Preoperative CT-Scan Angiography Reconstruction Before Right Colectomy with Complete Mesocolon Excision: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Complete mesocolon excision (CME) and central vascular ligation for right colonic cancers have been developed to improve oncological outcomes. However, it has been linked with a higher risk of morbidity and technical difficulties in operating near major vessels. This study investigated the impact of preoperative surgical planning utilizing CT reconstruction on surgical outcomes in right colectomy with CME.

Association between constipation and incident chronic kidney disease in the UK Biobank study.

Despite previous studies supporting a close relationship between constipation and chronic kidney disease (CKD), the potential impact of constipation on incident CKD and the role of laxatives remains uncertain. We analyzed longitudinal data from the UK Biobank, which links baseline assessment data with follow-up data from hospital episode statistics and general practice records. Constipation was defined with diagnostic codes or regular use of laxatives at baseline as reported in the questionnaire.

Revealing and mitigating the inhibitory effect of serotonin on HRP-mediated protein labelling.

Proximity-dependent biotinylation coupled with mass spectrometry enables the characterization of subcellular proteomes. This technique has significantly advanced neuroscience by revealing sub-synaptic protein networks, such as the synaptic cleft and post-synaptic density. Profiling proteins at this detailed level is essential for understanding the molecular mechanisms of neuronal connectivity and transmission.

Fear of mating out (FOMO): voyeurism does not increase mating propensity in fruit flies.

Mate availability and social information can influence mating behaviour in both males and females. Social information obtained from conspecifics can influence mate choice, particularly shown by studies on mate choice copying. However, the role of directly observing conspecific mating on mating behaviour has been less explored.

Diagnostic accuracy and inter-reader agreement of the nacVI-RADS for bladder cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a prospective validation study.

Objective: The primary aim was to determine the performance of neoadjuvant chemotherapy VI-RADS (nacVI-RADS) in predicting response to systemic therapy in patients with MIBC and to evaluate its inter-reader agreement.

Materials And Methods: Prospective study, including patients with non-metastatic muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy before radical cystectomy (RC). Patients underwent pre- and post-treatment MRI.

Temporal evolution of insecticide resistance and bionomics in Anopheles funestus, a key malaria vector in Uganda.

Insecticide resistance escalation is decreasing the efficacy of vector control tools. Monitoring vector resistance is paramount in order to understand its evolution and devise effective counter-solutions. In this study, we monitored insecticide resistance patterns, vector population bionomics and genetic variants associated with resistance over 3 years from 2021 to 2023 in Uganda.

Estimation of the size, density, and demographic distribution of the UK pet dog population in 2019.

There is limited knowledge about the size of the UK dog population. This makes it difficult to reliably monitor population dynamics and management. A repeatable method of measuring the UK dog population, including owned and unowned dogs i.

Research on cost and carbon reduction using the optimization of composite slabs modules based on bim technology.

As one of the primary precast components in prefabricated construction, composite slabs have increasingly attracted interest for their costs as well as carbon footprint in production and installation stages. Conventional methods for separating composite slabs can lead to a building project necessitating multiple specifications of composite slabs. Due to the requirement to customize molds for different modulus of composite slabs, the production process experiences a substantial rise in energy consumption and resource waste.

Roughness integration across fingers within compared with across the hands.

Feeling a texture typically involves sliding the fingers of a hand across that surface or rubbing the surface between the thumb and another digit. Texture signals appear to be integrated across the digits of a hand with perceived roughness at one finger swayed in the direction of texture touched by another finger of the same hand. To date, one study has reported similar integrative effects when the pairs of digits belong to different hands.

Distributional properties of the entropy transformed Weibull distribution and applications to various scientific fields.

A novel two-parameter continuous model titled the entropy-transformed Weibull (ET-W) distribution has been developed via the entropy transformation. A new framework has been investigated and found to meet the criteria of the probability function. By significantly improving the functional shape and having the ability to model the most likely form of the hazard rate function, this novel modification has increased the adaptability of typical model.

Imaging pathology in archived cornea with Fuchs' endothelial corneal dystrophy including tissue reprocessing for volume electron microscopy.

Fuchs' endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) is a common sight-threatening condition characterised by pathological changes in the posterior cornea. Here we report observations by light, transmission and volume scanning electron microscopy on changes in the endothelium and matrix associated with the characteristic deformations of Descemet's membrane, termed guttae. Specimens were archived full-thickness human corneal tissue, removed during graft surgery, that had been fixed, stained and embedded by conventional processing methods for examination by transmission electron microscopy more than 40-years previously.

Detection of fungal sequences in human brain: rDNA locus amplification and deep sequencing.

The aetiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are unknown and tend to manifest at a late stage in life; even though these neurodegenerative diseases are caused by different affected proteins, they are both characterized by neuroinflammation. Links between bacterial and viral infection and AD/PD has been suggested in several studies, however, few have attempted to establish a link between fungal infection and AD/PD. In this study we adopted a nanopore-based sequencing approach to characterise the presence or absence of fungal genera in both human brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Continual deep reinforcement learning with task-agnostic policy distillation.

Central to the development of universal learning systems is the ability to solve multiple tasks without retraining from scratch when new data arrives. This is crucial because each task requires significant training time. Addressing the problem of continual learning necessitates various methods due to the complexity of the problem space.

Single unit-derived connectivity networks in tuberous sclerosis complex reveal propensity for network hypersynchrony driven by tuber-tuber interactions.

Network hypersynchrony is emerging as an important system-level mechanism underlying seizures, as well as cognitive and behavioural impairments, in children with structural brain abnormalities. We investigated patterns of single neuron action potential behaviour in 206 neurons recorded from tubers, transmantle tails of tubers and normal looking cortex in 3 children with tuberous sclerosis. The patterns of neuronal firing on a neuron-by-neuron (autocorrelation) basis did not reveal any differences as a function of anatomy.

SEAD reference panel with 22,134 haplotypes boosts rare variant imputation and genome-wide association analysis in Asian populations.

Limited whole genome sequencing (WGS) studies in Asian populations result in a lack of representative reference panels, thus hindering the discovery of ancestry-specific variants. Here, we present the South and East Asian reference Database (SEAD) panel ( https://imputationserver.westlake.

Strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa allows tracing origins of victims of the transatlantic slave trade.

Strontium isotope (Sr/Sr) analysis with reference to strontium isotope landscapes (Sr isoscapes) allows reconstructing mobility and migration in archaeology, ecology, and forensics. However, despite the vast potential of research involving Sr/Sr analysis particularly in Africa, Sr isoscapes remain unavailable for the largest parts of the continent. Here, we measure the Sr/Sr ratios in 778 environmental samples from 24 African countries and combine this data with published data to model a bioavailable Sr isoscape for sub-Saharan Africa using random forest regression.

Peripheral contributions to resting state brain dynamics.

The correlational structure of brain activity dynamics in the absence of stimuli or behavior is often taken to reveal intrinsic properties of neural function. To test the limits of this assumption, we analyzed peripheral contributions to resting state activity measured by fMRI in unanesthetized, chemically immobilized male rats that emulate human neuroimaging conditions. We find that perturbation of somatosensory input channels modifies correlation strengths that relate somatosensory areas both to one another and to higher-order brain regions, despite the absence of ostensible stimuli or movements.

Validation of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-R) in rural contexts in South Africa.

Resilience is central to young children's healthy and happy development. The Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-R) has been widely used in several countries. However, its construct validity among young children in rural South Africa has not been examined.

Genetic, natal and spatial drivers of social phenotypes in wild great tits.

In social animals, group dynamics profoundly influence collective behaviours, vital in processes like information sharing and predator vigilance. Disentangling the causes of individual-level variation in social behaviours is crucial for understanding the evolution of sociality. This requires the estimation of the genetic and environmental basis of these behaviours, which is challenging in uncontrolled wild populations.

Adiposity and risks of gastrointestinal cancers: A 10-year prospective study of 0.5 million Chinese adults.

Associations of adiposity with risks of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and non-cardia stomach cancer, both prevalent in China, are still inconclusive. While adiposity is an established risk factor for colorectal cancer, the relevance of fat-free mass and early-adulthood adiposity remains to be explored. The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank study included 0.

Hidden Causes of Variation in Offspring Reproductive Value: Negative Effects of Maternal Breeding Age on Offspring Telomere Length Persist Undiminished Across Multiple Generations.

Offspring of older breeders frequently show reduced longevity, which has been linked to shorter offspring telomere length. It is currently unknown whether such telomere reduction persists beyond a single generation, as would be the case if germline transmission is involved. In a within-grandmother, multi-generational study using zebra finches, we show that the shorter telomeres observed in F1 offspring of older mothers are still present in the F2 generation even when the breeding age of their F1 mothers is young.

T* relaxometry of fetal brain structures using low-field (0.55T) MRI.

Purpose: Human brain development during gestation is complex, as both structure and function are rapidly forming. Structural imaging methods using MRI are well developed to explore these changes, but functional imaging tools are lacking. Low-field MRI is a promising modality to bridge this gap.

Thermally Drawn Shape and Stiffness Programmable Fibers for Medical Devices.

Despite the significant advantages of Shape Memory Polymers (SMPs), material processing and production challenges have limited their applications. Recent advances in fiber manufacturing offer a novel approach to processing polymers, broadening the functions of fibers beyond optical applications. In this study, a thermal drawing technique for SMPs to fabricate Shape Memory Polymer Fibers (SMPFs) tailored for medical applications, featuring programmable stiffness and shape control is developed.

Non-APOE variants predominately expressed in smooth muscle cells contribute to the influence of Alzheimer's disease genetic risk on white matter hyperintensities.

Introduction: White matter hyperintensity volumes (WMHVs) are disproportionally prevalent in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD), potentially reflecting neurovascular injury. We quantify the association between AD polygenic risk score (AD-PRS) and WMHV, exploring single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are proximal to genes overexpressed in cerebrovascular cell species.

Methods: In a UK-Biobank sub-sample (mean age = 64, range = 45-81 years), we associate WMHV with (1) AD-PRS estimated via SNPs across the genome (minus apolipoprotein E [APOE] locus) and (2) AD-PRS estimated with SNPs proximal to specific genes that are overexpressed in cerebrovascular cell species.

Challenges of equitable access to device-aided therapies for advanced Parkinson's Disease in Poland - expert consensus and treatment recommendations.

Introduction: In Poland, not all forms of device-aided therapies for advanced Parkinson's Disease (APD) are currently available.

Material And Methods: We aimed to produce a consensus recommendation from Polish movement disorders experts after discussing gaps in the APD care pathway in Poland.

Results: Rescue therapy with apomorphine (APO) PEN injection and levodopa-entacapone-carbidopa intestinal gel infusion are not included in Poland's Specialist Therapeutic Programme, and are thus not reimbursed.