Exploring the interplay between inflammation and male fertility.

Male fertility results from a complex interplay of physiological, environmental, and genetic factors. It is conditioned by the properly developed anatomy of the reproductive system, hormonal regulation balance, and the interplay between different cell populations that sustain an appropriate and functional environment in the testes. Unfortunately, the mechanisms sustaining male fertility are not flawless and their perturbation can lead to infertility.

Inter-observer variability in the classification of lumbar foraminal stenosis in magnetic resonance imaging using different evaluation scales.

Background: The evaluation of lumbar spine degeneration on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is prone to inter-reader variability, including when assessing foraminal changes. This variability, often due to subjective criteria and inconsistent terminology, may affect clinical correlations. Standardized criteria could help improve agreement among readers.

New evidence confirms the presence of the diamond stingray Hypanus dipterurus (Jordan & Gilbert 1880) in Chile and extends its southern range.

The diamond stingray (Hypanus dipterurus) is a species of cartilaginous fish that, according to the IUCN, is globally in a vulnerable state of conservation and its populations show a decline. New records of this ray species in southern Peru and northern Chile have expanded their known range. The species is distributed in the Eastern Central Pacific, from southern California to San Andres, on the central coast of Peru, but is poorly known in Chile.

Analysis of the 10-day ultra-marathon using a predictive XG boost model.

Objective: Ultra-marathon running races are held as distance-limited or time-limited events, ranging from 6 h to 10 days. Only a few runners compete in 10-day events, and so far, we have little knowledge about the athletes' origins, performance, and event characteristics. The aim of the present study was to investigate the origin and performance of these runners and the fastest race locations.

Generational diversity in nursing practice environments - scoping review.

Introduction: Generational diversity in nursing has introduced new challenges, for nurse managers and practice environments, in addressing both the nurses' and clients' needs and organizations' social and health policies. The organizational climate encourages professionals to preserve positive practice environments, which promotes a healthy coexistence between generations, respecting their distinctive characteristics and values, with the essential purpose of ensuring the team's effectiveness and the organization's success.

Objective: To map the available scientific evidence on the generational diversity of nurses in professional practice environments.

Bullying behaviors in nursing education (BBNE) scale: a psychometric study among Iranian nursing students.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of The Bullying Behaviors in Nursing Education (BBNE) scale among Iranian nursing students.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, 366 undergraduate nursing students from two public universities in Iran were selected through convenience sampling from April to June 2023. The BBNE scale was translated into Persian, and its content and construct validity, internal consistency and reliability were evaluated.

Harm reduction and its monitoring in Europe, from EMCDDA to EUDA.

Background: Harm Reduction, conceptualized by Russell Newcombe in the late 1980s, has revolutionized how drug use, individuals who use drugs, and drug policies are understood globally. Emerging from the HIV/AIDS crisis, Harm Reduction sought to address the dire rates of drug-related infections and the overwhelming burden on healthcare providers. Early initiatives, such as Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) and needle exchange programs, were met with resistance but gradually established new standards of care, transforming attitudes toward people who use drugs and prioritizing human-centered, rather than solely medical, approaches.

Unravelling the benefits of thermal waters enhancing oral health: a pilot study.

Background: Oral health represents a public health problem due to its remarkable social impact and medical costs. Crenotherapy with sulfur water is shown to be a complementary, less toxic, and traumatizing therapy, but the number of studies that evaluate the effect of natural mineral waters effect on oral health are scarce. The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the impact of thermal water therapy on the oral health of the participants, assessing parameters such as plaque index, gingival bleeding index and periodontal probing depth as well on the perception of symptoms of oral mucosa diseases (OMD).

Health-related quality of life after rehabilitation from knee surgery in rural and urban settings: a quasi-experimental study.

Background: Injury to the knee joint is associated with physical disability, stiffness, pain, restriction of movement and impairment of the person's quality of life, with a few treatment options, including surgery and rehabilitation. This study aims to evaluate the impact of a rehabilitation program on the quality of life reported by patients living in rural and urban areas after knee surgery, using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs).

Methods: This quasi-experimental study with two groups of participants undergoing primary knee surgery was carried out in two rehabilitation centers, one in an urban area and another in a rural one.

Luminescent Thermometer Based on a Praseodymium(iii) Cyanide-Based Metal-Organic Framework.

Trivalent lanthanide ions have emerged as promising candidates for precise and remote temperature sensing. Among them, Pr-based luminescent thermometers remain underexplored, particularly those operating in the near-infrared (NIR) spectral region. This work presents the synthesis and thorough characterization of a novel Pr-based coordination polymer, {[PrPt(CN)(4,4'-bpyO)(HO)]·4HO} (), as a rare example of Pr luminescent thermometry.

Migraine and cognitive dysfunction: a narrative review.

The association between migraine and cognitive function has been studied during the last decade, however, this relationship is not well established. As migraine prevalence is highest between the ages of 30-40, aligning with some of our most productive years, we must understand cognitive changes within this disorder. Cognitive impairment potentially limits social and professional interactions, thus negatively impacting quality of life.

Tackling algorithmic bias and promoting transparency in health datasets: the STANDING Together consensus recommendations.

Without careful dissection of the ways in which biases can be encoded into artificial intelligence (AI) health technologies, there is a risk of perpetuating existing health inequalities at scale. One major source of bias is the data that underpins such technologies. The STANDING Together recommendations aim to encourage transparency regarding limitations of health datasets and proactive evaluation of their effect across population groups.

Pathogen-responsive alternative splicing in plant immunity.

Plant immunity involves a complex and finely tuned response to a wide variety of pathogens. Alternative splicing, a post-transcriptional mechanism that generates multiple transcripts from a single gene, enhances both the versatility and effectiveness of the plant immune system. Pathogen infection induces alternative splicing in numerous plant genes involved in the two primary layers of pathogen recognition: pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI).

Immunohistochemical Expression of Programmed Death-Ligand 1 and Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Antigen-4 in Canine Cutaneous Mast Cell Tumours.

Mast cell tumours (MCTs) are the most frequent cutaneous neoplasia of the dog, and they have very variable biological behaviour and survival times. Surgery is still the best treatment, and despite the several adjuvant therapies described, many cases are very aggressive and resistant to these treatments making it urgent to find new therapeutic targets. Nowadays, immunotherapy targeting immune checkpoints has been described as a complementary treatment for several human cancers, but it is still very scarcely studied in veterinary medicine.

Therapeutic effect of cyclosporine A-loading TPGS micelles on a mouse model of LPS-induced neuroinflammation.

Neuroinflammation is an undoubted hallmark of neurodegenerative processes characterized by memory impairment, loss of coordination and muscle strength in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis as well as depressive disorders. Cyclosporine A (CSA) has already been identified as a promising neuroprotective peptide, due to its well-known anti-inflammatory properties. Herein, CSA was encapsulated into α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) micelles and intranasally administered to a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced mouse model of neuroinflammation.

Screening for Microplastics in Agricultural Soils: Applying Green Chemistry Principles in Extraction and Analysis.

In recent years, microplastic (MP) pollution has garnered significant attention owing to its ability to permeate various ecosystems, including soil. These particles can infiltrate the environment, either directly or through the degradation of larger plastic items. Despite growing concerns, standardized methods for quantification are still lacking.

Conformational change induced by binding of Mn ions activates SloR transcription factor in Streptococcus mutans.

Streptococcus mutans, a bacterium commonly found in the human oral cavity, is considered the primary causative agent of dental caries. A key player in the pathophysiology of S. mutans is SloR, a 25-kDa metalloregulatory protein.

Improving implementation of needle and syringe programmes to expand, scale up, and sustain evidence-based prevention interventions for HIV and hepatitis C in prisons.

The 1990 resolution by the UN General Assembly committed member states to provide health-care equity for people in prison, who are included in the global goals to control HIV and eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) by 2030. WHO has set ambitious HCV elimination targets by including people who inject drugs (PWID), yet has not prioritised PWID who are incarcerated, a substantial population who have or are at risk for HCV infection. Human rights principles of health-care equity stipulate that "prisoners should enjoy the same standards of health care that are available in the community, without discrimination on the grounds of their legal status".

[Cataract surgery training in France: Analysis of the results of the European Board of Ophthalmology survey in the French cohort].

Objective: This study aims to present and analyze the results of the French cohort in a European Board of Ophthalmology (EBO) survey on cataract surgical training in Europe, highlighting the particularities of French training.

Materials And Methods: A 23-question electronic questionnaire was sent to interns applying for the EBO examination from 2018 to 2022. Responses from French participants were specifically collected and analyzed.

Unravelling the potential of natural chelating agents in the control of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

Iron is essential for the formation, maturation and dispersal of bacterial biofilms, playing a crucial role in the physiological and metabolic functions of bacteria as well as in the regulation of virulence. Limited availability of iron can impair the formation of robust biofilms by altering cellular motility, hydrophobicity and protein composition of the bacterial surface. In this study, the antibiofilm activity of two natural iron chelating agents, kojic acid (5-hydroxy-2-hydroxymethyl-4H-pyran-4-one) and maltol (3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-pyrone), were investigated against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Potential of a newly isolated lytic bacteriophage to control Pseudomonas coronafaciens pv. garcae in coffee plants: Molecular characterization with in vitro and ex vivo experiments.

Traditionally, control of coffee plant bacterial halo blight (BHB) caused by the phytopathogen Pseudomonas coronafaciens pv. garcae (Pcg) involves frequent spraying of coffee plantations with non-environmentally friendly and potentially bacterial resistance-promoting copper products or with kasugamycin hydrochloride. In this study we report a leap forward in the quest for a new ecofriendly approach, characterizing (both physicochemically and biologically) and testing both in vitro and ex vivo a new lytic phage for Pcg.

European consensus-based interdisciplinary guideline for melanoma. Part 1: Diagnostics - Update 2024.

This guideline was developed in close collaboration with multidisciplinary experts from the European Association of Dermato-Oncology (EADO), the European Dermatology Forum (EDF) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). Recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma were developed on the basis of systematic literature research and consensus conferences. Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is the most dangerous form of skin tumor and accounts for 90 % of skin cancer mortality.

Purification of AAV8 through a scalable two-step monolithic chromatography approach.

Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are becoming increasingly popular as a powerful tool for gene delivery therapy applications. Although processes to produce AAV are established, future demand for this type of viral vector requires further development of manufacturing processes to make them more robust, scalable, and flexible to accommodate the rise of engineered capsids. This study focuses on designing and evaluating a two-step chromatography process for capturing and polishing AAV8 using monolith chromatography media.