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Brain–Computer Interfaces (BCIs) have become increasingly popular in recent years due to their potential applications in diverse fields, ranging from the medical sector (people with motor and/or communication disabilities), cognitive training, gaming, and Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), among other areas. BCI which can decode and recognize neural signals involved in speech and handwriting has the potential to greatly assist individuals with severe motor impairments in their communication and interaction needs. Innovative and cutting-edge advancements in this field have the potential to develop a highly accessible and interactive communication platform for these people. The purpose of this review paper is to analyze the existing research on handwriting and speech recognition from neural signals. So that the new researchers who are interested in this field can gain thorough knowledge in this research area. The current research on neural signal-based recognition of handwriting and speech has been categorized into two main types: invasive and non-invasive studies. We have examined the latest papers on converting speech-activity-based neural signals and handwriting-activity-based neural signals into text data. The methods of extracting data from the brain have also been discussed in this review. Additionally, this review includes a brief summary of the datasets, preprocessing techniques, and methods used in these studies, which were published between 2014 and 2022. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the methodologies used in the current literature on neural signal-based recognition of handwriting and speech. In essence, this article is intended to serve as a valuable resource for future researchers who wish to investigate neural signal-based machine-learning methods in their work.

We present a 62-year-old woman who developed recurrent urinary tract infections in her early fifties and, after an evaluation by an infectious disease physician, was referred for a neurological consultation. Her history and neurological examination were consistent with spastic paraparesis and there was significant family history of a variety of neurological diagnoses suggesting a genetic disorder. Whole exome genetic testing revealed a novel change, a c.508 C > T variant in the SPAST gene. Our genetic and protein modeling analysis suggest that this is a disease-producing mutation confirming the diagnosis of hereditary spastic paraplegia type 4 (SPG4). This patient expands the spectrum of mutations that can cause this disorder and demonstrate the importance of recognizing the role of neurological disorders in causing neurogenic bladder and recurrent urinary tract infections.

Considering the significance of hexagonal copper thiocyanate (β-CuSCN) in several optoelectronic technologies and applications, it is essential to investigate its electronic structure and surface properties. Herein, we have employed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to characterise the band structure, density of states, and the energy-dependent X-ray photoelectron (XPS) valence band spectra at variable excitation energies of β-CuSCN. The surface properties in the absence and presence of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a solvent additive for improving perovskite solar cells’ power conversion efficiency, have also been systematically characterised. β-CuSCN is shown to be an indirect band gap material (Eg = 3.68 eV) with the valence band edge demonstrated to change from being dominated by Cu-3d at soft X-ray ionisation photon energies to Cu-3p at hard X-ray ionisation photon energies. The adsorption energy of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on the (100) and (110) β-CuSCN surfaces is calculated at −1.12 and −0.91 eV, respectively. The presence of DMSO on the surface is shown to have a stabilisation effect, lowering the surface energy and tuning the work function of the β-CuSCN surfaces, which is desirable for organic solar cells to achieve high power conversion efficiencies.

We announce the genome sequence of the Citrobacter portucalensis BAU_133-2 strain isolated from a domestic duck. Our assembled genome contained a length of 4.8 Mb, 110.0× genome coverage, 51.91% of an average GC content, 1 plasmid, 1 CRISPR array, 8 prophages, 27 antibiotic resistance genes, and 75 virulence factor genes.

We sequenced a multidrug-resistant strain of Citrobacter freundii, 132-2, isolated from a cloacal swab sample of a domestic duck. The whole genome of the C. freundii 132-2 strain had a length of 5,097,592 bp, 62 contigs, two plasmids, and an average G+C content of 51.85%, with a 105.0× genome coverage.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Citrobacter freundii poses a serious challenge as this species is one of the sources of nosocomial infection and causes diarrheal infections in humans. Ducks could be the potential source of multidrug-resistant (MDR) C. freundii; however, AMR profiles in C. freundii from non-human sources in Bangladesh have remained elusive. This study aimed to detect C. freundii in domestic ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) in Bangladesh and to determine their phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic susceptibility patterns. A total of 150 cloacal swabs of diseased domestic ducks were screened using culturing, staining, biochemical, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) to detect C. freundii. Phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic susceptibility patterns were done by the disk diffusion method and PCR, respectively. In total, 16.67% (25/150) of the samples were positive for C. freundii. C. freundii isolates showed a range of 20% to 96% resistance to cefotaxime, gentamicin, levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, cotrimoxazole, tetracycline, ampicillin, and cephalexin. More than 60% of the isolates were phenotypically MDR, and the index of multiple antibiotic resistance ranged from 0.07 to 0.79. Genes encoding resistance to beta-lactams [blaTEM-1-88% (22/25), blaCMY-2-56% (14/25), blaCMY-9-8% (2/25), and blaCTX-M-14-20% (5/25)], sulfonamides [sul1-52% (13/25), sul2-24% (6/25)], tetracyclines [tetA-32% (8/25) and tetB-4% (1/25)], aminoglycosides [aacC4-16% (4/25)], and fluoroquinolones [qnrA-4% (1/25), qnrB-12% (3/25), and qnrS-4% (1/25)] were detected in the isolated C. freundii. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in Bangladesh to detect MDR C. freundii with their associated resistance genes from duck samples. We suggest addressing the burden of diseases in ducks and humans and associated AMR issues using the One Health approach.

Dental caries is a global burden for oral health. Pit and fissure sealants applied in childhood can help prevent caries; however, knowledge and awareness among parents regarding the prophylactic benefit of dental sealants are uncertain. This review was conducted with an aim to assess the awareness of parents toward pit and fissure sealants globally. A bibliographic search in the biomedical databases was conducted from inception till December 2022 with no restrictions on the language. The quality assessment of the studies was performed using the quality assessment checklist for analytical cross-sectional studies. The search found 12 eligible publications that were included in the review. Intraexaminer reliability Cohen's kappa (κ = 0.96) was assessed between two reviewers who independently screened, extracted data from included studies, and assessed risk of bias. Ten studies were found to have high risk while two had low risk of bias. The knowledge and awareness among parents regarding dental sealants ranged from 10.4 to 71%. The pooled data of 12 studies showed the overall knowledge of parents toward pit and fissure sealant to be 29%. Parents are found to be aware and supportive toward the usage of dental sealant as a caries preventive agent for their children. However, the level of awareness regarding pit and fissure sealant in this review varied from low to high which was not dependent on the parent's level of education, and overall awareness was found to be poor. Moreover, majority of the studies had high risk of bias. Future studies should strive for better methodological standards to avoid bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Androgenic anabolic steroids (AAS) are commonly abused by young men. Male sex and increased AAS levels are associated with earlier and more severe manifestation of common cardiac conditions, such as atrial fibrillation, and rare ones, such as arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). Clinical observations suggest a potential atrial involvement in ARVC. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy is caused by desmosomal gene defects, including reduced plakoglobin expression. Here, we analysed clinical records from 146 ARVC patients to identify that ARVC is more common in males than females. Patients with ARVC also had an increased incidence of atrial arrhythmias and P wave changes. To study desmosomal vulnerability and the effects of AAS on the atria, young adult male mice, heterozygously deficient for plakoglobin (Plako+/−), and wild type (WT) littermates were chronically exposed to 5α‐dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or placebo. The DHT increased atrial expression of pro‐hypertrophic, fibrotic and inflammatory transcripts. In mice with reduced plakoglobin, DHT exaggerated P wave abnormalities, atrial conduction slowing, sodium current depletion, action potential amplitude reduction and the fall in action potential depolarization rate. Super‐resolution microscopy revealed a decrease in NaV1.5 membrane clustering in Plako+/− atrial cardiomyocytes after DHT exposure. In summary, AAS combined with plakoglobin deficiency cause pathological atrial electrical remodelling in young male hearts. Male sex is likely to increase the risk of atrial arrhythmia, particularly in those with desmosomal gene variants. This risk is likely to be exaggerated further by AAS use. Key points: Androgenic male sex hormones, such as testosterone, might increase the risk of atrial fibrillation in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), which is often caused by desmosomal gene defects (e.g. reduced plakoglobin expression).In this study, we observed a significantly higher proportion of males who had ARVC compared with females, and atrial arrhythmias and P wave changes represented a common observation in advanced ARVC stages.In mice with reduced plakoglobin expression, chronic administration of 5α‐dihydrotestosterone led to P wave abnormalities, atrial conduction slowing, sodium current depletion and a decrease in membrane‐localized NaV1.5 clusters.5α‐Dihydrotestosterone, therefore, represents a stimulus aggravating the pro‐arrhythmic phenotype in carriers of desmosomal mutations and can affect atrial electrical function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]