Effects of aging on the tensile strength and surface condition of orthodontic aligners: a comparative study of five models.

Background/objective: The objective of this study is to determine the effect of aging on tensile strength and surface condition of orthodontic aligners on days 0, 1, 5, 7, 10, and 14.

Materials/methods: The total sample of 80 aligners included five brands (Accusmile®, Angel®, GRAPHY®, Invisalign® and Suresmile®) were placed in a thermocycler to imitate the temperature variations of the oral cavity and accelerate aging for 50, 250, 350, 500, and 700 cycles. The mechanical tensile properties (Young's modulus E, yield strength YS, maximum elastic stress MES, Ultimate Tensile Strength UTS, and maximum stress MS) were measured by Universal Testing Machine at a rate of 5 mm of deformation per minute for 4 minutes.

Large language models (LLMs) as agents for augmented democracy.

We explore an augmented democracy system built on off-the-shelf large language models (LLMs) fine-tuned to augment data on citizens' preferences elicited over policies extracted from the government programmes of the two main candidates of Brazil's 2022 presidential election. We use a train-test cross-validation set-up to estimate the accuracy with which the LLMs predict both: a subject's individual political choices and the aggregate preferences of the full sample of participants. At the individual level, we find that LLMs predict out of sample preferences more accurately than a 'bundle rule', which would assume that citizens always vote for the proposals of the candidate aligned with their self-reported political orientation.

Impact of a multifaceted antibiotic stewardship programme in a paediatric acute care unit over 8 years.

Background: Antibiotics are the most prescribed drugs for children worldwide, but overuse and misuse have led to an increase in antibiotic resistance. Antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASPs) have proven feasible in reducing inappropriate antimicrobial use. The study aimed at evaluating the impact and sustainability of an ASP with multiple interventions over 8 years.

Extracellular vesicles from microglial cells activated by abnormal heparan sulfate oligosaccharides from Sanfilippo patients impair neuronal dendritic arborization.

Background: In mucopolysaccharidosis type III (MPS III, also known as Sanfilippo syndrome), a pediatric neurodegenerative disorder, accumulation of abnormal glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) induces severe neuroinflammation by triggering the microglial pro-inflammatory cytokines production via a TLR4-dependent pathway. But the extent of the microglia contribution to the MPS III neuropathology remains unclear. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate intercellular communication and are known to participate in the pathogenesis of adult neurodegenerative diseases.

A spatio-temporal dataset for ecophysiological monitoring of urban trees.

A dataset was produced for 117 urban trees in four monospecific tree rows in the city of Rennes, northwestern France. The trees were measured in nine 2- to 3-day measurement sessions from Apr-Sep 2021. The dataset includes (i) leaf traits (, contents of pigments, water and dry matter) measured and in the laboratory; (ii) plant area density measured under the canopy and (iii) georeferenced data that describe the location, geometry and species of the trees.

Semi-supervised learning with pseudo-labeling compares favorably with large language models for regulatory sequence prediction.

Predicting molecular processes using deep learning is a promising approach to provide biological insights for non-coding single nucleotide polymorphisms identified in genome-wide association studies. However, most deep learning methods rely on supervised learning, which requires DNA sequences associated with functional data, and whose amount is severely limited by the finite size of the human genome. Conversely, the amount of mammalian DNA sequences is growing exponentially due to ongoing large-scale sequencing projects, but in most cases without functional data.

In-vitro antibacterial and antibiofilm activities and in-silico analysis of a potent cyclic peptide from a novel Streptomyces sp. strain RG-5 against antibiotic-resistant and biofilm-forming pathogenic bacteria.

The proliferation of multidrug-resistant and biofilm-forming pathogenic bacteria poses a serious threat to public health. The limited effectiveness of current antibiotics motivates the search for new antibacterial compounds. In this study, a novel strain, RG-5, was isolated from desert soil.

Temporal trajectory and left ventricular ejection fraction association of eight circulating biomarkers in first acute myocardial infarction patients: a 12-month prospective cohort study.

Aims: Our study aimed to explore the temporal trajectory of eight circulating biomarkers, measured serially over 12 months, in a prospective observational cohort of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to investigate the association between these biomarkers and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) during follow-up assessments.

Methods And Results: We enrolled 155 patients admitted for a first AMI requiring percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Baseline characteristics, laboratory test results, and cardiac ultrasound examinations were collected at pre-PCI (H0), immediately post-PCI (H24), at discharge (D3), and at 6 months (M6) and 12 months (M12) post-PCI.

Efficient indexing and querying of annotations in a pangenome graph.

The current reference genome is the backbone of diverse and rich annotations. Simple text formats, like VCF or BED, have been widely adopted and helped the critical exchange of genomic information. There is a dire need for tools and formats enabling pangenomic annotation to facilitate such enrichment of pangenomic references.

Development of Personalised Immediate-Release Gel-Based Formulations Using Semi-Solid Extrusion.

Precision in dosing is crucial for optimizing therapeutic outcomes and preventing overdosing, especially in preterm infants. Traditional manual adjustments to adapt the dose often lead to inaccuracies, contamination risks, and reduced precision. To overcome these challenges, semi-solid extrusion 3D printing was used to create personalised gel-based caffeine dosage forms.

When Do Tumours Develop? Neoplastic Processes Across Different Timescales: Age, Season and Round the Circadian Clock.

While it is recognised that most, if not all, multicellular organisms harbour neoplastic processes within their bodies, the timing of when these undesirable cell proliferations are most likely to occur and progress throughout the organism's lifetime remains only partially documented. Due to the different mechanisms implicated in tumourigenesis, it is highly unlikely that this probability remains constant at all times and stages of life. In this article, we summarise what is known about this variation, considering the roles of age, season and circadian rhythm.

Co-construction of an instructional module to improve the understanding of cancer screening by people with intellectual disabilities: Strategic choices.

Objective: People with intellectual disabilities (ID) have difficulty in accessing oral or written health information presented in a conventional manner what compromises prevention. This study aims to develop accessible information on breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening for people with ID.

Method: The instructional material has been developed collaboratively by a team involving representatives from different scientific disciplines (medical and psychoeducational) and people with ID.

The link between multiplicative competitive interaction models and compositional data regression with a total.

This article sheds light on the relationship between compositional data (CoDa) regression models and multiplicative competitive interaction (MCI) models, which are two approaches for modeling shares. We demonstrate that MCI models are particular cases of CoDa models with a total and that a reparameterization links both. Recognizing this relation offers mutual benefits for the CoDa and MCI literature, each with its own rich tradition.

The effects of screen-based simulation on nursing students' acquisition of medication administration and dosage calculation skills: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Screen-based simulation is a cost-effective educational modality that allows nursing students to comfortably acquire new skills as they become accustomed to digital environments. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a screen-based simulation tool in enhancing knowledge and skills related to medication administration and dosage calculation in nursing students.

Methods: This multicenter, single-blind, stratified, randomized controlled trial initially enrolled 480 nursing students.

Easy reversible clustering of gold nanoparticles via pH-Induced assembly of PVP-b-PAA copolymer.

The growing demand of novel hybrid organic/inorganic systems with exciting properties has contributed to an increasing need for simplifying production strategies. Here, we report a simple method to obtain controlled three-dimensional hybrid architectures, in particular hybrid supracolloids (hSC), formed by gold nanoparticles and a double hydrophilic block copolymer, specifically the poly(acrylic acid)-block-poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PAA-b-PVP), directly in aqueous medium. The ubiquitous pH-sensitive poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) block initiates the assembly through pH changes, while the poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) block assures the close affinity with the AuNPs.

Meniscal-wall ultrasound-guided steroid infiltration for degenerative meniscal lesions (DML) shows low rate of conversion to surgery.

Introduction: Degenerative meniscal lesions (DML) are frequent in the general population. However, the management of stable DML is always a challenge due to the lack of universal consensus and evidence.

Hypothesis: We assessed ultrasound-guided corticosteroids medial meniscal-wall infiltration as a conservative therapy for symptomatic DML and we searched for associated factors of very good response.