When do we find a third neural response to visual symmetry?

The human visual system is tuned to symmetry, and the neural response to visual symmetry has been well studied. One line of research measures an Event Related Potential (ERP) component called the Sustained Posterior Negativity (SPN). Amplitude is more negative at posterior electrodes when participants see symmetrical patterns compared to asymmetrical patterns.

Rad4XCNN: A new agnostic method for post-hoc global explanation of CNN-derived features by means of Radiomics.

Background And Objective: In recent years, machine learning-based clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have played a key role in the analysis of several medical conditions. Despite their promising capabilities, the lack of transparency in AI models poses significant challenges, particularly in medical contexts where reliability is a mandatory aspect. However, it appears that explainability is inversely proportional to accuracy.

A novel lightweight deep learning based approaches for the automatic diagnosis of gastrointestinal disease using image processing and knowledge distillation techniques.

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) diseases pose significant challenges for healthcare systems, largely due to the complexities involved in their detection and treatment. Despite the advancements in deep neural networks, their high computational demands hinder their practical use in clinical environments.

Objective: This study aims to address the computational inefficiencies of deep neural networks by proposing a lightweight model that integrates model compression techniques, ConvLSTM layers, and ConvNext Blocks, all optimized through Knowledge Distillation (KD).

A Phase 2b, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravenous prasinezumab in early-stage Parkinson's disease (PADOVA): Rationale, design, and baseline data.

Introduction: Prasinezumab was shown to potentially delay motor progression in individuals with early-stage Parkinson's disease (PD) who were either treatment-naïve or on monoamine oxidase type B inhibitor (MAO-Bi) therapy in the PASADENA study. We report the rationale, design, and baseline patient characteristics of the PADOVA study, designed to evaluate prasinezumab in an early-stage PD population receiving standard-of-care (SOC) symptomatic medications.

Methods: PADOVA (NCT04777331) is a Phase 2b, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study, in which individuals with early-stage PD on SOC stable symptomatic monotherapy (levodopa or MAO-Bi) receive intravenous prasinezumab 1500 mg every 4 weeks.

Established and novel insights to guide cancer assessment in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.

Objective: Older age, dermatomyositis, and specific serum autoantibodies such as anti-TIF1-γ are associated with higher cancer risk in patients with myositis. We evaluated a vast cohort of patients with myositis for the prevalence of cancer, the association to disease features, and the performance of the recent IMACS guidelines.

Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis was performed and in all cases serum autoantibodies were tested using HEp-2, immunoassays, RNA- and protein-immunoprecipitation.

BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations testing in prostate cancer: Detection in formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) and blood samples.

Prostate cancer (PC) represents one of the leading causes of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in men, requiring further understanding to improve diagnosis and treatment. Germline BRCA1/2 mutations, primarily identified in other hereditary cancers, confer an increased risk of developing PC; thus, testing is essential to assess cancer risk, guiding preventive strategies and screening. Recently, somatic BRCA1/2 mutations have emerged as pivotal predictive biomarkers of responsiveness to the poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors.

CAR-T cell therapy for breast cancer: Current status and future perspective.

Within the expanding therapeutic landscape for breast cancer (BC), metastatic breast cancer (MBC) remains virtually incurable and tend to develop resistance to conventional treatments ultimately leading to metastatic progression and death. Cellular immunotherapy (CI), particularly chimeric antigen receptor-engineered T (CAR-T) cells, has emerged as a promising approach for addressing this challenge. In the wake of their striking efficacy against hematological cancers, CAR-T cells have also been used where the clinical need is greatest - in patients with aggressive BCs.

Role of exercise on pain, functional capacity, and inflammatory biomarkers in osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a complex disease that causes pain, stiffness and swelling, limiting function and mobility, thus interfering with daily life and affecting personal, social, and psychological aspects of life.

Objective: To evidence the role of exercise on pain reduction and the effectiveness of one type of training over another in terms of pain, functional capacity, and inflammatory biomarkers in OA.

Methods: Studies retrieved from Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus databases were systematically reviewed.

Cervical stromal invasion and molecular characterization in stage II-IV endometrial cancers.

Objective: The optimal treatment for patients with cervical stromal invasion (CSI) in endometrial cancer (EC) remains unclear. We aimed to test the prognostic role of molecular classification in EC patients with CSI.

Methods: A retrospective, multicenter review of EC patients with CSI was performed.

Impact of resection margin status on recurrence and survival in patients with resectable, borderline resectable, and locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Background: To improve outcomes for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, a complete resection is crucial. However, evidence regarding the impact of microscopically positive surgical margins (R1) on recurrence is conflicting due to varying definitions and limited populations of patients with borderline-resectable and locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Therefore, we aimed to determine the impact of the resection margin status on recurrence and survival in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma stratified by local tumor stage.

β-Catenin/c-Myc Axis Modulates Autophagy Response to Different Ammonia Concentrations.

Ammonia a by-product of nitrogen containing molecules is detoxified by liver into non-toxic urea and glutamine. Impaired ammonia detoxification leads to hyperammonemia. Ammonia has a dual role on autophagy, it acts as inducer at low concentrations and as inhibitor at high concentrations.

Multicenter In-House Evaluation of an Amplicon-Based Next-Generation Sequencing Panel for Comprehensive Molecular Profiling.

Background: Predicting response to targeted cancer therapies increasingly relies on both simple and complex genetic biomarkers. Comprehensive genomic profiling using high-throughput assays must be evaluated for reproducibility and accuracy compared with existing methods.

Methods: This study is a multicenter evaluation of the Oncomine™ Comprehensive Assay Plus (OCA Plus) Pan-Cancer Research Panel for comprehensive genomic profiling of solid tumors.

Evaluation of sleep disorders in children and adolescents affected by Klinefelter syndrome.

Unlabelled: Klinefelter syndrome (KS) is the most common sex chromosomal aneuploidy in males (47,XXY karyotype in 80-90% of cases), primarily characterized by hypergonadotropic hypogonadism and infertility. It encompasses a broad phenotypic spectrum, leading to variability in neurocognitive and psychosocial outcomes among affected individuals. Despite the recognized correlation between KS and various neuropsychiatric conditions, studies investigating potential sleep disorders, particularly in pediatric subjects, are lacking.

Are there atypical sites of IgG4 related disease in head and neck region? Personal experience and literature review.

Purpose: Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a complex systemic fibroinflammatory condition with different clinical manifestations affecting multiple organ systems. Despite its rarity, the disease presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to its mimicry of malignancies and other immune-mediated disorders. The 2019 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism Classification Criteria for IgG4-Related Disease is the current state of art to confirm the diagnosis of IgG4-RD even in the absence of histological analysis.

Old and New Biomarkers in Idiopathic Recurrent Acute Pericarditis (IRAP): Prognosis and Outcomes.

Purpose Of Review: To outline the latest discoveries regarding the utility and reliability of serum biomarkers in idiopathic recurrent acute pericarditis (IRAP), considering recent findings on its pathogenesis. The study highlights the predictive role of these biomarkers in potential short- (cardiac tamponade, recurrences) and long-term complications (constrictive pericarditis, death).

Recent Findings: The pathogenesis of pericarditis has been better defined in recent years, focusing on the autoinflammatory pathway.

Personal interest and attitudes towards oocyte donation practice: a cross-sectional survey among Dutch-speaking young women in Belgium.

Purpose: This survey aimed to assess the public's knowledge and opinions on oocyte donation (OD) among a large, unselected cohort of young Belgian women, and to explore aspects that could be enhanced to promote future OD programs.

Methods: We conducted a quantitative, epidemiological, cross-sectional web-based survey from February 2023 to April 2023. A private questionnaire was distributed to young women (21-30 years) living in Belgium via a digital link.

Ovarian cancer staging and follow-up: updated guidelines from the European Society of Urogenital Radiology female pelvic imaging working group.

Objective: To provide up-to-date European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) guidelines for staging and follow-up of patients with ovarian cancer (OC).

Methods: Twenty-one experts, members of the female pelvis imaging ESUR subcommittee from 19 institutions, replied to 2 rounds of questionnaires regarding imaging techniques and structured reporting used for pre-treatment evaluation of OC patients. The results of the survey were presented to the other authors during the group's annual meeting.

Indications for the addition of a patellofemoral joint arthroplasty following a previous unicondylar knee arthroplasty- a literature review and Delphi consensus.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to establish an international consensus statement on the indications for the addition of a patellofemoral joint arthroplasty (PFJA) in patients with a unicondylar knee arthroplasty (UKA) and symptomatic progression of patellofemoral compartment osteoarthritis.

Materials And Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted, and the results used to inform the development of a statement by an expert working group. This was then evaluated and modified, using a Delphi process, by members of the European Knee Society (EKS).

Automatic 4D mitral valve segmentation from transesophageal echocardiography: a semi-supervised learning approach.

Performing automatic and standardized 4D TEE segmentation and mitral valve analysis is challenging due to the limitations of echocardiography and the scarcity of manually annotated 4D images. This work proposes a semi-supervised training strategy using pseudo labelling for MV segmentation in 4D TEE; it employs a Teacher-Student framework to ensure reliable pseudo-label generation. 120 4D TEE recordings from 60 candidates for MV repair are used.

Percutaneous hallux fusion with calcaneus bone autograft: a retrospective cohort study of clinical and radiographic outcomes.

Background: In the case of end-stage hallux rigidus, first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint arthrodesis is the gold-standard and is traditionally performed via an open approach. However, complications such as nonunion have been reported to be as high as 30%. Recently, there have been reports demonstrating a percutaneous approach to be effective and safe.

Optimized workflow with hybrid (very) high-power short-duration radiofrequency ablation renders point-by-point pulmonary vein isolation as fast and effective as cryoballoon ablation.

Introduction: A hybrid approach with very high-power short-duration (vHPSD) posteriorly and ablation-index guided HPSD (50 W) anteriorly seems to be an optimal balance between efficiency and effectiveness for point-by-point pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). The aim of the current study is to compare vHPSD/HPSD ablation to cryoballoon ablation (CBA) in patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods And Results: In this retrospective single-center study, we identified 110 consecutive patients who underwent their first PVI with either vHPSD/HPSD (n = 54) or CBA (n = 56).

Effect of CFTR modulators Elexacaftor/Tezacaftor/Ivacaftor on lipid metabolism in human bronchial epithelial cells.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a life-threatening hereditary disease resulting from mutations in the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene that encodes a chloride channel essential for ion transport in epithelial cells. Mutations in CFTR, notably the prevalent F508del mutation, impair chloride transport, severely affecting the respiratory system and leading to recurrent infections. Recent therapeutic advancements include CFTR modulators such as ETI, a combination of two correctors (Elexacaftor and Tezacaftor) and a potentiator (Ivacaftor), that can improve CFTR function in patients with the F508del mutation.

Post-mortem diagnosis of septic arthritis by Pasteurella multocida: a case report and literature review of fatal septic arthritis.

The diagnosis of septic arthritis remains challenging in the clinical setting, often leading to a suspicion for medical liability. Our purpose is to describe an unusual case of a post-mortem diagnosis of P. multocida fatal septic arthritis, in a healthy 67-year-old woman presenting with pain in the right shoulder.

Correlation between in vivo imaging and post‑mortem autopsy findings for the medico-legal evaluation of a right hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm as a fatal complication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

A 36-year-old woman diagnosed with complicated cholecystolithiasis underwent elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), then converted to open cholecystectomy because of a massive intraoperative bleeding. Hemostasis was performed with clipping and suturing the source of bleeding. In post-operative period, the patient suffered from persistent anemia associated with hemoperitoneum diagnosed through abdominal CT scanning, in absence of any sign of active bleeding.

Nutritional Strategies for Battling Obesity-Linked Liver Disease: the Role of Medical Nutritional Therapy in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) Management.

Purpose Of Review: This narrative review explores the role of Medical Nutritional Therapy (MNT) in managing Metabolic-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), previously known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. It aims to examine the effectiveness of specific nutritional strategies in preventing and treating this obesity-linked liver disease.

Recent Findings: Emerging evidence underscores the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, low-carbohydrate diets, and intermittent fasting in reducing liver fat, improving insulin sensitivity, and mitigating inflammation.