Exam Sequence and Timing as Predictors of COMLEX-USA and USMLE Performance in Osteopathic Medical Students.

Purpose: This study examined the impact of exam sequence and timing on the performance of osteopathic medical students on the COMLEX-USA Level 1 and Level 2 and USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 examinations.

Methods: Two cohorts were analyzed: 364 osteopathic medical students who completed both COMLEX-USA Level 1 and USMLE Step 1 between 2020 and 2022 (prior to the implementation of pass/fail grading), and 734 osteopathic medical students who completed both COMLEX-USA Level 2 and USMLE Step 2 between 2021 and 2025. Student performance was evaluated based on the sequence of examinations and intervals between them.

Subcortical and white matter alterations in canine ventriculomegaly: an observational volumetric and voxel-based-morphometry study.

Objective: Ventriculomegaly and hydrocephalus are frequently found during routine clinical imaging, and hydrocephalus in dogs has been shown to alter brain tissue. Although approaches exist to differentiate canine hydrocephalus from ventriculomegaly, information about brain tissue alterations in dogs with ventriculomegaly is lacking. In this observational study, we focused on ventriculomegaly and examined the cerebral anatomical adaptations that accommodate the increased ventricular volume.

Patient-Centered Risk Prediction, Prevention, and Intervention Platform (TIMELY) to Support the Continuum of Care in Coronary Artery Disease Using eHealth and Artificial Intelligence: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs have shown promising results in tertiary prevention. However, achieving sustained behavioral changes remains a challenge.

Objective: The TIMELY project aims to develop and evaluate a personalized, artificial intelligence-driven eHealth platform and app to support sustainable behavior change during phase-3 CR, subsequently reducing cardiac risk scores.

DeepPerfusion: A comprehensible two-branched deep learning architecture for high-precision blood volume pulse extraction based on imaging photoplethysmography.

Imaging photoplethysmography (iPPG) is a contactless approach for the extraction of the blood volume pulsation (BVP). Analyzing the small intensity changes resulting from fluctuations in light absorption in upper skin layers enables BVP extraction. Inhomogeneous illumination or head movements impede iPPG-based BVP extraction.

Copy-cat evolution: Divergence and convergence within and between cat and dog breeds.

Many domesticated species exhibit remarkable phenotypic diversity. In nature, selection produces not only divergence but also convergence when organisms experience similar selective pressures. Whether artificial selection during domestication also produces convergence has received little attention.

Home-based peroneal electrical transcutaneous NeuroModulation (peroneal eTNM®) in Parkinson's disease as "add-on" treatment - Results of a pilot study.

Introduction: Currently, there is no causal cure for Parkinson's disease (PD), and medications and other therapeutic procedures only allow for the reduction of symptoms. Noninvasive neuromodulation is among the potentially promising treatments for PD patients. The present pilot study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of peroneal electrical Transcutaneous NeuroModulation (peroneal eTNM®) in the treatment of PD symptoms with a particular emphasis on disease-related quality of life.

Ultrafiltration and composite microfiltration biocatalytic membrane activity and steroid hormone micropollutant degradation at environmentally relevant concentrations.

Biocatalytic degradation of micropollutants has been extensively explored in both batch and membrane reactors in µg/L to mg/L concentrations and variable water compositions. The degradation of micropollutants by biocatalytic membranes at environmentally relevant concentrations of ng/L range found in natural surface water matrices has not yet been investigated, presumably because of the challenging concentration analysis. This study investigated the limitations of biocatalytic degradation of estradiol (E2) micropollutant at environmentally relevant concentrations by a biocatalytic membrane.

CSF flow measurement in the mesencephalic aqueduct using 2D cine phase-contrast MRI in dogs with communicating internal hydrocephalus, ventriculomegaly, and physiologic ventricular spaces.

Background: Brachycephalic dogs are overrepresented with ventricular enlargement. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow dynamics are not completely understood. MRI techniques have been used for the visualization of CSF dynamics including phase-contrast imaging.

Association among raised intraventricular pressure, clinical signs, and magnetic resonance imaging findings in dogs with congenital internal hydrocephalus.

Background: Dogs with internal hydrocephalus do not necessarily have high intraventricular pressure (IVP).

Hypothesis/objectives: Not all reported MRI findings indicate high IVP and some clinical signs might be associated with elevated IVP and syringomyelia.

Animals: Fifty-three dogs.

Bioimpedance measurement: a non-invasive diagnosis of limb compartment syndrome.

Introduction: The methods for diagnosing compartment syndrome non-invasively remain under debate. Bioimpedance measurements offer a promising avenue in clinical practice, detecting subtle changes in organ impedance due to volume shifts. This study explores bioimpedance measurement as a novel, painless method for diagnosing compartment syndrome, potentially enabling continuous monitoring.

Surgical management of primary and idiopathic internal hydrocephalus in dogs and cats.

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement is an effective method to treat internal hydrocephalus in dogs and cats. Although it has a long history in veterinary medicine, the technique continues to evolve. Despite continuing attempts to reduce the incidence of associated complications, shunt failure remains a major problem, and often leads to multiple hospital admissions.

State-of-the-art sleep arousal detection evaluated on a comprehensive clinical dataset.

Aiming to apply automatic arousal detection to support sleep laboratories, we evaluated an optimized, state-of-the-art approach using data from daily work in our university hospital sleep laboratory. Therefore, a machine learning algorithm was trained and evaluated on 3423 polysomnograms of people with various sleep disorders. The model architecture is a U-net that accepts 50 Hz signals as input.

Novel Metric for Non-Invasive Beat-to-Beat Blood Pressure Measurements Demonstrates Physiological Blood Pressure Fluctuations during Pregnancy.

Beat-to-beat (B2B) variability in biomedical signals has been shown to have high diagnostic power in the treatment of various cardiovascular and autonomic disorders. In recent years, new techniques and devices have been developed to enable non-invasive blood pressure (BP) measurements. In this work, we aim to establish the concept of two-dimensional signal warping, an approved method from ECG signal processing, for non-invasive continuous BP signals.

Design of Modified Polymer Membranes Using Machine Learning.

Surface modification is an attractive strategy to adjust the properties of polymer membranes. Unfortunately, predictive structure-processing-property relationships between the modification strategies and membrane performance are often unknown. One possibility to tackle this challenge is the application of data-driven methods such as machine learning.

The Diagnostic Value of ACSL1, ACSL4, and ACSL5 and the Clinical Potential of an ACSL Inhibitor in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Abnormal expression of ACSL members 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 is frequently seen in human cancer; however, their clinical relevance is unclear. In this study, we analyzed the expression of ACSLs and investigated the effects of the ACSL inhibitor Triacsin C (TC) in lung cancer. We found that, compared to normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells, ACSL1, ACSL4, and ACSL6 were highly expressed, while ACSL3 and ACSL5 were lost in the majority of lung cancer cell lines.

High Temperature Electron Diffraction on Organic Crystals: Crystal Structure Determination of Pigment Orange 34.

Small molecule structures and their applications rely on good knowledge of their atomic arrangements. However, the crystal structures of these compounds and materials, which are often composed of fine crystalline domains, cannot be determined with single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Three-dimensional electron diffraction (3D ED) is already becoming a reliable method for the structure analysis of submicrometer-sized organic materials.

RoboEM: automated 3D flight tracing for synaptic-resolution connectomics.

Mapping neuronal networks from three-dimensional electron microscopy (3D-EM) data still poses substantial reconstruction challenges, in particular for thin axons. Currently available automated image segmentation methods require manual proofreading for many types of connectomic analysis. Here we introduce RoboEM, an artificial intelligence-based self-steering 3D 'flight' system trained to navigate along neurites using only 3D-EM data as input.

Long-term impact of resilience and extraversion on psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal investigation among individuals with and without mental health disorders.

Background: Over the past years, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions in daily routines. Although the pandemic has affected almost everyone, it has been particularly challenging for people with pre-existing mental health conditions. Therefore, this study investigated the long-term impact of resilience and extraversion on psychological distress in individuals diagnosed with mental health disorders (MHD) compared to the general population.

Effect of Low-Frequency Renal Nerve Stimulation on Renal Glucose Release during Normoglycemia and a Hypoglycemic Clamp in Pigs.

Previously, we demonstrated that renal denervation in pigs reduces renal glucose release during a hypoglycemic episode. In this study we set out to examine changes in side-dependent renal net glucose release (SGN) through unilateral low-frequency stimulation (LFS) of the renal plexus with a pulse generator (2-5 Hz) during normoglycemia (60 min) and insulin-induced hypoglycemia ≤3.5 mmol/L (75 min) in seven pigs.

An early-curricular team learning activity to foster integration of biochemical concepts and clinical sciences in undergraduate medical education.

The ability to connect key concepts of biochemistry with clinical presentations is essential for the development of clinical reasoning skills and adaptive expertise in medical trainees. To support the integration of foundational and clinical sciences in our undergraduate health science curricula, we developed a small group active learning exercise during which interprofessional groups of students use clinical cases to explore the biochemistry, diagnostic strategy, and evidence-based treatment options of inborn errors of metabolism (IEM). We designed multistage learning modules consisting of (1.