Since 1995, national forensic DNA databases have used a maximum number of contributors, and a minimum number of loci to reduce the risk of providing false leads. DNA profiles of biological traces that do not meet these criteria cannot be loaded into these databases. In 2023, about 10 % of more than 15,000 trace DNA profiles analyzed in western Switzerland were not compared at the national level, even though they were considered to be interpretable, mainly because they contained the DNA from more than two persons. In this situation, police services can request local comparisons with DNA profiles of known persons and/or with other traces, but this occurs in only a small proportion of cases, so that DNA mixtures are rarely used to help detect potential series. The development of probabilistic genotyping software and its associated tools have made possible the efficient performance of this type of comparison, which is based on likelihood ratios (LR) rather than on the number of shared alleles. To highlight potential common contributors for investigation and intelligence purposes, the present study used the mixture-to-mixture tool of the software STRmix v2.7 to compare 235 DNA profiles that cannot be searched the Swiss DNA database. These DNA profiles originated from traces collected by six different police services in 2021 and 2022. Traces were selected by the police based on information that indicated that they were from potential series. Associations between profiles were compared with expected investigative associations to define the value of this approach. Among the 27,495 pairwise comparisons of DNA profiles, 88 pairs (0.3 %) showed at least one potential common contributor when using a LR threshold of 1000. Of these 88 pairs, 60 (68.2 %) were qualified by the police services as \"expected\" (60/88), 22 (25.0 %) as \"possible\", and six (6.8 %) as \"unexpected\". Although it is important to consider the limits of this approach (e.g., adventitious or missed associations, cost/benefit evaluation, integration of DNA mixture comparison in the process), these findings indicate that non CODIS loadable DNA mixtures could provide police agencies with information concerning potential series at both the local and national level.

Sarcoidosis is a multi-organ inflammatory disease that can have hepatic involvement in up to 80% of cases. Rarely, sarcoidosis can manifest with only confined disease to the liver. While most patients with hepatic sarcoidosis are clinically silent, certain cases can have insidious onset leading to cirrhosis and secondary complications. Here, we describe three cases of isolated hepatic sarcoidosis to illustrate the range of presentations that may be associated with this condition. Clinicians should be vigilant in consideration of hepatic sarcoidosis as a culprit when investigating patients with undifferentiated liver disease.

This qualitative research uses a case study to observe non-binary representation in TV fiction. The Dan character from the Spanish series HIT (RTVE, 2020-present), who is the first openly non-binary character in Spanish TV fiction, is analyzed through the lens of Queer Media Studies. The research applies a combination of content and discourse analysis. Qualitative content categories include a character\'s visibility, identity, relevance, embodiment, and social interaction. Discourse analysis categories include character\'s construction, lexicalization, propositional framing, and focus. Results show that Dan\'s non-binary depiction revolves around three significant axes: dualism, confusion, and exceptional talent. These axes frame social attitudes toward non-binary people and are composed by a set of features identified in Dan\'s case which also informs society\'s mind-sets. These traits are proposed as an analytical-theoretical tool for further analyses of non-binary representation in different cultural contexts. The outcomes of this research may inform audiovisual industries, regulations and academia, and are useful to consolidate non-binary media studies.

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To tackle the problem of the low output power of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), the output characteristics of multiple TENGs in series and parallel were explored. An experimental device for multilayer TENGs was developed. Through the method of experimental modeling, the equivalent circuits and mathematical models in series and parallel are established respectively, and the working principle is expounded. The experiment found that when multiple TENGs are connected in parallel, the voltage, current, and output power can be regularly increased. When the TENGs are connected in series, the output power is only related to the performance of the first and last two triboelectric generators and has nothing to do with the number of series-connected TENGs. This finding has a certain reference value for the design of high-efficiency triboelectric nanogenerators.

BACKGROUND: It is important to determine if a horse is shedding Salmonella spp., but a complete culture series can be cost prohibitive.
OBJECTIVE: Determine the optimal pooling technique to maintain high sensitivity of Salmonella spp. culture using spiked samples, and then demonstrate the efficacy of this protocol on clinical submissions.
OBJECTIVE: Pooled fecal samples are as sensitive as 5 individual cultures for the detection of Salmonella shedding.
METHODS: A single Salmonella-negative horse from the university herd, and 19 hospitalized horses.
METHODS: Salmonella-free fecal samples were spiked with different amounts of Salmonella spp. (102 , 103 , 104 , and 105 colony forming units [cfu]) and homogenized to evaluate pooled samples. Five individual fecal samples were collected from 19 hospitalized horses. Ten-gram aliquots of each individual sample were combined to make a pooled sample. Both individual and pooled samples were cultured for Salmonella spp. The identity of bacterial isolates was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time of flight mass spectrometry.
RESULTS: A 102  cfu concentration of Salmonella spp. could be recovered from a spiked Salmonella-free fecal sample. Homogenization protocols indicated that the addition of 20 mL of broth to the pooled sample improved recovery, whereas homogenization time did not. Of the 19 horses tested, 5 were positive for Salmonella. In all instances, Salmonella spp. were recovered from the fecal pool as well as individual samples.
CONCLUSIONS: Pooling of 5 fecal samples for Salmonella culture is a sensitive and cost-effective diagnostic approach to detect horses that are shedding the organism.

•Intracranial cysts are associated with a number of vascular lesions.•They predominantly occur in larger, partially-thrombosed aneurysms and in older patients.•There is a trend towards enlargement over time if untreated and a likelihood of recurrence following treatment.•We hypothesise the cysts arise either from dilated Virchow-Robin spaces and/or inflammatory processes.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction HFrEF (< 40%) uses hygienic-dietary rules combined with beta-blockers, renin-angiotensin system blockers RASB (alone or in combination with Sacubitril) and spironolactone. Dapagliflozin (SGLT2 inhibitor) has proven its effectiveness in reducing morbi-mortality in patients with HF. However, its effects on echocardiographic parameters are less known.
OBJECTIVE: To describe the impact of the addition of Dapagliflozin to conventional treatment on echocardiographic parameters in patients with HFrEF < 40%.
METHODS: Observational, single-center and non-randomized study involving patients with HFrEF < 40%. This group was compared to a cohort of 50 patients with HfrEF < 40% under conventional treatment without Dapagliflozin (taken from the HF register of our center and whose management dates back to before the adoption of this molecule in the HF ESC-2021 guidelines) to assess the ultrasound impact of Dapagliflozin.
RESULTS: 43 patients aged between 40 and 68 years with HfrEF < 40% on Beta-blocker, BSRA, Spironolactone and Dapagliflozin 10 mg/d. The mean EF was 33% ± 3 (30-39%), mean LVd diameter 64 mm ± 6 (55-71 mm) and mean longitudinal strain at -11% ± 4. These patients were compared to a cohort of 50 patients with the same profile without Dapagliflozin. After a follow-up of 7 months (5-8 months): The average EF increased to 37% with 11 patients EF > 40% against 35% and 5 patients EF > 40% for the group without Dapagliflozin (P 0.057), average LVd at 61 mm versus 66 mm in the group without Dapagliflozin (P 0.095), Mean longitudinal strain at -14% (6 patients < -15) versus -12% (1 patient <-15) in the group without Dapagliflozin (P 0.046).
CONCLUSIONS: In a population of patients with HfrEF < 40% under conventional treatment for HF, the prescription of Dapagliflozin is associated with an improvement of echocardiographic parameters (EF and longitudinal strain). MOTS-CLéS: Série;Dapagliflozine;insuffisance cardiaque;strain;ProBNP;dysfonction VG.

BACKGROUND: Intramedullary nail fixation is currently the modality of choice in surgical treatment for atypical femoral fractures (AFF). Its uses are limited, however, in severely bowed femurs, narrow medullary canals, or in the presence of thick endosteal callus at the apex of the femoral curve. In these cases, extramedullary plate osteosynthesis is preferred. The consideration when adopting plate osteosynthesis is whether a short or long segment fixation is superior. We hypothesize that a long segment fixation has the potential advantage of protecting the entire length of the femur from future fractures in the adynamic bone. In this series, we present two cases from our institution, with the aims of discussing the benefits and limitations of short versus long segment plate fixation in AFF.
METHODS: We report two uncommon cases of bisphosphonate-related AFF in two Asian patients with severe femoral curvature, who were treated with extramedullary plate osteosynthesis at our institution. One patient underwent fixation with a short segment plate osteosynthesis, and the other received a long plate osteosynthesis spanning the proximal to distal femur in an attempt to protect the bone from future fractures. Both patients showed a favourable and uncomplicated course post-surgery, with early return to ambulation and radiographic bone union at follow up.
CONCLUSIONS: We expect to see an increase in the number of patients with AFF and bowed femurs, especially with the increased usage of bisphosphonates given an ageing Asian population. Surgical treatment with short and long plate osteosynthesis are options with their own advantages and limitations. With the advent of new anatomical plate options, long segment fixation has become more accessible and may be considered in this patient group as it has the potential advantage of protecting the adynamic femur from future fractures. Further studies should be targeted to determine which method of treatment is superior in this particular group of patients.

Ellipsoidal and plane-elliptical surfaces are widely used as reflective, point-to-point focusing elements in many optical systems, including X-ray optics. Here the classical optical path function approach of Fermat is applied to derive a closed-form expression for these surfaces that are uniquely described by the object and image distances and the angle of incidence at a point on a mirror surface. A compact description facilitates design, modeling, fabrication, and testing to arbitrary accuracy. Congruent surfaces in two useful coordinate systems - a system centered on the ellipsoid\'s axes of symmetry and a mirror-centered or `vertex\' system with the surface tangent to the xy plane at the mirror\'s center - are presented. Expressions for the local slope and radii of curvature are derived from the result, and the first several terms of the Maclauren series expansion are provided about the mirror center.