Multi-angle acquisition and 3D composite reconstruction for organ-targeted PET using planar detectors.

Background: This study investigates a multi-angle acquisition method aimed at improving image quality in organ-targeted PET detectors with planar detector heads. Organ-targeted PET technologies have emerged to address limitations of conventional whole-body PET/CT systems, such as restricted axial field-of-view (AFOV), limited spatial resolution, and high radiation exposure associated with PET procedures. The AFOV in organ-targeted PET can be adjusted to the organ of interest, minimizing unwanted signals from other parts of the body, thus improving signal collection efficiency and reducing the dose of administered radiotracer.

A Systematic Review of Worldwide Female Enrollment in Randomized Controlled Trials of Post-Stroke Lower Extremity Rehabilitation.

This review systematically examined the reporting of sex and female participation in post-stroke lower extremity (LE) motor rehabilitation randomized controlled trials (RCTs) over time and identified differences in female participation across RCTs conducted in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), high-income-countries (HICs), and HIC-regions. Systematic searches were conducted of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO from 1970 to May 2022. RCTs in English were included if they examined post-stroke LE motor rehabilitation interventions in adults diagnosed with stroke.

A Software Tool for Rapid and Automated Preprocessing of Large-Scale Serum Metabolomic Data by Multisegment Injection-Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry.

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics often rely on separation techniques when analyzing complex biological specimens to improve method resolution, metabolome coverage, quantitative performance, and/or unknown identification. However, low sample throughput and complicated data preprocessing procedures remain major barriers to affordable metabolomic studies that are scalable to large populations. Herein, we introduce PeakMeister as a new software tool in the R statistical environment to enable standardized processing of serum metabolomic data acquired by multisegment injection-capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (MSI-CE-MS), a high-throughput separation platform (<4 min/sample) which takes advantage of a serial injection format of 13 samples within a single analytical run.

Shared Decision-Making in Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: Understanding Surgeon and Patient Perspectives Regarding When It Is Time for Surgery.

Background: Although total hip and total knee arthroplasty are highly successful operations, the decision of whether and when to undergo surgery is highly subjective and discretionary, and specific guidelines regarding readiness for surgery remain elusive. The nature of these decisions underscores the importance of shared decision-making, which is founded on the concept that patients substantially contribute to determining their own readiness for surgery. The OPTION survey was developed as a conversation aid to facilitate shared decision-making in the context of total joint arthroplasty.

Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on uptake and experiences of gestational diabetes mellitus screening in Ontario: A parallel convergent mixed-methods study.

Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common medical complication of pregnancy that leads to adverse outcomes for both infants and pregnant people. Early detection and treatment can mitigate these negative outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic strained healthcare and laboratory services, including GDM screening programs.

Understanding the pathways to text generation: A longitudinal study on executive functions, oral language, and transcription skills from kindergarten to first grade.

This longitudinal study explored the contribution of transcription skills, oral language abilities, and executive functions in kindergarten to written production in grade 1 among Spanish-speaking children (N = 191) through structural equation modeling (SEM). Three dimentions of written production were assessed, including productivity, quality, and syntactic complexity. Accordingly, three SEM models were tested to explore these relationships, and the estimated models for each endogenous variable demonstrated good fit.

The Role of Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase, a Key Regulatory Endocannabinoid Enzyme, in Domain-Specific Cognitive Performance in Psychosis.

Background And Hypothesis: Cognitive impairments are particularly disabling for patients with a psychotic disorder and often persist despite optimization of antipsychotic treatment. Thus, motivating an extension of the research focus on the endocannabinoid system. The aim of this study was to evaluate group differences in brain fatty acid amid hydrolase (FAAH), an endocannabinoid enzyme between first-episode psychosis (FEP), individuals with clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis and healthy controls (HCs).

Changes in daily stress reactivity and changes in physical health across 18 years of adulthood.

Background: Stress plays a pivotal role in physical health. Although many studies have linked stress reactivity (daily within-person associations between stress exposure and negative affect) to physical health outcomes, we know surprisingly little about how changes in stress reactivity are related to changes in physical health.

Purpose: The current study examines how change in stress reactivity over 18 years is related to changes in functional health and chronic health conditions.

Real-World Treatment Patterns and Healthcare Resource Use for Patients with Myelofibrosis: Results from the METER Study.

Myelofibrosis (MF) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm that was most commonly treated with hydroxyurea (HU) prior to approval of ruxolitinib (RUX), now the standard of care. Factors that influence changes in MF treatment in real-world settings are not well understood. The METER study (NCT05444972) was a multi-country retrospective chart review of MF treatment patterns, treatment effectiveness, and healthcare resource utilization.

Values associated with Nordic Walking: An international cross-sectional survey among individuals practicing walking with poles.

Introduction: The article is devoted to the sociological exploration of the social phenomenon that Nordic Walking has become in Europe and worldwide over the recent decades.

Aim: It is based on the results of original international sociological research study on the issue of sociodemographic profiles of Nordic Walkers in the context of the values associated with this sports activity.

Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study with convenience sampling study was performed among 416 Poles, 132 Europeans from 11 countries (Germany, the UK, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, and Norway), and 212 participants from 5 non-European countries (the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan).

Reasoning and interpretation cognitive biases related to psychotic characteristics: An umbrella-review.

Cognitive biases have been studied in relation to schizophrenia and psychosis for over 50 years. Yet, the quality of the evidence linking cognitive biases and psychosis is not entirely clear. This umbrella-review examines the quality of the evidence and summarizes the effect sizes of the reasoning and interpretation cognitive biases studied in relation to psychotic characteristics (psychotic disorders, psychotic symptoms, psychotic-like experiences or psychosis risk).

Implementing digital respiratory technologies for people with respiratory conditions: A protocol for a scoping review.

The value of 'data-enabled', digital healthcare is evolving rapidly, as demonstrated in the COVID-19 pandemic, and its successful implementation remains complex and challenging. Harmonisation (within/between healthcare systems) of infrastructure and implementation strategies has the potential to promote safe, equitable and accessible digital healthcare, but guidance for implementation is lacking. Using respiratory technologies as an example, our scoping review process will capture and review the published research between 12th December 2013 to 12th December 2023.

Development and evaluation of a low-cost database solution for the Community Paramedicine at Clinic (CP@clinic) database.

The Community Paramedicine at Clinic (CP@clinic) program is a community program that utilizes community paramedics to support older adults in assessing their risk factors, managing their chronic conditions, and linking them to community resources. The aim of this project is to design a low-cost, portable, secure, user-friendly database for CP@clinic sessions and pilot test the database with paramedics and older adult volunteers. The CP@clinic program database using the Microsoft Access software was first developed through consultation with the CP@clinic research team.

Achieving better engagement with care and support for young people living with HIV in Australia: a mixed-method enquiry.

Young people aged 18-29 are considered "adult" within the Australian HIV health service context. However, evidence increasingly defines this age group as distinct from the broader adult population such that the needs of young people living with HIV may be overlooked in the context of HIV service design and delivery. This analysis draws on the Young + Positive study, a national study in Australia that documented the perspectives of young people (aged 18-29) living with HIV.

Therapeutic dose prediction of α5-GABA receptor modulation from simulated EEG of depression severity.

Treatment for major depressive disorder (depression) often has partial efficacy and a large portion of patients are treatment resistant. Recent studies implicate reduced somatostatin (SST) interneuron inhibition in depression, and new pharmacology boosting this inhibition via positive allosteric modulators of α5-GABAA receptors (α5-PAM) offers a promising effective treatment. However, testing the effect of α5-PAM on human brain activity is limited, meriting the use of detailed simulations.

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and preference for future delivery among language minority, newcomer, and racialized peoples in Canada: a national cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

Background: Despite high COVID-19 vaccine coverage in Canada, vaccine acceptance and preferred delivery among newcomers, racialized persons, and those who primarily speak minority languages are not well understood. This national study explores COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, access to vaccines, and delivery preferences among ethnoculturally diverse population groups.

Methods: We conducted two national cross-sectional surveys during the pandemic (Dec 2020 and Oct-Nov 2021).

Evaluation and Comparison of the Comprehensiveness of Canadian and American Ophthalmology Residency Program Websites.

Purpose: We descriptively and comparatively evaluated the comprehensiveness of Canadian and US-accredited ophthalmology residency program websites as of August 28, 2024.

Methods: Using Canadian Resident Matching Service ( = 15) and US Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database ( = 125), we assessed website content across seven criteria: recruitment, faculty, residents, education/research, teaching, benefits, and community. Two independent reviewers used a 40-point system, with Kruskal-Wallis and post-hoc pairwise tests for analysis by country and funding model.

Navigating Awareness and Strategies to Support Dementia Advocacy on Social Media During World Alzheimer's Month: Infodemiology Study.

Background: Understanding advocacy strategies is essential to improving dementia awareness, reducing stigma, supporting cognitive health promotion, and influencing policy to support people living with dementia. However, there is a dearth of evidence-based research on advocacy strategies used to support dementia awareness.

Objective: This study aimed to use posts from X (formerly known as Twitter) to understand dementia advocacy strategies during World Alzheimer's Awareness Month in September 2022.

Generative Adversarial Networks for Neuroimage Translation.

Image-to-image translation has gained popularity in the medical field to transform images from one domain to another. Medical image synthesis via domain transformation is advantageous in its ability to augment an image dataset where images for a given class are limited. From the learning perspective, this process contributes to the data-oriented robustness of the model by inherently broadening the model's exposure to more diverse visual data and enabling it to learn more generalized features.

Epidemiology and Outcomes of Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis in Adolescents and Young Adults.

Importance: Alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) has high mortality, and rates are increasing among adolescents and young adults (AYAs).

Objective: To define the sex-specific epidemiology of AH in AYAs and the association between female sex and liver-related outcomes after a first presentation of AH.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A retrospective, population-based cohort study of routinely collected health care data held at ICES from Ontario, Canada, was conducted.

Symptoms Prior to Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis in Individuals Younger Than 18 Years.

Importance: A growing body of literature suggests the presence of a prodromal period with nonspecific signs and symptoms before onset of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objective: To systematically assess diseases and symptoms diagnosed in the 5 years before a first MS- or central nervous system (CNS) demyelinating disease-related diagnostic code in pediatric patients compared with controls without MS and controls with another immune-mediated disorder, juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based, matched case-control study included children and adolescents (aged <18 years) in Germany with statutory health insurance from January 2010 to December 2020.

The abundance, removal efficiency, and characteristics of microplastics in three urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are one of the major collection points of microplastics (MPs). The MPs in influents and effluents of WWTPs were assessed for three cities on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea in the winter and spring seasons. The MP removal rate of WWTPs ranged between 71.