Low Utility of Routine Thyroid Function Testing for Bowel Symptoms: A Population-Based Assessment.

Background: Chronic constipation, diarrhea, and fecal incontinence (FI) are prevalent with significant impact on quality of life and healthcare utilization. Thyroid dysfunction was recognized as a potential contributor to bowel disturbances in selected populations, but the strength/consistency of this association remain unclear.

Aims: To investigate the relationship between thyroid function and bowel health measures (constipation, diarrhea, and FI) in a nationally representative sample of the U.

Ultrasensitive Detection and Monitoring of Circulating Tumor DNA using Structural Variants in Early-Stage Breast Cancer.

Purpose: The detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) after curative-intent therapy in early breast cancer (EBC) is highly prognostic of disease recurrence. Current ctDNA assays, mainly targeting single nucleotide variants (SNVs), vary in sensitivity and specificity. While increasing the number of SNVs in tumor-informed assays improves sensitivity, structural variants (SVs) may achieve similar or better sensitivity without compromising specificity.

Pathophysiology of Angiotensin II-Mediated Hypertension, Cardiac Hypertrophy, and Failure: A Perspective from Macrophages.

Heart failure is a complex syndrome characterized by cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and diastolic/systolic dysfunction. These changes share many pathological features with significant inflammatory responses in the myocardium. Among the various regulatory systems that impact on these heterogeneous pathological processes, angiotensin II (Ang II)-activated macrophages play a pivotal role in the induction of subcellular defects and cardiac adverse remodeling during the progression of heart failure.

Voluntary activation of maximal single and all finger power grip contractions.

When all four fingers are engaged together during a grip strength contraction, the force produced by an individual finger is less than the force produced when it acts in isolation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the reduced force output of a digit during an all-finger grip contraction is due to a decline in voluntary activation. Fifteen young adults ( = 7 females) completed voluntary contractions of the index finger in isolation and all fingers together in a dynamometer capable of separately recording forces from each finger during voluntary and electrically evoked contractions.

Size of Pelvic Outlet as a Potential Risk Factor of Fecal Incontinence: A Population-Based Exploratory Analysis.

Introduction: The impact of pelvic bone structure on fecal incontinence (FI) is unclear. We assessed the association between weight-adjusted pelvic area and FI.

Methods: This was a population-based analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2005-2006.