Cardiomeds, an mHealth App for Self-Management to Support Swiss Patients With Heart Failure: 2-Stage Mixed Methods Usability Study.

Background: Mobile health apps have shown promising results in improving self-management of several chronic diseases in patients. We have developed a mobile health app (Cardiomeds) dedicated to patients with heart failure (HF). This app includes an interactive medication list; daily self-monitoring of symptoms, weight, blood pressure, and heart rate; and educational information on HF delivered through various formats.

Comparison of Random Forest and Stepwise Regression for Variable Selection Using Low Prevalence Predictors: A case Study in Paediatric Sepsis.

Introduction: Variable selection is a common technique to identify the most predictive variables from a pool of candidate predictors. Low prevalence predictors (LPPs) are frequently found in clinical data, yet few studies have explored their impact on model performance during variable selection. This study compared the Random Forest (RF) algorithm and stepwise regression (SWR) for variable selection using data from a paediatric sepsis screening tool, where 18 out of 32 predictors had a prevalence < 10%.

Clinical and imaging spectrum of non-congenital dominant ACTN2 myopathy.

Background: Alpha-actinin-2, a protein with high expression in cardiac and skeletal muscle, is located in the Z-disc and plays a key role in sarcomere stability. Mutations in ACTN2 have been associated with both hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathy and, more recently, with skeletal myopathy.

Methods: Genetic, clinical, and muscle imaging data were collected from 37 patients with an autosomal dominant ACTN2 myopathy belonging to 11 families from Spain and Belgium.

Balance recovery and its link to vestibular agnosia in traumatic brain injury: a longitudinal behavioural and neuro-imaging study.

Background: Vestibular dysfunction causing imbalance affects c. 80% of acute hospitalized traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases. Poor balance recovery is linked to worse return-to-work rates and reduced longevity.

Ocrelizumab dose selection for treatment of pediatric relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: results of the OPERETTA I study.

Background: The presented study identified the appropriate ocrelizumab dosing regimen for patients with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS).

Methods: Patients with POMS aged 10-17 years were enrolled into cohort 1 (body weight [BW] < 40 kg, ocrelizumab 300 mg) and cohort 2 (BW ≥ 40 kg, ocrelizumab 600 mg) during a 24-week dose-exploration period (DEP), followed by an optional ocrelizumab (given every 24 weeks) extension period.

Primary Endpoints: pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics (CD19 B-cell count); secondary endpoint: safety; exploratory endpoints: MRI activity, protocol-defined relapses, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score change.

Automated analysis of spoken language differentiates multiple system atrophy from Parkinson's disease.

Background And Objectives: Patients with synucleinopathies such as multiple system atrophy (MSA) and Parkinson's disease (PD) frequently display speech and language abnormalities. We explore the diagnostic potential of automated linguistic analysis of natural spontaneous speech to differentiate MSA and PD.

Methods: Spontaneous speech of 39 participants with MSA compared to 39 drug-naive PD and 39 healthy controls matched for age and sex was transcribed and linguistically annotated using automatic speech recognition and natural language processing.

Evaluating the value of 3D-printed bone models with fracture fragments connected by flexible rods for training and preoperative planning.

Background: The emergence of 3D printing has revolutionized medical training and preoperative planning. However, existing models have limitations, prompting the development of newly designed flexible 3D-printed bone fracture models.

Methods: The designed flexible 3D-printed bone fracture models were evaluated by 133 trauma surgeons with different levels of experience for perceived value as educational tool or as preoperative planning tool.

Patient perceptions of osteoporosis management: a qualitative pilot study by a patient advisory group.

Unlabelled: The management of osteoporosis even after a fracture is declining. Our pilot study in patients with osteoporosis confirms a large ignorance of the disease and major fears and uncertainties about the treatments. Complete and sustained medical information seems essential to counteract the contradictory information, which are exclusively negative.

CoGames: Development of an adaptive smartphone-based and gamified monitoring tool for cognitive function in Multiple Sclerosis.

Aim: As part of the development of a smartphone-based app for monitoring MS disease activity and progression (dreaMS, NCT05009160), we developed six gamified tests with multiple difficulty levels as a monitoring tool for cognition. This study quantified the relative difficulty between levels and investigated their reliability, ability to depict practice effects, and user acceptance.

Methods: Healthy volunteers played each game, covering five cognitive domains, twice per day for 11 consecutive days.

A new harmony box supplemented with gonial angle and age based on a growing Swiss population.

Purpose: The scope of the present study was to create a new harmony box by adding two diagnostically and clinically important cephalometric variables, the gonial and interincisal angles, while also considering the effect of sex and age for a growing Swiss population.

Methods: A healthy sample with an overjet and overbite between 2 and 4 mm, and 1.5 and 4.

Keyhole Fenestration for Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks in the Thoracic Spine: Quantification of Bone Removal and Microsurgical Anatomy.

Background And Objective: A safe working trajectory is mandatory for spinal pathologies, especially in the midline, anterior to the spinal cord. For thoracic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks, we developed a minimally invasive keyhole fenestration. This study investigates the necessary bone removal for sufficient exposure of different leak types particularly regarding weight-bearing structures.

Host-microbe multi-omics and succinotype profiling have prognostic value for future relapse in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are chronic relapsing inflammatory bowel disorders (IBD), the pathogenesis of which is uncertain but includes genetic susceptibility factors, immune-mediated tissue injury and environmental influences, most of which appear to act via the gut microbiome. We hypothesized that host-microbe alterations could be used to prognostically stratify patients experiencing relapses up to four years after endoscopy. We therefore examined multiple omics data, including published and new datasets, generated from paired inflamed and non-inflamed mucosal biopsies from 142 patients with IBD (54 CD; 88 UC) and from 34 control (non-diseased) biopsies.

Addressing Unmet Needs in Eating Disorders Requires Systemic Change and Co-Production: A Commentary on Ali et al. (2024).

The treatment gap for eating disorders varies significantly across healthcare systems owing to structural, cultural, and systemic barriers. A recent systematic review by Ali et al. highlighted this disparity, with treatment rates ranging from 2.

[Pneumology : what's new in 2024].

In 2024, several important innovations have enriched the management of respiratory diseases, including pulmonary hypertension, tuberculosis, COPD, and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Notable advancements include the introduction of sotatercept in Switzerland for pulmonary arterial hypertension and mediastinal cryobiopsies, reflecting a shift toward more personalized medicine. Meanwhile, biologic therapies for COPD offer promising perspectives, and a potential path is emerging for shortening the treatment of certain forms of tuberculosis.

[Emergency medicine : what's new in 2024].

Emergency medicine plays a crucial vital role as the gateway to the Swiss healthcare system. Although it has not yet been officially recognized with a specialist title, unlike most European countries - emergency medicine in Switzerland is characterized by robust research activity. This scientific article demonstrates a dynamic and rigorous evolution.

2D Raman-THz spectroscopy of imidazolium-based ionic liquids.

An investigation of the low-frequency (i.e., less than 5 THz), inter-molecular dynamics of three imidazolium-based ionic liquids-1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([C4mim][NTf2]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([C4mim][DCA]), and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([C2mim][DCA])-is presented using two-dimensional (2D) Raman-THz spectroscopy combined with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

Using patient preference to inform ritlecitinib dose selection for alopecia areata treatment.

Ritlecitinib is an oral Janus kinase 3/tyrosine kinase expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (JAK3/TEC) family kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of severe alopecia areata (AA). Benefit-risk profiles of two doses of ritlecitinib (50 mg vs 30 mg once daily) were evaluated by integrating patient preferences and clinical efficacy and safety estimates for ritlecitinib. A discrete-choice experiment (DCE) was utilized to elicit preferences for benefit and safety attributes of systemic AA treatments.

A qualitative and quantitative study of radical pro-environmental social change as anticipated future loss and threat: A gender perspective.

Degrowth-oriented climate change mitigation policies offer inspiring possibilities for future societies. However, they require radical change to individual and collective behaviours; and research has not yet fully addressed how people may anticipate future loss and threat when confronted with such policies. This study proposes a twofold examination of anticipated reactions to pro-environmental degrowth-oriented minority influence.

Chemoselectivity in Pd-Based Dyotropic Rearrangement: Development and Application in Total Synthesis of Pheromones.

In the dyotropic rearrangement of molecules with semiflexible structures, characterized by a freely rotating static C-C bond, the formation of a mixture of products is common due to the coexistence of several energetically comparable conformers. Herein, we report that it is possible to modulate the shifting groups by adjusting the metal's coordination sphere in Pd-based dyotropic rearrangement. In the presence of a catalytic amount of Pd(II) salt, the reaction of γ-hydroxyalkenes or γ,δ-dihydroxyalkenes with Selectfluor affords fluorinated tetrahydropyranols or 6,8-dioxabicyclo[3.

Droplet-Based EPR Spectroscopy for Real-Time Monitoring of Liquid-Phase Catalytic Reactions.

In situ monitoring is essential for catalytic process design, offering real-time insights into active structures and reactive intermediates. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy excels at probing geometric and electronic properties of paramagnetic species during reactions. Yet, state-of-the-art liquid-phase EPR methods, like flat cells, require custom resonators, consume large amounts of reagents, and are unsuited for tracking initial kinetics or use with solid catalysts.

Safety Assessment of Graphene-Based Materials.

Graphene is the first 2D atomic crystal, and its isolation heralded a new era in materials science with the emergence of several other atomically thin materials displaying multifunctional properties. The safety assessment of new materials is often something of an afterthought, but in the case of graphene, the initial isolation and characterization of the material was soon followed by the assessment of its potential impact on living systems. The Graphene Flagship project addressed the health and environmental aspects of graphene and other 2D materials, providing an instructive lesson in interdisciplinarity - from materials science to biology.

Geographic patterns and climatic drivers of the mean genus age of liverworts in North America.

Phylogenetic niche conservatism posits that species tend to retain ancestral ecological traits and distributions, which has been broadly tested for lineages originating in tropical climates but has been rarely tested for lineages that originated and diversified in temperate climates. Liverworts are thought to originate in temperate climates. Mean lineage age reflects evolutionary history of biological communities.

Cystic fibrosis and the clinical biofilm revolution A survey of the Danish CF Center's contribution.

Biofilm infections are chronic infections which are difficult to diagnose. Biofilm infections are tolerant to antibiotics and the defense mechanisms of the host. Patients with the genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF) produce viscid mucus in the respiratory tract and therefore suffer from chronic biofilm infections in their lungs and paranasal sinuses.