Explore the vast range of titles available.

In a registry study of 63,910 adults, 24-hour ambulatory BP was a stronger predictor of mortality than BP measured in the clinic. Masked hypertension (normal BP in the clinic but elevated ambulatory BP) was associated with a greater risk of death than sustained hypertension.

Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Infection in a Farm WorkerA highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection was identified in a dairy farm worker in Texas. This pathogen has been reported in multiple dairy herds in several states.

Network Meta-analysis (NMA) is an advanced statistical method that combines direct evidence (ie, from head-to-head comparisons) and indirect evidence (ie, estimated from the direct available evidence) to obtain network estimates. NMAs are helpful to determine the comparative effectiveness of interventions that have not been directly compared and may provide more precise estimates for those comparisons that have been directly compared. NMA provides hierarchies which can be helpful for decision-making, much more in scenarios when multiple interventions exist for the same indication. In this article we provide a summary of the key concepts that users, namely, clinicians and methodologists need to consider when using an NMA to inform decision making.

Significance: Recent generation of bioengineered human skin allowed the efficient treatment of patients with severe skin defects. However, the optical and biomechanical properties of these models are not known. Aim: Three models of bioengineered human skin based on fibrin-agarose biomaterials (acellular, dermal skin substitutes, and complete dermoepidermal skin substitutes) were generated and analyzed. Approach: Optical and biomechanical properties of these artificial human skin substitutes were investigated using the inverse adding-doubling method and tensile tests, respectively. Results: The analysis of the optical properties revealed that the model that most resembled the optical behavior of the native human skin in terms of absorption and scattering properties was the dermoepidermal human skin substitutes after 7 to 14 days in culture. The time-course evaluation of the biomechanical parameters showed that the dermoepidermal substitutes displayed significant higher values than acellular and dermal skin substitutes for all parameters analyzed and did not differ from the control skin for traction deformation, stress, and strain at fracture break. Conclusions: We demonstrate the crucial role of the cells from a physical point of view, confirming that a bioengineered dermoepidermal human skin substitute based on fibrin-agarose biomaterials is able to fulfill the minimal requirements for skin transplants for future clinical use at early stages of in vitro development.

Bajo las actuales circunstancias de la pandemia por COVID-19 y dada la posibilidad de colapso de los sistemas de salud debido al aumento de contagios a nivel mundial, es necesario establecer el tiempo en el que un paciente infectado con SARS-CoV-2 mantiene la condición de contagiante. Determinar con mayor precisión la fase de transmisibilidad del agente infeccioso servirá para estandarizar el periodo de aislamiento del paciente y evitará la diseminación del virus a nivel comunitario y su reincorporación a la actividad laboral de forma segura. Mediante pruebas moleculares se ha establecido que el ARN viral es detectable en el tracto respiratorio desde 2 a 3 días antes de la manifestación de síntomas, alcanzando su máximo nivel al inicio de los síntomas y disminuyendo progresivamente en los siguientes 7 u 8 días en la mayoría de pacientes. Sin embargo, la detección persistente del ARN viral mediante RT-PCR no necesariamente significa que el paciente conserve su capacidad infectante. Se ha reportado que en casos leves y moderados de la COVID-19, la capacidad replicativa del virus perdura hasta el día 9 desde el inicio de síntomas, mientras que, en casos severos y críticos, se prolonga hasta el día 20 desde la aparición de síntomas. Actualmente, las estrategias propuestas por la OMS y los CDC para definir el tiempo de aislamiento de los contagiados, se basan en el tiempo de manifestación de síntomas y la evolución clínica del paciente.

Influenza A(H5N1) viruses have been detected in US dairy cow herds since 2024. We assessed the pathogenesis, transmission, and airborne release of A/Michigan/90/2024, an H5N1 isolate from a dairy farm worker in Michigan, in the ferret model. Results show this virus caused airborne transmission with moderate pathogenicity, including limited extrapulmonary spread, without lethality.

In flooded soils, an efficient internal aeration system is essential for root growth and plant survival. Roots of many wetland species form barriers to restrict radial O2 loss (ROL) to the rhizosphere. The formation of such barriers greatly enhances longitudinal O2 diffusion from basal parts towards the root tip, and the barrier also impedes the entry of phytotoxic compounds produced in flooded soils into the root. Nevertheless, ROL from roots is an important source of O2 for rhizosphere oxygenation and the oxidation of toxic compounds. In this paper, we review the methodological aspects for the most widely used techniques for the qualitative visualization and quantitative determination of ROL from roots. Detailed methodological approaches, practical set-ups and examples of ROL from roots with or without barriers to ROL are included. This paper provides practical knowledge relevant to several disciplines, including plant–soil interactions, biogeochemistry and eco-physiological aspects of roots and soil biota.

Patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) can be particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of excessive blood pressure (BP) lowering by antihypertensive treatment. The identification of hypotension is thus especially important. This study estimated the prevalence of hypotension among CHD-treated hypertensive patients undergoing ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in routine clinical practice. We performed a cross-sectional study with 2892 CHD-treated hypertensive patients from the Spanish ABPM Registry. Based on previous studies, hypotension was defined as systolic/diastolic BP < 120 and/or 70 mmHg according to office measurements, <115 and/or 65 mmHg according to daytime ABPM, <100 and/or 50 mmHg according to nighttime ABPM, and <110 and/or 60 mmHg according to 24 h ABPM. The participants’ mean age was 67.1 years (69.8% men). A total of 19.6% of the patients had office hypotension, 26.5% had daytime hypotension, 9.0% had nighttime hypotension, and 16.1% had 24-hr ABPM hypotension. Low diastolic BP values were responsible for most cases of hypotension. Fifty-eight percent of the cases of hypotension detected by daytime ABPM did not correspond to hypotension according to office BP. The variables independently associated with daytime ambulatory systolic/diastolic hypotension and diastolic hypotension (the latter being the most frequent type of ambulatory hypotension) were age, female sex, and the number of antihypertensive medications. In conclusion, in a large ABPM registry, one out of every four CHD-treated hypertensive patients was potentially at risk because of hypotension according to daytime ABPM, and more than half of them were not identified if office BP was relied on alone. We suggest that ABPM should be performed in these patients.

Rice production worldwide represents a major anthropogenic source of greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrogen fertilization and irrigation practices have been fundamental to achieve optimal rice yields, but these agricultural practices together with by-products from plants and microorganisms, facilitate the production, accumulation and venting of vast amounts of CO2, CH4 and N2O. We propose that the development of elite rice varieties should target root traits enabling an effective internal O2 diffusion, via enlarged aerenchyma channels. Moreover, gas tight barriers impeding radial O2 loss in basal parts of the roots will increase O2 diffusion to the root apex where molecular O2 diffuses into the rhizosphere. These developments result in plants with roots penetrating deeper into the flooded anoxic soils, producing higher volumes of oxic conditions in the interface between roots and rhizosphere. Molecular O2 in these zones promotes CH4 oxidation into CO2 by methanotrophs and nitrification (conversion of NH4+ into NO3-), reducing greenhouse gas production and at the same time improving plant nutrition. Moreover, roots with tight barriers to radial O2 loss will have restricted diffusional entry of CH4 produced in the anoxic parts of the rhizosphere and therefore plant-mediated diffusion will be reduced. In this review, we describe how the exploitation of these key root traits in rice can potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from paddy fields.

Since 2020, there has been unprecedented global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) in wild bird populations with spillover into a variety of mammalian species and sporadically humans 1 . In March 2024, clade 2.3.4.4b A(H5N1) virus was first detected in dairy cattle in the USA, with subsequent detection in numerous states 2 , leading to more than a dozen confirmed human cases 3 , 4 . In this study, we used the ferret, a well-characterized animal model that permits concurrent investigation of viral pathogenicity and transmissibility 5 , in the evaluation of A/Texas/37/2024 (TX/37) A(H5N1) virus isolated from a dairy farm worker in Texas 6 . Here we show that the virus has a remarkable ability for robust systemic infection in ferrets, leading to high levels of virus shedding and spread to naive contacts. Ferrets inoculated with TX/37 rapidly exhibited a severe and fatal infection, characterized by viraemia and extrapulmonary spread. The virus efficiently transmitted in a direct contact setting and was capable of indirect transmission through fomites. Airborne transmission was corroborated by the detection of infectious virus shed into the air by infected animals, albeit at lower levels compared to those of the highly transmissible human seasonal and swine-origin H1 subtype strains. Our results show that despite maintaining an avian - like receptor-binding specificity, TX/37 exhibits heightened virulence, transmissibility and airborne shedding relative to other clade 2.3.4.4b virus isolated before the 2024 cattle outbreaks 7 , underscoring the need for continued public health vigilance. Analysis of a human isolate of the A/Texas/37/2024 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus in the ferret model demonstrates its pathogenicity and transmission in both direct and indirect contact settings, including airborne transmission.