Publications by authors named "Alicia Yang"

Introduction: Artificial sweeteners, sucralose and acesulfame-k, are listed as ingredients of oral nicotine pouches (ONPs), a product category with rapidly growing market share. The exact quantities of these sweeteners in ONPs remain unknown. Artificial sweeteners in ONPs may reduce aversion, facilitate initiation and encourage consumption behavior.

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  • This report analyzes the trends in statin prescriptions for breast cancer survivors with diabetes, a group at significant risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
  • The study utilized data from the SEER cancer registry and Medicare claims, evaluating prescription rates based on various factors like age and race.
  • Results indicated that 68% of participants received statin prescriptions, with an increasing trend over the years and a notable racial disparity, suggesting the need for improved prescription practices in this high-risk population.
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Neurological disorders are a diverse group of conditions that pose an increasing health burden worldwide. There is a general lack of effective therapies due to multiple reasons, of which a key obstacle is the presence of the blood-brain barrier, which limits drug delivery to the central nervous system, and generally restricts the pool of candidate drugs to small, lipophilic molecules. However, in many cases, these are unable to target key pathways in the pathogenesis of neurological disorders.

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Introduction: Artificial sweeteners are listed as ingredients of oral nicotine pouches (ONPs), a new product category with rapidly growing market share. The exact sweetener contents of ONPs remain unknown. Artificial sweeteners in ONPs may facilitate initiation and encourage consumption behavior.

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Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) plays important roles in brain microglial function in neurodegenerative diseases, but the role of TREM2 in the GBM TME has not been examined. Here, we found that TREM2 is highly expressed in myeloid subsets, including macrophages and microglia in human and mouse GBM tumors and that high TREM2 expression correlates with poor prognosis in patients with GBM. TREM2 loss of function in human macrophages and mouse myeloid cells increased interferon-γ-induced immunoactivation, proinflammatory polarization, and tumoricidal capacity.

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Background: Medical students are exposed to multiple factors during their academic and clinical studies that contribute to depression.

Aims: This study aims to examine the prevalence and correlates of likely major depressive disorder (MDD) among medical students.

Methods: This study utilized a descriptive cross-sectional design.

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Background: The blood-brain and blood-tumor barriers (BBB and BTB), which restrict the entry of most drugs into the brain and tumor, respectively, are a significant challenge in the treatment of glioblastoma. Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is a minimally invasive surgical technique increasingly used clinically for tumor cell ablation. Recent evidence suggests that LITT might locally disrupt BBB integrity, creating a potential therapeutic window of opportunity to deliver otherwise brain-impermeant agents.

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Background: Recent studies have shown that circulating branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are elevated in obese, insulin-resistant individuals. However, it is not known if supplementation of additional BCAAs will further impair glucose metabolism.

Objectives: The aim of this pilot study was to determine the effects of BCAA supplementation on glucose metabolism in obese, prediabetic individuals.

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Purpose: To evaluate the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) partial volume effect on diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) metrics in white matter and cortical gray matter.

Materials And Methods: Four healthy volunteers participated in this study. Standard DKI and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) DKI experiments were performed using a twice-refocused-spin-echo diffusion sequence.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study showcases a cutting-edge technique for sequencing DNA at the single-molecule level, using a DNA polymerase and four unique fluorescently labeled dNTPs for real-time monitoring.
  • By employing zero-mode waveguide nanostructures, researchers achieved simultaneous detection of thousands of sequencing reactions while minimizing interference during the observation of DNA synthesis.
  • Results demonstrated high accuracy in sequencing, with a 99.3% median accuracy and detailed insights into polymerase behavior, including different polymerization states influenced by the DNA’s secondary structure.
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