Digital health technologies for improving the management of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Advances made in digital health in recent years have the potential to improve the care of patients living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for whom substantial disability still exists. In particular, telehealth and telerehabilitation programs, wearable devices, and apps have been studied as novel methods of providing care to COPD patients who may have limited access to clinical centers or who may benefit from an increased level of monitoring. Many of these interventions gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic when mandated social isolation required the rapid implementation of remote care models.

Bis(phenylethynyl)benzenes enable stable visible-to-ultraviolet sensitized triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion.

Ultraviolet (UV) light plays a central role in applications ranging from photochemistry to sterilization and water treatment. However, its low abundance in sunlight (∼10%) limits the direct solar use of UV-driven processes. Sensitized triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) offers a promising route to generate UV light from visible light under low-power excitation.

Identifying the patterns of ultra-processed food consumption and their characteristics in the UK adults using the UK National Diet and Nutritional Surveys 2008/09 to 2018/19.

Objective: To identify the dietary patterns of ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption in the UK adults, and to explore their nutritional characteristics and associated demographic and socioeconomic factors.

Design: UPF-based dietary patterns were identified using weighted principal component analysis and k-means cluster analysis on UPFs intakes (identified using Nova classification) from the cross-sectional NDNS data (2008-2019). Weighted multivariable logistic regression models were employed to identify the demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with the patterns.

Hemolysis Index and Cardiopulmonary Bypass Time as Predictors of Cardiac Surgery-associated Acute Kidney Injury: An Observational Cohort Study.

Objectives: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and serious complication of cardiac surgery, often linked to the use and duration of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The Hemolysis Index (HI) has been proposed as a surrogate marker of hemolysis and a potential predictor of cardiac surgery-associated AKI (CS-AKI). This study was designed to evaluate the associations between CPB time and HI with the onset of CS-AKI.

Durvalumab after radiotherapy in patients with unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer ineligible for chemotherapy: the DUART phase II nonrandomized controlled study.

Background: Currently, patients with unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) ineligible for chemotherapy receive radiotherapy alone, with unsatisfactory results. DUART was a phase II single-arm trial of durvalumab in patients without progression after radiotherapy for unresectable stage III NSCLC.

Patients And Methods: Patients were enrolled into parallel cohorts per radiotherapy dose (A: definitive; B: palliative) and received durvalumab (1500 mg every 4 weeks for up to 12 months).

FTIR-derived soil degradation indices and stochastic modelling of organic matter-sediment dynamics in a Mediterranean watershed: A Northern Apennines case study.

In this study we explored the relationships between Soil Organic Matter (SOM) properties, serving as potential indicators of soil degradation and erosion, and environmental, geomorphic, and hydrological characteristics in an agricultural-forested Mediterranean watershed. SOM composition of fluvial sediments sampled across the watershed was analysed using FTIR spectroscopy to calculate FTIR-based proxies for the relative hydrophobicity of SOM, Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), and organic-matter-cation associations. To investigate geospatial relationships between SOM composition influencing erosion susceptibility and the factors driving its variability at the watershed scale, such as terrain characteristics, soil properties, lithological, and LULC data, we used a Random Forest modelling approach.

A simple guide to the use of Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-squared test, and Kruskal-Wallis test in biostatistics.

In an age when machine learning and artificial intelligence are broadly employed, traditional statistics can still provide insightful information and results quickly and at a low computational cost. Statistics, in fact, offers many useful tools to researchers, including a series of univariate statistical tests that can identify relationships between pairs of numeric samples: Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-squared test, and Kruskal-Wallis test. These tests generate several outcomes, including probability values (p-values) that can express a numerical quantity which accepts or rejects the null hypothesis, based on a certain threshold used.

Gilteritinib in FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia: A real-world Italian experience.

Background And Methods: This real-world study evaluated the clinical effectiveness of gilteritinib in 205 patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) enrolled in the Italian expanded access since January 2018.

Results: Of the 205 patients, 124 (60.5%) received gilteritinib as a bridging therapy to allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT), achieving complete remission in 52.

Dissociating prefrontal contribution to reactive and proactive aggression: a transcranial direct current stimulation study.

Increasing evidence suggests that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) plays a crucial role in aggression and that it may be possible to modulate this behavior using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Nevertheless, no previous study has specifically examined the differential effects of bilateral tDCS on reactive and proactive aggression, making the present research the first to explore this distinction using neuromodulation. With this aim, we examined the effect of bi-hemispheric prefrontal tDCS in 30 healthy adults using a double-blind, sham-controlled design.

Sickness absence with common mental disorders and antidepressant prescriptions across different employment branches during as compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic-an observational study covering the Swedish population aged 18-65 years.

Few studies have examined the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health across different employment branches. This study investigated the impact of the pandemic on long-term sickness absence (SA) with common mental disorders (CMDs) and antidepressant prescriptions in different employment branches and age groups in Sweden. Using national registers, we observed the Swedish population (18-65 years) with gainful employment quarterly from 2018 to 2021.

Quality of diabetes mellitus healthcare and metabolic control during transition from paediatric to adult care: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aims: Emerging adults with chronic diseases like diabetes often experience a decline in health during the process of transition from paediatric to adult healthcare. This study assesses the impact of transition on healthcare quality of people with diabetes, focusing on glycated haemoglobin (HbA).

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the difference in HbA before and after transition following the PRISMA guidelines.

Growth disturbance in paediatric anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Unlabelled: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in skeletally immature patients represents a significant challenge due to the risk of growth disturbance, including limb length discrepancy (LLD) and angular deformity (AD). Although rare, the consequences of such complications can be substantial. Contributing factors include inadequate clinical and radiological preoperative assessment and insufficient postoperative monitoring.

Management of advanced basal cell carcinoma with hedgehog inhibitors: a real-world prospective comparative study.

Background: Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitors (HHIs) should be offered to patients with advanced BCC as a first line treatment. Two systemic HHIs are currently available: sonidegib and vismodegib.

Objective: Since there is no head-to-head trial of sonidegib versus vismodegib and very few comparative studies have been published, we aimed at prospectively describing our long-term approach to manage advanced BCC based on our 10 years' experience with HHIs.

Heterogeneity of progression-free-survival surrogacy by sex in randomized trials testing immunotherapy in NSCLC.

Background: The surrogacy of progression-free survival (PFS) for overall survival (OS) at the trial-level in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) testing immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) is influenced by several clinical-pathological factors. However, potential heterogeneity of PFS surrogacy according to patients' sex has never been investigated.

Methods: RCTs testing ICIs as monotherapy or combined with chemotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC reporting hazard ratios (HR) for PFS and OS according to patients' sex were included.

Prognostic Role of Myocarditis-Like Episodes and Their Treatment in Patients With Pathogenic Desmoplakin Variants.

Background: Inflammatory, myocarditis-like episodes precede and are associated with higher risk of sustained ventricular arrhythmias and heart failure in patients with pathogenic or likely pathogenic desmoplakin (DSP) variants. Whether the recurrence and treatment of myocarditis-like episodes influence the outcomes in this population is unknown. This study aimed to assess the prognostic impact of the recurrence and treatment of myocarditis-like episodes in patients with pathogenic or likely pathogenic DSP variants.

Insights and Outlook from the First Ethical, Legal, and Social Implication Symposium of the BBMRI-ERIC Academy at International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization.

The first Biobanking and BioMolecular resources Research Infrastructure-Academy Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI)'s Symposium, held in June 2024 at IARC/WHO in Lyon, explored ethical, legal, and societal dimensions of biobanking and biomedical research through interdisciplinary perspectives. Over eight thematic sessions, the event addressed diverse topics including data privacy, artificial intelligence ethics, regulatory compliance, genomics, and public participation, showcasing contributions from global experts and young researchers. The symposium emphasized the importance of balancing research innovation with societal and ethical considerations, offering insights into trust-building, gender-sensitive approaches, and cross-border collaboration.

Left atrial remodeling trajectories in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Reframing prognostic assessment through a dynamic lens.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is increasingly recognized as a condition involving not only the left ventricle but also the left atrium (LA). In this issue of Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, Di Napoli et al. provide compelling evidence that longitudinal trajectories of LA remodeling offer stronger prognostic value for atrial fibrillation (AF), and sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with HCM than do static measurements.

Occurrence of coronary events in the absence of traditional risk factors: Understanding residual risk.

Background And Aims: The major predictors of future coronary heart disease (CHD) events in individuals without traditional modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) remain unknown. We investigated the association between circulating biomarkers, reflecting residual risk, with incident CHD in a general population, according to the presence of five CVRFs (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, smoking and obesity) at baseline.

Methods: Overall 212,598 CHD-free individuals from 21 European population-based cohorts were stratified by CVRF burden into three groups, having zero (n = 35,707), one (n = 68,548) or ≥2 (n = 108,343) risk factors at baseline.

Agent-based modeling of macrophage-fibroblast interactions in the immune response to biomaterials.

Foreign body reaction (FBR) denotes the reaction to the implantation of a biomaterial into the body. It triggers cascades of responses in the tissue and involves different cell types including, among others, macrophages, fibroblasts and endothelial cells. Macrophages regulate the inflammatory and healing processes.

PEGylated Asparaginase in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treated within the AIEOP-BFM ALL 2009 Trial: Population Pharmacokinetics and Drug Exposure.

Background And Objectives: Focusing on pharmacokinetic-derived individual dose-intensity parameter values (DIPs), we modeled the pharmacokinetics of polyethylene glycol-conjugated asparaginase (PEG-ASNase) in all treatment phases and different trial groups of AIEOP-BFM ALL 2009.

Methods: Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia received 1-10 weekly or biweekly repetitive doses (2500 U/m/dose intravenously). A population pharmacokinetic (popPK) model was extended to all phases to describe the pharmacokinetics and the impact of anti-PEG- and anti-asparaginase-antibodies in the German/Czech group (2535 patients, aspartic acid β-hydroxamate (AHA) assay) and validated the model in the Italian group (1603 patients, medac asparaginase activity test (MAAT) assay).

Tissue-specific immunosuppressive and proliferating macrophages fuel early metastatic progression of human colorectal cancer to liver.

Early synchronous colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) represents a clinical condition characterized by the simultaneous presence of primary colorectal cancer (CRC) and metastatic liver lesions. In this study, we characterized the tissue-specific transcriptomes, phenotypes, and functional relevance of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) within the tumor microenvironment (TME) of CRC and CRLM specimens from patients who underwent simultaneous surgical removal of these malignancies. The high-throughput single-cell transcriptional analysis revealed an inverse ratio of inflammatory and immunoregulatory TAMs in the CRC and CRLM TMEs, along with heterogeneity in both tumoral tissues.

Quest for new materials: Network theory and machine learning perspectives.

Understanding and predicting the emergence of novel materials is a fundamental challenge in condensed matter physics, materials science, and technology. With the rapid growth of materials databases in both size and reliability, the challenge shifts from data collection to efficient exploration of this vast and complex space. A key strategy lies in the smart use of descriptors at multiple scales, ranging from atomic arrangements to macroscopic properties, to represent materials in high-dimensional abstract spaces.

Lipoprotein levels and statin treatment related to dementia and cognitive decline in individuals with type 2 diabetes: an observational analysis from the ADVANCE study.

Introduction: Studies on the association between lipid levels and lipid-lowering treatment and the risk of dementia and/or cognitive decline (CD) have shown conflicting results and are few in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The aim was to evaluate the relationship of baseline LDL cholesterol levels and statin treatment with the development of dementia/CD in patients with T2D from the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron Modified Release Controlled Evaluation trial.

Methods: Dementia was diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV), and CD was defined as at least a 3-point decrement in the Mini Mental State Examination score.

Integrative analysis of KEAP1/NFE2L2 alterations across 3600+ tumors reveals an NRF2 expression signature as a prognostic biomarker in cancer.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains a formidable global health challenge, with heterogeneous molecular characteristics influencing prognosis and treatment response. We present a novel computational framework named ASTUTE (Association of SomaTic mUtaTions to gene Expression profiles), designed to perform genotype-phenotype mapping through the integration of genomic and transcriptomic data. Through the systematic analysis of over 3600 samples from diverse NSCLC datasets and multiple cancer types, we uncovered intricate associations between KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations and the NRF2 pathway activation.