Advance care planning readiness, barriers, and facilitators among seriously ill Black older adults and their surrogates: A mixed methods study.

Objectives: Advance care planning (ACP) supports communication and medical decision-making and is best conceptualized as part of the care planning continuum. Black older adults have lower ACP engagement and poorer quality of care in serious illness. Surrogates are essential to effective ACP but are rarely integrated in care planning.

Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections Among Hemodialysis Patients in Northern Tanzania: Insights From a Single-Centre Retrospective Study.

Background And Aims: A catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) is a life-threatening complication of hemodialysis. It is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality and a costly long hospital stay. Despite its burden, little is known about the factors associated with it and the antibiogram of its responsible causative bacteria.

Identifying pre-diabetes 'hotspots' in Northern California using geospatial analysis: opportunities to target diabetes prevention strategies and improve health equity.

Objectives: The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening of adults aged 35-70 with a body mass index ≥25 kg/m for type 2 diabetes and referral of individuals who screen positive for pre-diabetes to evidence-based prevention strategies. The diabetes burden in the USA is predicted to triple by 2060 necessitating strategic diabetes prevention efforts, particularly in areas of highest need. This study aimed to identify pre-diabetes hotspots using geospatial mapping to inform targeted diabetes prevention strategies.

Renoprotective effects of coenzyme Q10 supplementation in patients with chronic kidney disease: a protocol for a systematic review.

Introduction: Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a fat-soluble vitamin-like quinone. The plasma levels of CoQ10 are reduced in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). CoQ10 supplementation can improve mitochondrial function and decrease oxidative stress in these patients.

Risk factors and prediction model of breast cancer-related lymphoedema in a Chinese cancer centre: a prospective cohort study protocol.

Introduction: Lymphoedema is a distressing and long-term complication for breast cancer survivors. However, the reported incidence of lymphoedema varies, and its risk factors remain underexplored. Currently, a well-established risk prediction model is still lacking.

Cost efficiency of inpatient rehabilitation following acquired brain injury: the first international adaptation of the UK approach.

Objectives: To adapt and apply a model for evaluating the functional benefits and cost efficiency of specialist inpatient rehabilitation to the Australian context, comparing functional outcomes and savings in the cost of ongoing care after acquired brain injury.

Design: An observational cohort analysis of prospectively collected clinical data from admission to discharge, with follow-up to 3 years.

Setting: A newly established state-wide inpatient postacute rehabilitation unit in Victoria, Australia for patients with moderate to severe acquired brain injury.

Modified Delphi expert elicitation of the clinical and economic burden of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in England and Northern Ireland.

Objective: To estimate the resource use of patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), stratified by New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, in the English and Northern Irish healthcare systems via expert elicitation.

Design: Modified Delphi framework methodology.

Setting: UK HCM secondary care centres (n=24).

The virome composition of respiratory tract changes in school-aged children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.

Background: Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) is a common pathogen for respiratory infections in children. Previous studies have reported respiratory tract microbial disturbances associated with MP infection (MPI); however, since the COVID-19 pandemic, respiratory virome data in school-aged children with MPI remains insufficient. This study aims to explore the changes in the respiratory virome caused by MPI after the COVID-19 pandemic to enrich local epidemiological data.

Anthocyanins from a new hybrid sweet potato peel cultivated in Northern Thailand mitigate LPS-induced inflammation and RANKL-induced osteoporosis by regulating ROS-mediated pathways.

Maejo 341 Sweet potato (MSP) is a new purple sweet potato variety cultivated in Northern Thailand, but its health benefits are unknown. This study aimed to investigate its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-osteoporotic activities, as well as its anthocyanin content. The peel and flesh of MSP were extracted with ethanol and water.

Health risk assessment via ingestion of disinfection by-products in drinking water.

Disinfection is a critical process to ensure the safety of drinking water. To curb the spread of various bacteria and viruses, disinfectants are extensively employed in communities, hospitals, sewage treatment plants, and other settings. However, disinfectants can produce disinfection by-products (DBPs) that threaten human health.

The burden of prostate cancer in the North Africa and Middle East Region from 1990 to 2021.

Prostate cancer ranks among the most prevalent malignancies affecting males globally. This study sought to document the incidence, deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) that were due to prostate cancer in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and its 21 countries, from 1990 to 2021. We analysed publicly accessible data from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study to present findings on the incidence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) associated with prostate cancer.

Epidemiology and Resistance Profiles of Bacteria Isolated from Blood Samples in Septic Patients at Emergency Department Admission: A 6-year Single Center Retrospective Analysis from Northern Italy.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the microbiological and clinical heterogeneity of community-onset bloodstream infections (BSIs) and identify features to support targeted empirical antibiotic therapy in the Emergency Department (ED).

Methods: Clinical and microbiological data from 992 BSI cases (1,135 isolates) diagnosed within 24 hours of ED admission at IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy (January 2015-June 2022), were analyzed. Drug resistance was interpreted using EUCAST-2023.

Clinicians' perspectives on the use of artificial intelligence to triage MRI brain scans.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools can triage radiology scans to streamline the patient pathway and also relieve clinician workload. Validated AI tools can mitigate the delays in reporting scans by flagging time-sensitive and actionable findings. In this study, we aim to investigate current stakeholder perspectives and identify obstacles to integrating AI in clinical pathways.

Preliminary Development and Validation of Automated Nociception Recognition Using Computer Vision in Perioperative Patients.

Background: Effective pain recognition and treatment in perioperative environments reduce length of stay and decrease risk of delirium and chronic pain. We sought to develop and validate preliminary computer vision-based approaches for nociception detection in hospitalized patients.

Methods: Prospective observational cohort study using red-green-blue camera detection of perioperative patients.

'Screening should not be based on ability to pay': Australian healthcare providers' and consumers' perspectives on public funding for non-invasive prenatal testing.

Background: Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) does not receive any Medicare rebate. This study investigated the views of Australian healthcare providers and consumers on public funding of NIPT.

Materials And Methods: Two anonymous online, cross-sectional surveys were conducted from September 2022 to January 2023.

Gold(I)-Catalyzed Nucleophilic Propargylations of Azinium Ions via Hydroxydihydroazine Intermediates.

The nucleophilic propargylation of azinium ions with a propargylboronate proceeds efficiently under gold(I) catalysis. A range of N-alkylated pyridinium, quinolinium, and pyrazinium ions undergo propargylation with good yields and high regioselectivities to give various functionalized 1,4-dihydropyridines, 1,2-dihydropyridines, 1,4-dihydroquinolines, 1,2-dihydroquinolines, and 4,5-dihydropyrazines. No allenylation side-products are observed.

Null subject comprehension and production revisited: a look at English and Italian.

This study will investigate how children acquire the option to drop the subject of a sentence, or null subjects (e.g., "Tickles me" instead of "He tickles me").

Complex species structure of (Digenea: Lecithasteridae), a fish parasite in the Arctic and Pacific Northwest.

Studying complexes of cryptic or pseudocryptic species opens new horizons for the understanding of speciation processes, an important yet vague issue for the digeneans. We investigated a hemiuroidean trematode across a wide geographic range including the northern European seas (White, Barents, and Pechora), East Siberian Sea, and the Pacific Northwest (Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan). The goals were to explore the genetic diversity within through mitochondrial ( and genes) and ribosomal (ITS1, ITS2, 28S rDNA) marker sequences, to study morphometry of maritae, and to revise the life cycle data.

Risk of stroke with reduced dose direct oral anticoagulants vs standard dose anticoagulation after cardioversion of atrial fibrillation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: There is consensus on the safety of standard dose direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for stroke prevention in patients undergoing cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (AF), but outcomes of reduced dose DOACs in this setting remain unclear.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the rate of cardioversion-associated thromboembolic events between patients taking reduced dose DOACs and those receiving standard dose anticoagulation.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted for studies published between January 1, 2009, and February 16, 2024 in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.

Size Influences on the Survival of Willow Cuttings Under Operational Field Conditions.

Willows (genus ) are increasingly used in operational-scale ecosystem reclamation; however, different opinions exist regarding the optimal cutting size for planting under field conditions. We compared the survival of field-planted willow cuttings sourced from upland and lowland areas with varying diameters and lengths across two growing seasons. Cuttings were grouped into 15 size classes with different diameters (0.

QTL-Based Evidence of Population Genetic Divergence in Male Territorial Aggressiveness of the Japanese Freshwater Threespine Stickleback.

Territorial aggression is widespread across the animal kingdom and is expressed in diverse ecological and social contexts. In addition, there are marked variations in the degree of male reproductive territoriality within and between species. These differences are often attributed to genetic components.

A Descriptive Study of Patients Presenting With Topical Steroid Damaged/Dependent Face (TSDF) to a Tertiary Care Center in Northern India.

Introduction Topical steroid damaged/dependent face (TSDF) is defined as the semi-permanent or permanent damage to the skin of the face precipitated by the irrational, indiscriminate, or prolonged use of topical corticosteroids (TCs), resulting in various cutaneous signs and symptoms and psychological dependence on the drug. The objective was to determine the clinical spectrum of TSDF. Methods This was an observational cross-sectional study conducted between May 2021 and April 2022, comprising 100 consecutive patients of TC-induced facial dermatoses who visited the skin and venereal disease OPD of a tertiary care hospital in northern India.

Clinical Outcomes of Liver Abscesses in Adults: A 10-Year Experience at a Tertiary Care Center in Northern India.

Purpose Hepatic abscesses remain a significant clinical challenge due to high morbidity and mortality. This research aims to examine the etiological spectrum, management approaches, clinical features, and results in hepatic abscesses in a tertiary care facility in northern India, emphasizing the distinctions among pyogenic liver abscesses (PLAs) and amoebic liver abscesses (ALAs). Methods This retrospective study was done at GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, analyzing 725 patients with hepatic abscesses over a 10-year period.