Receptor crosstalk improves concentration sensing of multiple ligands.

Cells need to reliably sense external ligand concentrations to achieve various biological functions such as chemotaxis or signaling. The molecular recognition of ligands by surface receptors is degenerate in many systems, leading to crosstalk between ligand-receptor pairs. Crosstalk is often thought of as a deviation from optimal specific recognition, as the binding of noncognate ligands can interfere with the detection of the receptor's cognate ligand, possibly leading to a false triggering of a downstream signaling pathway.

Grooves Accelerate Dew Shedding.

Gravity-driven drainage of small volumes of condensates, such as natural dew, is a challenge because small drops usually remain pinned to inclined surfaces. We report that submillimetric grooves substantially reduce dew retention by modifying the repartition of liquid: Because of a long-range coalescence mechanism mediated by grooves imbibition, the growth and shedding of large drops are accelerated. Such findings can be applied to increase the passive harvesting of dew as well as to accelerate the drainage of other condensates.

Inherited Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura Revealed by Recurrent Strokes in a Male Adult: Case Report and Literature Review.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a thrombotic microangiopathy related to a severe deficiency of ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 repeats, member 13). In this article, we describe the first case of a young male adult suffering from a hereditary TTP revealed by recurrent strokes, relapsing despite antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy. Because of the persistent moderate thrombocytopenia, plasmatic ADAMTS13 activity was investigated and was found lower than 5% in the absence of anti-ADAMTS13 IgG.

SELENON (SEPN1) protects skeletal muscle from saturated fatty acid-induced ER stress and insulin resistance.

Selenoprotein N (SELENON) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein whose loss of function leads to a congenital myopathy associated with insulin resistance (SEPN1-related myopathy). The exact cause of the insulin resistance in patients with SELENON loss of function is not known. Skeletal muscle is the main contributor to insulin-mediated glucose uptake, and a defect in this muscle-related mechanism triggers insulin resistance and glucose intolerance.

Cleavage of anti-PF4/heparin IgG by a bacterial protease and potential benefit in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is due to immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies, which bind platelet factor 4 (PF4) modified by polyanions, such as heparin (H). IgG/PF4/polyanion complexes directly activate platelets via Fc gamma type 2 receptor A (FcγRIIA) receptors. A bacterial protease, IgG-degrading enzyme of (IdeS), cleaves the hinge region of heavy-chain IgG, abolishing its ability to bind FcγR, including FcγRIIA.

Familial predisposition to TP53/complex karyotype MDS and leukemia in DNA repair-deficient xeroderma pigmentosum.

There is a Commentary on this article in this issue.

ESICM/ESCMID task force on practical management of invasive candidiasis in critically ill patients.

Introduction: The term invasive candidiasis (IC) refers to both bloodstream and deep-seated invasive infections, such as peritonitis, caused by Candida species. Several guidelines on the management of candidemia and invasive infection due to Candida species have recently been published, but none of them focuses specifically on critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs).

Material And Methods: In the absence of available scientific evidence, the resulting recommendations are based solely on epidemiological and clinical evidence in conjunction with expert opinion.

Implementing EEG hyperscanning setups.

Hyperscanning refers to obtaining simultaneous neural recordings from more than one person (Montage et al., 2002 [1]), that can be used to study interactive situations. In particular, hyperscanning with Electroencephalography (EEG) is becoming increasingly popular since it allows researchers to explore the interactive brain with a high temporal resolution.

Fibroblast growth factors in skeletal development.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors (FGFRs) are expressed throughout all stages of skeletal development. In the limb bud and in cranial mesenchyme, FGF signaling is important for formation of mesenchymal condensations that give rise to bone. Once skeletal elements are initiated and patterned, FGFs regulate both endochondral and intramembranous ossification programs.

2018 EULAR recommendations for a core data set to support observational research and clinical care in giant cell arteritis.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) represents the most common form of primary systemic vasculitis and is frequently associated with comorbidities related to the disease itself or induced by the treatment. Systematically collected data on disease course, treatment and outcomes of GCA remain scarce. The aim of this EULAR Task Force was to identify a core set of items which can easily be collected by experienced clinicians, in order to facilitate collaborative research into the course and outcomes of GCA.

Stability of radiomics features in apparent diffusion coefficient maps from a multi-centre test-retest trial.

Quantitative radiomics features, extracted from medical images, characterize tumour-phenotypes and have been shown to provide prognostic value in predicting clinical outcomes. Stability of radiomics features extracted from apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)-maps is essential for reliable correlation with the underlying pathology and its clinical applications. Within a multicentre, multi-vendor trial we established a method to analyse radiomics features from ADC-maps of ovarian (n = 12), lung (n = 19), and colorectal liver metastasis (n = 30) cancer patients who underwent repeated (<7 days) diffusion-weighted imaging at 1.

Healthcare ecosystems research in mental health: a scoping review of methods to describe the context of local care delivery.

Background: Evidence from the context of local health ecosystems is highly relevant for research and policymaking to understand geographical variations in outcomes of health care delivery. In mental health systems, the analysis of context presents particular challenges related to their complexity and to methodological difficulties. Method guidelines and standard recommendations for conducting context analysis of local mental health care are urgently needed.

Update on Outcome Measure Development in Large-vessel Vasculitis: Report from OMERACT 2018.

Objective: The Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Vasculitis Working Group seeks to develop validated outcome measures for use in trials for large-vessel vasculitis (LVV).

Methods: An international Delphi exercise conducted among investigators identified items considered important to measure active disease. In parallel, qualitative research with patients was conducted, including interviews and focus groups.

Evaluation of children's participation in a national dental programme in France.

Objectives: The current national oral health programme for children in France, called the DHE "Dental Health Examination," began in 2007. The aims of the current study were to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the DHE programme in improving resource allocation to preventive dental services and providing access to dental care, especially for the children who need it most. The main questions were as follows: How many children participate in it? Does it reach the children who need it most? And does it save dental care costs?

Methods: The study examined data for 1937 children aged 6-16 years.

Global mismatches in aboveground and belowground biodiversity.

Human activities are accelerating global biodiversity change and have resulted in severely threatened ecosystem services. A large proportion of terrestrial biodiversity is harbored by soil, but soil biodiversity has been omitted from many global biodiversity assessments and conservation actions, and understanding of global patterns of soil biodiversity remains limited. In particular, the extent to which hotspots and coldspots of aboveground and soil biodiversity overlap is not clear.

Outpatient versus inpatient care for preterm premature rupture of membranes before 34 weeks of gestation.

Preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) is associated with an increased risk of serious maternal, fetal, and neonatal morbidities. We compared neonatal outcomes of women with PPROM before 34 weeks of gestation according to inpatient or outpatient management policy. 587 women with PPROM >48 hours, 246 (41.

Harmonizing brain magnetic resonance imaging methods for vascular contributions to neurodegeneration.

Introduction: Many consequences of cerebrovascular disease are identifiable by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but variation in methods limits multicenter studies and pooling of data. The European Union Joint Program on Neurodegenerative Diseases (EU JPND) funded the HARmoNizing Brain Imaging MEthodS for VaScular Contributions to Neurodegeneration (HARNESS) initiative, with a focus on cerebral small vessel disease.

Methods: Surveys, teleconferences, and an in-person workshop were used to identify gaps in knowledge and to develop tools for harmonizing imaging and analysis.

Standardisation and consensus guidelines for minimal residual disease assessment in Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph + ALL) by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR of e1a2 BCR-ABL1.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) is a powerful prognostic factor in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and is used for patient stratification and treatment decisions, but its precise role in Philadelphia chromosome positive ALL is less clear. This uncertainty results largely from methodological differences relating to the use of real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) to measure BCR-ABL1 transcript levels for MRD analysis. We here describe the first results by the EURO-MRD consortium on standardization of qRT-PCR for the e1a2 BCR-ABL1 transcript in Ph + ALL, designed to overcome the lack of standardisation of laboratory procedures and data interpretation.

Conflicting associations between dietary patterns and changes of anthropometric traits across subgroups of middle-aged women and men.

Background: Individuals respond differently to dietary intake leading to different associations between diet and traits. Most studies have investigated large cohorts without subgrouping them.

Objective: The purpose was to identify non-uniform associations between diets and anthropometric traits that appeared to be in conflict with one another across subgroups.

ConvSCCS: convolutional self-controlled case series model for lagged adverse event detection.

With the increased availability of large electronic health records databases comes the chance of enhancing health risks screening. Most post-marketing detection of adverse drug reaction (ADR) relies on physicians' spontaneous reports, leading to under-reporting. To take up this challenge, we develop a scalable model to estimate the effect of multiple longitudinal features (drug exposures) on a rare longitudinal outcome.

Early Acute Microvascular Kidney Transplant Rejection in the Absence of Anti-HLA Antibodies Is Associated with Preformed IgG Antibodies against Diverse Glomerular Endothelial Cell Antigens.

Background: Although anti-HLA antibodies (Abs) cause most antibody-mediated rejections of renal allografts, non-anti-HLA Abs have also been postulated to contribute. A better understanding of such Abs in rejection is needed.

Methods: We conducted a nationwide study to identify kidney transplant recipients without anti-HLA donor-specific Abs who experienced acute graft dysfunction within 3 months after transplantation and showed evidence of microvascular injury, called acute microvascular rejection (AMVR).

Long-term visual acuity in patients with optic pathway glioma treated during childhood with up-front BB-SFOP chemotherapy-Analysis of a French pediatric historical cohort.

Background: Visual outcome is one of the main issues in the treatment of optic pathway glioma in childhood. Although the prognostic factors of low vision have been discussed extensively, no reliable indicators for visual loss exist. Therefore, we aimed to define initial and evolving factors associated with long-term vision loss.