Factors associated with therapeutic response to adalimumab in hidradenitis suppurativa: evidence from the Belgian patients of the European Registry for Hidradenitis Suppurativa (ERHS-Be).

Hidradenitis suppurativa is an inflammatory skin disease for which adalimumab is an effective treatment in just over half of cases. Few factors associated with therapeutic response, and therefore potentially predictive of response, are known to date. This real-life study retrospectively explores the existence of such factors in a Belgian cohort of 82 patients, using several response scores: the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Clinical Response (HiSCR), the International Hidradenitis Suppurativa Severity Scoring System-55 (iHS4-55), and the dynamic metascore (a combination of the Hurley score, the 2007 version of the Sartorius score, the iHS4 and the HiSCR).

FDG PET-CT missed tibial metastasis in head and neck cancer, case report and systematic review.

Introduction: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the seventh most common type of cancer in the world. Metastases occur in up to 40 % of cases and bones are the second most frequent site. Metastases in extremities are uncommon with very few publications covering distal lower-limb bone metastasis.

Developmental beta-cell death orchestrates the islet's inflammatory milieu by regulating immune system crosstalk.

While pancreatic beta-cell proliferation has been extensively studied, the role of cell death during islet development remains incompletely understood. Using a genetic model of caspase inhibition in beta cells coupled with mathematical modeling, we here discover an onset of beta-cell death in juvenile zebrafish, which regulates beta-cell mass. Histologically, this beta-cell death is underestimated due to phagocytosis by resident macrophages.

Errors in the Spontaneous Language of Survivors of Pediatric Cerebellar Tumors.

Pediatric cerebellar tumor survivors may present with spontaneous language impairments following treatment, but the nature of these impairments is still largely unclear. A recent study by Svaldi et al. (Cerebellum.

Mechanistic Studies on the Gold-Catalyzed Intramolecular Hydroalkylation of Ynamides to Indenes.

An in-depth experimental and computational study to rationalize the mechanism underlying the gold-catalyzed intramolecular hydroalkylation of ynamides to indenes is reported. Evaluating the reactivity of a set of deuterated ynamides and gold complexes allowed to get valuable insights into the mechanism of this reaction, while DFT calculations allowed to determine a plausible reaction pathway for this unprecedented transformation. This pathway involves the activation of the ynamide followed by a [1,5]-hydride shift from the highly reactive, in situ generated keteniminium ion, and a subsequent cyclization before deprotonation followed by a final protodeauration.

Clinical characterisation and outcomes of human clade IIb mpox virus disease - a European multicentre observational cohort study (MOSAIC).

Background: The global mpox outbreak which started in May 2022 was caused by a novel clade IIb variant of the mpox virus (MPXV). It differed from the traditional Western and Central Africa disease in transmission patterns and clinical presentation.

Methods: To address the need for detailed clinical and virologic data, we conducted an observational cohort study (MOSAIC) during May 2022-July 2023 in individuals with confirmed MPXV infection enrolled in six European Countries.

Analysis of Changes in Home- and Community-Based Service Utilisation Among Chinese Older Adults: A National Cohort Study.

Aim: To explore changes in home- and community-based service utilisation and its associated factors among Chinese older adults between 2016 and 2018.

Design: A national cohort study.

Methods: This study included 6924 older adults from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey 2016 and 2018 waves, examining the changes in service utilisation among four groups: continuous users, former users, new users and nonusers.

Analysis of the Belgian RTT workforce and estimation of workforce needs for the near future.

Introduction: Radiation Therapists (RTTs) are crucial in delivering Radiotherapy (RT) to cancer patients. The advancements in RT technology and the increasing cancer incidence have heightened the demand for RTTs, necessitating strategic workforce planning at the national level. This study aims to identify and estimate current and future RTT workforce in Belgium.

Recognition at the Heart of the Complex Situations Experienced by People With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain.

Objective: Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMSP) is frequent in chronic diseases, decreasing the quality of life of these patients. In a survey conducted in Belgium in 2019, chronic pain was named by patients as the main factor of complexity in their lives. The objective of our research was to provide elements to understand why and how CMSP contributes to the complexity of these people's lives.

Prognostic and predictive implications of sterile alpha motif and HD domain-containing protein 1 (SAMHD1) expression in breast cancer.

Sterile alpha motif and HD domain-containing protein 1 (SAMHD1) is a dNTP hydrolase important for intracellular dNTP homeostasis and serves as tumor suppressor and modulator of antimetabolite efficacy in cancer, though largely unexplored in breast cancer (BC). A cohort of patients with early BC (n = 564) with available gene expression data (GEP) was used. SAMHD1 protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry performed on tissue microarrays.

Impact of Five Weeks of Strengthening Under Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) or Supplemental Oxygen Breathing (Normobaric Hyperoxia) on the Medial Gastrocnemius.

This study investigates the effects of a five-week training program on the medial gastrocnemius muscle, comparing two approaches: blood flow restriction (BFR) training and normobaric hyperoxia (oxygen supplementation). It evaluates three strengthening modalities (dynamic, isometric, and the 3/7 method) analyzing their impact on maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), muscle architecture, and perceived exertion. A total of 36 young healthy participants (21 females, 15 males) were randomized into six subgroups (n = 6 each) based on the type of contraction and oxygen condition.

Assessment of the American College of Surgeons Surgical Risk Calculator (ACS-SRC) for Prediction of Early Postoperative Complications in Patients Undergoing Cytoreductive Surgery for Ovarian Peritoneal Carcinomatosis.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is diagnosed at a locally advanced stage in two-thirds of cases. The first line of treatment consists of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant chemotherapy. However, CRS can be associated with high rates of postoperative complications (POCs), and detection of fragile patients at high risk of POCs is important.

Impact of CPAP Therapy on Cognition and Fatigue in Patients with Moderate to Severe Sleep Apnea: A Longitudinal Observational Study.

Continued solicitation of cognitive resources eventually leads to cognitive fatigue (CF), i.e., a decrease in cognitive efficiency that develops during sustained cognitive demands in conditions of constrained processing time, independently of sleepiness.

Probing Out-Of-Plane Charge Transport in Organic Semiconductors Using Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy.

High contact resistance remains the primary obstacle that hinders further advancements of organic semiconductors (OSCs) in electronic circuits. While significant effort has been directed toward lowering the energy barrier at OSC/metal contact interfaces, approaches toward reducing another major contributor to overall contact resistance - the bulk resistance - have been limited to minimizing the thickness of OSC films. However, the out-of-plane conductivity of OSCs, a critical aspect of bulk resistance, has largely remained unaddressed.

A Pooled Pharmacokinetic Analysis for Piperacillin/Tazobactam Across Different Patient Populations: From Premature Infants to the Elderly.

Background And Objectives: The pharmacokinetics (PK) of piperacillin/tazobactam (PIP/TAZ) is highly variable across different patient populations and there are controversies regarding non-linear elimination as well as the fraction unbound of PIP (f). This has led to a plethora of subgroup-specific models, increasing the risk of misusing published models when optimising dosing regimens. In this study, we aimed to develop a single model to simultaneously describe the PK of PIP/TAZ in diverse patient populations and evaluate the current dosing recommendations by predicting the PK/pharmacodynamics (PD) target attainment throughout life.

Lexical integration of novel words learned through natural reading.

Lexical competition between newly acquired and already established representations of written words is considered a marker of word integration into the mental lexicon. To date, studies about the emergence of lexical competition involved mostly artificial training procedures based on overexposure and explicit instructions for memorization. Yet, in real life, novel word encounters occur mostly without explicit learning intent, through reading texts with words appearing rarely.

Multiple-timescale dynamics, mixed mode oscillations and mixed affective states in a model of bipolar disorder.

Mixed affective states in bipolar disorder (BD) is a common psychiatric condition that occurs when symptoms of the two opposite poles coexist during an episode of mania or depression. A four-dimensional model by Goldbeter (Progr Biophys Mol Biol 105:119-127, 2011; Pharmacopsychiatry 46:S44-S52, 2013) rests upon the notion that manic and depressive symptoms are produced by two competing and auto-inhibited neural networks. Some of the rich dynamics that this model can produce, include complex rhythms formed by both small-amplitude (subthreshold) and large-amplitude (suprathreshold) oscillations and could correspond to mixed bipolar states.

Binding of Bioactive Ammonium Ions in Water with a Cavity-Based Selectivity: Water Solubilization versus Micellar Incorporation.

Many bioactive molecules contain primary ammonium groups, generating significant interest in developing selective receptors for ammonium ions. A promising strategy involves the use of polyaromatic cavitands to achieve size and shape selectivity through their cavity. However, designing effective receptors for ammonium ions in aqueous media is challenging due to the competitive nature of water.

Combining evolution and protein language models for an interpretable cancer driver mutation prediction with D2Deep.

The mutations driving cancer are being increasingly exposed through tumor-specific genomic data. However, differentiating between cancer-causing driver mutations and random passenger mutations remains challenging. State-of-the-art homology-based predictors contain built-in biases and are often ill-suited to the intricacies of cancer biology.

Prognostic value of residual disease (RD) biology and gene expression changes during the neoadjuvant treatment in patients with HER2+ early breast cancer (EBC).

Background: In HER2+ early breast cancer (EBC), we investigated tumor and immune changes during neoadjuvant treatment and their impact on residual disease (RD) biology and prognostic implications across 4 neoadjuvant studies of trastuzumab with or without lapatinib, and with or without chemotherapy: CALGB 40601, PAMELA, NeoALTTO and NSABP B-41.

Patients And Methods: We compared tumor and immune gene expression changes during neoadjuvant treatment and their association with with event-free survival (EFS) by uni- and multivariable Cox regression models in different cohorts and timepoints: 452 RD samples at baseline including 169 with a paired RD, and biomarker changes during neoadjuvant therapy, evaluating model performance via the c-index.

Results: Analysis of 169 paired tumor samples revealed a shift in intrinsic subtype proportions from HER2-Enriched at baseline (50.

LRH-1/NR5A2 targets mitochondrial dynamics to reprogram type 1 diabetes macrophages and dendritic cells into an immune tolerance phenotype.

Background: The complex aetiology of type 1 diabetes (T1D), characterised by a detrimental cross-talk between the immune system and insulin-producing beta cells, has hindered the development of effective disease-modifying therapies. The discovery that the pharmacological activation of LRH-1/NR5A2 can reverse hyperglycaemia in mouse models of T1D by attenuating the autoimmune attack coupled to beta cell survival/regeneration prompted us to investigate whether immune tolerisation could be translated to individuals with T1D by LRH-1/NR5A2 activation and improve islet survival.

Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from individuals with and without T1D and derived into various immune cells, including macrophages and dendritic cells.

Pushing the boundaries of radiotherapy-immunotherapy combinations: highlights from the 7 immunorad conference.

Over the last decade, the annual Immunorad Conference, held under the joint auspicies of Gustave Roussy (Villejuif, France) and the Weill Cornell Medical College (New-York, USA) has aimed at exploring the latest advancements in the fields of tumor immunology and radiotherapy-immunotherapy combinations for the treatment of cancer. Gathering medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, physicians and researchers with esteemed expertise in these fields, the Immunorad Conference bridges the gap between preclinical outcomes and clinical opportunities. Thus, it paves a promising way toward optimizing radiotherapy-immunotherapy combinations and, from a broader perspective, improving therapeutic strategies for patients with cancer.

BABINE: An original and user-friendly scale for the simple and quick management of herb-drug interactions in clinical practice.

Background: While more and more people tend to use herbal products thinking they are safer than conventional western medicine, the reality is other. If natural products are bio-active and possess potential therapeutic activities, then the benefit/risk balance should be considered like any other health product. Some herbs are known to have the potential to interact with patient's treatment and to cause adverse drug reactions.

Collagen signaling and matrix stiffness regulate multipotency in glandular epithelial stem cells in mice.

Glandular epithelia, including mammary gland (MG) and prostate, are composed of luminal and basal cells. During embryonic development, glandular epithelia arise from multipotent stem cells (SCs) that are replaced after birth by unipotent basal and unipotent luminal SCs. Different conditions, such as basal cell transplantation, luminal cell ablation, and oncogene expression can reinduce adult basal SC (BaSCs) multipotency in different glandular epithelia.