Diagnostic and prognostic potential of left atrial strain in cardiovascular disease: a narrative review.

Left atrial strain (LAS) was recently introduced as a parameter that reflects on left atrial function. Consequently, changes in LAS can inform the development of cardiovascular diseases, hence providing a window for non-invasive and cost-effective testing of these diseases and their complications at early stages of development, potentially offering a segway towards preventive interventions. LAS has yet to be implemented into standard practice.

Exploring Sentiment, Values, and Misinformation Surrounding Vaccination Legislation on Twitter: A Case Study of California's Passage of SB277.

California remains among a handful of U.S. states with no clause for a personal belief exemption for required vaccines due to passage of SB277.

Symptomatic Response After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy for Symptomatic Gallbladder Polyps: A Patient Questionnaire.

Aim To assess the effect of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in relieving the biliary type symptoms in patients with gallbladder polyps (GBPs) and to determine the positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) of abdominal ultrasound (US) for the pre-operative detection. Methods The data were retrieved from our tertiary hepatobiliopancreatic (HPB) center database for all patients who had an LC as a treatment for symptomatic GBPs between 2013 and 2022. The pre-operative US and postoperative histology reports were reviewed.

Factorized visual representations in the primate visual system and deep neural networks.

Object classification has been proposed as a principal objective of the primate ventral visual stream and has been used as an optimization target for deep neural network models (DNNs) of the visual system. However, visual brain areas represent many different types of information, and optimizing for classification of object identity alone does not constrain how other information may be encoded in visual representations. Information about different scene parameters may be discarded altogether ('invariance'), represented in non-interfering subspaces of population activity ('factorization') or encoded in an entangled fashion.

Tramadol/Diclofenac Fixed-Dose Combination for Acute Pain Management: Bioavailability Assessment of a Generic Product.

The multimodal analgesia strategy for acute pain involves using 2 or more analgesic medications with distinct mechanisms of action. This study assessed the bioavailability and tolerability of 2 tramadol hydrochloride (50 mg)/diclofenac sodium (50 mg) fixed-dose combination formulations under fed conditions to attend the Brazilian regulatory requirements for generic product registration. An open-label, randomized, single-dose, 2-period, 2-way crossover trial was conducted, including healthy subjects of both sexes.

Clinical Significance and Resource Burden of Double Duct Sign in Non-jaundiced Patients.

Aim The study aims to determine the incidence of malignancy at presentation and subsequent risk of malignancy (at 12 months follow-up) in a cohort of patients with double duct sign (DDS) on cross-sectional imaging but no visible stigmata of jaundice. The study also correlates malignancy with liver enzyme dysfunction and estimates the resource burden incurred during the investigation of these patients. Methods A search for the key term "double duct sign" was undertaken in the radiological database of a tertiary hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) centre between March 2017 and March 2022.

Unveiling the unseen toll: exploring the impact of the Lebanese economic crisis on the health-seeking behaviors in a sample of patients with diabetes and hypertension.

Background: Against the backdrop of Lebanon's escalating multifaceted crisis which resulted in medication shortages for chronic diseases and unaffordable healthcare services, the current study endeavors to shed light on a critical yet overlooked facet of the Lebanese economic crisis- its profound impact on the health-seeking behaviors of patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus.

Methods: An exploratory cross-sectional study based on an online questionnaire was conducted on 156 adult Lebanese citizens diagnosed medically with either hypertension or diabetes. We gathered sociodemographic characteristics and healthcare-related challenges faced during the economic crisis.

Assessing Functional Cognition and Health During COVID-19 Pandemic: Gender Differences Among Community-Dwelling Adults.

Introduction/objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has long-term implications for adult health and function, whether or not people were infected with the disease. Although cognitive disruptions are among the major symptoms of COVID-19, most research focused on managing medical symptoms, such as respiratory symptoms or pain. Thus, less is known about the pandemic's long-term implications for assessing functional cognition.

Brain-like Flexible Visual Inference by Harnessing Feedback-Feedforward Alignment.

In natural vision, feedback connections support versatile visual inference capabilities such as making sense of the occluded or noisy bottom-up sensory information or mediating pure top-down processes such as imagination. However, the mechanisms by which the feedback pathway learns to give rise to these capabilities flexibly are not clear. We propose that top-down effects emerge through alignment between feedforward and feedback pathways, each optimizing its own objectives.

Effectiveness of Telephone-Based Interpersonal Psychotherapy on Antenatal Depressive Symptoms: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial in The Kingdom of Jordan.

Background: Jordanian pregnant women report high prevalence of antenatal depressive symptoms, compared to their counterparts internationally. One potential nonpharmacological intervention is (IPT), accessed by telephone.

Aim: The aim of this study is to compare the depressive symptom level(s) among Jordanian pregnant women who received IPT treatment with those who received routine antenatal care.

The "Syringe Hickey": An Alternative Skin Marking Method for Lumbar Puncture.

Background: Lumbar puncture is a procedure that is commonly performed in emergency departments. Despite their absence from procedure kits, emergency physicians often use skin markers to delineate landmarks for a lumbar puncture. We prefer to create a temporary indentation in the skin using the suction of a syringe.

A Narrative Review of the Applications of Ex-vivo Human Liver Perfusion.

Ex-vivo perfusion describes the extra-corporeal delivery of fluid to an organ or tissue. Although it has been widely studied in the context of organ preservation and transplantation, it has also proven to be an invaluable tool in the development of novel models for translational pre-clinical research. Here, we review the literature reporting ex-vivo human liver perfusion experiments to further understand current perfusion techniques and protocols together with their applications.

Inequalities in cancer mortality trends in people with type 2 diabetes: 20 year population-based study in England.

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to describe the long-term trends in cancer mortality rates in people with type 2 diabetes based on subgroups defined by sociodemographic characteristics and risk factors.

Methods: We defined a cohort of individuals aged ≥35 years who had newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink between 1 January 1998 and 30 November 2018. We assessed trends in all-cause, all-cancer and cancer-specific mortality rates by age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, obesity and smoking status.

Marmoset core visual object recognition behavior is comparable to that of macaques and humans.

Among the smallest simian primates, the common marmoset offers promise as an experimentally tractable primate model for neuroscience with translational potential to humans. However, given its exceedingly small brain and body, the gap in perceptual and cognitive abilities between marmosets and humans requires study. Here, we performed a comparison of marmoset behavior to that of three other species in the domain of high-level vision.

SARS-CoV-2-mediated liver injury: pathophysiology and mechanisms of disease.

Background: SARS-CoV-2-induced severe inflammatory response can be associated with severe medical consequences leading to multi-organ failure, including the liver. The main mechanism behind this assault is the aggressive cytokine storm that induces cytotoxicity in various organs. Of interest, hepatic stellate cells (HSC) respond acutely to liver injury through several molecular mechanisms, hence furthering the perpetuation of the cytokine storm and its resultant tissue damage.

Impact of COVID-19, gender, race, specialty and seniority on mental health during surgical training: an international study.

Background: Superior patient outcomes rely on surgical training being optimized. Accordingly, we conducted an international, prospective, cross-sectional study determining relative impacts of COVID-19, gender, race, specialty and seniority on mental health of surgical trainees.

Method: Trainees across Australia, New Zealand and UK enrolled in surgical training accredited by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons or Royal College of Surgeons were included.

Direct Medical Cost of Pediatric Asthma in Jordan: A Cost-of-Illness Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objectives: This study aimed to estimate and analyze the direct medical costs of pediatric patients with asthma in Jordan from the provider's perspective.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of a cohort of pediatric patients with asthma treated during 3 years in a teaching hospital was conducted. The prevalence-based, bottom-up approach has been used to estimate the cost-of-illness of asthma.

Retrospective observational study of patient outcomes with local wound infusion vs epidural analgesia after open hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery.

Background: Epidural analgesia is conventionally used as the mainstay of analgesia in open abdominal surgery but has a small life-changing risk of complications (epidural abscesses or haematomas). Local wound-infusion could be a viable alternative and are associated with fewer adverse effects.

Methods: A retrospective observational analysis of individuals undergoing open hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery over 1 year was undertaken.

RiNeo MR: A mixed-reality tool for newborn life support training.

The first minute of life, the Golden Minute, has been defined as a critical window in which fundamental physiological processes occur for establishing spontaneous ventilation in a newborn. Resuscitation is more likely to succeed if it is performed properly and at the right time. In this scenario, simulation is an appropriate tool for training and evaluating the abilities of all staff working in the delivery room, as well as students.

Mechanisms of COVID-19-induced kidney injury and current pharmacotherapies.

The COVID-19 pandemic created a worldwide debilitating health crisis with the entire humanity suffering from the deleterious effects associated with the high infectivity and mortality rates. While significant evidence is currently available online and targets various aspects of the disease, both inflammatory and noninflammatory kidney manifestations secondary to COVID-19 infection are still largely underrepresented. In this review, we summarized current knowledge about COVID-19-related kidney manifestations, their pathologic mechanisms as well as various pharmacotherapies used to treat patients with COVID-19.

The Influence of Hyperoxygenation on Fetal Brain Vascularity Measured Using 3D Power Doppler Ultrasound and the Index "Fractional Moving Blood Volume".

Introduction: Maternal hyperoxygenation effects on fetal cerebral hemodynamics are largely unknown. This study aimed to determine efficacy and reliability of a validated power Doppler ultrasound (US) index, fractional moving blood volume (FMBV), at measuring fetal cerebral vasculature changes during maternal hyperoxia.

Methods: The fetal cerebral effects of 10 min of hyperoxygenation at 2 flow rates (52%/60% FiO2) were evaluated in women in their third trimester of pregnancy.

Life in a slum neighborhood of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: morphological facts and their dysfunctions.

Objectives: (1) To explore morphological facts that typically characterize life in slum neighborhood. (2) To identify dysfunctions of those morphological facts. (3) To discuss some of the differences and similarities between the study area and other forms of a slum in Addis Ababa as outlined by Alemayehu (2008) based on selected morphological facts.