Mortality in patients with giant cell arteritis in Spain: results from the ARTESER registry.

Objectives: To compare mortality rates between GCA patients and the general population in Spain, and to identify associated factors influencing mortality.

Methods: ARTESER, a multicenter registry by the Spanish Society of Rheumatology, includes GCA patients from June 2013 to March 2019. Demographic, clinical, imaging, histological and mortality data were collected retrospectively.

Clinical management of female patients with Fabry disease based on expert consensus.

Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder that causes accumulation of glycosphingolipids in body tissues and fluids, leading to progressive organ damage and life-threatening complications. It can affect both males and females and can be classified into classic or later-onset phenotypes. The disease severity in females ranges from asymptomatic to the more severe, classic phenotype.

Dystonia caused by ANO3 variants is due to attenuated Ca influx by ORAI1.

Background: Dystonia is a common neurological hyperkinetic movement disorder that can be caused by mutations in anoctamin 3 (ANO3, TMEM16C), a phospholipid scramblase and ion channel. We previously reported patients that were heterozygous for the ANO3 variants S651N, V561L, A599D and S651N, which cause dystonia by unknown mechanisms.

Methods: We applied electrophysiology, Ca measurements and cell biological methods to analyze the molecular mechanisms that lead to aberrant intracellular Ca signals and defective activation of K channels in patients heterozygous for the ANO3 variants.

Infections among adults hospitalized in intensive care after the 2023 earthquake in the southeastern part of Türkiye: a multi-center observational study.

Background: Scarce evidence is available on the epidemiology of microbiologically proven clinical infections in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after a great earthquake. The main aim of this study was to assess clinical infections and microbiological features in patients admitted to the ICU following the 2023 earthquake in the southeastern region of Türkiye with a focus on the timing of culture positivity during their ICU stay. The secondary objectives included determining antibiotic susceptibility patterns, identifying the types of antibiotics administered upon ICU admission, evaluating the appropriateness of antibiotic usage, assessing patient outcomes, and identifying factors that influence microbiologically confirmed clinical infections.

Silent cells? Potential for context-dependent gene expression in mature sperm.

Sperm are traditionally viewed as transcriptionally and translationally silent cells. However, observations that components of the cellular machinery of gene expression are maintained in ejaculated sperm are increasingly cited as challenges to this fundamental assumption. Here, we critically evaluate these arguments and present three lines of evidence from both model and non-model systems that collectively raise the question of whether ejaculated sperm may be capable of active gene expression.

Infection Relapse and Time-to-Healing After Conservative Surgery for Non-Acute Presentations of Diabetes-Related Forefoot Osteomyelitis: Does Site Matter?

Diabetes-related foot osteomyelitis (DFO) can present as an acute condition with soft tissue involvement or as a non-acute form characterized by long-standing ulcers without immediate limb-threatening features. This study evaluates infection relapse and healing times after conservative surgery in non-acute DFO, with a focus on osteomyelitis localization. A retrospective cohort of 60 patients treated for forefoot DFO without soft tissue involvement or necrosis was analyzed.

Optogenetic control of horizontally acquired genes prevent stuck fermentations in yeast.

Nitrogen limitations in the grape must be the main cause of stuck fermentations during the winemaking process. In , a genetic segment known as region A, which harbors 12 protein-coding genes, was acquired horizontally from a phylogenetically distant yeast species. This region is mainly present in the genome of wine yeast strains, carrying genes that have been associated with nitrogen utilization.

Ligand and Residue Free Energy Perturbations Solve the Dual Binding Mode Proposal for an AAR Partial Agonist.

Adenosine receptors, particularly AAR, are gaining attention for their role in pathological conditions such as cancer immunotherapy, prompting the exploration for promising therapeutic applications. Despite numerous selective AAR antagonists, the lack of selective full agonists makes the partial agonist BAY60-6583 one of the most interesting activators of this receptor. Recent cryo-EM structures have univocally revealed the binding mode of nonselective ribosidic agonists such as adenosine and its derivative NECA to AAR; however, two independent structures with BAY60-6583 show alternative binding orientations, raising the question of which is the physiologically relevant binding mode.

Skin Micro-Fragments for the Management of Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Case Series.

This prospective case series evaluated the clinical outcomes of skin micro-fragment therapy in managing hard-to-heal diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). A total of ten patients with chronic DFU, who were treated in a specialized diabetic foot unit, were included in this study. The primary outcome was the wound healing rate at 12 weeks.

Role of the stratosphere in the global mercury cycle.

Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant with substantial risks to human and ecosystem health. By upward transport in tropical regions, mercury enters into the stratosphere, but the contribution of the stratosphere to global mercury dispersion and deposition remains unknown. We find that between 5 and 50% (passing through the 400-kelvin isentropic surface and tropopause, respectively) of the mercury mass deposited on Earth's surface is chemically processed in the lower stratosphere.

Brentuximab Vedotin Combination for Relapsed Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

Purpose: In patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), brentuximab vedotin (BV) as monotherapy or combined with either lenalidomide (Len) or rituximab (R) has demonstrated efficacy with acceptable safety. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of BV + Len + R versus placebo + Len + R in patients with R/R DLBCL.

Methods: ECHELON-3 is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, phase 3 trial comparing BV + Len + R with placebo + Len + R in patients with R/R DLBCL.

Regulation of Cell-Nanoparticle Interactions through Mechanobiology.

Bio-nano interactions have been extensively explored in nanomedicine to develop selective delivery strategies and reduce systemic toxicity. To enhance the delivery of nanocarriers to cancer cells and improve the therapeutic efficiency, different nanomaterials have been developed. However, the limited clinical translation of nanoparticle-based therapies, largely due to issues associated with poor targeting, requires a deeper understanding of the biological phenomena underlying cell-nanoparticle interactions.

Assessment of Humoral Response at SARS-CoV-2 Infection by Multipronged Functional Proteomics Approaches.

In the past decade, a major goal in biomedical research has been to understand why individuals differ in disease susceptibility, disease dynamics, and progression. In many pathologies, this variability stems from evolved immune mechanisms that resist inflammatory stress from various diseases that have been encountered throughout life. These may provide advantages against other diseases, reduce comorbidities, and enhance longevity.

A Phenomenological Perturbation-like Approach for Prediction of Molecular Properties in Large Libraries of Polysubstituted Derivatives: Application to Molecular Solar Thermal Systems.

The prediction of a specific chemical property across a vast library of derivatives represents a formidable challenge. Conventional computational methodologies typically rely on brute-force calculations involving the computation of the property of interest for the entire library or a significant subset. In this study, we present a novel phenomenological approach to address this challenge, employing a perturbation theory-like framework to describe substituent effects.

Boron-Doped Endohedral Metallofullerenes: Synthesis and Computational Analysis of a Family of Heteroatom-Doped Molecular Carbons.

Gas-phase synthesis and detection of boron-doped nitride clusterfullerenes and a large variety of monometallofullerenes have been achieved using a pulsed laser vaporization cluster source. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the electronic structures of boron-doped endohedral metallofullerenes differ from those of the pristine all-carbon cages due to the lack of one electron upon boron substitution. For monometallofullerenes, this is likely the main reason for the somewhat different abundance distribution observed for boron-doped with respect to all-carbon cages.

Combining Distibene, Diazoolefins, and Visible Light: Synthesis and Reactivity of Inorganic Rings.

The chemistry of heterocycles containing "diaza" units has been extensively studied due to their applications ranging from pharmaceuticals to advanced materials. In contrast, heterocycles incorporating heavier elements, such as Sb and Bi, remain exceedingly rare and lack straightforward synthetic methodologies. Herein, we present a comprehensive experimental and theoretical investigation of the first diazadistiboylidenes (, ), synthesized via a [3 + 2]-cycloaddition between a distibene and diazoolefins.

Optimal Synergy between Azulenes and Acenes in Azuacenes with 6-7-5 Ring Topology.

Azuacenes, defined as azulene fused with acenes in a 6-7-5 ring topology and spanning lengths from 3 to 6 rings, have been synthesized using a new skeleton editing and [3 + 2] annulation synthesis protocol as a distinction regarding the procedures to obtain the 6-5-7 isomers. Comprehensive studies on ground-state and excited-state spectroscopy, electrochemical properties, chemical stability, and solid-state structure have been conducted to compare these azuacenes with acenes. For the same number of rings, we found that azuacenes improve the chemical stability of acenes (i.

Developing a Novel Agrochemical-Based MOF: A Multifunctional Platform with Herbicidal and Antibacterial Activities.

Excessive and uncontrolled application of agrochemicals has resulted in contamination of terrestrial and aquatic environments. In the past decade, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been studied as agrochemical release systems to enhance efficiency while reducing the leaching of toxic molecules to the environment. In this work, we take a further step and use organic agrochemicals as linkers in the preparation of MOFs, which we have called AgroMOFs.

Functionalization of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE) Membranes for the Enhancement of Cellular Adhesion in Organ-on-a-Chip Devices.

Experimental reproducibility in organ-on-chip (OOC) devices is a challenging issue, mainly caused by cell adhesion problems, as OOC devices are made of bioinert materials not suitable for natural cellularization of their surfaces. To improve cell adhesion, several surface functionalization techniques have been proposed, among which the simple use of an intermediate layer of adsorbed proteins has become the preferred one by OOC users. This way, the cells use surface receptors to adhere to the adsorbed proteins, which are in turn attached to the surface.

Can ICD Electrograms Help Ventricular Tachycardia Ablation?: Results From the Multicenter Randomized AIDEG-VTA Trial.

Background: The results of ablation of sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (SMVT) are suboptimal. For many patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), ICD electrograms (ICD-EGs) provide the only available information on SMVT. ICD-EGs have the ability to distinguish morphologically distinct SMVT and can be used for pace mapping.

Demographic-Based Personalized Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Thresholds for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Diagnosis.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a leading cause of sudden cardiac death. Current diagnosis emphasizes the detection of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) using a fixed threshold of ≥15-mm maximum wall thickness (MWT). This study proposes a method that considers individual demographics to adjust LVH thresholds as an alternative to a 1-size-fits-all approach.

The Temporal Order of Mixed Viral Infections Matters: Common Events That Are Neglected in Plant Viral Diseases.

Mixed infections of plant viruses are common in crops and represent a critical biotic factor with substantial epidemiological implications for plant viral diseases. Compared to single-virus infections, mixed infections arise from simultaneous or sequential infections, which can inevitably affect the ecology and evolution of the diseases. These infections can either exacerbate or ameliorate symptom severity, including virus-virus interactions within the same host that may influence a range of viral traits associated with disease emergence.

Complete Genomes of DNA Viruses in Fecal Samples from Small Terrestrial Mammals in Spain.

Viromics studies are allowing us to understand not only the enormous diversity of the virosphere, but also the potential threat posed by the emerging viruses. Regarding the latter, the main concern lies in monitoring the presence of RNA viruses, but the zoonotic potential of some DNA viruses, on which we have focused in the present study, should also be highlighted. For this purpose, we analyzed 160 fecal samples from 14 species of small terrestrial mammals, 9 of them belonging to the order .