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In protein-RNA cross-linking mass spectrometry, UV or chemical cross-linking introduces stable bonds between amino acids and nucleic acids in protein-RNA complexes that are then analyzed and detected in mass spectra. This analytical tool delivers valuable information about RNA-protein interactions and RNA docking sites in proteins, both in vitro and in vivo. The identification of cross-linked peptides with oligonucleotides of different length leads to a combinatorial increase in search space. We demonstrate that the peptide retention time prediction tasks can be transferred to the task of cross-linked peptide retention time prediction using a simple amino acid composition encoding, yielding improved identification rates when the prediction error is included in rescoring...

Induced oncoproteins degradation provides an attractive anti-cancer modality. Activation of anaphase-promoting complex (APC/CCDH1 ) prevents cell-cycle entry by targeting crucial mitotic proteins for degradation. Phosphorylation of its co-activator CDH1 modulates the E3 ligase activity, but little is known about its regulation after phosphorylation and how to effectively harness APC/CCDH1 activity to treat cancer. Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (PIN1)-catalyzed phosphorylation-dependent cis-trans prolyl isomerization drives tumor malignancy...

Often large quantities of plastics are found in compost, with price look-up stickers being a major but little-explored component in the contamination path. Stickers glued to fruit or vegetable peels usually remain attached to the organic material despite sorting processes in the composting plant. Here, we investigated the effects of industrial composting on the structural alterations of these stickers. Commercial polypropylene (PP) stickers on banana peels were added to a typical organic material mixture for processing in an industrial composting plant and successfully resampled after a prerotting (11 days) and main rotting step (25 days)...

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) leads to skin DNA damage, specifically in the form of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, with thymidine dimers being the most common. Quantifying these dimers can indicate the extent of DNA damage resulting from UVR exposure. Here, a new liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method was used to quantify thymidine dimers in the urine after a temporary increase in real-life UVR exposure. Healthy Danish volunteers (n = 27) experienced increased UVR exposure during a winter vacation...

Since 2019 when a cluster of cases with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) associated with e-cigarettes in the United States was reported, there have been increasing numbers of reports. Electronic-cigarette or Vaping Use-associated Lung Injury (EVALI) represents a recent entity of respiratory clinical syndromes, primarily in young adults. We report a previously healthy 16-year-old boy who developed severe ARDS following a brief nonspecific prodromal phase after excessive consumption of e-cigarettes...

Nature utilizes three distinct pathways to synthesize the essential enzyme cofactor heme. The coproporphyrin III-dependent pathway, predominantly present in Bacillaceae , employs an oxygen-dependent coproporphyrinogen III oxidase (CgoX) that converts coproporphyrinogen III into coproporphyrin III. In this study, we report the bioinformatic-based identification of a gene called ytpQ , encoding a putative oxygen-independent counterpart, which we propose to term CgoN, from Priestia ( Bacillus ) megaterium . The recombinantly produced, purified, and monomeric YtpQ (CgoN) protein is shown to catalyze the oxygen-independent conversion of coproporphyrinogen III into coproporphyrin III...

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BACKGROUND: The neurodegenerative processes leading to glaucoma are complex. In addition to elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), an involvement of immunological mechanisms is most likely. In the new multifactorial glaucoma model, a combination of high IOP and optic nerve antigen (ONA) immunization leads to an enhanced loss of retinal ganglion cells accompanied by a higher number of microglia/macrophages in the inner retina. Here, we aimed to evaluate the immune response in this new model, especially the complement activation and the number of T-cells, for the first time...

CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has become a standard treatment for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL). While the benefits of CAR-T cell treatment are clear in the general patient population, there remains a relative scarcity of real-world evidence regarding its efficacy and toxicity in patients (pts) aged ≥70 years with DLBCL. We conducted a multicenter retrospective analysis including 172 r/r DLBCL pts with CAR-T cell treatment, axicabtagene ciloleucel or tisagenlecleucel, between 2019 and 2023 at three tertiary centers...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the nationwide online decision aid 'Entscheidungshilfe Prostatakrebs' (established in 2016, >11.000 users and 60 new users/week) for patients with non-metastatic prostate cancer (PCa), from the perspective of patients and urologists. PATIENTS AND METHODS: To provide personalised information, the tool collects most of the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement standard set, personal preferences, psychological features, and a validated rating of the tool...

Previous studies of Loggerhead Shrikes (Laniidae: Lanius ludovicianus ) in North America have indicated considerable intraspecific genetic and phenotypic differentiation, but the congruence between genetic and phenotypic differentiation remains obscure. We examined phenotypic differences in beak shape and bite force among geographic groupings across a 950 km range, from the lower Imperial Valley to the upper Central Valley of California, USA. We integrated these analyses with a population genetic analysis of six microsatellite markers to test for correspondence between phenotypic and genetic differences among geographic groups...

E-cigarettes are primarily used by teenagers and young adults. Flavors in e-cigarettes increase their attractiveness and encourage young people and adults to start using them. This exposes young people in particular to the risk of nicotine addiction and various toxic substances from the aerosol of e-cigarettes. There are indications that various flavors in e-cigarettes are harmful to health, although toxicological studies are still lacking for the majority of flavors. There is a need for independent scientific investigations in this area...

Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are widely used in biomedical research and in clinical trials. Here, we demonstrate that siRNA treatment is commonly associated with significant sensitization to ferroptosis, independently of the target protein knockdown. Genetically targeting mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS) reversed the siRNA-mediated sensitizing effect, but no activation of canonical MAVS signaling, which involves phosphorylation of IkBα and interferon regulatory transcription factor 3 (IRF3), was observed...

PURPOSE: The aim of this review was to evaluate the existing evidence for radiotherapy for brain metastases in breast cancer patients and provide recommendations for the use of radiotherapy for brain metastases and leptomeningeal carcinomatosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For the current review, a PubMed search was conducted including articles from 01/1985 to 05/2023. The search was performed using the following terms: (brain metastases OR leptomeningeal carcinomatosis) AND (breast cancer OR breast) AND (radiotherapy OR ablative radiotherapy OR radiosurgery OR stereotactic OR radiation)...

BACKGROUND:  Almost all e-cigarettes contain flavorings that make the product more attractive. In the evaluation of e-cigarettes on health, flavors have so far played a subordinate role. METHOD:  Selective literature search in PubMed, supplemented by legal regulations on the use of flavors in e-cigarettes. RESULTS:  Flavors make it easier to start using e-cigarettes and have a consumption-promoting effect. Deeper inhalation increases nicotine uptake and the absorption of toxic substances from the e-cigarette liquid...

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a mycoestrogenic polyketide produced by Fusarium graminearum and other phytopathogenic members of the genus Fusarium . Contamination of cereals with ZEN is frequent, and hydrolytic detoxification with fungal lactonases has been explored. Here, we report the isolation of a bacterial strain, Rhodococcus erythropolis PFA D8-1, with ZEN hydrolyzing activity, cloning of the gene encoding α/β hydrolase ZenA encoded on the linear megaplasmid pSFRL1, and biochemical characterization of nine homologues...

BACKGROUND: In 2016, nationwide cystic fibrosis newborn screening (CFNS) was newly implemented in Germany, using an immunoreactive trypsin/pancreatitis-associated protein/DNA screening algorithm that differs from most other nationwide screening programmes. METHODS: We analysed real-life feasibility of the confirmation process with respect to our pre-specified procedural objectives. These included overall accuracy through false-negative and false-positive results, effectiveness of the Bavarian tracking system, and accuracy of Macroduct and Nanoduct sweat conductivity compared with quantitative chloride determination...

INTRODUCTION: The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors marks significant progress in the evolution of cancer treatment. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated the success of immune-oncologic (IO) agents like pembrolizumab (Keytruda™ ) in combination with chemotherapy against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) [Ann Oncol. 2017 Jun 1;28(6):1388-1398]. There is less literature investigating pembrolizumab in monotherapy and in cases of rare tumor mutational burden. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we report the case of a 65-year-old Native American and African American woman with previous incomplete lines of therapy diagnosed with recurrent TNBC and pulmonary metastases...

The error-speed effect - characterized by a decreased performance in a second recognition task for stimuli that elicited fast error responses in a first recognition task - has so far been predominantly interpreted as evidence for the existence of misleading memory information. However, this neglects a possible alternative explanation, namely that the effect may instead be caused by moments of inattention during study. Here, we introduce a manipulation that allowed us to distinguish between words from the study phase that participants most certainly paid attention to and those they did not...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.