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Direct current galvanic vestibular stimulation modulates sound localization abilities
Abstract The vestibular system has been shown to play a role in the integration of spatial sensory information. For instance, vestibular perturbations induce significant shifts in spatial tactile tasks, but results have been contradictory regarding auditory modality. This observation may be because some of the previous vestibular stimulation methods (i.e., stochastic GVS) did not reliably induce a self-motion effect. This study aims to evaluate the importance of directional illusory motion on auditory localization mechanism, using direct current GVS. Twenty young healthy participants performed a sound localization task under earphones with 9 positions in the azimuth plane divided into three quadrants 7Left (45°;− 30°;− 20°), Center (− 10°;0°;10°), and Right (20°;30°;45)]. Participants were asked to verbally identify the exact position of the sound source under 3 conditions: (1) Without GVS (2) GVS with anode on the right mastoid (3) GVS with anode on the left mastoid. Results were analyzed using the non-parametric Friedman test and Wilcoxon rank-sum post-hoc test with a Bonferroni correction applied to account for multiple comparisons. Compared to baseline, left anodal stimulation caused a greater error ratio for sounds in all quadrants. Moreover, for sounds in the right quadrant, a significantly greater error ratio was observed for anode left compared to the anode right condition. Right anodal condition caused a greater error ratio for sounds in the left and the center quadrants compared to the baseline condition. This study demonstrates for the first time, that sound source localization can be influenced by direct current GVS and is modulated according to the anode position.
Bioinformatic analysis of molecular expression patterns during the development and progression of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)
Impact of snowfall on emergency medical system and mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome
The phase transition characteristics of n-pentane in silica slits with different wettability by Monte Carlo method
Novel tissue biomarker candidates to predict both deep venous thrombosis and healing outcome after Achilles tendon rupture
Abstract Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and poor long-term patient outcomes frequently occur in patients with Achilles tendon rupture (ATR). Biomarkers for DVT and their possible relationship to long-term healing outcomes remain unexplored. To identify DVT biomarkers from proteomic profiles during the inflammatory and proliferative healing stages and assess their associations with one-year healing outcomes after surgical repair of ATR. A cohort of 53 patients undergoing standardized ATR repair from previous clinical trials was investigated. Intraoperative inflammatory-stage tendon biopsies were obtained from 40 patients, and tendon microdialysates from 28 patients were collected two weeks later during the proliferative stage. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry proteomic profiles were linked to DVT status at two weeks post-surgery using ultrasonography screening and to patient-reported outcomes at one-year post-surgery. Six candidate DVT biomarkers were identified from tendon biopsies, whereof four (ABI3BP, IGKV2-40/IGKV2D-40, PCYOX1, STIP1) were associated with one-year healing outcomes. In tendon microdialysates, 43 candidate DVT biomarkers were identified, but none were associated with healing outcomes. Bioinformatic analysis revealed pathways related to heat shock response, platelet signaling, collagen and extracellular matrix metabolism, and immunoglobulins. The results support shared inflammatory-stage protein pathways in regulating venous thrombosis and reported healing outcomes, where elements of individual hypoxic tolerance and platelet signaling emerge as potential key links.
Scaling of cardiovascular risk factors in 230 Latin American cities
Abstract Urbanization results in increased numbers of people living in cities and poses challenges and opportunities to public health policies. Studies of urban scaling have unveiled how cities’ socio-economic and infrastructural attributes vary systematically with city size. Previous studies have explored the scaling properties of health outcomes across metropolitan areas in different countries, but chronic diseases have been infrequently examined. This paper examines scaling behaviors of 4 cardiovascular risk factors: hypertension, diabetes, tobacco smoking, and obesity across 230 cities in six countries of Latin America. In analyses pooled across countries, diabetes and hypertension showed weakly superlinear scaling (higher prevalence in larger cities). In comparison, obesity showed linear scaling, and tobacco showed weakly sublinear scaling (lower prevalence in larger cities), although most coefficients did not differ significantly from the null. In country-specific analyses, hypertension and diabetes tended to show a superlinear pattern across most countries, obesity tended to show a sublinear pattern in most countries, and tobacco tended to be superlinear (in contrast to the analysis pooled across countries where it was sublinear). Results suggest the need to examine further the drivers of this varying scaling of risk factors.
Chemical engineering of CRISPR–Cas systems for therapeutic application
Validation of a whole blood coagulometer sensitive to the direct oral anticoagulants
Open Targets: 10 years of partnership in target discovery
Enhanced automated art curation using supervised modified CNN for art style classification
Effects of forest structure from graph theory connectivity indicators on river water quality in the Caspian Sea Basin
New evidence from the northern Apennines, Italy, suggests a southward expansion of Echinococcus multilocularis range in Europe
Abstract Echinococcus multilocularis (Em) is a neglected zoonotic cestode circulating among wild canids and voles across the northern hemisphere, and is the aetiological agent of alveolar echinococcosis in humans. The expansion of the European distribution of this parasite has been raising public health concerns in recent decades. We aimed to investigate the occurrence of Em and other taeniids in wild carnivore faeces in the Apuan Alps Regional Park and the Monte Pisano mountain chain (northern Tuscany), a few hundred kilometres from the nearest report of Em in Italy. Using standard flotation-sieving and nested PCR of partial cox1 sequences on single harvested Taeniid eggs, we detected several Em haplotypes in red foxes and grey wolves in both study areas, suggesting limited genetic diversity. However, these findings could not be confirmed using more sensitive qPCR probes from the same samples. In addition, we report eggs of Taenia krabbei and T. hydatigena from wolves, Dipylidium caninum and Mesocestoides sp. in foxes, and T. polyacantha and Mesocestoides litteratus in both foxes and mustelids. Further investigation of the distribution of Em in the northern Apennines is necessary to assess if the presence of this potentially lethal zoonotic parasite is stable and expanding southward.
Targeting metabolic dysfunction of CD8 T cells and natural killer cells in cancer
The role of patient activation in mediating the effects of health literacy level on quality of life among patients with gastrointestinal cancers
Abstract Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers present significant health challenges, necessitating strategies to improve patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Health literacy (HL) and patient activation (PA) are key factors in patient self-management, yet their interplay and impact on HRQoL remain unclear. This study investigates the relationship between HL, PA, and HRQoL in GI cancer patients, with a focus on PA as a potential mediator between HL and HRQoL. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using baseline data from the multicenter OptiScreen study. HL, PA, and HRQoL were assessed using validated instruments: the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16), the Patient Activation Measure (PAM-13D), and the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-8). Statistical analyses included correlation tests and mediation modeling. Out of 854 eligible GI cancer patients, 397 (response rate = 46%) participated in the study. HL was positively correlated with PA, r(359) = 0.37, p < .001 and with physical and mental HRQoL, r(322) = 0.12, p = .035 and r(322) = 0.20, p < .001, respectively. We found that the relationship between HL and mental HRQoL is fully mediated by PA (indirect effect: 0.186, 95% CI [0.016, 0.385]). Our findings highlight the crucial role of PA in enhancing mental HRQoL in GI cancer patients, suggesting that interventions targeting both HL and PA could improve patient outcomes. Future research should explore phase-specific interventions and broader psychological factors affecting patient self-management and well-being.
First HPLC-UV method for the determination of homocysteine thiolactone in human urine after derivatization with 1-benzyl-2-chloropyridinium bromide
A novel aluminum foam structure for combined excellent wave attenuation and ventilation performance
Abstract In this paper, a novel aluminum foam structure with wave attenuation and ventilation performance suitable for underground space is designed and prepared. It focuses on dynamic response of aluminum foam structure under explosion impact load and ventilation resistance at different wind speeds. Failure modes of each component are analyzed and attenuation mechanism of explosive shock wave are revealed. The results indicate that: under the synergistic action of the crushing behavior of the aluminum foam cells, the rough wall structure of the ventilation holes and the special diagonal square honeycomb-shaped structure, the wave attenuation effect of the aluminum foam structure is significantly improved. The max wave attenuation rate can reach to 99.1%. For this aluminum foam structure, the wind speeds are 4.32 m/s and 9.31 m/s while the ventilation resistances are 119.46 Pa and 641.44 Pa. It indicates its excellent ventilation performance. Therefore, the novel aluminum foam structure has a good application prospect in underground space construction.