Robot-assisted Kidney Transplantation: The 8-year European Experience.

Background And Objective: Evidence regarding perioperative results and long-term functional outcomes of robotic-assisted kidney transplantation (RAKT) is limited. We evaluated perioperative surgical results and long-term functional outcomes of RAKT in patients receiving kidney transplants from living donors.

Methods: This retrospective analysis is based on a prospective multicenter cohort study conducted from July 2015 to October 2023 across ten European centers.

New insights into the epidemiology of Streptococcus suis in pig production systems using whole genome sequencing.

Streptococcus suis (S. suis) is a major pathogen for pigs, causing large economic losses to the swine industry. Moreover, this bacterium has a zoonotic potential, being capable of infecting humans in close contact with pigs or, less frequently, through contact with pork products.

Reconstructing the environmental impact of mining on mountain lakes.

Mountain lakes are particularly fragile ecosystems undergoing important ecological and depositional transformations associated with ongoing global change. However, the history of anthropogenic impacts on mountain lakes and their catchments is much longer, in many cases featuring millennia of summer pastoral farming. More recently, the growing demand for raw materials and energy linked to industrialization, particularly accelerated since the 19th century CE, meant a further increase in human impact on mountain areas.

Prognostic value of left atrioventricular coupling index in heart failure.

Aims: To investigate the distribution of left atrioventricular coupling index (LACI) among patients with heart failure and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)<50% and to explore its association with the combined endpoint of all-cause death or HF hospitalization at long term follow-up.

Methods And Results: Patients with HF and LVEF<50% undergoing cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) were evaluated. Patients with atrial fibrillation or flutter were excluded.

Unsupervised clustering of intraventricular hemodynamic forces for the phenotyping of left-ventricular function in non-ischemic left ventricular cardiomyopathy.

Background: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is essential for diagnosing cardiomyopathy, serving as the gold standard for assessing heart chamber volumes and tissue characterization. Hemodynamic forces (HDF) analysis, a novel approach using standard cine CMR images, estimates energy exchange between the left ventricular (LV) wall and blood. While prior research has focused on peak or mean longitudinal HDF values, this study aims to investigate whether unsupervised clustering of HDF curves can identify clinically significant patterns and stratify cardiovascular risk in non-ischemic LV cardiomyopathy (NILVC).

Safety, Efficacy and Pharmacokinetics of daily optimised doses of Rifampicin for the Treatment of Tuberculosis: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis.

Background: Higher than standard doses of rifampicin could improve the treatment outcome of drug-susceptible tuberculosis without compromising the safety of patients.

Methods: We performed a systematic review of prospective clinical studies including adults with pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB receiving rifampicin doses above 10mg/kg/day. We extracted the data on overall adverse events (AE), hepatic AE, sputum culture conversion (SCC) at week 8, recurrence, mortality, and pharmacokinetics.

Peroxidase (POD) Mimicking Activity of Different Types of Poly(ethyleneimine)-Mediated Prussian Blue Nanoparticles.

Prussian blue nanoparticles (PBNPs) have been identified as a promising candidate for biomimetic peroxidase (POD)-like activity, specifically due to the metal centres (Fe/Fe) of Prussian blue (PB), which have the potential to function as catalytically active centres. The decoration of PBNPs with desired functional polymers (such as amino- or carboxylate-based) primarily facilitates the subsequent linkage of biomolecules to the nanoparticles for their use in biosensor applications. Thus, the elucidation of the catalytic POD mimicry of these systems is of significant scientific interest but has not been investigated in depth yet.

The role of age of arrival and language environment factors in Arabic heritage language development: A longitudinal study.

The Arabic development of Syrian refugee children ( = 133; mean age = 9;4 at Time 1) was examined over 3 time periods during their first five years in Canada. Children were administered sentence repetition and receptive vocabulary tasks in English and Arabic, and information about age-of-arrival (AOA), schooling in Arabic and language environment factors was obtained via parent report. Older AOA was associated with superior Arabic abilities across time, but regardless of AOA, children showed plateau/attrition patterns in Arabic and shifts to English dominance by Time 3.

A proposal of a fecal scoring system based on physicochemical analyses of suckling pig feces.

Background: Digestive disorders are one of the main health problems in suckling piglets. The correct visual identification of feces in suckling piglets is an important tool for the diagnosis of enteric diseases. The aim of the present observational study was to analyze different physicochemical parameters of the feces of suckling piglets aged 0 to 21 days: visual appearance (color and consistency), fecal dry matter (FDM) content and pH.

Raising awareness and addressing inequities for people with Down syndrome in South Africa.

Globally, individuals with Down syndrome (DS) face profound inequities in social and health care access. These challenges are further compounded by racial disparities as well as a lack of awareness, research, and support, particularly in the Global South. This commentary discusses the multifaceted challenges and disparities encountered by people with DS in South Africa, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.

Bee reasonable: Do bumblebees reason by exclusion?

In a clever adaptation of the two-cups task, a recent paper tested for reasoning by exclusion in bees. Although further work is necessary to rule out competing hypotheses, this study advances our ability to test cognitive capacities in invertebrates.

Early and Mid-Term Disposition of α-PVP and its unknown Metabolites in Urine and Oral Fluid Through a Multi-Analytical Hyphenated Approach Following a Single Non-Controlled Administration to Healthy Volunteers.

Nowadays, synthetic cathinones (SCs) is the second more representative subclass of New Psychoactive Substances, accounting for 104 analogues in the illegal market. Since its first report in 2011, α-pyrrolidinovalerophenone (α-PVP) gained popularity among drug users, provoking an increased number of intoxications. Nonetheless, pharmacokinetics data is still limited in the literature.

Global Crop-Specific Fertilization Dataset from 1961-2019.

As global fertilizer application rates increase, high-quality datasets are paramount for comprehensive analyses to support informed decision-making and policy formulation in crucial areas such as food security or climate change. This study aims to fill existing data gaps by employing two machine learning models, eXtreme Gradient Boosting and HistGradientBoosting algorithms to produce precise country-level predictions of nitrogen (N), phosphorus pentoxide (PO), and potassium oxide (KO) application rates. Subsequently, we created a comprehensive dataset of 5-arcmin resolution maps depicting the application rates of each fertilizer for 13 major crop groups from 1961 to 2019.

The environmental impact of inhalers: a framework for sustainable prescription practices in Spain.

Background: The healthcare sector contributes significantly to global greenhouse emissions, with inhalers being major contributors.

Objective: To develop a framework for reducing the environmental footprint of inhalers in Spain by implementing greener prescription practices.

Methods: A multidisciplinary working group was formed, including hospital pharmacists, pulmonologists, and environmental experts.

Cannabinoid type-1 receptors in CaMKII neurons drive impulsivity in pathological eating behavior.

Objectives: Overconsumption of palatable food and energy accumulation are evolutionary mechanisms of survival when food is scarce. These innate mechanisms becom detrimental in obesogenic environment promoting obesity and related comorbidities, including mood disorders. This study aims at elucidating the role of the endocannabinoid system in energy accumulation and hedonic feeding.

Surpassing protein specificity in biomimetics of bacterial amyloids.

In nature, nontoxic protein amyloids serve as dynamic, protein-specific depots, exemplified by both bacterial inclusion bodies and secretory granules from the endocrine system. Inspired by these systems, chemically defined and regulatory-compliant artificial protein microgranules have been developed for clinical applications as endocrine-like protein repositories. This has been achieved by exploiting the reversible coordination between histidine residues and divalent cations such as Zn, that promotes protein-protein interactions.

Mechanism of syncope: role of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and cardiovascular autonomic function assessment.

Background And Aims: Identifying the haemodynamic mechanism of autonomic syncope is the essential pre-requisite for effective and personalized therapy aimed at preventing recurrences. The present study assessed the diagnostic efficacy of a two-step assessment.

Methods: Multicentre prospective, cross-sectional, observational study.

First Palmar Intermetacarpal Flap for Congenital First Web Contracture: A Case Series.

Background: Pediatric first web space contractures of the hand can lead to disability in hand function. Several techniques have been proposed for treating this condition. Recently, a new technique involving the first palmar cutaneous flap was described in a cadaveric study.

Decreased impulsiveness and MEG normalization after AI-digital therapy in ADHD children: a RCT.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) presents with symptoms like impulsiveness, inattention, and hyperactivity, often affecting children's academic and social functioning. Non-pharmacological interventions, such as digital cognitive therapy, are emerging as complementary treatments for ADHD. The randomized controlled trial explored the impact of an AI-driven digital cognitive program on impulsiveness, inattentiveness, and neurophysiological markers in 41 children aged 8-12 with ADHD.

Diagnosing Helicobacter pylori using autoencoders and limited annotations through anomalous staining patterns in IHC whole slide images.

Purpose: This work addresses the detection of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in histological images with immunohistochemical staining. This analysis is a time-demanding task, currently done by an expert pathologist that visually inspects the samples.

Registries on transcatheter edge-to-edge repair in heart failure: Current evidence and future perspectives.

Aims: Secondary mitral regurgitation (SMR) and tricuspid regurgitation (TR) are the most common valvular heart diseases in patients with heart failure (HF). Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) devices designed for treating MR and TR have been successfully tested in randomized controlled trials, but methodological issues have often challenged their interpretation. This manuscript aimed to provide an overview of TEER registries on SMR and TR in HF, highlighting their key features, describing clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients receiving these devices, and exploring the available data limitations.