History of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) test guidelines for non-animal test methods in Japan.

The number of alternatives to animal tests (non-animal test methods) for human health developed globally account for more than 40% of the test methods in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals (TGs). Within the TGs, the National Institute of Health Sciences (NIHS) has standardized 16 OECD TGs for human health, implemented four major revisions, and developed one test method for the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) S10 guidelines on photosafety. This review describes trends in the OECD and Japan that mainly focus on international standardizations of non-animal test methods for human health.

Physical activity during summer and recognition of heatstroke prevention among patients with cardiovascular disease in an urban area of Japan: a descriptive study.

Objective: Patients with cardiovascular disease are considered a high-risk population for heat-related illnesses. This study aimed to describe the difference in physical activity between summer and fall among patients with cardiovascular disease and their recognition of heatstroke prevention in an urban area with high temperature conditions.

Results: We enrolled 56 outpatients who participated in cardiac rehabilitation in the summer of 2022 (median age, 75 years [interquartile range, 68-80]).

The Explo'Santé mixed methods protocol: an interventional research school health promotion project in France.

Background: According to WHO, "noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) kill 41 million people" annually, as the primary cause of death globally. WHO's Global Action Plan for the prevention and control of NCDs 2013-2020 (extended) tackles this issue and its implications regarding inequalities between countries and populations. Based on combined behavioural, environmental and policy approaches, health promotion aims to reduce health inequities and address health determinants through 3 strategies: education, prevention and protection.

Validating a clinically based MS-MLPA threshold through comparison with Sanger sequencing in glioblastoma patients.

Background: Glioblastoma is the commonest malignant brain tumor and has a very poor prognosis. Reduced expression of the MGMT gene (10q26.3), influenced primarily by the methylation of two differentially methylated regions (DMR1 and DMR2), is associated with a good response to temozolomide treatment.

Impact of hospital formulary intervention on carbapenem use: a segmented time-series analysis of consumption and a propensity score-matched non-inferiority study of treatment efficacy.

Background: Pharmaceutical formularies play a crucial role in guiding medication use by balancing clinical effectiveness and cost efficiency. Although formulary implementation has been increasing in Japan, comprehensive evaluations of its impact on both clinical and economic outcomes are limited. This study aimed to assess the effect of introducing an antimicrobial formulary at Yokohama City University Hospital on antibiotic usage and treatment outcomes in intra-abdominal infections.

Bridging past and present: exploring Cannabis traditions in Armenia through ethnobotanical interviews and bibliographic prospecting.

Background: Cannabis sativa L. (Cannabaceae) has been widely used by humans throughout its history for a variety of purposes (medicinal, alimentary and other uses). Armenia, with its rich cultural history and diverse ecosystems, offers a unique context for ethnobotanical research about traditional uses of Cannabis.

Predictive factors of fibrotic interstitial lung abnormality on high-resolution computed tomography scans: a prospective observational study.

Background: Fibrotic types of interstitial lung abnormalities seen on high-resolution computed tomography scans, characterised by traction bronchiolectasis/bronchiectasis with or without honeycombing, are predictors of progression and poor prognostic factors of interstitial lung abnormalities. There are no reports on the clinical characteristics of fibrotic interstitial lung abnormalities on high-resolution computed tomography scans. Therefore, we aimed to examine these clinical characteristics and clarify the predictive factors of fibrotic interstitial lung abnormalities on high-resolution computed tomography scans.

Barriers to healthcare professionals screening, recognizing, and managing delirium in the adult patients receiving specialist palliative care: a mixed-methods systematic review.

Background: Delirium frequently occurs in palliative care settings, yet its screening, identification, and management remain suboptimal in clinical practice. This review aims to elucidate the barriers preventing healthcare professionals from effectively screening, recognizing, and managing delirium in adult patients receiving specialist palliative care, with the goal of developing strategies to enhance clinical practice.

Methods: A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted (PROSPERO: CRD42024563666).

Institutional, neighborhood, and life stressors on loneliness among older adults.

Background: Loneliness is a public health epidemic in the United States (US), with older adults being vulnerable to experiencing loneliness. Predictors of loneliness are less understood among racial/ethnic groups of US older adults, and few studies have included perceived institutional discrimination (PID), stressful life events (SLE), and perceived neighborhood characteristics (PNC) as antecedent stressors of loneliness in diverse older adult samples. Our study assessed the relationship between these stressors and loneliness among specific racial/ethnic groups of older adults.

Comparison of NoSAS score with STOP-Bang and Berlin scores in predicting difficult airway.

Background: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the NoSAS, STOP-Bang, and Berlin scoring systems, which are utilized to predict obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), in forecasting difficult airway management. Additionally, the study sought to determine which of these scoring systems is the most practical and effective for this purpose.

Methods: Following the ethics committee approval, preoperative NoSAS, STOP-Bang, and Berlin scores were calculated for 420 patients aged 18 years and older who were scheduled for tracheal intubation.

Evaluating the effects of chlorhexidine and vitamin c mouthwash on oral health in non-surgical periodontal therapy: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Chlorhexidine (CHX) is the most commonly used mouthwash with proven antiplaque and antibacterial activity. The aim is to evaluate the effect of vitamin C (VitC) in CHX mouthwash on plaque accumulation and gingivitis, and to compare it with CHX alone mouthwash and antiseptic phenol-containing mouthwashes. This study conducted as a multicenter, randomized, controlled, double-blind, parallel design clinical study.

Transition from the topological to the chaotic in the nonlinear Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model.

Recent studies on topological materials are expanding into the nonlinear regime, while the central principle, namely the bulk-edge correspondence, is yet to be elucidated in the strongly nonlinear regime. Here, we reveal that nonlinear topological edge modes can exhibit the transition to spatial chaos by increasing nonlinearity, which can be a universal mechanism of the breakdown of the bulk-edge correspondence. Specifically, we unveil the underlying dynamical system describing the spatial distribution of zero modes and show the emergence of chaos.

From relaxed beliefs under psychedelics (REBUS) to revised beliefs after psychedelics (REBAS).

The Relaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics (REBUS) model proposes that serotonergic psychedelics decrease the precision weighting of neurobiologically-encoded beliefs. We conducted a preliminary examination of two psychological assumptions of REBUS: (a) psychedelics foster acute relaxation and post-acute revision of confidence in mental-health-relevant beliefs; which (b) facilitate positive therapeutic outcomes and are associated with the entropy of EEG signals. Healthy individuals (N = 11) were administered 1 mg and 25 mg psilocybin 4-weeks apart.

Response to initial treatment with glucocorticoids in TAFRO syndrome and implications for secondary treatment.

The study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of various initial treatments incorporating glucocorticoid (GC) in TAFRO syndrome (thrombocytopenia, anasarca, fever, reticulin fibrosis, and organomegaly). Cases of TAFRO syndrome up to November 2023 were retrospectively collected. Overall survival (OS) and resistance to GC therapy were assessed, with resistance analyzed based on the time to the next treatment or death (TTNTD).

Effect of postoperative peripheral nerve blocks on the analgesia nociception index under propofol anesthesia: an observational study.

Purpose: The analgesia nociception index (ANI), also referred to as the high frequency variability index (HFVI), is reported to be an objective measure of nociception. This study investigated changes in ANI after peripheral nerve blocks (PNB) under general anesthesia. Understanding these changes could enhance assessment of PNB efficacy before emergence from general anesthesia.

3D-AttenNet model can predict clinically significant prostate cancer in PI-RADS category 3 patients: a retrospective multicenter study.

Purposes: The presence of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) is equivocal for patients with prostate imaging reporting and data system (PI-RADS) category 3. We aim to develop deep learning models for re-stratify risks in PI-RADS category 3 patients.

Methods: This retrospective study included a bi-parametric MRI of 1567 consecutive male patients from six centers (Centers 1-6) between Jan 2015 and Dec 2020.

Intradermal Advanced Glycation End-products Relate to Reduced Sciatic Nerve Structural Integrity in Type 2 Diabetes.

Background: Cardiovascular risk management is beneficial, but stringent glycemic control does not prevent the progression of distal sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN). Persistent hyperglycemia-induced alterations and cardiovascular factors may contribute to diabetes-associated nerve damage. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between skin auto-fluorescence (sAF), an indicator of dermal advanced glycation end-product (AGE) accumulations, cardiovascular risk, and changes in peripheral nerve integrity.

The shifting of buffer crop repertoires in pre-industrial north-eastern Europe.

This study explores how major climatic shifts, together with socioeconomic factors over the past two millennia, influenced buffer crop selection, focusing on five crops: rye, millet, buckwheat, oat, and hemp. For this study, we analyzed archaeobotanical data from 135 archaeological contexts and historical data from 242 manor inventories across the northeastern Baltic region, spanning the period from 100 to 1800 AD. Our findings revealed that rye remained a main staple crop throughout the studied periods reflecting environmental adaptation to northern latitudes.

Prognostic scores for predicting overall survival in patients with metastatic renal and urothelial cancer undergoing immunotherapy - which one to use?

Purpose: Evaluation of the prognostic significance of four different scoring systems in a real-world cohort of patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) or renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) undergoing immunotherapy (IO).

Methods: For 120 patients with mUC (n = 67) and mRCC (n = 53) who received IO between July 2016 and December 2020 at the tertiary Urological University Medical Centre Mannheim, the following scores were recorded at pre-treatment baseline: modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), neutrophil-to-eosinophil ratio (NER). Overall survival (time between the beginning of IO until the patients' death or last contact) was determined for every patient.

Neural signatures of risk-taking adaptions across health, bipolar disorder, and lithium treatment.

Cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying bipolar disorder (BD) and its treatment are still poorly understood. Here we examined the role of adaptations in risk-taking using a reward-guided decision-making task. We recruited volunteers with high (n = 40) scores on the Mood Disorder Questionnaire, MDQ, suspected of high risk for bipolar disorder and those with low-risk scores (n = 37).

Optimizing dental implant identification using deep learning leveraging artificial data.

This study aims to evaluate the potential enhancement in implant classification performance achieved by incorporating artificially generated images of commercially available products into a deep learning process of dental implant classification using panoramic X-ray images. To supplement an existing dataset of 7,946 in vivo dental implant images, a three-dimensional scanner was employed to create implant surface models. Subsequently, implant surface models were used to generate two-dimensional X-ray images, which were compiled along with original images to create a comprehensive dataset.

Convergent evidence for the temperature-dependent emergence of silicification in terrestrial plants.

Research on silicon (Si) biogeochemistry and its beneficial effects for plants has received significant attention over several decades, but the reasons for the emergence of high-Si plants remain unclear. Here, we combine experimentation, field studies and analysis of existing databases to test the role of temperature on the expression and emergence of silicification in terrestrial plants. We first show that Si is beneficial for rice under high temperature (40 °C), but harmful under low temperature (0 °C), whilst a 2 °C increase results in a 37% increase in leaf Si concentrations.

Predicting falls with ultrasound, physical parameters or fall-risk questions among older adults: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Falls are a significant issue among older adults, leading to morbidity and mortality. Screening for fall risk in the ED is crucial but challenging due to time limitations and patient conditions. Sarcopenia, characterized by muscle loss, is associated with increased fall risk, and ultrasound has been proposed as a non-invasive tool to measure muscle mass in this context.