Behind the scenes of EQA - characteristics, capabilities, benefits and assets of external quality assessment (EQA).

External quality assessment (EQA) enhances patient safety through the evaluation of the quality of laboratory-based and point of care testing. Regulatory agencies and accreditation organizations utilize the results and the laboratory's response to them as part of assessing the laboratory's fitness to practice. In addition, where EQA samples are commutable and the assigned value has been determined using reference measurement procedures (RMPs), EQA data contributes to the verification of metrological traceability of assays as part of the post-market surveillance of diagnostic (IVD) medical devices (IVD-MDs).

The impact on productivity costs of reducing unemployment in patients with advanced breast cancer: A model estimation based on a Portuguese nationwide observational study.

This study aimed to characterize the employment status and work-related conditions of patients with advanced breast cancer (ABC) in Portugal and quantify the productivity costs of premature abandonment of the work market while evaluating strategies to promote employment. The analysis was based on a cumulative incidence model for estimation of ABC prevalence and on a cross-sectional study characterizing the employment status of patients with ABC. This study was conducted in Portuguese hospitals, between Nov2021-Dec2022 and included patients diagnosed with ABC for at least 6 months, aged 66 or less and consenting for a self-answered questionnaire regarding work status.

AI-driven participatory environmental management: Innovations, applications, and future prospects.

The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents unprecedented opportunities for participatory environmental management. This paper explores the integration of AI technologies into participatory approaches, which engage diverse stakeholders in environmental decision-making processes. Using artificial intelligence, a corpus of 80 papers was compiled and subsequently analyzed with text mining tools.

Soil quality under rotational and conventional grazing in Mediterranean areas at desertification risk.

Rotational grazing (RG) could be a valid alternative to continuous grazing (CG) in Mediterranean extensive pastures to fight land degradation. This study aimed to compare soil quality under RG and CG management, in paired RG-CG Portuguese pasture areas under strong aridity stress, with RG sites converted from CG management in 2018. Soils were sampled in 2022, at 10 cm depth, over 71 ha of RG and 37 ha of CG pastures, subdivided in 16 and 10 sampling plots, respectively.

Disentangling Sources of Momentum Fluctuations in Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.

High-energy nuclear collisions create a quark-gluon plasma, whose initial condition and subsequent expansion vary from event to event, impacting the distribution of the eventwise average transverse momentum [P([p_{T}])]. Disentangling the contributions from fluctuations in the nuclear overlap size (geometrical component) and other sources at a fixed size (intrinsic component) remains a challenge. This problem is addressed by measuring the mean, variance, and skewness of P([p_{T}]) in ^{208}Pb+^{208}Pb and ^{129}Xe+^{129}Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.

Impact of offensive-reward rules on young basketball players' performance during small-sided games.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of different offensive-reward-related rules on the physical performance, perceived exertion and enjoyment of young basketball players during small-sided games (SSG). Eighteen youth male players (age: 13.3±0.

Co-delivery of antioxidants and siRNA-VEGF: promising treatment for age-related macular degeneration.

Current treatments for retinal disorders are anti-angiogenic agents, laser photocoagulation, and photodynamic therapies. These conventional treatments focus on reducing abnormal blood vessel formation in the retina, which, in a low-oxygen environment, can lead to harmful proliferation of endothelial cells. This results in dysfunctional, leaky blood vessels that cause retinal edema, hemorrhage, and vision loss.

The Relationship of HbA1c Serum Levels with the Severity of Periodontal Disease in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective:  According to the evidence, the level of glycemic control is of key importance in determining the increased risk of periodontal disease (PD). The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of metabolic control as a key factor leading to the development and severity of periodontitis and compare the periodontal and oral hygiene status with the glycated hemoglobin levels.

Materials And Methods:  The evaluation was undertaken with diabetic patients (59 uncontrolled diabetics and 36 controlled diabetics) from a patient cohort of the Hospitalar Center of Tâmega e Sousa and subjects without diabetes ( = 95).

Digital Feedback Loop in Paraxial Fluids of Light: A Gate to New Phenomena in Analog Physical Simulations.

Easily accessible through tabletop experiments, paraxial fluids of light are emerging as promising platforms for the simulation and exploration of quantumlike phenomena. In particular, the analogy builds on a formal equivalence between the governing model for a Bose-Einstein condensate under the mean-field approximation and the model of laser propagation inside nonlinear optical media under the paraxial approximation. Yet, the fact that the role of time is played by the propagation distance in the analog system imposes strong bounds on the range of accessible phenomena due to the limited length of the nonlinear medium.

A critical review of microplastics characterisation in aquatic environments: recent trends in the last 10 years.

Anthropogenic activities have introduced various contaminants into freshwater and marine ecosystems. Microplastics (MPs) are persistent and ubiquitous contaminants threatening natural ecosystems and impairing organisms at different biological levels of organization. Their durability and degradation rate pose a great concern in the scientific community, and thus, several techniques have been used to detect MPs effectively.

Novel anticancer drug discovery efforts targeting glycosylation: the emergence of fluorinated monosaccharides analogs.

Introduction: Glycosylation is an essential enzymatic process of building glycan structures that occur mainly within the cell and gives rise to a diversity of cell surface and secreted glycoconjugates. These glycoconjugates play vital roles, for instance in cellcell adhesion, interaction and communication, activation of cell surface receptors, inflammatory response and immune recognition. This controlled and wellcoordinated enzymatic process is altered in cancer, leading to the biosynthesis of cancerassociated glycans, which impact glycandependent biological roles.

Comparative analysis of the microbiome composition of artisanal cheeses produced in the Mediterranean area.

In the PRIMA project ArtiSaneFood, the microbiological parameters of several artisanal cheeses produced in the Mediterranean area have been quantified. In this pilot study, we selected four of these artisanal cheese products from Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Morocco to investigate and compare their microbiomes in terms of taxonomic composition, presence of reads of foodborne pathogens, as well as virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes. , and were the most represented genera in the Portuguese and Spanish cheeses, in the Italian cheese, and , , , and in the Moroccan products.

Biopreservation strategies using bacteriocins to control meat spoilage and foodborne outbreaks.

Fresh meat is highly perishable, presenting challenges in spoilage mitigation and waste reduction globally. Despite the efforts, foodborne outbreaks from meat consumption persist. Biopreservation offers a natural solution to extend shelf life by managing microbial communities.

Genomics-based timely detection of dengue virus type I genotypes I and V in Uruguay.

This study details a genomics-based approach for the early detection of mosquito-borne pathogens, marked by Uruguay's first ever complete genomic sequencing of Dengue Virus type I genotypes I and V. This pioneering effort has facilitated the prompt identification of these genotypes within the country, enabling Uruguayan public health authorities to develop timely and effective response strategies. Further integrated into this approach is a climate-driven suitability measure, closely associated with Dengue case reports and indicative of the local climate's role in the virus's transmission in the country within the changing climate context.

Microsurgical vasectomy reversal: experience of a single center.

Background: Vasectomy reversal (VR) is the only technique that allows men previously submitted to a vasectomy to conceive by natural pregnancy. We report our experience with microsurgical VR and identify predictive factors of natural pregnancy.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients submitted to VR by a single surgeon from 2008 to 2021 at our single center.

Human asthenozoospermia: Update on genetic causes, patient management, and clinical strategies.

Background: In mammals, sperm fertilization potential relies on efficient progression within the female genital tract to reach and fertilize the oocyte. This fundamental property is supported by the flagellum, an evolutionarily conserved organelle, which contains dynein motor proteins that provide the mechanical force for sperm propulsion and motility. Primary motility of the sperm cells is acquired during their transit through the epididymis and hyperactivated motility is acquired throughout the journey in the female genital tract by a process called capacitation.

Treatment patterns and outcomes in secondary acute myeloid leukemia arising after hypomethylating agents: PETHEMA registry study.

Background: Patients with secondary acute myeloid leukemia who previously received hypomethylating agents for prior myeloid neoplasms (HMA-sAML) face a dismal prognosis.

Methods: The authors analyze the characteristics, therapeutic approaches, and outcomes of patients with HMA-sAML from the Programa Español para el Tratamiento de Hemopatías Malignas (PETHEMA) registry.

Results: A total of 479 patients were included, mostly from prior myelodysplastic syndrome (84%).

Perturbation-theory machine learning for mood disorders: virtual design of dual inhibitors of NET and SERT proteins.

Mood disorders affect the daily lives of millions of people worldwide. The search for more efficient therapies for mood disorders remains an active field of research. In silico approaches can accelerate the search for inhibitors against protein targets related to mood disorders.

Right ventricular myocardial work: proof-of-concept for the assessment of pressure-strain loops of patients with pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension.

Background: Right ventricular myocardial work (RVMW) assessed by transthoracic echocardiography allows to study the right ventricular (RV) function using RV pressure-strain loops. The assessment of these novel indexes of RVMW has not yet been exten sively studied, namely in pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension (PH) population.

Objectives: to evaluate the relationship between RVMW and invasive indices of right heart catheterization (RHC) in a cohort of patients with group I and group IV PH and to compare with a control group without PH.

Preliminary efficacy and safety results of a new macular buckle model (NPB) in myopic traction maculopathy.

Purpose: To describe the efficacy and safety outcomes of NPB macular buckle (MB) in myopic traction maculopathy (MTM).

Methods: A monocentric, prospective cohort study of the naïve eyes who underwent MB surgery, alone or combined with vitrectomy (PPV) for MTM, using the new NPB buckle, between December 2022 and June 2024. The anatomical results, postoperative complications, and MB ease of use were analyzed as the main outcomes.