ESMO Global Consortium Study on the availability, out-of-pocket costs, and accessibility of cancer medicines: 2023 update.

Background: The availability and affordability of safe, effective cancer therapies are core requirements for effective cancer control. Global disparities exist in access, however, yielding unequal cancer outcomes. The goal of this study was to provide updated data regarding the formulary availability, out-of-pocket costs, and accessibility of cancer medicines in countries across the full spectrum of economic development areas.

Efficacy and safety of daprodustat in patients on peritoneal dialysis in the ASCEND-D trial.

Background And Hypothesis: Daprodustat, an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor, is approved for treatment of anemia in dialysis patients with CKD in some parts of the world. This subgroup analysis examined the efficacy and safety of daprodustat versus darbepoetin alfa in patients with anemia of CKD undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD).

Methods: ASCEND-D (NCT02879305) was an open-label, Phase 3 trial; patients with CKD were randomized to daprodustat daily and epoetin alfa (HD patients) or darbepoetin alfa (PD patients).

Quantitative Assessment of Microbial Transmission onto Environmental Surfaces Using Thermoresponsive Gelatin Hydrogels as a Finger Mimetic under In Situ-Mimicking Conditions.

Surface-mediated transmission of pathogens plays a key role in healthcare-associated infections. However, proper techniques for its quantitative analysis are lacking, making it challenging to develop novel antimicrobial and anti-fouling surfaces to reduce pathogen spread via environmental surfaces. This study demonstrates a gelatin hydrogel-based touch transfer test, the HydroTouch test, to evaluate pathogen transmission on high-touch surfaces under semi-dry conditions.

Continental influx and pervasive matrilocality in Iron Age Britain.

Roman writers found the relative empowerment of Celtic women remarkable. In southern Britain, the Late Iron Age Durotriges tribe often buried women with substantial grave goods. Here we analyse 57 ancient genomes from Durotrigian burial sites and find an extended kin group centred around a single maternal lineage, with unrelated (presumably inward migrating) burials being predominantly male.

Impact of land conversion on environmental conditions and methane emissions from a tropical peatland.

Tropical peatlands are significant sources of methane (CH₄), but their contribution to the global CH₄ budget remains poorly quantified due to the lack of long-term, continuous and high-frequency flux measurements. To address this gap, we measured net ecosystem CH exchange (NEE-CH) using eddy covariance technique throughout the conversion of a tropical peat swamp forest to an oil palm plantation. This encompassed the periods before, during and after conversion periods from 2014 to 2020, during which substantial environmental shifts were observed.

How resistant is anammox biofilm against antibiotics: A special insight into anammox response towards fluoroquinolones.

Elevated concentrations of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in the water bodies are posing a serious threat to the aquatic microbiota and other organisms. In this context, anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria carry a great potential to degrade PhACs through their innate metabolic pathways. This study investigates the influence of short-term exposure to lower and higher concentrations (0.

Beekeepers' perceptions toward a new omics tool for monitoring bee health in Europe.

Pressures on honey bee health have substantially increased both colony mortality and beekeepers' costs for hive management across Europe. Although technological advances could offer cost-effective solutions to these challenges, there is little research into the incentives and barriers to technological adoption by beekeepers in Europe. Our study is the first to investigate beekeepers' willingness to adopt the Bee Health Card, a molecular diagnostic tool developed within the PoshBee EU project which can rapidly assess bee health by monitoring molecular changes in bees.

Survival of Eurasian lynx in the human-dominated landscape of Europe.

Survival and cause-specific mortality rates are vital for evidence-based population forecasting and conservation, particularly for large carnivores, whose populations are often vulnerable to human-caused mortalities. It is therefore important to know the relationship between anthropogenic and natural mortality causes to evaluate whether they are additive or compensatory. Further, the relation between survival and environmental covariates could reveal whether specific landscape characteristics influence demographic performance.

-Related Muscular Dystrophies, LGMD, and TMD, in an Estonian Family Caused by the Finnish Founder Variant.

Background And Objectives: Tibial muscular dystrophy (TMD) is an autosomal dominant, slowly progressive late-onset distal myopathy. TMD was first described in 1991 by Udd et al. in Finnish patients, who were later found to harbor a heterozygous unique 11-bp insertion/deletion in the last exon of the gene-the Finnish founder variant (FINmaj).

Mutations in chikungunya virus nsP4 decrease viral fitness and sensitivity to the broad-spectrum antiviral 4'-Fluorouridine.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arthritogenic alphavirus that has re-emerged to cause large outbreaks of human infections worldwide. There are currently no approved antivirals for treatment of CHIKV infection. Recently, we reported that the ribonucleoside analog 4'-fluorouridine (4'-FlU) is a highly potent inhibitor of CHIKV replication, and targets the viral nsP4 RNA dependent RNA polymerase.

Great Tit () Nestlings Have Longer Telomeres in Old-Growth Forests Than in Young Forests.

Modification and deterioration of old-growth forests by industrial forestry have seriously threatened species diversity worldwide. The loss of natural habitats increases the concentration of circulating glucocorticoids and incurs chronic stress in animals, influencing the immune system, growth, survival, and lifespan of animals inhabiting such areas. In this study, we tested whether great tit () nestlings grown in old-growth unmanaged coniferous forests have longer telomeres than great tit nestlings developing in young managed coniferous forests.

Assessment of nutrient storage and translocation in winter harvested Typha latifolia from free-water surface treatment wetland mitigating diffuse agricultural pollution.

Wetland macrophytes play a critical role in the performance of treatment wetlands (TWs), primarily through nutrient uptake. However, this retention is temporary, as nutrients are released back into the water upon the decomposition of plant litter. The removal of stored nutrients from TWs can be efficiently achieved by harvesting plants during the peak of the growing season, albeit with significant ecological disturbance.

Low impact of Zostera marina meadows on sediment and water microbiota under brackish conditions.

Background: Zostera marina is an important ecosystem engineer influencing shallow water environments and possibly shaping the microbiota in surrounding sediments and water. Z. marina is typically found in marine systems, but it can also proliferate under brackish conditions.

Metagenomic exploration and computational prediction of novel enzymes for polyethylene terephthalate degradation.

As a global environmental challenge, plastic pollution raises serious ecological and health concerns owing to the excessive accumulation of plastic waste, which disrupts ecosystems, harms wildlife, and threatens human health. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), one of the most commonly used plastics, has contributed significantly to this growing crisis. This study offers a solution for plastic pollution by identifying novel PET-degrading enzymes.

The reproductive tract microbiome in women with polycystic ovary syndrome and across different menstrual cycle phases.

Study Question: Do polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), menstrual cycle phases, and ovulatory status affect reproductive tract (RT) microbiome profiles?

Summary Answer: We identified microbial features associated with menstrual cycle phases in the upper and lower RT microbiome, but only two specific differences in the upper RT according to PCOS status.

What Is Known Already: The vaginal and uterine microbiome profiles vary throughout the menstrual cycle. Studies have reported alterations in the vaginal microbiome among women diagnosed with PCOS.

Multiomics dissection of human RAG deficiency reveals distinctive patterns of immune dysregulation but a common inflammatory signature.

Human recombination-activating gene (RAG) deficiency can manifest with distinct clinical and immunological phenotypes. By applying a multiomics approach to a large group of -mutated patients, we aimed at characterizing the immunopathology associated with each phenotype. Although defective T and B cell development is common to all phenotypes, patients with hypomorphic variants can generate T and B cells with signatures of immune dysregulation and produce autoantibodies to a broad range of self-antigens, including type I interferons.

Genome-wide association study of varenicline-aided smoking cessation.

Introduction: Varenicline is an α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist with the highest therapeutic efficacy of any pharmacological smoking cessation aid and a 12-month cessation rate of 26%. Genetic variation may be associated with varenicline response, but to date no genome-wide association studies of varenicline response have been published.

Methods: In this study, we investigated the genetic contribution to varenicline effectiveness using two electronic health record-derived phenotypes.

Factors influencing endometrial receptivity in women with recurrent implantation failure.

Background: Embryo implantation involves two key elements: a good quality embryo and receptive endometrium. Endometrial receptivity abnormalities are known as one of the possible causes of recurrent implantation failure (RIF), especially when the embryo is euploid. This study was aimed to evaluate the impact of age and other clinical factors on endometrial receptivity in women with RIF.

Detection of Echinococcus spp. and other taeniid species in lettuces and berries: Two international multicenter studies from the MEmE project.

Cystic and alveolar echinococcosis are severe zoonotic diseases characterized by long asymptomatic periods lasting months or years. Viable Echinococcus spp. eggs released into the environment through the feces of canids can infect humans through accidental ingestion via hand-to-mouth contact or consumption of contaminated food or water.

Outcomes Following Close Collaboration With Parents Intervention in Neonatal Intensive Care Units: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Family-centered care (FCC) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) is critical for parental involvement and infant well-being, yet few studies have evaluated the impact of FCC interventions on practice or examined how implementation fidelity may affect these outcomes.

Objectives: To evaluate the association between the Close Collaboration With Parents intervention and FCC practices and how implementation fidelity may modify these outcomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This nonrandomized clinical trial had a before-and-after design.

Introduction to androgenetics: terminology, approaches, and impactful studies across 60 years.

Across six decades, androgenetics has consistently concentrated on discovering genetic causes and enhancing the molecular diagnostics of male infertility, disorders of sex development, and their broader implications on health, such as cancer and other comorbidities. Despite vast clinical knowledge, the training of andrologists often lacks fundamental basics in medical genetics. This work, as part of the Special Issue of Andrology "Genetics in Andrology", provides the core terminology in medical genetics and technological advancements in genomics, required to understand the ever-progressing research in the field.

Exploring Natural Analgesics for Chronic Pain Management: Cannabinoids and Other Phytoconstituents.

Chronic pain lasting more than three months or persisting after normal healing is a significant global health issue. In a healthcare system, it is crucial to ensure proper chronic pain management. Traditional pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain management techniques may not fully meet the requirements of physicians regarding effectiveness and safety.

Prolactin levels increased by physical exercise correlate with platelet monoamine oxidase activity: Evidence linking platelet MAO with serotonin release capacity.

Objective: Lower platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity has consistently been associated with excessive risk-taking and general psychiatric vulnerability. How this peripheral measure can represent presumably centrally regulated complex behaviours is not clear but platelet MAO activity has been suggested to reflect the capacity of serotonin release in the brain. Secretion of prolactin is in part under serotonergic control and indicates serotonin release capacity.

Diminished DNA binding affinity of DMRT1 caused by heterozygous DM domain mutations is a cause of male infertility.

The most severe form of male infertility is idiopathic non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), a complete sperm absence in the ejaculate. We performed exome sequencing in the Croatian infertile brothers with NOA and found a variant in DMRT1 (Doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor 1) gene that was further assessed by the EMSA assay and molecular dynamic simulations. We additionally screened for DMRT1 mutations in 1940 infertile men diagnosed with spermatogenic failure, 644 normozoospermic controls, and 105 females with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) recruited to the GEnetics of Male INfertility Initiative (GEMINI) or Estonian Andrology (ESTAND) cohorts.