Policy options for sustainable access to off-patent antibiotics in Europe.

Securing sustainable access to existing antibiotics optimises agent choice for individual treatments and is crucial to curb antibiotic resistance. Access to antibiotics is often restricted in many countries, due to general market unavailability or episodic shortages. This article outlines key policy options to maintain availability of existing antibiotics and enhance antibiotic supply chain resilience focusing on the perspectives of European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) institutions and member states.

Leveraging a phased pangenome for haplotype design of hybrid potato.

The tetraploid genome and clonal propagation of the cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) dictate a slow, non-accumulative breeding mode of the most important tuber crop. Transitioning potato breeding to a seed-propagated hybrid system based on diploid inbred lines has the potential to greatly accelerate its improvement.

Certified reference materials for GMO analysis-more than 25 years of GMO CRM production at EC JRC.

Certified reference materials (CRMs) play a crucial role in ensuring the quality of analytical measurements. Particularly, the EU labelling legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food and feed products explicitly requires CRMs for its implementation. The CRMs are used to calibrate and control the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method and support official control laboratories, such as National Reference Laboratories (NRLs), in maintaining their ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.

Flumequine, a fluoroquinolone in disguise.

Fluoroquinolone resistance in E. coli isolates from livestock in Europe remains high despite EMA restrictions on fluoroquinolone use in animals. However, flumequine, a quinolone not classified as a fluoroquinolone by various regulatory bodies, is still used in livestock in the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and France.

Photothermal nanofiber-mediated photoporation for gentle and efficient intracellular delivery of macromolecules.

Photoporation with free photothermal nanoparticles (NPs) is a promising technology for gentle delivery of functional biomacromolecules into living cells, offering great flexibility in terms of cell types and payload molecules. However, the translational use of photoporation, such as for transfecting patient-derived cells for cell therapies, is hampered by safety and regulatory concerns as it relies on direct contact between cells and photothermal NPs. A solution is to embed the photothermal NPs in electrospun nanofibers, which form a substrate for cell culture.

Intracardiac or transesophageal echocardiography for left atrial appendage occlusion: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) appears to be a potential alternative for percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) to transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Thus, a meta-analysis was performed comparing ICE vs. TEE for LAAO guidance.

Reducing Quotation Errors in Scientific Manuscripts: A Novel Approach from the Global Andrology Forum.

Purpose: This study investigated 1) the frequency of quotation errors in multi-authored medical manuscripts in andrology, 2) analyzed common types of quotation errors and the methods used to rectify them, and 3) evaluated their impact on manuscript accuracy, credibility, and research conclusions.

Materials And Methods: Twelve manuscripts written by the Global Andrology Forum (GAF) members between 2023 and 2024 were randomly selected for this study. The manuscripts and "Quotation Verification Sheets" were analyzed by senior GAF researchers to detect the number and types of quotation errors.

Airway clearance techniques for people with acute exacerbation of COPD: a scoping review.

Introduction: Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) often involve mucus hypersecretion. Thus, management of sputum retention is critical. However, the use of airway clearance techniques (ACTs) in people with AECOPD across different healthcare settings and factors influencing their selection remain unclear.

Content, uptake and adherence of exercise interventions after an acute exacerbation of COPD: a scoping review.

Introduction: Pulmonary rehabilitation is underutilised in patients after an acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD). Retrieving information regarding the setting, training modalities and the uptake and adherence to exercise interventions for these individuals in a vulnerable state could potentially guide future research.

Aim: To provide a comprehensive review of the existing literature on the content, uptake and adherence of different exercise interventions for patients after an AECOPD.

Identifying outcome domains to establish a core outcome set for progressive pulmonary fibrosis: a scoping review.

Introduction: People with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other forms of progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) have a high symptom burden and a poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Despite efforts to offer specialised treatment, clinical care for these patients remains suboptimal and several nonmedical needs remain unaddressed. Developing a core outcome set (COS) can help to identify a minimum set of agreed-upon outcomes that should be measured and acted-upon in clinical care.

Filter-aided extracellular vesicle enrichment (FAEVEr) for proteomics.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), membrane-delimited nanovesicles that are secreted by cells into the extracellular environment, are gaining substantial interest due to their involvement in cellular homeostasis and their contribution to disease pathology. The latter in particular has led to an exponential increase in interest in EVs as they are considered to be circulating packages containing potential biomarkers and are also a possible biological means to deliver drugs in a cell-specific manner. However, several challenges hamper straightforward proteome analysis of EVs as they are generally low abundant and reside in complex biological matrices.

The effect of material properties and process parameters on die filling using double-tip tooling: A PLS-model-based analysis.

Up-scaling on a rotary tablet press by increasing turret speed can have a negative effect on die filling performance, as the dies have less time to be filled, leading to high tablet weight variability. For this reason, double-tip tooling is investigated, where a punch contains 2 tips instead of 1, doubling the throughput without the need to increase turret speed. However, when using multi-tip punches, one has to bear in mind that punch responses, e.

Occurrence of macrolides resistance in Legionella pneumophila ST188: results of the Belgian epidemiology and resistome investigation of clinical isolates.

Introduction: The incidence of Legionnaires' disease (LD) steadily increases worldwide. Although Legionella pneumophila is known as pathogenic, systematic investigations into antibiotic resistance are scarce, and reports of resistance in isolates are recently emerging.

Methods: Clinical cases and metadata reported to the Belgian National Reference Centre between 2011 and 2022 were retrospectively analysed.

Morpho-functional characterisation of cœlomocytes in the aquacultivated sea cucumber Holothuria scabra: from cell diversity to transcriptomic immune response.

Holothuria scabra is one of the most valuable species of sea cucumber owing to its exploitation as a seafood product. This study aims to describe the main molecular and cellular actors in the immunology of the holothuroid H. scabra.

Three-dimensional scapular kinematics during commonly used rehabilitation exercises in patients 12 weeks after Reversed Shoulder Arthroplasty.

Background: Reversed shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) is often used to restore functionality in patients with joint arthropathy and dysfunctional rotator cuff. As rTSA changes the biomechanical properties of the shoulder, an altered movement pattern of arm and scapula is to be expected. Previous studies focused on changes of the scapulohumeral rhythm during functional elevation tasks.

Inspiratory effort and respiratory muscle activation during different breathing conditions in patients with weaning difficulties: An exploratory study.

Background: Recent studies suggest that fast and deep inspirations against either low or high external loads may provide patients with weaning difficulties with a training stimulus during inspiratory muscle training (IMT). However, the relationship between external IMT load, reflected by changes in airway pressure swings (ΔPaw), and total inspiratory effort, measured by oesophageal pressure swings (ΔPes), remains unexplored. Additionally, the association between ΔPes, ΔPaw, and inspiratory muscle activations remains unclear.

HBM4EU E-waste study - An untargeted metabolomics approach to characterize metabolic changes during E-waste recycling.

E-waste contains hazardous chemicals that may be a direct health risk for workers involved in recycling. We conducted an untargeted metabolomics analysis of urine samples collected from male e-waste processing workers to explore metabolic changes associated with chemical exposures in e-waste recycling in Belgium, Finland, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal. Questionnaire data and urine samples were obtained from workers involved in the processing of e-waste (sorting, dismantling, shredding, pre-processing, metal, and non-metal processing), as well as from controls with no known occupational exposure.

Role of narrow band imaging in assessing bronchial mucosal hypervascularization in COVID-19 patients.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 virus which targets the lung vasculature is supposed to affect both pulmonary and bronchial arteries. This study evaluated the tracheobronchial vascularization density observed with narrow band imaging (NBI) in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia. To determine if the observed changes were specific of COVID-19 patients, the procedure was also performed in non-COVID-19 patients.

Proton arc therapy plan optimization with energy layer pre-selection driven by organ at risk sparing and delivery time.

Objective: As proton arc therapy (PAT) approaches clinical implementation, optimizing treatment plans for this innovative delivery modality remains challenging, especially in addressing arc delivery time. Existing algorithms for minimizing delivery time are either optimal but computationally demanding or fast but at the expense of sacrificing many degrees of freedom. In this study, we introduce a flexible method for pre-selecting energy layers (EL) in PAT treatment planning before the actual robust spot weight optimization.

Association of poultry vaccination with interspecies transmission and molecular evolution of H5 subtype avian influenza virus.

The effectiveness of poultry vaccination in preventing the transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (AIVs) has been debated, and its impact on wild birds remains uncertain. Here, we reconstruct the movements of H5 subtype AIV lineages among vaccinated poultry, unvaccinated poultry, and wild birds, worldwide, from 1996 to 2023. We find that there is a time lag in viral transmission among different host populations and that movements from wild birds to unvaccinated poultry were more frequent than those from wild birds to vaccinated poultry.

Reconstructing prehistoric lifeways using multi-Isotope analyses of human enamel, dentine, and bone from Legaire Sur, Spain.

Megalithism has been repetitively tied to specialised herding economies in Iberia, particularly in the mountainous areas of the Basque Country. Legaire Sur, in the uplands of Álava region, is a recently excavated passage tomb (megalithic monument) that held a minimum number of 25 individuals. This study analysed the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotope ratios of 18 individuals, in a multi-tissue sampling study (successional tooth enamel sampling, incremental dentine sampling, and bulk bone collagen sampling).

Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry to Probe Sequences in Supramolecular Copolymers.

The analysis of the microstructure of supramolecular copolymers is difficult because of their dynamic character. Here, benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA) co-assemblies are analysed by ion mobility - mass spectrometry (IM-MS) to reveal the presence of various sequences. For example, the IM-MS mobilogram for hexamers composed of 4 units from a first monomer and 2 units from a second monomer is a broad distribution due to the presence of 9 possible isomeric sequences, which can be sorted out based on calculated collision cross-sections.

Transgene-free genome editing in poplar.

Precise gene-editing methods are valuable tools to enhance genetic traits. Gene editing is commonly achieved via stable integration of a gene-editing cassette in the plant's genome. However, this technique is unfavorable for field applications, especially in vegetatively propagated plants, such as many commercial tree species, where the gene-editing cassette cannot be segregated away without breaking the genetic constitution of the elite variety.

Isatuximab, Carfilzomib, Lenalidomide, and Dexamethasone Induction in Newly Diagnosed Myeloma: Analysis of the MIDAS Trial.

In patients with transplant-eligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, induction therapy with a quadruplet regimen prior to autologous transplant is the standard of care. The phase III IFM2020-02-MIDAS study (NCT04934475) assessed a minimal residual disease (MRD)-driven consolidation and maintenance strategy following induction with isatuximab, carfilzomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (IsaKRD). Here, we report safety and efficacy outcomes of six 28-day cycles of IsaKRD.

Depressive Symptoms and Amyloid Pathology.

Importance: Depressive symptoms are associated with cognitive decline in older individuals. Uncertainty about underlying mechanisms hampers diagnostic and therapeutic efforts. This large-scale study aimed to elucidate the association between depressive symptoms and amyloid pathology.