Android avatar improves educational effects by embodied anthropomorphization.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the adoption of distance learning has been accelerated in educational institutions in multiple countries. In addition to using a videoconferencing system with camera images, avatars can also be used for remote classes. In particular, an android avatar with a sense of presence has the potential to provide higher quality education than a video-recorded lecture.

Re-optimizing the Time Frame for Classifying Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis: An Unmet Need.

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a rare and complex form of stroke, representing a small percentage of all stroke cases. The disease's clinical presentation is highly variable, involving a wide range of medical specialists due to its diverse manifestations. Over the past decade, significant advancements in understanding CVT have been made, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent vaccination efforts.

Gemcitabine-Based Chemotherapy for Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Identifying the Appropriate Dose and Schedule.

Background In 2024, reimbursement for gemcitabine-docetaxel therapy (GEM-DOC; gemcitabine 900 mg/m on days 1 and 8 and docetaxel 70 mg/m on day 8 every 21 days, GEM 900-DOC 70) to treat recurrent/metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS) was made in Japan. Methods We retrospectively reviewed clinical records of advanced/metastatic STS patients who underwent off-label gemcitabine-containing chemotherapy at the Cancer Institute Hospital of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research between February 2007 and October 2019. Results Of 115 enrolled patients, 51 were treated with GEM-DOC (26 patients received the dose as previously stated) and the other 64 with gemcitabine monotherapy.

Targeted detection of sequence variants in cell-free DNA from cerebrospinal fluid in pediatric central nervous system tumors.

The emergence of liquid biopsy technologies holds great promise in the cancer setting, including in pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors. In contrast to broad lower-depth sequencing, commonly referred to as low pass whole genome sequencing (WGS), targeted platforms with a higher depth of coverage have also been established. Here, we review targeted liquid biopsy techniques with applicability to pediatric CNS tumors.

Men's Attitudes Towards Participation in Organised Prostate Cancer Testing: An Abductive Thematic Analysis.

Background And Objective: Organised prostate cancer (PCa) testing (OPT) was introduced in Sweden to gain knowledge in preparation for a potential national PCa screening programme. This study aims to explore men's opinions regarding the OPT invitation letters and the attitudes influencing their decision to participate in or decline OPT.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with 30 men (nine participants and 21 non-participants) from Stockholm County who received OPT invitations.

Education Research: Making a Tweetorial Fly: Features of Educational Social Media Posts Associated With High Sharing and Engagement.

Background And Objectives: Social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) are increasingly used in medical education. Characteristics of tweetorials (threaded teaching posts) associated with higher degrees of engagement are unknown. We sought to understand features of neurology-themed tweetorials associated with high sharing and engagement.

Education Research: Use by Neurologists of Microteaching and Microassessment Programs for Teaching, Learning, and Patient Care Needs: A Qualitative Study.

Background And Objectives: Microlearning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills in small units, commonly delivered by digital technology. NeuroBytes (NB) and Question of the Day (QOD) are 2 microinstructional programs in neurology. NB programs are brief, video-based mini-courses on clinical topics (microteaching); QODs are daily multiple-choice questions (microassessment).

Education Research: Trends of Neurology Clerkships in the United States Amidst a Global Pandemic.

Background And Objectives: To report a 2022 survey of US medical school neurology clerkship directors (CDs) and to compare the results with those of similar surveys conducted in 2005, 2012, and 2017.

Methods: An American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Consortium of Neurology Clerkship Directors (CNCD) workgroup developed the survey sent to all neurology CDs listed in the AAN CNCD database. Comparisons were made with 2005, 2012, and 2017 surveys.

Resilience Among Caregivers of People With Multiple Sclerosis: Exploring the Influence of Personality Traits, Coping, and Caregiver Burden.

Background: Resilience has been recognized as a vital protective factor in coping with stress and adversity. Multiple sclerosis (MS) caregiving is a complex and demanding role, often characterized by challenges.

Methods: Caregivers of people with MS were recruited through health care professionals affiliated with the Jacobs MS Center for Treatment and Research in Buffalo, New York.

What 'unexplored' means: mapping regions with digitized natural history records to look for 'biodiversity blindspots'.

We examined global records of accessible natural history voucher collections (with publicly available data and reliable locality data) for terrestrial and freshwater vascular plants, fungi, freshwater fishes, birds, mammals, and herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) and highlight areas of the world that would be considered undersampled and sometimes called 'unexplored' (., have relatively low, or no evidence of, past sampling efforts) under typical Western-scientific descriptions. We also question what 'unexplored' may mean in these contexts and explain how replacing the term in favor of more nuanced phrasing (.

SyncGenie: A programmable event synchronization device for neuroscience research.

In neuroscience, accurately correlating brain activity with stimuli and other events requires precise synchronization between neural data and event timing. To achieve this, purpose-built synchronization devices are often used to detect events. This paper introduces SyncGenie, a programmable synchronization device designed for a range of uses in neuroscience research-primarily as a "trigger box" to align neurophysiological data with physical stimulus events, among other possibilities.

An agent-based model facilitating stakeholder engagement in management of estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast (USA).

We describe an agent-based model purposed for social learning, which was developed by stakeholders, with the technical assistance of professional modelers, to facilitate stakeholder involvement in modeling issues related to the development of an adaptive environmental management plan for the Texas Gulf Coast (USA) estuaries. Stakeholders developed the model during six workshops that spanned a three-year period, and used the model to simulate the population dynamics (recruitment, growth, movement, and mortality) of blue crabs () in the Aransas and Copano Bays in response to various freshwater inflow and harvest scenarios. Results of scenarios representing normal, low, and high harvest levels indicated little effect on blue crab abundances, but harvests increased ≈75 % when harvest level was doubled and decreased ≈50 % harvest level was halved.

Improving Communication and Teamwork Between Resident Doctor Teams Using a Group Messaging Application: A Quality Improvement Project.

Background Communication and teamwork are essential in medicine. Established standards emphasise the importance of collaboration and access to support. Some departments divide doctors into teams; however, inter-team communication is not always efficient.

for an automated quantitative analysis of fibers orientation and organization in biological fibrous tissues.

Many biological fibrous tissues exhibit distinctive mechanical properties arising from their highly organized fibrous structure. In disease conditions, alterations in the primary components of these fibers, such as type I collagen molecules in bone, tendons, and ligaments, assembly into a disorganized fibers architecture generating a weak and/or brittle material. Being able to quantitatively assess the fibers orientation and organization in biological tissue may help improve our understanding of their contribution to the tissue and organ mechanical integrity, and assess disease progress and therapy effect.

Comparing quantitative imaging biomarker alliance volumetric CT classifications with RECIST response categories.

Purpose: To assess agreement between CT volumetry change classifications derived from Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance Profile cut-points (ie, QIBA CTvol classifications) and the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) categories.

Materials And Methods: Target lesions in lung, liver, and lymph nodes were randomly chosen from patients in 10 historical clinical trials for various cancers, ensuring a balanced representation of lesion types, diameter ranges described in the QIBA Profile, and variations in change magnitudes. Three radiologists independently segmented these lesions at baseline and follow-up scans using 2 software tools.

Heterogeneity and therapeutic implications of cancer-associated fibroblasts in lung cancer: Recent advances and future perspectives.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. The tumor microenvironment is a complex and heterogeneous cellular environment surrounding tumor cells, including cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), blood vessels, immune cells, the extracellular matrix, and various cytokines secreted by cells. CAFs are highly heterogeneous and play crucial roles in lung cancer.

RhoA/ROCK2 signaling pathway regulates Mn-induced alterations in tight junction proteins leading to cognitive dysfunction in mice.

Elevated manganese (Mn) exposure has been implicated in a broad spectrum of neurological disorders, including motor dysfunction and cognitive deficits. Previous studies have demonstrated that Mn induces neurotoxicity by disrupting the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a critical regulator in maintaining central nervous system homeostasis and a contributing factor in the pathogenesis of numerous neurological disorders. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying Mn-induced BBB disruption and its role in facilitating neurotoxicity remain incompletely understood.

Exit Interviews Exploring Patients' Experience of Change in Crohn's Disease Symptoms During the Mirikizumab Phase 3 Clinical Trial In Adult Patients With Moderately-to-Severely Crohn's Disease.

Background: Exit interviews with patients who completed the Phase 3 VIVID-1 mirikizumab clinical trial for moderately-to-severely active Crohn's disease explored the content validity of bowel urgency, stool frequency, and abdominal pain patient-reported outcome measures and perceptions of meaningful within-patient change and remission in these key Crohn's disease symptoms.

Methodology: Cognitive debriefing explored patient understanding of the bowel urgency numeric rating scale (Urgency NRS), Crohn's Disease Activity Index: Stool Frequency (CDAI-SF) and Abdominal Pain (CDAI-AP), and patient global rating/impression of severity/change (PGRS/PGIC). Perceptions of meaningful change and remission were explored qualitatively.

Intravenous Steroids Do Not Improve Short-Term Outcomes of Patients With Crohn's Disease Presenting With an Acute Small Bowel Obstruction.

Background: Intravenous (IV) steroids are commonly used to treat acute flares of Crohn's disease (CD). However, it is unclear if they are beneficial in the setting of uncomplicated small bowel obstruction (SBO). We sought to examine if IV steroid administration improved short-term outcomes in patients with CD hospitalized for acute, uncomplicated SBO across three New York City hospital systems.

DISCOntinuation of disease-modifying therapies in MS: The DISCOMS extension trial.

Background: In the DISCOMS (DISCOntinuation of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in multiple sclerosis (MS)) randomized clinical trial, we could not demonstrate that discontinuing MS DMTs in older, stable adults was not inferior to continuing DMTs. Relapses were rare in both groups, and most new disease activity was one to two new brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesions unassociated with clinical changes.

Objective/aims: Describe results of the DISCOMS extension study.

Cosmology of belonging: The role of community in the therapeutic use of psychedelics.

Background: The recent wave of clinical trials of psychedelic substances among patients with life-limiting illness has largely focused on individual healing. This most often translates to a single patient receiving an intervention with researchers guiding them. As social isolation and lack of connection are major drivers of current mental health crises and group work is expected to be an important aspect of psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, it is essential that we understand the role of community in psychedelic healing.

Patients with advanced cancer in Uganda: Gender, social norms, and family relationship icebergs in the face of terminal illness.

Objectives: Cancer is associated with physical, social, spiritual, and psychological changes in patients and their caregivers. However, in sub-Saharan Africa, there is lack of evidence on the impact of gender, social norms, and relationship dynamics in the face of terminal illness. The aim of this paper is to explore how gender identity, social norms, and power relations are impacted when a person is living in Uganda with advanced cancer.

When death is desired: A case of MAiD & the CL psychiatrist.

Objectives: Since physician-assisted dying (PAD) has become a part of the clinical dialogue in the United States (US) and other Western countries, it has spawned controversy in the moral, ethical, and legal realm, with significant cross-country variation. The phenomenon of PAD includes 2 practices: Euthanasia and medical aid in dying (MAiD). Although euthanasia has been allowed in different parts of the world, in the US it is illegal.