Biodegradable WE43 Mg alloy/hydroxyapatite interpenetrating phase composites with reduced hydrogen evolution.

Biodegradable magnesium implants offer a solution for bone repair without the need for implant removal. However, concerns persist regarding peri-implant gas accumulation, which has limited their widespread clinical acceptance. Consequently, there is a need to minimise the mass of magnesium to reduce the total volume of gas generated around the implants.

Imaging high-frequency voltage dynamics in multiple neuron classes of behaving mammals.

Fluorescent genetically encoded voltage indicators report transmembrane potentials of targeted cell-types. However, voltage-imaging instrumentation has lacked the sensitivity to track spontaneous or evoked high-frequency voltage oscillations in neural populations. Here we describe two complementary TEMPO voltage-sensing technologies that capture neural oscillations up to ~100 Hz.

Potential Biases in Test-Negative Design Studies of COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Arising from the Inclusion of Asymptomatic Individuals.

The test-negative design (TND) is a popular method for evaluating vaccine effectiveness (VE). A "classical" TND study includes symptomatic individuals tested for the disease targeted by the vaccine to estimate VE against symptomatic infection. However, recent applications of the TND have attempted to estimate VE against infection by including all tested individuals, regardless of their symptoms.

Neural circuit basis of placebo pain relief.

Placebo effects are notable demonstrations of mind-body interactions. During pain perception, in the absence of any treatment, an expectation of pain relief can reduce the experience of pain-a phenomenon known as placebo analgesia. However, despite the strength of placebo effects and their impact on everyday human experience and the failure of clinical trials for new therapeutics, the neural circuit basis of placebo effects has remained unclear.

A cerebellar granule cell-climbing fiber computation to learn to track long time intervals.

In classical cerebellar learning, Purkinje cells (PkCs) associate climbing fiber (CF) error signals with predictive granule cells (GrCs) that were active just prior (∼150 ms). The cerebellum also contributes to behaviors characterized by longer timescales. To investigate how GrC-CF-PkC circuits might learn seconds-long predictions, we imaged simultaneous GrC-CF activity over days of forelimb operant conditioning for delayed water reward.

Structured learning in time-dependent Cox models.

Cox models with time-dependent coefficients and covariates are widely used in survival analysis. In high-dimensional settings, sparse regularization techniques are employed for variable selection, but existing methods for time-dependent Cox models lack flexibility in enforcing specific sparsity patterns (ie, covariate structures). We propose a flexible framework for variable selection in time-dependent Cox models, accommodating complex selection rules.

Effect of statin use for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease among older adults: a cautionary tale concerning target trials emulation.

Objectives: Evidence concerning the effect of statins in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among older adults is lacking. Using Quebec population-wide administrative data, we emulated a hypothetical randomized trial including older adults >65 years on April 1, 2013, with no CVD history and no statin use in the previous year.

Study Design And Setting: We included individuals who initiated statins and classified them as exposed if they were using statin at least 3 months after initiation and nonexposed otherwise.

Concept and Evolution in 3-D Printing for Excellence in Healthcare.

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) has gained popularity among scientists and researchers in every field due to its potential to drastically reduce energy costs for the production of customised products by utilising less energy-intensive machines as well as minimising material waste. The 3D printing technology is an additive manufacturing approach that uses material layer-by-layer fabrication to produce the digitally specified 3D model. The use of 3D printing technology in the pharmaceutical sector has the potential to revolutionise research and development by providing a quick and easy means to manufacture personalised one-off batches, each with unique dosages, distinct substances, shapes, and sizes, as well as variable release rates.

Test negative design for vaccine effectiveness estimation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic methodology review.

Background: During the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the test-negative design (TND) was extensively used in many countries to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE). Typically, the TND involves the recruitment of care-seeking individuals who meet a common clinical case definition. All participants are then tested for an infection of interest.

The application of target trials with longitudinal targeted maximum likelihood estimation to assess the effect of alcohol consumption in adolescence on depressive symptoms in adulthood.

Time-varying confounding is a common challenge for causal inference in observational studies with time-varying treatments, long follow-up periods, and participant dropout. Confounder adjustment using traditional approaches can be limited by data sparsity, weight instability, and computational issues. The Nicotine Dependence in Teens Study is a prospective cohort study, and we used data from 21 data collection cycles carried out from 1999 to 2008 among 1294 students recruited from 10 high schools in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, including follow-up into adulthood.

Two-stage targeted maximum likelihood estimation for mixed aggregate and individual participant data analysis with an application to multidrug resistant tuberculosis.

In this study, we develop a new method for the meta-analysis of mixed aggregate data (AD) and individual participant data (IPD). The method is an adaptation of inverse probability weighted targeted maximum likelihood estimation (IPW-TMLE), which was initially proposed for two-stage sampled data. Our methods are motivated by a systematic review investigating treatment effectiveness for multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) where the available data include IPD from some studies but only AD from others.

Antibacterial Effect and Therapy of Chronic Skin Defects Using the Composite Bioscaffold Polycaprolactone/GelitaSpon/Povidone-Iodine in Domestic Dogs.

Chronic wounds and the failure of conventional treatment are relatively common in veterinary medicine. Recently, there has been a growing interest in alternative therapeutic approaches and the utilization of biodegradable materials. Their potential application in wound therapy may offer a novel and more suitable option compared to conventional treatment methods.

Identifying patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis who may benefit from shorter durations of treatment.

Objective: Studying treatment duration for rifampicin-resistant and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB) using observational data is methodologically challenging. We aim to present a hypothesis generating approach to identify factors associated with shorter duration of treatment.

Study Design And Setting: We conducted an individual patient data meta-analysis among MDR/RR-TB patients restricted to only those with successful treatment outcomes.

Diagnostic accuracy of SSR-PET/CT compared to histopathology in the identification of liver metastases from well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors.

Background: Histopathology is the reference standard for diagnosing liver metastases of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Somatostatin receptor-positron emission tomography / computed tomography (SSR-PET/CT) has emerged as a promising non-invasive imaging modality for staging NETs. We aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of SSR-PET/CT in the identification of liver metastases in patients with proven NETs compared to histopathology.

Dental Auto Transplantation Success Rate Increases by Utilizing 3D Replicas.

Dental autotransplantation is an effective alternative to conventional dental treatment, and it involves removing a tooth and repositioning it in a new position within the same patient. Although this procedure might pose more intraoperative challenges, it provides a great solution for replacing missing teeth or aiding difficult eruption in young patients. This prospective method is also advocated as a use of treatment for unrestorable teeth.

Marginal structural models with latent class growth analysis of treatment trajectories: Statins for primary prevention among older adults.

Latent class growth analysis is increasingly proposed as a solution to summarize the observed longitudinal treatment into a few distinct groups. When latent class growth analysis is combined with standard approaches like Cox proportional hazards models, confounding bias is not properly addressed because of time-varying covariates that have a double role of confounders and mediators. We propose to use latent class growth analysis to classify individuals into a few latent classes based on their medication adherence pattern, then choose a working marginal structural model that relates the outcome to these groups.

Proceedings of the Third American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Anesthesia Patient Safety Conference.

The 3rd Anesthesia Patient Safety Conference of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons was held at the Daniel M Laskin Institute for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Education and Innovation at American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois on June 6, 2022. The conference provided a platform to scrutinize collective errors, explore optimal practices, comprehend the concepts and principles of human complacency, assessing the system's capacity to handle deviations from the norm, and contemplate ideas and initiatives to enhance our practice model. These safety conferences are designed to foster collaborative, proactive conversations and understand best practices in safe delivery of anesthetic care to our patients.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of MRI, CE-CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT for detecting colorectal liver metastases eligible for hepatic resection.

Objectives: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a serious challenge for the health system. In 2022 CRC represented 8% of cancer diagnoses in the United States. 30% of patients already show metastases at the initial tumor staging.

Research note: Ski touring on groomed slopes and the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential trigger for motivational changes.

Unlabelled: Ski touring on groomed slopes is a relatively new outdoor sport that has steadily been gaining interest. So far, little scientific attention has been given to this outdoor activity. Thus, few questions have been asked about the motivation for practising this sport, and even fewer about whether the current COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the frequency of and motivation for ski touring.

Wide-field fluorescence lifetime imaging of neuron spiking and subthreshold activity in vivo.

The development of voltage-sensitive fluorescent probes suggests fluorescence lifetime as a promising readout for electrical activity in biological systems. Existing approaches fail to achieve the speed and sensitivity required for voltage imaging in neuroscience applications. We demonstrated that wide-field electro-optic fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (EO-FLIM) allows lifetime imaging at kilohertz frame-acquisition rates, spatially resolving action potential propagation and subthreshold neural activity in live adult .

Economic evaluation of 18F-FDG PET/CT, MRI and CE-CT in selection of colorectal liver metastases eligible for ablation - A cost-effectiveness analysis.

Objectives: Colorectal cancers (CRC) are among the world's most prevailing cancer entities. In a third of all cases, the patients have already developed distant metastases - mainly in the liver - at the time of detection. Colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) can be treated by surgical resection or, as is possible in most cases, by percutaneous ablation.