Phybers: a package for brain tractography analysis.

We present a Python library (Phybers) for analyzing brain tractography data. Tractography datasets contain streamlines (also called fibers) composed of 3D points representing the main white matter pathways. Several algorithms have been proposed to analyze this data, including clustering, segmentation, and visualization methods.

Body Mass Index impact on Extended Total Extraperitoneal Ventral Hernia Repair: a comparative study.

Purpose: Obesity is a risk factor for developing abdominal wall hernias and is associated with major postoperative complications, such as surgical site infection, delayed wound healing and recurrent hernia. Therefore, treating incisional hernia in this patient subgroup is a challenge.

Methods: We conducted a comparative, prospective study on patients who underwent primary ventral hernia surgery or incisional hernia surgery through the extended totally extraperitoneal pathway, with body mass indices (BMIs) ≤ 30 (no obesity) and BMI > 30 (with obesity).

ABrainVis: an android brain image visualization tool.

Background: The visualization and analysis of brain data such as white matter diffusion tractography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) volumes is commonly used by neuro-specialist and researchers to help the understanding of brain structure, functionality and connectivity. As mobile devices are widely used among users and their technology shows a continuous improvement in performance, different types of applications have been designed to help users in different work areas.

Results: We present, ABrainVis, an Android mobile tool that allows users to visualize different types of brain images, such as white matter diffusion tractographies, represented as fibers in 3D, segmented fiber bundles, MRI 3D images as rendered volumes and slices, and meshes.

Anatomical connectivity and efficacy of electro-therapy for seizure control: A SANTE's single-center regression analyses.

Objective: To assess based on a single-center data from a multicenter trial (Stimulation of the Anterior Nucleus for the Thalamus for Epilepsy (SANTE)), the role of anatomical connectivity and other factors (e.g., stimulating electrode placement) on efficacy of electro-therapy of the anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN), a node in Papez network, on pharmaco-resistant seizures.

Evaluation of the Reticulocyte Production Index in the Pediatric Population.

Objectives: Since hematologic values vary with age in children, we evaluated the agreement between the "traditional" reticulocyte production index (RPI) and an RPI by age (RPI/A)-adjusted normal values.

Methods: A retrospective, observational, and analytical study was performed on CBCs of children with anemia younger than 18 years. The agreement and clinical repercussions of the RPI values were analyzed with an RPI/A developed with theoretical values for different ages.

Comparative prospective study on the presentation of normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism. Is it more aggressive than the hypercalcemic form?

Background: Some patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) have an elevated PTH that does not always correlate with high blood calcium levels. We aimed to compare the clinical presentation between normocalcaemic and hypercalcaemic forms using ionized calcium levels as an inclusion criterion.

Methods: We included all patients referred for surgery for PHPT between January 2015 and December 2017.

Rational design of multi-functional gold nanoparticles with controlled biomolecule adsorption: a multi-method approach for in-depth characterization.

Multi-functionalized nanoparticles are of great interest in biotechnology and biomedicine, especially for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. However, at the moment the characterization of complex, multi-functional nanoparticles is still challenging and this hampers the development of advanced nanomaterials for biological applications. In this work, we have designed a model system consisting of gold nanoparticles functionalized with two differentially-terminated poly(ethylene oxide) ligands, providing both "stealth" properties and protein-binding capabilities to the nanoparticles.

Physiologic correlates of culture-bound dissociation: A comparative study of Brazilian spiritist mediums and controls.

Mediumship and spirit possession are cultural phenomena found in many societies worldwide. In Brazil, Spiritism (a tradition in which mediumship is emphasized) is the third largest religious denomination. The present study aimed to investigate physiologic correlates of nonpathological dissociative experiences by comparing 20 female spiritist mediums with several years of socially sanctioned practice to 20 female nonmedium control subjects from the same religious context.

Genetic demography at the leading edge of the distribution of a rabies virus vector.

The common vampire bat, , ranges from South America into northern Mexico in North America. This sanguivorous species of bat feeds primarily on medium to large-sized mammals and is known to rely on livestock as primary prey. Each year, there are hotspot areas of -specific rabies virus outbreaks that lead to the deaths of livestock and economic losses.

Effect of an educational intervention in "spirituality and health" on knowledge, attitudes, and skills of students in health-related areas: A controlled randomized trial.

Background: To date there have been no randomized studies that assess whether "Spirituality and Health" (S/H) programs are, indeed, effective, or not. We sought to evaluate if an intervention in teaching S/H fosters competence changes in healthcare students.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was carried out.

Gold nanoparticles increases UV and thermal stability of human serum albumin.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation, temperature, and time can degrade proteins. Here, the authors show that gold nanoparticles significantly protect human serum albumin from denaturation when exposed to "stressing" conditions such as UV irradiation and sustained exposure in suboptimal conditions. In particular, the authors show that gold nanoparticles significantly reduce the decrease in secondary structure induced by UV irradiation or extended exposure to ambient temperature.

Enhancement of Peroxidase Stability Against Oxidative Self-Inactivation by Co-immobilization with a Redox-Active Protein in Mesoporous Silicon and Silica Microparticles.

The study of the stability enhancement of a peroxidase immobilized onto mesoporous silicon/silica microparticles is presented. Peroxidases tend to get inactivated in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, their essential co-substrate, following an auto-inactivation mechanism. In order to minimize this inactivation, a second protein was co-immobilized to act as an electron acceptor and thus increase the stability against self-oxidation of peroxidase.

Learning from Listening: Helping Healthcare Students to Understand Spiritual Assessment in Clinical Practice.

We aim to evaluate the perceptions of healthcare students while taking a spiritual history (SH). Fifty students were trained on how to take a SH, interviewed inpatients and answered a questionnaire concerning their perceptions. A total of 362 patients were interviewed: 60.

Subcortical (thalamic) automated seizure detection: A new option for contingent therapy delivery.

The feasibility of automated detection of cortical-onset epileptic seizures from subcortical structures such as the thalamus was investigated via simultaneous recording of electroencephalography (EEG) and anterior and centromedian thalamic nuclei electrical signals (electrothalamography) in nine subjects with pharmacoresistant seizures admitted to an epilepsy monitoring unit after deep brain stimulating electrode implantation. Thalamic electrical signals were analyzed using a validated seizure detection algorithm, and times of seizure onset and termination were compared to those determined through visual analysis of video-EEG. Ictal activity was recorded from the scalp and thalamic nuclei in three subjects who had seizures during the 3-4-day recording period.

Classifying early-onset colorectal cancer according to tumor location: new potential subcategories to explore.

Early-onset Colorectal Cancer (ECRC) represents a significant and increasing proportion of Colorectal Cancer (CRC), but it is a heterogeneous entity that probably encompasses specific subclasses. On the premise that the carcinogenetic mechanism and progression of CRC may differ with location, we analyzed molecular and clinical characteristics of ECRC according to tumor location in order to identify more homogeneous subgroups of CRC. Right-sided ECRC is a subset in which most Lynch Syndrome cases are found, with earlier stages at diagnosis and better prognosis.

DNA copy number profiling reveals different patterns of chromosomal instability within colorectal cancer according to the age of onset.

Chromosomal instability resulting in copy number alterations is a hallmark of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, few studies have attempted to characterize the chromosomal changes occurring in early-onset CRC in order to compare them with those taking place within the more extensively studied late-onset CRC subset. Our aim was to characterize the genomic profiles of these two groups of colorectal tumors and to compare them to each other.

[Recommendations of the Chilean Association for Digestive Endoscopy for the management of gastric pre-malignant lesions].

An expert panel analyzed the available evidence and reached a consensus to release 24 recommendations for primary and secondary prevention of gastric cancer (CG) in symptomatic patients, with indication for upper GI endoscopy. The main recommendations include (1) Search for and eradicate H. pylori infection in all cases.