The time has come for revising the rules of clozapine blood monitoring in Europe. A joint expert statement from the European Clozapine Task Force.

The European Clozapine Task Force is a group of psychiatrists and pharmacologists practicing in 18 countries under European Medicines Agency (EMA) regulation, who are deeply concerned about the underuse of clozapine in European countries. Although clozapine is the most effective antipsychotic for people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, a large proportion of them do not have access to this treatment. Concerns about clozapine-induced agranulocytosis and stringent blood monitoring rules are major barriers to clozapine prescribing and use.

Ambient air pollution and carcinogenic activity at three different urban locations.

Measurements of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were simultaneously carried out at three different urban locations in Croatia (Zagreb, Slavonski Brod and Vinkovci) characterized as urban residential (UR), urban industrial (UI) and urban background (UB), respectively. This was done in order to determine seasonal and spatial variations, estimate dominant pollution sources for each area and estimate the lifetime carcinogenic health risks from atmospheric PAHs. Mass concentrations of PAHs showed seasonal variation with the highest values during the colder period and the lowest concentration during the warmer period of the year.

Urban parks biowaste as a sustainable source of new antidiabetics.

Biowaste produced in urban parks is composed of large masses of organic matter that is only occasionally used economically. In this work, extracts of six plants widely distributed in urban parks in Central Europe (, , , , , and ), prepared using 10 % and 50 % ethanol, were screened for their antidiabetic and related properties. HPLC and UV-Vis analysis revealed the presence of caffeic acid, quercetin, luteolin, and apigenin derivatives.

Prevalence and factors associated with potential clinically significant drug-drug interactions in patients with cardiovascular diseases at hospital admission.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity globally. It is estimated that 17.9 million people died from CVDs in 2019, which represents 32 % of all deaths worldwide.

Optimization of the suspension procedure by Box-Behnken design for the determination of manganese, iron, and zinc in zeolite clinoptilolite with the TXRF system and insight into its antioxidant properties.

Zeolites are a large family of minerals and the most studied is the naturally occurring clinoptilolite. They possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and detoxifying properties which makes them valuable for medicinal use. Element analysis of zeolite's composition is necessary for its precise chemical characterization, and within this work development of a suspension method for the determination of manga nese, iron, and zinc by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spec-trometry (TXRF) was presented.

Status of Sepsis Care in European Hospitals: Results from an International Cross-Sectional Survey.

Rationale: Early detection, standardized therapy, adequate infrastructure and strategies for quality improvement should constitute essential components of every hospital's sepsis plan.

Objectives: To investigate the extent to which recommendations from the sepsis guidelines are implemented and the availability of infrastructure for the care of patients with sepsis in acute hospitals.

Methods: A multidisciplinary cross-sectional questionnaire was used to investigate sepsis care in hospitals.

Approach to anaemia in gastrointestinal disease: A position paper by the ESPGHAN Gastroenterology Committee.

Anaemia is a frequent consequence of many gastrointestinal (GI) diseases in children and it can even be the initial presenting symptom of underlying chronic GI disease. The definition of anaemia is age and gender-dependent and it can be classified based on pathophysiology, red cell morphology, and clinical presentation. Although nutritional deficiencies, including GI malabsorption of nutrients and GI bleeding, play a major role, other pathophysiologic mechanisms seen in chronic GI diseases, whether inflammatory (e.

Infliximab-induced symmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema (SDRIFE) in a patient with ulcerative colitis.

Symmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema (SDRIFE) is a rare, symmetrical skin eruption triggered by various medications, predominantly beta-lactam antibiotics. We report the case of a 69-year-old male with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis who developed SDRIFE following the seventh intravenous administration of infliximab. The patient presented with symmetrical, pruritic erythema in the cubital and popliteal fossae, groins, gluteal and retroauricular regions without systemic involvement.

Enhanced RNAi does not provide efficient innate antiviral immunity in mice.

In RNA interference (RNAi), long double-stranded RNA is cleaved by the Dicer endonuclease into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which guide degradation of complementary RNAs. While RNAi mediates antiviral innate immunity in plants and many invertebrates, vertebrates have adopted a sequence-independent response and their Dicer produces siRNAs inefficiently because it is adapted to process small hairpin microRNA precursors in the gene-regulating microRNA pathway. Mammalian endogenous RNAi is thus a rudimentary pathway of unclear significance.

Histological and histomorphometric evaluation of natural bovine bone substitute with hyaluronate in socket preservation-a report of three cases.

Tooth extraction is physiologically followed by resorption of alveolar bone. Surgical method which aims to minimise this reduction in alveolar bone with a goal to provide enough bone volume for dental implant insertion is called socket preservation. The purpose of this article was to asses clinical, histomorphometric and histological results of socket preservation conducted with natural bovine bone substitute with hyaluronate.

Diminished DNA binding affinity of DMRT1 caused by heterozygous DM domain mutations is a cause of male infertility.

The most severe form of male infertility is idiopathic non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), a complete sperm absence in the ejaculate. We performed exome sequencing in the Croatian infertile brothers with NOA and found a variant in DMRT1 (Doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor 1) gene that was further assessed by the EMSA assay and molecular dynamic simulations. We additionally screened for DMRT1 mutations in 1940 infertile men diagnosed with spermatogenic failure, 644 normozoospermic controls, and 105 females with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) recruited to the GEnetics of Male INfertility Initiative (GEMINI) or Estonian Andrology (ESTAND) cohorts.

Data analysis protocol for early autonomic dysfunction characterization after severe traumatic brain injury.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) disrupts normal brain tissue and functions, leading to high mortality and disability. Severe TBI (sTBI) causes prolonged cognitive, functional, and multi-organ dysfunction. Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) after sTBI can induce abnormalities in multiple organ systems, contributing to cardiovascular dysregulation and increased mortality.

Validation of an improved reference freeze-dried direct agglutination test for detecting leishmaniasis in the canine reservoir.

Proper identification and management of post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) and canine leishmaniasis (CanL) cases are among the prerequisites to the effective control of visceral leishmaniasis worldwide. Unlike PKDL, CanL still awaits effective improvement because of its cryptic nature, absence of parasites in lesions or lymph nodes and not complete sensitivity of some diagnostic tools in use. Because of the need for certain skills and equipment, both the liquid direct agglutination test and freeze-dried direct agglutination test (FD-DAT) versions are, in comparison with the indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), practical and feasible diagnostic alternatives.

Synthesizing and assessing influenza vaccine evidence: Strengths and limitations of the recent ECDC report on the effectiveness of new and enhanced influenza vaccines. Communication on: the "European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Systematic review update on the efficacy, effectiveness and safety of newer and enhanced seasonal influenza vaccines for the prevention of laboratory confirmed influenza in individuals aged 18 years and over. Stockholm: ECDC; 2024".

High quality research is critical for evidence-based decision making in public health and fundamental to maintain progress and trust in immunization programs in Europe. In 2024 the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) conducted an update of the 2020 systematic review to capture more recent evidence on of the efficacy, effectiveness of influenza vaccines in individuals aged 18 years and older in the prevention of laboratory-confirmed influenza. While this report was highly anticipated due to the strength of the protocol and processes put in place, during our assessment, we expressed two chief concerns.

The first case of alveolar echinococcosis from southern Croatia: progressive course of the disease in an immunocompromised patient.

Introduction: Alveolar echinococcosis is one of the most pathogenic zoonoses caused by the larval forms of . It is endemic in central Europe, but from 2001 to 2018, eight European countries reported their first cases of alveolar echinococcosis. These numbers testify to unprecedented spread of the infection.

Vaginal versus caesarean delivery in fetal macrosomia-a retrospective cohort study.

Objective: The aims of this study were to determine the incidence of macrosomic births over a 5-year period and to examine the childbirth complications for both mother and newborn.

Patients And Methods: During the study period there were a total of 16,126 deliveries, of which 1905 were macrosomic fetuses (defined as those with a birthweight of 4000 g or more). Data on the course of pregnancy and childbirth were collected from existing maternal and peripartum medical records.

Digital 3D exoscope is an effective tool for the surgery of falx and parasagittal meningiomas.

Purpose: Digital 3D exoscopes are promising tools for microneurosurgery. The results of exoscope-assisted resection of intracranial meningiomas have only been addressed in few case reports. We retrospectively compared the results of exoscope and microscope-assisted surgery of falx and parasagittal meningiomas.

Maximum Tumor Diameter is Associated with Relapse Risk in Limited-Stage Hodgkin Lymphoma: An International Study.

Tumour bulk is an established prognostic factor in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) but most patients with limited-stage (LS) HL do not have 'bulk' by standard binary definitions. In the RAPID trial, maximum tumor diameter (MTD) was associated with risk of relapse for LS-HL patients achieving PET-negativity after ABVD chemotherapy. We aimed to externally validate these findings in the H10 trial.

Phonological and speech motor abilities in children with childhood apraxia of speech.

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder in which the precision and consistency of speech sounds are impaired due to deficits in motor planning and programming. The literature on CAS suggests that the clinical features of CAS cannot be limited to one level of speech processing and that a more comprehensive understanding of how all levels involved in speech production are part of a complex system is needed. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between phonological and speech motor abilities in children with CAS and to determine the extent to which speech motor performance accounts for phonological processing in children with CAS.

Enhancing Biophysical Muscle Fatigue Model in the Dynamic Context of Soccer.

In the field of muscle fatigue models (MFMs), the prior research has demonstrated success in fitting data in specific contexts, but it falls short in addressing the diverse efforts and rapid changes in exertion typical of soccer matches. This study builds upon the existing model, aiming to enhance its applicability and robustness to dynamic demand shifts. The objective is to encapsulate the complexities of soccer dynamics with a streamlined set of parameters.

Biopharmaceutical Characterization and Stability of Nabumetone-Cyclodextrins Complexes Prepared by Grinding.

Nabumetone (NAB) is a poorly soluble nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory prodrug (BCS class II drug) whose solubility is significantly improved by complexation with cyclodextrins (CDs). : The solid complexes, in a 1:1 molar ratio, were prepared by mechanochemical activation by grinding, using β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and its derivatives, hydroxypropyl- and sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD and SBE-β-CD). The complexation was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR).