Investigating toxicity and Bias in stable diffusion text-to-image models.

Text-to-image models are increasingly popular and impactful, yet concerns regarding their safety and fairness remain. This study investigates the ability of ten popular Stable Diffusion models to generate harmful images, including sexual, violent, and personally sensitive material. We demonstrate that these models respond to harmful prompts by generating inappropriate content, which frequently displays troubling biases, such as the disproportionate portrayal of Black individuals in violent contexts.

EULAR recommendations for a core dataset to support clinical care and translational and observational research in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: To enhance clinical and multicentre research outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), standardised documentation of patient- and disease-related features is important. The aim of this European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) taskforce was to define a core set of essential items for the comprehensive care of SLE patients in clinical practice, with an extension for vital elements required for translational and observational research.

Methods: A multidisciplinary EULAR task force group engaged in a multistep approach including a 4-round Delphi survey and a face-to-face meeting.

Reirradiation of recurrent glioblastoma: Results from a single-center retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: The management of recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM) remains a clinical challenge, with only limited therapeutic options available to date. Reirradiation may offer a progression-free survival (PFS) benefit in selected cases, but data are scarce.

Methods: Consecutive patients from the last 10 years with GBM (CNS WHO grade 4, IDH-wildtype) who underwent at least one additional course of cranial radiotherapy for suspected or histopathologically confirmed rGBM at a tertiary neuro-oncological center were retrospectively analyzed.

Treatment and prognostic factors in polymyalgia rheumatica: a systematic literature review informing German, Austrian and Swiss guidelines.

Objectives: To capture the current evidence on therapeutic interventions and prognostic factors in polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) informing a task force of the German, Austrian, and Swiss rheumatology societies formulating the updated recommendations for the management of PMR.

Methods: A systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Cinahl, and Web of Science was conducted (July 2016-January 2024), supplemented by a search of grey literature. Included were interventional and prognostic studies (both prospective and retrospective) in pure PMR.

Differential molecular signatures in response to CD19-CAR T cell therapy compared with conventional pharmacotherapy in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: Early trials of CD19-chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) show promise, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its disease-modifying effects remain unclear. We aimed to compare biological profiles and alterations following CD19-CAR T cell versus standard pharmacotherapy in SLE.

Methods: Pseudo-bulk gene expression derived from single-cell RNA sequencing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 7 SLE patients before and after CD19-CAR T cell therapy was compared with whole-blood transcriptome data from 30 SLE patients in remission on standard pharmacotherapy and 31 SLE patients before and 6 months after treatment with rituximab, belimumab, or cyclophosphamide.

Pediatric Intracranial Infections Requiring Neurosurgery: A German Multicenter Analysis of 10-Year Trends Pre-COVID-19 and Post-COVID-19.

Background And Objectives: Intracranial infection in children is a rare but life-threatening condition that requires immediate neurosurgical care. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on incidence and outcome is unclear.

Methods: This study is a multicenter retrospective analysis of children who underwent neurosurgical treatment of intracranial infections (epidural abscess, subdural empyema, cerebral abscess, ventriculitis, and meningitis) between January 2014 and October 2024.

Frailty diminishes functional outcome in patients with nonaneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a dual specialized neurovascular center analysis.

Objective: Frailty is increasingly recognized as a significant prognostic factor in various conditions. However, its impact on outcomes following spontaneous, nonaneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (naSAH) remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the association between pre-existing frailty and functional outcomes in patients with naSAH.

Second-line temozolomide in first recurrent MGMT-methylated glioblastoma after lomustine/temozolomide: Efficacy and safety.

Background: The optimal salvage therapy for recurrent MGMT-methylated glioblastoma (GBM), IDH wildtype, remains undefined. While lomustine is often used in clinical trials and considered standard-of-care, cumulative toxicity precludes its use in patients previously treated with lomustine/temozolomide. The role of temozolomide rechallenge in this setting is unclear.

Inpatient neurosurgical mortality in germany: a comprehensive analysis of 2023 in-hospital data.

Background: Neurosurgical conditions and procedures are associated with varying in-hospital mortality rates, which represent one of several quality indicators. This study aims to determine and report in-hospital mortality rates across German neurosurgical departments in 2023.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of all neurosurgical cases treated in Germany in 2023 was conducted using nationwide hospital billing data reported under § 21 of the Hospital Remuneration Act.

Structural White Matter Correlates of the Crowding Effect: Insights From a Tractography Study of the Arcuate Fasciculus Post-Hemispherotomy.

The neuropsychological crowding effect denotes the reallocation of cognitive functions within the contralesional hemisphere following unilateral brain damage, prioritizing language at the expense of nonverbal abilities. This study investigates structural white matter correlates of crowding in the arcuate fasciculus (AF), a key language tract, using hemispherotomy as a unique setting to explore structural reorganization supporting language preservation. We explore two main hypotheses.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic lupus erythematosus: identification of risk factors and haemodynamics characteristics in a multicentre retrospective cohort.

Objectives: The aim of our work was to identify specific patterns in clinical features and nailfold capillary changes that may help in screening for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: We identified patients with SLE and type I PAH (n=20) without other connective tissue diseases and collected demographic, clinical and laboratory features. We selected as controls patients with SLE who underwent cardiopulmonary screening to exclude PAH (n=87): we collected demographic, clinical and laboratory features and performed nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC).

Microfluidics for protein interaction studies: current methods, challenges, and future perspectives.

Proteins are the key molecular players of life, carrying out their functions through interactions. Microfluidic technologies have emerged as powerful tools for studying protein interactions with exquisite sensitivity, resolution, and throughput. In this review, we highlight recent advances in microfluidic approaches for protein interaction studies.

Using a stable protein scaffold to display peptides that bind to alpha-synuclein fibrils.

Amyloid fibrils are ordered aggregates that are a pathological hallmark of many neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. The process of amyloid formation involves a complex cascade by which soluble monomeric protein converts to insoluble, ordered aggregates (amyloid fibrils). Although inhibiting the aggregation pathway is a key target for therapeutic development, the heterogeneous collection of aggregation-prone species formed in this process, including oligomers, protofibrils, and fibrils, represents other targets for modifying disease pathology.

Age at onset of epilepsy shapes neurocognitive profiles in focal cortical dysplasia.

Background: Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a common developmental brain disorder frequently associated with refractory epilepsy and neurocognitive comorbidities. This study examines the neurocognitive profiles of patients with FCD, with particular attention to histopathological classification, age at onset of epilepsy (AOE), FCD lateralization and localization, and antiseizure medication (ASM) load.

Methods: This study was conducted on 98 patients with FCD (type IIa: n = 26, type IIb: n = 59) who had undergone surgical treatment for epilepsy.

Alveolar ridge augmentation in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: a study on current practices, patient management and innovations in Germany.

Introduction: This study identifies current practices, patient management concepts and innovations in alveolar ridge augmentation (ARA) in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) in Germany.

Material And Methods: A survey with a dynamic online questionnaire with up to 40 questions was designed to collect general and specific data on ARA, such as case numbers, imaging, surgical techniques, (bio-)materials, and case management in OMFS. After internal and external validation, 1863 OMF surgeons within the German Association for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (DGMKG) were invited via email to participate.

Effects of high-flow oxygen therapy on oxygenation in dogs undergoing diagnostic bronchoscopy.

Introduction: Hypoxemia is a common complication during bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). High-Flow Oxygen Therapy (HFOT) has been used to improve oxygenation and prevent periods of hypoxemia in people undergoing bronchoscopy.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of HFOT on oxygenation in dogs undergoing diagnostic bronchoscopy compared to a traditional oxygen supplementation method (TOT).

Extracellular phase separation mediates storage and release of thyroglobulin in the thyroid follicular lumen.

Thyroid hormones are produced by the thyroid gland and are essential for regulating metabolism, growth and development. Maintenance of circulating thyroid hormone levels within an appropriate range is thus a prerequisite for health. In vivo, this objective is, at least in part, facilitated through an extracellular storage depot of thyroglobulin, the glycoprotein precursor for thyroid hormones, in the thyroid follicular lumen.

for the Management of Radiation-Induced Cerebral Edema and Necrosis: A Systematic Meta-Narrative Review of Clinical Evidence.

Purpose: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) yields excellent local control in patients with a limited number of brain metastases (BMs), but radiation-induced cerebral edema and radiation necrosis (RN) in particular may cause dose-limiting late toxicity, with the same holding true after fractionated radiation therapy for glioma. In symptomatic patients, the first-line standard of care includes corticosteroids, which may, however, be counterproductive in the evolving era of immunotherapy. Boswellic acid (BA), available as an over-the-counter dietary supplement, has been suggested as a potential corticosteroid-sparing alternative because of its anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic effects.

The ATLAS/NOA-29 study protocol: a phase III randomized controlled trial of anterior temporal lobectomy versus gross-total resection in newly-diagnosed temporal lobe glioblastoma.

Background: The discovery of cellular tumor networks in glioblastoma, with routes of malignant communication extending far beyond the detectable tumor margins, has highlighted the potential of supramarginal resection strategies. Retrospective data suggest that these approaches may improve long-term disease control. However, their application is limited by the proximity of critical brain regions and vasculature, posing challenges for validation in randomized trials.

Retrospective evaluation of autotransfusion using a cell saver device versus allotransfusion in the perioperative management of acute hemoperitoneum in 43 dogs (2017-2021).

Background: Cell saver (CS) technology is an increasingly popular approach for autotransfusion in small animal veterinary medicine for the treatment of patients with abdominal hemorrhagic effusion.

Objective: To evaluate the utility, effectiveness, and safety of autotransfusions collected with a CS device and to assess whether the use of the CS device reduces the demand for allogenic blood transfusions.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective study of dogs with acute hemoperitoneum of splenic origin treated surgically.

High-dose MTX-based polychemotherapy for primary CNS lymphoma in younger patients: Long-term efficacy of the modified Bonn protocol.

Background: Polychemotherapy based on high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) is the standard therapy for newly diagnosed younger patients (<65 years) with primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL). In the modified Bonn protocol, consolidation therapy consists of intraventricular chemotherapy that is added to the continuation of HD-MTX-based chemotherapy. This study investigates the efficacy and toxicity of the modified Bonn protocol in first-line therapy of young patients with PCNSL.

Preclinical evaluation of DC-CIK cells as potentially effective immunotherapy model for the treatment of glioblastoma.

Despite the favorable effects of immunotherapies in multiple types of cancers, its complete success in CNS malignancies remains challenging. Recently, a successful clinical trial of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell immunotherapy in patients with glioblastoma (GBM) has opened a new avenue for adoptive cellular immunotherapies in CNS malignancies. Prompt from these findings, herein, we investigated whether dendritic cells (DC) in combination with cytokine-induced killer cells (DC-CIK) could also provide an alternative and more effective way to improve the efficacy of GBM treatment.

Tonabersat enhances temozolomide-mediated cytotoxicity in glioblastoma by disrupting intercellular connectivity through connexin 43 inhibition.

Glioblastoma cells rely on connexin 43 (Cx43)-based gap junctions (GJs) for intercellular communication, enabling them to integrate into a widely branched malignant network. Although there are promising prospects for new targeted therapies, the lack of clinically feasible GJ inhibitors has impeded their adoption in clinical practice. In the present study, we investigated tonabersat (TO), a blood-brain-barrier-penetrating drug with GJ-inhibitory properties, in regard to its potential to disassemble intercellular connectivity in glioblastoma networks.

Impact of systemic inflammation and disease activity on the incidence of interstitial lung disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis - a nested case-control study within the German biologics register RABBIT.

Background: To investigate the association between the development of incident interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the disease activity of RA with its various components, especially C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).

Methods: We analysed data from RA patients, observed in the German biologics register RABBIT between 2001 and 2021. In a nested case-control study, patients with a reported incident ILD diagnosis during follow-up were matched 1:5 to patients without ILD.