Not a general, symptom-unspecific, transdiagnostic marker for functional symptoms: sensorimotor processing of head control is intact in chronic pain.

Introduction: Functional disorders are prevalent in all medical fields and pose a tremendous public health problem, with pain being one of the most common functional symptoms. Understanding the underlying, potentially unifying mechanism in functional (pain) disorders is instrumental in facilitating timely diagnosis, stigma reduction, and adequate treatment options. Neuroscientific models of perception suggest that functional symptoms arise due to dysregulated sensorimotor processing in the central nervous system, with brain-based predictions dominating the eventual percept.

Transmembrane Protein CMTM6 Alleviates Ocular Inflammatory Response and Improves Corneal Epithelial Barrier Function in Experimental Dry Eye.

Purpose: To investigate the impact of transmembrane protein CMTM6 on the pathogenesis of dry eye disease (DED) and elucidate its potential mechanisms.

Methods: CMTM6 expression was confirmed by database analysis, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blot, and immunohistochemistry. Tear secretion was measured using the phenol red thread test.

Detection of tactile-based error-related potentials (ErrPs) in human-robot interaction.

Robot learning based on implicitly extracted error detections (e.g., EEG-based error detections) has been well-investigated in human-robot interaction (HRI).

Axial length to corneal radius of curvature ratio and refractive error in Chinese preschoolers aged 4-6 years: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the associations of axial length to corneal radius of curvature (AL/CRC) ratio with refractive error and to determine the effect of AL/CRC ratio on hyperopia reserve and myopia assessment among Chinese preschoolers.

Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study that evaluated subjects aged 4-6 years. AL and CRC were obtained using a non-contact ocular biometer.

Discovery of adjuvants with antibacterial potentiation activity against carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales based on in silico virtual screening.

Bacterial multi-drug resistance has become a concern worldwide, especially after the emergence of carbapenemases. Adjuvants with antibacterial potentiation activity can resensitise drug-resistant strains to carbapenems. However, only a few adjuvants with antibacterial potentiation activity are currently available in clinical practice.

The diagnostic, therapeutic, and ethical impact of artificial intelligence in modern medicine.

In the evolution of modern medicine, artificial intelligence (AI) has been proven to provide an integral aspect of revolutionizing clinical diagnosis, drug discovery, and patient care. With the potential to scrutinize colossal amounts of medical data, radiological and histological images, and genomic data in healthcare institutions, AI-powered systems can recognize, determine, and associate patterns and provide impactful insights that would be strenuous and challenging for clinicians to detect during their daily clinical practice. The outcome of AI-mediated search offers more accurate, personalized patient diagnoses, guides in research for new drug therapies, and provides a more effective multidisciplinary treatment plan that can be implemented for patients with chronic diseases.

Advances in Material-Based Strategies for Diabetic Bone Regeneration.

Increased bone fragility and poor bone healing are common and serious complications of diabetes, especially in elderly patients. Long-term hyperglycemia often leads to serious infection and nonunion. Diabetes brings changes to bone microenvironment, including imbalanced immunity, disorder of macrophage polarization, deterioration of microvascular system, excessive advanced glycation end products, reactive oxygen species (ROS), local high levels of glucose, and great tendency to infection.

Air pollution and the risk of incident chronic kidney disease in patients with diabetes: An exposure-response analysis.

Impact of air pollution on incident chronic kidney disease (CKD) in diabetic patients is insufficiently studied. We aimed to examine exposure-response associations of PM, PM, PM, NO, and NO with incident CKD in diabetic patients in the UK. We also widened exposure level of PM and examined PM-CKD association in diabetic patients across the entire range of global concentration.

Determinants of survival of adolescents receiving antiretroviral therapy in the Centre Region of Cameroon: a multi-centered cohort-analysis.

Background: In spite of the global decreasing mortality associated with HIV, adolescents living with HIV (ADLHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa still experience about 50% mortality rate. We sought to evaluate survival rates and determinants of mortality amongst ADLHIV receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in urban and rural settings.

Methods: A multi-centered, 10-year retrospective, cohort-study including ADLHIV on ART ≥ 6 months in the urban and rural settings of the Centre Region of Cameroon.

Symptoms in unilateral vestibular hypofunction are associated with number of catch-up saccades and retinal error: results from the population-based KORA FF4 study.

Objective: The presence and intensity of symptoms vary in patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction. We aimed to determine which saccadic and vestibulo-ocular reflex parameters best predict the presence of symptoms in unilateral vestibular hypofunction in order to better understand vestibular compensation and its implications for rehabilitation therapy.

Methods: Video head impulse test data were analyzed from a subpopulation of 23 symptomatic and 10 currently symptom-free participants with unilateral vestibular hypofunction, embedded in the KORA (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg) FF4 study, the second follow-up of the KORA S4 population-based health survey (2,279 participants).

A pyroptosis-related gene expression signature predicts immune microenvironment and prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a highly heterogeneous and aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis. Pyroptosis triggered by gasdermins family proteins is reported vital for tumor microenvironment and cancer progression. However, pyroptosis-related gene expression and its relationship with immune infiltration and prognosis of HNSCC have not been fully defined.

Cardiac murmur grading and risk analysis of cardiac diseases based on adaptable heterogeneous-modality multi-task learning.

Cardiovascular disease (CVDs) has become one of the leading causes of death, posing a significant threat to human life. The development of reliable Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted diagnosis algorithms for cardiac sounds is of great significance for early detection and treatment of CVDs. However, there is scarce research in this field.

Development and Clinical Application of Artificial Intelligence Assistant System for Rotator Cuff Ultrasound Scanning.

Objective: We developed an intelligent assistance system for shoulder ultrasound imaging, incorporating deep-learning algorithms to facilitate standard plane recognition and automatic tissue segmentation of the rotator cuff and its surrounding structures. We evaluated the system's performance using a dedicated data set of rotator cuff ultrasound images to assess its feasibility in clinical practice.

Methods: To fulfill the system's primary functions, we designed a standard plane recognition module based on the ResNet50 network and an automatic tissue segmentation module using the Mask R-CNN model.

Neural mechanisms of sequential dependence in time perception: the impact of prior task and memory processing.

Our perception and decision-making are susceptible to prior context. Such sequential dependence has been extensively studied in the visual domain, but less is known about its impact on time perception. Moreover, there are ongoing debates about whether these sequential biases occur at the perceptual stage or during subsequent post-perceptual processing.

The use of combination therapy for the improvement of colistin activity against bacterial biofilm.

Colistin is used as a last resort for the management of infections caused by multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria. However, the use of this antibiotic could lead to different side effects, such as nephrotoxicity, in most patients, and the high prevalence of colistin-resistant strains restricts the use of colistin in the clinical setting. Additionally, colistin could induce resistance through the increased formation of biofilm; biofilm-embedded cells are highly resistant to antibiotics, and as with other antibiotics, colistin is impaired by bacteria in the biofilm community.

A Superlong-Acting Growth Hormone-Polypeptide Fusion for Growth Hormone Deficiency Treatment.

Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) is clinically used to treat growth hormone deficiency (GHD). However, daily administration of rhGH is required due to its poor stability and short blood circulation, which causes pains and burdens as well as inconvenience to patients. In this study, a method for genetically fusing rhGH to a thermosensitive polymer of elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) is reported, using which the rhGH-ELP thermosensitive fusion protein can be purified by the thermosensitivity of ELP instead of chromatography.

Bioinformatics and study reveal the roles of microRNA-346 in high glucose-induced human retinal pigment epithelial cell damage.

Aim: To study microRNAs (miRNAs) and their potential effects in high glucose-induced human retinal pigment epithelial cell damage.

Methods: We screened the GSE52233 miRNA expression dataset for differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs). The target genes of the top 10 DEMs were predicted using miRWalk 2.

A Single NIR-II Laser-Triggered Self-Enhancing Photo/Enzyme-coupled Three-in-One Nanosystems for Breast Cancer Phototheranostics.

Multifunctional phototheranostics, employing precise and non-invasive techniques, is widely developed to enhance theranostic efficiency of breast cancer (BC), reduce side-effects, and improve quality of life. Integrating all phototheranostic modalities into a single photosensitizer for highly effective BC treatment is particularly challenging due to the potential inefficiency and time consumption associated with repeated switching of multiple-wavelength lasers. Herein, a novel single NIR-II laser-triggered three-in-one nanosystem(PdCu NY) is rationally designed, which enables dual-modal (NIR-II FL/NIR-II PA) imaging-guided self-enhancing photothermal-photodynamic therapy (PTT-PDT) in NIR-II window.

Analysis of virulence genes sequencing of Serratia marcescens in iraqi hospitals.

Analysis of virulence genes (PhlA, ShlA, FlhD) sequencing of Serratia marcescens including collection of two hundred twenty samples from sputum & wound infection of the period from April-June in 2021 of the patients in some hospitals in Baghdad - Iraq. These specimens were collected from central hospitals in Iraq. After laboratory diagnosis of these specimens by detecting morphological and biochemical tests on bacteria that were cultured on selective and enriched media, VITEK- 2 compact system.

Shark fish oil prevents scopolamine-induced memory impairment in an experimental model.

Fish oil has been known for its antioxidant, cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective characteristics due to the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are essential for optimal brain function and mental health. The present study investigated the effect of Carcharhinus Bleekeri (Shark Fish) oil on learning and memory functions in scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats. Locomotor and memory-enhancing activity in scopolamine-induced amnesic rats was investigated by assessing the open field and passive avoidance paradigm.

The effect of geometrical parameters of skin brachytherapy patch source on depth dose distribution using Monte Carlo simulation.

Brachytherapy of superficial skin tumors using beta-emitting sources is a method that has been investigated by some researchers in both simulation and experimental studies with promising results. In the current study, the effect of geometrical parameters of some relevant radionuclides including Y-90, Re-188, P-32, and Ho-166 on the depth dose distribution in skin tissue has been investigated through Monte Carlo simulation. MCNPX Monte Carlo code was employed to model the above-mentioned patch sources in cylindrical format and then the effect of patch geometrical parameters including the source-to-skin distance (SSD), patch thickness, and patch diameter on depth dose distribution was assessed through modeling and calculation of the dose inside a cubic phantom mimicking the skin tissue.