Outcomes of RDAVR with Coronary Revascularization: 3-year Results from the German INCA Registry.

Background:  The long-term outcomes of combined rapid-deployment aortic valve replacement (RDAVR) with coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) are not well explored. We report 3-year results from the INCA registry on combined RDAVR with CABG.

Methods:  INCA is a prospective, multicenter registry that enrolled 224 patients undergoing RDAVR with CABG at 10 cardiac institutions in Germany.

Introduction of Patient-reported Outcome Measures in a Cardiac Surgery Center.

Background:  Although patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) as an integral part of value-based healthcare have important potential for clinical issues, e.g., for shared decision-making, data are limited.

Exploring the role of transcription factor TWIST1 in bladder cancer progression.

The transcription factor TWIST1 is a major regulator of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, enhancing cancer cell mobility and invasive potential. Overexpression of TWIST1 is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis. In our study, we explored the role of TWIST1 as both a prognostic biomarker and a therapeutic target in bladder cancer (BC), as well as the relationship between its promoter methylation and mRNA expression in bladder cancer patients.

Salivary cortisol measures across the clinical stages of psychosis: An individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis.

Background: Studies of salivary cortisol levels in psychosis have yielded inconsistent findings, which may be attributable to heterogeneity in cortisol measurement, illness stage, and approaches to dealing with sampling factors and potential confounders. To address these issues, we performed an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis comparing individuals at different stages of psychosis to controls using five different salivary cortisol measures and explored potential effect modifiers.

Methods: Salivary cortisol data from five London-based cohorts were used to derive the cortisol awakening response, total daytime cortisol output, basal cortisol, and diurnal slope measures (wake-to-evening and peak-to-evening).

Enhancing farmer awareness: Vertical transmission of Neospora caninum in aborting cattle and the value of diagnostics tools.

The protozoan parasite Neospora caninum is an important cause of abortion in cattle. Infection occurs horizontally by ingestion of oocysts shed by canids or vertically, from an infected dam to the foetus, and may result in abortion, stillbirth, or the birth of subclinically infected offspring. We estimated the occurrence of N.

Magnetic vector field mapping of the stimulated abductor digiti minimi muscle with optically pumped magnetometers.

Mapping the myomagnetic field of a straight and easily accessible muscle after electrical stimulation using triaxial optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) to assess potential benefits for magnetomyography (MMG). Approach: Six triaxial OPMs were arranged in two rows with three sensors each along the abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscle. The upper row of sensors was inclined by 45° with respect to the lower row and all sensors were aligned closely to the skin surface without direct contact.

Mass Casualty Incident Training in Immersive Virtual Reality: Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of Multimethod Performance Indicators.

Background: Immersive virtual reality (iVR) has emerged as a training method to prepare medical first responders (MFRs) for mass casualty incidents (MCIs) and disasters in a resource-efficient, flexible, and safe manner. However, systematic evaluations and validations of potential performance indicators for virtual MCI training are still lacking.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether different performance indicators based on visual attention, triage performance, and information transmission can be effectively extended to MCI training in iVR by testing if they can discriminate between different levels of expertise.

IAP dependency of T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia identified by high-throughput drug screening.

T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) is an aggressive lymphoid malignancy with limited treatment options. To discover new treatment targets for T-PLL, we performed high-throughput drug sensitivity screening on 30 primary patient samples ex-vivo. After screening over 2'800 unique compounds, we found T-PLL to be more resistant to most drug classes, including chemotherapeutics, compared to other blood cancers.

How can we make sound replication decisions?

Replication and the reported crises impacting many fields of research have become a focal point for the sciences. This has led to reforms in publishing, methodological design and reporting, and increased numbers of experimental replications coordinated across many laboratories. While replication is rightly considered an indispensable tool of science, financial resources and researchers' time are quite limited.

The misalignment of incentives in academic publishing and implications for journal reform.

For most researchers, academic publishing serves two goals that are often misaligned-knowledge dissemination and establishing scientific credentials. While both goals can encourage research with significant depth and scope, the latter can also pressure scholars to maximize publication metrics. Commercial publishing companies have capitalized on the centrality of publishing to the scientific enterprises of knowledge dissemination and academic recognition to extract large profits from academia by leveraging unpaid services from reviewers, creating financial barriers to research dissemination, and imposing substantial fees for open access.

How should the advancement of large language models affect the practice of science?

Large language models (LLMs) are being increasingly incorporated into scientific workflows. However, we have yet to fully grasp the implications of this integration. How should the advancement of large language models affect the practice of science? For this opinion piece, we have invited four diverse groups of scientists to reflect on this query, sharing their perspectives and engaging in debate.

Functionalized Terthiophene as an Ambipolar Redox System: Structure, Spectroscopy, and Switchable Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer.

Organic redox systems that can undergo oxidative and reductive (ambipolar) electron transfer are elusive yet attractive for applications across synthetic chemistry and energy science. Specifically, the use of ambipolar redox systems in proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions is largely unexplored but could enable "switchable" reactivity wherein the uptake and release of hydrogen atoms are controlled using a redox stimulus. Here, we describe the synthesis and characterization of an ambipolar functionalized terthiophene (TTH) bearing methyl thioether and phosphine oxide groups that exhibits switchable PCET reactivity.

xCT as a potential marker for neuroendocrine cells in high-risk prostate cancer and the relation to AL122023.1-miR-26a/30d/30e axis.

Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer in male worldwide. Stromal-epithelial interaction is thought to have a major impact on cancer development and progression. Previous studies have shown that interaction via soluble factors lead to a reduction in the expression of xCT and AL122023.

Data quality in centenarian research: The proxy-centenarian relationship and item nonresponse in the SWISS100 study.

Background: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the investigation of very old individuals. However, various challenges arise when collecting data from this age group. Given potential health and cognitive impairments and the difficulty of retrieving accurate self-reported data, involving individuals knowledgeable of the target person as proxy respondents are an invaluable solution.

Maternal mental health matters: Indicators for perinatal mental health-A scoping review.

Perinatal mental health disorders are a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality in childbearing women. The World Health Organization recommends all women be screened for mental health disorders postnatally and have diagnostic and management services available. There are, however, currently no global indicators in use which measure the status and progress of perinatal mental health.

Enhanced ResNet-50 for garbage classification: Feature fusion and depth-separable convolutions.

As people's material living standards continue to improve, the types and quantities of household garbage they generate rapidly increase. Therefore, it is urgent to develop a reasonable and effective method for garbage classification. This is important for resource recycling and environmental improvement and contributes to the sustainable development of production and the economy.

Remote neurodegeneration in the lumbosacral cord one month after spinal cord injury: a cross-sectional MRI study.

Objective: To characterize structural integrity of the lumbosacral enlargement and conus medullaris within one month after spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods: Lumbosacral cord MRI data were acquired in patients with sudden onset (<7 days) SCI at the cervical or thoracic level approximately one month after injury and in healthy controls. Tissue integrity and loss were evaluated through diffusion tensor (DTI) and T2*-weighted imaging (cross-sectional area [CSA] measurements).

CSF cytokine, chemokine and injury biomarker profile of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) autoimmunity.

Defining the CSF cytokine/chemokine and injury biomarker signature of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) autoimmunity can inform immunopathogenesis. CSF GFAP-IgG-positive samples (N = 98) were tested for 17 cytokines/chemokines, neurofilament light chain (NfL), and GFAP (ELLA, Bio-Techne). Controls included non-inflammatory (N = 42), AQP4-IgG-positive (N = 83), CNS infections (N = 13), and neurosarcoidosis (N = 32).

Microbes as Resources to Remove PPCPs and Improve Water Quality.

The inadequate removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) by traditional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) poses a significant environmental and public health challenge. Residual PPCPs find their way into aquatic ecosystems, leading to bioaccumulation in aquatic biota, the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and contamination of both water sources and vegetables. These persistent pollutants can have negative effects on human health, ranging from antibiotic resistance development to endocrine disruption.

New generation low level laser effect on masseter muscle oxygenation, bite force and algometric changes in myofacial pain syndrome: a randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of different types of low level laser treatment (LLLT) in reducing pain levels, changing oxygen saturation and bite force in patients with myofacial pain syndrome (MPS). 45 patients were randomly assigned to three groups: Group 1 (GRR laser, n = 15) received LLLT with Gallium-Aluminium-Arsenide (GaAlAs) diode laser with a wavelength of 904 nm and red laser with a wavelength of 650 nm over masseter muscle region. Group 2 (Nd: YAG laser, n = 15) were treated with Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminium Garnet laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm and the same protocol with Nd: YAG laser was performed in the Group 3 (placebo, n = 15) using sham device.

Evidence synthesis of health policy and systems research in rehabilitation: a protocol for Cochrane overviews of systematic reviews on delivery, governance, financial arrangements, and implementation strategies.

Cochrane Rehabilitation and the World Health Organization (WHO) Rehabilitation Program are collaborating to produce four Cochrane overviews of systematic reviews that synthesize the current evidence from health policy and systems research (HPSR) in rehabilitation. They will focus on the four pillars of HPSR identified by the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care (EPOC) taxonomy: delivery arrangements, financial arrangements, governance arrangements, and implementation strategies. The protocol describes why HPSR is currently needed in rehabilitation, provides detailed information on the four EPOC pillars in interaction with rehabilitation and reports the Cochrane methods that will be followed to produce the overviews.

Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease and Pancreatic Disease-A Population-Based Nationwide Cohort and Sibling-Controlled Study.

Introduction: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has been linked to pancreatic diseases, but evidence from population-based studies with liver histology is lacking.

Aims And Methods: In this population-based cohort including all Swedish adults (n = 8563) with biopsy-proven MASLD, we aimed to investigate incidences of pancreatic diseases compared with matched reference individuals from the general population (n = 38,858) and full siblings (n = 6696). Using Cox proportional hazard models, we calculated multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and confidence intervals (CIs).

Noise-Tolerant Force Calculations in Density Functional Theory: A Surface Integral Approach for Wavelet-Based Methods.

We introduce a method for computing quantum mechanical forces through surface integrals over the stress tensor within the framework of the density functional theory. This approach avoids the inaccuracies of traditional force calculations using the Hellmann-Feynman theorem when applied to multiresolution wavelet representations of orbitals. By integrating the quantum mechanical stress tensor over surfaces that enclose individual nuclei, we achieve highly accurate forces that exhibit superior consistency with the potential energy surface.

Boosting Light-Driven CO2 Conversion into CO by a Polypyridine Iron(II) Catalyst Using an Organic Sensitizer.

Direct photochemical conversion of CO2 into a single carbon-based product currently represents one of the major issues in the catalysis of the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). In this work, we demonstrate that the combination of an organic photosensitizer with a heptacoordinated iron(II) complex allows to attain a noble-metal-free photochemical system capable of efficient and selective conversion of CO2 into CO upon light irradiation in the presence of N,N-diisopropylethylamine (DIPEA) and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) as the electron and proton donor, respectively, with unprecedented performances (ΦCO up to 36%, TONCO > 1000, selectivity > 99%). As shown by transient absorption spectroscopy studies, this can be achieved thanks to the fast rates associated with the electron transfer from the photogenerated reduced dye to the catalyst, which protect the dye from parallel degradation pathways ensuring its stability along the photochemical reaction.