Personality changes during adolescence predict young adult psychosis proneness and mediate gene-environment interplays of schizophrenia risk.

Background: Psychotic symptoms in adolescence are associated with social adversity and genetic risk for schizophrenia. This gene-environment interplay may be mediated by personality, which also develops during adolescence. We hypothesized that (i) personality development predicts later Psychosis Proneness Signs (PPS), and (ii) personality traits mediate the association between genetic risk for schizophrenia, social adversities, and psychosis.

Regulatory Peptide Pro-Gly-Pro Accelerates Neuroregeneration of Primary Neuroglial Culture after Mechanical Injury in Scratch Test.

The scratch test is used as an experimental in vitro model of mechanical damage to primary neuronal cultures to study the mechanisms of cell death in damaged areas. The involvement of NMDA receptors in processes leading to delayed neuronal death, due to calcium dysregulation and synchronous mitochondrial depolarization, has been previously demonstrated. In this study, we explored the neuroregenerative potential of Pro-Gly-Pro (PGP)-an endogenous regulatory peptide with neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties and a mild chemoattractant effect.

Real-world federated learning in radiology: hurdles to overcome and benefits to gain.

Objective: Federated Learning (FL) enables collaborative model training while keeping data locally. Currently, most FL studies in radiology are conducted in simulated environments due to numerous hurdles impeding its translation into practice. The few existing real-world FL initiatives rarely communicate specific measures taken to overcome these hurdles.

Metabolic and lifestyle factors accelerate disease onset and alter gut microbiome in inflammatory non-communicable diseases.

Background: Biomedical and lifestyle factors in Western populations have significantly shifted in recent decades, influencing public health and contributing to the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that share inflammation as common pathology.

Methods: We investigated the relationship between these factors and 11 NCDs in the cross-sectional FoCus cohort (n = 1220), using logistic regression models. Associations with age-at-disease-onset were specifically analyzed for type 2 diabetes (T2D, low-grade chronic inflammation) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD, high-grade chronic inflammation) in disease-specific cohorts (FoCus-T2D, n = 514; IBD-KC, n = 1110).

Does the gender of emergency physicians have an impact on the prehospital care of psychiatric emergencies? a retrospective cohort analysis.

Background: Psychiatric emergencies pose a special challenge for emergency physicians. It is known from other areas of medicine that the influence of a doctor's gender can have an impact on the type of treatment and quality of patient care. However, this has not yet been investigated in the context of prehospital care in psychiatric emergencies.

Complexities and challenges of translating intervention success to real world gait in people with Parkinson's disease.

Background: Unstable gait leading to falls negatively impacts the quality of life in many people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Systematic review evidence provides moderate to strong evidence of efficacy for a wide range of physiotherapy-based interventions to reduce gait impairment. However, outcomes have often focused on gait assessments conducted in controlled laboratory or clinical environments.

Rapid in situ carbon-13 hyperpolarization and imaging of acetate and pyruvate esters without external polarizer.

Hyperpolarized C MRI visualizes real-time metabolic processes in vivo. In this study, we achieved high C polarization in situ in the bore of an MRI system for precursor molecules of most widely employed hyperpolarized agents: [1-C]acetate and [1-C]pyruvate ethyl esters in their perdeuterated forms, enhancing hyperpolarization lifetimes, hyperpolarized to P ≈ 28% at 80 mM concentration and P ≈ 19% at 10 mM concentration, respectively. Using vinyl esters as unsaturated Parahydrogen-Induced Polarization via Side-Arm Hydrogenation (PHIP-SAH) precursors and our novel polarization setup, we achieved these hyperpolarization levels by fast side-arm hydrogenation in acetone-d at elevated temperatures (up to 90°C) and hydrogenation pressures (up to 32 bar).

Predictive, integrative, and regulatory aspects of AI-driven computational toxicology - Highlights of the German Pharm-Tox Summit (GPTS) 2024.

The 9th German Pharm-Tox Summit (GPTS) and the 90th Annual Meeting of the German Society for Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology (DGPT) took place in Munich from March 13-15, 2024. The event brought together over 700 participants from around the world to discuss cutting-edge developments in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology as well as scientific innovations and novel insights. A key focus of the conference was on the rapidly increasing role of computational toxicology, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) into the field, marking a shift away from traditional methods and allowing the reduction of animal testing as primary tool for toxicological risk assessment.

Computed tomography for the detection of myocardial hypoperfusion in acute myocardial infarction and the associated CT-to-catheter time.

Emergency computed tomography (CT) often does not allow for comprehensive coronary artery assessment. However, CT may reveal pathological myocardial hypoperfusion suggestive of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), especially in patients presenting with a different diagnostic hypothesis. CT hypoperfusion is known to be associated with myocardial infarction, however the diagnostic value of CT hypoperfusion for the detection of AMI is still not well evaluated.

Clinical and radiological outcome of extended lateral approach via epicondyle osteotomy in complex lateral tibia plateau fractures involving the central and postero-lateral segments.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical and radiological results of complex lateral tibial plateau fractures involving the central segments of the lateral tibial plateau. It was hypothesized that an extended lateral approach by using the lateral epicondyle osteotomy improves the rate of malreduction and yields to good and excellent clinical results at a mid-term follow-up.

Methods: This retrospective case series conducted at two centers evaluated complex lateral tibial plateau fractures treated with an extended lateral approach by lateral epicondyle osteotomy.

Post-COVID-19-pandemic changes and clinical characteristics of invasive group a streptococcal infections from 2015 to 2023.

Purpose: Since winter 2022, invasive GAS (iGAS) infections have re-emerged in Europe, causing severe diseases in children and adults. We aimed to examine whether this reported post-pandemic increase was associated with an increased disease severity and/or a shift in clinical disease phenotypes.

Methods: We performed detailed clinical phenotyping of patients hospitalized with iGAS infections at a 1410-bed tertiary German Medical Center from 01/2015 to 09/2023.

Through-bond and through-space radiofrequency amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.

Radio Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (RASER) is a phenomenon observed during nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments with strongly negatively polarized systems. This phenomenon may be utilized for the production of very narrow NMR lines, background-free NMR spectroscopy, and excitation-free sensing of chemical transformations. Recently, novel methods of producing RASER by ParaHydrogen-Induced Polarization (PHIP) were introduced.

Long-Term Reproducibility of BMD-Measurements with Clinical QCT Using Simultaneous and Asynchronous Calibration Methods and Different Measurement and Reconstruction Protocols.

Osteoporosis is underdiagnosed and undertreated. To improve timely fracture risk assessment optimized densitometry methods are required such as opportunistic spinal quantitative computed tomography (QCT). However, it is unclear how to best calibrate these scans and correct for potential scanner drift of QCT when used for monitoring bone mineral density (BMD) changes.

Functional Variation in Human CAZyme Genes in Relation to the Efficacy of a Carbohydrate-Restricted Diet in IBS Patients.

Background & Aims: Limiting the dietary intake of certain carbohydrates has therapeutic effects in some but not all irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients. We investigated genetic variation in human Carbohydrate-Active enZYmes (hCAZymes) genes in relationship to the response to a FODMAP-lowering diet in the DOMINO study.

Methods: hCAZy polymorphism was studied in patients with IBS from the dietary (FODMAP-lowering; n = 196) and medication (otilonium bromide; n = 54) arms of the DOMINO trial via targeted sequencing of 6 genes of interest (AMY2B, LCT, MGAM, MGAM2, SI, and TREH).

Insights Into Modern Undergraduate Ultrasound Education: Prospective Comparison of Digital and Analog Teaching Resources in a Flipped Classroom Concept - The DIvAN Study.

  Sonography training has become an important part of university medicine courses. This study explores the impact of digital and analog teaching resources on learning outcomes, knowledge retention, and student preferences and motivation in a flipped classroom setting.   This prospective controlled study involving two groups of third-year medical students included a voluntary three-day compact ultrasound course given in a flipped classroom, comprising 26 teaching units of 45 minutes each.

Endovascular thrombectomy for childhood stroke (Save ChildS Pro): an international, multicentre, prospective registry study.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that endovascular thrombectomy is beneficial for treatment of childhood stroke, but the safety and effectiveness of endovascular thrombectomy has not been compared with best medical treatment. We aimed to prospectively analyse functional outcomes of endovascular thrombectomy versus best medical treatment in children with intracranial arterial occlusion stroke.

Methods: In this prospective registry study, 45 centres in 12 countries across Asia and Australia, Europe, North America, and South America reported functional outcomes for children aged between 28 days and 18 years presenting with arterial ischaemic stroke caused by a large-vessel or medium-vessel occlusion who received either endovascular thrombectomy plus best medical practice or best medical treatment alone.

Multicellular ovarian cancer spheroids: novel 3D model to mimic tumour complexity.

In vitro, spheroid models have become well established in cancer research because they can better mimic certain characteristics of in vivo tumours. However, interaction with the tumour microenvironment, such as cancer-associated fibroblasts, plays a key role in tumour progression. We initially focused on the interaction of tumour cells with fibroblasts.

Impact of low HER2 expression on response to CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment in advanced HR + /HER2- breast cancer: a multicenter real-world data analysis.

Purpose: CDK4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) represent the first-line therapy approach of choice for patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer (HR + /HER-ABC). Approximately 50% of HR + /HER2-ABC displays low HER2 expression (HER2 low). Recent data emerging from the DESTINY-Breast04 trial demonstrated practice-changing efficacy of the antibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) in patients with low HER2 expression.

The relevance of tumor target expression levels on IgA-mediated cytotoxicity in cancer immunotherapy.

Recent advances in cancer immunotherapy, particularly the success of immune checkpoint inhibitors, have reignited interest in targeted monoclonal antibodies for immunotherapy. Antibody therapies aim to minimize on-target, off-tumor toxicity by targeting antigens overexpressed on tumor cells but not on healthy cells. Despite considerable efforts, some therapeutic antibodies have been linked to dose-limiting side effects.