Blink completeness and rate in dry eye disease: An investigator-masked, prospective registry-based, cross-sectional, prognostic study.

Purpose: To investigate the prognostic ability of blink rate and the proportion of incomplete blinking to predict dry eye disease diagnosis, as defined by the TFOS DEWS II criteria.

Methods: A total of 453 community residents (282 females, 171 males; mean ± SD age, 37 ± 19 years) were recruited in an investigator-masked, prospective registry-based, cross-sectional, prognostic study. Dry eye symptomology, tear film quality, and ocular surface characteristics were assessed in a single clinical session, and blink parameters evaluated by an independent masked observer.

In vitro anti-biofilm efficacy of therapeutic low dose 265 nm UVC.

Purpose: Preclinical studies have confirmed the safety and efficacy of narrowband low-intensity ultraviolet C light (UVC) in managing bacterial corneal infection. To further consolidate these findings, the present study aimed to explore in vitro anti-biofilm efficacy of low-intensity UVC light for its potential use in biofilm-related infections.

Methods: Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm was grown in chamber well slides for 48 h and exposed to one of the following challenges: UVC (265 nm wavelength, intensity 1.

Rhinorrhea Recurrence After Posterior Nasal Nerve Cryoablation: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Background: Posterior nasal nerve (PNN) cryoablation improves chronic rhinitis (CR) symptoms in 70-80% of cases, including clear thin rhinorrhea (CTR). This study's purpose was to determine time to and degree of CTR recurrence following cryoablation.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients who underwent PNN cryoablation to treat CR-related CTR refractory to ipratropium bromide nasal spray (IBNS).

Craniofacial Pain Locations and Outcomes After Endoscopic Sinus Surgery for Unilateral Sphenoid Sinusitis: A Multi-Institutional Study.

Introduction: Unilateral sphenoid sinus opacification on computed tomography is caused by a variety of pathologies including inflammatory and infectious sinusitis, benign and malignant tumors, and encephaloceles. The purpose of this study was to report craniofacial pain locations and outcomes in inflammatory unilateral sphenoid sinusitis (USS) patients who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS).

Methods: A multi-institutional retrospective cohort study was conducted on all adult patients who had ESS for USS from 2015 to 2022.

Clinical practice patterns in the management of dry eye disease: A TFOS international survey 2023-4.

Aims: To understand current clinical management of dry eye disease (DED), based on its perceived severity and subtype by practitioners across the world.

Methods: The content of the anonymous survey was chosen to reflect the DED management strategies reported by the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society (TFOS) 2 Dry Eye Workshop (DEWS II). Questions were designed to ascertain practitioner treatment choice, depending on the subtype and severity of DED.

Completing a molecular timetree of primates.

Primates, consisting of apes, monkeys, tarsiers, and lemurs, are among the most charismatic and well-studied animals on Earth, yet there is no taxonomically complete molecular timetree for the group. Combining the latest large-scale genomic primate phylogeny of 205 recognized species with the 400-species literature consensus tree available from TimeTree.org yields a phylogeny of just 405 primates, with 50 species still missing despite having molecular sequence data in the NCBI GenBank.

Impact of polygeNic risk score for glaucoma on psycHosocial ouTcomes (INSiGHT) study protocol.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness with early detection and intervention critical to slowing disease progression. However, half of those affected are undiagnosed. This is largely due to the early stages of disease being asymptomatic; current population-based screening measures being unsupported; and a lack of current efficient prediction models.

Time-calibrated phylogeny of neotropical freshwater fishes.

Neotropical Freshwater Fish (NFF) fauna exhibits the greatest phenotypic disparity and species richness among all continental aquatic vertebrate faunas, with more than 6,345 species distributed across the mostly tropical regions of Central and South America. The last two decades have seen a proliferation of molecular phylogenies, often at the species level, covering almost all 875 valid NFF genera. This study presents the most comprehensive genome-wide, time-calibrated phylogenetic hypothesis of NFF species to date, based on DNA sequences generated over decades through the collaborative efforts of the multinational ichthyological research community.

Sex and gender as predictors for allograft and patient-relevant outcomes after kidney transplantation.

Background: Sex, as a biological construct, and gender, defined as the cultural attitudes and behaviours attributed by society, may be associated with allograft loss, death, cancer, and rejection. Other factors, such as recipient age and donor sex, may modify the association between sex/gender and post-transplant outcomes.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate the prognostic effects of recipient sex and, separately, gender as independent predictors of graft loss, death, cancer, and allograft rejection following kidney or simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplantation.

Co-creation of a qualitative fertility research study to understand waiting time experiences through patient engagement.

Background: Infertility affects an estimated 8 to 12% of the global population and approximately one in six heterosexual couples in Canada. To access fertility services in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, individuals with an infertility diagnosis wait for extended periods, and this waiting period has been associated with psychological distress. However, this experience of waiting has not been well studied, and several gaps in fertility research exist.

Medial Flap Turbinoplasty is Unlikely to Cause Empty Nose Syndrome.

Background: Empty nose syndrome (ENS) is a poorly understood condition that affects a minority of patients who undergo inferior turbinate (IT) surgery. The Empty Nose Syndrome 6-item Questionnaire (ENS6Q) was validated to diagnose ENS following IT reduction, with an ENS6Q ≥ 11 being suggestive of ENS. Medial flap turbinoplasty (MFT) involves IT bone removal ± submucosal reduction (SMR) and is highly effective at surgically treating IT hypertrophy.

Evaluation of a potent LpxC inhibitor for post-exposure prophylaxis treatment of antibiotic-resistant in a murine infection model.

LPC-233 (a.k.a.

Mortality and complications after total hip arthroplasty via the posterior approach for displaced intracapsular hip fracture: Results from a regional trauma centre.

Introduction: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) for displaced intracapsular hip fracture is increasingly common. The aim of this project was to determine all-cause mortality rates, rates of significant complications and functional outcomes following THA for fractures.

Methods: An inpatient database search identified all patients undergoing THA for displaced intracapsular fracture in Northern Ireland's regional trauma centre from 2010-2017.

Blood pressure in young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: analysis of baseline data from a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To assess the distribution of blood pressure levels and the prevalence of hypertension and pre-hypertension in young Indigenous people (10-24 years of age).

Study Design: Prospective cohort survey study (Next Generation: Youth Wellbeing Study); baseline data analysis.

Setting, Participants: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 10-24 years living in regional, remote, and urban communities in Central Australia, Western Australia, and New South Wales; recruitment: March 2018 - March 2020.

Trait-level somatic anxiety modulates functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neural synchrony to naturalistic stimuli.

Somatic anxiety refers to the tendency to appraise situations as threatening, leading to heightened physiological arousal. Symptoms associated with higher levels of somatic anxiety that reflect autonomic arousal and perceptions of threat include elevated heartbeat perception, difficulty breathing, and palpitation. Somatic anxiety is generally associated with increased stimulus-driven attention; however, it is currently unknown how somatic anxiety modulates neural synchrony, measured by intersubject correlations (ISC), in response to complex audiovisual stimuli.

Exquisite selectivity of griselimycin extends to beta subunit of DNA polymerases from Gram-negative bacterial pathogens.

Griselimycin, a cyclic depsidecapeptide produced by Streptomyces griseus, is a promising lead inhibitor of the sliding clamp component of bacterial DNA polymerases (β-subunit of Escherichia coli DNA pol III). It was previously shown to inhibit the Mycobacterium tuberculosis β-clamp with remarkably high affinity and selectivity - the peptide lacks any interaction with the human sliding clamp. Here, we used a structural genomics approach to address the prospect of broader-spectrum inhibition, in particular of β-clamps from Gram-negative bacterial targets.

Meeting our students where they are: An ethics certificate program for hospital ethics committees.

To meet the specific education needs of ethics committee members (primarily full-time healthcare professionals), the Regional Ethics Department of Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNCAL) and Washington State University's Elson Floyd School of Medicine have partnered to create a one-academic year Medical Ethics Certificate Program. The mission-driven nature of the KPNCAL-WSU's Certificate Program was designed to be a low-cost, high-quality option for busy full-time practitioners who may not otherwise opt to pursue additional education.This article discusses the specific competency-focused methodologies and pedagogies adopted, as well as how the Certificate Program made permanent changes in response to the global pandemic.

Maxillary Sinusitis Following Orthognathic Surgery: Should It Be Considered Odontogenic Sinusitis?

Maxillary sinusitis is a recognized complication following dental procedures, but its occurrence after orthognathic surgery, such as Le Fort osteotomies, remains less documented. This case report presents a 58-year-old female who developed unilateral maxillary sinusitis 23 years post-orthognathic surgery. The patient was asymptomatic, aside from occasional cacosmia, and was incidentally found to have sinus opacification on a computed tomography (CT) scan performed for implant-prosthetic rehabilitation.

Efficacy and safety of AZR-MD-001 selenium sulfide ophthalmic ointment in adults with meibomian gland dysfunction over six months of treatment: A Phase 2, vehicle-controlled, randomized extension trial.

Purpose: To determine the efficacy and safety of AZR-MD-001 (0.5 % and 1.0 %) ophthalmic ointment, relative to vehicle, over 3-6 months of treatment, in participants with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).

Serum and urine nucleic acid screening tests for BK polyomavirus-associated nephropathy in kidney and kidney-pancreas transplant recipients.

Background: BK polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (BKPyVAN) occurs when BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) affects a transplanted kidney, leading to an initial injury characterised by cytopathic damage, inflammation, and fibrosis. BKPyVAN may cause permanent loss of graft function and premature graft loss. Early detection gives clinicians an opportunity to intervene by timely reduction in immunosuppression to reduce adverse graft outcomes.

Predictive Power of Polygenic Risk Scores for Intraocular Pressure or Vertical Cup-Disc Ratio.

Importance: Early detection of glaucoma is essential to timely monitoring and treatment, and primary open-angle glaucoma risk can be assessed by measuring intraocular pressure (IOP) or optic nerve head vertical cup-disc ratio (VCDR). Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) could provide a link between genetic effects estimated from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and clinical applications to provide estimates of an individual's genetic risk by combining many identified variants into a score.

Objective: To construct IOP and VCDR PRSs with clinically relevant predictive power.