Ethyltoluenes Regulate Inflammatory and Cell Fibrosis Signaling in the Liver Cell Model.

Crude oil naphtha fraction C9 alkylbenzenes consist of trimethylbenzenes, ethyltoluenes, cumene, and n-propylbenzene. The major fraction of C9 alkylbenzenes is ethyltoluenes (ETs) consisting of three isomers: 2-ethyltoluene (2-ET), 3-ethyltoluene (3-ET), and 4-ethyltoluene (4-ET). Occupational and environmental exposure to ETs can occur via inhalation and ingestion and cause several health problems.

Medicaid‑Insured Children with Medical Complexity in a Rural State.

Objectives: To describe children with medical complexity (CMC) in Montana according to their clinical characteristics, rurality and distance from specialty care, and to assess for disparities in geographic access to specialty care for American Indian children.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study we categorized children in 2016-2021 Montana Medicaid claims data using the Pediatric Medical Complexity Algorithm and compared the associations of medical complexity and demographic traits using Chi-squared tests. Using a database of providers we calculated drive times from children's residences to the nearest pediatric subspecialist and calculated bootstrap confidence intervals for the difference in median driving distances by complexity and race.

FaMMily Affairs: Dissecting inherited contributions to multiple myeloma risk.

Etiological links to multiple myeloma (MM) remain poorly understood, though emerging evidence suggests a significant hereditary component. This review integrates current literature on inherited factors contributing to MM risk, synthesizing both epidemiologic and genomic data. We examine familial clustering patterns, assess genome-wide association studies (GWAS) that reveal common genetic variants linked to MM, and explore rare, high-penetrance variants in key susceptibility genes.

Diagnostic Performance of Clinical and Routine Laboratory Data in Acute Mesenteric Arterial Occlusion-An International Multicenter Study.

Background: There are no clinical or laboratory markers that can diagnose acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) accurately. This study aimed to find differences in clinical and laboratory markers between arterial occlusive AMI and other acute abdominal diseases where AMI was initially suspected.

Methods: This was a post hoc study of an international prospective multicenter study where data on patients with suspected AMI were collected.

Front-back asymmetries in endogenous auditory spatial attention.

Research on endogenous auditory spatial attention typically uses headphones or sounds in the frontal hemispace, which undersamples panoramic spatial hearing. Crossmodal attention studies also show that visual information impacts spatial hearing and attention. Given the overlap between vision and audition in frontal space, we tested the hypothesis that the distribution of endogenous auditory spatial attention would differ when attending to the front versus back hemispace.

Cognitive dysfunction and disturbed daily activities of people with dementia impact the psychological stress in family caregivers depending on their anxiety and depression severity.

Care for individuals with dementia, predominantly provided by family members, was associated with significant physical and emotional stress. Existing guidelines for supporting caregivers were frequently based on limited evidence. A cross-sectional clinical study involving 104 pairs of caregivers and individuals with dementia was conducted.

Higher socioeconomic status is associated with greater rates of surgical resource utilization prior to spine fusion surgery.

Background Context: Previous research has demonstrated an association between socioeconomic status (SES) and patient health, specifically noting that patients of lower SES have poor health outcomes. Understanding how social factors, including socioeconomic status (SES), relate to disparities in health outcomes is critical to closing gaps in equitable care to patients. While several studies have examined the effect of SES on postoperative spine outcomes, there is limited spine literature evaluating SES in the context of barriers to spine care.

International cross-sectional survey on current and updated definitions of intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome.

Background: The Abdominal Compartment Society (WSACS) established consensus definitions and recommendations for the management of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) in 2006, and they were last updated in 2013. The WSACS conducted an international survey between 2022 and 2023 to seek the agreement of healthcare practitioners (HCPs) worldwide on current and new candidate statements that may be used for future guidelines.

Methods: A self-administered, online cross-sectional survey was conducted under the auspices of the WSACS to assess the level of agreement among HCPs over current and new candidate statements.

D-Dimer in Acute Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis: A Prospective Case-Control International Multicenter Study.

Background: Acute mesenteric venous thrombosis (MVT) is rarely suspected as primary diagnosis in emergency departments and still carries an in-hospital mortality rate of above 20%.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to find differences in clinical and laboratory markers between patients with acute MVT and a control group of suspected but confirmed as not having any type of acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI).

Design: Data was retrieved from the AMESI (Acute MESenteric Ischaemia) study.

Inflammatory signalling during the perinatal period: Implications for short- and long-term disease risk.

During pregnancy and the postpartum, there are dynamic fluctuations in steroid and peptide hormone levels as well as inflammatory signalling. These changes are required for a healthy pregnancy and can persist well beyond the postpartum. Many of the same hormone and inflammatory signalling changes observed during the perinatal period also play a role in symptoms related to autoimmune disorders, psychiatric disorders, and perhaps neurodegenerative disease later in life.

Role of glutamatergic signaling in the acquisition and expression of learned sugar preferences in C57BL/6 mice.

C57BL/6 (B6) mice learn to prefer glucose or sucrose to initially isopreferred or even more preferred nonnutritive sweeteners due to the postoral appetite stimulating (appetition) actions of glucose. Recent evidence indicates that specific duodenal neuropod cells transmit the glucose appetition signal to the brain via glutamatergic synaptic connections with vagal afferents. The present study found that intraperitoneal pretreatment with a glutamatergic receptor antagonist cocktail (kynurenic acid (KA)/D-2-amino-3-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP3)) in B6 mice did not block the expression of their learned preference for 8% glucose solution over an initially-preferred 0.

Modeling of multi-kW in-band pumped triple-clad thulium-doped fiber architecture.

We present a model and design for a high-power triple-clad thulium doped fiber specifically for in-band or tandem pumping. This fiber is designed to maximize the output signal power while taking into consideration common effects that limit high-power operation. In-band pumping will allow for thulium fiber lasers to reach multi-kW power levels.

Effect of Simple Oral Dental Extraction on Systemic Serum Amyloid A Concentrations in Horses.

Background: The translocation of gingival commensals resulting in measurable systemic inflammation has been described in humans and non-equine veterinary species with dental disorders, particularly periodontal disease. Routine odontoplasty does not result in increased serum amyloid A (SAA) concentration in horses, but a measurable increase in SAA concentration in horses undergoing dental extractions could suggest that local inflammation resulting from more severe dental disease has potential for wider, systemic consequences that warrants further study.

Objectives: To determine whether SAA increases in horses undergoing simple, oral extraction of non-fractured cheek teeth with and without periodontal disease.

Chromosome-level reference genome for the Jonah crab, Cancer borealis.

The Jonah crab, Cancer borealis, is integral to marine ecosystems and supports a rapidly growing commercial fishery in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. This species also has a long history as a model for neuroscience that has expanded our understanding of central pattern generators, neuromodulation, synaptic plasticity, and the connectivity of neural circuits. Here, we present a highly contiguous reference genome for the Jonah crab that will provide an essential resource to advance fisheries, conservation, and biomedical research.

Nutritional diagnoses in people with type 2 diabetes: association with metabolic, anthropometric, and dietary parameters.

Background: Nutritional diagnosis involves identifying a nutritional problem, its cause, and the signs that indicate it to guide appropriate treatment. Few studies report on the most prevalent nutritional diagnoses in people living with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Objective: To define nutritional diagnoses across different domains and their association with metabolic, anthropometric, and dietary parameters in individuals with T2D.

Therapeutic and pharmacological applications of extracellular vesicles and lipoproteins.

In recent years, various approaches have been undertaken to eliminate lipoproteins co-isolated with extracellular vesicles, as they were initially regarded as contaminating entities. However, novel discoveries are reshaping our perspective. In body fluids, these distinct particles not only co-exist, but also interactions between them are likely to occur.

Preconception and prenatal vitamin D associations with positive behavioral health in Black children.

Background: Low levels of vitamin D during pregnancy are associated with offspring behavioral problems but little is known about pre-pregnancy influences. Additionally, Black American individuals are underrepresented in studies, limiting translational impact. We tested independent and interactive effects of preconception and prenatal vitamin D in Black women in relation to positive behavioral and emotional outcomes in early childhood.

Reduced circulating CD63 extracellular vesicle levels associate with atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolaemic mice and humans.

Aims: The association and co-isolation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been shown in blood plasma. Here we explore this relationship to better understand the role of EVs in atherogenesis.

Methods And Results: Wild type (WT), PCSK9, and LDLR C57BL/6 mice were used in this study.

Mouse aversion to induction with isoflurane using the drop method.

Isoflurane anesthesia prior to carbon dioxide euthanasia is recognized as a refinement by many guidelines. Facilities lacking access to a vaporizer can use the "drop" method, whereby liquid anesthetic is introduced into an induction chamber. Knowing the least aversive concentration of isoflurane is critical.