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Open in new tab Download slide OBJECTIVES A study of tumour metabolic reprogramming has revealed disease biomarkers and avenues for therapeutic intervention. Metabolic reprogramming in thymoma is currently understudied and largely unknown. This study utilized metabolomics and isotope tracing with 13C-glucose to metabolically investigate thymomas, adjacent thymic tissue and benign thymic lesions. METHODS From 2017 to 2021, 20 patients with a suspected thymoma were recruited to this prospective Institutional Review Board approved clinical trial. At the time of surgery, 11 patients were infused with 13C-glucose, a stable, non-radioactive tracer which reports the flow of carbon through metabolic pathways. Samples were analysed by mass spectrometry to measure the abundance of >200 metabolites.13C enrichment was measured in patients who received 13C-glucose infusions. RESULTS Histological analysis showed that 9 patients had thymomas of diverse subtypes and 11 patients had benign cysts. In our metabolomic analysis, thymomas could be distinguished from both adjacent thymus tissue and benign lesions by metabolite abundances. Metabolites in pyrimidine biosynthesis and glycerophospholipid metabolism were differentially expressed across these tissues.13C-glucose infusions revealed differential labelling patterns in thymoma compared to benign cysts and normal thymus tissue. The lactate/3PG labelling ratio, a metabolic marker in aggressive lung tumours correlated with lactate uptake, was increased in thymomas (1.579) compared to normal thymus (0.945) and benign masses (0.807) (thymic tissue versus tumour P  = 0.021, tumour versus benign P  = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS We report metabolic biomarkers, including differential 13C labelling of metabolites from central metabolism, that distinguish thymomas from benign tissues. Altered glucose and lactate metabolism warrant further investigation and may provide novel therapeutic targets for thymoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of fish farming in Nigeria is traced from the colonial period through decades of mostly subsistence farming to large-scale commercial catfish farming today. Most African countries have encountered difficulties breaking into profitable commercial fish farming; however, Nigeria's strongly growing population at some 150 million and its very high demand for fish positioned the country on a much more strongly market-driven path based on commercial production in pen-urban areas. With investment in good management, selection of the hardy catfish for farming, development of intensively managed fish hatcheries and use of high quality fish feeds, farmers established a new model for raising fish in concrete tanks, which greatly reduced poaching and allowed farmers to get full return on their investment within one year. The paper details costs and benefits. With prospects of good profits, a number of medium-scale investors, invested in farming fish in tanks in `fish farming villages' (also called fish farm estates) located in pen-urban areas near large markets, where several hundred tanks were cooperatively managed. With high demand and market prices, they were able to obtain credit, using professional business plans and security documentation required by lenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Methods and results Conclusion Diuretic resistance (DR) in heart failure (HF) is associated with worse outcomes. Furoscix®, a self‐administered subcutaneous (sc) furosemide injection administered via on‐body infusor, is approved for HF congestion relief. However, its efficacy in patients with DR post‐HF hospitalization remains unknown.In this open‐label pilot randomized controlled trial, 70 participants were randomized within 14 days post‐HF hospitalization to receive a single dose of 80 mg sc furosemide or home oral dose furosemide. Enrolment was stratified by presence of DR (admission BAN‐ADHF score ≥12) with a 2:1 enrolment of those with versus without DR. Key outcomes included diuretic efficiency, the total urine output per mg of diuretic administered, and peak urine sodium within 8 h of dose administration. Treatment effects were calculated as the difference in estimated marginal means across study groups and DR strata using linear mixed‐effect models. Overall, 70 participants were enrolled (57 years, 27% female, 70% Black, 79% with HF with reduced ejection fraction). Participants with DR (n = 46) had worse kidney function, higher N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide, and higher home diuretic dose. Among participants with DR, sc furosemide versus oral furosemide led to significantly greater diuretic efficiency (34.0 vs. 22.6 ml/mg, p = 0.002) and peak urine sodium (100 vs. 83 mmol/L, p = 0.029), while participants without DR had similar diuretic efficiency (29.8 vs. 30.1 ml/mg, p = 0.94) and peak urine sodium (96 vs. 95 mmol/L, p = 0.93) across both treatments. DR significantly modified the effect of sc versus oral furosemide on diuretic efficiency (pinteraction: treatment × diuretic resistance = 0.022).Single‐dose sc furosemide was associated with greater diuretic efficiency and peak urine sodium than oral furosemide in participants with DR discharged following recent HF hospitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]