Genomic epidemiology of Plasmodium knowlesi reveals putative genetic drivers of adaptation in Malaysia.

Sabah, Malaysia, has amongst the highest burden of human Plasmodium knowlesi infection in the world, associated with increasing encroachment on the parasite's macaque host habitat. However, the genomic make-up of P. knowlesi in Sabah was previously poorly understood.

Analysis and prediction of addiction among virtual reality users.

Objective: To understand the addiction situation and influencing factors of virtual reality users, and provide reference basis for timely and effective prevention and intervention of user addiction.

Methods: Based on a questionnaire survey, univariate analysis, multivariate analysis, and model prediction were conducted on the data of 1164 participants in VR related Facebook groups and Reddit subedits.

Results: The single factor analysis results show that the user's own attributes, usage duration, perception level, and application types of virtual reality devices can significantly affect the degree of addiction; The results of multivariate analysis showed that the age of users, the number of days used per week, the number of hours used per day, and the perceived level of the device can significantly affect the probability of addiction.

Using normative models pre-trained on cross-sectional data to evaluate intra-individual longitudinal changes in neuroimaging data.

Longitudinal neuroimaging studies offer valuable insight into brain development, ageing, and disease progression over time. However, prevailing analytical approaches rooted in our understanding of population variation are primarily tailored for cross-sectional studies. To fully leverage the potential of longitudinal neuroimaging, we need methodologies that account for the complex interplay between population variation and individual dynamics.

Total Synthesis of the Membrane Spanning Tetraether Lipid brGDGT Ia and Elucidation of its Stereochemical Configuration.

Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) are a group of membrane spanning lipids produced by both Archaea and Bacteria. Branched GDGTs (brGDGTs) are a class of these tetraether lipids known to be produced by certain bacteria and are commonly found in terrestrial environments. Due to their environmental ubiquity, high preservation potential, and role in membrane adaptation, brGDGTs form the basis of many widely employed paleoenvironmental proxies.

Accuracy of abbreviated magnetic resonance compared to 3-dimensional mammography and ultrasound in early detection of breast cancer.

Background: The purpose of this study is to assess the usefulness of the novel abbreviated MR (AB-MR) protocol in the screening of women with an intermediate risk of breast cancer. Sixty women with a Tyrer-Cuzick model-determined intermediate risk of breast cancer underwent AB-MR, mammography, and tomosynthesis examinations; as an auxiliary procedure, ultrasound imaging was carried out. Every modality was allocated a final BI-RADS category.

Enhanced localized pressure-mediated non-viral gene delivery.

Topically applied therapies must not only be effective at the molecular level but also efficiently access the target site which can be on milli/centimetre-scales. This bottleneck is particularly inhibitory for peptide and nucleic acid macromolecule drug delivery strategies, especially when aiming to target wounded, infected, and poorly perfused tissues of significant volume and geometry. Methods to drive fluid-flow or to enhance physical distribution of such formulations after local administration in accessible tissues (skin, eye, intestine) would be transformative in realizing the potential of such therapeutics.

A simple score-based strategy to improve equity of the UK biennial diabetic eye screening protocol among people deemed as low risk.

Aims/hypothesis: Biennial, as opposed to annual, screening for diabetic retinopathy was recently introduced within England for those considered to be at 'low risk'. This study aims to examine the impact that annual vs biennial screening has on equitable risk of diagnosis of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (STDR) among people at 'low risk' and to develop an amelioration protocol.

Methods: In the North East London Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (NELDESP), 105,083 people without diabetic retinopathy were identified on two consecutive screening visits between January 2012 and September 2023.

Occupational Therapy Pre-Operative Intervention for Total Hip Replacement Patients; A Qualitative Enquiry.

This project aimed to explore the experiences of occupational therapists working in a specialist orthopedic hospital. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight occupational therapists working with total hip replacement patients, in an orthopedic hospital within the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) as part of a service review project. The data was recorded and transcribed and analyzed using the Reflexive Thematic Analysis.

Innovative care models: Expanding nurses' and optometrists' roles in ophthalmology.

The expanding demands of healthcare necessitate novel methods of increasing the supply of trained professionals to enhance the delivery of care services. One means of doing so is to expand allied health professionals' scope of practice. This paper explores the ethics of two examples of such expansion in ophthalmology, comparing the widely accepted practice of nurses administering intravitreal injections and the relatively less prevalent optometrists functioning as physician extenders.

FFR-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention vs Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Patients With Diabetes.

Importance: Outcomes in patients with diabetes after fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using current-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) compared with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are unknown.

Objectives: To investigate the relative treatment effect of PCI vs CABG according to diabetes status with respect to major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) at 3 years and to evaluate the impact of the SYNTAX score.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This is a prespecified subgroup analysis of the FAME (Fractional Flow Reserve vs Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation) 3 trial, an investigator-initiated, randomized clinical trial conducted at 48 centers worldwide.

Expectancy Effects, Failure of Blinding Integrity, and Placebo Response in Trials of Treatments for Psychiatric Disorders: A Narrative Review.

Importance: Expectancy effects are significant confounding factors in psychiatric randomized clinical trials (RCTs), potentially affecting the interpretation of study results. This narrative review is the first, to our knowledge, to explore the relationship between expectancy effects, compromised blinding integrity, and the effects of active treatment/placebo in psychiatric RCTs. Additionally, we present statistical and experimental approaches that may help mitigate the confounding impact of expectancy effects.

Nicotine Exposure From Smoking Tobacco and Vaping Among Adolescents.

Importance: It remains unknown whether nicotine intake among youths who vape is lower, comparable, or higher than among youths who smoke.

Objective: To examine potential differences in biomarkers of exposure to nicotine (1) between adolescents who smoke tobacco, vape, both vape and smoke (dual use), or do not use; (2) between adolescents in 3 countries; and (3) by nicotine content and form in the vaping product last used among adolescents who exclusively vaped.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based, observational cross-sectional study invited adolescents aged 16 to 19 years in Canada, England, and the US who had previously completed national surveys to participate in a biomarker study based on their vaping and smoking status.

Association of Diet and Waist-to-Hip Ratio With Brain Connectivity and Memory in Aging.

Importance: Epidemiological studies suggest that lifestyle factors are associated with risk of dementia. However, few studies have examined the association of diet and waist to hip ratio (WHR) with hippocampus connectivity and cognitive health.

Objective: To ascertain how longitudinal changes in diet quality and WHR during midlife are associated with hippocampal connectivity and cognitive function in later life.

Circulating Blood-Based Proteins in Psychopathology and Cognition: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

Importance: Peripheral (blood-based) biomarkers for psychiatric illness could benefit diagnosis and treatment, but research to date has typically been low throughput, and traditional case-control studies are subject to potential confounds of treatment and other exposures. Large-scale 2-sample mendelian randomization (MR) can examine the potentially causal impact of circulating proteins on neuropsychiatric phenotypes without these confounds.

Objective: To identify circulating proteins associated with risk for schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and major depressive disorder (MDD) as well as cognitive task performance (CTP).

A novel dominant-negative variant of IRF8 in a mother and son: Clinical, phenotypic and biological characteristics.

Background: The few reported patients with pathogenic IRF8 variants have manifested 2 distinct phenotypes: (1) an autosomal recessive severe immunodeficiency with significant neutrophilia and absence of or significant decrease in monocytes and dendritic cells and (2) a dominant-negative form with only a decrease in conventional type 2 dendritic cells (cDC2s) and susceptibility to mycobacterial disease.

Objectives: Genetic testing of a child with persistent EBV viremia identified a novel IRF8 variant: c.1279dupT (p.

Management of high-surgical risk patients with acute cholecystitis following percutaneous cholecystostomy. results of an international Delphi consensus study.

Background: The management of high-surgical risk patients with moderate to severe acute cholecystitis is challenging in clinical practice. Early laparoscopic cholecystectomy is considered the gold standard for patients who do not respond to conservative treatment. However, for those unfit for surgery due to high-surgical risk, alternative treatment options such as percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) are available.

Effect of chewing gum on clinical outcomes and postoperative recovery in adult patients after gastrointestinal surgery: an umbrella review.

Background: Gastrointestinal surgery is crucial for many medical conditions but can lead to difficult recoveries. Chewing gum is proposed as a remedy, yet existing reviews offer conflicting results. This umbrella review aims to synthesize the effectiveness of chewing gum on time to first flatus, time to first bowel movement, length of stay and complication rates in adult patients.

Investigating the Degradation of Historical Man-Made Cellulose-Derived Textiles via Accelerated Ageing.

Cellulose-derived materials, like paper and cellulose acetate, are known to be vulnerable to degradation within museum collections. Studies have been conducted and degradation markers have been identified on these materials. However, the degradation of man-made cellulose-derived fibres in collections is not well understood.

Update on Cancer Screening Recommendations for Individuals with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome.

Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is an autosomal dominant cancer predisposition condition characterized by a high lifetime risk for a wide spectrum of malignancies associated with germline pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants in the TP53 tumor suppressor gene. Secondary malignant neoplasms are particularly common. Early cancer detection through surveillance enables early intervention and leads to improved clinical outcomes with reduced tumor-related mortality and treatment-related morbidity.

Porous Silicon Nanoneedles Efficiently Deliver Adenine Base Editor to Correct a Recurrent Pathogenic COL7A1 Variant in Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa.

Base editing, a CRISPR-based genome editing technology, enables precise correction of single-nucleotide variants, promising resolutive treatment for monogenic genetic disorders like recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB). However, the application of base editors in cell manufacturing is hindered by inconsistent efficiency and high costs, contributed by suboptimal delivery methods. Nanoneedles have emerged as an effective delivery approach, enabling highly efficient, non-perturbing gene therapies both in vitro and in vivo.

Preserving the Biologically Coherent Generic Concept of , 'Plant Destroyer'.

is a long-established, well known and globally important genus of plant pathogens. Phylogenetic evidence has shown that the biologically distinct, obligate biotrophic downy mildews evolved from at least twice. Since, cladistically, this renders 'paraphyletic', it has been proposed that evolutionary clades be split into multiple genera (Runge et al.

Infection by Clonally Related Isolates: The Role of Drinking Water.

Rationale: group bacteria (MABS) cause lethal infections in people with chronic lung diseases. Transmission mechanisms remain poorly understood; the detection of dominant circulating clones (DCCs) has suggested potential for person-to-person transmission.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the role of drinking water in the transmission of MABS.