Collaborative Outcomes Study on Health and Functioning During Infection Times (COH-FIT): Global and Risk-Group Stratified Course of Well-Being and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Adolescents.

Objective: To identify the COVID-19 pandemic impact on well-being/mental health, coping strategies, and risk factors in adolescents worldwide.

Method: This study was based on an anonymous online multi-national/multi-language survey in the general population (representative/weighted non-representative samples, 14-17 years of age), measuring change in well-being (World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index [WHO-5]/range = 0-100) and psychopathology (validated composite P-score/range = 0-100), WHO-5 <50 and <29, pre- vs during COVID-19 pandemic (April 26, 2020-June 26, 2022). Coping strategies and 9 a priori- defined individual/cumulative risk factors were measured.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of additional local prostate radio therapy in metastatic prostate cancer from a medicare perspective.

Background: Metastatic prostate cancer remains a therapeutic challenge. Based on data of the STAMPEDE trial, patients with a low metastatic burden showed prolonged failure-free and overall survival when treated with prostate radio therapy (RT) in addition to standard of care (SOC). The objective of this study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of additional prostate RT compared to SOC alone for following subgroups: non-regional lymph node (NRLN) metastases, up to three bone metastases and four or more bone metastases.

What Do We Know About the Validity and Reliability of Mindfulness Self-Report Measures in Persons with Dementia? A Critical Narrative Review.

Objectives: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for persons with dementia (PwD) have yielded mixed results, possibly attributable to the fact that little is known about the validity and reliability of trait mindfulness self-report measures in PwD. This narrative review sought to identify studies involving self-reported trait mindfulness and other clinical measures that may hold information on the convergent validity and reliability of these measures in PwD.

Methods: Scientific databases were searched for studies involving PwD and mindfulness assessments.

Safety and Efficacy of Ianalumab in Patients With Sjögren's Disease: 52-Week Results From a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Phase 2b Dose-Ranging Study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to report 52-week safety and efficacy of ianalumab from phase 2b dose-finding study in patients with Sjögren's disease (SjD).

Methods: Patients randomly received (1:1:1:1) ianalumab (5, 50, or 300 mg) or placebo subcutaneously every 4 weeks until week 24 (treatment period [TP]1). At week 24, patients on 300 mg were rerandomized to continue 300 mg or receive placebo until week 52 (TP2), patients on placebo were switched to ianalumab 150 mg, and patients on 5 and 50 mg directly entered posttreatment safety follow-up.

The importance of incorporation of real-world evidence into the guidelines on the pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia.

The quantity and quality of real-world data and real-world evidence in schizophrenia research are at a high level. However, these results are not included in the grading systems used to develop treatment guidelines for schizophrenia. A meta-analysis and a network meta-analysis have independently provided evidence that the results of randomized clinical trials in schizophrenia adequately translate to real-world settings.

Real-Time Assessment of H. pylori Infection to Guide Molecular Antibiotic Resistance Testing: A Combined Endoscopy-Gastric Juice Analysis Approach.

Background: Helicobacter pylori antibiotic resistance is the most relevant cause of treatment failure. Antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) allows for selecting the appropriate eradication regimen.

Aims: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of gastric aspirate-based genotypic AST (G-AST) for detecting clarithromycin and levofloxacin resistance compared with conventional phenotypic AST (P-AST).

Latent Variable Forests for Latent Variable Score Estimation.

We develop a (LV Forest) algorithm for the estimation of latent variable scores with one or more latent variables. LV Forest estimates unbiased latent variable scores based on (CFA) models with ordinal and/or numerical response variables. Through parametric model restrictions paired with a nonparametric tree-based machine learning approach, LV Forest estimates latent variable scores using models that are unbiased with respect to relevant subgroups in the population.

Prognostic Value of Speckle Tracking Echocardiography-Derived Strain in Unmasking Risk for Arrhythmias in Children with Myocarditis.

Risk assessment in pediatric myocarditis is challenging, particularly when left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is preserved. This study aimed to evaluate LV myocardial deformation using speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE)-derived longitudinal +strain (LS) and assessed its diagnostic and prognostic value in children with myocarditis. Retrospective STE-derived layer-specific LV LS analysis was performed on echocardiograms from patients within the multicenter, prospective registry for pediatric myocarditis "MYKKE".

Caries Detection and Classification in Photographs Using an Artificial Intelligence-Based Model-An External Validation Study.

Objective: This ex vivo diagnostic study aimed to externally validate a freely accessible AI-based model for caries detection, classification, localisation and segmentation using an independent image dataset. It was hypothesised that there would be no difference in diagnostic performance compared to previously published internal validation data.

Methods: For the independent dataset, 718 dental images representing different stages of carious ( = 535) and noncarious teeth ( = 183) were retrieved from the internet.

The efficacy of attractive targeted sugar baits in reducing malaria vector abundance in low-endemicity settings of northwest Mali.

Background: Attractive targeted sugar baits (ATSBs) have the potential to significantly reduce infective female Anopheles mosquitoes in arid areas, such as in Northern Mali. Malaria is epidemic in the north due to the limited viability of Anopheles species in the desert climate. The goal of this study was to determine of the effect of ATSB on the number of older female An.

Impacts of land-use and land-cover changes on temperature-related mortality.

Background: Land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) can substantially affect climate through biogeochemical and biogeophysical effects. Here, we examine the future temperature-mortality impact for two contrasting LULCC scenarios in a background climate of low greenhouse gas concentrations. The first LULCC scenario implies a globally sustainable land use and socioeconomic development (sustainability).

Optimizing risk stratification for intermediate-risk prostate cancer - the prognostic value of baseline health-related quality of life.

Objective: To investigate the prognostic value of baseline health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for patients with intermediate-risk localized prostate cancer (IR-PCa) undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP).

Methods: 4780 patients with IR-PCa according to NCCN risk stratification were identified from a prospectively maintained database. All patients were treated with RP and had prospectively assessed baseline HRQOL.

Apolipoprotein E aggregation in microglia initiates Alzheimer's disease pathology by seeding β-amyloidosis.

The seeded growth of pathogenic protein aggregates underlies the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but how this pathological cascade is initiated is not fully understood. Sporadic AD is linked genetically to apolipoprotein E (APOE) and other genes expressed in microglia related to immune, lipid, and endocytic functions. We generated a transgenic knockin mouse expressing HaloTag-tagged APOE and optimized experimental protocols for the biochemical purification of APOE, which enabled us to identify fibrillary aggregates of APOE in mice with amyloid-β (Aβ) amyloidosis and in human AD brain autopsies.

Conversation-based AI for anxiety disorders might lower the threshold for traditional medical assistance: a case report.

Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a wealth of opportunities for medicine, if we also bear in mind the risks associated with this technology. In recent years the potential future integration of AI with medicine has been the subject of much debate, although practical clinical experience of relevant cases is still largely absent. This case study examines a particular patient's experience with different forms of care.

Quantitative MRI Measures and Cognitive Function in People With Drug-Resistant Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy.

Background And Objectives: Neuroimaging studies have so far identified structural changes in individuals with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) when compared with controls. However, the underlying mechanisms of drug-resistant JME remain unknown. In this study, we aimed at characterizing the structural underpinnings of drug-resistant JME using MRI-derived cortical morphologic markers.