Intraindividual Comparison of Dose Reduction and Coronary Calcium Scoring Accuracy Using Kilovolt-independent and Tin Filtration CT Protocols.

Purpose To investigate the ability of kilovolt-independent (hereafter, kV-independent) and tin filter spectral shaping to accurately quantify the coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and radiation dose reductions compared with the standard 120-kV CT protocol. Materials and Methods This prospective, blinded reader study included 201 participants (mean age, 60 years ± 9.8 [SD]; 119 female, 82 male) who underwent standard 120-kV CT and additional kV-independent and tin filter research CT scans from October 2020 to July 2021.

Outcomes of atypical (B3) core biopsy lesions diagnosed across BreastScreen NSW, Australia.

Introduction: Atypical or B3 lesions comprise a heterogeneous group of uncertain malignant potential. B3 lesions diagnosed on core biopsy are usually recommended for diagnostic open biopsy. Identifying factors which could allow conservative management of B3 lesions would be helpful in avoiding unnecessary surgery.

Herpes simplex virus infection induces necroptosis of neurons and astrocytes in human fetal organotypic brain slice cultures.

Background: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis (HSE) is a serious and potentially life-threatening disease, affecting both adults and newborns. Progress in understanding the virus and host factors involved in neonatal HSE has been hampered by the limitations of current brain models that do not fully recapitulate the tissue structure and cell composition of the developing human brain in health and disease. Here, we developed a human fetal organotypic brain slice culture (hfOBSC) model and determined its value in mimicking the HSE neuropathology in vitro.

A developmentally defined population of neurons in the lateral septum controls responses to aversive stimuli.

When interacting with their environment, animals must balance exploratory and defensive behavior to evaluate and respond to potential threats. The lateral septum (LS) is a structure in the ventral forebrain that calibrates the magnitude of behavioral responses to stress-related external stimuli, including the regulation of threat avoidance. The complex connectivity between the LS and other parts of the brain, together with its largely unexplored neuronal diversity, makes it difficult to understand how defined LS circuits control specific behaviors.

Health care resource utilization in 3L + patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia receiving asciminib or bosutinib.

Objectives: To assess and compare health care resource utilization (HCRU) rates of asciminib and bosutinib at the Week 24, Week 48, and Week 96 cutoffs among 3 L + patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP) in the randomized ASCEMBL trial.

Methods: Patients in the ASCEMBL trial (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03106779) were randomized to receive asciminib 40 mg twice daily ( = 157) or bosutinib 500 mg once daily ( = 76).

A facile method for rejuvenating the bonding efficacy of root canal sealer-smeared dentine.

Objectives: To examine the efficacy of glycine powder air-polishing on cleaning root canal sealer-smeared dentine.

Methods: Dentine surfaces were contaminated with a smear of epoxy resin-based sealer or tricalcium silicate-based sealer. The contaminated surfaces were cleaned with saline, 75% ethanol, or air-polishing with glycine powder.

Impact of Disease Progression, Line of Therapy, and Response on Health-Related Quality of Life in Multiple Myeloma: A Systematic Literature Review.

This systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to better understand the impact of disease progression, line of therapy, and clinical response on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Multiple databases were searched to identify records relating to HRQoL in adult patients with MM. Titles and abstracts were independently screened by 2 reviewers for inclusion based on pre-defined criteria.

Low Levels of RSV Testing Among Adults Hospitalized for Lower Respiratory Tract Infection in the United States.

Introduction: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI)-related hospitalizations in older adults. Without RSV-specific treatment for adults, testing is uncommon, leading to potential underestimation of RSV incidence in real-world data studies. This study aimed to quantify the frequency of RSV testing during LRTI-related hospitalizations of older adults to inform interpretation of incidence estimates.

Annual Cardiovascular-Related Hospitalization Days Avoided with Tafamidis in Patients with Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) experience infiltrative cardiomyopathy and heart failure symptoms requiring costly hospitalizations. The Transthyretin Amyloidosis Cardiomyopathy Clinical Trial (ATTR-ACT) demonstrated the efficacy of tafamidis on the frequency of cardiovascular (CV)-related hospitalizations in patients with ATTR-CM.

Purpose: As length of stay can affect the total hospitalization burden, our study aimed to better understand the impact of tafamidis on the number of CV-related hospital days avoided in the management of ATTR-CM patients.

Astrocyte-neuron crosstalk through Hedgehog signaling mediates cortical synapse development.

Neuron-glia interactions play a critical role in the regulation of synapse formation and circuit assembly. Here we demonstrate that canonical Sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway signaling in cortical astrocytes acts to coordinate layer-specific synaptic connectivity. We show that the Shh receptor Ptch1 is expressed by cortical astrocytes during development and that Shh signaling is necessary and sufficient to promote the expression of genes involved in regulating synaptic development and layer-enriched astrocyte molecular identity.

Systematic literature review of evidence in amyloid light-chain amyloidosis.

Treatment of amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis, a rare disease with a <5-year lifespan, remains challenging. This systematic literature review (SLR) aimed to evaluate the current evidence base in AL amyloidosis. Literature searches on clinical, health-related quality of life, economic and resource use evidence were conducted using the Embase, MEDLINE and Cochrane databases as well as gray literature.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor and Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Use Associated with Reduced Mortality and Other Disease Outcomes in US Veterans with COVID-19.

Objective: To determine the association between angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) use and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and outcomes in US veterans.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively examined 27,556 adult US veterans who tested positive for COVID-19 between March to November 2020. Logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models using propensity score (PS) for weight, adjustment, and matching were used to examine the odds of an event within 60 days following a COVID-19-positive case date and time to death, respectively, according to ACEI and/or ARB prescription within 6 months prior to the COVID-19-positive case date.

No evidence of aberrant amyloid β and phosphorylated tau expression in herpes simplex virus-infected neurons of the trigeminal ganglia and brain.

Increasing evidence supports the role of neurotropic herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, it is unclear whether previously reported findings in HSV-1 cell culture and animal models can be translated to humans. Here, we analyzed clinical specimens from latently HSV-1 infected individuals and individuals with lytic HSV infection of the brain (herpes simplex encephalitis; HSE).

Comparable Infection Level and Tropism of Measles Virus and Canine Distemper Virus in Organotypic Brain Slice Cultures Obtained from Natural Host Species.

Measles virus (MV) and canine distemper virus (CDV) are closely related members of the family , genus . MV infection of humans and non-human primates (NHPs) results in a self-limiting disease, which rarely involves central nervous system (CNS) complications. In contrast, infection of carnivores with CDV usually results in severe disease, in which CNS complications are common and the case-fatality rate is high.

Economic Model to Evaluate the Cost-Effectiveness of Second-Line Nilotinib Versus Dasatinib for the Treatment of Philadelphia Chromosome-Positive Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML-CP) in Italy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost effectiveness of second-line nilotinib versus dasatinib for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP) patients who are intolerant or resistant to imatinib and can transition to treatment-free remission (TFR).

Methods: A partitioned survival model was developed to compare the cost effectiveness of nilotinib versus dasatinib. The model was developed from the Italian healthcare payer perspective and included the following health states: on second-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), off second-line TKI, accelerated phase/blastic crisis, TFR, and death.

Arrdc4-dependent extracellular vesicle biogenesis is required for sperm maturation.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are important players in cell to cell communication in reproductive systems. Notably, EVs have been found and characterized in the male reproductive tract, however, direct functional evidence for their importance in mediating sperm function is lacking. We have previously demonstrated that Arrdc4, a member of the α-arrestin protein family, is involved in extracellular vesicle biogenesis and release.

High-yield preparation of edge-functionalized and water dispersible few-layers of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) by direct wet chemical exfoliation.

Owing to many fascinating properties including high thermal and chemical stability, excellent electrical insulation, fire-retardant and antibacterial properties, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has emerged as a prominent 2D material for broad applications. However, the production of high quality of hBN by chemical exfoliation from its precursor is still challenging. This paper presents a high-yield (+83%), low-cost and energy-efficient wet chemical exfoliation strategy, which produces few-layers (FL, 3-6 layers) of edge-functionalized (OH) hBN nanosheets with uniform size (486 ± 51 nm).

Metal-chelating benzothiazole multifunctional compounds for the modulation and Cu PET imaging of Aβ aggregation.

While Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, there is still a dearth of efficient therapeutic and diagnostic agents for this disorder. Reported herein are a series of new multifunctional compounds (MFCs) with appreciable affinity for amyloid aggregates that can be potentially used for both the modulation of Aβ aggregation and its toxicity, as well as positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of Aβ aggregates. Firstly, among the six compounds tested is shown to be capable to reroute the toxic Cu-mediated Aβ oligomerization into the formation of less toxic amyloid fibrils.

Health impact of tafamidis in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy patients: an analysis from the Tafamidis in Transthyretin Cardiomyopathy Clinical Trial (ATTR-ACT) and the open-label long-term extension studies.

Aim: The Tafamidis in Transthyretin Cardiomyopathy Clinical Trial (ATTR-ACT) showed that tafamidis reduced all-cause mortality and cardiovascular-related hospitalizations in patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). This study aimed to estimate the impact of tafamidis on survival and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs).

Methods And Results: A multi-state, cohort, Markov model was developed to simulate the disease course of ATTR-CM throughout a lifetime.

Estimating the annual economic burden for the management of patients with transthyretin amyloid polyneuropathy in Spain.

: Transthyretin amyloid polyneuropathy (ATTR-PN) is a fatal disease associated with substantial burden of illness. Three therapies are approved by the European Medicines Agency for the management of this rare disease. The aim of this study was to compare the total annual treatment specific cost per-patient associated with ATTR-PN in Spain.

Prenatal correction of IGF2 to rescue the growth phenotypes in mouse models of Beckwith-Wiedemann and Silver-Russell syndromes.

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) and Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS) are imprinting disorders manifesting as aberrant fetal growth and severe postnatal-growth-related complications. Based on the insulator model, one-third of BWS cases and two-thirds of SRS cases are consistent with misexpression of insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), an important facilitator of fetal growth. We propose that the IGF2-dependent BWS and SRS cases can be identified by prenatal diagnosis and can be prevented by prenatal intervention targeting IGF2.

A Unique Synthesis of Macroporous N-Doped Carbon Composite Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Macroporous carbon materials (MCMs) are used extensively for many electrocatalytic applications, particularly as catalysts for oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs)-for example, in fuel cells. However, complex processes are currently required for synthesis of MCMs. We present a rapid and facile synthetic approach to produce tailored MCMs efficiently via pyrolysis of sulfonated aniline oligomers (SAOs).