Pyoderma Gangrenosum Induced by BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccine in a Healthy Adult

(1) Background: Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare neutrophilic dermatosis of unknown etiology. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines can cause a variety of adverse cutaneous manifestations. PG associated with mRNA vaccines has not previously been described. This case study reports on the first patient to develop PG after receiving BNT162b2. (2) Case Presentation: An otherwise-healthy 27-year-old man developed multiple skin lesions 24 h after receiving the first dose of the messenger RNA-based Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine. When in hospital, he developed a new painful ulcerative lesion on his right hand. Skin ulcer edge biopsy showed severe epidermal neutrophilic infiltrate with epidermal and dermal edema, underlying superficial dermal necrosis, and characteristic undermining with extensive mixed inflammatory infiltration of the dermis and abscess formation consistent with an ulcer with mixed dermal inflammation compatible with pyoderma gangrenosum. The lesion showed rapid improvement after the initiation of immunosuppressive therapy. (3) Conclusions: PG may be a rare adverse event related to the BNT162b2 vaccine, which could be more frequently encountered with the wide-scale use of mRNA vaccines. The continuous monitoring and surveillance of skin manifestations post-vaccination is essential.

Applications of Nano-Zeolite in Wastewater Treatment: An Overview

Nano-zeolite is an innovative class of materials that received recognition for its potential use in water and tertiary wastewater treatment. These applications include ion-exchange/sorption, photo-degradation, and membrane separation. The aim of this work is to summarize and analyze the current knowledge about the utilization of nano-zeolite in these applications, identify the gaps in this field, and highlight the challenges that face the wide scale applications of these materials. Within this context, an introduction to water quality, water and wastewater treatment, utilization of zeolite in contaminant removal from water was addressed and linked to its structure and the advances in zeolite preparation techniques were overviewed. To have insights into the trends of the scientific interest in this field, an in-depth analysis of the variation in annual research distribution over the last decade was performed for each application. This analysis covered the research that addressed the potential use of both zeolites and nano-zeolites. For each application, the characterization, experimental testing schemes, and theoretical analysis methodologies were overviewed. The results of the most advanced research were collected, summarized, and analyzed to allow an easy visualization and comparison of these research results. Finally, the gaps and challenges that face these applications are concluded.

MV1035 Overcomes Temozolomide Resistance in Patient-Derived Glioblastoma Stem Cell Lines

Glioblastoma (GBM, grade IV glioma) represents the most aggressive brain tumor and patients with GBM have a poor prognosis. Until now surgical resection followed by radiotherapy and temozolomide (TMZ) treatment represents the standard strategy for GBM. We showed that the imidazobenzoxazin-5-thione MV1035 is able to significantly reduce GBM U87-MG cells migration and invasiveness through inhibition of the RNA demethylase ALKBH5. In this work, we focus on the DNA repair protein ALKBH2, a further MV1035 target resulting from SPILLO-PBSS proteome-wide scale in silico analysis. Our data demonstrate that MV1035 inhibits the activity of ALKBH2, known to be involved in GBM TMZ resistance. MV1035 was used on both U87-MG and two patient-derived (PD) glioma stem cells (GSCs): in combination with TMZ, it has a significant synergistic effect in reducing cell viability and sphere formation. Moreover, MV1035 induces a reduction in MGMT expression in PD-GSCs cell lines most likely through a mechanism that acts on MGMT promoter methylation. Taken together our data show that MV1035 could act as an inhibitor potentially helpful to overcome TMZ resistance and able to reduce GBM migration and invasiveness.

Understanding Political Consumerism, Political Participation, and Their Antecedents

Political consumerism is a form of self-expression where consumers boycott or buycott a brand, company, or a product. The increase in the amount of these actions in recent years has led scholars and marketers improve their understanding of how and why consumers engage in political consumerism and what its predecessors are. By employing a wide scale survey among 360 participants in Turkey, this study presents empirical and qualitative evidence for boycott behavior and investigates how other forms of political participation and individual level characteristics have an effect on political consumerism. Results suggest main reason for boycott behavior in Turkey is due to political reasons and conservatism as an individual level value orientation has a negative effect on boycott behavior. In addition, online activism and voting participation behaviors have positive effects on political consumerism.

Conservation-oriented restoration and its application to Central Asia

Continuing wide-scale habitat degradation and species extinctions indicate that existing plant conservation practices are inadequate and new approaches are needed. I briefly summarize the major principles of a previously proposed concept called conservation- oriented restoration and compare it with two other approaches to tackling ecosystems' degradation and biodiversity loss: traditional restoration and species-targeted conservation. I then present my perspective on how this concept can be applied in Central Asia as a possible solution to the regional biodiversity crisis.

Conflict as a Problem and Threat to National and International Security

The beginning of the 21st century is characterized by a deep crisis of the national and international security system. For many factors caused by the intensification of military-political conflicts of a new type, the term “hybrid war” is now used. A feature of these conflicts is, in the first place, the use by the opponents of a wide scale of non-military means of influence: economic, informational, environmental, social, political and others. It is important here to justify the importance of the transformation of the state system of civil protection, which is being developed under the influence of contemporary military and political conflicts. The problem of military-political rivalry, by defining the content of the term “military-political conflict”, leads to a confrontation of political entities both within the state and at the state level, as well as between states, aimed at achieving their own political interests using various means and ways of influencing the political, military, economic, social and information spheres. The purpose of this speech is to present the mechanisms of solving all existing problems related to the functioning of society and to present the forms and features of contemporary hybrid conflicts.

Developmental resilience of synaptome architecture

Neurodevelopmental disorders of genetic origin delay the acquisition of normal abilities and cause disabling phenotypes. Spontaneous attenuation and even complete amelioration of symptoms in early childhood and adolescence occur in many disorders, suggesting that brain circuits possess an intrinsic capacity to repair themselves. We examined the molecular composition of almost a trillion excitatory synapses on a brain-wide scale between birth and adulthood in mice carrying a mutation in the homeobox transcription factor Pax6, a neurodevelopmental disorder model. Pax6 haploinsufficiency had no impact on total synapse number at any age. By contrast, the postnatal expansion of synapse diversity and acquisition of normal synaptome architecture were delayed in all brain regions, interfering with network and cognitive functions. Specific excitatory synapse types and subtypes were affected in two key developmental age-windows. These phenotypes were reversed within 2-3 weeks of onset, restoring synaptome architecture to its normal developmental trajectory. Synapse subtypes with high rates of protein turnover mediated these events. These results show synaptome remodelling confers resilience to neurodevelopmental disorders.

A New Look at an Old Topic (Money Sources for Municipalities)

The article is devoted to some aspects of card games, and the evolution of casinos in modern Russia. It is shown that in connection with criminalization and other negative phenomena, the gambling business was equated with “alcoholization of the population”. The problem of criminalization could not be solved, since casinos and slot machines migrated largely underground. The internet has become another loophole. In the mid-2000s, the loss of income from casinos to the state budget was a drop in the ocean. After 15 years, the situation has changed. Budget deficits of municipalities have become almost the norm, many subjects of the Federation have become chronic debtors. New non-trivial sources of state and municipal revenues are required. If, taking into account the pros and cons, it turns out to be possible to legalize the gambling business in the country, it should be based on new principles. Among them, locations far from cities, in regional centers, strict state control, a special (but not stifling) tax regime, no credits to players, and wide scale restrictions.

Numerical Demonstration of an Unconventional EGS Arrangement

A new EGS arrangement, Robust EGS (REGS), is studied for its potential benefits for wide-spread applications for clean, carbon-free, electrical energy generation. Numerical simulations are carried out to prove the key benefit of REGS in a simple, but effective, geologic heat exchanger arrangement with large, stabilized fracture aperture and controlled flow zones. The numerical model results show the estimated potential energy capacity and the converted value to electrical energy generation over a 30-year operation time period for two simple REGS arrangements. The results may assist EGS investors and drilling companies in deciding whether the investment and operation can be made profitable for the wide-scale application of REGS for green energy generation.