The course of physical fitness and nutritional status in patients following prehabilitation before esophageal cancer surgery: Results from the PRIOR study.

Introduction: This study evaluates the course of physical fitness and nutritional status during curative therapy for esophageal cancer, after implementation of a prehabilitation program. Additionally, the impact of baseline physical fitness level and severe postoperative complications on the course of individual patients were explored.

Materials And Methods: This multicenter, observational cohort study included patients with esophageal cancer following curative treatment.

Long-term survival of participants in the PASART-1 and PASART-2 trials of neo-adjuvant pazopanib and radiotherapy in soft tissue sarcoma.

Objective: This study aims to assess the long-term safety and efficacy of adding pazopanib to neo-adjuvant radiotherapy followed by surgery in patients with high-risk non-metastatic soft tissue sarcoma of the trunk and extremities treated in the PASART-1 and PASART-2 trials, as well as to compare the PASART cohorts to a control cohort receiving standard treatment during the same time period from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (IKNL) to investigate if adding pazopanib improves Overall Survival (OS).

Methods: Updated follow-up data on disease control, survival and long-term toxicities of the PASART-trials were extracted from electronic patient records. The effect of adding pazopanib to neo-adjuvant radiotherapy on OS was investigated by comparing the combined PASART cohorts to the IKNL cohort via direct comparison and exact matching analysis.

Deep Learning and Multidisciplinary Imaging in Pediatric Surgical Oncology: A Scoping Review.

Background: Medical images play an important role in diagnosis and treatment of pediatric solid tumors. The field of radiology, pathology, and other image-based diagnostics are getting increasingly important and advanced. This indicates a need for advanced image processing technology such as Deep Learning (DL).

Roles for the long non-coding RNA / in pancreatic beta cell function.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as crucial regulators of beta cell function. Here, we show that an lncRNA-transcribed antisense to Pax6, annotated as Pax6os1/PAX6-AS1, was upregulated by high glucose concentrations in human as well as murine beta cell lines and islets. Elevated expression was also observed in islets from mice on a high-fat diet and patients with type 2 diabetes.

Criticality is Associated with Future Psychotherapy Response in Patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-A Pilot Study.

Background: Trauma-focused psychotherapy is treatment of choice for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, about half of patients do not respond. Recently, there is increased interest in brain criticality, which assesses the phase transition between order and disorder in brain activity.

Cost-Effective Strategy of Enhancing Machine Learning Potentials by Transfer Learning from a Multicomponent Data Set on ænet-PyTorch.

Machine learning potentials (MLPs) offer efficient and accurate material simulations, but constructing the reference ab initio database remains a significant challenge, particularly for catalyst-adsorbate systems. Training an MLP with a small data set can lead to overfitting, thus limiting its practical applications. This study explores the feasibility of developing computationally cost-effective and accurate MLPs for catalyst-adsorbate systems with a limited number of ab initio references by leveraging a transfer learning strategy from subsets of a comprehensive public database.

Altered circadian rhythmicity of the QT interval predicts mortality in a large real-world academic hospital population.

Objective And Rationale: Small studies have shown that the QT interval follows a circadian rhythm. This finding has never been confirmed in a large real-world hospital population and the clinical meaning of disrupted rhythmicity remains unknown.

Methods: In this cohort study, all consecutive adult patients with at least one 12-lead ECG acquired between 1991 and 2021 were considered.

Three-dimensional assessment of ascending aortic stiffness, motion, and growth in ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm.

Aims: Aortic wall stiffening in ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (aTAA) is common. However, the spatial and temporal relationships between stiffness, aortic size, and growth in aTAA remain unclear.

Methods And Results: In this single-centre retrospective study, we utilized vascular deformation mapping to extract multi-directional aortic motion, aortic distensibility, and aortic growth in a multi-planar fashion from multi-phasic ECG-gated computed tomography angiograms.

Investigator-Initiated Clinical Pharmacokinetic Studies in Resource-Limited Settings: Minimal Requirements and Practical Guidance.

Clinical pharmacology studies are critical for determining the efficacy and safety of drugs. Due to the resource-intensive nature of these studies, most have been conducted in high-income countries, leading to a significant gap in clinical pharmacology data for patients in low- and middle-income countries. This paper provides an overview of the minimal requirements for performing a clinical pharmacology investigator-initiated trial (IIT), including pharmacokinetic sampling.

Mapping Trajectories of Gait Recovery in Clinical Stroke Rehabilitation.

Background: How gait changes during the early stages of stoke rehabilitation, and which patient characteristics are associated with these changes is still largely unknown.

Objective: he first objective was to describe the changes in gait during stroke rehabilitation. Secondly, we determined how various patient characteristics were associated with the rate of change of gait over time.

Evaluation of a biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis derived from a hypomethylated DNA signature of human motor neurons.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) lacks a specific biomarker, but is defined by relatively selective toxicity to motor neurons (MN). As others have highlighted, this offers an opportunity to develop a sensitive and specific biomarker based on detection of DNA released from dying MN within accessible biofluids. Here we have performed whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) of iPSC-derived MN from neurologically normal individuals.

Increased but not pristine soil organic carbon stocks in restored ecosystems.

Ecosystem restoration can contribute to climate change mitigation, as recovering ecosystems sequester atmospheric CO in biomass and soils. It is, however, unclear how much soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks recover across different restored ecosystems. Here, we show SOC recovery in different contexts globally by consolidating 41 meta-analyses into a second-order meta-analysis.

A diagnostic host-specific transcriptome response for Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia to guide pediatric patient treatment.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae causes atypical pneumonia in children and young adults. Its lack of a cell wall makes it resistant to beta-lactams, which are the first-line treatment for typical pneumonia. Current diagnostic tests are time-consuming and have low specificity, leading clinicians to administer empirical antibiotics.

Weal and woe of interleukin-18 in the T cell therapy of cancer.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy of solid cancer remains below expectations; adding cytokine help through IL-18 has shown remarkable efficacy in first clinical trials. As IL-18 is also a powerful driver of hyperinflammatory conditions, we discuss to what extent unleashing IL-18 is a double-edged sword in CAR T cell therapies.

Maternal occupational exposures during early stages of pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes in the NINFEA birth-cohort.

Objectives: Maternal occupational exposures during early pregnancy can be detrimental to foetus health and have short- and long-term health effects on the child. This study examined their association with adverse birth outcomes.

Methods: The study included 3938 nulliparous women from the Italian NINFEA mother-child cohort.

Adverse health outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among long-term adolescent and young adult (AYA) brain tumour survivors: results from the population-based SURVAYA study.

Purpose: Adolescent and young adult (AYA) malignant brain tumour (BT) survivors are at risk of adverse health outcomes, which may impact their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study aimed to investigate the (1) prevalence of physical and psychological adverse health outcomes, (2) the HRQoL, and (3) the association of adverse health outcomes and HRQoL among long-term AYA-BT survivors. Adverse health outcomes and HRQoL were compared to other AYA cancer (AYAC) survivors.

Pre-emptive treatment for cytomegalovirus viraemia to prevent cytomegalovirus disease in solid organ transplant recipients.

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a significant cause of morbidity and death in solid organ transplant recipients. Pre-emptive treatment of patients with CMV viraemia using antiviral agents has been suggested as an alternative to routine prophylaxis to prevent CMV disease. This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in 2006 and updated in 2013.

Vascular ageing manifestations and hypertension in the community.

Objective: To investigate the association between joint manifestations of vascular ageing (VA) and hypertension.

Methods: We used baseline (2008-2012) and follow-up data (up to 2024) from the Paris Prospective Study III, a French cohort of 10,157 participants. Prevalent and incident hypertension were determined at baseline (blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg or on medication) and at 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 years of follow-up (self-reported antihypertensive treatment).

Ischemia during exercise stress testing, an indication of coronary vasomotor dysfunction?

Background: Recently it has been suggested that coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) may explain the high false-positive rate of exercise electrocardiographic stress testing (EST). However, patients with angina but non-obstructive coronary artery disease (ANOCA) present with a broader spectrum of coronary vasomotor dysfunction (CVDys), namely coronary artery spasm (CAS), CMD or a combination of both. We aim to investigate the diagnostic value of EST for the entire CVDys spectrum.

Working toward Personalized Intervention Advice: A Survey Study on Preference Heterogeneity in Patients with Breast Cancer-Related Fatigue.

Unlabelled: Many breast cancer survivors experience cancer-related fatigue (CRF), and several interventions to treat CRF are available. One way to tailor intervention advice is based on patient preferences. In this study, we explore preference heterogeneity regarding between-attribute and within-attribute preferences.

Three-Dimensional Rotational Angiography to Guide Cardiac Catheterization in Critical Infants Below 5kg of Body Weight.

Background: Three-dimensional rotational angiography (3DRA) is a promising advancement to guide cardiac catheterizations. It is used with restraint in critically ill infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) due to the lack of research conducted within this patient group.

Methods: Data of all infants with CHD and a body weight <5 kg who underwent cardiac catheterization with the use of 3DRA between November 2011 and April 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.

Retroperitoneal Soft Tissue Sarcoma and Kidney Autotransplantation: A Case Report.

Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are rare malignancies, with retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcoma (RPS) constituting 10%-15% of all STSs. RPS often presents late due to minimal early symptoms, typically requiring complete en-bloc resection for optimal survival outcomes. Achieving radical resection can be challenging due to the tumor's proximity to vital organs.

Identifying genetic differences between bipolar disorder and major depression through multiple genome-wide association analyses.

Background: Accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BPD) is difficult in clinical practice, with an average delay between symptom onset and diagnosis of about 7 years. A depressive episode often precedes the first manic episode, making it difficult to distinguish BPD from unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD).

Aims: We use genome-wide association analyses (GWAS) to identify differential genetic factors and to develop predictors based on polygenic risk scores (PRS) that may aid early differential diagnosis.

Oral antihypertensive agents and diuretics in the management of hypertension in postpartum women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: In the puerperium, women with hypertensive disease of pregnancy remain at risk for maternal complications. The antihypertensive agent prescribed antepartum is usually continued postpartum; however, evidence regarding the most effective treatment is lacking. Therefore, we aimed to investigate which antihypertensive agent results in optimal treatment (both effectiveness and safety) of postpartum hypertension.