Association of Atrial Fibrillation with Insomnia in the Elderly Population.

Introduction/objectives: Insomnia is a common sleep disorders that affects most individuals in the United States, and worldwide. Insomnia is linked with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) in adults, although the strengths of association were weak, especially in the elderly population. AF is estimated to affect approximately 3 to 6 million people in the United States.

The Impact of Diagnostic Laparoscopy on Upstaging Patients with Siewert II and III Gastroesophageal Junction (GEJ) Cancer.

Background: The efficacy of routine diagnostic laparoscopy with cytologic evaluation for gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer is variable with no set guidelines. We hypothesize that findings from diagnostic laparoscopy in Siewert II and III GEJ tumors may differ, where routine diagnostic laparoscopy with washings yields low upstaging results in Siewert II compared with Siewert III tumors.

Patients And Methods: We reviewed patients with Siewert II/III GEJ cancer from 2012 through 2022 within our integrated health system.

The Impact of D2 Versus D1 Lymphadenectomy in Siewert II Gastroesophageal Junction (GEJ) Cancer.

Background: Although multiple treatment options exist for gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer, surgery remains the mainstay for potential cure. Extended nodal dissection with a D2 lymphadenectomy (LAD) remains controversial for Siewert II GEJ cancer. Although D2 LAD may lead to a greater lymph node harvest, its effect on survival remains elusive.

Immune landscape of renal cell carcinoma with metastasis to the pancreas.

Introduction: Clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC) has a poor prognosis once metastatic. However, certain metastatic sites have been reported to have a different impact on the patient prognosis. For example, patients with pancreatic metastases have a much more favorable prognosis than those with metastases to other organs.

Disease characteristics, effectiveness, and safety of vestronidase alfa for the treatment of patients with mucopolysaccharidosis VII in a novel, longitudinal, multicenter disease monitoring program.

Background: Mucopolysaccharidosis VII (MPS VII) is an ultra-rare, autosomal recessive, debilitating, progressive lysosomal storage disease caused by reduced activity of β-glucuronidase (GUS) enzyme. Vestronidase alfa (recombinant human GUS) intravenous enzyme replacement therapy is an approved treatment for patients with MPS VII.

Methods: This disease monitoring program (DMP) is an ongoing, multicenter observational study collecting standardized real-world data from patients with MPS VII (N ≈ 50 planned) treated with vestronidase alfa or any other management approach.

Differences in outcomes by race/ethnicity after thoracic surgery in a large integrated health system.

Background: Disparities exist throughout surgery. We aimed to assess for racial/ethnic disparities among outcomes in a large thoracic surgery patient population.

Methods: We reviewed all thoracic surgery patients treated at our integrated health system from January 1, 2016-December 31, 2020.

Association of Risk Factors and Comorbidities With Chronic Pain in the Elderly Population.

Introduction/objective: Chronic pain disorders affect about 20% of adults in the United States, and it disproportionately affects individuals living in the neighborhoods of extreme socioeconomic disadvantage. In many instances, chronic pain has been noted to arise from an aggregation of multiple risk factors and events. Therefore, it is of importance to recognize the modifiable risk factors.

Institutionalizing Community-engaged Translational Science in an Academic Institution: A Community Stakeholder-Driven Process.

Background: Although studies have described the power imbalance in academic-community partnerships, little has been published describing how community-based participatory research-informed practitioners can change academic institutions to promote more effective community-engaged research.

Objectives: This paper describes a university-funded community-based participatory project in which academic researchers and their community partners worked together to articulate, develop and advocate for institutionalizing best practices for equitable partnerships throughout the university.

Methods: Findings derive from a collaborative ethnographic process evaluation.

Adapted method for rapid detection and quantification of pathogen Campylobacter jejuni from environmental water samples.

Building on a previously developed workflow for rapid and sensitive pathogen detection by qPCR, this work has established a sample treatment strategy that produces consistent quantification efficiencies (QEs) for Campylobacter jejuni against a complex and highly variable sample matrix from a suburban river. The individual treatments most effective at minimizing the inhibitory effects of the sample matrix were pH buffering with HEPES (50 mM, pH 5.7) and addition of the surfactant Tween 20 (2% v/v).

Comorbidities and Risk Factors Associated With Insomnia in the Elderly Population.

Introduction/objectives: Sleep disorders affect around 50 to 70 million Americans, with chronic insomnia being the most common, especially in the elderly population. With an 11-fold increase in the US office visits due to insomnia, from 0.8 to 9.

Case report on the role of aggressive palliative surgery in lung NUT carcinoma after induction chemoimmunotherapy.

Introduction And Importance: NUT (nuclear protein in testis) carcinoma of the lung is an aggressive, poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma that has a poor prognosis. Currently, there are no recommended guidelines with limited literature regarding the management of primary NUT carcinoma of the lung.

Case Presentation: A 28-year-old male presented with 2 weeks of intractable chest pain and shortness of breath and was found to have Stage IV pleural NUT carcinoma.

Utilization and Outcomes of Observation for Spontaneous Pneumothorax at an Integrated Health System.

Introduction: Though limited, recent evidence supports observation rather than intervention for spontaneous pneumothorax management. We sought to compare the utilization and outcomes between observation and intervention for patients with primary and secondary spontaneous pneumothoraces.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of all adults presenting to Kaiser Permanente Northern California emergency rooms with spontaneous pneumothorax from 2016 to 2020 was performed.

BAP1 and PTEN mutations shape the immunological landscape of clear cell renal cell carcinoma and reveal the intertumoral heterogeneity of T cell suppression: a proof-of-concept study.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is an immunologically vulnerable tumor entity, and immune checkpoint inhibitors are now widely used to treat patients with advanced disease. Whether and to what extent immune responses in ccRCC are shaped by genetic alterations, however, is only beginning to emerge. In this proof-of-concept study, we performed a detailed correlative analysis of the mutational and immunological landscapes in a series of 23 consecutive kidney cancer patients.

Using memes to promote student engagement and classroom community during remote learning.

As colleges moved to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, many instructors found it difficult to maintain student engagement and classroom community in the virtual environment. We developed a semester-long activity for a molecular biology research methodology course where students created, and shared original memes related to course content with peers through group chat. Surveys and semi-structured interviews revealed that the exercise was effective in promoting student engagement, a sense of community, and relieving stress.

A rapid and non-invasive proteomic analysis using DBS and buccal swab for multiplexed second-tier screening of Pompe disease and Mucopolysaccharidosis type I.

Purpose: Current newborn screening programs for Pompe disease (PD) and mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I) suffer from a high false positive rate and long turnaround time for clinical follow up. This study aimed to develop a novel proteomics-based assay for rapid and accurate second-tier screening of PD and MPS I. A fast turnaround assay would enable the identification of severe cases who need immediate clinical follow up and treatment.

Targeting the translational machinery in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST): a new therapeutic vulnerability.

Although KIT-mutant GISTs can be effectively treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), many patients develop resistance to imatinib mesylate (IM) as well as the FDA-approved later-line agents sunitinib, regorafenib and ripretinib. Resistance mechanisms mainly involve secondary mutations in the KIT receptor tyrosine kinase gene indicating continued dependency on the KIT signaling pathway. The fact that the type of secondary mutation confers either sensitivity or resistance towards TKIs and the notion that secondary mutations exhibit intra- and intertumoral heterogeneity complicates the optimal choice of treatment in the imatinib-resistant setting.

APEX-mediated Proximity Labeling of Proteins in Cells Targeted by Extracellular Vesicles.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are thought to mediate intercellular communication through the delivery of cargo proteins and RNA to target cells. The uptake of EVs is often followed visually using lipophilic-dyes or fluorescently-tagged proteins to label membrane constituents that are then internalized into recipient cells ( Christianson , 2013 ; De Jong , 2019 ). However, these methods do not probe the exposure of EV cargo to intracellular compartments, such as the cytoplasm and nucleus, where protein or RNA molecules could elicit functional changes in recipient cells.

Universal Enzyme-Based Field Workflow for Rapid and Sensitive Quantification of Water Pathogens.

A universal filtration and enzyme-based workflow has been established to allow for the rapid and sensitive quantification of leading pathogens and from tap water samples with volumes up to 100 mL, and the potential to scale up to larger volumes. qPCR limits of quantification as low as four oocysts for , twelve cysts for , two cells for , and nineteen cells for per reaction were achieved. A polycarbonate filter-based sampling method coupled with the prepGEM enzyme-based DNA extraction system created a single-step transfer workflow that required as little as 20 min of incubation time and a 100 µL reaction mix.