Heavy metal biomarkers and their impact on hearing loss risk: a machine learning framework analysis.

Background: Exposure to heavy metals has been implicated in adverse auditory health outcomes, yet the precise relationships between heavy metal biomarkers and hearing status remain underexplored. This study leverages a machine learning framework to investigate these associations, offering a novel approach to understanding the interplay between environmental exposures and hearing loss.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis using data from the 2012-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), encompassing 2,772 participants after applying exclusion criteria.

Association of Demographic, Clinical, and Vaccination Characteristics with COVID-19 Viral Load Assessed by qRT-PCR.

Background: The effect of vaccination on the SARS-CoV-2 baseline viral load and clearance during COVID-19 infection is debatable. This study aimed to assess the effects of demographic and vaccination characteristics on the viral load of SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: We included the patients referred for outpatient SARS-CoV-2 qRT-PCR (reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction) test between July and September 2022.

Gender inequality and burden of orofacial clefts in the Eastern Mediterranean region: findings from global burden of disease study 1990-2019.

Background: Gender inequality may be associated with the burden of orofacial clefts (OFCs), particularly in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). To investigate the OFCs' burden and its association with gender inequality in the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR).

Methods: Country-specific data on the OFCs' prevalence and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) from 1990 to 2019 were gathered from the Global Burden of Disease database by age and gender.

Cohort analysis of 50% lethal area (LA50) and associating factors in burn patients based on quality improvements and health policies.

Burn injuries are among the common traumatic injuries, which can be accompanied with lifelong morbidity and mortality. The Lethal Area Fifty Percent (LA50) index is another reliable outcome measurement tool that assesses the standard of medical care at burn centers. It is widely used as a benchmark for assessing the quality of burn care and is considered the percentage at which 50% of burn patients are expected to die because of burn-related injuries.

Ruptured innominate artery pseudoaneurysm presenting as hoarseness in Behçet's syndrome: a case report.

Background: Vascular involvement is an infrequent clinical manifestation of Behçet's syndrome. Owing to the rarity of arterial involvement in Behçet's syndrome, there is limited experience in managing this phenomenon.

Case Presentation: Here, we report a 28-year-old Iranian man with a Behçet's syndrome background, who presented with shoulder pain and hoarseness.

Gallbladder Agenesis without Additional Biliary Tracts Abnormality.

Background: Gallbladder agenesis (GA) is a very uncommon disorder of the biliary system. Diagnosis of GA can be difficult and may result in unnecessary procedures. In this case report, we will discuss our experience with an intraoperative accidental diagnosis of GA in a middle-aged woman that was effectively treated.

Attenuation of osteoarthritis progression through intra-articular injection of a combination of synovial membrane-derived MSCs (SMMSCs), platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and conditioned medium (secretome).

Purpose: Osteoarthritis (OA) as a progressive destructive disease of articular cartilage is the most common joint disease characterized by reduction of joint cartilage thickness, demolition of cartilage surface and new bone formation. To overcome these problems, the purpose of the current research was to evaluate and compare the in vivo effects of synovial membrane-derived mesenchymal stem cell (SMMSCs), platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and conditioned medium (secretome) on collagenase II-induced rat knee osteoarthritis (KOA) remedy.

Methods: For the first step, SMMSCs were isolated and characterized.

Cleft and COVID-19 Pandemic: Controversial Aspects of Social Distancing.

In the meantime, as COVID-19 has gone pandemic, social distancing has become inevitable; therefore, most in-person visits have been canceled to minimize the spread of the disease. This will greatly impact cleft palate patients as it will limit their chance to receive timely care and have persistent follow-up, and that could in turn delay its management so significantly that it could cause much more considerable complications. To mitigate the issue, it seems necessary to start integrating modern-day technologies into the everyday practice of physicians and to benefit from the opportunities it provides.

Did food allergy develop in the process of animal evolution?

Food allergy is pathophysiologic ally based on stimulation of the immune system at the first exposure, and allergic reactions develop during following exposures. Therefore, memory is the cornerstone of an allergy, as seen in the adaptive immune system. The adaptive immune system was first introduced during evolution in vertebrates, so we can say that invertebrates do not have allergic reactions.