Improving wheat grain composition for human health by constructing a QTL atlas for essential minerals.

Wheat is an important source of minerals for human nutrition and increasing grain mineral content can contribute to reducing mineral deficiencies. Here, we identify QTLs for mineral micronutrients in grain of wheat by determining the contents of six minerals in a total of eleven sample sets of three biparental populations from crosses between A.E.

Harnessing landrace diversity empowers wheat breeding.

Harnessing genetic diversity in major staple crops through the development of new breeding capabilities is essential to ensure food security. Here we examined the genetic and phenotypic diversity of the A. E.

Severe Hyponatremia Correction, Mortality, and Central Pontine Myelinolysis.

BACKGROUND: In clinical practice, sodium correction rates are frequently limited in patients with severe hyponatremia to prevent neurologic complications. The implications of correction rates on overall mortality and length of hospital stay are unclear. METHODS: In this multicenter observational study, we evaluated the association of sodium correction rates with mortality, length of stay, and central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) in patients hospitalized with severe hyponatremia (admission serum sodium level less than 120 mEq/l).

Intramuscular Tranexamic Acid Administration on the Battlefield.

Background: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is routinely administered intravenously (IV) and intraosseously (IO) in response to exsanguination.

Case: This report describes a patient who sustained multiple high-powered rifle gunshot wounds that received battlefield-environment intramuscular (IM) administration of TXA due to inability to obtain IV / IO access. This case represents the unlikely positive outcome in the setting of multiple remarkable obstacles, which may have been ameliorated by novel administration of TXA.

Stent Diameter, Not Cephalic Arch Anatomy, Predicts Stent Graft Patency in Cephalic Arch Stenosis.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between anatomic factors and primary patency of brachiocephalic arteriovenous fistulae (AVFs) after stent graft (SG) placement for cephalic arch stenosis (CAS).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study reviewed all cephalic arch SGs placed in brachiocephalic AVFs in a tertiary academic medical center between 2014 and 2017. Sixty-three patients were included in the study.

Prescribing Patterns of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors in Patients with CKD: A Cross-Sectional Registry Analysis.

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT-2i) reduce kidney disease progression and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), regardless of diabetes status. However, the prescribing patterns of these novel therapeutics in the CKD population in real-world settings remain largely unknown.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included adults with stages 3-5 CKD included in the Mass General Brigham (MGB) CKD registry in March 2021.

Phase 3b randomized controlled trial of fevipiprant in patients with nasal polyposis with asthma (THUNDER).

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is associated with asthma, particularly of late onset. Current treatment options for CRSwNP have limitations, and there is an unmet need for other safe and effective therapies.

Objective: The aim of the THUNDER study was to determine the efficacy and safety of the prostaglandin D receptor 2 (DP) antagonist fevipiprant in patients with CRSwNP and concomitant asthma, measured by improvement in nasal polyp score (primary end point), nasal congestion score, Sinonasal Outcome Test 22 score, and University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test score.

A Novel Method for Quantitative Analysis of C-Reactive Protein Lateral Flow Immunoassays Images via CMOS Sensor and Recurrent Neural Networks.

To design and implement an easy-to-use, Point-of-Care (PoC) lateral flow immunoassays (LFA) reader and data analysis system, which provides a more in-depth quantitative analysis for LFA images than conventional approaches thereby supporting efficient decision making for potential early risk assessment of cardiovascular disease (CVD). A novel end-to-end system was developed including a portable device with CMOS camera integrated with optimized illumination and optics to capture the LFA images produced using high-sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP) (concentration level < 5 mg/L). The images were transmitted via WiFi to a back-end server system for image analysis and classification.

Sustainability science education: our animalistic response-ability.

In this paper, we craft a dialogue between "The Anthropocene as we know it: posthumanism, science education and scientific literacy as a path to sustainability," by Sophia Jeong, Brandon Sherman, and Deborah Tippins and, "The quest for sustainable futures: designing transformative spaces for youth through critical response-ability," by Shakhnoza Kayumova and Deborah Tippins. We argue for an optimistic approach to post-Anthropocene science education that acknowledges humans as the animals we are, albeit with a more sophisticated understanding of our place in the world. It is this understanding that gives us both responsibility and a response-ability to our human and non-human actors within our earthly entanglement.

Filter clotting with continuous renal replacement therapy in COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) appears to be associated with increased arterial and venous thromboembolic disease. These presumed abnormalities in hemostasis have been associated with filter clotting during continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). We aimed to characterize the burden of CRRT filter clotting in COVID-19 infection and to describe a CRRT anticoagulation protocol that used anti-factor Xa levels for systemic heparin dosing.

Use of a Supportive Kidney Care Video Decision Aid in Older Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: There are few studies of patient-facing decision aids that include supportive kidney care as an option. We tested the efficacy of a video decision aid on knowledge of supportive kidney care among older patients with advanced CKD.

Methods: Participants (age ≥ 65 years with advanced CKD) were randomized to receive verbal or video education.

A Rare Cause of Acute Pancreatitis in a Transgender Female.

Acute pancreatitis is defined as an acute inflammation of the pancreas and is most commonly caused by gallstones and alcohol followed by elevated triglycerides and medications. Estrogen as a cause of secondary hypertriglyceridemic pancreatitis is a rare but known phenomenon in females on hormonal therapy; however, it is not well described in the transgender female population. In this article, we present a case of a 31-year-old transgender female who developed acute, severe pancreatitis after a few months of using estrogen as transition therapy.

High density nanowire electrodes for intracortical microstimulation.

High-density electrodes with the nano feature size greatly enhance resolution and specificity during intracortical microstimulation. In this viewpoint, we fabricated and developed high-density nanowire (NW) electrodes, ~ 2.45×10 / cm that could directly stimulate specific region of the cortex with low current amplitude in the range of 120-180 μA.

Evolving screening and surveillance techniques for Barrett's esophagus.

Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a change in the esophageal lining and is known to be the major precursor lesion for most cases of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Despite an understanding of its association with BE for many years and the falling incidence rates of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, the incidence for EAC continues to rise exponentially. In association with this rising incidence, if the delay in diagnosis of EAC occurs after the onset of symptoms, then the mortality at 5 years is greater than 80%.

Increased Prevalence of Esophageal Eosinophilia in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background: The overlap between eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has not been extensively examined. We aimed to assess the prevalence of esophageal eosinophilia in patients with IBD.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using diagnostic codes to identify adults with EoE and IBD between 2008 and 2016 at a tertiary care center.

Utilization of Point-of-Care Ultrasonography (POCUS) for Small Bowel Obstruction.

Small bowel obstruction is a frequently encountered condition throughout emergency departments and accounts for a large number of surgical hospital admissions. Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) by emergency providers can serve as a valuable tool to assist in prompt and accurate diagnosis, which could potentially reduce the quantity of undesirable effects such as radiation and cost seen with other advanced imaging modalities (e.g.

Development of an electronic health record-based chronic kidney disease registry to promote population health management.

Background: Electronic health record (EHR) based chronic kidney disease (CKD) registries are central to population health strategies to improve CKD care. In 2015, Partners Healthcare System (PHS), encompassing multiple academic and community hospitals and outpatient care facilities in Massachusetts, developed an EHR-based CKD registry to identify opportunities for quality improvement, defined as improvement on both process measures and outcomes measures associated with clinical care.

Methods: Patients are included in the registry based on the following criteria: 1) two estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) results < 60 ml/min/1.

Demystifying the Benefits and Harms of Anticoagulation for Atrial Fibrillation in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Patients with CKD represent a vulnerable population where the risks of atrial fibrillation, ischemic stroke, and bleeding are all heightened. Although large randomized, controlled trials in the general population clearly demonstrate that the benefits of warfarin and direct-acting oral anticoagulants outweigh the risks of bleeding, no such studies have been conducted in patients when their creatinine clearance falls below 25-30 ml/min. Without randomized, controlled trial data, the role of anticoagulation in patients with CKD with atrial fibrillation remains unclear and our practice is informed by a growing body of imperfect literature such as observational and pharmacokinetic studies.