Potential impact, costs, and benefits of population-wide screening interventions for tuberculosis in Viet Nam: A mathematical modelling study.

Population-wide screening may accelerate the decline of tuberculosis (TB) incidence, but the optimal screening algorithm and duration must weigh resource considerations. We calibrated a deterministic transmission model to TB epidemiology in Viet Nam. We simulated three population-wide screening algorithms from 2025: sputum nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT, Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra) only; chest radiography (CXR) followed by NAAT; and CXR-only without microbiological confirmation.

Identification of potential inflammation markers for outgrowth of cow's milk allergy.

Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated cow's milk allergy (CMA) is an immune-mediated reaction to cow's milk (CM). Non-IgE-mediated CMA resolves in most children in the first years of life, whereas IgE-mediated CMA outgrowth is often later or not at all. The exact mechanisms underlying resolution of IgE-mediated CMA are not fully understood.

Are the Clinical Outcomes of Lumbar Stenosis in Achondroplasia Associated With the Severity of Stenosis and Sagittal Balance?

Background: Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is common in adults with achondroplasia and predisposes individuals to neurogenic claudication. It remains unverified whether the severity of stenosis in patients with achondroplasia is associated with clinical outcomes. Similarly, the role of sagittal balance parameters in clinical outcomes has not been determined.

The Minoan Thera eruption predates Pharaoh Ahmose: Radiocarbon dating of Egyptian 17th to early 18th Dynasty museum objects.

The huge volcanic eruption at Thera (Santorini), situated in the Aegean Sea, occurred within the Late Minoan IA archaeological period. However, its temporal association with Egyptian history has long been a controversial subject. Traditionally, the eruption was placed in the early 18th Dynasty, associated with Pharaoh Thutmose III as the youngest option or with Pharaoh Nebpehtire Ahmose as the oldest possibility.

How to make an app-based program work and show how it works.

For digital health interventions, the "gold standard" of evaluating effectiveness is the randomized control trial (RCT). Yet, RCT methodology presents issues such as precluding changes to the technology during the study period as well as the use of study settings that do not reflect "real world" contexts. In this paper, we draw on empirical material from our ethnographic research on an app-based program called HIVSmart!, which is a digital strategy designed to support people in the process of HIV self-testing.

Cryo-EM structure of a type VI secretion system-delivered membrane-depolarizing toxin involved in bacterial antagonism.

Many Gram-negative bacteria use type VI secretion systems (T6SSs) to deliver toxic effector proteins into neighboring cells. Proteins in the VasX toxin family form ion-permeable channels in the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane that dissipate the proton motive force, thereby interfering with essential physiological processes. However, the structure of any VasX family effector has remained unknown.

Prevention of Incisional Hernias With Prophylactic Synthetic Mesh Placement During Stoma Reversal: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Stoma reversal is associated with few complications. However, recent studies show that 1 in 3 patients develop an incisional hernia, for which half of the patients receive surgical correction.

Objective: To investigate whether prophylactic synthetic mesh placement in the retromuscular space during stoma reversal reduces the rate of stomal site incisional hernias.

Lateralised modulation of posterior alpha oscillations by closed loop auditory stimulation during memory retention.

Alpha oscillations have been implicated in the maintenance of working memory representations. Notably, when memorised content is spatially lateralised, the power of posterior alpha activity exhibits corresponding lateralisation during the retention interval, consistent with the retinotopic organisation of the visual cortex. Beyond power, alpha frequency has also been linked to memory performan ce, with faster alpha rhythms associated with enhanced retention.

Eco Friendly and Budget Smart: An Economic and Environmental Evaluation of Alternative PD-1 and PD-L1 Inhibitor Dosing Regimens.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are clinically beneficial but associated with high costs that represent a growing challenge for healthcare budgets and may affect affordability, especially in resource-limited settings. Moreover, the healthcare sector is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, and medication-related waste-such as that from vial-based therapies-has been identified as a contributing factor. Alternative dosing strategies could reduce the environmental and financial impact of ICI therapy while maintaining clinical safety and efficacy.

Aortic hemorrhage following anastomotic leakage after esophagogastric surgery before and after implementation of endoscopic vacuum therapy.

Background: Endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT) has been established as a safe and effective treatment for anastomotic leakage. While rare, major aortic hemorrhage has been reported as a severe complication potentially associated with EVT. However, significant hemorrhages have also been observed in patients with transmural defects in the upper gastrointestinal tract, without the use of EVT.

Transition of patients with hereditary nephropathies from pediatric to adult care.

Adolescents and young adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD), particularly those with genetic kidney diseases, face unique challenges as they transition from pediatric to adult nephrology care. This period is marked not only by changes in healthcare providers but also by significant developmental, psychosocial, and medical complexities. In response, the ERA Working Group on Genes and Kidney and the ESPN Working Group on Inherited Kidney Diseases have collaborated to develop practical advice for healthcare professionals involved in transition care across Europe and beyond.

Small Interfering RNA Therapy Targeting the Long Noncoding RNA SMILR for Therapeutic Intervention in Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Failure.

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery remains the gold standard of care to prevent myocardial ischemia in patients with advanced atherosclerosis; however, poor long-term graft patency remains a considerable and long-standing problem. Excessive vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation in the grafted tissue is recognized as central to late CABG failure. We previously identified SMILR, a human-specific SMC-enriched long noncoding RNA that drives SMC proliferation, suggesting that targeting SMILR expression could be a novel way to prevent neointima formation, and thus CABG failure.

[Naevus of Ito in a Dutch adult].

This case report describes the presence of an acquirednaevus of Ito on a 78-year-old Dutch male. Naevus of Ito is a blue-grey discolouration that most commonly presents on Asian individuals during childhood. It is exceedingly rare for this naevus to occur later in life in a non-Asian individual.

Spectral Photon-Counting Detector Coronary CTA With Reduced Radiation and Contrast Media Doses in Inflammation-Associated Coronary Artery Disease: A Prospective Study.

Patients with inflammation-associated coronary artery disease (CAD) may exhibit rapid progression and require regular coronary imaging. To evaluate the diagnostic performance of spectral photon-counting detector (PCD) coronary CTA with reduced radiation and contrast media doses for detecting coronary stenosis and in-stent restenosis in patients with inflammation-associated CAD. This prospective study enrolled patients with inflammation-associated CAD from January 2023 to March 2024.

Unraveling psychosis risk in sexual minorities: temporal dynamics of social defeat and suspiciousness in adolescence.

Background: Previous research suggests that sexual minorities are at higher risk for psychotic experiences, possibly due to repeated social defeat experiences. However, empirical research investigating this hypothesis is largely lacking. This study examined how experiences of "feeling excluded" and "not belonging" impact the prospective development of psychotic experiences in an adolescent sexual minority group, defined here as non-heterosexual attraction to others.

Big Five Personality Traits and Trajectories of Fertility Expectations Across the Reproductive Age Period.

Objective: In recent decades, increased freedom of choice and advancements in fertility regulation have allowed individuals to follow different fertility paths. This greater autonomy provides room for personality traits to shape long-term fertility expectations, which in turn can be predictive of fertility outcomes. The present study investigates how Big Five personality traits are related to fertility expectations trajectories and outcomes.

Micro-Embolic Events and Their Clearing in the Brain. A Narrative Review.

Background: The cerebral circulation is continuously challenged by intravascular micrometer-sized particles that become trapped microvascular-emboli. These particles may include micro-thrombi, stiffened erythrocytes, and leukocytes, while also fat particles, air, and microplastics may cause microvascular embolism.

Review Scope: In this narrative review, we discuss these embolization processes and their acute and chronic consequences.

Vulvar and vaginal cancer during pregnancy: A pooled analysis of 15 cases from the International Network on Cancer, Infertility and Pregnancy and review of the literature.

Introduction: Vulvovaginal cancer in pregnancy is rare. Limited data complicate decision-making and patient counseling. Our review, coupled with new case data, fills a current gap in the literature and provides practical insights.

Prognostic models for radiation-induced complications after radiotherapy in head and neck cancer patients.

Background: Radiotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC) but may induce various side effects on surrounding normal tissues. To reach an optimal balance between tumour control and toxicity prevention, normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models have been reported to predict the risk of radiation-induced side effects in patients with HNC. However, the quality of study design, conduct, and analysis (i.

Indication for biologics in a real-world cohort of dupilumab treated chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps patients according to international recommendations: evidence from the European CRS Outcome Registry (CHRINOSOR).

Background: Criteria for biologic treatment of uncontrolled severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) differ across international recommendations and prescription of biologics depends on national reimbursement criteria. CHRINOSOR offers an opportunity to analyse biologic indications in the real-world setting according to international recommendations.

Methods: CRSwNP patients who received dupilumab treatment in the ENT clinic of 6 tertiary centres (5 countries) were included.

Environmental Stresses Constrain Soil Microbial Community Functions by Regulating Deterministic Assembly and Niche Width.

Increasing evidence indicates that the loss of soil microbial α-diversity triggered by environmental stress negatively impacts microbial functions; however, the effects of microbial α-diversity on community functions under environmental stress are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the changes in bacterial and fungal α- diversity along gradients of five natural stressors (temperature, precipitation, plant diversity, soil organic C and pH) across 45 grasslands in China and evaluated their connection with microbial functional traits. By quantifying the five environmental stresses into an integrated stress index, we found that the bacterial and fungal α-diversity declined under high environmental stress across three soil layers (0-20 cm, 20-40 cm and 40-60 cm).

Long-Term Drought Persistently Shifts Plant and Soil Microbial Communities but Has Limited Impact on CO Fluxes Under Subsequent Drought.

Droughts are increasing with climate change, affecting the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems and limiting their capacity to mitigate rising atmospheric CO levels. However, there is still large uncertainty on the long-term impacts of drought on ecosystem carbon (C) cycling, and how this determines the effect of subsequent droughts. Here, we aimed to quantify how drought legacy affects the response of a heathland ecosystem to a subsequent drought for two life stages of Calluna vulgaris resulting from different mowing regimes.

Oxidized high-density lipoprotein associates with cardiometabolic dysfunction in coronary artery disease and acute coronary syndrome.

Background: High-density lipoprotein (HDL) function, rather than its concentration, plays a crucial role in the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). Diminished HDL antioxidant properties, indicated by elevated oxidized HDL (nHDL) and diminished paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) activity, may contribute to vascular dysfunction and inflammation. Data on these associations in CAD patients, including acute coronary syndrome (ACS), remain limited.