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.

Ginseng exosomes modulate M1/M2 polarisation by activating autophagy and target IKK/IкB/NF-кB to alleviate inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Exosomes are involved in intercellular communication and regulation of the inflammatory microenvironment. In a previous study, we demonstrated that fresh ginseng exosomes (GEs) alleviated inflammatory bowel disease. However, the precise mechanism by which GEs activate the immune system and subsequently inhibit the formation of intestinal inflammatory microenvironment remains unknown.

Development of a community-based peer-support intervention to improve contraceptive agency and diffuse self-injectable contraception in Uganda: Application of the human-centered design approach.

Background: The low use of self-injectable contraception, coupled with the recognition that many individuals need support beyond training to use self-care technologies successfully, suggests the need for innovative programming. We describe the participatory human-centered design process we used in two districts of Uganda to develop a community-based peer support intervention to improve women's agency to make and act on contraceptive decisions and help diffuse self-injectable contraception.

Methods: The design team included multi-disciplinary researchers from Uganda and the United States, representatives of local community-based organizations and village health teams, and local women of reproductive age.

Mitogenomic phylogeny and divergence time estimation of Artemia Leach, 1819 (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) with emphasis on parthenogenetic lineages.

The brine shrimp Artemia, a crustacean adapted to the extreme conditions of hypersaline environments, comprises nine regionally distributed sexual species scattered (island-like) over heterogeneous environments and asexual (parthenogenetic) lineages with different ploidies. Such sexual and asexual interaction within the genus raises questions regarding the origin and time of divergence of both sexual species and asexual lineages, including the persistence of the latter over time, a problem not yet clarified using single mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Based on the complete mitochondrial genome of all species and parthenogenetic lineages, this article first describes the mitogenomic characteristics (nucleotide compositions, genome mapping, codon usage, and tRNA secondary structure) of sexual species and asexual types and, secondly, it provides a comprehensive updated phylogenetic analysis.

An enhanced framework for local genetic correlation analysis.

Genetic correlation is a key parameter in the joint genetic model of complex traits, but it is usually estimated on a global genomic scale. Understanding local genetic correlations provides more detailed insight into the shared genetic architecture of complex traits. However, a state-of-the-art tool for local genetic correlation analysis, LAVA, is prone to false inference.

EMD missense variant causes X-linked isolated dilated cardiomyopathy with myocardial emerin deficiency.

Pathogenic variants in the EMD gene cause X-linked Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy type 1 (EDMD1), typically presenting with joint contractures and skeletal muscle atrophy, followed by atrial arrhythmias, cardiac conduction defects, and atrial dilatation. Although an association with isolated dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has been suggested, evidence is currently insufficient to verify the gene-disease association. We investigated the causality of a missense variant, c.

Observation of an Associative State in Aqueous Hydroxide.

The dynamics of chemical reactions in solution are of paramount importance in fields ranging from biology to materials science. Because the hydrogen-bond network and proton dynamics govern the behavior of aqueous solutions, they have been the subject of numerous studies over the years. Here, we report the observation of a previously unknown associative state in the hydroxide ion that forms when a proton from a neighboring water molecule approaches the hydroxide ion, utilizing resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering (RIXS) and quantum dynamical simulations.

Early Pregnancy Waist Circumference for Prediction of Fetal Macrosomia.

Fetal macrosomia is associated with adverse short- and long-term outcomes for the mother and the child. Present models to predict fetal macrosomia cannot be used in all settings, and their precision could be improved. We assessed if waist circumference could replace or outperform weight for early pregnancy prediction of macrosomia.

Who Benefits Most? Personality Traits as Predictors of Identity Intervention Outcomes in Adolescence.

Interventions focused on adolescents' identity development have shown promising results, but questions remain as to which adolescents benefit most from them. This preregistered study examined how personality traits (Big Five domains and higher-order meta-traits) moderate adolescents' responsiveness to the Identity Project, a school-based intervention supporting ethnic-racial identity development. A total of 509 adolescents from 22 classrooms in the southwestern regions of Sweden participated in an intervention and control group design (M = 16.