Guidelines for the use of flow cytometry and cell sorting in immunological studies (third edition)

The third edition of Flow Cytometry Guidelines provides the key aspects to consider when performing flow cytometry experiments and includes comprehensive sections describing phenotypes and functional assays of all major human and murine immune cell subsets. Notably, the Guidelines contain helpful tables highlighting phenotypes and key differences between human and murine cells. Another useful feature of this edition is the flow cytometry analysis of clinical samples with examples of flow cytometry applications in the context of autoimmune diseases, cancers as well as acute and chronic infectious diseases. Furthermore, there are sections detailing tips, tricks and pitfalls to avoid. All sections are written and peer‐reviewed by leading flow cytometry experts and immunologists, making this edition an essential and state‐of‐the‐art handbook for basic and clinical researchers.DFG, 389687267, Kompartimentalisierung, Aufrechterhaltung und Reaktivierung humaner Gedächtnis-T-Lymphozyten aus Knochenmark und peripherem BlutDFG, 80750187, SFB 841: Leberentzündungen: Infektion, Immunregulation und KonsequenzenEC/H2020/800924/EU/International Cancer Research Fellowships - 2/iCARE-2DFG, 252623821, Die Rolle von follikulären T-Helferzellen in T-Helferzell-Differenzierung, Funktion und PlastizitätDFG, 390873048, EXC 2151: ImmunoSensation2 - the immune sensory syste

Bacterial and Fungal Co-Infections and Superinfections in a Cohort of COVID-19 Patients: Real-Life Data from an Italian Third Level Hospital

The use of immune suppressive drugs combined with the natural immune suppression caused by SARS-CoV-2 can lead to a surge of secondary bacterial and fungal infections. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of superinfections in hospitalized subjects with COVID-19. We carried out an observational retrospective single center cohort study. We enrolled patients admitted at the “Garibaldi” hospital for ≥72 h, with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. All patients were routinely investigated for bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogens. A total of 589 adults with COVID-19 were included. A total of 88 infections were documented in different sites among 74 patients (12.6%). As for the etiology, 84 isolates were bacterial (95.5%), while only 4 were fungal (4.5%). A total of 51 episodes of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) were found in 43 patients, with a bacterial etiology in 47 cases (92.2%). Community-acquired infections (CAIs) are more frequently caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, while HAIs are mostly associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A high rate of CAIs and HAIs due to the use of high-dose corticosteroids and long hospital stays can be suspected. COVID-19 patients should be routinely evaluated for infection and colonization. More data about antimicrobial resistance and its correlation with antibiotic misuse in COVID-19 patients are required

Results of an International Survey on Feeding Management in Infants With Short Bowel Syndrome-Associated Intestinal Failure

Objectives: Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a complex and rare condition (incidence 1200/100,000 live births) that requires a multidisciplinary team approach to management. In January 2019, the first European Reference Network on Rare and Inherited Congenital Anomalies (ERNICA) Intestinal Failure (IF) workshop was held. Several questions about the strategies used in managing IF associated with SBS were devised. The aim of our study was to collect data on the enteral feeding strategies adopted by the ERNICA centres. Methods: A questionnaire (36 questions) about strategies used to introduce enteral nutrition post-operatively and start complementary food/solids in infants with SBS associated IF was developed and sent to 24 centres in 15 countries that participated in the ERNICA-IF workshop. The answers were collated and compared with the literature. Results: There was a 100% response rate. In infants, enteral nutrition was introduced as soon as possible, ideally within 24–48 hours post-small intestinal surgical resection. In 10 of 24 centres, bolus feeding was used, in nine continuous, and in five a combination of both. Twenty-three centres used mothers’ own milk as the first choice of feed with extensively hydrolysed feed, amino acid-based feed, donor human milk or standard preterm/term formula as the second choice. Although 22 centres introduced complementary/solid food by 6 months of age, food choice varied greatly between centres and appeared to be culturally based. Conclusions: There is diversity in post-surgical enteral feeding strategies among centres in Europe. Further multi-centre studies could help to increase evidence-based medicine and management on this topic

STM Recommendations for handling image integrity issues

An STM Working Group on Image Alteration and Duplication Detection has been working on best-practice recommendations that outline a structured approach to support editors and others applying image integrity screening as part of pre-publication quality control checks or post-publication investigation of image and data integrity issues at scholarly journals, books, preprint servers, or data repositories. It provides principles and a three-tier classification for different types of image and data aberrations commonly detected in image integrity screens of figures in research papers and for a consideration of impact on the scholarly study; it also recommends actions journal editors may take to protect the scholarly record. With these recommendations, the STM Working Group aims to contribute a consistent, structured and efficient framework for handling image integrity issues both within and between journals and publishers. The framework should support editors in safeguarding research integrity and fortifying the scientific process for the benefit of the scientific community. The recommendations are open for comments until October 31st. The final recommendations, in which we will attempt to process all suggestions and recommendation, will be presented at the STM Innovations Seminar on December 7th. To comment on the document, please register and use the 'comment' icon on the top right of your screen, or send your comments to [email protected]

Phosphonic Acid Modification of the Electron Selective Contact: Interfacial Effects in Perovskite Solar Cells

The role electron-transport layers (ETLs) play in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is still widely debated. Conduction band alignment at the perovskite/ETL interface has been suggested to be an important role for the performance of the solar cells. However, little is known about the effects of work-function shifts on the solar-cell performance, and specifically, the open-circuit voltage (V-OC). Here, the effects of surface modification of SnO2 ETLs using polar phosphonic acids are investigated, including the effects on work function, surface energy, device performance, and device stability in inert atmosphere. The phosphonic acid modifications did not have a large effect on V-OC; however, a sharp decrease in the overall device performance was found, mostly due to reduced fill factors. When exposed to conditions of low oxygen concentration, the phosphonic acid surface modified devices yielded current-voltage (J-V) curves with considerably lower hysteresis than those based on unmodified SnO2. This suggests that this modification method may be valuable for achieving stabilized power conversion efficiency without hysteresis

Plasma Androgen Receptor in Prostate Cancer

The therapeutic landscape of prostate cancer has expanded rapidly over the past 10 years, and there is now an even greater need to understand the biological mechanisms of resistance and to develop noninvasive biomarkers to guide treatment. The androgen receptor (AR) is known to be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of prostate cancer. Recently, highly sensitive next-generation sequencing and PCR-based methods for analyzing androgen receptor gene (AR) copy numbers (CN) and mutations in plasma were established in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) treated with different drugs. The study of cfDNA holds great promise for improving treatment in CRPC, especially in the advanced stage of the disease. Recent findings showed the significant association of plasma AR aberrations with clinical outcome in CRPC patients treated with AR-directed therapies, whereas no association was observed in patients treated with taxanes. This suggests the potential for using plasma AR as a biomarker for selecting treatment, i.e., hormone therapy or chemotherapy, and the possibility of modulating taxane dose. In recent years, plasma AR status has also been investigated in association with novel agents, such as 177Lu-PSMA radioligand therapy and PARP inhibitors. This review will focus on AR testing in plasma that may have clinical utility for treatment selection in advanced prostate cancer

Where Brain, Body and World Collide

The production cross section of electrons from semileptonic decays of beauty hadrons was measured at mid-rapidity (|y| < 0.8) in the transverse momentum range 1 < pt < 8 Gev/c with the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC in pp collisions at a center of mass energy sqrt{s} = 7 TeV using an integrated luminosity of 2.2 nb^{-1}. Electrons from beauty hadron decays were selected based on the displacement of the decay vertex from the collision vertex. A perturbative QCD calculation agrees with the measurement within uncertainties. The data were extrapolated to the full phase space to determine the total cross section for the production of beauty quark-antiquark pairs