Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Cryoballoon vs Laser Balloon Ablation for Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Patients With Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation by Mahmoud Ali, Dorota Magdon, Abdulghani Mounir, Lynn Erickson, James Adefisoye, Jim Kanani, Andy Kieu, Abdullah Malik, Ali Ali, Nour Ghosoun, Jodi Zilinski, Arshad Jahangir, M. Eyman Mortada, Imran Niazi, Atul Bhatia

“…We used real-world patient data to investigate differences in arrhythmia-free survival, procedure and fluoroscopy times, and complications between these techniques. Methods: In this single-center, retrospective study of 178 patients with symptomatic paroxysmal AF referred for first-time pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), 103 underwent CBA, and 75 underwent LBA. …”
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Examining patient safety protocols amidst the rise of digital health and telemedicine: nurses’ perspectives by Ateya Megahed Ibrahim, Ibrahim Naif Alenezi, Asmaa Kamal Hassan Mahfouz, Ishraga A. Mohamed, Marwa A. Shahin, Elsayeda Hamdy Nasr Abdelhalim, Laila Zeidan Ghazy Mohammed, Takwa Rashwan Mohamed Abd-Elhady, Rehab Saad Salama, Aziza Mohamed Kamel, Rania Abdel Khalik Gouda, Noura Elgharib Mohamed Moustafa Eldiasty

“…Aim This study examines the factors influencing the successful adoption of digital health and telemedicine technologies from the nurses’ perspective, focusing on ensuring patient safety and enhancing organizational readiness for digital health integration. Methods A cross-sectional study included 246 nurses from outpatient healthcare centers in Egypt. …”
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S index: a predictor comparable to ultrasound shear wave elastography in assessing liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B by Sujuan Guo, Lu Gan, Feng Du, Qiang Feng, Jiahua Li, Qinyun Wan, Qiannan Meng, Yaoren Zhang, Yonghao Ji, Jianxue Liu

“…Objective To evaluate diagnostic performance of ultrasound shear wave elastography (USWE), S index, Z index, Fibrometer in continuous differentiation of liver fibrosis in a retrospective chronic hepatitis B patients’ cohort. Materials and methods We collected liver stiffness values measured by USWE and laboratory indicators from 146 patients with chronic hepatitis B at Baoji Central Hospital. …”
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Effect of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy (HDP) on maternal and perinatal birth outcomes in Eastern Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study by Ebisa Zerihun, Firaol Girma, Nimona Amena, Wubet Tazeb Wondie, Belete Feyera Olkaba, Lemma Mideksa Egu, Solomon Seyife Alemu, Gemechu Gelan Bekele, Belay Tafa Regassa, Meseret Robi Tura, Fekadu Abera Kebede

“…Objectives The aim of this study was to examine the effect of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy on maternal and perinatal birth outcomes in Eastern Ethiopia. Methods We employed a prospective cohort study design involving 374 pregnant women, equally divided into hypertensive ((n = 187) and normotensive (n = 187). …”
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Longer Drug Retention of Interleukin-12/23 or Interleukin-17 Inhibitors Compared With TNF Inhibitors in Female Patients With TNF Inhibitor-Experienced Psoriatic Arthritis by Godehard A. Scholz, MD, PhD, Eleftherios Papagiannoulis, MSc, Christoph Blapp, MSc, Raphael Micheroli, MD, Adrian Ciurea, MD, Michael J. Nissen, MD, Nikhil Yawalkar, MD, Diana Dan, MD, Jennifer Amsler, MD, Almut Scherer, PhD, Burkhard Möller, MD

“…Objective: To compare the effectiveness of Interleukin (IL)-12/23 or IL-17A inhibitors (summarized to inhibitors of the Th17 cell generation or function, Th17i) with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in patients with TNFi-experienced psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Patients and Methods: We conducted a comparative effectiveness study by taking advantage of prospectively collected patients with PsA data from the Swiss Clinical Quality Management in Rheumatic Diseases register, encompassing the interval from January 1, 2015 to August 1, 2021. …”
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Distinct sex differences in ethanol consumption and operant self-administration in C57BL/6J mice with uniform regulation by glutamate AMPAR activity by Sara Faccidomo, Sara Faccidomo, Vallari R. Eastman, Taruni S. Santanam, Katarina S. Swaim, Seth M. Taylor, Clyde W. Hodge, Clyde W. Hodge

“…This study aims to elucidate SABV in ethanol (EtOH) consumption by evaluating its reinforcing effects and regulation by glutamate AMPA receptor activity in male and female mice.MethodsC57BL/6J mice (male and female) were assessed for EtOH intake under continuous and limited access conditions in the home cage. …”
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Predicting infection with COVID-19 disease using logistic regression model in Karak City, Jordan [version 3; peer review: 2 approved] by Lina AlTamimi, Liana Dalaeen, Anas Khaleel, Wael Abu Dayyih, Abdallah Ahmed Elbakkoush, Mohammad Niazi, Baker Albadareen, Zainab Zakaraya, Alhareth Ahmad

“…This study aimed to test the predictors that probably contributed to the infection with COVID-19 using a binary logistic regression model. Methods Based on data collected by Google sheet of COVID-19 infected and non-infected persons in Karak city, analysis was applied to predict COVID-19 infection probability using a binary logistic regression model. …”
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The risk associated with ultra-processed food intake on depressive symptoms and mental health in older adults: a target trial emulation by Belayneh Mengist, Mojtaba Lotfaliany, Julie A. Pasco, Bruno Agustini, Michael Berk, Malcolm Forbes, Melissa M. Lane, Suzanne G. Orchard, Joanne Ryan, Alice J. Owen, Robyn L. Woods, John J. McNeil, Mohammadreza Mohebbi

“…Therefore, this study investigated the effect of UPF on depressive symptoms and mental health in community-dwelling older adults. Methods A pragmatic target trial was designed and emulated using the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly longitudinal data. …”
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Virtual reality-guided therapy on a stroke unit: a feasibility study by Jordi Kühne Escolà, Rumeysa Demirdas, Martin Schulze, Woon Hyung Chae, Lennart Steffen Milles, Doreen Pommeranz, Marvin Darkwah Oppong, Christoph Kleinschnitz, Martin Köhrmann, Benedikt Frank

“…The feasibility of VR-guided therapy in the acute phase after stroke has not been assessed. Methods This was a cohort study of consecutive patients with suspected stroke who were admitted to the Essen University Hospital Stroke Unit between March 2022 and May 2022. …”
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Factors associated with decreased anal sphincter tone and the accuracy of forced anal examinations to detect individuals having receptive anal intercourse: an observational study by John A Schneider, Alan G Nyitray, Derek Smith, Michael W Ross, Elizabeth Y Chiao, Timothy J Ridolfi, Bridgett Brzezinski, B R Simon Rosser, Aniruddha Hazra, Jenna Nitkowski, Sandrine Sanos, Ever Mkonyi, Lucy Mgopa

“…Using baseline data from a longitudinal study, we aimed to determine factors associated with sphincter tone and the accuracy of sphincter tonality to detect persons engaging in receptive anal intercourse.Methods Clinicians in Chicago, Houston and Milwaukee, USA conducted digital anal rectal examinations (DARE) to score sphincter resting tone (RT) and squeeze tone (ST). …”
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Combining patient-reported outcome measures to screen for active disease in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis by Annette H M van der Helm-van Mil, Pascal H P de Jong, Paco M J Welsing, Ilja Tchetverikov, Jolanda J Luime, Marijn Vis, Marc R Kok, Paul Baudoin, Lindy-Anne Korswagen, Selinde V J Snoeck Henkemans, Agnes E M Looijen, Gonul Hazal Koc

“…Objectives To investigate whether a combination of general health (Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)), Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI), pain (VAS/Numerical Rating Scale (NRS)), quality of life (EQ-5D), fatigue (VAS/NRS) and presenteeism (0%–100% productivity loss) could aid as a screening tool to detect active disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).Methods RA patients from the tREACH trial and TARA trial (n=683) and PsA patients from the DEPAR cohort (n=525) were included. …”
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Increased Risk of Central Serous Chorioretinopathy among Patients with Nonorganic Sleep Disturbance by Peng-Tai Tien, Chien-Yu Lai, Chun-Ju Lin, Wen-Lu Chen, Po-Kang Lin, Chih-Hsin Muo, Yi-Yu Tsai, Lei Wan, Wen-Chao Ho, Hui-Ju Lin

“…Patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) typically present with acute visual impairment and metamorphopsia. The disease previously has been associated with psychological stress. …”
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Systemizing and Transforming Preterm Oral Feeding Through Innovative Algorithms by Rena Rosenthal, Jean Chow, Erin Sundseth Ross, Rudaina Banihani, Natalie Antonacci, Karli Gavendo, Elizabeth Asztalos

“…These feelings of uncertainty are exacerbated by the non-linear progression of oral feeding development and the absence of a systematized approach to initiate and advance feedings. <b>Methods:</b> In this 48-bed tertiary perinatal centre, staff surveys and a needs assessment showed dissatisfaction and increasing stress and anxiety due to the inconsistencies in initiating and advancing oral feeds. …”
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An Effective and Safe Laser Treatment Strategy of Fractional Carbon Dioxide Laser for Chinese Populations with Periorbital Wrinkles: A Randomized Split-Face Trial by Xianglei Wu, Qingqing Cen, Jian Jin, Wei Gao, Ying Shang, Linting Huang, Xiaoxi Lin

“…We aimed to explore the optimum energy and coverage parameters of CO2 AFL for treating static periorbital wrinkles in a Chinese population and to minimize PIH incidence. Methods In total, 30 patients with static periorbital wrinkles were recruited. …”
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Development and temporal external validation of a novel nomogram for predicting one-year mortality in the older adult with hip fracture by Yangfan Gong, Kai Zhang, Wei Chen, Qiqi Yang, Mingyue Shi, Zhao Dong, Zhuohao Yin, Yuyu Zhang, Wei Ge

“…ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to develop a novel nomogram for predicting one-year mortality in the older adult patients with hip fracture and to further evaluate its effectiveness.MethodsThis retrospective cohort research analyzed the clinical data of 1,263 older adult patients with hip fractures who underwent surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University from January 2014 to December 2022. …”
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Epigenetic modifications are associated with mRNA and cytokine expression changes in chronic rhinosinusitis: a multiomics study from the United States by Devyani Lal, Tripti Brar, Chantal McCabe, Erik Jessen, Nitish Kumar, Pedro Lança Gomes, Michael J. Marino, Amar Miglani, Hirohito Kita

“…We therefore performed a multi-omics study integrating epigenetic (DNA methylation), transcriptomic (mRNA), and proteomic (cytokine) data of CRS sinonasal tissue to visualize interactions amongst these modalities to study our hypothesis.MethodsSinonasal tissue was collected from 14 prospectively enrolled CRS and control subjects. …”
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Aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index as a novel predictor of early mortality in heat stroke patients: a multi-centre retrospective study by Min Wang, Yun Li, Yuan Cao, Meng-Meng Yang, Fu-Jing Liu, Jie Jiao, Sheng-Yuan Wang, Bin Song, Lu Wang, Yi-Qi Wu, Hong-Jun Kang

“…Restricted cubic splines (RCS) were utilized to visualize the relationship between APRI and 28-day mortality risk. …”
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Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine ointment rubbing therapy in the treatment of primary dysmenorrheal (中药膏摩治疗原发性痛经疗效观察) by CAO Lei (曹蕾), ZHANG Lijun (张丽君), KONG Xiaochun (孔晓春), CHEN Hong (陈宏)

“…Objective To investigate the effect of rubbing therapy with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) ointment in the treatment of primary dysmenorrheal. Methods Totally 82 patients with primary dysmenorrheal were randomly divided into the treatment group and control group, with 41 cases in each group. …”
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AlphaMissense Predictions and ClinVar Annotations: A Deep Learning Approach to Uveal Melanoma by David J. Taylor Gonzalez, MD, Mak B. Djulbegovic, MD, MSc, Meghan Sharma, MD, MPH, Michael Antonietti, BS, Colin K. Kim, BS, Vladimir N. Uversky, PhD, DSc, Carol L. Karp, MD, Carol L. Shields, MD, Matthew W. Wilson, MD

“…Subjects: Genetic data from patients diagnosed with UM were analyzed, explicitly focusing on missense mutations sourced from the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC) database. Methods: We identified missense mutations frequently observed in UM using the COSMIC database, assessed their potential pathogenicity using AlphaMissense, and visualized mutations using AlphaFold. …”
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Pediatric endoscopic retrograde pancreatography expertise in chronic pancreatitis: a single-center analysis by Hongxi Guo, Juan Luo, Hu Yang, Jun Yang, Hongqiang Bian, Xufei Duan, Xin Wang

“…However, data on endoscopic treatment of CP in children are still limited.MethodsDemographics, etiology, surgical indications, diagnosis, treatment details, associated complications, and follow-up information were retrospectively studied in consecutive patients (&lt;18 years old) who underwent ERP for CP between January 2020 and October 2024.ResultsA total of 17 children (7 male, 10 female) with a mean age of 10.0 ± 2.7 years were included in the study. …”
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