Assessing the risk of heart failure in type 2 diabetes: a prediction algorithm to sustain the evaluation of NT-proBNP in primary care.

Purpose: Heart failure (HF) is a disease that leads to approximately 300,000 fatalities annually in Europe and 250,000 deaths each year in the United States. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a significant risk factor for HF, and testing for N-terminal (NT)-pro hormone BNP (NT-proBNP) can aid in early detection of HF in T2DM patients. We therefore developed and validated the HFriskT2DM-HScore, an algorithm to predict the risk of HF in T2DM patients, so guiding NT-proBNP investigation in a primary care setting.

DDGemb: predicting protein stability change upon single- and multi-point variations with embeddings and deep learning.

Motivation: The knowledge of protein stability upon residue variation is an important step for functional protein design and for understanding how protein variants can promote disease onset. Computational methods are important to complement experimental approaches and allow a fast screening of large datasets of variations.

Results: In this work we present DDGemb, a novel method combining protein language model embeddings and transformer architectures to predict protein ΔΔG upon both single- and multi-point variations.

Effectiveness of cognitive functional therapy (CFT) for chronic spinal pain: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of cognitive functional therapy (CFT) in reducing disability and pain compared to other interventions in chronic spinal pain patients.

Methods: Five databases were queried to October 2023 for retrieving randomized controlled trials (RCTs), including patients with chronic spinal pain and administering CFT. Primary outcomes were disability and pain.

Fat vs. Sugar: The Case for a Saturated Fat Tax in Italy.

When judging the distributional impact of unhealthy food taxes, what matters is not just how much low income people would pay but how much the such taxes would benefit or harm them overall. In this paper, we assess the consumer welfare impact of a fat tax net of its expected benefits computed as savings from weight loss. Using Italian data, we estimate a censored Exact Affine Stone Index (EASI) incomplete demand system for food groups, simulating changes in purchases, calorie intake, consumer welfare, and the monetary value of short-run health benefits.

Preliminary Evidence for Perturbation-Based tACS-EEG Biomarkers of Gamma Activity in Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by impaired inhibitory circuitry and GABAergic dysfunction, which is associated with reduced fast brain oscillations in the gamma band (γ, 30-90 Hz) in several animal models. Investigating such activity in human patients could lead to the identification of novel biomarkers of diagnostic and prognostic value. The current study aimed to test a multimodal "Perturbation-based" transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation-Electroencephalography (tACS)-EEG protocol to detect how responses to tACS in AD patients correlate with patients' clinical phenotype.

Evaluation of polygenic risk scores for hormones and receptors levels in patients with vestibulodynia: a case-control study.

Background: Vulvodynia is a multifactorial disease affecting 7%-16% of reproductive-aged women in general population; however, little is still known about the genetics underlying this complex disease.

Aim: To compare polygenic risk scores for hormones and receptors levels in a case-control study to investigate their role in vulvodynia and their correlation with clinical phenotypes.

Methods: Our case-control study included patients with vestibulodynia (VBD) and healthy women.

Combining an Anterolateral Complex Procedure With Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Reduces Graft Reinjury Without Increasing the Rate of Complications: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Anterolateral ligament reconstruction (ALLR) or lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET) has been used more frequently in conjunction with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) in recent years. However, there are still concerns that these procedures may lead to complications such as overconstraint of the lateral compartment, stiffness, infections, tunnel convergence, and other intra- and postoperative complications because of increased surgical time and the need for additional procedures.

Hypothesis/purpose: The lateral extra-articular procedure will reduce the failure rate of reconstructed ACLs without increasing the number of complications.

Antimicrobial resistance in wild game mammals: a glimpse into the contamination of wild habitats in a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Wild game meat has over the years gained popularity across the globe as it is considered a food source with high protein content, low fat content, and a balanced composition of fatty acids and minerals, which are requirements for a healthy diet. Despite this popularity, there is a concern over its safety as many species of wildlife are reservoirs of zoonotic diseases including those of bacterial origin, more so antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Methods: This study aimed to describe the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in mammalian wild game, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

A UK population-based case-control study of blood tests before cancer diagnosis in patients with non-specific abdominal symptoms.

Background: Abnormal results in commonly used primary care blood tests could be early markers of cancer in patients presenting with non-specific abdominal symptoms.

Methods: Using linked data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and national cancer registry we compared blood test use and abnormal results from the 24-months pre-diagnosis in 10,575 cancer patients (any site), and 52,875 matched-controls aged ≥30 presenting, with abdominal pain or bloating to primary care.

Results: Cancer patients had two-fold increased odds of having a blood test (odds ratio(OR):1.

Nighttime light extent and intensity explain the dynamics of human activity in coastal zones.

Studying human activity in coastal areas is crucial for urban planning, sustainability, and economic development. However, there is limited evidence of ongoing monitoring of human activities in these areas. Thus, a quantitative analysis of the spatio-temporal changes, trends, and variability of Nighttime light (NTL) in the Italian Coastal Zone over the past decade (2014-2023) was conducted to assess human activity dynamics.

A membrane-targeted photoswitch restores physiological ON/OFF responses to light in the degenerate retina.

The lack of effective therapies for visual restoration in Retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration has led to the development of new strategies, such as optogenetics and retinal prostheses. However, visual restoration is poor due to the massive light-evoked activation of retinal neurons, regardless of the segregation of visual information in ON and OFF channels, which is essential for contrast sensitivity and spatial resolution. Here, we show that Ziapin2, a membrane photoswitch that modulates neuronal capacitance and excitability in a light-dependent manner, is capable of reinstating, in mouse and rat genetic models of photoreceptor degeneration, brisk and sluggish ON, OFF, and ON-OFF responses in retinal ganglion cells evoked by full-field stimuli, with reactivation of their excitatory and inhibitory conductances.

The North American Repository for Archaeological Isotopes.

Here, we present the North American Repository for Archaeological Isotopes (NARIA), the largest open-access compilation of previously reported isotopic measurements (n = 28,374) from bioarchaeological samples in North America (i.e., Canada, Greenland, Mexico, and the United States of America) covering a time-frame of more than 12,000 years.

Nutrition Care in Cancer: An Overlooked Part of Patient-Centered Care.

Objectives: Robust evidence highlights the crucial role of nutrition for people with cancer, and international organizations recognize it as a basic human right linked to health and food. Within this context, we aim to emphasize the critical role of nutrition care for cancer patients and to highlight the essential contributions of nurses in providing patient-centered nutrition care.

Methods: This opinion paper synthesizes evidence and perspectives from peer-reviewed articles and position papers.

System identification and fault reconstruction in solar plants via extended Kalman filter-based training of recurrent neural networks.

This article proposes using the extended Kalman filter (EKF) for recurrent neural network (RNN) training and fault estimation within a parabolic-trough solar plant. The initial step involves employing an RNN to model the system. Given the challenge of fault discernibility in the collectors, parallel EKFs are employed to reconstruct the parameters of the faults.

Evaluation of a context-aware chatbot using retrieval-augmented generation for answering clinical questions on medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw.

The potential of large language models (LLMs) in medical applications is significant, and Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) can address the weaknesses of these models in terms of data transparency and scientific accuracy by incorporating current scientific knowledge into responses. In this study, RAG and GPT-4 by OpenAI were applied to develop GuideGPT, a context aware chatbot integrated with a knowledge database from 449 scientific publications designed to provide answers on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). A comparison was made with a generic LLM ("PureGPT") across 30 MRONJ-related questions.

Loss of Insight in Syndromes Associated with Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration: Clinical and Imaging Features.

Objectives: The present study aims to assess the prevalence, associated clinical symptoms, longitudinal changes, and imaging correlates of Loss of Insight (LOI), which is still unexplored in syndromes associated with Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD).

Design: Retrospective longitudinal cohort study, from Oct 2009 to Feb 2023.

Setting: Tertiary Frontotemporal Dementia research clinic.

Semi-closed-circuit vacuum-assisted mini percutaneous cystolithotomy (vamPCL) in the pediatric population: Initial experience of a novel technique in native and augmented bladders.

Introduction: Bladder stones (BS) in children are a rare condition and represent 1-5 % of all urinary tract stones. With advances in miniaturized endoscopes and intracorporeal lithotripters, percutaneous cystolithotomy has been demonstrated to be an effective, safe and quick technique, despite the longer operative time. This limitation may be overcome by a semi-closed-circuit vacuum-assisted technology (vamPCL), characterized by a continuous inflow and a suction-controlled outflow (ClearPetra®).

Short and Long-Term Outcomes of Lung Transplantation from Brain Death vs. Circulatory Death Donors: A Meta-analysis of Comparative Studies.

Objectives: To investigate through a meta-analysis of comparative studies the impact of donor type (brain death DBD vs circulatory death DCD) on the short- and long-term outcomes of lung transplantation(LTx).

Methods: Literature search (terms "lung transplantation" AND "donation after circulatory death") was performed up to July 2022 and studies comparing outcomes of LTx from DCD versus DBD were selected. Primary endpoints were early and long-term mortality.

Applying artificial intelligence to uncover the genetic landscape of coagulation factors.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly advancing our ability to identify and interpret genetic variants associated with coagulation factor deficiencies. This review introduces AI, with a specific focus on machine learning (ML) methods, and examines its applications in the field of coagulation genetics over the past decade. We observed a significant increase in AI-related publications, with a focus on hemophilia A and B.