Reproductive health.

The articles in this special issue highlight the diversity and complexity of research into reproductive health, including the need for a better understanding of the fundamental biology of reproduction and for new treatments for a range of reproductive disorders.

PEBP1 amplifies mitochondrial dysfunction-induced integrated stress response.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in numerous diseases and the aging process. The integrated stress response (ISR) serves as a critical adaptation mechanism to a variety of stresses, including those originating from mitochondria. By utilizing mass spectrometry-based cellular thermal shift assay (MS-CETSA), we uncovered that phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein 1 (PEBP1), also known as Raf kinase inhibitory protein (RKIP), is thermally stabilized by stresses which induce mitochondrial ISR.

Update on the evolving landscape of pneumococcal capsule types: new discoveries and way forward.

SUMMARY (the "pneumococcus") is a significant human pathogen. The key determinant of pneumococcal fitness and virulence is its ability to produce a protective polysaccharide (PS) capsule, and anti-capsule antibodies mediate serotype-specific opsonophagocytic killing of bacteria. Notably, immunization with pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) has effectively reduced the burden of disease caused by serotypes included in vaccines but has also spurred a relative upsurge in the prevalence of non-vaccine serotypes.

Prehabilitation of Patients With Oesophageal Malignancy Undergoing Peri-Operative Treatment (Pre-EMPT): Outcomes From a Prospective Controlled Trial.

Background: The Pre-EMPT study aimed to determine if structured exercise could reduce length of stay, post-operative complications and improve fitness and health-related quality of life (HQRL) in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and oesophagectomy.

Methods: A prospective non-randomised trial compared a standard care pathway (control) to a structured prehabilitation exercise programme (intervention) commenced before NAC and surgery for oesophageal adenocarcinoma. Length of hospital stay and post-operative complications were recorded.

Morphological Control of Y6 Thin Films Reveals Charge Transfer Is Facilitated by Co-facial Interactions.

The organic semiconductor Y6 has been extensively used as an acceptor in organic photovoltaic devices, yielding high efficiencies. Its unique properties include a high refractive index, intrinsic exciton dissociation, and barrierless charge generation in bulk heterojunctions. However, the direct impact of the crystal packing morphology on the photophysics of Y6 has remained elusive, hindering further development of heterojunction and homojunction devices.

"It's that feeling that you can't get away": Motherhood, gender inequality and the stress process during extreme events.

The impacts of extreme events can intersect with pre-disaster systemic inequalities and deficiencies, exacerbating distress. This paper contributes to the existing literature by exploring the psychosocial processes through which stressors become traumatic during an extreme event. It does so by focusing on how mothers of children and/or adolescents in the United Kingdom experienced the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prognostic significance and accuracy of oncologists' estimates of survival time in recurrent ovarian cancer.

Objective: We evaluated the accuracy of oncologists' estimates of expected survival time in recurrent ovarian cancer.

Methods: Oncologists estimated expected survival time at baseline for each patient, who were then followed up for survival time. We hypothesized that oncologists' estimates of expected survival time would be independently significant predictors of survival, unbiased (approximately equal proportions [50%] living longer versus shorter than their expected survival time), or imprecise (<30% within 0.

Vulvar inspection at the time of cervical cancer screening: European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO), International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD), European College for the Study of Vulval Disease (ECSVD), and European Federation for Colposcopy (EFC) consensus statements.

Background: Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma incidence is increasing, especially among women under 60, largely attributed to human papillomavirus infections. Precursor pre-invasive vulvar lesions are frequently underdiagnosed. Routine vulvar inspection during cervical cancer screening could offer an opportunity for the detection of these lesions.

Minimally invasive compared to open surgery in patients with low-risk cervical cancer following simple hysterectomy: An exploratory analysis from the Gynegologic Cancer Intergroup/Canadian Cancer Trials Group CX.5/SHAPE trial.

Objective: The Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer trial demonstrated that minimally invasive radical hysterectomy was associated with worse disease-free survival and overall survival among women with early-stage cervical cancer. It is unknown whether this applies to patients with low-risk disease following simple hysterectomy.

Methods: Among patients who underwent simple hysterectomy in the Simple Hysterectomy And PElvic node assessment trial, univariate and multivariate Cox models were used to assess the association of minimally invasive versus open surgery with clinical outcomes, including pelvic and extra-pelvic recurrence-free survival, overall recurrence-free survival, and overall survival.

An evolved, orthogonal ssDNA generator for targeted hypermutation of multiple genomic loci.

Achieving targeted hypermutation of specific genomic sequences without affecting other regions remains a key challenge in continuous evolution. To address this, we evolved a T7 RNA polymerase (RNAP) mutant that synthesizes single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) instead of RNA in vivo, while still exclusively recognizing the T7 promoter. By increasing the error rate of the T7 RNAP mutant, it generates mutated ssDNA that recombines with homologous sequences in the genome, leading to targeted genomic hypermutation.

Integration of Apolipoprotein B into the SCORE2 Framework: Implications for Cardiovascular Risk Prediction.

Aim: To evaluate whether integrating Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) into the SCORE2 cardiovascular risk prediction framework improves its predictive accuracy and clinical applicability within the UK Biobank population.

Method: A 10-year prospective cohort study was conducted with 448,303 UK Biobank participants eligible for SCORE2 calculation. Three approaches were employed: (1) threshold analysis to determine the optimal ApoB cutoff for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction using Youden's Index, (2) assessment of the synergistic effect of SCORE2 and ApoB through concordant and discordant classifications, and (3) recalibration of the SCORE2 model by incorporating ApoB as an additional predictor.

The Role of Surfactant in Electrocatalytic Carbon Dioxide Reduction in the Absence of Metal Cations.

Carbon dioxide electroreduction does not occur on Au when metal cations are absent from the electrode surfaces. Here we show that the electroreduction can be enabled without metal cations, albeit with low efficiency, by the presence of cationic surfactants on Au. The findings demonstrate that in addition to possibly stabilizing CO reduction intermediates the presence of surfactants plays a role in suppressing the competing reactions.

Exploring Supramolecular Frustrated Lewis Pairs.

Frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) have rapidly become one of the key metal-free catalysts for a variety of chemical transformations. Embedding these catalysts within a supramolecular assembly can offer improvements to factors such as recyclability and selectivity. In this review we discuss advances in this area, covering key supramolecular assemblies such as metal organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), polymers and macrocycles.

Biologic Therapies for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Despite limited breakthroughs in COPD pharmacotherapy, recent trials have shown promising results for biologics in COPD patients. However, robust evidence synthesis in this area is currently lacking.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL from inception to July 17, 2024, to identify randomized trials of biologic medications in patients with COPD.

Quantifying Bone Collagen Fingerprint Variation Between Species.

Collagen is the most ubiquitous protein in the animal kingdom and one of the most abundant proteins on Earth. Despite having a relatively repetitive amino acid sequence motif that enables its triple helical structure, in type 1 collagen, that dominates skin and bone, there is enough variation for its increasing use for the biomolecular species identification of animal tissues processed or degraded beyond the amenability of DNA-based analyses. In recent years, this has been most commonly achieved through the technique of collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) known as ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry), applied to the analysis of tens of thousands of samples across over one hundred studies in the past decade alone.

Instance maps as an organising concept for complex experimental workflows as demonstrated for (nano)material safety research.

Nanosafety assessment, which seeks to evaluate the risks from exposure to nanoscale materials, spans materials synthesis and characterisation, exposure science, toxicology, and computational approaches, resulting in complex experimental workflows and diverse data types. Managing the data flows, with a focus on provenance (who generated the data and for what purpose) and quality (how was the data generated, using which protocol with which controls), as part of good research output management, is necessary to maximise the reuse potential and value of the data. Instance maps have been developed and evolved to visualise experimental nanosafety workflows and to bridge the gap between the theoretical principles of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable) data and the everyday practice of experimental researchers.

Ceftazidime-resistance in pediatric melioidosis: A case report and literature review.

We report a first case of ceftazidime-resistant pediatric melioidosis involving a previously healthy seven-year-old boy who presented with right lobar pneumonia complicated with a 5-cm lung abscess. Ceftazidime was initiated on Day-6 of admission when (ceftazidime-susceptible, minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] 1.0 mcg/mL) was isolated from blood.

The mCHEST Score for Incident Atrial Fibrillation: MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis).

Background: Assessing individuals' risk of developing incident atrial fibrillation (AF) is important for making preventive and screening strategies.

Objectives: The performance of the mCHEST score for predicting incident AF has scarcely been evaluated, especially in a multi-ethnic population.

Methods: Participants from the MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis were enrolled in the present study, which involved population of different ethnicities (Caucasian, African-American, Chinese-American, and Hispanic) aged between 45 and 84 from 6 communities in the United States.

Standardised activities in wheelchair rugby, comparison between athletes with coordination impairment and athletes with other impairments.

Introduction: To determine if athletes with coordination impairment (CI) can continue playing wheelchair rugby (WR), while an evidence-based classification system, including impairment tests for CI is not yet available. This is a defensible practise if they show similar activity limitations as athletes with other eligible impairment types (OI) within the same sports class.

Methods: Standardised activities were measured in 58 elite WR athletes; 14 with CI and 44 with OI.

Practice Patterns and Attitudes Regarding Pregnancy and Parenthood After Lung Transplantation.

Background: Parenthood after lung transplantation (LuTx) is uncommon. Although data exist regarding practice patterns surrounding pregnancy after heart transplantation, there are no data specific to LuTx recipients and parenthood more broadly.

Methods: We conducted a voluntary, anonymous online survey between October and December 2021.

The significance of isolated de novo red patches in the bladder in patients referred with suspected urinary tract cancer: Results from the IDENTIFY study.

Objectives: To assess the contemporary malignancy rate in isolated de novo red patches in the bladder and associated risk factors for better selection of red patch biopsy.

Patients: Patients from the IDENTIFY dataset; Patients referred to secondary care with suspected urinary tract cancer and found to have isolated de novo red patches on cystoscopy.

Methods: We reported the unadjusted cancer prevalence in isolated de novo red patches that were biopsied; multivariable logistic regression was used to explore cancer-associated risk factors including age, sex, smoking, type of haematuria, LUTS, UTIs and a suspicious-looking red patch (as reported by the cystoscopist).

A cell-based model to study mechanisms of endothelial-dependent thrombin generation in response to inflammation and its modulation by hydroxychloroquine.

Background: Inflammation is a driver of thrombosis, but the phenomenon of thromboinflammation has been defined only recently, bringing together the multiple pathways involved. models can support the development of new therapeutics targeting the endothelium and also assess the existing immunomodulatory drugs, such as hydroxychloroquine, in modulating the inflammation-driven endothelial prothrombotic phenotype.

Objectives: To develop a model for thrombin generation (TG) on the surface of human endothelial cells (ECs) to assess pro/antithrombotic properties in response to inflammation.