Plasma Levels of Propionylcarnitine Improved Prediction of Heart Failure and All-Cause Mortality in Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Plasma metabolites could be suitable as predictive biomarkers for cardiovascular pathologies or death, thereby improving the prediction of protein biomarkers. The release of acylcarnitines may be altered after coronary artery disease (CAD) in subjects with recurrent clinical outcomes, and this could be used as a prognosis tool.

Methods: Patients with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD) who had suffered an acute coronary syndrome 6-9 months before were followed for up to 4.

Comparative Structural and Biophysical Investigation of Toxin I (LyeTx I) and Its Analog LyeTx I-b.

This study investigates the structural and biophysical properties of the wild-type antimicrobial peptide LyeTx I, isolated from the venom of the spider , and its analog LyeTx I-b, designed to enhance antibacterial activity, selectivity, and membrane interactions by the acetylation and increased amphipathicty. : To understand the mechanisms behind these enhanced properties, comparative analyses of the structural, topological, biophysical, and thermodynamic aspects of the interactions between each peptide and phospholipid bilayers were evaluated. Both peptides were isotopically labeled with H-Ala and N-Leu to facilitate structural studies via NMR spectroscopy.

Environmental DNA and Hydroacoustic Surveys for Monitoring the Spread of the Invasive European Catfish ( Linnaeus, 1758) in the Guadalquivir River Basin, Spain.

The European catfish ( Linnaeus, 1758) was introduced into the Ebro Basin in Spain in 1974 for recreational fishing. Since then, the species has spread throughout the country's river basins, reaching the Iznájar Reservoir (Guadalquivir River Basin) in 2011. This area is of great ecological and economic relevance, especially as it includes the Doñana National Park, one of the most important nature reserves in Europe.

Evaluating Treatment Preferences and the Efficacy of Capsaicin 179 mg Patch vs. Pregabalin in a Randomized Trial for Postsurgical Neuropathic Pain in Breast Cancer: CAPTRANE.

CAPTRANE evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of high-concentration capsaicin patch (HCCP) vs. oral pregabalin for the treatment of postsurgical neuropathic pain (PSNP) following breast cancer surgery. The study was designed with the aim of demonstrating noninferiority of one HCCP against daily pregabalin.

Evolving Trends and Patterns of Utilization of Magnetic Resonance-Guided Radiotherapy at a Single Institution, 2018-2024.

: Over the past decade, significant advances have been made in image-guided radiotherapy (RT) particularly with the introduction of magnetic resonance (MR)-guided radiotherapy (MRgRT). However, the optimal clinical applications of MRgRT are still evolving. The intent of this analysis was to describe our institutional MRgRT utilization patterns and evolution therein, specifically as an early adopter within a center endowed with multiple other technology platforms.

Perfusate Liver Arginase 1 Levels After End-Ischemic Machine Perfusion Are Associated with Early Allograft Dysfunction.

: The rising use of liver grafts from donation after circulatory death (DCD) has been enabled by advances in normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) and machine perfusion (MP) technologies. We aimed to identify predictive biomarkers in DCD grafts subjected to NRP, followed by randomization to either normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) or dual hypothermic oxygenated perfusion (D-HOPE). : Among 57 DCD donors, 32 liver grafts were transplanted, and recipients were monitored for one week post-transplant.

The Importance of Dose Escalation in the Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension with Treprostinil.

: Treprostinil, which is administered via continuous subcutaneous or intravenous infusion, is a medication applied in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The dose of treprostinil is adjusted on an individual basis for each patient. A number of factors determine how well patients respond to treatment.

Role of Epidural Electrode Stimulation in Three Patients with Incomplete AIS D Spinal Cord Injury.

: To determine whether epidural electrical stimulation (EES) improves sensory recovery and walking function in patients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) with a grade on the American Spinal Cord Injury Association impairment scale (AIS) of C or D at the cervical level. : Three individuals with cervical-level chronic AIS D SCI were enrolled in the study. The mean injury duration and age were 4.

Association of Corticosteroid Inhaler Type with Saliva Microbiome in Moderate-to-Severe Pediatric Asthma.

: Metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) and dry powder inhalers (DPIs) are common inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) inhaler devices. The difference in formulation and administration technique of these devices may influence oral cavity microbiota composition. We aimed to compare the saliva microbiome in children with moderate-to-severe asthma using ICS via MDIs versus DPIs.

Would the Oceans Become Toxic to Humanity Due to Use and Mismanagement of Plastics?

The production of plastics and associated products, including microplastics (MPs), has been surging over the past several decades and now poses a grave environmental threat. This is because when not appropriately recycled, incinerated, or disposed of in fully contained landfills, plastic waste manifests as a potent pollutant, with vast amounts finding their way into oceans annually, adversely impacting marine life and ecosystems. Additionally, research also confirms there are direct impacts from MPs on water, air, and soil, impacting ecosystem and human health.

In Vivo Confocal Microscopy Findings in Corneal Stromal Dystrophies.

In this study, we aim to evaluate in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) findings of corneal stromal dystrophies (CSDs) including granular, macular and lattice corneal dystrophy that can be used for differential diagnosis and monitoring recurrences after surgical interventions. : Patients diagnosed with CSD who were followed-up in the cornea and ocular surface unit were included in this study. IVCM was performed using the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph 3, Rostock Cornea Module (Heidelberg Engineering, Germany) and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) imaging was performed using the Spectralis OCT (Heidelberg Engineering, Germany).

The Mechanical Power in Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Undergoing Prone Positioning Can Predict Mortality.

Mechanical power (MP) refers to ventilator-delivered energy to the lungs, which may induce lung injury. We examined the relationship between MP and mortality in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who underwent prone positioning. This multicenter retrospective study included data on all patients admitted to the intensive care units of eight referral hospitals in Taiwan from October 2015 to March 2016, and in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkou branch from January 2017 to October 2023.

Exploring practical experience with different treatments in NSCLC patients with MET-deregulated: a retrospective analysis from the real world.

Background: Mesenchymal to epithelial transition factor (MET) dysregulation in non-small-cell-lung-cancer (NSCLC) is understudied, with scant data on treatment outcomes.

Methods: We retrospectively examined 160 NSCLC patients: 125 with primary MET mutations (further classified into MET exon 14 (METex14) skipping mutations and primary MET amplifications) and 35 with secondary MET amplifications. Patients underwent varied treatments: Chemotherapy, Immune monotherapy, Crizotinib, or Savolitinib.

Interplay of aurora kinase a functional residues and Epstein-barr Nuclear Antigen 1 in Epstein-barr virus associated Gastric cancer using AGS cells.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), an oncogenic gamma-herpesvirus, belongs to group 1 carcinogen and is implicated in various cancers, including gastric cancer. Aurora Kinase A is a major mitotic protein kinase that regulates mitotic progression; overexpression and hyperactivation of AURKA commonly promote genomic instability in many tumours. However, the relationship of functional residues of AURKA and EBV in gastric cancer progression remains unknown.

[Characteristics of occlusal force and contact in 20 individual normal occlusion children with mixed dentition].

Objective: To measure and analyze the occlusal force and contact in children with mixed dentition, and to preliminarily provide baseline data on the occlusion of individual normal occlusion children with mixed dentition.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, including 20 children with mixed dentition and individual normal occlusion, consisting of 12 boys and 8 girls, aged 6.5-9.

Biofeedback rehabilitation in patients with binocular inhibition due to macular disease.

Background: To investigate whether patients with binocular reading inhibition due to central vision loss benefit from a new biofeedback (BF) rehabilitation method that aimed at improving fixation stability and at establishing a correspondence between the monocular preferred retinal loci (PRLs) on functioning retina in both eyes.

Methods: Thirty-three patients with bilateral macular disease and with binocular reading inhibition participated in 10 training sessions consisting of 10-min visual stimulation for each eye to stabilize fixation and relocate the PRL (if needed) using the BF module of the MP-1 microperimeter (Nidek Technologies Srl., Vigonza, PD, Italy).

Reinforcement learning based route optimization model to enhance energy efficiency in internet of vehicles.

The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) transforms the automobile industry through connected vehicles with communication infrastructure that improves traffic control, safety and information, and entertainment services. However, some issues remain, like data protection, privacy, compatibility with other protocols and systems, and the availability of stable and continuous connections. Specific problems are related to energy consumption for transmitting information, distributing energy loads across the vehicle's sensors and communication units, and designing energy-efficient approaches to processing received data and making decisions in the context of the IoV environment.

Identifying time patterns in Huntington's disease trajectories using dynamic time warping-based clustering on multi-modal data.

One of the principal goals of Precision Medicine is to stratify patients by accounting for individual variability. However, extracting meaningful information from Real-World Data, such as Electronic Health Records, still remains challenging due to methodological and computational issues. A Dynamic Time Warping-based unsupervised-clustering methodology is presented in this paper for the clustering of patient trajectories of multi-modal health data on the basis of shared temporal characteristics.

The risk of short-term microplastic exposure on female reproductive function: A rat model study.

Long-term effects of microplastics (MPs) exposure have been demonstrated to impair reproductive function. However, in real world, the exposure level of MP is not constant and it may vary in different individuals. This study aims to evaluate the impact of short-term exposure to MPs on ovarian and endometrial function in rat models.

Advanced flame-retardant biocomposites: Polylactic acid reinforced with green gallic acid‑iron‑phosphorus coated flax fibers.

This study introduces a sustainable approach for enhancing the fire retardancy and smoke suppression of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites, contributing to addressing one of the major challenges in biocomposites that limits their application in various engineering fields, as automotive and construction sectors. Flax fibers (FF) were surface functionalized with a novel organic-inorganic hybrid flame retardant (FR), offering a sustainable bioinspired approach that mitigates potential mechanical properties impairment and FR leaching, which can cause environmental concerns and reduced composite durability. The process involves a three-step coating procedure.

Cardiometabolic benefits of a non-industrialized-type diet are linked to gut microbiome modulation.

Industrialization adversely affects the gut microbiome and predisposes individuals to chronic non-communicable diseases. We tested a microbiome restoration strategy comprising a diet that recapitulated key characteristics of non-industrialized dietary patterns (restore diet) and a bacterium rarely found in industrialized microbiomes (Limosilactobacillus reuteri) in a randomized controlled feeding trial in healthy Canadian adults. The restore diet, despite reducing gut microbiome diversity, enhanced the persistence of L.

Aberrant auditory prediction patterns robustly characterize tinnitus.

Phantom perceptions like tinnitus occur without any identifiable environmental or bodily source. The mechanisms and key drivers behind tinnitus are poorly understood. The dominant framework, suggesting that tinnitus results from neural hyperactivity in the auditory pathway following hearing damage, has been difficult to investigate in humans and has reached explanatory limits.

Impact of psychiatric disorders on the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis in adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a propensity score matching case-control study.

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the association between psychiatric disorders and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) treated at a tertiary care hospital.

Methods: A propensity score-matched case-control study was conducted, comprising a total sample of 194 participants (97 DKA cases and 97 controls without DKA). Comprehensive data were collected on clinical, anthropometric, and socioeconomic characteristics, and psychiatric disorders were classified according to international standards.