Association of radiation-induced normal tissue toxicity with a high genetic risk for rheumatoid arthritis.

Purpose: Overlapping genes are involved with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and DNA repair pathways. Therefore, we hypothesised that patients with a high polygenic risk score (PRS) for RA will have an increased risk of radiotherapy (RT) toxicity given the involvement of DNA repair.

Methods: Primary analysis was performed on 1494 prostate cancer, 483 lung cancer and 1820 breast cancer patients assessed for development of RT toxicity in the REQUITE study.

Quercetin Derivatives from Bidens pilosa Suppressed Cell Proliferation via Inhibition of RSK2 Kinase and Aldose Reductase Enzymes: UPLC-MS/MS, GC-MS, In Vitro, and Computational Studies.

Traditionally, Bidens pilosa L. is an edible herb utilized for various ailments. The study accomplished a complete analysis of B.

Rapidly spreading with OXA-48-like carbapenemases.

(mostly , ) with OXA-48-like carbapenemases (e.g., OXA-48, -181, -232, -244) are undermining the global efficiency of carbapenem therapy.

The peri-articular muscle envelope of the hip (PAME) shows atrophy in patients with refractory groin pain after iliopsoas tenotomy.

Background: Iliopsoas tenotomy is commonly used to address refractory groin pain resulting from iliopsoas tendinopathy. However, consensus and high-level research on its effectiveness are lacking, with concerns about poor outcomes and complications. Little is known of the effects of iliopsoas tenotomy on the peri-articular muscle envelope of the hip.

Decoding Microbial Plastic Colonisation: Multi-Omic Insights Into the Fast-Evolving Dynamics of Early-Stage Biofilms.

Marine plastispheres represent dynamic microhabitats where microorganisms colonise plastic debris and interact. Metaproteomics has provided novel insights into the metabolic processes within these communities; however, the early metabolic interactions driving the plastisphere formation remain unclear. This study utilised metaproteomic and metagenomic approaches to explore early plastisphere formation on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) over 3 (D3) and 7 (D7) days, focusing on microbial diversity, activity and biofilm development.

Research Progress in 3D Printed Biobased and Biodegradable Polyester/Ceramic Composite Materials: Applications and Challenges in Bone Tissue Engineering.

Transplantation of bone implants is currently recognized as one of the most effective means of treating bone defects. Biobased and biodegradable polyester composites combine the good mechanical and degradable properties of polyester, thereby providing an alternative for bone implant materials. Bone tissue engineering (BTE) accelerates bone defect repair by simulating the bone microenvironment.

European multicentre analysis of the implementation of robotic complete mesocolic excision for right-sided colon tumours.

Aim: Complete mesocolic excision (CME) is an oncologically driven technique for treating right colon cancer. While laparoscopic CME is technically demanding and has been associated with more complications, the robotic approach might reduce morbidity. The aim of this study was to assess the safety of stepwise implementation of robotic CME.

3D printed cacao-based formulations as nutrient carriers for immune system enhancement.

This study explores the feasibility of using raw Greek honey-infused cacao-based formulations for three-dimensional printing (3DP). It evaluates their physicochemical properties, thermal stability, and rheological behaviour. Three honey varieties, one of which was Lavender Honey (LH), were incorporated into cacao printlets to assess their impact on structural integrity and compatibility with Vitamin D3 (VitD3), a bioactive compound known for immune system enhancement.

Achievements, priorities and strategies in pediatric nephrology in Europe: need for unifying approaches or acceptance of differences?

Background: There is a lack of information on the current healthcare systems for children with kidney diseases across Europe. The aim of this study was to explore the different national approaches to the organization and delivery of pediatric nephrology services within Europe.

Methods: In 2020, the European society for Paediatric Nephrology (ESPN) conducted a cross-sectional survey to identify the existing pediatric nephrology healthcare systems in 48 European countries covering a population of more than 200 million children.

Exploring perceptions and attitudes towards vaccines in a remote western DRC health zone.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) struggles with low full childhood vaccination coverage (around 50 %) and a high children-under-five mortality rate (79 deaths per 1000 live births). This situation is potentially exacerbated by vaccine hesitancy, which was identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the top 10 global health threats in 2019. To gain deeper insights into levels of vaccine confidence possibly influencing vaccination coverage, we explored perceptions and attitudes towards childhood and adult vaccines in Boende (Tshuapa province, western DRC), which experienced an Ebola outbreak in 2014 and hosted the EBL2007 Ebola vaccine trial (2019-2022).

Factor Retention in Exploratory Multidimensional Item Response Theory.

Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT) is applied routinely in developing educational and psychological assessment tools, for instance, for exploring multidimensional structures of items using exploratory MIRT. A critical decision in exploratory MIRT analyses is the number of factors to retain. Unfortunately, the comparative properties of statistical methods and innovative Machine Learning (ML) methods for factor retention in exploratory MIRT analyses are still not clear.

Complement activation drives the phagocytosis of necrotic cell debris and resolution of liver injury.

Cells die by necrosis due to excessive chemical or thermal stress, leading to plasma membrane rupture, release of intracellular components and severe inflammation. The clearance of necrotic cell debris is crucial for tissue recovery and injury resolution, however, the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood, especially . This study examined the role of complement proteins in promoting clearance of necrotic cell debris by leukocytes and their influence on liver regeneration.

Pro-active risk analysis of an in-house developed deep learning based autoplanning tool for breast Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy.

Background And Purpose: With the increasing amount of in-house created deep learning models in radiotherapy, it is important to know how to minimise the risks associated with the local clinical implementation prior to clinical use. The goal of this study is to give an example of how to identify the risks and find mitigation strategies to reduce these risks in an implemented workflow containing a deep learning based planning tool for breast Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy.

Materials And Methods: The deep learning model ran on a private Google Cloud environment for adequate computational capacity and was integrated into a workflow that could be initiated within the clinical Treatment Planning System (TPS).

The effects of diet enhancement on the health of commercial bumblebee colonies.

Unlabelled: Commercially reared bees provide economically important pollination services for a diversity of crops. Improving their health is important both to maximise their pollination services and to avoid possible pathogen spillover or spillback with wild pollinators. Diet quality may directly or indirectly affect diverse aspects of bumblebee health, including colony development, individual size and immune health, but the impact of this remains unclear.

Prognostic factors for overall survival in elderly patients with glioblastoma: Analysis of the pooled NOA-08 and Nordic trials with the CCTG-EORTC (CE.6) trial.

Background: The majority of patients diagnosed with glioblastoma are >60 years. Three randomized trials addressed the roles of radiotherapy (RT) and temozolomide (TMZ) for elderly patients. NORDIC and NOA-08 compared RT versus TMZ, while CE.

Medial Deviation of a 6° Prosthetic Trochlear Groove After Kinematically Aligned Total Knee Arthroplasty Occurs in Four Types of Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee (CPAK) and Decreases the Forgotten Joint Score.

Background: The study focused on kinematically aligned total knee arthroplasty (KA TKA). It identified which coronal plane alignment of the knee (CPAK) types are associated with a higher proportion of medial deviation of the 6° prosthetic trochlear groove (PTG) relative to the quadriceps' line of pull and whether medial deviation adversely affected the Forgotten Joint Score (FJS). The research calculated the minimum PTG angle required to prevent medial deviation by at least 2° in all patients.

Selective extraction of lithium over alkali and alkaline earth ions by synergistic solvent extraction.

Direct lithium extraction (DLE) from natural surface and geothermal brines is very challenging due to the low ratio of lithium to other metals, and the lack of suitable materials that bind lithium with sufficiently high selectivity. In this paper, a synergistic solvent extraction system is described that comprises a liquid ion exchanger (saponified bis(2-ethylhexyl)dithiophosphoric acid) and a lithium-selective ligand (2,9-dibutyl-1,10-phenanthroline) in an aliphatic diluent. The extraction mechanism was investigated and was confirmed to involve the binding of lithium to the selective ligand, while the liquid ion exchanger facilitates the transfer of metal ions from the aqueous to the organic phase.

A digital tool for multidimensional assessment and prediction of treatment effectiveness in chronic pain management.

Given the multidimensional aspect of pain, the assessment of treatment efficacy is challenging. The prospective observational multicenter PREDIBACK study aimed to assess, compare, and predict the effectiveness of different treatments for persistent spinal pain syndrome type 2 (PSPS-T2) using a digital tool and the Multidimensional Clinical Response Index (MCRI) including pain intensity, functional disability, quality of life, anxiety and depression, and pain surface. Results indicated that neurostimulation was the most effective treatment at 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up compared to baseline, leading to significant improvements in pain, function, and quality of life, whereas optimized medical management (OMM) and spinal reoperation showed no significant benefits.

PRONAME: a user-friendly pipeline to process long-read nanopore metabarcoding data by generating high-quality consensus sequences.

Background: The study of sample taxonomic composition has evolved from direct observations and labor-intensive morphological studies to different DNA sequencing methodologies. Most of these studies leverage the metabarcoding approach, which involves the amplification of a small taxonomically-informative portion of the genome and its subsequent high-throughput sequencing. Recent advances in sequencing technology brought by Oxford Nanopore Technologies have revolutionized the field, enabling portability, affordable cost and long-read sequencing, therefore leading to a significant increase in taxonomic resolution.

A Preliminary Study of Spherical Surface-Modified Carbon Materials for Potential Application in La (Ac) and Bi Separation.

Separation of high-activity Bi from Ac for targeted alpha therapy is challenging due to the instability of existing sorbents. Surface-modified carbon materials have shown promise for use in inverse Ac/Bi generators. However, previously reported materials with irregular shapes may limit their applications in column separations.

Mechanistic Studies on the Gold-Catalyzed Intramolecular Hydroalkylation of Ynamides to Indenes.

An in-depth experimental and computational study to rationalize the mechanism underlying the gold-catalyzed intramolecular hydroalkylation of ynamides to indenes is reported. Evaluating the reactivity of a set of deuterated ynamides and gold complexes allowed to get valuable insights into the mechanism of this reaction, while DFT calculations allowed to determine a plausible reaction pathway for this unprecedented transformation. This pathway involves the activation of the ynamide followed by a [1,5]-hydride shift from the highly reactive, in situ generated keteniminium ion, and a subsequent cyclization before deprotonation followed by a final protodeauration.

Hepatic stellate cell single cell atlas reveals a highly similar activation process across liver disease aetiologies.

Background & Aims: The progression of chronic liver disease (CLD) is characterized by excessive extracellular matrix deposition, disrupting hepatic architecture and function. Upon liver injury, hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) differentiate towards myofibroblasts and become inflammatory, proliferative and fibrogenic. To date, it is still unclear whether HSC activation is driven by similar mechanisms in different aetiologies.

Uncontrolled asthma is Associated with Increased Visceral Adipose Tissue, Decreased Bone Mineral Content, and Reduced Exercise Capacity.

Introduction: Physical inactivity due to shortness of breath is common among patients with uncontrolled asthma. We evaluated the body mass composition and exercise capacity of patients with poorly controlled asthma, despite maximal inhalation therapy.

Methods:  We recruited 56 patients from the Asthma Clinic of the University Hospital of Liège between September 2020 and December 2023, and 14 healthy subjects.