Propensity Score Analysis of Possible Medication Effects on Outcomes in Patients With Systemic Right Ventricles.

Background: Patients with systemic right ventricle (SRV), either d-transposition of the great arteries following an atrial switch procedure or congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries, develop severe right ventricular dysfunction, prompting appropriate medical therapy. However, the efficacy of beta-blockers and angiotensin receptor blockers or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) in SRV patients is unproven.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of ACEI/ARB and beta-blockers on outcomes in SRV patients after accounting for likely cofounders affecting their use.

Cerebrospinal fluid proteomics reveals the innate immunity and blood-brain barrier dysregulation in a patient with multidrug-resistant ventriculitis treated with intrathecal and intravenous polymyxin B.

is a major pathogen of nosocomial meningitis and ventriculitis. Due to very limited antibiotic treatment options, polymyxins are often used as a last-line therapy. To optimise polymyxin use in the intraventricular environment, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteomics was employed to investigate host-pathogen-polymyxin interactions in a 69-year-old patient with multidrug-resistant ventriculitis treated with a combination of intrathecal (ITH; 50,000 IU q24h/q48h), intraventricular (IVT; 50,000 IU q48h), and intravenous (500,000 IU, q12h) polymyxin B.

Advanced deep transfer learning techniques for efficient detection of cotton plant diseases.

Introduction: Cotton, being a crucial cash crop globally, faces significant challenges due to multiple diseases that adversely affect its quality and yield. To identify such diseases is very important for the implementation of effective management strategies for sustainable agriculture. Image recognition plays an important role for the timely and accurate identification of diseases in cotton plants as it allows farmers to implement effective interventions and optimize resource allocation.

Context familiarity is a third kind of episodic memory distinct from item familiarity and recollection.

Episodic memory is accounted for with two processes: "familiarity" when generally recognizing an item and "recollection" when retrieving the full contextual details bound with the item. We tested a combination of item recognition confidence and source memory, focusing upon three conditions: "item-only hits with source unknown" ('item familiarity'), "low-confidence hits with correct source memory" ('context familiarity'), and "high-confidence hits with correct source memory" ('recollection'). Behaviorally, context familiarity was slower than the others during item recognition, but faster during source memory.

Effect of randomised blood pressure lowering treatment and intensive glucose control on dementia and cognitive decline according to baseline cognitive function and other subpopulations of individuals with type 2 diabetes: Results from the ADVANCE trial.

Background And Aims: Accumulating evidence indicates that reducing high blood pressure (BP) prevents dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Furthermore, although diabetes is a risk factor for dementia and MCI, there is uncertainty of the effect of intensive glucose control on these endpoints. This study aimed to determine the effects of BP-lowering (vs placebo) and intensive glucose-lowering (vs standard control) treatments according to baseline cognition and other characteristics on dementia and cognitive decline (CD) in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Peer Mentoring by Medical Students for Medical Students: A Scoping Review.

Medical school transitions pose challenges for students. Mentoring programs may aid students, but evidence supporting peer/near-peer mentoring in medical school is unclear. Our review explores peer mentoring's benefits, elements for success and challenges.

Feasibility and psychometric quality of smartphone administered cognitive ecological momentary assessments in women with metastatic breast cancer.

Objective: Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is associated with burdensome side effects, including cognitive changes that require ongoing monitoring. Cognitive ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) allow for assessment of individual cognitive functioning in natural environments and can be administered via smartphones. Accordingly, we sought to establish the feasibility, reliability, and validity of a commercially available cognitive EMA platform.

"Equity" in genomic health policies: a review of policies in the international arena.

Introduction: The field of genomics is rapidly evolving and has made significant impact on the diagnosis and understanding of rare and genetic diseases, in guiding precision medicine in cancer treatment, and in providing personalized risk assessment for disease development and treatment responses. However, according to the literature, there is widespread socio economic and racial inequities in the diagnosis, treatment, and in the use of genomic medicine services. This policy review sets out to explore the concept of equity in access to genomic care, the level of inclusion of equity and how it is addressed and what mechanisms are in place to achieve equity in genomic care in the international health policy.

Leveraging new methodologies for public health crisis management.

Evidence-based medicine is critical in public health emergencies, offering a framework for decision-making and adaptive healthcare responses. By relying on up-to-date and reliable evidence, EBM enables healthcare systems to respond quickly to evolving crises and ensures efficient resource allocation. This perspective presents the importance of evidence-based medicine in public health emergencies, emphasizing the need for rapid decision-making and preparedness.

Evidence for glial reactivity using positron-emission tomography imaging of translocator Protein-18 kD [TSPO] in both sham and nerve-injured rats in a preclinical model of orofacial neuropathic pain.

Chronic neuropathic pain is a debilitating condition that results from damage to the nervous system. Current treatments are largely ineffective, with limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms hindering development of effective treatments. Preclinical models of neuropathic pain have revealed that non-neural changes are important for the development of neuropathic pain, although these data are derived almost exclusively from post-mortem histological analyses.

Novel Vascular Territory Mapping Algorithm as a Predictive Tool for Identification of Antegrade Flow in Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion.

Background: Vascular territory mapping (VTM) software estimates which intracerebral vessel provides predominant arterial flow to a brain voxel. The presence of antegrade flow in the setting of acute middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion is associated with improved outcomes. We identify whether VTM software is a determinant of antegrade flow in patients with proximal MCA occlusion.

Predicting Antidepressant Treatment Response From Cortical Structure on MRI: A Mega-Analysis From the ENIGMA-MDD Working Group.

Accurately predicting individual antidepressant treatment response could expedite the lengthy trial-and-error process of finding an effective treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). We tested and compared machine learning-based methods that predict individual-level pharmacotherapeutic treatment response using cortical morphometry from multisite longitudinal cohorts. We conducted an international analysis of pooled data from six sites of the ENIGMA-MDD consortium (n = 262 MDD patients; age = 36.

A feasibility study of measuring maternal anaemia and postoperative outcomes after caesarean section.

SummaryIron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) is a global health problem. The impact of IDA on outcomes in obstetric patients who undergo caesarean section (CS) is unknown. We assessed the feasibility of conducting a large study to investigate perioperative anaemia and outcomes after CS.

Advancements in Porous Silicon Biosensors for Point of Care, Wearable, and Implantable Applications.

Biosensors play a critical role in modern diagnostics, offering high sensitivity and specificity for detecting various relevant clinical analytes as well as real-time monitoring and integrability in point-of-care (POC) platforms and wearable/implantable devices. Among the numerous materials used as biosensing substrates, porous silicon (pSi) has garnered significant attention due to its tunable properties, ease of fabrication, large surface area, and versatile surface chemistry. These attributes make pSi an ideal platform for transducer development, particularly in the fabrication of optical and electrochemical biosensors.

Management of Perianal Fistulizing Crohn's Disease According to Principles of Wound Repair.

Background: Perianal fistulizing Crohn's disease (PFCD) is a challenging and debilitating phenotype of Crohn's disease that can negatively affect quality of life. Studies have begun to uncover the physiologic mechanisms involved in wound repair as it relates to PFCD and how aberrations in these mechanisms may contribute to fistula persistence.

Aims: To review the physiologic and pathophysiologic mechanisms of wound repair in PFCD and how specific therapeutic strategies may impact their outcomes.

Directional Droplet Wetting on Cellulose Surfaces with Physical Modification.

Directional wetting of liquids on solid surfaces is crucial for numerous applications. However, the impact of physical modifications on near-superhydrophilic cellulose has received limited attention as it is widely considered unfeasible. In this study, we present a previously unreported and simple but effective mechanism of directional wetting induced purely by physical modifications on pristine cellulose surfaces.

Microwave-Sintered Nano-SiC Reinforced 8SiC/Ti-3Cu Composite: Fabrication, Wear Resistance, Antibacterial Function, and Biocompatibility.

The significance of biomedical applications of Ti alloys is best emphasized by their widespread utilization as implantable materials, such as internal supports and bone replacements. Ti alloys are sensitive to fretting wear, which leads to the early failure of Ti implants. Improved wear resistance of such implants is essential to ensure a prolonged implant life.

Real-World Persistence and Effectiveness of Upadacitinib versus Other Janus Kinase Inhibitors and Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors in Australian Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Introduction: This study sought to describe treatment patterns, persistence, and effectiveness of upadacitinib (UPA) alone and compared to other Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKis) or tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFis) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: This retrospective, non-interventional study used the OPAL dataset, derived from electronic medical records. Patients initiated UPA (N = 2624), other JAKis (baricitinib and tofacitinib [N = 925]), or TNFis (adalimumab, etanercept, certolizumab, golimumab, infliximab [N = 3540]) between May 2020 and March 2023.

Late-Stage Pd(II)-Catalyzed C(sp3)-H Functionalization of Peptides Directed by a Removable, Backbone-Inserted Amidoxime Ether.

Palladium(II)-catalyzed C-H functionalization has attracted considerable attention as a pathway to late-stage modification of peptides. Herein, we report the Pd-catalyzed C(sp3)-H arylation of peptides directed by an amidoxime ether, which can be easily incorporated into peptides at any amide bond. Site- and stereoselective arylation of peptides has been achieved, including an unprecedented example of C-H arylation of an internal residue.

A Comparative Evaluation of Leaching Reagents of Platinum Group Metals from Spent Catalytic Converters Using Microwave Heating.

Platinum group metals (PGMs) are increasingly recycled from spent automotive catalysts due to their scarcity in nature. Many studies were developed using different leaching reagents in order to achieve greener benefits and reduce environmental pollution. This article reports for the first time direct comparison of leaching reagents on the efficiency of PGMs using microwave (MW) assisted heating.

Hierarchy in surgeon-anaesthetist relationships.

Operating theatres are steeply hierarchical, and yet the hierarchy between surgeons and anaesthetists is unclear, even blurry. Both the steep hierarchy and the blurriness at the top can present a risk to patient safety through inhibiting speaking up with concerns and negotiating safe patient care. A recent study in the British Journal of Anaesthesia explores hierarchy in the surgeon-anaesthesia dyad in China, in particular, the effect of increased seniority gap between surgeons and anaesthetists on anaesthesia-related adverse outcomes.

Patient-reported outcomes following ciltacabtagene autoleucel or standard of care in patients with lenalidomide-refractory multiple myeloma (CARTITUDE-4): results from a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial.

Background: In CARTITUDE-4, ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) significantly improved progression-free survival (primary endpoint; previously reported) versus standard of care in patients with relapsed, lenalidomide-refractory multiple myeloma. We report here patient-reported outcomes.

Methods: In the ongoing, phase 3, open-label CARTITUDE-4 study, patients were recruited from 81 sites in the USA, Europe, Asia, and Australia, and were randomly assigned 1:1 to cilta-cel (target, 0·75 × 10 CAR-T cells/kg) or standard of care (daratumumab, pomalidomide, and dexamethasone; pomalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone).

Modelling vitamin D fortification scenarios for the Australian population.

Background: Low vitamin D status (circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration <50 nmol/L) is prevalent in Australia, and 95% of Australians have been estimated to have low vitamin D intake (mean range 1.8-3.2 μg/day).