Life, Volume 13, Issue 8

The Sundarban is the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest and stores around 26.62 Tg of blue carbon. The present study reviewed the factors causing a decline in its blue carbon content and poses a challenge in enhancing the carbon stock o...

Congenital cataract (CC) causes a third of the cases of treatable childhood blindness worldwide. CC is a disorder of the crystalline lens which is established as clinically divergent and has complex heterogeneity. This study aimed to determine the ge...

Background: Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, with incidence and prevalence rates of 8–18 per 100,000 people per year and 0.3–1%, respectively. As parkinsonian symptoms do not appear until approximatel...

Introduction: The self-expanding, resheathable, repositionable transcatheter aortic heart valve Portico is being used successfully for transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedures (TAVI) in patients with severe aortic stenosis. The aim of this...

Catheter ablation has been shown to be more effective at maintaining sinus rhythm and improving quality of life when compared to antiarrhythmic drugs. Radiofrequency and cryoablation are two effective methods. However, catheter-only ablation strategi...

Focused ultrasound (FUS) has emerged as a promising noninvasive therapeutic modality for treating atherosclerotic arterial disease. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), a noninvasive and precise modality that generates high temperatures at speci...

This article relates personal recollections and starts with the origin of electron microscopy in the sixties of the previous century at the University of Amsterdam. Novel fixation and embedding techniques marked the discovery of the internal bacteria...

(1) Objective: Keloid and hypertrophic scars are a challenge in clinical management, causing functional and psychological discomfort. These pathological scars are caused by a proliferation of dermal tissue following skin injury. The TGF-β/Smad s...

Pulicaria jaubertii (PJ) is a medicinal plant used as a synthetic antioxidant and as a traditional medicine due to its bioactive compounds. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of PJ on carcass traits and breast meat quality par...

TNF-α inhibitors (TNFis) have revolutionized the treatment of certain chronic immune-mediated diseases, being widely and successfully used in rheumatic inflammatory diseases, and have also proved their efficacy in the treatment of inflammatory...

Sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) are a relatively new class of antidiabetic drugs that have shown favorable effects in heart failure (HF) patients, irrespective of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Recent studies...

Background: The purpose of this study was to objectively evaluate visual discomfort using an eye tracker and aberrometer after a 21-min reading session on an iPad and an Ebook. Additionally, retinal changes were analyzed using optical coherence tomog...

Motoneurons receive thousands of excitatory and inhibitory synapses from descending tracts and primary afferent fibers. The excitability of these neurons must be precisely regulated to respond adequately to the requirements of the environment. In thi...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the endocervical margin status according to transformation zone (TZ) and high-risk HPV (hr-HPV) subtype in specimens with cone length ≤ 10 mm versus > 10 mm to provide data for informed decision making and pat...

Background: Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) is a clinical entity significantly increasing the risk of a peripartum hemorrhage. Various surgical methods have been described in the literature, which aim to reduce the risk of bleeding, although they oft...

Objective: The aim of this investigation was to compare the thickness of the deep local muscles in the neck region, as well as local and widespread sensitivity and functionality, between individuals with migraine and healthy control subjects. Methods...

Serum adiponectin plays a vital role in various physiological processes, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerotic, anti-apoptotic and pro-angiogenic activities. Any abnormalities in its concentration can lead to adverse health outcomes, partic...

(1) Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage is one of the most common complications of microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery. Before fatal complications, such as intracranial infection, occur, early recognition and prompt treatment are esse...

Background: Haemorrhagic stroke, accounting for 10–20% of all strokes, often requires decompressive surgery as a life-saving measure for cases with massive oedema and raised intracranial pressure. This study was conducted to compare the demogra...

Introduction: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM) is a reversible form of cardiomyopathy characterized by transient regional systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle. Case outline: A 78-year-old woman was admitted to the general hospital due to acute in...

Gastric cancer is a significant health concern worldwide, and lymphadenectomy plays a crucial role in its treatment. However, there is ongoing debate regarding the optimal approach—D1 or D2 lymphadenectomy. This paper aims to synthesize the ava...

Background: Trail running socks with the same fibers and design but with different separations of their three-dimensional waves could have different thermoregulatory effects. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the temperatures ref...

Background: Hantaviruses remain an important case of emerging and re-emerging infections in human medicine. This study aimed to analyse the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and outcome of hantavirus infections in the western part of Republic of C...

The microbiota inhabits the gastrointestinal tract, providing essential capacities to the host. The microbiota is a crucial factor in intestinal health and regulates intestinal physiology. However, microbiota disturbances, named dysbiosis, can disrup...

(1) Background: The influence of the menstrual cycle on physical fitness in athletes is controversial in the scientific literature. There is a marked fluctuation of sex hormones at three key points of the menstrual cycle, where estrogen and progester...

Background: The minimum clinically important difference (MCID) for the St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) is debated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) quality-of-life (QoL) assessments. This study aimed to determine whet...

Proximal hamstring tears are among the most common injuries afflicting athletes and middle-aged individuals. Sciatic nerve compression after a proximal hamstring injury, which can occur due to scar formation and subsequent irritation or compression o...

Viral hepatitis continues to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, but the burden has significantly diminished thanks to the large-scale use of vaccines and antivirals. However, there are still challenges regarding viral hepatiti...

Hemifacial spasm is typically caused by contact between the facial nerve and blood vessels. Microvascular decompression, a treatment that directly addresses this pathogenesis, is often considered the most effective treatment method. However, surgery...

Background and Aim: Ultrasound (US) imaging is increasingly preferred over other more invasive modalities in preclinical studies using animal models. However, this technique has some limitations, mainly related to operator dependence. To overcome som...

The potato rot nematode (Ditylenchus destructor) is one of the most destructive pests in the production of tuber crops, resulting in severely decreased yields and inferior product quality. In 2021, a great number of nematodes were detected in the roo...

Stress is a process that triggers various physiological, hormonal and psychological mechanisms in response to a threat, which significantly affects the health of an individual. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a lot of social changes that required co...

Breast cancer cryoablation has emerged as a minimally invasive alternative to lumpectomy for treating early-stage breast cancer. However, no consensus exists on what should be considered the standard of care for the multidisciplinary management of pa...

The study’s objective was to assess the impact of Mediterranean diet/lifestyle interventions for weight loss on positive airway pressure (PAP) adherence, body mass index (ΒΜΙ), sleepiness, and blood pressure measurements (BP) in pa...

Bulgarian Rosa damascena Mill. is has been known since ancient times for its high-quality oil, hydrosol, and other aromatic products. Rose hydrosol has various biological activities, but no research on its anticytotoxic/antigenotoxic effects exists....

Introduction: In some cases, there may be a discrepancy between the symptomatology alleged by Crohn’s disease (CD) patients and the results of laboratory tests or imaging investigations. Ileocolonoscopy with biopsy is the primary investigation...

Research Question: Does treatment with tocilizumab increase the risk of a fungal infection in critically ill patients with coronavirus-19? Background: Numerous therapies have been evaluated as possible treatments for coronavirus-2019 caused by severe...

Speciation is not always accompanied by morphological changes; numerous cryptic closely related species were revealed using genetic methods. In natural populations of Ellobius tancrei (2n = 54–30) and E. alaicus (2n = 52–48) of the Pamir-...

The multifarious internal workings of organisms are difficult to reconcile with a single feature defining a state of ‘being alive’. Indeed, definitions of life rely on emergent properties (growth, capacity to evolve, agency) only symptoma...

Cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CABMV) and Cowpea severe mosaic virus (CPSMV) threaten cowpea commercial production. This study aimed to analyze Conserved Transcriptional Signatures (CTS) in cowpea’s genotypes that are resistant to these virus...

The commonly supposed template-based format for RNA self-replication requires both duplex assembly and disassembly. This requisite binary provision presents a challenge to the development of a serviceable self-replication model since chemical reactio...

Low physical function is associated with poor outcomes in the elderly population suffering from hip fractures. The present study aims to evaluate the prognostic tools for predicting patient recovery after hip fractures and investigate the correlation...

Background: Cutting-edge neonatal programs diagnose cerebral palsy (CP) or “high risk of CP” using validated neurobehavioral exams in combination with risk history and neuroimaging. In rat models, digital gait analyses are the gold standa...

Drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) and transporters play a major role in drug efficacy and safety. They are regulated at multiple levels and by multiple factors. Estimating their expression and activity could contribute to predicting drug pharmacokinet...

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) utilizing maximum-intensity projection (MIP) was suggested as a cost-effective alternative tool without the risk of gadolinium-based contrast agents. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether DWI MIPs playe...

Gastroparesis (GP) is a chronic disease characterized by upper gastrointestinal symptoms, primarily nausea and vomiting, and delayed gastric emptying (GE), in the absence of mechanical GI obstruction. The underlying pathophysiology of GP remains uncl...

Left ventricular (LV) remodeling is a dynamic process, which is characterized by changes in ventricular size, shape, and wall thickness, thus altering myocardial geometry and function, and is considered as a negative prognostic factor in patients wit...

Uterine fibroids (UF) are common benign tumors in women. The course of UF is associated with troubling symptoms and the development of infertility and pregnancy pathology. Surgical treatment even implies hysterectomy, while pharmacological interventi...

Background: Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis are at an elevated risk of developing dementia, potentially linked to the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in this population, which may contribute to cognitive i...

Globally, breast cancer (BC), the second-biggest cause of cancer death, occurs due to unregulated cell proliferation leading to metastasis to other parts of the human organ. Recently, the exploration of naturally derived anticancer agents has become...