Serum β-secretase 1 (sBACE1) activity in subjective cognitive decline: an exploratory study.

β-Secretase-1 (BACE1) plays a key role in the regulation of cerebral amyloid-β homeostasis, being involved in amyloidogenic and, as recently found, amyloidolytic pathways. Growing evidence indicates that increased serum BACE1 (sBACE1) activity might represent an early biomarker for Alzheimer's disease. Here, we tested the hypothesis that an increase in sBACE1 activity may already occur in individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD).

Feasibility of a virtual multimodal prehabilitation intervention for patients with cancer undergoing surgery.

Background And Aims: Current prehabilitation programs are often limited by poor recruitment and attrition rates. Remote delivery of prehabilitation may reduce barriers to participation and maximize program retention. We aimed to assess the feasibility (uptake, retention, fidelity), preliminary effectiveness, and acceptability of delivering a technology-supported prehabilitation program remotely to oncologic surgical candidates.

Intestine-specific disruption of mitochondrial superoxide dismutase extends longevity.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive oxygen containing molecules that are generated by normal metabolism. While ROS can cause damage to the building blocks that make up cells, these molecules can also act as intracellular signals that promote longevity. The levels of ROS within the cell can be regulated by antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), which converts superoxide to hydrogen peroxide.

Low-dose aspirin versus placebo in postpartum venous thromboembolism: a multi-national, pilot, randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Despite the morbidity and mortality of venous thromboembolism, there is little evidence to guide postpartum thromboprophylaxis in patients at moderate risk. We aimed to assess the feasibility of conducting a double-blind, randomised trial of aspirin versus placebo in postpartum individuals with two or more venous thromboembolism risk factors, mild-to-moderate thrombophilia, or both.

Methods: The pilot PARTUM trial, a multi-national, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, was conducted in seven centres across Canada, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

Single-Cell Identification and Characterization of Viable but Nonculturable Using Raman Optical Tweezers and Machine Learning.

is a leading foodborne pathogen that may enter a viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state to survive under environmental stresses, posing a significant health concern. VBNC cells can evade conventional culture-based detection methods, while viability-based assays are usually hindered by low sensitivity, insufficient specificity, or technical challenges. There are limited studies analyzing VBNC cells at the single-cell level for accurate detection and an understanding of their unique behavior.

Parental psychosocial factors and children's oral health-related quality of life: Data from a caries prevention study with phone-based support.

Background: Caries burden in children disproportionately affects minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Severe early childhood caries requiring general anesthesia (GA) is a significant concern, with high caries relapse rates in subsequent years.

Aim: To examine associations between parental psychosocial factors, children's caries burden, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), including group differences, following a phone-based parental support intervention for children treated under GA for severe Early Childhood Caries (ECC).

Perineuronal nets in motor circuitry regulate the performance of learned vocalizations in songbirds.

The accurate and reliable performance of learned vocalizations (e.g., speech and birdsong) modulates the efficacy of communication in humans and songbirds.

Novel synaptic markers predict early tau pathology and cognitive deficit in an asymptomatic population at risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease (AD) correlates closely with pathology in the neuronal microtubule-associated protein tau. Tau pathology may spread via neural synapses. In a population of cognitively unimpaired elderly at elevated risk of AD, we investigated four cerebrospinal (CSF) markers of synaptic dysfunction and degeneration.

Individualized transfusion decisions to minimize adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction and anemia.

Background: Risk-benefit tradeoffs between restrictive versus liberal red blood cell transfusion strategies may vary across individuals. This exploratory analysis aimed to derive and evaluate individualized treatment effects of defined transfusion strategies in patients with acute MI and anemia with the goal of minimizing adverse cardiovascular outcomes.

Methods: This study analyzed 3,447 (98.

Prolonged immune response to tick-borne Ehrlichia chaffeensis infection using a genetically modified live vaccine.

Ehrlichia chaffeensis, a tick transmitted rickettsial bacterium, causes monocytic ehrlichiosis in humans and dogs. Earlier, we demonstrated that dogs immunized with a mutant strain of E. chaffeensis having a functional disruption in the gene encoding the phage head-to-tail connector protein serves as a modified live vaccine (MLAV) capable of inducing immunity against intravenous and tick-transmitted infection challenges within one month of vaccination.

Nanoscale Viscometry Reveals an Inherent Mucus Defect in Cystic Fibrosis.

The abnormally viscous and thick mucus is a hallmark of cystic fibrosis (CF). How the mutated CF gene causes abnormal mucus remains an unanswered question of paramount interest. Mucus is produced by the hydration of gel-forming mucin macromolecules that are stored in intracellular granules prior to release.

Network Meta-Analysis: Comparison of Endoscopic Dysplasia Detection Technologies in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background: Novel colorectal cancer endoscopic surveillance techniques for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have recently been developed.

Aims: Compare the efficacy of currently available techniques for dysplasia detection in colonic IBD.

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search from inception to March 2024 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or prospective cohort studies enrolling adults with IBD and having surveillance colonoscopy for dysplasia screening.

Quantitative Pupillometry Predicts Neurologic Deterioration in Patients with Large Middle Cerebral Artery Stroke.

Objective: This study assesses whether longitudinal quantitative pupillometry predicts neurological deterioration after large middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke and determines how early changes are detectable.

Methods: This prospective, single-center observational cohort study included patients with large MCA stroke admitted to Boston Medical Center's intensive care unit (2019-2024). Associations between time-to-neurologic deterioration and quantitative pupillometry, including Neurological Pupil Index (NPi), were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models with time-dependent covariates adjusted for age, sex, and Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score.

Management Measures and Trends of Biological Invasions in Europe: A Survey-Based Assessment of Local Managers.

Biological invasions are a major threat to biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and nature's contributions to people worldwide. However, the effectiveness of invasive alien species (IAS) management measures and the progress toward achieving biodiversity targets remain uncertain due to limited and nonuniform data availability. Management success is usually assessed at a local level and documented in technical reports, often written in languages other than English, which makes such data notoriously difficult to collect at large geographic scales.

Reciprocal and non-reciprocal effects of clinically relevant SETBP1 protein dosage changes.

Many genes in the human genome encode proteins that are dosage sensitive, meaning they require protein levels within a narrow range to properly execute function. To investigate if clinically relevant variation in protein levels impacts the same downstream pathways in human disease, we generated cell models of two SETBP1 syndromes: Schinzel-Giedion Syndrome (SGS) and SETBP1 haploinsufficiency disease (SHD), where SGS is caused by too much protein, and SHD is caused by not enough SETBP1. Using patient and sex-matched healthy first-degree relatives from both SGS and SHD SETBP1 cases, we assessed how SETBP1 protein dosage affects downstream pathways in human forebrain progenitor cells.

Increasing Risk of Gestational Diabetes in an Ethnocultural Minority of Canada.

We investigated whether ethnocultural inequality in rates of gestational diabetes was prevalent in Canada. We compared the Anglophone minority with the Francophone majority in Quebec. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 853,595 pregnancies between 2008 and 2020 in Quebec, Canada.

The Canadian Experience With Magnetic Esophageal Anastomosis: A Report From the Canadian Consortium for Research in Pediatric Surgery Study (CanCORPS).

Objective: Magnetic anastomosis is an innovative technique for establishing esophageal continuity in infants born with esophageal atresia. Few case series featuring this technology have been published, with even fewer reports on complications. We present the entire Canadian experience with this approach.

Estimating the epidemiological and economic impact of providing nutritional care for tuberculosis-affected households across India: a modelling study.

Background: Approximately 20% of global tuberculosis incidence is attributable to undernutrition, increasing to more than a third in India. Targeting nutritional interventions to tuberculosis-affected households is a policy priority, but understanding of epidemiological and economic impacts is limited. We aimed to estimate the population-level epidemiological and economic effect of such an intervention.

First-in-human trial of atrial fibrillation ablation using real time tissue optical assessment to predict pulsed field lesion durability.

Background: Loss of bipolar electrograms immediately after pulsed field ablation (PFA) makes lesion durability assessment challenging.

Objective: The aim of this trial (NCT06700226) was to evaluate a novel ablation system that can optically predict lesion durability by detecting structural changes in the tissue during ablation.

Methods: Patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation underwent pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) using PFA (AblaView®, MedLumics).

Investigating macro marine litter and beach cleanliness along Southern Vietnam beaches.

Plastic contamination is a major issue for marine ecosystems, with macro-litter posing a growing threat globally. This study assesses macro-marine litter on Vung Tau beaches, Southern Vietnam, providing baseline data for marine litter pollution and identifying critical action plans for plastic control. Survey results showed litter density ranging from 0.

Dual controls of vapour pressure deficit and soil moisture on photosynthesis in a restored temperate bog.

Despite only covering ~3 % of the land mass, peatlands store more carbon (C) per unit area than any other ecosystem. This is due to the discrepancy between C fixed by the plants (Gross primary productivity (GPP)) and decomposition. However, this C is vulnerable to frequent, severe droughts and changes in the peatland microclimate.

Strategies to reduce hyperglycemia-related anxiety in elite athletes with type 1 diabetes: A qualitative analysis.

Objective: Managing blood glucose levels is challenging for elite athletes with type 1 diabetes (T1D) as competition can cause unpredictable fluctuations. While fear of hypoglycemia during physical activity is well documented, research on hyperglycemia-related anxiety (HRA) is limited. HRA refers to the heightened fear that hyperglycemia-related symptoms will impair functioning.

Cannabis vaping elicits transcriptomic and metabolomic changes in inflammatory, oxidative stress and cancer pathways in human bronchial epithelial cells.

The increasing shift from cannabis smoking to cannabis vaping is largely driven by the perception that vaping to form an aerosol represents a safer alternative to smoking and is a form of consumption appealing to youth. Herein, we compared the chemical composition and receptor-mediated activity of cannabis smoke extract (CaSE) to cannabis vaping extract (CaVE) along with the biological response in human bronchial epithelial cells. Chemical analysis using HPLC and GC/MS revealed that cannabis vaping aerosol contained fewer toxicants than smoke; CaSE and CaVE contained teratogens, carcinogens, and respiratory toxicants.

Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations: Vascular cognitive impairment, 7th edition practice guidelines update, 2024.

The Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations (CSPR) 7th edition includes this new module on the diagnosis and management of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) with or without neurodegenerative disease. An expert writing group and people with VCI lived experience (PWLE) reviewed current evidence. Existing recommendations were reviewed and revised, and new recommendations added.