Alkane selection as a critical factor in structuring reverse wormlike micelles.

Hypothesis: The oil phase controls the persistence length and aqueous channel diameter of reverse wormlike micelles (RWLMs), specifically by tuning the cohesive energy density of alkanes.

Experiments: We explore the influence of alkanes with varying chain lengths on the rheological properties, structural parameters, and morphology of RWLMs. To establish a link between the solvent characteristics and the structure of RWLMs, we employ a diverse set of complementary techniques, including rheological analysis, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM).

Meat intake in relation to composition and function of gut microbiota.

Objective: Meat intake is suggested to affect gut microbiome composition and the risk of chronic diseases. We aimed to identify meat-associated gut microbiome features and their association with host factors.

Design: Gut microbiota species were profiled by deep shotgun metagenomics sequencing in 9669 individuals.

Impact of direct oral anticoagulants on ROTEM® variables; a sample size-calculated experimental study.

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) are increasingly common, with bleeding events associated with elevated plasma concentrations. Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM), a point-of-care tool for assessing secondary hemostasis, has demonstrated a correlation with increasing concentrations of DOAC. However, previous studies have only partially explored this relationship.

Predicting long-term pain by combining brain imaging, genetics and health questionnaire data with Swedish national registries using a prospective superstruct design.

Background: Long-term pain is a common health problem that results in disability for patients of all ages, leading to an enormous economic burden. Over 20% of the population suffer from long-term pain. Unfortunately, there are no clinical tests that predicts who will develop long-term pain.

Efficient spin filtering through FeGeTe-based van der Waals heterostructures.

Utilizing simulations, we study the spin-dependent electronic transport characteristics within FeGeTe-based van der Waals heterostructures. The electronic density of states for both free-standing and device-configured FeGeTe (F4GT) confirms its ferromagnetic metallic nature and reveals a weak interface interaction between F4GT and PtTe electrodes, enabling efficient spin filtering. The ballistic transport through a double-layer F4GT with a ferromagnetic configuration sandwiched between two PtTe electrodes is predicted to exhibit an impressive spin polarization of 97% with spin-up electrons exhibiting higher transmission probability than spin-down electrons.

Synergistic effects of rivaroxaban and hypothermia or acidosis on coagulation initiation measured with ROTEM: a prospective observational study.

Background: Hypothermia and acidosis individually inhibit haemostasis. We designed this study with the aim to investigate whether rivaroxaban combined with hypothermia or acidosis exhibit synergistic inhibitory effects on haemostasis using ROTEM.

Methods: Patients with a clinical indication to start rivaroxaban treatment were prospectively included.

Management and clinical outcome of myocardial infarction in Kosovo: A cross-sectional study.

Background And Aims: Myocardial infarction (MI) is cause of mortality worldwide, irrespective of its presentation as non-ST-segment elevation MI (NSTEMI) or ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI). The objective of this study was to assess national results of management and clinical outcome of acute MI patients in Kosovo.

Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted at the Clinic of Cardiology of the University Clinical Center of Kosovo, in Prishtina, included all patients hospitalized with acute MI over a period of 7 years (2014-2020).

Review of 2022 PSOGI/RENAPE Consensus on HIPEC.

The 2022 PSOGI (Peritoneal Surface Oncology Group International) and RENAPE (French Network for Rare Peritoneal Malignancies) consensus on hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) was a comprehensive effort aimed at standardizing treatment protocols for various peritoneal malignancies. This initiative is critical due to the wide range of technical variations in HIPEC procedures and the resulting need for standardization to ensure consistent and effective patient care and meaningful audit of multicenter data.

Carbohydrate NMR chemical shift prediction by GeqShift employing E(3) equivariant graph neural networks.

Carbohydrates, vital components of biological systems, are well-known for their structural diversity. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy plays a crucial role in understanding their intricate molecular arrangements and is essential in assessing and verifying the molecular structure of organic molecules. An important part of this process is to predict the NMR chemical shift from the molecular structure.

Thriving of Older People Assessment Scale (TOPAS): Transcultural adaptation, psychometric evaluation, and refinement in a Spanish sample.

The objective of this study was to culturally adapt the Thriving of Older People Assessment Scale (TOPAS) instrument and evaluate its psychometric properties. The study was carried out in two phases: cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric validation and refinement through a cross-sectional study conducted between 2018 and 2020 with 314 participants. The refinement resulted in an abbreviated version of TOPAS, maintaining the original 5 factors with 16 items.

Developments and applications of the OPTIMADE API for materials discovery, design, and data exchange.

The Open Databases Integration for Materials Design (OPTIMADE) application programming interface (API) empowers users with holistic access to a growing federation of databases, enhancing the accessibility and discoverability of materials and chemical data. Since the first release of the OPTIMADE specification (v1.0), the API has undergone significant development, leading to the v1.

Kinetic models reveal the interplay of protein production and aggregation.

Protein aggregation is a key process in the development of many neurodegenerative disorders, including dementias such as Alzheimer's disease. Significant progress has been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms of aggregate formation in pure buffer systems, much of which was enabled by the development of integrated rate laws that allowed for mechanistic analysis of aggregation kinetics. However, in order to translate these findings into disease-relevant conclusions and to make predictions about the effect of potential alterations to the aggregation reactions by the addition of putative inhibitors, the current models need to be extended to account for the altered situation encountered in living systems.

Estimating mortality risk in burn patients admitted at Rwanda's largest referral hospital.

Background: Burns is a disease of poverty, disproportionately affecting populations in low- and middle-income countries, where most of the injuries and the deaths caused by burns occurs. In Sub-Saharan Africa, it is estimated that one fifth of burn victims die from their injuries. Mortality prediction indexes are used to estimate outcomes after provided burn care, which has been used in burn services of high-income countries over the last 60 years.

Introduction to Bionanocomposites.

Sabu Thomas, Maya John and Aji Mathew introduce the themed issue on Bionanocomposites.

Eubacterium bacteremia - a retrospective observational study of a seldom found anaerobic pathogen.

Background: Human infections due to Eubacterium are rare and knowledge of the condition is limited. This study aimed to describe clinical characteristics and outcome in patients with Eubacterium bacteremia.

Methods: Episodes of Eubacterium bacteremia were identified through the clinical microbiology laboratory in Lund, Sweden.

Ways to get a more balanced gender representation in addiction journals' management and workforce.

Although the scientific community, particularly academic publishing, claims to be gender-neutral and based on meritocracy, it mirrors other parts of modern society, wherein residual gender imbalances and implicit and explicit gender biases are reproduced. In this report, we address gender imbalances (in particular, the overrepresentation of men) in the editorial workforce of academic journals as barriers to women's promotion and career progression in addiction science. We also consider potential gender-related elements and biases in the peer-review and editorial decision-making processes, which may result in women's lower publication rates, thereby creating another gender-related barrier to women's promotion, career progression and academic recognition.

Pediatric palliative care in Sweden.

In Sweden, the governance of healthcare is decentralized, so PC is provided with regional or local differences in organization, level of competence, and recourses. Ongoing regional and national initiative to increase quality of pediatric palliative care in Sweden aligns with the international standard of pediatric palliative care as a care directed towards all children with life-threatening or life-limiting illness or conditions from the time of diagnosis. Examples of such initiatives and of different care-services providing pediatric palliative care will be presented.

A Rare Case of Angiofibroma Presenting as an Endolymphatic Sac Tumor.

A 30-year-old man presented with minute-long episodes of vertigo and severe autophony. CVEMP showed a decreased threshold when testing the left side, potentially indicating SSCD. A subsequent MRI demonstrated a multi-lobulated, cystic mass in the temporal bone and the radiological diagnosis at that time was ELST.

Birth Weight Is Associated With Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Adulthood.

Background High and low birth weight are independently associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk in adulthood. Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), the age-related clonal expansion of hematopoietic cells with preleukemic somatic mutations, predicts incident cardiovascular disease independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Whether birth weight predicts development of CHIP later in life is unknown.

Taking control of one's everyday life - a qualitative study of experiences described by participants in an occupational intervention.

Background: Sick leave due to stress-related ill-health is increasing and is often caused by occupational imbalance. These types of issues tend to affect both the ability to work and cope with everyday life, as well as the overall experience of health, negatively. There is still little knowledge on how to prepare people and workplaces for the return-to-work process after participation in a work rehabilitation program due to stress and occupational ill-health.

The precision of ROTEM EXTEM is decreased in hypocoagulable blood: a prospective observational study.

Background: The use of viscoelastic tests is becoming increasingly popular. There is a paucity of validation of the reproducibility of varying coagulation states. Therefore, we aimed to study the coefficient of variation (CV) for the ROTEM EXTEM parameters clotting time (CT), clot formation time (CFT), alpha-angle and maximum clot firmness (MCF) in blood with varying degrees of coagulation strength.