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Ind Psychiatry J 2020 Jul-Dec;29(2):222-227. Epub 2021 Mar 15.

Department of Psychiatry, Katuri Medical College, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Background: Patients present with "conversion disorder" as a response to any underlying stressful situation. It is clinically important to evaluate the presence, type, and temporal relation of the stressors, resulting in conversion. Further, knowing the sociodemographic and psychological profile of the conversion patient helps in better management. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Jun 21;11(1):12942. Epub 2021 Jun 21.

Department of Biochemistry, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, 190006, India.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common reproductive endocrine disorder in pre-menopausal women having complex pathophysiology. Several candidate genes have been shown to have association with PCOS. CYP19 gene encodes a key steroidogenic enzyme involved in conversion of androgens into estrogens. Read More

Front Nutr 2021 4;8:685317. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Postgraduate Program in Nutrition, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.

This review covers current knowledge of selenium in the dietary intake, its bioavailability, metabolism, functions, biomarkers, supplementation and toxicity, as well as its relationship with diseases and gut microbiota specifically on the symbiotic relationship between gut microflora and selenium status. Selenium is essential for the maintenance of the immune system, conversion of thyroid hormones, protection against the harmful action of heavy metals and xenobiotics as well as for the reduction of the risk of chronic diseases. Selenium is able to balance the microbial flora avoiding health damage associated with dysbiosis. Read More

Front Psychiatry 2021 4;12:671840. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, McGovern Medical School, Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, United States.

The aims of this article are to discuss the rationale, design, and procedures of the Greater Houston Area Bipolar Registry (HBR), which aims at contributing to the effort involved in the investigation of neurobiological mechanisms underlying bipolar disorder (BD) as well as to identify clinical and neurobiological markers able to predict BD clinical course. The article will also briefly discuss examples of other initiatives that have made fundamental contributions to the field. This will be a longitudinal study with participants aged 6-17 at the time of enrollment. Read More

Nanomicro Lett 2019 Oct 18;11(1):91. Epub 2019 Oct 18.

State Key Discipline Laboratory of Wide Band Gap Semiconductor Technology, Shaanxi Joint Key Laboratory of Graphene, School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, 2 South Taibai Road, Xi'an, 710071, People's Republic of China.

Interface engineering has been regarded as an effective and noninvasive means to optimize the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, doping engineering of a ZnO electron transport layer (ETL) and CsPbI/ZnO interface engineering via introduction of an interfacial layer are employed to improve the performances of CsPbI-based PSCs. The results show that when introducing a TiO buffer layer while increasing the ZnO layer doping concentration, the open-circuit voltage, power conversion efficiency, and fill factor of the CsPbI-based PSCs can be improved to 1. Read More

Chem Biol Drug Des 2021 Jun 18. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

Department of Geriatric Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266000, China.

Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized with reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and bone quality and increased bone porosity, which increase the risk of bone fracture. Inflammation, one of the important mechanisms related to aging, is associated with osteoporosis. Treatment with anti-inflammatory agents is effective for alleviating senile osteoporosis. Read More

J Minim Invasive Gynecol 2021 Jun 15. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Texas, U.S.A.. Electronic address:

Study Objective: To describe the surgical techniques and short-term outcomes for 33 cases of robot-assisted transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (RvNOTES) to treat endometriosis.

Design: Retrospective case series study SETTING: Academic tertiary care university hospital in Houston, TX USA.

Patients: Patients who underwent RvNOTES resection of endometriosis between March 2020 and March 2021. Read More

Am J Hum Genet 2021 Jun 10. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

Department of Human Genetics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

EDEM3 encodes a protein that converts ManGlcNAc isomer B to ManGlcNAc. It is involved in the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation pathway, responsible for the recognition of misfolded proteins that will be targeted and translocated to the cytosol and degraded by the proteasome. In this study, through a combination of exome sequencing and gene matching, we have identified seven independent families with 11 individuals with bi-allelic protein-truncating variants and one individual with a compound heterozygous missense variant in EDEM3. Read More

Updates Surg 2021 Jun 17. Epub 2021 Jun 17.

Department of Health Sciences, University of Catanzaro, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy.

Rectal prolapse is a common disorder that represents a burden for patients due to the associated symptoms that may include both incontinence and constipation. Currently, a huge variation in techniques exist. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anatomo-functional results of the laparoscopic Frykman-Goldberg procedure (LFGP) for the treatment of both internal (IRP) and complete rectal prolapse (CRP). Read More

Metabolomics 2021 Jun 16;17(7):59. Epub 2021 Jun 16.

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Introduction: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA), an inflammatory arthritis that develops in individuals with psoriasis, is associated with reduced quality of life. Identifying biomarkers associated with development of PsA as well as with PsA disease activity may help management of psoriatic disease.

Objectives: To use metabolomic fingerprinting to determine potential candidate markers of disease conversion (psoriasis to PsA) and/or PsA activity. Read More

Front Neurol 2021 31;12:656466. Epub 2021 May 31.

Atkinson Morley Regional Neuroscience Centre, St. George's University Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.

Previous research into Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) has shown that there are significant barriers in providing patient-centred care. However, there has been no specific research into whether patient experiences of care for FND meet the current standards of care. This study aimed to investigate the types of problems experienced by FND patients, and whether these differed to patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2021 Jun 6;31:102715. Epub 2021 Jun 6.

Department of Neurobiology, Neurology and Geriatrics, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disease, Beijing, China. Electronic address:

Pinpointing the brain dysconnectivity in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (iRBD) can facilitate preventing the conversion of Parkinson's disease (PD) from prodromal phase. Recent neuroimage investigations reported disruptive brain white matter connectivity in both iRBD and PD, respectively. However, the intrinsic process of the human brain structural network evolving from iRBD to PD still remains largely unknown. Read More

CNS Spectr 2021 Apr;26(2):145-146

University of Missouri, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia, MO, USA.

Study Objectives: The main objectives of this case study are 1. Clinicians facing symptoms that are difficult to interpret should exercise caution in diagnosing conversion disorder. 2. Read More

Psychol Med 2021 Jun 14:1-8. Epub 2021 Jun 14.

Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

Background: Schizophrenia (SZ) is typically preceded by a prodromal (i.e. pre-illness) period characterized by attenuated positive symptoms and declining functional outcome. Read More

Comput Biol Med 2021 Jun 10;134:104548. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering, 599489, Singapore; Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Science and Technology, SUSS University, Singapore; Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Engineering, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan. Electronic address:

Background: Autism spectrum disorder is a common group of conditions affecting about one in 54 children. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals from children with autism have a common morphological pattern which makes them distinguishable from normal EEG. We have used this type of signal to design and implement an automated autism detection model. Read More

J Clin Neurosci 2021 Jul 10;89:139-143. Epub 2021 May 10.

Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia; University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Mater Research, Brisbane, Australia.

Functional movement disorder (FMD) presents as disabling motor symptoms that cannot be explained by organic processes. Despite the lack of lesion or known central nervous system dysfunction, distortion in sensorimotor processing in movement generation and execution is often observed. A person's capacity to judge laterality of a body part requires processing of sensorimotor information. Read More

Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2021 4;17:1825-1838. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Buenos Aires University, Ramos Mejía Hospital, Epilepsy Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) are paroxystic and episodic events associated with motor, sensory, mental or autonomic manifestations, which resemble epileptic seizures (ES), but are not caused by epileptogenic activity. PNES affect between 20% and 30% of patients attending at epilepsy centers and constitute a serious mental health problem. PNES are often underdiagnosed, undertreated and mistaken with epilepsy. Read More

Front Psychol 2021 24;12:652917. Epub 2021 May 24.

Department of Psychology, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.

Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder (FNSD) or Conversion Disorder, is a fairly common diagnosis among mental health patients in Pakistan. Despite its prevalence there's a dearth of research on the phenomenon, particularly on the experience of FNSD. The study was conducted with the aim to ascertain the lived experiences of individuals with Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder (FNSD) around stressful situations in their families in Pakistan. Read More

Assessment 2021 Jun 9:10731911211020825. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.

We report on Phase 1 efforts of the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) measurement subgroup tasked with developing provisional scales for the somatoform spectrum and eating disorders. In Study 1, items were written to assess five somatoform spectrum constructs (bodily distress symptoms, conversion symptoms, health anxiety, disease conviction, and somatic preoccupation). Scale development analyses were conducted on 550 university students. Read More

Indian J Urol 2021 Apr-Jun;37(2):183-186. Epub 2021 Apr 1.

Department of Endocrinology, Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

Steroid 5α-reductase deficiency (5ARD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutation in the 5α-reductase type 2 gene (). 5ARD results in the impaired conversion of testosterone (T) to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and is characterized by undervirilization in 46XY individuals. We report a case series of three siblings presenting with ambiguous genitalia and different phenotypes. Read More

Psychiatr Q 2021 Jun 8. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Health Sciences Building, E-Wing, 104 Clinic Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 2Z4, Canada.

Due to COVID-19, face-to-face mental health service delivery has been interrupted by social distancing and stay-at-home orders. To abridge physical distance between patients and healthcare providers, while limiting exposure to COVID-19, telepsychiatry has been widely adopted to provide services to patients with pre-existing mental health disorders. Though telepsychiatry has become more mainstream in delivering mental health services during COVID-19, evaluation studies of the rapid conversion of care delivery from face-to-face to telepsychiatry have been limited. Read More

Encephale 2021 Jun 4. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Sorbonne University, Department of Psychiatry, Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital, DMU Neuroscience, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), 47, boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France; Paris Brain Institute-Institut du Cerveau (ICM), UMR 7225/UMRS 1127, Sorbonne University/CNRS/INSERM, 47, boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France.

Background: We report the observation of a 47-year-old woman with functional neurological disorder (tetraparesis, mixed tremors and non-epileptic seizures) treated with a protocol of augmented psychotherapy in combination with repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS).

Intervention: We carried out a biofeedback psychotherapy protocol with rTMS (twenty sessions, two sessions per day for ten days; 1Hz, 150% of the motor threshold, twenty minute sessions, 300 pulses per session) in which the patient visualized the motor activity of her upper limbs during stimulation of the primary motor area (PMA). The evolution of neurological symptoms was assessed using the Medical Research Council Scale for Muscle Strength (MRC). Read More

Front Big Data 2021 20;4:661110. Epub 2021 May 20.

Laboratory of Neuroinformatics, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder which spans several years from preclinical manifestations to dementia. In recent years, interest in the application of machine learning (ML) algorithms to personalized medicine has grown considerably, and a major challenge that such models face is the transferability from the research settings to clinical practice. The objective of this work was to demonstrate the transferability of the Subtype and Stage Inference (SuStaIn) model from well-characterized research data set, employed as training set, to independent less-structured and heterogeneous test sets representative of the clinical setting. Read More

J Oral Biol Craniofac Res 2021 Jul-Sep;11(3):415-422. Epub 2021 May 20.

Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Sciences, Division of Oral Pathology, College of Dentistry, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.

Background: Hyalinization is a process of conversion of stromal connective tissue into a homogeneous, acellular translucent material. Nevertheless, hyalinization could provide insights into the biologic behaviour and prognosis of pathological lesions. Few studies with limited sample size have intended to assess the correlation of hyalinization and biologic behaviour in oral lesions. Read More

Chem Sci 2020 Jul 8;11(47):12647-12654. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research Heisenbergstrasse 1 70569 Stuttgart Germany

Interactions between extended π-systems are often invoked as the main driving force for stacking and crystallization of 2D organic polymers. In covalent organic frameworks (COFs), the stacking strongly influences properties such as the accessibility of functional sites, pore geometry, and surface states, but the exact nature of the interlayer interactions is mostly elusive. The stacking mode is often identified as eclipsed based on observed high symmetry diffraction patterns. Read More

Chem Sci 2020 Jul 20;11(30):8025-8035. Epub 2020 Jul 20.

Durham University, Department of Chemistry Lower Mountjoy, Stockton Road Durham DH1 3LE UK

In this work we develop photoreactive cocrystals/salts of a commercially-important diacetylene, 10,12-pentacosadiynoic acid (PCDA, ) and report the first X-ray crystal structures of PCDA based systems. The topochemical reactivity of the system is modified depending on the coformer used and correlates with the structural parameters. Crystallisation of with 4,4'-azopyridine (), 4,4'-bipyridyl (), and -1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene () results in unreactive 2 : 1 cocrystals or a salt in the case of 4,4'-bipiperidine (). Read More

J Trauma Stress 2021 Jun 6. Epub 2021 Jun 6.

Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

The use of patient-reported measures in assessing mental health symptoms is common in both the research and clinical fields. With regard to assessing posttraumatic stress symptoms, there are specific versions of measures designed for child and adolescent populations in accordance with the fourth and fifth editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV and DSM-5, respectively). Different clinical thresholds, numbers of items, and score ranges may present obstacles for clinicians and researchers attempting to compare self-report ratings across different versions of a measure. Read More

Sleep Med 2021 May 15;84:26-31. Epub 2021 May 15.

Neurology and Stroke Unit, ASST Sette Laghi Ospedale di Circolo, Varese; DMC University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.

Study Objectives: To evaluate neurophysiological alterations of visual function in idiopathic REM sleep Behavior Disorder (iRBD) both as markers and predictors of neurodegenerative disorders.

Methods: In a longitudinal follow-up study of 46 consecutive iRBD patients (follow-up duration 8.4 ± 3. Read More

Saudi J Ophthalmol 2020 Jul-Sep;34(3):220-222. Epub 2021 Feb 27.

Pediatric Ophthalmology, Medical Research Foundation, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Nonorganic visual loss (NOVL) is a rare presentation of visual conversion disorder. It may be suspected when the visual symptoms do not commensurate with the clinical signs on examination and in the absence of any organic etiology. We report a 10-year-old male child presenting with recurrent episodes of sudden-onset ptosis associated with a decrease in vision and diplopia. Read More

Epilepsia 2021 Jun 2. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

Division of Clinical Neuroscience, National Center for Epilepsy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Objective: This study was undertaken to measure the incidence and prevalence of active psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) in a Norwegian county.

Methods: Using the Norwegian patient registry, we identified patients in Møre and Romsdal County in Norway diagnosed with F44.5 (conversion disorder with seizures or convulsions) or R56. Read More