Assessing XEN microstent's one-year efficacy: independent of site variability.

Aim: To evaluate the short-term efficacy of XEN45 Gel Stent (XEN) implantation for primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and pseudoexfoliation (PEX) glaucoma across two university eye clinics, aiming to assess the impact of varying center-specific protocols during the first postoperative year.

Methods: We retrospectively examined 282 patients (183 in center 1, 99 in center 2), who underwent XEN microstent implantation for uncontrolled POAG or PEX glaucoma. Parameters including intraocular pressure (IOP), IOP-lowering medication count, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and postoperative complications were evaluated over 12mo.

Adult withdrawal of long-term Benzophenone-3 treatment induces regression of mammary ductal branching in a diet-dependent manner.

Benzophenone-3 (also referred to as oxybenzone) is a putative endocrine disrupting chemical and common ingredient in sunscreens and other personal care products. We previously showed that benzophenone-3 can have both promotional and protective effects on mammary tumorigenesis dependent upon dietary fat. The current study examined diet-dependent effects of benzophenone-3 in mammary ductal development in BALB/c mice.

Premed Pressure: Examining whether premed students experience more academic stress compared to non-premeds.

Academic stress is one of the primary factors threatening university students' well-being and performance. Undergraduate students who are working towards applying to medical school, defined as being on the pre-medicine or "premed" pathway, are suspected to have higher academic stress compared to their peers who are not premed. However, what factors contribute to academic stress for premed students is not well understood.

Mid-term survival and complications of double-crown-retained removable dental prostheses placed in the dental practice - a retrospective study.

Objectives: Clinical data on the performance of double-crown-retained removable dental prostheses (dcRDPs), especially beyond university studies, are rare. The objective of this retrospective clinical study was to evaluate the survival and complication-freeness probabilities of dcRDPs and to identify risk factors for failure and complications in a dental practice setting.

Materials And Methods: Anonymized practice data of 174 patients (56.

Cisnormative Language and Erasure of Trans* and Genderqueer Student Representation in Biology Education Research.

Trans* and genderqueer student retention and liberation is integral for equity in undergraduate education. While STEM leadership calls for data-supported systemic change, the erasure and othering of trans* and genderqueer identities in STEM research perpetuates cisnormative narratives. We sought to characterize how sex and gender data are collected, analyzed, and described in biology education research.

Association Between Sleep Position, Obesity, and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Severity.

Background: This study examines the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea severity, sleep position, and body weight, particularly focusing on the negative impact of sleeping in a supine position combined with being overweight in a population-based sample.

Methods: The Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) was utilized as a marker of OSA severity and sleep position from a standardized overnight polysomnography. Participants were categorized by body mass index (BMI) (kg/m) into normal weight/underweight (<25) and overweight (≥25).

S100A1ct: A Synthetic Peptide Derived From S100A1 Protein Improves Cardiac Performance and Survival in Preclinical Heart Failure Models.

Background: The EF-hand Ca sensor protein S100A1 has been identified as a molecular regulator and enhancer of cardiac performance. The ability of S100A1 to recognize and modulate the activity of targets such as SERCA2a (sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca ATPase) and RyR2 (ryanodine receptor 2) in cardiomyocytes has mostly been ascribed to its hydrophobic C-terminal α-helix (residues 75-94). We hypothesized that a synthetic peptide consisting of residues 75 through 94 of S100A1 and an N-terminal solubilization tag (S100A1ct) could mimic the performance-enhancing effects of S100A1 and may be suitable as a peptide therapeutic to improve the function of diseased hearts.

Ecto-NOX Disulfide-Thiol Exchanger 2 (ENOX2/tNOX) Is a Potential Prognostic Marker in Primary Malignant Melanoma and May Serve as a Therapeutic Target.

With an increasing incidence of malignant melanoma, new prognostic biomarkers for clinical decision making have become more important. In this study, we evaluated the role of ecto-NOX disulfide-thiol exchanger 2 (ENOX2/tNOX), a cancer- and growth-associated protein, in the prognosis and therapy of primary malignant melanoma. We conducted a tissue microarray analysis of immunohistochemical ENOX2 protein expression and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) RNA expression analysis, as well as viability assays and Western blots of melanoma cell lines treated with the ENOX2 inhibitor phenoxodiol (PXD) and BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi) vemurafenib.

[Systemic therapy for head and neck cancer-highlights of the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting].

Background: Systemic therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), in contrast to local therapy, is a very general term for the use of drugs that affect the entire organism. Immunotherapy is a subtype of systemic therapy, although the boundaries are hard to define, since the immune system is likely to play an essential role in all treatments. This article focuses on systemic therapy.

Structural and Spectroscopic Characterization of Supported Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Membranes on Solid Substrates.

Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membranes from rabbit muscle were deposited on silicon substrates and characterized by the combination of spectral ellipsometry (SE), high energy specular X-ray reflectivity (XRR), specular neutron reflectivity (NR), and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Following the optimization of the preparative conditions by SE, the detailed structures in the direction perpendicular to the membrane were probed by XRR. ATR-FTIR data showed strong signals from amide I and amide II bands of the native SR membranes containing a large amount of Ca-ATPase, which could not be achieved by the reconstitution in artificial lipid membranes.

Evaluation of dermal exposure to phthalates and parabens resulting from the use of hair relaxers.

Hair relaxers have been suggested as a source of exposure to parabens and phthalates. However, dermally absorbed doses of these chemicals resulting from consumer use of hair relaxers have yet to be quantified, and results from epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated that there is no increased risk for hormone-sensitive, reproductive cancers associated with use of hair relaxers among Black women. Therefore, dermal absorption of parabens and phthalates associated with hair relaxer use for several commercially available hair relaxer kits was modeled using IH SkinPerm™.

Functional, patient-derived 3D tri-culture models of the uterine wall in a microfluidic array.

Study Question: Can a functional in vitro model, containing the main cellular components of the uterine wall, be generated from cells derived from patient tissues?

Summary Answer: We present a three-dimensional (3D) physiologically relevant, organ-on-a-chip model of the uterine wall containing primary endometrial and myometrial cellular participants, generated from human uterine tissue.

What Is Known Already: As a highly dynamic reproductive organ, the human uterus plays fundamental physiological roles in menstruation and childbirth. The endometrial-myometrial junction (EMJ) defines the interface between the inner mucosal layer (endometrium) and outer smooth muscle zone (myometrium) that comprises the uterine wall.

Iliac crest vertical block grafts -placing outside or inside the bone contour: A cohort study.

Objective And Aim: Challenging defect configurations and dimensions arise from severe, localized vertical alveolar ridge defects caused by trauma or prior surgery. This study aims to analyze three-dimensional bone gain, assess marginal bone stability in such defect configurations, and evaluate the impact of grafting outside the bone contour on the overall outcome, with a focus on iliac crest block grafts as a valid treatment option.

Materials And Methods: The prospective cohort study evaluated patients who required vertical block grafting due to localized bone defects in the maxilla or mandible and who had received iliac grafts.

Prevalence and risk factors of self-reported hearing loss, tinnitus, and dizziness in a population-based sample from rural northeastern Germany.

A close anatomical and physiological relationship is known between the senses of hearing and balance, while an additional pathophysiological interaction is supposed. The mechanisms underlying this association are not yet fully understood, especially in individuals without a known specific otologic disorder. In particular, only scarce information on the combined occurrence of audiovestibular sensory impairment is available so far.

Robust, credible, and interpretable AI-based histopathological prostate cancer grading.

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is among the most common cancers in men and its diagnosis requires the histopathological evaluation of biopsies by human experts. While several recent artificial intelligence-based (AI) approaches have reached human expert-level PCa grading, they often display significantly reduced performance on external datasets. This reduced performance can be caused by variations in sample preparation, for instance the staining protocol, section thickness, or scanner used.

[Not Available].

Working during pregnancy and breastfeeding is a special situation for both the employee and the employer/supervisor. The amended version of the Maternity Protection Act (MuSchG), which came into force on January 1st, 2018, protects the health of women and their children while working, training or studying during pregnancy, after giving birth and while breastfeeding. Women should be able to continue their employment or related activities during this time without jeopardising their health or that of their child.

Patients' Reflections on Treatment Decision After Surgery for Laryngeal Cancer.

Importance: Clinicians should understand how patients who were treated with laryngeal cancer surgery think about this later on and what factors may be related with regretting surgery.

Objective: To assess variables associated with a positive attitude toward laryngeal cancer surgery.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This combination of 2 cohorts, based on patient interviews and questionnaires, was studied in 16 hospitals in Germany.

Sympathetic Duet: Simultaneous Stellate Ganglion Block and Thoracic Epidural Analgesia in the Successful Termination of Ventricular Storm.

This article discusses the management of ventricular storm (VS), a condition characterized by recurrent episodes of sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, which poses a significant risk of mortality. Prompt intervention is crucial, yet surgical options are often limited due to the patient's unstable condition. This case report presents a 47-year-old female who experienced VS during a planned surgical procedure.

Proteomic profiling reveals ACSS2 facilitating metabolic support in acute myeloid leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by genomic aberrations in oncogenes, cytogenetic abnormalities, and an aberrant epigenetic landscape. Nearly 50% of AML cases will relapse with current treatment. A major source of therapy resistance is the interaction of mesenchymal stroma with leukemic cells resulting in therapeutic protection.

Towards minimizing efforts for Morphing Attacks-Deep embeddings for morphing pair selection and improved Morphing Attack Detection.

Face Morphing Attacks pose a threat to the security of identity documents, especially with respect to a subsequent access control process, because they allow both involved individuals to use the same document. Several algorithms are currently being developed to detect Morphing Attacks, often requiring large data sets of morphed face images for training. In the present study, face embeddings are used for two different purposes: first, to pre-select images for the subsequent large-scale generation of Morphing Attacks, and second, to detect potential Morphing Attacks.

Complexities of modeling the bone marrow microenvironment to facilitate hematopoietic research.

Hematopoiesis occurs in the bone marrow (BM), within a specialized microenvironment referred to as the stem cell niche, where the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) reside and are regulated for quiescence, self-renewal and differentiation through intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms. The BM contains at least two distinctive HSC-supportive niches: an endosteal osteoblastic niche that supports quiescence and self-renewal and a more vascular/perisinusoidal niche that promotes proliferation and differentiation. Both associate with supporting mesenchymal stromal cells.

A Comparison of Additional Benefit Assessment Methods for Time-to-Event Endpoints Using Hazard Ratio Point Estimates or Confidence Interval Limits by Means of a Simulation Study.

Background: For time-to-event endpoints, three additional benefit assessment methods have been developed aiming at an unbiased knowledge about the magnitude of clinical benefit of newly approved treatments. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) defines a continuous score using the hazard ratio point estimate (HR-PE). The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) developed methods with an ordinal outcome using lower and upper limits of the 95% HR confidence interval (HR-CI), respectively.