Impact of Auditory Deprivation on Tennis Performance and Perceived Exertion.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of auditory deprivation on tennis-stroke accuracy and perceived exertion among tennis players, with a focus on understanding how auditory inputs affect sport performance.

Methods: A total of 77 active tennis players participated in this controlled trial, which involved playing tennis under standard auditory conditions and with auditory deprivation using noise-isolation devices. Data were collected using a Zepp Tennis Smart Sensor 2 to assess hit accuracy, and the Borg Rating-of-Perceived-Exertion (RPE) scale was used to measure exertion levels.

Long-term Impact of Alpha-blockers on Renal Function - A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Introduction: Alpha-blockers are considered an additional option when the major antihypertensive drug classes are insufficient in reducing blood pressure. While the impact of alpha-blockers on blood pressure control seems comparable, data evaluating their effects on renal outcomes are lacking. This systematic review and meta-analysis assess the impact on renal function from a medium to long-term perspective.

Translation, adaptation, and psychometric evaluation of the Burn-Specific Pain Anxiety Scale (BSPAS) for Czech patients with burn injuries.

This study aimed to adapt the Burn-Specific Pain Anxiety Scale (BSPAS) for use in the Czech language and evaluate its validity and reliability. Conducted across three university hospitals in the Czech Republic-Prague, Brno, and Ostrava-from September 2022 to February 2024, the study involved 203 inpatients and outpatients from burn units who met inclusion criteria and consented to participate. The adaptation process included rigorous analysis of validity and reliability, employing language, content, and construct validity assessments.

adenylate cyclase toxin elicits chromatin remodeling and transcriptional reprogramming that blocks differentiation of monocytes into macrophages.

infects human upper airways and deploys an array of immunosuppressive virulence factors, among which the adenylate cyclase toxin (CyaA) plays a prominent role in disarming host phagocytes. CyaA binds the complement receptor-3 (CR3 aka αβ integrin CD11b/CD18 or Mac-1) of myeloid cells and delivers into their cytosol an adenylyl cyclase enzyme that hijacks cellular signaling through unregulated conversion of cytosolic ATP to cAMP. We found that the action of as little CyaA as 22 pM (4 ng/mL) blocks macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)-driven transition of migratory human CD14 monocytes into macrophages.

Serum drug levels and medication adherence in heart failure: A comparative cohort analysis.

Objective: To determine changes in medication adherence in two cohorts of heart failure patients differing by year of data collection and using a direct method of adherence detection - serum drug level testing.

Methods: We added a second cohort of patients to a prospective monocentric registry of chronic heart failure patients (LEVEL-CHF registry). The two cohorts share the same inclusion criteria but differ by the year of enrolment (2018 and 2020).

Muscles variations with topographical relationship to the suprascapular notch and its potential arthroscopic feasibility.

Purpose: This study provides an insight on the extent of muscular variability at the suprascapular notch and elaborates on its anatomical interference in suprascapular nerve arthroscopic decompression procedures.

Methods: The suprascapular notch was dissected and its muscular topography was observed in 115 cadaveric specimens. High resolution imaging of the suprascapular notch was captured by a handheld digital microscope (Q-scope).

Lessons for Theory from Scientific Domains Where Evidence is Sparse or Indirect.

In many scientific fields, sparseness and indirectness of empirical evidence pose fundamental challenges to theory development. Theories of the evolution of human cognition provide a guiding example, where the targets of study are evolutionary processes that occurred in the ancestors of present-day humans. In many cases, the evidence is both very sparse and very indirect (e.

RIP-seq reveals RNAs that interact with RNA polymerase and primary sigma factors in bacteria.

Bacteria have evolved structured RNAs that can associate with RNA polymerase (RNAP). Two of them have been known so far-6S RNA and Ms1 RNA but it is unclear if any other types of RNAs binding to RNAP exist in bacteria. To identify all RNAs interacting with RNAP and the primary σ factors, we have established and performed native RIP-seq in Bacillus subtilis, Corynebacterium glutamicum, Streptomyces coelicolor, Mycobacterium smegmatis and the pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Clinical experience of reoperative right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction with valved conduits: risk factors for conduit failure in long-term follow-up.

Reconstruction of right ventricular outflow tract in patients with congenital heart disease in various age groups remains a controversial issue. Currently, a little is known about the fate of secondary and subsequent conduit. The aim of the study was to determine risk factors of conduit failure, evaluate long-term conduit survival, find out which type of conduit should be preferred in case of reoperations.

Retinitis pigmentosa-associated mutations in mouse Prpf8 cause misexpression of circRNAs and degeneration of cerebellar granule cells.

A subset of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) carry mutations in several spliceosomal components including the PRPF8 protein. Here, we established two alleles of murine that genocopy or mimic aberrant PRPF8 found in RP patients-the substitution p.Tyr2334Asn and an extended protein variant p.

Clinical prediction models for mortality in patients with covid-19: external validation and individual participant data meta-analysis.

Objective: To externally validate various prognostic models and scoring rules for predicting short term mortality in patients admitted to hospital for covid-19.

Design: Two stage individual participant data meta-analysis.

Setting: Secondary and tertiary care.

Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Expressed by Striatal Interneurons Inhibit Striatal Activity and Control Striatal-Dependent Behaviors.

Acetylcholine is an important modulator of striatal activity, and it is vital to controlling striatal-dependent behaviors, including motor and cognitive functions. Despite this significance, the mechanisms determining how acetylcholine impacts striatal signaling are still not fully understood. In particular, little is known about the role of nAChRs expressed by striatal interneurons.

Fecal Microbiome Changes and Specific Anti-Bacterial Response in Patients with IBD during Anti-TNF Therapy.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract that have been linked to microbiome dysbiosis and immune system dysregulation. We investigated the longitudinal effect of anti-TNF therapy on gut microbiota composition and specific immune response to commensals in IBD patients. The study included 52 patients tracked over 38 weeks of therapy and 37 healthy controls (HC).

Disease progression of 213 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 in the Czech Republic in March-October 2020: An exploratory analysis.

We collected a multi-centric retrospective dataset of patients (N = 213) who were admitted to ten hospitals in Czech Republic and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during the early phases of the pandemic in March-October 2020. The dataset contains baseline patient characteristics, breathing support required, pharmacological treatment received and multiple markers on daily resolution. Patients in the dataset were treated with hydroxychloroquine (N = 108), azithromycin (N = 72), favipiravir (N = 9), convalescent plasma (N = 7), dexamethasone (N = 4) and remdesivir (N = 3), often in combination.

Response to elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor in intestinal organoids derived from people with cystic fibrosis.

Superior efficacy of elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ELX/TEZ/IVA) over tezacaftor/ivacaftor (TEZ/IVA) in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) and Phe508del/Phe508del genotype was shown in clinical trials. We utilized intestinal organoid approach to compare in vitro responses to these 2 CFTR modulator drug combinations and to check potential inter-individual variability in therapeutic response to the triple combination. Organoids from 17 subjects with Phe508del/Phe508del were screened with forskolin induced swelling assay.

Probabilistic outlier identification for RNA sequencing generalized linear models.

Relative transcript abundance has proven to be a valuable tool for understanding the function of genes in biological systems. For the differential analysis of transcript abundance using RNA sequencing data, the negative binomial model is by far the most frequently adopted. However, common methods that are based on a negative binomial model are not robust to extreme outliers, which we found to be abundant in public datasets.

Comparing quality of reporting between preprints and peer-reviewed articles in the biomedical literature.

Background: Preprint usage is growing rapidly in the life sciences; however, questions remain on the relative quality of preprints when compared to published articles. An objective dimension of quality that is readily measurable is completeness of reporting, as transparency can improve the reader's ability to independently interpret data and reproduce findings.

Methods: In this observational study, we initially compared independent samples of articles published in bioRxiv and in PubMed-indexed journals in 2016 using a quality of reporting questionnaire.

Author Correction: Bacterial nanotubes as a manifestation of cell death.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Bacterial nanotubes as a manifestation of cell death.

Bacterial nanotubes are membranous structures that have been reported to function as conduits between cells to exchange DNA, proteins, and nutrients. Here, we investigate the morphology and formation of bacterial nanotubes using Bacillus subtilis. We show that nanotube formation is associated with stress conditions, and is highly sensitive to the cells' genetic background, growth phase, and sample preparation methods.

rboAnalyzer: A Software to Improve Characterization of Non-coding RNAs From Sequence Database Search Output.

Searching for similar sequences in a database via BLAST or a similar tool is one of the most common bioinformatics tasks applied in general, and to non-coding RNAs in particular. However, the results of the search might be difficult to interpret due to the presence of partial matches to the database subject sequences. Here, we present rboAnalyzer - a tool that helps with interpreting sequence search result by (1) extending partial matches into plausible full-length subject sequences, (2) predicting homology of RNAs represented by full-length subject sequences to the query RNA, (3) pooling information across homologous RNAs found in the search results and public databases such as Rfam to predict more reliable secondary structures for all matches, and (4) contextualizing the matches by providing the prediction results and other relevant information in a rich graphical output.

Meta-analysis of genotype-phenotype associations in Bardet-Biedl syndrome uncovers differences among causative genes.

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a recessive genetic disease causing multiple organ anomalies. Most patients carry mutations in genes encoding for the subunits of the BBSome, an octameric ciliary transport complex, or accessory proteins involved in the BBSome assembly or function. BBS proteins have been extensively studied using in vitro, cellular, and animal models.

Genexpi: a toolset for identifying regulons and validating gene regulatory networks using time-course expression data.

Background: Identifying regulons of sigma factors is a vital subtask of gene network inference. Integrating multiple sources of data is essential for correct identification of regulons and complete gene regulatory networks. Time series of expression data measured with microarrays or RNA-seq combined with static binding experiments (e.