Shaikh Zayed Hospital

In this work, a fully integrated modular, highperformance neural interface system comprising a $32 C h$ Analog Front End (AFE) recorder and a multichannel biphasic current stimulator (PulseStim) is developed, for concurrent real-time electrocorticogram (ECoG) co-acquisition with commercial neural platforms. A custom-built passive parallel adapter enables corecording by splitting the signal from the ECoG electrodes array to both the developed system (DS) and the commercial setup (CS) [Intan RHD2132 Headstage + Open Ephys]. Validation was conducted with anesthetized mice, where a 32Ch NeuroNexus ECoG electrodes array was positioned over the bilateral sensorimotor cortex, and the left sciatic nerve was electrically stimulated $(500 \mu A-1000 \mu A; 100 \mu s-200 \mu s)$ via hook electrode using PulseStim to evoke reproducible cortical Somatosensory Evoked Potentials (SEPs). The developed system provides waveform level agreement with the commercial reference, yielding a correlation value (r) of 0.94 across 5 averaged stimulation trials, with a system noise floor of $1.69 \mu$ Vrms. The developed AFE demonstrates a passband max gain of 46dB, having -3dB bandwidth of $0.5 H z-524 H z$, and THD levels below $0.06 \%$ for input amplitudes $\gt3 \mu V$, establishing a low-noise, scalable solution for neural recordings.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of depression in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), its associated risk factors and impact on health-related quality of life. Methodology: This cross-sectional, observational study was carried out at Medicine and Psychiatry department from September 2022 to February 2023. Patients aged 40 years or above, both genders with the confirmed diagnosis of COPD, based on clinical assessment and spirometric findings according to the GOLD criteria, were included. Patients were assessed for depressive syndromes through the “Patient Health Questionnaire-9” (PHQ-9). Furthermore, cases were evaluated for their quality of life by St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire “SGRQ”. All the relevant data was entered and analyzed by SPSS version 26. Results: A total of 78 patients were studied; most were over 55 years old (66.7%) and male (74.4%). Overall, 3.6% of COPD patients experienced depression, with mild depression being the most common (35.9%). Depression was significantly more prevalent in females, individuals aged 40–55 years, those with below-matric education, urban residents, and people from poor socioeconomic backgrounds (p-<0.05). The most affected group included poor, married males over 55, although younger patients (40–55 years) had higher rates of moderate depression. Duration of COPD was not significantly associated with depression severity (p>0.05). Conclusion: Study revealed that over 40% of COPD patients experienced depressive symptoms, with severity closely linked to younger age, female gender, low education, rural background, and poverty.

OBJECTIVE:To measure the morphology of the pelvic floor muscle and levator ani hiatus (LAH) using 3D MRI segmentation in females with (SUI) and to assess correlations with age, body mass index (BMI), and parity. METHODS:This study includes 80 patients with SUI who underwent 3.0 T pelvic MRI. Patients were grouped based on age, BMI, and parity. Manual segmentation and 3D modeling of the pelvic floor muscle and LAH were performed to get volumetric and dimensional measurements. Statistical analysis included Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Witney, and post hoc testing to evaluate group variations. RESULTS:The cohort included patients from 20 to 90 years old (mean 53.9 ± 11.7), with a mean BMI of 25.3 ± 3.4 and a mean parity of 1.85 ± 1.03. Significant variations in LAM surface (H(2) = 6.650, p = 0.036), flatness (H(2) = 6.471, p = 0.039), median intensity (H(2) = 8.218, p = 0.016), and curvature mean (H(2) = 7.382, p = 0.025) among age groups. The greatest LAM surface rankings were found in the 50-65 age range, whereas the highest LAM flatness ranks were found in those over 65 years old. BMI demonstrated a limited association, with overweight/obese participants exhibiting 11.3% larger LAM surface area compared to normal/underweight individuals (p = 0.044, r = 0.225). No significant associations were found between parity and any pelvic floor morphometric parameters (all p > 0.05). CONCLUSION:This study identifies age-dependent morphological changes in levator ani muscle architecture as the primary determinant of pelvic floor structural adaptation in women with stress urinary incontinence. These quantitative shape-based parameters offer novel diagnostic and therapeutic insights, advancing precision medicine approaches in urogynecological assessment and management.