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Background: Level one evidence supports indocyanine green fluorescence angiography (ICGFA) use reducing anastomotic leak rates in colorectal surgery. We surveyed surgeons exploring perceptions and factors affecting its use in daily practice and adoption as routine standard of care., Methods: Validated electronic survey distributed via the Irish Association of Coloproctology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, European Society of Surgical Oncology, European Association for Endoscopic Surgery, Milan Colorectal Congress and social media., Results: 200 colorectal surgeons (143 consultants) responded. 147 (73.5%) surgeons already use ICGFA, with 90 (61.2%) using it routinely and 69 (46.9%) having a concomitant research interest. Strong clinical evidence base (83.5%) and protocol standardisation (78%) were overall rated most important for bowel perfusion technology with a majority of surgeons rating lack of standardisation and inter-user variability as challenges (similar between consultants and non-consultants). Lack of training and staff, reliability concerns and data security were perceived as significant barriers by selective users compared to non-users, and cost and operating time were perceived as significant barriers by selective users compared to routine users. Most surgeons (41.5%) ideated a number needed to treat (NNT) between 20 and 40 acceptable to advocate routine ICGFA use with 28% requiring a NNT < 20. Most surgeons (38.5%) indicate a per case cost savings of €250-500 supports routine use with 17% advocating it > €750., Conclusions: With now a strong evidence base regarding clinical benefit, the survey respondents articulate remaining challenges for ICGFA as standard of care. Levels of expected benefit are largely in keeping with its reported performance., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: Professor Ronan A Cahill receives speaker fees from Stryker Corp and Ethicon/J&J, consultancy fees from Arthrex, Astellas, Diagnostic Green and Touch Surgery (Medtronic), research funding from Intuitive Corp and Medtronic as well as, recently, from the Irish Government (DTIF) in collaboration with IBM Research in Ireland and from EU Horizon 2020 in collaboration with Palliare and, currently, from Horizon Europe in collaboration with Arctur. Professor Alberto Arezzo receives speaker fees from Karl Storz, Tuttlingen. Professor Luigi Boni receives speaker fees from Ethicon/J&J, Storz and Olympus, consultancy fees from Arthrex, CMR, Storz, Intuitive and Olympus. Mr Ashokkumar Singaravelu, Dr Philip D Mc Entee, Dr Patrick A. Boland, Dr Alice Moynihan, Dr Cathleen McCarrick, Professor Roel Hompes and Professor Alexander L. Vahrmeijer have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

The visual chromophore 11-cis-retinal (11cRAL) is essential to vertebrate phototransduction and, therefore, must be regenerated so vision can be sustained. 11cRAL regeneration mediated by the classical visual cycle is insufficient under photopic conditions. Expressed in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and Müller glia, the retinal G protein-coupled receptor (RGR) can act as an alternative visual cycle photoisomerase, photogenerating 11cRAL in bright light conditions. While named a G protein-coupled receptor, RGR has no known coupled G protein. In the photoisomerase process, RGR bound all-trans-retinal (atRAL) is converted to 11cRAL. Here, we review how this core reaction integrates into RPE and Müller cell visual cycles. Significantly, mutations in human RGR are associated with inherited retinal degeneration and age-related macular degeneration, ocular diseases impairing vision. In this article, we comprehensively review 30 years of research into this membrane-bound protein, to comprehend RGR's i) biological role in vision, ii) association with ocular disease, iii) and surprising role in non-ocular function and disease. We discuss studies with opposing views on the proposed role of RGR as mediating a non-canonical visual cycle which photogenerates 11cRAL. We highlight knowledge gaps that current RGR research is addressing., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest: We have nothing to declare., (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the bacteriology of cold smoked salmon (CSS), specifically changes in the bacterial quality (total viable count (TVC) and total Enterobacteriaceae count (TEC)), the concentration of spoilage bacteria (lactic acid bacteria (LAB), hydrogen sulphide producing bacteria (HSPB) and Pseudomonas spp.) and Listeria monocytogenes during salting, washing, smoking, maturation, packaging and chilled storage., Methods and Results: In-plant and laboratory based studies were undertaken. The salt concentration, pH and aw of the commercial product were 3.8% (w/w), 5.9 and 0.95, respectively while those of the laboratory prepared CSS were 1.1%, 6.2 and 0.94. Although the CSS preparation process enhanced microbial quality, as determined by significant (p < 0.05) reductions in indicator and spoilage bacterial counts, L. monocytogenes was unaffected and all bacteria showed significant (p < 0.05) growth during chilled storage of the final product., Conclusions: The microbial quality and safety of CSS is reliant on using uncontaminated fillets, good hygiene practices and ensuring that the shelf-life does not afford L. monocytogenes sufficient time to exceed the 100 cfu g-1 maximum allowed in current EU legislation (EC 2073/2005)., (© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Applied Microbiology International.)

Over the past three decades, omics technologies have revolutionized our understanding of platelet molecular content and organization, enabling the systematic analyses of platelet physiology. Among these approaches, proteomics has been especially significant in discovering as well as validating molecular mechanisms of platelet function in health and disease. However, several conceptual and practical challenges continue to limit the full utility of platelet proteomics tools and data. Methodological and analytical inconsistencies remain a key concern, with biological and technical variables exerting substantial influence on study outcomes and interpretation. These issues are compounded by the rapid pace of proteomics tool development and dataset collection, outstripping efforts to standardize best practices and ensure consensus as platelet proteomics consolidates itself as a tool for research even outside the Thrombosis and Hemostasis field. In this communication from the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) Scientific and Standardization Committee (SSC), we highlight recent advances in platelet proteomics studies, and we identify where collective efforts can strengthen experimental design, execution, and analysis. As a practical recommendation, we encourage platelet biologists to recognize current discrepancies and advance efforts to standardize and customize methods and reporting practices, including blood collection, platelet isolation, data acquisition, and data interpretation. By aligning protocols and ensuring detailed reporting, the field can more effectively integrate proteomics findings and accelerate our understanding of platelet biology., (Copyright © 2025 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Open disclosure, or 'error disclosure,' is a policy requiring healthcare professionals to promptly offer an honest apology after an adverse event. While the fundamental principles of open disclosure have evolved into an important right for patients who experience adverse events, the process also plays an integral role in ensuring continuous improvements in the delivery of patient care. Healthcare providers often encounter challenges in fully adopting open disclosure processes, limiting their use in practice. This systematic review aims to explore patient experiences following open disclosure, focusing on how these experiences are being measured and evaluated. By examining patient experiences, this review seeks to enhance our understanding of the effectiveness of open disclosure and inform improvements in healthcare communication practices., Methods: A detailed search strategy was developed to identify relevant literature published between 2008 and 2023. The review focused on original research in English, emphasising qualitative or quantitative studies that evaluate and measure patient experiences of disclosure. Four major databases (PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and EMBASE) were searched for studies reporting details of patients/clients/service users and their families/relevant others who have experienced the OD process/duty of candour. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to appraise included studies. The review adopted a narrative approach to synthesise the findings., Results: From the initial 8,940 studies identified, 26 met the inclusion criteria, comprising 17 qualitative studies, two quantitative studies, three mixed-methods studies, and four case studies. The study explored patients' and service users' perspectives on their experiences with OD following patient safety incidents. The synthesis highlights five key themes across the included studies: timeliness of disclosure, quality of communication, addressing patient and family support needs, organisational arrangements for the OD process, and viewing OD as a forward-looking conversation., Conclusions: While explicit open disclosure policies are common in healthcare, routine assessments of patient and family experiences remain infrequent. Patients and families, as service users, perceive safety incidents differently from healthcare providers and hold specific expectations. They emphasise the importance of transparent, ongoing communication, emotional support, and active involvement in post-incident evaluations, considering OD vital for building trust and achieving resolution after adverse events., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethics approval not relevant for the systematic report. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

As clinical Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson ( S . Thompson) emerged among the top ten prevalent serovars in China, understanding the distribution and origin of its multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains becomes imperative. This study employed antimicrobial susceptibility testing, whole-genome sequencing, and bioinformatics analysis to investigate the prevalence and genomic profiles of clinically important S . Thompson ST26 across China from 1997 to 2020. Upon analyzing 141 isolates from various sources, we identified 29 isolates, derived from 25 diarrhea patients and four animal-derived foods, displayed co-resistance to ciprofloxacin, cefotaxime, and azithromycin (CIP R CTX R AZI R ), all of which are considered the front-line and critically-important antimicrobial agents for treating Salmonella infections in humans. The IncC plasmid was the predominant mobile vector identified among the CIP R CTX R AZI R isolates, harboring four crucial resistance genes qnrS1 , qepA4 , bla CMY-2 , and mph (A) that confer resistance to three critically important antimicrobials. However, the closely related and clustered IncC-harboring CIP R CTX R AZI R isolates (0-23 single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) indicated the clonal spreading of these clinically important isolates in different provinces of China. Notably, the CIP R CTX R AZI R isolates appeared in aquatic products of animal-derived food, highlighting the possibility of aquaculture practices in the emergence and transmission of important antimicrobial resistance. Our findings emphasize the critical public health implications of IncC-carrying clinically important S . Thompson ST26. The study calls for enhanced surveillance of the clinically important S . Thompson ST26 clone in clinical and aquaculture and implementation of targeted interventions to mitigate its spread, thereby protecting food safety and public health.IMPORTANCEWe highlighted the critical veterinary public health issue of clinically important Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson ( S . Thompson) prevalence in animal-derived foods, particularly aquatic products, calling for urgent action. The ability of S . Thompson to resist critically important antimicrobials across diverse environments highlights the transmission and survival of resistant strains within the livestock and poultry industry, aquaculture, and food production chains. This study underscores the importance of continuous surveillance of clinically important S . Thompson, especially in aquaculture settings, and considers the global trade of aquatic products as a potential vector for international dissemination. Further investigation on the factors contributing to the clone spread of clinically important Salmonella strain and the development of intervention strategies to mitigate its public health impact.

Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Background: Patient research partners (PRPs) are people living with a relevant disease who actively contribute to research. Their contribution is beneficial for any research project. Although the inclusion of PRPs in rheumatology research is increasingly recommended, its practical implementation, particularly in translational research, remains limited . Enhancing PRP engagement requires a clear understanding of the necessary steps., Objective: This study aims to show steps to achieve successful collaboration between PRPs and researchers in clinical and transitional research in rheumatology., Methods: We established a PRP network by following five main steps: setting up infrastructure, recruitment, training, PRP involvement at an early stage, and ongoing support. We adhered to overall principles of openness, feedback, and regular evaluations to create a respectful and collaborative environment. The initiative was qualitatively assessed via an online questionnaire developed by each six researchers and PRPs., Results: Communicating our initiative at laboratory open days and to patient associations has enabled to create a network of 66 PRPs. A match-making tool was introduced to allocate interested PRPs with a project request. This led to PRP involvement in 15 projects, including 9 in translational research. Two PRP-coordinators provided support including glossaries and educational courses ., Conclusion: Our initiative outlines five essential steps for establishing PRP collaboration in rheumatology research, including translational research. This approach benefited both PRPs and researchers and might serve as a guide for other centres., Competing Interests: Competing interests: CB: consultant for Boehringer Ingelheim; Grant/research support from: Gruppo Italiano Lotta alla Sclerodermia (GILS), European Scleroderma Trials and Research Group (EUSTAR), Foundation for research in Rheumatology (FOREUM), Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium (SCTC), Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF), Novartis Foundation for Bio-Medical Research, EMDO Foundation, Iten-Kohaut foundation. Educational grants from AbbVie and Wellcome Trust. Congress Support from Boehringer Ingelheim. All outside of the topic of this manuscript. RD: speakers bureau for Actelion, advisory board for Boehringer Ingelheim, grants/research support from Pfizer, Actelion, Iten-Kohaut foundation, Walter und Gertrud Siegenthaler Fellowship, congress participation support from Amgen, Otsuka. All outside the topic of this manuscript. A-MH-V: has received speaker fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Medscape, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis and Roche; consultant fees from AbbVie, ARXX, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Janssen, Medscape, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Pliant therapeutics, Roche and Werfen and grant/research support from Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen. OD: has/had consultancy relationship with and/or has received research funding from and/or has served as a speaker for the following companies in the area of potential treatments for systemic sclerosis and its complications in the last three calendar years: 4P-Pharma, AbbVie, Acceleron, Acepodia Biotech, Alcimed, Altavant, Amgen, AnaMar, Aera, Argenx, Arxx, AstraZeneca, Blade, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Cantargia AB, Catalyze Capital, Corbus, CSL Behring, Galderma, Galapagos, Glenmark, Gossamer, Horizon, Janssen, Kymera, Lupin, Medscape, MSD Merck, Miltenyi Biotec, Mitsubishi Tanabe, Nkarta Inc., Novartis, Orion, Pilan, Prometheus, Redxpharma, Roivant, EMD Serono, Topadur and UCB. Patent issued 'mir-29 for the treatment of systemic sclerosis' (US8247389, EP2331143). Co-founder of CITUS AG. Research Grants: BI, Kymera, Mitsubishi Tanabe, UCB.ME: Last 3 years: Grant/research support from Pfizer, Novartis Foundation for Bio-Medical Research, Iten Kohaut foundation, Kurt und Senta Herrmann foundation, Foundation for research in Rheumatology (FOREUM), University Zurich, Walter and Gertrud Siegenthaler Foundation, Theodor und Ida Herzog-Egli – Stiftung and Association des Sclérodermiques de France (ASF). Congress Support from AstraZeneca and Janssen., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.)

This study reports the synthesis and the experimental-theoretical characterization of a new coamorphous system consisting of ethionamide (ETH) and mandelic acid (MND) as a coformer. The solid dispersion was synthesized using the slow solvent evaporation method in an ethanolic medium. The structural, vibrational, and thermal properties of the system were characterized. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to analyze the interactions between ETH and MND in the heterodimer. These results contributed to the suitable assignment of infrared (IR) vibrational modes, to determine the chemical reactivity descriptors and the electronic indices of each component of the molecule. Additionally, Hirshfeld surfaces analysis and calculations of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) parameters were performed to examine intermolecular interactions and predict the in silico pharmacokinetic profile of the ETH-MND compound and its forming molecules. Powder X-ray diffraction data confirmed the formation of a coamorphous binary system in the 1:2 and 1:3 ETH and MND ratios. Furthermore, the ETH-MND (1:3) solid dispersion remained amorphous for up to 150 days when stored at 38 °C and 75 % relative humidity. DFT calculations, conducted both in vacuum and in ethanol, indicated that the formation of the coamorphous system is driven by hydrogen bonding between the NH 2 groups of ETH and the C=O group of MND. Thermodynamic analysis showed that intermolecular interactions are favored in the gas phase, with Gibbs free energy of -3.20 kcal/mol. The IR spectra showed a correlation between experimental and calculated data. Thermal analyses revealed glass transition temperatures of 59 °C (1:2 ratio) and 61 °C (1:3 ratio), indicating thermal stability of the coamorphous materials. Additionally, dissolution tests showed a 3.58-fold increase in the solubility of ETH compared to its crystalline form. The encapsulation of ETH-MND coamorphous systems in sodium alginate spheres via polyelectrolyte complexation was also investigated, demonstrating significant controlled drug release over 480 min., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Ocular inflammation is a complex pathology with limited treatment options. While traditional therapies have side effects, novel approaches, such as natural compounds like Apigenin (APG) and Melatonin (MEL) offer promising solutions. APG and MEL, in combination with nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), may provide a synergistic effect in treating ocular inflammation, potentially improving patient outcomes and reducing adverse effects. NLC could provide chemical protection of these compounds, while offering a sustained release into the ocular surface. Optimized NLC exhibited suitable physicochemical parameters, physical stability, sustained release of APG and MEL, and were biocompatible in vitro with a corneal cell line, and in ovo by using hen's egg chorioallantoic membrane test. In vitro and in vivo studies confirmed the NLC' ability to attenuate inflammation by reducing interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8 and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) cytokine levels and by decreasing inflammation in a rabbit model. These findings suggest that the co-encapsulation of APG and MEL into NLC could represent a promising strategy for managing ocular inflammatory conditions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The leakage of surgical gas and smoke from the peritoneum during laparoscopy may release noxious aerosols, including potential carcinogens, viruses and other contaminants, into the operating theatre, especially into the breathing zone of the surgical team. Reliable and realistic models and methods that develop and detect surgical smoke in simulated settings are necessary to effectively test devices and strategies intended to reduce such leaks. Here, we report a novel high-fidelity laparoscopic smoke model with innovative imaging methods applicable to the theatre setting, followed by an assessment of the usefulness of commercial laparoscopic trocars and smoke evacuation methods in mitigating gas leaks. Various smoke production methods (including tissue cautery and industrial smoke machinery) and detection methods (including schlieren imaging, laser videography, intraperitoneal video recording, and an aerosol detector) were tested, with the smoke machine model proving the most reproducible. Schlieren imaging, laser videography and intraperitoneal video recording were all effective methods of surgical smoke quantification. Following model establishment, laparoscopic trocars (VersaOneTM, Medtronic, Ireland) and smoke evacuation systems (EVA15 smart insufflator and evacuator, Palliare, PlumePort Activ® Smoke Filtration Device, Conmed and ValleylabTM Smoke Evacuation System, Medtronic) were examined in a standardized way with performance assessment by three surgeons independently using a boutique scoring system. The EVA15 outperformed other smoke systems in clearing surgical smoke from the operative field and in reducing trocar leaks during instrumentation. This method of simulated surgical smoke production and assessment can benchmark other laparoscopic equipment regarding smoke management strategies in a similar fashion., (Copyright © 2025 Medical Gas Research.)

The current review will examine the field of food intake biomarkers and the potential use of such biomarkers. Biomarkers of food intake have the potential to be objective measures of intake thus addressing some of the limitations associated with self-reported dietary assessment methods. They are typically food derived biomarkers present in biological samples and distinct from endogenous metabolites. To date, metabolomic profiling has been successful in identifying several putative food intake biomarkers. With respect to food intake biomarkers there has been a proliferation of publications in this field. However, caution is needed when interpreting these as food intake biomarkers. Many have not been validated thus hampering their use. While much of the focus to date is on discovery of food intake biomarkers there are excellent examples of how to utilise these biomarkers in nutrition research. Applications include but are not limited to: (1) measurement of adherence to diets in intervention studies (2) objectively predicting intake with no reliance on self reported data and (3) calibrating self reported data in large epidemiological studies. Examples of these applications will be covered in this review. While significant progress is achieved to date in the food intake biomarkers field there are a number of key challenges that remain. Examples include lack of databases focused on food derived metabolites thus hindering the discovery of new biomarkers and the need for new statistical approaches to deal with multiple biomarkers for single foods. Addressing these and other key challenges will be key to development of future opportunities.

Background: Currently, the methods used to collect dietary intake data in Ireland are inflexible to the needs of certain populations, who are poorly represented in nutrition and health data as a result. As the Irish population is becoming increasingly diverse, there is an urgent need to understand the habitual food intake and diet quality of multiple population subgroups, including different nationalities and ethnic minorities, in Ireland. Foodbook24 is an existing web-based 24-hour dietary recall tool, which has previously been validated for use within the general Irish adult population. Because of its design, Foodbook24 can facilitate the improved inclusion of dietary intake assessment in Ireland., Objective: We aimed to examine the suitability of expanding the Foodbook24 tool, improving the reliability and accuracy of dietary intake data collected among prominent nationalities in Ireland., Methods: This study consisted of three distinct parts: (1) expansion of Foodbook24, (2) testing its usability (ie, acceptability study), and (3) examining the accuracy (ie, comparison study) of the updated Foodbook24 tool. To expand Foodbook24, national survey data from Brazil and Poland were reviewed and commonly consumed food items were added to the food list. All foods were translated into Polish and Portuguese. The acceptability study used a qualitative approach whereby participants provided a visual record of their habitual diet. The comparison study consisted of one 24-hour dietary recall using Foodbook24 and one interviewer-led recall completed on the same day, repeated again 2 weeks later. Comparison study data were analyzed using Spearman rank correlations, Mann-Whitney U tests, and κ coefficients., Results: The expansion of the Foodbook24 food list resulted in 546 additional foods. The acceptability study reported that 86.5% (302/349) of foods listed by participants were available in the updated food list. From the comparison study, strong and positive correlations across 8 food groups (44% of a total of 18 food groups) and 15 nutrients (58% of a total of 26 nutrients) were identified (r=0.70-0.99). Only intakes of potatoes and potato dishes and nuts, herbs, and seeds significantly differed across methods of assessment, where correlations across these food groups were low (r=0.56 and r=0.47, respectively). The incidence of food omissions varied across samples, with Brazilian participants omitting a higher percentage of foods in self-administered recalls than other samples (6/25, 24% among the Brazilian vs 5/38, 13% among the Irish cohort)., Conclusions: The updated food list is representative of most foods consumed by Brazilian, Irish, and Polish adults in Ireland. Dietary intake data reported in Foodbook24 are not largely different from food groups and nutrient intakes reported via traditional methods. This study has demonstrated that Foodbook24 may be appropriate for use in future research investigating the dietary intakes of Brazilian, Irish, and Polish groups in Ireland., (©Grace Bennett, Shuhua Yang, Laura A Bardon, Claire M Timon, Eileen R Gibney. Originally published in the Online Journal of Public Health Informatics (https://ojphi.jmir.org/), 07.02.2025.)

Oils high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and seaweeds containing phlorotannins have potential anti-methanogenic effects in ruminants. This study assessed the potential of dietary supplementation with linseed oil, Ascophyllum nodosum or treated A. nodosum in an intensive beef cattle feeding system on animal performance, gaseous emissions, ruminal fermentation and microbiota, and muscle fatty acid profiles. Seventy-two dairy-beef bulls (380 kg; 11 months of age) were randomly allocated to one of four dietary treatments (n = 18) for a 70-d period. The diet consisted of a 60:40 grass silage:concentrate ratio. Silage was offered daily (0900 h) and concentrates were offered twice daily (0800 h and 1500 h). Dietary treatments were incorporated into the concentrate portion of the diet as follows; 1) CON (no supplementation), 2) LSO (linseed oil), 3) SW (A. nodosum) and 4) EX (A. nodosum extract), included to target 0, 4, 2 and 2% of dry matter intake (DMI), respectively. The concentrates were formulated to be isonitrogenous across the four treatment groups. Total DMI (American Calan Inc., Northwood, NH), average daily gain (ADG), gain:feed and enteric emissions (GreenFeed; C-Lock Inc., Rapid City, SD) were measured for the 70-d supplementation period. Total DMI (P = 0.17), ADG (P = 0.28), gain:feed (P = 0.68) and total tract digestibility (P = 0.70) did not differ across treatments. Daily methane production (P < 0.001) for CON, LSO, SW and EX was 210, 170, 202 and 193 g/d, respectively, resulting in reductions of 19 and 8% for LSO and EX, respectively, relative to CON. Ruminal fermentation parameters show that LSO was the only dietary treatment to increase propionate (P = 0.09) and decrease butyrate (P = 0.04) concentrations relative to CON. Microbial analyses showed LSO supplementation increased and decreased relative abundances of fungal genera Buwchfawromyces and Piromyces, respectively, while altering relative abundances of the bacterial genera Muribaculaceae, Bacteroidales RF16 group and Bacterium F082. Additionally, LSO increased linolenic acid (P < 0.001) and n-3 PUFA (P < 0.001) concentration of the longissimus dorsi muscle compared to CON, SW and EX. In conclusion, LSO was the most effective dietary supplementation strategy compared to CON, EX and SW, whereby it reduced methane emissions, modified ruminal fermentation and microbial profiles, and enhanced beneficial muscle PUFA concentration, without impacting animal performance., (© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.)

Concern has risen that current global warming and more frequent extreme events such as droughts and floods will increase conflict around the world. This concern has spurred both social science research on contemporary climate, peace, and conflict as well as research in the historical sciences on past climate, weather, warfare, and violence. This perspectives article compares these two fields of scholarship and examines how each may benefit the other. It finds significant convergences in methods and insights across contemporary and historical research as well as persistent patterns in causal pathways between climate and conflict. Contemporary climate, peace, and conflict (CPC) research may sharpen methods and causal models for historical researchers. Historical studies, particularly those informed by contemporary research, may elucidate deep origins and long-term effects of climate-related conflicts. For policymakers and the public, history offers comprehensible ways to make sense of complex and contingent linkages and to construct cogent narratives of the past as well as storylines for the future., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Infectious diseases pose a growing challenge in healthcare, with the increasing rate of antimicrobial resistance limiting therapeutic options available for treatment. Rapid detection of infections at the earliest opportunity can significantly improve patient outcomes. In this report, ion current rectifying quartz nanopipettes with ca. 109 nm orifices were utilized for the label-free detection of DNA indicative of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). By immobilizing probe DNA complementary to the mecA gene on the internal walls of the nanopipette, the detection was achieved by monitoring changes in ion current rectification (ICR) following probe-target hybridization. We demonstrate enhanced sensitivity by controlling the surface probe density, resulting in a tunable, sensitive sensor technology with a detection limit as low as 0.35 pM. Finite element simulations are used to support our experimental findings, revealing that to maximize target-induced changes to ICR, the probe surface density must be minimized. This sensitive and label-free methodology was integrated with the polymerase chain amplification reaction to achieve selective identification of this pathogen from laboratory-grown cultures, highlighting that ion current rectifying nanopipette sensors offer the potential to be a cost-effective and rapid tools for infectious disease detection.

Background: Indocyanine green fluorescence angiography (ICGFA) during colorectal surgery either reassures surgeons regarding intestinal perfusion sufficiency or prompts changed surgical strategy by indicating unsuspected insufficiency. This study describes existing evidence supporting ICGFA use in colorectal surgery, particularly regarding impact on intraoperative decisions., Methods: Searches were performed on PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Collaboration databases on 5th December 2023, updated to 19th August 2024. Full English language publications of clinical studies in human patients undergoing colorectal resection with primary anastomosis with the use of ICGFA to assess bowel perfusion intraoperatively, with a control group, were included. Pooling of anastomotic leak (AL) rates was performed for primary outcome analysis with odds ratio (OR) and number-needed-to-treat (NNT) calculated regarding leak reduction., Results: 45 studies comprising 14,333 patients were included, with 7 randomised controlled trials (2911 patients). Overall, AL rate was 6.8%, 4.5% with ICGFA and 8.5% without (OR:0.47, p < 0.001, NNT 23), increasing to 9.5%, 7.5% and 11.6%, respectively, in randomised controlled trials (OR:0.62, p < 0.01, NNT 25). In rectal resections, AL rate was 4.7% with ICGFA vs 11.5% without (OR: 0.38, p < 0.0001). 26 studies performed ICGFA before and after anastomosis formation and 19 used ICGFA only prior to bowel transection, with no significant difference of AL rate reduction on subgroup testing. ICGFA prompted a change in surgical plan in 8.4% of thirty-four studies reporting this. Interestingly, in these studies, leak rates overall were 3.7% when ICGFA matched surgeon judgement versus 5.7% when it prompted change (OR 0.51, p < 0.0025), versus 7.7% without (OR 0.45, p < 0.0001). In rectal resections, these figures were 5%, 8.8% (OR 0.42, p = 0.01) and 12.0% (OR0.39, p < 0.0001), respectively., Conclusions: ICGFA colorectal perfusion assessment is associated with lower anastomotic leak rates, especially when confirming surgeons' judgement, and may so stratify patients post-operatively regarding subsequent anastomotic leak rate., Competing Interests: Declarations. Disclosures: Philip D Mc Entee’s role as a research fellow is funded by the Horizon Europe CLASSICA study and the European Union. Ashokkumar Singaravelu has no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose. Patrick A Boland’s role as a research fellow is funded by the Horizon Europe CLASSICA study and the European Union. Alice Moynihan has no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose. Ben Creavin has no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose. Ronan A Cahill is named on a patent filed in relation to processes for visual determination of tissue biology, receives speaker fees from Stryker Corp and Ethicon/J&J, consultancy fees from Arthrex, Astellas, Diagnostic Green and Touch Surgery (Medtronic), research funding from Intuitive Corp and Medtronic as well as recently from the Irish Government (DTIF) in collaboration with IBM Research in Ireland, and from EU Horizon 2020 in collaboration with Palliare and, currently, from Horizon Europe in collaboration with Arctur., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

The traditional genomic relationship matrix (GRM) has shown to be a biased estimation of true kinship, which can affect subsequent genetic analyses. In this study, we employed an unbiased kinship (UKin) estimation method within the genomic best linear unbiased prediction framework to evaluate its prediction performance on both a simulated dataset and a Large White pig dataset. The simulated dataset encompasses six traits, 900 quantitative trait loci, and 36 000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Two scenarios (small effect genes; major genes and small effect genes) and three heritabilities (0.1, 0.3 and 0.5) were considered. The Large White pig dataset includes two traits, 3 290 animals and 35 172 SNPs. The prediction performance of the Ukin method was compared with several other GRM construction methods, including VanRaden1 and 2 methods, Goudet method, and the runs of homozygosity (ROH) method. In the simulated dataset, VanRaden2 method and the UKin+VanRaden1 method achieved relatively higher prediction accuracies, averaging 0.561 and 0.558 for the six traits, respectively. Apart from the ROH method, all methods demonstrated similar levels of unbiasedness, around 1.10. In the Large White pig dataset, the accuracy of two traits hovered around 0.780, and the unbiasedness around 0.99, again with the ROH method as an exception. This study underscores the potential of the unbiased kinship estimation method in animal breeding., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To conceptualize rumination in adult cancer care., Methods: Walker and Avant's concept analysis method was used to examine rumination in adults with cancer. A systematic search was conducted across psychology, nursing, medicine, and public health disciplines in PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Scopus databases from their inception to April 2024. Additional records were identified by manually searching reference lists of relevant studies., Results: Analysis of 50 articles identified rumination's three defining attributes (intrusions, brooding, instrumentality), antecedents (cancer-related adversity, pre-existing susceptibilities), and consequences (psychophysiological functioning impairments, long-term adaptation). Key features included trait-state duality, internal variability, external cyclicality, and high emotional correlation., Conclusions: This concept analysis establishes a preliminary conceptual model of rumination in adult cancer care, integrating its attributes, antecedents, and consequences. The model offers insights into rumination mechanisms, highlighting its complexity and variability, and may inform the development of targeted interventions and theoretical development for cancer population. Further research is needed to validate the model and explore its clinical applications., Implications for Nursing Practice: Understanding rumination in adult cancer care helps nurses identify and support at-risk patients. By recognizing key signs, nurses can implement targeted interventions to improve patients' emotional and psychological well-being, ultimately enhancing their long-term adaptation and quality of life., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this work, with parathion, a typical forbidden organophosphate pesticide as target drug, an enhanced nanobody-driven bioluminescent immunoassay based on the engineered split-nanoluciferase (NanoLuc) was proposed. Concretely, through labeling 11S and β10, two split-NanoLuc units onto the anti-parathion nanobody (Nb) VHH9 and the artificial antigen H1 coupled with carrier protein ovalbumin (H1-OVA) respectively, an NanoLuc Binary Technology (NanoBiT) system was firstly developed in the form of homogeneous immunoassay, in which the luminescence signal was produced by the reassembled NanoLuc after the combination of the 11S-fused VHH9 and β10-labeled H1-OVA. Subsequently, in order to enhance the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, a novel strategy of splitting 11S into two smaller subunits Δ11S and β9 was adopted so then an NanoLuc Ternary Technology (NanoTeT) system based on tri-part components of β9-fused VHH9, β10-labeled H1-OVA and Δ11S was successfully established. The results showed that the maximum half inhibition concentration (IC 50 ) for parathion can be as low as 2.04 ng/mL, 3.2-fold and 4.2-fold improved than that of the NanoBiT system and indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA). Meanwhile, the detection range was from 0.19 ng/mL to 22.11 ng/mL. More importantly, this method required simply a one-step incubation with all reagents mixed together, and the total time used in detection was only 10 min, 7-fold faster than ic-ELISA. Finally, the average recoveries for vegetable samples were from 84.8% to 122% with the coefficient of variance (CV) below 15%. Overall, this study provides a new platform for homogeneous immunoassay of the small-molecule contaminants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: Childhood adiposity and inflammation impact long-term health. However, associations between dietary inflammation and childhood adiposity are unclear. We investigated if more pro-inflammatory diets are associated with greater adiposity in early-, mid-, and late-childhood., Methods: We pooled individual participant data (IPD) from 13,978 children in six European birth cohorts in the ALPHABET consortium: Lifeways Cross-Generation Cohort Study (Lifeways), the Randomised cOntrol trial of LOw glycaemic index diet during pregnancy study (ROLO), the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), the Southampton Women's Survey (SWS), the Polish Mother and Child Cohort (REPRO&#95;PL), and The Generation R Study (Generation R). Dietary inflammation was determined using the Children's Dietary Inflammatory Index (C-DII™). Adiposity-related outcomes included BMI z-score (primary outcome), abdominal circumference, skinfolds, fat-mass- and fat-free-mass-indices (secondary outcomes). Two-stage random effects IPD meta-analysis (IPD-MA), with adjusted linear and logistic regression models, was conducted. Quantile regression (QR) examined C-DII associations with BMI z-score percentiles., Results: Median, 25th and 75th percentile C-DII scores trended upwards from early 0.18 (-0.65, 1.03) to late-childhood 0.51 (-0.40, 1.49). Pooled QR revealed positive C-DII associations across BMI z-score percentiles, particularly in late-childhood unadjusted β (95 % CI) 75th (0.075 (0.046, 0.105), p < 0.001); 85th (0.077 (0.045, 0.108), p < 0.001); and 95th (0.051 (0.011, 0.091), p = 0.01). Adjusted cohort-specific QR identified contrasting associations at early-childhood (ALSPAC and SWS) and late-childhood (Generation R). Pooled adjusted IPD-MA showed C-DII associations with late-childhood obesity [OR (95 % CI) 0.89 (0.81, 0.97), p = 0.01]., Conclusions: C-DII associations across BMI z-score distribution varied by cohort, quantile, and time-point, with some potentially explained by adiposity rebound, reverse causation and questionnaire response biases, highlighting insights not evident with linear regression., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest KV, LWC, SC, LD, NCH, VWVJ, CK, FMM, KP, MS, JJ, MB, RS and CMP - no conflict of interest to declare. JH: Dr. James R. Hébert owns controlling interest in Connecting Health Innovations LLC (CHI), a company that has licensed the right to his invention of the dietary inflammatory index (DII) from the University of South Carolina in order to develop computer and smart phone applications for patient counselling and dietary intervention in clinical settings. CHI owns exclusive right to the E-DII and C-DII. The subject matter of this paper has no direct bearing on that work, nor has any CHI-related activity exerted any influence on this project. This did not and will not alter our adherence to the journal policies on sharing data and materials, but note that we are unable to share the computational algorithm, which is protected by trademark and patent law., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.)

Gene expression regulation in hypoxic tumor microenvironments is mediated by O 2 responsive transcription factors (O 2 R-TFs), fine-tuning cancer cell metabolic demand for O 2 according to its availability. Here, we discuss key O 2 R-TFs and emerging artificial intelligence (AI)-based applications suitable for the interrogation of O 2 R-TF relationships specifying cancer cell metabolic adaptations to hypoxia., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Understanding diets of population subgroups is essential for monitoring health of diversifying populations, but currently, meal patterns of many population subgroups are not widely known. This paper aimed to identify meal patterns of racial groups in the UK and USA, considering if racial groups exhibit similar patterns of intake irrespective of location and relationships between meal patterns and health parameters., Design: Data were extracted from the UK (National Diet and Nutrition Survey) and the USA (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) national dietary surveys. Temporal and content meal patterns among racial groups in the UK and USA (White, Black, Asian and Other, n = 1780 and n = 4339, respectively) were examined. Kruskal-Wallis tests were applied to understand differences across groups. Logistic regression models identified associations between meal patterns and body mass index and diet quality., Results: Black groups consumed fewer eating occasions than White and Other groups in both countries, while UK racial groups consumed significantly more snacks than USA groups. Food group contribution to eating occasion consumption was similar across countries where Asian groups in the USA and UK had the lowest meat intake at lunch and dinner. Meal frequency was positively associated with diet quality., Conclusions: Overall, meal patterns differ across racial groups within a single country, and some differences were observed within groups of the same race across countries. Learnings from this research highlight the differences in consumption patterns across racial groups and the importance of considering a meal-based approach to dietary guidelines by racial group., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics Approval: This study was conducted according to the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki, and all procedures involving research study participants were approved by the National Health Service Health Research Authority Research Ethics Committee East of England Cambridgeshire South (approval number 13/EE/0016 (NDNS data) and the National Center for Health Statistics Research Ethics Committee (approval number #2011–17 and #2018–01) (NHANES data). Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects. Ethical approval for this secondary analysis of NDNS and NHANES data was granted by the UCD Research Ethics Committee in May 2023 (S-LRSD-23–98-Bennett-Gibney). Consent to Participate: Informed consent was obtained from all participants by NDNS and NHANES researchers prior to data collection. At this time, participants consented to their data being used for external analysis (once anonymised). Consent for Publication: Participants signed informed consent regarding publishing their data once anonymised. Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023. W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute.)

Introduction: Effective spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) prevention is an urgent unmet clinical need. Vaginal depletion of Lactobacillus crispatus is linked to sPTB. This trial will investigate impact of an oral Lactobacillus spp. probiotic product containing an L. crispatus strain with other Lactobacilli spp., on the maternal vaginal and gut microbiome in pregnancies high-risk for sPTB., Methods: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial will be performed at the National Maternity Hospital Dublin, Ireland. Inclusion criteria are women with history of sPTB or mid-trimester loss, cervical surgery (cone biopsy or two previous large-loop-excision-of-transformation-zone) or uterine anomaly. The intervention is oral supplementation for twelve weeks with probiotic or identical placebo. The probiotic will contains: ◦ 4 billion CFU Lactobacillus crispatus Lbv 88(2x10 9 CFU/Capsule) ◦ 4 billion CFU Lactobacillus rhamnosus Lbv 96(2x10 9 CFU/Capsule) ◦ 0.8 billion CFU Lactobacillus jensenii Lbv 116(0.4x10 9 CFU/Capsule) ◦ 1.2 billion CFU Lactobacillus gasseri Lbv 150(0.6x10 9 CFU/Capsule). Investigators and participants will be blinded to assignment., Results: The primary outcome is detectable L. crispatus in the vaginal microbiome after twelve weeks of treatment, measured using high-throughput DNA sequencing. A total of 126 women are required to detect a 25 % increase in detectable L. crispatus. Secondary outcomes include impact of intervention on the gut microbiome and metabolome, rate of sPTB and mid-trimester loss, neonatal outcomes and maternal morbidity., Conclusions: This randomised trial will investigate ability of an oral probiotic containing L. crispatus to increase its abundance in the vaginal microbiome, both directly by horizontal transfer and indirectly via microbiome and metabolome of the gut., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:, (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

The field of aging and longevity research is overwhelmed by vast amounts of data, calling for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), including Large Language Models (LLMs), for the evaluation of geroprotective interventions. Such evaluations should be correct, useful, comprehensive, explainable, and they should consider causality, interdisciplinarity, adherence to standards, longitudinal data and known aging biology. In particular, comprehensive analyses should go beyond comparing data based on canonical biomedical databases, suggesting the use of AI to interpret changes in biomarkers and outcomes. Our requirements motivate the use of LLMs with Knowledge Graphs and dedicated workflows employing, e.g., Retrieval-Augmented Generation. While naive trust in the responses of AI tools can cause harm, adding our requirements to LLM queries can improve response quality, calling for benchmarking efforts and justifying the informed use of LLMs for advice on longevity interventions., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Brian K. Kennedy reports a relationship with Ponce de Leon Health that includes: consulting or advisory and equity or stocks. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Dynamic alterations in cardiac DNA methylation have been implicated in the development of heart failure (HF) with evidence of ischaemic heart disease (IHD); however, there is limited research into cell specific, DNA methylation sensitive genes that are affected by dysregulated DNA methylation patterns. In this study, we aimed to identify DNA methylation sensitive genes in the ischaemic heart and elucidate their role in cardiac fibrosis., Methods: A multi-omics integrative analysis was carried out on RNA sequencing and methylation sequencing on HF with IHD (n = 9) versus non-failing (n = 9) left ventricular tissue, which identified Integrin beta-like 1 (ITGBL1) as a gene of interest. Expression of Itgbl1 was assessed in three animal models of HF; an ischaemia-reperfusion pig model, a myocardial infarction mouse model and an angiotensin-II infused mouse model. Single nuclei RNA sequencing was carried out on heart tissue from angiotensin-II infused mice to establish the expression profile of Itgbl1 across cardiac cell populations. Subsequent in vitro analyses were conducted to elucidate a role for ITGBL1 in human cardiac fibroblasts. DNA pyrosequencing was applied to assess ITGBL1 CpG methylation status in genomic DNA from human cardiac tissue and stimulated cardiac fibroblasts., Results: ITGBL1 was >2-fold up-regulated (FDR adj P = 0.03) and >10-fold hypomethylated (FDR adj P = 0.01) in human HF with IHD left ventricular tissue compared with non-failing controls. Expression of Itgbl1 was up-regulated in three isolated animal models of HF and showed conserved correlation between increased Itgbl1 and diastolic dysfunction. Single nuclei RNA sequencing highlighted that Itgbl1 is primarily expressed in cardiac fibroblasts, while functional studies elucidated a role for ITGBL1 in cardiac fibroblast migration, evident in 50% reduced 24 h fibroblast wound closure occurring subsequent to siRNA-targeted ITGBL1 knockdown. Lastly, evidence provided from DNA pyrosequencing supports the theory that differential expression of ITGBL1 is caused by DNA hypomethylation., Conclusions: ITGBL1 is a gene that is mainly expressed in fibroblasts, plays an important role in cardiac fibroblast migration, and whose expression is significantly increased in the failing heart. The mechanism by which increased ITGBL1 occurs is through DNA hypomethylation., (© 2024 The Author(s). ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Objectives: The associations between individual lifestyle behaviours and well-being are still poorly understood, particularly in the antenatal period when women are exposed to physiological changes and increased psychological distress. A healthy lifestyle score (HLS) comprising protective lifestyle behaviours may be useful for studying links between overall lifestyle and psychosocial outcomes. This study aimed to examine bidirectional associations between a HLS and its components and psychological well-being in pregnant women with overweight/obesity., Design: Secondary analyses of data from the PEARS trial., Methods: Healthy lifestyle scores (scored 0-5) based on maternal diet (AHEI-P), physical activity (MET-minutes), alcohol consumption, smoking, and sleep habits were created for 330 and 287 mothers with overweight/obesity in early (14-16 weeks gestation) and late pregnancy (28 weeks gestation), respectively. Psychological well-being was measured with the WHO-5 well-being index. Cross-lagged path models (crude/adjusted) tested the directionality of relationships between lifestyle (composite score/individual components) and well-being cross-sectionally and over time in pregnancy., Results: The mean early pregnancy BMI was 29.2 kg/m 2 . The mean well-being score was 56.3% in early and 60.7% in late pregnancy. Significant autoregressive effects were observed for the HLS, all individual components, and well-being from early to late pregnancy. Well-being was positively correlated with the HLS, physical activity, and sleep variables within time points (in early and/or late pregnancy). Sleep and no smoking in early pregnancy predicted higher well-being in late pregnancy., Conclusions: Overall healthy lifestyle, physical activity, and especially sleep duration and quality are associated with psychological well-being in pregnancy, and should be promoted antenatally., (© 2025 The Author(s). British Journal of Health Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.)

Contact between mother and child is essential for the proper development of an infant's physiological systems, brain maturation and behavioural outcomes. Early life stress (ELS), which includes factors such as inadequate parental care and childhood abuse, significantly increases the risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression. This review examines the impact of maternal separation (MS) on depression, anxiety and pain behaviour, with a particular emphasis on neuroinflammatory pathways. Experiences of ELS can adversely affect the maturation of neurotransmitter systems and associated neural circuits that are crucial for processing painful stimuli and regulating anxiety and depression. Stressful experiences trigger inflammatory processes in the brain, initiating immune responses in neural cells and stimulating the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In mammals, MS serves as a significant stressor that activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and other stress-related systems, leading to increased immune challenges and heightened pain sensitivity in adulthood due to systemic inflammation. Key inflammatory mediators, such as IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α, play critical roles in the development of pathological pain, while the activation of microglia releases inflammatory mediators that contribute to neurological dysfunction and the pathophysiology of stress, depression and anxiety. Moreover, therapeutics targeting oxidative stress and inflammation have shown promise in alleviating affective disorders following MS. This review discusses potential pathways, with a primary focus on neuroinflammatory mechanisms and the therapeutic strategies that may mitigate the adverse effects of MS. There is a pressing need for further research to elucidate the underlying pathways and identify effective interventions to improve mental health outcomes in individuals affected by MS., (© 2025 International Society for Developmental Neuroscience.)

Introduction and Importance: Shoulder pain frequently presents as a low priority case in the Emergency Department (ED). However, this is associated with many potential aetiologies, including sickle cell crisis. A thorough history taking and comprehensive assessment, along with an open-minded approach can enhance clinical decision-making processes when caring for patients presenting with shoulder pain., Case Presentation: A 35-year-old male presented to the ED with left shoulder pain. He was given a low priority score as he did not report any significant previous history or trauma, appeared well, and reported a low pain score at the time of presentation., Clinical Discussion: The open-minded approach by the Advanced Nurse Practitioner led to an appropriate diagnosis, pain management, care, and follow up for the patient., Conclusion: This case underscored the critical importance of 'probe and probe again' until a clear rationale emerged for the aetiology of the shoulder pain experienced by a young and healthy patient., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives seek to embed the concept of inclusive pedagogy to promote inclusive educational environments. However, no evidence synthesis exists which examines whether and how the concept of inclusive pedagogy is addressed in online simulation-based learning in the undergraduate nursing education literature., Aims: To map the evidence regarding the adoption of inclusive pedagogy in online simulation-based learning in undergraduate nursing education., Design: A scoping review., Methods: Data were extracted, synthesized and presented in narrative and table format., Data Sources: A systematic search of five databases and five sources of grey literature was conducted to search literature published between 1st January 2010 to 1st June 2022., Results: Thirty-eight papers published between 2011 and 2022 were included. The results are presented under three identified themes: (1) Learner diversity; (2) Theoretical frameworks promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in online simulation and (3) Online simulation feedback., Conclusion: Inclusive pedagogy has not been considered or embedded in its entirety in online simulation in undergraduate nursing education literature., Implications for the Profession And/or Patient Care: Utilizing an inclusive pedagogy framework may prove advantageous in generating inclusive teaching approaches to support all students., Impact: This review will interest educators and managers that wish to incorporate equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives in nursing education., Reporting Method: This scoping review has adhered to the EQUATOR guidelines: the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews checklist., Patient or Public Contribution: No Patient or Public Contribution., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Advanced Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The crucial role of sustainable energy in addressing environmental challenges and using agricultural waste for bioenergy supports a circular bioeconomy. This paper presents a four-stage approach to optimise a biorefinery supply chain for Ireland's agricultural waste sector. The spatial availability of agricultural waste was assessed, followed by evaluating land suitability for biorefinery development under economic, environmental, and social constraints. A hybrid method using GIS and AHP was employed to rank suitable areas, and a mathematical model was used for supply chain optimisation. Results showed only 12 % of the study area is highly suitable for biorefineries, with an average transportation distance of 39 km, leading to reduced costs and emissions. The framework's efficiency is highlighted by a transportation cost of only 4 %, compared to 16 % in previous studies. This research fills a gap in bioenergy supply chain management by demonstrating advanced tools for optimising sustainability and site suitability., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Despite secondary prevention with aspirin, patients with stable cardiovascular disease (CVD) remain at elevated long-term risk of major adverse cardiovascular events. The Cardiovascular Outcomes in People Using Anticoagulant Strategies (COMPASS) double-blind, randomized clinical trial demonstrated that aspirin plus low-dose rivaroxaban (COMPASS regime) significantly decreased the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events by 24% compared with aspirin alone. However, the mechanisms underlying these potential synergistic/nonantithrombotic effects remain elusive. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are crucial messengers regulating a myriad of biological/pathological processes and are highly implicated in CVD., Objectives: We hypothesized that circulating EV profiles reflect the cardioprotective properties of the COMPASS regime., Methods: A cohort of stable CVD patients (N = 40) who participated in the COMPASS trial and were previously randomized to receive aspirin were prospectively recruited and assigned a revised regimen of open-label aspirin plus rivaroxaban. Blood samples were obtained at baseline (aspirin only) and 6-month follow-up. Plasma EV concentration, size, and origin were analyzed by nanoparticle tracking analysis and flow cytometry. EVs were enriched by ultracentrifugation for proteomic analysis., Results: The COMPASS regime fundamentally altered small (<200 nm) and large (200-1000 nm) EV concentration and size compared with aspirin alone. Crucially, levels of platelet-derived and myeloperoxidase-positive EVs became significantly decreased at follow-up. Comparative proteomic characterization further revealed a significant decrease in highly proinflammatory protein expression at follow-up., Conclusion: The observed changes in EV subpopulations, together with the differential protein expression profiles, suggest amelioration of an underlying proinflammatory and prothrombotic state upon dual therapy, which may be of clinical relevance toward understanding the fundamental mechanism underlying the reported superior cardiovascular outcomes associated with this antithrombotic regimen., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interests P.B.M., F.N.A., and S.M. received an investigator-initiated research grant from Bayer AG, Germany. All other authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The number of retractions of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) following post-publication allegations of misconduct is increasing. To address this issue, we aimed to establish an international multistakeholder consensus on post-publication integrity concerns related to RCTs. After prospective registration (https://osf.io/njksm), we assembled a multidisciplinary stakeholder group comprising 48 participants from 18 countries across six continents, recruited using a curated list of journal editors and snowballing. An underpinning evidence synthesis collated 89 articles related to post-publication integrity concerns. Integrity statements related to RCTs created were subjected to anonymized two-round Delphi survey. A hybrid face-to-face-online consensus development meeting was convened to consolidate the consensus. The response rates of the two Delphi survey rounds were 65% (31/48) and 67% (32/ 48), respectively. There were 101 and 41 statements in the first and second Delphi rounds, respectively. After the two Delphi rounds and the consensus development meeting, consensus was achieved on 104 statements consolidated to 84 after merging, editing, and removing duplicates. This set of statements included general aspects (n = 9), journal instructions (n = 14), editorial and peer review (n = 7), correspondence and complaints (n = 4), investigations for integrity concerns (n = 16), decisions and sanctions (n = 9), critical appraisal guidance (n = 1), systematic reviews of RCTs (n = 8), and research recommendations (n = 16). In conclusion, this international multistakeholder consensus statement aimed to underpin policies for preventing post-publication integrity concerns in RCT publications and assist in improving investigations of misconduct allegations., (© 2025 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)

The origins and prehistory of domestic sheep ( Ovis aries ) are incompletely understood; to address this, we generated data from 118 ancient genomes spanning 12,000 years sampled from across Eurasia. Genomes from Central Türkiye ~8000 BCE are genetically proximal to the domestic origins of sheep but do not fully explain the ancestry of later populations, suggesting a mosaic of wild ancestries. Genomic signatures indicate selection by ancient herders for pigmentation patterns, hornedness, and growth rate. Although the first European sheep flocks derive from Türkiye, in a notable parallel with ancient human genome discoveries, we detected a major influx of Western steppe-related ancestry in the Bronze Age.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to describe the outcome and prognostic factors in dogs diagnosed with primary and secondary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP)., Materials and Methods: Medical records of dogs diagnosed with primary and secondary ITP in a referral hospital in Ireland were retrospectively evaluated. Short- and long-term survivals were analysed using Cox proportional-hazards regression models., Results: Medical records from 49 dogs were included. Primary and secondary ITP were diagnosed in 81.25% and 18.75% of dogs, respectively. The survival rate was 69% at 2 weeks (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.54 to 0.80), 63% at 3 months (95% CI: 0.48 to 0.75) and 51% at 2 years (95% CI: 0.37 to 0.65). The overall median survival time was 985 days (primary ITP only: 1084 days; secondary ITP only: 225 days). Dogs surviving 30 days post-diagnosis had a median long-term survival time of 10 years. A lower haematocrit was negatively associated with survival [hazard ratio (HR) 0.96, 95% CI: 0.92 to 0.99]. Neutrophilia (HR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.20 to 0.96) was associated with a 66% decreased risk of death. Band neutrophilia was associated with shorter hospitalisation (regression coefficient -3.56, 95% CI: -5.70 to -1.42). Presence of petechiae and ecchymoses (regression coefficient 2.41, 95% CI: 0.41 to 4.42), and the use of a second-line immunosuppressive agent (SLI) (regression coefficient 2.11, 95% CI: 0.11 to 4.12) were significantly associated with longer hospitalisation but not with survival., Clinical Significance: A lower haematocrit was the only variable associated with a worse prognosis in dogs diagnosed with ITP. Dogs with confirmed secondary ITP had an overall shorter median survival time. Dogs surviving over 30 days had an excellent prognosis., (© 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Small Animal Practice published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Small Animal Veterinary Association.)

Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains a cornerstone in the management of coronary artery disease (CAD). In non-urgent surgical revascularization cases, preoperative optimization of modifiable risk factors can improve outcomes. There is increasing interest in the relationship between lipoprotein(a) levels and the risk for ischemic cardiovascular disease, particularly how CABG outcomes are in turn affected. This review highlights the role of Lp(a) in the pathogenesis of CAD and CABG outcomes and discusses future directions for its optimal management in the perioperative period., Methods: A review of the PubMed/MEDLINE database until March 2024 was performed to capture publications that evaluated and/or described the relationship between lipoprotein(a) and CABG surgery or CAD outcomes., Results: The available literature supports lipoprotein(a) as a causal and independent risk factor for the pathogenesis of CAD. Elevated lipoprotein(a) levels are associated with an increased risk of adverse post-CABG outcomes, including graft occlusion incidence and major adverse cardiovascular events. Genetic variations influencing lipoprotein(a) levels play a role in disease progression and surgical outcomes. Several therapies aimed at reducing lipoprotein(a) levels, currently in phase III clinical trials, show promise for improving post-CABG prognosis., Conclusions: Among individuals undergoing surgical revascularization for CAD, lipoprotein(a) levels may help define risk and inform best practices for perioperative management. We advocate for the routine measurement of lipoprotein(a) in all patients undergoing CABG. Emerging lipoprotein(a)-lowering agents show promise for secondary prevention of cardiac events, though dedicated analyses in cardiac surgical sub-cohorts will be important to evaluate their role in improving CABG outcomes., (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Since MYC is one of the most frequently altered driver genes involved in cancer formation, it is a potential target for new anti-cancer therapies. Historically, however, MYC has proved difficult to target due to the absence of a suitable crevice for binding potential low molecular weight drugs., Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate a novel molecular glue, dubbed GT19630, which degrades both MYC and GSPT1, for the treatment of breast cancer., Methods: The antiproliferative potential of GT19630 was evaluated in 14 breast cancer cell lines representing the main molecular subtypes of breast cancer. In addition, we also investigated the effects of GT19630 on apoptosis, cell cycle progression, cell migration, and degradation of the negative immune checkpoint protein, B7-H3., Results: GT19630 inhibited cell proliferation, blocked cell cycle progression, promoted apoptosis, and decreased cell migration at low nanomolar concentrations in breast cancer cell lines. By contrast, previously described MYC inhibitors such as specific MYC-MAX antagonists affected these processes at micromolar concentrations. Consistent with the ability of MYC to promote immune evasion, we also found that GT19630 degraded the negative immune checkpoint inhibitor, B7-H3., Conclusions: We conclude that the novel molecular glue, GT19630, is a potent mediator of endpoints associated with cancer formation/progression. Its ability to degrade B7-H3 suggests that GT19630 may also promote host immunity against cancer. To progress GT19630 as a therapy for breast cancer, our finding should now be confirmed in an animal model system., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval: Not applicable. Consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Conflict of interest: MJD and MT: no conflict of interest to disclose. JC, Research funding (to institution): Eisai, Puma Biotechnology, Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim; Employment: OncoMark, Ltd.; Honoraria: Eisai, Puma Biotechnology; MSD Oncology, Pfizer, G1 Therapeutics; Novartis; Speaker’s Bureau: Boehringer Ingelheim, Genomic Health, Roche, Pfizer; Shares: OncoMark Ltd; Travel and accommodation expenses: Pfizer, MSD, Abbvie, Astrazeneca and Novartis., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide widely used in agriculture, and its overexposure poses significant health and environmental risks. Herein, a novel Cu 2+ -coordinated fluorescent sensing system (HYBC-Cu 2+ system) based on acylhydrazone groups was designed, capable of glyphosate-specific recognition. The HYBC-Cu 2+ system was constructed with simple steps, with the advantages of short recognition time (< 1 min), good specificity, anti-interference, and excellent sensitivity (LOD = 95 nM). The effect of proton functional group on glyphosate resulted in Cu 2+ of the HYBC-Cu 2+ system being able to be competed down by the glyphosate to release HYBC thus inducing the fluorescence enhancement of the system and realizing the rapid detection of glyphosate. The recognition mechanism by the HYBC-Cu 2+ system was verified by high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), density function theory (DFT) calculations and Job's Plot. The system can cycle alternately to detect the glyphosate more than 6 times and effectively quantify trace glyphosate in environmental samples. Furthermore, the HYBC-Cu 2+ system has low cytotoxicity and good membrane permeability, which can enter HeLa cells and zebrafish to react rapidly with exogenous glyphosate, resulting in fluorescence enhancements that are visually distinctive. The application of HYBC-Cu 2+ system can further promote the development of pesticide residue monitoring methods such as glyphosate and provide scientific basis for policy making and public health protection., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness, is characterised by progressive optic nerve damage, with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling in the lamina cribrosa (LC) contributing to its pathophysiology. While current treatments focus on IOP reduction, they fail to address the underlying fibrotic changes that perpetuate neurodegeneration. The Src proto-oncogene, a non-receptor tyrosine kinase, has emerged as a key regulator of cellular processes, including fibroblast activation, ECM deposition, and metabolism, making it a promising target for glaucoma therapy. Beyond its well-established roles in cancer and fibrosis, Src influences pathways critical to trabecular meshwork function, aqueous humour outflow, and neurodegeneration. However, the complexity of Src signalling networks remains a challenge, necessitating further investigation into the role of Src in glaucoma pathogenesis. This paper explores the therapeutic potential of Src inhibition to mitigate fibrotic remodelling and elevated IOP in glaucoma, offering a novel approach to halting disease progression.

The mechanisms that regulate minor and trace element biomineralization in the echinoid skeleton can be primarily controlled biologically ( i.e. , by the organism and its vital effects) or by extrinsic environmental factors. Assessing the relative role of those controls is essential for understanding echinoid biomineralization, taphonomy, diagenesis, and their potential as geochemical archives. In this study, we (1) contrast geochemical signatures of specimens collected across multiple taxa and environmental settings to assess in situ the effects of environmental and physiological factors on skeletal biomineralogy; and (2) analyze the nanomechanical properties of the echinoid skeleton to assess potential linkages between magnesium/calcium (Mg/Ca) ratios and skeletal nanohardness. Live specimens of sand dollars and sea biscuits ( Mellita tenuis , Encope spp., Leodia sexiesperforata , and Clypeaster subdepressus ) were collected from three different salinity regimes: (1) a coastal region of Cedar Key influenced by freshwater input from Suwannee River, with low and fluctuating salinity; (2) St. James Bay with less fluctuating, higher salinity; and (3) Florida Keys with stable, fully marine salinity conditions. No clear relationship was found between the bulk skeletal barium/calcium (Ba/Ca), zinc/calcium (Zn/Ca), sodium/calcium (Na/Ca), cadmium/calcium (Cd/Ca), copper/calcium (Cu/Ca), phosphorous/calcium (P/Ca), lead/calcium (Pb/Ca), boron/calcium (B/Ca), manganese/calcium (Mn/Ca) ratios pooled across all taxa. In contrast, bulk Mg/Ca, strontium/calcium (Sr/Ca), sulfur/calcium (S/Ca) and lithium/calcium (Li/Ca) ratios exhibited notable differences between the three regions, indicating that distribution of these elements can be at least partly influenced by environmental factors such as salinity. However, such patterns were highly variable across taxa and regions, indicating that both environmental and physiological factors influenced geochemical signatures to varying degrees, depending on the species and environmental setting. In addition, regardless of species identity, different types of stereom within single tests were characterized by distinct skeletal Mg/Ca ratios and nanohardness. The inner galleried and coarse labyrinthic stereom typically exhibited a lower Mg/Ca ratio and nanohardness than the outer imperforate stereom layer that locally forms tubercles. Such heterogeneity in Mg distribution within single specimens cannot be ascribed solely to environmental changes, indicating that these echinoids actively regulate their intraskeletal Mg content: the higher magnesium concentration at the tubercles relative to that of the underlying stereom may be interpreted as a strategy for enhancing their mechanical strength to withstand surface friction and wear. The results suggest that the trace element composition of echinoid tests is a complex outcome of environmental and physiological factors., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2025 Gorzelak et al.)

Background: Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus and HIV causes significant morbidity and mortality. Effective antiviral treatment is available for both. Ireland has historically been considered a low prevalence country. However, with increasing inward migration and diversity, this may be changing., Aims: The aim of this study was to measure the community prevalence of hepatitis B virus and HIV infections in Irish residents born between the years 1965 and 1985., Methods: Anonymised residual serum samples from blood tests ordered by community general practitioners and tested in eight general hospital laboratories, spread across Ireland, were analysed for the presence of Hepatitis B surface antigen and antibodies to HIV., Results: A total of 6080 samples were analysed for hepatitis B surface antigen including 2993 males, 2807 females and 280 samples for which gender was not recorded. HBsAg was detected in 28/6067 samples giving an estimated prevalence of 0.46% (95% CI 0.32-0.67%). Antibodies to HIV were identified in 18/6064 giving an estimated prevalence of 0.33% (95% CI 0.19-0.47%). The prevalence of both hepatitis B and HIV was significantly higher in Cork (Southwest Ireland) than other centres: hepatitis B (12/1050 vs 16/5017, p = 0.014) and HIV (11/1049 vs 7/5015, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: The prevalence of hepatitis B virus and HIV infections in this cohort appear to be higher than previously estimated. In addition, their prevalence in the Cork area appears particularly high. Whether this represents a true prevalence or a chance finding will require confirmatory studies., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Rapid and accurate detection of foodborne pathogens is crucial for food safety. E. coli O157:H7, a major foodborne pathogen, can cause severe illness even at low concentration, highlighting the necessity for effective detection methods. This study focuses on developing nanobodies specific to E. coli O157:H7, aiming to provide a more efficient, cost-effective, and stable analytical reagents which can be available internationally. An alpaca was immunized and a phage-displayed nanobody library was constructed. Following panning, nanobodies were expressed and characterized for their affinity and specificity. A nanobody-based immunoassay was developed, with a limit of detection of 8.7 × 10 3  cfu/mL. The matrix effect was evaluated, and the assay successfully detected E. coli O157:H7 in various food samples (with 5 cfu spiked), including ground beef, orange juice, and milk. The study developed a nanobody-based immunoassay for E. coli O157:H7 detection, underscoring the practical applicability of nanobodies for testing food safety monitoring., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Variation exists in our attitude and behaviour towards food and exercise, resulting in different degrees of health and ill health. Cultural and economic factors contribute to this, alongside personal choices, leading to a spectrum from normative eating, through disordered eating to the extremes of eating disorders (EDs). Understanding the intricate interplay between biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors to eating, exercise and body image is paramount to understand the current state regarding EDs and to deliver/develop multifaceted and individualised treatments. Significant service developments have occurred following the launch of the Irish Health Service Executive Model of Care for EDs in 2018. However, incomplete roll out and surge in EDs referrals post Covid-19 require generic child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to be competent in assessment of EDs, and to keep abreast of clinical updates in order to offer effective treatment.This review provides an evidenced based update on eating related difficulties, outlines a useful assessment framework, offers information on appropriate clinical management, and highlights exciting clinically relevant research developments.

Background: The literature underscores the prevalence of pain as the most common presenting symptom in the Emergency Care Setting (ECS) and is associated with anxiety and stress for children. On top of that painful procedures are often required as part of their treatment, making procedural pain a common experience. The substantial evidence supporting the effectiveness of distraction-based interventions (DBI) in relieving pain and anxiety and reducing stress underscores the urgency of addressing this issue. However, the fragmented adoption of standardised DBI highlights the need for further research and implementation., Purpose: To conduct a realist synthesis based on primary research exploring "what works for whom under what circumstances, how and why?" when implementing DBI in the ECS., Review Methods: Empirical research evidence was retrieved systematically from eight databases covering health and social sciences. The studies were synthesised based on the principles of realist science, drawing on Pawson and Tilley's (1997) and Dalkin et al.'s (2015) programme theory development, which explains the contexts and mechanisms that generate positive outcomes about DBI for children in the ECS., Results: Of the 2099 studies screened, 64 were included. Screening was conducted 2023 to December 2024. A synthesis of the findings generated five Programme Theories (PT). PT1 focuses on the personalisation of DBI for children in the ECS, PT2 explains the importance of parental participation, PT3 highlights the importance of healthcare workers (HCWs) commitment to adopting DBI in practice, PT4 draws attention to policy-level efforts necessary for implementation support, and PT5 focuses on engaging all stakeholders in the implementation process., Conclusion: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to apply a realist lens to understand the use of DBI in children attending the ECS and present the mechanisms that enable and/or inhibit its implementation and utilisation in everyday clinical practice., Implications to Practice: This realist synthesis provides methodological guidance in the form of PT that can be utilised by clinical practitioners to adopt and implement DBI within the healthcare setting., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Multiple Sclerosis is an inflammatory neurodegenerative disease characterised by blood-brain barrier dysfunction and leukocyte infiltration into the CNS. Platelets are best known for their contributions to haemostasis, however, upon activation, platelets release an abundance of soluble and vesicular-associated proteins, termed the platelet releasate (PR). This milieu contains numerous inflammatory and vasoactive proteins, that can attract leukocytes and alter endothelial permeability., Experimental Design: We aimed to characterise the PR of Relapsing-Remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients, previously characterized regarding thrombin generation dynamics compared to healthy controls. We carried out LFQ proteomic profiling of the PR from 15 RRMS and 19 aged-matched healthy controls., Results: We identified 9 proteins increased and 16 proteins decreased in the PR of RRMS patients. Platelet/endothelial cell-adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) was uniquely found in healthy control PR and circulating levels of PECAM-1 were significantly lower in RRMS patient samples. GO analysis revealed a strong link between altered proteins and extracellular vesicles (EVs). Small EV levels were significantly reduced in RRMS PR compared to healthy PR and showed a negative correlation with PECAM-1 levels in RRMS plasma., Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Our findings suggest that platelet reactivity may be linked to disease activity, even in periods of disease remission., (© 2025 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a significant public health concern, with its progression to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and fibrosis leading to severe outcomes including cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver failure. Whereas obesity and excess energy intake are well-established contributors to the development and progression of MASLD, the distinct role of specific macronutrients is less clear. This review examines the mechanistic pathways through which dietary fatty acids and sugars contribute to the development of hepatic inflammation and fibrosis, offering a nuanced understanding of their respective roles in MASLD progression. In terms of addressing potential therapeutic options, human intervention studies that investigate whether modifying the intake of dietary fats and carbohydrates affects MASLD progression are reviewed. By integrating this evidence, this review seeks to bridge the gap in the understanding between the mechanisms of macronutrient-driven MASLD progression and the effect of altering the intake of these nutrients in the clinical setting and presents a foundation for future research into targeted dietary strategies for the treatment of the disease., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Rare diseases are individually uncommon yet collectively prevalent. They affect over 300,000 people in Ireland, with 50-70 % impacting children. This study explores the supportive care needs of parents caring for children with rare diseases in Ireland, utilising a validated Parental Needs Scale for Rare Diseases (PNS-RD)., Design and Methods: This descriptive quantitative study employed survey techniques to assess parental support needs. An online survey was administered to parents across Ireland from August 2021 to December 2021 using the Qualtrics™ platform., Results: Out of 107 consented participants, 89 provided data suitable for analysis. Findings revealed significant challenges, with children averaging six hospital visits per year; 77 % of families indicated special education needs, and 42 % required medically complex care. The PNS-RD scale mean was M = 48.62 (95 % CI: 44.5-52.7), comprising four dimensions (each scored out of 25): i) Understanding the disease (M = 9.01, 95 % CI: 7.5-10.5), ii) Working with health professionals (M = 13.68, 95 % CI: 12.0-15.4), iii) Emotional issues (M = 13.22, 95 % CI: 12.0-14.5), and iv) Financial needs (M = 12.94, 95 % CI: 11.2-14.6). Parents demonstrated confidence in managing their child's care but reported considerable emotional strain and financial challenges., Conclusion: While parents generally felt confident in handling their child's rare disease and were moderately satisfied with the care and support received, the emotional, psychological, and financial toll remained high., Implications for Practice: This study underscores the urgent need for comprehensive support systems to alleviate these burdens, advocating for tailored healthcare and social support interventions to meet the diverse needs of these families., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. The author is an Editorial Board Member/Editor-in-Chief/Associate Editor/Guest Editor for [YJPDN] and was not involved in the editorial review or the decision to publish this article., (Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the drastically increasing major global health threats due to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics as traditional antimicrobial agents, which render urgent the need for alternative and safer antimicrobial agents, such as essential oils (EOs). Although the strong antimicrobial activity of various EOs has already been studied and revealed, their characteristic high sensitivity and volatility drives the need towards a more efficient drug administration method via a biomaterial system. Herein, the potential of Thymus sibthorpii EO incorporated in functionalized antibacterial collagen hydrogels was investigated. At first, the optimally stabilized type I collagen hydrogels via six different multi-arm poly (ethylene glycol) succinimidyl glutarate (starPEG) crosslinkers were determined by assessing the free amine content and the resistance to enzymatic degradation. Subsequently, 0.5, 1, and 2% v / v of EO were incorporated into optimized collagen hydrogels, and the release profile, as well as release kinetics, were studied. Finally, biomaterial cytocompatibility tests were performed. Thymus sibthorpii EO was released from the hydrogel matrix via Fickian diffusion and showed sustained release and 0.5% v / v EO-loaded hydrogels showed adequate antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and did not show any statistically significant difference compared to penicillin ( p < 0.05). Moreover, none of the fabricated composite antibacterial scaffolds displayed any cytotoxicity on NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. In conclusion, this work presents an innovative antibacterial biomaterial system for tissue engineering applications, which could serve as a promising alternative to antibiotics, contributing to coping with the issue of antimicrobial resistance.

Sexual signals in animals encompass a variety of forms including visual, acoustic, and chemical signals that are fundamental for intra- and interspecific communication, including sexual selection processes. Among these, odor signals play a critical role. Chemical compounds involved in sexual signaling vary in nature, with lipids and proteins being particularly important. In the male Iberian red deer ( Cervus elaphus hispanicus ), the dark ventral patch has been identified as a key sexual signal during mating competition, associated with specific chemical compounds deposited during urination. Hair plays a significant role in this signaling due to its ability to retain compounds on the scales of the hair cuticle. In this study, we used a shotgun proteomic approach to investigate whether the ventral patch hair retains proteins on its surface that could reveal metabolic and cell-signaling adaptations potentially related to reproductive activity. Characterization of the origin and functionality of the proteins found in the hair of the dark ventral patch of male red deer, and their relationship to distinct metabolic pathways, provides an initial understanding of the potential role of these compounds in chemical communication in red deer intrasexual competition for mates.