Associations between blood sex hormones, cognitive decline and incident dementia in community-dwelling older Australian women: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: Whether blood sex hormone concentrations predict cognitive decline and incident dementia in older women is uncertain. The Sex Hormones in Older Women (SHOW) study is a prospective cohort study of Australian women, aged at least 70 years, without cognitive impairment.

Methods: Sex hormones were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and comprehensive cognitive testing was performed at baseline and 3 years later.

Stakeholder Views on Novel Consent Forms for an Acute Stroke Trial.

Lengthy consent forms are poorly suited for clinical trials in emergency contexts; however, innovations in consent processes are challenging to implement. A previously developed, context-sensitive consent form and information sheet were approved by a single institutional review board (sIRB) of record for use in a multisite stroke treatment clinical trial. This study sought views on using these materials by research teams and representatives from local institutional review boards (IRBs) and human research protection programs (HRPPs).

Emerging algorithmic bias: fairness drift as the next dimension of model maintenance and sustainability.

Objectives: While performance drift of clinical prediction models is well-documented, the potential for algorithmic biases to emerge post-deployment has had limited characterization. A better understanding of how temporal model performance may shift across subpopulations is required to incorporate fairness drift into model maintenance strategies.

Materials And Methods: We explore fairness drift in a national population over 11 years, with and without model maintenance aimed at sustaining population-level performance.

Phosphorus trends and hot spots-a spatio-temporal data analysis of phosphorus derived from Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) farms (Florida, USA).

The Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) in South Florida (USA) is a recognized source of total phosphorus (TP) that has impacted downstream oligotrophic Everglades marshes. Treatment wetlands, called stormwater treatment areas (STAs), were constructed and subsequently expanded to remediate EAA-derived TP, ideally yielding long-term outflow concentrations to the Everglades Protection Area (EvPA) of 13 µg/L TP or less. To date, TP-remediation has been insufficient relative to TP loads discharged from some EAA basins.

Extended-Release Buprenorphine Could Overcome Barriers to Medical Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in At-Risk Populations.

Description This article discusses how monthly extended-release buprenorphine can be used to improve the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). In particular, the use of monthly extended-release buprenorphine holds promise for patients who have recently been released from jail or prison and are battling OUD, those who are unstable and continue to use opioids illicitly, patients who are experiencing homelessness while also struggling with OUD, and those who are stable and want to be weaned off buprenorphine.

Cerebral Edema Progression and Outcomes in Large Infarct Patients Undergoing Endovascular Thrombectomy.

Objective: The goal was to analyze the progression of cerebral edema post-endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in large infarcts and its association with functional outcomes.

Methods: A secondary analysis of the Endovascular Therapy in Acute Anterior Circulation Large Vessel Occlusive Patients with a Large Infarct Core trial was conducted in patients with large ischemic cores randomized to receive either EVT or medical management (MM) alone. Patients who had follow-up imaging within 7 days post-randomization were involved.

Nucleoredoxin regulates WNT signaling during pituitary stem cell differentiation.

Nucleoredoxin (Nxn) encodes a multi-functional enzyme with oxidoreductase activity that regulates many different signaling pathways and cellular processes in a redox-dependent manner. Rare NXN mutations are reported in individuals with recessive Robinow syndrome, which involves mesomelic skeletal dysplasia, short stature, craniofacial dysmorphisms, and incompletely penetrant heart and palate defects. Here we report that Nxn is expressed in the ventral diencephalon and developing pituitary gland, and that Nxn deficient mice have pituitary dysmorphology and craniofacial abnormalities that include defects in the skull base and cleft palate.

Enhancing Health Equity through Virtual Reality: Mobile Diagnostic Technologies.

This paper presents a Virtual Reality (VR) experience, specifically tailored for product design, ergonomic assessment, and spatial configuration of advanced, compact imaging technologies in emergency vehicles. The study explores the potential of VR as a simulation tool for the development of a state-of-the-art MRI scanner designed for environments where weight and space are limiting factors. Using VR, we investigate a methodology to evaluate the ergonomic viability and integration efficiency of these devices within a mobile medical context.

Exploring heterogeneity in the associations between menopausal status and depression: a cross-sectional study with a unique analytical approach.

Objectives: The extent to which menopause status contributes to depressive symptoms remains controversial. This study aimed to examine associations between menopausal status and depressive symptoms and the heterogeneity in these associations.

Methods: We conducted three consecutive national surveys of community-dwelling Australian women aged 18-79 years between October 2013 and July 2017.

Detecting Opioid Use Disorder in Health Claims Data With Positive Unlabeled Learning.

Accurate detection and prevalence estimation of behavioral health conditions, such as opioid use disorder (OUD), are crucial for identifying at-risk individuals, determining treatment needs, monitoring prevention and intervention efforts, and recruiting treatment-naive participants for clinical trials. The availability of extensive health data, combined with advancements in machine learning (ML) frameworks, has enabled researchers to employ various ML techniques to predict or identify OUD within patient health data. Ideally, we could directly estimate the prevalence, or the proportion of a population with a condition over time.

Adapting a Risk Prediction Tool for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome.

Background: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends up to 7 days of observation for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) in infants with chronic opioid exposure. However, many of these infants will not develop NOWS, and infants with seemingly less exposure to opioids may develop severe NOWS that requires in-hospital pharmacotherapy. We adapted and validated a prediction model to help clinicians identify infants at birth who will develop severe NOWS.

Identification of pyrimidine structure-based compounds as allosteric ligands of the dopamine transporter as therapeutic agents for NeuroHIV.

The disruption of dopamine (DA) neurotransmission by the HIV-1 transactivator of transcription (Tat) during HIV-1 infection has been linked to the development of neurocognitive disorders, even under combined antiretroviral therapy treatment. We have demonstrated that Southern Research Institute (SRI) 32742, a novel allosteric modulator of DA transporter (DAT), attenuates cocaine- and Tat-binding to DAT, alleviates Tat-induced cognitive deficits and potentiation of cocaine reward in inducible Tat transgenic mice. The current study determined the in vitro pharmacological profile of SRI-32743 and its optimized second-generation analogs and their effects as allosteric modulators.

First professional year student Pharmacists' approaches to resolving drug diversion incidents in a community pharmacy simulation.

Introduction: Drug diversion, the illegal movement or misuse of controlled substances, is a significant public health concern. Pharmacists are crucial in preventing and managing drug diversion but may lack adequate training and confidence in addressing these incidents. This study aimed to evaluate first-year pharmacy students' approaches to resolving drug diversion scenarios using Kings' six models of criminal justice: Medical, Bureaucratic, Status Passage, Power, Due Process, and Crime Control models.

Progression of Otologic and Nasal Symptoms in Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia Throughout Childhood.

Objective: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is characterized by upper and lower airway disease. Multiple studies have demonstrated the progression of pulmonary disease; however, longitudinal changes in the otologic and nasal symptoms have not been well described in patients. This study defines age-related prevalence, age of onset, and age-related trends in self-reported otologic and sinonasal comorbidities in individuals with PCD.

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) increase time to operating room without increasing postoperative hematologic complications in patients with fragility fractures of the proximal femur.

Introduction: Fragility fractures of the proximal femur are common injuries with significant morbidity and mortality. The use of direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) medications is increasing among the elderly and is associated with perioperative bleeding-related complications. The primary aim of this study was to examine how DOAC use affects surgical timing and postoperative hematologic complications in patients treated operatively for fragility fractures of the proximal femur.

Nucleoredoxin regulates WNT signaling during pituitary stem cell differentiation.

Nucleoredoxin () encodes a multi-functional enzyme with oxidoreductase activity that regulates many different signaling pathways and cellular processes in a redox-dependent manner. Rare mutations are reported in individuals with recessive Robinow syndrome, which involves mesomelic skeletal dysplasia, short stature, craniofacial dysmorphisms, and incompletely penetrant heart and palate defects. Here we report that is expressed in the ventral diencephalon and developing pituitary gland, and that deficient mice have pituitary dysmorphology and craniofacial abnormalities that include defects in the skull base and cleft palate.

Prevalence and disease risks for male and female sex chromosome trisomies: a registry-based phenome-wide association study in 1.5 million participants of MVP, FinnGen, and UK Biobank.

Sex chromosome trisomies (SCT) are the most common whole chromosome aneuploidy in humans. Yet, our understanding of the prevalence and associated health outcomes is largely driven by observational studies of clinically diagnosed cases, resulting in a disproportionate focus on 47,XXY and associated hypogonadism. We analyzed microarray intensity data of sex chromosomes for 1.

National Prescribing Practices for Pediatric Dystonia Among Providers in the United States.

While multiple oral medications are used to treat dystonia, limited information exists on current prescribing practices. This study analyzes real-world prescribing practices for pediatric dystonia in the United States, evaluating prescription frequency, dosing, and the impact of comorbidities. Oracle electronic health record real-world data were queried from 2014 to 2019 for encounters of patients under age 18 with a dystonia diagnosis and available medication records.

An improved variant of tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease that does not need reducing agents.

Here we show that a combination of previously suggested mutations for tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease results in a TEV protease mutant that maintains the same catalytic efficiency as previously described mutants but has enhanced stability and solubility. Another advantage of this new variant of TEV protease is that it does not need the inclusion of a reducing agent to maintain its effectiveness, making it easier to generate, store, and use in cleavage reactions compared to previous TEV protease mutants and, in particular, makes it a good choice for cleaving proteins that contain disulfide bonds that would otherwise be altered by the inclusion of a reducing agent. We also provide a straightforward purification protocol for generating this new version of TEV protease.

Cold-induced meiotic nondisjunction in .

Virgin females were kept at near-freezing temperatures for up to one week, whereupon they were mated. Daily collections of offspring showed evidence of spindle malfunction in meiosis, but not in earlier mitoses, despite our usage of a colder temperature (5.5˚C) than previous studies (10˚C).

Research Priorities of Individuals and Families With Sex Chromosome Aneuploidies.

Sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs) are chromosomal variations that result from an atypical number of X and/or Y chromosomes. Combined, SCAs affect ~1/400 live births, including individuals with Klinefelter syndrome (47, XXY), Turner syndrome (45, X and variants), Double Y syndrome (47, XYY), Trisomy X (47, XXX), and rarer tetrasomies and pentasomies. Individuals with SCAs experience a wide variety of physical health, mental health, and healthcare experiences that differ from the standard population.

Detecting atrial fibrillation by artificial intelligence enabled neuroimaging examination.

Background Diagnosis of occult atrial fibrillation (AF) is difficult as it is often asymptomatic, leading to under detection. Current diagnostic tests have variable limitations in feasibility and accuracy. Machine learning is gaining greater traction for clinical decision making and may help facilitate the detection of undiagnosed AF when applied to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Use of Midodrine for Intraoperative Hemostasis in Cutaneous and Percutaneous Surgery.

Owing to the increasingly high volume of cutaneous and percutaneous procedures performed annually, the demand for local anesthesia has steadily risen. The gold-standard formulations for local anesthesia contain epinephrine at a concentration of 1:100,000 added to lidocaine to aid in hemostasis. Epinephrine, an α-agonist, also exhibits off-target β-adrenergic effects that carry risk of adverse events with these injections.

State of the art in menopause: current best practice approaches from the IMS World Congress 2024, Melbourne.

The 19th World Congress on Menopause, hosted by the International Menopause Society in 2024, convened global experts to discuss the latest advances in menopause management. This review highlights key focus areas presented at the congress, offering insights into best practices for clinical application. Cardiovascular health remains a priority, with emphasis on recognizing sex-specific risk factors and exploring emerging therapies.