Interaction of the C-terminal immunoglobulin-like domains (Ig 22-24) of filamin C with human small heat shock proteins.

Small heat shock proteins are the well-known regulators of the cytoskeleton integrity, yet their complexes with actin-binding proteins are underexplored. Filamin C, a dimeric 560 kDa protein, abundant in cardiac and skeletal muscles, crosslinks actin filaments and contributes to Z-disc formation and membrane-cytoskeleton attachment. Here, we analyzed the interaction of a human filamin C fragment containing immunoglobulin-like domains 22-24 (FLNC22-24) with five small heat shock proteins (HspB1, HspB5, HspB6, HspB7, HspB8) and their α-crystallin domains. On size-exclusion chromatography, only HspB7 or its α-crystallin domain formed complexes with FLNC22-24. Despite similar isoelectric points of the small heat shock proteins analyzed, only HspB7 and its α-crystallin domain interacted with FLNC22-24 on native gel electrophoresis. Crosslinking with glutaraldehyde confirmed the formation of complexes between HspB7 (or its α-crystallin domain) and the filamin С fragment, inhibiting intersubunit FLNC crosslinking. These data are consistent with the structure modeling using Alphafold. Thus, the C-terminal fragment (immunoglobulin-like domains 22-24) of filamin C contains the site for HspB7 (or its α-crystallin domain) interaction, which competes with FLNC22-24 dimerization and its probable interaction with different target proteins.

Modeling the Phase Transition in Hydrophobic Weak Polyelectrolyte Gels under Compression.

One of the emerging water desalination techniques relies on the compression of a polyelectrolyte gel. The pressures needed reach tens of bars, which are too high for many applications, damage the gel and prevent its reuse. Here, we study the process by means of coarse-grained simulations of hydrophobic weak polyelectrolyte gels and show that the necessary pressures can be lowered to only a few bars. We show that the dependence of applied pressure on the gel density contains a plateau indicating a phase separation. The phase separation was also confirmed by an analytical mean-field theory. The results of our study show that changes in the pH or salinity can induce the phase transition in the gel. We also found that ionization of the gel enhances its ion capacity, whereas increasing the gel hydrophobicity lowers the pressure required for gel compression. Therefore, combining both strategies enables the optimization of polyelectrolyte gel compression for water desalination purposes.

Canine testicular tumors: An 11-year retrospective study of 358 cases in Moscow Region, Russia.

Background and Aim: Canine testicular tumors are among the most common reproductive tract tumors in male dogs and have been studied in many countries. However, to the best of our knowledge, studies with a large sample size have not been conducted in Russia. This study aimed to provide the latest information on the prevalence of canine testicular tumors in the Veterinary Oncology Scientific Center for Small Animals "Biocontrol" in Moscow, Russia, in 2010-2020 and the characteristics of the affected canine population. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of patients and histological reports was collected and analyzed from 358 dogs with 447 testicular tumors within 11 years. Results: The mean age of the affected dogs was 10.4 years, whereas that of dogs with Sertoli cell tumors was 9.4 years p=0.009. This study includes mixed-breed dogs (18.4%), Yorkshire Terriers (8.8%), Labrador Retrievers (7.9%), Golden Retrievers (5.0%), and Fox Terriers (3.4%). The most common tumors were interstitial cell tumors (n=227, 50.8%). In contrast, 107 (23.9%) seminomas, 80 (17.9%) Sertoli cell tumors, 19 (7.4%) mixed germ cell-sex cord-stromal tumors, and 26 (7.6%) testicular tumors developed from cryptorchid testes, which included 16 (61.5%) Sertoli cell tumors, 10 (38.5%) seminomas, and no interstitial cell tumors. Conclusion: This study provides baseline information on the prevalence of canine testicular tumors in the described population, including the median age of each tumor type and overrepresented dog breeds. We further found that the most common scrotal testicular tumor was interstitial cell tumor, whereas Sertoli cell tumor was the most common in cryptorchid testicles.

Unexpected duodenopancreatectomy in an "awake" gastrectomized patient: Case report and technical notes.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Early diagnosis, surgical techniques and adjuvant therapy in patients undergoing gastrectomy for cancer have prompted an increase in the number of long-term surviving patients. The detection of pancreatic head tumours in patients undergoing gastrectomy is challenging, even for expert surgeons. CASE PRESENTATION: A 78-year-old woman presented with a previous history of gastric cancer treated 2 years before D2 total gastrectomy and Roux-an-Y reconstruction. The patient reported uneven tissue located on the head of the pancreas 6 months after the operation. MRI showed dilation of the intrahepatic bile ducts and common bile duct stones. During the preoperative evaluation, neuraxial-type anaesthesia was proposed to the patient given her frailty. After choledochotomy, solid tissue involving the ampulla of Vater was found. Although not originally planned, a duodenopancreatectomy (DP) was performed under neuraxial anaesthesia. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: The approach to DP in patients with a history of gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y reconstruction requires a modified surgical approach, which is not standardized. Other cases of DP performed on patients under neuraxial anaesthesia are not described in the literature. Performing a modified reconstruction, we can reduce the number of intestinal anastomoses and the risk of anastomotic dehiscence. The choice of neuraxial anaesthesia has been demonstrated to be a suitable solution for the patient with rapid recovery. CONCLUSION: In our experience, DP is a safe and feasible procedure in gastrectomized patients. Mechanical hepaticojejunal (HJ) anastomosis is a possible alternative to traditional manual anastomosis. Neuraxial anaesthesia in selected patients can be considered a safe practice for rapid postoperative recovery compared to general anaesthesia.

Computer modeling of polymer stars in variable solvent conditions: a comparison of MD simulations, self-consistent field (SCF) modeling and novel hybrid Monte Carlo SCF approach.

Computer-aided modeling is a systematic approach to grasp the physics of macromolecules, but it remains essential to know when to trust the results and when not. For a polymer star, we consider three approaches: (i) Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations and implementing a coarse-grained model, (ii) the self-consistent field approach based on a mean-field approximation and implementing the lattice model due to Scheutjens and Fleer (SF-SCF) and (iii) novel hybrid Monte Carlo self-consistent field (MC-SCF) method, which combines a coarse-grained model driven by a Monte Carlo method and a mean-field representation driven by SF-SCF. We compare the performance of these approaches under a wide range of solvent qualities. The MD approach is formally the most exact but suffers from reasonable convergence. The mean-field approach works similarly in all solvent qualities but is quantitatively least accurate. The MC-SCF hybrid allows us to combine the benefits of the simulation route and the effective performance of SCF. We consider the center-to-end distance Rce, the radius of gyration Rg2 of the star and the polymer density profiles φ(r) of polymer-segments in it. All three methods show a good qualitative agreement one to another. The MC-SCF method is in good agreement with the scaling predictions in the whole range of solvent quality values showing that it grasps the essential physics while remaining computationally in bounds.

Intramolecular micellization and nanopatterning in pH- and thermo-responsive molecular brushes.

Conformational transitions and nanoscale self-organization triggered in double pH- and thermo-responsive molecular brushes by varying environmental conditions are studied by means of analytical mean-field theory and numerical Scheutjens-Fleer self-consistent field modelling. Such molecular brushes are composed of multiple thermo-responsive side chains end-grafted onto the main chain (backbone) and are capable of acquiring ionic charges via reversible (de)protonation of the monomer units. Competition of long-range Coulomb repulsion with short-range solvophobic interactions leads to complex patterns in the intramolecular self-organization of molecular brushes. In particular, we observed formation of pearl necklace-like structures with multiple dense nanodomains formed by weakly ionized collapsed side chains and stabilized by a fraction protruding into the solution and strongly ionized ones. Such structures are thermodynamically stable in a certain parameter range and can be termed as intramolecular micelles. The stimuli-induced intramolecular nanopatterning occurs via a sequence of quasi-first order phase transitions corresponding to splitting/fusion of collapsed domains accompanied by jumps in the average degree of ionization and macromolecular dimensions. A re-entrant sequence of transitions is observed when the salt concentration is used as a control parameter. These theoretical predictions provide guidelines for design of smart unimolecular devices, for example multicompartment nanocarriers of active substances or nanosensors.

In Vivo Evaluation of Teeth Shade Match Capabilities of a Dental Intraoral Scanner.

Intraoral scanners were introduced in order to increase patient comfort and improve dentist lab communication. Acquiring optical impressions of the prepared teeth eliminates the need for conventional impression procedures and improves patient comfort. Intraoral scanner software offers since 2017, color shade determination, by analyzing the tooth shade of the obtained 3D model. In this study we tested the accuracy of an intraoral scanner color selection capabilities compared with a dental spectrophotometer, considered as reference. Statistical differences were found between the two system tested when the results were expressed in both Vita Classical and Vita 3D Master shade tabs codification.

[Quality in dialysis]. / La qualità in dialisi.

BACKGROUND: Several clinical and laboratory dialysis parameters have been suggested by national and international guidelines. Our study aimed to evaluate a series of quality indicators in the dialytic treatment of a group of patients in our two dialytic centers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a population of 159 patients on renal replacement therapy (RDT) we performed a 1-yr prospective observational study, with common parameters to indicate cardiovascular pathologies (PAS, LVMI), calcium-phosphorous metabolism (Ca, PO 4 , Ca x PO 4 ), dialytic adequacy (Kt/V, URR%), nutritional status (nPCR, Alb, K), and anemia (hemoglobin (Hb)). For each parameter we evaluated the mean average with the standard deviation and the score percentages below and above the acceptable range (AR). RESULTS: The results demonstrated a substantial stability, with a gradual improvement, in dialytic adequacy, in anemic status and in PAS. The LVMI, calculated at the beginning and at the end of the period, did not demonstrate any significant changes. No significant changes were observed in the calcium-phosphorous metabolism parameters. Serum albumin and nPCR demonstrated the presence of malnutrition in 15-20% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: There was a more than adequate correlation between the target guidelines and that concerning the dialytic adequacy and the corrected anemic status. The improvement in parameters related to cardiovascular pathology, the risk of ectopic calcifications and malnutrition status, represented an achievable target.

[Autoimmune hemolytic anemia with cold antibodies and hemoglobinuria secondary to EBV infection]. / Anemia emolitica autoimmune da anticorpi freddi con emoglobinuria secondaria ad infezione da EBV.

The infection caused by EBV can be followed by immunological complications. One of these is autoimmune hemolytic anemia that up to today has been observed during infective mononucleosis only a few times. The authors describe a patient with this rare complication of the EBV infection and discuss its main clinical, pathogenetic and laboratory aspects, with particular attention to the presence of hemoglobinuria and to the absence of anti-i-antibodies. The disease's evolution was spontaneously favorable. For this reason and for the possible risks secondary to transfusions and to other therapeutical interventions, the authors believe that in autoimmune hemolytic anemia a vigil wait is more opportune before beginning the therapy.