To determine the efficacy of switching to intravitreal (IVT) faricimab in patients with treatment-resistant neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and determine the rates of reversion to original antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy. A retrospective chart review was performed of patients with nAMD and persistent fluid on optical coherence tomography previously treated with anti-VEGF injections who received at least 1 IVT faricimab injection between March 1, 2022, and January 31, 2023. The study comprised 135 eyes of 119 patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Health care systems are increasingly focused on assessing patient well-being and functioning. The objective of the current analysis was to evaluate a pragmatic question: to what extent and in what way can the PHQ-2, a routinely collected screening measure, be used to help clinicians and a learning health system understand the well-being and functioning of its beneficiaries?
Methods: The current analysis focused on 2872 Veterans who completed a large-scale longitudinal survey about health and wellness for whom we were able to link survey responses to PHQ-2 scores recorded in their electronic health records (EHR). Regression analyses examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between PHQ-2 scores recorded in the EHR and measures of well-being (life satisfaction, purpose in life, and social health) and functioning (pain severity and interference, physical and mental health, and perceived stress).
Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is associated with remodeling of the subchondral bone. This remodeling changes both the external appearance of the condylar bone and the internal bony microstructure. The external geometry can be quantified using shape, a multivariate mathematical measurement that contains all of the structure's geometric information with location, scale, and rotation effects removed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Co-occurring chronic pain and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with poorer physical and mental functioning and well-being. Treatments often incorporate goal-setting around personally meaningful behaviors; however, it is unclear whether intentionally focusing on improving meaning and purpose in life (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Chronic pain is a global health concern and often interferes with multiple aspects of individuals' lives (e.g., physical activities), diminishing one's ability to engage in activities that promote meaning in life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIron-nickel (Fe-Ni) batteries are renowned for their durability and resilience against overcharging and operating temperatures. However, they encounter challenges in achieving widespread adoption for energy storage applications due to their low efficiency and the need for regular maintenance and electrolyte replacement, which adds to maintenance costs. This study evaluates and demonstrates the capabilities of Fe-Ni batteries for participating in grid energy storage applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Self-compassion is a healthy way of responding to challenges that may help long-term care professional caregivers (ie, nursing assistants and personal care aides) cope with stress, but its use may vary in important ways. This study explored the relationships between self-compassion and caregiver demographic characteristics, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and job satisfaction in a large racially/ethnically diverse sample of professional caregivers.
Design: Cross-sectional self-report questionnaire.
Rare earth elements are crucial for the development of cutting-edge technologies in various sectors, such as energy, transportation, and health care. Traditional extraction of rare earth elements from soil and ore deposits primarily involves chemical leaching and solvent extraction. Environmental-based biological rare earth element extraction, such as bioleaching, can be a promising alternative to mitigate pollution and hazardous wastes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The prevalence of co-occurring chronic pain and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has yet to be established in a nationally representative sample of US veterans, and little is known about the individual contributing roles of these disorders to the psychiatric and functional burden of this comorbidity.
Objective: To determine the prevalence of chronic pain, PTSD, and co-occurring chronic pain and PTSD, and psychiatric comorbidities and psychosocial functioning in these groups.
Design: Data were analyzed from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of US veterans.
The cosmopolitan ectoparasite human head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis (De Geer)(Phthiraptera:Pediculidae), affects mostly school-aged children, with infestations reported every year mainly due to louse resistance to pyrethroids. One of the main resistance mechanisms of pyrethroids is the target site insensitivity (kdr), which is caused by single-nucleotide point mutations (SNPs) located in the voltage-sensitive sodium channel gene. In this study, we analyzed individual head lice toxicologically via the description of their susceptibility profile to permethrin and genetically through the genotypification of their kdr alleles as well as nuclear microsatellite loci.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA promising metal-organic complex, iron (Fe)-NTMPA, consisting of Fe(III) chloride and nitrilotri-(methylphosphonic acid) (NTMPA), is designed for use in aqueous iron redox flow batteries. A full-cell testing, where a concentrated Fe-NTMPA anolyte (0.67 M) is paired with a Fe-CN catholyte, demonstrates exceptional cycling stability over 1000 charge/discharge cycles, and noteworthy performances, including 96% capacity utilization, a minimal capacity fade rate of 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsects have repeatedly forged symbioses with heritable microbes, gaining novel traits. For the microbe, the transition to symbioses can lead to the degeneration of the symbiont's genome through transmission bottlenecks, isolation, and the loss of DNA repair enzymes. However, some insect-microbial symbioses have persisted for millions of years, suggesting that natural selection slows genetic drift and maintains functional consistency between symbiont populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol
September 2024
Background & Aims: Abdominal pain is a major symptom of diseases that are associated with microbial dysbiosis, including irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. Germ-free mice are more prone to abdominal pain than conventionally housed mice, and reconstitution of the microbiota in germ-free mice reduces abdominal pain sensitivity. However, the mechanisms underlying microbial modulation of pain remain elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh-resolution manometry (HRM) is used to evaluate the esophageal motor function. Unfortunately, there are times when testing cannot be performed accurately. Our study aimed to quantify the occurrence of failed HRM and identify the associated risk factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSymptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are highly prevalent among Veterans with chronic pain. Considerable research has examined the intersection of chronic pain and PTSD symptoms. However, it remains unclear whether changes in PTSD may potentially serve a mechanistic role in improving unhelpful pain cognitions for individuals with chronic pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) have emerged as promising solutions for stationary grid energy storage due to their high efficiency, scalability, safety, near room-temperature operation conditions, and the ability to independently size power and energy capacities. The performance of VRFBs heavily relies on the redox couple reactions of V/V and VO/VO on carbon electrodes. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the surface functionality of carbon electrodes and their propensity for degradation during electrochemical cycles is crucial for designing VRFBs with extended lifespans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProtonation of oxide cathodes triggers surface transition metal dissolution and accelerates the performance degradation of Li-ion batteries. While strategies are developed to improve cathode material surface stability, little is known about the effects of protonation on bulk phase transitions in these cathode materials or their sodium-ion battery counterparts. Here, using NaNiO in electrolytes with different proton-generating levels as model systems, a holistic picture of the effect of incorporated protons is presented.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrosporidia are natural pathogens of arthropods and have been used as biological control against insect pests. In the United States, efforts to control the invasive Red Imported Fire Ant, , and Black Imported Fire Ant, , have included the use of the microsporidium, . However, there is limited information about the genetic differences among the microsporidian variants found in and in .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol
February 2024
The Veterans Health Administration's Whole Health system of care focuses on offering veterans holistic health approaches and tailoring health care to individual's goals and preferences. The present study assessed factors associated with Whole Health use and its potential benefits among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) receiving Veterans Health Administration care. This cohort study used retrospective electronic health records combined with survey data (baseline, 6 months) from 18 Veterans Affairs Whole Health pilot implementation sites and compared patient-reported outcomes between veterans who used Whole Health services versus those who did not, among veterans with ( = 1,326) and without ( = 3,243) PTSD.
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