Environmental exposure and cancer occurrence in dogs: a critical appraisal of evidence.

Cancer is a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality in humans and is also the leading cause of death in dogs. It is estimated that up to 20 % of human cancers can be explained by environmental exposures to carcinogens. It has been hypothesized that companion animals such as dogs could not only be a model for the complex pathogenic processes of human cancers, but also act as sentinels for environmental carcinogens due to their relative shorter longevity, spontaneous occurrence of tumours, and intimate relationship with our everyday environments.

Phase concept: Novel dynamic endoscopic assessment of intramural antireflux mechanisms (with video).

Objectives: The gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) consists of various anatomical components that together form a barrier to prevent reflux of gastric content. This study introduces a novel phase concept to dynamically evaluate the antireflux barrier (ARB) during endoscopy and analyzes its functionality.

Methods: We reviewed previously the recorded endoscopic videos of subjects who underwent the endoscopic pressure study integrated system (EPSIS) from February to April 2024 for indications other than gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms.

Closure in antireflux mucoplasty using anchor prong clips: dead space-eliminating technique.

Video 1Introducing the dead space eliminating technique (DET), a closure method using anchor pronged clips for antireflux mucoplasty in treating proton pump inhibitor refractory-dependent GERD. DET ensures comprehensive dead space elimination during closure.

Advancements in minimally invasive endoscopic treatment: Navigating deeper layers for upper gastrointestinal lesion.

The field of minimally invasive endoscopic treatment has seen a continual progression, marked by significant advancements in treatment devices and the refinement of endoscopic techniques. While endoscopic resection has become the standard for treating superficial gastrointestinal neoplasms, a proactive approach becomes imperative when dealing with lesions that extend beyond the submucosal layer and deeper into the muscularis propria. The ongoing evolution of endoscopic closure techniques has facilitated the introduction of advanced procedures such as endoscopic muscularis dissection, endoscopic subserosal dissection, and endoscopic full-thickness resection.

Lymphovascular invasion is associated with poor long-term outcomes in patients with pT1N0-3 or pT2-3N0 remnant gastric cancer: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) is a poor prognostic factor in various malignancies. However, its prognostic effect in remnant gastric cancer (RGC) remains unclear. We examined the correlation between LVI and disease prognosis in patients with T1N0-3 or T2-3N0 RGC in whom adjuvant chemotherapy was not indicated and a treatment strategy was not established.

Objective assessment of autism spectrum disorder based on performance in structured interpersonal acting-out tasks with prosodic stability and variability.

In this study, we sought to objectively and quantitatively characterize the prosodic features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) via the characteristics of prosody in a newly developed structured speech experiment. Male adults with high-functioning ASD and age/intelligence-matched men with typical development (TD) were asked to read 29 brief scripts aloud in response to preceding auditory stimuli. To investigate whether (1) highly structured acting-out tasks can uncover the prosodic of difference between those with ASD and TD, and (2) the prosodic stableness and flexibleness can be used for objective automatic assessment of ASD, we compared prosodic features such as fundamental frequency, intensity, and mora duration.

A Robust Approach Assisted by Signal Quality Assessment for Fetal Heart Rate Estimation from Doppler Ultrasound Signal.

Fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring, typically using Doppler ultrasound (DUS) signals, is an important technique for assessing fetal health. In this work, we develop a robust DUS-based FHR estimation approach complemented by DUS signal quality assessment (SQA) based on unsupervised representation learning in response to the drawbacks of previous DUS-based FHR estimation and DUS SQA methods. We improve the existing FHR estimation algorithm based on the autocorrelation function (ACF), which is the most widely used method for estimating FHR from DUS signals.

Endoscopic mucoplasty for benign esophageal strictures (multiple Schatzki rings).

Video 1Demonstration of endoscopic mucoplasty for benign esophageal strictures (multiple Schatzki rings).

Associations between canine hookworm infection and dog owners' awareness, perception, and behaviour: A cross-sectional study in Brisbane, Queensland, 2019-2020.

Canine hookworms are found globally, and infections have been recorded in domestic dogs visiting dog parks in Queensland, Australia. Some canine hookworms also present a risk of zoonotic transmission to humans. Potential transmission of hookworms can occur in the household and at public places because of lack of owner awareness and poor coverage of canine deworming.

Extended-Hours Hemodialysis without Dietary Restrictions Increases Body Mass Index and Normalizes Hypertension: A Case Report.

Dialysis technology has made remarkable progress. However, many patients still suffer from malnutrition and hypertension. They cause many complications and significantly impact patients' quality of life and prognosis.

Unsupervised Learning-Based Non-Invasive Fetal ECG Muti-Level Signal Quality Assessment.

Objective: To monitor fetal health and growth, fetal heart rate is a critical indicator. The non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram is a widely employed measurement for fetal heart rate estimation, which is extracted from the electrodes placed on the surface of the maternal abdomen. The qualities of the fetal ECG recordings, however, are frequently affected by the noises from various interference sources.

Non-invasive Fetal ECG Signal Quality Assessment based on Unsupervised Learning Approach.

The non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram (FECG) derived from abdominal surface electrodes has been widely used for fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring to assess fetal well-being. However, the accuracy of FECG-based FHR estimation heavily depends on the quality of FECG signal itself, which can generally be affected by several interference sources such as maternal heart activities and fetal movements. Hence, FECG signal quality assessment (SQA) is an essential task to improve the accuracy of FHR estimation by removing or interpolating low-quality FECG signals.

Epidemiological Profile of a Human Hepatitis E Virus Outbreak in 2018, Chattogram, Bangladesh.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a waterborne zoonotic disease that can result in a high fatality rate in pregnant women and infants. In 2018, a large HEV outbreak emerged in Chattogram, Bangladesh, resulting in 2800 cases and a significant public health response to mitigate the transmission. While the source of the outbreak remained poorly understood, authorities suggested that possible risk factors for HEV infection included contamination of water supply, exacerbated by concurrent severe flooding events in the community.

Successful endoscopic full-thickness resection of an exophytic subepithelial lesion with double scope traction technique.

Video 1Video demonstrating the endoscopic full-thickness resection of an exophytic subepithelial lesion with "double scope traction" technique.

Potential critical risks of pulmonary thromboembolism from an asymptomatic postpartum ovarian vein thrombosis: a case report.

Background: Ovarian vein thrombosis (OVT) may cause maternal mortality by inducing pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). However, the prevalence, etiology, risk factors, prognosis, and optimal treatments for asymptomatic OVT during and after pregnancies are unclear, which therefore requires a high clinical index of suspicion for certain diagnoses due to its vague presentation. We herein present a case of asymptomatic postpartum OVT that extended toward the inferior vena cava (IVC), resulting in a potential risk of PTE.

Effect of a novel nasal oxytocin spray with enhanced bioavailability on autism: a randomized trial.

Although intranasal oxytocin is expected to be a novel therapy for the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, which has currently no approved medication, the efficacy of repeated administrations was inconsistent, suggesting that the optimal dose for a single administration of oxytocin is not optimal for repeated administration. The current double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre, crossover trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03466671) was aimed to test the effect of TTA-121, a new formulation of intranasal oxytocin spray with an enhanced bioavailability (3.

Fetal Heart Rate Detection Using First Derivative of ECG Waveform and Multiple Weighting Functions.

Fetal heart rate monitoring using the abdominal electrocardiograph (ECG) is an important topic for the diagnosis of heart defects. Many studies on fetal heart rate detection have been presented, however, their accuracy is still unsatisfactory. That is because the fetal ECG waveform is contaminated by maternal ECG interference, muscle contractions, and motion artifacts.

An Autoencoder-Based Fetal Heart Rate Detector for Noninvasive Recordings.

Antenatal fetal health monitoring primarily depends on the signal analysis of abdominal or transabdominal electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings. The noninvasive approach for obtaining fetal heart rate (HR) reduces risks of potential infections and is convenient for the expectant mother. However, in addition to strong maternal ECG presence, undesirable signals due to body motion activity, muscle contractions, and certain bio-electric potentials degrade the diagnostic quality of obtained fetal ECG from abdominal ECG recordings.

An infant with X-linked anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia with immunodeficiency presenting with pneumonia: A case report.

pneumonia associated with primary immunodeficiency should be considered in infants with slowly progressing cyanosis, even without fever or respiratory symptoms. Genetic counseling is crucial for incontinentia pigmenti families in advance of pregnancy because lethal infections can occur before the diagnosis of X-linked anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia with immunodeficiency.

Epidemiological Surveillance of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stroke Care Using Artificial Intelligence.

Background And Purpose: The degree to which the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected systems of care, in particular, those for time-sensitive conditions such as stroke, remains poorly quantified. We sought to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 in the overall screening for acute stroke utilizing a commercial clinical artificial intelligence platform.

Methods: Data were derived from the Viz Platform, an artificial intelligence application designed to optimize the workflow of patients with acute stroke.

Joint Multiple Subspace-based BSS Method for Fetal Heart Rate Extraction from Non-invasive Recordings.

Despite the enormous potential applications, non-invasive recordings have not yet made enough satisfaction for fetal disease detection. This is mainly due to the fetal ECG signal is contaminated by the maternal electrocardiograph (ECG) interference, muscle contractions, and motion artifacts. In this paper, we propose a joint multiple subspace-based blind source separation (BSS) approach to extract the fetal heart rate (HR), so that it could greatly reduce the effect of maternal ECG and motion artifacts.