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Antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment failure remains a major public health concern, with multidimensional consequences, including an increased risk of drug resistance, compromised quality of life, and high healthcare costs. However, little is known about the outcomes of second-line ART in Ethiopia. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the incidence and determinants of second-line ART treatment failure. Articles published in PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Scopus databases were systematically searched...

Utilising Machine Learning (ML) models to predict dosimetric parameters in pencil beam scanning proton therapy presents a promising and practical approach. The study developed Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models to predict proton beam spot size and relative positional errors using 9000 proton spot data. The irradiation log files as input variables and corresponding scintillation detector measurements as the label values. The ANN models were developed to predict six variables: spot size in the x -axis, y -axis, major axis, minor axis, and relative positional errors in the x -axis and y -axis...

BACKGROUND: Right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) and pulmonary hypertension have been recognized as two important prognostic features in patients with left side heart failure. Current literature does not distinguish between right heart failure (RHF) and RVD, and the two terms are used indiscriminately to describe pulmonary hypertension and RVD as well as clinical sign of RHF. Therefore, the right ventricle (RV) adaptation across the whole spectrum of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) values has been poorly investigated...

PURPOSE: By selectively perfusing the first three jejunal arteries (JA), we aim to assess the individual perfusion length of small bowel (SB) and its impact on nodal resection in stage III-up small-intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NET). METHODS: Our anatomical research protocol implies a midline laparotomy and three measures of the SB length. We then perform a classical anterior approach of the superior mesenteric vessels. We carry on with the complete dissection and checking of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) in order to identify the first three JA...

BACKGROUND: A significant proportion of people with clozapine-treated schizophrenia develop 'checking' compulsions, a phenomenon yet to be understood. AIMS: To use habit formation models developed in cognitive neuroscience to investigate the dynamic interplay between psychosis, clozapine dose and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS). METHOD: Using the anonymised electronic records of a cohort of clozapine-treated patients, including longitudinal assessments of OCS and psychosis, we performed longitudinal multi-level mediation and multi-level moderation analyses to explore associations of psychosis with obsessiveness and excessive checking...

BACKGROUND: Iodine nutrition is critical for fetal neurodevelopment in the first trimester of pregnancy, a period associated with dramatic changes in thyroid function. The aim of this study was to evaluate iodine nutritional status and thyroid function reference ranges in the first trimester in Taiwan. METHODS: Pregnant women aged 20 years and above in the first trimester were recruited in Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan from March 2019 to July 2022. Each participant provided a spot urine sample for measurement of urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and a blood sample for check-up of thyroid function and thyroid autoantibodies...

Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is transmitted by the fecal route, usually through contaminated water in humans and/or infected animals, especially pigs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of anti-HEV antibodies in a panel of pig sera and to identify HEV in pig feces in farms. Methodology: The presence of HEV antibodies was tested by an in-house ELISA and a commercial ELISA IDvet. HEV genome was assessed by nested RT-PCR, and then, genotype was identified by sequencing (MinION Nanopore technology)...

BACKGROUND: This scoping review explored the evidence in the peer-reviewed published journal literature to identify the facilitators and barriers to implementing the 4Ms Framework of Age-Friendly Health Systems in inpatient and outpatient clinical settings. METHODS: Our search strategy focused on primary and secondary data sources that described the barriers and facilitators of incorporating the 4Ms Framework in clinical settings. We focused on older adults 65 years and older and followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-SCR)...

Athletes have a high risk of injury. Kinesiophobia is a condition in which an individual experiences a fear of physical movement and activity after an injury occurs. Our purpose was to systematically review the literature about Kinesiophobia in athletes. A systematic review was conducted in February 2023 using PubMed, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Medline. Studies were included if they were peer-reviewed, in English, within the last 20 years and included athletes who had been injured and tracked Kinesiophobia...

In the United States and around the world, newborns are screened on a population basis for conditions benefiting from pre-symptomatic diagnosis and treatment. The number of screened conditions continues to expand as novel technologies for screening, diagnosing, treating, and managing disease are discovered. While screening all newborns facilitates early diagnosis and treatment, most screened conditions are treatable but not curable. Patients identified by newborn screening often require lifelong medical management and community support to achieve the best possible outcome...

BACKGROUND: The practice of self-medication (SM) is common worldwide and is an important component of medical self-care. However, improper practice can be dangerous. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of SM and the factors associated with it among Bangladeshi adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between April and June 2021 among Bangladeshi adults (aged > 19 years) using convenient sampling. A total of 1320 subjects were collected through face-to-face interviews using a standardized questionnaire...

Emerging adulthood is the youth trajectory characterized by self-focus, identity exploration, feeling between adolescence and adulthood, instability, and experimentation. This trajectory was first identified in industrialized individualistic countries with gender equality and technological progress. To measure transition to adulthood, the Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood ( IDEA ) was created. Although emerging adulthood is considered universal, adaptations of the questionnaire across the 12 countries show different patterns, and its cross-cultural invariance has been underinvestigated...

Clinical endocrinologists encounter in their practice patients with thyroid diseases on a daily basis. Still, diagnosis of rare structural thyroid disorders can be quite challenging. In some instances, they do not only impersonate but can also conceal, other conditions such as thyroid carcinomas. We describe a series of patients with structural thyroid disorders including 1) anaplastic thyroid carcinoma initially presenting with features of thyroid abscess; 2) unicentric hyaline vascular Castleman's disease of the thyroid embedded in a stroma of papillary thyroid carcinoma; and 3) primary thyroid lymphoma with a rapid and fulminant evolution...

UNLABELLED: Combinatorial auctions are an important part of many frameworks for carrier collaboration in logistics. In the last years, many innovative auction mechanisms have been developed in the economic literature that could potentially be applied in this context and that could significantly simplify the process of determining efficient allocations of requests. These mechanisms rely on certain assumptions about the valuations of bidders. In this paper, we perform computational experiments to analyze to which extent these requirements are fulfilled for valuations derived from a simple logistics problem, the Traveling Salesman Problem...

STUDY QUESTION: Is the Tcte1 mutation causative for male infertility? SUMMARY ANSWER: Our collected data underline the complex and devastating effect of the single-gene mutation on the testicular molecular network, leading to male reproductive failure. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Recent data have revealed mutations in genes related to axonemal dynein arms as causative for morphology and motility abnormalities in spermatozoa of infertile males, including dysplasia of fibrous sheath (DFS) and multiple morphological abnormalities in the sperm flagella (MMAF)...

BACKGROUND: Gas expansion in body cavities due to pressure changes at high altitudes can cause barodontalgia. This condition may compromise flight safety. AIM: To investigate relationships among barodontalgia awareness, dental visit frequency, and barodontalgia prevalence in civilian and military pilots operating at high altitudes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Civilian pilots from Turkish Airlines and military pilots from the Turkish Air Force, flying between November 2022 and January 2023, participated in this study...

AIM: The view that the biofilm layer formed on the implant surface is the main cause of treatment failure is more prominent. However, it is known that every bacterium has strains that can and cannot form biofilms. In this study, biofilm-forming and non-biofilm-forming strains of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were used to investigate the effect of the biofilm-forming ability of the bacteria on treatment in rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty rats were divided into four equal groups as Group 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B...

BACKGROUND: This study utilizes interviews of clinical medical physicists to investigate self-reported shortcomings of the current weekly chart check workflow and opportunities for improvement. METHODS: Nineteen medical physicists were recruited for a 30-minute semi-structured interview, with a particular focus placed on image review and the use of automated tools for image review in weekly checks. Survey-type questions were used to gather quantitative information about chart check practices and importance placed on reducing chart check workloads versus increasing chart check effectiveness...

MiRNA 200-c-3p has varying functions in different tumor types, whether tumor suppression or promotion. Comprehensive assessment of its function in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) together with its effect on antitumor immune response have not been declared before. We aimed to explore the effect of replacement and suppression of miRNA 200-c-3p on non-small cell lung cancer and its impact on immune checkpoint function and subsequently antitumor immunity. MiRNA 200-c-3p mimic/inhibitor was transfected into the A549 cells...

BACKGROUND: One of the most important population challenges during the last three decades has been the significant decrease in the fertility rate worldwide. Since the validity and reliability of the Male and Female Fertility Knowledge Inventories (MFKI and FFKI) have not been determined in Iran, we conducted this study to assess psychometric characteristics of the MFKI and FFKI in couples in Tabriz and Urmia, Iran. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study, as the first part (quantitative phase) of a sequential explanatory mixed-method study...