The structural informatics of this paper should be very useful for the medicinal treatment of prion diseases.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.Pleurotus ostreatus (P. ostreatus) and Lentinus subnudus (L. subnudus) have been used by the locals for the management of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) but with scant scientific sources. The aim of this study is to assess the neuroprotective properties of P. ostreatus and L. subnudus using transgenic Drosophila melanogaster flies (TDMF). The activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), as well as the antioxidant status of TDMF raised on a diet supplemented with P. ostreatus and L. subnudus were determined. The flies were raised on a diet devoid of supplements or supplemented with P. ostreatus or L. subnudus (1% and 5% inclusion) for 7 days. Afterward, AChE and BChE activities, as well as catalase and total thiol level, were determined. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were also determined in the flies raised on a diet devoid of supplement and on supplemented diets. Meanwhile, flies raised on P. ostreatus- and L. subnudus-supplemented diets exhibited a significant reduction in the activity of AChE and BChE in comparison with the controls. Also, supplemented diets significantly (p less then 0.05) enhance catalase activity and improve total thiol level, while ROS and MDA levels were observed to be reduced in all the flies raised on the supplemented diets in comparison with the controls. In summary, reduction in the activity of AChE and BChE, as well as improved antioxidant status in TDMF, could be some of the mechanisms through which P. ostreatus and L. subnudus exhibit anti-AD properties. Nevertheless, L. subnudus exhibits a better neuroprotective effect than P. ostreatus.Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is spreading worldwide. Antiviral therapy is the most important treatment for COVID-19. Among the drugs under investigation, anti-malarials, chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), are being repurposed as treatment for COVID-19. CQ/HCQ were shown to prevent receptor recognition by coronaviruses, inhibit endosome acidification, which interferes with membrane fusion, and exhibit immunomodulatory activity. These multiple mechanisms may work together to exert a therapeutic effect on COVID-19. A number of in vitro studies revealed inhibitory effects of CQ/HCQ on various coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 although conflicting results exist. Several clinical studies showed that CQ/HCQ alone or in combination with a macrolide may alleviate the clinical symptoms of COVID-19, promote viral conversion, and delay disease progression, with less serious adverse effects. However, recent studies indicated that the use of CQ/HCQ, alone or in combination with a macrolide, did not show any favorable effect on patients with COVID-19. Adverse effects, including prolonged QT interval after taking CQ/HCQ, may develop in COVID-19 patients. Therefore, current data are not sufficient enough to support the use of CQ/HCQ as therapies for COVID-19 and increasing caution should be taken about the application of CQ/HCQ in COVID-19 before conclusive findings are obtained by well-designed, multi-center, randomized, controlled studies.Objective Performing coccygectomy procedures on patients with psychiatric disorders and/or chronic low back pain have been previously thought of as contributing factors leading to inconsistent and often poor results. To determine if these two variables affect the post-operative pain relief obtained after coccygectomy, an analysis of the opioid requirements and pain descriptions before and after surgery was undertaken in each patient studied. Methods The hospital electronic medical records were searched, and only patients undergoing coccygectomy for chronic coccydynia were selected. A total of 8 patients were found. Each patient underwent a trial of conservative therapy prior to surgical evaluation. Results The average duration of symptoms prior to surgery was 41.3 months. In 7 out of 8 patients, at least one psychiatric disorder was present. In 6 out of 8 patients, chronic low back pain was present. Pain control with opioid-based medicines was required in 5 out of 8 patients prior to surgery. Nimodipine cost Of those, 4 were able to discontinue or reduce the amount of opioid-based medicines consumed after surgery. The average follow-up was 9 months. Discussion The results of this study indicate that patients with preexisting psychiatric disorders and/or chronic low back pain suffering from debilitating coccyx pain can obtain pain relief after coccygectomy as seen from a reduction in opioid requirements and pain burden. It should be noted that the obtained benefits from coccygectomy usually occur in a delayed fashion.Objective We sought to improve the educational and pre-operative training on various stages of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) under fluoroscopic and ultrasound guidance. We developed a three-dimensional (3D) printed simulator (3D-printed PCNL model) for urological trainees.Methods 40 s year urology residents were randomly assigned into two groups, completing PCNL surgical steps on a URO Mentor™ surgical simulator (Group A) or on our new 3D-printed PCNL model (Group B). Following the training, both groups completed a standardized questionnaire (Likert scale from 0 to 10) which we used to asses the learning curve associated with PCNL training.Results The mean score of Group A was 65.2/80 while Group B was 76.1/80. Mann-Whitney U-test showed no significant difference between the groups (U = 16, p less then 0.05).Conclusion The 3D-printed PCNL model developed is a novel and highly effective tool that can facilitate enhanced endourological education and personalized pre-operative planning for urolithiasis cases. According to the criteria tested, residents who used our 3D-printed PCNL models performed better under all metrics.Introduction Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia. The effects of atypical antipsychotics on the cognitive functions of patients with first-episode schizophrenia have not been comprehensively investigated so far. This study aims to compare neurocognitive effects of risperidone, olanzapine, and aripiprazole for first-episode schizophrenia.Methods The study was a multicenter, randomized, open-label clinical trial. 546 patients were randomly divided into three medication groups, and followed up for 1 year. Cognitive performance was evaluated with a neuropsychological test battery. The Clinical trials.gov ID of the study is NCT01057849.Results At 6 months, treatment resulted in significant improvements in all three groups in most cognitive domains except verbal learning and memory. At 12 months, three treatment groups had further improvements in three cognitive domains, but visual learning and memory performance dropped back to baseline.Conclusion All three atypical antipsychotics tested in the study can potentially improve cognitive performance in first-episode schizophrenia, but no significant difference in the degree of improvement was found between drugs.