Initial Decline in Glomerular Filtration Rate With Finerenone in HFmrEF/HFpEF: A Prespecified Analysis of FINEARTS-HF.

Background: An initial decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) often leads to reluctance to continue life-saving therapies in patients with heart failure (HF).

Objectives: The goal of this study was to describe the association between initial decline in eGFR and subsequent clinical outcomes in patients randomized to placebo or finerenone.

Methods: In this prespecified analysis of FINEARTS-HF (Finerenone Trial to Investigate Efficacy and Safety Superior to Placebo in Patients with Heart Failure), we examined the association between initial decline in eGFR (≥15%) from randomization to 1 month and subsequent outcomes in patients assigned to finerenone or placebo.

Effectiveness of the Triple P Procedure and its modifications on reducing the blood loss and peripartum hysterectomy rates in women with Placenta Accreta Spectrum (PAS): a review of published literature.

Background: Placenta Accreta Spectrum (PAS) disorders has been reported to be associated with a maternal mortality rate of 7-10%, worldwide, and many women who survive, experience life changing morbidity. Triple P procedure (- perioperative placental localization and incision on the myometrium above the upper border of the placenta; - pelvic devascularisation; and -placental non-separation and myometrial excision) was developed in 2010 as a novel conservative alternative to peripartum hysterectomy to avoid severe maternal morbidity and mortality). There have been several modifications to the original Triple P Procedure to achieve "pelvic devascularisation" based on locally available resources.

Palliative care training in Spanish medical schools: student assessment.

Objectives: This study investigates the status of end-of-life (EOL) care and palliative care (PC) training in Spanish medical schools and assesses students' perspectives.

Methods: The research employs a quantitative cross-sectional survey and a systematic review of curricula including schools to which the respondent students belonged to.

Results: A systematic review reveals that only 12 out of 39 universities offer mandatory PC or EOL care subjects, often integrated with other areas.

Clinical expression of radiographic axial spondyloarthritis and its association with HLA-B27 in European and Ibero-American populations.

Objective: To compare the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of Ibero-American patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA) to those of European patients, with a particular focus on the influence of HLA-B27.

Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional, and multicentre study of patients who fulfilled the European Spondyloarthropathy Study Group (ESSG) criteria for SpA from the REGISPONSER and RESPONDIA registries. Univariate and multivariate analyses between European and Ibero-American populations stratified by HLA-B27 status were conducted.

Baricitinib dose reduction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis achieving sustained disease control: Final results from the RA-BEYOND study.

Objective: This study examines the impact of dose step-down in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who achieved sustained disease control with baricitinib 4-mg once-daily up to 96-weeks.

Methods: Patients who completed a baricitinib phase 3 study could enter a long-term extension (LTE). In the LTE, patients who received baricitinib 4-mg for ≥15 months and maintained clinical disease activity index (CDAI) low disease activity (LDA) or remission (REM) were blindly randomized to continue 4-mg or taper to 2-mg.

Disease activity indices used in axial spondyloarthritis perform similarly in real-life clinical settings.

Objective: Monitoring of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) activity using validated indices (BASDAI/ASDAS) is widely recommended but rarely followed in practice. The reasons, although varied, may be found in the scarcity of studies comparing the performance of these indices in daily practice. Here we compare the performance of activity indices in clinical practice.

Mortality in patients with Sjögren Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study Identifying Key Predictors.

Objective: To quantify the mortality risk in a large, well-characterized cohort of Sjögren's disease (SjD) patients and to identify independent predictors of mortality in this population.

Methods: We included 314 patients diagnosed with SjD according to the 2002 American-European Consensus Group criteria from a prospective, multicenter SjögrenSER-PROS cohort. Detailed data on systemic manifestations, serological markers, disease activity, and mortality was collected after 9 years of follow up.

Can thermoregulatory response to heat stress be improved in lactating dairy cows? Insights from counter-current heat transfer systems impacting reproduction.

Climate change has caused heat stress (HS) to become an increasingly severe problem for high-producing dairy herds. Although cooling systems allow milk production to remain nearly constant throughout the year, fertility decreases during summer. Physiological counter-current heat transfer mechanisms maintaining brain/hypothalamic and reproductive functions in cattle are vulnerable to HS.

Development of a StIW111C-based bioresponsive pore-forming conjugate for permeabilizing the endosomal membrane.

Gene expression manipulation is pivotal in therapeutic approaches for various diseases. Non-viral delivery systems present a safer alternative to viral vectors, with reduced immunogenicity and toxicity. However, their effectiveness in promoting endosomal escape, a crucial step in gene transfer, remains limited.

The impact of blood eosinophil count and FeNO on benralizumab effectiveness in clinical practice: An ORBE II subanalysis.

Background: The ORBE II study showed the real-world effectiveness of benralizumab in severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA). This subgroup analysis aimed to characterize patients and outcomes based on baseline blood eosinophil count (BEC) and/or fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) levels.

Methods: In this analysis of the ORBE II retrospective study, SEA patients receiving benralizumab were categorized into subgroups based on individual or combined BEC/FeNO levels, according to the following thresholds: high BEC (hiBEC): ≥300 cells/μL; low BEC (loBEC): <300 cells/μL; high FeNO (hiFeNO): ≥50 ppb; low FeNO (loFeNO): <50 ppb.

Empirical antibiotic therapy improves outcomes in mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19: An emulated targeted trial within a prospective, multicentre cohort study.

Background: Bacterial pulmonary superinfections develop in a substantial proportion of mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients and are associated with prolonged mechanical ventilation requirements and an increased mortality. Albeit recommended, evidence supporting the use of empirical antibiotics at intubation is weak and of low quality. The aim of this study was to elucidate the effect of empirical antibiotics, administered within 24hours of endotracheal intubation, on superinfections, duration of mechanical ventilation, and mortality in mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19.

Call to action for Clinicians in the South-East Asian Regions on Primary Prevention of Diabetes in people with Prediabetes- A Consensus statement.

Primary prevention of diabetes still remains as an unmet challenge in a real world setting. While, translational programmes have been successful in the developed nations, the prevailing social and economic inequities in the low and middle income countries, fail to integrate diabetes prevention into their public health systems. The resulting exponential increase in the prevalence of diabetes and the cost of treatment has put primary prevention in the back seat.

A catalytic perspective to nanomaterials reactivity-based toxicity; implications for single- and multiple-component nanomaterials (nanocomposites).

The extended use of a given product normally precedes concerns about it. The reactivity-based nanotoxicity is a major concern that must be tackled from its fundamental understanding to its regulatory management. Moreover, concepts and ideas must seamlessly flow between relevant performers.

The impact of neoadjuvant therapy in patients with left-sided resectable pancreatic cancer: an international multicenter study.

Purpose: To assess the association between neoadjuvant therapy and overall survival (OS) in patients with left-sided resectable pancreatic cancer (RPC) compared to upfront surgery.

Background: Left-sided pancreatic cancer is associated with worse OS compared to right-sided pancreatic cancer. Although neoadjuvant therapy is currently seen as not effective in patients with RPC, current randomized trials included mostly patients with right-sided RPC.

A randomised phase III study of bevacizumab and carboplatin-pemetrexed chemotherapy with or without atezolizumab, as first-line treatment for advanced pleural mesothelioma: results of the ETOP 13 18 BEAT-meso trial.

Background: The currently approved frontline treatments for diffuse pleural mesothelioma (DPM) are ipilimumab-nivolumab or platinum-pemetrexed. The addition of bevacizumab to chemotherapy improves overall survival (OS). While single-agent immunotherapy or chemotherapy-immunotherapy combinations are superior to chemotherapy monotherapy, there is a potential for synergistic triple combination of chemotherapy, bevacizumab, and immunotherapy.

Identification of lens-regulated genes driving anterior eye development and eye size.

Signals from the lens regulate multiple aspects of eye development, including establishment of eye size, patterning of the presumptive iris and ciliary body in the anterior optic cup and migration and differentiation of neural crest cells. To advance understanding of the molecular mechanism by which the lens regulates eye development, we performed transcriptome profiling of embryonic chicken retinas after lens removal. Genes associated with nervous system development were upregulated in lens-removed eyes, but the presumptive ciliary body and iris region did not adopt a neural retina identity following lens removal.

Prediction of lower-limb isokinetic strength from functional fitness tests in older adults: A 550-participant cross-sectional study.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the association and prediction of hip abduction-adduction and knee flexion-extension isokinetic absolute and relative strength and power at 60°/s and 180°/s from functional tests performance (i.e., Up-and-Go Test [seconds], 30-Second Chair Stand Test [repetitions and relative and allometric power], 30-Second Arm Curl Test [repetitions], and 6-Minute Walk Test [meters]) in older adults.

Electrode functional microorganisms in bioelectrochemical systems and its regulation: A review.

Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) as environmental remediation biotechnologies have boomed in the last two decades. Although BESs combined technologies with electro-chemistry, -biology, and -physics, microorganisms and biofilms remain at their core. In this review, various functional microorganisms in BESs for CO reduction, dehalogenation, nitrate, phosphate, and sulfate reduction, metal removal, and volatile organic compound oxidation are summarized and compared in detail.

Safety and Effectiveness of EUS-Guided Gallbladder Drainage in Patients with Cirrhosis: An International Multicenter Experience.

Introduction EUS-guided gall bladder drainage (EUS-GBD) for management of symptomatic gallbladder disease has been shown to be safe and effective in high surgical risk patients with data lacking in patients with cirrhosis. We sought to study the safety and effectiveness of EUS-GBD in cirrhotic compared to non-cirrhotic patients. Methods Retrospective review of patients who underwent EUS-GBD at four (3 US and 1 Spain) international tertiary care centers.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mHealth adoption: Identification of the main barriers through an international comparative analysis.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic greatly challenged health systems worldwide. The adoption and application of mHealth technology emerged as a critical response. However, the permanent implementation and use of such technology faces several barriers, which vary by each country's innovation level and specific health policies.

Trends and gaps in hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19 research (2020-2023): Performance and conceptual mapping.

Background: Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine (CQ) and Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) are antimalarial drugs with well-known anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects used to treat various diseases, with few side effects. After COVID-19 emergence, numerous researches from around the world have examined the potential of using CQ or HCQ as potential treatment of COVID-19. However, conflicting outcomes have been found in COVID-19 clinical trials after treatment with CQ or HCQ.

Transport and sedimentation of microplastics by turbidity currents: Dependence on suspended sediment concentration and grain size.

Using lock-exchange experiments, this study investigates the transport and sedimentation of microplastics (MPs) via turbidity currents. Two hypotheses were tested: MP sedimentation is influenced by suspended sediment concentration and grain size. Utilizing flows with different sediment concentrations and grain sizes in combination with three different MPs (PET fibers, melamine, and PVC fragments), the experiments revealed distinct sedimentation patterns: higher sediment concentrations enhance MP transport, and turbidity currents with finer sediments transported MPs over greater distances, highlighting the importance of sediment characteristics to predict MP distribution by such flows.

A pilot and feasibility study investigating the abundance and activity of nitrate-reducing bacteria in women with pre-eclampsia.

Background: Oral health may influence blood pressure control by modulating the abundance and activity of nitrate-reducing bacteria, which are essential for enhancing nitrite and nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. This study aimed to investigate the oral health and microbiome composition of women with pre-eclampsia (PET) compared to healthy controls (CN).

Methods: Ten PET and eleven CN women participated in this study, respectively.

Effect of the support alkyl chain nature in the functional properties of the immobilized lipases.

Supports coated with amino-hexyl and amino octyl have been prepared from glyoxyl agarose beads and compared in their performance with octyl-agarose to immobilize lipases A and B from Candida antarctica (CALA and CALB). Immobilization courses were similar using all supports, but enzyme release was more difficult using the amino-alkyl supports suggesting a mixed interfacial activation/ionic exchange immobilization. The enzyme activity and specificity (using p-nitrophenyl propionate, triacetin and both isomers of methyl mandelate) greatly depended on the support.