A millimetre-scale capacitive biosensing and biophysical stimulation system for emerging bioelectronic bone implants.

Bioelectronic bone implants are being widely recognized as a promising technology for highly personalized bone/implant interface sensing and biophysical therapeutic stimulation. Such bioelectronic devices are based on an innovative concept with the ability to be applied to a wide range of implants, including in fixation and prosthetic systems. Recently, biointerface sensing using capacitive patterns was proposed to overcome the limitations of standard imaging technologies and other non-imaging technologies; moreover, electric stimulation using capacitive patterns was proposed to overcome the limitations of non-instrumented implants.

Special Report on the Consensus QIBA Profile for Objective Analytical Validation of Non-calcified and High-risk Plaque and Other Biomarkers using Computed Tomography Angiography.

Rationale And Objectives: Evidence is building in support of the clinical utility of atherosclerotic plaque imaging by computed tomography angiography (CTA). There is increasing organized activity to embrace non-calcified plaque (NCP) as a formally defined biomarker for clinical trials, and high-risk plaque (HRP) for clinical care, as the most relevant measures for the field to advance and worthy of community efforts to validate. Yet the ability to assess the quantitative performance of any given specific solution to make these measurements or classifications is not available.

Retinal Dystrophies Associated With Peripherin-2: Genetic Spectrum and Novel Clinical Observations in 241 Patients.

Purpose: To describe the clinical, electrophysiological and genetic spectrum of inherited retinal diseases associated with variants in the PRPH2 gene.

Methods: A total of 241 patients from 168 families across 15 sites in 9 countries with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in PRPH2 were included. Records were reviewed for age at symptom onset, visual acuity, full-field ERG, fundus colour photography, fundus autofluorescence (FAF), and SD-OCT.

A Longitudinal Study of COVID-19 Sequelae and Immunity: Baseline Findings.

Background: A substantial proportion of persons who develop COVID-19 report persistent symptoms after acute illness. Various pathophysiologic mechanisms have been implicated in the pathogenesis of postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC).

Objective: To characterize medical sequelae and persistent symptoms after recovery from COVID-19 in a cohort of disease survivors and controls.

Early use of nitazoxanide in mild COVID-19 disease: randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Nitazoxanide is widely available and exerts broad-spectrum antiviral activity . However, there is no evidence of its impact on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Methods: In a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adult patients presenting up to 3 days after onset of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms (dry cough, fever and/or fatigue) were enrolled.

Point of Care Clinical Risk Score to Improve the Negative Diagnostic Utility of an Agatston Score of Zero: Averting the Need for Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography.

Background: Coronary artery calcification is a marker of underlying atherosclerotic vascular disease. The absence of coronary artery calcification is associated with a low prevalence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), but it cannot be ruled out completely. We sought to develop a clinical tool that can be added to Agatston score of zero to rule out obstructive CAD with high accuracy.

Epilepsy in tuberous sclerosis complex: Findings from the TOSCA Study.

Objective: To present the baseline data of the international TuberOus SClerosis registry to increase disease Awareness (TOSCA) with emphasis on the characteristics of epilepsies associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC).

Methods: Retrospective and prospective patients' data on all aspects of TSC were collected from multiple countries worldwide. Epilepsy variables included seizure type, age at onset, type of treatment, and treatment outcomes and association with genotype, seizures control, and intellectual disability.

TSC-associated neuropsychiatric disorders (TAND): findings from the TOSCA natural history study.

Background: Most evidence for TSC-associated neuropsychiatric disorders (TAND) to date have come from small studies and case reports, and very little is known about TAND in adults. We explored baseline TAND data from the large-scale international TOSCA natural history study to compare childhood and adult patterns, describe age-based patterns, and explore genotype-TAND correlations.

Results: The study enrolled 2216 eligible participants with TSC from 170 sites across 31 countries at the data cut-off for the third interim analysis (data cut-off date: September 30, 2015).

Diffusion-weighted MRI Findings Predict Pathologic Response in Neoadjuvant Treatment of Breast Cancer: The ACRIN 6698 Multicenter Trial.

Purpose To determine if the change in tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) at diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI is predictive of pathologic complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. Materials and Methods In this prospective multicenter study, 272 consecutive women with breast cancer were enrolled at 10 institutions (from August 2012 to January 2015) and were randomized to treatment with 12 weekly doses of paclitaxel (with or without an experimental agent), followed by 12 weeks of treatment with four cycles of anthracycline. Each woman underwent breast DW MRI before treatment, at early treatment (3 weeks), at midtreatment (12 weeks), and after treatment.

Heterogeneous ceramide distributions alter spatially resolved growth of on human stratum corneum.

Contemporary studies have revealed dramatic changes in the diversity of bacterial microbiota between healthy and diseased skin. However, the prevailing use of swabs to extract the microorganisms has meant that only population 'snapshots' are obtained, and all spatially resolved information of bacterial growth is lost. Here we report on the temporospatial growth of on the surface of the human stratum corneum (SC); the outermost layer of skin.

Pharmacomechanical Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis for Deep-Vein Thrombosis.

Background: The post-thrombotic syndrome frequently develops in patients with proximal deep-vein thrombosis despite treatment with anticoagulant therapy. Pharmacomechanical catheter-directed thrombolysis (hereafter "pharmacomechanical thrombolysis") rapidly removes thrombus and is hypothesized to reduce the risk of the post-thrombotic syndrome.

Methods: We randomly assigned 692 patients with acute proximal deep-vein thrombosis to receive either anticoagulation alone (control group) or anticoagulation plus pharmacomechanical thrombolysis (catheter-mediated or device-mediated intrathrombus delivery of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator and thrombus aspiration or maceration, with or without stenting).

Doppler-derived intracoronary physiology indices predict the occurrence of microvascular injury and microvascular perfusion deficits after angiographically successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: A total of 40% to 50% of patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction develop microvascular injury (MVI) despite angiographically successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We investigated whether hyperemic microvascular resistance (HMR) immediately after angiographically successful PCI predicts MVI at cardiovascular magnetic resonance and reduced myocardial blood flow at positron emission tomography (PET).

Methods And Results: Sixty patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction were included in this prospective study.

Unveiling a mechanism for species decline in fragmented habitats: fragmentation induced reduction in encounter rates.

Several studies have reported that fragmentation (e.g. of anthropogenic origin) of habitats often leads to a decrease in the number of species in the region.

Natural origin biodegradable systems in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: present status and some moving trends.

The fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine aim at promoting the regeneration of tissues or replacing failing or malfunctioning organs, by means of combining a scaffold/support material, adequate cells and bioactive molecules. Different materials have been proposed to be used as both three-dimensional porous scaffolds and hydrogel matrices for distinct tissue engineering strategies. Among them, polymers of natural origin are one of the most attractive options, mainly due to their similarities with the extracellular matrix (ECM), chemical versatility as well as typically good biological performance.