Early Statin Use Following Diagnosis of Graves' Disease Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Moderate-to-Severe Graves' Orbitopathy in Middle-Aged Adults: Evidence from a Nationwide Taiwanese Cohort.

Statin use is associated with a reduced risk of Graves' orbitopathy (GO). However, whether the timing of initiating statin treatment after the diagnosis of Graves' disease (GD) affects the association between statin and GO risk remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate the risk of GO based on varying intervals of statin initiation following GD diagnosis.

BIM-driven digital twin for demolition waste management of existing residential buildings.

With the accelerated development of urbanisation, the construction industry has significantly contributed to environmental degradation due to its substantial energy consumption and construction and demolition (C&D) waste generation. By assessing the ecological impact of the construction industry alongside existing demolition waste management practices, this article aims to develop a conceptual framework to optimise building demolition, transportation, and recycling processes. This study integrates a BIM-driven Digital Twin framework into C&D waste management, aiming to maximise economic benefits and advance the sustainable development of construction practices.

Impact of asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on the survival of patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: Chronic airway inflammation in asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is presumed to be protumorigenic. The tumor inhibitory effect of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) used to reduce airway inflammation in patients with asthma and COPD remains unclear.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of coexisting asthma and/or COPD on the survival of patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Androgen Deprivation Therapy-Induced Muscle Loss and Fat Gain Predict Cardiovascular Events in Prostate Cancer Patients.

Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) increases the risk of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with prostate cancer. ADT can induce body composition change; however, the association between body composition change and cardiovascular outcomes remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the association between ADT-induced body composition change and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with prostate cancer.

Caregiving preparedness and depression as key predictors of quality of life in primary stroke caregivers: a cross-sectional study in Taiwan.

Purpose: This study examined how demographic factors, health status, and caregiving preparedness influence the quality of life (QoL) of primary caregivers of stroke patients in Taiwan.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 145 caregivers at a central Taiwan hospital. Data were collected using the Caregiving Preparedness Scale (PCS), an 8-item tool assessing readiness in general care, emergency management, and resource access (5-point Likert scale), and the WHOQOL-BREF Taiwan version, a 28-item measure of physical, psychological, social, and environmental QoL.

Management of Failed Latarjet and Off-tract Hill-Sachs Lesion: Arthroscopy-assisted Remplissage and Open Eden-Hybinette Procedure.

This case report describes a 49-year-old former semi-professional judo player with recurrent right shoulder instability following his first dislocation in 2006. He underwent two unsuccessful arthroscopic Bankart repairs due to improper anchor positioning. In March 2020, an open Latarjet procedure was performed to address his ongoing instability, but he suffered another dislocation in January 2023 after a fall.

The influence of prompt engineering on large language models for protein-protein interaction identification in biomedical literature.

Identifying protein-protein interactions (PPIs) is a foundational task in biomedical natural language processing. While specialized models have been developed, the potential of general-domain large language models (LLMs) in PPI extraction, particularly for researchers without computational expertise, remains unexplored. This study evaluates the effectiveness of proprietary LLMs (GPT-3.

Personalized Parameter Setting in Musculoskeletal Models Through Multitrajectory Optimization.

Musculoskeletal models are indispensable tools in biomechanics, offering insights into muscle dynamics and joint mechanics. However, the parameters of a personalized musculoskeletal model are nonidentifiable when multiple parameters compensate for each other to produce similar force outputs, posing challenges to model accuracy and reliability. This study introduces a multitrajectory optimization framework integrated with subject-specific modeling to address this issue.

Techniques for Lower Trapezius Transfer Using Achilles Allograft in Irreparable Posterosuperior Rotator Cuff Tears.

The management of irreparable rotator cuff tears presents significant challenges, particularly in active individuals experiencing functional limitations, such as reduced forward elevation and deficits in both external and internal rotation. Traditional latissimus dorsi (LD) tendon transfer has shown effectiveness in reducing pain associated with posterosuperior cuff tears but often yields inconsistent functional outcomes. This is largely due to the LD's primary role as an internal rotator, which limits its capacity to restore normal shoulder biomechanics.

Siblicide between fertilized and unfertilized ovaries within the maize ear.

Evolutionarily, plants overproduce ovaries but selectively eliminate those inferiors to ensure competitive offspring to set. This sibling rivalry, reducing grain number, is detrimental agronomically. However, the interaction between early-fertilized and unfertilized ovaries in sequentially-pollinated panicles is unclear.

The association between metabolic syndrome components and cognitive function in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults: the first wave result of a cohort study.

Background: The components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) have previously been demonstrated to be contributors to cognitive decline in older adults as individual factors, but not collectively as a syndrome. This study investigated whether adults ≥ 50 years old who meet the criteria for MetS were more likely to develop impaired cognition than those without MetS.

Methods: Adults aged 50 years or older without significant cognitive impairment who received outpatient care at Taipei Veterans General Hospital were recruited.

Teams, Tools, Processes and Resources to Manage Oncologic Clinical Decision Support: Lessons Learned from City of Hope's Multistate, Academic, and Community Oncology Enterprise.

Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) consisting of Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) and oncology pathways serve as the foundation of high-quality cancer care. However, the resources needed to develop and maintain these systems have not been characterized for oncology enterprises. Executive leadership appointed a medical director and clinical pharmacist to develop and lead a Pathways and Protocols Program for the City of Hope (COH) enterprise.

Interleukin 26 attenuates osteoblast differentiation in osteoarthritis patients by activating COX2 and NF-κB pathways.

Osteoarthritis (OA) represents the prevailing form of degenerative joint pathology. Recent investigations have revealed a heightened expression of interleukin 26 (IL-26) in various inflammatory arthritic conditions, including OA. However, the specific impacts and functions of IL-26 on osteoblasts (OBs) within the context of OA remain inadequately elucidated.

Farnesoid X receptor induction decreases invasion and tumor progression by JAK2/occludin signaling in human glioblastoma cells.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a brain cancer characterized by low survival and high recurrence rates. Farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a nuclear receptor for bile acids, is expressed at low levels in GBM. This study explores the impact of FXR regulation on GBM cell migration and invasion.

Cardiovascular Outcomes of Patients With Type 2 Diabetes With Urinary Tract Infection Post Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors Treatment: A Multicenter Observational Study.

Objective: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is an adverse effect of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is). However, its effect on cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients remains unclear.

Methods: This multicenter retrospective observational study included diabetes patients who received SGLT2is between January 2016 and January 2019.

Brain Mechanisms of Fear Reduction Underlying Habituation to Pain in Humans.

Habituation to painful stimuli reflects an endogenous pain alleviation mechanism, and reduced pain habituation has been demonstrated in many chronic pain conditions. In ethology, animals exhibit reduced fear responses while habituating to repeated threatening stimuli. It remains unclear whether pain habituation in humans involves a fear reduction mechanism.

Electrostatics of salt-dependent reentrant phase behaviors highlights diverse roles of ATP in biomolecular condensates.

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) involving intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDRs) is a major physical mechanism for biological membraneless compartmentalization. The multifaceted electrostatic effects in these biomolecular condensates are exemplified here by experimental and theoretical investigations of the different salt- and ATP-dependent LLPSs of an IDR of messenger RNA-regulating protein Caprin1 and its phosphorylated variant pY-Caprin1, exhibiting, for example, reentrant behaviors in some instances but not others. Experimental data are rationalized by physical modeling using analytical theory, molecular dynamics, and polymer field-theoretic simulations, indicating that interchain ion bridges enhance LLPS of polyelectrolytes such as Caprin1 and the high valency of ATP-magnesium is a significant factor for its colocalization with the condensed phases, as similar trends are observed for other IDRs.

Protective effects of statins on pulmonary function in patients with persistent hyperlipidemia: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Pulmonary function tests offer crucial parameters for evaluating lung health and predicting clinical outcomes. Hyperlipidemia, a prevalent metabolic disorder, has been linked to declining pulmonary function. Statins are an essential therapy for lowering lipid levels in hyperlipidemia.

GW4064 inhibits migration and invasion in human glioblastoma multiforme through the downregulation of PKCα.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a deadly type of brain tumor with low patient survival rates. Previous studies have shown that inhibiting the intracellular bile acid transport protein can suppress brain tumor growth, migration, and angiogenesis. This study aims to investigate the effects of the bile acid nuclear receptor (farnesoid X receptor, FXR) agonist GW4064 on the migration, and invasion in GBM cells.

Statin Use and the Risk of Graves' Orbitopathy: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

Statin use is reported to reduce the risk of Graves' orbitopathy (GO) in Western populations. However, study regarding the protective effect of statins against GO in Asians with Graves' disease (GD) is scarce. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of statins in preventing GO in Asian GD patients.

Striatal-cortical dysconnectivity underlies somatosensory deficits in Parkinson's disease: Insights from rhythmic auditory-motor training.

Evidence indicates that neurodegenerative diseases spread through distinct brain networks. For Parkinson's disease (PD), somatosensory abnormalities may accompany motor dysfunction in early disease stages when dopaminergic degeneration is limited to the basal ganglia. It remains unclear whether, based on the network-spread account, these abnormalities emanated from aberrant functional connectivity with the basal ganglia, and whether interventions normalizing this connectivity could reverse these abnormalities.