Catastrophizing

Today's digital data storage systems typically offer advanced data recovery solutions to address the problem of catastrophic data loss, such as software-based disk sector analysis or physical-level data retrieval methods for conventional hard disk drives. However, DNA-based data storage currently relies solely on the inherent error correction properties of the methods used to encode digital data into strands of DNA. Any error that cannot be corrected utilizing the redundancy added by DNA encoding methods results in permanent data loss...

An 87-year-old female with a history of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) presented to the emergency department (ED) for left knee pain in the setting of recent methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) sepsis of unknown origin. She was subsequently diagnosed with a complicated symptomatic periprosthetic joint infection of her left TKA hardware and was admitted for TKA revision following an orthopedic surgery consultation. Upon arrival at the operating room (OR), standard American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) monitors were applied...

Trastuzumab is the first-line therapy for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer. However, trastuzumab is associated with cardiotoxicity. It manifests with an asymptomatic reduction of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and is reversible after discontinuation. Trastuzumab-induced new-onset acute decompensated heart failure is rare (0.5%). We report a case of a 54-year-old woman who received anthracycline (idarubicin, accumulated dose 400 mg/m2 doxorubicin equivalent) for her acute promyelocytic leukocyte 10 years ago, had no relevant comorbidities or other pre-existing cardiovascular diseases, had maintained normal cardiac function, presenting with new-onset dyspnea at rest and bilateral lower extremities swelling 12 weeks after receiving trastuzumab induction chemotherapy for her newly diagnosed early stage HER2-positive breast cancer...

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disorder that presents with hypercoagulability and results in a lab artifact of prolonged PTT. The most severe form is catastrophic antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (CAPS), which manifests as rapidly progressing thromboses in multiple organ systems leading to multi-organ ischemia. The mainstay management CAPS is anticoagulation and systemic corticosteroids. Antifibrinolytic agents have previously been thought to be relatively contraindicated in CAPS due to the pro-thrombotic nature of the disease; the complex coagulation profile of CAPS can make it difficult to assess the risks and benefits of antifibrinolytic therapy...

BACKGROUND: Despite advancements in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), resistance and intolerance remain significant challenges. Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) and TKI-resistant cells rely on altered mitochondrial metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation. Targeting rewired energy metabolism and inducing non-apoptotic cell death, along with the release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), can enhance therapeutic strategies and immunogenic therapies against CML and prevent the emergence of TKI-resistant cells and LSC persistence...

BACKGROUND: Little is known about why patients with low back pain (LBP) respond differently to treatment, and more specifically, to a lumbar stabilization exercise program. As a first step toward answering this question, the present study evaluates how subgroups of patients who demonstrate large and small clinical improvements differ in terms of physical and psychological changes during treatment. METHODS: Participants (n = 110) performed the exercise program (clinical sessions and home exercises) over eight weeks, with 100 retained at six-month follow-up...

BACKGROUND: Pain catastrophizing is a significant factor in the recovery of patients with chronic pain. This topic has not received the warranted attention in clinical practice, while the outcomes of pain interventions have been suboptimal. This study explores the current situation of pain catastrophizing in patients with chronic neuropathic pain, its influencing factors, and further analyzes the complex relationship between these factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used to select preoperative patients hospitalized in the pain and spine surgery departments of two tertiary hospitals in Shandong Province, China, between February and August 2022...

OBJECTIVE: Postoperative thrombotic complications represent a unique challenge in cranial neurosurgery as primary treatment involves therapeutic anticoagulation. The decision to initiate therapy and its timing is nuanced, as surgeons must balance the risk of catastrophic intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). With limited existing evidence to guide management, current practice patterns are subjective and inconsistent. The authors assessed their experience with early therapeutic anticoagulation (≤ 7 days postoperatively) initiation for thrombotic complications in neurosurgical patients undergoing cranial surgery to better understand the risks of catastrophic ICH...

We study theoretically the dynamical process of yielding in cyclically sheared amorphous materials, within a thermal elastoplastic model and the soft glassy rheology model. Within both models we find an initially slow accumulation, over many cycles after the inception of shear, of low levels of damage in the form strain heterogeneity across the sample. This slow fatigue then suddenly gives way to catastrophic yielding and material failure. Strong strain localization in the form of shear banding is key to the failure mechanism...

BACKGROUND: In Canada, adults with chronic noncancer pain face a persistent insufficiency of publicly funded resources, with the gold standard multidisciplinary pain treatment facilities unable to meet the high clinical demand. Web-based self-management programs cost-effectively increase access to pain management and can improve several aspects of physical and emotional functioning. Aiming to meet the demand for accessible, fully automated resources for individuals with chronic noncancer pain, we developed a French web- and evidence-based self-management program, Agir pour moi (APM)...

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the physical-mechanical behavior of the occlusal veneers when subjected to thermomechanical cycling. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty specimens were divided into 04 groups (n=15 per group), according with the different restorative materials and thicknesses: material - lithium dissilicate LD (IPS e.max CAD, Ivoclar Vivadent) and nano- ceramic-resins NCR (ESPE Lava Ultimate, 3M); thickness - 0.6 and 1.2mm. The occlusal veneers were bonded over human flattened fresh extracted molars with dual-polymerizing luting agent (Variolink N, Ivoclar Vivadent and RelyX Ultimate 3M) using the respective adhesive system following the selective-etch technique (self-etch in dentin and total etch in enamel)...

Mushroom poisoning, known as mycetism, represents a pressing health concern worldwide. Although the majority of mushroom ingestions are benign, select species like "Amanita phalloides" can induce catastrophic liver damage, culminating in acute liver failure. In this report, we detail a case involving a 35-year-old female who presented to the emergency department exhibiting symptoms of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and palpitations merely six hours post-ingestion of "Amanita phalloides." Accurate identification of the specific mushroom species consumed proves challenging in over 90% of poisoning incidents, underscoring the necessity for clinical vigilance...

Cytokines are small secreted proteins that have specific effects on cellular interactions and are crucial for functioning of the immune system. Cytokines are involved in almost all diseases, but as microscopic chemical compounds they cannot be visualized at imaging for obvious reasons. Several imaging manifestations have been well recognized owing to the development of cytokine therapies such as those with bevacizumab (antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor) and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and the establishment of new disease concepts such as interferonopathy and cytokine release syndrome...

Over the last three decades, the United Nations interagency working group series of model-based maternal mortality estimation showed a significant reduction in maternal mortality ratio (MMR) at global, regional, and national levels. However, the contribution of sub-Saharan Africa for the global maternal deaths in 2020 was nearly two-fold higher than before, and the top five countries with high burden of maternal deaths remained unchanged after four decades. In this commentary, we argue that not all countries with high maternal deaths had high MMR; the lower MMR was noted as shadowing the large number of maternal deaths in countries with high rates of total births...

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Teucrium polium is one of the aromatic plants that grows in the Mediterranean region, and had been used as an herbal treatment for diabetes due to its hypoglycaemia effect. Although this plant is being studied now for its therapeutic role, its side effects are not taken enough into consideration, so this unique case can shed the light on serious toxic effects of this plant. CASE PRESENTATION: A 68-year-old woman presented to the hospital with generalized fatigue, malaise, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, polydipsia, polyuria, breathlessness, and no defecation for 2 days after drinking big amounts of teucrium polium...

BACKGROUND: Early mobilization after tendon surgery is crucial to avoid commonly observed postoperative soft tissue adhesions. Recently, a new suture was introduced (DYNACORD; DC) with a salt-infused silicone core designed to minimize laxity and preserve consistent tissue approximation in order to avoid gap formation and allow early mobilization. AIMS: To compare the biomechanical competence of DC against a conventional high strength suture (FiberWire; FW) in a human cadaveric tendon transfer model with an early rehabilitation protocol...

BACKGROUND: Acute upper airway compromise is a rare but catastrophic complication after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). This study aims to develop a score to identify patients at risk for acute postoperative airway compromise (PAC). METHODS: Potential risk factors for acute PAC were selected by a modified Delphi process. Ten patients with acute PAC were identified out of 1,466 patients who underwent elective ACDF between July 2014 - May 2019. A comparison group was created by a randomized selection process (non-PAC group)...

Electroencephalography (EEG) based Brain Computer Interface (BCI) systems play a significant role in facilitating how individuals with neurological impairments effectively interact with their environment. In real world applications of BCI system for clinical assistance and rehabilitation training, the EEG classifier often needs to learn on sequentially arriving subjects in an online manner. As patterns of EEG signals can be significantly different for different subjects, the EEG classifier can easily erase knowledge of learnt subjects after learning on later ones as it performs decoding in online streaming scenario, namely catastrophic forgetting...

BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a pain condition characterized by physical and psychological difficulties. This randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effects of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on FM patients and identify the role of two pain cognitions: psychological inflexibility in pain (PIPS) and pain catastrophizing (PCS), as mechanisms of change. METHODS: 95 FM patients (Mean ± SD: 49.18 ± 13.26 years) were randomly assigned to MBSR group therapy (n = 49) or a waitlist (WL) control group (n = 46)...

The power and temperature characteristics of Ø200 µm half-disk microlasers with a half-ring metal contact and high-density InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots are studied. In a continuous wave (CW) mode, the maximal optical power at 20°C was 134 mW, and the maximal CW lasing temperature reached 113°C. In a pulsed regime the maximal optical power of 1.6 W, limited by catastrophic degradation, was achieved. By comparing the CW and pulsed current-voltage characteristics, the dependence of a microlaser temperature on CW pumping current was determined...