A morpho-histological analysis of the exoskeleton of (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) reveals insights into the taxonomy of Clathrozoellidae and Hydroidolina.

The taxonomic complexity of the families Clathrozoidae and Clathrozoellidae, rooted in early 20th-century hydroid descriptions, highlights the need for comprehensive and detailed morphological analyses. This study aimed to elucidate the histology of the polypoid stage of Peña Cantero, Vervoort & Watson, 2003, with a particular emphasis on its exoskeletal structure. Specimens from the National Museum of Natural History were examined histologically using different staining techniques.

Shallow groove technique in sextant pattern femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery.

Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) is a useful technology for anterior segment surgery that creates cleavage planes via photodisruption of ocular tissue. Compared to conventional cataract surgery, FLACS has been thought to potentially improve surgical precision, accuracy, and reproducibility. Its introduction into cataract surgery has enabled the development of new techniques and has been purported to be potentially beneficial in improving surgical safety and providing quicker visual rehabilitation.

Challenging Extraction and Replacement of an Eight-year-old Nanostim Leadless Pacemaker and AVEIR Implant.

Leadless pacemakers (LPs) are emerging options for bradyarrhythmias. However, extraction can be risky if the device is in an unfavorable position. We present a challenging case of a Nanostim LP (NLP) (Abbott Medical Inc.

An integrated methodological framework for the validation and verification of clinical testing by qRT-PCR.

This paper outlines a practical method for validating quantitative-qualitative techniques used to detect genetic material through qRT-PCR, specifically focusing on SARS-CoV-2 testing and adhering to ISO/IEC 17025:2018 accreditation standards. Despite the prevalence of quantitative-qualitative screening in genetic testing, comprehensive validation guidelines remain a notable gap in the field. Such guidelines could be applied to other molecular testing areas that rely on these techniques, particularly those involving sample handling, automated extraction, and amplification processes, which can significantly impact results.

Whole-Genome Methylation Sequencing Analysis and Functional Verification of LIM-Homeobox Family Genes in Cervical Cancer.

Background: Gene methylation in cells is an important factor in tumorigenesis, and radiotherapy can change DNA methylation in cells. In this study, complete genome methylation sequencing (BS-Seq) technology was used to analyze the genome-wide methylation of patients with cervical cancer before and after radiotherapy.

Methods: Three pairs of cervical squamous cell carcinoma samples were collected from patients before and after radiotherapy in July 2020.

Informing a sinusitis clinical trial protocol: A focus group study with clinicians and staff.

This study investigates practicing clinician and staff perspectives on potential protocol modifications for the "Nasal Irrigation, Oral Antibiotics, and Subgroup Targeting for Effective Management of Acute Sinusitis" (NOSES) study, a pragmatic randomized controlled trial aiming at improving acute rhinosinusitis management. Focus groups with clinicians and staff at the pretrial stage recommended expanding participant age inclusion criteria, incorporating patients with COVID-19, and shortening the supportive care phase. Participants also discussed patient engagement and recruitment strategies.

Predicting Mortality in Patients Hospitalized With Acute Myocardial Infarction: From the National Cardiovascular Data Registry.

Background: In-hospital mortality risk prediction is an important tool for benchmarking quality and patient prognostication. Given changes in patient characteristics and treatments over time, a contemporary risk model for patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) is needed.

Methods: Data from 313 825 acute MI hospitalizations between January 2019 and December 2020 for adults aged ≥18 years at 784 sites in the National Cardiovascular Data Registry Chest Pain-MI Registry were used to develop a risk-standardized model to predict in-hospital mortality.

RETRACTION: Long Noncoding RNA LEF1-AS1 Silencing Suppresses the Initiation and Development of Prostate Cancer by Acting as a Molecular Sponge of miR-330-5p via LEF1 Repression.

D.-C. Liu, L.

Development and Validation of a Postprocedure Stroke Screening Tool in Children With Cardiac Disease.

Background: Cardiac catheterization in children with heart disease is associated with an increased risk of arterial ischemic stroke. We created and evaluated the diagnostic performance of a bedside screening tool administered postprocedure to identify arterial ischemic stroke.

Methods: We developed a postprocedure stroke screen comprising history of stroke, responsiveness, command following, speech, facial and limb strength symmetry, new seizure, and caregiver concern.

Prevention and Management of Posterior Wound Complications Following Oncologic Spine Surgery: Narrative Review of Available Evidence and Proposed Clinical Decision-Making Algorithm.

Study Design: Narrative Review.

Objective: Contextualized by a narrative review of recent literature, we propose a wound complication prevention and management algorithm for spinal oncology patients. We highlight available strategies and motivate future research to identify optimal and individualized wound management for this population.

Impact of chronic painful temporomandibular disorders on quality of life.

Temporomandibular Disorders (TMDs) are pathologies based on multifactorial etiology and a biopsychosocial model, where anxiety becomes one of the most important psychological factors as it is the most frequent symptom presented in most of the population at some point in life. Taking into account the need for a multidisciplinary approach, we set out to evaluate the possible impact of orofacial pain on patients' quality of life. In this study, the sample population FROM the Medical School of the University of Coimbra (Portugal) was evaluated using two tools: Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorder (DC/TMD) and an adaptation of the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory.

Neuropathic pain characteristics in patients with pain-related temporomandibular disorders.

In orofacial pain patients, pain-related temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and neuropathic pain (NP) can both be present. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine whether in patients with orofacial pain, associations can be found between (subdiagnoses of) pain-related TMD and NP. Participants were asked to fill in the questionnaires of the Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (DC/TMD) and a screening questionnaire for NP, the Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4).

Safety, efficacy, and mechanism of action of the temporo-masseteric nerve block.

The objective of the study was to assess the utility and safety of Temporo-masseteric Nerve Block (TMNB), and to explore the mechanism for its apparent sustained pain relief. This manuscript describes, (1) a retrospective study evaluating pain reduction in patients who received the TMNB injection for the management of masticatory myogeneous pain (myalgia, per Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD criteria)), and (2) a motor nerve conduction study (NCS) of the temporalis and masseter, performed in the absence of signs or symptoms of TMD, before and after the TMNB injection. The results were as follows.

Axis I diagnosis profile according to the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD): comparison between hospital-based orofacial pain clinic and dental academic-based orofacial pain clinic.

Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is considered a complex disorder that follows the biopsychosocial model. The current study aimed to explore the effect of clinic location and referring physicians on the distribution of Axis I diagnoses according to the Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (DC/TMD). Eighty-eight patients from a dental school Orofacial Pain Clinic (DentalOFP) and 104 patients from a hospital Orofacial Pain Clinic (HospitalOFP) were examined by the same dentist who was certified as a DC/TMD examiner and compared.

Tell me what to expect: how instructions affect the pain response of patients with chronic myofascial pain with referral.

The aims of the study are to analyze the influence of pain and no pain expectations on the physiological (electromyography (EMG) and pupillometry) and cognitive (Numerical Rating Scale (NRS)) response to pain. Pain expectation and no pain expectation situations were induced by employing instructional videos. The induction of pain was performed by palpating the masseter with an algometer in a sample of 2 groups: 30 healthy participants (control group) and 30 patients (Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) group) with chronic myofascial pain with referral in the masseter muscle (Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Dissorders (DC/TMD)).

Prevalence of central sensitization and somatization in adults with temporomandibular disorders-a prospective observational study.

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) comprise a group of conditions affecting the masticatory muscles, the temporomandibular joints and associated structures, often manifesting as orofacial pain and functional limitations of the mandible. Central sensitization (CS) is gaining increasing attention in research focused on pain syndromes and somatization, playing a significant role in the pain experience. This study investigates the prevalence of CS and somatization among TMD patients, analyzing their relationships with TMD diagnoses and the intensity of chronic masticatory muscle pain (MMP).

UV Light Exposure Induces a Type I Interferon Dependent Activation and Migration of Inflammatory Dendritic Cells to Local Lymph Nodes.

Objective: Photosensitivity occurs in ~75% of lupus patients. Although ultraviolet light radiation (UVR) stimulates Type I interferon (IFN-I) in the skin, how UVR induced skin inflammation leads to downstream effects is poorly understood. Tissue inflammation causes DC to migrate from organs to draining lymph nodes (dLN) including a recently identified inflammatory DC subset (inf cDC2) that are potent antigen presenting cells.

Associations of fire smoke and other pollutants with incident rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease.

Objective: Determine whether pollutants such as fire smoke-related particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM) are associated with incident rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and RA-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD).

Methods: This case-control study used Veterans Affairs data 10/1/2009-12/31/2018.

Guselkumab: A New Therapeutic Option for the Treatment of Moderately to Severely Active Ulcerative Colitis.

Objective: To summarize the evidence and pharmacologic profile of guselkumab for moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC).

Data Sources: A PubMed search from inception to end of October 2024 using keywords was conducted. Additional information was obtained from abstracts and package insert.

Proteomic signature of HIV-associated subclinical left atrial remodeling and incident heart failure.

People living with HIV are at higher risk of heart failure and associated left atrial remodeling compared to people without HIV. Mechanisms are unclear but have been linked to inflammation and premature aging. Here we obtain plasma proteomics concurrently with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in two independent study populations to identify parallels between HIV-related and aging-related immune dysfunction that could contribute to atrial remodeling and clinical heart failure.

Time to weight plateau with tirzepatide treatment in the SURMOUNT-1 and SURMOUNT-4 clinical trials.

The rate of weight reduction during obesity treatment declines over time and eventually reaches a weight plateau. We investigated factors associated with time to weight plateau (TTWP) in tirzepatide-treated participants with obesity or overweight in a post-hoc analysis of SURMOUNT-1 and SURMOUNT-4 trials. Participants adherent to tirzepatide treatment and achieving ≥5% weight loss by primary endpoint (week 72 SURMOUNT-1; week 88 SURMOUNT-4) were included.

Evaluation of the effects of occlusal splint and masseter muscle injection in patients with myofascial pain: a randomised controlled trial.

Myofascial pain is one of the common symptoms in patients with temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD). Occlusal splint (OS) and masticatory muscle trigger point (TP) local injections are primary treatment options. We aimed to investigate the effects of these treatments using clinical and elastography measures.

Prevalence of self-medication among university students diagnosed with temporomandibular disorders.

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) usually affect the stomatognathic system and can be symptomatic. Patients often self-medicate to relieve symptoms, and this can increase the risk of complications such as adverse drug reactions, overdose, physical and psychological dependence, and delay of appropriate treatment. It is important for dentists to know the prevalence of self-medication to investigate this condition in their patients, thus the primary aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of self-medication among university students with no TMD, non-painful TMD and painful TMD and the secondary aim was to assess association with independent factors.

The associations of the diagnostic criterion pain modified by function with functional limitation and behavioral frequency.

The aim is to assess the associations of jaw functional limitation and jaw overuse behavior with pain modified by function as a required diagnostic criterion for painful temporomandibular disorders. This cross-sectional study from the TMJ Impact Project utilized secondary data analyses of 249 participants who met the inclusion criteria of having facial pain in the prior 30 days and valid responses to the pain modified by function (Items 4A-D derived from the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) Symptom Questionnaire). Independent -tests (alpha = 0.

Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia Part II: Etiopathogenesis and Management.

Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia (FFA) poses a distinct dermatological challenge with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) at its core, driving follicular cell transformation and fibrotic changes. Genetic studies highlight significant associations, while environmental triggers, such as implicated cosmetic products (sunblock, personal hair care products, and moisturizers), introduce complexity. Managing FFA proves daunting due to its chronic and unpredictable nature.