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OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine whether a handheld (HH) X-ray device (Nomad Pro 2) is capable of producing equivalent or even superior X-ray image quality in comparison to a wall-mounted (WM) dental X-ray unit (Heliodent Plus) on the basis of objectifiable image quality parameters. METHODS Anatomical, radiological and biological dental X-ray image quality parameters of a handheld dental X-ray device (Nomad Pro 2, Kavo Kerr, Biberach, Germany) were compared to a standard wall-mounted dental X-ray unit (Heliodent Plus, Sirona Dental Systems, Bensheim, Germany) using a maxillofacial phantom. In addition, the effect of different operators (dentists, dental students, dental assistants) on the dental X-ray image quality was measured. RESULTS HH and WM devices showed comparable image quality for anterior teeth, premolars, molars and bitewing images. During the two-month investigational period, the radiation exposure level for the operator of the Nomad Pro 2 was 0.1&nbsp;mSv for 203 images. Dentists as the highest trained personnel enrolled in the study achieved better image quality with the Nomad Pro 2 as compared to dental students and dental assistants, especially in the molar region. CONCLUSIONS A HH device delivers a comparable image quality to a WM device. In addition, there seem to be short learning curves with regard to image acquisition when using a handheld device, which is further minimised by the previous training of the operating personnel. HH dental X-ray devices, such as the Nomad Pro 2 are a promising adjunct for dental radiology in cases where WM units are of limited practicability.INTRODUCTION Patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have an increased risk of cardiovascular comorbidities and mortality. Although different subtypes of OSA have been described, data about oximetric parameters and their suitability to identify a different phenotype are scant. In this study, we evaluate the association between moderate to severe OSA and oximetric parameters included in the home sleep apnea test (HSAT) and the risks of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and cancer mortality. METHODS Adult patients with moderate to severe OSA from a clinical cohort in Chile were included (SantOSA study). We developed a latent class analysis (LCA) incorporating oximetric measures commonly reported on HSAT. Differences between the groups were evaluated using ANOVA and the chi-squared test. [https://www.selleckchem.com/products/sm-102.html read more] Survival curves were constructed using a Kaplan-Meier (log-rank) model, and adjusted hazard ratios of mortality were calculated using a Cox regression model following a confounder analysis of cardiovascular comorbidities. RESULTS A total of 889 patients were included in the analysis. LCA identified three different clusters Cluster 1, "nonhypoxemic" (n = 591); cluster 2, "moderately hypoxemic" (n = 297); and cluster 3, "severely hypoxemic" (n = 115). The mean follow-up was 4.7&nbsp;years. The hypoxemic groups showed an increased risk of cardiometabolic comorbidities and an independent risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted HR 1.67 (CI 1.0-2.64) p value = 0.027). The moderately hypoxemic group had an adjusted HR of 2.92 (CI 1.00-8.58), p value = 0.05, while the severely hypoxemic group had an adjusted HR of 2.55 (CI 1.08-6.02), p value = 0.031. For cardiovascular mortality, we found an HR of 2.03 (CI 0.50-8.136), p value = 0.31, and for cancer mortality, we found an HR of 5.75 (CI 1.03-32.17), p value = 0.042. CONCLUSION Oximetric parameters are useful for describing a different phenotype with a high risk of mortality among patients with moderate to severe OSA, beyond the apnea-hypopnea index.PURPOSE To identify patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) unlikely to benefit from immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). METHODS/PATIENTS We explored the predictive and prognostic values of baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), with cut-offs ≥ 3 and ≥ 5, and of a urothelial immune prognostic index (UIPI, based on increased NLR and LDH), on 146 patients. RESULTS NLR and UIPI significantly predicted progressive disease and progression-free survival with both cut-offs (p = 0.0069, p = 0.0034, p = 0.0160, p = 0.0063; p  less then  0.001, p = 0.021, p = 0.014, p = 0.026; for NLR-3, NLR-5, UIPI-3, UIPI-5, respectively) and overall survival when NLR cut-off was ≥ 5 (p = 0.03 and p = 0.024, for NLR-5 and UIPI-5, respectively). CONCLUSIONS NLR-5 deserves prospective validation to identify mUC patients with poor prognosis following ICIs.Southwest Asia, in most parts, is recognized as arid and semi-arid ecosystems (For instance around 90% in Iran). Abiotic stresses, especially salt and drought, are main stresses in this region that limit the crop yields. Furthermore, the level of soil salinization is increasing. Therefore, many researchers are focusing on these two stresses. Specifically, in Iran, the use of plant proteomics dates back to more than a decade. During these years, many researchers employed this powerful technique to elucidate molecular basis of plant response to cope with environmental stresses and to apply related mechanisms to generate stress-tolerant varieties. PlantPRes (www.proteome.ir) which is a database for Plant Proteome Response to stress has been recently established. In this review, we discuss the work which has been done by plant proteomics researchers and their corresponding publications to identify the molecular mechanisms underlying drought-, salt-, heat-, cold- and biotic-tolerance in plants followed by a whole data integration to depict a detailed picture of upregulated or downregulated cellular functions for important goal of generating more resilient cultivars appropriate for semi-arid climate.The present study explored the influence of short vowelization in Arabic orthography on reading comprehension of different texts, different genres and on different levels, among students of different ages. It explored the influence of short vowelization in Arabic orthography on reading comprehension of texts from the Koran, informative texts, newspaper articles and poetry, by examining the influence of short vowelization on different levels of understanding among students from three cities and three Arab villages in the northern district of Israel. The results from the mixed design indicated that short vowelization improved the level of reading comprehension among the readers in each level of understanding and for each kind of text. The results indicated a greater improvement in reading comprehension among the young readers as compared to the older readers. The findings also showed that short vowelization improved the performance of the fifth graders, more so than for ninth graders. Furthermore, short vowelization did not influence the performance of the seventh graders.