Comparison of the Performance of Nonlinear Time-Dependent Constitutive Models Calibrated with Minimal Test Data Applied to an Epoxy Resin.

Epoxy resins are extensively employed as adhesives and matrices in fibre-reinforced composites. As polymers, they possess a viscoelastic nature and are prone to creep and stress relaxation even at room temperature. This phenomenon is also responsible for time-dependent failure or creep fracture due to cumulative strain.

Highly Nucleophilic Pyridinamide Anions in Apolar Organic Solvents due to Asymmetric Ion Pair Association.

Free ions in organic solvents of low polarity would be valuable tools for the activation of low-reactivity substrates. However, the formation of unreactive ion pairs at concentrations relevant for synthesis has prevented the success of this concept so far. On the example of highly nucleophilic pyridinamide phosphonium salts in dichloromethane, we show that asymmetric aggregation offers a solution to this general problem.

Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes-Palliative Care in Africa and Quality of Life, Symptoms, Patient Experience, and Caregiver Distress Among Patients With Cancer.

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association between the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes-Palliative Care (ECHO-PC; ECHO Model-Based comprehensive educational and telementoring intervention) for health care professionals (HCPs) and change in patient-reported quality-of-life (QOL; Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General [FACT-G]) among patients with advanced cancer. We also examined the association between ECHO-PC and changes in symptom distress (Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale [ESAS]), patient experience and satisfaction, and caregiver distress scores.

Methods: ECHO-PC Clinic sessions were conducted twice a month for 1 year by an interdisciplinary team of PC clinicians at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, with participation of experts in PC in sub-Saharan Africa, using standardized curriculum on the basis of PC needs in the region.

From water to land-Usage of Generalized Unified Threshold models of Survival (GUTS) in an above-ground terrestrial context exemplified by honeybee survival data.

In regulatory aquatic risk assessment, toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic (TKTD) methods, such as the generalized unified threshold model of survival (GUTS), are already established and considered ready for use, whereas TKTD methods for aboveground terrestrial species, like arthropods, are less developed and currently not intended for risk assessment. This could be due to the fact that exposure in aboveground terrestrial systems is more event-based (feeding, contact, overspray, etc.), whereas exposure in aquatic systems is simply related to substance concentrations in the surrounding water.

Parametric Search for Optimal Channel Shape for Swirling Blood Flow in the Heart and Main Vessels.

The study presents a numerical parametric investigation of flow structures in channels with a longitudinal-radial profile zR = Const and a spherical dome at the base. The goal of the study was to examine the flow structures in these channels depending on the exponent N of the profile and the height of the dome, to determine the conditions that provide optimal centripetal swirling flow, analogous to blood flow in the heart chambers and major vessels. The investigation was conducted using a comparative analysis of flow structures in channel configurations zR = Const, carried out in two stages.

Follow-up after first-Line nivOlumab plus ipilimumab in patients with diffuse pleuRal mesotheliomA: a real-world Dutch cohort study-FLORA.

Background: Diffuse pleural mesothelioma (dPM) is an aggressive malignancy, primarily treated with palliative systemic therapy. Since 2022, nivolumab-ipilimumab (nivo/ipi) has replaced chemotherapy as the standard first-line treatment for dPM in the Netherlands. Chemotherapy remains a rational second-line treatment.

Randomised controlled feasibility trial of retroperitoneal vs transperitoneal robot-assisted partial nephrectomy: the ROPARN study.

Objectives: To assess the feasibility of trial recruitment and confirm that retroperitoneal robotic partial nephrectomy (RRPN) has the same oncological efficacy as transperitoneal robotic partial nephrectomy (TRPN), with time advantages and less peri-operative morbidity, in a randomised controlled trial (RCT).

Patients And Methods: The study was designed as a single-centre, open-label, feasibility RCT. Patients with suspected localised renal cell carcinoma referred for robotic partial nephrectomy were randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive either TRPN or RRPN.

The Influence of Migration Timing and Local Conditions on Reproductive Timing in Arctic-Breeding Birds.

For birds breeding in the Arctic, nest success is affected by the timing of nest initiation, which is partially determined by local conditions such as snow cover. However, conditions during the non-breeding season can carry over to affect the timing of breeding. We used tracking and breeding data from 248 individuals of 8 species and subspecies of Arctic-breeding shorebirds to estimate how the timing of nest initiation is related to local conditions like snowmelt phenology versus prior conditions, measured by the timing and speed of migration.

Map2k6 is a potent genetic modifier of arterial rupture in vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome mice.

Aortic dissection or rupture is a major cause of mortality in vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (vEDS), a connective tissue disorder caused by heterozygous mutations in the COL3A1 gene. C57BL6/J (BL6) mice carrying the Col3a1 G938D/+ mutation recapitulate the vEDS vascular phenotype and die suddenly of aortic rupture/dissection. However, 129S6/SvEvTac (129) mice expressing the same Col3a1 G938D/+ mutation show near-complete life-long protection from vascular rupture.

Unconventional twinning assisted by pyramidal II stacking faults.

Twinning significantly affects the deformation behavior of hexagonal close-packed Mg, so a thorough understanding of twin nucleation and growth mechanisms is required for enhancing the properties of Mg-based materials. The commonly observed tension twins have been traditionally linked to 〈c + a〉 dislocation dissociation, which results in zonal dislocations with large Burgers vectors several times that of a single twinning dislocation and some residual dislocations. Contrarily, our molecular dynamics simulations reveal twin nucleation from pyramidal II stacking faults through atomic shuffling without shear displacements.

A combined recombinase polymerase amplification CRISPR/Cas12a assay for detection of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4.

The soilborne pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4) is currently devastating banana production worldwide.

How has the concept of health system software been used in health policy and systems research? A scoping review.

Understanding health systems as comprising interacting elements of hardware and software acknowledges health systems as complex adaptive systems (CAS). Hardware represents the concrete components of systems, whereas software represents the elements which influence actions and underpin relationships, such as processes, values and norms As a specific call for research on health system software was made in 2011, we conducted a qualitative scoping review considering how and for what purpose the concept has been used since then. Our overall purpose was to synthesise current knowledge and generate lessons about how to deepen research on, and understanding of, health system software.

The long way from raw data to NAM-based information: Overview on data layers and processing steps.

Toxicological test methods generate raw data and provide instructions on how to use these to determine a final outcome such as a classification of test compounds as hits or non-hits. The data processing pipeline provided in the test method description is often highly complex. Usually, multiple layers of data, ranging from a machine-generated output to the final hit definition, are considered.

Functional soft palate reconstruction.

Background: The excision of oropharyngeal carcinoma of more than 50% of the soft palate followed by static reconstruction may result in functional deficits, including velopharyngeal insufficiency, swallowing, and speech difficulties. We describe a functional soft palate reconstruction technique aimed at restoring aeromechanical and acoustic functions, enabling swallowing without nasal regurgitation and speech with low nasalance.

Material And Methods: We developed a new operative technique, using muscle transfer and a free flap to create a dynamic reconstruction.

Disease activity indices used in axial spondyloarthritis perform similarly in real-life clinical settings.

Objective: Monitoring of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) activity using validated indices (BASDAI/ASDAS) is widely recommended but rarely followed in practice. The reasons, although varied, may be found in the scarcity of studies comparing the performance of these indices in daily practice. Here we compare the performance of activity indices in clinical practice.

The aortic-vertebral distance is more associated with axial plane deformities than coronal and sagittal deformities in idiopathic scoliosis patients of Lenke types I and II.

Purpose: Although idiopathic scoliosis is a common three-dimensional deformity, there is a lack of studies evaluating the associations between the aortic-vertebral distance (AVD) and spinal deformities in all planes. The study therefore aimed to evaluate how the coronal and sagittal curvature, vertebral rotation and aortic-vertebral angle (AVA) affect the AVD in idiopathic scoliosis.

Methods: The AVD, AVA, vertebral rotation and curve angles were measured on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging and radiographs in 46 patients who underwent posterior spinal fusion with pedicle screw instrumentation for idiopathic scoliosis Lenke types 1 and 2.

Dispersive nodal fermions along grain boundaries in Floquet topological crystals.

Driven quantum materials often feature emergent topology, otherwise absent in static crystals. Dynamic bulk-boundary correspondence, encoded by nondissipative gapless modes residing near the Floquet zone center and/or boundaries, is its most prominent example. Here we show that topologically robust gapless dispersive modes appear along the grain boundaries, embedded in the interior of Floquet topological crystals, when the Floquet-Bloch band inversion occurring at a finite momentum ( ) and the Burgers vector ( ) of the constituting array of dislocations satisfy (modulo ).

Dietary intake and risk assessment of nitrosamine in processed meat products among medical staff during their night shift.

The study aims to evaluate the levels of nitrosamine, a known carcinogenic compound, in processed meat products and to assess its dietary intake and margin of exposure among medical staff, including physicians, pharmacists, and nurses working night shifts at Alexandria University Hospitals. Additionally, the study seeks to evaluate the participants' knowledge of dietary sources and regulatory limits of carcinogens. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 420 participants.

A widespread family of viral sponge proteins reveals specific inhibition of nucleotide signals in anti-phage defense.

Cyclic oligonucleotide-based antiviral signaling systems (CBASS) are bacterial anti-phage defense operons that use nucleotide signals to control immune activation. Here we biochemically screen 57 diverse and phages for the ability to disrupt CBASS immunity and discover anti-CBASS 4 (Acb4) from the phage SPO1 as the founding member of a large family of >1,300 immune evasion proteins. A 2.

INCREASED INCIDENCE OF INJURIES IN THE SÃO PAULO SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP POST-PANDEMIC.

Objective: Soccer shows a high incidence of injuries and its cause is multifactorial. The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are unknown. This study aims to evaluate the incidence of injuries in the 2023 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol (São Paulo Soccer Championship) and compare it to the championships prior to the pandemic.

Complex Ureteral Reconstruction via Open or Robotic Ureteroplasty with a Buccal Mucosa Onlay Graft: A Two-center Comparison.

Background And Objective: Management of a long proximal ureteral stricture is challenging. Buccal mucosal graft (BMG) ureteroplasty is a reliable technique for ureteral reconstruction that avoids the morbidity of bowel interposition or autotransplantation. We compared open and robotic BMG ureteroplasty in a two-center study.

Cancer Research in the Age of Spatial Omics: Lessons from IMAXT.

The Imaging and Molecular Annotation of Xenografts and Tumors Cancer Grand Challenges team was set up with the objective of developing the "next generation" of pathology and cancer research by using a combination of single-cell and spatial omics tools to produce 3D molecularly annotated maps of tumors. Its activities overlapped, and in some cases catalyzed, a spatial revolution in biology that saw new technologies being deployed to investigate the roles of tumor heterogeneity and of the tumor micro-environment. See related article by Stratton et al.

Disparities in cervical cancer elimination timeframes in the United States: a comparative modeling study.

Population-level estimates in timeframes for reaching cervical cancer (CC) elimination (ie, <4 cases per 100,000 women) in the United States may mask potential disparities in achieving elimination among sub-populations. We used three independent Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) models to estimate differences in the time to CC elimination across seven strata of correlated screening and human papillomavirus vaccination uptake, based on national survey data. Compared to the average population, elimination was achieved ≥22 years earlier for the high-uptake strata and ≥27 years later for the most extreme low-uptake strata.