UNASSIGNED: Equine asthma (EA) is a common lower airway disease in horses, but whether its pathogenesis is allergic is ambiguous. Extrinsic stimuli like hay dust induce acute exacerbation of clinical signs and sustained local neutrophilic inflammation in susceptible horses. Aspergillus fumigatus is an EA stimulus, but it is unclear if it merely acts as an IgE-provoking allergen. We aimed to comprehensively analyze immunoglobulin (Ig) isotypes in EA, elucidating their binding to different A. fumigatus antigens, and their quantities systemically in serum and locally in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF).
UNASSIGNED: Serum and BALF from healthy horses (HE, n = 18) and horses with mild-moderate asthma (MEA, n = 20) or severe asthma (SEA, n = 24) were compared. Ig isotype (IgG1, IgG3/5, IgG4/7, IgG6, IgA, and IgE) binding to nine antigens (A. fumigatus lysate, and recombinant Asp f 1, Asp f 7, Asp f 8, dipeptidyl-peptidase 5, class II aldolase/adducin domain protein, glucoamylase, beta-hexosaminidase, and peptide hydrolase) was compared by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Total Ig isotype contents were determined by bead-based assays.
UNASSIGNED: MEA and SEA differed from HE but hardly from each other. Compared to HE, asthmatic horses showed increased anti-A. fumigatus binding of IgG (BALF and serum) and IgA (BALF). Serum and BALF IgE binding and total IgE contents were similar between HE and EA. Single antigens, as well as A. fumigatus lysate, yielded similar Ig binding patterns. Serum and BALF IgG1 binding to all antigens was increased in SEA and to several antigens in MEA. Serum IgG4/7 binding to two antigens was increased in SEA. BALF IgA binding to all antigens was increased in SEA and MEA. Total BALF IgG1 and IgG4/7 contents were increased in SEA, and serum IgG4/7 content was increased in MEA compared to HE. Yet, total isotype contents differentiated EA and HE less clearly than antigen-binding Ig.
UNASSIGNED: A. fumigatus immunogenicity was confirmed without identification of single dominant antigens here. A. fumigatus provoked elevated BALF IgG1 and IgA binding, and these isotypes appear relevant for neutrophilic EA, which does not support allergy. BALF Ig isotype differentiation beyond IgE is crucial for a comprehensive analysis of immune responses to fungi in EA pathogenesis.

Severe equine asthma (SEA) is a common chronic disease of adult horses with characteristic recurrent airway obstruction and similarities to neutrophilic asthma in humans. As an extrinsic stimulus, hay dust exposure is a major risk factor and induces acute exacerbation in susceptible horses. However, single inducing agents of SEA have hardly been identified on a molecular basis. Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) is a common mold species in hay and has been described as a major provoking agent of SEA.
Aiming to identify disease-relevant antigens, we analyzed A. fumigatus using an immunoproteomics approach on two-dimensional immunoblots of A. fumigatus protein probed with serum from environmentally matched asthmatic and healthy horses (n=5 pairs). A. fumigatus binding serum immunoglobulins (Pan-Ig), and the isotypes IgG4/7 and IgG3/5 were quantified for each protein spot and then compared between asthmatic and healthy horses.
For 21 out of 289 spots serum immunoglobulin (Ig) binding was different between the two groups for Pan-Ig or the isotypes. If differences were detected, Pan-Ig and IgG4/7 binding to the proteins were lower, while IgG3/5 binding was higher in asthmatic than healthy horse sera. Proteins were extracted from the 21 spots of interest and analyzed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Eight prioritized proteins (candidate antigens) were expressed as recombinant proteins. Some of these have been previously described as major or minor A. fumigatus allergens, alongside other proteins, most with hydrolase activity. Recombinant candidate antigens were tested on 1D immunoblots to confirm their relevance as antigens by serum antibody binding. Four proteins (beta-hexosaminidase, class II aldolase/adducin domain protein, glucoamylase, peptide hydrolase B0XX53) showed different antibody binding characteristics between asthmatic and healthy horses and are likely relevant antigens in SEA. Their identification can provide the basis for innovative diagnostics, prevention, or therapeutic approaches. Additionally, a more profound understanding of SEA and its potential underlying mechanisms can be established. Elevated serum IgG3/5 antibodies correlate with T helper cell 2 responses in other equine pathologies, and the recombinant SEA antigens developed here can become instrumental in analyzing the involvement of SEA-specific T cell responses and Ig responses in future studies.

Severe equine asthma (SEA) is a common, chronic respiratory disease of horses characterized by hyperreactivity to hay dust which has many similarities to severe neutrophilic asthma in humans. SEA-provoking antigens have not been comprehensively characterized, but molds and mites have been suggested as relevant sources. Here, we identified relevant antigen candidates using immunoproteomics with IgG isotype-binding analyses.
Proteins from Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p) were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by immunoblotting (2D immunoblots) resulting in a characteristic pattern of 440 spots. After serum incubation, antibody (Ig)-binding of all Ig (Pan-Ig) and IgG isotypes (type-2-associated IgG3/5, type-1-associated IgG4/7) was quantified per each spot and compared between asthmatic and healthy horses\' sera (n=5 per group).
Ig binding differences were detected in 30 spots. Pan-Ig binding was higher with asthmatics compared to healthy horses\' sera on four spots, and IgG3/5 binding was higher on 18 spots. Small IgG4/7 binding differences were detected on 10 spots with higher binding with asthmatics\' sera on four but higher binding with healthy horses\' sera on six spots. Proteins from the spots with group differences including mite and yeast proteins were identified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The latter likely originated from the feeding substrate of the Der p culture. Prioritized antigen candidates amongst the proteins identified were Der p 1, Der p 11, group 15 allergens, myosin heavy chain, and uncharacterized Der p proteins. Additionally, yeast enolases, alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and heat shock proteins were prioritized. Eleven antigen candidates were tested for confirmation by ELISAs using the respective proteins separately. Differences in asthmatics vs. healthy horses\' serum Ig binding to Der p 1, Der p 18, and three yeast enzymes (enolase, ADH, and PGK) confirmed these as promising antigens of immune responses in SEA.
Antigens with relevance in SEA were newly identified by immunoproteomics, and yeast antigens were considered for SEA for the first time. Serum IgG3/5 binding to relevant antigens was increased in SEA and is a novel feature that points to increased type-2 responses in SEA but requires confirmation of the corresponding cellular responses.

UNASSIGNED: Retinal artery occlusion (RAO) is an ophthalmic emergency that can lead to poor visual outcomes and is associated with an increased risk of stroke and cardiovascular events. Wide-field swept-source OCT-A (WF SS-OCTA) can provide quick and non-invasive angiographic information with a wide field of view. Here, we looked for associations between OCT-A vascular imaging metrics and vision in RAO patients.
UNASSIGNED: Patients with diagnoses of central (CRAO) or branched retinal artery occlusion (BRAO) were included. 6mm × 6mm Angio and 15mm × 15mm AngioPlex Montage OCT-A images were obtained for both eyes in each patient using Zeiss Plex Elite 9000 WF SS-OCTA device. Each 6mm × 6mm image was divided into nine Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) subfields. Non-perfusion area (NPA) was manually measured using 15mm × 15mm images. A linear regression model was utilized to identify correlation between imaging metrics and vision. P-values less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant.
UNASSIGNED: Twenty-five subjects were included. For RAO eyes, there was a statistically significant inverse correlation between retinal thickness as well as superficial capillary plexus (SCP) vessel density (VD) and vision. An inverse correlation was found between deep capillary plexus (DCP) VD and vision without statistical significance. There was a positive correlation between choroidal thickness as well as choroidal volume and vision without statistical significance. No significant correlation was found between the metrics and vision in contralateral eyes. For NPA and vision, no significant correlation was identified.
UNASSIGNED: This is the first study to investigate the utility of WF SS-OCTA in RAO and to demonstrate correlations between retinal vascular imaging metrics and visual outcomes. The results of this study provide a basis to understand the structural changes involved in vision in RAO and may guide management of RAO and prevention of cerebral stroke and cardiovascular accidents.

Τransradial artery access has recently gained widespread acceptance as the preferred approach for coronary angiography and interventions, due to its lower incidence of bleeding and vascular complications compared to transfemoral access. However, thrombotic occlusion of the radial artery has emerged as the most common complication of this method, impeding its use in future interventions, and in the creation of arteriovenous fistulae for hemodialysis patients, or as a graft for coronary artery bypasses grafting. In this comprehensive review, we delve into the anatomy of the radial artery, the pathophysiology and diagnosis of radial artery occlusion, the identification of potential risk factors and, finally, prevention and treatment strategies. We acknowledge that distal transradial access provides an effective alternative for coronary angiography and catheterizations, with a reduced incidence of radial artery occlusion.

Traditional radiography angles do not adequately reveal the shape and position of the right ventricular pacing electrode.
This study aimed to explore better radiography angles with the help of cardiac computed tomography (CT).
We analyzed the cardiac CT images of consecutive outpatients from 2018 to 2019. The right anterior oblique (RAO) 30° and the left anterior oblique (LAO) 40° were found to sufficiently display the shape and position of the right ventricular pacing electrode.
A total of 214 consecutive outpatients were enrolled, whose average age was 55.0 ± 13.0 years, and 151 were male (70.6%). Through analyzing the cardiac CT images, the α angle (33.7° ± 6.1) and the γ angle (38.8° ± 8.0) were determined. Furthermore, we verified these angles in 48 patients after pacemaker implantation. The results showed that the ratio of the length of right ventricular electrode using the RAO α angle (≈30°) to the posterior-anterior position (PA position) was 1.099 ± 0.157 vs. 1.053 ± 0.182 (the ratio using the traditional RAO 45°) (P < 0.001). We observed that the relationship between the right ventricular active electrode and the ventricular septum was better identified using the LAO γ angle (≈40°) than the traditional 60° angle.
With the help of cardiac CT, we found that RAO 30° could better show the shape and length of the right ventricular pacing electrode, and LAO 40° could better show the positional relationship between the pacing electrode and the ventricular septum.

Radial artery spasm (RAS) is the most common cause of transradial access site crossover and is a common intra-procedural complication. RAS incidence can lead to radial artery occlusion (RAO) postprocedure, preventing the radial artery as a future access site. We evaluated the efficacy of nitroglycerin preventing RAS and RAO during transradial catheterization discussing the different routes of administration, including topical, subcutaneous, and intra-arterial. A systematic review and meta-analysis included all relevant articles until April 23, 2022. We searched six databases Google Scholar, Web of Science, SCOPUS, EMBASE, PubMed (MEDLINE), and CENTRAL. We registered our review protocol in PROSPERO with ID: CRD42022330356. We included 11 trials with 5814 patients. Compared to placebo, the pooled analysis favored subcutaneous nitroglycerin in preventing RAS (risk ratio [RR]: 0.57 with 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.43-0.77], p = .0003) and RAO (RR: 0.39 with 95% CI [0.16-0.98], p = .05). In contrast to the intra-arterial nitroglycerin that showed nonstatistically significant results in preventing RAS and RAO (RR: 0.8 with 95% CI [0.63-1.02], p = .07)- (RR: 0.78 with 95% CI [0.6-1.01], p = .06)), respectively. Also, topical nitroglycerin did not prevent RAS (RR: 0.73 with 95% CI [0.42-1.24], p = .24). Compared with placebo, subcutaneous nitroglycerin during transradial catheterization reduced the incidence of RAS and RAO. Meanwhile, Intra-arterial and topical nitroglycerin did not show statistically significant outcomes. Subcutaneous nitroglycerin may be a practical and cost-effective technique to facilitate transradial catheterization; however, more RCTs are needed to evaluate the subcutaneous versus intra-arterial nitroglycerin administration.

Decomposition is a major ecosystem process which improves soil quality. Despite that, only a few studies have analysed decomposition in an agricultural context, while most agrosystems (e.g. vineyards) are facing decreasing soil quality. The objective of this study is to understand the impacts of both pedoclimate and weed management on the mass loss of vineyard weed communities during the early stages of the decomposition process through their functional properties.
In 16 Mediterranean vineyards representing both a pedoclimate and a soil management gradient, we measured the mass loss of green above-ground biomass of 50 weed communities during decomposition in standard conditions and key leaf traits of dominant species [e.g. leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and leaf lignin to nitrogen ratio (lignin:N)]. Both the mean [i.e. community-weighted mean (CWM)] and diversity (i.e. Rao index) were computed at the community level. Path analysis was used to quantify the effects of agro-environmental filters on the mass loss of weed communities through their functional properties.
Tillage and mowing filtered more decomposable communities than chemical weeding (16 and 8 % of higher mass loss after 2 months of decomposition). Path analysis selected weed management practice type as the main factor determining mass loss through its effect on functional properties, while soil and climate had minor and no effects, respectively. Chemical weeding favoured communities with higher investment in resistant leaves (e.g. 38 % higher lignin:N, 22 % lower leaf nitrogen content) which resulted in lower mass loss compared with tilled and mowed communities. Mowing favoured communities with 47 % higher biomass and with 46 % higher nitrogen content.
Weed management significantly influenced weed mass loss, while the pedoclimate had little effect. Our results suggest that mowing is a promising alternative to herbicide use, favouring higher biomass, nitrogen content and decomposability potential of weeds.

Total marrow irradiation (TMI) has significantly improved radiation conditioning for hematopoietic cell transplantation in hematologic diseases by reducing conditioning-induced toxicities and improving survival outcomes in relapsed/refractory patients. Recently, preclinical three-dimensional image-guided TMI has been developed to enhance mechanistic understanding of the role of TMI and to support the development of experimental therapeutics. However, a dosimetric comparison between preclinical and clinical TMI reveals that the preclinical TMI treatment lacks the ability to reduce the dose to some of the vital organs that are very close to the skeletal system and thus limits the ability to evaluate radiobiological relevance. To overcome this limit, we introduce a novel Sparse Orthogonal Collimator (SOC)-based TMI and evaluate its ability to enhance dosimetric conformality. The SOC-TMI-based dose modulation technique significantly improves TMI treatment planning by reducing radiation exposures to critical organs that are close to the skeletal system that leads to reducing the gap between clinical and preclinical TMI.

Equine asthma (EA) is a highly relevant disease, estimated to affect up to 20% of all horses, and compares to human asthma. The pathogenesis of EA is most likely immune-mediated, yet incompletely understood. To study the immune response in the affected lower airways, mixed leukocytes were acquired through bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and the cell populations were analyzed on a single-cell basis by flow cytometry (FC). Samples of 38 horses grouped as respiratory healthy or affected by mild to moderate (mEA) or severe EA (sEA) according to their history, clinical signs, and BAL cytology were analyzed. Using FC, BAL cells and PBMC were comprehensively characterized by cell surface markers ex vivo. An increased percentage of DH24A+ polymorphonuclear cells, and decreased percentages of CD14+ macrophages were detected in BAL from horses with sEA compared to healthy horses or horses with mEA, while lymphocyte proportions were similar between all groups. Independently of EA, macrophages in BAL were CD14+CD16+, which contrasts the majority of CD14+CD16- classical monocytes in PBMC. Percentages of CD16-expressing BAL macrophages were reduced in BAL from horses with sEA compared to healthy horses. While PBMC lymphocytes predominantly contain CD4+ T cells, B cells and few CD8+ T cells, BAL lymphocytes comprised mainly CD8+ T cells, fewer CD4+ T cells and hardly any B cells. These lymphocyte subsets\' distributions were similar between all groups. After PMA/ionomycin stimulation in vitro, lymphocyte activation (CD154 and T helper cell cytokine expression) was analyzed in BAL cells of 26 of the horses and group differences were observed (p=0.01-0.11). Compared to healthy horses\' BAL, CD154+ lymphocytes from horses with mEA, and CD4+IL-17A+ lymphocytes from horses with sEA were increased in frequency. Activated CD4+ T helper cells were more frequent in asthmatics\' (mEA, sEA) compared to healthy horses\' PBMC lymphocytes. In summary, FC analysis of BAL cells identified increased polymorphonuclear cells frequencies in sEA as established, while macrophage percentages were mildly reduced, and lymphocyte populations remained unaffected by EA. Cytokine production differences of BAL lymphocytes from horses with sEA compared to healthy horses\' cells point towards a functional difference, namely increased local type 3 responses in sEA.