Influence of Active Production Versus Passive Consumption of Podcasts on Medical Students' Learning Outcomes.

Introduction: In recent years, podcasts have been increasingly deployed in medical education. However, studies often fail to evaluate the learning outcomes from these podcasts effectively. The aim of this study was to determine whether the active production of podcasts enhances students' knowledge compared to the passive consumption of student-produced podcasts, as it increases the engagement with the learning content through active learning.

Finding predictive factors of exercise adherence in randomized controlled trials on low back pain: an individual data re-analysis using machine learning techniques.

Objective: To identify predictors of adherence in supervised and self-administered exercise interventions for individuals with low back pain.

Design: Cohort study.

Setting: Rehabilitation.

N-acetylcysteine modulates markers of oxidation, inflammation and infection in tuberculosis.

Background: Half the global tuberculosis health burden is due to post-tuberculosis lung disease. Host-directed therapies have been proposed to reduce this burden. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) provides the conditionally essential amino acid cysteine required for synthesis of glutathione, an antioxidant thiol.

Microcystoid macular edema in epiretinal membrane: not a retrograde maculopathy.

Purpose: To investigate the incidence, clinical spectrum and pathophysiology of microcystoid macular edema (MME) in two cohorts of patients with epiretinal membrane (ERM) and idiopathic full thickness macular hole (FTMH).

Design: Single-center, Retrospective, interventional, cohort study.

Methods: Review of clinical charts, structural and en-face optical coherence tomographty (OCT) and fluorescein angiography (FA) imaging of ERM and FTMH eyes which underwent surgery with pars plana vitrectomy and internal limiting membrane (ILM) peel, with a minimum follow-up of 6 months.

Scan accuracy of recently introduced wireless intraoral scanners in different fixed partial denture situations.

Objective: To compare the in vitro scan accuracy (trueness and precision) of recently introduced wireless intraoral scanners (IOSs) to commonly used wired IOSs in different fixed partial denture (FPD) situations.

Methods: Three partially edentulous maxillary models with implants located at different sites (lateral incisors [Model 1]; right canine and first molar [Model 2]; right first premolar and first molar [Model 3]) were digitized with wireless (Primescan 2 [P2] and TRIOS 5 [T5]) and wired (Primescan [P1] and TRIOS 3 [T3]) IOSs (n=14 per IOS-model pair). The models were also digitized with an industrial-grade optical scanner for their reference scans.

Differences in Microorganism Profile in Periprosthetic Joint Infections of the Knee in Patients Affected by Chronic Kidney Disease.

Background: Periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) are one of the most devastating complications of total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Patients who have chronic kidney disease (CKD) are more vulnerable to PJI. We aimed to answer the following questions: 1) What are the commonly observed pathogens in PJI after TKA in CKD patients, and do they differ from those in non-CKD patients? and 2) What are the risk factors for PJI after TKA in CKD patients?

Methods: Patients who underwent surgery due to a chronic PJI of the TKA were retrospectively enrolled.

BLOOD PROTEOMICS AND MULTIMODAL RISK PROFILING of human volunteers after incision injury: a translational study for advancing Personalized Pain Management After Surgery.

A significant number of patients develop chronic pain after surgery, but prediction of those who are at risk is currently not possible. Thus, prognostic prediction models that include bio-psycho, social and physiological factors in line with the complex nature of chronic pain would be urgently required. Here, we performed a translational study in male volunteers before an experimental incision injury.

Surgical nonunion treatment of large-sized defects of femur and tibia based on the diamond concept.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the radiological outcome of patients with large bone defects in the femur and tibia who were treated according to the guidelines of the diamond concept in our department (Centre for Orthopedics, Trauma Surgery, and Paraplegiology).

Methods: The following retrospective, descriptive analysis consists of patients treated in our department between January 2010 and December 2021. In total, 628 patients were registered, of whom 108 presented with a large-sized defect (≥ 5 cm).

Advances and challenges in precision imaging.

Technological innovations in genomics and related fields have facilitated large sequencing efforts, supported new biological discoveries in cancer, and spawned an era of liquid biopsy biomarkers. Despite these advances, precision oncology has practical constraints, partly related to cancer's biological diversity and spatial and temporal complexity. Advanced imaging technologies are being developed to address some of the current limitations in early detection, treatment selection and planning, drug delivery, and therapeutic response, as well as difficulties posed by drug resistance, drug toxicity, disease monitoring, and metastatic evolution.

Aging-related losses in dopamine D2/3 receptor availability are linked to working-memory decline across five years.

Although age differences in the dopamine system have been suggested to contribute to age-related cognitive decline based on cross-sectional data, recent large-scale cross-sectional studies reported only weak evidence for a correlation among aging, dopamine receptor availability, and cognition. Regardless, longitudinal data remain essential to make robust statements about dopamine losses as a basis for cognitive aging. We present correlations between changes in D2/3 dopamine receptor availability and changes in working memory measured over 5 yr in healthy, older adults (n = 128, ages 64 to 68 yr at baseline).

Vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor for children aged 6-11 years with cystic fibrosis (RIDGELINE Trial VX21-121-105): an analysis from a single-arm, phase 3 trial.

Background: In phase 2 trials in people with cystic fibrosis aged 18 years and older, vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor has been shown to be a safe and effective, once-daily cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator. Restoring normal CFTR function early in life has the potential to prevent manifestations of cystic fibrosis. We aimed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor in children with cystic fibrosis aged 6-11 years.

Vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor versus elexacaftor-tezacaftor-ivacaftor in individuals with cystic fibrosis aged 12 years and older (SKYLINE Trials VX20-121-102 and VX20-121-103): results from two randomised, active-controlled, phase 3 trials.

Background: The goal of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators is to reach normal CFTR function in people with cystic fibrosis. Vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor restored CFTR function in vitro and in phase 2 trials in participants aged 18 years and older resulting in improvements in CFTR function, as measured by sweat chloride concentrations and lung function as measured by spirometry. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor compared with standard of care elexacaftor-tezacaftor-ivacaftor in individuals with cystic fibrosis aged 12 years and older.

Genome-wide CRISPR-Cas 9 screens identify BCL family members as modulators of response to regorafenib in experimental glioma.

Background: Registered systemic treatment options for glioblastoma patients are limited. The phase II REGOMA trial suggested an improvement of median overall survival in progressive glioblastoma by the multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor regorafenib. This has not been confirmed by GBM AGILE.

Multiple environmental tracers combined with a constrained Bayesian isotope mixing model to elucidate nitrate and sulfate contamination in a coastal groundwater system.

Several groundwater quality investigations have been conducted in coastal regions that are commonly exposed to multiple anthropogenic stressors. Nonetheless, such studies remain challenging because they require focused-diagnostic approaches for a comprehensive understanding of groundwater contamination. Therefore, this study integrates a multi-tracer approach to acquire comprehensive information allowing for an improved understanding of the origins of groundwater contamination, the relative contribution of contaminants, and their biogeochemical cycling within a coastal groundwater system.

Barriers to implementing circular citrus supply chains: A systematic literature review.

Citrus is one of the world's most popular and widely cultivated fruits. The processing of citrus fruits for juice extraction generates solid and liquid biowaste, a valuable bio-resource that can be utilized in various sectors, including food and non-food industries. Incorporating Circular Economy (CE) principles into the citrus supply chain offers numerous opportunities but also presents certain barriers.

Amplified impacts of human activities: Non-linear responses of riverine microbial communities to distribution of land use.

Rapid global urbanization poses considerable ecological risks to freshwater systems, notably leading to substantial reductions in microbial communities. To assess the impacts of human activities on these communities, we applied the high-throughput amplicon DNA sequencing to examine spatial variations in riverine microbial communities within an urbanized watershed. Coupled with the Geographical Detector Model, the effects of the land use were identified across the watershed.

The impact of implant design consistency in staged bilateral total knee arthroplasty on gait patterns and functional outcomes: A comparative analysis.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess whether there are any differences in plantar pressure distribution and gait cycle between patients with the same implant design and patients with different designs in staged bilateral TKA and to examine the impact of these differences on clinical and functional outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of all patients who underwent staged bilateral TKA. The patients were divided into two groups based on the prosthesis design used in both knees.

SegRap2023: A benchmark of organs-at-risk and gross tumor volume Segmentation for Radiotherapy Planning of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Radiation therapy is a primary and effective treatment strategy for NasoPharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC). The precise delineation of Gross Tumor Volumes (GTVs) and Organs-At-Risk (OARs) is crucial in radiation treatment, directly impacting patient prognosis. Despite that deep learning has achieved remarkable performance on various medical image segmentation tasks, its performance on OARs and GTVs of NPC is still limited, and high-quality benchmark datasets on this task are highly desirable for model development and evaluation.

High expression of H2AX/γ-H2AX is associated with distinct biological pathway alterations and shorter survival in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The histone gene H2AX and its phosphorylated protein γ-H2AX play a crucial role in the DNA damage response. This study investigates the expression of H2AX mRNA and its phosphorylated γ-H2AX protein in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), its association with distinct biological pathway alterations and its potential as a biomarker.

Materials And Methods: Expression of H2AX mRNA in 76 OPSCC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort was analyzed.

Groundwater arsenic and antimony mobility from an antimony mining area: Controls of sulfide oxidation, carbonate and silicate weathering, and secondary mineral precipitation.

Sulfide mineral oxidation has been recognized as the key driver of arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) mobility in mining-impacted groundwater. However, the role of carbonate and silicate weathering and secondary mineral precipitation in this process remain unknown. A comprehensive geochemical study of groundwater was conducted in an Sb-mining area, Hunan, China, with samples collected from aquifers of the Xikuangshan Formation (Dx), the Shetianqiao Formation (Ds ), and the Lower Carboniferous Formation (Cy).

Combined effects of a pharmaceutical pollutant, gemfibrozil, and abiotic stressors (warming and air exposure) on cellular stress responses of the blue mussels Mytilus edulis.

Lipid-lowering drugs such as gemfibrozil (GFB) are widely used and highly biologically active, contributing to their persistence in wastewater and subsequent release into aquatic ecosystems. However, the potential impacts and toxic mechanisms of these emerging pollutants on non-target marine organisms, particularly keystone bivalves like Mytilus edulis, remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of GFB (25 µg l) on oxidative, nitrosative, and dicarbonyl stress in M.