Rare pyoderma gangrenosum correlated with systemic lupus erythematosus: A case reportOmid pourbagherian1, Kamran Javidi1, Mohammad Taghizadieh3, Mehdi Jafarpour2*1 Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran2Connective Tissue Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran3Department of Pathology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.Drafting of the manuscript: Mehdi Jafarpour, Omid pourbagherianData Collection: Kamran Javidi, Mohammad Taghizadieh, Mehdi JafarpourCritical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Mehdi Jafarpour, Omid pourbagherianCase supervision: Mehdi JafarpourCorresponding author: Mehdi JafarpourAddress: Connective Tissue Diseases Research Center, Flat 1, Imam Reza Hospital, Tabriz, IranPhone number: 0098 41 33332704Fax: 0098 41 35413520Mobile: 09148651269Reference count: 10Figure/table count: 2/1Funding: none.Conflict of interest: noneWritten informed permission from the patient to publish the facts and photographs was granted.Manuscript word count:999

Migratory birds may either upregulate their immune system during migration as they might encounter novel pathogens or downregulate their immune system as a consequence of trade-offs with the resource costs of migration. Support for the latter comes not least from a study that reports a positive correlation in autumn migrating birds between fuel stores and parameters of innate and acquired immune function, i.e., energy exhausted migrants appear to have lowered immune function. However, to our knowledge, no study has tested whether this pattern exists in spring migrating birds, which may face other trade-offs than autumn migrants. Here, we investigate if in spring there is a relationship between fuel stores and microbial killing ability, a measure of innate immune function, and total immunoglobulin (IgY), a measure of acquired immune function, in four migrating bird species: Chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs), Dunnocks (Prunella modularis), Song thrushes (Turdus philomelos) and Northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe). We found no correlation between fuel stores and bacterial killing ability or IgY levels in any of the species. However, there was a significant negative correlation between microbial killing ability and Julian date in Song thrushes and Northern wheatears, and between IgY levels and Julian date in Song thrushes. Sex did not affect immune function in any of the species. Our study suggests that the relationship between immune function and fuel stores may be different during spring migration compared to autumn migration. Differences in the speed of migration or pathogen pressure may result in different outcomes of the trade-off between investment in immune function and in migration among the seasons.

The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) to the left cymba concha on the pain perception using nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR), which is known to be associated with chronic pain, and to investigate whether tVNS-induced suppression of the NWR and parasympathetic activation is correlated. We applied either 3.0 mA, 100 Hz tVNS for 120 s in the left cymba concha (tVNS condition) or the left earlobe (Sham condition) for twenty healthy adults. NWR threshold was measured before (Baseline), immediately after (Post 0), 10 min (Post 10) and 30 min after (Post 30) stimulation. The NWR threshold was obtained from biceps femoris muscle by applying electrical stimulation to the sural nerve. During tVNS, electrocardiograph was recorded, and changes in autonomic nervous activity were analyzed. We found that the NWR thresholds at Post 10 and Post 30 increased compared to baseline in the tVNS group (10 min after: p = 0.048 30 min after: p = 0.037). In addition, increased parasympathetic activity by tVNS correlated with a greater increase in NWR threshold at Post 10 and Post 30 (Post 10: p = 0.01; Post 30: p = 0.005). The present results demonstrate the pain-suppressing effect of tVNS as assessed with NWR threshold and suggest that the degree of parasympathetic activation during tVNS may predict the effect of tVNS after its application.

The genome of Halobacterium strain 63-R2 was recently reported and provides the opportunity to resolve long-standing issues regarding the source of two widely used model strains of Hbt. salinarum, NRC-1 and R1. Strain 63-R2 was isolated in 1934 from a salted buffalo hide (epithet ‘cutirubra’), along with another strain from a salted cowhide (91-R6T, epithet ‘salinaria’, the type strain of Halobacterium salinarum). Both strains belong to the same species according to genome-based taxonomy analysis (TYGS), with chromosome sequences showing 99.64% identity over 1.85 Mb. The chromosome of strain 63-R2 is 99.99% identical to the two laboratory strains NRC-1 and R1, with only 5 indels, excluding the mobilome. The two reported plasmids of strain 63-R2 share their architecture with plasmids of strain R1 (pHcu43/pHS4, 99.89% identity; pHcu235/pHS3, 100.0% identity). We detected and assembled additional plasmids, using PacBio reads deposited at the SRA database, further corroborating that strain differences are minimal. One plasmid, pHcu190 (190,816 bp) corresponds to pHS1 (strain R1) but is even more similar in architecture to pNRC100 (strain NRC-1). Another plasmid, pHcu229, assembled partially and completed in silico (229,124 bp), shares most of its architecture with pHS2 (strain R1). In deviating regions, it corresponds to pNRC200 (strain NRC-1). Further architectural differences between the laboratory strain plasmids are not unique but are present in strain 63-R2, which contains characteristics from both of them. Based on these observations, it is proposed that the early 20th-century isolate 63-R2 is the immediate ancestor of the twin laboratory strains NRC-1 and R1.

Huiyong Hu1#, Xiaoping Jing2#, Xiuhua Duan3, Leiping Zhou4, Yunfeng Xu1*1 Department of the Ultrasonography, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, school of medicine, Shanghai 200040, China;2 Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, school of medicine, Shanghai 200040, China;3 Department of Radiology, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, school of medicine, Shanghai 200040, China;4 Department of Radiology, International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital of China welfare institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, school of medicine, Shanghai 200030, China;# These authors contributed equally to this work.* Corresponding author: Yunfeng Xu, Department of the Ultrasonography, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, school of medicine;Address: 1400 West Beijing Road, Shanghai, China Lane 24 Zip Code 200040;Phone: 18917128478E-mail: xuyunfeng65@163. com (F X).During a prenatal ultrasonography examination late in the second trimester, a fetus was found to have a right diaphragmatic hernia (Figure S1). Multidepartment dynamic monitoring was instituted, and the fetus was later successfully delivered by cesarean section after fetal distress became evident. After intubation, the infant was stabilized and transferred to the Department of Neonatology at our hospital.The enhanced computed tomography of the chest and stomach displayed multiple air-filled intestinal shadows in the right chest cavity, the widest being about 20.0 mm. The right lung, mediastinum, and heart were compressed and displaced, and most of the lung tissue in the right lung was consolidated. Atelectasis is evident in the irregular enhancement shadow at the right upper abdomen, about 43.5 × 32.0 mm in size. The boundary between some sections and the posterior margin of the right lobe of the liver was unclear, but the blood supply (hepatic artery and portal vein branches) was visible (Figure). Blood gases, routine bloodwork, liver and kidney function, and myocardial enzymes were essentially normal.At 40 + 4 weeks, with the infant under total anesthesia, hernia repair was performed. The liver and intestines in the thoracic cavity were brought back into the abdominal cavity; the tissues around the hernia ring in the diaphragm were carefully dissociated; and patch repair and suturing were performed (Figures S2–S4). After the operation, the infant’s vital signs were stable and their condition remained good during follow-up.Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a potentially fatal birth defect[1-3]. In China today, all pregnant women undergo ultrasonography to uncover pregnancy- related conditions[4]. A “green channel” – that is, a multidepartment collaborative for the emergency treatment of perioperative pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary dysplasia, and other complications in newborns with CDH – has been established, helping to assure the best prognosis for those infants.

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, pediatric visits due to acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) decreased, but most reports are from hospitalized patients. There is little information on this phenomenon in outpatients, who are the majority in IRABs. We evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ALRIs related outpatient visits in the City of Buenos Aires. Methods: Observational study including all outpatient visits of children under 2 years of age to the public health system of the City of Buenos Aires, between Jan 01, 2018 and Dec 31, 2022. We estimated the total number visits and the ALRIs-related visits, and their distribution throughout the study period. Results: A total of 704,426 visits were registered, 7.38% of them due to ALRIs. ALRIs-related visits decreased from the implementation of a national lockdown (2020) and increased again as the restriction measures decreased, particularly the return to full school attendance (2021). In general, the proportion of ALRIs-related vists was significantly higher in the cold months than in the warm ones (9.8% vs. 5.5%; OR: 1.76, 95%CI: 1.73-1.79; p<0.001). This difference was observed before (2018, 2019) and after the pandemic (2022), but not in 2020-2021. The peak of ALRIs-related visits occurred in the cold months in pre-pandemic years (2018-2019), did not appear in 2020, reappeared delayed in 2021 and recovered seasonality in 2022. Conclusion: Outpatient ALRIs-related visits decreased significantly in the city of Buenos Aires during the COVID-19 pandemic and currently seem to have recovered their magnitude and seasonality.

Introduction: This study aimed to determine if a respiratory therapist (RT)-driven high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) protocol could decrease duration of HFNC use, pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and hospital length of stay (LOS), and duration of continuous albuterol use in pediatric patients with critical asthma. Methods: This was a quality improvement project performed at a quaternary academic PICU. Patients admitted to the PICU between 2 and 18 years of age with a diagnosis of asthma requiring continuous albuterol and HFNC were included. Implementation of a RT-driven HFNC protocol [Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) 1] occurred in October 2017. Additional interventions included weaning continuous albuterol and HFNC simultaneously (PDSA 2; March 2019), adjusting HFNC wean rate (PDSA 3; July 2020), and a HFNC holiday (PDSA 4; October 2021). HFNC duration was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included LOS data and continuous albuterol duration. Noninvasive ventilation (NIV), invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), and 7-day PICU and hospital readmission rates were balancing measures. Results: 410 patients were included. Patient demographics and adjunct therapy use did not differ among the groups. HFNC duration decreased from 26.8 to 18.1 hours, both PICU and hospital LOS were decreased (41 to 31.8 hours, and 86.5 to 68 hours respectively) after PDSA 2. These outcomes remained stable during PDSA 3 and 4. Continuous albuterol duration and NIV use remained stable, while IMV use decreased throughout the study. Conclusions: An RT-driven HFNC protocol led to an improvement in clinical outcomes for pediatric patients with critical asthma without an increase in adverse events.

A document by Nuno Busch. Click on the document to view its contents.

The aim of this study was to develop a clinical SWIR reflectance handpiece to assess the activity of lesions on the occlusal surfaces. The time-resolved reflectivity of ten active and ten arrested occlusal caries lesions on extracted teeth was monitored at 1470 nm using a benchtop system and a modified clinical prototype during forced air drying. The presence of a highly mineralized surface zone measured with microcomputed tomography (microCT) was used to indicate lesion activity. Multiple kinetic parameters were extracted from the acquired SWIR time versus intensity dehydration curves and used to assess lesion activity. Three parameters: delay, %I fin, and rate calculated from the SWIR dehydration curves were significantly different (P < 0.05) between active and arrested lesions. The modified clinical probe was able to completely dehydrate all the active lesion areas in the occlusal pits and fissures in less than 30 seconds.

The global sulfur cycle has implications for human health, climate change, biogeochemistry, and bioremediation. The organosulfur compounds that participate in this cycle not only represent a vast reservoir of sulfur, but are also used by prokaryotes as sources of energy and/or carbon. Closely linked to the inorganic sulfur cycle, it involves the interaction of prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and chemical processes. However, ecological and evolutionary studies of the conversion of organic sulfur compounds are hampered by the poor conservation of the relevant pathways and their variation even within strains of the same species. In addition, several proteins involved in the conversion of sulfonated compounds are related to proteins involved in sulfur dissimilation or turnover of other compounds. Therefore, the enzymes involved in the metabolism of organic sulfur compounds are usually not correctly annotated in public databases. To address this challenge, we have developed HMSS2, a profiled Hidden Markov Model-based tool for rapid annotation and synteny analysis of organic and inorganic sulfur cycle proteins in prokaryotic genomes. Compared to its previous version (HMS-S-S), HMSS2 includes several new features. HMM-based annotation is now supported by non-homology criteria and covers the metabolic pathways of important organosulfur compounds, including dimethylsulfpopropionate, taurine, isethionate, and sulfoquinovose. In addition, the calculation speed has been increased by a factor of four and the available output formats have been extended to include iTol compatible datasets, and customised sequence FASTA files

Rationale: By applying RF (radio frequency) and DC (direct current) voltages to corresponding ring electrodes, ion funnel (IF) can efficiently focus and transmit ions. However, IF has an inherent mass discrimination problem that will greatly limit ion focusing and transmission. In order to improve the transmission efficiency (TE) of the IF and remove this limitation, this paper explores the new quadrupole ion funnel (QIF). Methods: Computer simulations of the potential field distributions of QIF and conventional IF were performed to assess their focusing characteristics. To compare the TE, using the ion optics simulation programmes SIMION and AXSIM, a series of simulations were carried out. Toroidal, cylindrical and hyperbolic configurations are used to improve ion TE. And compare transmission and focus performance with conventional IF. Results: By simulating the trajectories of low m/z ions in the IF with SIMION and AXISM software, in this paper, the optimum electrical parameters for three new QIFs are obtained, and compared them with the conventional IF, which can improve the TE of m/z < 100 by about 16%, 20% and 13%, respectively. Conclusions: The results indicate that the study of these three new configuration IF has great research significance for improving the sensitivity of low m/z ions in mass spectrometer instruments.

Over the past two decades, there has been increasing research into the molecular composition and function of small extracellular vesicles in the central nervous system. This is due in part to the recognition that small extracellular vesicles likely contribute to the pathogenesis of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, but also an understanding that small extracellular vesicles are a source of potential biomarkers. Small extracellular vesicles carry specific cargo that reflects their biogenesis and cellular origins, including protein, RNA and lipid. While the protein and RNA content of small extracellular vesicles in the central nervous system diseases and have been studied extensively, our understanding of the lipidome of small extracellular vesicles in the central nervous system is still in its infancy. Lipids play a significant role in maintaining central nervous system structure and function, and the dysregulation of lipid metabolism is known to occur in many neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Here we review what is currently known about lipid dyshomeostasis in Alzheimer's disease. We propose that small extracellular vesicle lipids may provide insight into the pathophysiology and progression of Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders, and, in the future perhaps, aid in disease monitoring and detection.

Telomeres are chromosome protectors that shorten during cell replication and in stressful conditions. Developing individuals are susceptible to telomere erosion when their growth is fast and resources limited. This is critical because the rate of telomere attrition in early life is linked to health and life span of adults. The metabolic telomere attrition hypothesis (MeTA) suggests that telomere dynamics can respond to biochemical signals conveying information about the organism’s energetic state. Among these signals are glucocorticoids (hormones that promote catabolic processes, potentially impairing costly telomere maintenance) and nucleotides, which activate anabolic pathways though the cellular enzyme target of rapamycin (TOR) preventing telomere attrition. During the energetically demanding growth phase, the regulation of telomeres in response to two contrasting signals—one promoting telomere maintenance and the other inducing attrition—provides an ideal experimental setting to test MeTa. We studied nestlings of a rapidly developing free-living passerine, the great tit (Parus major), that either received glucocorticoids (Cort-chicks), nucleotides (Nuc-chicks), or a combination of both (NucCort-chicks) all compared with controls (Cnt-chicks). Contrary to Cort-chicks, which showed telomere attrition, NucCort-chicks, did not. NucCort-chicks was the only group showing increased gene expression of telo2 (proxy for TOR activation), of mitochondrial enzymes linked to ATP production (atp5f1a-atp5f1b-cox6a1-cox4) and a higher efficiency in aerobically producing ATP. NucCort-chicks had also a higher expression of telomere maintenance genes (trf2) and of enzymatic antioxidant genes (gpx4-sod1). The findings show that nucleotides availability is crucial for preventing telomere erosion during fast growth in stressful environments.

Narrow-bandgap n-type polymers are essential for advancing the development of all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs). Herein, we developed a novel polymer acceptor PNT with π-extended 2-(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-cyclopenta[b]naphthalen-1-ylidene) malononitrile (CPNM) end groups. Compared to commonly used 2-(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-cyclopenta[b]naphthalen-1ylidene) malononitrile (IC) units, CPNM units have a further extended fused ring, providing the PNT polymer with extended absorption into the near-IR region (903 nm) and exhibiting a narrow optical bandgap (1.37 eV). Furthermore, PNT exhibits high electron mobility (6.79 × 10−4 cm2 V−1 S−1) and a relatively high-lying lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level of −3.80 eV. When blended with PBDB-T, all-PSC achieves a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.7% and a high short-circuit current density (JSC) of 24.4 mA cm−2, mainly attributed to broad absorption (600-900 nm) and efficient charge separation and collection. Our study provides a promising polymer acceptor for all-PSCs and demonstrates that π-extended CPNM units are important to achieve high-performance for all-PSCs.

A document by Seyed Amir Miratashi Yazdi. Click on the document to view its contents.

The kinetic process of a slow oxygen evolution reaction (OER) always constrains the efficiency of overall water electrolysis for H2 production. In particular, nonprecious metal electrodes for the OER have difficulty simultaneously possessing good electrocatalytic activity and long-term stability in pH-universal media. In this work, urea is first used as a pore-forming agent and active C/N source to fabricate a nanoporous NiFeCoCN medium-entropy alloy (MEA) by high-temperature sintering based on the nanoscale Kirkendall effect. The NiFeCoCN MEA achieves an overpotential of 432 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a lower Tafel slope of 52.4 mV dec-1 compared to the IrO2/Ti electrode (58.6 mV dec-1) in a 0.5 M H2SO4 solution. In a 1 M KOH solution, the NiFeCoCN MEA obtains an overpotential of 177 mV for 10 mA cm-2 and a Tafel slope of 36.1 mV dec-1, which is better than IrO2/Ni foam. This work proves a novel strategy to design and prepare nanoporous MEA materials with desirable C/N species, which provides promising prospects for the industrial production of H2 energy.

A transition-metal free three-component coupling reaction of azaindoles, C60, and bromoalkanes/triphenylamines has been developed to provide an efficient access to diverse azaindole functionalized 1,4-C60 adducts. This protocol exhibits low cost, operational-simplicity, wide substrate scope, and mild and convenient conditions.

The prediction of protein-ligand complexes (PLC), using both experimental and predicted structures, is an active and important area of research, underscored by the inclusion of the Protein-Ligand Interaction category in the latest round of the Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction experiment CASP15. The prediction task in CASP15 consisted of predicting both the 3-dimensional structure of the receptor protein as well as the position and conformation of the ligand. This paper addresses the challenges and proposed solutions for devising automated benchmarking techniques for PLC prediction. The reliability of experimentally solved PLC as ground truth reference structures is assessed using various validation criteria. Similarity of PLC to previously released complexes are employed to judge the novelty and difficulty of a PLC as a prediction target. We show that the commonly used PDBBind time-split test-set is inappropriate for comprehensive PLC evaluation. Finally, we introduce a fully automated pipeline that predicts PLC and evaluates the accuracy of the protein structure, ligand pose, and protein-ligand interactions.