Explainable machine learning on clinical features to predict and differentiate Alzheimer's progression by sex: Toward a clinician-tailored web interface.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disorder world-wide, presents sex-specific differences in its manifestation and progression, necessitating personalized diagnostic approaches. Current procedures are often costly and invasive, lacking consideration of sex-based differences. This study introduces an explainable machine learning (ML) system to predict and differentiate the progression of AD based on sex, using non-invasive, easily collectible predictors such as neuropsychological test scores and sociodemographic data, enabling its application in every day clinical settings.

Sutureless FOCUS harmonic scalpel versus clamp-and-tie techniques for thyroidectomy: A meta-analysis of 43 randomized controlled trials.

Background: One of the most important surgical steps during thyroidectomy is the safe ligation of vessels. In fact, it is crucial to avoid postoperative bleeding and nerves' injury. The "clamp and tie" technique was first introduced in the 19th century.

An exploratory study of the safety profile and neurocognitive function after single doses of mitragynine in humans.

Rationale: Despite the growing scientific interest on mitragynine, the primary alkaloid in kratom (Mitragyna Speciosa), there is a lack of clinical trials in humans.

Objectives: This phase 1 study aimed to evaluate mitragynine's safety profile and acute effects on subjective drug experience, neurocognition, and pain tolerance.

Methods: A placebo-controlled, single-blind, within-subjects study was conducted in two parts.

Unsupervised clustering of a deeply phenotyped cohort of adults with idiopathic generalized epilepsy.

Objective: Idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) in adults comprise juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), juvenile absence epilepsy (JAE), and epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures alone (EGTCS), which are defined by their seizure types but also cover a broad endophenotype of symptoms. Controversy exists on whether adult IGE is a group of distinct diseases or a clinical spectrum of one disease. Here, we used a deeply phenotyped cohort to test the hypothesis that IGE comprises three distinct clinical entities.

Widening the infantile hypotonia with psychomotor retardation and characteristic Facies-1 Syndrome's clinical and molecular spectrum through NALCN structural analysis.

Introduction: Infantile hypotonia with psychomotor retardation and characteristic facies-1 (IHPRF1, MIM#615419) is a rare, birth onset, autosomal recessive disorder caused by homozygous or compound heterozygous truncating variants in gene (MIM#611549) resulting in a loss-of-function effect.

Methods: We enrolled a new IHPRF1 patients' cohort in the framework of an international multicentric collaboration study. Using specialized pathogenicity predictors and structural analyses, we assessed the mechanistic consequences of the deleterious variants retrieved on NALCN structure and function.

Effect of autoimmune comorbidities on multiple sclerosis course: An observational multicenter study.

Background: The study aims to examine the age and disability levels at diagnosis in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), with and without autoimmune comorbidities (AC), and the effect of AC on NEDA-3 status and to characterize AC associated with MS, comparing also therapeutic approaches between MS patients with and without other AC.

Methods: This population-based, multicentric study enrolled patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) with AC (AC group) or without AC (reference group) from 14 MS centers. Demographical, clinical features, treatment information, MRI activity, EDSS, and no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) status were assessed at T36 (enrollment time) and T0 (36 months prior).

Position statement of the World Endoscopy Organization: Role of endoscopy in screening, diagnosis, and treatment of esophageal superficial squamous neoplasia.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains a significant global health challenge, being the sixth leading cause of cancer mortality with pronounced geographic variability. The incidence rates range from 125 per 100,000 in northern China to 1-1.5 per 100,000 in the United States, driven by environmental and lifestyle factors such as tobacco and alcohol use, dietary habits, and pollution.

Management of a young HoFH patient during pregnancy using Lipoprotein Apheresis (whole blood): A novel experience.

The pregnancy of a patient with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) represents a challenge in the clinical setting due to the high cardiovascular risk of the mother and maternal-fetal morbidity. The lipid lowering drugs are generally contraindicated and lipoprotein apheresis (LA) is the only accepted treatment in HoFH pregnant woman. Liposorber D, an LA technique on whole blood, has good efficacy, safety, and short operative time.

Adolescent social isolation induces sex-specific behavioral and neural alterations.

Adversities associated with isolation during adolescence, including the lack of appropriate emotional and social experiences, can jeopardize the individual development leading to the onset of mental illnesses such as major depressive disorder. Girls have higher rates of depression compared to boys; however, the relative contribution of biological and cultural factors to such a gender-dependent difference remains unclear. To identify the role of biological factors in this distinct susceptibility, we exposed adolescent C57BL/6 male and female mice (n = 12-14) to social isolation and we evaluated their behavioral responses, investigating both emotional and cognitive competencies during adolescence.

The role of parental child marriage in children's food security and nutritional status: a prospective cohort study in Indonesia.

Objectives: Assessing children's food and nutrition security in Indonesia, especially among children from parents who experienced child marriage, is crucial for policymakers. This study investigates the role of parental child marriage in children's food security and nutritional status.

Methods: We analyze data from Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) wave 4 (2007) and 5 (2014), involving 1,612 households.

Preserved learning of implicit regularities with predictive social cues in older adults.

Introduction: With ageing there are changes in the ability to orient attention, which affect more endogenous than exogenous orienting. However, orienting attention by the gaze direction of others shares characteristics of both exogenous and endogenous attention and it is unclear how it is affected by ageing. Being able to orient attention by the gaze direction of others is important to establish successful social interactions (i.

Dynamic response to short-pulsed U-ion beams of material candidates for vacuum beam windows manufacturing.

The introduction of next-generation extremely energetic particle accelerator facilities, such as the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC (HL-LHC) or the proposed future circular collider (FCC), will dramatically increase the energy stored in the circulating particle beams. This will critically affect the thermo-physical and mechanical properties of the materials adopted, possibly compromising their reliability during the operating lifetime. In this scenario, it is paramount to assess the dynamic thermo-mechanical response of materials presently used, or being developed for future use, in beam intercepting devices exposed to potentially destructive events caused by the impact of energetic particle beams.

European clinical practice guideline: managing and treating laryngopharyngeal reflux disease.

Objective: To propose a European consensus for managing and treating laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) to guide primary care and specialist physicians.

Methods: Twenty-three European experts (otolaryngologists, gastroenterologists, surgeons) participated in a modified Delphi process to revise 38 statements about the definition, clinical management, and treatment of LPRD. Three voting rounds were conducted on a 5-point scale and a consensus was defined a priori as agreement by 80% of the experts.

Serum Uric Acid/Serum Creatinine Ratio and Chronic Vascular Lesions on Renal Biopsy: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Introduction: Increased serum uric acid (SUA) levels are found in cardiovascular and kidney diseases, associated with the development of vascular injury. Uric acid stimulates the inflammatory pathways, promotes vascular smooth muscle cells proliferation, activates renin-angiotensin system leading to the development and progression of vascular damage. Renal function-normalized uric acid [SUA to serum creatinine ratio (SUA/SCr)] has been suggested to be a better indicator of uric acid.

Gut-brain axis and neuroplasticity in health and disease: a systematic review.

The gut microbiota emerged as a potential modulator of brain connectivity in health and disease. This systematic review details current evidence on the gut-brain axis and its influence on brain connectivity. The initial set of studies included 532 papers, updated to January 2024.

MRI in the evaluation of plantar plate disease: diagnostic value of the "stress test".

Introduction: The plantar plate, also called the plantar ligament, is a fibrocartilaginous structure found in the metatarsophalangeal (MTP) and interphalangeal (IP) joints. Our study aimed to evaluate the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed with the patient in the standard position or with joint hyperextension (the "stress test", ST) in the study of plantar plate (PP) disease that involves metatarsophalangeal joints.

Materials And Methods: All patients underwent forefoot MRI (Atroscan C, Esaote, Genoa, Italy), operating at 0.

Phenotypic traits and family history in patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and generalized epilepsy: A multicenter case-control study.

Objective: This study was undertaken to characterize the clinical and genetic features of patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) and generalized epilepsy compared with 22q11.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in the Context of Pituitary Adenomas: Prevalence, Pathophysiology and Clinical Management.

Objective: Many review articles have explored data regarding the coexistence of specific types of pituitary adenomas (PAs) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), particularly focusing on the potential pathogenesis of this intersection and overlapping features. However, a comprehensive evaluation encompassing the full spectrum of PAs and their association with PCOS remains lacking. This review aims to provide a broad assessment of the interactions between these entities, emphasizing pathophysiological mechanisms, clinical presentations, diagnostic challenges and therapeutic implications.

Long-term outcome of pediatric acute severe colitis: A prospective 5-year follow-up of the PRASCO trial.

Objectives: The PRASCO trial reported the short-term superiority of an antibiotic cocktail plus intravenous corticosteroids (IVCS) over IVCS alone in children with acute severe colitis (ASC). Here, we report the extension of the PRASCO trial and the long-term outcomes of the antibiotic cocktail in ASC.

Methods: This prospective follow-up of the PRASCO trial documented disease outcomes and treatments annually through 5 years.

Physiological Performance of Drug-Coated Balloons in Small Coronary Arteries PICCOLETO II μFR.

Background: Drug-coated balloons (DCB) are emerging as an alternative to permanent implants for managing de novo coronary artery disease, particularly in small vessels (SVD). This sub-analysis of the PICCOLETO II study aimed to compare the performance of DCB and DES in terms of Murray's law-based quantitative flow ratio (μFR) changes between baseline, post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and follow-up.

Methods: Patients with a clinical indication for PCI were assigned to receive either Xience DES or Elutax SV/Emperor DCB.

Compact and full-range carbon dioxide sensor using photoacoustic and resonance dependent modes.

A compact and robust optical excitation photoacoustic sensor with a self-integrated laser module excitation and an optimized differential resonator was developed to achieve high sensitivity and full linear range detection of carbon dioxide (CO) based on dual modes of wavelength modulated photoacoustic spectroscopy (WMPAS) and resonant frequency tracking (RFT). The integrated laser module equipped with three lasers (a quantum cascade laser (QCL), a distributed feedback laser (DFB) and a He-Ne laser) working in a time-division multiplexing mode was used as an integrated set of spectroscopic sources for detection of the designated concentration levels of CO. With the absorption photoacoustic mode, the WMPAS detection with the QCL and DFB sources was capable of CO detection at concentrations below 20 %, yielding a noise equivalent concentration (NEC) as low as 240 ppt and a normalized noise equivalent absorption coefficient (NNEA) of 4.