Original Article Research Articles

Systemic sclerosis associated respiratory involvement: Scopus-based analysis of articles in 2013-2022.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc), a complex autoimmune disorder, manifests as a convergence of rheumatologic, dermatologic, and pulmonary challenges. Among the severe complications contributing to morbidity and mortality are SSc Associated Interstitial Lung Disease (SSc-ILD) and pulmonary hypertension. Over the past decade, research on pulmonary involvement in SSc has intensified, leading to a heightened understanding of its pathogenesis, diagnostic methods, and therapeutic strategies. This study aims to provide a data-driven overview of the current state of systemic sclerosis research, identifying emerging trends and fostering informed decisions regarding resource allocation and research priorities. A literature search was conducted in the Scopus database, using MESH keywords such as "systemic sclerosis" AND "lungs" OR "pulmonary hypertension" OR "interstitial lung disease". After applying exclusion criteria, a thorough analysis was performed, considering factors such as document category, authorship, journal source, citation frequency, country of publication, language, and keywords. The bibliometric analysis utilized Scopus as the preferred database, leveraging its extensive coverage, user-friendly interface, and commitment to data accuracy. Visual networks were constructed using VOSviewer software to map the relationships between keywords, countries, and authors. Altmetric Attention Scores (AAS) were employed to assess the social impact of articles. The analysis revealed a total of 2538 scholarly items, with 55.7% identified as open access. The USA (n = 532), Italy (n = 458), France (n = 304), Japan (n = 271), and the UK (n = 236) emerged as primary contributors, with English being the predominant language. A notable upward tendency in annual publication and citation scores indicated sustained interest and relevance in SSc-ILD research. The top journals, including Rheumatology United Kingdom, Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, Clinical Rheumatology, Arthritis and Rheumatology, and Journal of Rheumatology, played a pivotal role in scholarly output. Original Articles (n = 1795; 70.7%) constituted the majority of publications, followed by Reviews, Letters, Notes, and Editorials. The analysis of publication impact within different scholarly formats revealed varying citation patterns, with Original Articles and Reviews leading in influence. The identification of influential research hubs and key contributors provided insights into collaborative efforts and geographic distribution. A strong correlation (rho = 0.612, p < 0.001) was observed between the quantity of Mendeley readers and the citations received by scholarly articles. This bibliometric analysis offers a comprehensive overview of SSc-ILD research, highlighting its dynamic and interdisciplinary nature. The surge in publications, citation scores, and the identification of key contributors underscore the continued relevance and impact of this field. The nuanced relationships between social attention and scientific recognition, as revealed by Mendeley readership and AAS, contribute to a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of scholarly impact.

On Joule’s paddle wheel experiment in textbooks

Authors of university and secondary school textbooks have resorted to Joule’s famous paddle wheel experiment when introducing the topic ‘energy’. The explanations provided are misleading. In this study, Joule’s original article was used to address this problem.

Pulse wave velocity on the risk stratification of aortic aneurysm

Introduction. The maintenance of tissue perfusion during the cardiac cycle is essential in organs with high metabolic demand, which is guaranteed by the maintenance of the physical properties of the arterial wall. When altered, there are hemodynamic repercussions that can be quantified using new methods, such as pulse wave velocity (PWV). These changes can occur in aortic aneurysms (AA), which have a high mortality rate associated with their rupture, making risk stratification and early intervention essential. Objectives. Demonstrate the relationship between PWV in risk stratification in patients with AA. Methods. Original articles from the Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo), the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences System (Lilacs) and PubMed Central (PMC) databases were included, which addressed the risk stratification of AA with the use of PWV in the human population. Studies published more than five years ago and those that did not address AA risk stratification based on PWV were excluded. Results and Discussion. Three articles were selected. An increase in PWV was observed in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) when compared to the control group (12.3 m/s x 10.9 m/s, p&lt;0.01). Furthermore, the use of PWV is recommended in the risk stratification of all patients with AAA. Finally, the prediction of the use of PWV in the growth of thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) stands out, as well as its increased sensitivity for females. Conclusions. PWV is an excellent marker for cardiovascular risk stratification in AA, easy to apply clinically and at low cost. However, some issues must be resolved for its application, such as the PWV value based on age and blood pressure variables.

MENTAL HEALTH AND RELATED FACTORS IN PEOPLE DEPREVED OF LIBERTY: INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

The mental health must be understood whit the capacity that each person has to live, produce and enjoy material goods and services, dealing with the stressors of daily life and keeping a level of well-being. People deprived of liberty are characterized with a vulnerable population since before their confinement in the prision environment, then your access to material goods and services is restricted. Like this, knowing the risk factors, scientifically disclosed, for the occurrence of mental disorders in people deprived of liberty translates at the objective created for this integrative review, carried out in june 2023. The indexed terms used for the advanced search were “mental health and prisoners and risk factors”. After applying the inclusion criteria: original or research articles; in full format; available in portuguese, english or spanish; free Access; published in the last 10 years, from 2013 to 2022. And, of the exclused: articles that did not present risk factors for the occurrence of mental disorders or people deprived of liberty as study participants as the object of investigation. A universe of 28 articles was obtained that answer the question: What are the risk factors for the occurrence of mental disorders in people deprived of liberty? The results indicated that of the 20 (100%) articles, 20 (71,42%) point to environmental risk factors, 20 (71,42%) behavioral, and 19 (67,85%) biological. It should be noted that the presentation and interpretation of data occurred in a non-exclusive manner, that is, na article may contain information from more than one of the categories. For environmental risk factors, previous family histories of violence stand out. Among biological ones, the existence prior to imprisonment of signs and symptoms and/or mental disorders. And for behaviorists, the use and abuse of illicit chemical substances is the main factor associated with mental disorders. Among these, anxiety, depression and bipolarity stand out, for wich nursing has different instruments that can be honed and applied. Since, it has gradually been inserted and expanded the field of professional activity in the prison system.

Recalibration of the Intensity Prediction Equation in Italy Using the Macroseismic Dataset DBMI15 Version 2.0

Abstract We recompute the coefficients of the intensity prediction equation (IPE) in Italy using the data of the DBMI15 version 2.0 (v.2.0) intensity database and the instrumental and combined (instrumental plus macroseismic) magnitudes reported by the CPTI15 v.2.0 catalog. We follow the same procedure described in the previous article, consisting of a first step in which the attenuation of intensity I with respect to the distance D from macroseismic hypocenter is referred to the expected intensity at the epicenter IE and a second step in which IE is related to the instrumental magnitude Mi, the combined magnitude Mc, the epicentral intensity I0, and the maximum intensity Imax using error-in-variable (EIV) regression methods. The main methodological difference with respect to the original article concerns the estimation of the uncertainty of IE to be used for EIV regressions, which is empirically derived from the standard deviation of regression between IE and Mi and also used for the regressions of IE with Mc, I0, and Imax. In summary, the new IPE determined from DBMI15 v.2.0 is I=IE−0.0081(D−h)−1.072[ln(D)−ln(h)], in which D=R2+h2, h = 4.49 km, and IE can be calculated from the intensity data distribution of the earthquake. If the intensity data distribution is not available, IE can be calculated from the following relationships IE=−2.578+1.867Mw, IE=I0.

Current Updates on Involvement of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Semen Analysis.

Background and Objectives: Infertility rates and the number of couples undergoing reproductive care have both increased substantially during the last few decades. Semen analysis is a crucial step in both the diagnosis and the treatment of male infertility. The accuracy of semen analysis results remains quite poor despite years of practice and advancements. Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, which can analyze and synthesize large amounts of data, can address the unique challenges involved in semen analysis due to the high objectivity of current methodologies. This review addresses recent AI advancements in semen analysis. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature search was performed in the PubMed database. Non-English articles and studies not related to humans were excluded. We extracted data related to AI algorithms or models used to evaluate semen parameters from the original studies, excluding abstracts, case reports, and meeting reports. Results: Of the 306 articles identified, 225 articles were rejected in the preliminary screening. The evaluation of the full texts of the remaining 81 publications resulted in the exclusion of another 48 articles, with a final inclusion of 33 original articles in this review. Conclusions: AI and machine learning are becoming increasingly popular in biomedical applications. The examination and selection of sperm by andrologists and embryologists may benefit greatly from using these algorithms. Furthermore, when bigger and more reliable datasets become accessible for training, these algorithms may improve over time.

Global research trends on cardiac troponin and physical activity among pediatric populations: a bibliometric analysis and science mapping study.

Cardiac troponin (cTn) is a reliable marker for evaluating myocardial damage. cTn is a very specific protein involved in myocardial injury, and it is a key factor in the diagnosis of coronary syndromes. Bibliometric analysis was applied in the present work, with the main goal of evaluating global research on the topic of cardiac troponin in pediatric populations. Publications about cardiac troponin and physical activity in pediatric populations were retrieved from the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) of the Web of Science Core Collection, and they were then analyzed. The study was able to identify the key bibliometric indicators, such as publications, keywords, authors, countries, institutions, and journals. For the analysis, VOSviewer, R-based Bibliometrix (4.2.2), and MapChart were used. Initially, 98 documents were identified; however, once inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, the number of documents decreased to 88. The search yielded 79 original research articles and 9 reviews, almost all of which were published in the past 2 decades. The total number of citations (Nc) of the retrieved publications was 1,468, and the average number of citations per article (Na) was 16.68. In general, 508 authors were found to have participated in research about troponin; they were associated with 256 institutions, and their work was published in 65 different journals from around the world. The authors hailed from 30 countries and/or regions. The year 2022 was the most productive year for the publication of the selected documents. The bibliometric analysis provided information regarding levels of cooperation among authors and institutions. In fact, China, the United States, and England were the most productive nations, and the journal with the greatest number of publications on the topic was Pediatric Cardiology. The number of publications and the trend line show that research on this topic has not yet reached a stage of maturity. There are referent investigators, countries, and institutions that have laid the foundations for subsequent studies on the analyzed topic.

(394) Penile Implant Reservoir Placement: The Current Utilized Various Techniques and the Associated Outcomes: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract Introduction Many innovations in the field of inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) has been emerged. Since the introduction of the IPP, reservoir positioning in the space of Retzius (SOR) was considered the classical approach that had been utilized for many years. However, in certain group of patients, reservoir insertion in such space might be difficult or even risky. As a result, many alternatives for the reservoir placement outside the SOR has emerged with the intent of safe and reliable reservoir placement. Objective To conduct a systematic review for the studies evaluating the outcomes of different techniques used for IPP reservoir placement to look for possible superiority of any approach over others. Methods A systemic review was performed utilizing (PRISMA) statement. The PubMed and Google scholar were used to look for articles published up to January 2023. Original articles reporting different techniques for IPP reservoir placement and evaluating the associated outcomes were included. Data regarding study design, sample size, approach of reservoir placement, surgical technique, device type and reported outcomes (infection rate, bladder/bowel/vascular injury, reservoir herniation, mechanical failure, auto-inflation, reservoir palpability and patients’ satisfaction) were collected. Pooled proportion was calculated and included in the meta-analysis. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used for assessing the quality of the studies. Results A total of 23 articles meeting the inclusion criteria, all were retrospective reviews. 11 compared more than one technique for reservoir placement whereas 12 described a single technique. In total, techniques for 6 main different reservoir locations has been reported, including SOR (7 studies), submuscular/subrectus (6 studies), Lateral retroperitoneal (1 study), subcutaneous (1 study), sub external oblique (1 study) and intraperitoneal (1 study). Another 7 modifications have been described for the SOR technique (traditional SOR, accessing SOR using blunt scissor in post-prostatectomy patients, accessing SOR using blunt scissor in virgin cases, dilating SOR using catheter balloon, accessing SOR under direct vision, accessing SOR through external oblique fascia incision, and the addition of The Tubing Hitch&amp;Lasso, Intussusception Anchor technique (THALIA)). Another 6 modifications for the submuscular/subrectus approach have been described (posterior to transversalis fascia (PTF), anterior to transversalis fascia (ATF), high submuscular, subrectus using counter incision, subrectus with the addition of THALIA, low submuscular with trans-fascial-fixation (TFF)). None of the studies have proven the superiority of one technique over others, with most of the techniques has comparable intra-operative and post-operative outcomes (table 1). The addition of anchoring step (THALIA or TFF) resulted in neglected risk of reservoir herniation, however, related studies has small sample size with no comparison groups. Meta-analysis for the studies of SOR(n=7) and submuscular/subrectus(n=6) groups showed a statistically significant difference only in the herniation rates (figure 1). 10 studies were of strong quality (8 stars) while the remaining 13 studies were of poor quality. Conclusions Modest evidence suggests a comparable favorable outcome of various approaches used for IPP reservoir placement. The lack of enough prospective trials, short term follow up, and diversity in the techniques prescribed prevent the ability to build strong evidence. For the purpose of supporting the superiority of any technique, further prospective studies on a larger number of patients with long-term follow up are needed to reach a solid verdict. Disclosure No.

Nonbinary people in the family context: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background The present systematic review and meta-analysis explores the family context of nonbinary individuals. Aim The present systematic review and meta-analysis aim to summarize the studies investigating the life experiences of nonbinary people in their family context. Methods The articles included were systematically searched in four scientific databases (i.e. PsychInfo, Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science) from March to October 2023. The inclusion criteria encompassed original articles with solely nonbinary participants or studies where nonbinary people were distinguished from the overall sample. We excluded studies with participants identifying outside binary gender without specifying as nonbinary and articles lacking original data. Of the 2837 records identified, 37 articles were included. Results We identified five research themes: (a) family support (n = 16), (b) family reactions (n = 14), (c) disclosure (n = 8), (d) violence and victimization (n = 7), and (e) family functioning, well-being, and mental health (n = 4). In most studies on family reactions to nonbinary gender identity, family members’ negative feelings were prevalent. We used a meta-analytic procedure to compare family support received by nonbinary individuals to both binary transgender people and cisgender people. Findings suggested that nonbinary people perceived less support than both binary (d = 0.18; 6 studies) and cisgender people (d = 0.61; 5 studies). Conclusion Numerous studies indicated positive relationships with siblings who provided significant support. Coming-out experiences exhibited varying results: Some studies reported positive interactions with family members, while others highlighted negative experiences or decisions to hide gender identity in the family context. Most studies indicated a higher incidence of violence and victimization from family members. The present review and meta-analysis underscore the family’s pivotal role in interventions and emphasize the relevance of collaborating with families to promote the well-being and affirmation of nonbinary people.

Open access transition in obstetrics and gynecology journals-The international impact.

To study the impact of converting from subscription-based publishing to open access ("flipping") in three obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) journals. We compared original articles in three OBGYN journals during a matched subscription-based and open access publishing period. We analyzed citation metrics and country of authorship. Overall, 1522 studies were included; of those, 869 (57.1%) were before flipping and 653 (42.9%) were after flipping. There was a decrease in publications by lower-middle income countries from 7.7% in subscription-based publishing to 1.8% in open access (P < 0.001). There was a decrease in the proportion of articles from South Asia (2.5% vs 0.5%), North America (14.4% vs 9.4%), and the Middle East (7.4% vs 2.5%), and an increase in publications from East Asia and Pacific (17.4% vs 30.9%; P < 0.001). The relative citation ratio was higher in the open access period (median 1.65 vs 0.95, P < 0.001). The number of citations per year was higher in the open access period (median 3.0 vs 2.0, P < 0.001). There was an increase in the proportion of funded studies (from 40.2% to 47.8%; P = 0.003). Flipping to open access in OBGYN journals is associated with a citation advantage with major authorship changes, leading to inequity.

Defining and reporting exercise intensity in interventions for older adults: a modified Delphi process

BackgroundMany exercise studies, including older adults, do not report all relevant exercise characteristics. Especially the description of exercise intensity is missing and mostly not controlled. This leads to difficulties in interpreting study results and summarizing the evidence in systematic reviews or meta-analyses. Therefore, the aim of the present Delphi study was to gain recommendations about the categorization of exercise intensity and for the conducting and reporting of characteristics in future intervention studies with older adults by experts in exercise science and physiology.MethodsTwo hundred ninety-seven international interdisciplinary participants from an EU COST action were invited to participate in three rounds of online questionnaires in April/May 2023. Up to N = 93 experts participated in each round. Round 1 included open-ended questions to solicit possible recommendations and categorizations for light, moderate, vigorous, and high intensity. In round 2, the experts rated their agreement using Likert scales (1–10) on the revealed categories and recommendations. Clusters with a higher average rating of M = 8.0 were summarized into round 3. In the final round, the results were presented for a final rating of agreement (based on a simple majority > 50%).ResultsIn round 1 a total of 416 qualitative statements were provided from thirteen questions. From round 1 to round 3, a total of 38 items were excluded, with 205 items retained for the final consensus. In round three 37 participants completed the whole questionnaire. The experts showed overall agreement on the final categorizations with 6.7 to 8.8 out of 10 points on the Likert scale. They also showed broad consensus on the relevance of reporting exercise intensity and the recommendations for future conducting and reporting of study results. However, exercise types such as yoga, balance, and coordination training led to conflicting results for categorization into light or moderate.Discussion and implicationsThe results of the current survey can be used to classify the intensity of exercise and suggest a practical approach that can be adopted by the scientific community and applied when conducting systematic reviews and meta-analysis articles when vital and objective information regarding exercise intensity is lacking from the original article.

The Economic Analyses of the Drosophila suzukii's Invasions: A Mini-review.

The objective of this paper is to bring to the fore the type of economic analyses that have been carried out on the invasion of the Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) and what has been learned. The analysis is limited to the original research articles published in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters. A total of 20 relevant studies are identified. The studies are analysed based on their main purpose, which is either economic impact assessment or economic evaluation of management programmes. The analysis also considers the key methodological points highlighted in recent reviews of the economic literature on alien invasive species. Over time, the focus of these studies has gradually shifted from raising awareness of the magnitude of the impact, particularly on agricultural production, to supporting the decision-making process concerning effective pestmanagement. Most studies have been conducted froma private perspective, measuring private costs and providing guidance to the industry. However, some papersinclude, or focuson, the societal costs caused by the invasions of D. suzukii.This review hasfound few impact studies in the recently invaded areas and no economic evaluation of management programmes. There are not only geographical areas, but also themes that need more attention and analysis in the economic studies on D. suzukii. Assessing the economic effectiveness of integrated pest management programmes in specific settings, included the Latin American countries, is crucial.

Silicon reduces toxicity and accumulation of arsenic and cadmium in cereal crops: A meta-analysis, mechanism, and perspective study

Arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) are two toxic metal(loid)s that pose significant risks to food security and human health. Silicon (Si) has attracted substantial attention because of its positive effects on alleviating the toxicity and accumulation of As and Cd in crops. However, our current knowledge of the comprehensive effects and detailed mechanisms of Si amendment is limited. In this study, a global meta-analysis of 248 original articles with over 7000 paired observations was conducted to evaluate Si-mediated effects on growth and As and Cd accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and maize (Zea mays L.). Si application increases the biomass of these crops under As and/or Cd contamination. Si amendment also decreased shoot As and Cd accumulation by 24.1 % (20.6 to 27.5 %) and 31.9 % (29.0 to 31.9 %), respectively. Furthermore, the Si amendment reduced the human health risks posed by As (2.6 %) and Cd (12.9 %) in crop grains. Si-induced inhibition of Cd accumulation is associated with decreased Cd bioavailability and the downregulation of gene expression. The regulation of gene expression by Si addition was the driving factor limiting shoot As accumulation. Overall, our analysis demonstrated that Si amendment has great potential to reduce the toxicity and accumulation of As and/or Cd in crops, providing a scientific basis for promoting food safety globally.

Published research on the human health implications of climate change between 2012 and 2021: cross sectional study

ObjectiveTo better understand the state of research on the effects of climate change on human health, including exposures, health conditions, populations, areas of the world studied, funding sources, and publication...

Huntington's disease prevalence in Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The epidemiological studies on Huntington's disease (HD) in the Asian population suggest that prevalence rates are significantly lower than in the Western population. We conducted a systematic review of epidemiological studies of HD in Asia to compare the level of impact of the disease on the Asian population. Original articles and reviews about HD prevalence in the Asian population were found through databases such as Embase, Medline, and PsychInfo. Relevant articles were analysed by scrutinising of references, including specific key words. A meta-analysis was performed on prevalence rates to find the degree of similarities with I2. Point Prevalence was measured as the number of people affected by HD in a 100,000 population and expressed as Point Prevalence (PP)= Number of people affected/100,000 with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI95). Results from the random-effect meta-analysis show the highest point prevalence of HD in the Middle East with PP=4.0 (CI95=2.90-5.30). The lowest point prevalence was found in the Chinese population with PP=0.25 (CI95=0.16-0.36). Europe remains at a high prevalence compared to Asian countries with PP=1.00 (CI95=0.82-1.19). The overall prevalence in Asia is PP=0.70 (CI95=0.44-1.0). Our study reveals that HD disease affects the population of Asia to a lesser extent than in Europe. The plausible explanation for differences in prevalence is that in some countries, the affected individuals will not self-refer to HD screening for fear of social stigma, negative influence in marriage, and lack of genetic and neurological testing. Another explanation is that studies that used genetic testing exclusively were able to identify the CAG repeats, subgroups of CAG repeat A1 & A2, and haplogroup C, which has less predisposition to high HD prevalence in Asians compared to the Caucasian population.

Correction: Single-Center Retrospective Analysis of Acute Type A Aortic Dissection Outcome and Reoperation Focusing on Extended Versus Limited Initial Repair

Correction to: Heart Surgery Forum https://journal.hsforum.com/index.php/HSF/article/view/5345, published online 3 March 2023.&#x0D; In this article, there are some text corrections that need to be incorporated. The original article has been corrected. The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper:&#x0D; In the Result section in the Abstract, “Type of the initial repair had no statically significant relationship with in-hospital mortality with a p-value of 0.12, however in multivariable analysis, cross-clamp time had a statistically significant relation with mortality (p = 0.4).” should instead read “Type of the initial repair had no statistically significant relationship with in-hospital mortality with a p-value of 0.12, however in multivariable analysis, cross-clamp time had a statistically significant relation with mortality (p = 0.04). And “The relationship between the type of the initial repair and the need for reoperation didn’t reach a statically significant value (p = 0.9).” should instead read “The relationship between the type of the initial repair and the need for reoperation didn’t reach a statistically significant value (p = 0.9)”.&#x0D; The authors confirm that the mistakes do not affect the results and conclusions of the study and apologize for any inconvenience caused by this mistake.

A Review on Nanotechnology Mediated - Herbal Drug Delivery for the Treatment of Obesity

Abstract: Since ancient times, traditional herbs have been widely used around the world for health promotion and therapy. Obesity is a complex metabolic disorder and is becoming a mammoth problem that adversely affects an individual’s quality of life. Conventional therapy for the management of obesity mainly involves the use of synthetic moiety and bariatric surgical procedures which has severe side effects and patient non-compliance. To circumvent these limitations, plant-derived medicines are utilized which are safe, effective, economic, and easily available. The advancement of nanotechnology enables the development of novel strategies that could potentiate the therapeutic efficacy of the phytoconstituents with minimal toxic effects and promotes the controlled release of the plant bioactive compounds. Moreover, great efforts have been made through targeted nanotechnology-based herbal treatment, where novel nanocarriers are employed as herbal drug delivery vehicles to improve the pharmacokinetics of antiobesity drugs. The recent advancement in phytonanotechnology have opened an avenue to explore novel carriers to utilize bioactive compounds in biomedical and therapeutic applications. In the current review, an extensive search is conducted for the existing original research articles using databases i.e., Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Embase, Baidu, etc. Further, painstaking efforts are made to compile and update the novel herbal nanocarriers such as liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, etc. which are widely used for the treatment of obesity. This article portrays a comprehensive survey of the novel strategies employed by the innovators working exclusively on herbal drug delivery systems. The recent development of nanotechnology-based herbal drug delivery has a wide range of biomedical applications and has provided an unprecedented opportunity to improve the treatment of obesity and obesity-related comorbidities. Furthermore, the advancement of phytopharmacological science has led to several novel strategies with improved nanotherapeutics for the management of obesity. Scientific research is still being carried out in the field of nanotechnology for a better perspective on herbal drug delivery for obesity treatment over conventional therapy.

The Efficacy and Safety of Bimekizumab for Plaque Psoriasis: An Expert Consensus Panel.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the skin, joints, and several other organ systems with significant disease burden. Bimekizumab is the first monoclonal antibody targeting both interleukin (IL)-17A and interleukin-17F and has demonstrated efficacy for treating moderate to severe psoriasis. Limited guidelines exist for incorporating this drug into clinical practice. The purpose of this study was for a panel of experts in psoriasis management to synthesize current literature and provide consensus statements with guidance on use of bimekizumab. A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar was completed for English-language original research articles on the use of bimekizumab for moderate to severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. A panel of nine dermatologists with significant expertise in treatment of psoriasis gathered to review the articles and create consensus statements on this new medication. A modified Delphi process was used to approve each statement and a strength of recommendation was assigned using Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy criteria. The literature search produced 102 articles that met criteria. A thorough screening of the studies for relevance to the research question resulted in 19 articles. These were distributed to all panelists for review prior to a roundtable discussion. The panel unanimously voted to adopt 14 consensus statements and recommendations, 12 of which were given a strength of "A", one of which was given a strength of "B", and one of which was given a strength of "C". Bimekizumab results in rapid and long-lasting clinical improvement for patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. It has demonstrated superior efficacy when compared to several other biologics. The safety profile is consistent with other biologics, except for an increased incidence of oropharyngeal candidiasis.

Additional Cover

The cover image is based on the Original Article Polarity reversal of canine intestinal organoids reduces proliferation and increases cell death by Georg Csukovich et al., https://doi.org/10.1111/cpr.13544. Image Credit: Georg Csukovich. image

Association of non-obstructive dyspnoea with all-cause mortality and incident chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

BackgroundControversy exists regarding the association between non-obstructive dyspnoea and the future development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and mortality. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association of non-obstructive dyspnoea...