Outcomes of coronary artery aneurysms: insights from the Coronary Artery Ectasia and Aneurysm Registry (CAESAR).

Background: Coronary artery ectasias and aneurysms (CAE/CAAs) are among the less common forms of coronary artery disease, with undefined long-term outcomes and treatment strategies.

Aims: To assess the clinical characteristics, angiographic patterns, and long-term outcomes in patients with CAE, CAA, or both.

Methods: This 15-year (2006-2021) retrospective single-centre registry included 281 patients diagnosed with CAE/CAA via invasive coronary angiography.

Enhancing interprofessional ward rounds by identifying factors associated with low satisfaction and efficiency: a quantitative and qualitative national survey of Swiss healthcare professionals.

Aims Of The Study: Interprofessional ward rounds are a cornerstone of patient-centred care for medical inpatients and offer opportunities to discuss and coordinate patient treatment and further management. We aimed to identify factors associated with lower satisfaction and efficiency of interprofessional ward rounds, as reported by physicians and nurses.

Methods: An anonymous Swiss nationwide online survey of physicians and nurses was conducted in 28 Swiss internal medicine inpatient departments between 9 August and 19 October 2023.

E-cigarettes, synthetic nicotine, heated-tobacco and smokeless nicotine delivery products: the nicotine landscape beyond combustible cigarettes.

Cigarette smoking remains an enormous public health problem causing millions of preventable deaths annually worldwide. Although safe and efficient smoking cessation pharmacotherapies such as nicotine replacement products and the medications varenicline and bupropion are available, long-term abstinence rates remain low and new approaches to help smokers successfully quit smoking are needed. In recent years, electronic nicotine delivery systems such as e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products, and novel smokeless nicotine delivery products like nicotine pouches have gained widespread popularity.

A cost-effectiveness analysis of sotorasib as second-line treatment for patients with KRAS-G12C-mutated metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) in Switzerland.

Background And Objective: Because of the lack of effective targeted treatment options, docetaxel has long been the standard second-line therapy for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, including the Kirsten rat sarcoma virus (KRAS) G12C mutation. The CodeBreak 200 trial demonstrated that sotorasib, a new drug targeting the G12C-mutated KRAS protein, modestly improved progression-free survival compared with docetaxel in patients whose cancer had progressed after receiving platinum chemotherapy and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) / programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors as first-line treatment. Consequently, sotorasib received temporary approval in Switzerland.

Mapping Activity and Functional Organisation of the Motor and Visual Pathways Using ADC-fMRI in the Human Brain.

In contrast to blood-oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI), which relies on changes in blood flow and oxygenation levels to infer brain activity, diffusion fMRI (DfMRI) investigates brain dynamics by monitoring alterations in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of water. These ADC changes may arise from fluctuations in neuronal morphology, providing a distinctive perspective on neural activity. The potential of ADC as an fMRI contrast (ADC-fMRI) lies in its capacity to reveal neural activity independently of neurovascular coupling, thus yielding complementary insights into brain function.

Improving Image Quality and Decreasing SAR With High Dielectric Constant Pads in 3 T Fetal MRI.

Background: At high magnetic fields, degraded image quality due to dielectric artifacts and elevated specific absorption rate (SAR) are two technical challenges in fetal MRI.

Purpose: To assess the potential of high dielectric constant (HDC) pad in increasing image quality and decreasing SAR for 3 T fetal MRI.

Study Type: Prospective.

Pharmacokinetic characterization and exposure-response relationship of crovalimab in the COMMODORE 1, 2 and 3 and COMPOSER trials of patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria.

Aims: Crovalimab is a novel C5 inhibitor administered first intravenously and then subcutaneously in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) naive to complement inhibition or switching from eculizumab or ravulizumab. Crovalimab showed efficacy and safety comparable to eculizumab in the pivotal COMMODORE 2 and supporting studies.

Methods: We characterized crovalimab pharmacokinetics and the relationship between exposure pharmacokinetic parameters and pharmacodynamic biomarkers, efficacy and safety endpoints using pooled data (healthy volunteers [n = 9], naive [n = 210] and switched [n = 211] patients).

The Cooperativity of Atomic Fluctuations in Highly Supercooled Glass-Forming Metallic Melts.

The behavior of supercooled glass-forming metals depends on the cooperative atomic fluctuations caused by dynamic heterogeneities in the melt. These spatial and temporal heterogeneities form dynamic clusters, which are regions of cooperative rearrangement (CRR). In this study, the macroscopic kinetics and the correlation length , of the CRR, are derived for PtCuNiP and PdCuNiP metallic glass-formers by fast differential scanning calorimetry near the glass transition.

Comparing to three other enteric pathogens in OligoMM mice reveals pathogen-specific host and microbiota responses.

, non-typhoidal spp., and enteropathogenic/enterohemorrhagic (EPEC/EHEC) are leading causes of food-borne illness worldwide. has been used to model EPEC and EHEC infection in mice.

Extracellular acyl-CoA-binding protein as an independent biomarker of COVID-19 disease severity.

Background: Factors leading to severe COVID-19 remain partially known. New biomarkers predicting COVID-19 severity that are also causally involved in disease pathogenesis could improve patient management and contribute to the development of innovative therapies. Autophagy, a cytosolic structure degradation pathway is involved in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis, degradation of intracellular pathogens and generation of energy for immune responses.

Loss of SMAD1 in acute myeloid leukemia with and fusion genes.

Introduction: -rearrangements define a subclass of acute leukemias characterized by a distinct gene expression signature linked to the dysfunctional oncogenic fusion proteins arising from various chromosomal translocations involving the (also known as ) gene. Research on the disease pathomechanism in -rearranged acute leukemias has mainly focused on the upregulation of the stemness-related genes of the -family and their co-factor .

Results: Here we report the and fusion gene-dependent downregulation of , a TGF-β signaling axis transcription factor.

Optimizing personalized psychological well-being interventions through digital phenotyping: results from a randomized non-clinical trial.

Background: Digital technologies, including smartphones, hold great promise for expanding mental health services and improving access to care. Digital phenotyping, which involves the collection of behavioral and physiological data using smartphones, offers a novel way to understand and monitor mental health. This study examines the feasibility of a psychological well-being program using a telegram-integrated chatbot for digital phenotyping.

Direct detection of phycocyanin in sediments by hyperspectral imaging.

Unlabelled: Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous aquatic organisms with a remarkable evolutionary history reaching as far as 1.9 Ga. They play a vital role in ecosystems yet also raise concerns due to their association with harmful algal blooms.

Bile acids and incretins as modulators of obesity-associated atherosclerosis.

Obesity is one of the major global health concerns of the 21st century, associated with many comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, and early and aggressive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death worldwide. Bile acids (BAs) and incretins are gut hormones involved in digestion and absorption of fatty acids, and insulin secretion, respectively. In recent years BAs and incretins are increasingly recognized as key signaling molecules, which target multiple tissues and organs, beyond the gastro-intestinal system.

Feasibility and potential diagnostic value of [F]PI-2620 PET in patients with down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease: a case series.

Purpose Of The Report: Adults with Down Syndrome (DS) have a substantially increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) due to the triplicated amyloid-precursor-protein gene on chromosome 21, resulting in amyloid and tau accumulation. However, tau PET assessments are not sufficiently implemented in DS-AD research or clinical work-up, and second-generation tau tracers such as [F]PI-2620 have not been thoroughly characterized in adults with DS. We aim at illustrating feasibility and potential diagnostic value of tau PET imaging with [F]PI-2620 for the diagnosis of DS-AD.

Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia after lung transplantation: A case report of treatment with infliximab and tocilizumab and literature review.

Introduction: Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia (AFOP) is a severe form of acute lung injury which can occur after lung transplantation. Treatment is empiric, based on immunosuppressive regimens and the mortality rate is very high.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a young lung transplant (LT) recipient who developed AFOP following a respiratory viral infection while on suboptimal maintenance immunosuppression due to adherence issues.

Effects of acetazolamide on exercise performance in patients with COPD going to high altitude: randomised controlled trial.

Background: In patients with COPD, preventive treatment with acetazolamide reduces adverse health effects during altitude travel. We investigated whether preventive acetazolamide treatment modifies exercise performance in COPD patients going to high altitude.

Methods: In this randomised, double-blind trial, lowlanders with COPD, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV) 40-80% predicted, were assigned to acetazolamide (375 mg per 24 h) or placebo treatment starting 24 h before ascent and while staying at 3100 m.

Time trends of catheter-directed treatment in acute pulmonary embolism in Germany.

Background: Catheter-directed treatment (CDT) is an innovative treatment for patients with elevated risk pulmonary embolism (PE) to resolve embolus and restore pulmonary perfusion.

Objectives: We aimed to analyse the use and the benefit of CDT in PE patients in Germany.

Methods: The German nationwide inpatient sample was used to include all hospitalizations of patients with PE from 2005 to 2020 in Germany.

Epidemiology of Eosinophilic Esophagitis: Really a Novel and Evolving Disease?

Background: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) has been described as a chronic allergen/immune-mediated disease characterized by symptoms of esophageal dysfunction and eosinophilic infiltration of the mucosa.

Summary: Over the past decades, EoE has been increasingly recognized in various geographical areas with a high socioeconomic development (mostly industrialized countries) and has evolved from an unknown to a clinically distinct disease with increasing prevalence and incidence. An average age at diagnosis between 30 and 50 years and a male predominance have been consistently observed.

High prevalence of fecal carriage of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing among patients with urinary tract infections in rural Tanzania.

Introduction: The global rise of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing (ESBL-PE) challenges resource-limited countries with insufficient laboratory infrastructure. This study investigates fecal carriage and risk factors for ESBL-PE and carbapenemase-producing organisms among patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) in rural Tanzania.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at St.

Adapting to the emotional complexity of palliative care communication: Palliative care clinicians' experiences.

Objectives: Communication is essential to medical care and is key in improving patient outcomes. We aimed to understand clinicians' emotions when communicating with patients in palliative care (PC) and the evolution of their communication skills.

Methods: Between October and November 2021, 231 Swiss PC clinicians participated in an online cross-sectional survey (65% nurses, 35% physicians).

En bloc resection of large bladder tumor: is it feasible and reasonable?

Purpose Of Review: Transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) remains the basis of bladder tumor diagnosis and an effective means of treating nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). There are several limitations to this procedure: TURBT may cause free floating of malignant cells in the bladder and as a result re-implantation and early recurrence. Also, it does not allow the pathologist to define the correct spatial orientation of the specimen.