Psychometric properties of the Iranian version of the dissociative experiences measure, Oxford (DEMO).

Backgrounds: Dissociative experiences are described as crucial psychological mechanisms involving the organism's responses to severe psychological traumas and unpleasant past experiences. This research was conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the Dissociative Experiences Measure, Oxford (DEMO) in the Iranian general population.

Methods: This study used cross-sectional correlation, and the statistical population consisted of Iranians over 15 years old.

Migraine in men.

Background: Migraine is a common primary headache disorder, less frequently affecting men than women, and often regarded as predominantly a "women's disease." Despite this, migraine in men presents with unique characteristics in terms of symptoms, treatment responses, comorbidities, and pain perception. Historically, research has focused more on migraine in women, overlooking critical male-specific aspects.

Antifungal Resistance Patterns of Microsporum canis: A 27-Year MIC Study in Mainland China.

Background: Microsporum canis, a dermatophyte commonly associated with pets, is a leading cause of severe tinea capitis. The increasing prevalence of antifungal resistance among dermatophytes poses a significant global health challenge.

Objectives: This study aims to define the updated antifungal susceptibility profile of M.

Cytoskeleton-functionalized synthetic cells with life-like mechanical features and regulated membrane dynamicity.

The cytoskeleton is a crucial determinant of mammalian cell structure and function, providing mechanical resilience, supporting the cell membrane and orchestrating essential processes such as cell division and motility. Because of its fundamental role in living cells, developing a reconstituted or artificial cytoskeleton is of major interest. Here we present an approach to construct an artificial cytoskeleton that imparts mechanical support and regulates membrane dynamics.

Sex-specific mechanisms in vascular aging: exploring cellular and molecular pathways in the pathogenesis of age-related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Aging remains the foremost risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, surpassing traditional factors in epidemiological significance. This review elucidates the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying vascular aging, with an emphasis on sex differences that influence disease progression and clinical outcomes in older adults. We discuss the convergence of aging processes at the macro- and microvascular levels and their contributions to the pathogenesis of vascular diseases.

Effects of LinTT1-peptide conjugation on the properties of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles prepared by the nanoprecipitation method.

Functionalization of polymer nanoparticles (NPs) with targeting peptides is of interest for drug delivery applications to enhance tumor accumulation and penetration. Herein, we evaluated the feasibility of two different methods for the attachment of a tumor-penetrating peptide LinTT1 (AKRGARSTA) to poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL-PEG) NPs: (1) "post-conjugation" onto pre-formed nanoparticles, and (2) "pre-conjugation", the synthesis and purification of peptide-polymer conjugates and subsequent nanoprecipitation of the conjugates diluted with non-functionalized polymers. Conjugation of the labelled peptide via maleimide-thiol chemistry was verified by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and fluorescence measurements.

Moderate and Vigorous Physical Activity Intensity Cut-Points for Hip-, Wrist-, Thigh-, and Lower Back Worn Accelerometer in Very Old Adults.

Physical activity (PA) reduces the risk of negative mental and physical health outcomes in older adults. Traditionally, PA intensity is classified using METs, with 1 MET equal to 3.5 mL O·min·kg.

The effects of diazepam on sleep depend on the photoperiod.

Daylength (i.e., photoperiod) provides essential information for seasonal adaptations of organisms.

Personalized, autologous neoantigen-specific T cell therapy in metastatic melanoma: a phase 1 trial.

New treatment approaches are warranted for patients with advanced melanoma refractory to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) or BRAF-targeted therapy. We designed BNT221, a personalized, neoantigen-specific autologous T cell product derived from peripheral blood, and tested this in a 3 + 3 dose-finding study with two dose levels (DLs) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic melanoma, disease progression after ICB, measurable disease (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1) and, where appropriate, BRAF-targeted therapy.

Single immunization with genetically attenuated Pf∆mei2 (GA2) parasites by mosquito bite in controlled human malaria infection: a placebo-controlled randomized trial.

Malaria vaccines consisting of metabolically active Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) sporozoites can offer improved protection compared with currently deployed subunit vaccines. In a previous study, we demonstrated the superior protective efficacy of a three-dose regimen of late-arresting genetically attenuated parasites administered by mosquito bite (GA2-MB) compared with early-arresting counterparts (GA1-MB) against a homologous controlled human malaria infection. Encouraged by these results, we explored the potency of a single GA2-MB immunization in a placebo-controlled randomized trial.

Deep learning-based pelvimetry in pelvic MRI volumes for pre-operative difficulty assessment of total mesorectal excision.

Background: Specific pelvic bone dimensions have been identified as predictors of total mesorectal excision (TME) difficulty and outcomes. However, manual measurement of these dimensions (pelvimetry) is labor intensive and thus, anatomic criteria are not included in the pre-operative difficulty assessment. In this work, we propose an automated workflow for pelvimetry based on pre-operative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) volumes.

Flow-Based Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Patency Metrics: Uncertainty Quantification Simulations to Guide Development.

Purpose: Over time, transit time flow measurement (TTFM) has proven itself as a simple and effective tool for intra-operative evaluation of coronary artery bypass grafts (CABGs). However, metrics used to screen for possible technical error show considerable spread, preventing the definition of sharp cut-off values to distinguish between patent, questionable, and failed grafts. The simulation study presented in this paper aims to quantify this uncertainty for commonly used patency metrics, and to identify the most important physiological parameters influencing it.

Generating unseen diseases patient data using ontology enhanced generative adversarial networks.

Generating realistic synthetic health data (e.g., electronic health records), holds promise for fundamental research, AI model development, and enhancing data privacy safeguards.

Establishing bio-logging data collections as dynamic archives of animal life on Earth.

Rapid growth in bio-logging-the use of animal-borne electronic tags to document the movements, behaviour, physiology and environments of wildlife-offers opportunities to mitigate biodiversity threats and expand digital natural history archives. Here we present a vision to achieve such benefits by accounting for the heterogeneity inherent to bio-logging data and the concerns of those who collect and use them. First, we can enable data integration through standard vocabularies, transfer protocols and aggregation protocols, and drive their wide adoption.

Oligometastatic Esophagogastric Cancer: Does It Exist and How Do We Treat It?

Purpose Of The Review: This narrative review aims to provide an overview of recently completed randomized trials and expert consensus recommendations, and their implications for clinical practice and future trial design in patients with de-novo esophagogastric oligometastatic disease (OMD).

Recent Findings: The IKF-575/RENAISSANCE phase III trial showed no significant overall survival difference between systemic therapy alone and systemic therapy combined with local therapy for patients with gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer and de-novo OMD, except for patients with retroperitoneal lymph node metastases only. The ESO-Shanghai 13 phase II trial demonstrated superiority of adding local therapy to systemic therapy for progression-free and overall survival in oligometastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Comprehensive genomic characterization of early-stage bladder cancer.

Understanding the molecular landscape of nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is essential to improve risk assessment and treatment regimens. We performed a comprehensive genomic analysis of patients with NMIBC using whole-exome sequencing (n = 438), shallow whole-genome sequencing (n = 362) and total RNA sequencing (n = 414). A large genomic variation within NMIBC was observed and correlated with different molecular subtypes.

ZIC1 is a context-dependent medulloblastoma driver in the rhombic lip.

Transcription factors are frequent cancer driver genes, exhibiting noted specificity based on the precise cell of origin. We demonstrate that ZIC1 exhibits loss-of-function (LOF) somatic events in group 4 (G4) medulloblastoma through recurrent point mutations, subchromosomal deletions and mono-allelic epigenetic repression (60% of G4 medulloblastoma). In contrast, highly similar SHH medulloblastoma exhibits distinct and diametrically opposed gain-of-function mutations and copy number gains (20% of SHH medulloblastoma).

Degrowth as a plausible pathway for food systems transformation.

Food systems require urgent transformation towards social and ecological sustainability. Degrowth posits a radical pathway of transformation to reduce ecological impacts while increasing well-being and reducing inequality. Here we highlight that degrowth and food systems-albeit both linked to transformation-are not well integrated.

Perennial disaster patterns in Central Europe since 2000 and implications for hospital preparedness planning - a cross-sectional analysis.

The goal of this analysis is to describe seasonal disaster patterns in Central Europe in order to raise awareness and improve hospital disaster planning and resilience, particularly during peak events. Hospitals are essential pillars of a country's critical infrastructure, vital for sustaining healthcare services and supporting public well-being-a key issue of national security. Disaster planning for hospitals is crucial to ensure their functionality under special circumstances.

A non-metallic PEEK topology optimization reconstruction implant for large mandibular continuity defects, validated using the MANDYBILATOR apparatus.

In cases of large mandibular continuity defects resulting from malignancy resection, the current standard of care involves using patient-specific/custom titanium reconstruction plates along with autogenous grafts (fibula, scapula, or iliac crest segments). However, when grafts are not feasible or desired, only the reconstruction plate is used to bridge the gap. Unfortunately, metal osteosynthesis and reconstruction plates, including titanium, exhibit adverse effects such as stress-shielding and limitations in accurate postoperative irradiation (especially with proton-beam therapy).

Multiscale X-ray scattering elucidates activation and deactivation of oxide-derived copper electrocatalysts for CO reduction.

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO) into sustainable fuels and base chemicals requires precise control over and understanding of activity, selectivity and stability descriptors of the electrocatalyst under operation. Identification of the active phase under working conditions, but also deactivation factors after prolonged operation, are of the utmost importance to further improve electrocatalysts for electrochemical CO conversion. Here, we present a multiscale in situ investigation of activation and deactivation pathways of oxide-derived copper electrocatalysts under CO reduction conditions.

Endothelial-Ercc1 DNA repair deficiency provokes blood-brain barrier dysfunction.

Aging of the brain vasculature plays a key role in the development of neurovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, thereby contributing to cognitive impairment. Among other factors, DNA damage strongly promotes cellular aging, however, the role of genomic instability in brain endothelial cells (EC) and its potential effect on brain homeostasis is still largely unclear. We here investigated how endothelial aging impacts blood-brain barrier (BBB) function by using excision repair cross complementation group 1 (ERCC1)-deficient human brain ECs and an EC-specific Ercc1 knock out (EC-KO) mouse model.