Decoupling of Blacklegged Tick Abundance and Lyme Disease Incidence in Southern Maine, USA.

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt, and Brenner (Spirocheatales: Spirochaetaceae) which is transmitted through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis Say (Ixodida: Ixodidae). Maine, USA, is a high Lyme disease incidence state, with rising incidence of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses associated with increasing I. scapularis abundance and northward range expansion.

An Exploratory Pilot Study of Brain Activation and Functional Connectivity Induced by the "Goldberg" Variations 276 years after their Commission.

Around 1741, composer Johann Sebastian Bach published a long and complicated keyboard piece, calling it Aria with diverse variations for a harpsichord with two manuals. It was the capstone of a publication project called German Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Practice) where Bach wanted to show what was possible at the keyboard in terms of technical development, virtuosic finesse and compositional sophistication. The music is meticulously patterned, beginning with a highly ornamented Aria, the bass line of which fuels the 30 variations that follow.

Utilization of a Diet Optimization Model in Ensuring Adequate Intake among Pregnant Women in Selangor, Malaysia.

Achieving nutritional requirements for pregnant women in rural or suburban households while maintaining the intake of local and culture-specific foods can be difficult. Usage of a linear programming approach can effectively generate diet optimization models that incorporate local and culturally acceptable menus. This study aimed to determine whether a realistic and affordable diet that achieves recommended nutrient intakes for pregnant women could be formulated from locally available foods in Malaysia.

Dexmedetomidine for Improved Quality of Emergence From General Anesthesia: A Dose-Finding Study.

Background: Dexmedetomidine provides smooth and hemodynamically stable emergence at the expense of hypotension, delayed recovery, and sedation. We investigated the optimal dose of dexmedetomidine for prevention of cough, agitation, hypertension, tachycardia, and shivering, with minimal side effects.

Methods: In this prospective, randomized, double-blind trial, 216 adult patients were randomly assigned to dexmedetomidine 1 µg/kg (D 1), 0.

Forskolin-induced swelling of intestinal organoids correlates with disease severity in adults with cystic fibrosis and homozygous F508del mutations.

Background: CFTR function measurements in intestinal organoids may help to better characterise individual disease expression in F508del homozygous people. Our objective was to study correlations between CFTR function as measured with forskolin-induced swelling in rectal organoids with clinical parameters in adult patients with homozygous F508del mutations.

Methods: Multicentre observational study.

[Zr]Zr-cetuximab PET/CT as biomarker for cetuximab monotherapy in patients with RAS wild-type advanced colorectal cancer.

Purpose: One-third of patients with RAS wild-type mCRC do not benefit from anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies. This might be a result of variable pharmacokinetics and insufficient tumor targeting. We evaluated cetuximab tumor accumulation on [Zr]Zr-cetuximab PET/CT as a potential predictive biomarker and determinant for an escalating dosing strategy.

The Severe Typhoid Fever in Africa Program: Study Design and Methodology to Assess Disease Severity, Host Immunity, and Carriage Associated With Invasive Salmonellosis.

Background: Invasive salmonellosis is a common community-acquired bacteremia in persons residing in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is a paucity of data on severe typhoid fever and its associated acute and chronic host immune response and carriage. The Severe Typhoid Fever in Africa (SETA) program, a multicountry surveillance study, aimed to address these research gaps and contribute to the control and prevention of invasive salmonellosis.

Application of three-dimensional printing for pre-operative planning in hip preservation surgery.

Unlabelled: Three-dimensional printing is a valuable modality with broad clinical applications. Hip preservation surgery outcomes are dependent on correction of morphological abnormalities that may be optimally visualized with three-dimensional models. To assess the efficacy of three-dimensional models for patient and trainee education and to determine its benefits during pre-operative planning in hip preservation surgery.

Similarity of individual functional brain connectivity patterns formed by music listening quantified with a data-driven approach.

Introduction: This study aims to explore the similarities in functional connectivity (FC) patterns in individuals when listening to different music genres and, in comparison, to the spoken word, using a novel data-driven approach. Our model and findings can potentially be utilized for evaluating the neurological effects of therapeutic music interventions.

Materials And Methods: Twelve healthy volunteers listened to seven different sound tracks while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans: music of the volunteer's choice with positive emotional attachment, two selections of unfamiliar classical music, one classical piece repeated with visual guidance and three spoken language tracks.

First Evidence for a Dose-Response Relationship in Patients Treated with Ho Radioembolization: A Prospective Study.

Ho-microspheres have recently been approved for clinical use for hepatic radioembolization in the European Union. The aim of this study was to investigate the absorbed dose-response relationship and its association with overall survival for Ho radioembolization in patients with liver metastases. Patients treated in the HEPAR I and II studies who underwent an F-FDG PET/CT scan at baseline, a posttreatment Ho SPECT/CT scan, and another F-FDG PET/CT scan at the 3-mo follow-up were included for analysis.

Effective neutralization of chemical warfare agents (HD, VX) by Me-DABCOF: a small molecule with dual action.

The ability of mono N-methyl-1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane fluoride (Me-DABCOF, 1) to act as a bifunctional reagent that effectively and universally neutralizes both the persistent and extremely toxic blister agent HD and the nerve agent VX in nearly neutral aqueous solution, alumina powder or a hydrogel formulation, is described.

An Algorithmic Information Calculus for Causal Discovery and Reprogramming Systems.

We introduce and develop a method that demonstrates that the algorithmic information content of a system can be used as a steering handle in the dynamical phase space, thus affording an avenue for controlling and reprogramming systems. The method consists of applying a series of controlled interventions to a networked system while estimating how the algorithmic information content is affected. We demonstrate the method by reconstructing the phase space and their generative rules of some discrete dynamical systems (cellular automata) serving as controlled case studies.

Publisher Correction: Migrasome formation is mediated by assembly of micron-scale tetraspanin macrodomains.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Tumor Seeding During Colonoscopy as a Possible Cause for Metachronous Colorectal Cancer.

Background And Aims: In patients who have undergone surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC), 3% have recurrence of (metachronous) CRC. We investigated whether tumor seeding during colonoscopy (iatrogenic implantation of tumor cells in damaged mucosa) increases risk for metachronous CRC.

Methods: In a proof of principle study, we collected data from the Dutch National Pathology Registry for patients with a diagnosis of CRC from 2013 through 2015, with a second diagnosis of CRC within 6 months to 3.

Therapeutic use of regulatory T cells for graft-versus-host disease.

Regulatory T cells (Treg cells) represent a CD4 T-cell lineage that plays a critical role in restraining immune responses to self and foreign antigens and associated inflammation. Due to the suppressive function of Treg cells, inhibition or ablation of these cells can be used to boost the immunity against malignant cells. On the other hand, augmenting the activity of Treg cells can be employed for the treatment of inflammatory or autoimmune diseases and allogeneic conflicts associated with transplantation.

Cross-sectional study of IgG antibody levels to invasive nontyphoidal LPS O-antigen with age in Uganda.

Invasive nontyphoidal (iNTS) disease is a major cause of deaths among children and HIV-infected individuals in sub-Saharan Africa. Acquisition of IgG to iNTS lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen in Malawi in early childhood corresponds with a fall in cases of iNTS disease suggesting that vaccines able to induce such antibodies could confer protection. To better understand the acquisition of IgG to iNTS in other African settings, we performed a cross-sectional seroepidemiological study using sera from 1090 Ugandan individuals aged from infancy to old age.

Migrasome formation is mediated by assembly of micron-scale tetraspanin macrodomains.

Migrasomes are recently discovered cellular organelles that form as large vesicle-like structures on retraction fibres of migrating cells. While the process of migrasome formation has been described before, the molecular mechanism underlying migrasome biogenesis remains unclear. Here, we propose that the mechanism of migrasome formation consists of the assembly of tetraspanin- and cholesterol-enriched membrane microdomains into micron-scale macrodomains, which swell into migrasomes.

What is the real number of Lyme disease cases in Canada?

Background: Lyme disease is emerging in Canada due to expansion of the range of the tick vector Ixodes scapularis from the United States. National surveillance for human Lyme disease cases began in Canada in 2009. Reported numbers of cases increased from 144 cases in 2009 to 2025 in 2017.

Prevalence and Genetic Characterization of Deer Tick Virus (Powassan Virus, Lineage II) in Ticks Collected in Maine.

Deer tick virus (DTV) is a genetic variant of Powassan virus (POWV) that circulates in North America in an enzootic cycle involving the blacklegged or "deer tick," , and small rodents such as the white-footed mouse. The number of reported human cases with neuroinvasive disease has increased substantially over the past few years, indicating that POWV may be of increasing public health importance. To this end, we sought to estimate POWV infection rates in questing collected from four health districts in Maine (York, Cumberland, Midcoast, and Central Maine).

The Changing Role of Gene-Expression Profiling in the Era of De-escalating Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Early-Stage Breast Cancer.

Purpose: We assessed the recent trends in the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy thereby evaluating the role of the 70-gene signature (70-GS) testing in decision-making in the systemic treatment of patients with lymph node negative (N0) and lymph node positive (N+) breast cancer.

Methods: Patients with a national guideline directed indication for 70-GS use treated between 2013 and 2016 were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Time trends in the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy were evaluated within guideline- and age-delineated subgroups.

A review of United States endovenous ablation practice trends from the Medicare Data Utilization and Payment Database.

Objective: The growth of endovenous ablation in the United States over the last few years has raised concerns of overuse by many vascular societies and payers. Reasons for such growth are unclear (ie, increased awareness, less invasive procedure, or inappropriate overuse). The Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment database was analyzed to define metrics of current practice trends in Medicare patients by providers.

Organoids from colorectal peritoneal metastases as a platform for improving hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

Background: Patients with peritoneal metastases from colorectal cancer have a poor prognosis. If the intraperitoneal tumour load is limited, patients may be eligible for cytoreductive surgery followed by hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). This treatment has improved overall survival, but recurrence rates are high.

Diet optimization using linear programming to develop low cost cancer prevention food plan for selected adults in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Background: Poor dietary habits have been identified as one of the cancer risks factors in various epidemiological studies. Consumption of healthy and balance diet is crucial to reduce cancer risk. Cancer prevention food plan should consist of all the right amounts of macronutrients and micronutrients.