Nicotine Exposure From Smoking Tobacco and Vaping Among Adolescents.

Importance: It remains unknown whether nicotine intake among youths who vape is lower, comparable, or higher than among youths who smoke.

Objective: To examine potential differences in biomarkers of exposure to nicotine (1) between adolescents who smoke tobacco, vape, both vape and smoke (dual use), or do not use; (2) between adolescents in 3 countries; and (3) by nicotine content and form in the vaping product last used among adolescents who exclusively vaped.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based, observational cross-sectional study invited adolescents aged 16 to 19 years in Canada, England, and the US who had previously completed national surveys to participate in a biomarker study based on their vaping and smoking status.

The Importance of Multi-parametric MRI, PET/CT, and Biopsy for Identifying and Delineating the Extent of Intraprostatic Radiorecurrent Prostate Cancer: A Secondary Analysis of the F-SHARP Clinical Trial.

Background: Up to 50% of clinical recurrences after curative-intent prostate cancer radiation are intraprostatic radiorecurrences (IPRR). Salvage local therapy (SLT) is increasingly offered, particularly as focal SLT, to reduce toxicity due to prior radiation. Limited data exist on the relative value of MRI, PET/CT, and biopsy on SLT target delineation.

The airborne herbivore-induced plant volatile indole is converted to benzoxazinoid defense compounds in maize plants.

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles act as danger signals to prime defense responses in neighboring plants, yet in many cases the mechanism behind this priming is not known. Volatile signals may be recognized directly by receptors and/or converted into other active compounds. Here we investigate the metabolic fate of volatile indole, a known priming signal in maize (Zea mays), to determine if its conversion to other compounds could play a role in its priming of defenses.

Unrelieved Stress, Decreased Resilience, and Disengagement Coping Strategies Are Associated With Lower Levels of Hope in Patients With Cancer.

Objectives: To determine clinically meaningful cut points for the Herth Hope Index and evaluate for differences in demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as stress, resilience, and coping, between patients with lower versus higher levels of hope.

Sample & Setting: Outpatients with cancer receiving chemotherapy (N = 1,295).

Methods & Variables: Patients completed the Herth Hope Index, Multidimensional Quality of Life Scale-Patient Version, and stress, resilience, and coping measures prior to their second or third cycle of chemotherapy.

Our not-so-natural connection to nature.

The biophilia hypothesis has been influential in explaining humans' attraction to nature. Here, we critically evaluate recent research on biophilia, focusing on automatic and instinct-like responses to nature. We explore how biophilia-based interventions may contribute to inequality and propose cultural evolution as a parsimonious alternative to biophilia.

Neurotransmitter and metabolic effects of interferon-alpha in association with decreased striatal dopamine in a non-human primate model of cytokine-Induced depression.

Inflammatory stimuli administered to humans and laboratory animals affect mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathways in association with impaired motivation and motor activity. Alterations in dopaminergic corticostriatal reward and motor circuits have also been observed in depressed patients with increased peripheral inflammatory markers. The effects of peripheral inflammation on dopaminergic pathways and associated neurobiologic mechanisms and consequences have been difficult to measure in patients.

Quick Freezing-Induced Au Nanoparticle Aggregates (QFIAAs) for Near-IR (NIR) Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Substrates.

Here, we report a simple method to prepare near-IR (NIR) surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates by quickly freezing a citrate-capped Au nanoparticle (AuNP) solution in liquid nitrogen, followed by thawing it at room temperature. This process aggregates AuNPs in a controlled manner by forming ice crystals with smaller grain sizes when compared to a slow freezing process. The resulting smaller AuNP aggregates remain suspended in solution long enough to conduct high-throughput chemical analysis in a microwell plate using the NIR SERS spectroscopy.

Volatile Byproducts of Carotenoid Degradation as Biomarkers of Maize Infestation by the Maize Weevil () (Motsch.).

Maize () is a major global food crop and a source of industrial raw materials. Effective postharvest storage is important for national food security programs, international trade, and global agriculture economics. The maize weevil () is a primary postharvest insect pest that infests maize during storage and leads to significant losses.

The costs of competition in distributing scarce research funds.

Research funding systems fundamentally influence how science operates. This paper aims to analyze the allocation of competitive research funding from different perspectives: How reliable are decision processes for funding? What are the economic costs of competitive funding? How does competition for funds affect doing risky research? How do competitive funding environments affect scientists themselves, and which ethical issues must be considered? We attempt to identify gaps in our knowledge of research funding systems; we propose recommendations for policymakers and funding agencies, including empirical experiments of decision processes and the collection of data on these processes. With our recommendations, we hope to contribute to developing improved ways of organizing research funding.

Ibrutinib in Early-Stage Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: The Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Phase III CLL12 Trial.

Purpose: The CLL12 trial reassesses the watch-and-wait consensus for early-stage chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in the context of targeted therapies.

Methods: The German CLL Study Group conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trial with 363 patients with asymptomatic, treatment-naïve Binet stage A CLL at increased risk of progression to receive ibrutinib (n = 182) at a daily dose of 420 mg or placebo (n = 181). Additionally, 152 low-risk patients were allocated to the watch-and-wait group.

The origin and metabolic fate of 4-hydroxybenzoate in Arabidopsis.

The contribution of p-coumarate β-oxidation and kaempferol cleavage to the pools of glycosylated, free and cell wall-bound 4-hydroxybenzoate is organ-dependent in Arabidopsis. 4-Hydroxybenzoate (4-HB) is a vital precursor for a number of plant primary and specialized metabolites, as well as for the assembly of the plant cell wall. In Arabidopsis, it is known that 4-HB is derived independently from phenylalanine and tyrosine, and that the metabolism of phenylalanine into 4-HB proceeds via at least two biosynthetic routes: the β-oxidation of p-coumarate and the peroxidative cleavage of kaempferol.

The vices and virtues of medical models of obesity.

Despite numerous public health organizations supporting the pathologization of obesity and considering recent obesity rates a health crisis, many researchers in the humanities, social sciences, and even in the health sciences remain unconvinced. In this paper, we address a set of arguments coming from these academic fields that criticize medical models of obesity for their supposedly flawed diagnostic categories that shift focus onto individuals and support moralizing judgements. Clarifying some key claims in these models and explicating the view of obesity in terms of energy dysregulation, we aim to tease apart misunderstandings and argue that not only do these models not say what they are often accused of saying, but their apparent vices may actually be virtues in helping to combat stigma.

Challenges and Opportunities in Developing an Oncology Clinical Trial Network in the United States Veterans Affairs Health Care System: The VA STARPORT Experience.

The United States Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care System has a strong history of conducting impactful oncology randomized clinical trials (RCTs). We developed a phase II/III RCT to test the use of metastasis-directed therapy in Veterans with oligometastatic prostate cancer (OMPC)-the first VA RCT in OMPC that leverages novel imaging and advanced radiotherapy techniques. To accomplish this, we developed a clinical trial network to conduct the study.

Worse Morning Energy Profiles Are Associated with Significant Levels of Stress and Decrements in Resilience in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy.

Objectives: Evidence suggests that lower levels of morning energy are associated with higher levels of stress and lower levels of resilience in patients receiving chemotherapy. Study purposes were to identify subgroups of patients with distinct morning energy profiles; evaluate for differences among the profiles in demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as measures of stress, resilience, and coping.

Methods: A total of 1,343 outpatients receiving chemotherapy completed a demographic questionnaire and measures of global, cancer-related, and cumulative life stress, and resilience at study enrollment.

A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials Comparing Radiation Therapy Versus Radical Prostatectomy in Prostate Cancer.

The treatment landscape for localized and regional prostate cancer includes active surveillance, radiation therapy (RT), and radical prostatectomy (RP). Population-based studies comparing RP to radiation reveal conflicting results due to methodological flaws. This systematic review and pooled analysis of studies aim to compare cause-specific survival (CSS), overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and toxicity outcomes, comparing RP to RT in the management of prostate cancer.

Robotic-assisted spine surgery-a narrative review.

Background And Objective: Emerging technologies have increasingly been adopted in spine surgery in the attempt to increase precision and improve outcomes. Robotic assistance is an area of significant interest, with proposed benefits including increased accuracy, decreased complication rates, and decreased radiation exposure. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the currently available robotic assistance systems and their associated outcomes and limitations.

Estimating prevalence of classical homocystinuria in the United States using Optum's de-identified market clarity data.

Background And Objectives: Prevalence estimates for classical homocystinuria (HCU) are variable and likely underestimated due to underdiagnosis. Claims data represent a strong but seldom used resource to analyze prevalence of HCU. The aim of this study was to estimate a prevalence range of HCU in the US utilizing a combination of diagnosis codes, total homocysteine levels, and clinical presentations indicative of HCU.

Allele Frequency Among Cognitively Healthy Members of an Ojibwe Tribal Nation.

Objectives: frequency varies by geography and ancestry. We provide data regarding the frequency of this allele in the Ojibwe people, the fifth largest Indigenous people in the United States.

Methods: Population study including 33 cognitively normal older individuals of an Ojibwe Tribal Nation (total population: 984; all with ≥25% Ojibwe ancestry).

Clinical Outcomes and Treatment Patterns in Adults With FLT3-ITD Acute Myeloid Leukemia Undergoing Allogeneic Hemopoietic Cell Transplantation in the United States and Canada.

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) is used to treat patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with internal tandem duplication of the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 gene (FLT3-ITD). However, the effect of different characteristics on outcomes after transplant is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of patient, disease, and transplant characteristics on clinical outcomes and trends in maintenance therapy for patients with FLT3-ITD AML who underwent their first alloHCT.

Increases in stress and adverse childhood experiences are associated with the co-occurrence of anxiety and depression in oncology patients.

Purpose: Identify subgroups of patients with distinct joint anxiety AND depression profiles and evaluate for differences in demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as stress, resilience, and coping.

Design: Longitudinal study.

Participants: Patients ( = 1328) receiving chemotherapy.

Transposon sequencing reveals metabolic pathways essential for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

New drugs are needed to shorten and simplify treatment of tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Metabolic pathways that M. tuberculosis requires for growth or survival during infection represent potential targets for anti-tubercular drug development.

Assessment of attenuation properties for SLA and SLS 3D-printing materials in X-ray imaging and nuclear medicine.

In recent years, access to 3D printers has become increasingly affordable. Alongside industrial and private applications, the significance of 3D printing in the clinical context is also growing. For instance, 3D printing processes enable the production of individual anatomical models that can be used to support patient communication or aid in surgical planning.

Ultrafast Umklapp-assisted electron-phonon cooling in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene.

Understanding electron-phonon interactions is fundamentally important and has crucial implications for device applications. However, in twisted bilayer graphene near the magic angle, this understanding is currently lacking. Here, we study electron-phonon coupling using time- and frequency-resolved photovoltage measurements as direct and complementary probes of phonon-mediated hot-electron cooling.

Genome analysis and hyphal movement characterization of the hitchhiker endohyphal sp. from .

Bacterial-fungal interactions are pervasive in the rhizosphere. While an increasing number of endohyphal bacteria have been identified, little is known about their ecology and impact on the associated fungal hosts and the surrounding environment. In this study, we characterized the genome of an sp.

Work absenteeism, disability, and lost wages among patients with acute myeloid leukemia and their caregivers: a cohort study using US administrative claims and productivity data.

Objective: We describe the impact of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) diagnosis on workplace absenteeism and disability days among patients and their caregivers.

Methods: This retrospective study included adults with newly diagnosed AML (2009-2019) and adult caregivers of patients with newly diagnosed AML, identified from the US Merative™ MarketScan® Commercial Database. The Merative MarketScan Health and Productivity Management Database provided linked patient-level records of workplace absence and short-term (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) data.