Understanding retinal tau pathology through functional 2D and 3D iPSC-derived in vitro retinal models.

The generation of retinal models from human induced pluripotent stem cells holds significant potential for advancing our understanding of retinal development, neurodegeneration, and the in vitro modeling of neurodegenerative disorders. The retina, as an accessible part of the central nervous system, offers a unique window into these processes, making it invaluable for both study and early diagnosis. This study investigates the impact of the Frontotemporal Dementia-linked IVS 10 + 16 MAPT mutation on retinal development and function using 2D and 3D retinal models derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Association between early dietary patterns and cardiometabolic health at age 8: a confirmatory analysis of the European Childhood Obesity Project.

Background & Aim: Metabolic and cardiovascular health outcomes are strongly influenced by diet. Dietary habits established in early childhood may persist into adulthood. This study aimed to examine the association between dietary patterns at both 2 and 8 years of age, explaining the maximum variability of high- and low-quality fats, sugars, and fibre, and cardiometabolic markers at age 8 years.

Oral health in patients with cleft lip and palate: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of periodontal and dental disease and oral microbiota (part 1).

Introduction: Orofacial cleft impacts jawbone and dental development and function, often with consequences for oral health. The first in this two-part systematic review of the literature on oral health in persons with cleft lip and/or palate focuses on periodontal parameters and composition of oral bacterial flora, while the second analyzes data on dental caries.

Materials And Methods: Four databases (PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science) were searched for studies that compared periodontal parameters, caries index, and microbiota composition between persons with cleft lip and/or palate and healthy controls.

Remimazolam for procedural sedation in gastrointestinal endoscopy: real-life, single center observational study.

Background And Aim: Remimazolam has proved to be a very promising sedative drug in randomized clinical trials for usage in a wide spectrum of patients, including critically ill ones. The purpose of our study was to verify efficacy and safety of remimazolam for procedural sedation during diagnostic and first level operative endoscopy in a real-world setting.

Methods: This single centre prospective study evaluated sedation regimen with remimazolam for EGDS and fentanyl and remimazolam for colonoscopy in consecutive ASA 1-3 patients.

Refined methodologies for probabilistic dietary exposure assessment for food contaminants based on the observed individual means methodology.

Background: The Observed Individual Means (OIM) methodology, based on the non-parametric bootstrap, is usually employed to perform basic probabilistic dietary chronic exposure assessment, and assumes independence and identical distribution of occurrence data within food category. However, this assumption may not be valid if several expected distributions of occurrence can be a priori identified within food category. Moreover, OIM assumes each analysed food sample to equally contribute to mean occurrence, as information about relevance of each food item cannot be incorporated into exposure assessment.

From pro-re-nata to fixed-interval regimen: evolving real-world treatment paradigms in anti-VEGF therapy for neovascular AMD.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of evolving treatment paradigms for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) by comparing outcomes between two patient cohorts treated with different anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) regimens over a decade apart.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 200 treatment-naive nAMD patients divided into two cohorts. Cohort 1 (2009-2010) was treated with a pro re nata (PRN) regimen, involving three initial monthly injections followed by as-needed treatments based on monthly monitoring.

Increased plasma DOPA decarboxylase levels in Lewy body disorders are driven by dopaminergic treatment.

DOPA Decarboxylase (DDC) has been proposed as a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker with increased concentrations in Lewy body disorders (LBDs) and highest levels in patients receiving dopaminergic treatment. Here we evaluate plasma DDC, measured by proximity extension assay, and the effect of dopaminergic treatment in three independent LBD (with a focus on dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease (PD)) cohorts: an autopsy-confirmed cohort (n = 71), a large multicenter, cross-dementia cohort (n = 1498) and a longitudinal cohort with detailed treatment information (n = 66, median follow-up time[IQR] = 4[4, 4] years). Plasma DDC was not altered between different LBDs and other disease groups or controls in absence of treatment.

Surgical and oncological implications of the presence of hepatic artery anatomical variations in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy: a single center experience.

The presence of an aberrant right hepatic artery (a-RHA) could influence the oncological and postoperative outcomes after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). A comparative study was conducted, including patients who underwent PD with a-RHA or with normal RHA anatomy. The primary endpoints were R1 resection in all margins (pancreatic, anterior, posterior, superior mesenteric artery, and portal groove), overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS).

Acute appendicitis and its treatment: a historical overview.

Purpose: Acute appendicitis (AA) is the leading cause of acute abdomen worldwide, with an incidence of 90-100 cases per 100,000 individuals annually and a lifetime risk of 7-12%. Despite its prevalence, historical accounts of AA are limited, particularly when compared to conditions like haemorrhoids, likely due to the appendix's internal location. This article traces the historical evolution of AA treatment from ancient times to the present, highlighting key contributions.

Imaging of elbow entrapment neuropathies.

Entrapment neuropathies at the elbow are common in clinical practice and require an accurate diagnosis for effective management. Understanding the imaging characteristics of these conditions is essential for confirming diagnoses and identifying underlying causes. Ultrasound serves as the primary imaging modality for evaluating nerve structure and movement, while MRI is superior for detecting muscle denervation.

ESR Essentials: imaging of common paediatric pulmonary diseases-practice recommendations by the European Society of Paediatric Radiology.

Chest imaging in children presents unique challenges due to varying requirements across age groups. For chest radiographs, achieving optimal images often involves careful positioning and immobilisation techniques. Antero-posterior projections are easier to obtain in younger children, while lateral decubitus radiographs are sometimes used when expiratory images are difficult to obtain and for free air exclusion.

Upskilling or deskilling? Measurable role of an AI-supported training for radiology residents: a lesson from the pandemic.

Objectives: This article aims to evaluate the use and effects of an artificial intelligence system supporting a critical diagnostic task during radiology resident training, addressing a research gap in this field.

Materials And Methods: We involved eight residents evaluating 150 CXRs in three scenarios: no AI, on-demand AI, and integrated-AI. The considered task was the assessment of a multi-regional severity score of lung compromise in patients affected by COVID-19.

Hallmark discoveries in the biology of non-Wilms tumour childhood kidney cancers.

Approximately 20% of paediatric and adolescent/young adult patients with renal tumours are diagnosed with non-Wilms tumour, a broad heterogeneous group of tumours that includes clear-cell sarcoma of the kidney, congenital mesoblastic nephroma, malignant rhabdoid tumour of the kidney, renal-cell carcinoma, renal medullary carcinoma and other rare histologies. The differential diagnosis of these tumours dates back many decades, when these pathologies were identified initially through clinicopathological observation of entities with outcomes that diverged from Wilms tumour, corroborated with immunohistochemistry and molecular cytogenetics and, subsequently, through next-generation sequencing. These advances enabled near-definitive recognition of different tumours and risk stratification of patients.

Evaluation of the Digital Ventilated Cage® system for circadian phenotyping.

The study of circadian rhythms has been critically dependent upon analysing mouse home cage activity, typically employing wheel running activity under different lighting conditions. Here we assess a novel method, the Digital Ventilated Cage (DVC, Tecniplast SpA, Italy), for circadian phenotyping. Based upon capacitive sensors mounted under black individually ventilated cages with inbuilt LED lighting, each cage becomes an independent light-controlled chamber.

Global meta-analysis shows action is needed to halt genetic diversity loss.

Mitigating loss of genetic diversity is a major global biodiversity challenge. To meet recent international commitments to maintain genetic diversity within species, we need to understand relationships between threats, conservation management and genetic diversity change. Here we conduct a global analysis of genetic diversity change via meta-analysis of all available temporal measures of genetic diversity from more than three decades of research.

Sucrose-preferring gut microbes prevent host obesity by producing exopolysaccharides.

Commensal bacteria affect host health by producing various metabolites from dietary carbohydrates via bacterial glycometabolism; however, the underlying mechanism of action remains unclear. Here, we identified Streptococcus salivarius as a unique anti-obesity commensal bacterium. We found that S.

Prediction of mortality in heart failure by machine learning. Comparison with statistical modeling.

Background: Assessing the relative performance of machine learning (ML) methods and conventional statistical methods in predicting prognosis in heart failure (HF) still remains a challenging research field.

Methods: The primary outcome was three-year mortality. The following 5 machine learning approaches were used for modeling: Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting, Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Support Vector Machine, and Multilayer perceptron.

Recurrence after surgery for clear cell and papillary renal cell carcinoma: Head-to head comparison of validated risk scores.

Introduction: The American Urology Association (AUA) recently introduced in their guidelines a subtype-agnostic, 4-tiered risk classification score to assess oncologic outcomes after surgery in patients with localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We provide a head-to-head comparison of the AUA score with 3, internationally validated and EAU recommended, histological-specific models.

Materials And Methods: We retrieved from a prospectively-maintained database 2,560 surgically-treated patients with localized RCC in a single high-volume European center (1987-2023).

Comparative effectiveness, safety and persistence of ocrelizumab versus natalizumab in multiple sclerosis: A real-world, multi-center, propensity score-matched study.

Ocrelizumab (OCR) and Natalizumab (NTZ) are highly effective treatments widely used in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, long-term, real-world comparative data on clinical effectiveness, safety and treatment persistence are limited. This retrospective analysis included relapsing and progressive MS patients initiating treatment at two Italian Universities ("La Sapienza" and "Federico II").

A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Clinical Impact of Prophylactic Quinolones with Adjuvant Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Instillation for Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer.

Background And Objective: Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) reduces disease recurrence and progression in intermediate- and high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). BCG-associated adverse events during instillations are common, leading to treatment cessation. Prophylactic use of quinolones in conjunction with BCG instillations is one approach for reducing BCG-associated adverse events.

Advances in systematic conservation planning to meet global biodiversity goals.

Systematic conservation planning (SCP) involves the cost-effective placement and application of management actions to achieve biodiversity conservation objectives. Given the political momentum for greater global nature protection, restoration, and improved management of natural resources articulated in the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework, assessing the state-of-the-art of SCP is timely. Recent advances in SCP include faster and more exact algorithms and software, inclusion of ecosystem services and multiple facets of biodiversity (e.

Scabies increasing incidence in Bologna from 2013 to 2024: a retrospective analysis.

Objectives: Scabies infestation, caused by the mite, has recently emerged as a public health concern in Western nations, with increased incidence worldwide. In Bologna, Italy, local health authorities report a rise in scabies diagnoses, although detailed data are limited. This study aimed to analyse the temporal trends of scabies cases diagnosed at S.