Faricimab as Treatment for Sarcoid Uveitis With Refractory Cystoid Macular Edema.

To describe the first use of the bispecific monoclonal antibody faricimab for sarcoid uveitis with refractory cystoid macular edema (CME). A single case was evaluated. An 82-year-old woman presented with blurred vision and signs of sarcoid uveitis bilaterally, including swollen optic discs with disc nodules, CME with chorioretinal peripheral lesions in the right eye and segmental periphlebitis in the left eye.

A bibliometric analysis of clear aligner therapy research articles published over 5 years - 2020-2024.

Objective: To identify and evaluate research articles regarding clear aligner therapy (CAT) published between 2020 and 2024 inclusive.

Methods: A systematic strategy was employed to search the Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate Analytics, Philadelphia, Pa) and the Incites Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics) databases for records regarding CAT-related articles published between 2020 and 2024 inclusive. Authorial and journal metrics and information regarding study type were documented.

Enhanced photothermal therapy for tumor ablation: structural and functional insights into BiSe nanosheets as Light-to-Heat converter.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) represents a promising advance in oncological treatments, utilizing light-induced heat mediated by photothermal agents to target and destroy cancer cells with high precision. Despite its potential, the clinical application of PTT is often limited by the efficiency of photothermal agents and their biocompatibility, highlighting a crucial need for novel materials that can safely and effectively convert light into therapeutic heat. This study demonstrates the two-dimensional BiSe nanosheets with tailored nanostructure via a solvothermal process.

Genetic feature selection algorithm as an efficient glioma grade classifier.

Gliomas are among the most lethal and debilitating cancers. Genetic testing is a rapidly evolving modality for cancer management. The advent of DNA microarrays enabled the utility of computational analyses in such management on a molecular basis.

Enhancing anti-vascular endothelial growth factor with photodynamic therapy for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: A meta-analysis.

Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents administered as either monotherapy or combination with verteporfin photodynamic therapy (PDT) are the 2 dominant treatment for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV); however, controversies remain due to small sample sizes and inconsistency in prognosis from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). In accordance with the PRISMA statement, we investigated the efficacy of PDT plus anti-VEGF combination with anti-VEGF monotherapy. This study was accepted by the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42023471362).

Dental arch shape in twins: A morphometric study of genetic influences.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to assess the relative contribution of genes to shape variation in the permanent dental arches in individuals of Western European descent.

Methods: The dental casts from 64 monozygotic and 38 dizygotic twins, housed in the Adelaide Dental School's twin record collection, Australia, were assessed. The subjects were of Western European descent, with a mean age of 19.

Recent Advances in Metal Oxide Electron Transport Layers for Enhancing the Performance of Perovskite Solar Cells.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted considerable interest owing to their low processing costs and high efficiency. A crucial component of these devices is the electron transport layer (ETL), which plays a key role in extracting and transmitting light-induced electrons, modifying interfaces, and adjusting surface energy levels. This minimizes charge recombination in PSCs, a critical factor in their performance.

Heterogeneous Integration of Memristive and Piezoresistive MDMO-PPV-Based Copolymers in Nociceptive Transmission with Fast and Slow Pain for an Artificial Pain-Perceptual System.

Nociceptive pain perception is a remarkable capability of organisms to be aware of environmental changes and avoid injury, which can be accomplished by specialized pain receptors known as nociceptors with 4 vital properties including threshold, no adaptation, relaxation, and sensitization. Bioinspired systems designed using artificial devices are investigated to imitate the efficacy and functionality of nociceptive transmission. Here, an artificial pain-perceptual system (APPS) with a homogeneous material and heterogeneous integration is proposed to emulate the behavior of fast and slow pain in nociceptive transmission.

Gas-Solid Phase Reaction Derived Silver Bismuth Iodide Rudorffite: Structural Insight and Exploring Photocatalytic Potential of CO Reduction.

Photocatalytic reduction of CO is a promising strategy to mitigate the effects of global warming by converting CO into valuable energy-dense products. Silver bismuth iodide (SBI) is an attractive material owing to its tunable bandgap and favorable band-edge positions for efficient CO photoreduction. In this study, SBI materials, including AgBiI, AgBiI, AgBiI, and AgBiI are first synthesized, through gas-solid reaction by controlling the stoichiometric ratio of reactants.

Electrospun SnO/WO Heterostructure Nanocomposite Fiber for Enhanced Acetone Vapor Detection.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), often invisible but potentially harmful, are prevalent in industrial and laboratory settings, posing health risks. Detecting VOCs in real-time with high sensitivity and low detection limits is crucial for human health and safety. The optical sensor, utilizing the gasochromic properties of sensing materials, offers a promising way of achieving rapid responses in ambient environments.

The genetic and environmental contributions to variation in the permanent dental arch form: a twin study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences on variation in dental arch form in individuals who have largely completed their craniofacial growth.

Material And Methods: The subjects of this study comprised dental casts of 50 monozygotic twins and 24 dizygotic twins from the collection of records of twins housed at the Adelaide Dental School, Australia. The subjects were of Western European descent, with an average age of 20.

Effects of music therapy on cognition, quality of life, and neuropsychiatric symptoms of patients with dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Dementia is a major cause of disability and dependency. Pharmacological interventions are commonly provided to patients with dementia to delay the deterioration of cognitive functions but cannot alter the course of disease. Nonpharmacological interventions are now attracting increasing scholarly interest.

Electrospun Fibrous Nanocomposite Sensing Materials for Monitoring Biomarkers in Exhaled Breath.

Human-exhaled breath mainly contains water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and endogenous gases closely related to human metabolism. The linear relationship between breath acetone and blood glucose concentration has been revealed when monitoring diabetes patients. Considerable attention has been directed toward developing a highly sensitive volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sensing material that can detect breath acetone.

The global response: How cities and provinces around the globe tackled Covid-19 outbreaks in 2021.

Background: Tackling the spread of COVID-19 remains a crucial part of ending the pandemic. Its highly contagious nature and constant evolution coupled with a relative lack of immunity make the virus difficult to control. For this, various strategies have been proposed and adopted including limiting contact, social isolation, vaccination, contact tracing, etc.

Effect of cellulose compositions and fabrication methods on mechanical properties of polyurethane-cellulose composites.

A variety of cellulose-based polymer composite materials has been developed and show different impacts on the morphologies and properties of composites. Herein, we report the morphologies and properties of composites by blending polyurethane (PU) with either ethyl cellulose (EC) or cellulose nanofiber (CNF) through either drop-casting or electrospinning process. EC is homogenously mixed with PU without microphase separation and enhanced Young's modulus of composites from 0.

Meditation-Based Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is among the most common types of pain in adults. Currently, injections and analgesic and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are often provided for patients with CLBP. However, their effectiveness remains questionable, and the safest approach to CLBP remains debated.

Construction of indeno[1,2-b]pyrroles via chemoselective N-acylation/cyclization/Wittig reaction sequence.

An efficient protocol for the chemoselective construction of the indeno[1,2-b]pyrroles and rearranged indeno[1,2-b]pyrrole derivatives is reported via an N-acylation/cyclization/Wittig reaction. Extensive mechanistic investigations revealed that the initially formed crucial spiro-indene-1,2'-[1,3,4]oxadiazol intermediate further reacts with phosphine to generate betaine, thus predominately resulting in the aforementioned heteroarenes proceeding by a Wittig reaction.

Highly-Sensitive Detection of Volatile Organic Compound Vapors by Electrospun PANI/P3TI/PMMA Fibers.

Detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is one of the essential concerns for human health protection and environmental monitoring. In this study, the blending fibers using a donor-acceptor copolymer were fabricated by electrospinning technique and subsequent UV/ozone treatment. The donor-acceptor polymers were polyaniline, P3TI, and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PANI/P3TI/PMMA) fibers with a cylindrical structure and uniform morphology.

Ultrasensitive Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds by a Freestanding Aligned Ag/CdSe-CdS/PMMA Texture with Double-Side UV-Ozone Treatment.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemicals having a high vapor pressure at room temperature. Chronic exposure to VOC vapor can be potentially dangerous to human health. In this study, we build a high-performance freestanding aligned Ag/CdSe-CdS/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) texture to detect VOC vapors.

Improved Solar-Driven Photocatalytic Performance of Highly Crystalline Hydrogenated TiO Nanofibers with Core-Shell Structure.

Hydrogenated titanium dioxide has attracted intensive research interests in pollutant removal applications due to its high photocatalytic activity. Herein, we demonstrate hydrogenated TiO nanofibers (H:TiO NFs) with a core-shell structure prepared by the hydrothermal synthesis and subsequent heat treatment in hydrogen flow. H:TiO NFs has excellent solar light absorption and photogenerated charge formation behavior as confirmed by optical absorbance, photo-Kelvin force probe microscopy and photoinduced charge carrier dynamics analyses.

High detection rate of dog circovirus in diarrheal dogs.

Background: Diarrhea is one of the most common clinical symptoms reported in companion animal clinics. Dog circovirus (DogCV) is a new mammalian circovirus that is considered to be a cause of alimentary syndromes such as diarrhea, vomiting and hemorrhagic enteritis. DogCV has previously only been identified in the United States, Italy, Germany (GeneBank accession number: KF887949) and China (GeneBank accession number: KT946839).

Molecular and epidemiological study of enterovirus D68 in Taiwan.

Background/purpose: As an immunofluorescence assay for enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is not available in the enteroviruses surveillance network in Taiwan, EV-D68 may be the actual pathogen of untypeable enterovirus-suspected isolates.

Methods: The untypeable isolates collected from 2007 through 2014 were identified by nucleic acid amplification-based methods and sequencing of the VP1 region to analyze the phylogeny and epidemiology of EV-D68 in Taiwan.

Results: Twenty-nine EV-D68 isolates were sequenced, including 15 Cluster 3 and 14 Cluster 1 viruses.

Molecular epidemiological analysis of Saffold cardiovirus genotype 3 from upper respiratory infection patients in Taiwan.

Background: Saffold cardiovirus (SAFV) belongs to the Cardiovirus genus of Picornaviridae family, and may be a relevant new human pathogen; Thus far, eleven genotypes have been identified. The SAFV type 3 (SAFV-3) is thought to be the major genotype and is detected relatively frequently in children with acute gastroenteritis and respiratory illness. The epidemiology and pathogenicity of SAFV-3 remain unclear.

Antigenic and genetic diversity of human enterovirus 71 from 2009 to 2012, Taiwan.

Different subgenogroups of enterovirus 71 (EV-71) have caused numerous outbreaks of hand, foot, and mouth disease worldwide, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. During the development of a vaccine against EV-71, the genetic and antigenic diversities of EV-71 isolates from Taiwan were analyzed by phylogenetic analyses and neutralization tests. The results showed that the dominant genogroups had changed twice, from B to C and from C to B, between 2009 and 2012.

Phylogenetic analysis and development of an immunofluorescence assay for untypeable strains of coxsackievirus B3.

Background/purpose: In recent years, coxsackievirus B3 (CV-B3) has been determined as a dominant enterovirus serotype that may cause severe complications in patients. Since 2008 in Taiwan, some enterovirus isolates have been regarded as untypeable [by employing commercial immunofluorescence assay (IFA) kits]. In 2012, the number of isolates increased.