Automated Detection of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus Using CT Imaging for Calculating the Ventricle-to-Subarachnoid Volume Ratio.

Background And Purpose: Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is a diagnostic challenge because its clinical symptoms and imaging appearance resemble normal aging and other forms of dementia. Identifying NPH is essential so that patients can receive timely treatment to improve gait distortion and quality of life. An automated marker of NPH was developed and evaluated on clinical CT images, and its utility was assessed in a large patient cohort.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Diabetes Risk in Mississippi Adults.

Despite Mississippi's high diabetes prevalence and the growing literature finding significant associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and diabetes, no research has examined the relationship between ACEs and diabetes risk in Mississippi adults. This study utilized data from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to determine if such a relationship existed. Data for Mississippi respondents were weighted to account for nonresponse bias and non-coverage errors.

Phylogenetic, Sequencing, and Mutation Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (BA.1) and Its Subvariants (BA.1.1, BA.2) During the Fifth Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

Introduction In December 2019, a global outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 occurred in Wuhan, China, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the virus has spread to all countries, necessitating a worldwide initiative to create effective treatments and vaccines. Methods The RNA of samples QIAamp Viral RNA Mini Kit (Qiagen, MD).

Tuning the Solid State Luminescence of Benzofuran-Cyanostilbenes by Functionalization with Electron Donors or Acceptors.

Three series of linear extended benzofuran derivatives associating cyanovinyl unit and electron withdrawing systems such as paracyanophenyl (series 1) and pentafluorophenyl (series 2) units or the electron donor 3,4-dimethoxyphenyl (series 3) moiety have been prepared. The donor character of the benzofuran part is adjusted either without modifying the conjugation by adding electron-donating methoxy groups to positions 5 and 6 of the benzofuran (compounds BF2 and BF3) or by increasing the extension of the conjugation with the naphthofuran unit (BF4), and by the insertion of a furan ring between the benzofuran and the cyanovinylene bond (BF5). While most of the compounds show very low emission in solution, microcrystalline powders of almost all compounds show middle at strong emissions under excitation at 350-400 nm with emission colors ranging from blue - green to red.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 RNA titer on the level of IgG antibodies in recovered patients with COVID-19 disease.

Introduction: It is important to better understand the presence of neutralizing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the population, as they potentially prevent (re)infection.

Aim: To correlate the Cycle threshold (Ct value) of SARS-CoV-2 and its impact on specific Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG titer, to reveal the effect of age and disease severity on antibodies titer.

Methodology: A total of 153 infected participants laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases 4-11 months ago, aged 18-85 years old (mean = 43.

Biomarkers for Early Detection, Prognosis, and Therapeutics of Esophageal Cancers.

Esophageal cancer (EC) is the deadliest cancer worldwide, with a 92% annual mortality rate per incidence. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) are the two major types of ECs, with EAC having one of the worst prognoses in oncology. Limited screening techniques and a lack of molecular analysis of diseased tissues have led to late-stage presentation and very low survival durations.

The effect of erythroferrone suppression by transfusion on the erythropoietin-erythroferrone-hepcidin axis in transfusion-dependent thalassaemia: A pre-post cohort study.

To track post-transfusion changes on the erythropoietin (EPO)-erythroferrone (ERFE)-hepcidin axis, we collected blood samples from 82 regularly transfused patients with β-thalassaemia major (β-TM) immediately before and 4-6 days after transfusion. The post-transfusion haemoglobin, hepcidin, and ferritin levels were increased, while the EPO, ERFE, and soluble transferrin receptor were suppressed. In addition, hepcidin change was inversely associated with erythropoietic change, which was confirmed by an increase in the hepcidin-to-ERFE ratio after transfusion.

Fatigue in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and correlated factors.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that leads to muscle weakness and paralysis. Fatigue is a disabling symptom, frequently reported in ALS, but remains under-investigated in this population. Thus, an accurate investigation of this symptom and possible associated factors in this clinical condition is needed to assist in the establishment of an adequate treatment approach.

Quality of Life Issues Following Breast Cancer Treatment.

Breast surgeons are trained in diagnostic modalities, treatment effectiveness, patient safety, and operative techniques, with emphasis on "the right treatment at the right time for the right patient." But delivering quality breast cancer care means more than achieving good outcomes. Physicians have routinely measured disease-free survival and overall survival to determine success in treating breast cancer.

Management of Cystic Conditions.

Cystic conditions are the most common disorder of the breast. Simple cysts are not malignant and do not require intervention. Patients with symptomatic simple cysts can undergo elective aspiration, and typical cyst fluid can be discarded.

A qualitative study exploring young offenders' perspectives on alcohol and other drug health promotion.

Background: Drugs and alcohol can cause significant harm to individuals, families and communities. Young offenders represent an important population group, which often sport many characteristics that make them highly vulnerable to experiencing harm from drug use. For decades, research has shown the complexity of health behaviours and the need to consider consumer perspectives to respond and support different populations effectively.

Quality of life, disability, and clinical variables in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a motor neuron disease that results in a progressive increase in dysfunctions, limitations and restrictions over time, which can impact on quality of life (QoL). Therefore, expanding knowledge on QoL and possible factors associated with ALS can enable the development of actions to ensure greater wellbeing for the population.

Objective: To investigate QoL in ALS and determine associations with demographic, functional and clinical aspects.

Current state of prognostication, therapy and prospective innovations for Barrett's-related esophageal adenocarcinoma: a literature review.

Objective: Barrett's esophagus (BE) is the only known precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), which has one of the lowest 5-year survival rates in oncology. The reasons for poor survival are twofold: the large majority of diagnoses are in advanced stages (~80%) and limited treatment options, with a deficit of biology-guided therapies. As a rapidly growing public health concern with poor prognosis, research into the molecular progression for BE and novel therapeutics for EAC currently has high clinical utility.

Implementation of rapid diagnostics assays for detection of histoplasmosis and cryptococcosis in central american people living with HIV.

Objectives: Histoplasmosis and cryptococcosis are important public health problems in people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Central America. Conventional laboratory assays, based on microscopy and culture, are not optimal for the diagnosis of either disease. However, antigen (Ag) assays are rapid and highly accurate for the diagnosis of these infections.

Cryptosporidiosis in Children in Duhok City / Kurdistan Region / Iraq.

This is the first study to detect cryptosporidiosis among children in Duhok city/Kurdistan region of Iraq. The study included 332 stool samples of children using Modified Ziehl Neelsen Method (MZNM) and 122 of these were randomly selected to detect Cryptosporidium by ELISA. By MZNM, the infection rate of Cryptosporidium oocysts was 66.

Biologic and Synthetic Cellular and/or Tissue-Based Products and Smart Wound Dressings/Coverings.

Cellular and/or tissue-based products (CTPs) have advanced greatly in the past several decades and improve the ability to heal wounds more efficiently. Products can be characterized as nonviable cells, tissue based, animal; nonviable cells, tissue based, human; viable human cells, cultured in vitro, animal substrate; viable human cells, cultured in vitro, synthetic substrate; viable human cells, noncultured, intact tissue. There are approximately 77 different CTPs at the time of this writing, with many more being investigated.

Role of Heredity in Melanoma Susceptibility: A Primer for the Practicing Surgeon.

Melanoma is a deadly skin cancer linked to ultraviolet radiation exposure. Heritable traits and sporadic mutations modify an individual's risk for melanoma that may be associated with phenotype. Familial/heritable melanomas are broadly used to describe families with an increased incidence of melanomas, although the underlying mutation may be unknown.

Wireless optofluidic brain probes for chronic neuropharmacology and photostimulation.

Both in vivo neuropharmacology and optogenetic stimulation can be used to decode neural circuitry, and can provide therapeutic strategies for brain disorders. However, current neuronal interfaces hinder long-term studies in awake and freely behaving animals, as they are limited in their ability to provide simultaneous and prolonged delivery of multiple drugs, are often bulky and lack multifunctionality, and employ custom control systems with insufficiently versatile selectivity for output mode, animal selection and target brain circuits. Here, we describe smartphone-controlled, minimally invasive, soft optofluidic probes with replaceable plug-like drug cartridges for chronic in vivo pharmacology and optogenetics with selective manipulation of brain circuits.

Corrigendum: Discovery of Novel and Clinically Relevant Markers in Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Esophageal Cancer Specimen.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2018.

Discovery of Novel and Clinically Relevant Markers in Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Esophageal Cancer Specimen.

Due to the ineffectiveness of chemoradiation and targeted therapy in esophageal anticancer care and the subsequent low survival rates, we constructed a high throughput method to discover and investigate new markers with prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic clinical utility. This was accomplished by developing a quick, inexpensive, and dependable platform to simultaneously quantify thousands of proteins which subsequently revealed novel markers involved in the pathogenesis of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) discovery mass spectrometry paired with conservative biostatistics. Our method uncovered a perfect storm of tumor suppressors being downregulated, proliferation markers ramped up, and chemoresistance markers overexpressed-many of which could serve as new therapy targets for EAC.

Immunotherapy Plus Cryotherapy: Potential Augmented Abscopal Effect for Advanced Cancers.

Since the 1920s the gold standard for treating cancer has been surgery, which is typically preceded or followed with chemotherapy and/or radiation, a process that perhaps contributes to the destruction of a patient's immune defense system. Cryosurgery ablation of a solid tumor is mechanistically similar to a vaccination where hundreds of unique antigens from a heterogeneous population of tumor cells derived from the invading cancer are released. However, releasing tumor-derived self-antigens into circulation may not be sufficient enough to overcome the checkpoint escape mechanisms some cancers have evolved to avoid immune responses.

Neoadjuvant Therapy for Esophageal Adenocarcinoma in the Community Setting-Practice and Outcomes.

There has been an alarming rise in the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma which continues to have poor survival rates primarily due to lack of effective chemotherapy and presentation at advanced stages. Over a dozen chemotherapeutic agents are FDA approved for esophageal cancer (EC), and a two or three-drug combination is typically prescribed as first-line therapy for the majority of EC patients, administered either pre or post-operatively with esophageal resection. We have noticed significant variability in adjuvant and neoadjuvant regimens used in the community setting.

Vitamin D Receptor Polymorphism and Cancer: An Update.

Background: Vitamin D mediates its action via vitamin D receptor (VDR) and is involved in a wide variety of biological processes including regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation in normal tissue and apoptosis, and cell adhesion in tumor cells. The study of genetic variations in VDR may elucidate the association of vitamin D levels, its metabolism, and VDR polymorphism with various diseases and cancer. The association of VDR polymorphism with cancer has been reported; however, the literature lacks critical analyses of the studies in last 3 years.

Parameters for assessment of the inferior acetabulum morphology in 300 adult hips.

The inferior acetabulum (IA) has been studied as a stabilizer of the hip in flexed positions with potential implications in femoroacetabular impingement and hip instability. However, there is a paucity of studies considering the normal morphology and parameters for assessment of the IA. The purpose of this study was to define parameters to assess the IA morphology and their normal range.

Cellular and molecular targets for the immunotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and 3rd most common cause of cancer-related death. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents more than 90% of primary liver cancer and is a major public health problem. Due to the advanced stages of HCC at the time of diagnosis, utilizing the conventional treatment for solid tumors frequently ends with treatment failure, recurrence, or poor survival.