Investigating associations between the physical living environment and hippocampus in adulthood and older age.

It is by now well known that the physical living environment has a major impact on people's life, but the neural structures involved in this relationship remain to be explored. Most studies investigating this relationship only focus on single environmental predictors. In order to understand how the multitude of factors constituting the living environment relate to brain structure we used data from the UK Biobank (n = 21,094; age Mean = 63.

Gender representation in cardiothoracic surgical academia: a call to support women across the globe.

Underrepresentation of women in surgical specialties persists, especially in academic leadership roles. Efforts to better understand disparities and support women cardiothoracic surgeons are ongoing.

Crowd-counting technology within the Smart City context: understanding, trust, and acceptance.

In city centers worldwide, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bamberg's old town in Germany, alleviating pedestrian overcrowding is a pressing concern. Leveraging crowd-counting technologies with real-time data collection offers promising solutions, yet poses challenges regarding data privacy and informed consent. This preregistered study examines public response to a Smart City Bamberg project aimed at addressing pedestrian congestion through crowd-counting methods.

Optimized intravital three-photon imaging of intact mouse tibia links plasma cell motility to functional states.

Intravital deep bone marrow imaging is crucial to studying cellular dynamics and functions but remains challenging, and minimally invasive methods are needed. We employed a high pulse-energy 1650 nm laser to perform three-photon microscopy , reaching ≈400 μm depth in intact mouse tibia. Repetition rates of 3 and 4 MHz allowed us to analyze motility patterns of fast and rare cells within unperturbed marrow and to identify a bi-modal migratory behavior for plasma cells.

Evaluation and Management of Kidney Dysfunction in Advanced Heart Failure: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

Early identification of kidney dysfunction in patients with advanced heart failure is crucial for timely interventions. In addition to elevations in serum creatinine, kidney dysfunction encompasses inadequate maintenance of sodium and volume homeostasis, retention of uremic solutes, and disrupted endocrine functions. Hemodynamic derangements and maladaptive neurohormonal upregulations contribute to fluctuations in kidney indices and electrolytes that may recover with guideline-directed medical therapy.

Acquisition of Data on Kinematic Responses to Unpredictable Gait Perturbations: Collection and Quality Assurance of Data for Use in Machine Learning Algorithms for (Near-)Fall Detection.

Slip, trip, and fall (STF) accidents cause high rates of absence from work in many companies. During the 2022 reporting period, the German Social Accident Insurance recorded 165,420 STF accidents, of which 12 were fatal and 2485 led to disability pensions. Particularly in the traffic, transport and logistics sector, STF accidents are the most frequently reported occupational accidents.

Generative Pre-trained Transformer for Pediatric Stroke Research: A Pilot Study.

Background: Pediatric stroke is an important cause of morbidity in children. Although research can be challenging, large amounts of data have been captured through collaborative efforts in the International Pediatric Stroke Study (IPSS). This study explores the use of an advanced artificial intelligence program, the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT), to enter pediatric stroke data into the IPSS.

PREVENTING CARIES AFTER RADIOTHERAPY TO THE HEAD AND NECK REGION - A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW.

Objectives: Radiotherapy to the head and neck region (HN) bears the risk of a rampant development of caries, making intensified prevention necessary. Aim of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence on the efficacy of caries preventive measures in these patients.

Methods: Clinical studies investigating caries in patients with radiotherapy in the HN with at least 1 caries preventive intervention compared to any control were included.

Comparative analysis of upfront stereotactic radiosurgery and watchful waiting in the management of newly diagnosed vestibular schwannomas: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Vestibular schwannomas (VS) are benign intracranial tumors posing significant management challenges. This study aims to compare the outcomes of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and watchful waiting (WW) in the management of newly diagnosed VS, integrating findings from both retrospective and the pioneering V-REX prospective trial. Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review was conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases.

Observation of oxygenated intermediates in functional mimics of aminophenol dioxygenase.

Aminophenol dioxygenases (APDO) are mononuclear nonheme iron enzymes that utilize dioxygen (O) to catalyze the conversion of o-aminophenols to 2-picolinic acid derivatives in metabolic pathways. This study describes the synthesis and O reactivity of two synthetic models of substrate-bound APDO: [Fe(Tp)(APH)] (1) and [Fe(Tp)(APH)] (2), where Tp = hydrotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazole-1-yl)borate, APH = 4,6-di-tert-butyl-2-aminophenolate, and APH = 4-tert-butyl-2-aminophenolate. Both Fe(II) complexes behave as functional APDO mimics, as exposure to O results in oxidative CC bond cleavage of the o-aminophenolate ligand.

Using the Rendezvous Technique Through Choledochoduodenostomy for Malignant Biliary Obstruction.

Endoscopic transpapillary biliary stenting via endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is the preferred therapy for benign and malignant distal biliary obstruction. In cases of failed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, endoscopic ultrasound-guided choledochoduodenostomy has been shown to be as effective as percutaneous methods with an improved safety profile. Despite its efficacy, it is complicated by stent occlusion in 9%-26% of cases.

Description of a 'plankton filtration bias' in sequencing-based bacterial community analysis and of an Arduino microcontroller-based flowmeter device that can help to resolve it.

Diversity studies of aquatic picoplankton (bacterioplankton) communities using size-class filtration, DNA extraction, PCR and sequencing of phylogenetic markers, require a robust methodological pipeline, since biases have been demonstrated essentially at all levels, including DNA extraction, primer choice and PCR. Even different filtration volumes of the same plankton sample and, thus, different biomass loading of the filters, can distort the sequencing results. In this study, we designed an Arduino microcontroller-based flowmeter that records the decrease of initial (maximal) flowrate as proxy for increasing biomass loading and clogging of filters during plankton filtration.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided portal pressure gradient measurement: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound-guided portal pressure gradient measurement (EUS-PPG) is a new modality where the portal pressure is measured by directly introducing a needle into the hepatic vein and portal vein. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of EUS-PPG.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed to identify pertinent studies.

Synergistic neuromodulation therapy for persistent spinal pain: a proof-of-concept trial on the use of spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion stimulation.

Purpose: Persistent Spinal Pain Syndrome type 2 (PSPS-T2) poses a significant clinical challenge, demanding innovative therapeutic interventions. The integration of Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) and Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation (DRG-S) is emerging as a potent synergistic strategy for comprehensive pain management. This single patient-blind proof of concept (POC) trial explores the efficacy and synergistic potential of combined SCS and DRG-S in a patient with refractory PSPS-T2.

Role of second-sphere arginine residues in metal binding and metallocentre assembly in nitrile hydratases.

Two conserved second-sphere βArg (R) residues in nitrile hydratases (NHase), that form hydrogen bonds with the catalytically essential sulfenic and sulfinic acid ligands, were mutated to Lys and Ala residues in the Co-type NHase from Pseudonocardia thermophila JCM 3095 (PtNHase) and the Fe-type NHase from Rhodococcus equi TG328-2 (ReNHase). Only five of the eight mutants (PtNHase βR52A, βR52K, βR157A, βR157K and ReNHase βR61A) were successfully expressed and purified. Apart from the PtNHase βR52A mutant that exhibited no detectable activity, the k values obtained for the PtNHase and ReNHase βR mutant enzymes were between 1.

Duodenocaval Fistula: Unmasking the Rare Culprit of Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage.

Duodenocaval fistula is an extremely rare and life-threatening cause of gastrointestinal hemorrhage and septicemia. Diagnosing this condition is challenging due to its nonspecific symptoms, leading to significant delays in diagnosis and contributing to its remarkably high mortality rate. We present a unique case of duodenocaval fistula associated with prior radiation, peptic ulcer disease, and antiangiogenic cancer therapy, nearly resulting in the death of a young patient.