Pretreatment factors associated with symptomatic stroke in Moyamoya disease patients: A multicenter study.

Objectives: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a cerebrovascular disorder marked by the progressive steno-occlusion of the bilateral internal carotid arteries and the formation of abnormal collateral vessel networks at the base of the brain. Previous studies have attempted to identify risk factors predictive of postoperative complications to improve patient management. This study aims to identify pretreatment factors associated with post-bypass symptomatic strokes in MMD patients.

Comparative Outcomes of Unilateral vs Bilateral Revascularization in Moyamoya Disease: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Background And Objectives: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is characterized by progressive steno-occlusion of the internal carotid arteries, leading to compensatory collateral vessel formation. The optimal surgical approach for MMD remains debated, with bilateral revascularization potentially offering more comprehensive protection but involving more extensive surgery compared to unilateral revascularization. This study aims to compare bilateral revascularization and unilateral revascularization short-term safety profile in the treatment of MMD.

Direct Versus Indirect Revascularization for Moyamoya: a Large Multicenter Study.

Background: Moyamoya is a chronic occlusive cerebrovascular disease of unknown etiology causing neovascularization of the lenticulostriate collaterals at the base of the brain. Although revascularization surgery is the most effective treatment for moyamoya, there is still no consensus on the best surgical treatment modality as different studies provide different outcomes.

Objective: In this large case series, we compare the outcomes of direct (DR) and indirect revascularisation (IR) and compare our results to the literature in order to reflect on the best revascularization modality for moyamoya.

Optimizing vacuum drying process of polyphenols, flavanols and DPPH radical scavenging assay in pod husk and bean shell cocoa.

The objective of this study was to optimize different vacuum drying conditions for cocoa pod husk and cocoa bean shell in order to enhance these by-products for commercial applications. To carry out the optimization, the response surface methodology was applied using a Box-Behnken experimental design with 15 experiments for which different conditions of temperature (X), drying time (X) and vacuum pressure (X) were established. The response variables were the content of total polyphenols, the content of flavanols and the radical scavenging activity evaluated in the extracts of the different experiments.

Postoperative Serum Cortisol and Cushing Disease Recurrence in Patients With Corticotroph Adenomas.

Context: In Cushing disease, the association between the rate of serum cortisol decline and recurrent disease after corticotroph adenoma removal has not been adequately characterized.

Objective: To analyze postoperative serum cortisol and recurrence rates in Cushing disease.

Methods: Patients with Cushing disease and pathology-confirmed corticotroph adenoma were retrospectively studied.

Comparison of Four Oil Extraction Methods for Sinami Fruit ( H. Karst): Evaluating Quality, Polyphenol Content and Antioxidant Activity.

The sinami palm ( H. Karst) is a plant from the South American Amazonia that has great potential for industrial applications in the development of functional foods, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. In this manuscript, the physicochemical properties, total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of sinami oil that was obtained using four extraction systems, namely expeller press extraction (EPE), cold press extraction (CPE), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), were studied and compared.

Characterization of a paradoxical post-operative increase in serum cortisol in Cushing disease.

Purpose: In Cushing disease, early post-operative serum cortisol fluctuations have not been adequately characterized, and their association with initial remission and recurrence is unclear.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients with Cushing disease was conducted at two institutions. A "riser" was defined a priori as a paradoxical increase in serum cortisol with an immediate incremental increase in serum cortisol over three consecutive cortisol draws separated by roughly 6-h (definition 1).

Neurologic Involvement in Children and Adolescents Hospitalized in the United States for COVID-19 or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome.

Importance: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects the nervous system in adult patients. The spectrum of neurologic involvement in children and adolescents is unclear.

Objective: To understand the range and severity of neurologic involvement among children and adolescents associated with COVID-19.

Phytochemical screening and DPPH radical scavenging activity of three morphotypes of L.f. from Peru, and thermal stability of a milk-based beverage enriched with carotenoids from these fruits.

L.f. is a palm tree which presents great morphological variability (morphotypes), represented mainly by the mesocarp color of its fruits.

New predictors of complications in carotid body tumor resection.

Objective: This study examined the relationship between two new variables, tumor distance to base of skull (DTBOS) and tumor volume, with complications of carotid body tumor (CBT) resection, including bleeding and cranial nerve injury.

Methods: Patients who underwent CBT resection between 2004 and 2014 were studied using a standardized, multi-institutional database. Demographic, perioperative, and outcomes data were collected.

Religion, spirituality, and physical health in cancer patients: A meta-analysis.

Although religion/spirituality (R/S) is important in its own right for many cancer patients, a large body of research has examined whether R/S is also associated with better physical health outcomes. This literature has been characterized by heterogeneity in sample composition, measures of R/S, and measures of physical health. In an effort to synthesize previous findings, a meta-analysis of the relation between R/S and patient-reported physical health in cancer patients was performed.

A meta-analytic review of religious or spiritual involvement and social health among cancer patients.

Religion and spirituality (R/S) play an important role in the daily lives of many cancer patients. There has been great interest in determining whether R/S factors are related to clinically relevant health outcomes. In this meta-analytic review, the authors examined associations between dimensions of R/S and social health (eg, social roles and relationships).

A meta-analytic approach to examining the correlation between religion/spirituality and mental health in cancer.

Religion and spirituality (R/S) are patient-centered factors and often are resources for managing the emotional sequelae of the cancer experience. Studies investigating the correlation between R/S (eg, beliefs, experiences, coping) and mental health (eg, depression, anxiety, well being) in cancer have used very heterogeneous measures and have produced correspondingly inconsistent results. A meaningful synthesis of these findings has been lacking; thus, the objective of this review was to conduct a meta-analysis of the research on R/S and mental health.

Calcium-Mediated Induction of Paradoxical Growth following Caspofungin Treatment Is Associated with Calcineurin Activation and Phosphorylation in Aspergillus fumigatus.

The echinocandin antifungal drug caspofungin at high concentrations reverses the growth inhibition of Aspergillus fumigatus, a phenomenon known as the "paradoxical effect," which is not consistently observed with other echinocandins (micafungin and anidulafungin). Previous studies of A. fumigatus revealed the loss of the paradoxical effect following pharmacological or genetic inhibition of calcineurin, yet the underlying mechanism is poorly understood.

An extremely high-altitude plume seen at Mars' morning terminator.

The Martian limb (that is, the observed 'edge' of the planet) represents a unique window into the complex atmospheric phenomena occurring there. Clouds of ice crystals (CO2 ice or H2O ice) have been observed numerous times by spacecraft and ground-based telescopes, showing that clouds are typically layered and always confined below an altitude of 100 kilometres; suspended dust has also been detected at altitudes up to 60 kilometres during major dust storms. Highly concentrated and localized patches of auroral emission controlled by magnetic field anomalies in the crust have been observed at an altitude of 130 kilometres.

Limitation of inverse probability-of-censoring weights in estimating survival in the presence of strong selection bias.

In time-to-event analyses, artificial censoring with correction for induced selection bias using inverse probability-of-censoring weights can be used to 1) examine the natural history of a disease after effective interventions are widely available, 2) correct bias due to noncompliance with fixed or dynamic treatment regimens, and 3) estimate survival in the presence of competing risks. Artificial censoring entails censoring participants when they meet a predefined study criterion, such as exposure to an intervention, failure to comply, or the occurrence of a competing outcome. Inverse probability-of-censoring weights use measured common predictors of the artificial censoring mechanism and the outcome of interest to determine what the survival experience of the artificially censored participants would be had they never been exposed to the intervention, complied with their treatment regimen, or not developed the competing outcome.

Free energy calculation of modified base-pair formation in explicit solvent: A predictive model.

The maturation of RNAs includes site-specific post-transcriptional modifications that contribute significantly to hydrogen bond formation within RNA and between different RNAs, especially in formation of mismatch base pairs. Thus, an understanding of the geometry and strength of the base-pairing of modified ribonucleoside 5'-monophosphates, previously not defined, is applicable to investigations of RNA structure and function and of the design of novel RNAs. The geometry and free energies of base-pairings were calculated in aqueous solution under neutral conditions with AMBER force fields and molecular dynamics simulations (MDSs).