of bacteria, bacteriophages (phages) and plasmids. Although bacterial immune systems can sense a diverse set of infection signals, such as a protein unique to the invader or the disruption of natural host processes, phage and plasmid nucleic acids represent some of the most common molecules that are recognized as foreign to initiate defense.

Metabolic tug-of-war: Microbial metabolism shapes colonization resistance against enteric pathogens.

A widely recognized benefit of gut microbiota is that it provides colonization resistance against enteric pathogens. The gut microbiota and their products can protect the host from invading microbes directly via microbe-pathogen interactions and indirectly by host-microbiota interactions, which regulate immune system function. In contrast, enteric pathogens have evolved mechanisms to utilize microbiota-derived metabolites to overcome colonization resistance and increase their pathogenic potential.

Activation of locus coeruleus noradrenergic neurons rapidly drives homeostatic sleep pressure.

Homeostatic sleep regulation is essential for optimizing the amount and timing of sleep for its revitalizing function, but the mechanism underlying sleep homeostasis remains poorly understood. Here, we show that optogenetic activation of locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic neurons immediately increased sleep propensity following a transient wakefulness, contrasting with many other arousal-promoting neurons whose activation induces sustained wakefulness. Fiber photometry showed that repeated optogenetic or sensory stimulation caused a rapid reduction of calcium activity in LC neurons and steep declines in noradrenaline/norepinephrine (NE) release in both the LC and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC).

DNA damage response mutations enhance the antitumor efficacy of ATR and PARP inhibitors in cholangiocarcinoma cell lines.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a biliary tract carcinoma that is challenging to treat due to its heterogeneity and limited treatment options. Genetic alterations in DNA damage response (DDR) pathways and homologous recombination (HR) defects are common in CCA. This has prompted interest in the use of ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein (ATR) and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors to treat CCA.

ABO isoagglutinin titers in group "O" blood donors.

Background: High titers of anti-A and anti-B are considered to be one reason for hemolytic transfusion reactions and ABO hemolytic disease in fetus and neonates. There is no consensus for critical ABO antibody titers to guide transfusion or transplant decisions. Implementation of ABO titer measurement can favor reduction in transfusion reactions in nongroup "O" recipients.

Transfusion medicine hackathon: Nurturing the innovative ideas to revolutionize voluntary blood donation.

Background And Objective: Blood transfusion is an essential component of health care. However, several issues can hamper the promotion and sustainability of voluntary blood donation programs. This article is about a hackathon in the field of transfusion medicine that was designed to stimulate original ideas to promote voluntary blood donation.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Shockwave Lithotripsy vs Ureteroscopic Lithotripsy for Treatment of Renal Stones: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Renal stones are a prevalent condition requiring effective treatment strategies. This study evaluates the comparative effectiveness of shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) and ureteroscopic lithotripsy (URSL) in treating renal stones in a Pakistani cohort, focusing on stone clearance, recurrence, and complications.

Methods: This prospective cohort study involved 250 patients aged 18-55 diagnosed with renal stones.

Casticin reduces rosacea-related inflammation by inhibiting mast cell activation via Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor X2.

Background: Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by persistent erythema, papules, and pustules, mainly on the skin of the face. Rosacea is difficult to treat; therefore, identifying new treatments is crucial. Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor X2 (MRGPRX2)-mediated mast cell (MC) activation is essential in the pathogenesis of rosacea.

Resetting of the Human Circadian Melatonin Rhythm by Ambient Hypoxia.

Circadian clocks in the body drive daily cycles in physiology and behavior. A master clock in the brain maintains synchrony with the environmental day-night cycle and uses internal signals to keep clocks in other tissues aligned. Work in cell cultures uncovered cyclic changes in tissue oxygenation that may serve to reset and synchronize circadian clocks.

Safety and efficacy of trifluridine/tipiracil +/- bevacizumab plus XB2001 (anti-IL-1α antibody): a single-center phase 1 trial.

In the tumour microenvironment, IL-1α promotes neoangiogenesis, matrix remodelling, tumour proliferation, chemoresistance, and metastases. Highly expressed in human colorectal cancers, IL-1α is associated with poor prognosis. XB2001, a fully human monoclonal antibody neutralizing IL-1α, was evaluated for safety and preliminary efficacy with trifluridine/tipiracil (FTD/TPI) and bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer patients previously treated with oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based chemotherapies.

Encoding of cerebellar dentate neuron activity during visual attention in rhesus macaques.

The role of cerebellum in controlling eye movements is well established, but its contribution to more complex forms of visual behavior has remained elusive. To study cerebellar activity during visual attention we recorded extracellular activity of dentate nucleus (DN) neurons in two non-human primates (NHPs). NHPs were trained to read the direction indicated by a peripheral visual stimulus while maintaining fixation at the center, and report the direction of the cue by performing a saccadic eye movement into the same direction following a delay.