The impact of the war in Ukraine on the prevalence of MDR/RR-TB in Poland.

Background: The 2022 invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation triggered a refugee crisis, affecting the multidrug-/rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB) prevalence in neighbouring countries. This study examines the epidemiological trends and characteristics of MDR/RR-TB patients in Poland, focusing on the relative contribution of Ukrainian refugees.

Methods: Data from the Polish National Tuberculosis Registry and EPIC Project database, covering MDR/RR-TB cases reported between 2010 and Q1 2024, were analysed.

Deregulation mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities of p53-responsive microRNAs in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Here, we have discussed the molecular mechanisms of p53-responsive microRNAs dysregulation in response to genotoxic stress in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients. The role of micro ribonucleic acids (microRNAs) in p53-signaling cellular stress has been studied. MicroRNAs are the small non-coding RNAs, which regulate genes expression at post-transcriptional level.

Nexus of crude oil and clean energy stock indices: Evidence from time-vector-auto-regression in conjunction with conditional-autoregressive-value-at-risk.

The current study aims to elicit information regarding the tail risk transmission mechanism between crude oil (CO) and selected clean energy (CE) stock indices across time and during certain economic events. A Time-Varying Parameter Vector Auto-Regressive model (TVP-VAR) paired with the conditional autoregressive value-at-risk (CAViaR) approach was used to investigate data from January 1, 2015 to December 29, 2022. Overall, we show that an increased vulnerability to tail risk and deficits might be linked to dynamic spillover over examined markets.

Photocrosslinking of hyaluronic acid-based hydrogels through biotissue barriers.

Photocrosslinkable hydrogels based on hyaluronic acid are promising biomaterials high in demand in tissue engineering. Typically, hydrogels are photocured under the action of UV or blue light strongly absorbed by biotissues, which limits prototyping under living organism conditions. To overcome this limitation, we propose the derivatives of well-known photosensitizers, namely chlorin , chlorin and phthalocyanine, as those for radical polymerization in the transparency window of biotissues.

Drug carrier-assisted combined chemo- and radionuclide therapy for tumors of diverse origins: effects of therapeutic schemes on tumor responses.

Despite the promising results in cancer treatment, standard monotherapy remains insufficient for a wide range of oncological diseases. Combined therapy can significantly improve therapeutic outcomes compared to single-agent treatments. However, identifying the optimal treatment regimen for combined therapy can be a challenging task.

Design, synthesis, and evaluation of dehydroabietyl imidazolidine-2,4-diones, 2,4,5-triones, and 2-thioxoimidazolidine-4,5-diones as TDP1 inhibitors and dual TDP1/TDP2 inhibitors.

Tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterases 1 and 2 (TDP1 and TDP2), which are enzymes involved in the repair of DNA, are regarded as promising targets for the development of new anticancer drugs. In this study, a series of imidazolidine-2,4-diones, 2,4,5-triones, and 2-thioxoimidazolidine-4,5-diones based on dehydroabietylamine (DHAAm) were synthesized. The inhibitory activity of the new compounds against TDP1 and TDP2, as well as their cytotoxic characteristics, were evaluated.

Overweight, obesity, and cardiovascular disease in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia: the EAS FH Studies Collaboration registry.

Background And Aims: Overweight and obesity are modifiable risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in the general population, but their prevalence in individuals with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH) and whether they confer additional risk of ASCVD independent of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) remains unclear.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis was conducted in 35 540 patients with HeFH across 50 countries, in the EAS FH Studies Collaboration registry. Prevalence of World Health Organization-defined body mass index categories was investigated in adults (n = 29 265) and children/adolescents (n = 6275); and their association with prevalent ASCVD.

The Puzzle of Food Inflation: Exploring the Asymmetric Nexus Between Economic Policy Uncertainty and Food Prices in the Expanded BRICS Countries.

Fluctuations in economic policy often create ripple effects that can significantly impact commodity prices, including those of essential food items, with potential consequences for food security. The five emerging nations outlined as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have most recently extended by including four new members (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE) on January 1, 2024. Additionally, Argentina and Saudi Arabia are anticipated to join the group soon.

The impact of combination of zofenopril and different diuretics on regression of myocardial reperfusion injury and oxidative status in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

As several decades of research have shown the cardioprotective effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors alone or in combination with diuretics, we were interested in investigating the effects of subchronic therapy of these drugs on ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) damage to the heart, as well as their influence on oxidative status. The research was conducted on 40 spontaneously hypertensive male Wistar Kyoto rats, divided into 4 groups. Animals were treated for four weeks with 10 mg/kg/day zofenopril alone or in combination with hydrochlorothiazide, indapamide and spironolactone per os.

Occupational exposure and sarcoidosis: a case-control study in three countries.

Background: Preceding studies of environmental and occupational risk factors of sarcoidosis yielded inconsistent findings.

Aims: We aimed to ascertain the occupational risk factors for sarcoidosis in a case-control study.

Methods: A total of 237 sarcoidosis patients with a histologically confirmed diagnosis were matched with 474 controls for sex and age (median 49, interquartile range 37; 60 years) recruited from the university hospitals and outpatient centres in Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.

Understanding Nurses' perspectives on electronic health records in Egypt: Insights from a cross-sectional study.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and acceptance of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) among nurses in Egypt.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted involving 1217 nurses from 33 public and private hospitals. Data were collected using a self-administered online questionnaire, which assessed knowledge, attitudes, and acceptance of EHRs.

Beyond what was said: Neural computations underlying pragmatic reasoning in referential communication.

The ability to infer a speaker's utterance within a particular context for the intended meaning is central to communication. Yet, little is known about the underlying neurocomputational mechanisms of pragmatic inference, let alone relevant differences among individuals. Here, using a reference game combined with model-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we showed that an individual-level pragmatic inference model was a better predictor of listeners' performance than a population-level model.

A thorny tale: The origin and diversification of Cirsium (Compositae).

Widely distributed plant genera offer insights into biogeographic processes and biodiversity. The Carduus-Cirsium group, with over 600 species in eight genera, is diverse across the Holarctic regions, especially in the Mediterranean Basin, Southwest Asia, Japan, and North America. Despite this diversity, evolutionary and biogeographic processes within the group, particularly for the genus Cirsium, remain underexplored.

The design of the spheroids-based in vitro tumor model determines its biomimetic properties.

Cancer, one of the world's deadliest diseases, is expected to claim an estimated 16 million lives by 2040. Three-dimensional (3D) models of cancer have become invaluable tools for the study of tumor biology and the development of new therapies. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a determinant of tumor progression and has implications for clinical therapies.

Cadmium Reduces VE-Cadherin Expression in Endothelial Cells Through Activation of the Notch Signaling Pathway.

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal which induces vascular disorders. Previous studies suggest that Cd in the bloodstream affects vascular endothelial cells (ECs), potentially contributing to vascular-related diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms of effects of Cd on ECs remain poorly understood.

Variability of microbiomes in winter rye, wheat, and triticale affected by snow mold: predicting promising microorganisms for the disease control.

Background: Snow mold caused by different psychrophilic phytopathogenic fungi is a devastating disease of winter cereals. The variability of the snow mold pathocomplex (the quantitative composition of snow mold fungi) has not been evaluated across different crops or different agrocenoses, and no microbial taxa have been predicted at the whole-microbiome level as potential effective snow mold control agents. Our study aimed to assess the variability of the snow mold pathocomplex in different winter cereal crops (rye, wheat, and triticale) in different agrocenoses following the peak disease progression and to arrange a hierarchical list of microbial taxa predicted to be the main candidates to prevent or, conversely, stimulate the development of snow mold pathogens.

Phase transitions, Dirac and Weyl semimetal states in MnGeBiTe.

Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and density functional theory (DFT), an experimental and theoretical study of changes in the electronic structure (dispersion dependencies) and corresponding modification of the energy band gap at the Dirac point (DP) for topological insulator (TI) [Formula: see text] have been carried out with gradual replacement of magnetic Mn atoms by non-magnetic Ge atoms when concentration of the latter was varied from 10% to 75%. It was shown that when Ge concentration increases, the bulk band gap decreases and reaches zero plateau in the concentration range of 45-60% while trivial surface states (TrSS) are present and exhibit an energy splitting of 100 and 70 meV in different types of measurements. It was also shown that TSS disappear from the measured band dispersions at a Ge concentration of about 40%.

Similar, but not the same: multiomics comparison of human valve interstitial cells and osteoblast osteogenic differentiation expanded with an estimation of data-dependent and data-independent PASEF proteomics.

Osteogenic differentiation is crucial in normal bone formation and pathological calcification, such as calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). Understanding the proteomic and transcriptomic landscapes underlying this differentiation can unveil potential therapeutic targets for CAVD. In this study, we employed RNA sequencing transcriptomics and proteomics on a timsTOF Pro platform to explore the multiomics profiles of valve interstitial cells (VICs) and osteoblasts during osteogenic differentiation.

Review of advanced sensor system applications in grinding operations.

Background: Today, in a wide variety of industries, grinding operations are an extremely important finishing process for obtaining precise dimensions and meeting strict requirements for roughness and shape accuracy. However, the constant wear of abrasive tools during grinding negatively affects the dimensional and surface conditions of the workpiece. Therefore, effective monitoring of the wear process during grinding operations helps to predict tool life, plan maintenance and ensure consistent product quality.

The Effectiveness of Prolonged Hypothermic Preservation of Isolated Rat Hearts Using Oxygen, Medical Nitrous Oxide and Carbon Monoxide Gas Mixtures.

The possibility of using an oxygen-nitrous oxide mixture for prolonged hypothermic preservation of rat heart for 24 hours was investigated. A comparative analysis of restoration of functional activity of hearts in the groups of 24-hour preservation at +4°C with different gases (O, N) and gas mixtures (CO+O, NO+O, N+O, NO+N) was carried out. It was shown that the presence of oxygen in the gas mixture was the key factor for heart preservation.

Durvalumab with or without bevacizumab with transarterial chemoembolisation in hepatocellular carcinoma (EMERALD-1): a multiregional, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study.

Background: Transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) is standard of care for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma that is amenable to embolisation; however, median progression-free survival is still approximately 7 months. We aimed to assess whether adding durvalumab, with or without bevacizumab, might improve progression-free survival.

Methods: In this multiregional, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study (EMERALD-1), adults aged 18 years or older with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma amenable to embolisation, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1 at enrolment, and at least one measurable intrahepatic lesion per modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST) were enrolled at 157 medical sites including research centres and general and specialist hospitals in 18 countries.

Cemiplimab in recurrent cervical cancer: Final analysis of overall survival in the phase III EMPOWER-Cervical 1/GOG-3016/ENGOT-cx9 trial.

Aim: Cemiplimab has demonstrated significantly longer survival than physician's choice of chemotherapy in patients with recurrent cervical cancer after first-line platinum-containing chemotherapy. We report the final survival analysis from the phase III randomized study (EMPOWER-Cervical 1/GOG-3016/ENGOT-cx9).

Methods: Cemiplimab (n = 304) or chemotherapy (n = 304) were administered every 3 weeks.