Consensus statements on end-of-life care in ICU - A Scandinavian multidisciplinary Delphi study.

Background: End-of-life care in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is complex, requiring a balance of ethical, cultural and medical considerations while ensuring comfort and dignity for critically ill patients and their families.

Aim: We aimed to develop a set of core domains for end-of-life care at Scandinavian ICUs along with corresponding consensus statements from patients, families and multidisciplinary experts.

Methods: In a three-round Delphi study, a multidisciplinary advisory board from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark, including ICU physicians, ICU nurses, palliative care specialists and a former ICU patient and family, developed potential end-of-life care domains of interest.

Epidural analgesia during esophagectomy and esophageal cancer prognosis: A population-based nationwide study in Finland.

Background: The use of epidural analgesia has been proposed to improve the prognosis of esophageal cancer by attenuating the stress response and being less immunosuppressive than opioids. This study aims to evaluate the association, if any, between non-epidural pain management compared to epidural analgesia during minimally invasive or open esophagectomy and esophageal cancer prognosis.

Materials And Methods: This was a population-based nationwide retrospective cohort study in Finland, using the Finnish National Esophago-Gastric Cancer Cohort (FINEGO).

Acute kidney injury after lung transplantation, incidence, risk factors, and effects: A Swedish nationwide study.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious complication after lung transplantation, but the reported incidence varies in the literature. No data on AKI have been published from the Swedish lung transplantation program.

Methods: The aim of our study was to investigate the incidence, perioperative risk factors, and effects of early postoperative acute kidney injury (Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes [KDIGO] criteria) after lung transplantation.

NTRK protein expression in NSCLC and its clinicopathological correlation.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a complex disease with diverse clinical and molecular characteristics. Since the discovery of the oncogenic neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase (NTRK) gene fusion in colorectal cancer in 1986, its understanding has gradually progressed. NTRK's relevance is crucial to understanding some tumor development and how specific tyrosine receptor kinase inhibitors (TRKI) work.

Combined Loss of Obsc and Obsl1 in Murine Hearts Results in Diastolic Dysfunction, Altered Metabolism, and Deregulated Mitophagy.

Background: Muscle proteins of the obscurin protein family play important roles in sarcomere organization and sarcoplasmic reticulum and T-tubule architecture and function. However, their precise molecular functions and redundancies between protein family members as well as their involvement in cardiac diseases remain to be fully understood.

Methods: To investigate the functional roles of Obsc (obscurin) and its close homolog Obsl1 (obscurin-like 1) in the heart, we generated and analyzed knockout mice for , , as well as double knockouts.

Large-scale evidence of a general disease ('') factor accounting for both mental and physical health disorders in different age groups.

Background: It is unknown whether there is a general factor that accounts for the propensity for both physical and mental conditions in different age groups and how it is associated with lifestyle and well-being.

Methods: We analyzed health conditions data from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) (age = 17; N = 19,239), the National Child Development Study (NCDS) (age = 44; N = 9293), and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) (age ≥ 50; N = 7585). The fit of three Confirmatory Factor models was used to select the optimal solution by Comparative Fit Index, Tucker-Lewis Index, and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation.

Definitions, Diagnosis and Management of Postoperative Recurrence in Crohn's Disease Patients with Permanent Ileostomy - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background And Aims: Over 10% of patients with Crohn's disease require permanent ileostomy. We aimed to summarize the existing data on diagnosis, definitions of recurrence, and management of Crohn's disease patients with permanent ileostomy.

Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL databases were searched from inception to February 6, 2024.

Follicle-stimulating hormone stimulates free radical generation without inducing substantial oxidative stress in human granulosa cells.

Study Question: Does FSH induce free radical generation with substantial oxidative damage in human cumulus granulosa cells (cGCs) and mural granulosa cells (mGCs)?

Summary Answer: FSH of both physiological and supraphysiological concentrations induced free radical generation on subcellular levels, most notably in the mitochondria, while the elevated free radical load caused neglectable oxidative damage in both cGCs and mGCs.

What Is Known Already: FSH is fundamental for regulation of granulosa cell (GC) function and oocyte maturation, during which a physiological level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is essential, while excessive amounts lead to oxidative damage. Potential adverse effects of high FSH doses on GCs may be mediated by ROS.

Comparative analysis of ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosing pain in the posterolateral region of the ankle.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of ultrasound compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a reference in detecting peroneus brevis split ruptures.

Material And Methods: We re-reviewed 112 ultrasound examinations performed between 2020 and 2021 by three musculoskeletal radiologists with 8-10 years of experience. Patients were referred due to pain lasting at least 8 months in the posterolateral ankle.

Signs of Hyperinflation and Ventilation Heterogeneity in Individuals With Severe Alpha-1-Antitrypsin Deficiency at the Age of 42.

Background: Severe alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is a known risk factor for early development of emphysema and COPD. By the Swedish national screening program within the years 1972-74 a cohort of individuals with severe AATD (PiZZ) was identified and regularly followed up. The aim of this study was to investigate alveolar volume (V) and the ratio V/Total lung capacity (V/TLC) for the detection of signs of hyperinflation and ventilation heterogeneity in PiZZ individuals compared with an age-matched control group (phenotype PiMM), randomly selected from the population registry.

Nephrometry Scores Based on Three-dimensional Virtual Models Improve the Accuracy of Predicting Postoperative Complications After Robotic Partial Nephrectomy: Results from a Collaborative ERUS Validation Study.

Background And Objective: The aim of our study was to compare assessment of PADUA and RENAL nephrometry scores and risk/complexity categories via two-dimensional (2D) imaging and three-dimensional virtual models (3DVM) in a large multi-institutional cohort of renal masses suitable for robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN), and evaluate the predictive role of these imaging approaches for postoperative complications.

Methods: Patients were prospectively enrolled from six international high-volume robotic centers, calculating PADUA and RENAL-nephrometry scores and their relative categories with 2D-imaging and 3DVMs. The concordance of nephrometry scores and categories between the two approaches was evaluated using χ tests and Cohen's κ coefficient.

Trends in Indicators of Violence Among Adolescents in Europe and North America 1994-2022.

Objectives: To describe age and gender specific time trends in adolescent violence across 19 countries over 28 years.

Methods: The paper presents analysis of eight cycles of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study from 1994-2022, involving 789,531 children aged 11, 13, and 15. Indicators of violence included physical fighting, school bullying and cyberbullying (from 2018).

Promoting lifestyle change through text messages to patients with hypertension: A randomized controlled trial in Swedish primary care.

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether health-promoting text messages sent to patients with hypertension in primary care could affect lifestyle habits, and if the Theory of Planned Behavior could be used to identify moderators of intervention effects.

Methods: From September 2020 to December 2022, patients with hypertension were randomly selected from the patient register at 10 Swedish primary health care centers and randomized 1:1 to receive health-promoting text messages or treatment as usual ( = 401). The intervention group received four text messages per week for six months.

Advancing bryophyte research and conservation, a case study on Madagascar.

Background: Bryophytes are a group of plant that are ecologically important, diverse and include many undescribed species. Setting like Madagascar is well known for its charismatic species, less conspicuous groups, such as bryophytes, are virtually unknown to the public and the scientific community. Bryophyte diversity is a highly overlooked component of Madagascar's rich biodiversity, underlined by geographical sampling biases, sparse representation, and an evident research and conservation deficit as compared to more charismatic groups.

Time-Resolved Hierarchical Modeling Highlights Metabolites Influencing Productivity and Cell Death in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells.

Biopharmaceuticals are medical compounds derived from biological sources and are often manufactured by living cells, primarily Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. CHO cells display variation among cell clones, leading to growth and productivity differences that influence the product's quantity and quality. The biological and environmental factors behind these differences are not fully understood.

Vestibular modulation by stimulant derivatives in a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel.

Background And Purpose: Allosteric modulation of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) are critical for the action of neurotransmitters and many psychoactive drugs. However, details of their modulatory mechanisms remain unclear, especially beyond the orthosteric neurotransmitter-binding sites. The recently reported prokaryotic symbiont of Tevnia jerichonana ligand-gated ion channel (sTeLIC), a pH-gated homologue of eukaryotic receptors in the pLGIC family, is thought to be modulated by aromatic compounds via a relatively uncharacterised modulatory site in the extracellular vestibule.

Genetic origins of the Kiritimati population from central-eastern Micronesia.

The migration of Austronesian-speaking populations through Oceania has intrigued researchers for decades. The Kiribati islands, situated along the boundaries of Micronesia and Polynesia, provide a crucial link in this migration. We analyzed the genome-wide data of the Kiritimati population of Kiribati to uncover their genetic origins and connections with other Oceanian groups.

The Expansion of Colonial State Healthcare in Twentieth-Century British Africa.

We chart and assess the scope and utilisation of state-supplied hospital infrastructure in British Africa, c. 1900-60. Using archival sources, we examine the heterogeneity in colonial administrations' investment into curative healthcare provision across various regions of British Africa.

Substantial Reduction of Systemic Corticosteroid Use After Primary Ileocaecal Resection in Swedish Patients With Crohn's Disease: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: The corticosteroid-sparing effects of ileocaecal resection have not been thoroughly investigated in a population-based cohort.

Aim: To investigate systemic corticosteroid use before and after primary ileocaecal resection in patients with Crohn's disease.

Methods: Through nationwide registries, we identified 1565 patients with Crohn's disease undergoing primary ileocaecal resection in Sweden 2006-2019.

Optimizing calibration designs with uncertainty in abilities.

Before items can be implemented in a test, the item characteristics need to be calibrated through pretesting. To achieve high-quality tests, it's crucial to maximize the precision of estimates obtained during item calibration. Higher precision can be attained if calibration items are allocated to examinees based on their individual abilities.

Predicting adherence and clinical response of cognitive behavioral therapy among individuals with chronic low back pain plus depressive symptoms: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Identifying predictors for adherence and clinical response to psychological therapies is essential for improving individual treatment outcomes.

Objective: To explore predictors of adherence and clinical response among individuals with co-occurring chronic low back pain (CLBP) and depression receiving cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Methods: This study employs a secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial (NCT04140838), including 156 individuals with CLBP plus depressive symptoms who received CBT.

Individualized PEEP can improve both pulmonary hemodynamics and lung function in acute lung injury.

Rationale: There are several approaches to select the optimal positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP), resulting in different PEEP levels. The impact of different PEEP settings may extend beyond respiratory mechanics, affecting pulmonary hemodynamics.

Objectives: To compare PEEP levels obtained with three titration strategies-(i) highest respiratory system compliance (C), (ii) electrical impedance tomography (EIT) crossing point; (iii) positive end-expiratory transpulmonary pressure (P)-in terms of regional respiratory mechanics and pulmonary hemodynamics.

Association between conflict intensity and health outcomes in contemporary conflicts, while accounting for the vulnerability and functioning of healthcare services.

Background: Armed conflict can be described as human development in reverse. In addition to the direct consequences of violence, there are numerous ways in which armed conflict may have indirect effects on people's health and well-being. Studies give varying results, and health impacts seem to differ from context to context.

Beekeepers as guardians of apitherapeutic knowledge in Estonia, SW Ukraine, and NE Italy.

Background: Bees have been important to people in Europe in many ways. Honey was the only sweetener available for a long time. The introduction of frame hives allowed for the collection of various hive products and better production of honey and wax.