Lyme neuroborreliosis in Japan: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato as a cause of meningitis of previously undetermined etiology in hospitalized patients outside of the island of Hokkaido, 2010-2021.

Background And Purpose: Clinical manifestations of Lyme borreliosis (LB), caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl), include erythema migrans, Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB), carditis, and arthritis. LB is a notifiable disease in Japan with <30 surveillance-reported LB cases annually, predominately from Hokkaido Prefecture. However, LB, including LNB, may be under-diagnosed in Japan since diagnostic tests are not readily available.

Psychological Symptom Cluster Severity Profiles Are Associated With Higher Levels of Stress and Worse Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women With Breast Cancer.

Background: Although common, the severity of the psychological symptom cluster (PSC) (ie, co-occurrence of anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance) varies among women with breast cancer. In addition, the impact of various types of stress and other risk factors on its severity are understudied, and the influence of the PSC on quality of life (QOL) outcomes remains poorly characterized.

Objective: To identify subgroups of postmenopausal women with breast cancer with distinct PSC severity profiles following surgery and evaluate whether these subgroups differed in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics, symptoms, social and posttraumatic stress, and QOL.

Variants in cause a novel oculo-vertebral-renal (OVR) syndrome.

Colobomatous microphthalmia is a potentially blinding congenital ocular malformation that can present either in isolation or together with other syndromic features. Despite a strong genetic component to disease, many cases lack a molecular diagnosis. We describe a novel autosomal dominant oculo-vertebral-renal (OVR) syndrome in six independent families characterized by colobomatous microphthalmia, missing vertebrae and congenital kidney abnormalities.

Adolescent seizure impacts oligodendrocyte maturation, neuronal-glial circuit Formation, and myelination in the mammalian forebrain.

Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells differentiate into oligodendrocytes, which myelinate axons during development and following demyelinating injury. However, the mechanisms that drive the timing and specificity of developmental myelination are not well understood. We hypothesized that oligodendrocyte progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation would be affected by pathological neuronal activity during adolescent development when developmental myelination is occurring and that this would also impact neuron-to-oligodendrocyte progenitor cell connectivity and myelination.

Effects of a 6-month aerobic exercise intervention on brain morphology in women with breast cancer receiving aromatase inhibitor therapy: a sub-study of the EPICC trial.

Objective: Physical exercise may increase brain volume and cortical thickness in late adulthood. However, few studies have examined the possibility for exercise to influence brain morphology in women treated for breast cancer. We conducted a nested sub-study within a randomized clinical trial to examine whether 6 months of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise in postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer influences brain morphology.

Tunable 30 GHz laser frequency comb for astronomical spectrograph characterization and calibration.

The search for Earth-like exoplanets with the Doppler radial velocity (RV) technique is an extremely challenging and multifaceted precision spectroscopy problem. Currently, one of the limiting instrumental factors in reaching the required long-term 10 level of radial velocity precision is the defect-driven subpixel quantum efficiency (QE) variations in the large-format detector arrays used by precision echelle spectrographs. Tunable frequency comb calibration sources that can fully map the point spread function (PSF) across a spectrograph's entire bandwidth are necessary for quantifying and correcting these detector artifacts.

Role function in postmenopausal women during aromatase inhibitor therapy for breast cancer.

Objective: Few studies have examined aromatase inhibitor therapy relating to role function in breast cancer survivors of working age. Our study sought to identify how pre-therapy sociodemographic and health/treatment-related characteristics, as well as patient-reported symptoms measured every six-months, influence role function during 18 months of AI therapy for early-stage breast cancer.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of longitudinal study data using linear mixed-effects modeling to examine role physical (RP) and role emotional (RE) functioning measured with the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 v2.

Multivariate Bayesian Analyses in Nursing Research: An Introductory Guide.

In the era of precision health, nursing research has increasingly focused on the analysis of large, multidimensional data sets containing multiple correlated phenotypes (e.g., symptoms).

Nurses' returning to work after cancer: A focus group study.

Background: Nurses diagnosed with cancer face unique challenges when returning to work, yet there is limited understanding of their transition.

Purpose: To explore nurses' return-to-work experiences post cancer diagnosis and clarify related facilitators and challenges.

Methods: This focus group study employed a content analysis with constant comparative approach and member checking.

Biallelic Loss-of-Function Variants in UBAP1L and Nonsyndromic Retinal Dystrophies.

Importance: Inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs) present a challenge in clinical diagnostics due to their pronounced genetic heterogeneity. Despite advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, a substantial portion of the genetic basis underlying IRDs remains elusive. Addressing this gap seems important for gaining insights into the genetic landscape of IRDs, which may help improve diagnosis and prognosis and develop targeted therapies in the future.

An effective drift-diffusion model for pandemic propagation and uncertainty prediction.

Predicting pandemic evolution involves complex modeling challenges, typically involving detailed discrete mathematics executed on large volumes of epidemiological data. Making them physics based provides added intuition as well as predictive value. Differential equations have the advantage of offering smooth, well-behaved solutions that try to capture overall predictive trends and averages.

The National Cancer Institute Clinical Trials Planning Meeting to Address Gaps in Observational and Intervention Trials for Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment.

Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is a broad term encompassing subtle cognitive problems to more severe impairment. CRCI severity is influenced by host, disease, and treatment factors and affects patients prior to, during, and following cancer treatment. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Symptom Management and Health-Related Quality of Life Steering Committee (SxQoL SC) convened a Clinical Trial Planning Meeting (CTPM) to review the state of the science on CRCI and to develop both Phase II/III intervention trials aimed at improving cognitive function in cancer survivors with non-central nervous system (CNS) disease and longitudinal studies to understand the trajectory of cognitive impairment and contributing factors.

Assessing the Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Between Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Survivors and Controls.

This study evaluates the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in terms of factor structure and measurement invariance (MI). The sample included postmenopausal breast cancer (BC) survivors ( = 101) and matched healthy controls ( = 60). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed on PSQI's seven component scores.

Open Digital Health Workshops - A Model for Mutual Contact and Knowledge Exchange with the Local Community.

The increasing percentage of elderly in our society is challenging the health care system. To meet the challenge, we have implemented an experience-based master's programme in digital health care. The 3-yrs 90 ECTS programme consists of physical sessions of three days duration and weekly 2-3-hour digital lectures and bi-weekly supervisions.

A hot-Jupiter progenitor on a super-eccentric retrograde orbit.

Giant exoplanets orbiting close to their host stars are unlikely to have formed in their present configurations. These 'hot Jupiter' planets are instead thought to have migrated inward from beyond the ice line and several viable migration channels have been proposed, including eccentricity excitation through angular-momentum exchange with a third body followed by tidally driven orbital circularization. The discovery of the extremely eccentric (e = 0.

Cancer-related cognitive impairment in older adults with acute myeloid leukemia treated with hypomethylating agents and venetoclax chemotherapy: a longitudinal descriptive study.

Purpose: To explore cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) in older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) receiving venetoclax in combination with hypomethylating agents or low-dose cytarabine chemotherapy.

Methods: This study is a longitudinal, qualitative descriptive study. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling.

Association Between Genes in the Nuclear Factor E2-Related Factor 2 Antioxidative Response Elements Pathway and Cancer-Related Fatigue in Women With Early-Stage Breast Cancer.

Objectives: To explore genes in the nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 antioxidative response elements (Nrf2-ARE) signaling pathway using a multiomics approach for associations with variability of cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in postmenopausal women with early-stage hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

Sample & Setting: Postmenopausal women (N = 116) with early-stage hormone receptor-positive breast cancer were recruited from western Pennsylvania.

Methods & Variables: Candidate genes from the Nrf2-ARE pathway were investigated for associations with CRF occurrence and severity.

DNA Methylation of BDNF and RASA2 Genes Is Associated With Cognitive Function in Postmenopausal Women With Breast Cancer.

Objectives: To determine associations among DNA methylation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and RAS p21 protein activator 2 (RASA2) genes with processing speed and perceived cognitive function.

Sample & Setting: This was a cross-sectional, secondary analysis of baseline data from a randomized controlled trial, the Exercise Program in Cancer and Cognition Study.

Methods & Variables: Data included M values for DNA methylation of the BDNF and RASA2 genes; processing speed, objectively measured using the Grooved Pegboard and Digit Vigilance Test scores; and perceived cognitive function, self-reported using the Patient Assessment of Own Functioning Inventory.

Effectiveness of Vaccination Against Tick-Borne Encephalitis in the Czech Republic, 2018-2022.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is caused by the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). TBEV infection can cause symptoms of central nervous system (CNS) inflammation and result in severe consequences including death. TBE is an increasing health threat in the Czech Republic and elsewhere in Europe.

Effects of aerobic exercise on neurocognitive function in postmenopausal women receiving endocrine therapy for breast cancer: The Exercise Program in Cancer and Cognition randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The Exercise Program in Cancer and Cognition (EPICC) Study was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to determine whether six months of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise improves neurocognitive function in women with breast cancer (BC) receiving endocrine therapy (ET).

Methods: Postmenopausal women with hormone receptor+, early-stage BC, within two years post-primary therapy were randomized to the exercise intervention (six months, ≥150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise/week) or usual care control condition. Outcomes were assessed at pre-randomization and after intervention completion.

Dignity in people with dementia: A concept analysis.

Dignity, an abstract and complex concept, is an essential part of humanity and an underlying guiding principle in healthcare. Previous literature indicates dignity is compromised in people with dementia (PwD), but those PwD maintain the capacity to live with dignity with appropriate external support. Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs) lead to progressive functional decline and increased vulnerability and dependence, leading to heightened risks of PwD receiving inappropriate or insufficient care that diminishes dignity.