Pitfalls in performing genome-wide association studies on ratio traits.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are often performed on ratios composed of a numerator trait divided by a denominator trait. Examples include body mass index (BMI) and the waist-to-hip ratio, among many others. Explicitly or implicitly, the goal of forming the ratio is typically to adjust for an association between the numerator and denominator.

Perspectives of people with intellectual disability about their family networks: A comparison study with key support worker proxy reports.

Background: The Family Network Method - Intellectual Disability (FNM-ID) was used to compare perspectives of people with mild intellectual disability and their support workers on family networks of people with intellectual disability.

Method: 138 participants with mild intellectual disability and support workers were interviewed, using the FNM-ID. Paired -tests were used to examine differences in perspectives.

Occupational stress, coping and wellbeing among registered psychologists working with people with intellectual disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

Objectives: To characterise the changes at work experienced by psychologists working with people with intellectual disabilities during the pandemic and whether these changes, stressors and aspects of working life were associated with mental wellbeing and occupational stress.

Methods: Ninety-seven psychologists completed an online survey. Free text comments were analysed using thematic analysis and triangulated with our quantitative findings.

Mortality, predictors and causes among people with intellectual disabilities: A systematic narrative review supplemented by machine learning.

Background: There is a need to systematically compare and contrast mortality predictors and disparities in people with intellectual disabilities (ID) for global prevention strategy development.

Method: Bibliographic databases and grey literature were searched using systematic review methodology and the machine learning tool "Abstrackr."

Results: Fifty-four relevant articles and reports published from 2010 to 2019 were identified.

Passing laws is not enough to change staff practice: The case of legally mandated "incident" reporting in Sweden.

Background: It is mandatory for staff in Swedish community services for people with intellectual disabilities to report incidents of error or malpractice.

Aim: The aim is to study if incident reports contribute to developing quality in services for people with intellectual disabilities who present with challenging behaviours.

Method: 159 reports on incidents from group homes and daily activities services were accessed and analysed using narrative thematic analysis.

Surgical and Pathological Results Following Neoadjuvant Nivolumab and Platinum-Based Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Resectable NSCLC: A Multicentre Real-World Series From England.

Background: To evaluate the real-world surgical and pathological outcomes following neoadjuvant nivolumab in combination with chemotherapy in a multicentre national cohort of patients.

Methods: Retrospective analysis on consecutive patients treated in three tertiary referral hospitals in UK with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and immunotherapy (nivolumab) for stage II-IIIB nonsmall cell lung cancer (March 2023-May 2024). Surgical and pathological outcomes were assessed.

An overview of sound source localization based condition monitoring robots.

As artificial intelligence advances and demand for cost-effective equipment maintenance in various fields increases, it is worth insightful research on utilizing robots embedded with sound source localization (SSL) technology for condition monitoring. Combining the two techniques has significant advantages, which are conducive to further classifying and tracking abnormal sources, thereby enhancing system performance at a lower cost. The paper provides an overview of current acoustic-based robotic techniques for condition monitoring, highlights the common SSL methods, and finds that localization performance heavily depends on signal quality.

Strengthening serological studies: the need for greater geographical diversity, biobanking, and data-accessibility.

Serological studies uniquely strengthen infectious disease surveillance, expanding prevalence estimates to encompass asymptomatic infections, and revealing the otherwise inapparent landscape of immunity, including who is and is not susceptible to infection. They are thus a powerful complement to often incomplete epidemiological and public health measures (administrative measures of vaccination coverage, incidence estimates, etc.).

Development of TAR-200: A novel targeted releasing system designed to provide sustained delivery of gemcitabine for patients with bladder cancer.

Treatment options for recurrent high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR NMIBC) and muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) are limited, highlighting a need for clinically effective, accessible, and better-tolerated alternatives. In this review we examine the clinical development program of TAR-200, a novel targeted releasing system designed to provide sustained intravesical delivery of gemcitabine to address the needs of patients with NMIBC and of those with MIBC. We describe the concept and design of TAR-200 and the clinical development of this gemcitabine intravesical system in the SunRISe portfolio of studies.

Inverse dose protraction effects of high-LET radiation: evidence and significance.

Biological effects of ionizing radiation vary with radiation quality, which is often expressed as the amount of energy deposited per unit length, i.e., linear energy transfer (LET).

Efficacy, durability and safety of faricimab for patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration: 48-week results from the phase 3 LUCERNE China subpopulation.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy, durability and safety of intravitreal faricimab versus aflibercept over 48 weeks in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) from the LUCERNE China subpopulation.

Design: LUCERNE (NCT03823300) was a phase 3 global, double-masked, active comparator-controlled trial. The China subpopulation comprised patients from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Finerenone and new-onset diabetes in heart failure: a prespecified analysis of the FINEARTS-HF trial.

Background: Data on the effect of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist therapy on HbA levels and new-onset diabetes are conflicting. We aimed to examine the effect of oral finerenone, compared with placebo, on incident diabetes in the Finerenone Trial to Investigate Efficacy and Safety Superior to Placebo in Patients with Heart Failure (FINEARTS-HF) trial.

Methods: In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 6001 participants with heart failure with New York Heart Association functional class II-IV, left ventricular ejection fraction 40% or higher, evidence of structural heart disease, and elevated N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels were randomly assigned to finerenone or placebo, administered orally.

Dissection of type 2 diabetes: a genetic perspective.

Diabetes is a leading cause of global mortality and disability, and its economic burden is substantial. This Review focuses on type 2 diabetes, which makes up 90-95% of all diabetes cases. Type 2 diabetes involves a progressive loss of insulin secretion often alongside insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

Quantifying Plasmodium vivax radical cure efficacy: a modelling study integrating clinical trial data and transmission dynamics.

Background: Plasmodium vivax forms dormant liver stages (hypnozoites) that can reactivate weeks to months after primary infection. Radical cure requires a combination of antimalarial drugs to kill both the blood-stage and liver-stage parasites. Hypnozoiticidal efficacy of the liver-stage drugs primaquine and tafenoquine cannot be estimated directly because hypnozoites are undetectable.

Subsets of extraocular motoneurons produce kinematically distinct saccades during hunting and exploration.

Animals construct diverse behavioral repertoires by moving a limited number of body parts with varied kinematics and patterns of coordination. There is evidence that distinct movements can be generated by changes in activity dynamics within a common pool of motoneurons or by selectively engaging specific subsets of motoneurons in a task-dependent manner. However, in most cases, we have an incomplete understanding of the patterns of motoneuron activity that generate distinct actions and of how upstream premotor circuits select and assemble such motor programs.

Social associations across species during nocturnal bird migration.

An emerging frontier in ecology explores how organisms integrate social information into movement behavior and the extent to which information exchange occurs across species boundaries. Most migratory landbirds are thought to undertake nocturnal migratory flights independently, guided by endogenous programs and individual experience. Little research has addressed the potential for social information exchange aloft during nocturnal migration, but social influences that aid navigation, orientation, or survival could be valuable during high-risk migration periods.

A triad of somatic mutagenesis converges in self-reactive B cells to cause a virus-induced autoimmune disease.

The unexplained association between infection and autoimmune disease is strongest for hepatitis C virus-induced cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (HCV-cryovas). To analyze its origins, we traced the evolution of pathogenic rheumatoid factor (RF) autoantibodies in four HCV-cryovas patients by deep single-cell multi-omic analysis, revealing three sources of B cell somatic mutation converged to drive the accumulation of a large disease-causing clone. A method for quantifying low-affinity binding revealed recurring antibody variable domain combinations created by V(D)J recombination that bound self-immunoglobulin G (IgG) but not viral E2 antigen.

A novel method for assessing the shedding of fibre in forensic science: Investigating the effects of washing.

The evaluation of the shedding capacity of a garment is crucial in forensic analysis to understand fibre transfer mechanisms during contact activities. While adhesive tapes are commonly used, the lack of standardised pressure application -often done manually- poses a challenge. In addition, while previous studies have examined the effects of washing on fibre evidence, there is a notable absence in the literature regarding its impact on garment shedding capacity.

'Entanglement of nursing care': A theoretical proposition to understand the complexity of nursing work and division of labour.

Ongoing challenges in the provision of care, driven by growing care complexity and nursing shortages, prompt us to reconsider the basis for efficient division of nursing labour. In organising nursing work, traditionally the focus has been on identifying nursing tasks that can be delegated to other less expensive and less highly educated staff, in order to make best use of scarce resources. We argue that nursing care activities are connected and intertwined.

Imported seafood is a reservoir of Enterobacteriaceae carrying CTX-M-encoding genes of high clinical relevance.

We determined the frequency, genotypes, phenotypes, and mobility of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-encoding genes in Enterobacteriaceae isolated from retail seafood products. Overall, 288 samples of fresh shrimps, catfish and seabass imported from Asia were collected from three supermarket chains in the UK (96 each). After enrichment in MacConkey broth supplemented with cefotaxime, total DNA was screened for the presence of CTX-M, SHV and TEM by real-time PCR.