Cough Syncope and Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents: Two Australian Cases.

Cough syncope is an uncommon but well-recognised medical condition diagnosed primarily on the history provided by the sufferer. In situations where the sufferer is in control of a motor vehicle, syncope can lead to accidents involving death and injury. In the medico-legal setting, cough syncope can be a contested cause of such accidents.

A proposal of a fecal scoring system based on physicochemical analyses of suckling pig feces.

Background: Digestive disorders are one of the main health problems in suckling piglets. The correct visual identification of feces in suckling piglets is an important tool for the diagnosis of enteric diseases. The aim of the present observational study was to analyze different physicochemical parameters of the feces of suckling piglets aged 0 to 21 days: visual appearance (color and consistency), fecal dry matter (FDM) content and pH.

Neuropathological contributions to grey matter atrophy and white matter hyperintensities in amnestic dementia.

Background: Dementia patients commonly present multiple neuropathologies, worsening cognitive function, yet structural neuroimaging signatures of dementia have not been positioned in the context of combined pathology. In this study, we implemented an MRI voxel-based approach to explore combined and independent effects of dementia pathologies on grey and white matter structural changes.

Methods: In 91 amnestic dementia patients with post-mortem brain donation, grey matter density and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) burdens were obtained from pre-mortem MRI and analyzed in relation to Alzheimer's, vascular, Lewy body, TDP-43, and hippocampal sclerosis (HS) pathologies.

Raising awareness and addressing inequities for people with Down syndrome in South Africa.

Globally, individuals with Down syndrome (DS) face profound inequities in social and health care access. These challenges are further compounded by racial disparities as well as a lack of awareness, research, and support, particularly in the Global South. This commentary discusses the multifaceted challenges and disparities encountered by people with DS in South Africa, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.

The relationship between frailty syndrome and quality of life in patients with hypertension: a multidimensional analysis.

Background: Hypertension is a common condition among the elderly and is frequently accompanied by frailty syndrome (FS). The coexistence of hypertension and FS poses significant challenges in patient management and negatively impacts the quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to analyze the relationship between FS and QoL in elderly patients with suspected hypertension.

Bee reasonable: Do bumblebees reason by exclusion?

In a clever adaptation of the two-cups task, a recent paper tested for reasoning by exclusion in bees. Although further work is necessary to rule out competing hypotheses, this study advances our ability to test cognitive capacities in invertebrates.

Adoptive cell therapies in thoracic malignancies: a comprehensive review.

This review aims to summarize recent studies and findings within adoptive cell therapies, including tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, genetically engineered T cell receptors, and chimeric antigen receptor T cells, in the treatment of thoracic malignancies, including non-small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer, and malignant pleural mesothelioma. Several trials are ongoing, and a few have reported results, suggesting that adoptive cell therapies may represent a potential treatment option for these patients, especially when checkpoint inhibition has failed. We also discuss the potential implementation of these therapies, as they present a new toxicity profile and an intrinsic financial burden.

Features and results availability of non-commercial Spanish COVID-19 trials: a systematic review of clinical trial registers and corresponding literature.

Objectives: This study aimed to characterize non-commercial Spanish COVID-19 trials and to determine the availability of results. Differences in outcomes according to the interventions assessed (medicines, non-medicines) will also be determined.

Methods: This systematic review was conducted in March 2024 by searching non-commercial Spanish COVID-19 trials on four registers (EUCTR, Clinical.

Multivariate patterns among multimodal neuroimaging and clinical, cognitive, and daily functioning characteristics in bipolar disorder.

Individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) show heterogeneity in clinical, cognitive, and daily functioning characteristics, which challenges accurate diagnostics and optimal treatment. A key goal is to identify brain-based biomarkers that inform patient stratification and serve as treatment targets. The objective of the present study was to apply a data-driven, multivariate approach to quantify the relationship between multimodal imaging features and behavioral phenotypes in BD.

Early and Mid-Term Disposition of α-PVP and its unknown Metabolites in Urine and Oral Fluid Through a Multi-Analytical Hyphenated Approach Following a Single Non-Controlled Administration to Healthy Volunteers.

Nowadays, synthetic cathinones (SCs) is the second more representative subclass of New Psychoactive Substances, accounting for 104 analogues in the illegal market. Since its first report in 2011, α-pyrrolidinovalerophenone (α-PVP) gained popularity among drug users, provoking an increased number of intoxications. Nonetheless, pharmacokinetics data is still limited in the literature.

Shaping current European mitochondrial haplogroup frequency in response to infection: the case of SARS-CoV-2 severity.

The frequency of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups (mtDNA-HG) in humans is known to be shaped by migration and repopulation. Mounting evidence indicates that mtDNA-HG are not phenotypically neutral, and selection may contribute to its distribution. Haplogroup H, the most abundant in Europe, improved survival in sepsis.

No winter halt in below-ground wood growth of four angiosperm deciduous tree species.

In the temperate zone, deciduous trees exhibit clear above-ground seasonality, marked by a halt in wood growth that represents the completion of wood formation in autumn and reactivation in spring. However, the growth seasonality of below-ground woody organs, such as coarse roots, has been largely overlooked. Here we use tree monitoring data and pot experiments involving saplings to examine the late-season xylem development of stem and coarse roots with leaf phenology in four common deciduous tree species in Western Europe.

Alkaline phosphatase decline and pain response as predictors of overall survival benefit in patients treated with radium-223: a post hoc analysis of the REASSURE study.

Background: Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) declines and pain responses can occur during radium-223 (Ra) treatment, but their association with treatment outcomes is unclear.

Methods: For patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with Ra in the REASSURE study, we investigated whether ALP decline (Week 12) and/or pain response (during treatment) are associated with improved overall survival (OS). The Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) was used to assess pain at baseline and pain response (in patients with baseline BPI-SF score ≥2).

Influence of ABCB1 polymorphisms on aripiprazole and dehydroaripiprazole plasma concentrations.

Aripiprazole (ARI) is an atypical antipsychotic which is a substrate of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), a transmembrane glycoprotein that plays a crucial role in eliminating potentially harmful compounds from the organism. ARI once-monthly (AOM) is a long-acting injectable form which improves treatment compliance. Genetic polymorphisms in ABCB1 may lead to changes in P-gp function, leading to individual differences in drug disposition.

Silver nanoparticles coated with metabolites of Pseudomonas sp. N5.12 inhibit bacterial pathogens and fungal phytopathogens.

The synthesis of nanomaterials from PGPB is an exciting approach and it's often used in agriculture as nano-fertilizers and nano-pesticides. The present study reports a new approach to biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNP), using bacterial metabolites as agents to reduce Ag, which will remain as coating agents able to prevent microbial growth. Silver NP were biosynthesized using the bacterial metabolites produced by the beneficial strain Pseudomonas sp.

A collaborative network analysis for the interpretation of transcriptomics data in Huntington's disease.

Rare diseases may affect the quality of life of patients and be life-threatening. Therapeutic opportunities are often limited, in part because of the lack of understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases. This can be ascribed to the low prevalence of rare diseases and therefore the lower sample sizes available for research.

Global Crop-Specific Fertilization Dataset from 1961-2019.

As global fertilizer application rates increase, high-quality datasets are paramount for comprehensive analyses to support informed decision-making and policy formulation in crucial areas such as food security or climate change. This study aims to fill existing data gaps by employing two machine learning models, eXtreme Gradient Boosting and HistGradientBoosting algorithms to produce precise country-level predictions of nitrogen (N), phosphorus pentoxide (PO), and potassium oxide (KO) application rates. Subsequently, we created a comprehensive dataset of 5-arcmin resolution maps depicting the application rates of each fertilizer for 13 major crop groups from 1961 to 2019.

The genetic demographic history of the last hunter-gatherer population of the Himalayas.

Nepal, largely covered by the Himalayan mountains, hosts indigenous populations with distinct linguistic, cultural, and genetic characteristics. Among these populations, the Raute, Nepal's last nomadic hunter-gatherers, offer a unique insight into the genetic and demographic history of Himalayan foragers. Despite strong cultural connections to other regional foragers, the genetic history of this population remains understudied.

Population genomics and connectivity of Vazella pourtalesii sponge grounds of the northwest Atlantic with conservation implications of deep sea vulnerable marine ecosystems.

Sponges are key ecosystem engineers that shape, structure and enhance the biodiversity of marine benthic communities globally. Sponge aggregations and reefs are recognized as vulnerable marine ecosystems (or VMEs) due to their susceptibility to damage from bottom-contact fishing gears. Ensuring their long-term sustainability, preservation, and ecosystem functions requires the implementation of sound scientific conservation tools.

Bryophyte literature records database of Aysén, Chilean sub-Antarctic ecoregion.

The Chilean sub-Antarctic ecoregion hosts the largest expanse of temperate forests, wetlands and peatlands, as well as the largest proportion of protected areas in the southern hemisphere. Bryophytes are highly diverse and ecologically essential in sub-Antarctic ecosystems and are considered as biodiversity loss indicators caused by the current socio-ecological crisis. However, knowledge about their biodiversity is rather limited.

The blood pressure lowering effect of beetroot juice is impaired in periodontitis and recovered after periodontal treatment.

We have previously demonstrated that subgingival levels of nitrate-reducing bacteria, as well as the in vitro salivary nitrate reduction capacity (NRC), were diminished in periodontitis patients, increasing after periodontal treatment. However, it remains unclear if an impaired NRC in periodontitis can affect systemic health. To determine this, the effect of nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BRJ) on blood pressure was determined in 15 periodontitis patients before and 70 days after periodontal treatment (i.

Ion channel traffic jams: the significance of trafficking deficiency in long QT syndrome.

A well-balanced ion channel trafficking machinery is paramount for the normal electromechanical function of the heart. Ion channel variants and many drugs can alter the cardiac action potential and lead to arrhythmias by interfering with mechanisms like ion channel synthesis, trafficking, gating, permeation, and recycling. A case in point is the Long QT syndrome (LQTS), a highly arrhythmogenic disease characterized by an abnormally prolonged QT interval on ECG produced by variants and drugs that interfere with the action potential.