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Background: Rare disease clinical trials are notorious for complexities that frequently result in study-start delays. However, there is limited knowledge about how participants and researchers perceive these delays and what factors shape their experiences. A clinical trial in the rare, progressive disorder Pantothenate Kinase-Associated Neurodegeneration—the PKAN trial—encountered an unexpected de
STUDY QUESTION What are the perspectives of oocyte and sperm donors 14-17 years post-donation on the release of their identity and potential contact with donor-conceived offspring (DCO)? SUMMARY ANSWER Most oocyte and sperm donors wanted to be notified about future releases of their identity and were positive towards contact with DCO, but more than half expressed a need for support in relation to
Vacuum membrane distillation is a promising technology for seawater desalination, as it enables high recovery ratios, with reasonable thermal and minimal electric consumption. Ceramic membranes can offer notable advantages over polymeric membranes, mainly due to their robust thermal and mechanical stability, yet they have limited representation in the literature. Accordingly, this work investigate
Climate change is one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss. Among vertebrates, amphibians are one of the more sensitive groups to climate change due to their unique ecology, habitat requirements, narrow thermal tolerance and relatively limited dispersal abilities. We projected the influence of climate change on an endemic toad, Malabar Tree Toad (Pedostibes tuberculosus; hereafter MTT) from t
Facilitated CO stripping: Partial metallization of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) by electroreduction in the molten, eutectic mixture of CaCl2 and NaCl at 600 °C produces nano- and submicro-sized Ti2O and CaδTiOx (perovskites, x/× δ 2) that can significantly promote the catalytic activity of Pt NPs towards the oxidation of CO and CH3OH in acidic solutions
The governance of agricultural resources, particularly seeds, has long been a site of contestation between corporate-aligned institutions promoting proprietary seed laws and smallholder farmers, civil society organisations, and food sovereignty advocates defending traditional seed systems and local control. In Ghana, the introduction and eventual passage of the Plant Variety Protection Act of 2020
The Siusi/Seis section has been measured for the δ13C signature across the Permian-Triassic Boundary (PTB) in high resolution on magnetostratigraphic samples from Scholger et al. (2000), enabling an exact correlation with magnetostratigraphic data. We show that the base of the short normal polarity magnetozone that has been reported from the evento-stratigraphic boundary correlates with a distinct
Phylogenies are central to many disciplines in biology. While disciplines such as systematics are focused on phylogenetic hypotheses themselves, other disciplines depend on robust and well-supported phylogenies in order to put biological data into evolutionary context through phylogenetic comparative studies. Examples of such fields are macroevolutionary research e.g. studying the evolution of a f
Urbanization in coastal megacities leads to trade-offs between development and ecology, degrading carbon sinks and disrupting spatial-functional balance. Current models often fail to integrate land use, carbon dynamics, and ecological zoning. This study created a system that brings together Patch-generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS), Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVE
Background Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal infection among women of reproductive age worldwide, caused by dysbiosis of the vaginal microbiome. Despite its prevalence, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood, making diagnosis and treatment challenging. Although antibiotics are the standard therapy, recurrence rates are high, up to 50% within 1 year, and repe
BACKGROUND: Peptic gastroduodenal stenosis is a rare but disabling condition causing gastric outlet obstruction. This study aimed to evaluate endoscopic balloon dilation in terms of treatment effectiveness, durability, and identify potential early predictors of unsatisfactory outcomes.METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent endoscopic balloon dilation for sympt
Purpose: Incisional hernia (IH) after open liver surgery is a well-recognized complication. The clinical importance of IH detected on computed tomography in terms of objective abdominal wall discomfort and impairment of quality of life (QoL) is less well known. Methods: Patients who underwent curative surgery for colorectal liver metastases between 2010 and 2015 at a single center and were alive i
Background: Studies on national policies for biologics are warranted. Objectives: To map and compare national healthcare set-ups for prescription, start, switch, tapering, and discontinuation of biologic/targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in patients with psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis across Europe, and assess the healthcare set-ups in relation to c
Background: Postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) impairs the outcome of immediate breast reconstruction in patients with breast cancer, and the sentinel lymph node (SLN) status is crucial in evaluating the need for PMRT. The aim of this study was to develop and validate models to stratify the risk of clinically significant SLN macrometastases (macro-SLNMs) before surgery. Methods: Women diagnosed wi
Most agricultural and food policies often overlook diversity of farming households, resulting in generalized and ineffective interventions. Recognizing changing and diverse characteristics of farm types is therefore critical. Using data from 502 households in West Pokot County, Kenya, we employ principal component and cluster analyses to create farm typologies to guide targeted policy intervention
This study examines the influence of environmental concerns on water conservation behaviors among Gen Z tourists in Iranian desert regions by extending the Norm Activation Theory (NAT). Adopting a quantitative approach, data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 330 Gen Z tourists (born between 1997 and 2012) who visited four Iranian desert villages (Qale Bala, Mesr, Abyaneh, and
When Sweden adopted its carbon tax in 1990, it was as one of the first of its kind worldwide. While the adoption of the tax has been attributed to its inclusion in the Swedish tax reform, undoubtedly playing a crucial role, the reform does not in itself explain how the Swedish carbon tax came about or why it became part of the reform package in the first place. In this article, we present a case s
BACKGROUND: The risk of infection-related death is high in patients undergoing dialysis. This study aimed to identify the modifiable risk factors for PD-related infections in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis.METHODS: This was a population-based retrospective cohort study conducted in Skåne, South Sweden, which included all patients receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD) between 2011 and 2020. T
Background: Rubber accelerators found in rubber gloves may cause contact allergy and thus allergic contact dermatitis. Objectives: To investigate which doses of tetraethylthiuram disulfide (TETD) elicit allergic contact dermatitis by patch testing and in a repeated occluded application test simulating glove use. Patients and Methods: A multicentre study was conducted. Eight patients with contact a
