Integrative Assessment of Total and Intact HIV-1 Reservoir by a 5-Region Multiplexed Rainbow DNA Digital PCR Assay.

Background: Persistent latent reservoirs of intact HIV-1 proviruses, capable of rebounding despite suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART), hinder efforts towards an HIV-1 cure. Hence, assays specifically quantifying intact proviruses are crucial to assess the impact of curative interventions. Two recent assays have been utilized in clinical trials: intact proviral DNA assay (IPDA) and quadruplex quantitative PCR (Q4PCR).

Examining Psychosis Risk in Sexual Minority Youth: Increased Exposure to and Differential Impact of the Social Envirome in Early Adolescence.

Background And Hypotheses: Sexual minority populations have a higher prevalence of psychotic experiences (PE), possibly due to differential experiences within the social envirome in its positive (eg, social support, parenting) and negative aspects (eg, adverse life events, bullying). This study hypothesized that (1) sexual minority adolescents experience more PE, (2) are more exposed to harmful aspects of the social envirome, and (3) may display differential sensitivity to certain aspects of the social envirome.

Study Design: Data from 678 adolescents (mean age 15.

Immersive virtual reality to assess unilateral spatial neglect in stroke patients: a preliminary study.

Objectives: The conventional test to detect unilateral spatial neglect (USN) is the Bells Test performed in a paper-and-pencil format. While several studies showed immersive virtual reality (VR) tests may provide greater sensitivity in revealing the presence of USN using visual scanning tasks, none has investigated the Bells Test in VR. This study compares the Bells Test performed in paper-and-pencil format (PP) and in VR in conventional (CVR) and ecological (EVR) format, which differ by the size of the display, in stroke patients.

Does rehabilitation improve work participation in patients with chronic spinal pain after spinal surgery: a systematic review.

Objective: Patients with therapy-refractory chronic spinal pain after spinal surgery experience increased disability, resulting in substantial loss of employment and consequently lower quality of life. Despite findings that rehabilitation improves socio-economic outcomes in other chronic pain conditions, evidence for patients with chronic spinal pain after spinal surgery is limited. A systematic review was conducted to provide an overview of rehabilitation interventions and their effectiveness to improve work participation for patients with chronic spinal pain after spinal surgery.

Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorder and ergonomic risk practice among medical laboratory professionals at health facilities of eastern Ethiopia.

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders represent a significant occupational problem due to poor ergonomic workstations among medical laboratory professionals; however, there is limited information regarding ergonomic-related musculoskeletal disorders among laboratory personnel in Ethiopia, particularly in eastern Ethiopia.

Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was implemented among 241 Medical Laboratory Professionals (MLPs) from December 20, 2023, to January 20, 2024. A standardized questionnaire adapted from the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire and a combination of self-administered surveys and direct observational techniques was used for data collection.

Challenges in assessing national radiotherapy costs: application of the ESTRO-HERO model in Spain.

Background And Purpose: The aim was to estimate the cost of the external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in public health care centers in Catalonia (Spain), according to the ESTRO-HERO costing model for 2018.

Materials And Methods: Personnel, equipment, and activity data from 2018 from the 11 RT centers were used, incorporating European mean values adapted to the Catalan context. Secondly, EBRT costs were estimated, incorporating 2023 fractionation technique and scheme usage percentages.

Parents Know Best: Uncovering a Rare Allergy During Anesthesia Consultation.

A 17-month-old child presented for an anesthesia consultation before planned plagiocephaly correction one week later. The medical history by the mother reported an episode of facial redness after administering atropine-based eye drops when the child was 9 months old. Based on this information, the anesthesiologist decided to postpone the surgery and conduct an allergy assessment.

Clearance of beta-amyloid and tau aggregates is size dependent and altered by an inflammatory challenge.

Extracellular beta-amyloid aggregation and inflammation are in a complex and not fully understood interplay during hyperphosphorylated tau aggregation and pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Our group has previously shown that an immune challenge with tumour necrosis factor alpha can alter extracellular beta-sheet containing aggregates in human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cortical neurons carrying familial Alzheimer's disease-related presenilin 1 mutations. Here, using single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging techniques, we quantified and characterized the intra- and extracellular beta-amyloid and AT8-positive tau aggregates.

Comparing newly developed SNP barcode panels with microsatellites to explore population genetics of malaria parasites in the Peruvian Amazon.

Introduction: Malaria molecular surveillance (MMS) can provide insights into transmission dynamics, guiding national control programs. We previously designed AmpliSeq assays for MMS, which include different traits of interest (resistance markers and deletions), and SNP barcodes to provide population genetics estimates of and parasites in the Peruvian Amazon. The present study compares the genetic resolution of the barcodes in the AmpliSeq assays with widely used microsatellite (MS) panels to investigate population genetics of Amazonian malaria parasites.

Impact of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution on the incidence and manifestation of depressive and anxiety disorders.

Purpose Of Review: Climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution present a major threat to health. Although emphasis has been put on physical health impacts, evidence on the mental health consequences is now also accumulating quickly. Given the rapid developments in the field, this article provides an expert opinion on the emerging research.

Diagnostic accuracy of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment in screening for cognitive impairment in initially hospitalized COVID-19 patients: Findings from the prospective multicenter NeNeSCo study.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and nature of cognitive impairment among severely ill COVID-19 patients and the effectiveness of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in detecting it.

Method: We evaluated cognition in COVID-19 patients hospitalized during the first wave (March to June 2020) from six Dutch hospitals, nine months post-discharge, using a comprehensive multi-domain neuropsychological test battery. Test performance was corrected for sex, age, and education differences and transformed into -scores.

Current Use of Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic modeling in New Medicinal Product Approvals at EMA.

Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) Models are routinely used in drug development and therefore appear frequently in marketing authorization applications (MAAs) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). For a model to be a key source of evidence for a regulatory decision, it must be considered qualified for the intended use. Advice on the data expected to allow qualification of a PBPK model or platform is provided in the EMA Guideline on the reporting of PBPK modeling and simulation.

Radiation therapy volumes after primary systemic therapy in breast cancer patients: an international EUBREAST survey.

Purpose: After primary systemic therapy (PST), agreement on the extent of locoregional therapy is lacking in breast cancer patients who convert from a node-positive to a node-negative status. The aim of this survey was to investigate radiation therapy approaches after PST according to different axillary surgical strategies and disease responses.

Materials And Methods: The European Breast Cancer Research Association of Surgical Trialists developed a web-based survey containing 39 questions on locoregional management based on clinical scenarios in initially node positive breast cancer patients undergoing PST.

Context-aware analysis enhances autoscoring accuracy of home sleep apnea testing.

Study Objectives: Home sleep apnea testing based on peripheral arterial tonometry (P-HSAT) is increasingly being deployed because of its ability to test for multiple nights. However, P-HSATs do not have access to modalities such as airflow and cortical arousals and instead rely on alternative sources of information to detect respiratory events. This results in an a-priori performance disadvantage.

Informal caregiving and mental health: results from the Belgian health interview survey 2013 and 2018.

Background: Due to a globally ageing population, the demand for informal caregivers is increasing. This study investigates the socio-demographic profile of informal caregivers in Belgium and assesses the relationship between informal care (intensity and care recipients) and mental health, considering potential moderators like education, age, and gender.

Methods: Using population-based data from the 2013 and 2018 waves of the Belgian Health Interview Survey (N = 14,661), we conducted multivariate (multinomial/ordinal) logistic and linear regression analyses to examine the socio-demographic profile of informal caregivers and their psychological distress, measured through the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).

Same-session dual chromophore riboflavin/UV-A and rose bengal/green light PACK-CXL in Acanthamoeba keratitis: a case report.

Background: Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is the most challenging corneal infection to treat, with conventional therapies often proving ineffective. While photoactivated chromophore for keratitis-corneal cross-linking (PACK-CXL) with riboflavin/UV-A has shown success in treating bacterial and fungal keratitis, and PACK-CXL with rose bengal/green light has demonstrated promise in fungal keratitis, neither approach has been shown to effectively eradicate AK. This case study explores a novel combined same-session treatment approach using both riboflavin/UV-A and rose bengal/green light in a single procedure.

Predictors of Tinnitus Symptom Relief With Hearing Aids in a European Multicenter Study.

Objectives: Hearing aids (HAs) are a widely accepted first-line treatment option for individuals suffering from both hearing loss and chronic tinnitus. Though HAs are highly effective at improving speech understanding, their effectiveness in ameliorating tinnitus symptoms is less clear. In recent years, several investigators have reported on attempts to predict HAs effectiveness on tinnitus symptoms using an array of variables.

Examining Arginase-1 Trimerization Uncovers a Promising Allosteric Site for Inhibition.

Arginase-1 (ARG-1) is a promising target for cancer immunotherapy, but the small size and the highly polar nature of its catalytic site present significant challenges for inhibitor development. An alternative strategy to induce enzyme inhibition by targeting protein oligomerization has been developed recently, offering several advantages such as increased selectivity, promotion of protein degradation, and potential substoichiometric inhibition. In this study, we demonstrated that only trimeric ARG-1 is active, which was confirmed by producing monomeric arginase-1.

Synaptic signatures and disease vulnerabilities of layer 5 pyramidal neurons.

Cortical layer 5 (L5) intratelencephalic (IT) and pyramidal tract (PT) neurons are embedded in distinct information processing pathways. Their morphology, connectivity, electrophysiological properties, and role in behavior have been extensively analyzed. However, the molecular composition of their synapses remains largely uncharacterized.

Adenovirus nephritis in adult kidney allograft recipients: a systematic review of literature.

Background: Adenovirus nephritis is an increasingly recognized complication in adult kidney transplant recipients, characterized by its diverse clinical presentations and diagnostic challenges. This systematic review summarises the clinical profiles and outcomes of adenoviral nephritis in kidney allograft recipients.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for studies (case reports or series) with individual patient data on adult kidney transplant recipients with confirmed or presumptive adenoviral nephritis up to October 2, 2024.

European consensus on endoscopic surgery for bilateral vocal fold immobility: classification and nomenclature.

Introduction: There are inconsistencies in how different endoscopic procedures to manage Bilateral Vocal Fold Immobility (BVFI) have been described in the literature. This limits our ability to compare functional outcomes. There is no unifying international terminology available that precisely describes the anatomical boundaries and extent of the different types of treatment.

System vaccinology analysis of predictors and mechanisms of antibody response durability to multiple vaccines in humans.

We performed a systems vaccinology analysis to investigate immune responses in humans to an H5N1 influenza vaccine, with and without the AS03 adjuvant, to identify factors influencing antibody response magnitude and durability. Our findings revealed a platelet and adhesion-related blood transcriptional signature on day 7 that predicted the longevity of the antibody response, suggesting a potential role for platelets in modulating antibody response durability. As platelets originate from megakaryocytes, we explored the effect of thrombopoietin (TPO)-mediated megakaryocyte activation on antibody response longevity.

TILTomorrow today: dynamic factors predicting changes in intracranial pressure treatment intensity after traumatic brain injury.

Practices for controlling intracranial pressure (ICP) in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) vary considerably between centres. To help understand the rational basis for such variance in care, this study aims to identify the patient-level predictors of changes in ICP management. We extracted all heterogeneous data (2008 pre-ICU and ICU variables) collected from a prospective cohort (n = 844, 51 ICUs) of ICP-monitored TBI patients in the Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in TBI study.