The accurate and early differentiation of new brain lesions is crucial for early treatment planning. Radiologically distinguishing between primary and secondary brain lesions is often difficult. The purpose of this study was to evaluate multi-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) for the characterization of intracranial lesions and to develop a Random Forest (RF) classifier to differentiate intracranial metastases from diffuse gliomas in a clinical setting. A total of 33 participants were included in this study. Multi-voxel ¹H-MRS was used to quantify metabolites, along with their ratios and gradients between contrast-enhancing tumor core, peritumoral edema, and ipsilateral normal white matter. For each region, a regression model was fitted to estimate the marginal mean metabolite. Then a RF classifier adapted for class imbalance was trained to discriminate between the two groups, using age, sex, metabolite ratios and selected gradients as predictors. The predictors were first reduced via Monte Carlo Feature Selection (MCFS) before training and evaluation of RF on out-of-bag data. A significant difference between metastases and diffuse gliomas was observed in the edema region for the N-acetylaspartate/choline ratio (NAA/Cho) (difference = -0.38, p = 0.031, Cohen’s d = -0.98) and for NAA/Cho in contrast-enhanced tissue (difference = 0.29, p = 0.046, Cohen’s d = -0.81). The RF classifier achieved an out-of-bag AUC of 0.84 (95
Objectives Congenital intraabdominal adhesions are fibrous ligaments that extend from the large bowel to the abdominal wall. Ladd's band is a type of congenital intraabdominal adhesions which may develop during abnormal intestinal rotation during embryonic period and lead to small bowel obstruction. Some studies suggest that dysregulated expression of some genes (CDX1, SHH, IHH) and their proteins may be associated with development of Ladd's band.Materials and Methods Specimens of 10 patients with Ladd's band obtained during the first adhesion removal surgery were analyzed. The material of 8 patients obtained from processus vaginalis peritonei during inguinal hernia plastic served as controls. Gene (CDX1, IHH, SHH) expression was analyzed using in situ hybridization method and their proteins-using immunohistochemistry. Semi-quantitative method was used for positive cell count. Relationships between factors were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.Results CDX1 protein was detected in similar number of fibroblasts, endotheliocytes, macrophages and mesotheliocytes of patients and control groups. CDX1 gene was expressed just in some fibroblasts. SHH protein appeared in increased number of fibroblasts, endotheliocytes, macrophages and mesotheliocytes of patients. The same gene was expressed just in some fibroblasts and endotheliocytes. Also, IHH gene positive structures appeared in similar number of different cell types in patients and control groups. Some moderate correlations were detected between different SHH protein and CDX1 protein positive cells.Conclusions SHH protein seems to appear as one of the significant factors in Ladd's band formation indicating the tissue repair and regeneration. Generally rich expression of gene protein in fibroblasts indicates possible significance for embryonic adhesion development. CDX1 and IHH gene proteins seem to be less associated with this type of adhesion pathogenesis. SHH and CDX1 gene proteins, but not the same genes are probably playing role in the Ladd's bands formation.
This study investigates the distribution of fingerprint minutiae types in boys with autism spectrum disorder (N = 48, aged between 2.75 and 12.92 years; SD = 2.56) compared to neurotypical boys (N = 46, aged between 2.75 and 12.33 years; SD = 2.88), with the aim of gaining insights into atypical developmental processes. The analysis focused on differences in the total number and types of minutiae across two areas of the fingerprint. To ensure comparability between fingerprints of different sizes, the analyzed area was standardized using fixed ridge-count boundaries (6th and 12th papillary ridges from the pattern center). Minutiae types were extracted manually from dactyloscopic cards under high resolution. Results showed no significant difference in the total number of minutiae across all fingers; however, notable differences were observed on the fourth finger (p = 0.00157) and in specific minutiae types. Boys with ASD showed a higher incidence of types like fragments, dots, and breaks in the central area (p < 0.00001), while neurotypical boys exhibited more enclosures. These findings suggest that the distribution and types of fingerprint minutiae could be potential markers for neurodevelopmental differences, as they indicate a disruption in the normal developmental pathways. Many studies support the idea that there's a link between fingerprint patterns and how the brain develops, especially when something goes wrong during that process. This connection exists because fingerprints and some central parts of the brain form at the same time during early development, and they both come from the same type of early tissue. Because of this, fingerprints can give us clues about possible changes or problems in brain development. They can also be helpful for identifying certain genetic conditions or birth defects. This study looked at the tiny details found in fingerprints, called minutiae, in autistic boys compared to boys who are developing typically. Fingerprint minutiae are small features like dots, breaks, or lines that form before birth and stay the same for life. Because they are shaped early in development, studying them may help us learn more about how development in autism might differ. These results suggest that fingerprint patterns could reflect subtle differences in how the body and brain develop in autism. In the future, fingerprint analysis might help scientists understand early developmental differences linked to autism spectrum disorder.
Alopecia areata (AA) may involve the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes and nails. Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) have transformed its management, but non-scalp domains, especially nails, are seldom assessed systematically outside trials. To describe nail, eyebrow and eyelash response alongside scalp response during JAKi therapy, using validated instruments at fixed intervals in routine care. Single-centre retrospective cohort of 18 consecutive patients with moderate-to-severe AA starting baricitinib 4 mg (n = 13) or ritlecitinib 50 mg (n = 5) between June 2024 and June 2025. The scalp endpoint was an absolute SALT score ≤ 10. Nail, eyebrow and eyelash involvement was graded with the validated ClinRO instruments; response was a ≥ 1-point improvement, independent of the scalp outcome. Nails were affected in 9/18 patients (trachyonychia 8/9, pitting 4/9), eyebrows in 11/18 and eyelashes in 9/18. Every evaluable patient improved in every affected domain. Improvement was earliest in eyelashes (median 3 months) and eyebrows (4.5 months), latest in nails (9 months, range 3–18). SALT ≤ 10 was reached at least once by 14/18. Adverse events occurred in 3/18; none discontinued. Structured nail grading is feasible in routine care and captures a frequent manifestation of AA that improves later than non-scalp hair. Nail outcomes merit inclusion in larger prospective studies.
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of chronic social isolation on the behavioral profile of male and female Wistar rats within a ketamine (Ket)-induced model of schizophrenia. A total of 144 adult Wistar rats (male and female) were divided into four experimental groups per sex: (1) Socialized + Saline (Sal) (Control group); (2) Socialized + Ket; (3) Isolated + Sal (Isolated group); (4) Isolated + Ket. Rats in the isolated groups were housed individually from postnatal day 60 (PND 60) for eight weeks. Ket (25 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered for seven consecutive days. Behavioral assessments included the open field test (OFT), elevated plus maze (EPM), and splash test (ST), and data were analyzed by three-way ANOVA (sex × isolation × Ket) followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. In the OFT, Ket increased locomotor activity in both sexes and reduced rearing, with this reduction being more pronounced in females. Isolation also reduced rearing. In the EPM, females spent more time in the open arms than males, and isolation was associated with reduced open-arm exploration only in females. In the ST, isolation increased the latency to initiate grooming and reduced the number of grooming events. No significant interaction between isolation and Ket was observed for any of the parameters analyzed. In conclusion, Ket and social isolation produced distinct and largely independent effects on behavioral domains relevant to schizophrenia, some of which were sex-dependent, and their combination did not yield a synergistic effect. These findings highlight the importance of including both sexes in the characterization of animal models relevant to schizophrenia.
