Vacuum extraction is successful in 95% of cases with an occiput posterior position: the results of a prospective, multi-center study.

Background: Occiput-posterior (OP) position is associated with labor arrest, need of operative delivery and failed instrumental vaginal delivery with resulting adverse peripartum outcomes. Vacuum extraction (VE) is the most commonly performed type of instrumental delivery worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the outcome of VE in fetuses with sonographically confirmed OP position prior to the procedure.

Near-infrared imaging retinal diagnostic applications-a review.

Objective: Near-infrared reflectance (NIR) is a commonly performed noncontact and rapid imaging technique. This paper reviews the clinical applications of NIR for diagnosing and monitoring retinal diseases.

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted across the Pubmed database.

HER2DX genomic test in early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer.

Therapies targeting human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer significantly impact patient outcomes, quality of life, and health care systems. While chemotherapy and trastuzumab improve survival in early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer, variability in clinical and biological characteristics leads to different response to therapies and outcomes. Clinical guidelines provide general recommendations, but significant uncertainty persists in identifying an optimal treatment plan for individual patients.

Continuous Chelation Reduces Instrumentation Time and Straightening of Double-curved Simulated Root Canals in Bovine Dentin.

Introduction: Adding a compatible chelator to the sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution applied during instrumentation may affect shaping efficacy and canal transportation. This was studied in simulated double-curved root canals.

Methods: High-precision computer numerical control milling was used to recreate standardized S-shaped canals from a resin training block in longitudinally sectioned bovine incisor roots.

A novel multi-organ male model of alcohol-induced acute-on-chronic liver failure reveals NET-mediated hepatocellular death which is prevented by RIPK3 inhibition.

Background And Aims: Alcohol abuse is the most frequent precipitating factor of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). We aimed at developing an alcohol-induced ACLF model and dissecting its underlying molecular mechanisms.

Methods: ACLF was triggered by a single alcohol binge (5g/Kg) in a bile duct ligation (BDL) liver fibrosis murine model.

RORc expressing immune cells negatively regulate tertiary lymphoid structure formation and support their pro-tumorigenic functions.

Background And Aims: RORc-expressing immune cells play important roles in inflammation, autoimmune disease and cancer. They are required for lymphoid organogenesis and have been implicated in tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) formation. TLSs are formed in many cancer types and have been correlated with better prognosis and response to immunotherapy.

Health disparities in diabetes treatment: The challenge of G6PD deficiency.

Aims: To assess the impact of Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, an enzymatic deficiency prevalent in individuals of African or Asian descent, on Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, diabetes medication purchases, and the cumulative incidence of diabetes related complications.

Methods: A large cohort study was conducted within a national health organization, comparing 3,913 G6PD-deficient patients to a matched control group without G6PD deficiency over two decades. The main measures and outcomes were the HbA1c levels, patterns of diabetes medication purchases, and the incidence of severe diabetes-related complications.

Cost effectiveness analysis of BRAF testing for low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinomas.

Objective: Given the good prognosis of low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (lrPTMCs), accurate risk stratification is valuable to optimize management: active surveillance (AS) vs. hemithyroidectomy (HT). BRAF positive lrPTMC is associated with increased recurrence risk; hence, AS was suggested for mutation-negative lrPTMC.

Increased nuclear factor I-mediated chromatin access drives transition to androgen receptor splice variant dependence in prostate cancer.

Androgen receptor (AR) splice variants, of which ARv7 is the most common, are increased in castration-resistant prostate cancer, but the extent to which they drive AR activity is unclear. We generated a subline of VCaP cells (VCaP16) that is resistant to the AR inhibitor enzalutamide (ENZ). AR activity in VCaP16 is driven by ARv7, independently of full-length AR (ARfl), and its cistrome and transcriptome mirror those of ARfl in VCaP cells.

[Donor DNA Modification with Cas9 Targeting Sites Improves the Efficiency of MTC34 Knock-in into the CXCR4 Locus].

To successfully apply the genome editing technology using the CRISPR/Cas9 system in the clinic, it is necessary to achieve a high efficiency of knock-in, which is insertion of a genetic construct into a given locus of the target cell genome. One of the approaches to increase the efficiency of knock-in is to modify donor DNA with the same Cas9 targeting sites (CTS) that are used to induce double-strand breaks (DSBs) in the cell genome (the double-cut donor method). Another approach is based on introducing truncated CTS (tCTS), including a PAM site and 16 proximal nucleotides, into the donor DNA.

[Methods to Increase the Efficiency of Knock-in of a Construct Encoding the HIV-1 Fusion Inhibitor, MT-C34 Peptide, into the CXCR4 Locus in the CEM/R5 T Cell Line].

The low knock-in efficiency, especially in primary human cells, limits the use of the genome editing technology for therapeutic purposes, rendering it important to develop approaches for increasing the knock-in levels. In this work, the efficiencies of several approaches were studied using a model of knock-in of a construct coding for the peptide HIV fusion inhibitor MT-C34 into the human CXCR4 locus in the CEM/R5 T cell line. First, donor DNA modification was evaluated as a means to improve the efficiency of plasmid transport into the nucleus.

ALSUntangled #77: Psilocybin.

ALSUntangled reviews alternate and off-label treatments prompted by patient interest. Here, we review psilocybin, a chemical derived from mushrooms and belonging in the category of drugs known as psychedelics. Psilocybin has plausible mechanisms for slowing ALS progression because of its ability to cross the blood brain barrier and effect neurogenesis and inflammation.

Genetic analysis of psychosis Biotypes: shared Ancestry-adjusted polygenic risk and unique genomic associations.

The Bipolar-Schizophrenia Network for Intermediate Phenotypes (B-SNIP) created psychosis Biotypes based on neurobiological measurements in a multi-ancestry sample. These Biotypes cut across DSM diagnoses of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder with psychosis. Two recently developed post hoc ancestry adjustment methods of Polygenic Risk Scores (PRSs) generate Ancestry-Adjusted PRSs (AAPRSs), which allow for PRS analysis of multi-ancestry samples.

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean Version 5.0.

Knowledge about seafloor depth, or bathymetry, is crucial for various marine activities, including scientific research, offshore industry, safety of navigation, and ocean exploration. Mapping the central Arctic Ocean is challenging due to the presence of perennial sea ice, which limits data collection to icebreakers, submarines, and drifting ice stations. The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) was initiated in 1997 with the goal of updating the Arctic Ocean bathymetric portrayal.

The importance of microbiology reference laboratories and adequate funding for infectious disease surveillance.

Microbiology reference laboratories perform a crucial role within public health systems. This role was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this Viewpoint, we emphasise the importance of microbiology reference laboratories and highlight the types of digital data and expertise they provide, which benefit national and international public health.

Diagnosis of Atrial Fibrillation as the Source of Cryptogenic Retrieved Clots by a Novel Thrombin Secretion Assay.

Background: Secondary prevention of acute ischemic stroke depends on identifying the source of cryptogenic clots. We previously reported that secreted thrombin activity from endovascularly retrieved clots is significantly different in atrial fibrillation (AF) versus atherosclerosis (AS) related, probably due to the in-vivo biology of the clots.

Objectives: To validate and optimize thrombin secretion for clot source diagnosis.

Response to ritlecitinib with or without narrow-band UVB add-on therapy in patients with active nonsegmental vitiligo: results from a phase 2b extension study.

Background: Ritlecitinib demonstrated efficacy in a phase 2b trial of nonsegmental vitiligo.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of ritlecitinib with add-on narrow-band UVB (nbUVB) phototherapy in patients with nonsegmental vitiligo.

Methods: Following a 24-week, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging period, patients received ritlecitinib 200mg for 4 weeks then 50mg for 20 weeks, with or without nbUVB phototherapy 2x/week.

Structural determinants of co-translational protein complex assembly.

Protein assembly into functional complexes is critical to life's processes. While complex assembly is classically described as occurring between fully synthesized proteins, recent work showed that co-translational assembly is prevalent in human cells. However, the biological basis for the existence of this process and the identity of protein pairs that assemble co-translationally remain unknown.

Cannabis use and binge eating among young adults: The role of depressive symptoms.

Objective: Understanding the association between cannabis use and binge eating is of interest amidst growing global cannabis legalization. While preliminary research suggests a link between cannabis use and binge eating, population-based data among young adults, both female and male, are lacking. Given that depressive symptoms can act as an important precipitant of both cannabis use and binge eating, exploring the role of depressive symptoms is essential.

Latent classes of acute grief reactions in the shadow of collective trauma and its predictors in bereaved adults.

The current study explored grief reaction profiles after the October 7th, 2023, Israeli massacre regarding the loss of significant others. It investigated factors worsening pre-existing grief in 2,028 adult civilians, with 1,263 reporting pre- or post-massacre loss. Participants completed self-reports on prolonged grief disorder (PGD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex PTSD (CPTSD), cognitive emotional regulation (CER), and assumptive worldviews.