Aerobic Exercise Enhances the Impact of Cognitive Training on Positive Symptoms After a First Episode of Schizophrenia.

We examined the effects of combining cognitive training plus aerobic exercise versus cognitive training alone on positive symptoms in recent-onset schizophrenia patients. Sixty-eight participants were randomly assigned to Cognitive Training plus Exercise (CT&E,  = 37) or Cognitive Training alone (CT,  = 31). All participants were also randomly assigned to either oral risperidone or paliperidone palmitate (PP1M) in a concurrent antipsychotic medication study.

Hydroclimatic Rebound Drives Extreme Fire in California's Non-Forested Ecosystems.

The catastrophic Los Angeles Fires of January 2025 underscore the urgent need to understand the complex interplay between hydroclimatic variability and wildfire behavior. This study investigates how sequential wet and dry periods, hydroclimatic rebound events, create compounding environmental conditions that culminate in extreme fire events. Our results show that a cascade of moisture anomalies, from the atmosphere to vegetation health, precedes these fires by around 6-27 months.

Recalcitrant Peripapillary Pachychoroid Syndrome Responds to High-Dose Aflibercept Therapy.

Purpose: To describe a case of recalcitrant bilateral peripapillary pachychoroid syndrome (PPS) treated with high-dose (HD) intravitreal aflibercept injections.

Methods: Medical and imaging records were retrospectively evaluated. Multimodal imaging included ultra-widefield indocyanine green and fluorescein angiography and fundus autofluorescence.

Decoding Enzymatic Dechlorination with Multiscale Modeling: Mechanistic Insights into Native Haloalkane Dehalogenase from and Its Designed Variants.

Chlorinated hydrocarbons are widely used as solvents and synthetic intermediates, but their chemical persistence can cause hazardous environmental accumulation. Haloalkane dehalogenase from (DhlA) is a bacterial enzyme that naturally converts toxic chloroalkanes into less harmful alcohols. Using a multiscale approach based on the empirical valence bond method, we investigate the catalytic mechanism of 1,2-dichloroethane dehalogenation within DhlA and its mutants.

Machine learning predicts improvement of functional outcomes in spinal cord injury patients after inpatient rehabilitation.

Introduction: Spinal cord injury (SCI) presents a significant burden to patients, families, and the healthcare system. The ability to accurately predict functional outcomes for SCI patients is essential for optimizing rehabilitation strategies, guiding patient and family decision making, and improving patient care.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 589 SCI patients admitted to a single acute rehabilitation facility and used the dataset to train advanced machine learning algorithms to predict patients' rehabilitation outcomes.

Impact of the ATM/Chk2 pathway and cell cycle phase on radiation-induced senescence in A549 human lung cancer cells.

Cell senescence is a state of stable proliferation arrest characterized by morphological changes and high senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity. Inducing senescence in cancer cells is beneficial for cancer therapy due to proliferation arrest, however, the mechanisms underlying this process remain insufficiently understood. Therefore, the present study investigated the mechanisms of radiation-induced cellular senescence in A549 human lung cancer cells, focusing on the DNA damage response and cell cycle regulation.

Maximizing theoretical and practical storage capacity in single-layer feedforward neural networks.

Artificial neural networks are limited in the number of patterns that they can store and accurately recall, with capacity constraints arising from factors such as network size, architectural structure, pattern sparsity, and pattern dissimilarity. Exceeding these limits leads to recall errors, eventually leading to catastrophic forgetting, which is a major challenge in continual learning. In this study, we characterize the theoretical maximum memory capacity of single-layer feedforward networks as a function of these parameters.

Tuberous breast deformity in a transgender woman: a case report.

Tuberous breast deformity was first documented by Rees and Aston in 1976. The deformity is well documented in cisgender women, with rare cases in cisgender men often associated with gynecomastia, and almost no reports in transgender women. Herein, we present a case of a 32-year-old transgender woman who developed bilateral tuberous breast deformity after 10 years of hormone replacement therapy.

Cognitive Bias in Action: Delayed Diagnosis of Thoracic Meningioma Mimicking Lumbosacral Radiculopathy-A Case Report.

The highly variable clinical presentations of sciatica, combined with cognitive biases, often lead to misattribution of the underlying pathology responsible for patient symptoms. Such limitations can contribute to significant diagnostic delays. Prioritizing systematic evaluation and maintaining vigilance against biases are critical for ensuring timely diagnosis and improving patient outcomes.

Individual, Social and Environmental Influences on Sleep in Latino Pre-Adolescents: A Qualitative Analysis.

A community-based qualitative study identified multilevel influences on sleep duration, quality, and timing in 10 to 12-year-old Latino pre-adolescents via 11 focus groups with 46 children and 15 interviews with parents. An iterative content analysis revealed three themes negatively and positively impacted sleep: (1) Individual-level; (2) Social-level; and (3) Environmental-level influences. At the individual level, use of technology (e.

Retinal progenitor cells (jCell) for retinitis pigmentosa.

Objective: To assess the safety and tolerability of intravitreal injection of human retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) at multiple dose levels in adults with non-syndromic retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

Design: A prospective, multicenter, open-label, single-arm, Phase I/IIa safety study of RPCs in adults with RP ( = 28). Two patient cohorts were studied: Cohort 1: BCVA no better than 20/200 and no worse than Hand Motions, and Cohort 2: BCVA no better than 20/40 and no worse than 20/200).

Box of Lessons: An Open Educational Resource for Exploring Biomolecular Structure and Function.

Structure-function relationships are a core concept in many STEM disciplines. Most biology curricula introduce students to macromolecules, their building blocks, and other small molecules that play key roles in biological processes. However, the shapes, interactions, and functions of these molecules are often discussed using schematic diagrams, ignoring the vast amounts of three-dimensional structural and bioinformatics data freely available from public data resources.

Views of Menopause and Hormone Therapy Associations with Hormone Therapy Use in US Women Aged 50-79.

Objective: To explore symptoms, knowledge levels, perceptions, and use related to menopause and hormone therapy (HT) and to examine the factors associated with HT use and HT perceptions in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.

Materials And Methods: We used a sample of 98 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women who aged 50-79 and participated in the Sex, ApoE-4, γ-aminobutyric acid, and Episodic memory (SAGE) study ( = 64.24, = 7.

Circadian rhythms are associated with higher amyloid-β and tau and poorer cognition in older adults.

Several studies implicate circadian rhythm disturbances in Alzheimer's disease. However, very little is known about how circadian rhythms are associated with Alzheimer's pathological biomarkers in older adults at early stages of the disease, and how these relationships map onto cognition. This cross-sectional study used 24-h accelerometry data to investigate the relationships between circadian rhythms, amyloid-β (Aβ), tau, and cognition in 68 older adults with objective early cognitive impairment.

The tree-based pipeline optimization tool: Tackling biomedical research problems with genetic programming and automated machine learning.

The tree-based pipeline optimization tool (TPOT) is one of the earliest automated machine learning (ML) frameworks developed for optimizing ML pipelines, with an emphasis on addressing the complexities of biomedical research. TPOT uses genetic programming to explore a diverse space of pipeline structures and hyperparameter configurations in search of optimal pipelines. Here, we provide a comparative overview of the conceptual similarities and implementation differences between the previous and latest versions of TPOT, focusing on two key aspects: (1) the representation of ML pipelines and (2) the underlying algorithm driving pipeline optimization.

Nanostructured LiNiCoAlO (NCA) for fast-charging, high-capacity battery cathodes.

Nanostructuring, which shortens lithium-ion diffusion lengths, can help facilitate pseudocapacitive behavior in some battery materials. Here, nanostructured LiNiCoAlO (NCA), with porosity and decreased crystallite size compared to commercial bulk NCA, was synthesized using a colloidal polymer template. Small particles (∼150 nm) were obtained using rapid thermal annealing (RTA), while medium particles (∼300 nm) were obtained with conventional heating.

A Novel Lipid Microbubble Targeting E-Selectin for Ultrasound Molecular Imaging of Acute Kidney Injury in Rats.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical syndrome characterized by abnormal renal function and structure. Microcirculatory perfusion disorders and inflammatory responses are critical pathophysiologies of AKI. Recently, ultrasound molecular imaging has been considered a valuable tool for preclinical and clinical diagnostics that can sensitively target histological structures of interest, particularly in evaluating renal microcirculation.

The life cycle of infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship projects and interventions: the dynamic interplay of implementation and de-implementation science (Part I of II).

In Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention and Control, programmatic goals often strive to achieve clinical benefit by practice change in the direction of doing less. Practically, this may include reducing the number of tests ordered, encouraging shorter and more narrow courses of antimicrobials, or discontinuing practices that are no longer contextually appropriate. Because promoting practice change in the direction of doing less is a critical aspect of day-to-day operations in Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention and Control, the goals of this Research Committee White Paper are to provide a roadmap and framework for leveraging principles of implementation and de-implementation science in day-to-day practice.

Leveraging de-implementation science to promote infection prevention and stewardship: a roadmap and practical examples (Part II of II).

De-implementation of established practices is a common challenge in infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship and a necessary part of the life cycle of healthcare quality improvement programs. Promoting de-implementation of ineffective antimicrobial use and increasingly of low-value diagnostic testing are cornerstones of stewardship practice. Principles of de-implementation science and the interplay of implementation and de-implementation are discussed in part I of this Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America White Paper Series.

Congenital hearing loss in Palestine: Mapping the socioeconomic and clinical factors on infant health in Gaza.

Introduction: Congenital hearing loss (CHL) is a significant chronic condition affecting children's development and communication skills. Globally, its incidence is 1.33 per 1000 newborns, but data from Gaza is limited, this study aims to investigate clinical profile, and risk factors associated with congenital hearing loss (CHL) in infants within the Gaza Strip, focusing on the period before the 2023 military escalation.

Influence of obesity and socio-linguistic factors on otitis externa treatment outcomes in children.

Background: Established risk factors for the development of otitis externa (OE) include stenotic ear canals, dermatologic disease and insertion of foreign objects. The link between obesity and susceptibility to different systemic diseases have been demonstrated, but not yet with OE.

Objective: This study was aimed at determining whether obese patients had OE infections that were more difficult to treat compared to normal weight children and investigate other measurable patient factors contributing to OE infection resolution in our unique patient population.

Lower risk of cardiovascular events in patients initiated on semaglutide 2.4 mg in the real-world: Results from the SCORE study (Semaglutide Effects on Cardiovascular Outcomes in People with Overweight or Obesity in the Real World).

Aims: In this first interim analysis of the SCORE study, we investigated the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) among individuals with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and overweight/obesity but without diabetes who initiated semaglutide 2.4 mg in real-world settings.

Materials And Methods: Individuals initiating semaglutide 2.

The systematic assessment of completeness of public metadata accompanying omics studies in the Gene Expression Omnibus data repository.

Background: Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies have enabled the collection and sharing of a massive amount of omics data, along with its associated metadata-descriptive information that contextualizes the data, including phenotypic traits and experimental design. Enhancing metadata availability is critical to ensure data reusability and reproducibility and to facilitate novel biomedical discoveries through effective data reuse. Yet, incomplete metadata accompanying public omics data may hinder reproducibility and reusability and limit secondary analyses.