Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Care of patients with inborn errors of immunity in thirty J Project countries between 2004 and 2021

IntroductionThe J Project (JP) physician education and clinical research collaboration program was started in 2004 and includes by now 32 countries mostly in Eastern and Central Europe (ECE). Until the end of 2021, 344 inborn errors of immunity (IEI)-focused meetings were organized by the JP to raise awareness and facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of patients with IEI.ResultsIn this study, meeting profiles and major diagnostic and treatment parameters were studied. JP center leaders reported patients’ data from 30 countries representing a total population of 506 567 565. Two countries reported patients from JP centers (Konya, Turkey and Cairo University, Egypt). Diagnostic criteria were based on the 2020 update of classification by the IUIS Expert Committee on IEI. The number of JP meetings increased from 6 per year in 2004 and 2005 to 44 and 63 in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The cumulative number of meetings per country varied from 1 to 59 in various countries reflecting partly but not entirely the population of the respective countries. Altogether, 24,879 patients were reported giving an average prevalence of 4.9. Most of the patients had predominantly antibody deficiency (46,32%) followed by patients with combined immunodeficiencies (14.3%). The percentages of patients with bone marrow failure and phenocopies of IEI were less than 1 each. The number of patients was remarkably higher that those reported to the ESID Registry in 13 countries. Immunoglobulin (IgG) substitution was provided to 7,572 patients (5,693 intravenously) and 1,480 patients received hematopoietic stem cell therapy (HSCT). Searching for basic diagnostic parameters revealed the availability of immunochemistry and flow cytometry in 27 and 28 countries, respectively, and targeted gene sequencing and new generation sequencing was available in 21 and 18 countries. The number of IEI centers and experts in the field were 260 and 690, respectively. We found high correlation between the number of IEI centers and patients treated with intravenous IgG (IVIG) (correlation coefficient, cc, 0,916) and with those who were treated with HSCT (cc, 0,905). Similar correlation was found when the number of experts was compared with those treated with HSCT. However, the number of patients treated with subcutaneous Ig (SCIG) only slightly correlated with the number of experts (cc, 0,489) and no correlation was found between the number of centers and patients on SCIG (cc, 0,174).Conclusions1) this is the first study describing major diagnostic and treatment parameters of IEI care in countries of the JP; 2) the data suggest that the JP had tremendous impact on the development of IEI care in ECE; 3) our data help to define major future targets of JP activity in various countries; 4) we suggest that the number of IEI centers and IEI experts closely correlate to the most important treatment parameters; 5) we propose that specialist education among medical professionals plays pivotal role in increasing levels of diagnostics and adequate care of this vulnerable and still highly neglected patient population; 6) this study also provides the basis for further analysis of more specific aspects of IEI care including genetic diagnostics, disease specific prevalence, newborn screening and professional collaboration in JP countries

Associations between consideration of cosmetic surgery, perfectionism dimensions, appearance schemas, relationship satisfaction, excessive reassurance-seeking, and love styles

The two studies reported here investigated factors that influence consideration of cosmetic surgery in a sample of women from the community in London, England. In Study 1, a total of 300 women completed measures of consideration of cosmetic surgery, perfectionism dimensions, and appearance schemas. In Study 2, 107 women currently in romantic relationships completed measures of consideration of cosmetic surgery, relationship satisfaction, excessive reassurance-seeking, and love styles. Across studies, results showed that consideration of cosmetic surgery was predicted by perfectionism dimensions (particularly nondisplay of imperfection and nondisclosure of imperfection), appearance schemas, and relationship satisfaction. These results are discussed in relation to the extant literature on individual difference and psychosocial predictors of consideration of cosmetic surgery

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of a new polymorph of (E)-2-(4-bromo­phen­yl)-1-[2,2-di­bromo-1-(3-nitro­phen­yl)ethen­yl]diazene

A new polymorph of the title compound, C14H8Br3N3O2, (form-2) was obtained in the same manner as the previously reported form-1 [Akkurt et al. (2022[Akkurt, M., Yıldırım, S. Ö., Shikhaliyev, N. Q., Mammadova, N. A., Niyazova, A. A., Khrustalev, V. N. & Bhattarai, A. (2022). Acta Cryst. E78, 732-736.]). Acta Cryst. E78, 732–736]. The structure of the new polymorph is stabilized by a C—H⋯O hydrogen bond that links mol­ecules into chains. These chains are linked by face-to-face π–π stacking inter­actions, resulting in a layered structure. Short inter-mol­ecular Br⋯O contacts and van der Waals inter­actions between the layers aid in the cohesion of the crystal packing. In the previously reported form-1, C—H⋯Br inter­actions connect mol­ecules into zigzag chains, which are linked by C—Br⋯π inter­actions into layers, whereas the van der Waals inter­actions between the layers stabilize the crystal packing of form-2. Hirshfeld mol­ecular surface analysis was used to compare the inter­molecular inter­actions of the polymorphs