Optimizing skull base defect repair: leveraging the reused nasoseptal flap as a reliable material.

Purpose: The escalating number of endoscopic skull base procedures necessitates exploring additional materials to reduce postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks in revision or staged surgeries. This study evaluates the effectiveness of reused nasoseptal flaps (NSFs) in such clinical scenarios.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on patients who previously underwent surgery involving NSFs and later had revision or secondary skull base surgeries via endoscopic endonasal approaches (EEAs) at a tertiary medical center.

Unveiling the relation between swallowing muscle mass and skeletal muscle mass in head and neck cancer patients.

Purpose: Sarcopenia, characterized by loss of skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and strength, often leads to dysphagia in the elderly. This condition can also worsen treatment outcomes in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients, who are susceptible to swallowing difficulties. This study aimed to establish the correlation between swallowing muscle mass (SwMM) and SMM in HNC patients.

Unveiling the omics tapestry of B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia: bridging genomics, metabolomics, and immunomics.

Acute B-lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is a highly heterogeneous hematologic malignancy, characterized by significant molecular differences among patients as the disease progresses. While the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and metabolic reprogramming are known to play crucial roles in B-ALL, the interactions between lipid metabolism, immune pathways, and drug resistance remain unclear. In this study, we performed multi-omics analysis on different patient cohorts (newly diagnosed, relapsed, standard-risk, and poor-risk) to investigate the molecular characteristics associated with metabolism, signaling pathways, and immune regulation in B-ALL.

Encorafenib, cetuximab and chemotherapy in BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer: a randomized phase 3 trial.

Encorafenib + cetuximab (EC) is approved for previously treated BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) based on the BEACON phase 3 study. Historically, first-line treatment of BRAF V600E-mutant mCRC with chemotherapy regimens has had limited efficacy. The phase 3 BREAKWATER study investigated EC+mFOLFOX6 versus standard of care (SOC) in patients with previously untreated BRAF V600E mCRC.

Explainable vision transformer for automatic visual sleep staging on multimodal PSG signals.

Polysomnography (PSG) is crucial for diagnosing sleep disorders, but manual scoring of PSG is time-consuming and subjective, leading to high variability. While machine-learning models have improved PSG scoring, their clinical use is hindered by the 'black-box' nature. In this study, we present SleepXViT, an automatic sleep staging system using Vision Transformer (ViT) that provides intuitive, consistent explanations by mimicking human 'visual scoring'.

Foliar application of nano biochar solution elevates tomato productivity by counteracting the effect of salt stress insights into morphological physiological and biochemical indices.

Nano-biochar considers a versatile and valuable sorbent to enhance plant productivity by improving soil environment and emerged as a novel solution for environmental remediation and sustainable agriculture in modern era. In this study, roles of foliar applied nanobiochar colloidal solution (NBS) on salt stressed tomato plants were investigated. For this purpose, NBS was applied (0%, 1% 3% and 5%) on two groups of plants (control 0 mM and salt stress 60 mM).

Basic Considerations for Data Pooling Strategy in Multi-Regional Clinical Trials (MRCTs).

The National Medical Products Administration of China has been implementing ICH E17, which describes the general principles for planning and designing of multi-regional clinical trials (MRCTs), yet there are several ambiguities in the execution and conduct remains in China or East Asia. In specific, pooling strategy, effect modifiers (EMs), statistical analysis, sample size allocation and their impact in alignment with global trial remains a challenge. In this paper, we explore on the criteria mentioned above under the context of China.

sVEGFR3 alleviates myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury through regulating mitochondrial homeostasis and immune cell infiltration.

Recent studies have suggested that sVEGFR3 is involved in cardiac diseases by regulating lymphangiogenesis; however, results are inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate the function and mechanism of sVEGFR3 in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MI/RI). sVEGFR3 effects were evaluated in vivo in mice subjected to MI/RI, and in vitro using HL-1 cells exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion.

Rubber intercropping with arboreal and herbaceous species alleviated the global warming potential through the reduction of soil greenhouse gas emissions.

Agroforestry systems are known to enhance soil health and climate resilience, but their impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in rubber-based agroforestry systems across diverse configurations is not fully understood. Here, six representative rubber-based agroforestry systems (encompassing rubber trees intercropped with arboreal, shrub, and herbaceous species) were selected based on a preliminary investigation, including Hevea brasiliensis intercropping with Alpinia oxyphylla (AOM), Alpinia katsumadai (AKH), Coffea arabica (CAA), Theobroma cacao (TCA), Cinnamomum cassia (CCA), and Pandanus amaryllifolius (PAR), and a rubber monoculture as control (RM). Soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities, and GHG emission characteristics were determined at 0-20 cm soil depth.

A National Synthetic Populations Dataset for the United States.

Geospatially explicit and statistically accurate person and household data allow researchers to study community-and neighborhood-level effects and design and test hypotheses that would otherwise not be possible without the generation of synthetic data. In this article, we demonstrate the workflow for generating spatially explicit household- and individual-level synthetic populations for the United States representing the year 2019. We use publicly available U.

SAA3 deficiency exacerbates intestinal fibrosis in DSS-induced IBD mouse model.

Intestinal fibrosis, as a late-stage complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), leads to bowel obstruction and requires surgical intervention, significantly lowering the quality of life of affected patients. SAA3, a highly conserved member of the serum amyloid A (SAA) apolipoprotein family in mice, is synthesized primarily as an acute phase reactant in response to infection, inflammation and trauma. An increasing number of evidence suggests that SAA3 exerts a vital role in the fibrotic process, even though the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully comprehended.

Epidemiology, Treatment Outcomes, and Prognosis of Myelodysplastic Syndromes/Neoplasms in Taiwan: Real-World Insights and Trends.

Background: Myelodysplastic syndromes/neoplasms (MDS) are a diverse group of clonal myeloid disorders. Advances in molecular technology lead to the development of new classification systems. However, large-scale epidemiological studies on MDS in Asian countries are currently scarce.

Validation of Muscle Ultrasound Speckle Tracking and the Effect of Nordic Hamstring Exercise on Biceps Femoris Displacement.

Objective: This study aimed to validate the ultrasound speckle tracking (UST) algorithm, determine the optimal probe location by comparing normalized cross-correlation (NCC) values of muscle displacement at two locations (proximal vs. middle) of the biceps femoris long head (BFlh) using the UST, and investigate the effects of Nordic hamstring curl exercise (NHE) training on BFlh displacement.

Methods: UST efficacy was verified with ex vivo uniaxial testing of porcine leg muscles.

Kirsten Rat Sarcoma Virus Mutations Effect On Tumor Doubling Time And Prognosis Of Solid Dominant Stage I Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Introduction: To analyze the impact of Kirsten-Rat-Sarcoma Virus (KRAS) mutations on tumor-growth as estimated by tumor-doubling-time (TDT) among solid-dominant clinical-stage I lung adenocarcinoma. Moreover, to evaluate the prognostic role of KRAS mutations, TDT and their combination in completely-resected pathologic-stage I adenocarcinomas.

Methods: In this single-center retrospective analysis, completely resected clinical-stage I adenocarcinomas presenting as solid-dominant nodules (consolidation-to-tumor ratio > 0.

Microstructural white matter injury contributes to cognitive decline: Besides amyloid and tau.

Background: Cognitive decline and the progression to Alzheimer's disease (AD) are traditionally associated with amyloid-beta (Aβ) and tau pathologies. This study aims to evaluate the relationships between microstructural white matter injury, cognitive decline and AD core biomarkers.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study of 566 participants using peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity (PSMD) to quantify microstructural white matter injury.

ARCH: Large-scale knowledge graph via aggregated narrative codified health records analysis.

Objective: Electronic health record (EHR) systems contain a wealth of clinical data stored as both codified data and free-text narrative notes (NLP). The complexity of EHR presents challenges in feature representation, information extraction, and uncertainty quantification. To address these challenges, we proposed an efficient Aggregated naRrative Codified Health (ARCH) records analysis to generate a large-scale knowledge graph (KG) for a comprehensive set of EHR codified and narrative features.

Impella versus Non-Impella for Non-emergent High-Risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Impella vs. Non-Impella for HR-PCI.

Background: The benefit of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) with Impella (Abiomed, Inc, Danvers, MA) for patients undergoing non-emergent, high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (HR-PCI) is unclear and currently the subject of a large randomized clinical trial (RCT), PROTECT IV. While contemporary registry data from PROTECT III demonstrated improvement of outcomes with Impella when compared with historical data (PROTECT II), there is lack of direct comparison to the HR-PCI cohort that did not receive Impella support.

Methods: We retrospectively identified patients from our institution meeting PROTECT III inclusion criteria (left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] <35% with unprotected left main or last remaining vessel or LVEF <30% undergoing multivessel PCI), and compared this group (NonIMP) to the published outcomes data from the PROTECT III registry (IMP).

Longitudinal integrated proteomic and metabolomic skin changes in atopic dermatitis patients treated with dupilumab.

Background: Inhibition of IL-4/IL-13 driven inflammation by dupilumab has shown significant clinical benefits in treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD).

Objective: To assess longitudinal protein and metabolite composition in AD skin during dupilumab treatment.

Methods: Skin tape strip (STS) were collected from lesional/non-lesional skin of 20 AD patients during 16-week dupilumab treatment and from 20 healthy volunteers (HV) followed for 16-weeks.

CircKIAA0182 Enhances Lung Cancer Progression and Chemoresistance through Interaction with YBX1.

Lung cancer, particularly non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, significantly limits treatment efficacy. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have emerged as key regulators of cancer progression and chemotherapy resistance due to their stable structure, which protects them from degradation.

Intranasal oxytocin for apathy in people with frontotemporal dementia (FOXY): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, adaptive, crossover, phase 2a/2b superiority trial.

Background: No treatments exist for apathy in people with frontotemporal dementia. Previously, in a randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-finding study, intranasal oxytocin administration in people with frontotemporal dementia improved apathy ratings on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory over 1 week and, in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, a single dose of 72 IU oxytocin increased blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal in limbic brain regions. We aimed to determine whether longer treatment with oxytocin improves apathy in people with frontotemporal dementia.

Structures and mRNP remodeling mechanism of the TREX-2 complex.

mRNAs are packaged with proteins into messenger ribonucleoprotein complexes (mRNPs) in the nucleus. mRNP assembly and export are of fundamental importance for all eukaryotic gene expression. Before export to the cytoplasm, mRNPs undergo dynamic remodeling governed by the DEAD-box helicase DDX39B (yeast Sub2).

Near-infrared-triggered release of self-accelerating cascade nanoreactor delivered by macrophages for synergistic tumor photothermal therapy/starvation therapy/chemodynamic therapy.

Macrophages have emerged as promising cellular vehicles for the delivery of therapeutic agents to tumor sites. However, the cytotoxicity of therapeutic agents toward the cellular carriers and the effective release of therapeutic agents at the tumor site remain the main challenges faced by macrophage-mediated drug delivery systems. Herein, a near-infrared (NIR)-triggered release of self-accelerating cascade nanoreactor (HCFG) delivered by macrophages (HCFG@R) was developed for synergistic tumor photothermal therapy (PTT)/starvation therapy (ST)/chemodynamic therapy (CDT).

Online monitoring of water quality in industrial wastewater treatment process based on near-infrared spectroscopy.

Water quality monitoring is one of the critical aspects of industrial wastewater treatment, which is important for checking the treatment effect, optimizing the treatment technology and ensuring that the water quality meets the standard. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is a key indicator for monitoring water quality, which reflects the degree of organic matter pollution in water bodies. However, the current methods for determining COD values have drawbacks such as slow speed and complicated operation, which hardly meet the demand of online monitoring.

Degradation and defluorination of CF PFASs with different functional groups by VUV/UV-based reduction and oxidation processes.

Structural diversity can affect the degradability of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) during water treatment. Here, three PFASs with different functional groups-CF-R, PFHpA, PFHxS, and 6:2 FTS-were degraded using vacuum ultraviolet (VUV/UV)-based treatments. While fully fluorinated PFASs-PFHpA and PFHxS-were degraded faster in the VUV/UV/sulfite reaction than in VUV/UV photolysis, VUV/UV photolysis was more effective for degrading 6:2 FTS by OH radicals produced through photolysis of water.

MixDeR: A SNP mixture deconvolution workflow for forensic genetic genealogy.

The generation of forensic DNA profiles consisting of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is now being facilitated by wider adoption of next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods in casework laboratories. At the same time, and in part because of this advance, there is an intense focus on the generation of SNP profiles from evidentiary specimens for so-called forensic or investigative genetic genealogy (FGG or IGG) applications. However, FGG methods are constrained by the algorithms for genealogical database searches, which were designed for use with single-source profiles, and the fact that many forensic samples are mixtures.