Spongy-looking microfabrics in the earliest named stromatolite represent deep burial alteration and incipient metamorphism.

The earliest named stromatolite Cryptozoon Hall, 1884 (Late Cambrian, ca. 490 Ma, eastern New York State), was recently re-interpreted as an interlayered microbial mat and non-spiculate (keratosan) sponge deposit. This "classic stromatolite" is prominent in a fundamental debate concerning the significance or even existence of non-spiculate sponges in carbonate rocks from the Neoproterozoic (Tonian) onwards.

Iron-sulfur cluster redox chemistry and dimer dissociation in the outer mitochondrial membrane protein, mitoNEET.

The outer mitochondrial membrane protein known as mitoNEET was discovered when it was labeled by a photoaffinity derivative of the anti-diabetes medication, pioglitazone. The biological role for mitoNEET and its specific mechanism for achieving this remains an active subject for research. There is accumulating evidence suggesting that mitoNEET could be a component of mitochondrial FeS cofactor biogenesis.

Biopreservation and reversal of oxidative injury during blood storage by a novel curcumin-based gel formulation.

Blood storage lesion induces cytosolic and membrane changes driven in part by hemoglobin (Hb) oxidation reactions within red blood cells (RBCs). A novel gel formulation containing the antioxidant curcuminoids in a biocompatible solvent system was used to deliver curcumin into RBCs. Incubation of peroxide treated RBCs stored in PBS with curcumin gel led to a reduction in prooxidant ferrylHb and recovery in ATP.

Higher abdominal fat area associates with lower donor kidney function before and after living kidney donation.

Central body fat distribution affects kidney function. Abdominal fat measurements using computed tomography (CT) may prove superior in assessing body composition-related kidney risk in living kidney donors. This retrospective cohort study including 550 kidney donors aimed to determine the association between CT-measured abdominal fat areas and kidney function before and after donor nephrectomy.

Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment in High TB-Burden Settings: A State-of-the-Art Review.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. The burden is highest in some low- and middle-income countries. One-quarter of the world's population is estimated to have been infected with TB, which is the seedbed for progressing from TB infection to the deadly and contagious disease itself.

A stable combination of non-stable genes outperforms standard reference genes for RT-qPCR data normalization.

Gene expression profiling is of key importance in all domains of life sciences, as medicine, environment, and plants, for both basic and applied research. Despite the emergence of microarrays and high-throughput sequencing, qPCR remains a standard method for gene expression analyses, with its data normalization step being crucial for ensuring accuracy. Currently, the most widely used normalization method is based on the use of reference genes, assumed to be stably expressed across all experimental conditions.

Synergizing quantum techniques with machine learning for advancing drug discovery challenge.

The Quantum Computing for Drug Discovery Challenge, held at the 42nd International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD) in 2023, was a multi-month, research-intensive competition. Over 70 teams from more than 65 organizations from 12 different countries registered, focusing on the use of quantum computing for drug discovery. The challenge centered on designing algorithms to accurately estimate the ground state energy of molecules, specifically OH+, using quantum computing techniques.

Finite element analysis of RC beams using static experimental data to predict static and dynamic behaviors.

This study comprehensively compares dynamic and static forces in reinforced concrete (RC) beams, utilising experimental and finite element analysis (FEA) methodologies. Experimental tests involve monotonic two-point loading of 1 m x 150 mm x 150 mm RC beams using a universal testing machine (UTM). Deflection measurements are taken at three distinct locations (S1-S3) using various sensors, including force resisting sensor (FRS), flex sensor (FLS), MEMS accelerometer, and Piezoelectric sensors.

Comprehensive Mass Spectral Libraries of Human Thyroid Tissues and Cells.

Thyroid nodules are a common endocrine condition with an increasing incidence over the decades. Data-independent acquisition has been widely utilized in discovery proteomics to identify disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets. To analyze the thyroid disease-related proteome in a high-throughput, reproducible and reliable manner, we introduce thyroid-specific peptide spectral libraries.

Evaluating sex-specific responses to western diet across the lifespan: impact on cardiac function and transcriptomic signatures in C57BL/6J mice at 530 and 640/750 days of age.

Background: Long-term consumption of Western Diet (WD) is a well-established risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, there is a paucity of studies on the long-term effects of WD on the pathophysiology of CVD and sex-specific responses.

Methods: Our study aimed to investigate the sex-specific pathophysiological changes in left ventricular (LV) function using transthoracic echocardiography (ECHO) and LV tissue transcriptomics in WD-fed C57BL/6 J mice for 125 days, starting at the age of 300 through 425 days.

Results: In female mice, consumption of the WD diet showed long-term effects on LV structure and possible development of HFpEF-like phenotype with compensatory cardiac structural changes later in life.

Prevalence of endometriosis in women undergoing laparoscopic surgery for various gynecological indications: a Jordanian multi-center retrospective study.

Background: Endometriosis, a condition that significantly impacts the quality of life for affected women, manifests with a spectrum of symptoms ranging from mild discomfort to severe pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and infertility. A previous single-center study suggested an elevated prevalence of endometriosis in Jordan, prompting the need for larger studies to confirm these findings.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving a sample of 866 women who underwent various laparoscopic procedures for different indications at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Jordan University Hospital and Al-Karak Governmental Hospital, two tertiary referral hospitals in Jordan between January 2015 and March 2023.

Provisional Prosthetic Outcome when Using Photogrammetry for Complete Arch Oral Implants: A Report of 111 Patient Treatments.

Complete arch oral implant treatment using photogrammetry was studied in 77 patients with 111 arches focusing on digitization of clinical records and optimization of the provisional. The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that patient satisfaction with the provisional prosthesis during the first 4 months of care determined workflow efficiency and success. Digitization of 8 clinical records was done including centric relation, vertical dimension, esthetics, occlusion, inter-arch space, abutment selection, abutment capture, and soft tissue scan.

Regulation of metastatic organotropism.

Metastasis is responsible for most cancer-related deaths. Different cancers have their own preferential sites of metastases, a phenomenon termed metastatic organotropism. The mechanisms underlying organotropism are multifactorial and include the generation of a pre-metastatic niche (PMN), metastatic homing, colonization, dormancy, and metastatic outgrowth.

SOHO State of the Art Updates and Next Questions | Venetoclax + Obinutuzumab Therapy in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

In the past decade, the treatment paradigm for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has markedly shifted from traditional chemoimmunotherapy towards targeted therapies. A fixed-duration, targeted regimen with venetoclax, a potent oral BCL-2 inhibitor, combined with obinutuzumab, a glycoengineered type II anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (Ven-Obi), has become the standard to beat for time-limited therapy in CLL. Ven-Obi allows for the rapid induction of remissions with high rates of undetectable minimal residual disease (uMRD) in patients across different treatment settings.

Harvey Cushing: France Military Hospital Surgical Unit Head and World War I United States Army Medical Corps Commissioner.

Background: This historical account reviews the course and lasting impact of Dr. Harvey Cushing (1869-1939) in neurosurgery.

Methods: The writing of this project was sparked by the discovery of original scientific and bibliographical information about Cushing.

Molecular biomarkers associated with TBI outcome in individuals of Black racial identity or African ancestry: a narrative review.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide and a major global health concern. In the United States (US), individuals of Black or African American racial identity experience disproportionately higher rates of TBI and suffer from worse post-injury outcomes. Contemporary research agendas have largely overlooked or excluded Black populations, resulting in the continued marginalization of Black patient populations in TBI studies, thereby limiting the generalizability of ongoing research to patients in the US and around the world.

Tacrolimus-induced thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) after heart and lung transplantation successfully treated with eculizumab.

Introduction: Tacrolimus-induced thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) causing acute kidney injury (AKI) without systemic features is a rare entity, particularly after non-renal solid organ transplantation.

Case Report: We describe the case of a patient with AKI after combined heart and lung transplantation. Renal biopsy revealed acute thrombotic microangiopathy which ultimately prompted initiation of eculizumab, a monoclonal antibody targeted against complement C5, with subsequent recovery in renal function.

Enhancing toxicity prediction for natural products in herbal medicine and dietary supplements: Integrating (Q)STR models and in vitro assays.

New approach methods (NAMs) are required to predict human toxicity effectively, particularly due to limitations in conducting in vivo studies. While NAMs have been established for various industries, such as cosmetics, pesticides, and drugs, their applications in natural products (NPs) are lacking. NPs' complexity (multiple ingredients and structural differences from synthetic compounds) complicates NAM development.

PTEN loss in glioma cell lines leads to increased extracellular vesicle biogenesis and PD-L1 cargo in a PI3K-dependent manner.

Phosphatase and Tensin Homologue (PTEN) is one of the most frequently lost tumor suppressors in cancer and the predominant negative regulator of the PI3K/AKT signaling axis. A growing body of evidence has highlighted the loss of PTEN with immuno-modulatory functions including the upregulation of the programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1), an altered tumor derived secretome that drives an immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), and resistance to certain immunotherapies. Given their roles in immunosuppression and tumor growth, we examined whether the loss of PTEN would impact the biogenesis, cargo, and function of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the context of the anti-tumor associated cytokine interferon-γ (IFN-γ).