Brain entropy (BEN) is a novel measure for irregularity and complexity of brain activities, which has been used to characterize abnormal brain activities in many brain disorders including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). While most research assumes BEN is stationary during scan sessions, the brain in resting state is also a highly dynamic system. The BEN dynamics in ADHD has not been explored.

In adults and children with intellectual disability (ID), sleep -disordered breathing (SDB) is thought to be common. However, large epidemiological studies are lacking, and there are few studies on optimal methods of investigation and even fewer randomised, controlled intervention trials of treatment.

This study examined how consumerism shapes the identity construction processes of Israeli men who pay women for sex (MPWS). Using the theoretical framework of and the theoretical concept of , we explored how Israeli MPWS extend their selves through sex-consumption. To this end, we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 23 Israeli MPWS. An interpretive epistemology and a constructivist grounded theory methodology guided the data-analysis. We conceptualized three dynamics of self-identity construction processes through sex-consumption: , and . The findings revealed a complex process, whereby MPWS attribute various and contradictory meanings to their possessions, their consumerist experiences, and their purchasing processes. We conclude that consumerism is central to the meanings that MPWS attribute to their engagement in the sex industry. Thus, the theoretical framework of consumerism should be further applied to future studies in this field in order to gain a nuanced and deeper understanding of MPWS and the phenomenon of sex consumption.

Whether certain medical conditions are associated with blood pressure (BP) treatment and control is unclear.

In clinical settings, it is necessary to create a clinical learning environment that provides the ground for the learners to acquire competencies especially in high-stress and emotion-bound clinical settings.

Ultrasound-triggered bubble-mediated local drug delivery has shown potential to increase therapeutic efficacy and reduce systemic side effects, by loading drugs into the microbubble shell and triggering delivery of the payload on demand using ultrasound. Understanding the behavior of the microbubbles in response to ultrasound is crucial for efficient and controlled release.

Using scoring systems in discreet microbiologic cohorts in a serial fashion to identify unique phenotypes of sepsis remains unknown. Single-center, retrospective study that screened adults who triggered the hospital's SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome) based sepsis alert into culture positive (Cx +) and culture negative (Cx-) groups. Subgroups were based on the location where the SIRS alert fired. SIRS scores and a novel score called SEP were calculated at t = 0 and at 3, 6, 12, and 24 h before and after t = 0. Primary outcome was a difference in SIRS/SEP scores in Cx + or Cx- groups over time. Secondary outcomes were differences in total SIRS/SEP scores and the components constituting SIRS/SEP scores at various locations over time. The study contained 7955 patients who met inclusion criteria. Cx + and Cx- groups had increases in SIRS/SEP scores and at similar rates starting 6 hours before t = 0. Both culture groups had decreasing SIRS/SEP scores, at varying gradients compared to the change in SIRS/SEP scores seen prior to t = 0. This pattern in SIRS/SEP scores before and after t = 0 was consistent in all location subgroups. Statistically significant differences were seen in the overall SIRS/SEP scores for Cx + and Cx- groups at hours 6, 12, and 24 after t = 0, in the ED group at t = 24 h after t = 0, the floor group at t = 0 h, and in the step-down group at t = 3 h after t = 0 h. Microbiological cohorting and serial assessments may be an effective tool to identify homogenous phenotypes of sepsis.

Evaluate the use of super-resolution ultrasound (SRUS) imaging for the early detection of tumor response to treatment using a vascular-disrupting agent (VDA).

Fusobacterium necrophorum is a common cause of pharyngotonsillitis. However, no guidelines exist on when to diagnose or treat it. We aimed to investigate associations between clinical criteria and F. necrophorum-positivity in pharyngotonsillitis and assess the predictive potential of a simple scoring system.

The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Xist is crucially involved in a process called X chromosome inactivation (XCI), the transcriptional silencing of one of the two X chromosomes in female mammals to achieve X dosage compensation between the sexes. Because Xist RNA silences the X chromosome from which it is transcribed, the activation of Xist transcription marks the initiation of the XCI process and thus, mechanisms and players that activate this gene are of central importance to the XCI process. During female mouse embryogenesis, XCI occurs in two steps. At the 2-4 cell stages imprinted XCI (iXCI) silences exclusively the paternally inherited X chromosome (Xp). While extraembryonic cells including trophoblasts keep the Xp silenced, epiblast cells that give rise to the embryo proper reactivate the Xp and undergo random XCI (rXCI) around implantation. Both iXCI and rXCI are dependent on Xist. Rlim, also known as Rnf12, is an X-linked E3 ubiquitin ligase that is involved in the transcriptional activation of Xist. However, while data on the crucial involvement of Rlim during iXCI appear clear, its role in rXCI has been controversial. This review discusses data leading to this disagreement and recent evidence for a regulatory switch of Xist transcription in epiblasts of implanting embryos, partially reconciling the roles of Rlim during Xist activation.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting programmed cell death 1/programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-1/PD-L1) have significantly prolonged the survival of advanced/metastatic patients with lung cancer. However, only a small proportion of patients can benefit from ICIs, and clinical management of the treatment process remains challenging. Glycosylation has added a new dimension to advance our understanding of tumor immunity and immunotherapy. To systematically characterize anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy-related changes in serum glycoproteins, a series of serum samples from 12 patients with metastatic lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and lung adenocarcinoma (ADC), collected before and during ICIs treatment, are firstly analyzed with mass-spectrometry-based label-free quantification method. Second, a stratification analysis is performed among anti-PD-1/PD-L1 responders and non-responders, with serum levels of glycopeptides correlated with treatment response. In addition, in an independent validation cohort, a large-scale site-specific profiling strategy based on chemical labeling is employed to confirm the unusual characteristics of IgG N-glycosylation associated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment. Unbiased label-free quantitative glycoproteomics reveals serum levels' alterations related to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment in 27 out of 337 quantified glycopeptides. The intact glycopeptide EEQFN STYR (H3N4) corresponding to IgG4 is significantly increased during anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment (FC=2.65, =0.0083) and has the highest increase in anti-PD-1/PD-L1 responders (FC=5.84, =0.0190). Quantitative glycoproteomics based on protein purification and chemical labeling confirms this observation. Furthermore, obvious associations between the two intact glycopeptides (EEQFN STYR (H3N4) of IgG4, EEQYN STFR (H3N4F1) of IgG3) and response to treatment are observed, which may play a guiding role in cancer immunotherapy. Our findings could benefit future clinical disease management.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by persistent antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) with arterial and venous thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity. In recent years, several studies have highlighted the potential role of non-criteria aPL in diagnosing APS patients.

A cornerstone in drug discovery is the development of strategies to provide privileged small molecules with specific structural and stereochemical complexity, allowing access to new potential therapeutic entities. In this work, a new strategy based on the [4 + 2] Povarov reaction involving 1,3-diazadiene was developed. This approach is applied for a straightforward procedure in the preparation of chromeno[4,3-]pyrido[1,2-]pyrimidine derivatives, with accessible substrates, 2-aminopyridine and unsaturated aldehydes, and excellent atom economy to obtain four fused ring heterocycles, in a regio- and diastereoselective way.

CoO has attracted increasing attention as an electrochemical energy storage owing to its excellent redox activity and high theoretical specific capacitance. However, its low inherent electrical conductivity results in sluggish reaction kinetics, and the poor rate capability of CoO limits its widespread applications. Herein, a multiple-defect strategy of engineering oxygen vacancies and Cu-ion dopants into the low-crystalline CoO nanowires (Ov-Cu-CoO) is successfully applied. Because of the advantage of the dual defect synergetic effect, the electronic structure and charge distribution are effectively modulated, thus enhancing the electrical conductivity and enriched redox chemistry. The obtained Ov-Cu-CoO electrode exhibits a high specific capacity of 1388.6 F⋅g at a current density of 1 A⋅g, an ultrahigh rate performance (81.2% of the capacitance retained at 20 A⋅g) and excellent cycling stability (101.1% after 10,000 cycles). Moreover, an asymmetric supercapacitor device with Ov-Cu-CoO as the positive electrode having a high energy density of 44.1 W⋅h⋅kg at a power density of 800 W⋅kg, and can still remain 27.2 W⋅h⋅kg at a power density of 16 kW⋅kg. This study demonstrates an effective strategy to enhance electrochemical performance of CoO that can be easy applied to other transition metal oxides.

Despite its widespread use, there are no direct studies comparing mini-bronchoalveolar lavage (mini-BAL) to bronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) for diagnosing pneumonia in ventilated patients. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review of studies comparing ventilated patients undergoing both bronchoscopic BAL and mini-BAL, to determine the mini-BAL's diagnostic accuracy. We conducted a systematic review searching the databases PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and clinicaltrials.gov from inception until January 2022, in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Search terms included variations on "pneumonia," "critical illness," and "mini-bronchoalveolar lavage." Article screening and data extraction were performed independently by 2 reviewers. Our search yielded 4296 abstracts. This was narrowed to 6 studies in which each patient underwent both mini-BAL and bronchoscopic BAL in succession. Included patients had a mean APACHE II score of 20.02 ± 3.81 and 15.95 ± 11.46 ventilator days. The sensitivity of the mini-BAL for diagnosis of pneumonia was 0.90 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.778-1.000) and the specificity was 0.827 (95% CI: 0.716-0.938). Limitations included inconsistency in volume of saline instilled and heterogeneity in included patients This study is the first to compile data from multiple publications directly comparing the mini-BAL to bronchoscopic BAL for diagnosing pneumonia in ventilated patients. Our data demonstrate a high degree of both sensitivity and specificity of mini-BAL for the diagnosis of pneumonia in ventilated patients and indicate that mini-BAL could be considered as an acceptable alternative diagnostic study.

Connection and opening a syringe infusion pump to a central venous line can lead to acute anterograde or retrograde fluid shifts depending on the level of central venous pressure. This may lead to bolus events or to prolonged lag times of intravenous drug delivery, being particularly relevant when administering vasoactive or inotropic drugs in critically ill patients using microinfusion. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of syringe pump positioning at different vertical heights on start-up fluid delivery before versus after purging and connection the pump to the central venous catheter.

The gut microbiome is an important modulator of the host immune system. In this study, we found that altering the gut microbiome by oral vancomycin increases liver invariant NKT (iNKT) cell function. Enhanced iNKT cytokine production and activation marker expression were observed in vancomycin-treated mice following both Ag-specific and Ag-independent in vivo iNKT stimulations, with a more prominent effect in the liver than in the spleen. Fecal transplantation studies demonstrated that the iNKT functional regulation is mediated by altering the gut microbiome but uncoupled from the modulation of iNKT cell population size. Interestingly, when stimulated in vitro, iNKT cells from vancomycin-treated mice did not show increased activation, suggesting an indirect regulation. iNKT cells expressed high levels of IL-18 receptor, and vancomycin increased the expression of IL-18 in the liver. Blocking IL-18 by neutralizing Ab or using genetically deficient mice attenuated the enhanced iNKT activation. Liver macrophages were identified as a major source of IL-18. General macrophage depletion by clodronate abolished this iNKT activation. Using anti-CSF-1R depletion or LyzCrexCSF-1RLsL-DTR mice identified CSF-1R+ macrophages as a critical modulator of iNKT function. Vancomycin treatment had no effect on iNKT cell function in vivo in IL-18 knockout macrophage reconstituted mice. Together, our results demonstrate that the gut microbiome controls liver iNKT function via regulating CSF-1R+ macrophages to produce IL-18.

The Vantage Total Ankle System is a fourth-generation low-profile fixed-bearing implant that has been available since 2016. We aimed to describe our early experience with this implant.

Medication non-adherence is currently estimated to have caused at least 100 000 preventable deaths and over $100 billion in preventable medical costs. Adherence is particularly poor in dermatological conditions, with more than 50% of patients discontinuing topical treatments within the first year. Pharmacists are among the most accessible health-care professionals with the potential to greatly impact medication non-adherence through patient education, medication therapy management, and improved access to care. This review aimed to determine how pharmacists have improved medication adherence in dermatology and discuss strategies for further involvement. An extensive medical literature search using the PubMed database was conducted to evaluate clinical studies, published in the last 20 years, that have evaluated the pharmacist's role and impact on adherence of to dermatological products. PubMed search terms include: "pharmacists' role in dermatologic medication adherence", "pharmacist-led interventions in dermatology", "pharmacist medication adherence dermatology" and "pharmacist intervention dermatology". A total of 18 relevant studies were identified. Pharmacists improved dermatological medication adherence by increasing access to medications, providing medication counseling programs, and performing treatment monitoring services. However, corticophobia may contribute to pharmacists' hesitancy in making corticosteroid over-the-counter recommendations. Pharmacists are accessible health-care providers with the potential to improve dermatological medication adherence. Future advanced training in dermatology medications may refine pharmacists' knowledge of dermatological products.

Focal therapy treats individual areas of tumour in non-metastatic prostate cancer in patients unsuitable for active surveillance. The aim of this work was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of focal therapy versus prostatectomy and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT).

To compare all-cause claims associated with the LATERA Absorbable Nasal Implant and surgical repair of nasal vestibular stenosis in patients with nasal valve collapse.