Energy Landscapes in Chemical Reactions and Transport.

Both, molecular chemical reactions and transport of atoms in solid media are determined by the energy landscape in which the seemingly different processes take place. Chemical reactions can be described as cooperative translocation of two chemical entities on a common potential energy surface. Transport of atoms in a solid can be envisaged as the translocation of a single particle in the potential energy landscape of all other particles constituting the solid.

Effects on impulsivity and delay discounting of intermittent theta burst stimulation add-on to dialectical behavioral therapy in borderline personality disorder: a randomized, sham-controlled pilot trial.

Background: Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are both effective in treating borderline personality disorder (BPD). Impulsivity and impaired decision-making are prominent features of BPD, and therapeutic interventions targeting these symptoms could lead to significant improvements.

Objective/hypothesis: We hypothesized that intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS), a modified rTMS protocol that targets the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, would enhance the therapeutic effects of DBT, leading to greater improvements in impulsivity and decision-making compared with sham stimulation.

Discovery of robust and highly specific microbiome signatures of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background: The pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with a global prevalence of 30% is multifactorial and the involvement of gut bacteria has been recently proposed. However, finding robust bacterial signatures of NAFLD has been a great challenge, mainly due to its co-occurrence with other metabolic diseases.

Results: Here, we collected public metagenomic data and integrated the taxonomy profiles with in silico generated community metabolic outputs, and detailed clinical data, of 1206 Chinese subjects w/wo metabolic diseases, including NAFLD (obese and lean), obesity, T2D, hypertension, and atherosclerosis.

The status of care for youth with type 1 diabetes within and coming from humanitarian crises settings: a narrative review.

Background: Humanitarian crises bring unique, and potentially growing challenges to people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). We aimed to determine, in youth with T1D (mean age (± 1SD) 0-17.9 years) within and coming from humanitarian crises settings (HCS), the reported prevalence that meet international consensus targets for glycaemic, blood pressure and lipid management, and incidence of severe hypoglycaemia or diabetic ketoacidosis.

How Delphi studies in the health sciences find consensus: a scoping review.

Background: Delphi studies are primarily used in the health sciences to find consensus. They inform clinical practice and influence structures, processes, and framework conditions of healthcare. The practical research-how Delphi studies are conducted-has seldom been discussed methodologically or documented systematically.

Effective community engagement in one health research in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

Background: The one health (OH) approach, linking human, animal, and environmental health, relies on effective community engagement (CE), education, stewardship, and effective regional and global partnerships. For real impact, communities should be at the centre of research agenda setting and program implementation. This review aimed at synthesizing empirical evidence on how communities are involved in one health research.

Methodological challenges using routine clinical care data for real-world evidence: a rapid review utilizing a systematic literature search and focus group discussion.

Background: The integration of real-world evidence (RWE) from real-world data (RWD) in clinical research is crucial for bridging the gap between clinical trial results and real-world outcomes. Analyzing routinely collected data to generate clinical evidence faces methodological concerns like confounding and bias, similar to prospectively documented observational studies. This study focuses on additional limitations frequently reported in the literature, providing an overview of the challenges and biases inherent to analyzing routine clinical care data, including health claims data (hereafter: routine data).

Kidney REPLACEment therapies in patients with acute kidney injury and RHABDOmyolysis (ReplaceRhabdo): a pilot trial.

Background: Rhabdomyolysis is frequently associated with acute kidney injury (AKI). Due to the nephrotoxic properties of myoglobin, its rapid removal is relevant. If kidney replacement therapy (KRT) is necessary for AKI, a procedure with effective myoglobin elimination should be preferred.

Recruiting participants for focus groups in health research: a meta-research study.

Background: Focus groups (FGs) are an established method in health research to capture a full range of different perspectives on a particular research question. The extent to which they are effective depends, not least, on the composition of the participants. This study aimed to investigate how published FG studies plan and conduct the recruitment of study participants.

Dynamic X-ray Microtomography vs. Laser-Doppler Vibrometry: A Comparative Study.

Purpose: There are challenges in understanding the biomechanics of the human middle ear, and established methods for studying this system show significant limitations. In this study, we evaluate a novel dynamic imaging technique based on synchrotron X-ray microtomography designed to assess the biomechanical properties of the human middle ear by comparing it to laser-Doppler vibrometry (LDV).

Methods: We examined three fresh-frozen temporal bones (TB), two donated by white males and one by a Black female, using dynamic synchrotron-based X-ray microtomography for 256 and 512 Hz, stimulated at 110 dB and 120 dB sound pressure level (SPL).

The aortic-vertebral distance is more associated with axial plane deformities than coronal and sagittal deformities in idiopathic scoliosis patients of Lenke types I and II.

Purpose: Although idiopathic scoliosis is a common three-dimensional deformity, there is a lack of studies evaluating the associations between the aortic-vertebral distance (AVD) and spinal deformities in all planes. The study therefore aimed to evaluate how the coronal and sagittal curvature, vertebral rotation and aortic-vertebral angle (AVA) affect the AVD in idiopathic scoliosis.

Methods: The AVD, AVA, vertebral rotation and curve angles were measured on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging and radiographs in 46 patients who underwent posterior spinal fusion with pedicle screw instrumentation for idiopathic scoliosis Lenke types 1 and 2.

Clinical and economic effects of the transformation from an open to a laparoscopic center for colorectal surgery.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of transitioning from open to laparoscopic surgery for colorectal carcinoma in a primary care hospital setting. Despite the recognized benefits of laparoscopic surgery in postoperative recovery and its demonstrated oncological equivalence, only a minority of patients (30-40%) in Germany undergo laparoscopic procedures, primarily due to concerns which, in addition to the perioperative quality data and economic aspects, focus on patient safety.

Methods: Over a three-year period (2012-2014), the transformation process was observed in a colorectal cancer center.

Tumor-infiltrating plasma cells are a prognostic factor in penile squamous cell carcinoma.

Penile cancer (PeCa) is a rare disease with poor prognosis in the metastatic stage. Neither effective adjuvant nor palliative therapeutic options are available. Research efforts in this field have so far failed to establish robust predictors of survival.

Impact of irrelevant speech and non-speech sounds on serial recall of verbal and spatial items in children and adults.

Short-term memory for sequences of verbal items such as written words is reliably impaired by task-irrelevant background sounds, a phenomenon known as the "Irrelevant Sound Effect" (ISE). Different theoretical accounts have been proposed to explain the mechanisms underlying the ISE. Some of these assume specific interference between obligatory sound processing and phonological or serial order representations generated during task performance, whereas other posit that background sounds involuntarily divert attention away from the focal task.

Nanocarrier imaging at single-cell resolution across entire mouse bodies with deep learning.

Efficient and accurate nanocarrier development for targeted drug delivery is hindered by a lack of methods to analyze its cell-level biodistribution across whole organisms. Here we present Single Cell Precision Nanocarrier Identification (SCP-Nano), an integrated experimental and deep learning pipeline to comprehensively quantify the targeting of nanocarriers throughout the whole mouse body at single-cell resolution. SCP-Nano reveals the tissue distribution patterns of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) after different injection routes at doses as low as 0.

Understanding tinnitus symptom dynamics and clinical improvement through intensive longitudinal data.

Intensive longitudinal sampling enhances subjective data collection by capturing real-time, dynamic inputs in natural settings, complementing traditional methods. This study evaluates the feasibility of using daily self-reported app data to assess clinical improvement among tinnitus patients undergoing treatment. App data from a multi-center randomized clinical trial were analysed using time-series feature extraction and nested cross-validated ordinal regression with elastic net regulation to predict clinical improvement based on the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scale (CGI-I).

Safety and efficacy of the ROCK-2-inhibitor Belumosudil in cGvHD treatment - a retrospective, German-Swiss multicenter real-world data analysis.

Belumosudil is a first in class ROCK2-inhibitor approved by the FDA for the 3rd line treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD). In this retrospective real-world analysis, we report safety and efficacy data of belumosudil treatment from 5 German/Swiss transplant centers. A total of 33 adult patients (median age 59 years) with moderate (n = 2) or severe (n = 31) cGvHD were treated on individual request due to lack of EMA approval.

Multi-omic quantitative trait loci link tandem repeat size variation to gene regulation in human brain.

Tandem repeat (TR) size variation is implicated in ~50 neurological disorders, yet its impact on gene regulation in the human brain remains largely unknown. In the present study, we quantified the impact of TR size variation on brain gene regulation across distinct molecular phenotypes, based on 4,412 multi-omics samples from 1,597 donors, including 1,586 newly sequenced ones. We identified ~2.

Workflow-driven catalytic modulation from single-atom catalysts to Au-alloy clusters on graphene.

Gold-based (Au) nanostructures are efficient catalysts for CO oxidation, hydrogen evolution (HER), and oxygen evolution (OER) reactions, but stabilizing them on graphene (Gr) is challenging due to weak affinity from delocalized [Formula: see text] carbon orbitals. This study investigates forming metal alloys to enhance stability and catalytic performance of Au-based nanocatalysts. Using ab initio density functional theory, we characterize [Formula: see text] sub-nanoclusters (M = Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, and Ag) with atomicities [Formula: see text], both in gas-phase and supported on Gr.

Transarterial Radioembolisation with Y90 Resin Microspheres and the Effect of Reimbursement Criteria in France: Final Results of the CIRT-FR Prospective Observational Study.

Purpose: This analysis of the CIRSE Registry for SIR-Spheres Therapy in France, CIRT-FR, reports on real-world outcomes of transarterial radioembolisation (TARE) with Y90 resin microspheres for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM) patients in France, focusing on safety, effectiveness and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Results on patients treated based on national reimbursement criteria are discussed here.

Methods: Prospective, multicentre, observational study of HCC and CRLM patients treated between August 2017 and July 2020 with TARE Y90 resin microspheres.

Deep learning empowered sensor fusion boosts infant movement classification.

Background: To assess the integrity of the developing nervous system, the Prechtl general movement assessment (GMA) is recognized for its clinical value in diagnosing neurological impairments in early infancy. GMA has been increasingly augmented through machine learning approaches intending to scale-up its application, circumvent costs in the training of human assessors and further standardize classification of spontaneous motor patterns. Available deep learning tools, all of which are based on single sensor modalities, are however still considerably inferior to that of well-trained human assessors.

Proteomic, metabolomic and lipidomic profiles in community acquired pneumonia for differentiating viral and bacterial infections.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has a significant impact on public health, especially in light of the recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. To enhance disease characterization and improve understanding of the underlying mechanisms, a comprehensive analysis of the plasma lipidome, metabolome and proteome was conducted in patients with viral and bacterial CAP infections, including those induced by SARS-CoV-2. Lipidomic, metabolomic and proteomic profiling were conducted on plasma samples of 69 patients suffering either from viral or bacterial CAP.

Deep-Learning-based Automated Identification of Ventriculoperitoneal-Shunt Valve Models from Skull X-rays.

Introduction: Ventriculoperitoneal shunts (VPS) are an essential part of the treatment of hydrocephalus, with numerous valve models available with different ways of indicating pressure levels. The model types often need to be identified on X‑rays to assess pressure levels using a matching template. Artificial intelligence (AI), in particular deep learning, is ideally suited to automate repetitive tasks such as identifying different VPS valve models.