Impact of donor obesity on outcomes of donation after circulatory death heart transplantation.

Background: In the setting of the obesity epidemic and donor organ shortage in the United States, there is a growing need to expand the donor organ eligibility criteria for orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). Donation after circulatory death (DCD) has emerged as a promising solution, but the outcomes with obese donor hearts in DCD OHT remains unknown.

Methods: Using the United Network for Organ Sharing registry between 2019 and 2024, recipients of DCD OHT were stratified into 3 donor obesity categories by body mass index (BMI): underweight/normal (BMI <25 kg/m), overweight (BMI 25-30 kg/m), and obese (BMI >30 kg/m).

Cardiac Cachexia in Left Ventricular Assist Device Recipients and the Implications of Weight Gain Early After Implantation.

Background Severe cardiac cachexia or malnutrition are commonly considered relative contraindications to left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation, but post-LVAD prognosis for patients with cachexia is uncertain. Methods and Results Intermacs (Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support) 2006 to 2017 was queried for the preimplantation variable cachexia/malnutrition. Cox proportional hazards modeling examined the relationship between cachexia and LVAD outcomes.

A meta-analysis on the effect of proximal landing zone location on stroke and mortality in thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Background: Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) involving the aortic arch may increase the opportunity for stroke owing to disruption of cerebral circulation and embolization. In this study, a systematic meta-analysis was performed to examine the impact of proximal landing zone location on stroke and 30-day mortality after TEVAR.

Methods: MEDLINE and Cochrane Library were searched for all original studies of TEVAR reporting outcomes of stroke or 30-day mortality for at least two adjacent proximal landing zones, based on the Ishimaru classification scheme.

Patient and health worker perspectives on quality of HIV care and treatment services in Haiti.

Background: Poor quality of care is a barrier to engagement in HIV care and treatment in low- and middle-income country settings. This study involved focus group discussions (FGD) with patients and health workers in two large urban hospitals to describe quality of patient education and psychosocial support services within Haiti's national HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) program. The purpose of this qualitative study was to illuminate key gaps and salient "ingredients" for improving quality of care.

An EMR-based alert with brief provider-led ART adherence counseling in Haiti: effects on information, motivation, and behavioral skills (IMB) and patient-provider communication (PPC).

We examined the secondary effects of an antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence intervention on information, motivation, and behavioral skills (IMB) and patient-provider communication (PPC). Data were from a sample of 116 patients enrolled in a quasi-experimental mixed-methods study at two large ART clinics in Haiti. We examined changes in IMB and PPC scores after the intervention and the association between baseline PPC and endline IMB.

Comparison of Cavity Preparation Times Using Conventional High-Speed Handpiece Versus Er, Cr:YSGG Laser: A Pilot Study with Pediatric Dental Residents.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare pediatric dental residents' comfort levels and cavity preparation time using an Er, Cr:YSGG laser versus a conventional high-speed handpiece.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on residents with no past restorative dental laser experience. A mixed-effects model was used to evaluate the difference in total time and comfort level between the laser and high-speed handpiece groups.

Skeletal Muscle Mass Recovery Early After Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation in Patients With Advanced Systolic Heart Failure.

Background: Patients with advanced systolic heart failure are at risk of unintentional weight loss and muscle wasting. It has been observed that left ventricular assist device (LVAD) recipients gain weight after device implantation, although it is unknown whether this represents skeletal muscle mass gains. We aimed to determine whether skeletal muscle mass increases early during LVAD support.

The Situated Information, Motivation, and Behavioral Skills Model of HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Persons Living With HIV in Haiti: A Qualitative Study Incorporating Culture and Context.

To inform a clinic-based adherence-promotion intervention, this qualitative study applied the Situated Information, Motivation, and Behavioral Skills Model of Care Initiation and Maintenance to elucidate cultural and contextual factors affecting antiretroviral therapy adherence in Haiti. From the 23 focus group discussions with patients ( n = 58) and health care workers ( n = 57), culturally specific themes emerged relating to Information (e.g.

Do woody vines use gelatinous fibers to climb?

Many plant movements are facilitated by contractile cells called gelatinous fibers (G-fibers), but how G-fibers function in the climbing movements of woody vines remains underexplored. In this Insight, we compare the presence and distribution of G-fibers in the stems of stem-twiners, which wrap around supports, with non-stem-twiners, which attach to supports via tendrils or adventitious roots. An examination of 164 species spanning the vascular plant phylogeny reveals that G-fibers are common in stem-twiners but scarce in non-stem-twiners, suggesting that G-fibers are preferentially formed in the organ responsible for movement.

Interposition Technique for Pulmonary Valve Replacement.

Background: Stented bioprosthesis implant at surgical pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) ideally should be 25 to 27 mm to facilitate future percutaneous PVR. This often requires accommodating 35 to 37 mm diameter sewing ring in the pulmonary position and requires anterior patch augmentation of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT). We present a novel "interposition" technique of PVR that allows upsizing the valve without RVOT patch augmentation.

Climbing since the early Miocene: The fossil record of Paullinieae (Sapindaceae).

Paullinieae are a diverse group of tropical and subtropical climbing plants that belong to the soapberry family (Sapindaceae). The six genera in this tribe make up approximately one-quarter of the species in the family, but a sparse fossil record limits our understanding of their diversification. Here, we provide the first description of anatomically preserved fossils of Paullinieae and we re-evaluate other macrofossils that have been attributed to the tribe.

A MicroRNA Linking Human Positive Selection and Metabolic Disorders.

Positive selection in Europeans at the 2q21.3 locus harboring the lactase gene has been attributed to selection for the ability of adults to digest milk to survive famine in ancient times. However, the 2q21.

Patient-Provider Communication and Information, Motivation, and Behavioral Skills in HIV-Positive Adults Initiating Antiretroviral Therapy in Haiti.

While Haiti has scaled up use of antiretroviral therapy (ART), current studies suggest sub-optimal adherence threatens long-term viral suppression in this understudied setting. Patient-provider communication (PPC) and information, motivation, and behavioral skills (IMB) have been implicated in ART adherence globally. However, no studies have examined their relevance in Haiti.

An EMR-Based Alert with Brief Provider-Led ART Adherence Counseling: Promising Results of the InfoPlus Adherence Pilot Study Among Haitian Adults with HIV Initiating ART.

To promote HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) outcomes in Haiti, we developed a culturally relevant intervention (InfoPlus Adherence) that combines an electronic medical record alert identifying patients at elevated risk of treatment failure and provider-delivered brief problem-solving counseling. We conducted a quasi-experimental mixed-methods study among 146 patients at two large ART clinics in Haiti with 728 historical controls. We conducted quantitative assessments of patients at baseline and intervention completion (6 months) as well as focus groups with health workers and exit interviews with patients.

Local and national stakeholders' perceptions towards implementing and scaling up HIV self-testing and secondary distribution of HIV self-testing by Option B+ patients as an assisted partner service strategy to reach men in Haiti.

HIV self-testing (HIVST), which allows people to test in private, is an innovative testing strategy that has been shown to increase HIV testing among men. Delivering HIVST kits to men via women is one promising assisted partner service strategy. Little research has been conducted on HIVST secondary distribution to men by women living with HIV (WLWH) in the Caribbean and other settings.

Modified Warden Operation With the Use of Femoral Vein Homograft for Repair of a Variant of Right-Sided Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection.

Surgical repair of right-sided partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (PAPVR) involves baffling the pulmonary vein across a naturally occurring or surgically created atrial septal defect without causing pulmonary venous or superior vena cava obstruction. A nine-year-old male presented to us with an unusual anatomical variant of right-sided partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection. The pulmonary veins draining the right upper and middle lobes connected to the azygous vein that drained in the usual fashion into the superior vena cava.

Phylogeny of Paullinia L. (Paullinieae: Sapindaceae), a diverse genus of lianas with dynamic fruit evolution.

Paullinia L. is a genus of c. 220 mostly Neotropical forest-dwelling lianas that display a wide diversity of fruit morphologies.

Human Neonatal Thymus Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells and Chronic Right Ventricle Pressure Overload.

Right ventricle (RV) failure secondary to pressure overload is associated with a loss of myocardial capillary density and an increase in oxidative stress. We have previously found that human neonatal thymus mesenchymal stem cells (ntMSCs) promote neovascularization, but the ability of ntMSCs to express the antioxidant extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD3) is unknown. We hypothesized that ntMSCs express and secrete SOD3 as well as improve survival in the setting of chronic pressure overload.

Development of Locked Nucleic Acid Antisense Oligonucleotides Targeting Ebola Viral Proteins and Host Factor Niemann-Pick C1.

The Ebola virus is a zoonotic pathogen that can cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans, with up to 90% lethality. The deadly 2014 Ebola outbreak quickly made an unprecedented impact on human lives. While several vaccines and therapeutics are under development, current approaches contain several limitations, such as virus mutational escape, need for formulation or refrigeration, poor scalability, long lead-time, and high cost.

Functionalized Electrospun Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Nanofibrous Membranes with Poly(Methyl Vinyl Ether-Alt-Maleic Anhydride) for Protein Adsorption.

In this work, electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofiber membranes were functionalized by incorporating poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic anhydride) (poly(MVE/MA), PMA) for the selective adsorption of proteins. The capture performance was regulated by an optimizing buffer pH, PMA content, and protein concentration. Lysozyme was used as the model protein and a high adsorption capacity of 476.

Development of single-copy nuclear intron markers for species-level phylogenetics: Case study with Paullinieae (Sapindaceae).

Premise Of The Study: We developed a bioinformatic pipeline that leverages a publicly available genome and published transcriptomes to design primers in conserved coding sequences flanking targeted introns of single-copy nuclear loci. Paullinieae (Sapindaceae) is used to demonstrate the pipeline.

Methods And Results: Transcriptome reads phylogenetically closer to the lineage of interest are aligned to the closest genome.

Direct characterization of cotton fabrics treated with di-epoxide by nuclear magnetic resonance.

A non-acid-based, di-functional epoxide, neopentyl glycol diglycidyl ether (NPGDGE), was used to modify cotton fabrics. Direct characterization of the modified cotton was conducted by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) without grinding the fabric into a fine powder. NaOH and MgBr were compared in catalyzing the reaction between the epoxide groups of NPGDGE and the hydroxyl groups of cellulose.

RNA therapeutics: RNAi and antisense mechanisms and clinical applications.

RNA therapeutics refers to the use of oligonucleotides to target primarily ribonucleic acids (RNA) for therapeutic efforts or in research studies to elucidate functions of genes. Oligonucleotides are distinct from other pharmacological modalities, such as small molecules and antibodies that target mainly proteins, due to their mechanisms of action and chemical properties. Nucleic acids come in two forms: deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) and ribonucleic acids (RNA).