Identifying subgroups deriving the most benefit from PD-1 checkpoint inhibition plus chemotherapy in advanced metastatic triple-negative breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy has demonstrated an enhancement in progression-free survival (PFS) for individuals with advanced and metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) when compared to the use of chemotherapy alone. Nevertheless, the extent to which different subgroups of metastatic TNBC patients experience this benefit remains uncertain.

Objectives: Our objective was to conduct subgroup analyses to more precisely identify the factors influencing these outcomes.

Modulation of the local angiotensin II: Augmentation of ferroptosis and radiosensitivity in nasopharyngeal carcinoma via the HIF-1α-HILPDA axis.

Purpose: Radiotherapy presents a curative approach for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); however, the cellular radiosensitivity heterogeneity limits its efficacy. Thus, investigating the specific mechanisms of radioresistance in NPC is crucial for identifying and employing effective radiosensitizing agents to enhance treatment success.

Methods And Materials: Radioresistant NPC cell lines HONE1-RR and SUNE1-RR were established.

The effect of minimally invasive surgery on thirty-day postoperative outcomes of frail patients undergoing emergency colon resections.

Background: Frail patients have poor outcomes after emergent colon surgery. While minimally invasive surgery has shown improved outcomes in the general patient population undergoing colectomy, the benefits in frail patients are unknown.

Methods: We identified frail patients who underwent urgent or emergent colon resections from 2017 to 2021 in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database.

An innovative Community Mobilisation and Community Incentivisation for child health in rural Pakistan (CoMIC): a cluster-randomised, controlled trial.

Background: Infectious diseases remain the leading cause of death among children younger than 5 years due to disparities in access and acceptance of essential interventions. The Community Mobilisation and Community Incentivisation (CoMIC) trial was designed to evaluate a customised community mobilisation and incentivisation strategy for improving coverage of evidence-based interventions for child health in Pakistan.

Methods: CoMIC was a three-arm cluster-randomised, controlled trial in rural areas of Pakistan.

Pathways and risk analysis of arsenic and heavy metal pollution in riverine water: Application of multivariate statistics and USEPA-recommended risk assessment models.

This study analyzed surface water from the River Swat, Pakistan, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, multivariate statistical techniques, and US-EPA risk assessment models to evaluate the concentrations, distribution, pathways, and potential risks of arsenic (As) and heavy metals, including chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb). The results revealed significant correlations (p ≤ 0.01) among metals that indicated common pollution sources, likely influenced by anthropogenic point and non-point activities.

Promoting Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Pakistan Using a Cocreated Social Media Intervention: Development and Pilot Testing Study.

Background: Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is a curriculum-based approach to learning and teaching about sexuality that focuses on the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social domains. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) CSE guideline emphasizes gender issues and is firmly rooted in a human rights-based approach to sexuality. A recent cross-sectional community readiness assessment in Islamabad, Pakistan, found that the community is at the denial or resistant stage when it comes to implementing school-based sexuality education.

Identification of Gender Differences in Acute Myocardial Infarction Presentation and Management at Aga Khan University Hospital-Pakistan: Natural Language Processing Application in a Dataset of Patients With Cardiovascular Disease.

Background: Ischemic heart disease is a leading cause of death globally with a disproportionate burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Natural language processing (NLP) allows for data enrichment in large datasets to facilitate key clinical research. We used NLP to assess gender differences in symptoms and management of patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) at Aga Khan University Hospital-Pakistan.

Scalp Lipofibromatosis - A case report on comprehensive management in a two-year-old child from Pakistan.

Lipofibromatosis is a rare benign soft tissue tumor that primarily affects children. There is limited cytological description and management of this rare condition in the literature which leads to misdiagnosis. The two years old patient first presented with a big, non-tender swelling on the scalp's right temporoparietal area.

Radiometric and Morphologic Analysis of Arnold Chiari Type-I Malformation and Idiopathic Syringomyelia: A Case Series from Pakistan.

Background And Objective: Chiari I Malformation-associated syringomyelia (CM) and idiopathic syringomyelia (IS) are often confused together. They require different diagnostic approach and treatment modalities; it is important to distinguish between the two. We aimed to evaluate the radiological and morphologic characteristics of CM and IS in adult and pediatric patients in Pakistani population.

Iatrogenic Type A Aortic Dissection Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Iatrogenic type A aortic dissection (IAAD) is a rare but life-threatening complication of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), often presenting significant therapeutic challenges. A looped guidewire between the right subclavian artery and brachiocephalic artery during coronary angiography (CAG) via right radial artery access can complicate catheter manipulation. This report discusses the case of a 58-year-old hypertensive female patient who developed aortic dissection during PCI, specifically due to wire manipulation at the brachiocephalic loop.

DenseIncepS115: a novel network-level fusion framework for Alzheimer's disease prediction using MRI images.

One of the most prevalent disorders relating to neurodegenerative conditions and dementia is Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the age group 65 and older, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease is increasing. Before symptoms showed up, the disease had grown to a severe stage and resulted in an irreversible brain disorder that is not treatable with medication or other therapies.

Analgesic efficacy and safety of erector spinae plane block versus serratus anterior plane block in breast surgery-a meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Mastectomy and breast-conserving surgery are key interventions for breast cancer, a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women. Many undergoing breast surgery experience postoperative pain compromising their functionality and quality of life. While multiple pain management strategies are available, evidence comparing the erector spinae (ESPB) and serratus anterior plane blocks (SAPB) for improving post-surgical pain management in breast cancer surgery patients is limited.

Comprehensive analysis and human health risk assessment of tap water quality in Dhaka City, Bangladesh: Integrating source identification, index-based evaluation, and heavy metal assessment.

Despite potential contamination, tap water remains the primary source of drinking in megacities. However, the sources of heavy metal(oid)s contamination and associated health hazards have not been thoroughly addressed in many developing cities, including Dhaka. Therefore, we made the first attempt to assess tap water quality in Dhaka City using indices, identify pollution sources with state-of-the-art techniques, and quantify associated health risks.

Low Middle Income Countries and Academic Productivity of Neurosurgery: A Quantitative Analysis From Pakistan.

Neurosurgical training and practice rely heavily on research, which is a pivotal marker of academic productivity. This study investigates the current landscape of neurosurgery publications originating from Pakistan, encompassing overall research output, prevalent topics, and disparities across institutions and regions. Electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect, were systematically searched up to November 1, 2023, using specified keywords.

All Roads Lead to Rome: Pathways to Engineering Disease Resistance in Plants.

Unlike animals, plants are unable to move and lack specialized immune cells and circulating antibodies. As a result, they are always threatened by a large number of microbial pathogens and harmful pests that can significantly reduce crop yield worldwide. Therefore, the development of new strategies to control them is essential to mitigate the increasing risk of crops lost to plant diseases.

Advancement in piezoelectric nanogenerators for acoustic energy harvesting.

The demand for sustainable energy sources to power small electronics like IoT devices has led to exploring innovative solutions like acoustic energy harvesting using piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs). Acoustic energy harvesting leverages ambient noise, converting it into electrical energy through the piezoelectric effect, where certain materials generate an electric charge in response to mechanical stress or vibrations. This review paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the advancements in PENG technology, emphasizing their role in acoustic energy harvesting.

Formation of alginate gel stabilized silica nanoparticles for encapsulation and topical delivery of minoxidil.

Silica nanoparticles-embedded smart-gels are efficient drug carrier systems due to their structural flexibility, high porosity, and ease of formulation development. Herein, the extent of interaction of minoxidil (MXD), a potent vasodilator prodrug, with silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) and alginate (ALG) was investigated. The SiNPs were prepared by extracting silica from rice husk ash, and these SiNPs were further used to prepare MXD-loaded-SiNPs (MXD-SiNPs) by loading them with an appropriate amount of MXD.

Evaluation and correction of solar irradiance in Somaliland using ground measurements and global reanalysis products.

Properly understanding solar irradiance can help accurately quantify the solar energy resource and guide sustainable development projects, particularly where measured solar data are scarce or suffer from detrimental data quality issues. This study aims to assess and improve solar global horizontal irradiance (GHI) data from a diverse range of global reanalysis datasets by utilizing measured data from two ground weather stations located in Somaliland. A comprehensive evaluation framework is employed, combining various statistical and regression error metrics, whereas bias correction methods are implemented.

Sharp coefficient bounds for a class of symmetric starlike functions involving the balloon shape domain.

Recent research has extensively explored classes of starlike and convex functions across various domains. This study introduces a novel class of symmetric starlike functions with respect to symmetric points and associated with the balloon shape domain. We establish the explicit representation of all functions in this class.

From quantum communication fundamentals to decoherence mitigation strategies: Addressing global quantum network challenges and projected applications.

In the aftermath of unparalleled disruptive technologies, the quantum realm has become a fundamental field of research due to unrivaled computational power and super-secure communication. In addition to conventional networks, a new word in the quantum domain is quantum network. The quantum network uses quantum communication (QC) to send quantum information bits known as qubits, to predetermined destination nodes.

A Comparative Study of Decoders for Liver and Tumor Segmentation Using a Self-ONN-Based Cascaded Framework.

Accurate liver and tumor detection and segmentation are crucial in diagnosis of early-stage liver malignancies. As opposed to manual interpretation, which is a difficult and time-consuming process, accurate tumor detection using a computer-aided diagnosis system can save both time and human efforts. We propose a cascaded encoder-decoder technique based on self-organized neural networks, which is a recent variant of operational neural networks (ONNs), for accurate segmentation and identification of liver tumors.

Second-life lithium-ion battery aging dataset based on grid storage cycling.

This paper describes an experimental dataset of used lithium-ion battery cells cycled on grid storage synthetic duty cycles to study their feasibility for second-life applications. Data were collected at the Stanford Energy Control Laboratory at Stanford University, CA, USA. The ten INR21700-M50T battery cells with graphite/silicon anode and Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt (NMC) cathode had been previously tested over a period of 23 months according to the Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule (UDDS) discharge driving profile.

Anterior C2 Odontoid Fixation Using Cranial Brainlab Navigation: A Novel Approach and Case Report.

Instrumentation of the cervical spine particularly at the higher cervical levels like C2 presents unique challenges mainly because of their complex anatomy and proximity to neurovascular structures. The goal of the article is to demonstrate that using navigation technologies in inserting anterior odontoid screws can enhance the precision and safety of surgery. We describe a novel approach for anterior C2 odontoid fixation using a three-pin radiolucent Mayfield clamp with intra-operative CT registration and cranial brainlab navigation.