Feasibility of Using Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy to Improve the Dynamic Postural Balance of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized, Sham-Controlled Pilot Study.

Cerebral palsy (CP) manifests with abnormal posture and impaired selective motor control, notably affecting trunk control and dynamic balance coordination, leading to inadequate postural control. Previous research has indicated the benefits of pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy for various musculoskeletal and neurological conditions. Therefore, we conducted a randomized pilot study to assess the feasibility of our preliminary research design and examine the effect of the PEMF treatment among children with CP.

Structures of Oligomeric States of Tau Protein, Amyloid-β, α-Synuclein and Prion Protein Implicated in Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease and Prionopathies.

In this review, we focus on the biophysical and structural aspects of the oligomeric states of physiologically intrinsically disordered proteins and peptides tau, amyloid-β and α-synuclein and partly disordered prion protein and their isolations from animal models and human brains. These protein states may be the most toxic agents in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. It was shown that oligomers are important players in the aggregation cascade of these proteins.

Depression, anxiety, psychological distress, and perceived social support among Ugandan palliative care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: To identify the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and psychosocial distress among Ugandan palliative care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic, measure providers' perceived levels of social support, and identify factors affecting a provider's likelihood of being depressed, anxious, distressed, or perceiving various levels of social support.

Methods: Data was collected from 123 palliative care providers using an online survey. Depression, anxiety, and psychological distress were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and the Self-Reporting Questionnaire, respectively.

Moderate evidence for the sex-dependent effect of poisoning on adult survival in a long-lived raptor species.

Survival rate is usually the greatest contributor to population growth in long-lived species, and its accurate estimation along with the evaluation of the factors influencing it is therefore essential for effective conservation. Here, we studied the survival of breeding eastern imperial eagles in Hungary between 2011 and 2022 and investigated the effect of poisoning, the leading known anthropogenic cause of mortality. We used the Cormack-Jolly-Seber mark-recapture model to estimate annual apparent survival and encounter probabilities based on the capture histories of 208 males and 411 females.

The effect of excessive trabeculation on cardiac rotation-A multimodal imaging study.

Background: Cardiac rotational parameters in primary symptomatic left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) are not well understood. We aimed to analyze cardiac rotation measured with cardiac magnetic resonance feature-tracking (CMR-FT) and speckle-tracking echocardiography (Echo-ST) in LVNC morphology subjects with preserved LVEF and different genotypes and healthy controls.

Methods: Our retrospective study included 54 LVNC subjects with preserved LVEF and 54 control individuals.

The minimal membrane requirements for BAX-induced pore opening upon exposure to oxidative stress.

Perforation of the outer mitochondrial membrane triggered by BAX and facilitated by its main activator cBID is a fundamental process in cell apoptosis. Here, we employ a newly designed correlative approach based on a combination of a fluorescence cross correlation binding with a calcein permeabilization assay to understand the involvement of BAX in pore formation under oxidative stress conditions. To mimic the oxidative stress, we enriched liposomal membranes by phosphatidylcholines with truncated sn-2 acyl chains terminated by a carboxyl or aldehyde moiety.

Single-step purification and characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin.

Azurin is a small periplasmic blue copper protein found in bacterial strains such as Pseudomonas and Alcaligenes where it facilitates denitrification. Azurin is extensively studied for its ability to mediate electron-transfer processes, but it has also sparked interest of the pharmaceutical community as a potential antimicrobial or anticancer agent. Here we offer a novel approach for expression and single-step purification of azurin in Escherichia coli with high yields and optimal metalation.

Molecular mechanisms of proteoglycan-mediated semaphorin signaling in axon guidance.

The precise assembly of a functional nervous system relies on axon guidance cues. Beyond engaging their cognate receptors and initiating signaling cascades that modulate cytoskeletal dynamics, guidance cues also bind components of the extracellular matrix, notably proteoglycans, yet the role and mechanisms of these interactions remain poorly understood. We found that secreted semaphorins bind specifically to glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains of proteoglycans, showing a preference based on the degree of sulfation.

Smartband-based smoking detection and real-time brief mindfulness intervention: findings from a feasibility clinical trial.

Background: Smartbands can be used to detect cigarette smoking and deliver real time smoking interventions. Brief mindfulness interventions have been found to reduce smoking.

Objective: This single arm feasibility trial used a smartband to detect smoking and deliver brief mindfulness exercises.

Challenging the Urologist of the Future: Time for a Change?

Physicians need both medical expertise and diverse skills for effective patient care. Adaptability is also key in embracing advances in technology and new techniques. We outline six thought-provoking points to guide the new generation of urologists.

Metagenome mining and functional analysis reveal oxidized guanine DNA repair at the Lost City Hydrothermal Field.

The GO DNA repair system protects against GC → TA mutations by finding and removing oxidized guanine. The system is mechanistically well understood but its origins are unknown. We searched metagenomes and abundantly found the genes encoding GO DNA repair at the Lost City Hydrothermal Field (LCHF).

Bose-Einstein condensation of non-ground-state caesium atoms.

Bose-Einstein condensates of ultracold atoms serve as low-entropy sources for a multitude of quantum-science applications, ranging from quantum simulation and quantum many-body physics to proof-of-principle experiments in quantum metrology and quantum computing. For stability reasons, in the majority of cases the energetically lowest-lying atomic spin state is used. Here, we report the Bose-Einstein condensation of caesium atoms in the Zeeman-excited m = 2 state, realizing a non-ground-state Bose-Einstein condensate with tunable interactions and tunable loss.

"I'm dealing with a health care system that doesn't get it": Barriers and facilitators to inclusive healthcare for autistic adults.

Research has suggested that autistic adults may have a bigger chance of having mental health and physical health conditions such as depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, diabetes, obesity, and heart problems than adults without autism. Unfortunately, the unique healthcare needs of autistic adults are often overlooked, so it is not clear why autistic adults have worse health or what can be done to improve it. This study wants to find out the challenges autistic adults experience in taking care of their health and in going to different doctors.

Genetic, clinical and imaging implications of a noncompaction phenotype population with preserved ejection fraction.

Introduction: The genotype of symptomatic left ventricular noncompaction phenotype (LVNC) subjects with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and its effect on clinical presentation are less well studied. We aimed to characterize the genetic, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and clinical background, and genotype-phenotype relationship in LVNC with preserved LVEF.

Methods: We included 54 symptomatic LVNC individuals (LVEF: 65 ± 5%) whose samples were analyzed with a 174-gene next-generation sequencing panel and 54 control (C) subjects.

Anomalous cooling of bosons by dimensional reduction.

Cold atomic gases provide a remarkable testbed to study the physics of interacting many-body quantum systems. Temperatures are necessarily nonzero, but cooling to the ultralow temperatures needed for quantum simulation purposes or even simply measuring the temperatures directly on the system can prove to be very challenging tasks. Here, we implement thermometry on strongly interacting two- and one-dimensional Bose gases with high sensitivity in the nanokelvin temperature range.

Effect of Body Mass Index on Effectiveness of CT versus Invasive Coronary Angiography in Stable Chest Pain: The DISCHARGE Trial.

Background Recent trials support the role of cardiac CT in the evaluation of symptomatic patients suspected of having coronary artery disease (CAD); however, body mass index (BMI) has been reported to negatively impact CT image quality. Purpose To compare initial use of CT versus invasive coronary angiography (ICA) on clinical outcomes in patients with stable chest pain stratified by BMI category. Materials and Methods This prospective study represents a prespecified BMI subgroup analysis of the multicenter Diagnostic Imaging Strategies for Patients with Stable Chest Pain and Intermediate Risk of Coronary Artery Disease (DISCHARGE) trial conducted between October 2015 and April 2019.

O-GlcNAc forces an α-synuclein amyloid strain with notably diminished seeding and pathology.

Amyloid-forming proteins such α-synuclein and tau, which are implicated in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, can form different fibril structures or strains with distinct toxic properties, seeding activities and pathology. Understanding the determinants contributing to the formation of different amyloid features could open new avenues for developing disease-specific diagnostics and therapies. Here we report that O-GlcNAc modification of α-synuclein monomers results in the formation of amyloid fibril with distinct core structure, as revealed by cryogenic electron microscopy, and diminished seeding activity in seeding-based neuronal and rodent models of Parkinson's disease.

Do Contemporary Cancer Survivors Experience Better Quality of Life? Evaluating a Decade of SEER Medicare Health Outcomes Survey Data.

Background: A cancer diagnosis may have deleterious effects on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) as adults age. This study examined differences in HRQOL between cancer and matched noncancer Medicare beneficiaries over 65, within and across two time periods.

Methods: We used novel matching methods on data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (MHOS) data resource.

Increased cardiovascular mortality in patients with mechanically expandable transcatheter aortic valve and without permanent pacemaker.

Introduction: Use of the mechanically expandable transcatheter aortic valve (MEV) has been recently linked to increased risks of valve dysfunction and cardiovascular mortality. The risk of developing conduction disturbance with the MEV valve is well known, and the negative prognostic impact of permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation is another consideration.

Aim: This study aimed to compare the mid-term survival of patients with MEV and self-expandable valves (SEV), and to examine survival of both groups according to the presence or absence of PPI.