Anatomy of the sellar barrier: From magnetic resonance imaging to the operating room.

Background: The sellar barrier concept concerns the correlation between the components of the pituitary fossa roof and the risk of intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak during pituitary tumor surgery. Our team previously classified the sellar barrier according to its thickness on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sections into three subtypes: strong, mixed or weak. The purpose of this study is to complement the preoperative analysis of the sellar barrier with T2-weighted MRI sections to enhance our knowledge of the anatomical configuration of the sellar barrier and its correlation with the intraoperative findings.

Development and validation of a machine learning model to predict cognitive behavioral therapy outcome in obsessive-compulsive disorder using clinical and neuroimaging data.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a first-line treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but clinical response is difficult to predict. In this study, we aimed to develop predictive models using clinical and neuroimaging data from the multicenter Enhancing Neuro-Imaging and Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA)-OCD consortium. Baseline clinical and resting-state functional magnetic imaging (rs-fMRI) data from 159 adult patients aged 18-60 years (88 female) with OCD who received CBT at four treatment/neuroimaging sites were included.

Over a decade of HIV infection prevalence and incidence among Mozambican pregnant women: a secondary analysis of prospectively collected data.

Background: Monitoring HIV infection estimates is critical to guide health interventions and assess their impact, especially in highly vulnerable groups to the infection such as African pregnant women. This study describes the trends of HIV infection over eleven years in women attending selected antenatal care (ANC) clinics from southern Mozambique.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of data registered at the ANC clinic of the Manhiça District Hospital and from the Ministry of Health's HIV National Program Registry between 2010 and 2021.

Modulatory effect of Echium plantagineum oil on the n-3 LC-PUFA biosynthetic capacity of chicken (Gallus gallus).

Poultry can be a sustainable source of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) through the bioconversion of dietary alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n-3). However, this process is currently limited by the high n-6/n-3 ratio in poultry diets affecting the competition between n-6 and n-3 fatty acids (FA) for the same biosynthetic enzymes, and the rate-limiting Δ6 desaturase which act at both, the first and final steps of DHA synthesis pathway. Echium plantagineum oil (EO) is an unusual source of stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4n-3) which bypasses the first Δ6 desaturase step potentially increasing n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) synthesis.

Use of the MNCD Classification to Monitor Clinical Stage and Response to Levodopa-Entacapone-Carbidopa Intestinal Gel Infusion in Advanced Parkinson's Disease.

Background And Objective: Staging Parkinson's disease (PD) with a novel simple classification called MNCD, based on four axes (Motor; Non-motor; Cognition; Dependency) and five stages, correlated with disease severity, patients' quality of life and caregivers' strain and burden. Our aim was to apply the MNCD classification in advanced PD patients treated with device-aided therapy (DAT).

Patients And Methods: A multicenter observational retrospective study of the first patients to start the levodopa-entacapone-carbidopa intestinal gel (LECIG) in Spain was performed (LECIPARK study).

Genomic analysis of DS-1-like human rotavirus A strains uncovers genetic relatedness of NSP4 gene with animal strains in Manhiça District, Southern Mozambique.

Post rotavirus vaccine introduction in Mozambique (September 2015), we documented a decline in rotavirus-associated diarrhoea and genotypes changes in our diarrhoeal surveillance spanning 2008-2021. This study aimed to perform whole-genome sequencing of rotavirus strains from 2009 to 2012 (pre-vaccine) and 2017-2018 (post-vaccine). Rotavirus strains previously detected by conventional PCR as G2P[4], G2P[6], G3P[4], G8P[4], G8P[6], and G9P[6] from children with moderate-to-severe and less-severe diarrhoea and without diarrhoea (healthy community controls) were sequenced using Illumina MiSeq platform and analysed using bioinformatics tools.

Negative Valence in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Worldwide Mega-Analysis of Task-Based Functional Neuroimaging Data of the ENIGMA-OCD Consortium.

Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with altered brain function related to processing of negative emotions. To investigate neural correlates of negative valence in OCD, we pooled functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 633 individuals with OCD and 453 healthy control participants from 16 studies using different negatively valenced tasks across the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) Consortium's OCD Working Group.

Methods: Participant data were processed uniformly using HALFpipe, to extract voxelwise participant-level statistical images of one common first-level contrast: negative versus neutral stimuli.

Prediction of pharmacological response in OCD using machine learning techniques and clinical and neuropsychological variables.

Introduction: Obsessive compulsive disorder is associated with affected executive functioning, including memory, cognitive flexibility, and organizational strategies. As it was reported in previous studies, patients with preserved executive functions respond better to pharmacological treatment, while others need to keep trying different pharmacological strategies.

Material And Methods: In this work we used machine learning techniques to predict pharmacological response (OCD patients' symptomatology reduction) based on executive functioning and clinical variables.

Neuropathic Pain Following Breast-conserving Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Chronic pain after breast cancer surgery, affecting 25%-60% of patients, significantly impacts the survivors' quality of life. With improved survival rates, more individuals are experiencing this long-term complication. It is often overlooked that this chronic pain may stem from peripheral nerve injury, resulting in neuropathic pain characterized by burning sensations, electric shocks, and heightened sensitivity.

Digital devices for heart rhythm monitoring in atrial fibrillation patients scheduled for elective electrical cardioversion.

Introduction And Objectives: Management in recent-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) is to achieve sinus rhythm (SR) by cardioversion (CV). However, frequently SR is spontaneously restored, making scheduled admission unnecessary and causing misutilization of healthcare resources. Emerging medical technology allows accurate heart rhythm monitoring.

Reproductive and pregnancy control in Wilson disease patients in Spain.

Background And Aim: Recommendations on pregnancy, lactation, and contraception in women with Wilson disease are briefly stated in international guidelines but are not entirely homogeneous. Data regarding the management of these special events among patients with Wilson disease in Spain are lacking. We used the Wilson Registry platform of the Spanish Association for the Study of the Liver to question patients on their reproductive and gestational lives.

MOSAIC: An Artificial Intelligence-Based Framework for Multimodal Analysis, Classification, and Personalized Prognostic Assessment in Rare Cancers.

Purpose: Rare cancers constitute over 20% of human neoplasms, often affecting patients with unmet medical needs. The development of effective classification and prognostication systems is crucial to improve the decision-making process and drive innovative treatment strategies. We have created and implemented MOSAIC, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based framework designed for multimodal analysis, classification, and personalized prognostic assessment in rare cancers.

Cellular Response of Adapted and Non-Adapted Strains to Europium Eu(III) Compounds.

Europium is one of the most reactive lanthanides and humans use it in many different applications, but we still know little about its potential toxicity and cellular response to its exposure. Two strains of the eukaryotic microorganism model were adapted to high concentrations of two Eu(III) compounds (EuCl or EuO) and compared to a control strain and cultures treated with both compounds. In this ciliate, EuCl is more toxic than EuO.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy neurobiology in treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder: A domain-related resting-state networks approach.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) stands out as a promising augmentation psychological therapy for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To identify potential predictive and response biomarkers, this study examines the relationship between clinical domains and resting-state network connectivity in OCD patients undergoing a 3-month MBCT programme. Twelve OCD patients underwent two resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging sessions at baseline and after the MBCT programme.

Sex differences in clinical response to deep brain stimulation in resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Introduction: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective alternative to treat severe refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), although little is known on factors predicting response. The objective of this study was to explore potential sex differences in the pattern of response to DBS in OCD patients.

Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study in 25 patients with severe resistant OCD.

White matter diffusion estimates in obsessive-compulsive disorder across 1653 individuals: machine learning findings from the ENIGMA OCD Working Group.

White matter pathways, typically studied with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), have been implicated in the neurobiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, due to limited sample sizes and the predominance of single-site studies, the generalizability of OCD classification based on diffusion white matter estimates remains unclear. Here, we tested classification accuracy using the largest OCD DTI dataset to date, involving 1336 adult participants (690 OCD patients and 646 healthy controls) and 317 pediatric participants (175 OCD patients and 142 healthy controls) from 18 international sites within the ENIGMA OCD Working Group.

Cognitive and clinical predictors of a long-term course in obsessive compulsive disorder: A machine learning approach in a prospective cohort study.

Background: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disabling illness with a chronic course, yet data on long-term outcomes are scarce. This study aimed to examine the long-term course of OCD in patients treated with different approaches (drugs, psychotherapy, and psychosurgery) and to identify predictors of clinical outcome by machine learning.

Method: We included outpatients with OCD treated at our referral unit.

Real needle for minimal invasive procedures training using motion sensors and optical flow.

Minimally invasive percutaneous insertion procedures are widely used techniques in medicine. Their success is highly dependent on the skills of the practitioner. This paper presents a haptic simulator for training in these procedures, whose key component is a real percutaneous insertion needle with a sensory system incorporated to track its 3D location at every instant.

Development of WHO Recommendations for the Final Phase of Elimination and Prevention of Re-Establishment of Malaria.

The WHO recommends that all affected countries work toward the elimination of malaria, even those still experiencing a high burden of disease. However, malaria programs in the final phase of elimination or those working to prevent re-establishment of transmission after elimination could benefit from specific evidence-based recommendations for these settings as part of comprehensive and quality-controlled malaria guidelines. The WHO convened an external guideline development group to formulate recommendations for interventions to reduce or prevent malaria transmission in areas with very low- to low-transmission levels and those that have eliminated malaria.

A study comparing baseline and best-corrected visual acuity after iodine-125 episcleral brachytherapy in uveal melanoma.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the course of visual acuity (VA) in visual outcomes of patients treated with iodine-125 (I) brachytherapy in our center, based on original VA before treatment.

Material And Methods: Visual acuity was prospectively assessed using a case series of 305 patients treated with I between 1996 and 2022. To examine how VA behaves over time, we divided patient sample into 4 groups: (1) Patients with visual acuity of less than V ≤ 0.

Efficacy and fMRI-based response predictors to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Study protocol for a randomised clinical trial.

Background: Around 40-50% of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) suffer from obsessions and compulsions after receiving first-line treatments. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has been proposed as a reasonable augmentation strategy for OCD. MBCT trains to decentre from distressful thoughts and emotions by focusing on them voluntarily and with consciousness.