Comprehensive review of animal models in diabetes research using chemical agents.

Diabetes mellitus, characterized by insufficient insulin secretion and impaired insulin efficacy, disrupts carbohydrate, protein, and lipid metabolism. The global diabetic population is expected to double by 2025, from 380 million, posing a significant health challenge. Most diabetic individuals fall into the type 1 or type 2 categories, and diabetes adversely affects various organs, such as the kidneys, liver, nervous system, reproductive system, and eyes.

The relationship between social safeness and pleasure and resilience levels among university athletes: A descriptive study.

This study investigates the correlation between social safeness and pleasure and resilience among university students engaged in sports. A total of 350 participants (mean age, 21.09 ± 3.

Review of current and emerging estrogen receptor agonists for vaginal atrophy.

Introduction: Vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) predominantly affects postmenopausal women due to hormonal decline but can also occur in premenopausal women with conditions such as primary ovarian insufficiency or exposure to anti-estrogen medications. Contributing factors include smoking and certain medical treatments. Symptoms like dyspareunia and loss of sexual function affect many women but are underreported due to stigma and lack of awareness.

Development of Antimicrobial Blends of Bacteria Nanocellulose Derived from Plastic Waste and Polyhydroxybutyrate Enhanced with Essential Oils.

The escalating global concern regarding plastic waste accumulation and its detrimental environmental impact has driven the exploration of sustainable alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics. This study investigates the development of antimicrobial blends of bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) derived from plastic waste and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHB), further enhanced with essential oils. The antimicrobial activity of the resulting BNC/PHB blends was tested in vitro against , , and .

Rates of PCR Positivity of Pleural Drainage Fluid in COVID-19 Patients: Is It Expected?

Background: Tube thoracostomy, utilized through conventional methodologies in the context of pleural disorders such as pleural effusion and pneumothorax, constitutes one of the primary therapeutic interventions. Nonetheless, it is imperative to recognize that invasive procedures, including tube thoracostomy, are classified as aerosol-generating activities during the management of pleural conditions in patients afflicted with COVID-19, thus raising substantial concerns regarding the potential exposure of healthcare personnel to the virus. The objective of this investigation was to assess the SARS-CoV-2 viral load by detecting viral RNA in pleural drainage specimens from patients who underwent tube thoracostomy due to either pleural effusion or pneumothorax.

A Comprehensive CNN Model for Age-Related Macular Degeneration Classification Using OCT: Integrating Inception Modules, SE Blocks, and ConvMixer.

: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a significant cause of vision loss in older adults, often progressing without early noticeable symptoms. Deep learning (DL) models, particularly convolutional neural networks (CNNs), demonstrate potential in accurately diagnosing and classifying AMD using medical imaging technologies like optical coherence to-mography (OCT) scans. This study introduces a novel CNN-based DL method for AMD diagnosis, aiming to enhance computational efficiency and classification accuracy.

Triboelectric Separation for Protein Enrichment of Wheat Flour Compared with Gluten-Starch Mixtures as a .

Triboelectric separation, a solvent-free method, was investigated as a tool for protein enrichment in wheat flour. Gluten-starch model mixtures, flour, and reground flour fractions were evaluated for their separation characteristics (selectivity and efficiency). Mass yield, protein content, particle size distribution, and SEM analysis were used to assess performance.

Myositis associated with pembrolizumab presenting with myastheniform symptoms: two case reports.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), such as pembrolizumab, have revolutionized cancer treatment by enhancing the immune system's response to malignancies. However, these therapies are associated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs), including neuromuscular complications such as myasthenia gravis, myositis, and myocarditis. We describe two male patients, aged 67 and 68, with small cell and non-small cell lung cancers, who developed progressive neuromuscular symptoms, including ptosis, diplopia, and generalized weakness, after receiving pembrolizumab.

NRXN2 Homozygous Variant Identified in a Family with Global Developmental Delay, Severe Intellectual Disability, EEG Abnormalities and Speech Delay: A new Syndrome?

. This study aims to characterize the clinical phenotype of a family with two siblings exhibiting neurological manifestations, utilizing whole exome sequencing (WES) to identify potential pathogenic variants within the gene. .

Increased ferritin with contraceptives containing ethinyl estradiol drospirenone in polycystic ovary syndrome: a paradox of iron storage and iron deficiency.

Objectives: The relationship between elevated ferritin levels and metabolic abnormalities in PCOS patients, and whether ferritin is a cause or a consequence, is still debated. This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of the fourth generation combined oral contraceptive containing ethinyl estradiol/drospirenone (EE 30 mcg/DRSP 3 mg), known for its favorable metabolic profile and lower side effect risk, on iron metabolism in PCOS patients, while also exploring the potential relationship between metabolic parameters and iron status.

Methods: The retrospective analysis was conducted on 81 women aged 18-45, diagnosed with PCOS according to the Rotterdam criteria and treated with EE/DRSP for six months.

Activity of CDK4/6 inhibitors and parameters affecting survival in elderly patients in age-subgroups: Turkish Oncology Group (TOG) retrospective study.

Highly selective inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6is) have emerged as a standart of care for first- and second-line therapies in combination with endocrine therapy (ET) for HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. It has been reported that combination therapy is more effective than ET alone and is safe in elderly patients as well as young patients. Nevertheless, elderly and very old patients with HR+/HER2-MBC treated with CDK4/6 inhibitor (CDK4/6i) combinations are relatively underrepresented in randomized controlled trials.

A hitchhiker's guide to deep chemical language processing for bioactivity prediction.

Deep learning has significantly accelerated drug discovery, with 'chemical language' processing (CLP) emerging as a prominent approach. CLP approaches learn from molecular string representations (, Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry Systems [SMILES] and Self-Referencing Embedded Strings [SELFIES]) with methods akin to natural language processing. Despite their growing importance, training predictive CLP models is far from trivial, as it involves many 'bells and whistles'.

The prohibitin ligand IN44 decreases Porphyromonas gingivalis mediated inflammation.

Background: Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease causing destruction of periodontal tissues. Controlling inflammation is crucial for periodontitis treatment. Prohibitins (PHBs) are emerging targets in the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

The effect of gene dosage and age at the disease onset on the severity of familial Mediterranean fever.

Objective: To compare the demographic and clinical characteristics of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients according to age at disease onset and evaluate the dose effect of the number of pathogenic or likely pathogenic exon 10 mutations of the MEFV gene on disease severity.

Methods: This medical record review study was performed on 485 pediatric FMF patients with uni- or biallelic exon 10 mutations of the MEFV gene (M694V, M694I, M680I, V726A, R761H, T267I). Patients were grouped according to age at disease onset (Group 1:<6 years; Group 2:6-11 years; and Group 3:>11 years).

Evaluation of the effects of avatar on learning temporomandibular joint in a metaverse-based training.

Purpose: Avatars, representing users in the digital world, can influence users' behavior and attitudes. This study evaluates the impact of representing dental students receiving temporomandibular joint (TMJ) education in the metaverse via an anonymous or identified avatar.

Methods: Participants included 80 dental students in their fourth and fifth years of study.

Photoswitchable Arylazopyrazole Surfactants at the Water-Air Interface: A Microscopic Perspective.

Surfactants play an important role in modifying the properties of water-air interfaces. Here, we combine information from molecular dynamics simulations, surface tensiometry, and vibrational sum-frequency generation spectroscopy to study the interfacial behavior of photoswitchable arylazopyrazole (AAP) surfactants. This combination of the experimental techniques allows a direct relation between surface tension and surface concentration rather than just the bulk concentration.

Enhanced Panoramic Radiograph-Based Tooth Segmentation and Identification Using an Attention Gate-Based Encoder-Decoder Network.

Background: Dental disorders are one of the most important health problems, affecting billions of people all over the world. Early diagnosis is important for effective treatment planning. Precise dental disease segmentation requires reliable tooth numbering, which may be prone to errors if performed manually.

A common form of dominant human IFNAR1 deficiency impairs IFN-α and -ω but not IFN-β-dependent immunity.

Autosomal recessive deficiency of the IFNAR1 or IFNAR2 chain of the human type I IFN receptor abolishes cellular responses to IFN-α, -β, and -ω, underlies severe viral diseases, and is globally very rare, except for IFNAR1 and IFNAR2 deficiency in Western Polynesia and the Arctic, respectively. We report 11 human IFNAR1 alleles, the products of which impair but do not abolish responses to IFN-α and -ω without affecting responses to IFN-β. Ten of these alleles are rare in all populations studied, but the remaining allele (P335del) is common in Southern China (minor allele frequency ≈2%).

Age-Related Differences Between Juvenile and Adult Autoimmune Inflammatory Myopathies.

Background: Clinical features and prognosis of autoimmune inflammatory myopathies (AIMs) can vary depending on the age of disease onset. The aim of this study was to compare the demographic characteristics, clinical features, laboratory findings, and long-term prognosis of juvenile and adult AIMs.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with AIM between 2009 and 2023 in the pediatric rheumatology and rheumatology departments of our hospital were included in this medical records review study.

Colloidal quantum dots as solution-based nanomaterials for infrared technologies.

This review focuses on recent progress of wet-chemistry-based synthesis methods for infrared (IR) colloidal quantum dots (CQD), semiconductor nanocrystals with a narrow energy bandgap that absorbs and/or emits IR photos covering from 0.7 to 25 micrometers. The sections of the review are colloidal synthesis, precursor reactivity, cation exchange, doping and de-doping, surface passivation and ligand exchange, intraband transitions, quenching and purification, and future directions.

Reverse Wafer Procedure.

 This study aimed to present the results of an alternative technique for treating ulnar impaction syndrome, the "reverse wafer procedure," and assess the mid-term clinical outcomes of patients treated with this technique.  A retrospective evaluation was conducted on 14 patients who underwent the reverse wafer procedure for ulnar impaction syndrome between 2013 and 2020. The inclusion criteria for the study were persistent ulnar-sided wrist pain, even after a minimum of 3 months of nonoperative treatment, the presence of a chondral lesion on the lunate, and an intact triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) based on arthroscopic evaluation.

A Simple Pump-Free Approach to Generating High-Throughput Microdroplets Using Oscillating Microcone Arrays.

Droplet generation is crucial in various scientific and industrial fields, such as drug delivery, diagnostics, and inkjet printing. While microfluidic platforms enable precise droplet formation, traditional methods often require costly and complex setups, limiting their accessibility. This study introduces a simple, low-cost approach using an off-the-shelf unit and a 3D-printed reservoir.

Periradicular repair after single-visit root canal treatment using sonic irrigant activation of teeth with apical periodontitis.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore whether using sonic irrigant activation during endodontic treatment favors periradicular repair in teeth with apical periodontitis.

Materials & Methods: One clinician treated 140 posterior (either premolar or molar) asymptomatic teeth with periapical lesions: 70 were randomly assigned to the sonic activation with EndoActivator (EA) group, and 70 were treated by conventional needle irrigation (CNI). Both groups underwent chemomechanical root canal preparation using 35/04 diameter rotary files and 2.

Foreign body aspiration through the eyes of a pediatric pulmonologist: Is it possible to reduce the rate of negative rigid bronchoscopies?

Background: Identifying a foreign body aspiration (FBA) still remains a diagnostic difficulty. Moreover, the indications for bronchoscopy in subjects of suspected foreign bodies are not clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of pediatric pulmonologists in diagnosing FBA.