Directing Rat Hair Follicle Stem Cells Toward Neuronal Lineage With Enhanced Trophic Factor Expression.

Background: Hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) are promising candidates for cell-based therapies in neurodegenerative diseases because of their ability to differentiate into neural lineages and exert paracrine effects in damaged tissues. However, their clinical application faces challenges, particularly in efficiently guiding them toward neural lineages. This study explores using chick embryo extract (CEE) to enhance HFSCs' secretory capacity and neuronal differentiation.

Improving clinical abbreviation sense disambiguation using attention-based Bi-LSTM and hybrid balancing techniques in imbalanced datasets.

Rationale: Clinical abbreviations pose a challenge for clinical decision support systems due to their ambiguity. Additionally, clinical datasets often suffer from class imbalance, hindering the classification of such data. This imbalance leads to classifiers with low accuracy and high error rates.

Mortality in Recipients of Durable Left Ventricular Assist Devices Undergoing Ventricular Tachycardia Ablation.

Background: Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) recipients have a higher incidence of ventricular tachycardia (VT). However, the role of VT ablation in this population is not well-established.

Objectives: This single-center retrospective cohort study sought to examine the impact of post-LVAD implant VT ablation on survival.

Incidence, Risk Score Performance, and In-Hospital Outcomes of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) frequently complicates cardiac surgery. Predicting POAF can guide interventions to prevent its onset. This study assessed the incidence, risk factors, and related adverse outcomes of POAF after cardiac surgery.

Functional and Numerical Responses of Trichogramma euproctidis (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) to Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Under Laboratory Conditions.

The tomato fruitworm Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) is regarded as a serious pest that affects a great number of field crops globally. One of the environmentally safe alternatives to the utilization of insecticides is controlling H. armigera via the release of biological control agents by employing parasitoids, e.

Risk Stratification in Patients Who Underwent Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion.

Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) is effective in preventing thromboembolism. Risk stratification tools could help identify patients at risk for early mortality after LAAO. In this study, we validated and recalibrated a clinical risk score (CRS) to predict risk of all-cause mortality after LAAO.

Analysis of human resources for health in Afghanistan.

Background: Despite large-scale investment in health service delivery outsourcing, few studies have examined human resources for health (HRH) in Afghanistan.

Aims: To review the HRH situation of outsourced healthcare services in Afghanistan and evaluate nongovernment organization (NGO) investments in the health workforce.

Methods: Two questionnaires were used for data collection.

Feeding responses and digestive function of (Boisd) on various leafy vegetables exhibit possible tolerance traits.

is a highly polyphagous pest that attacks numerous important crops in the world and causes substantial economic losses to agricultural production. In the present study, the effects of different leafy vegetables, including Purslane, Chives, Parsley, Basil, Dill, Coriander, and Mint, were investigated on feeding responses and enzymatic activities of under laboratory conditions. Furthermore, the total contents of the three major secondary metabolites (phenolics, anthocyanins, and flavonoids) in the studied vegetables were determined.

The need to sustain funding for Afghanistan health system to prevent excess morbidity and mortality.

Background: The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, managed by the World Bank through a contracted-out instrument called Sehatmandi, financed health service delivery in Afghanistan, with substantial achievements in infant, child and maternal health. After the collapse of the Afghan Government on 15 August 2021, the health system has been on the brink of collapse.

Aims: We assessed the use of basic health services and estimated excess mortality resulting from the interruption to healthcare funding.

Evaluation of Cysts to Improve Diets for Mass Rearing , a Predator of .

  is an acarophagous coccinellid distributed in the Mediterranean region and could potentially be mass-reared for the augmentative biological control of   and related species on crop plants. The hypothesis that brine shrimp cysts can improve diets for rearing of . was tested in laboratory experiments.

Improving health service delivery in conflict-affected settings: Lessons from a nationwide strategic purchasing mechanism in Afghanistan.

Background: Due to ongoing insecurity, the government of Afghanistan delivers health care to the country's population by contracting out service delivery to non-governmental organization service providers (SPs). In 2018, major changes to SP contracts were introduced, resulting in a new pay-for-performance service delivery model. This model, called "Sehatmandi", pays SPs based on the volume of 11 key services they provide.

The transgenerational consequences of maternal parasitism for aphid life history and suitability for subsequent parasitism.

Aphids parasitized in later instars can give birth to several nymphs before their reproduction is curtailed by the developing parasitoid. We examined the life histories of Aphis fabae Scopoli born to mothers parasitized by Lysiphlebus fabarum Marshall, and their suitability as subsequent hosts, to test the 'fecundity compensation' hypothesis. Maternal parasitism negatively impacted life history parameters, resulting in reduced estimates of population increase (rm, R0, and λ), and increased generation time (GT) and doubling time (DT).

Effects of Egg Age on Development, Reproduction, and Life Table Parameters of .

The noctuid is an economically important pest of agricultural crops in Iran and other countries. Research is evaluating the capacity of parasitoids to control . populations on field crops.

Review of Modeling Methodologies for Managing Water Distribution Security.

Water distribution systems are vulnerable to hazards that threaten water delivery, water quality, and physical and cybernetic infrastructure. Water utilities and managers are responsible for assessing and preparing for these hazards, and researchers have developed a range of computational frameworks to explore and identify strategies for what-if scenarios. This manuscript conducts a review of the literature to report on the state of the art in modeling methodologies that have been developed to support the security of water distribution systems.

Effects of Three Artificial Diets on Life History Parameters of the Ladybird Beetle , a Predator of Tetranychid Mites.

Background: The ladybird beetle (Mulsant) is an important natural enemy of tetranychid mites and functions as a biological control of these plant pests. The development, survival and reproduction of were studied when fed on three artificial diets. The components of the artificial diet that could be reared successfully on for one generation with no use of tetranychid mites were examined.

Direct and indirect effect of cannibalism and intraguild predation in the two sibling ladybird beetles.

In this study, we focused on the direct (i.e., predation) and indirect (i.

Contact-force recovery predicts the absence of cardiac perforation during steam pops.

Purpose: Cardiac perforation (CP) is an uncommon but clinically important complication of radiofrequency ablation (RFA). We previously showed that contact-force recovery after a steam pop predicts the absence of CP in an open-chest animal model after pericardial dissection. We attempted to determine whether this also applies when pericardium is present.

Confirming pericardial access by using impedance measurements from a micropuncture needle.

Background: Pericardial access is complicated by two difficulties: confirming when the needle tip is in the pericardial space, and avoiding complications during access, such as inadvertently puncturing other organs. Conventional imaging tools are inadequate for addressing these difficulties, as they lack soft-tissue markers that could be used as guidance during access. A system that can both confirm access and avoid inadvertent organ injury is needed.

Slow-pathway visualization by using voltage-time relationship: A novel technique for identification and fluoroless ablation of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia.

Background: Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) is treatable by catheter ablation. Advances in mapping-system technology permit fluoroless workflow during ablations. As national practice trends toward fluoroless approaches, easily obtained, reproducible methods of slow-pathway identification, and ablation become increasingly important.

Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation: Role of the Left Atrial Appendage.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia. Patients with AF have a higher risk for thromboembolism than individuals without AF. The left atrial appendage (LAA) is the main source of thromboembolism because of its anatomic, mechanical, and electrophysiologic properties, and accounts for more than 90% of thrombus formation in patients with AF.