Effects of prenatal exposure to multiple heavy metals on infant neurodevelopment: A multi-statistical approach.

Prenatal exposure to heavy metals poses risks to fetal brain development, yet the joint effects of these metals remain unclear, with inconsistent findings across statistical models. This study investigates the joint effect of prenatal exposure to cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) on infant neurodevelopment using various statistical approaches. The study included 400 mother-infant pairs.

Differential cell architecture and microenvironmental responses of pretumoral and tumoral cellular models exposed to coverslip-induced hypoxia.

The tumor microenvironment is an altered milieu that imposes multiple selective pressures leading to the survival and dissemination of aggressive and fit tumor cell subpopulations. How pre-tumoral and tumoral cells respond to changes in their microenvironment will determine the subsequent evolution of the tumor. In this study, we have subjected pre-tumoral and tumoral cells to coverslip-induced hypoxia, which recapitulates the intracellular hypoxia and extracellular acidification characteristic of the early tumor microenvironment, and we have used a combination of quantitative phase microscopy and epifluorescence to analyze diverse cellular responses to this altered environment.

Do diffractive intraocular lenses break the beneficial interaction between chromatic and monochromatic aberrations in the eye?

This study investigates whether a diffractive presbyopia-correcting multifocal intraocular lens disrupts the favorable interaction between chromatic and monochromatic aberrations in the eye. This is analyzed not only for distant objects but also for closer viewing distances, where the lens utilizes different diffraction orders depending on its design. We consider diffractive designs based on the zero-diffraction order for far vision and the first diffraction order for near vision (i.

Collaborative Outcomes Study on Health and Functioning During Infection Times (COH-FIT): Global and Risk-Group Stratified Course of Well-Being and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Adolescents.

Objective: To identify the COVID-19 pandemic impact on well-being/mental health, coping strategies, and risk factors in adolescents worldwide.

Method: This study was based on an anonymous online multi-national/multi-language survey in the general population (representative/weighted non-representative samples, 14-17 years of age), measuring change in well-being (World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index [WHO-5]/range = 0-100) and psychopathology (validated composite P-score/range = 0-100), WHO-5 <50 and <29, pre- vs during COVID-19 pandemic (April 26, 2020-June 26, 2022). Coping strategies and 9 a priori- defined individual/cumulative risk factors were measured.

Long-term treatment outcomes of complicated acute diverticulitis in immunocompromised patients.

Purpose: The main aim of this study was to determine the short- and long-term outcomes of the non-operative management of acute left-sided complicated diverticulitis (ALCD) in severely immunocompromised patients (IMS group) and compare them with immunocompetent patients (IC group). The secondary aim was to assess the necessity of an elective surgery following a successful prior non-operative management in the IMS group after a non-operative management of the first episode of ALCD.

Methods: Patients presented with their first episode of ALCD between 2012 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed.