Alendronate for the primary and secondary prevention of osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women.

Rationale: Osteoporosis is an abnormal reduction in bone mass and bone deterioration, leading to increased fracture risk. Alendronate belongs to the bisphosphonate class of drugs, which inhibit bone resorption by interfering with the activity of osteoclasts (bone cells that break down bone tissue). This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in 2008.

Frontline Voice: AO Spine Member Survey Regarding Spine Oncology Knowledge Generation and Translation Needs.

Study Design: cross-sectional survey.

Objectives: To evaluate AO Spine members' practices and comfort in managing metastatic and primary spine tumors, explore the use of decision-support and patient assessment tools, and identify knowledge gaps and future needs in spine oncology.

Methods: An online survey was distributed to AO Spine members to query comfort levels with key decisions in spinal oncology management, utilization of decision frameworks and spine oncology-specific instruments, and educational material preferences.

Development and Validation of the Internalized Care Stigma Scale (ICSS): Measuring care stigma aimed at informal care for older adults in Germany.

Background And Objectives: In this study we developed and validated the Internalized Caregiver Stigma Scale (ICSS) to measure internalized stigma targeting informal care for older adults (≥60 years) in Germany.

Research Design And Methods: The ICSS scale was developed in the Attitudes Towards Informal Caregivers (ATTIC) project based on stigma theories and (cognitive) pretesting with informal caregivers. Informal long-term caregivers (aged ≥40 years; n=433) of older relatives (aged ≥60 years) were quota-sampled from the online panel GapFish in December 2023 (twice as many female and middle-aged (aged 40-64 years) caregivers than male and younger (18-39 years) or older adults (65+ years) were included in the sample).

Distinct patterns of genome size evolution in each bryophyte lineage are not correlated with whole genome duplication.

Background And Aims: Genome size varies by orders of magnitude across land plants, and the factors driving evolutionary increases and decreases in genome size vary across lineages. Bryophytes have the smallest genomes relative to other land plants and there is growing evidence for frequent whole genome duplication (WGD) across the lineage. However, the broad patterns of genome size, chromosome number, and WGD have yet to be characterized across bryophytes in a phylogenetic context.

Individualized developmental care interventions for promoting development and preventing morbidity in preterm infants.

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the benefits and harms of individualized developmental care interventions for promoting development and preventing morbidity in preterm infants.

The Economic Burden of Management of Pituitary Adenomas: A Propensity-Score-Matched Cost Analysis.

Importance: Pituitary adenomas (PAs) present a notable economic burden on healthcare systems due to their management's reliance on multimodal, often costly interventions.

Objective: To determine total and relative healthcare costs for PAs at Ontario-based institutions.

Design: A retrospective, propensity-score-matched cohort analysis.

Educational attainment as a potential effect modifier of alcohol use and 100% alcohol-attributable mortality in the United States-A longitudinal analysis of mortality linked survey data from 1997 to 2018.

Aims: To measure effects between educational attainment and alcohol use as a driver of unequal alcohol-attributable mortality.

Design: Nation-wide cohort study using a longitudinal design, linking data from the 1997-2018 National Health Interview Survey to mortality data of the National Death Index in 2019. The study has an average follow-up time of 10.

Identifying gait differences between Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies and their associations with regional amyloid deposition.

Introduction: We aimed to compare gait between individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals and to evaluate the association between gait and regional amyloid beta (Aβ) burden in AD and DLB.

Methods: We included 420 participants (70 AD, 70 DLB, 280 CU) in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging (MCSA). Gait was assessed using a pressure-sensor walkway.

Investing in equitable healthy aging: Why Africa must reform social pension schemes to improve Alzheimer's disease and dementia outcomes.

The eligibility criteria for social pension schemes in Africa hinder equitable and healthy aging. In 2019, women in 14 sub-Saharan African countries had an average life expectancy of 67 years but a healthy life expectancy of only 57 years, leaving them 5 years in poor health before receiving a pension at age 62. Men had a similar situation-a life expectancy of 62 years and a healthy life expectancy of 53 years, spending 10 years in poor health before becoming eligible for pensions at age 63.

Impact of molecular diagnostic techniques on the acute respiratory infection sentinel surveillance program, Antioquia, Colombia, 2022.

Objectives: Surveillance of acute respiratory infection (ARI) informs vaccination, preventive, and management decisions. In many countries, immunofluorescence is the cornerstone for ARI surveillance. We aimed to determine the effect of adding multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) to conventional surveillance in ARI.

Hand position during chest compression in infantile piglets - Do you need to encircle the chest with the 2-thumb-technique?

Background: The Pediatric Life Support Consensus on Science With Treatment Recommendations states that chest compressions (CC) be performed with the 2-thumb-encircling and if the chest can not be encircled the 2-finger-technique.

Aim: To compare the hemodynamic effects of four different compression methods during CC in a piglet model of infant asphyxia.

Methods: Nine asphyxiated infant piglets were randomized to CC with 2-thumb-encircling, 2-thumb-, 2-finger-, and one-hand-techniques for one minute at each technique.

A rare case of pontine tegmental cap dysplasia.

Pontine Tegmental Cap Dysplasia (PTCD) is a rare hindbrain malformation characterized by cranial nerve dysfunction, cerebellar abnormalities, and developmental delays of varying severity. This case report presents a 12-month-old female with significant developmental delays, hypotonia, and cranial nerve abnormalities. The findings underscore the critical role of radiology and neuroimaging in diagnosing and managing PTCD.

Devonian-Mississippian magmatism related to extensional collapse in Svalbard: implications for radiating dyke swarms.

Background: Despite extensive studies of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic magmatic history of Svalbard, little has been done on the Paleozoic magmatism due to fewer available outcrops.

Methods: 2D seismic reflection data were used to study magmatic intrusions in the subsurface of eastern Svalbard.

Results: This work presents seismic evidence for west-dipping, Middle Devonian-Mississippian sills in eastern Spitsbergen, Svalbard.

Characteristics of patients with undiagnosed stage 3 chronic kidney disease: results from an observational study (REVEAL-CKD) in China.

Background: Early diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is crucial for timely intervention to delay disease progression and improve patient outcomes. However, data for clinical characteristics of Chinese patients with undiagnosed, early-stage CKD are lacking.

Methods: REVEAL-CKD is a multinational, observational study using real-world data in selected countries to describe factors associated with undiagnosed stage 3 CKD, time to diagnosis, and CKD management post diagnosis.

Real-World Experience of Clascoterone Cream 1% in Acne Management: Case Series and Canadian Experience.

Acne vulgaris is a globally prevalent dermatological condition associated with substantial physical and psychological burden. Although acne typically presents during adolescence, it is a chronic condition that also affects many adults. Despite the spectrum of treatments available for acne, limitations in tolerability and safety concerns can present challenges for the use of conventional medications in clinical practice.

The Limits and Contributions of Formal Support: Service Providers' Perspectives on Balancing Formal and Natural Support for People with Disabilities and their Families in Canada.

Evidence suggests that integrated support, combining both natural and formal supports, is often essential for individuals with developmental disabilities to achieve their preferred quality of life. However, studies are limited on how to organize supports so that people with developmental disabilities and their families find a balance between formal and natural supports. Often, there are systemic and personal boundaries around the nature and extent of support that can be offered to persons with developmental disabilities through formal mechanisms, yet the value of natural supports in the lives of persons with developmental disabilities is often undervalued in society.

Loss of increases type I interferon signalling and reduces pancreatic tumour growth by enhancing immune cell infiltration.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal forms of cancer, and despite low incidence rates, it remains the sixth leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. Immunotherapy, which aims to enhance the immune system's ability to recognize and eliminate cancer cells, has emerged as a promising approach in the battle against PDAC. PARP7, a mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase, is a negative regulator of the type I interferon (IFN-I) pathway and has been reported to reduce anti-tumour immunity.

Drought drives selection for earlier flowering, while pollinators drive selection for larger flowers in annual .

Drought-induced changes in floral traits can disrupt plant-pollinator interactions, influencing pollination and reproductive success. These phenotypic changes likely also affect natural selection on floral traits, yet phenotypic selection studies manipulating drought remain rare. We studied how drought impacts selection to understand the potential evolutionary consequences of drought on floral traits.

Methodological Approaches to Comparative Trend Analyses: The Case of Adolescent Toothbrushing.

Objectives: Research questions about how and why health trends differ between populations require decisions about data analytic procedure. The objective was to document and compare the information returned from stratified, fixed effect and random effect approaches to data modelling for two prototypical descriptive research questions about comparative trends in toothbrushing.

Methods: Data included five cycles of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2006 to 2022, which provided a sample of 980192 11- to 15- year olds from 35 countries.

Spatial-Temporal Variation of Grain Magnesium, Calcium and Their Response to Phosphorus Nutrition in Sweet Corn.

Sweet corn ( L. ) is gaining global popularity as a staple crop and a vegetable due to its high nutritional value. However, information on grain magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) status and their response to phosphorus (P) fertilization in sweet corn is still insufficient.

Use of reference markers in the speech of people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: Evidence from two referential communication tasks manipulating common ground with the interaction partner.

Introduction: People with schizophrenia spectrum disorders present with language dysfunctions, yet we know little about their use of reference markers (indefinite markers, definite markers, pronouns or names), a fundamental aspect of efficient speech production.

Methods: Twenty-five (25) participants with a recent-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SZ) and 25 healthy controls (HC) completed two referential communication tasks. The tasks involved presenting to an interaction partner a series of movie characters (character identification task) and movie scenes composed of six images (narration task).

Effectiveness of three machine learning models for prediction of daily streamflow and uncertainty assessment.

This study evaluates three Machine Learning (ML) models-Temporal Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks (TKAN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and Temporal Convolutional Networks (TCN)-focusing on their capabilities to improve prediction accuracy and efficiency in streamflow forecasting. We adopt a data-centric approach, utilizing large, validated datasets to train the models, and apply SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) to enhance the interpretability and reliability of the ML models. The results show that TKAN outperforms LSTM but slightly lags behind TCN in streamflow forecasting.

"Weight and See": Initial Weight Gain After Starting Antiretroviral Therapy Is Not Associated With Antiretroviral Regimen Type and Does Not Predict Subsequent Weight Trajectory.

In a Canadian cohort with HIV, 61% gained weight, 26% lost weight, and 12% remained stable in the first year of antiretroviral therapy. Weight gain was not associated with regimen type and slowed in years 2 to 3, with 44%, 34%, and 23% experiencing increasing, decreasing, and stable trajectories. Although 23% had significant weight gain year 1, many subsequently lost weight despite continuing antiretroviral therapy.

The diversity of Acarosporaceae (Acarosporales, Lecanoromycetes) in California.

, , , and are described from California. is described from California and New Mexico. is reported new for California.