Limb salvage prediction in peripheral artery disease patients using angiographic computer vision.

Background: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) outcomes often rely on the expertise of individual vascular units, introducing potential subjectivity into disease staging. This retrospective, multicenter cohort study aimed to demonstrate the ability of artificial intelligence (AI) to provide disease staging based on inter-institutional expertise by predicting limb outcomes in post-interventional pedal angiograms of PAD patients, specifically in comparison to the inframalleolar modifier in the Global Limb Anatomic Staging System (IM GLASS).

Methods: We used computer vision (CV) based on the MobileNetV2 model, implemented via TensorFlow.

Functional assessment of cancer therapy - head & neck (FACT-HN) translation and validation in Serbian.

This study aimed to translate and validate the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Head & Neck (FACT-HN) in a Serbian-speaking population, assessing its psychometric properties and utility in evaluating the quality of life in head and neck cancer patients. The research focuses on determining the translated questionnaire's reliability, validity, and cultural relevance. A total of 106 Serbian-speaking head and neck cancer patients completed the translated FACT-HN, along with other validated instruments, including the EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-HN43, CES-D, and GAD-7.

From Paper to Digital: Performance and Challenges of the Electronic Hepatitis B Surveillance System in Ninh Binh, Northern Vietnam (2017-2022).

Hepatitis B remains a major public health issue in Vietnam. Mandatory reporting to the national electronic communicable disease surveillance system (eCDS) has been required since July 2016. We conducted an evaluation of the hepatitis B surveillance system in Ninh Binh, the province with the highest reported burden of hepatitis B in Northern Vietnam, between 2017 and 2022.

Update on tick-borne rickettsioses in mainland Portugal: emerging threats and potential vectors.

Background: Tick-borne rickettsioses (TBR) are emerging, neglected, zoonoses, caused by intracellular α-proteobacteria of the genus Rickettsia, that pose a growing public health concern. The aim of the present study was to evaluate rickettsial infections in questing ticks collected from four different ecological areas in mainland Portugal.

Methods: Over a two-year period, a total of 707 questing ticks were collected.

Automated surveillance for surgical site infections (SSI) in hospitals and surveillance networks-expert perspectives for implementation.

Background: This work aims at providing practical recommendations for implementing automated surveillance (AS) of surgical site infections (SSI) in hospitals and surveillance networks. It also provides an overview of the steps, choices, and obstacles that need to be taken into consideration when implementing such surveillance. Hands-on experience with existing automated surveillance systems of SSI (AS SSI systems) in Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Spain is described regarding trend monitoring, benchmarking, quality control, and research for surveillance purposes.

Evaluation of gestational weight gain in women with twin pregnancies and its relationship to neonatal birth weight. A pilot study.

Background: To date, there have been no studies in Poland on weight gain in women with twin pregnancies in relation to recommendations.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the gestational weight gain of women with twin pregnancies depending on their body weight before pregnancy, and to assess the relationship between the observed weight gain and the neonatal birth weight.

Material And Methods: The study was conducted among 50 women in twin pregnancies and their 100 newborns delivered after 36 weeks of gestation.

Echinococcus multilocularis delta/notch signalling components are expressed in post-mitotic cells.

Pluripotent somatic stem cells are the drivers of unlimited growth of Echinococcus multilocularis metacestode tissue within the organs of the intermediate host. To understand the dynamics of parasite proliferation within the host, it is therefore important to delineate basic mechanisms of Echinococcus stem cell maintenance and differentiation. We herein undertake the first step towards characterizing the role of an evolutionarily old metazoan cell-cell communication system, delta/notch signalling, in Echinococcus cell fate decisions.

First-year dynamics of the anaerobic microbiome and archaeome in infants' oral and gastrointestinal systems.

Unlabelled: Recent research provides new insights into the early establishment of the infant gut microbiome, emphasizing the influence of breastfeeding on the development of gastrointestinal microbiomes. In our study, we longitudinally examined the taxonomic and functional dynamics of the oral and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiomes of healthy infants ( = 30) in their first year, focusing on the often-over-looked aspects, the development of archaeal and anaerobic microbiomes. Breastfed (BF) infants exhibit a more defined transitional phase in their oral microbiome compared to non-breastfed (NBF) infants, marked by a decrease in and the emergence of anaerobic genera such as .

The HPV prevention and control program in Poland: progress and the way forward.

This review assesses Poland's activities in preventing and managing human papillomavirus (HPV)-related diseases, summarizing information from the 2023 HPV Prevention and Control Board meeting. Progress in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention identifies opportunities to strengthen control of cervical cancer. Poland's national HPV vaccination program, launched in June 2023, initially achieved suboptimal coverage.

Neonates exposed to HIV but uninfected exhibit an altered gut microbiota and inflammation associated with impaired breast milk antibody function.

Background: Infants exposed to HIV but uninfected have altered immune profiles which include heightened systemic inflammation. The mechanism(s) underlying this phenomenon is unknown. Here, we investigated differences in neonatal gut bacterial and viral microbiome and associations with inflammatory biomarkers in plasma.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Nursing Home Healthcare Workers: A Longitudinal Study in North-Eastern Italy.

Background: During the pandemic, a surveillance program to monitor COVID-19 infection among healthcare workers was established in Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (FVG), Italy. The aim of our study was to measure the risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection among nursing home employees by job title.

Methods: From March 1, 2020, to March 31, 2023, a retrospective population-based longitudinal study was conducted in 8880 nursing home employees.

Latent Tuberculosis Infections in Different Intensity of Exposure within Moroccan Population: Influence of Age and Bacille Calmette-Guérin Vaccination.

Background: In Morocco, latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is a public health concern affected by the country's location as transit area between sub-Saharan Africa with high TB burden to Europe. This study aimed to assess the influence of exposure intensity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), age, and Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination on LTBI prevalence in Morocco.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 131 participants, including 98 non-exposed healthy volunteers (NEHV) and 33 healthcare workers exposed to active TB (exposed healthcare workers [EHCW]), was conducted.

Human airway epithelium controls infection via inducible nitric oxide synthase.

Introduction: Airway epithelial cells play a central role in the innate immune response to invading bacteria, yet adequate human infection models are lacking.

Methods: We utilized mucociliary-differentiated human airway organoids with direct access to the apical side of epithelial cells to model the initial phase of respiratory tract infection.

Results: Immunofluorescence of infected organoids revealed that invades the epithelial barrier and subsequently proliferates within the epithelial space.

Low-inflammatory lipid nanoparticle-based mRNA vaccine elicits protective immunity against H5N1 influenza virus with reduced adverse reactions.

Messenger RNA vaccines based on lipid nanoparticles (mRNA-LNPs) are promising vaccine modalities. However, mRNA-LNP vaccines frequently cause adverse reactions such as swelling and fever in humans, partly due to the inflammatory nature of LNP. Modification of the ionizable lipids used in LNPs is one approach to avoid these adverse reactions.

Morbidity associated with schistosomiasis in adult population of Chókwè district, Mozambique.

Background: Mozambique is one of the countries with the highest prevalence of schistosomiasis, although there is little data on the prevalence of disease and associated morbidity in the adult population. This study aimed to describe and characterize the morbidity associated with schistosomiasis in the adult population of Chókwè district and to explore the use of anamnestic questionnaires and urine dipsticks, as well as point-of-care ultrasound for urinary related findings, to better characterize disease prevalence and morbidity.

Methodology: Between April and October 2018, we conducted a cross-sectional study embedded within the Chókwè Health Research and Training Centre.

[The changing epidemiology of tick-borne encephalitis: epidemic surveillance and disease prevention challenges].

The increasing number of cases of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) reported in recent years in Europe and, more recently, in Poland is a consequence of factors related to climate and environmental change leading to increasing tick populations and human behavior favoring exposure. In Poland, there is considerable regional variation in the incidence of TBE, resulting, among other factors, from underreporting of all cases and limited access to laboratory diagnostics. The consequence is low public awareness of the disease and insufficient use of vaccination as optimal prevention.

Prodrugging fungicidal amphotericin B significantly decreases its toxic effects.

Amphotericin B (AmB) is one of the most effective antifungal drugs, with a strong, dose-dependent activity against most Candida and Aspergillus species responsible for life-threatening infections. However, AmB is severely toxic, which hinders its broad use. In this proof-of-concept study, we demonstrate that prodrugging AmB considerably decreases AmB toxicity without affecting its fungicidal activity.

Mosquito populations originating from nonendemic areas have the potential to transmit recently emerging Japanese encephalitis virus genotype IV.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) genotype IV (GIV) is one of the least common and most neglected genotypes worldwide, having been identified only on a few Indonesian islands until it was recently found to be the cause of outbreaks that occurred in several Australian states in early 2022. Given the limited availability of information, the vector range for JEV GIV remains unknown; thus, understanding this range could prove invaluable for future prevention efforts in new areas. Herein, we experimentally exposed four mosquito colonies originated from various countries with no previous reports of GIV to JEV GIV strain 19CxBa-83-Cv, which was isolated from Theobald collected in Bali in 2019.

Cost analysis of machine and manual reprocessing of transvaginal ultrasound probes.

Objective: This study aims to provide additional support for the equipment needed in hospitals and medical practices for reprocessing transvaginal ultrasound probes (TVUS) through an economic analysis comparing manual and automated reprocessing methods. A questionnaire survey was also conducted in hospitals and medical practices to analyze the current practice of TVUS reprocessing.

Methods: The economic analysis compared four manual reprocessing methods using disinfection wipes and one automated device-based disinfection method using hydrogen peroxide vapor.

Characterization of Structural Properties and Antimicrobial Activity of the C3f Peptide of Complement System.

The C3f peptide is a by-product of regulation of the activated complement system with no firmly established function of its own. We have previously shown that C3f exhibits moderate antimicrobial activity against some Gram-positive bacteria . Presence of two histidine residues in the amino acid sequence of the peptide suggests enhancement of its antimicrobial activity at lower pH and in the presence of metal cations, particularly zinc cations.

Insight into potential long COVID effects: Antidepressant use in post SARS-CoV-2 Infection scenarios. A multiregional nested case-control study.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and the role of vaccination in the onset of neuropsychiatric conditions, evaluated through antidepressant prescriptions. This case-control study evaluated the risk of new antidepressant prescriptions in relation to previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. It was conducted in three Italian Regions on adults who did not receive antidepressant prescriptions in the year preceding the study period.