Identifying the best treatment choice for relapsing/refractory glioblastoma: a systematic review with multiple Bayesian network meta-analyses.

Background: Glioblastoma is a highly aggressive primary central nervous system tumor characterized by poor outcomes. In case of relapse or progression to adjuvant chemotherapy, there is no univocal preferred regimen for relapsing glioblastoma.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and Bayesian trial-level network meta-analyses (NMA) to identify the regimens associated with the best outcomes.

Mitigating the risks of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) with intranasal chlorpheniramine: perspectives from the ACCROS studies.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) global public health emergency on May 5, 2023, but its long-term consequences have still been haunting the global population. Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) and long-term COVID-19 are serious concerns and present with various symptoms. Intranasal chlorpheniramine (iCPM) has been shown to decrease the viral burden of SARS-COV-2.

Supply- and demand-side drivers of the change in the sugar density of food purchased between 2015 and 2018 in Great Britain.

The UK government launched a two-component sugar-reduction programme in 2016, one component is the taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, and the second is a voluntary sugar reduction programme for products contributing most to children's sugar intakes. These policies provided incentives both for industry to change the products they sell and for people to change their food and beverage choices through a 'signalling' effect that has raised awareness of excess sugar intakes in the population. In this study, we aimed to identify the relative contributions of the supply- and demand-side drivers of changes in the sugar density of food and beverages purchased in Great Britain.

The Retail Food Environment Index and its association with dietary patterns, body mass index, and socioeconomic position: A multilevel assessment in Mexico.

In Mexico, 75% of the population are affected by overweight or obesity, and the availability and affordability of high-calorie-dense foods and beverages are high. This study tested the association between the retail food environment index (RFEI), dietary patterns, body mass index (BMI), and socioeconomic position (SEP) in Mexico. Cross-sectional diet, health, and sociodemographic population-based secondary data analyses were conducted.

Clinical validation of the Roche cobas HPV test on the Roche cobas 5800 system for the purpose of cervical screening.

This study assessed the relative clinical sensitivity and specificity, as well as reproducibility, for high-risk HPV types of the Roche cobas HPV test when processed using the Roche cobas 5800 system. The results from this study demonstrate that the cobas HPV test using the cobas 5800 system fulfils the Meijer criteria for use in population-based cervical screening. This clinical validation study also examines the clinical sensitivity and specificity based on partial genotyping, with separate detection of HPV16 and HPV18, compared with the Roche cobas 4800 HPV test, a second-generation standard comparator assay.

Radioactive iodine ablation therapy reduces the risk of recurrent disease in pediatric differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

Background: While radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy in older adults with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) reduces recurrence, data in pediatrics remain limited. We conducted a meta-analysis to quantify outcomes and recurrence risk with RAI versus thyroidectomy alone in the pediatric population.

Methods: Systematic literature review identified 34 retrospective studies including 2913 DTC patients under age 22 years (published 2005-2023).

Potentially inappropriate medication on communitydwelling older adults: Longitudinal analysis using the International Mobility in Aging Study.

Introduction: Medications are a fundamental part of the treatment of multiple pathologies. However, despite their benefits, some are considered potentially inappropriate medications for older people given their safety profile. Epidemiological data differences related to potentially inappropriate medications make it difficult to determine their effects on elderly people.

An Algorithm for Modeling Thermoplastic Spherulite Growth Using Crystallization Kinetics.

Crystallization kinetics were used to develop a spherulite growth model, which can determine local crystalline distributions through an optimization algorithm. Kinetics were used to simulate spherulite homogeneous nucleation, growth, and heterogeneous nucleation in a domain discretized into voxels. From this, an overall crystallinity was found, and an algorithm was used to find crystallinities of individual spherulites based on volume.

Policy implementation and recommended actions to create healthy food environments using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI): a comparative analysis in South Asia.

Background: The increasing prevalence of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in South Asia is concerning, with type 2 diabetes projected to rise to 68%, compared to the global increase of 44%. Encouraging healthy diets requires stronger policies for healthier food environments.

Methods: This study reviewed and assessed food environment policies in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka from 2020 to 2022 using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) and compared them with global best practices.

Primary central nervous system germ cell tumors in Central America and the Caribbean Region: an AHOPCA 20-year experience.

Background: Primary central nervous system germ cell tumors (GCT) are rare neoplasms in pediatrics. Treatment depends on the histological subtype and extent of the disease. Overall survival (OS) is above 90% for germinomas and 70%-80% for nongerminomatous GCT (NGGCT) in high-income countries (HIC) while data are usually lacking for patients in Low-Middle Income country (LMIC).

Food environment and obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Obesity is influenced by a complex, multifaceted system of determinants, including the food environment. Governments need evidence to act on improving the food environment. The aim of this study was to review the evidence from spatial environmental analyses and to conduct the first series of meta-analyses to assess the impact of the retail food environment on obesity.

Race and Ethnicity Representation in Phase 2/3 Oncology Clinical Trial Publications: A Systematic Review.

Importance: The five 1997 Office of Management and Budget races in the US include American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White, with Hispanic ethnicity. Despite the Affordable Care Act mandating Office of Management and Budget-based collecting and reporting standards, race and ethnicity publishing in medical journals is inconsistent, despite being necessary to achieve health equity.

Objective: To quantify race and ethnicity reporting rates and calculate representation quotients (RQs) in published oncology clinical trials.

Evaluation of GPT-4 ability to identify and generate patient instructions for actionable incidental radiology findings.

Objectives: To evaluate the proficiency of a HIPAA-compliant version of GPT-4 in identifying actionable, incidental findings from unstructured radiology reports of Emergency Department patients. To assess appropriateness of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated, patient-facing summaries of these findings.

Materials And Methods: Radiology reports extracted from the electronic health record of a large academic medical center were manually reviewed to identify non-emergent, incidental findings with high likelihood of requiring follow-up, further sub-stratified as "definitely actionable" (DA) or "possibly actionable-clinical correlation" (PA-CC).

Adherence and Persistence Among Risdiplam-Treated Individuals with Spinal Muscular Atrophy: A Retrospective Claims Analysis.

Introduction: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disease caused by deletions and/or mutations in the survival of motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene. Risdiplam, the first and only oral SMN2 pre-mRNA splicing modifier, is US Food and Drug Administration-approved for the treatment of pediatric and adult patients with SMA. For patients with SMA, long-term adherence to and persistence with an SMA treatment may be important for achieving maximum clinical benefits.

A new experimental setup for combined fast differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy.

Synchrotron-radiation-based techniques are a powerful tool for the investigation of materials. In particular, the availability of highly brilliant sources has opened the possibility to develop techniques sensitive to dynamics at the atomic scale such as X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS). XPCS is particularly relevant in the study of glasses, which have been often investigated at the macroscopic scale by, for example, differential scanning calorimetry.

Using Virtual Reality to Study Spatial Mapping and Threat Learning.

Using spatial mapping processes to learn about threat and safety in an environment is crucial for survival. Research using conditioning paradigms has explored the effects of state (transient arousal) and trait anxiety (anxiety as an aspect of personality) on threat learning and acquisition. However, results are mixed, and little is known regarding why some individuals do not learn to discriminate between threat and safety during contextual conditioning.

Exploring management and outcomes of elderly patients with glioblastoma using data from two randomised trials (GEINO1401/EX-TEM).

Purpose: The impact of age on optimal management of glioblastoma remains unclear. A recent combined analysis of two randomised trials, GEINO14-01 and EX-TEM, found no benefit from extending post-radiation temozolomide in newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Here, we explore the impact of age.

CD99 Expression and Prognostic Impact in Glioblastoma: A Single-Center Cohort Study.

Glioblastoma is the most frequent and aggressive brain tumor in adults. This study aims to evaluate the expression and prognostic impact of CD99, a membrane glycoprotein involved in cellular migration and invasion. In a cohort of patients with glioblastoma treated with surgery, radiotherapy and temozolomide, we retrospectively analyzed tumor expression of CD99 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) for both the wild type (CD99wt) and the truncated (CD99sh) isoforms.

The C250T Mutation of Might Grant a Better Prognosis to Glioblastoma by Exerting Less Biological Effect on Telomeres and Chromosomes Than the C228T Mutation.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to determine how mutations impact glioblastoma prognosis.

Materials And Methods: mutations were assessed in a retrospective cohort of 258 uniformly treated glioblastoma patients. RNA-sequencing and whole exome sequencing results were available in a subset of patients.

Connection between Mechanical Relaxation and Equilibration Kinetics in a High-Entropy Metallic Glass.

The slow transition from an out-of-equilibrium glass towards a supercooled liquid is a complex relaxation phenomenon. In this Letter, we study the correlation between mechanical relaxation and equilibration kinetics in a Pd_{20}Pt_{20}Cu_{20}Ni_{20}P_{20} high-entropy metallic glass. The evolution of stress relaxation with aging time was obtained with an unprecedented detail, allowing us to pinpoint new interesting features.

Lessons on food security from the COVID-19 pandemic in Bermuda.

Compared with other OECD countries, Bermuda ranks third globally in terms of income inequality globally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, anecdotal evidence suggested, significant fluctuations in the food demand and supply. We aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food insecurity, with a focus on the availability and affordability of various foods in Bermuda.

Elucidating the link between thyroid cancer and mercury exposure: a review and meta-analysis.

Mercury (Hg) is a widely distributed and bioavailable metal of public health concern, with many known human toxicities, but data regarding mercury's influence on thyroid cancer (TC) is scarce. Mercury is known to impact several molecular pathways implicated in carcinogenesis, and its proclivity for bioaccumulation in the thyroid suggests a potential modulatory effect. We conducted a literature/systematic review of studies between 1995-2022 intending to define better and establish relationships between these two entities, congregate the evidence for mercury's potential role in thyroid carcinogenesis, and identify populations of interest for further study.