Entropy stabilized form chirality in curved rod nematics: structure and symmetries.

Monte Carlo molecular simulations of curve-shaped rods show the propensity of such shapes to polymorphism revealing both smectic and polar nematic phases. The nematic exhibits a nanoscale modulated local structure characterized by a unique, polar, -symmetry axis that tightly spirals generating a mirror-symmetry-breaking organization of the achiral rods-form chirality. A comprehensive characterization of the polarity and its symmetries in the nematic phase confirms that the nanoscale modulation is distinct from the elastic deformations of a uniaxial nematic director in the twist-bend nematic phase.

Identification of NDM-1 producing and colistin resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae ST11: A highly drug-resistant strain detected in intensive care unit of a Greek tertiary care hospital.

The spread of NDM-1-harboring Klebsiella pneumoniae is a worldwide concern. In this study the whole-genome sequence (WGS) of a carbapenem- and colistin-resistant K. pneumoniae 838Gr strain is presented.

Pooled safety analysis and management of sotorasib-related adverse events in KRAS G12C-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Introduction: We describe the safety of sotorasib monotherapy in patients with KRAS G12C-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and discuss practical recommendations for managing key risks.

Methods: Incidence rates of treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were pooled from 4 clinical trials: CodeBreaK 100 (NCT03600883), CodeBreaK 101 (NCT04185883), CodeBreaK 105 (NCT04380753), and CodeBreaK 200 (NCT04303780) and graded according to CTCAE v5.0.

Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) Classes in MASK-air Users.

Background And Objectives: The Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines classify rhinitis as "intermittent" or "persistent" and "mild" or "moderate-severe". To assess ARIA classes in a real-world study in terms of phenotypic differences and their association with asthma.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional real-world study based on users of the MASK-air® app who reported data for at least 3 different months.

A proteogenomic analysis of the adiposity colorectal cancer relationship identifies GREM1 as a probable mediator.

Background: Adiposity is an established risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC). The pathways underlying this relationship, and specifically the role of circulating proteins, are unclear.

Methods: Utilizing two-sample univariable Mendelian randomization (UVMR), multivariable Mendelian randomization (MVMR), and colocalization, based on summary data from large sex-combined and sex-specific genetic studies, we estimated the univariable associations between: (i) body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR) and overall and site-specific (colon, proximal colon, distal colon, and rectal) CRC risk, (ii) BMI and WHR and circulating proteins, and (iii) adiposity-associated circulating proteins and CRC risk.

Antifungal susceptibility testing and determination of local epidemiological cut-off values for species isolated from women with vulvovaginal candidiasis.

The lack of clinical breakpoints and epidemiological cut-off values (ECOFFs) for antifungals prescribed for vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) make interpretation of antifungal susceptibility data difficult. This leads to empirical prescribing, poor clinical management and emergence of resistance. The susceptibilities of 152 , 105 , 31 and 8 VVC isolates against eight antifungals, were determined according to the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) E.

Integrative Analysis of Whole-Genome and Transcriptomic Data Reveals Novel Variants in Differentially Expressed Long Noncoding RNAs Associated with Asthenozoospermia.

: Asthenozoospermia, characterized by reduced sperm motility, is a common cause of male infertility. Emerging evidence suggests that noncoding RNAs, particularly long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), play a critical role in the regulation of spermatogenesis and sperm function. Coding regions have a well-characterized role and established predictive value in asthenozoospermia.

Effect of Different Reduced Training Frequencies After 12 Weeks of Concurrent Ballistic and Aerobic Training on Muscle Power and Triceps Brachii Muscle Architecture.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of two long-term reduced concurrent training frequencies (incorporating power training for the upper and high-intensity interval aerobic training for the lower extremities), in which participants performed one training session every either 7 or 14 days, after 12 weeks of systematic concurrent training on upper extremities' muscle strength, power, and morphology in young females. After a 12-week concurrent resistance and aerobic training period, participants were assigned into three groups and performed either one training session every 7 days (G7), or once every 14 days (G14), or detraining (GD) for 12 weeks, followed by 12 additional weeks of detraining. Performance and muscle mass increased after the initial 12-week training period.

Physical Activity and Quality of Life After Distal Femur Tumor Resection and Limb Salvage.

: Distal femur tumor resection with limb salvage is a demanding procedure that offers hope for patients by preserving the limb rather than opting for amputation. While limb salvage can improve both physical function and psychological well-being, there's limited knowledge on how active patients remain afterward and how their Quality of Life (QoL) is affected, especially regarding physical activities and sports. This study investigates the quality of life of the patients through the development of motor activity, focusing on both physical and sporting activity of the above-mentioned individuals and their physical abilities to participate in activities of daily and sporting life after surgery.

Acute Effects of Fast vs. Slow Bench Press Repetitions with Equal Time Under Tension on Velocity, sEMG Activity, and Applied Force in the Bench Press Throw.

The tempo of resistance exercises is known to influence performance outcomes, yet its specific effects on post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of fast versus slow repetitions at a load of 70% of one-repetition maximum (1-RM) in the bench press exercise, focusing on velocity, surface electromyographic (sEMG) activity, and applied force while equating time under tension on bench press throw performance. Eleven men (age: 23.

Genetic Predisposition to Hippocampal Atrophy and Risk of Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Dementia.

Background: There is a paucity of evidence on the association between genetic propensity for hippocampal atrophy with cognitive outcomes. Therefore, we examined the relationship of the polygenic risk score for hippocampal atrophy (PRShp) with the incidence of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) as well as the rates of cognitive decline.

Methods: Participants were drawn from the population-based HELIAD cohort.

Epigenetics in Skin Homeostasis and Ageing.

The skin, the largest organ of the human body, plays numerous essential roles, including protection against environmental hazards and the regulation of body temperature. The processes of skin homeostasis and ageing are complex and influenced by many factors, with epigenetic mechanisms being particularly significant. Epigenetics refers to the regulation of gene expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence.

Nutritional Intervention in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis, Correlation with Quality of Life and Disability-A Prospective and Quasi-Experimental Study.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a multifactorial disease, with diet and lifestyle playing an important role in its development. The Mediterranean diet has been considered to be particularly beneficial for MS patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between diet and MS, as well as evaluate the effect of the Mediterranean diet on patients' quality of life and level of disability.

Long-term results of lymphedema treatment with Combined lymph node transfer and collagen scaffolds: An Observational Study.

Aim: Vascularized lymph node transfer (VLNT) accelerates growth factor secretion, lymphatic endothelial cell migration toward the interstitial flow and lymphagiogenesis in a multidirectional pattern. Our observational study aimed to examine the hypothesis that nanofibrillar collagen scaffolds (NCS) combined with VLNT can provide guided lymphagiogenesis creating long-lasting lymphatic pathways.

Methods: Twenty-four patients (21 female, 3 male) underwent a lymphatic microsurgery for upper ( = 11) or lower ( = 13) limb secondary lymphedema and completed at least 18 months follow-up were selected and equally divided in 2 groups; Group-A underwent VLNT, Group-B underwent combined VLNT and NCS procedure.

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome in the Context of McCune-Albright Syndrome: A Case Report.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a clinical manifestation of various underlying causes, characterized by the combination of clinical and imaging findings associated with the posterior cerebral areas and relating to arterial hypertension and endothelial dysfunction. No association was made so far between PRES and McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS), a rare genetic disorder resulting in fibrous dysplasia. A 33-year-old female with MAS was presented to the emergency department of the 417 Army Share Fund Hospital in Athens (Greece) after seizure activity with two episodes of ocular upward deviation and transient facial palsy, each lasting a few minutes, followed by a postictal phase.

Conducting Pairwise and Network Meta-analyses in Updated and Living Systematic Reviews: a Scoping Review Protocol.

Objective: The objective of this scoping review will be to describe existing guidance documents or studies reporting on the conduct of meta-analyses in updated systematic reviews (USRs) or living systematic reviews (LSRs).

Introduction: The rapid increase in the medical literature poses a substantial challenge in keeping systematic reviews up to date. In LSRs, a review is updated with a pre-specified frequency or when some other signalling criterion is triggered.

Vertical Superior Vector Suspension of the Anterior Mobile Face with the V Plication Facelift: A Volumization and Lifting Technique.

Background: In most of the published plication techniques in face lift surgery, the vectors of plication are not entirely superiorly and vertically directed. The same applies with the deep plane, SMAS elevation techniques in the majority of which the vectors of traction are not superiorly vertically directed. The aging symptoms are mostly prominent at the anterior mobile face due to the gravity effect, and this is the area where attention should be focused to correct these symptoms following a face lift surgery.

Genomics yields biological and phenotypic insights into bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Despite high heritability (60-80%), the majority of the underlying genetic determinants remain unknown. We analysed data from participants of European, East Asian, African American and Latino ancestries (n = 158,036 cases with bipolar disorder, 2.

Association of environmental, demographic and clinical parameters with physical activity in children with asthma.

Personal characteristics, unfavorable weather conditions and air pollution have been linked with reduced physical activity in children. However, among children with asthma the effects of these parameters remain unclear. This study objectively quantified the physical activity of children with asthma and evaluated its association with environmental, personal, and clinical parameters.

Improving the odds of survival: transgenerational effects of infections.

Recent studies argue for a novel concept of the role of chromatin as a carrier of epigenetic memory through cellular and organismal generations, defining and coordinating gene activity states and physiological functions. Environmental insults, such as exposures to unhealthy diets, smoking, toxic compounds, and infections, can epigenetically reprogram germ-line cells and influence offspring phenotypes. This review focuses on intergenerational and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in different plants, animal species and humans, presenting the up-to-date evidence and arguments for such effects in light of Darwinian and Lamarckian evolutionary theories.

Flumequine, a fluoroquinolone in disguise.

Fluoroquinolone resistance in E. coli isolates from livestock in Europe remains high despite EMA restrictions on fluoroquinolone use in animals. However, flumequine, a quinolone not classified as a fluoroquinolone by various regulatory bodies, is still used in livestock in the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and France.

Intracardiac or transesophageal echocardiography for left atrial appendage occlusion: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) appears to be a potential alternative for percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) to transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Thus, a meta-analysis was performed comparing ICE vs. TEE for LAAO guidance.