Mortality and Associated Risk Factors Among People Living With HIV With Kaposi Sarcoma: A5263/AMC066 and A5264/AMC067.

Background: AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma (AIDS-KS) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV in Africa. Mortality among people with AIDS-KS on antiretroviral therapy remains high compared with people on antiretroviral therapy who do not have AIDS-KS.

Setting: People living with HIV with Kaposi sarcoma (KS) who participated in 2 randomized trials (A5263/AMC066 [advanced stage] and A5264/AMC067 [mild-to-moderate stage]) conducted by AIDS Clinical Trials Group/AIDS Malignancy Consortium in low- and middle-income countries.

Extended reality used in the treatment of phantom limb pain: a multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Phantom limb pain (PLP) represents a significant challenge after amputation. This study investigated the use of phantom motor execution (PME) and phantom motor imagery (PMI) facilitated by extended reality (XR) for the treatment of PLP. Both treatments used XR, but PME involved overt execution of phantom movements, relying on the decoding of motor intent using machine learning to enable real-time control in XR.

Balance confidence classification in people with a lower limb amputation using six minute walk test smartphone sensor signals.

The activities-specific balance confidence scale (ABC) assesses balance confidence during common activities. While low balance confidence can result in activity avoidance, excess confidence can increase fall risk. People with lower limb amputations can present with inconsistent gait, adversely affecting their balance confidence.

L Test Subtask Segmentation for Lower-Limb Amputees Using a Random Forest Algorithm.

Functional mobility tests, such as the L test of functional mobility, are recommended to provide clinicians with information regarding the mobility progress of lower-limb amputees. Smartphone inertial sensors have been used to perform subtask segmentation on functional mobility tests, providing further clinically useful measures such as fall risk. However, L test subtask segmentation rule-based algorithms developed for able-bodied individuals have not produced sufficiently acceptable results when tested with lower-limb amputee data.

Intensity Modulated Therapy for Patients With Breast Cancer. Practical Guidelines and Tips for an Effective Treatment Planning Strategy.

Purpose: Practical guidelines and tips for effective and robust radiation therapy treatment planning for patients with breast cancer are addressed for fixed-field intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) techniques. The concepts described here are general and valid on all treatment planning systems. However, some details shown here have been applied to the Varian platforms used at the authors' institutions.

Floral Trait Preferences of Three Common wild Bee Species.

The interaction between bees and flowering plants is mediated by floral cues that enable bees to find foraging plants. We tested floral cue preferences among three common wild bee species: , , and . Preferences are well studied in eusocial bees but almost unknown in solitary or non-eusocial generalist bee species.

Estimating treatment effect in randomized trial after control to treatment crossover using external controls.

In clinical trials, it is common to design a study that permits the administration of an experimental treatment to participants in the placebo or standard of care group post primary endpoint. This is often seen in the open-label extension phase of a phase III, pivotal study of the new medicine, where the focus is on assessing long-term safety and efficacy. With the availability of external controls, proper estimation and inference of long-term treatment effect during the open-label extension phase in the absence of placebo-controlled patients are now feasible.

Fumonisin B protects against long-chained polyunsaturated fatty acid-induced cell death in HepG2 cells - implications for cancer promotion.

Fumonisin B (FB), a food-borne mycotoxin, is a cancer promoter in rodent liver and augments proliferation of initiated cells while inhibiting the growth of normal hepatocytes by disrupting lipid biosynthesis at various levels. HepG2 cancer cells exhibited resistance to FB-induced toxic effects presumably due to their low content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) even though FB-typical lipid changes were observed, e.g.

Evidence-based position paper on Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) professional practice on telerehabilitation. The European PRM position (UEMS PRM Section).

Introduction: The evidence on the utility and effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions delivered via telerehabilitation is growing rapidly. Telerehabilitation is expected to have a key role in rehabilitation in the future.

Aim: The aim of this evidence-based position paper (EBPP) is to improve PRM physicians' professional practice in telerehabilitation to be delivered to improve functioning and to reduce activity limitations and/or participation restrictions in individuals with a variety of disabling health conditions.

Patterns of psychotropic drug prescriptions and general practice consultations among community-dwelling older people with dementia during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown measures had serious implications for community-dwelling older people with dementia. While the short-term impacts of the pandemic on this population have been well studied, there is limited research on its long-term impacts. Quantifying the long-term impacts may provide insights into whether healthcare adaptations are needed after the acute phase of the pandemic to balance infection prevention measures with healthcare provision.

Accuracy of diagnostic tests for acute diverticulitis that are feasible in primary care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Recognition of acute diverticulitis is important to determine an adequate management strategy. Differentiating it from other gastrointestinal disorders is challenging as symptoms overlap. Clinical tests might assist the clinician with this diagnostic challenge.

Nectar cardenolides and floral volatiles mediate a specialized wasp pollination system.

Specialization in plant pollination systems can arise from traits that function as filters of flower visitors. This may involve chemical traits such as floral volatiles that selectively attract favoured visitors and non-volatile nectar constituents that selectively deter disfavoured visitors through taste or longer-term toxic effects or both. We explored the functions of floral chemical traits in the African milkweed Gomphocarpus physocarpus, which is pollinated almost exclusively by vespid wasps, despite having nectar that is highly accessible to other insects such as honeybees.

Metacarpophalangeal Joint Reconstruction of a Complex Hand Injury with a Vascularized Lateral Femoral Condyle Flap Using an Individualized 3D Printed Model-A Case Report.

This case report describes the surgical management of a patient with a complex hand trauma. This injury included tendon, vascular, and nerve injuries, a partial amputation of the index finger, fractures of the third proximal phalanx, and destruction of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the fifth finger. Firstly, the acute treatment of a complex hand injury is described.

From Tick to Test: A Comprehensive Review of Tick-Borne Disease Diagnostics and Surveillance Methods in the United States.

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) have become a significant public health concern in the United States over the past few decades. The increasing incidence and geographical spread of these diseases have prompted the implementation of robust surveillance systems to monitor their prevalence, distribution, and impact on human health. This comprehensive review describes key disease features with the geographical distribution of all known tick-borne pathogens in the United States, along with examining disease surveillance efforts, focusing on strategies, challenges, and advancements.

Radiation Planning Assistant - A Web-based Tool to Support High-quality Radiotherapy in Clinics with Limited Resources.

Access to radiotherapy worldwide is limited. The Radiation Planning Assistant (RPA) is a fully automated, web-based tool that is being developed to offer fully automated radiotherapy treatment planning tools to clinics with limited resources. The goal is to help clinical teams scale their efforts, thus reaching more patients with cancer.

Validation of an automated contouring and treatment planning tool for pediatric craniospinal radiation therapy.

Purpose: Treatment planning for craniospinal irradiation (CSI) is complex and time-consuming, especially for resource-constrained centers. To alleviate demanding workflows, we successfully automated the pediatric CSI planning pipeline in previous work. In this work, we validated our CSI autosegmentation and autoplanning tool on a large dataset from St.

Procedural outcome & risk prediction in young patients undergoing transvenous lead extraction-a GALLERY subgroup analysis.

Background: The prevalence of young patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) is steadily increasing, accompanied by a rise in the occurrence of complications related to CIEDs. Consequently, transvenous lead extraction (TLE) has become a crucial treatment approach for such individuals.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics and procedural outcomes of young patients who undergo TLE, with a specific focus on identifying independent risk factors associated with adverse events.

Opportunities and challenges with decentralized trials in Neuroscience.

Decentralized clinical trials (DCTs), that is, studies integrating elements of telemedicine and mobile/local healthcare providers allowing for home-based assessments, are an important concept to make studies more resilient and more patient-centric by taking into consideration participant's views and shifting trial activities to better meet the needs of trial participants. There are however, not only advantages but also challenges associated with DCTs. An area to be addressed by appropriate statistical methodology is the integration of data resulting from a possible mix of home and clinic assessments at different visits for the same variable, especially in adjusting for sources of possible systematic differences.

Development and validation of a clinical prediction rule for acute appendicitis in children in primary care.

Background: Recognising acute appendicitis in children presenting with acute abdominal pain in primary care is challenging. General practitioners (GPs) may benefit from a clinical prediction rule.

Objectives: To develop and validate a clinical prediction rule for acute appendicitis in children presenting with acute abdominal pain in primary care.

Advance Care Planning in South Africa.

South Africa (SA), an upper middle-income country, faces significant challenges, including severe inequality, poverty, high unemployment rates, unequal access to basic services, and a long history of human rights violations. It is a diverse nation with eleven official languages. The country also bears a heavy burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, with many patients seeking healthcare services too late.

Laser lead extraction in octo- and nonagenarians. A subgroup analysis from the GALLERY registry.

Introduction: In an aging population with cardiac implantable electronic devices, an increasing number of octo- and even nonagenarians present for lead extraction procedures. Those patients are considered at increased risk for surgical procedures including lead extraction. Here, we investigated safety and efficacy of transvenous lead extraction in a large patient cohort of octo- and nonagenarians.