Circulating receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) levels predict response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Background: Receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) can directly promote tumor growth and indirectly support tumor immune evasion by altering the tumor microenvironment and immune cell responses. This study aimed to assess the prognostic significance of soluble RANKL in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving programmed cell death 1 (PD1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PDL1) checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

Methods: Plasma RANKL levels were measured in 100 patients with advanced NSCLC without bone metastases undergoing monotherapy with PD1/PDL1 checkpoint inhibitors.

Facilitating Seed Iron Uptake through Amine-Epoxide Microgels: A Novel Approach to Enhance Cucumber () Germination.

Enhancing the initial stages of plant growth by using polymeric gels for seed priming presents a significant challenge. This study aimed to investigate a microgel derived from polyetheramine-poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) and a bisepoxide (referred to as micro-PPO) as a promising alternative to optimize the seed germination process. The micro-PPO integrated with an iron micronutrient showed a positive impact on seed germination compared with control (Fe solutions) in which the root length yield improved up to 39%.

Associazione Nazionale Medici Cardiologi Ospedalieri (ANMCO) scientific statement on the simplification of the drug regimen for secondary cardiovascular prevention.

The issue of suboptimal drug regimen adherence in secondary cardiovascular prevention presents a significant barrier to improving patient outcomes. To address this, the utilization of drug combinations, specifically single pill combinations (SPCs) and polypills, was proposed as a strategy to simplify treatment regimens. This approach aims to enhance treatment accessibility, affordability, and adherence, thereby reducing healthcare costs and improving patient health.

The continuously evolving phenotype of succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency.

The objective of the study is to evaluate the evolving phenotype and genetic spectrum of patients with succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency (SSADHD) in long-term follow-up. Longitudinal clinical and biochemical data of 22 pediatric and 9 adult individuals with SSADHD from the patient registry of the International Working Group on Neurotransmitter related Disorders (iNTD) were studied with in silico analyses, pathogenicity scores and molecular modeling of ALDH5A1 variants. Leading initial symptoms, with onset in infancy, were developmental delay and hypotonia.

The time course of the spatial representation of 'past' and 'future' concepts: New evidence from the STEARC effect.

Humans use space to think of and communicate the flow of time. This spatial representation of time is influenced by cultural habits so that in left-to-right reading cultures, short durations and past events are mentally positioned to the left of long durations and future events. The STEARC effect (Space Temporal Association of Response Codes) shows a faster classification of short durations/past events with responses on the left side of space and of long durations/future events with responses on the right side.

Calorie restriction protects against acute systemic LPS-induced inflammation.

Caloric restriction (CR) has been proposed as a nutritional strategy to combat chronic diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, as well as to delay aging. However, despite the benefits of CR, questions remain about its underlying mechanisms and cellular and molecular targets. As inflammatory processes are the basis or accompany chronic diseases and aging, we investigated the protective role of CR in the event of an acute inflammatory stimulus.

Infant mortality in Italy: large geographic and ethnic inequalities.

Background: Neonatal and infant mortality rates are among the most significant indicators for assessing a country's healthcare and social development. This study examined the trends in neonatal, post-neonatal, and infant mortality in Italy from 2016 to 2020 and analysed differences between children of Italian and foreign parents based on areas of residence, as well as the leading causes of death. Special attention was given to the analysis of mortality in 2020, the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, and its comparison with previous years.

Methane-hydrogen-rich fluid migration may trigger seismic failure in subduction zones at forearc depths.

Metamorphic fluids, faults, and shear zones are carriers of carbon from the deep Earth to shallower reservoirs. Some of these fluids are reduced and transport energy sources, like H and light hydrocarbons. Mechanisms and pathways capable of transporting these deep energy sources towards shallower reservoirs remain unidentified.

Higher and bigger: How riparian bats react to climate change.

The altitudinal distribution of animals and changes in their body size are effective indicators of climate change. Bats are sensitive to climate change due to their dependence on temperature during critical life stages. However, long-term studies documenting responses over extended periods are rare.

An extremely rare serovar of Salmonella enterica (Yopougon) discovered in a Western Whip Snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) from Montecristo Island, Italy: case report and review.

Reptiles, including snakes, can be asymptomatically infected with multiple pathogen microorganisms, including Salmonella spp., which is considered an important concern for public and animal health. Small and uninhabited isles are quite ecologically different from mainland and represent interesting fields of study, to discover unexpected biological and microbiological aspects of their wild inhabitants.

Top-down determinants of the numerosity-time interaction.

Previous studies have reported that larger visual stimuli are perceived as lasting longer than smaller ones. However, this effect disappears when participants provide a qualitative judgment, by stating whether two stimuli have the "same or different" duration, instead of providing an explicit quantitative judgment (which stimulus lasts longer). Here, we extended these observations to the interaction between the numerosity of visual stimuli, i.

Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Pleura: Surgical Treatment and Recurrence.

Background:  Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura (SFTPs) are primary pleural tumors originating from the mesenchymal tissue. Surgical treatment was the first choice for management of SFTPs. There were no defined guidelines for the follow-up of these tumors and the postoperative therapy due to the rarity of these tumors.

When mechanical engineering inspired from physiology improves postural-related somatosensory processes.

Despite numerous studies uncovering the neural signature of tactile processing, tactile afferent inputs relating to the contact surface has not been studied so far. Foot tactile receptors being the first stimulated by the relative movement of the foot skin and the underneath moving support play an important role in the sensorimotor transformation giving rise to a postural reaction. A biomimetic surface, i.

Full Spectroscopic Characterization of the Molecular Oxygen-Based Methane to Methanol Conversion over Open Fe(II) Sites in a Metal-Organic Framework.

Iron-based enzymes efficiently activate molecular oxygen to perform the oxidation of methane to methanol (MTM), a reaction central to the contemporary chemical industry. Conversely, a very limited number of artificial catalysts have been devised to mimic this process. Herein, we employ the MIL-100(Fe) metal-organic framework (MOF), a material that exhibits isolated Fe sites, to accomplish the MTM conversion using O as the oxidant under mild conditions.

Biofilm Inhibition of Inula viscosa (L.) Aiton and Globularia alypum L. Extracts Against Candida Infectious Pathogens and In Vivo Action on Galleria mellonella Model.

The increasing importance of fungal infections has fueled the search for new beneficial alternatives substance from plant extracts. The current study investigates the antifungal and antibiofilm activity of Inula viscosa (L.) Aiton and Globularia alypum (L.

Smart e-Skin Cancer Care in Europe During and after the Covid-19 Pandemic: a Multidisciplinary Expert Consensus.

Introduction: Melanoma is the deadliest of all the skin cancers and its incidence is increasing every year in Europe. Patients with melanoma often present late to the specialist and treatment is delayed for many reasons (delay in patient consultation, misdiagnosis by general practitioners, and/or limited access to dermatologists). Beyond this, there are significant inequalities in skin cancer between population groups within the same country and between countries across Europe.

Climbing the Giara: A quantitative reassessment of movement and visibility in the Nuragic landscape of the Gesturi plateau (South-Central Sardinia, Italy).

The built landscape of Nuragic Sardinia is an exceptional case for geostatistical analysis, allowing for a discussion of long-held assumptions and ideas. The function of nuraghi (ca. 1700-1100 BCE), the most prominent settled monument of the Sardinian Bronze Age, has been addressed via a multiplicity of landscape approaches, mainly relying on intuitive assessments of their spatial properties: nuraghi were assumed as means of territorial control.

Proof-of-Principle Experiment on the Dynamic Shell Formation for Inertial Confinement Fusion.

In the dynamic-shell (DS) concept [V. N. Goncharov et al.

How time gets spatial: factors determining the stability and instability of the mental time line.

Left-to-right readers classify faster past events with motor responses on the left side of space and future events with responses on the right side. This suggests a left-to-right spatial organization in the mental representation of time. Here, we show that the significance and reliability of this representation are linked to the joint use of temporal and spatial codes in the task at hand.