Equity Analysis of a Reproductive Health Association: a Case Study.

Purpose: To demonstrate the process and results of an equity analysis of a reproductive health association.

Description: A series of quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews were conducted with employees of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM), assessing different aspects of equity. Amaka Consulting and Evaluation Services, LLC, an external consulting agency, analyzed the results and provided recommendations for improvements.

Higher expression of mir-31-5p is associated with reduced risk of head and neck keloid recurrence following surgical resection.

Objective: In this study, we aimed to evaluate mir-31-5p as a prognostic biomarker of keloid disease (KD) recurrence using a retrospective, treatment naïve, surgical cohort of head and neck KD cases from Henry Ford Health.

Methods: Using a tissue microarray, mir-31-5p expression was measured with miRNAscope, and mir-31-5p cell positivity was determined with QuPath. Logistic regression was used to test the association between mir-31-5p positive cells and KD recurrence at 1 year.

Clearing a path for light through non-Hermitian media.

The performance of all active photonic devices today is greatly limited by loss. Here, we show that one can engineer a low loss path in a metal-clad lossy multi-mode waveguide while simultaneously achieving high-performance active photonic devices. We leverage non-Hermitian systems operating beyond the exceptional point to enable the redistribution of losses in a multi-mode photonic waveguide.

Dysregulation of protein degradation and alteration of secretome in α-synuclein-exposed astrocytes: implications for dopaminergic neuronal dysfunction.

Background: A key factor in the propagation of α-synuclein pathology is the compromised protein quality control system. Variations in membrane association and astrocytic uptake between different α-synuclein forms suggest differences in exocytosis or membrane cleavage, potentially impacting the secretome's influence on dopaminergic neurons. We aimed to understand differences in protein degradation mechanisms of astrocytes for both wild-type (WT) and mutant forms of α-synuclein, specifically during periods of reduced degradation efficiency.

UK medical cannabis registry: A clinical outcome analysis of medical cannabis therapy in chronic pain patients with and without co-morbid sleep impairment.

Introduction: Chronic pain (CP) affects 35.0%-51.3% of the UK population, with 67%-88% reporting sleep disturbances.

Stepped-Wedge Trial of Decision Support for Acute Kidney Injury on Surgical Units.

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in the perioperative setting and associated with poor outcomes. Whether clinical decision support improves early management and outcomes of AKI on surgical units is uncertain.

Methods: In this cluster-randomized, stepped-wedge trial, 8 surgical units in Alberta, Canada were randomized to various start dates to receive an education and clinical decision support intervention for recognition and early management of AKI.

Going beyond gadgets: the importance of scalability for analogue quantum simulators.

Quantum hardware has the potential to efficiently solve computationally difficult problems in physics and chemistry to reap enormous practical rewards. Analogue quantum simulation accomplishes this by using the dynamics of a controlled many-body system to mimic those of another system; such a method is feasible on near-term devices. We show that previous theoretical approaches to analogue quantum simulation suffer from fundamental barriers which prohibit scalable experimental implementation.

Potential Role of microRNAs in Response to Infection in Fish.

The genus is a widespread pathogen that includes more than 30 Gram-negative species, many of which are opportunistic bacteria. Aeromonas species are naturally distributed in various aquatic sources. Infectious processes in marine animals such as fish usually develop under stressful conditions, and when their immune systems are weakened.

Impaired Sonic Hedgehog Responsiveness of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Floor Plate Cells Carrying the LRRK2-I1371V Mutation Contributes to the Ontogenic Origin of Lower Dopaminergic Neuron Yield.

Lower population of dopaminergic (DA) neurons is known to increase susceptibility to Parkinson's disease (PD), and our earlier study showed a lower yield of DA neurons in Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase Isoleucine 1371 Valine (LRRK2-I1371V) mutation-carrying PD patient-derived induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs). Although the role of Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) in DA neurogenesis of floor plate cells (FPCs) is known, the effect of LRRK2 mutations on SHH responsiveness of FPCs impacting DA neuronal yield has not been studied. We investigated SHH responsiveness of FPCs derived from LRRK2-I1371V PD patient iPSCs with regard to the expression of SHH receptors Patched1 (Ptch1) and Smoothened (Smo), in conjunction with nuclear Gli1 (glioma-associated oncogene 1) expression, intracellular Ca rise, and cytosolic cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels upon SHH induction.

Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (NIMHi015-A) from a Parkinson's Disease patient harbouring a homozygous Exon 3 deletion in the PRKN gene.

The Parkin (PRKN) gene mutation is prevalent in young-onset Parkinson's disease (PD), typically emerging before age 30, accompanied by early motor symptoms. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a PD patient with an exon 3 deletion in PRKN using Sendai-virus reprogramming. PD diagnosis was confirmed via the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS).

Efficient excitation and control of integrated photonic circuits with virtual critical coupling.

Critical coupling in integrated photonic devices enables the efficient transfer of energy from a waveguide to a resonator, a key operation for many applications. This condition is achieved when the resonator loss rate is equal to the coupling rate to the bus waveguide. Carefully matching these quantities is challenging in practice, due to variations in the resonator properties resulting from fabrication and external conditions.

Prostaglandin E2 affects mitochondrial function in adult mouse cardiomyocytes and hearts.

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) signals differently through 4 receptor subtypes (EP1-EP4) to elicit diverse physiologic/pathologic effects. We previously reported that PGE2 via its EP3 receptor reduces cardiac contractility and male mice with cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of the EP4 receptor (EP4 KO) develop dilated cardiomyopathy. The aim of this study was to identify pathways responsible for this phenotype.

Senescent cells and macrophages cooperate through a multi-kinase signaling network to promote intestinal transformation in Drosophila.

Cellular senescence is a conserved biological process that plays a crucial and context-dependent role in cancer. The highly heterogeneous and dynamic nature of senescent cells and their small numbers in tissues make in vivo mechanistic studies of senescence challenging. As a result, how multiple senescence-inducing signals are integrated in vivo to drive senescence in only a small number of cells is unclear.

Blood-based targeted metabolipidomics reveals altered omega fatty acid-derived lipid mediators in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.

Unresolved and uncontrolled inflammation is considered a hallmark of pathogenesis in chronic inflammatory diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), suggesting a defective resolution process. Inflammatory resolution is an active process partially mediated by endogenous metabolites of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), collectively termed specialized pro-resolving lipid mediators (SPMs). Altered levels of resolution mediators have been reported in several inflammatory diseases and may partly explain impaired inflammatory resolution.

All-dielectric scale invariant waveguide.

Total internal reflection (TIR) governs the guiding mechanisms of almost all dielectric waveguides and therefore constrains most of the light in the material with the highest refractive index. The few options available to access the properties of lower-index materials include designs that are either lossy, periodic, exhibit limited optical bandwidth or are restricted to subwavelength modal volumes. Here, we propose and demonstrate a guiding mechanism that leverages symmetry in multilayer dielectric waveguides as well as evanescent fields to strongly confine light in low-index materials.

Significance of Serum Procalcitonin and C-Reactive Protein in the Diagnosis and Prediction of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Decompensated Chronic Liver Disease.

The role of serum procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) with decompensated chronic liver disease (CLD) has been a subject of debate. The purpose of this cross-sectional, observational study was to evaluate the significance of CRP and PCT for the diagnosis and prediction of SBP in decompensated CLD patients. Fifty patients with ascites due to decompensated CLD were enrolled conveniently from the department of Gastrointestinal, Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic disorders (GHPD), BIRDEM General Hospital, Bangladesh from July 2019 to July 2020.

Role of Serum Triglyceride to Detect Severity and Outcome in Acute Pancreatitis.

Though hypertriglyceridemia is an established risk factor for acute pancreatitis, the relationship between hypertriglyceridemia and pancreatitis-associated complications remains controversial. Serum triglyceride could be a simple, routinely available investigation if predictability of the outcome can be validated. Due to scarcity of related studies in Bangladesh, this study aimed to evaluate the role of serum triglyceride to detect severity and outcome in acute pancreatitis.