"They knew the same struggles": perceptions of a group coping skills intervention in patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease.

Purpose: Chronic graft-versus-host-disease (cGVHD), an inflammatory condition affecting allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) survivors, is associated with a range of debilitating physical and psychological sequela. Yet HCT recipients with cGVHD are virtually absent from survivorship intervention research. We conducted a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a multidisciplinary group coping skills intervention (Horizons) tailored to meet these patients' unique needs.

High Shear Stress Reduces ERG Causing Endothelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background: Computational modeling indicated that pathological high shear stress (HSS; 100 dyn/cm) is generated in pulmonary arteries (PAs; 100-500 µm) in congenital heart defects causing PA hypertension (PAH) and in idiopathic PAH with occlusive vascular remodeling. Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) is a feature of PAH. We hypothesize that HSS induces EndMT, contributing to the initiation and progression of PAH.

The novel β-hairpin antimicrobial peptide D-G(RF)3 demonstrates exceptional antibacterial efficacy.

The clinical application of most natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) is hindered by their lack of a synergistic combination of high antibacterial efficacy, low toxicity, and stability, necessitating frequent complex modifications that incur significant labor and economic costs. Therefore, it is imperative to optimize the antibacterial properties of AMPs using some simplified approach. In this study, we designed a library of β-hairpin AMPs with identical β-turn sequences (-D-Pro-Gly-) and varying repetition units (IR, FR, and WK).

Plasma Phenylacetylglutamine Levels and Prognosis of Ischemic Stroke: A Multicenter Prospective Study Based on the CATIS Trial.

Background: Phenylacetylglutamine is implicated in platelet clotting and thrombosis, but its prognostic value in ischemic stroke remains unclear. We aimed to explore the associations of plasma phenylacetylglutamine levels with adverse outcomes after ischemic stroke in a multicenter prognostic cohort study.

Methods: Our multicenter prognostic cohort study included 3564 Chinese patients with ischemic stroke from the CATIS (China Antihypertensive Trial in Acute Ischemic Stroke).

Differences in misinformation sharing can lead to politically asymmetric sanctions.

In response to intense pressure, technology companies have enacted policies to combat misinformation. The enforcement of these policies has, however, led to technology companies being regularly accused of political bias. We argue that differential sharing of misinformation by people identifying with different political groups could lead to political asymmetries in enforcement, even by unbiased policies.

The reovirus variant RP116 is oncolytic in immunocompetent models and generates reduced neutralizing antibodies to Type 3 Dearing.

The mammalian reovirus Type 3 Dearing (T3D) is a naturally occurring oncolytic virus. We previously identified a T3D variant isolated from persistently infected cancer cells that has a premature stop codon mutation in the gene, generating a truncated σ1-attachment protein that lacks the globular head. We now report on the molecular characterization of this variant, named RP116, and assess its antitumor potential in human cancer cells and syngeneic mouse models.

Histone marks identify novel transcription factors that parse CAR-T subset-of-origin, clinical potential and expansion.

Chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cell (CAR-T) immunotherapy has revolutionised blood cancer treatment. Parsing the genetic underpinnings of T cell quality and CAR-T efficacy is challenging. Transcriptomics inform CAR-T state, but the nature of dynamic transcription during activation hinders identification of transiently or minimally expressed genes, such as transcription factors, and over-emphasises effector and metabolism genes.

Colocalization of Cancer-Associated Biomarkers on Single Extracellular Vesicles for Early Detection of Cancer.

Detection of cancer early, when it is most treatable, remains a significant challenge because of the lack of diagnostic methods sufficiently sensitive to detect nascent tumors. Early-stage tumors are small relative to their tissue of origin, heterogeneous, and infrequently manifest in clinical symptoms. The detection of early-stage tumors is challenging given the lack of tumor-specific indicators (ie, protein biomarkers, circulating tumor DNA) to enable detection using a noninvasive diagnostic assay.

Dynamics of Splenic Transient Elastography in Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder.

Introduction: Splenic stiffness (SS) measurement (SSM) is an evolving noninvasive assessment to evaluate portal hypertension. Studies with respect to SSM in patients with alcohol use disorder are limited.

Methods: We studied patients seeking treatment for alcohol use disorder in an inpatient treatment protocol at the National Institutes of Health and parsed SSM into 3 groups based on degree of change.

A note on heat kernel of graphs.

Consider a simple undirected connected graph , with and representing its degree and adjacency matrices, respectively. Furthermore, is the Laplacian matrix of , and is the heat kernel (HK) of , with denoting the time variable. For a vertex , the th element of the diagonal of the HK is defined as , and is the HK trace of , where denote the eigenvalues of .

Detecting HLA loss of heterozygosity within a standard diagnostic sequencing workflow for prognostic and therapeutic opportunities.

To enable interrogation of tumor HLA LOH as a clinical diagnostic for precision oncology, we developed and validated an assay that detects HLA LOH within the context of an FDA-approved clinical diagnostic test, Tempus xT CDx. Validation was conducted via: (1) analytical evaluation of 17 archival patient samples and 42 cell line admixtures and (2) independent clinical evaluation of LOH prevalence in the HLA-A gene (HLA-A LOH) across 10,982 patients. To evaluate the prognostic relevance of HLA-A LOH we assessed 256 immunotherapy-treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Discordant High Remnant Cholesterol With LDL-C Increases the Risk of Stroke: A Chinese Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Previous studies focusing on assessing the effects of remnant cholesterol (RC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) on stroke may not consider their mutual influence. We aimed to explore the associations of RC and discordant high RC with LDL-C with stroke, ischemic stroke (IS), and hemorrhagic stroke.

Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted based on 3 cohorts of the China-PAR (Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China) project.

Osimertinib after Chemoradiotherapy in Stage III -Mutated NSCLC.

Background: Osimertinib is a recommended treatment for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with an epidermal growth factor receptor () mutation and as adjuvant treatment for resected -mutated NSCLC. EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors have shown preliminary efficacy in unresectable stage III -mutated NSCLC.

Methods: In this phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we randomly assigned patients with unresectable -mutated stage III NSCLC without progression during or after chemoradiotherapy to receive osimertinib or placebo until disease progression occurred (as assessed by blinded independent central review) or the regimen was discontinued.

Evaluating the adoption of irrigation technology in a well-irrigated winter wheat－summer maize cropping system.

Determining suitable irrigation technology is of paramount for promoting water-saving agriculture, particularly for winter wheat-summer maize rotation system in well-irrigated regions. To optimize and assess the efficacy of various irrigation technologies (specifically, semi-fixed sprinkler irrigation, walking sprinkler, semi-automatic buried telescopic sprinkler irrigation, thin-soft spray tape irrigation, drip irrigation, self-driven winch sprinkler and manually moving spray gun irrigation, marked as A, B, C, D, E, F and G) applied in south central North China Plain, we first conducted an economic analysis for the winter wheat-summer maize rotation. Subsequently, employing a comprehensive set of 20 indicators spanning economic, societal, technological, ecological, and resource aspects, we employed a TOPSIS model with integrative weighting approach using "AHP + Entropy".

Genetically Determined Plasma Hepatocyte Growth Factor Levels Are Associated With the Risk and Prognosis of Ischemic Stroke.

Background: Observational studies suggest that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is associated with the risk and prognosis of ischemic stroke, but the causality of these associations remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to explore the associations of genetically determined plasma HGF levels with the risk and prognosis of ischemic stroke.

Methods: A total of 13 single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with plasma HGF were selected as genetic instruments based on the data from a genome-wide association study with 21 758 European participants.

BRCC3 Regulation of ALK2 in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells: Implication in Pulmonary Hypertension.

Background: An imbalance of antiproliferative BMP (bone morphogenetic protein) signaling and proliferative TGF-β (transforming growth factor-β) signaling is implicated in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The posttranslational modification (eg, phosphorylation and ubiquitination) of TGF-β family receptors, including BMPR2 (bone morphogenetic protein type 2 receptor)/ALK2 (activin receptor-like kinase-2) and TGF-βR2/R1, and receptor-regulated Smads significantly affects their activity and thus regulates the target cell fate. BRCC3 modifies the activity and stability of its substrate proteins through K63-dependent deubiquitination.

Ultrahigh-Spatial-Resolution Photon-counting Detector CT Angiography of Coronary Artery Disease for Stenosis Assessment.

Background Coronary CT angiography is a first-line test in coronary artery disease but is limited by severe calcifications. Photon-counting-detector (PCD) CT improves spatial resolution. Purpose To investigate the effect of improved spatial resolution on coronary stenosis assessment and reclassification.