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eriod and treatment was determined on both test results. CONCLUSION TST positivity was higher in psoriasis patients compared to control group. It was considered due to the increased reaction of the skin to mycobacterial antigens rather than the Koebner's response. While TST results were not affected by BCG, it was concluded that a 10 mm threshold value of positivity was a suitable approach in order to reduce the number of patients receiving unnecessary preventive treatment in patients who are considered to initiate biologic agents. Furthermore, it was also concluded that QFT-plus test may be preferred in psoriasis patients since it is applied in vitro, its specificity is higher and not affected by disease severity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.As of April 20, 2020, over time, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in 157 970 deaths out of 2 319 066 confirmed cases, at a Case Fatality Rate of ~6.8%. With the pandemic rapidly spreading, and health delivery systems being overwhelmed, it is imperative that safe and effective pharmacotherapeutic strategies are rapidly explored to improve survival. In this paper, we use established and emerging evidence to propose a testable hypothesis that, a vicious positive feedback loop of des-Arg(9)-bradykinin- and bradykinin-mediated inflammation → injury → inflammation, likely precipitates life threatening respiratory complications in COVID-19. Through our hypothesis, we make the prediction that the FDA-approved molecule, icatibant, might be able to interrupt this feedback loop and, thereby, improve the clinical outcomes. This hypothesis could lead to basic, translational, and clinical studies aimed at reducing COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. © 2020 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.Obesity is a risk factor for breast cancer in postmenopausal and high-risk premenopausal women. Peposertib datasheet Changes within the obese breast microenvironment may increase breast cancer risk. Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFβ1) is a major regulator of mammary epithelial stem/progenitor cells, and its activity is dysregulated under conditions of obesity. Using a high-fat diet model of obesity in mice and breast tissue from women, we observed that TGFβ1 activity is reduced in breast epithelial cells in obesity. Breast ducts and lobules demonstrated increased decorin in the extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding epithelial cells, and we observed that decorin and latent TGFβ1 complexed together. Under conditions of obesity, macrophages expressed higher levels of decorin and were significantly increased in number surrounding breast epithelial cells. To investigate the relationship between macrophages and decorin expression, we treated obese mice with either IgG control or anti-F4/80 antibodies to deplete macrophages. Mice treated with anti-F4/80 antibodies demonstrated reduced decorin surrounding mammary ducts and enhanced TGFβ1 activity within mammary epithelial cells. Given the role of TGFβ1 as a tumor suppressor, reduced epithelial TGFβ1 activity and enhanced TGFβ1 within the ECM of obese mammary tissue may enhance breast cancer risk. © 2020 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.NEW FINDINGS What is the central question of this study? What does control the proliferation and apoptosis in the pathogenesis of psoriasis? What is the main finding and its importance? The pathogenesis of psoriasis is abnormal homeostasis of keratinocytes with hyperproliferation and decreasing apoptosis. We found that inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family molecule, Livin, is highly expressed in psoriasis vulgaris lesional skin tissue. Here we report that the expression of Livin was upregulated after being stimulated with Oncostatin M (OSM) at both the transcription and protein level. OSM promoted the survival of HaCaT cells in oxidative stress conditions. The expression of Livin and proliferation of HaCaT cells by OSM was regulated through ERK and STAT3 signaling pathways. This study may provide new insights into targeted therapy for psoriasis. ABSTRACT Background Psoriasis is an immune-mediated chronic inflammatory disease. Abnormal homeostasis of keratinocytes with hyperproliferation and decreasing aic inhibitors of ERK (U0126) and STAT3 (Cryptotaushinone) were applied to investigate the signaling pathways involving the regulation of Livin expression by OSM. RESULTS The expression of Livin was upregulated after being stimulated with OSM. OSM promoted the proliferation and survival of HaCaT cells. The expression of Livin and proliferation of HaCaT cells by OSM were regulated through ERK and STAT3 signaling pathways. CONCLUSION The expression of Livin in HaCaT cells is regulated by OSM, ERK, and STAT3 signaling pathways. OSM promotes HaCaT cell proliferation and survival in oxidative stress conditions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly changed our practice of medicine. With our collective resources and attention focused on caring for those afflicted with the disease, other medical conditions have temporarily but understandably faced constraint. For migraine patients who often require in-person visits for infusions and procedures, this has become particularly challenging. Here, we share our experience in navigating this exigency amidst a local surge of COVID-19. © 2020 American Headache Society.PURPOSE Dysphagia following heart failure (HF) has gained little attention. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of dysphagia and its associations with the clinical outcomes in HF patients. METHODS This prospective cohort study included 203 consecutive hospitalized HF patients (mean age 79.5 years, 103 women) without dysphagia before admission. Dysphagia or difficulty swallowing was assessed by the Food Intake Level Scale. The primary outcome was activity of daily living, as assessed by the Barthel Index (BI) at discharge. Secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality and rehospitalization rates at 1 year after discharge. Multivariate analyses and Kaplan-Meier estimates were used to determine whether dysphagia was associated with these outcomes. RESULTS Of the 203 patients examined, 48 (23.4%) were diagnosed with dysphagia during admission. Patients who developed dysphagia were significantly older, exhibited lower muscle mass and strength, walked shorter distances, and had lower nutrition intake levels and BI scores (P less then 0.05 for all values) compared with those without dysphagia. In the multivariate analyses, the presence of dysphagia at discharge was significantly associated with a lower BI (β= -0.275, P less then 0.001). Furthermore, patients with dysphagia showed a significantly higher 1-year mortality than those without (20.8% vs 1.2%, P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS Dysphagia commonly occurs during hospital admission and is associated with functional recovery and 1-year mortality in HF patients. © 2020 American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.During lactation, an improper glucose supply often threatens mammary gland (MG) health. However, information is limited on the metabolic trajectories and molecules that regulate lactating MGs with an excessive glucose supply. Based on the network analysis of transcriptome and microRNAs, we found that the oversupply of glucose-induced severe glucose metabolic disorders in MGs of lactating goats, shifting lactose synthesis to acute fermentative glycolysis which caused increased flux of glucose metabolism into lactate. Moreover, NF-κB2 played a key role in regulating glycolysis, exhibiting a metabolic shift when MGs had an excessive supply of glucose. In primary mammary epithelial cells, fermentative glycolysis, and intracellular concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were reduced by ganoderic acid A through blocking NF-κB2, while activation of NF-κB2 with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) upregulated fermentative glycolysis and increased cellular ROS accumulation under excessive glucose. Thus, we established an NF-κB2-targeting method to reform the metabolic shift toward glycolysis caused by glucose oversupply by integrating NF-κB2 blockade and intracellular ROS scavenging. link2 © 2020 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.Ocular allergy is one of the most common disorders of the eye surface. The conventional eye drops lack of therapeutic efficacy due to low ocular bioavailability and decreased drug residence time on eye surface. Hence, the present research work aimed to formulate, optimize, and evaluate the in situ gel for ophthalmic drug delivery. The prepared in situ gel formulations were evaluated for clarity, pH, gelling capacity, viscosity, osmolality, in vitro release study, and kinetic evaluation. ex vivo corneal permeation/penetration study using goat and in vivo studies on rabbits were also performed. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy was also applied to study possible interactions between drug and polymers. The formulations found to be stable, nonirritant, and showed sustained release of the drug for a period of up to 24 hr with no ocular damage. The developed in situ gels loaded with tetrahydrozoline are alternative and promising ocular candidates for the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.BACKGROUND Alterations in body compositions are related to poor outcomes and the presence of complications in cirrhosis. However, no predictive tools combining all these anthropometric parameters are applicable in the clinical setting. We aimed to clarify the potential utility of body compositions and develop a nomogram incorporating any independent factor for prognosticating long-term mortality in cirrhosis. METHODS A total of 414 patients were randomized into primary (n = 274) and validation (n = 140) cohorts. X-tile was performed to identify optimal cut points for stratifying participants. Multivariate Cox regression was performed, and nomogram incorporating body compositions were generated. The utility of developed models was evaluated by Harrell concordance index (C-index), calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA). RESULTS Stratifying by X-tilederived cut points, low skeletal muscle index (myopenia), high intramuscular adipose tissue content (myosteatosis), and the ratio of high visceral to subcutaneous adipose tissue area (adiposity) was independently associated with 3-year mortality. A sex-stratified nomogram incorporating anthropometric indices and clinical factors resulted in moderate discriminative accuracy, with a C-index of 0.787 (95% CI, 0.736-0.838) and 0.789 (95% CI, 0.727-0.851) in males and females, respectively. The calibration curve showed predictive survival corresponding optimally with the actual outcomes. Our models were feasible in the clinical settings based on DCA. Similar results were observed in the validation cohort. Additionally, participants could be classified into 3 distinct risk groups by the nomogram. link3 CONCLUSIONS Our proposed nomogram embedding body compositions rendered an individualized predictive tool for long-term mortality in cirrhosis. © 2020 American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.