S index: a predictor comparable to ultrasound shear wave elastography in assessing liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B by Sujuan Guo, Lu Gan, Feng Du, Qiang Feng, Jiahua Li, Qinyun Wan, Qiannan Meng, Yaoren Zhang, Yonghao Ji, Jianxue Liu

“…Conclusion The S index is equally effective as the USWE in diagnosing liver fibrosis among patients with chronic hepatitis B, and it is superior to both the Z index and Fibrometer.…”
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Effect of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy (HDP) on maternal and perinatal birth outcomes in Eastern Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study by Ebisa Zerihun, Firaol Girma, Nimona Amena, Wubet Tazeb Wondie, Belete Feyera Olkaba, Lemma Mideksa Egu, Solomon Seyife Alemu, Gemechu Gelan Bekele, Belay Tafa Regassa, Meseret Robi Tura, Fekadu Abera Kebede

“…Objectives The aim of this study was to examine the effect of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy on maternal and perinatal birth outcomes in Eastern Ethiopia. Methods We employed a prospective cohort study design involving 374 pregnant women, equally divided into hypertensive ((n = 187) and normotensive (n = 187). …”
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Longer Drug Retention of Interleukin-12/23 or Interleukin-17 Inhibitors Compared With TNF Inhibitors in Female Patients With TNF Inhibitor-Experienced Psoriatic Arthritis by Godehard A. Scholz, MD, PhD, Eleftherios Papagiannoulis, MSc, Christoph Blapp, MSc, Raphael Micheroli, MD, Adrian Ciurea, MD, Michael J. Nissen, MD, Nikhil Yawalkar, MD, Diana Dan, MD, Jennifer Amsler, MD, Almut Scherer, PhD, Burkhard Möller, MD

“…Objective: To compare the effectiveness of Interleukin (IL)-12/23 or IL-17A inhibitors (summarized to inhibitors of the Th17 cell generation or function, Th17i) with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in patients with TNFi-experienced psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Patients and Methods: We conducted a comparative effectiveness study by taking advantage of prospectively collected patients with PsA data from the Swiss Clinical Quality Management in Rheumatic Diseases register, encompassing the interval from January 1, 2015 to August 1, 2021. …”
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Distinct sex differences in ethanol consumption and operant self-administration in C57BL/6J mice with uniform regulation by glutamate AMPAR activity by Sara Faccidomo, Sara Faccidomo, Vallari R. Eastman, Taruni S. Santanam, Katarina S. Swaim, Seth M. Taylor, Clyde W. Hodge, Clyde W. Hodge

“…The lack of sex differences in the relative effects of GYKI 52466 suggests that AMPAR activity is equally required for EtOH reinforcement in both sexes.…”
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Predicting infection with COVID-19 disease using logistic regression model in Karak City, Jordan [version 3; peer review: 2 approved] by Lina AlTamimi, Liana Dalaeen, Anas Khaleel, Wael Abu Dayyih, Abdallah Ahmed Elbakkoush, Mohammad Niazi, Baker Albadareen, Zainab Zakaraya, Alhareth Ahmad

“…Among the participants 295 (76.4%) were aged less than or equal 45 years old, and 91 (23.6%) were aged over 45 years old. …”
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The risk associated with ultra-processed food intake on depressive symptoms and mental health in older adults: a target trial emulation by Belayneh Mengist, Mojtaba Lotfaliany, Julie A. Pasco, Bruno Agustini, Michael Berk, Malcolm Forbes, Melissa M. Lane, Suzanne G. Orchard, Joanne Ryan, Alice J. Owen, Robyn L. Woods, John J. McNeil, Mohammadreza Mohebbi

“…Therefore, this study investigated the effect of UPF on depressive symptoms and mental health in community-dwelling older adults. Methods A pragmatic target trial was designed and emulated using the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly longitudinal data. …”
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Virtual reality-guided therapy on a stroke unit: a feasibility study by Jordi Kühne Escolà, Rumeysa Demirdas, Martin Schulze, Woon Hyung Chae, Lennart Steffen Milles, Doreen Pommeranz, Marvin Darkwah Oppong, Christoph Kleinschnitz, Martin Köhrmann, Benedikt Frank

“…The feasibility of VR-guided therapy in the acute phase after stroke has not been assessed. Methods This was a cohort study of consecutive patients with suspected stroke who were admitted to the Essen University Hospital Stroke Unit between March 2022 and May 2022. …”
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Factors associated with decreased anal sphincter tone and the accuracy of forced anal examinations to detect individuals having receptive anal intercourse: an observational study by John A Schneider, Alan G Nyitray, Derek Smith, Michael W Ross, Elizabeth Y Chiao, Timothy J Ridolfi, Bridgett Brzezinski, B R Simon Rosser, Aniruddha Hazra, Jenna Nitkowski, Sandrine Sanos, Ever Mkonyi, Lucy Mgopa

“…Using baseline data from a longitudinal study, we aimed to determine factors associated with sphincter tone and the accuracy of sphincter tonality to detect persons engaging in receptive anal intercourse.Methods Clinicians in Chicago, Houston and Milwaukee, USA conducted digital anal rectal examinations (DARE) to score sphincter resting tone (RT) and squeeze tone (ST). …”
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Improvement in long-term survival with mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in systemic sclerosis patients: a propensity score-matched cohort study by Wenyi Yuan, Mian Liu, Dapeng Yang, Yirui Shi, Zhikang Wang, Xuan Cao, Jun Liang, Linyu Geng, Huayong Zhang, Xuebing Feng, Ziyi Jin, Dandan Wang, Lingyun Sun

“…While several studies have investigated the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cell transplantation (MSCT), the clarity of its long-term outcomes for SSc patients is still lacking. Methods Data on MSCT were extracted from the medical records of inpatients at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital between January 2013 and December 2022. …”
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Effect of Sensory Integration Therapy on Attention Span and Gross Motor Skills in Children with Down Syndrome: A Quasi-experimental Study by Manshi Baberwal, Dimple Choudhry, Anjali, Anshu Kumari, Mallika Jhandai, Pankaj Bhardwaj, Ekta

“…Aim: To find out the effect of SIT on attention span and gross motor skills in children with DS. Materials and Methods: The present quasi-experimental study was conducted in various special schools in Rohtak, Haryana, India and at College of Physiotherapy, Pt. …”
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Qingda granules mitigate cardiac inflammation in spontaneously hypertensive rats via the MCP-1/CCR2 signaling pathway by Jianfeng CHU, Huai WANG, Tianyi WANG, Meizhong PENG, Xueling ZHOU, Yan LU, Shan LIN, Aling SHEN, Changgeng FU, Jun PENG

“…Objective: This study investigated effects and underlying mechanisms of Qingda granules (QDG) on cardiac inflammation in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Methods: Twelve SHRs (17 weeks old) were randomly divided into SHR and SHR + QDG groups, with six rats in each group. …”
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COVID‐19 and Healthcare Workers Burnt out: A Qualitative Study of Burnout Experiences of Healthcare workers in a Secondary Hospital in Ghana by Seth Christopher Yaw Appiah, Elvis Mwinsome Sobiesuo, Bernard Obeng, Elsie Asamoah, Comfort Badu Mantey, Peter Dwumah, Mary Sefa Boampong, Abena Afrakomah Boateng, Richard Ofori, Michael Nimoh, Josephine Boakyewaa Nyarko, Jonathan Mensah Dapaah

“…The findings in this study invite the public to appreciate and equally empathise with emergency health care providers particularly during periods of pandemic.…”
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Effects of different grain types on nutrient apparent digestibility, glycemic responses, and fecal VFA content in weaned foals by Xinxin Huang, Qian Li, Xuanyue Li, Chao Li, Jiahao Li, Linjiao He, Hongxin Jing, Fan Yang, Xiaobin Li

“…The daily starch intake for the foals was set at 2 g starch (DM)/kg body weight per day to determine the amount of concentrate supplements to be fed, based on the principle of equal grain starch intake over a 60-day feeding trial. …”
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Proportional representation and incidence rate of repeat visits in ethnic minorities compared to native Dutch people under the age of 25 years in the Netherlands by Y.J. Evers, A. Verhaegh, A. Ibrahim, C. Peters, N.H.T.M. Dukers-Muijrers, R. Reijs, C.J.P.A. Hoebe

“…In this study, we aimed to determine the proportional representation of first- and second generation EMs under 25 years at Dutch Sexual Health Centers (SHCs) compared to native Dutch citizens. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, coded health records data of 270,927 persons in the age group of 15 till 24 years visiting SHCs between 2016 and 2021 were included. …”
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Effect of traditional Chinese medicine combined with conventional Western medicine for patients with severe/very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a multi-center, rando... by Jiansheng Li, Yang Xie, Minghang Wang, Suyun Li, Xuefeng Yu, Nianzhi Zhang, Zhengang Zhu, Wei Zhang, Jihong Feng, Zikai Sun, Lin Lin, Zhijia Sun, Hailong Zhang, Xueqing Yu

“…This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of comprehensive therapy based on TCM patterns for patients with stable, severe to very severe COPD. Methods A multicenter, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted. …”
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Can serum metabolic signatures inform on the relationship between healthy lifestyle and colon cancer risk? by Komodo Matta, Vivian Viallon, Anastasia Chrysovalantou Chatziioannou, Nivonirina Robinot, Roland Wedekind, Christina C. Dahm, Agnetha Linn Rostgaard-Hansen, Anne Tjønneland, Therese Truong, Chloé Marques, Pauline Frenoy, Rudolf Kaaks, Renée Turzanski Fortner, Matthias B. Schulze, Sabrina Sieri, Mario Fordellone, Rosario Tumino, Fulvio Ricceri, Tonje Braaten, Therese Haugdahl Nøst, Maria-Jose Sánchez, Olatz Mokoroa-Carollo, Sandra Colorado-Yohar, Camino Trobajo-Sanmartín, Keren Papier, Rhea Harewood, Kostas Tsilidis, Salvatore Vaccarella, Mattias Johansson, Elisabete Weiderpass, Cyrille Delpierre, Sebastien Lamy, Kristin Benjaminsen Borch, Pekka Keski-Rahkonen, Elio Riboli, Heinz Freisling, Marc Gunter, Pietro Ferrari

“…Metabolomics offers potential to uncover biological mechanisms linking lifestyle and colon cancer. Methods Lifestyle and untargeted metabolomic data were available from a nested case–control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), including 1,067 colon cancer cases and 1,067 controls matched on age, sex, study centre, and blood collection time. …”
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Socioeconomic disparities in the associations of age at last live birth with stroke and its subtypes among Chinese parous postmenopausal women: A prospective cohort study by Shiyi Shan, Weidi Sun, Jing Wu, Leying Hou, Zeyu Luo, Jiali Zhou, Jiayao Ying, Peige Song

“…ALLB was further classified equally into tertiles (<26 years, 26–29 years, and ≥30 years). …”
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Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Socket Preservation Technique Using Allogeneic and Xenogeneic Materials—A Preliminary Study by Piotr Wróbel, Adam Piecuch, Michał Bąk, Paweł Krynicki, Jakub Adamczyk, Piotr Mojżesz, Agnieszka Kiełboń, Sylwia Wójcik, Martin Starosta, Won-Pyo Lee, Tadeusz Morawiec

“…Additionally, bone biopsies taken from the grafted sites underwent histological evaluation. Methods: This study enrolled 10 generally healthy patients, who were divided into two equal groups. …”
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Ultrasonography Assessment of Neck Anatomy for Prediction of Difficult Mask Ventilation in Obese Patients: A Prospective Observational Study by Ignatius Wong Hsun-Hong, Azarinah Izaham, Syarifah Noor Nazihah Sayed Masri, Muhammad Maaya, Siti Nidzwani Mohamad Mahdi, Khazrul Nizar Abd Kader, Maryam Budiman, Yazmin Yaacob

“…<b>Conclusions</b>: Notably, DSHB was the most specific parameter and equally as sensitive as DSTJ in predicting difficult mask ventilation in morbidly obese patients.…”
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Effectiveness of mucoactives (carbocisteine and hypertonic saline) in addition to usual airway clearance management with usual airway clearance management alone in acute respirator... by Mike Clarke, Marc Chikhani, Cliona McDowell, Ranjit Lall, Michael McKelvey, Margaret McFarland, Brenda O'Neill, Cecilia O'Kane, Murali Shyamsundar, Gavin Perkins, Clifford C Taggart, Gordon Sturmey, Barry Williams, John Warburton, Paul Dark, Bronwen Connolly, Ashley Agus, Naomi Dickson, Mark Borthwick, Bronagh Blackwood, Daniel F McAuley, Christina Campbell, Judy Bradley

“…Participants will be equally allocated across four trial arms. All participants will receive usual airway clearance management. …”
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