Biomarkers associated with anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy: a systematic review.

Purpose: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is one of the most important complications that occurs after upper gastrointestinal surgery, registering rates of 20-30% after esophagectomy. The role of systemic inflammatory biomarkers to predict anastomotic leaks is controversial and needs systematization.

Methods: A systematic review based on the PRISMA guidelines criteria was performed.

fMRI data acquisition and analysis for task-free, anesthetized rats.

Templates for the acquisition of large datasets such as the Human Connectome Project guide the neuroimaging community to reproducible data acquisition and scientific rigor. By contrast, small animal neuroimaging often relies on laboratory-specific protocols, which limit cross-study comparisons. The establishment of broadly validated protocols may facilitate the acquisition of large datasets, which are essential for uncovering potentially small effects often seen in functional MRI (fMRI) studies.

Improving child and adolescent health and well-being in Europe: the imperative for a new regional strategy.

Despite significant progress during the Millennium Development Goals era, recent trends show stagnation or regression in key health indicators for children and adolescents in Europe. Obesity rates are rising, adolescent mental health is deteriorating, the digital environment poses risks, breastfeeding rates are low, many children face developmental risks, and displaced children encounter significant health challenges. To address these issues, we need a comprehensive strategy for children and adolescents in Europe, leading to increased investment, protection from commercial harm, effective governance, and accountability to improve health outcomes.

A catalogue of land-based adaptation and mitigation solutions to tackle climate change.

Informing and engaging all actors in the land sector, including land-owners and managers, researchers, policy-makers and citizens, on the most effective sustainable land-based solutions and behavioural changes is a key strategy for achieving climate change adaptation and mitigation targets at the global as well as at EU and local level. One requisite to support actors in the land sector is to provide them publicly available, reliable and ready-to-use information related to the implementation of Land-based Adaptation and Mitigation Solutions (LAMS). Here we introduce a LAMS catalogue, a collection of meaningful quantitative and qualitative information on 60 solutions characterised according to a set of specifications (e.

Molecular Insights into α-Synuclein Fibrillation: A Raman Spectroscopy and Machine Learning Approach.

The aggregation of α-synuclein is crucial to the development of Lewy body diseases, including Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. The aggregation pathway of α-synuclein typically involves a defined sequence of nucleation, elongation, and secondary nucleation, exhibiting prion-like spreading. This study employed Raman spectroscopy and machine learning analysis, alongside complementary techniques, to characterize the biomolecular changes during the fibrillation of purified recombinant wild-type α-synuclein protein.

Photophysical Investigation of Dyes and Dye-PMMA Systems: Insights into Absorption, Emission, and Charge Transfer Mechanisms.

The photophysical properties of five dyes, i.e., perylene, anthracene, aminoanthracene, 1,6-diphenylhexatriene, and 7-diethylamino-4-methylcoumarin, in solvent and attached to the poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer, were studied via DFT and TD-DFT calculations.

Health networking on cancer in the European Union: a 'green paper' by the EU Joint Action on Networks of Expertise (JANE).

Health networking is in principle a formidable instrument to address many challenges posed by cancer, one of the two most common and most lethal non-communicable chronic diseases. The European Union (EU)'s Beating Cancer Plan foresaw the addition of new health networks to the four already existing European Reference Networks on rare cancers: the Network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres and several networks of expertise (NoEs), which will be shortly deployed on items as complex and poor-prognosis cancers, palliative care, survivorship, personalised primary and secondary prevention, omic technologies, hi-tech medical resources, and cancers in adolescents and young adults. The community of experts of the EU Joint Action, due to build such NoEs, has drafted this 'green paper', incorporating 13 open questions, in an effort to foster discussion on some open questions about health networking on cancer in the EU.

Brown adipose tissue is associated with reduced weight loss and risk of cancer cachexia: A retrospective cohort study.

Background & Aims: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has been mainly investigated as a potential target against cardiometabolic disease, but it has also been linked to cancer-related outcomes. Although preclinical data support that BAT and the thermogenic adipocytes in white adipose tissue may play an adverse role in the pathogenesis of cancer cachexia, results from studies in patients have reported inconsistent results. The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelationship between presence of detectable BAT, changes in body weight, and cachexia in patients with cancer.

A simple plan strategy to optimize the biological effective dose delivered in robotic radiosurgery of vestibular schwannomas.

Using the concept of biologically effective dose (BED), the effect of sublethal DNA damage repair (SLR) on the bio-efficacy of prolonged radiotherapy treatments can be quantified (BED). Such treatments, lasting more than 20 min, are typically encountered in stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) applications using the CyberKnife (CK) and Gamma knife systems. Evaluating the plan data from 45 Vestibular Schwannoma (VS) cases treated with single fraction CK-SRS, this work demonstrates a statistically significant correlation between the marginal BEDSLR delivered to the target (m-BEDSLR) and the ratio of the mean collimator size weighted by the fraction of total beams delivered with each collimator ((_w^m)Cs), to the tumor volume (Tv).

Changes to social and healthcare providers support in the perinatal period: Impact on coping strategies, depression and anxiety.

Background: During the perinatal period, risk of depression and anxiety (D&A) increases. As in other crisis events, the COVID-19 pandemic, imposed social distancing measures, diminished social support and changes in perinatal healthcare provision which heightened this risk. This study aimed to examine how changes in social and healthcare provider support during the pandemic affected coping strategies and depression and anxiety symptoms (D&As) among perinatal women.

"I'm not sad anymore, I'm proud to have such a child": The experiences of caregivers of dependents with cerebral palsy living in Greece.

Background: People with cerebral palsy are largely dependent on their caregivers, who are most often members of their family. Caring for people with disabilities can be challenging as both dependents and caregivers face problems of social isolation and stigmatization.

Aim: The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of caregivers of dependents with cerebral palsy in Greece.

An exploratory survey assessing the determinants of heat stress and heat strain in the Canadian mining industry from the worker's perspective.

With mines extending deeper and rising surface temperatures, workers are exposed to hotter environments. This study aimed to characterize heat stress and strain in the Canadian mining industry and evaluate the utility of the Heat Strain Score Index (HSSI), combined with additional self-reported adverse health outcomes. An exploratory web-based survey was conducted among workers ( = 119) in the Canadian mining industry.

The European Registry for Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support (EUROMACS) of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Fourth report: Focus on standardized outcome ratios.

Objectives: This fourth report aimed to provide insights into patient characteristics, outcomes, and standardized outcome ratios of patients implanted with durable Mechanical Circulatory Support across participating centers in the European Registry for Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support (EUROMACS) registry.

Methods: All registered patients receiving durable mechanical circulatory support up to August 2024 were included. Expected number of events were predicted using penalized logistic regression.

Arthroscopically Assisted Reduction and Fixation of Acute Tillaux, Pilon, Bosworth, Talar, and Calcaneal Fractures: A Systematic Review.

Increased use of arthroscopically assisted techniques for the treatment of ankle fractures has been reported. Despite their rapid development, there is only one systematic review regarding arthroscopically assisted treatment of ankle fractures, in which, however, only malleolar fracture studies are included. Various other types of ankle fractures have also been treated with arthroscopically assisted procedures.

Net Benefit of Early Anticoagulation for Stroke With Atrial Fibrillation: Post Hoc Analysis of the ELAN Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The net clinical effect of early vs later direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) initiation after atrial fibrillation-associated ischemic stroke is unclear.

Objective: To investigate whether early DOAC treatment is associated with a net clinical benefit (NCB).

Design, Setting, And Participants: This was a post hoc analysis of the Early Versus Late Initiation of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in Post-Ischaemic Stroke Patients With Atrial Fibrillation (ELAN) open-label randomized clinical trial conducted across 103 sites in 15 countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia between November 6, 2017, and September 12, 2022, with a 90-day follow-up.

Real-world switching patterns and associated characteristics in patients with psoriasis treated with biologics.

Multiple parameters define the treatment course with biologics for a psoriatic patient while treatment switches are often associated with worse prognosis. The purpose of this study was to describe the switching patterns of biologics for psoriasis in the Greek market landscape and to detect associated factors that may impact the evolvement of selected therapy. This is a retrospective cohort study using data recorded in the nationwide digital prescription database of Greece.

Unveiling pterion variability: a meta-analytic approach to enhance neurosurgical precision.

Purpose: This meta-analytical systematic review aims at investigating the variability of the pterion, focusing on its morphological types and precise distances from various bony landmarks. Additionally, the neurosurgical significance of this critical cranial landmark is examined in depth.

Methods: The systematic review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 and Evidence-based Anatomy Workgroup guidelines for anatomical studies.

Effectiveness of a multicentre randomized controlled trial with three different nurse-led intervention management programmes for patients with heart failure: the main results of the MEETinCY study.

Aims: A single-blinded, multicentred randomized controlled trial (RCT) was employed to examine the effectiveness of a 3-month telephone follow-up, a telephone follow-up with education before discharge, or education only before discharge on the heart failure (HF) knowledge, HF self-care management, and health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) in patients with HF by a nurse specialist.

Methods And Results: This is a multicentre RCT with three different intervention groups (IGs) and one control group. Participants in the first IG received education on HF self-management principles before discharge.

Navigating the practical challenges and ethical dilemmas of surplus cryopreserved human embryos.

Cryopreservation, the use of very low temperatures to preserve structurally intact living cells and tissues, has seen exponential growth in the field of fertilization (IVF). In the last decade, cryopreservation of embryos and freeze-all protocols have become an essential aspect and a prerequisite for a successful IVF outcome. Moreover, vitrification, which is a fast and safe cryopreservation method, has proved to be an effective choice for cryopreserving gametes and embryos.

Vitamin B2 Operates by Dual Thermodynamic and Kinetic Mechanisms to Selectively Tailor Urate Crystallization.

Here we demonstrate how a biologically relevant molecule, riboflavin (vitamin B2), operates by a dual mode of action to effectively control crystallization of ammonium urate (NHHU), which is associated with cetacean kidney stones. In situ microfluidics and atomic force microscopy experiments confirm a strong interaction between riboflavin and NHHU crystal surfaces that substantially inhibits layer nucleation and spreading by kinetic mechanisms of step pinning and kink blocking. Riboflavin does not alter the distribution of tautomeric urate isomers, but its adsorption on NHHU crystal surfaces does interfere with the effects of minor urate tautomer by limiting its ability to induce NHHU crystal defects while also suppressing NHHU nucleation and inhibiting crystal growth by 80% at an uncharacteristically low modifier concentration.

Measurement of multidifferential cross sections for dijet production in proton-proton collisions at .

A measurement of the dijet production cross section is reported based on proton-proton collision data collected in 2016 at by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 36.3 . Jets are reconstructed with the anti- algorithm for distance parameters of and 0.

Assessing Willingness to Pay for IVF Among Infertile Women in Greece: A Single-Center Case Study.

Background And Aims: In recent years, In Vitro fertilization (IVF) science has grown by leaps and bounds in the field of assisted reproduction, helping millions of couples worldwide. The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which infertile women are willing to pay for IVF services in Greece.

Methods: Through the distribution of questionnaires, willingness to pay (WTP) is recorded according to IVF success rates, and the relationship between WTP and the respondents' demographic characteristics is analyzed.

Nebulized aminoglycosides for ventilator-associated pneumonia: Methodological considerations and lessons from experimental studies.

Aminoglycosides are concentration-dependent antibiotics exerting a bactericidal effect when concentrations at the site of infection are equal to or greater than 5 times the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC). When administered intravenously, they exhibit poor lung penetration and high systemic renal and ototoxicity, imposing to restrict their administration to 5 days. Experimental studies conducted in anesthetized and mechanically ventilated sheep and pigs provide evidence that high doses of nebulized aminoglycosides induce a rapid and potent bacterial killing in the infected lung parenchyma.

Identifying subgroups of teacher burnout in elementary and secondary schools: the effects of teacher experience, age and gender.

Introduction: Teacher burnout is a serious problem that requires quick attention and management since it not only compromises educational quality but also strains schools' financial resources.

Research Objective: The purpose of the present study was to profile burnout indicators for teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A secondary goal was to evaluate the consistency of burnout profiles between elementary and secondary school teachers.