Development of three biofuel CRMs for the quality parameters in biodiesel and wood pellet via a joint research project.

Biomass is a key element in biofuels which can be defined as a fuel produced through contemporary biological processes, and its increased use can support the EU's aims of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Information on the nature and the quality of the biomass or biofuel is important in order to support the optimization of their combustion with respect to realizing higher efficiencies and lower emissions during energy production. Three reference materials were produced by a collaborative approach among national metrology institutes and designated institutes within the scope of the EMPIR project: BIOFMET.

Cytomorphological changes of oral mucosal cells among smokeless tobacco users in low and middle-income country settings: new findings from Pakistan.

Background: Chronic tobacco use, in any form, induces significant cellular alterations in the oral mucosa. This study investigates four distinct cytomorphological changes in oral mucosal cells among smokeless tobacco users, examining their association across different genders and age groups.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study involved collecting mucosal samples from smokeless tobacco (naswar/snuff) users through consecutive sampling.

The global epidemiology and health burden of the autism spectrum: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.

Background: High-quality estimates of the epidemiology of the autism spectrum and the health needs of autistic people are necessary for service planners and resource allocators. Here we present the global prevalence and health burden of autism spectrum disorder from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 following improvements to the epidemiological data and burden estimation methods.

Methods: For GBD 2021, a systematic literature review involving searches in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, the Global Health Data Exchange, and consultation with experts identified data on the epidemiology of autism spectrum disorder.

Enabling structural biological electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy in membrane proteins through spin labelling.

Pulsed dipolar electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (PDS), combined with site-directed spin-labelling, represents a powerful tool for the investigation of biomacromolecules, emerging as a keystone approach in structural biology. Increasingly, PDS is applied to study highly complex integral membrane protein systems, such as mechanosensitive ion channels, transporters, G-protein coupled receptors, ion pumps, and outer membrane proteins elucidating their dynamics and revealing conformational ensembles. Indeed, PDS offers a platform to study intermediate or lowly-populated states that are otherwise invisible to other modern methods, such as X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, and hydrogen-deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry.

Associations between bone mineral density and WOMAC scores in healthy individuals: Insights from the Qatar Biobank.

Background: Bone mineral density (BMD) is an indicator of bone health that predicts future bone fractures. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) is used to assess the severity of symptoms related to pain, stiffness, and function in diseased hip and knee joints. Here we assessed whether BMD measured at specific sites predicts WOMAC scores in healthy individuals whilst controlling for sociodemographic variables.

Blood flow dynamics in the arterial and venous parts of the capillary.

Although there is currently sufficient information on various parameters of capillary blood flow, including the average values of blood velocity, there is no data on the dynamics of velocity and the mechanisms of its modulation in various parts of the capillary. The main idea of this work is to develop a tool and image data processing to study the characteristics of the capillary blood flow dynamics. In this study, using the developed method of high-speed videocapillaroscopy, the red blood cells (RBC) velocities in the arterial and venous parts of the nailfold capillaries were compared and a time-frequency analysis of the dynamics of the velocity signals with the calculation of phase coherence was performed.

The prevalence and clinical significance of EGFR mutations in non-small cell lung cancer patients in Egypt: a screening study.

Background: Lung cancer is a form of cancer that is responsible for the largest incidence of deaths attributed to cancer worldwide. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most prevalent of all the subtypes of the disease. Treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) may help some people who have been diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer.

One direction? Cultural aspects of the mental number line beyond reading direction.

Spatial-Numerical Associations (SNAs) refer to the demonstrations of spatial processing of numbers. The Mental Number Line (MNL) is a representation model describing numbers as aligning left-to-right (LR) and was suggested to account for directional biases in participants' responses during numerical tasks. One common behavioral demonstration of this is the Spatial-Numerical Associations of Response Codes (SNARC) effect, which describes faster left-/right-hand responses to smaller/larger numbers, respectively.

Significant variation in the assessment and management of screen-detected colorectal polyp cancers.

Purpose: Endoscopic resection is appropriate for selected colorectal polyp cancers, but significant variation exists in treatment. This study aims to investigate variation in management of screen-detected polyp cancers (T1), factors predicting primary endoscopic polypectomy and threshold for subsequent surgical resection.

Method: Patients with polyp cancers (T1) diagnosed by the bowel cancer screening programme (BCSP) were investigated at two screening centres (5 individual sites and 4 MDTs, 2012-2022).

Reliable and precise Zn isotopic analysis of biological matrices using a fully automated dual-column purification procedure.

A fully automated dual-column purification procedure for Zn from biological samples, designed for subsequent Zn isotopic analysis, is presented that utilizes the prepFAST MC™ system (Elemental Scientific), DGA resin (TrisKem International), and TK201 resin (TrisKem International). The procedure developed enables the unattended processing of 20 samples per day and is characterized by low and reproduceable blanks (< 1.5 ng), no carry-over or memory effect, high reusability (> 50 times), high Zn yields 100.

Working memory processes and the histamine-3 receptor in schizophrenia: a [C]MK-8278 PET-fMRI study.

Rationale: Working memory impairment is a prominent feature of schizophrenia which predicts clinical and functional outcomes. Preclinical data suggest histamine-3 receptor (H3R) expression in cortical pyramidal neurons may have a role in working memory, and post-mortem data has found disruptions of H3R expression in schizophrenia.

Objectives: We examined the role of H3R in vivo to elucidate its role on working memory impairment in schizophrenia.

The effects of risk preferences on consumers' reference-dependent choices for autonomous vehicles.

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping mobility through autonomous vehicles (AVs), which may introduce risks such as technical malfunctions, cybersecurity threats, and ethical dilemmas in decision-making. Despite these complexities, the influence of consumers' risk preferences on AV acceptance remains poorly understood. This study explores how individuals' risk preferences affect their choices among private AVs (PAVs), shared AVs (SAVs), and private conventional vehicles (PCVs).

Alterations of upper-extremity functional muscle networks in chronic stroke survivors.

Current clinical assessment tools don't fully capture the genuine neural deficits experienced by chronic stroke survivors and, consequently, they don't fully explain motor function throughout everyday life. Towards addressing this problem, here we aimed to characterise post-stroke alterations in upper-limb control from a novel perspective to the muscle synergy by applying, for the first time, a computational approach that quantifies diverse types of functional muscle interactions (i.e.

Effects of two different dexamethasone dosing regimens on ventilator-free days and long-term mortality in COVID-19 patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS: the REMED randomized clinical trial.

Background: Dexamethasone 6 mg in patients with severe COVID-19 has been shown to decrease mortality and morbidity. The effects of higher doses of corticosteroid, that would further increase anti-inflammatory effects, are uncertain. The objective of our study was to assess the effect of 20 mg dexamethasone vs.

Global prevalence of Helicobacter pylori antibiotic resistance among children in the world health organization regions between 2000 and 2023: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Helicobacter pylori infection causes gastritis, peptic ulcers, and gastric cancer. The infection is typically acquired in childhood and persists throughout life. The major impediment to successful therapy is antibiotic resistance.

Risk of mortality between warfarin and direct oral anticoagulants: population-based cohort studies.

Background: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been reported to be associated with a higher risk of mortality compared with an older alternative, warfarin using primary care data in the United Kingdom (UK). However, other studies observed contradictory findings. We therefore aimed to investigate the association between mortality and warfarin, compared with DOACs.

The pandemic within a pandemic: mental health and wellbeing of racially Minoritised women experiencing domestic abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

Background: The prevalence of domestic abuse is greater in times of humanitarian crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic has been no different. Considerable evidence indicates that domestic abuse disproportionately impacts the mental health and wellbeing of racially Minoritised women. The present study aimed to explore racially Minoritised women's experiences of domestic abuse and mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

RHCE genotyping using next generation sequencing: Allele specific reference sequences.

Background: The Rh blood group system (ISBT004) is encoded by two homologous genes, RHD and RHCE. Polymorphism in these two genes gives rise to 56 antigens, which are highly immunogenic and clinically significant. This study extended previous work on the establishment of RHD allele specific reference sequences using next generation sequencing (NGS) with the Ion Personal Genome Machine (Ion PGM) to sequence the complete RHCE gene.

Triangulating evidence from the GALENOS living systematic review on trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) agonists in psychosis.

Background: Trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) agonists offer a new approach, but there is uncertainty regarding their effects, exact mechanism of action and potential role in treating psychosis.

Aims: To evaluate the available evidence on TAAR1 agonists in psychosis, using triangulation of the output of living systematic reviews (LSRs) of animal and human studies, and provide recommendations for future research prioritisation.

Method: This study is part of GALENOS (Global Alliance for Living Evidence on aNxiety, depressiOn and pSychosis).

Are ADHD trajectories shaped by the social environment? A longitudinal study of maternal influences on the preschool origins of delay aversion.

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is commonly attributed to neuro-cognitive deficits of genetic and/or prenatal/perinatal environmental origins. Sonuga-Barke proposed an alternative formulation, suggesting that ADHD behaviors are functional expressions of delay aversion-a strong motivational disposition to avoid or escape negative affective states evoked by delay. It is hypothesized that the strength of this disposition, though neuro-biologically rooted, is exacerbated by early negative social interactions during waiting-related encounters.

ECMO for Adult Respiratory Failure: A Rapid Review of Clinical and Service Delivery Evidence to Guide Policy in Wales.

Background: While several studies have summarised the clinical effectiveness evidence for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), there are no evidence syntheses of the impact of centres' ECMO patient volume on patient outcomes or the impact of bedside ECMO care being delivered by either a perfusionist or a nurse. There is also limited information on the cost-effectiveness of ECMO.

Purpose: This review was carried out to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost of different service delivery models of pulmonary ECMO to inform NHS Wales commissioning policy.

Can I Phone a Friend? Exploring the Use of Digital Devices in Clinical Exams.

Background: Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are used globally to assess health professional learners' clinical skills and applied knowledge. Despite innovations with simulated participants, manikin technology and real patient involvement, there remains a gap between 'real-life' practice and 'OSCE experience'. For example, although mobile phone use is increasingly common in clinical practice; however, it would represent a significant disruption to established assessment practices in OSCEs.