Co-designing a wiki-based community knowledge management system for personal science.

Personal science is the practice of addressing personally relevant health questions through self-research. Implementing personal science can be challenging, owing to the need to develop and adopt research protocols, tools and methods. While online communities can provide valuable peer support, tools for systematically accessing community knowledge are lacking.

Impact of Combined Prebiotic Galacto-Oligosaccharides and -Derived Postbiotic on Gut Microbiota and HbA1c in Prediabetic Adults: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study.

The complex interactions between intestinal microbiota and metabolic disorders are well-documented, with implications for glucose metabolism, energy expenditure, and intestinal permeability. Prebiotics induce beneficial changes in gut microbiota composition in prediabetes, while postbiotics can enhance gut barrier function, complementing each other to improve glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. This study investigated the effects of a 12-week dietary fibre (DF) supplement on gut health, metabolic function, and diet.

International consensus on fasting terminology.

Although fasting is increasingly applied for disease prevention and treatment, consensus on terminology is lacking. Using Delphi methodology, an international, multidisciplinary panel of researchers and clinicians standardized definitions of various fasting approaches in humans. Five online surveys and a live online conference were conducted with 38 experts, 25 of whom completed all 5 surveys.

Emission characteristics of lead and particulate matter from lead and zinc smelters in China.

Understanding the emission characteristics of particulate matter and associated heavy metals is essential for assessing their environmental and health impacts post-emission, as well as for identifying potential control technologies for the sources. Here, a field test was conducted at two advanced smelting plants equipped with comprehensive air pollution control devices. The particles emitted from different stages of lead and zinc smelting exhibited bi-modal size distributions, with peaks observed in PM and PM, respectively.

The potential and pitfalls of using a large language model such as ChatGPT, GPT-4, or LLaMA as a clinical assistant.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the utility of large language models (LLMs) in healthcare, focusing on their applications in enhancing patient care through improved diagnostic, decision-making processes, and as ancillary tools for healthcare professionals.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated ChatGPT, GPT-4, and LLaMA in identifying patients with specific diseases using gold-labeled Electronic Health Records (EHRs) from the MIMIC-III database, covering three prevalent diseases-Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)-along with the rare condition, Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC), and the hard-to-diagnose condition Cancer Cachexia.

Results: In patient identification, GPT-4 had near similar or better performance compared to the corresponding disease-specific Machine Learning models (F1-score ≥ 85%) on COPD, CKD, and PBC.

A Comprehensive Head-to-Head Comparison of Key Plasma Phosphorylated Tau 217 Biomarker Tests.

Plasma phosphorylated-tau 217 (p-tau217) is currently the most promising biomarkers for reliable detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. Various p-tau217 assays have been developed, but their relative performance is unclear. We compared key plasma p-tau217 tests using cross-sectional and longitudinal measures of amyloid-β (Aβ)-PET, tau-PET, and cognition as outcomes, and benchmarked them against cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker tests.

Homopolymer switches mediate adaptive mutability in mismatch repair-deficient colorectal cancer.

Mismatch repair (MMR)-deficient cancer evolves through the stepwise erosion of coding homopolymers in target genes. Curiously, the MMR genes MutS homolog 6 (MSH6) and MutS homolog 3 (MSH3) also contain coding homopolymers, and these are frequent mutational targets in MMR-deficient cancers. The impact of incremental MMR mutations on MMR-deficient cancer evolution is unknown.

The Incidence and Propensity of Head Acceleration Events in a Season of Men's and Women's English Elite-Level Club Rugby Union Matches.

Objectives: To describe and compare the incidence and propensity of head acceleration events (HAEs) using instrumented mouthguards (iMG) by playing position in a season of English elite-level men's and women's rugby union matches.

Methods: iMG data were collected for 255 men and 133 women from 1,865 and 807 player-matches, respectively, and synchronised to video-coded match footage. Head peak resultant linear acceleration (PLA) and peak resultant angular acceleration (PAA) were extracted from each HAE.

Progression independent of relapse activity in relapsing multiple sclerosis: impact and relationship with secondary progression.

Objectives: We investigated the occurrence and relative contribution of relapse-associated worsening (RAW) and progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) to confirmed disability accrual (CDA) and transition to secondary progression (SP) in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: Relapsing-onset MS patients with follow-up > / = 5 years (16,130) were extracted from the Italian MS Registry. CDA was a 6-month confirmed increase in Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score.

Associations of Testosterone and Related Hormones With All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality and Incident Cardiovascular Disease in Men : Individual Participant Data Meta-analyses.

Background: Whether circulating sex hormones modulate mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in aging men is controversial.

Purpose: To clarify associations of sex hormones with these outcomes.

Data Sources: Systematic literature review to July 2019, with bridge searches to March 2024.

Enhancing Cognitive Performance Prediction through White Matter Hyperintensity Connectivity Assessment: A Multicenter Lesion Network Mapping Analysis of 3,485 Memory Clinic Patients.

Introduction: White matter hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin (WMH) are associated with cognitive impairment and are a key imaging marker in evaluating cognitive health. However, WMH volume alone does not fully account for the extent of cognitive deficits and the mechanisms linking WMH to these deficits remain unclear. We propose that lesion network mapping (LNM), enables to infer if brain networks are connected to lesions, and could be a promising technique for enhancing our understanding of the role of WMH in cognitive disorders.

Clinical and biological landscape of constitutional mismatch-repair deficiency syndrome: an International Replication Repair Deficiency Consortium cohort study.

Background: Constitutional mismatch repair deficiency (CMMRD) syndrome is a rare and aggressive cancer predisposition syndrome. Because a scarcity of data on this condition contributes to management challenges and poor outcomes, we aimed to describe the clinical spectrum, cancer biology, and impact of genetics on patient survival in CMMRD.

Methods: In this cohort study, we collected cross-sectional and longitudinal data on all patients with CMMRD, with no age limits, registered with the International Replication Repair Deficiency Consortium (IRRDC) across more than 50 countries.

Rapid deterioration in buried leather: archaeological implications.

Understanding archaeological leather degradation helps inform economies, crafts, and technologies of historic communities. However, archaeological leather is at high risk of degradation due to deterioration and changes within the burial conditions. This research applied non-destructive FTIR-ATR to experimentally buried vegetable-tanned leather and archaeological leather excavated at the Roman site of Vindolanda, UK to explore survival, destruction, and preservation processes of tanned leather.

A Novel Home-Based Telerehabilitation Program Targeting Fall Prevention in Parkinson Disease: A Preliminary Trial.

Background And Objectives: Falls in a person with Parkinson disease (PwP) are frequent, consequential, and only partially prevented by current therapeutic options. Notably, most falls in PwPs occur in the home or its immediate surroundings; however, our current strategies for fall prevention are clinic-centered. The primary objective of this nonrandomized pilot trial was to investigate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the novel implementation of home-based PD telerehabilitation (tele-physical/occupational therapy) focusing on fall risk reduction and home-safety modification.

Assessment of Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Asymptomatic People In Vivo: Measurements Suitable for Biomarker and Mendelian Randomization Studies.

Background: One strategy to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease is the early detection and treatment of atherosclerosis. This has led to significant interest in studies of subclinical atherosclerosis, using different phenotypes, not all of which are accurate reflections of the presence of asymptomatic atherosclerotic plaques. The aim of part 2 of this series is to provide a review of the existing literature on purported measures of subclinical disease and recommendations concerning which tests may be appropriate in the prevention of incident cardiovascular disease.