The Paradox of Osteoporosis in Spondyloarthropathies.

Introduction: Spondyloarthropathies (SpA) are a family of inflammatory disorders that affect the spine and peripheral joints. The most common representatives are axial Spondylarthritis (axSpA) and Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA). Despite the fact that SpA are characterised by new bone formation, paradoxically, total Bone Mineral Density (BMD) may be decreased.

Functional protein mining with conformal guarantees.

Molecular structure prediction and homology detection offer promising paths to discovering protein function and evolutionary relationships. However, current approaches lack statistical reliability assurances, limiting their practical utility for selecting proteins for further experimental and in-silico characterization. To address this challenge, we introduce a statistically principled approach to protein search leveraging principles from conformal prediction, offering a framework that ensures statistical guarantees with user-specified risk and provides calibrated probabilities (rather than raw ML scores) for any protein search model.

Transforming science labs into automated factories of discovery.

Laboratories in chemistry, biochemistry, and materials science are at the leading edge of technology, discovering molecules and materials to unlock capabilities in energy, catalysis, biotechnology, sustainability, electronics, and more. Yet, most modern laboratories resemble factories from generations past, with a large reliance on humans manually performing synthesis and characterization tasks. Robotics and automation can enable scientific experiments to be conducted faster, more safely, more accurately, and with greater reproducibility, allowing scientists to tackle large societal problems in domains such as health and energy on a shorter timescale.

Expression of Circulating miR-21 and -29 and their Association with Myocardial Fibrosis in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is characterized by myocardial hypertrophy, fibrosis, and sarcomeric disarray.

Objective: To evaluate the expression levels of circulating miR-21 and -29 in patients with HCM and their association with clinical characteristics and myocardial fibrosis.

Methods: In this case-control study, 27 subjects with HCM, 13 subjects with hypertensive cardiomyopathy, and 10 control subjects were enrolled.

Prediction-powered inference.

Prediction-powered inference is a framework for performing valid statistical inference when an experimental dataset is supplemented with predictions from a machine-learning system. The framework yields simple algorithms for computing provably valid confidence intervals for quantities such as means, quantiles, and linear and logistic regression coefficients without making any assumptions about the machine-learning algorithm that supplies the predictions. Furthermore, more accurate predictions translate to smaller confidence intervals.

The Role of Right Ventriculo-Arterial Coupling in Symptoms Presentation of Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inherited cardiomyopathy. The hallmark of HCM is myocardial fibrosis which contributes to heart failure, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death (SCD).

Objective: To identify the factors implicated in heart failure symptoms and functional capacity of patients with HCM.

The role of anti-eosinophilic therapies in eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis: a systematic review.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is an antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, mostly affecting small-sized arteries and usually occurring in patients with an allergic background. Eosinophils seem to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of the disease and, therefore, biologics targeting interleukin 5 (IL5), a cytokine tightly linked to eosinophils, have emerged as a promising therapeutic tool. A systematic review of Medline was conducted from 2007 to 2022 to search for data regarding the use of anti-IL5 therapies in patients with EGPA.

High-sensitivity Troponin (hs-Tn) for Cardiovascular Risk Prognostication: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Chronic low-grade inflammation is involved in coronary atherosclerosis progression whereas recent research efforts suggest that preventative methods should be tailored to the "residual inflammatory risk". As such, modalities for the early identification of the risk have to be investigated.

Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis according to the PRISMA guidelines.

Influence of vanillic acid immobilization in Nafion membranes on intramembrane diffusion and structural properties.

Pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR in combination with quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) was used to investigate self-diffusion of water and acetone in Nafion membranes with and without immobilized vanillic acid (VA). Complementary characterization of these membranes was performed by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and NMR relaxometry. This study was motivated by the recent data showing that an organic acid, such as VA, in Nafion can preserve its catalytic activity in the presence of water even at high intra-polymer water concentrations corresponding up to 100% ambient relative humidity.

Machine learning of native T1 mapping radiomics for classification of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy phenotypes.

We explored whether radiomic features from T1 maps by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) could enhance the diagnostic value of T1 mapping in distinguishing health from disease and classifying cardiac disease phenotypes. A total of 149 patients (n = 30 with no heart disease, n = 30 with LVH, n = 61 with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and n = 28 with cardiac amyloidosis) undergoing a CMR scan were included in this study. We extracted a total of 850 radiomic features and explored their value in disease classification.

Biomarkers of Vascular Inflammation for Cardiovascular Risk Prognostication: A Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to systematically explore the added value of biomarkers of vascular inflammation for cardiovascular prognostication on top of clinical risk factors.

Background: Measurement of biomarkers of vascular inflammation is advocated for the risk stratification for coronary heart disease (CHD).

Methods: We systematically explored published reports in MEDLINE for cohort studies on the prognostic value of common biomarkers of vascular inflammation in stable patients without known CHD.

Adaptive Physics-Based Non-Rigid Registration for Immersive Image-Guided Neuronavigation Systems.

In image-guided neurosurgery, co-registered preoperative anatomical, functional, and diffusion tensor imaging can be used to facilitate a safe resection of brain tumors in eloquent areas of the brain. However, the brain deforms during surgery, particularly in the presence of tumor resection. Non-Rigid Registration (NRR) of the preoperative image data can be used to create a registered image that captures the deformation in the intraoperative image while maintaining the quality of the preoperative image.

Diagnosis of Evans syndrome.

This manuscript concerns the case of a patient hospitalized and diagnosed with Evans syndrome. She was hospitalized with signs of thrombocytopenia induced purpura, petechiae, ecchymosis and anemia. She was successfully treated with corticoids and blood transfusions.

Cardiovascular risk stratification by coronary computed tomography angiography imaging: current state-of-the-art.

Current cardiovascular risk stratification by use of clinical risk score systems or plasma biomarkers is good but less than satisfactory in identifying patients at residual risk for coronary events. Recent clinical evidence puts now further emphasis on the role of coronary anatomy assessment by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) for the management of patients with stable ischaemic heart disease. Available computed tomography (CT) technology allows the quantification of plaque burden, identification of high-risk plaques, or the functional assessment of coronary lesions for ischaemia detection and revascularization for refractory angina symptoms.

MicroRNAs as Biomarkers in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Current State of the Art.

Background: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inherited Cardiomyopathy. The hallmark of HCM is myocardial fibrosis that contributes to heart failure, arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.

Objective: Currently, there are no reliable serum biomarkers for the detection of myocardial fibrosis, while cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is an imaging technique to detect myocardial fibrosis.

Event-Based Near-Eye Gaze Tracking Beyond 10,000 Hz.

The cameras in modern gaze-tracking systems suffer from fundamental bandwidth and power limitations, constraining data acquisition speed to 300 Hz realistically. This obstructs the use of mobile eye trackers to perform, e.g.

An Artificial Intelligence-Based Collaboration Approach in Industrial IoT Manufacturing: Key Concepts, Architectural Extensions and Potential Applications.

The digitization of manufacturing industry has led to leaner and more efficient production, under the Industry 4.0 concept. Nowadays, datasets collected from shop floor assets and information technology (IT) systems are used in data-driven analytics efforts to support more informed business intelligence decisions.

Antithrombotic Therapy in Carotid Artery Disease.

The management of asymptomatic atherosclerotic carotid artery disease and the role of antithrombotic therapy is of increasing importance for stroke prevention. Non-invasive imaging of carotid plaques can identify high-risk plaque features that are associated with the risk of plaque rupture. Carotid plaque necrosis, hemorrhage, fibrous cap thinning, and the presence of foam cells have all been correlated with the risk of rupture and onset of neurological symptoms in patients with carotid stenosis.

Tackling Faults in the Industry 4.0 Era-A Survey of Machine-Learning Solutions and Key Aspects.

The recent advancements in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have affected several research fields, leading to improvements that could not have been possible with conventional optimization techniques. Among the sectors where AI/ML enables a plethora of opportunities, industrial manufacturing can expect significant gains from the increased process automation. At the same time, the introduction of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), providing improved wireless connectivity for real-time manufacturing data collection and processing, has resulted in the culmination of the fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.

Enhanced Depth Navigation Through Augmented Reality Depth Mapping in Patients with Low Vision.

Patients diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) show, in the advanced stage of the disease, severely restricted peripheral vision causing poor mobility and decline in quality of life. This vision loss causes difficulty identifying obstacles and their relative distances. Thus, RP patients use mobility aids such as canes to navigate, especially in dark environments.