Antidepressants versus placebo for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD).

Background: Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mental health condition characterised by excessive anxiety and worry about everyday events. GAD is a common disorder and generally affects women twice as often as men. Treatments include various psychological and pharmacological therapies.

Novel Automation, AI, and Biomimetic Engineering Advancements for Insect Studies and Management.

Entomology has seen remarkable advancements through the integration of robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and biomimetic engineering. These technological innovations are revolutionizing how scientists study insect behavior, ecology, and management. Robotics and AI offer unprecedented precision and efficiency in monitoring and controlling insect populations.

Systematic review on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in breastmilk and neuro-behavioral development: insight into the early ages of life.

Breast milk (BM) is the main nutrition source for infants that plays a key role on growth and development. Human milk composition includes endogenous and exogenous substances, including endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). EDCs are man-made environmental chemicals present in everyday environment and food that can disrupt the programming of endocrine signalling pathways during development, resulting in adverse effects that may not be apparent until much later in life.

The inflammatory profiling in a cohort of older patients suffering from cognitive decline and dementia.

Background: During aging, there is a progressive impairment of immune cell function that triggers the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines causing the so-called "inflammaging". Frailty represents a condition of increased vulnerability to stresses and reduced homeostatic reserve reflecting not only health status but also biological age. In older subjects without dementia, we showed that markers of inflammaging were differently associated with chronological age than with frailty.

Exploring Manual Therapy in the Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Adults: A Scoping Review.

Introduction: IBS is a prevalent gut-brain interaction disorder characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habits, significantly affecting quality of life (QoL). IBS contributes to substantial work absenteeism and economic burdens and often coexists with other somatic and psychiatric conditions, with psychological well-being being a critical determinant of QoL. IBS sufferers often turn to MT due to dissatisfaction with conventional treatments.

Anaphylaxis definition, overview, and clinical support tool: 2024 consensus report.

Background: The 2006 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease/Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (NIAID/FAAN) anaphylaxis criteria are widely used in clinical care and research. In 2020, the World Allergy Organization (WAO) published modified criteria that have not been uniformly adopted. Different criteria contribute to inconsistent care and research outcomes.

Genomic insights into the biogeography and evolution of Galápagos iguanas.

Galápagos iguanas are a monophyletic group endemic to the Galápagos archipelago, comprising the marine iguana Amblyrhynchus cristatus and three species of land iguanas: Conolophus subcristatus, C. pallidus and C. marthae.

Derivatization of ophiobolin A and cytotoxicity toward breast and glioblastoma cancer stem cells: Varying the ketone and unsaturated aldehyde moieties.

To gain further insights into the importance of the unsaturated 1,4-ketoaldehyde moiety of ophiobolin A (OpA) for the potency and selectivity observed toward cancer stem cells, several derivatives were synthesized through controlled reduction and oxidations of the unsaturated aldehyde and ketone moieties. Structure elucidation of these new OpA derivatives was achieved through detailed NMR studies and comparison to OpA and known isolated congeners possessing variations in these regions. The relative stereochemistry of the newly generated stereocenters was determined by coupling constants in conjunction with conformational analyses (DFT) of the synthetic derivatives.

Circadian clockwork controls the balance between mitochondrial turnover and dynamics: What is life … without time marking?

Circadian rhythms driven by biological clocks regulate physiological processes in all living organisms by anticipating daily geophysical changes, thus enhancing environmental adaptation. Time-resolved serial multi-omic analyses in vivo, ex vivo, and in synchronized cell cultures have revealed rhythmic changes in the transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome, involving up to 50 % of the mammalian genome. Mitochondrial oxidative metabolism is central to cellular bioenergetics, and many nuclear genes encoding mitochondrial proteins exhibit both circadian and ultradian oscillatory expression.

Cerclage in singleton pregnancies with no prior spontaneous PTB and short cervix: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: PTB (PTB) remains a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Cerclage for short cervical length (CL) ≤25mm in singletons with a history of spontaneous PTB is associated with decreased neonatal morbidity/mortality. Both vaginal progesterone and cerclage individually have level 1 evidence supporting benefit in prevention of PTB in pregnancies complicated by short CL, however there is a paucity of level 1 evidence regarding the potential benefit of cerclage with progesterone compared to progesterone alone for short CL ≤25mm in singletons without a history of spontaneous PTB.

Comparative assessment of microplastic ingestion among deep sea decapods: distribution analysis in Sardinian and Catalan waters.

Microplastic (MP) pollution is a widespread and concerning environmental issue. The benthic layer is known as one of the major accumulation sinks, yet knowledge gaps still remain in describing the interactions of its biota with MPs. This work represents a comprehensive comparative analysis of MP ingestion in the four deep-sea crustacean decapods Aristeus antennatus (Risso, 1816), Aristaeomorpha foliacea (Risso, 1827), Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) sampled from two distinct regions of the Mediterranean Sea in order to underscore the species-specific characteristics driving their MP ingestion variations.

How the COAPT trial affected the selection of patients with secondary mitral regurgitation undergoing transcatheter edge-to-edge repair: insights from the GIOTTO Registry.

Background: The impact of the COAPT results on clinical practice has not yet been investigated in large real-world cohort study. The aim of the study is to evaluate the potential impact of the COAPT trial by analyzing the temporal trends of baseline characteristics and outcome of secondary mitral regurgitation (SMR) patients undergoing MitraClip (MC) included in the GIOTTO registry.

Methods: The study population was divided into two groups, considering the enrolment before or after the COAPT publication.

Baicalein antagonises Rhopilema esculentum toxin-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis by modulating ROS-MAPK-NF-κB and inhibiting PLA activity.

The toxicity of jellyfish Rhopilema esculentum (R. esculentum), an edible jellyfish that releases venom, has been controversial. The aim of this comprehensive study was to investigate the toxic effects of jellyfish tentacle extract (TE), which was evaluated in vivo and in vitro using ICR mice and RAW264.

Quantum computing for swarm robotics: a local-to-global approach.

Quantum computing is a branch of computer science derived from the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics, such as state superposition, multi-value logic and destructive measure. An open challenge in itself is to re-think in quantum terms classic problems and solving techniques. Another nature-inspired field is the development of swarm-based robotic applications, where the challenge is catching the fundamental laws governing swarm dynamics, such as pattern formation and target reaching.

Latest clinical frontiers related to autism diagnostic strategies.

The diagnosis of autism is currently based on the developmental history, direct observation of behavior, and reported symptoms, supplemented by rating scales/interviews/structured observational evaluations-which is influenced by the clinician's knowledge and experience-with no established diagnostic biomarkers. A growing body of research has been conducted over the past decades to improve diagnostic accuracy. Here, we provide an overview of the current diagnostic assessment process as well as of recent and ongoing developments to support diagnosis in terms of genetic evaluation, telemedicine, digital technologies, use of machine learning/artificial intelligence, and research on candidate diagnostic biomarkers.

The role of carbon and nitrogen ratio on sewage sludge microbiota for producing polyhydroxyalkanoates.

The products of an advanced sewage sludge fermentation process can be used to generate polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), precursors of bioplastics considered excellent candidates for replacing petroleum-derived plastics. The aerobic feast-anoxic famine cycling strategy has proven to be an efficient method for enriching sewage sludge microbiota with PHA-producing microorganisms. This work evaluated the effect of different carbon to nitrogen ratios (C/N) of 3.

Synthesis of expert opinions on fluid management in severe sepsis: A contextual review of human albumin and crystalloids.

Background: Sepsis is a critical condition associated with high mortality rates that necessitates effective fluid resuscitation. Crystalloids are widely utilized; however, human albumin solutions have been attributed potential oncotic and anti-inflammatory benefits. Given the ongoing debate and the absence of definitive empirical evidence, expert opinions provide valuable insights into the contextual and practical aspects of fluid management.

Cost-effectiveness of robotic compared with laparoscopic rectal resection. Results from the Spanish prospective national trial ROBOCOSTES.

Objective: The costs related to robotic surgery are known to be greater than those associated with laparoscopy. However, the potential for better outcomes of the former could lead to a cost-effectiveness advantage. The aim of this study is therefore to highlight the difference in cost-effectiveness between robotic and laparoscopic rectal resection.

Number is more than meets the eye: Unveiling segmentation mechanisms in numerosity perception with visual illusions.

Animals and humans possess an adaptive ability to rapidly estimate approximate numerosity, yet the visual mechanisms underlying this process remain poorly understood. Evidence suggests that approximate numerosity relies on segmented perceptual units modulated by grouping cues, with perceived numerosity decreasing when objects are connected by irrelevant lines, independent of low-level features. However, most studies have focused on physical objects.

Otolaryngological manifestations of cystic fibrosis in children: A systematic review.

Purpose: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common autosomal recessive disorder in the Caucasian population. Otolaryngological manifestations pose a significant impact on the quality of life of children with CF. The primary aim of this review is to provide a state of the art update of current literature on the otolaryngological manifestations of CF in children.

ShadowGAN-Former: Reweighting self-attention based on mask for shadow removal.

Shadow removal remains a challenging visual task aimed at restoring the original brightness of shadow regions in images. Many existing methods overlook the implicit clues within non-shadow regions, leading to inconsistencies in the color, texture, and illumination of the reconstructed shadow-free images. To address these issues, we propose an efficient hybrid model of Transformer and Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), named ShadowGAN-Former, which utilizes information from non-shadow regions to assist in shadow removal.

Characterization of children with early onset pediatric multiple sclerosis.

Background: Early onset pediatric multiple sclerosis (EOPMS) provides an early window of opportunity to understand the mechanisms leading to MS.

Objective: To investigate clinical, laboratory and imaging differences between children with early onset pediatric MS (<11 years, EOPMS) and late onset pediatric MS (≥11 years, LOPMS).

Methods: Mostly prospectively collected data of children with MS including clinical presentation, MRI at onset, time to second relapse, relapse rate, treatment history, and CSF markers were eligible.