Ten pressure points in primary care during COVID-19: findings from an international narrative review.

Background: Strong primary care (PC) services are the foundation of high-performing health care systems and can support effective responses to public health emergencies. Primary care practitioners (PCPs) and PC services played crucial roles in supporting global health system responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, these contributions have come at a cost, impacting on PC services and affecting patient care.

Implant irritation and removal rates in operatively treated multiple rib fractures: a 49-month follow-up study.

Purpose: Little is known about the prevalence, impact and change of the symptoms after implant removal due to irritation in multiple rib fractures. This study aims to explore these aspects to improve treatment decision-making.

Methods: Data was collected from two hospitals in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Initial surgical management of spinal injuries in patients with multiple and/or severe injuries- the 2022 update of the German clinical practice guideline.

Purpose: Our aim was to update evidence-based and consensus-based recommendations for the initial surgical management of spinal (cord) injuries in patients with multiple and/or severe injuries based on current evidence. This guideline topic is part of the 2022 update of the German Guideline on the Treatment of Patients with Multiple and/or Severe Injuries.

Methods: MEDLINE and Embase were systematically searched to May 2021.

Transurethral resection of the prostate across continents: a meta-analysis evaluating quality of gold standard in the twenty-first century.

Purpose: To compare outcomes of transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) across different regions worldwide over the past two decades.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials indexed to PubMed that assessed TURP. A total of 102 studies with 8,454 patients were included and grouped by continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, and Others (North America, South America, and Australia).

Pre-injury narcotic drug use in isolated severe traumatic brain injury: effect on outcomes.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the association between pre-injury narcotic drug use (opioids, methadone, and/or oxycodone) and outcomes in isolated severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients.

Methods: ACS TQIP study included adult trauma patients (≥ 16 years) with complete drug and alcohol screening. Isolated severe TBI was defined as head trauma with AIS 3-5 and without significant extracranial trauma.

Functional genomics pipeline identifies CRL4 inhibition for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Background: The goal of precision oncology is to find effective therapeutics for every patient. Through the inclusion of emerging therapeutics in a high-throughput drug screening platform, our functional genomics pipeline inverts the common paradigm to identify patient populations that are likely to benefit from novel therapeutic strategies.

Approach: Utilizing drug screening data across a panel of 46 cancer cell lines from 11 tumor lineages, we identified an ovarian cancer-specific sensitivity to the first-in-class CRL4 inhibitors KH-4-43 and 33-11.

Digoxin for reduction of circulating tumor cell cluster size in metastatic breast cancer: a proof-of-concept trial.

The presence of circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters is associated with disease progression and reduced survival in a variety of cancer types. In breast cancer, preclinical studies showed that inhibitors of the Na/K ATPase suppress CTC clusters and block metastasis. Here we conducted a prospective, open-label, proof-of-concept study in women with metastatic breast cancer, where the primary objective was to determine whether treatment with the Na/K ATPase inhibitor digoxin could reduce mean CTC cluster size.

Cost and outcomes of side-to-side versus end-to-end anastomosis in right colectomy: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The optimal anastomotic configuration for right-sided colectomies remains controversial, with comparable postoperative outcomes across techniques. Thus, economic considerations may play a larger role in decision-making within cost-constrained healthcare settings.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluated right-sided colectomies with ileocolic anastomosis at a Swiss tertiary center between 2016 and 2021.

Critical mobility in policy making for epidemic containment.

When considering airborne epidemic spreading in social systems, a natural connection arises between mobility and epidemic contacts. As individuals travel, possibilities to encounter new people either at the final destination or during the transportation process appear. Such contacts can lead to new contagion events.

Composite cardiac computed tomography angiography score for improved risk assessment in chronic coronary syndromes.

Agatston score, the degree of lumen narrowing categorized by CAD-RADS, high-risk atherosclerotic plaque features and pericoronary adipose tissue attenuation (PCAT) are parameters, which can be assessed non-invasively by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and aid risk stratification in patients with chronic coronary syndromes (CCS). However, few studies have so far compared the prognostic value of all those parameters together. To develop and test the prognostic value of a composite CCTA score, derived from Agatston score, CAD-RADS, high-risk plaques and PCAT in patients undergoing CCTA due to CCS.

The TLR7/9 adaptors TASL and TASL2 mediate IRF5-dependent antiviral responses and autoimmunity in mouse.

Endosomal nucleic acid sensing by Toll-like receptors (TLRs) is central to antimicrobial immunity and several autoimmune conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The innate immune adaptor TASL mediates, via the interaction with SLC15A4, the activation of IRF5 downstream of human TLR7, TLR8 and TLR9, but the pathophysiological functions of this axis remain unexplored. Here we show that SLC15A4 deficiency results in a selective block of TLR7/9-induced IRF5 activation, while loss of TASL leads to a strong but incomplete impairment, which depends on the cell type and TLR engaged.

Zinc absorption from maize-based meals enriched with edible house crickets: a randomized crossover stable-isotope study in Kenyan pre-school children.

Edible insects have been proposed as a novel and sustainable source of protein and other essential nutrients for human consumption but nutrient absorption efficiency is still uncertain. We investigated zinc absorption from house crickets (Acheta domesticus) in a single-center and single-blinded cross-over study with children aged 24-36 months old in Kenya from September-November 2021. For this, children were randomized to consume two different experimental meals labeled with stable isotopes of zinc (Zn) at two different days, separated by a wash-out period of one month.

Association between frailty and specific comorbidities on oncological outcomes in metastatic hormone-sensitive and castration resistant prostate cancer.

Objective: Demographic changes will lead to higher proportions of metastatic hormone-sensitive (mHSPC) and castration resistant metastatic prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients with higher frailty index and multiple comorbidities.

Materials And Methods: We relied on an institutional tertiary-care database to explore the effect of frailty (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group [ECOG]), as well as cardiovascular (CVD) and secondary malignancy (SecCa) comorbidities on overall survival (OS) and time to mCRPC in mHSPC and OS in mCRPC patients with Kaplan-Meyer estimates and Cox regression models.

Results: Of 802 mHSPC patients, 61% were ECOG0 vs.

Respiratory impact of local anaesthetic volume after an interscalene brachial plexus block with an extrafascial injection: a randomised controlled double-blinded trial.

Background: We have previously demonstrated that an extrafascial injection of 20 ml of local anaesthetic for interscalene brachial plexus block (ISB) reduces the rate of hemidiaphragmatic paralysis by 70% compared with an intrafascial injection, with similar efficacy. In this double-blind trial, we tested the hypothesis that a local anaesthetic volume of 10 ml injected extrafascially would reduce the rate of hemidiaphragmatic paralysis vs a volume of 20 ml, while providing similar analgesia.

Methods: Sixty ASA physical status 1-3 patients scheduled for elective shoulder surgery under general anaesthesia were randomised to receive ultrasound-guided extrafascial ISB using ropivacaine 0.

International benchmarking of stage at diagnosis for six childhood solid tumours (the BENCHISTA project): a population-based, retrospective cohort study.

Background: International variation in childhood cancer survival might be explained by differences in stage at diagnosis, among other factors. As part of the BENCHISTA project, we aimed to assess geographical variation in tumour stage at diagnosis through the application, by population-based cancer registries working with clinicians, of the international consensus Toronto Childhood Cancer Stage Guidelines.

Methods: This population-based, retrospective cohort study involved 67 cancer registries from 23 European countries, Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Canada.

Characteristics of children and adolescents with multidrug-resistant and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis and their association with treatment outcomes: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis.

Background: There are few data on the treatment of children and adolescents with multidrug-resistant (MDR) or rifampicin-resistant (RR) tuberculosis, especially with more recently available drugs and regimens. We aimed to describe the clinical and treatment characteristics and their associations with treatment outcomes in this susceptible population.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis.

Mechanical thrombectomy in elderly stroke patients with low ASPECTS: insights from STAR.

Background: The elderly population (≥80 years) were underrepresented in recent trials of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for anterior circulation large vessel occlusion acute ischemic stroke (LVO-AIS) with low Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) (≤5).

Methods: This study analyzed data from a prospectively maintained database of 37 thrombectomy centers. The primary cohort of the study comprised patients with LVO-AIS aged ≥80 who underwent EVT with ASPECTS≤5 from 2013 to 2023.

Discovery of the First Efficacious Adenosine 2A Receptor Negative Allosteric Modulators for High Adenosine Cancer Immunotherapies.

Inhibition of the adenosine 2A receptor (AR) is recognized as a promising immunotherapeutic strategy but is challenged by the ubiquity of AR function in the immune system. To develop a safe yet efficacious immunotherapy, the discovery of a novel negative allosteric modulator (NAM) was preferred. Leveraging an in-house, sensitive, high-throughput screening cellular assay, novel AR NAM scaffolds were identified, followed by an extensive structure-activity relationship (SAR) study, leading to the discovery of potent 2-amino-3,5-dicyanopyridine derivatives.

Resting-state electroencephalographic rhythms depend on sex in patients with dementia due to Parkinson's and Lewy Body diseases: An exploratory study.

Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are more prevalent in males than females. Furthermore, they typically showed abnormally high delta (< 4 Hz) and low alpha (8-10 Hz) rhythms from resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) activity. Here, we hypothesized that those abnormalities may depend on the patient's sex.

Advancing HR-pQCT-based homogenised FE models with smooth structured hexahedral meshes.

Nonlinear homogenised finite element (hFE) models can accurately predict stiffness and strength of ultra-distal sections of the radius and tibia using in vivo HR-pQCT images. Recent findings showed good stiffness prediction at these distal sections but a limited ability to reproduce experimental strain localisation. The coarseness of voxel-based meshes reduces the computational effort at the cost of heavily simplifying the underlying geometry of the cortex, the gradient of material properties, and the resulting strain distribution.

Sand and dust storms: a growing global health threat calls for international health studies to support policy action.

Sand and dust storms increasingly threaten global environmental and public health. To date, 150 countries are directly affected, with more than 100 classified as non-dust source regions. With climate change, these storms are expected to become more frequent and severe.

Beyond CO Storage: Enzyme-Amyloid Fibril Catalytic Hybrids for Long Cascade Reactions Converting CO into Fructose.

Enzyme immobilization is an efficient and cost-effective approach to recovering, stabilizing, and enhancing enzyme catalytic properties. It is a challenge, however, for coimmobilized multiple enzymes to perform consecutive reactions without being inactivated under similar conditions. Here, we present a facile enzyme immobilization platform using β-lactoglobulin amyloid fibril hydrogels.

Exploring the connection between climatic conditions and genetic properties of Abies alba Mill., including warm and summer-dry Mediterranean environments.

Abies alba Mill. is a prominent European tree species predominantly inhabiting cool and humid montane environments. However, paleoecological evidence reveals that during the Eemian and mid-Holocene, A.

Controlling the stability of monodisperse phospholipid-coated microbubbles by tuning their buckling pressure.

Hypothesis: Monodisperse phospholipid-coated microbubbles, with a size and resonance frequency tuned to the ultrasound driving frequency, have strong potential to enhance sensitivity, efficiency, and control in emerging diagnostic and therapeutic applications involving bubbles and ultrasound. A key requirement is that they retain their gas volume and shell material during physiologic pressure changes and withstand the overpressure during intravenous injection. The shell typically comprises a mixture of a phospholipid (e.