Martin Komarc

Journal of Applied Biomedicine promotes translation of basic biomedical research into clinical investigation, conversion of clinical evidence into practice in all medical fields, and publication of new ideas for conquering human health problems across disciplines.

Cognitive development during adolescence is arguably unmatched by any other period of life. Enhanced brain maturation, increased memory capacity, and the acquisition of new cognitive skills help prepare adolescents for adult social roles. Among these skills is cognitive monitoring, or the ability to reflect on one's own thinking-traditionally referred to as "metacognition." Using cross-sectional data from the first wave of a longitudinal panel cohort, we examined three facets of cognitive monitoring: decision-making (e.g., gathering information, evaluating alternatives), self-reinforcement (e.g., praise and encouragement), and affective self-regulation (e.g., emotional control) in four age groups of Czech high school students. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis tested primary, higher-order, age and gender-based models. Overall, model fit was acceptable, with only trivial differences in item intercepts, factor correlations, variances, and latent factor means. Primary factor models revealed gender differences favoring girls' use of decision-making strategies and older youth employing more decision-making skills. A higher-order metacognitive factor to account for correlations among the monitoring skills was supported across both age and gender groups. Results are discussed in terms of promoting cognitive monitoring as a key 21st-century skill and advancing higher-order reflective skills as a critical learning task during adolescence.

Studies of drug use etiology have long held that youth with low self-esteem are vulnerable to drug use because they lack appropriate coping skills. Self-esteem entails a subjective self-evaluation ...

Numerous studies have now documented that athletes of different competition levels vary in their motivational styles. Some are internally motivated and train to be better based on intrinsic values, whereas others are controlled by external pressures that drive performance. A third style does not make causal attributions regarding their performance and are amotivated. In the current study, we used latent profile analysis to examine unique typologies of sports motivation in 456 Czech university students comprised of both recreational and more elite athletes participating in various sports and attending a sport education program. Four qualitatively distinct profiles were distinguished varying in the composition of intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation. The four profiles differed in their mean levels of social physique anxiety, global self‐esteem, and physical self‐worth, three markers of how a person feels about themselves in terms of normative standards. Multiple group comparisons based on gender, individual versus team sports, and level of competition reinforced relative consistency in profile composition. Results are discussed in terms of how people can blend different motivational styles, what this portends for self‐beliefs, and whether there is relative consistency across meaningful groups.

Objective: Resection of the vestibular schwannoma causes acute peripheral vestibular loss. The process of central compensation starts immediately afterward. The rehabilitation goal is to support this process and restore the quality of life. Materials and methods: In this prospective single-center study, 67 consecutive patients underwent vestibular schwannoma resection (40 females, mean age 52 ± 12 years). The patients were divided into three groups: the prehabilitation with intratympanic gentamicin group, the virtual reality group (optokinetic stimulation via virtual reality goggles in the first ten days after the surgery), and the control group. All patients were examined with objective methods and completed questionnaires before the prehabilitation, before the surgery, at the hospital discharge, and after three months. Results: Intratympanic gentamicin prehabilitation leads ipsilaterally to a significant aVOR reduction in all semicircular canals (p < 0.050), the increase of the unilateral weakness in air calorics (p = 0.026), and loss of cVEMPs responses (p = 0.017). Prehabilitation and postoperative exposure to virtual reality scenes improved the patient’s perception of vertigo problems according to Dizziness Handicap Inventory (p = 0.039 and p = 0.076, respectively). These findings conform with the optokinetic testing results, which showed higher slow phase velocities at higher speeds (40 deg/s) in both targeted groups compared to the control group. Conclusion: Preoperative intratympanic gentamicin positively affects peripheral vestibular function, influencing balance perception after VS resection. In long-term follow-up, prehabilitation and postoperative exposure to virtual reality improve patients’ quality of life in the field of vertigo problems.

This cross-sectional study aimed to compare the sexual function (SF) and pelvic floor function of men with systemic sclerosis (SSc) with age-matched healthy controls (HC) and to identify the implications of clinical features on SF. Twenty SSc males and 20 HC aged 18-70 years completed eleven questionnaires assessing SF [International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), Male Sexual Health Questionnaire (MSHQ)]; sexual quality of life: Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire-Male (SQoL-M); pelvic floor function: Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire-Short Form 7 (PFIQ-7), fatigue, depression, physical fitness, functional disability, and quality of life. Clinical data were collected. Significantly worse SF was observed in patients (median IIEF erectile function 12 in SSc versus 29 in HC, p < 0.001), with 70% reporting erectile dysfunction (ED) compared to 15% in HC. However, no significant difference was observed regarding pelvic floor function (median PFIQ7 8.8 in SSc versus 7.0 in HC, p = 0.141). Impaired SF was associated with higher disease activity, increased systemic inflammation, more pronounced fatigue, reduced physical fitness, severe depression, impaired overall quality of life, dyspepsia, and arthralgias (p < 0.05 for all). Sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent in our SSc patients, whereas pelvic floor dysfunction is unlikely to be associated with these problems.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced substantially in recent years, transforming many industries and improving the way people live and work. In scientific research, AI can enhance the quality and efficiency of data analysis and publication. However, AI has also opened up the possibility of generating high-quality fraudulent papers that are difficult to detect, raising important questions about the integrity of scientific research and the trustworthiness of published papers. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the capabilities of current AI language models in generating high-quality fraudulent medical articles. We hypothesized that modern AI models can create highly convincing fraudulent papers that can easily deceive readers and even experienced researchers. Methods: This proof-of-concept study used ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) powered by the GPT-3 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3) language model to generate a fraudulent scientific article related to neurosurgery. GPT-3 is a large language model developed by OpenAI that uses deep learning algorithms to generate human-like text in response to prompts given by users. The model was trained on a massive corpus of text from the internet and is capable of generating high-quality text in a variety of languages and on various topics. The authors posed questions and prompts to the model and refined them iteratively as the model generated the responses. The goal was to create a completely fabricated article including the abstract, introduction, material and methods, discussion, references, charts, etc. Once the article was generated, it was reviewed for accuracy and coherence by experts in the fields of neurosurgery, psychiatry, and statistics and compared to existing similar articles. Results: The study found that the AI language model can create a highly convincing fraudulent article that resembled a genuine scientific paper in terms of word usage, sentence structure, and overall composition. The AI-generated article included standard sections such as introduction, material and methods, results, and discussion, as well a data sheet. It consisted of 1992 words and 17 citations, and the whole process of article creation took approximately 1 hour without any special training of the human user. However, there were some concerns and specific mistakes identified in the generated article, specifically in the references. Conclusions: The study demonstrates the potential of current AI language models to generate completely fabricated scientific articles. Although the papers look sophisticated and seemingly flawless, expert readers may identify semantic inaccuracies and errors upon closer inspection. We highlight the need for increased vigilance and better detection methods to combat the potential misuse of AI in scientific research. At the same time, it is important to recognize the potential benefits of using AI language models in genuine scientific writing and research, such as manuscript preparation and language editing.

Introduction: Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are malignant tumors arising from mesenchymal tissues. Patients with advanced and metastatic STSs have low overall survival rates and relatively limited treatment options. Oncostatin M (OSM) is a pleiotropic cytokine that was shown to carry both pro- and anti-tumorigenic properties in various cancer types. However, the role of OSM in STSs has not yet been elucidated. Moreover, the potential additive effects of combining OSM and anti-PD-1 therapy have not been carried out so far. Methods: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of in vitro OSM administration on liposarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, and myxofibrosarcoma immune cells isolated from peripheral blood and tumor tissues and the potential cooperative nature of OSM and nivolumab in treating these STSs. We designed a cohort study to explore novel histology-driven therapies in our target STSs. The immune cells were isolated from the peripheral blood and tumors of patients with STS, and the proportions and phenotypes of immune cells were evaluated with flow cytometry after cultivation with therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. Results: The proportion of peripheral CD45⁺ cells was not affected by OSM but was significantly increased by nivolumab, whereas both treatments had an effect on CD8⁺ T cells. In tumor tissues, CD8⁺ T cell and CD45^‒ TRAIL⁺ cell cultures were boosted by nivolumab and significantly enriched by OSM. Our data suggest that OSM may play a role in the treatment of leiomyosarcoma, myxofibrosarcoma, and liposarcoma. Conclusion: In conclusion, the biological efficacy of OSM is reflected in the tumor microenvironment rather than in the peripheral blood of the patients in our cohort, and nivolumab could potentiate its mechanism of action in selected cases. Nevertheless, more histotype-tailored studies are needed to fully understand the functions of OSM in STSs.