A multicenter Phase II randomized, placebo-controlled single-blind trial with the SV2A ligand seletracetam in photosensitive epilepsy patients.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of seletracetam (SEL), a potent modulator of synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A), in patients with photoparoxysmal EEG response (PPR) to intermittent photic stimulation (IPS) as proof-of-principle of efficacy in patients with epilepsy. In this multicenter, single-blind Phase II study, adults with photosensitive epilepsy, with/without concomitant antiseizure medication therapy, underwent IPS under 3 eye conditions (at eye closure, eyes closed and eyes open) after a single oral dose of placebo (day - 1) or SEL (day 1; 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 10, or 20 mg).

Urinary retention during and after labor with programmed intermittent epidural bolus (PIEB) analgesia: a prospective observational study.

Background: This study investigates the incidence and risk factors for urinary retention during and after labor in women receiving programmed intermittent epidural bolus (PIEB) analgesia and evaluates the optimal bladder management strategy.

Methods: This prospective observational study assessed urinary retention during voiding attempts every two to three hours during labor and postpartum, among women with labor epidural analgesia using PIEB. Urinary retention was defined as a post-void residual volume >150 mL, determined by catheterization after spontaneous voiding.

Psychological health status after major trauma across different levels of trauma care: A multicentre secondary analysis.

Introduction: Concentration of trauma care in trauma network has resulted in different trauma populations across designated levels of trauma care.

Objective: Describing psychological health status, by means of the impact event scale (IES) and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), of major trauma patients one and two years post-trauma across different levels of trauma care in trauma networks.

Methods: A multicentre retrospective cohort study was conducted.

Automation of on-site microbial water quality monitoring from source to tap: Challenges and perspectives.

Ensuring the provision of safe drinking water necessitates thorough monitoring of microbial water quality. While traditional culture-based enumeration of bacterial indicators has served as the gold standard in compliance monitoring since the late 19th century, recent advancements in microbial sensor technology, driven by automation and digitalization, are revolutionizing on-site monitoring capabilities. These innovations offer unparalleled potential for automated, high temporal frequency monitoring with remote, real-time data transmission.

Developmental validation of the IDseek® OmniSTR™ global autosomal STR profiling kit.

Forensic science takes advantage of population variability in autosomal Short Tandem Repeat (STR) lengths to establish human identification. The most common method for DNA profiling by STR is based on PCR, where the highly polymorphic STR regions are amplified and analysed using Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) or Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS). MPS determines not only the repeat length, but also the repeat structure and variations in the flanking regions, making this method superior in discriminatory power compared to CE.

Biology-inspired dynamic microphysiological system approaches to revolutionize basic research, healthcare and animal welfare.

The regular workshops held by the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) on biology-inspired microphysiological systems (MPS) taking place every four years, have become a reliable measure to assess fundamental scientific, industrial and regulatory trends for translational science in the MPS-field from a bird's eye view. The 2023 workshop participants at that time concluded that the technology as used within academia has matured significantly, underlined by the broad use of MPS and the steadily increasing number of high quality research publications - yet, broad industry adoption of MPS has been slow, despite strong interest. Academic research using MPS primarily aims to accurately recapitulate human biology in MPS-based organ models in areas where traditional models have been lacking key elements of human physiology, thereby enabling breakthrough discoveries for life sciences.

Radiation decreases bronchial epithelial progenitor function as assessed by organoid formation.

Objective: Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) is a serious side-effect of radiotherapy for lung cancer, in which effects on the normal lung epithelium may play a key role. Since these effects are incompletely understood, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of ionizing radiation (IR) on cultured well-differentiated primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBEC) with a focus on cytotoxicity, barrier formation, inflammation and epithelial progenitor function.

Materials And Methods: PBEC were cultured at the Air-Liquid Interface (ALI-PBEC) to allow mucociliary differentiation.

Optimising CPAP and oxygen levels to support spontaneous breathing in preterm rabbits.

Background: Very preterm infants often require respiratory support after birth with current recommendations suggesting the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) of 4-8 cmHO and an initial fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO) of 0.21-0.3.

Machine learning models for neurocognitive outcome prediction in preterm born infants.

Background: Outcome prediction after preterm birth is important for long-term neonatal care, but has proven notoriously challenging for neurocognitive outcome. This study investigated the potential of machine learning to improve neurocognitive outcome prediction at two and five years of corrected age in preterm infants, using readily available predictors from the neonatal setting.

Methods: Predictors originating from the antenatal and neonatal period of preterm infants born <30 weeks gestation were used to predict adverse neurocognitive outcome on the Bayley Scale and Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence.

HLA I immunopeptidome of synthetic long peptide pulsed human dendritic cells for therapeutic vaccine design.

Synthetic long peptides (SLPs) are a promising vaccine modality that exploit dendritic cells (DC) to treat chronic infections or cancer. Currently, the design of SLPs relies on in silico prediction and multifactorial T cells assays to determine which SLPs are best cross-presented on DC human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I). Furthermore, it is unknown how TLR ligand-based adjuvants affect DC cross-presentation.

Implementation of multidisciplinary team decisions on the management of complex bone and joint infections: an observational study.

Background: Multidisciplinary team (MDT) management of prosthetic joint infections (PJI) and other bone and joint infections (BJI) is increasingly put into practice. However, studies evaluating the performance of MDTs in this field are scarce. We aimed to assess our MDT for complex BJI by determining the implementation rate of team decisions, analyzing factors associated with non-implementation and evaluating the clinical outcome of patients in whom MDT decisions were not implemented.

Nursing postgraduates' innovative behaviour, influencing factors and educational requirements: a national cross-sectional study.

Background: Innovative behaviours are important for nursing postgraduates who are a significant reserve for future nursing career, thinking critically, utilizing technologies and solving complex problems. In nursing undergraduates' education, innovative behaviour is closely linked with the development of professional identity. However, there are limited studies exploring innovative behaviours, influencing factors and educational requirements of nursing postgraduates.

Profiles of testosterone and pre-androgens and sexual function in premenopausal women.

Background: There is inconsistent evidence as to the role of testosterone and pre-androgens in premenopausal female sexual function, and reported associations between blood concentrations of these hormones and female sexual function vary in strength.

Aim: To examine the patterns of testosterone and pre-androgen concentrations and variations in sexual function in premenopausal eumenorrheic women.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a sample of 588 premenopausal eumenorrheic women from the Grollo-Ruzzene Foundation Young Women's Health Study.

Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling to Refine Dosing of Posaconazole in Young Children.

Purpose: Posaconazole is a broad-spectrum antifungal for treating and preventing invasive fungal infections (IFIs) in immunocompromised individuals, including children as young as 2 years. Available in delayed-release (DR) oral suspension, intravenous formulation, and older immediate-release (IR) formulation (off-label in younger children), dosing harmonization across age groups and formulations remains inconsistent. This inconsistency arises from the unique physiology of young children and posaconazole's pH-dependent absorption.

Comparative risks and clinical outcomes of midazolam versus other intravenous sedatives in critically ill mechanically ventilated patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Objectives: This systematic review synthesized literature evidence and compared midazolam's risks and clinical outcomes with other sedatives in critically ill mechanically ventilated patients.

Methods: We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from databases of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and CINAHL without language restrictions. We used relative risk (RR) for binary outcomes and standardized mean difference (SMD) for continuous outcomes, with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI).

An agar medium-based method for screening somatic incompatibility in Agaricus bisporus.

To visualize the nonself recognition reaction in the cultivated mushroom Agaricus bisporus, we developed a method using the azo dye Evans blue. The use of Evans blue highlights dead mycelial sections, which are produced following nonself recognition in the interaction zone between two individuals. This method can differentiate between distinct heterokaryons, as well as between closely related heterokaryons constructed from siblings.

A Randomised, Single Blind, Controlled Trial Comparing Flush Endovenous Laser Ablation with Standard Endovenous Laser Ablation of the Great Saphenous Vein.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare anterior accessory saphenous vein (AASV) reflux after standard endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) vs. flush EVLA (fEVLA) of the great saphenous vein (GSV).

Methods: This was as randomised, single blind, controlled trial (Dutch Trial Register, NL5283).

Sex-specific anatomical variation of circle of Willis arteries.

Background: Anatomical variations in the circle of Willis (CoW) arteries are common and can affect hemodynamic stress, thereby influencing the risk of cerebrovascular pathology. Previous studies have suggested sex differences in CoW anatomy, but findings vary due to limited study population size and different measurement methods. This study aims to investigate sex differences in artery diameters, anatomical variants and bifurcation angles of the CoW using a large population cohort and semi-automatic measurements.

Oxygen Consumption, Effort, and Weaning in the Mechanically Ventilated Patient in the Intensive Care Unit: The Extubate Study: A Protocol for an Observational Study.

Purpose: The spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) is often performed to determine whether the patient can be extubated with a minimal risk of failure. The rapid shallow breathing index (RSBI) is an important parameter used in an SBT. However, weaning failure rates are between 15-20%.

Exposure-response relationships between road traffic, railway, and aircraft noise and annoyangel.dzhambov@mu-plovdiv.bgance in Bulgarian cities.

This study aimed to develop exposure-response relationships (ERRs) between road, rail, and air traffic noise and high noise annoyance (HNA) and to assess the HNA disease burden. In 2023, 4 640 adults were cross-sectionally sampled from the five largest cities in Bulgaria. Participants' road, rail/tram, and air traffic HNA was defined as the top two categories (60% cut-off point) of a 5-point scale.

Peak Frequency Analysis and Functional Substrate Mapping to Predict Critical Isthmus of Atypical Atrial Tachycardia; Findings from a Novel Automated Annotation Algorithm to Detect Near Field Signals.

Background: Atypical atrial tachycardia (AT) is a commonly encountered rhythm disorder especially in patients with underlying atrial scar. Peak frequency (PF) annotation of bipolar electrograms is a novel method, which mainly aims to discriminate near-field and far-field signals.

Objective: To evaluate the association between PF annotation of low-voltage zones (LVZ) and deceleration zones (DZ) during sinus / paced rhythm and their role to predict the critical isthmus (CI) and termination sites of atypical ATs.

Clinical significance of a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation in patients with vascular disease.

Background: The Cardiovascular Outcomes for People Using Anticoagulation Strategies (COMPASS) trial enrolled patients with vascular disease, but excluded patients requiring oral anticoagulation.

Objective: To explore the clinical significance of a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF) during follow-up.

Methods: New AF was identified from hospitalization, study drug discontinuation and adverse event reports.

The role of F-FDG PET/CT in detecting synchronous regional and distant metastatic disease in patients with an in-breast tumour recurrence.

Background: In line with the trend towards minimally invasive, patient-tailored treatment, a selected group of patients with an in-breast tumour recurrence (IBTR) is treated by repeat breast-conserving treatment (BCT). To select eligible patients for repeat BCT, a reliable pre-operative work-up is essential. This study reports on the role of F-FDG PET/CT in detecting synchronous regional and distant metastases in patients with IBTR.

Cost-effectiveness of an additional hysterectomy after initially conservative treatment for cervical adenocarcinoma in situ.

Objective: Several European and American guidelines recommend to perform an additional hysterectomy in patients with cervical adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), who initially received conservative treatment and who completed childbearing during follow-up. This study aimed to evaluate cost-effectiveness of performing an additional hysterectomy in comparison to expectative management.

Methods: This post-hoc analysis was based on a retrospective cohort of patients diagnosed with AIS, who were conservatively treated by a radical (i.