The Effect of Prostaglandin F2 Analog Treatment on the Immunoexpression of Fibrosis-Associated Factors in Patients with Glaucoma Undergoing Deep Sclerotomy.

Long-term use of topical prostaglandins might initiate chronic conjunctival inflammation, leading to poor outcomes of glaucoma surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunoexpression pattern of HSP70, CTGF, SNAIL, aSMA, cMYB, and HIFa in the conjunctiva, episclera, and deep sclera in patients with glaucoma undergoing deep sclerectomy in order to establish an association between staining intensities and prostaglandin F2 (PGF2) treatment. Double immunofluorescence (HSP70, CTGF, SNAIL, aSMA, cMYB, and HIFa) was performed on conjunctiva, episclera, and deep sclera samples, which were obtained from 23 patients treated with PGF2 and 8 patients without PGF2 treatment.

Mobile App Intervention Increases Adherence to Home Exercise Program After Whiplash Injury-A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT).

Objective: Can mobile app intervention via push notifications increase adherence to exercise and reduce disability and pain after a whiplash injury?

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with concealed allocation, blinding of some assessors, and an intention-to-treat analysis. Participants who sustained whiplash injury at most 3 months prior were divided into active and control groups. Both groups completed a two-part physiotherapist-supervised physical therapy program (3-week break in between, ten sessions each, 5x/week).

Reporting of Participant Race and Ethnicity from COVID-19 Randomized Controlled Drug and Biologicals Trials: A Scoping Review.

Racial and ethnic minorities have been disproportionally burdened by hospitalization and death due to COVID-19. Participation of individuals of diverse races and ethnicities in clinical trials according to study-level characteristics of randomized controlled trials (RCT) that test effectiveness of COVID-19 drugs could be insightful for future researchers. The objective of this scoping review was to describe frequency of race and ethnicity reported as demographic variables and specific reporting of race and ethnicity according to COVID-19 RCT characteristics.

Virtue ethics-based research integrity training intervention to change medical students' attitudes and perceptions of organizational ethical climate: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Universities are increasingly offering training in research integrity (RI) to enhance research quality and foster RI. Despite the importance of integrating scientific virtues into such training, there is a lack of assessment of virtue ethics-based RI training.

Methods: This was a randomised controlled study assessing the impact of a virtue-based training for RI, performed at the University of Split School of Medicine in 2020-2021.

A split intein and split luciferase-coupled system for detecting protein-protein interactions.

Elucidation of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) represents one of the most important methods in biomedical research. Recently, PPIs have started to be exploited for drug discovery purposes and have thus attracted much attention from both the academic and pharmaceutical sectors. We previously developed a sensitive method, Split Intein-Mediated Protein Ligation (SIMPL), for detecting binary PPIs via irreversible splicing of the interacting proteins being investigated.

Psychedelics as an intervention for psychological, existential distress in terminally ill patients: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: The interest in psychedelics as a therapeutic intervention for existential distress of people with terminal illness grounds on their mechanism of action and effect on the spiritual/existential aspects accompanying end-of-life experiences.

Aims: This systematic review and network meta-analysis aimed at examining the efficacy and safety of psychedelic compounds for existential distress in terminally ill people.

Methods: PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and clinicaltrials.

Autophagy markers expression pattern in developing liver of the yotari (dab1) mice and humans.

Autophagy plays an important role in the physiology and pathology of the liver. Several negative autophagy regulators have been discovered, including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), mediated by activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Disabled-1 (Dab1) is one of the mediating adaptor factors of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways.

Breastfeeding Intentions, Attitudes, and Knowledge Among Medical Students in Croatia.

Background: Medical students should have adequate knowledge and positive attitudes toward breastfeeding to support breastfeeding dyads. No studies in Croatia have explored breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes or intentions among medical students.

Research Aim: To investigate breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes and intentions among medical students at the University of Split School of Medicine.

Untargeted Urinary Volatilomics Reveals Hexadecanal as a Potential Biomarker for Preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a severe hypertensive pregnancy disorder characterized by endothelial dysfunction, placental ischemia and oxidative stress; however, reliable non-invasive biomarkers for early detection are limited. In this study, untargeted solid-phase microextraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) was used to analyze volatile organic compounds in the urine of 45 women with PE and 46 healthy controls. Among the 29 metabolites identified, hexadecanal-a product of lipid peroxidation and sphingolipid metabolism-was found to be the most significant, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.

Analysis of Circulating Catestatin in Early Pregnancy: A Preliminary Investigation.

During pregnancy, significant cardiovascular changes occur to accommodate fetal growth, and catestatin may play a role in these changes. Evidence suggests that catestatin, a pleiotropic sympathoinhibitory peptide, is involved in multiple cardiovascular pathologies, including hypertensive disorders. The objective of this study was to compare serum catestatin levels between first-trimester pregnant women and non-pregnant women, aiming to investigate catestatin's role in blood pressure regulation during early pregnancy.

Concepts of Mental Disorders Among Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and Theologians.

The objective of this study was to compare the perspectives of psychiatrists, psychologists, and theologians on schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and antisocial personality disorder. A cross-sectional research design was utilized, involving a random sample selected from the official registries of these professionals. The findings revealed significant differences in how these groups conceptualize mental disorders.

Evaluating Pharmacists' Knowledge of Food-Drug Interactions in Croatia: Identifying Gaps and Opportunities.

Food-drug interactions (FDIs) are pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic changes in drug effects caused by the presence of specific foods. To identify and prevent FDIs, pharmacists, alongside other healthcare professionals, should possess a certain level of knowledge. This study aimed to assess knowledge of FDIs among Croatian pharmacists.

Nutrition as therapy - the role of dietitian counseling: a best practice implementation project.

Objectives: The objective of this best practice implementation project was to improve dieticians' professional practice and dietary care through the use of counseling strategies.

Introduction: Improving the design and implementation of evidence-based practice depends on successful behavior change interventions. This requires an appropriate method for designing the interventions and then analyzing the targeted behavior.

Legal Dental Age Thresholds Estimation in Croatian Children and Adolescents: Accuracy of the Olze, Haavikko, and Demirjian Methods.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the accuracy of three established approaches for legal age threshold estimation in a Croatian sample.

Materials And Methods: Olze's third molar eruption stages, Haavikko stages, and Demirjian stages were applied in 583 orthopantomograms of Croatian children and adolescents aged 10.00-20.

Intra-articular knee injections in patients with primary osteoarthritis in a tertiary clinical setting: a best practice implementation project.

Aims: This project aimed to improve physicians' adherence to evidence-based practices regarding the selection and administration of intra-articular knee injections for patients with osteoarthritis. The project also aimed to empower patients by increasing their awareness of these evidence-based practices.

Introduction: In the management of knee osteoarthritis, intra-articular injections are commonly used when initial treatments prove inadequate.

Electroformation of Giant Unilamellar Vesicles from Damp Films in Conditions Involving High Cholesterol Contents, Charged Lipids, and Saline Solutions.

Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are frequently used as membrane models in studies of membrane properties. They are most often produced using the electroformation method. However, there are a number of parameters that can influence the success of the procedure.

Future Healthcare Workers and Ecopharmacovigilance: Where Do We Stand?

With the rapid development of the pharmaceutical industry and constant growth of drug usage, ecopharmacovigilance (EPV) has emerged as a way of coping with and minimizing the effects that drugs have on the environment. EPV concerns and describes unwanted effects that the use of a specific drug could have on the environment. The US, EU and Cananda are the improving position of EPV, both in legislation and practice.

Pathophysiology of Congestion in Heart Failure: A Contemporary Review.

Acutely decompensated heart failure is one of the leading causes of hospitalisation worldwide, with a significant majority of these cases attributed to congestion. Although congestion is commonly mistaken for volume overload, evidence suggests that decompensation can occur without significant water accumulation, being attributed to volume redistribution. Yet, the distinction between intravascular and extravascular congestion in heart failure often blurs, as patients frequently exhibit overlapping features of both, and as patients may transition between phenotypes over time.

Poor registration and publication practices in clinical trials of targeted therapeutics for endocrine and metabolic diseases: an observational study.

Objectives: To assess the completeness and concordance of reporting in registries and corresponding publications of interventional trials on targeted therapeutics for endocrine and metabolic disorders.

Study Design And Setting: We searched clinical trial registries in September 2022 for completed interventional trials of target therapeutics for endocrine and metabolic disorders registered from 2005 onwards. We used ClinicalTrials.

Cross-sectional exploratory survey among health researchers in Europe on the awareness of and barriers affecting the use of an evidence-based research approach.

Objectives: This exploratory study was conducted to find out how well the concept of evidence-based research (EBR) is known among European health researchers with substantial clinical research experience, and which barriers affect the use of an EBR approach. The concept of EBR implies that researchers use evidence synthesis to justify new studies and to inform their design.

Design: A cross-sectional exploratory survey study.