The role of non-respiratory arousals in residual daytime sleepiness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea treated with positive airway pressure: An analysis of the European Sleep Apnea Database registry.

Study Objectives: To assess the impact of the non-respiratory arousal burden at baseline polysomnography (PSG) on residual daytime sleepiness in positive airway pressure (PAP)-treated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods: We included OSA patients from the European Sleep Apnea Database registry with available arousal data who had at least 2 treatment follow-up visits. The primary outcome was the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score under PAP.

Putting things into perspective: Which visual cues facilitate automatic extraretinal symmetry representation?

Objects project different images when viewed from varying locations, but the visual system can correct perspective distortions and identify objects across viewpoints. This study investigated the conditions under which the visual system allocates computational resources to construct view-invariant, extraretinal representations, focusing on planar symmetry. When a symmetrical pattern lies on a plane, its symmetry in the retinal image is degraded by perspective.

Digital papillary adenocarcinoma: A case report of a rare malignant tumour with recommendations on management and follow-up.

Introduction: Digital papillary adenocarcinoma (DPAC) is a rare malignant tumour of the sweat glands, usually in the digits. It has a high rate of recurrence and metastasis, yet there's a lack of guidelines for its diagnosis and management. Therefore, this report aims to evaluate procedures that provide the best outcomes, which will help create a consensus for its management.

Design, Synthesis and in Silico Molecular Docking Studies of Adamantanyl hydrazinylthiazoles as Potential Anti-diabetic Agents.

Diabetes mellitus is a widespread disease that poses a major threat to millions of people. To address this issue, we have synthesized seventeen new 4-(adamantan-1-yl)-(2-(arylidene)hydrazinyl)thiazoles via Hantzsch synthetic approach. The molecular structures of all the compounds were confirmed using spectroscopic techniques.

Healthcare exceptionalism: should healthcare be treated differently when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions?

Healthcare systems produce significant greenhouse gas emissions, raising an important question: should healthcare be treated like any other polluter when it comes to reducing its emissions, or is healthcare special because of its essential societal role? On one hand, reducing emissions is critical to combat climate change. On the other, healthcare depends on emissions to deliver vital services. The resulting tension surrounds an idea of healthcare exceptionalism and leads to the question I consider in this paper: to what extent (if any) should the valuable goals of healthcare form an exception to the burdens of reducing greenhouse gas emissions? The goals of this paper are twofold.

Patterns of balancing and compensating primary tooth extractions among paediatric dentists.

Introduction Balancing and compensating extractions (BCEs) of primary teeth aims to minimise the development of more severe malocclusions and reduce the need for subsequent complex orthodontics.Purpose To assess the demographics, practice characteristics and clinical preferences of United Kingdom paediatric dentists for BCEs of primary teeth.Methods All members of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry were sent an electronic questionnaire.

Segmental analysis of human hair reveals intra-annual variation in 25(OH)D concentrations in modern and archaeological individuals.

Vitamin D is essential for healthy skeletal growth and is increasingly recognised for its role in chronic disease development, inflammation and immunity. 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations are an indicator of vitamin D status and are normally analysed in plasma or serum samples in clinical settings, while archaeological studies rely on the identification of skeletal markers of vitamin D deficiency, such as rickets. Here, we determined 25(OH)D concentrations in hair specimens ('locks') that had been sampled close to the root, aligned by cut end, and sliced into sequential segments from participants (n = 16), from Aberdeen, Scotland, using a modified protocol designed to minimise sample size.

Corticolimbic circuitry as a druggable target in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a narrative review.

Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) involve disturbances in the integration of perception, emotion and cognition. The corticolimbic system is an interacting set of cortical and subcortical brain regions critically involved in this process. Understanding how neural circuitry and molecular mechanisms within this corticolimbic system may contribute to the development of not only positive symptoms but also negative and cognitive deficits in SSD has been a recent focus of intense research, as the latter are not adequately treated by current antipsychotic medications and are more strongly associated with poorer functioning and long-term outcomes.

Bibliometric analysis of the scientific production of rheumatology departments in Spain during the 2013-2022 period.

Background And Objective: Bibliometric studies of scientific production in Spanish Rheumatology are scarce. The aim of this study was to analyze the bibliographic production of Rheumatology Services in Spain over the period 2013-2022.

Materials And Methods: Original articles and reviews with the affiliation of the first or corresponding author to a Spanish rheumatology Service/Department/Section/Unit were identified in the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus databases.

Authentic assessment in forensic science programmes: A UK-based survey of practitioners.

Authentic assessment is becoming increasingly common in higher education, and it can be achieved in forensic science programmes by asking students to complete realistic workplace tasks. We argue that preparing students for the forensic science workplace also means preparing them for the ongoing training and assessment they will experience. Using an online questionnaire of 60 practitioners, we surveyed the assessment methods that are used in forensic science workplaces to assess theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

Calibration and Zeta Functions for the Wacom DTU1141b.

To accurately examine and compare Digitally Captured Signature data, the provided data channels (X, Y, F and T) need to be expressed in comparable units. The Force channel data is routinely expressed in unnormalized Pressure Levels hindering the accurate comparison between data collected from different devices. The normalization method using the Zeta Function is used to calibrate and calculate the Zeta Functions of the Wacom DTU1141b.

Effect of nanocomposite chitosan/hydroxyapatite pH-induced hydrogels on the osteogenic differentiation of spheroids from adipose stem cells.

Chitosan is gaining scientific recognition as a hydrogel in bone tissue engineering (BTE) due to its ability to support osteoblast attachment and proliferation. However, its low mechanical strength and lack of structural integrity limit its application. Nanometric hydroxyapatite (HA) is used as a filler to enhance the mechanical properties and osteoinductivity of hydrogels.

Exploiting novel placental homing peptides for targeted drug delivery in breast Cancer.

More effective drug formulations are needed to increase the selectivity and efficacy of available chemotherapeutics. We have previously shown that nanoparticles decorated with the tumour homing peptide CGKRK can selectively deliver payloads to the placenta. In this study, we investigated whether two novel placental homing peptides NKGLRNK (NKG) and RSGVAKS (RSG) can be utilized to selectively deliver doxorubicin (DOX) to breast cancer cells.

Use of Alternatives to Animal Testing for Environmental Safety Assessment (ESA): Report from the 2023 EPAA Partners' Forum.

Environmental Safety Assessments (ESA) are mandatory for several regulatory purposes and are an important component of stewardship/sustainability initiatives. Fish testing is used for assessing chemical toxicity and bioaccumulation potential; amphibians are included in some jurisdictions and their use is increasing to assess endocrine disruption. Alternative methods are becoming more available, covering the principles of the 3Rs (i.

Effect modification in settings with "truncation by death".

Epidemiologic studies recruiting individuals with higher-than-population-average mortality can be affected by "truncation by death", whereby the outcome of interest (e.g. quality of life) is considered not to be defined for individuals who die before the end of follow-up.

Invisible Monitoring for Athlete Health and Performance: A Call for a Better Conceptualization and Practical Recommendations.

Background: Practices to routinely monitor athletes are rapidly changing. With the concurrent exponential rise in wearable technologies and advanced data analysis, tracking training exposures and responses is widespread and more frequent in the athlete-coach decision-making process. Within this scenario, the concept of invisible monitoring emerged, which was initially vaguely defined as testing athletes without testing them.

Slip length and drag reduction of superhydrophobic surfaces in shear-thinning fluid flows.

Hypothesis: We hypothesise that superhydrophobic surfaces can achieve effective interfacial slip and drag reduction even under non-Newtonian, shear-thinning fluid flows. Unlike Newtonian fluids, where slip is primarily influenced by viscosity and surface tension, we anticipate that the shear-thinning nature of these fluids may enhance slip length and drag reduction.

Experiments And Numerical Analysis: The superhydrophobic surfaces used in this study, featuring a dual-scale random topography, were fabricated via a spray coating process, and low-concentration xanthan gum solutions (50-250 ppm) were used as model shear-thinning fluids of low elasticity.

Insights into the contribution of multiple factors on Ixodes ricinus abundance across Europe spanning 20 years using different machine learning algorithms.

The interplay of biotic and abiotic factors driving Ixodes ricinus abundance trends are not fully understood. Machine learning (ML) approaches are being increasingly used to explore this and predict future abundance patterns of this species, however, the studies focusing on this to date have had limitations (including short study duration, limited sample size, narrow geographical range and use of a single ML model). This study was undertaken to address these limitations by applying 11 predictive ML models (across three data clustering techniques) to a large I.

Proficiency-chasing and goalodicy: In prioritising checklists, are we gambling with the future of mental health nursing?

In this discussion paper, I take a critical approach to the use of standardised checklists in practice assessment documents as a valid method of assessing mental health nursing students in the UK. The game Bingo is applied here as a metaphor, highlighting the folly of using standardised cross-field checklists to assess mental health nursing students in practice. Such practices, I argue, amount to little more than a game of proficiency-chasing at the expense of seeking more meaningful learning experiences, especially where practice assessment documents currently prioritise physical health care skills above those required for successful mental health nursing.

What about the Workers? An Update.

Epidemiological studies of nuclear industry workers are of substantial importance to understanding the risk of cancer consequent to low-level exposure to radiation, and these studies should provide vital evidence for the construction of the international system of radiological protection. Recent studies involve large numbers of workers and include health outcomes for workers who accumulated moderate (and even high) doses over prolonged periods while employed during the earlier years of the nuclear industry. The interpretation of the findings of these recent studies has proved to be disappointingly difficult.

Effectiveness of Digital Mental Health Interventions in the Workplace: Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews.

Background: There is potential for digital mental health interventions to provide affordable, efficient, and scalable support to individuals. Digital interventions, including cognitive behavioral therapy, stress management, and mindfulness programs, have shown promise when applied in workplace settings.

Objective: The aim of this study is to conduct an umbrella review of systematic reviews in order to critically evaluate, synthesize, and summarize evidence of various digital mental health interventions available within a workplace setting.