Obesity and fibromyalgia are associated with Difficult-to-Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis (D2T-RA) independent of age and gender.

Background: There is still a significant proportion of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in whom multiple therapeutic lines are ineffective. These cases are defined by the EULAR criteria as Difficult-to-Treat RA (D2T-RA) for which there is limited knowledge of predisposing factors.

Objective: To identify the clinical features associated with D2T-RA in real-life practice.

The effect of an app-based dietary education on dietary intake and cardiometabolic risk markers in people with type 2 diabetes: results from a randomized controlled trial.

Background: mHealth, i.e. mobile-health, strategies may be used as a complement to regular care to support healthy dietary habits in primary care patients.

Childhood heart disease and parental emotional wellbeing: a predictive model to explain the perception of quality of life in children and adolescents.

Background: The number of people living with congenital heart disease (CHD) in 2017 was estimated to be 12 million, which was 19% higher than that in 1990. However, their death rate declined by 35%, emphasizing the importance of monitoring their quality of life due to its impact on several patient outcomes. The main objective of this study is to analyze how parents' psychosocial factors contribute to children's and adolescents' perceptions of their QoL, focusing on their medical condition.

Serum Biomarkers in Transthyretin Amyloidosis: An Overview of Neurofilaments, Cardiac, Renal, and Gastrointestinal Involvement.

Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv, v for variant) is a genetic disorder characterized by the deposition of misfolded transthyretin (TTR) protein in tissues, resulting in progressive dysfunction of multiple organs, including the nervous system, heart, kidneys, and gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Noninvasive serum biomarkers have become key tools for diagnosing and monitoring ATTRv. This review examines the role of available biomarkers for neurological, cardiac, renal, gastrointestinal, and multisystemic involvement in ATTRv.

Assessment of choroidal vessels in healthy eyes using 3-dimensional vascular maps and a semi-automated deep learning approach.

To assess the choroidal vessels in healthy eyes using a novel three-dimensional (3D) deep learning approach. In this cross-sectional retrospective study, swept-source OCT 6 × 6 mm scans on Plex Elite 9000 device were obtained. Automated segmentation of the choroidal layer was achieved using a deep-learning ResUNet model along with a volumetric smoothing approach.

Establishing bio-logging data collections as dynamic archives of animal life on Earth.

Rapid growth in bio-logging-the use of animal-borne electronic tags to document the movements, behaviour, physiology and environments of wildlife-offers opportunities to mitigate biodiversity threats and expand digital natural history archives. Here we present a vision to achieve such benefits by accounting for the heterogeneity inherent to bio-logging data and the concerns of those who collect and use them. First, we can enable data integration through standard vocabularies, transfer protocols and aggregation protocols, and drive their wide adoption.

Increased acute-phase reaction after the transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (TOEVA) compared with minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT) for unilateral thyroidectomy.

Purposes: We analyzed the acute-phase response in unilateral thyroidectomy by comparing the transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (TOEVA) with the minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT).

Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to undergo either TOEVA or MIVAT, after we obtained their written informed consent to participate in this study. Blood count, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-) were measured before surgery and then 4, 24, and 48 h after surgery.

Salvia pratensis L. extracts as potential eco-friendly herbicides for sustainable agricultural applications.

The aim of this study is based on the searching of "new" potential environmentally friendly plant based products with herbicidal activity. The purpose of the study is also to find the source which is easy to harvest in high amount within the local environment. Salvia pratensis L.

The two sides of Phobos: Gray and white matter abnormalities in phobic individuals.

Small animal phobia (SAP) is a subtype of specific phobia characterized by an intense and irrational fear of small animals, which has been underexplored in the neuroscientific literature. Previous studies often faced limitations, such as small sample sizes, focusing on only one neuroimaging modality, and reliance on univariate analyses, which produced inconsistent findings. This study was designed to overcome these issues by using for the first time advanced multivariate machine-learning techniques to identify the neural mechanisms underlying SAP.

Estimating pros and cons of statistical downscaling based on EQM bias adjustment as a complementary method to dynamical downscaling.

The increasing availability of coarse-scale climate simulations and the need for ready-to-use high-resolution variables drive the climate community to the challenge of reducing computational resources and time for downscaling purposes. To this end, statistical downscaling is gaining interest as a potential strategy for integrating high-resolution climate information obtained through dynamical downscaling over limited years, providing a clear understanding of the gains and losses in combining dynamical and statistical downscaling. In this regard, several questions can be raised: (i) what is the performance of statistical downscaling, assuming dynamical downscaling as a reference over a shared time window; (ii) how much the performance of statistical downscaling is affected by changes in the number of years available for training; (iii) how does the climate normal considered for the training affect the predictions.

Evaluation of renal functional reserve with oral protein load or new ultrasound test.

Background: Renal functional reserve (RFR) measures the difference between the stimulated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and the baseline GFR to detect early signs of renal functional decline. The protein load test (RFR-T) is the gold standard for RFR assessment but is a complicated procedure. Renal intraparenchymal resistance index (RRI) variation test (DRRI-T) is a non-invasive method to measure renal function reserve using ultrasound.

Pain and the perception of space in fibromyalgia.

The Economy of action hypothesis postulates that bodily states rescale the perception of the individual's environment's spatial layout. The estimation of distances and slopes in navigation space (i.e.

Stationarity assessment of resting state condition via permutation entropy on EEG recordings.

The analysis of electrophysiological recordings of the human brain in resting state is a key experimental technique in neuroscience. Resting state is the default condition to characterize brain dynamics. Its successful implementation relies both on the capacity of subjects to comply with the requirement of staying awake while not performing any cognitive task, and on the capacity of the experimenter to validate that compliance.

Investigating the causal pathways among psychopathological variables, cognitive impairment, and real-life functioning in people with schizophrenia.

The present study aimed to investigate the causal relationships among cognitive impairment, psychopathology, and real-life functioning in a large sample of people with schizophrenia, using a data-driven causal discovery procedure based on partial ancestral graphs (PAGs). This method may provide additional insights for the identification of potential therapeutic targets to promote recovery in people with chronic schizophrenia. State-of-the-art instruments were used to assess the study variables.

Genomic and phenotypic stability of fusion-driven pediatric sarcoma cell lines.

Human cancer cell lines are the mainstay of cancer research. Recent reports showed that highly mutated adult carcinoma cell lines (mainly HeLa and MCF-7) present striking diversity across laboratories and that long-term continuous culturing results in genomic/transcriptomic heterogeneity with strong phenotypical implications. Here, we hypothesize that oligomutated pediatric sarcoma cell lines mainly driven by a fusion transcription factor, such as Ewing sarcoma (EwS), are genetically and phenotypically more stable than the previously investigated adult carcinoma cell lines.

Added Value of Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Analysis for Differential Diagnosis of Small (≤20 mm) Solid Pancreatic Lesions.

Objective: To evaluate the added value of dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) analysis in pre-operative differential diagnosis of small (≤20 mm) solid pancreatic lesions (SPLs).

Methods: In this retrospective study, patients with biopsy or surgerical resection and histopathologically confirmed small (≤20 mm) SPLs were included. One wk before biopsy/surgery, pre-operative B-mode ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound were performed.

Machine learning based prediction model for bile leak following hepatectomy for liver cancer.

Objective: We sought to develop a machine learning (ML) preoperative model to predict bile leak following hepatectomy for primary and secondary liver cancer.

Methods: An eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model was developed to predict post-hepatectomy bile leak using data from the ACS-NSQIP database. The model was externally validated using data from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) multi-institutional databases.

Cognitive impairments in chronic pain: a brain aging framework.

Chronic pain (CP) not only causes physical discomfort but also significantly affects cognition. This review first summarizes emerging findings that reveal complex associations between CP and cognitive impairments, and then presents neuroimaging evidence showing aging-related brain alterations in CP and proposes a framework where accelerated brain aging links CP to cognitive impairments. This framework explains how CP-related multi-level factors, which either contribute to the onset of CP or arise as a result of CP, influence brain aging in linear and nonlinear ways, leading to cognitive impairments and increased dementia risk.

Early noninvasive ventilation in general wards for acute respiratory failure: an international, multicentre, open-label, randomised trial.

Background: The impact of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) managed outside the intensive care unit in patients with early acute respiratory failure remains unclear. We aimed to determine whether adding early NIV prevents the progression to severe respiratory failure.

Methods: In this multinational, randomised, open-label controlled trial, adults with mild acute respiratory failure (arterial oxygen partial pressure/fraction of inspiratory oxygen [Pao/FiO] ratio ≥200) were enrolled across 11 hospitals in Italy, Greece, and Kazakhstan.

Behind the scenes of EQA - characteristics, capabilities, benefits and assets of external quality assessment (EQA).

This is the first in a series of five papers that detail the role and substantial impact that external quality assessment (EQA) and their providers' services play in ensuring diagnostic (IVD) performance quality. The aim is to give readers and users of EQA services an insight into the processes in EQA, explain to them what happens before EQA samples are delivered and after examination results are submitted to the provider, how they are assessed, what benefits participants can expect, but also who are stakeholders other than participants and what significance do EQA data and assessment results have for them. This first paper presents the history of EQA, insights into legal, financing and ethical matters, information technology used in EQA, structure and lifecycle of EQA programs, frequency and intensity of challenges, and unique requirements of extra-examination and educational EQA programs.

EDENT1FI Master Protocol for screening of presymptomatic early-stage type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents.

Introduction: The identification of type 1 diabetes at an early presymptomatic stage has clinical benefits. These include a reduced risk of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at the clinical manifestation of the disease and a significant reduction in clinical symptoms. The European action for the Diagnosis of Early Non-clinical Type 1 diabetes For disease Interception (EDENT1FI) represents a pioneering effort to advance early detection of type 1 diabetes through public health screening.

Behind the scenes of EQA - characteristics, capabilities, benefits and assets of external quality assessment (EQA).

External quality assessment (EQA) enhances patient safety through the evaluation of the quality of laboratory-based and point of care testing. Regulatory agencies and accreditation organizations utilize the results and the laboratory's response to them as part of assessing the laboratory's fitness to practice. In addition, where EQA samples are commutable and the assigned value has been determined using reference measurement procedures (RMPs), EQA data contributes to the verification of metrological traceability of assays as part of the post-market surveillance of diagnostic (IVD) medical devices (IVD-MDs).

Scrotal wall necrosis after hipec using mitomycin-c: Case report and review of the literature.

Introduction: Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a current treatment option for peritoneal carcinosis (PC) after cytoreductive surgery (CRS). Genital skin alterations are rare complications reported variously after HIPEC using Mitomycin-C.

Presentation Of Case: A 42-year-old man with a diagnosis of stage IV colorectal cancer underwent CRS and HIPEC using mitomycin-C.

Evaluation of serum and fecal parameters in cats with low-grade intestinal T-cell lymphoma (LGITCL).

Lymphoma is the most common neoplasia in the intestine of cats. According to ACVIM consensus statement, low-grade intestinal T-cell lymphoma (LGITCL) represents a monomorphic infiltration of the lamina propria or epithelium or both of cats with small, mature, neoplastic (clonal) T lymphocytes. Despite the importance as contributing factors of inheritance and environment in the pathogenesis of LGITCL, the chronic inflammatory status plays a fundamental role.

Tryptophan and/or canthaxanthin in quail diets: effects on performance, carcass traits, hematology, blood chemistry and hepatic antioxidant capacity.

To enhance the health and performance of poultry, novel approaches have to be created. Using appropriate nutritional interventions to enhance body physiology and thus enhance productivity is one of these approaches. The purpose of the present investigation intended to examine how growing quail physiology and growth is affected by supplementing diets with tryptophan (Trp) and/or canthaxanthin (CX).