Low rates of aortic surveillance imaging and clinical follow-up in patients with acute aortic dissection.

Objectives: Patients that survive acute aortic dissection (AD) remain at high risk of morbidity/mortality from structural changes of the aorta. Aortic surveillance is challenging, especially within a tertiary referral center. Our aim was to identify follow-up imaging and appointment rates, and factors associated with incomplete surveillance in patients with acute AD.

Experience of Intimate Partner Violence and Non-Partner Sexual Violence in Conflict-Affected Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This review aims to contribute to the understanding of violence against women and girls in conflict-affected and fragile settings through a systematic review and meta-analysis to document the available evidence on the prevalence of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence during periods of armed conflict and in post-conflict periods. A total of 45 studies were included. Inclusion criteria were: population-based, observational studies that collected quantitative data with women (aged 15 years or older), included prevalence data on intimate partner violence or sexual violence, was collected in a conflict-affected context (active conflict or within 10 years after conflict) and was self-reported by women themselves.

iPSC-Derived Epithelial, Mesenchymal, Endothelial, and Immune Cell Co-Culture to Model Airway Barrier Integrity in Lung Health and Disease.

Human lung tissue is composed of an interconnected network of epithelium, mesenchyme, endothelium, and immune cells from the upper airway of the nasopharynx to the smallest alveolar sac. Interactions between these cells are crucial in lung development and disease, acting as a barrier against harmful chemicals and pathogens. Current in vitro co-culture models utilize immortalized cell lines with different biological backgrounds, which may not accurately represent the cellular milieu or interactions of the lung.

Deleterious Impacts of Western diet on Jejunum Function and Health are Reversible.

The goal of this study was to determine whether the influence of high-fat high-sugar diet (Western diet) on intestinal function and health was reversible. We measured transepithelial short circuit current (Isc), across freshly isolated segments of jejunum from male C57Bl/6J mice randomly assigned to one of the following groups for the study duration: high-fat high-sugar diet for 24-weeks (HFHS), HFHS diet for 12-weeks then switched to standard chow and water for a further 12 weeks (Std), and lean controls (standard chow and water for 24-weeks). At the completion of the study, segments of jejunum were frozen for western blot determination of key proteins involved in secretory and absorptive functions, as well as senescence.

Specialization of the brain for language in children with Fragile X Syndrome: a functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy study.

Specialization of the brain for language is early emerging and essential for language learning in young children. Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is a neurogenetic disorder marked by high rates of delays in both expressive and receptive language, but neural activation patterns during speech and language processing are unknown. We report results of a functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) study of responses to speech and nonspeech sounds in the auditory cortex in a sample of 2- to 10-year-old children with FXS and typically developing controls (FXS n = 23, TDC n = 15, mean age = 6.