Proactive Geriatric Medication Management and Deprescribing Efforts in Swiss Nursing Home Residents.

: Polymorbidity and polypharmacy are major challenges in geriatric care, resulting in a reduced quality of life and increased health care costs. : We evaluated the proactive medication management of nursing home residents through personal visits and the use of a clinical decision support system (CDSS) with an integrated Beers Criteria list. : Among 56 nursing home residents, we observed a high prevalence of polypharmacy with an average of 7.

Exploratory analysis of the relationship between striatal connectivity and apathy during phosphodiesterase 10 inhibition in schizophrenia: findings from a randomized crossover trial.

Background: Negative symptoms in schizophrenia remain a challenge with limited therapeutic strategies. The novel compound RG7203 promotes reward learning via dopamine D1-dependent signaling and therefore holds promise, especially to improve the apathy dimension of negative symptoms. When tested as add-on to antipsychotic medication, apathy did not change significantly with RG7203 versus placebo.

Current and Future Impacts of Lithium Carbonate from Brines: A Global Regionalized Life Cycle Assessment Model.

Lithium (Li) is essential for decarbonization strategies, such as electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, which experiences the largest growth rates among metals required for low-carbon technologies. To meet this demand, the raw materials sector must increase current capacities and develop new capacities at untapped deposits. Understanding life cycle impacts is crucial to avoid severe environmental burden shifts in the future.

Motivational Interviewing in Patients with Acute Psychosis: A Feasibility Study.

Background And Hypothesis: Psychotic disorders are among the top causes of disability worldwide. Guidelines emphasize the need for psychotherapeutic approaches in the acute phase of this illness. Motivational interviewing (MI) is highly suitable for establishing a therapeutic alliance wherein the patient's intrinsic motivation can be strengthened to adhere to therapy.

Feeling at home in a virtually amputated body; neural and phenomenological effects of illusory embodiment in body integrity dysphoria.

In Body Integrity Dysphoria (BID) a profound incongruity between the physical body and the desired, i.e., amputated body, often leads to a desire for limb amputation.

-acetylcysteine reduces prefrontal reactivity to cocaine cues in individuals with cocaine use disorder.

Background: Individuals with cocaine use disorder experience heightened motivation to pursue rewards tied to cocaine, often triggered by associated cues. Cue reactivity and subsequent craving significantly elevate the risk of substance use, creating a pressing need for treatments that can help alleviate cravings. However, no pharmaceutical therapies for treating cocaine use disorder have been approved.

One-Step Immunoassay for Biomarker Quantification in Complex Mixtures Based on Phase-Separated Antifouling Coacervates.

We develop and present a one-pot sandwich immunoassay (termed oneSTEP) to detect target biomolecules in complex biological fluids based on programmable zwitterionic polymer coacervates. We design these coacervates to selectively recruit target analytes with ultralow nonspecific adsorption. We show that dynamic compartmentalization combined with local target enrichment delivers a rapid and wash-free sandwich immunoassay with high specificity and a high signal-to-noise ratio.

Estimating Multimodal Structural Brain Variability in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Worldwide ENIGMA Study.

Objective: The clinical diversity of schizophrenia is reflected by structural brain variability. It remains unclear how this variability manifests across different gray and white matter features. In this meta- and mega-analysis, the authors investigated how brain heterogeneity in schizophrenia is distributed across multimodal structural indicators.

A transposon-based cargo system mediates gene trafficking and creates ultra-clean transgenic plants after stable transformation.

Genetically modified crops have profound impacts on cost savings and environmental friendliness conferred by new traits, such as resistance to insects and herbicides. Selectable marker genes are essential for screening transformed cells, but they are undesirable in the final product due to the risks of horizontal gene transfer and extensive safety assessment requirements. Generating marker- and backbone-free lines can enhance the public acceptance of transgenic crops.

A clockmaker's mathematics: a technology-based approach to the mathematical works of Jost Bürgi (1552-1632).

In this article, I propose a new approach to analyze the interrelations between mathematics and technology. It has the potential to contribute methodologically to both the fields of history of mathematics as well as the study of computational technologies in the current context. Based on the conception of mathematics as a contingent human practice, I claim that the practical engagement with technology not only subjects new fields, materials, and problems to mathematical scrutiny but might even shape mathematics from within.

Examining the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interaction of N,N-dimethyltryptamine and harmine in healthy volunteers: Α factorial dose-escalation study.

Ayahuasca, a traditional psychoactive Amazonian brew, usually contains N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and β-carboline (harmine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine) monoamine oxidase inhibitors. However, the pharmacological interactions between these compounds remain incompletely understood. In this study, we developed an ayahuasca-inspired formulation containing DMT and harmine, aiming to systematically evaluate their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic drug-drug interactions (DDI) across a range of dosage levels.

A comparison of large language model-generated and published perioperative neurocognitive disorder recommendations: a cross-sectional web-based analysis.

Background: Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PNDs) are common complications after surgery and anaesthesia, particularly in older adults, leading to increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Therefore, major medical societies have developed recommendations for the prevention and treatment of PNDs. Our study evaluated the reliability of large language models, specifically ChatGPT-4 and Gemini, in generating recommendations for PND management and comparing them with published guidelines.

Volitional Regulation and Transferable Patterns of Midbrain Oscillations.

Dopaminergic brain areas are crucial for cognition and their dysregulation is linked to neuropsychiatric disorders typically treated with pharmacological interventions. These treatments often have side effects and variable effectiveness, underscoring the need for alternatives. We introduce the first demonstration of neurofeedback using local field potentials (LFP) from the ventral tegmental area (VTA).

Frontopolar Cortex Interacts With Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex to Causally Guide Metacognition.

Accurate metacognitive judgments about an individual's performance in a mental task require the brain to have access to representations of the quality and difficulty of first-order cognitive processes. However, little is known about how accurate metacognitive judgments are implemented in the brain. Here, we combine brain stimulation with functional neuroimaging to determine the neural and psychological mechanisms underlying the frontopolar cortex's (FPC) role in metacognition.

Kinship clustering within an ecologically diverse killer whale metapopulation.

Metapopulation dynamics can be shaped by foraging ecology, and thus be sensitive to shifts in prey availability. Genotyping 204 North Atlantic killer whales at 1346 loci, we investigated whether spatio-temporal population structuring is linked to prey type and distribution. Using population-based methods (reflecting evolutionary means), we report a widespread metapopulation connected across ecological groups based upon nuclear genome SNPs, yet spatial structuring based upon mitogenome haplotypes.

N-terminomics profiling of host proteins targeted by excretory-secretory proteases of the nematode Angiostrongylus vasorum identifies points of interaction with canine coagulation and complement cascade.

The cardiopulmonary nematode Angiostrongylus vasorum can cause severe disease in dogs, including coagulopathies manifesting with bleeding. We analysed A. vasorum excretory/secretory protein (ESP)-treated dog plasma and serum by N-terminome analysis using Terminal Amine Isotopic Labelling of Substrates (TAILS) to identify cleaved host substrates.

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of an innovative psychedelic N,N-dimethyltryptamine/harmine formulation in healthy participants: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Recent interest in the clinical use of psychedelics has highlighted plant-derived medicines like ayahuasca showing rapid-acting and sustainable therapeutic effects in various psychiatric conditions. This traditional Amazonian plant decoction contains N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and β-carboline alkaloids such as harmine. However, its use is often accompanied by distressing effects like nausea, vomiting, and intense hallucinations, possibly due to complex pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) interactions and lack of dose standardization.

How Consistent are Anti-Infective Drug Dosing Recommendations Across Three European Paediatric Formularies?

Background: Drug dosing recommendations in paediatrics are mainly based on the age and bodyweight of the child. Because of the limited amount of label information, several paediatric drug formularies have been developed. This study compares anti-infective drug dosing recommendations across three European formularies.

A framework for understanding collective microbiome metabolism.

Microbiome metabolism underlies numerous vital ecosystem functions. Individual microbiome members often perform partial catabolism of substrates or do not express all of the metabolic functions required for growth. Microbiome members can complement each other by exchanging metabolic intermediates and cellular building blocks to achieve a collective metabolism.

Fracture-Related Safety Reporting of JAK Inhibitors: An Analysis from the WHO Global VigiBase.

Introduction: The Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors are treatment options for autoimmune diseases. Numerous safety concerns have been raised. The European Medicines Agency updated the product information of tofacitinib to include the risk of fractures-but not for other JAK inhibitors.

Social Risk Coding by Amygdala Activity and Connectivity with the Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex.

Risk is a fundamental factor affecting individual and social economic decisions, but its neural correlates are largely unexplored in the social domain. The amygdala, together with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), is thought to play a central role in risk-taking. Here, we investigated in human volunteers ( = 20; 11 females) how risk (defined as the variance of reward probability distributions) in a social situation affects decisions and concomitant neural activity as measured with fMRI.

Correlation of cross-linking as measured by the trans-vinylene index and in vitro wear of polyethylene from various acetabular liner brands.

Aims: Highly cross-linked polyethylene (HXLPE) greatly reduces wear in total hip arthroplasty, compared to conventional polyethylene (CPE). Cross-linking is commonly achieved by irradiation. This study aimed to compare the degree of cross-linking and in vitro wear rates across a cohort of retrieved and unused polyethylene cups/liners from various brands.

Associations Between Self-Reported Cocaine Use Patterns and Cocaine and Its Metabolites in Hair: Implications for Clinical and Forensic Practices.

In forensic toxicology, it has been debated if hair testing allows an estimation of the intensity of cocaine use-an assumption that may have risen because self-reports in a forensic setting are of uncertain validity per se. We therefore investigated the relationship between self-reported cocaine use and cocaine hair concentrations (including its main metabolites benzoylecgonine and norcocaine) in chronic cocaine users voluntary participating in psychiatric study settings. Additionally, we tested whether hair testing can distinguish between individuals with and without a diagnosis of cocaine dependency.