Analysis of the interaction of calcitriol with the disulfide isomerase ERp57

Calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D3, can regulate the gene expression through the binding to the nuclear receptor VDR, but it can also display nongenomic actions, acting through a membrane- associated receptor, which has been discovered as the disul de isomerase ERp57. The aim of our research is to identify the binding sites for calcitriol in ERp57 and to analyze their interaction. We rst studied the interaction through bioinformatics and uorimetric analyses. Subsequently, we focused on two protein mutants containing the predicted interaction domains with calcitriol: abb’- ERp57, containing the rst three domains, and a’-ERp57, the fourth domain only. To consolidate the achievements we used the calorimetric approach to the whole protein and its mutants. Our results allow us to hypothesize that the interaction with the a’ domain contributes to a greater extent than the other potential binding sites to the dissociation constant, calculated as a Kd of about 10−9 M

The Silent, Spoken Stress: How a Lack of Dialogue Perpetuates Vocal Issues and Lowered Quality of Life in Educators

This presentation examines the heavy burden of vocal issues and stress amongst educators in the Southern Tier of New York. Teachers are deemed one of the most at-risk groups of people for contracting vocal disorders according to the International Labor Organization (Araújo et al. 2008). Female teachers are disproportionately affected by vocal issues as caused by both biological and sociocultural factors. This disproportion then translates into their teaching, which then in turn affects their students’ learning and their job satisfaction. By incorporating evidence from articles, personal correspondence, and formal interviews with educators of various concentrations, this study demonstrates that teachers suffer from both a pattern of self-blame and an overall lowered quality of life revolving around their vocal disorders. It argues for the incorporation of education an awareness on vocal hygiene within educator’s preparatory training and through their teaching career. These are particularly evident in the lack of dialogue and knowledge about vocal discomfort within college preparation and career, which creates a lack of awareness in understanding what the symptoms of occupational dysphonia are. These together enforce feelings of self-doubt and blame in teaching capability and lowers job satisfaction, culminating into a lowered quality of life

Benign Neural Sheath Tumours of Major Nerves: Characteristics in119 Surgical Cases

Peripheral benign nerve sheath tumours are infrequent tumours and affect major nerve trunks. Some authors have indicated a high and prohibitive incidence of neurological injury in resection of these lesions. The authors describe their findings in a retrospective study comprising 119 patients with spontaneous benign nerve sheath tumours of the peripheral nervous system. Seventy-three patients had a schwannoma, 41 had neurofibroma and 5 had plexiform neurofibroma; 25 of the 119 patients suffered from neurofibromatosis. All schwannomas were excised completely and the outcome of patients was 41.0% improved, 6.8% worsened, 52.0% unchanged. Twenty-eight neurofibromas were excised completely and 13 subtotally; the outcome for patients was 19.5% improved, 19.5% worsened and 61% unchanged. All plexiform neurofibromas were removed subtotally and the outcome for patients was 20% improved and 80% unchanged. The best surgical results at average follow-up of 6 years were observed in the patients with schwannoma, the worst in those with plexiform neurofibroma. Our results demonstrated that it is often possible to remove schwannomas as well as neurofibromas with an acceptable risk of injury to the nerve

Baudelaire et la « haine du végétal »

Dans les premières lignes d’Anywhere out of the world, Baudelaire prête aux habitants de Lisbonne la « haine du végétal ». Cet article se propose d’éclairer le sens de cette formule d’un point de vue historique, esthétique et polémique, en se fondant sur l’œuvre et la correspondance de Baudelaire, ainsi que sur l’intertexte romantique (Théophile Gautier, Pétrus Borel)

Gautier et Nerval. Collaborations, solidarités, différences, textes réunis par Anne Geisler-Szmulewicz et Sarga Moussa

Les affinités entre Gautier et Nerval ont fait l’objet d’une trentaine de travaux, pour la plupart des articles. Le «Dossier» du «Bulletin de la Société Théophile Gautier» numéro 38 est la première entreprise de réflexion collective sur ce sujet; il rassemble les actes d’une journée d’étude qui s’est tenue le 27 novembre 2015 à la Maison de Balzac, à l’initiative de la Société Théophile Gautier. Il comprend sept articles, qui sont autant de mises au point érudites et attentives aux subtilités..

Serum biomarkers of delirium in critical illness: a systematic review of mechanistic and diagnostic evidence

Delirium is a frequent and serious complication of critical illness, yet its pathophysiological mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Serum biomarkers offer a potential avenue for improved diagnosis, risk stratification, and mechanistic insight. This systematic review synthesises evidence from 28 studies evaluating 54 serum biomarkers in relation to delirium among critically ill adult patients. Biomarkers were categorised by mechanistic pathway, including central nervous system (CNS) injury, immune activation, hormonal dysregulation, neurotransmission, coagulation, and amino acid metabolism. Among CNS injury markers, S100β and neurofilament light chain (NfL) demonstrated the most consistent associations with delirium presence and severity, supporting a role for astrocytic and axonal injury in delirium pathogenesis. Inflammatory markers such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were frequently studied but showed variable associations, reflecting the complex and non-specific nature of systemic inflammation. Hormonal biomarkers, including cortisol and prolactin, showed preliminary promise, while neurotransmitter-related biomarkers yielded inconsistent results, challenging canonical hypotheses. A major limitation in the literature was the lack of standardisation in delirium assessment, sampling timelines, and adjustment for confounding variables. Only a minority of studies incorporated temporal profiling or longitudinal outcomes, and replication across cohorts was limited. Heterogeneity in ICU populations further reduced generalisability. This review proposes a new conceptual framework of mechanistic endotyping, integrating multimodal biomarker profiling with clinical phenotyping to define biologically distinct subtypes of delirium. Such an approach may support precision medicine strategies by aligning therapeutic interventions with underlying pathophysiology. Future biomarker research should prioritise longitudinal sampling, harmonised protocols, and integration with EEG, imaging, and cognitive outcomes. Despite early promise, serum biomarkers for ICU delirium remain investigational and require further validation before clinical application

Bifid median nerve: report of two cases

The median nerve divides into its terminal branches at or proximal to the distal edge of the flexor retinaculum. An anatomy of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel is reported in two separate cases. Emphasis has been given to the value of direct vision when incising the flexor retinaculum in order to avoid injure of the median nerve

Maximising Confidence: A Grounded Theory on Student Engagement to Speak (SEtS) in a language class.

Learning to speak a second language is a challenging experience for the majority of language learners. "Your whole person is affected as you struggle to reach beyond the confines of your first language and into a new language, a new culture, a new way of thinking, feeling and acting" (H. D. Brown, 2000, p. 12). Thus, teaching to speak a foreign language is also a defying undertaking where, if we want students to use the language in class realistically and autonomously, speaking class activities need to be 'productive, purposeful, interactive, challenging, safe and authentic' (Thornbury 2007: 90). That said, there is a widespread assertion amongst language teachers that in class "students do not talk at all" (Bahrani & Soltani, 2012. p. 26). Within that context, this study investigates the factors affecting student engagement to speak (SEtS) in a language class, which is an unexplored concept - from the students' perspective - linked to the fields of Student Engagement (SE), Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). A mixed methods approach was used to obtain the data, including a focus group, student and teacher interviews, participant observation insights, self reflections and a survey. The data was analysed by using Grounded Theory (GT) strategies (Charmaz 2014; Glaser 2007; Pace 2012) within an analytic autoethnography (Anderson 2006) to search for an emergent theory that could explain what engages students to speak in a language class. The study is framed within a constructivist approach to data collection and analysis, and the research includes the participation of 388 Australian National University undergraduate students of French, Spanish, German and Italian at different levels of instruction, 14 teachers and the researcher's own voice, supplemented by the relevant literature. The journey is paved with quotes of students' and teachers' words and with self reflective ethnographic analytical memos. The findings, obtained through the process of coding, categorisation and theoretical development of the qualitative data, complemented by the quantitative results of the survey, are grounded on students' lived experiences as well as the researcher's. They suggest that SEtS is a socio affective process underpinned by three interdependent dimensions involving the teacher's personal qualities, the course content and the classroom environment. The students' level of connectedness to those three dimensions affects their self confidence and either engages or disengages them to speak in class. This study shows that what really matters to students is still the human condition underpinned by affective and behavioural components such as teacher-student relationships, motivation and anxiety, and it serves as a stepping stone for further research in the area of language pedagogy and SEtS, and particularly on the role the personality of a teacher may play in second language teaching and learning