Amylin analogs for the treatment of obesity without diabetes: present and future.

Introduction: Obesity is a pandemic, linked with increased morbidity including diabetes mellitus (DM) and certain cancer types. Amylin is a major regulatory hormone for satiation and food intake perception in humans. Amylin analogs (pramlintide and cagrilintide) are emerging as promising anti-obesity agents in non-DM subjects.

Coronary Implications of COVID-19.

Patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection carry an increased risk of cardiovascular disease encompassing various implications, including acute myocardial injury or infarction, myocarditis, heart failure, and arrhythmias. A growing volume of evidence correlates SARS-CoV-2 infection with myocardial injury, exposing patients to higher mortality risk. SARS-CoV-2 attacks the coronary arterial bed with various mechanisms including thrombosis/rupture of preexisting atherosclerotic plaque, de novo coronary thrombosis, endotheliitis, microvascular dysfunction, vasculitis, vasospasm, and ectasia/aneurysm formation.

VCd versus VRd in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma: Matched Real-World Analysis from the Balkan Myeloma Study Group (BMSG).

Background: Bortezomib, dexamethasone and cyclophosphamide (VCd) remains a popular regimen, due to its activity and low toxicity, while bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone (VRd) is widely used in US and Europe; both are combined with anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies but VCd and VRd have not been compared directly in adequately powered prospective trials.

Aim: We compared the outcomes of 1216 patients treated with VCd (N = 690) or VRd (N = 526) in a real-world setting.

Results: Patients treated with VCd had more often severe renal dysfunction, ISS-3 disease, hypercalcemia, elevated LDH, anemia, thrombocytopenia, poor performance while VRd-treated were older and received less often autologous transplant but more frequently maintenance but the duration of induction was similar.

Bladder dysfunction following stroke: An updated review on diagnosis and management.

Bladder dysfunction represents a frequent and important clinical problem in stroke patients. The aim of this narrative review was to explore the currently available information regarding the diagnosis and management of bladder dysfunction following stroke. The most common symptoms of bladder dysfunction following stroke are urinary incontinence, urgency, increased frequency, and difficulty voiding.

An exploration of available methods and tools to improve the efficiency of systematic review production: a scoping review.

Background: Systematic reviews (SRs) are time-consuming and labor-intensive to perform. With the growing number of scientific publications, the SR development process becomes even more laborious. This is problematic because timely SR evidence is essential for decision-making in evidence-based healthcare and policymaking.

On complexity of colloid cellular automata.

The colloid cellular automata do not imitate the physical structure of colloids but are governed by logical functions derived from them. We analyze the space-time complexity of Boolean circuits derived from the electrical responses of colloids-specifically ZnO (zinc oxide, an inorganic compound also known as calamine or zinc white, which naturally occurs as the mineral zincite), proteinoids (microspheres and crystals of thermal abiotic proteins), and their combinations in response to electrical stimulation. To extract Boolean circuits from colloids, we send all possible configurations of two-, four-, and eight-bit binary strings, encoded as electrical potential values, to the colloids, record their responses, and infer the Boolean functions they implement.

Evaluation of the influenza-like illness case definition and the acute respiratory infection case definition in the diagnosis of influenza and COVID-19 in healthcare personnel.

Background: To evaluate the influenza-like illness (ILI) and acute respiratory infection (ARI) case definitions in the diagnosis of COVID-19 and influenza in healthcare personnel (HCP).

Methods: We followed a cohort of 5752 HCP from November 2022 to May 2023. Symptomatic HCP were tested for SARS-CoV-2 and influenza by real-time PCR and/or rapid antigen detection test.

Trace elements in two endemic fish species (Barbus strumicae, Karaman 1955 and Squalius оrpheus, Kottelat & Economidis, 2006) of Nestos River (NE Greece): Levels, organ bioaccumulation and potential health risk.

This paper aims to determine the content and bioaccumulation patterns of eight trace elements (Li, Cr, Co, As, Se, Cd, Pb and Hg) and one radioisotope (U) in kidney, liver and muscle tissues of two fish species (Squalius orpheus and Barbus strumicae) from Nestos River (northern Greece), and the potential human health risk due to the fish muscle consumption. Kidney and liver accumulate higher element concentrations, except Hg. The site closer to the river-mouth presents higher concentrations since it receives effluents from agricultural activities.

Colon Cancer Cells Treated with Lacticaseibacillus casei Undergo Apoptosis and Release DAMPs Indicative of Immunogenic Cell Death.

Probiotic bacteria, and especially lactic acid bacteria, have long been known to wield a variety of health-beneficial effects, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and anticancer activities. However, our understanding of the mechanisms involved in these activities remains incomplete. In this study, we wished to investigate the processes that give rise to the anticancer activity of Lacticaseibacillus casei ATCC393 and the possibility that immunogenic cell death of cancer cells can be induced following treatment with this probiotic.

BioTextQuest v2.0: An evolved tool for biomedical literature mining and concept discovery.

The process of navigating through the landscape of biomedical literature and performing searches or combining them with bioinformatics analyses can be daunting, considering the exponential growth of scientific corpora and the plethora of tools designed to mine PubMed(®) and related repositories. Herein, we present BioTextQuest v2.0, a tool for biomedical literature mining.

Optimizing Building Rehabilitation through Nondestructive Evaluation of Fire-Damaged Steel-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete.

Fire incidents pose significant threats to the structural integrity of reinforced concrete buildings, often necessitating comprehensive rehabilitation to restore safety and functionality. Effective rehabilitation of fire-damaged structures relies heavily on accurate damage assessment, which can be challenging with traditional invasive methods. This paper explores the impact of severe damage due to fire exposure on the mechanical behavior of steel-fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) using nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques.

Efficacy of PZT Sensors Network Different Configurations in Damage Detection of Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Prisms under Repeated Loading.

Real-time structural health monitoring (SHM) and accurate diagnosis of imminent damage are critical to ensure the structural safety of conventional reinforced concrete (RC) and fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) structures. Implementations of a piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) sensor network in the critical areas of structural members can identify the damage level. This study uses a recently developed PZT-enabled Electro-Mechanical Impedance (EMI)-based, real-time, wireless, and portable SHM and damage detection system in prismatic specimens subjected to flexural repeated loading plain concrete (PC) and FRC.

Intraovarian Platelet-Rich Plasma Administration for Anovulatory Infertility: Preliminary Findings of a Prospective Cohort Study.

: Infertility constitutes a significant challenge for couples around the world. Ovarian dysfunction, a major cause of infertility, can manifest with anovulatory cycles, elevated follicle-stimulating hormone levels, and diminished ovarian reserve markers such as anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels or the Antral Follicle Count (AFC). Blood-derived therapies including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) have been used in fertility treatments in women with low ovarian reserve or premature ovarian insufficiency.

Kinetics of the Lactate to Albumin Ratio in New Onset Sepsis: Prognostic Implications.

The lactate to albumin ratio (LAR) has been associated with the severity and outcome of critical illness and sepsis. However, there are no studies on the kinetics of the LAR during the early phase of sepsis. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the LAR and its kinetics in critically ill patients with new onset sepsis regarding the severity and outcome of sepsis.

and : Investigating the Prevalence of Zoonotic Parasites in Dogs and Humans in a Hyperenzootic Area.

The mosquito-borne zoonotic nematode parasites and primarily affect dogs. In recent years, their distribution has expanded due to various factors influencing vector-borne pathogens. This study aimed to investigate the comparative prevalence of infection in dogs and humans within a hyperenzootic region of Europe, and to estimate the proportional relationship between infection prevalence in dogs and humans, within the concept of "One Health".

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: A Neglected Relationship?

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is regarded as a major health condition, progressively affecting an increased number of people around the world. The interplay between OSA and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been extensively studied. However, little is known about the relationship between OSA and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).

Standardized Data Elements for Patients With Acute Pulmonary Embolism: A Consensus Report From the Pulmonary Embolism Research Collaborative.

Recent advances in therapy and the promulgation of multidisciplinary pulmonary embolism teams show great promise to improve management and outcomes of acute pulmonary embolism (PE). However, the absence of randomized evidence and lack of consensus leads to tremendous variations in treatment and compromises the wide implementation of new innovations. Moreover, the changing landscape of health care, where quality, cost, and accountability are increasingly relevant, dictates that a broad spectrum of outcomes of care must be routinely monitored to fully capture the impact of modern PE treatment.

Leukemia in pregnancy: Diagnosis and therapeutic approach (Review).

The present study aimed to evaluate the epidemiological, diagnostic and therapeutic data of hematological malignancies in pregnancy. Leukemia in pregnancy is rare, and literature data are not extensive. Risk factors, epidemiology and pathogenesis of these diseases are not fully developed.