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This is the first study to determine the clinical importance of circulating bacterial DNA in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We performed 16S rRNA metagenomic analysis of serum extracellular vesicles (EVs) from 88 patients with RCC and 10 healthy donors and identified three abundant bacterial DNA: Bacteroidia, TM7-1, and Sphingomonadales. Combining characteristic bacterial DNA information (three bacteria-derived DNA), a BTS index was created to diagnose patients with RCC. The BTS index showed high sensitivity not only in the discovery cohort, but also in the validation cohort, suggesting that it was useful as a screening test. Furthermore, in nivolumab treatment of RCC, patients with higher levels of Bacteroidia DNA in serum EVs had significantly poorer progression-free and overall survival than did those with lower levels. This study showed that circulating Bacteria-derived DNA could be used as a biomarker for RCC.

The sensitivity of currently available screening tools for urothelial carcinoma (UC) remains unsatisfactory particularly at early stages. Hence, we aimed to establish a novel blood-based screening tool for urothelial carcinoma. We measured serum d-amino acid levels in 108 and 192 patients with and without UC individuals in the derivation cohort, and 15 and 25 patients with and without UC in the validation cohort. Serum d-asparagine levels were significantly higher in patients with UC than in those without UC (p < 0.0001). We developed a novel screening equation for the diagnosis of urothelial carcinoma using d-asparagine in serum and estimated the glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Serum d-asparagine levels adjusted for eGFR exhibited high performance in the diagnosis of UC (AUC-ROC, 0.869; sensitivity, 80.6 %; specificity, 82.7 %), even in early-stage UC (AUC-ROC: 0.859, sensitivity: 83.3 %, specificity: 82.3 %), which were previously misdiagnosed via urinary occult blood or urine cytology. This established strategy combined with urinary occult blood, improves diagnostic ability (sensitivity: 93.7 %, specificity: 70.1 %)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Several infectious diseases and pandemics have so far emerged. Pandemics are by nature rapidly evolving. In this context, COVID-19 cases, seen recently in a growing number of countries around the world, have been increasing exponentially. So, researchers and responsible actors should take quick decisions to mitigate the spread of such diseases. To do so, several computer science solutions, including ontologies, have been proposed to cope with these issues and save humanity. The ontology is the key formalism which allows modelling knowledge along with its semantics in a formal way. Indeed, the ontology provides unambiguous definitions of a discourse's domain terms in a machine understandable way. Particularly, biomedical ontologies have ever been developed to capture and represent pandemics and infectious diseases. In this context, this paper aims to scrutinize and study these state-of-the-art ontologies., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Quercetin is a redox-active plant-derived flavonoid with potential anticancer effects, stemming largely from its interaction with a number of proteins, and in particular from inhibition of pro-life kinases. To improve efficacy, we reasoned that a local increase in concentration of the compound at the level of cell membranes would result in a more efficient interaction with membrane-associated signaling kinases. We report here the synthesis of all five isomeric quercetin derivatives in which an n-pentyl group was linked via an ether bond to each hydroxyl of the flavonoid kernel. This strategy proved effective in directing quercetin to cellular membranes, and revealed a remarkable dependence of the derivatives' bioactivity on the specific site of functionalization. The isomer bearing the pentyl group in position 7, Q-7P, turned out to be the most effective and promising derivative, selectively inducing apoptosis in tumoral and fast-growing cells, while sparing slow-growing, non-tumoral ones. Cytotoxicity for tumoral cells was strongly enhanced compared to quercetin itself. Q-7P induced massive ROS production, which however accounted only partially for cell death. Alterations in the levels of various signaling phospho-proteins were observed in a proteomics screen. An important contribution seems to come from inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway. This work opens new perspectives in developing membrane-associating, polyphenol-based anticancer agents., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Clinical manifestations of subacute osteomyelitis may lead to delayed diagnosis. Acetabular subacute osteomyelitis is an uncommon disease. Bone tumors are usually suggested first. Diagnosis is often made based on radiological findings. We report on the case of a 9-year-old girl who consulted at the emergency department because of limping and pain in her left limb lasting 2 weeks. No fever was reported. Physical examination found a clear, painful reduction in hip mobility. X-ray findings revealed a posterior loss of bone in the acetabular wall. MRI found a mild invasion of the periarticular hip joint and muscles. The surgical exploration of the hip found a collection in the posterior acetabular wall suggesting septic disease. Bacteriological and pathological exams confirmed acetabular subacute osteomyelitis. Nine months after surgery, antibiotic therapy, and physiotherapy, the patient was painless and the hip mobility showed near normal values with a reduction in external rotation and flexion. The aim of this case report is to review the characteristics of subacute acetabular osteomyelitis, including therapeutic modalities, underlining surgical debridement as a rule for both diagnosis and treatment., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Multifocal osteomyelitis is a rare complication of the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine. It particularly affects immunocompromised children and poses a difficult diagnostic problem. A 6-month-old boy had BCG vaccination postnatally and developed extensive disseminated skeletal osteomyelitis. He was found to have severe combined immunodeficiency. Despite antibiotic therapy and bone marrow grafting, the disease was fatal., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Patch-clamping mitoplasts isolated from human colon carcinoma 116 cells has allowed the identification and characterization of the intermediate conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+)-selective channel K(Ca)3.1, previously studied only in the plasma membrane of various cell types. Its identity has been established by its biophysical and pharmacological properties. Its localisation in the inner membrane of mitochondria is indicated by Western blots of subcellular fractions, by recording of its activity in mitochondria made fluorescent by a mitochondria-targeted fluorescent protein and by the co-presence of channels considered to be markers of the inner membrane. Moderate increases of mitochondrial matrix [Ca(2+)] will cause mtK(Ca)3.1 opening, thus linking inner membrane K(+) permeability and transmembrane potential to Ca(2+) signalling.

This report summarizes the present state of our knowledge pertaining to the NO-induced resistance or sensitization of tumor cell death. The effects of NO and its synergy with members of the TNF family, with cytotoxic drugs, and with ionizing radiations have been investigated. The dual effect of NO-induced resistance or sensitization and the underlying molecular mechanisms are discussed.

Background: Brachyolmia is a form of spondylodysplasia; sufferers have a short stature limited to the trunk that is recessively inherited. There may be other minor abnormalities in some cases. CASE REPORTs. Four brothers, born to consanguineous normal parents, developed short stature and scoliosis that were only identified after the age of 5 years (from 8 to 14 years). The three oldest patients had facial anomalies with flattened mid-face and enlarged lips. X-rays showed scoliosis, universal platyspondyly, irregular iliac crests and short, enlarged femoral necks., Conclusion: Evidence of abnormalities in other areas than the spine confirms the heterogeneity for the disease.