The Epidemiology, Clinical, and Economic Burdens of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections Amongst Hospitalized Children Under 5 Years of Age in Jordan: A National Multi-Center Cross-Sectional Study.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been recognized as a highly important cause of morbidity and mortality among children and adults. A cross-sectional study at representative sites in Jordan was undertaken to provide an assessment of the epidemiology and health and economic burdens of RSV and influenza infections in Jordan amongst hospitalized children under 5 years old for the period between 15 November 2022 and 14 April 2023. This study involved 1000 patients with a mean age of 17.

A Psychosocial Critique of the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic on UK Care Home Staff Attitudes to the Flu Vaccination: A Qualitative Longitudinal Study.

Vaccinating care home staff is essential to protect vulnerable residents by reducing infection risks and creating a safer care environment. However, vaccine hesitancy amongst staff remains a challenge, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about side effects and vaccination mandates. This study examines how the pandemic influenced flu vaccine hesitancy amongst UK care home staff.

COVID-19 Vaccination and Transient Increase in CD4/CD8 Cell Counts in People with HIV: Evidence from China.

: Accumulating evidence has confirmed the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on immuno-virological parameters in people with HIV (PWH) is uncertain. : A total of 372 PWH treated at Beijing Ditan Hospital were included.

Dietary Patterns, Serum BDNF and Fatty Acid Profiles in Physically Active Male Young Adults: A Cluster Analysis Study.

Although physical activity and balanced diet may increase peripheral brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentration, little is known about whether these factors modify BDNF content in physically active individuals and whether the serum fatty acid (FA) profile is related. This study aimed to evaluate quality of diet, identify specific dietary patterns and assess their influence on BDNF and FA levels in serum. It is hypothesized that there is a correlation between diet quality and the concentrations of BDNF and FA in the serum of physically active male individuals.

Predictive Feasibility of the Graz Malnutrition Screening, Controlling Nutritional Status Score, Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index, and Prognostic Nutritional Index for Postoperative Long-Term Mortality After Surgically Treated Proximal Femur Fracture.

Background: Hip fractures are a prevalent and serious health issue, particularly among the elderly population aged >65 years. These injuries are associated with elevated rates of postoperative complications and mortality, significantly diminishing patients' quality of life in both the short- and long-term. The prognosis for recovery is further exacerbated in individuals with signs of malnutrition.

Nerelimomab Alleviates Capsaicin-Induced Acute Lung Injury by Inhibiting TNF Signaling and Apoptosis.

Capsaicin is commonly used as a flavoring and a riot control agent. However, long-term exposure or high doses can cause acute lung injury in military and police personnel. The mechanisms underlying capsaicin-induced pulmonary toxicity remain unclear.

Sphaeropsidin A Loaded in Liposomes to Reduce Its Cytotoxicity and Preserve Antifungal Activity Against .

species constitute the most common cause of fungal infections in humans; the emergence of resistance and biofilm formation by species further threaten the limited availability of antifungal agents. Over the past decade, . has caused significant outbreaks worldwide and has emerged as a human pathogenic fungus that causes diseases ranging from superficial to life-threatening disseminated infections.

Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activity of Extracts Obtained by Supercritical Fluid Extraction Under Various Extraction Conditions.

Sustainable management of agri-food product safety presents a major challenge requiring extensive action to ensure food safety and consumer health. The pursuit of environmentally friendly solutions that will constitute an alternative to the chemical compounds commonly used in agriculture and the food industries is one of the most important problems. One solution is plant extracts containing various biologically active compounds and exhibiting antimicrobial activity.

Exploring the Link Between Interoception and Symptom Severity in Premature Ventricular Contractions.

: The physiological basis underlying symptomatic versus asymptomatic premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) remains poorly understood. However, symptomatic PVCs can significantly impair quality of life. In patients without structural heart disease, symptom intensity is crucial for guiding management strategies and determining the need for medical or surgical intervention.

Sex and Age Differences in Glucocorticoid Signaling After an Aversive Experience in Mice.

Background: glucocorticoids may play an important role in the formation of fear memory, which is relevant to the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In our previous study, we showed the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) forms a protein complex with FKBP51, which prevents translocation of GR into the nucleus to affect gene expression; this complex is elevated in PTSD patients and by fear-conditioned learning in mice, and disrupting this complex blocks the storage and retrieval of fear-conditioned memories. The timing of release of glucocorticoid relative to the formation of a traumatic memory could be important in this process, and remains poorly understood.

Dynamic Focus on Tumor Boundaries: A Lightweight U-Net for MRI Brain Tumor Segmentation.

Accurate segmentation of brain tumors in MRI scans is critical for diagnosis and treatment planning. Traditional segmentation models, such as U-Net, excel in capturing spatial information but often struggle with complex tumor boundaries and subtle variations in image contrast. These limitations can lead to inconsistencies in identifying critical regions, impacting the accuracy of clinical outcomes.

The Effect of Thigh Muscle Forces on Knee Contact Force in Female Patients with Severe Knee Osteoarthritis.

Thigh muscles greatly influence knee joint loading, and abnormal loading significantly contributes to the progression of knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Muscle weakness in KOA patients is common, but the specific contribution of each thigh muscle to joint loading is unclear. The gait data from 10 severe female KOA patients and 10 controls were collected, and the maximum isometric forces of the biceps femoris long head (BFL), semitendinosus (ST), rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), and vastus medialis (VM) were calibrated via ultrasound.

GAN-Based Novel Approach for Generating Synthetic Medical Tabular Data.

The generation of synthetic medical data has become a focal point for researchers, driven by the increasing demand for privacy-preserving solutions. While existing generative methods heavily rely on real datasets for training, access to such data is often restricted. In contrast, statistical information about these datasets is more readily available, yet current methods struggle to generate tabular data solely from statistical inputs.

AutoML-Driven Insights into Patient Outcomes and Emergency Care During Romania's First Wave of COVID-19.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted healthcare systems, affecting patient outcomes and resource allocation. This study applied automated machine learning (AutoML) to analyze key health outputs, such as discharge conditions, mortality, and COVID-19 cases, with the goal of improving responses to future crises.

Methods: AutoML was used to train and validate models on an ICD-10 dataset covering the first wave of COVID-19 in Romania (January-September 2020).

HSF-IBI: A Universal Framework for Extracting Inter-Beat Interval from Heterogeneous Unobtrusive Sensors.

Heartbeat inter-beat interval (IBI) extraction is a crucial technology for unobtrusive vital sign monitoring, yet its precision and robustness remain challenging. A promising approach is fusing heartbeat signals from different types of unobtrusive sensors. This paper introduces HSF-IBI, a novel and universal framework for unobtrusive IBI extraction using heterogeneous sensor fusion.

Lightweight Super-Resolution Techniques in Medical Imaging: Bridging Quality and Computational Efficiency.

Medical imaging plays an essential role in modern healthcare, providing non-invasive tools for diagnosing and monitoring various medical conditions. However, the resolution limitations of imaging hardware often result in suboptimal images, which can hinder the precision of clinical decision-making. Single image super-resolution (SISR) techniques offer a solution by reconstructing high-resolution (HR) images from low-resolution (LR) counterparts, enhancing the visual quality of medical images.

Novel Gene Variants in Chinese Children with Non-Syndromic Tooth Agenesis: A Clinical and Genetic Analysis.

Background: Tooth agenesis is the most frequently occurring genetic developmental anomaly in clinical dentistry. The gene, essential for tooth development, has been associated with non-syndromic tooth agenesis. This study aims to identify novel variants associated with this condition and to understand their impact on tooth development.

Early Alpha-Fetoprotein Response Predicts Sustained Tumor Response Following Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Combined with Targeted Therapy in Liver Cancer.

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have revolutionized liver cancer treatment, some patients experience early tumor progression after therapy, missing the window for other potential treatments, such as neoadjuvant therapy. Therefore, identifying the predictive factors for early progression is critical for timely therapeutic adjustment and the optimization of patient outcomes. This retrospective study enrolled patients with liver cancer who received their first ICI combined with targeted therapy at the Fifth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital between June 2022 and December 2023.

Genetic Variation in Targets of Antidiabetic Drugs and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Risk.

Background: Previous studies have suggested that antidiabetic drug use may be associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, these studies are limited by many confounding and reverse causality biases. We aimed to determine whether antidiabetic drug use has causal effects on ALS.

Cost Analysis Related to Diagnosis, Treatment and Management of Cervical Cancer in Antigua and Barbuda: A Prevalence-Based Cost-of-Illness Study.

Cervical cancer remains a significant public health issue globally. In Antigua and Barbuda, cervical cancer is ranked among the top five most common cancers in terms of incidence and mortality among females. There is no evidence that the costs of diagnosing, treating, and managing this cancer have been studied before in Antigua and Barbuda.

Heart Rate Variability in Relation to Cardiovascular Autonomic Neuropathy Among Patients at an Urban Hospital in Kazakhstan.

In clinical practice, heart rate variability (HRV) has not been considered an indicator for the preventive assessment of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN). The paper studies HRV in a large, randomly selected group. A cross-sectional study included a representative sample of 5707 Kazakhs aged 20 years and older from a total population of 25,454 attached to an urban clinic in the capital of Kazakhstan.

Microbial and Sensory Quality Changes in Broiler Chicken Breast Meat During Refrigerated Storage.

The aim of the study was to assess the bacterial flora of broiler chicken breast meat using the MALDI method, as well as its sensory evaluation while stored refrigerated at a stable temperature (0.5 °C+/-0.5 °C).

An Information-Theoretic Method for Identifying Effective Treatments and Policies at the Beginning of a Pandemic.

Identifying effective treatments and policies early in a pandemic is challenging because only limited and noisy data are available and biological processes are unknown or uncertain. Consequently, classical statistical procedures may not work or require strong structural assumptions. We present an information-theoretic approach that can overcome these problems and identify effective treatments and policies.

Risk Factors, Clinical Characteristics, and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of Keratitis: An 18-Year Retrospective Study from a Tertiary Hospital in China.

Our aim was to investigate risk factors, clinical characteristics, and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of cornea-isolated species collected at a tertiary hospital in China over 18 years. This retrospective study reviewed data from 350 patients diagnosed with keratitis at Beijing Tongren Hospital between January 2006 and December 2023, including demographics, risk factors, clinical signs, in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) imaging, and antibiotic susceptibility testing. The predominant type was (n = 108, 29.

The Phenotype Changes of Astrocyte During Different Ischemia Conditions.

Objectives: Dementia is becoming a major health problem in the world, and chronic brain ischemia is an established important risk factor in predisposing this disease. Astrocytes, as one major part of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), are activated during chronic cerebral blood flow hypoperfusion. Reactive astrocytes have been classified into phenotype pro-inflammatory type A1 or neuroprotective type A2.