Seasonal forecasting of East African short rains.

The variability of East African short rains (October-December) has profound socioeconomic and environmental impacts on the region, making accurate seasonal rainfall predictions essential. We evaluated the predictability of East African short rains using model ensembles from the multi-system seasonal retrospective forecasts from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). We assess the prediction skill for 1- to 5-month lead times using forecasts initialized in September for each year from 1993 to 2016.

A decision-making tool for navigating extracellular vesicle research and product development.

Due to their intercellular communication properties and involvement in a wide range of biological processes, extracellular vesicles (EVs) are increasingly being studied and exploited for different applications. Nevertheless, their complex nature and heterogeneity, as well as the challenges related to their purification and characterization procedures, require a cautious assessment of the qualitative and quantitative parameters that need to be monitored. This translates into a multitude of choices and putative solutions that any EV researcher must confront in both research and translational environments.

Are knowledge, attitudes and practices about dietary supplements and nutraceuticals related with exercise practice and setting? A cross-sectional study among Italian adults.

This cross-sectional study was aimed to investigate knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding dietary supplements (DS) and nutraceuticals among athletes, gym practitioners, and individuals who did not exercise regularly. A total of 372 participants, aged 18-65, completed a questionnaire covering demographics, supplement usage, and three validated tools: the Knowledge about Dietary Supplements (KaDS), Supplements Knowledge Score (SKS), and Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice towards Nutraceuticals (KAPN). Significant differences were found in the use of vitaminised water, protein powder, glucosamines, beetroot juice, creatine, omega-3, and pre-workout supplements among the groups, with gym practitioners reporting the highest usage.

A Trifecta-Based Evaluation of Patients Treated with Percutaneous Thermal Ablation of Small Renal Masses.

Scoring metrics are important to compare outcomes of different percutaneous treatments for small renal masses (RMs). The concept of trifecta (no complications, kidney function preservation, and absence of local recurrence) has been recently introduced in percutaneous thermal ablation of RM. In this context, previous studies have shown that cryoablation (CA) and microwave ablation (MWA) have similar outcomes.