A cell-free biosensor signal amplification circuit with polymerase strand recycling.

Cell-free systems are powerful synthetic biology technologies that can recapitulate gene expression and sensing without the complications of living cells. Cell-free systems can perform more advanced functions when genetic circuits are incorporated. Here we expand cell-free biosensing by engineering a highly specific isothermal amplification circuit called polymerase strand recycling (PSR), which leverages T7 RNA polymerase off-target transcription to recycle nucleic acid inputs within DNA strand displacement circuits.

Population pharmacokinetics of cannabidiol and the impact of food and formulation on systemic exposure in children with drug-resistant developmental and epileptic encephalopathies.

Objective: Identifying factors influencing cannabidiol (CBD) exposure can optimize treatment efficacy and safety. We aimed to describe the population pharmacokinetics of CBD in children with drug-resistant developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs) and assess the influence of environmental, pharmacological, and clinical characteristics on CBD systemic exposure.

Methods: Data from two pharmacokinetic studies of patients aged 2-18 years with DEEs were included (N = 48 patients).

Biochemical Control in a Colombian Cohort of Patients With Acromegaly: A 12-Month Follow-Up Study (2017-2023).

Background: Acromegaly, although rare, is associated with multiple manifestations and complications; its high morbidity and mortality makes it a challenge. Treatment involves surgery and pharmacological therapies, focusing on biochemical normalization. This study analyzes the biochemical control in Colombian patients with acromegaly, seeking to improve the understanding of the effects of treatments in the management of the disease.

Sugar conditioning combined with nectar nonsugar compounds enhances honey bee pollen foraging in a nectarless diocious crop.

Recently, it has been shown that sugar‑conditioned honey bees can be biased towards a nectarless dioecious crop as kiwifruit. The challenges for an efficient pollination service in this crop species are its nectarless flowers and its short blooming period. It is known that combined non-sugar compounds (NSCs) present in the floral products of different plants, such as caffeine and arginine, enhance olfactory memory retention in honey bees.

Intra-Individual Stable Isotope Variation Tracks Brazilian Contemporary Dietary and Nutritional Transition.

Introduction: Contemporary dietary and nutritional transitions are commonplace, but difficult to study directly. In Brazil, and Latin America, this generalized process, leading to current obesity and malnutrition problems, started more than four decades ago. Although body weight and food availability are used to measure changes, not much information on food consumption and nutrition exist.

Variations and Opportunities in Postnatal Management of Hemolytic Disease of the Fetus and Newborn.

Importance: Preventive efforts in pregnancy-related alloimmunization have considerably decreased the prevalence of hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN). International studies are therefore essential to obtain a deeper understanding of the postnatal management and outcomes of HDFN. Taken together with numerous treatment options, large practice variations among centers may exist.

Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia.

Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a vascular dysplasia inherited as an autosomal dominant trait and caused by loss-of-function pathogenic variants in genes encoding proteins of the BMP signalling pathway. Up to 90% of disease-causal variants are observed in ENG and ACVRL1, with SMAD4 and GDF2 less frequently responsible for HHT. In adults, the most frequent HHT manifestations relate to iron deficiency and anaemia owing to recurrent epistaxis (nosebleeds) or bleeding from gastrointestinal telangiectases.

Listening to placebos: the contested lessons of antidepressants debates.

The goal of this paper is to explore a set of epistemological and ontological issues regarding the historical and philosophical role of placebos in the contested history of antidepressants. Starting from an account of the dual nature of the placebo as both an epistemic and a therapeutic tool, and against the background of the heated debates on the efficacy of second-generation antidepressants, I propose two related arguments. First, I argue that placebos as controls played a crucial but paradoxical role in the rise of so-called evidence-based approaches to depression.

Semi-sitting position and retrosigmoid approach for a large petroclival meningioma resection: 3-dimensional operative video.

Background: Petroclival meningiomas are still a neurosurgical challenge due to their proximity to cranial nerves and cerebral vasculature along the surgical corridor. The usual extension of large petroclival meningiomas is along the posterior fossa, frequently compromising and displacing adjunct cranial nerves such as the sixth and seventh-eight cranial nerve complex with brainstem compression, causing progressive neurological deficit and severe headache. The goal of sizeable petroclival meningioma surgery treatment is a maximal resection with preservation of neurological function.

Yerba mate () genome provides new insights into convergent evolution of caffeine biosynthesis.

Yerba mate (YM, ) is an economically important crop marketed for the elaboration of mate, the third-most widely consumed caffeine-containing infusion worldwide. Here, we report the first genome assembly of this species, which has a total length of 1.06 Gb and contains 53,390 protein-coding genes.

Current Positron Studies on the Modifications of the Molecular Packing in Green-Based Polymers Through Changes in the Synthesis Procedures or Environmental Conditions.

The sensitivity of positron annihilation characteristics to changes in the molecular packing in network-forming polymers has been demonstrated since the early 1980s. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) is a unique technique that can provide direct information on the free volume in polymers through the experimental parameters of the free volume hole distribution, their mean value, and volume fraction. This knowledge is currently applied for PALS investigations on the main processes that govern the molecular organization in some green polymers when subjected to different synthesis procedures or environmental conditions (humidity, physical aging, temperature).

Ecophysiological and Molecular Analysis of Contrasting Genotypes for Leaf Senescence in Sunflower ( L.) Under Differential Doses of N in Soil.

Leaf senescence in plants is the last stage of leaf development and is characterized by a decline in photosynthetic activity, an active degeneration of cellular structures, and the recycling of accumulated nutrients to areas of active growth, such as buds, young leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. This process holds economic significance as it can impact yield, influencing the plant's ability to maintain an active photosynthetic system during prolonged periods, especially during the grain filling stage, which affects plant weight and oil content. It can be associated with different stresses or environmental conditions, manifesting itself widely in the context of climate change and limiting yield, especially in crops of agronomic relevance.

Dipole Potential of Monolayers with Biologically Relevant Lipid Compositions.

The membrane dipole potential that arises from the interfacial water and constitutive dipolar groups of lipid molecules modulates the interaction of amphiphiles and proteins with membranes. Consequently, its determination for lipid mixtures resembling the existing diversity in biological membranes is very relevant. In this work, the dipole potentials of monolayers, formed at the air-water interface, from pure or mixed lipids (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl--glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl--glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (POPE), 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl--glycero-3-phosphatidyserine (POPS), sphingomyelin (SpM) and cholesterol) were measured and correlated with the mean area per lipid.

Microwave-Energy-Based Device for the Treatment of Cellulite and Localized Adiposity: Recommendations of the "Onda Coolwaves" International Advisory Board.

The body contour market has grown rapidly in recent years, due to persistent requests for noninvasive treatments for localized fat adiposities, cellulite, and skin laxity. A variety of different methods are now available to improve body shaping. This review aims to provide an exhaustive compendium of the main recommendations for the optimal use of an innovative device delivering microwaves (MWs) for unwanted fat and cellulite reduction (Onda Coolwaves, DEKA, Florence, Italy), resulting from the experiences of the most expert international users.

Facts, Dogmas, and Unknowns About Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species in Cancer.

Cancer metabolism is sustained both by enhanced aerobic glycolysis, characteristic of the Warburg phenotype, and oxidative metabolism. Cell survival and proliferation depends on a dynamic equilibrium between mitochondrial function and glycolysis, which is heterogeneous between tumors and even within the same tumor. During oxidative phosphorylation, electrons from NADH and FADH originated in the tricarboxylic acid cycle flow through complexes of the electron transport chain.

Land Use Change Consistently Reduces α- But Not β- and γ-Diversity of Bees.

Land use change threatens global biodiversity and compromises ecosystem functions, including pollination and food production. Reduced taxonomic α-diversity is often reported under land use change, yet the impacts could be different at larger spatial scales (i.e.

Disentangling Sources of Momentum Fluctuations in Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.

High-energy nuclear collisions create a quark-gluon plasma, whose initial condition and subsequent expansion vary from event to event, impacting the distribution of the eventwise average transverse momentum [P([p_{T}])]. Disentangling the contributions from fluctuations in the nuclear overlap size (geometrical component) and other sources at a fixed size (intrinsic component) remains a challenge. This problem is addressed by measuring the mean, variance, and skewness of P([p_{T}]) in ^{208}Pb+^{208}Pb and ^{129}Xe+^{129}Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.

Global, regional, and national burden of primary liver cancer attributable to metabolic risks: an analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2021.

Background: The global burden of metabolic diseases is increasing, but estimates of their impact on primary liver cancer are uncertain. We aimed to assess the global burden of primary liver cancer attributable to metabolic risk factors, including high body mass index (BMI) and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels, between 1990 and 2021.

Methods: The total number and age-standardized rates of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from primary liver cancer attributable to each metabolic risk factor were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2021.

Efficacy, Safety, and Immunogenicity of the MATISSE (Maternal Immunization Study for Safety and Efficacy) Maternal Respiratory Syncytial Virus Prefusion F Protein Vaccine Trial.

Objective: To evaluate descriptive efficacy data, exploratory immunogenicity data, and safety follow-up through study completion from the global, phase 3 MATISSE (Maternal Immunization Study for Safety and Efficacy) maternal vaccination trial of bivalent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prefusion F protein vaccine (RSVpreF).

Methods: MATISSE was a phase 3, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Healthy pregnant participants aged 49 years or younger at 24-36 weeks of gestation were randomized (1:1) to receive a single RSVpreF 120 micrograms or placebo dose.

Unveiling Inequities: Racial Disparities in Risk-Reducing Mastectomy for Breast Cancer Prevention.

Background: Risk-reducing mastectomy (RRM) significantly lowers breast cancer risk as a preventive surgery. While racial disparities in breast cancer treatment are well-documented, research on racial differences in the utilization and outcomes of RRM is limited.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (2008-2022) to identify women who underwent RRM.

Pathway to care, treatment and disease burden of pulmonary arterial hypertension: a real-world survey of physicians and patients in Latin America.

Objectives: To investigate clinical characteristics, symptom profile, testing practices, treatment patterns and quality of life (QoL) among patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in Latin America.

Design: Data from the Adelphi Real World PAH Disease Specific Programme, a cross-sectional survey with retrospective data collection.

Setting: University/teaching hospital, regional centres, private practices and government institutions in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.

Development and validation of a multivariable predictive model for Emergency Department Overcrowding based on the National Emergency Department Overcrowding Study (NEDOCS) score.

Background Predicting potential overcrowding is a significant tool in efficient emergency department (ED) management. Our aim was to develop and validate overcrowding predictive models using accessible and high quality information. Methods Retrospective cohort study of consecutive days in the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires ED from june 2016 to may 2018.

Selective Colocalization of GHSR and GLP-1R in a Subset of Hypothalamic Neurons and Their Functional Interaction.

The GH secretagogue receptor (GHSR) and the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) are G protein-coupled receptors with critical, yet opposite, roles in regulating energy balance. Interestingly, these receptors are expressed in overlapping brain regions. However, the extent to which they target the same neurons and engage in molecular crosstalk remains unclear.