Predictive value of enhanced corneal biomechanical parameters for ectasia progression.

Purpose: To determine whether corneal biomechanical parameters can predict ectasia progression.

Study Design: Retrospective observational study.

Methods: The baseline corneal biomechanical parameters of 64 eyes of 41 young patients (age, < 25 years at the first visit) who were diagnosed with keratoconus (KC) or suspected KC at Osaka University Hospital and followed up for more than two years were reviewed.

WearMoCap: multimodal pose tracking for ubiquitous robot control using a smartwatch.

We present WearMoCap, an open-source library to track the human pose from smartwatch sensor data and leveraging pose predictions for ubiquitous robot control. WearMoCap operates in three modes: 1) a Watch Only mode, which uses a smartwatch only, 2) a novel Upper Arm mode, which utilizes the smartphone strapped onto the upper arm and 3) a Pocket mode, which determines body orientation from a smartphone in any pocket. We evaluate all modes on large-scale datasets consisting of recordings from up to 8 human subjects using a range of consumer-grade devices.

Phoenix Comprehensive Assessment of Pectus Excavatum Symptoms (PCAPES).

Background: Pectus excavatum (PE) can cause cardiopulmonary compression with a wide range of symptoms and psychosocial effects. Few validated surveys assess the extensive symptomatology of the adult pectus population. A comprehensive symptom survey was developed and validated with outcomes presented.

Teleguided photocoagulation treatments across continents with a remotely programmed laser for retinal diseases.

Diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion represent two prevalent vision-threatening retinal diseases. Retinal laser therapy still plays an important role in treating these conditions, but its successful administration often requires referral to specialized centers and retina experts. It is, therefore, essential to develop a new treatment methodology that enables patients to benefit from the expertise of specialists from reference centers.

Prolonged nightly fasting in older adults with memory decline: A single-group pilot study exploring changes in cognitive function and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Introduction: Older age significantly increases risk for cognitive decline. A growing number of older adults (≥ 65 years) experience cognitive decline that compromises immediate and/or long-term health. Interventions to mitigate cognitive decline are greatly needed.

A comprehensive survey of complex brain network representation.

Recent years have shown great merits in utilizing neuroimaging data to understand brain structural and functional changes, as well as its relationship to different neurodegenerative diseases and other clinical phenotypes. Brain networks, derived from different neuroimaging modalities, have attracted increasing attention due to their potential to gain system-level insights to characterize brain dynamics and abnormalities in neurological conditions. Traditional methods aim to pre-define multiple topological features of brain networks and relate these features to different clinical measures or demographical variables.

Associations Among Emotion Regulation, COVID Stress, Alcohol Use, and Intimate Partner Aggression Among College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: Intimate partner aggression (IPA) increased after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation (VSA) model, the current study examined associations among emotion regulation (ER) difficulties (an enduring vulnerability), COVID stress (a current stressor), alcohol use (a maladaptive coping strategy), and physical, psychological, and cyber IPA perpetration during the first eight months of the pandemic.

Method: Participants were 215 college students in current relationships from three universities across the US.

Does coenzyme Q10 improve semen quality and circulating testosterone level? a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Seminal oxidative stress has been shown to be a key factor in the development of male infertility. However, the benefits of infertility treatments with antioxidants such as coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) remains controversial.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of CoQ10 supplementation on semen quality, i.

a new species from Western North America.

A new species of section is described based on collections made in Arizona (USA). The new species is found in high-elevation, conifer dominated forests in the American Southwest, and it fruits directly on conifer wood or wood debris/conifer duff under . Based on the phylogenetic analyses of ITS and translation elongation factor 1-alpha () sequences, is closely related to , but it differs in the smaller basidiospores, less distinct ornamentation on the pleurocystidia and habitat.

Rare Finding of Rectal Squamous Metaplasia in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Rectal squamous metaplasia in inflammatory bowel disease is rare. We present 2 cases of rectal squamous metaplasia, one in a patient with Crohn's disease and another with ulcerative colitis. Given the risk of malignant transformation, dysplasia surveillance is important particularly in areas of chronic inflammation.

Associations between social behaviour and proinflammatory immune activation are modulated by age in a free-ranging primate population.

The effect of the social environment on the proinflammatory immune response may mediate the relationship between social environment and fitness but remains understudied outside captive animals and human populations. Age can also influence both immune function and social behaviour, and hence may modulate their relationships. This study investigates the role of social interactions in driving the concentrations of two urinary markers of proinflammatory immune activation, neopterin and soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), in a free-ranging population of rhesus macaques, .

Electrochemical Leaching of Cobalt from Cobaltite: Box-Behnken Design and Optimization with Response Surface Methodology.

Cobalt, a critical metal, is anticipated to increase in market demand in the next couple of decades, particularly as a battery material used in electric vehicle application. To boost the domestic production of cobalt in the United States, an electrochemical process has been developed to recover cobalt from a cobaltite-rich concentrate and produce cobalt- and arsenic-rich leachate. The leaching efficiency of cobalt was optimized with a response surface methodology by modifying the electrochemical parameters.

Dynamic Measures of Team Adaptation.

Objective: Dynamic measures of team adaptation based in team cognition theory and the measurement of real-time team cognition are developed. The present study examines the validity and context-specificity of this measurement framework for simulation-based team training.

Background: Teams adapt by reorganizing their coordination behavior to overcome challenges in dynamic environments.

Simulated Patient as a Learner: Medical Volunteers Gain Knowledge by Participating in a Wilderness Medicine Training Session.

Introduction: -A multifaceted approach to wilderness medicine education and training is necessary to provide a high-quality learning experience, often requiring innovative instructional techniques. Using volunteers to act as patients in medical education is a well-established practice that helps teach crucial skills. However, more is needed to know if there is potential knowledge acquisition through participation.

The Linda Kizazi study: a comparison of morbidity and mortality from birth to 2 years between children who are HIV-unexposed and HIV-exposed, uninfected in the era of universal antiretroviral therapy.

Background: Historically, children who are HIV-exposed, uninfected (CHEU) have been found to have greater morbidity and mortality than children who are HIV-unexposed, uninfected (CHUU). To assess whether this difference persists in the era of universal antiretroviral therapy (ART), we conducted a cohort study to compare the risk of acute diarrhoea, respiratory tract infections (RTI), malaria, hospitalisation, and all-cause mortality between Kenyan CHEU and CHUU from birth to 2 years.

Methods: From December 2018 to March 2020 at Mathare North Health Centre in Nairobi, we recruited pregnant women living with HIV on ART for ≥6 months and pregnant women without HIV from the same community.

Perianal angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia mimicking Kaposi sarcoma in a patient living with HIV.

A woman in her 70s with well-controlled HIV on antiretroviral therapy presented with a several-month history of an asymptomatic perianal lesion. Skin examination showed a 0.5-1 cm red-pink, shiny, exophytic papule with visible telangiectasias near the anal verge.

Artificial intelligence and transfusion education, research and practice: The view from the ISBT Clinical Transfusion Working Party.

Background And Objectives: Artificial intelligence (AI) has been gaining increasing interest in healthcare. During the 2024 International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) Congress, the Clinical Transfusion Working Party (CTWP) conducted a session to explore the exciting intersection of AI in transfusion medicine (TM) practice, education and research. We report here the potential applications and the session outcome.

Valley-Forecast: Forecasting Coccidioidomycosis incidence via enhanced LSTM models trained on comprehensive meteorological data.

Coccidioidomycosis (cocci), or more commonly known as Valley Fever, is a fungal infection caused by Coccidioides species that poses a significant public health challenge, particularly in the semi-arid regions of the Americas, with notable prevalence in California and Arizona. Previous epidemiological studies have established a correlation between cocci incidence and regional weather patterns, indicating that climatic factors influence the fungus's life cycle and subsequent disease transmission. This study hypothesizes that Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and extended Long Short-Term Memory (xLSTM) models, known for their ability to capture long-term dependencies in time-series data, can outperform traditional statistical methods in predicting cocci outbreak cases.

The complexities of aeronautical transfer of acutely unwell neurosurgical patients.

Objective: Neurosurgical care is difficult to access in many scenarios. Aeromedical evacuation of acutely unwell neurosurgical patients from remote, isolated or poorly equipped locations can be considered. This article aims to provide a framework of logistical factors which deserve special consideration in the preparation of these patients for transfer.