CANBERRA: A Phase II Randomized Clinical Trial to Test the Therapeutic Potential of Oral Vicasinabin in Diabetic Retinopathy.

Objective: Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) is a progressive disease that can lead to blindness. Current therapies for NPDR are invasive and not extensively used or accessible until the disease progresses, pointing to the need for an early noninvasive treatment. The objective of CANBERRA was to assess the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of oral administration of vicasinabin (RG7774) on the severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in participants with moderately severe to severe NPDR and good vision.

The stability and modulation of if-then rules versus prospective planning in movement selection under dual-tasking conditions.

Two approaches to movement selection, if-then rules versus prospective planning, were investigated. Studies have shown that the rule-based approach leads to more efficient movement selection than the plan-based approach, though the resulting movements are the same. This dual-tasking study investigates two hypotheses explaining this discrepancy: The efficiency hypothesis states that the rule-based approach to movement selection is more efficient, and its advantage over the plan-based approach increases under any kind of enhanced task demands.

MICAL2 Promotes Pancreatic Cancer Growth and Metastasis.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the deadliest solid cancers; thus, identifying more effective therapies is a major unmet need. In this study, we characterized the super enhancer (SE) landscape of human PDAC to identify drivers of the disease that might be targetable. This analysis revealed MICAL2 as a super enhancer-associated gene in human PDAC, which encodes the flavin monooxygenase MICAL2 that induces actin depolymerization and indirectly promotes SRF transcription by modulating the availability of serum response factor coactivators myocardin-related transcription factors (MRTF-A and MRTF-B).

Brønsted Acid-Catalyzed, Asymmetric Allenoate Claisen Reaction.

An auxiliary-based protocol is described for an asymmetric allenoate Claisen rearrangement. Silicated tosic acid (10 mol %) was used as an inexpensive, user-friendly catalyst. Stereochemical analysis revealed a preferential attack at the face of prostereogenic olefin.

CBCT-based online adaptive radiotherapy of the prostate bed: first clinical experience and comparison to nonadaptive conventional IGRT.

Purpose: Conventional image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) of the prostate bed is challenged by the varying anatomy due to dynamic changes of surrounding organs such as the bladder and rectum. This leads to changed dose coverage of target and surrounding tissue. The novel online adaptive radiotherapy (oART) aims to improve target coverage as well as reduce dose exposure to surrounding healthy tissues by daily reoptimization of treatment plans.

Economic effects of next-generation sequencing diagnostics in unspecific sepsis patients - a budget impact analysis from the healthcare providers' perspective in Germany.

Purpose: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) tools have clinical advantages over blood culture but are more expensive. This study assesses the budget impact and break-even point of NGS testing costs from a healthcare provider's perspective in Germany.

Methods: The budget impact was calculated based on aggregated data of German post-operative surgery cases.

Comparison of estimated glomerular filtration rate using five equations to predict acute kidney injury following hip fracture surgery.

Background: Decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) following hip fracture surgery. Delaying surgery for preoperative treatment of comorbidities is controversial in this patient population. The purpose of this study was 1) to assess differences in demographics and comorbidities between AKI and non-AKI groups, 2) to analyze equations used in calculating eGFR, and 3) to identify the equation which best predicts the development of AKI following hip fracture surgery.

Climate policies that achieved major emission reductions: Global evidence from two decades.

Meeting the Paris Agreement's climate targets necessitates better knowledge about which climate policies work in reducing emissions at the necessary scale. We provide a global, systematic ex post evaluation to identify policy combinations that have led to large emission reductions out of 1500 climate policies implemented between 1998 and 2022 across 41 countries from six continents. Our approach integrates a comprehensive climate policy database with a machine learning-based extension of the common difference-in-differences approach.

Treatment plan for maxillary third molars based on radiological findings varies among oral surgeons: a web-based "paper" clinic study.

Objectives: To evaluate variation in treatment plans and pathological findings related to maxillary second and third molars based on panoramic (PAN) images and cone beam CT (CBCT) among Danish and Dutch oral and maxillofacial surgeons.

Study Design: This web-based "paper" clinic contained 10 cases of impacted maxillary third molars comprising clinical information, PAN, and CBCT. Treatment plan and pathological findings were established based on clinical information and PAN, thereafter, based on CBCT by 28 surgeons.

Posttransplant inflammatory bowel disease after successful solid organ transplantation: Not out of the woods yet.

Objectives: Gastrointestinal symptoms can occur following pediatric solid organ transplantation (SOT), and a subset of children will develop chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) posttransplant. The goal of this study was to characterize patients who developed IBD following SOT, their treatment modalities, and clinical course.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of electronic medical records of patients 0-18 years of age who underwent heart, kidney, liver, or intestinal transplantation at our center from January 2009 to April 2019.

MICAL2 Is a Super Enhancer Associated Gene that Promotes Pancreatic Cancer Growth and Metastasis.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the deadliest solid cancers and thus identifying more effective therapies is a major unmet need. In this study we characterized the super enhancer (SE) landscape of human PDAC to identify novel, potentially targetable, drivers of the disease. Our analysis revealed that is a super enhancer-associated gene in human PDAC.

Long-term prognosis for teeth with external cervical resorption based on periapical images and cone beam CT: A clinical study.

Aim: To evaluate whether supplemental information from CBCT changed long-term prognosis for teeth with external cervical resorption (ECR) compared to periapical (PA) images. Furthermore, to assess predictive findings in PA images and evaluate which findings in CBCT affected the long-term prognosis of teeth with ECR.

Methodology: One hundred and ninty-four patients, mean age 41.

Visual Function Measurements in Eyes With Diabetic Retinopathy: An Expert Opinion on Available Measures.

Clinical Relevance: Visual function impairment from diabetic retinopathy can have a considerable impact on patient's quality of life. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) is most commonly used to assess visual function and guide clinical trials. However, BCVA is affected late in the disease process, is not affected in early disease, and does not capture some of the visual disturbances described by patients with diabetes.

Isocycloseram: A new active ingredient for leaf-cutting ants control.

Leaf-cutting ants are the most important pests in several cropping systems in the Neotropics. Granulated baits containing active ingredients, considered hazardous by the Stockholm Convention, are the usual method to control these ants. Isocycloseram is a new insecticide molecule with high safety margin for mammals, but without registration for the ants in general.

Description of a New Simple and Cost-Effective Molecular Testing That Could Simplify Variant Detection.

Introduction: Patients with autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney disease (ADTKD) usually present with nonspecific progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD) with mild to negative proteinuria and a family history. ADTKD- leads to the formation of a frameshift protein that accumulates in the cytoplasm, leading to tubulointerstitial damage. ADTKD- prevalence remains unclear because variants are not routinely detected by standard next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques.

Rainforest transformation reallocates energy from green to brown food webs.

Terrestrial animal biodiversity is increasingly being lost because of land-use change. However, functional and energetic consequences aboveground and belowground and across trophic levels in megadiverse tropical ecosystems remain largely unknown. To fill this gap, we assessed changes in energy fluxes across 'green' aboveground (canopy arthropods and birds) and 'brown' belowground (soil arthropods and earthworms) animal food webs in tropical rainforests and plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia.

App-based intervention for parents of children with crying, sleeping, and feeding problems: Usability, usefulness and implications for improvement.

Background: There is a lack of evidence-based app guidance for parents of children with crying, sleeping, and feeding problems who are often highly burdened and not likely to seek professional help. A new psychoeducational app for parents providing scientifically sound information via text and videos, a diary function, selfcare strategies, a chat forum and a regional directory of specialized counseling centers may serve as a low-threshold intervention for this target group.

Objective: We investigated how parents perceived the app in terms of the following: (1) overall impression and usability, (2) feedback on specific app functions regarding usefulness and (3) possible future improvements.

Racial disparities affect the association between gestational urinary phthalate mixtures and infant genital measures.

Background: Phthalates are ubiquitous anti-androgenic endocrine disrupting chemicals found in personal care products, medications, and many plastics. Studies have shown a racial disparity in phthalates exposure among U.S.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Phthalate Exposure and Preterm Birth: A Pooled Study of Sixteen U.S. Cohorts.

Background: Phthalate exposures are ubiquitous during pregnancy and may contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in preterm birth.

Objectives: We investigated race and ethnicity in the relationship between biomarkers of phthalate exposure and preterm birth by examining: ) how hypothetical reductions in racial and ethnic disparities in phthalate metabolites might reduce the probability of preterm birth; and ) exposure-response models stratified by race and ethnicity.

Methods: We pooled individual-level data on 6,045 pregnancies from 16 U.