Protein glycosylation is increasingly recognized as a common protein modification across bacterial species. Within the Neisseria genus O-linked protein glycosylation is conserved yet closely related Neisseria species express O-oligosaccharyltransferases (PglOs) with distinct targeting activities. Within this work, we explore the targeting capacity of different PglOs using Field Asymmetric Waveform Ion Mobility Spectrometry (FAIMS) fractionation and Data-Independent Acquisition (DIA) to allow the characterization of the impact of changes in glycosylation on the proteome of N. gonorrhoeae. We demonstrate FAIMS expands the known glycoproteome of wild type N. gonorrhoeae MS11 and enables differences in glycosylation to be assessed across strains expressing different pglO allelic chimeras with unique substrate targeting activities. Combining glycoproteomic insights with DIA proteomics, we demonstrate that alterations within pglO alleles have widespread impacts on the proteome of N. gonorrhoeae. Examination of peptides known to be targeted by glycosylation using DIA analysis supports alterations in glycosylation occupancy occurs independently of changes in protein levels and that the occupancy of glycosylation is generally low on most glycoproteins. This work thus expands our understanding of the N. gonorrhoeae glycoproteome and the roles that pglO allelic variation may play in governing genus-level protein glycosylation.

Autonomous urban driving navigation remains an ongoing challenge, with ample scope for improvement, particularly in navigating through unfamiliar and complex environments. The images captured by cameras provide a wealth of environmental information; however, accurately determining the positions of obstacles within these images can be adversely affected by inclement weather conditions such as rain, snow, or haze. In response to these challenges, this paper presents a hierarchical framework named CNS-DDPG. CNS, which stands for Conditional Imitation Learning, involves the fusion of navigation state information with global path and vehicle state data. DDPG, or Deterministic Policy Gradient, is used for subsequent reinforcement learning. By carefully weighing the strengths and weaknesses of the image and perception module, our framework compensates for visual information captured by the camera by incorporating navigation state data. This design allows our model to perform effectively even in adverse weather conditions. However, the limitations of imitation learning, particularly the scarcity of diverse training data, prompted us to employ the reinforcement learning method DDPG in the second stage of training. This stage benefits from the learned weights of the pre-trained and optimal CNS model. This approach reduces the reliance on imitation learning data and mitigates the challenge of low exploration efficiency associated with randomly initialized weights in reinforcement learning. Additionally, we implement image enhancement techniques to mitigate overfitting associated with simple image types. To evaluate the effectiveness of our approach, we conducted experiments using the CARLA driving benchmark for urban driving. The car was controlled by a Raspberry Pi 4B, which was trained to navigate through an experimental area. Our experiments reveal that CNS-DDPG exhibits remarkable generalization capabilities, particularly in unfamiliar environments and challenging navigation tasks.

Metal Additive Manufacturing technologies provide new opportunities for manufacturing complex components. However, the limited and scattered data on damage tolerance behavior is hindering adoption in safe-critical applications. A design of experiments (DOE) is used in this study to provide an understanding of the Electron Beam Melted (EBM) Ti6Al4V fracture toughness properties. Three builds comprised of 150 compact tension samples were printed representative of the EBM build chamber, followed by surface machining, microstructural characterization, X-ray microcomputed tomography (µCT), and fracture toughness testing per ASTM E399. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistics on the influence and interaction of intra-build design parameters on the As-Built and Machined samples showed orientation, build location, and geometry to contribute to property variation. EBM fracture toughness reported an average of 65 MPa√m, with an increase in build height and proximity to the center of the build envelope. The location- and size-dependent properties resulted from changes in microstructure and porosity throughout the build space. While intra-build design variation was present, the EBM Ti6Al4V fracture toughness properties reported a 10% overall variation comparable to wrought and cast alloys. The extensive experimental work in this study shows EBM Ti6Al4V to be a repeatable and reliable alloy for use in load-bearing applications.

A high rate upflow anaerobic polyfoam-based bioreactor (UAPB) was developed for lab-scale in-situ biogas upgrading. The use of a porous diffuser, alongside high gas recirculation, led to a higher H 2 liquid mass transfer, and subsequently to a better uptake for high CH 4 content (up to 90%). Although our attempts to optimize both operational parameters (H 2 flow rate and gas recirculation ratio) were not successful, at a very high recirculation ratio (32) and flow rate (54 mL/h), a significant improvement of the hydrogen consumption was achieved. These operational conditions have in turn driven the methanogenic community towards the dominance of Methanosaetaceae, which out-competed Methanosarcinaceae. Nevertheless, a highly stable methane production rate was observed despite the methanogenic turnover. During the different applied operational conditions, the bacterial community was especially impacted, resulting in substantial shifts of taxonomic groups. Notably, Aeromonadaceae was the only bacterial group positively correlated with increasing hydrogen consumption rates. The capacity of Aeromonadaceae to extracellularly donate electrons suggests that direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) enhanced biogas upgrading. Overall, the proposed innovative biological in-situ biogas upgrading technology using the UAPB configuration shows promising results for stable, simple and effective biological biogas upgrading.

Title: Unique segmental branching of right pulmonary artery in association with patent ductus arteriosus and anomalous carotid origin of left vertebral artery

Sore Throat as the Herald of Spontaneous PneumomediastinumArticle type: Imaging CorrespondenceTo the Editor,A 16-year-old male presented to the hospital with sudden-onset symptoms, including a sore throat that developed while at rest, accompanied by neck, shoulder, and upper abdominal pain that had developed 10 hours prior to arrival. He had no history of trauma or notable medical records. A thorough physical examination revealed no apparent abnormalities in the neck or larynx, but palpable crepitus was detected in both necks.Chest radiography (Fig. 1) ruled out pneumothorax, showing clear lungs, pneumomediastinum (indicated by arrows), and emphysema in the neck and chest-abdominal regions. Computed tomography of the chest confirmed the presence of pneumomediastinum (arrows) and emphysema in the lower neck and bilateral chest walls (Fig. 2). The diagnosis of concomitant soft tissue emphysema and spontaneous pneumomediastinum was established. The patient was discharged five days after receiving analgesics and oxygen therapy, with subsequent chest radiographs confirming complete resolution of the pneumomediastinum.Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is an exceedingly rare condition in pediatric patients distinguished by the existence of air within the mediastinum without any previous surgical procedures, trauma, or medical interventions, with an estimated incidence of approximately 1/8000 to 1/15,000, primarily affecting young males 1. Common predisposing factors for spontaneous pneumomediastinum include asthma, cough, vomiting, and smoking1,2. Notably, a sore throat is observed as a symptom in only 13.5% of cases1. Previous research has hypothesized that sore throats may result from excessive emphysema expanding into the retropharyngeal space, thereby stimulating the pharyngeal nerve plexus3. This case highlights the importance of conducting a comprehensive physical examination on patients presenting with sore throat, as the symptoms of this condition frequently coincide with those of respiratory tract infections, leading to potential misdiagnoses. Identifying subcutaneous emphysema in the cervical region during a clinical examination can significantly contribute to an accurate diagnosis of this rare medical condition. While most cases of spontaneous pneumomediastinum have a self-limiting nature and a good prognosis, there are still instances of serious complications, such as tension pneumomediastinum4. We anticipate that this case report will enhance healthcare professionals’ understanding of spontaneous pneumomediastinum in the pediatric population, highlighting the importance of a thorough evaluation. This information could potentially help reduce misdiagnoses of this uncommon condition.November 8, 2023

Efficient communication and collaboration are essential in the operating room for successful and safe surgery. While many technologies are improving various aspects of surgery, communication between attending surgeons, residents, and surgical teams is still limited to verbal interactions that are prone to misunderstandings. Novel modes of communication can increase speed and accuracy, and transform operating rooms. We present a mixed reality (MR) based gaze sharing application on Microsoft HoloLens 2 headset that can help expert surgeons indicate specific regions, communicate with decreased verbal effort, and guide novices throughout an operation. We test the utility of the application with a user study of endoscopic kidney stone localization completed by urology expert and novice surgeons. We observe improvement in the NASA Task Load Index surveys (up to 25.23%), in the success rate of the task (6.98% increase in localized stone percentage), and in gaze analyses (up to 31.99%). The proposed application shows promise in both operating room applications and surgical training tasks.

Endoscopic renal surgeries have high re-operation rates, particularly for lower volume surgeons. Due to the limited field and depth of view of current endoscopes, mentally mapping preoperative computed tomography (CT) images of patient anatomy to the surgical field is challenging. The inability to completely navigate the intrarenal collecting system leads to missed kidney stones and tumors, subsequently raising recurrence rates. We propose a guidance system to estimate the endoscope positions within the CT to reduce re-operation rates. We use a Structure from Motion algorithm to reconstruct the kidney collecting system from the endoscope videos. In addition, we segment the kidney collecting system from CT scans using 3D U-Net to create a 3D model. We can then register the two collecting system representations to provide information on the relative endoscope position. We demonstrate correct reconstruction and localization of intrarenal anatomy and endoscope position. Furthermore, we create a 3D map supported by the RGB endoscope images to reduce the burden of mental mapping during surgery. The proposed reconstruction pipeline has been validated for guidance. It can reduce the mental burden for surgeons and is a step towards our long-term goal of reducing re-operation rates in kidney stone surgery.

The distinction between biotic variables, such as pollinators, pathogens, and competitors, and abiotic variables, such as temperature, pH, and humidity, is so basic to biology that it is routinely invoked in everything from painstaking ecological studies to basic textbooks. For all its pervasiveness, there are good reasons to renounce the biotic-abiotic distinction in daily biology. For one, the distinction is hard to make in practice because virtually all “abiotic” variables are profoundly affected by organisms. Even if it were possible, in most cases the distinction adds nothing and at worst makes communication more difficult. Best of all, overcoming the distinction leads to insights regarding niche construction, extended inheritance, and even redefinition of “evolution.”

Manuscript typeCase Report

In this study, we investigated a new structure of a protective meander line (ML): a meander microstrip line (MSL) with two passive conductors. The existing theory of ultra-short pulse (USP) attenuation in MLs is presented for the first time. Based on this theory, we determined the number of decomposed pulses at the output of the MSL line with two passive conductors, and, for the first time, formulated the conditions for pulse decomposition in the line. The folding of the MSL line into non-core turns was studied in detail. As a result of this study, we proposed a new theory that involves the utilization of additional groups of decomposed pulses for enhanced USP attenuation. These additional groups were thoroughly examined, and the delays of pulses from these groups were defined. This analysis allowed identifying the reason for their appearance. It was revealed that folding the meander line into non-core turns allows further attenuation of the USP amplitude, which increases with the increase of the number of non-core turns. To validate the obtained simulation results, we performed experimental measurements and obtained good consistency of the results. The N-norms analysis demonstrated that combined use of such folding and passive conductors reduces the probability of electrical breakdown, arc discharge, and dielectric breakdown. The maximum USP attenuation at the output was 24.9 dB. As a result of useful signal integrity analysis, it is proposed to use a folded meander microstrip line (MSL) together with a USB 2.0 “Full-speed” interface with a data transfer rate of 12 Mbit/s. In addition, it is proposed to use such MSLs in DC power circuits.

The exposure of human children to smartphone radiation has been rapidly increasing in the past few years because of the development of smartphones and smartphone networks. Additionally, global crises, such as COVID-19 lockdown, dramatically escalated electronic consumption of each individual human. Due to the relatively small head size, different anatomical structure, and different electromagnetic properties, a child head is expected to react differently to exposure to electromagnetic radiation compared to an adult head. This study presents a computational analysis of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and temperature distributions inside anatomical 7-year-old child head model exposed to sub-6 GHz fifth-generation mobile phone radiation. Four different frequencies (0.9 GHz, 1.8 GHz, 3 GHz, and 6 GHz) as well as two antenna positions (voice and video call) were investigated. Electromagnetic wave propagation equations and thermal energy balance equation were numerically solved inside the computational space with 1W antenna power. It is observed that for 6 GHz frequency in voice call position, peak SAR and temperature values of 22.5 W/kg and 8.14 °C, respectively, were obtained. However, the peak SAR and temperature points locations were not correlated. Also, peak temperature elevation surpassed 90% of its ultimate value within the first 5 minutes of exposure time.

Regulatory cells are critical for maintaining immune homeostasis in the central nervous system. Regulatory cell populations have been reported to control neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, encephalomyelitis, and Alzheimer’s disease by protecting neurons through different mechanisms, including the production of cytokines such as IL-10 and TGF-β, promoting the expression of inhibitory receptors (PD1, TIM3, LAG3), and inducing tolerance through cell-cell interactions by CTLA-4. Various phenotypes of CD4+ and CD8+ regulatory T cells, Bregs, MDCS, and tolDCs have been described and, despite the great interest in their function, few studies have focused on elucidating their role in neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, this review aims to describe the mechanisms of regulation and suppression of effector cells in neurodegenerative diseases. The study of these mechanisms has led to the development of therapeutic approaches targeting molecules with suppressive or regulatory activity in severe neurological disorders.

Rationale: A novel laser ablation-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LA-IRMS) method for in situ sulfur isotope analysis of sulfides has been developed. Instead of the in situ reaction applied by the traditional laser microprobe, the analyte gas preparation in this method is separated temporally and spatially from the laser ablation, resulting in improved precision and accuracy. Methods: Our LA-IRMS system combines an ultraviolet (UV) LA system, an elemental analyzer (EA), a custom-built cryogenic concentration system, a continuous-flow interface and an IRMS. The sulfide aerosol particles generated from LA were transferred by a helium carrier gas from the ablation cell into the reaction tube and were converted into SO 2. Then SO 2 was enriched in two cold traps and was finally introduced into the ion source of an IRMS through a continuous-flow interface. Results: We measured three synthetic and four natural sulfide reference materials to test the performance of this method. Precisions of ±0.25-±0.64‰ (1SD, n=5) for δ 34S values can be obtained at a spot size of 64~80 μm. Measured values and their known true values for these sulfur isotope reference materials showed good linear relationship (R 2=0.998~0.9995) with slope of approaching unity (1.0509~1.1313). Conclusions: Data from the measurement of reference materials showed that the precision and accuracy of our method was satisfactory. This method is a powerful tool for in situ sulfur isotope measurement of sulfides, and can be further applied to in situ carbon and oxygen isotope analyses.

Infliximab (INF) is a biological widely used in the treatment of various auto-immune diseases including Behçet’s disease. INF and other pro-inflammatory cytokines, has been retained in some cases as a factor in the pathogenesis of various neuropsychiatric conditions. Herein we present the case of an adult man with Behçet’s disease (BD) who developed acute depression leading to suicide after the fourth infusion of infliximab. The patient did not experience disabling depressive syndrome, or suicidal thoughts before. He has never made a prior suicide attempt. He denied any previous episodes of mania or psychosis or a history of trauma. Our patient received a serotonin reuptake inhibitor with a good response which allowed us to maintain infliximab therapy.

1. Inland waters are among the most threatened biodiversity hotspots. Ponds located in alpine areas are experiencing more rapid and dramatic water temperature increases than any other biome. Despite their prevalence, alpine ponds and their biodiversity responses to climate change have been poorly explored, reflecting their small size and difficult access. 2. To understand the effects of climate change on alpine pond biodiversity, we performed a comprehensive literature review for papers published since 1955. 3. Through analysis of their geographic distribution, environmental features, and biodiversity values, we identified which environmental factors related to climate change would have direct or indirect effects on alpine pond biodiversity. We then synthesized this information to produce a conceptual model of the effects of climate change on alpine pond biodiversity. 4. Increased water temperature, reduced hydroperiod, and loss of connectivity between alpine ponds were the main drivers of biodiversity geographic distribution, leading to predictable changes in spatial patterns of biodiversity. 5. We identified three major research gaps that, if addressed, can guide conservation and restoration strategies for alpine ponds biodiversity in an uncertain future.

Background and Purpose: Neuroprotective strategy targeting ferroptosis is currently considered a promising therapeutic approach for neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs). Herpotrichones showed potential the neuroprotective activity with low toxicity. The current study aimed to find new herpotrichone neuroprotectants and investigate their neuroprotective mechanism in vitro and in vivo. Experimental Approach: Comprehensive separation methods were used to isolate new herpotrichone analogues. The H2O2, RSL3, 6-OHDA-induced PC12 cells and LPS-induced BV-2 cells were used to assess the potential neuroprotective effect of compounds. UV-vis spectroscopy was used to determine the cell-free antioxidant and iron-chelating capacity. Western blotting, immunofluorescence, quantitative PCR, flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to evaluate the activation of the antioxidative elements and the regulation of the ferroptosis factors in cell cultures and in zebrafish larvae. Key Results: Herpotrichone A (He-A) and a new herpotrichone analogue with a new pentacyclic 6/6/6/6/3 skeleton exhibited significantly the neuroprotective effect in cell cultures. He-A activated antioxidative elements and modulated SLC7A11 pathways. The decreased lipid ROS levels but increased GSH level showed the anti-ferroptosis effect of He-A. The increased cell viability in RSL3-induced PC12 cells and the improvement of locomotor in 6-OHDA-induced zebrafish larvae indicated that He-A possessed protective ability against neuronal damage. Conclusion and Implications: This study identifies a novel compound He-A that protects against neuronal damage through activating Nrf2 pathway to upregulate antioxidative elements and increasing the expressions of SLC7A11, FTL and FTH1 in vitro and in vivo, which supports the development of He-A as a new neuroprotective agent targeting ferroptosis.

Background: Urinalysis is one of the most commonly performed screening tests in the Clinical laboratory to diagnose and monitor various urological and systemic conditions. Newly developed automated urine analyzers are expected to routinely screen urine to reduce TAT and provide clinicians with prompt clinical information with a lower false-negative rate. The study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the two Automated Urine analyzers and compare them with microscopy. Method: There were 124 randomly selected samples of patients coming to the clinical pathology laboratory were taken for each Automated analyzer and microscopic evaluation. The results of various cells, formed elements and microorganisms were compared between both the automated urine analyzers and microscopy and the degree of concordance was calculated for each parameter. Results: The degree of concordance of RBC, WBC and epithelial cells was good between the two automated analyzers; URiSCAN Super+ YD Diagnostics and Sysmex UC-3500 -UF 5000 Urine Analyzer and microscopy with p <0.001. The concordance between the Sysmex UC-3500 - UF 5000 Urine Analyzer and manual microscopy was better than between manual microscopy and Uriscan Super + YD Diagnostics. There was no concordance between all these methods for either crystals, cast, bacteria and fungi with p >0.05 Conclusion: The results from the automated analyzers for RBCs, WBCs and epithelial cells were similar to the result of manual microscopy and the analyzers can be relied upon. However, bacteria, fungi, dysmorphic red cells, casts and crystals need to be analyzed by microscopic examination before giving a final diagnosis.

The combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy shows great potential to achieve synergistic anti-tumor effect. However, it is still a great challenge to design stimuli responsive drug release systems with integrated photothermal/chemotherapy functions. In this paper, novel rod-like carbon nanomaterials (RCNs) were prepared by soft template hydrothermal method with glucose as raw materials, which were proved to have good biocompatibility, excellent drug-loading capacity and high photothermal efficiency. After that, RCNs we used to load doxorubicin (DOX) for integrated photothermal/chemotherapy toward cancer, which demonstrated good treatment efficiency under NIR irradiation. Our approach provided a novel NIR-responsive nano platform for combined photothermal/chemotherapy toward cancer, which was considered to be of great potential in anticancer applications.

The mid-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on senescence profile and immune checkpoints biomarkers in people living with HIV (PLWH) was assessed. Cross-sectional study in 95 PLWH on ART stratified by SARS-CoV-2 infection: a) 48 PLWH previously infected (PCR+) (HIV/SARS); b) 47 PLWH controls without previous infection (HIV). Plasma biomarkers (n=44) related to cell immune checkpoint molecules, associated with the Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP), and related to pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines were assessed by Procartaplex Multiplex Immunoassays (Xmap-Luminex technology). Differences between groups were analyzed using a generalized linear model, adjusted by sex and ethnicity and corrected by false discovery rate. Significant values were defined as the adjusted arithmetic mean ratio ≥1.2 or ≤0.8; q-value<0.1. The relationship between plasma biomarkers was evaluated by Spearman correlation (significant correlations rho≥0.3 and q-value<0.1). PLWH had a median age of 45 years and 80% were men. All PLWH infected by SARS-CoV-2 had a symptomatic infection, 83.3% as mild, and with a median of 12 weeks after diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. HIV/SARS group showed higher levels of the cell immune checkpoint plasma biomarkers CD80, PDCD1LG2, CD276, PDCD1, CD47, HAVCR2, TIMD4, TNFRSF9, TNFRSF18, and TNFRSF14 respect to HIV group. The SASP biomarkers LTA, CXCL8, and IL13 and the inflammatory biomarkers IL4, IL12B, IL17A, CCL3, CCL4, and INF1A showed significantly higher levels in the HIV/SARS group. SARS-CoV-2 infection in PLWH leads to significant medium-term disruption in plasma immune checkpoint molecules and inflammatory cytokines, highlighting SASP-related. This could be a risk factor for the emergence of complications in PLWH.

Background and Purpose Atherosclerosis is a serious disease that starts with a local lesion in the vessels and progressesto a heart attack. The recent increase in heart attack disease and the increase i n deaths related to it makes it important to discover drug candidate ligands to be detected against the receptors determined in this disease. Methods and Results In this study, chemical calculation method was used to determine the interaction with Atherosclerosis receptors determined by literature studies and the bonds to be formed at the molecular level and the inhibition mechanism.The foods, spices and active ingredients in various medicinal plants that we consume as daily food supplements were identified as ligands at the end of the research conducted with the literature review, and the inhibition effects on the receptors that suppress the distribution of cholesterol, one of the biggest causes of atherosclerosis, to the cells through the blood were determined by comparing the currently used reference drugs. The data obtained from here is important in terms of determining drug candidate active substances in experimental and clinical studies to be conducted on atherosclerosis, preventing time and substance loss and giving direction.

Epidemiological studies have explored the relationship between allergic diseases and cancer risk or prognosis in AllergoOncology. Some studies suggest an inverse association, but uncertainties remain, including in IgE-mediated diseases and glioma. Allergic disease stems from a Th2-biased immune response to allergens in predisposed atopic individuals. Allergic disorders vary in phenotype, genotype, and endotype, affecting their pathophysiology. Beyond clinical manifestation and commonly used clinical markers, there is ongoing research to identify novel biomarkers for allergy diagnosis, monitoring, severity assessment, and treatment. Gliomas, the most common and diverse brain tumours, have in parallel undergone changes in classification over time, with specific molecular biomarkers defining glioma subtypes. Gliomas exhibit a complex tumour-immune interphase and distinct immune microenvironment features. Immunotherapy and targeted therapy hold promise for primary brain tumour treatment, but require more specific and effective approaches. Animal studies indicate allergic airway inflammation may delay glioma progression. This collaborative European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) and European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO) Position Paper summarizes recent advances and emerging biomarkers for refined allergy and adult-type diffuse glioma classification to inform future epidemiological and clinical studies. Future research is needed to enhance our understanding of immune-glioma interactions to ultimately improve patient prognosis and survival.

Background: This study aimed to compare patients with migraine and embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) with known patent foramen ovale (PFO) in terms of echocardiographic and clinical features. Methods: In this observational single-center study, we obtained 2-dimensional (2D) and color Doppler images using parasternal short axis (PSAX), apical 4-chamber (A4C), and subcostal 4-chamber (SC4C) transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) views for patients with Migraine and ESUS. In cases where a PFO was suspected, patients underwent transthoracic contrast echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). We compared the anatomical and functional high-risk characteristics of PFO, as assessed by TEE and the RoPe score, in both patient groups. Results: This research involved a cohort of 720 individuals with ages ranging from 18 to 60, and 73.2% of the participants were female. Among the participants, 43.5% had Migraine, and 56.5% had ESUS. The most common comorbidity was diabetes (26.1%). PFO characteristics were measured, and high-velocity shunting through the interatrial septum was observed in 35.5% of patients. ESUS patients had a higher median age, with a similar gender distribution. ESUS patients had higher rates of diabetes and hypertension, while active smoking was more common in Migraine patients. Basic echocardiographic parameters were similar, except for higher pulmonary artery systolic pressure in ESUS. In the ESUS group, as compared to the migraine group, there was a more substantial occurrence of large microbubble passage through the interatrial septum, and the PFO showed increased length, while the PFO width remained similar. The RoPe and High-risk PFO scores were similar between the groups. Conclusions: ESUS patients were older with higher rates of diabetes and hypertension, while Migraine patients had a higher prevalence of active smoking. ESUS patients showed elevated pulmonary artery pressure, increased large microbubble crossings through the interatrial septum, and longer PFO lengths.

Transcriptomic Profiles of Well-Differentiated Airway Epithelial Cells in Response to Environmental Triggers of Asthma ExacerbationAntonella Marrocco1, Jennifer A. Mitchel1, Margaret Parker2, Maureen McGill1, Robert P. Chase2, Scott T. Weiss2, Diane R. Gold1,2, Peter J. Castaldi2, Jin-Ah Park1, Joanne Sordillo34Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA2Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.3Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse (CoRAL), Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA.Corresponding Author: Joanne E. SordilloEmail : Joanne.e.sordillo@gmail.comAddress:Landmark Center West 401 Park Dr., 4th Floor Boston, MA 02115The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.Funding: R01HL148152, P30ES000002, T32HL007118, Francis Family FoundationKeywords: Bronchial epithelial cells, gene expression, RNAseq, asthma