Association of malnutrition with surgical outcomes after spine surgery for spinal epidural abscess.

Background: Malnutrition is a predictor of poor surgical outcomes, but its specific effects in spinal epidural abscess (SEA) are understudied. This study aims to assess the association between nutritional status and post-operative outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the 2011-2022 American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database to identify adult SEA patients who underwent spinal surgery.

Racial/Ethnic Associations with Morbidity and Mortality in Adults with Acute Traumatic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association of race with morbidity and mortality in acute cervical spinal cord injury (cSCI) patients.

Summary Of Background Data: Racial disparities in spine surgery are associated with adverse outcomes, however, the impact of race on cSCI is understudied.

Impact of patient age on morbidity and mortality in adults with acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury: An ACS trauma quality programs database study.

Background: This study aimed to examine associations between age and outcomes in acute cervical SCI (cSCI) patients.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Programs database to compare outcomes for acute cSCI patients stratified by age: 18-44, 45-65, and > 65 years. Patient demographics, comorbidities, injury type, treatment modality, AEs, and length of stay (LOS) were assessed.

Association of Safety-Net hospital status and hospital outcomes following ACDF or PCDF for CSM.

Introduction: Safety net hospitals (SNH) serve a large proportion of patients with Medicaid or without insurance. However, few prior studies have addressed the impact of SNH status on outcomes following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) or posterior cervical decompression and fusion (PCDF) for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). The aim of this study was to assess the association between SNH status outcomes following ACDF or PCDF for CSM.

Analysis of short- and delayed unplanned readmission rates after anterior discectomy and fusion for CSM.

Introduction: Many patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) undergo anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Many of these patients are readmitted, but there is no clear understanding of drivers of readmission. The aim of this study was to assess the patient- and hospital-level factors that contribute to 7-, 30-, and 90-day readmissions after treatment of CSM.

Association of ESR1 Germline Variants with TP53 Somatic Variants in Breast Tumors in a Genome-wide Study.

Unlabelled: In breast tumors, somatic mutation frequencies in TP53 and PIK3CA vary by tumor subtype and ancestry. Emerging data suggest tumor mutation status is associated with germline variants and genetic ancestry. We aimed to identify germline variants that are associated with somatic TP53 or PIK3CA mutation status in breast tumors.

Association of germline variants with somatic variants in breast tumors in a genome-wide study.

Background: In breast tumors, somatic mutation frequencies in and vary by tumor subtype and ancestry. HER2 positive and triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) have a higher frequency of somatic mutations than other subtypes. mutations are more frequently observed in hormone receptor positive tumors.

Utilization outcomes of direct oral anticoagulants in Medicare patients.

Objective: To compare the adherence, persistence, discontinuation and switching rates of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for Medicare patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) or venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Methods: This was retrospective observational cohort study design. Medicare Part D claims files were used for the study duration (2015-2018).

Quantification of Elevated Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) Concentration Typical in a Residential Fire Environment Using Mid-IR Tunable Diode Laser.

A versatile portable tunable diode laser based measurement system for measuring elevated concentrations of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in a time-resolved manner is developed for application in the fire environment. The direct absorption tunable diode laser spectroscopy (DA-TDLAS) technique is employed using the R11 absorption line centered at 3345.3 cm (2989.

Experimental data from gas burner fires in residential structure with HVAC system.

The fire modeling community currently lacks full-scale experi- mental data from fires in residential-style structures with heat- ing, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Further, there is an absence of data quantifying the generation of HO due to combustion and the subsequent transport of those gases with a structure. Propane gas burner fire experiments were con- ducted in a purpose-built two-story structure instrumented to measure temperature, pressure, velocity, and gas concentrations.

Therapies, Research Funding, and Racial Diversity in Essential Tremor: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Background: Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common tremor disorders in the world. Despite this, only one medication, propranolol, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat it.

Objectives: We analyzed controlled clinical trials in ET, spanning the last 50 years, to identify potential shortcomings in the therapeutic clinical pipeline.

Antibiotic prescribing trends in the US during the first 11 months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The study aims to compare antibiotic prescribing trends for U.S. COVID-19 patients, categorized by disease severity, and non-COVID-19 population with similar symptoms during 2019-2020 pandemic.

Current and emerging treatment modalities for spinocerebellar ataxias.

Introduction: Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) are a group of rare neurodegenerative diseases that dramatically affect the lives of affected individuals and their families. Despite having a clear understanding of SCA's etiology, there are no current symptomatic or neuroprotective treatments approved by the FDA.

Areas Covered: Research efforts have greatly expanded the possibilities for potential treatments, including both pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.

Emerging therapies in Friedreich's Ataxia.

Introduction: Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that results in gait and limb ataxia, diabetes, cardiac hypertrophy, and scoliosis. At the cellular level, FRDA results in the deficiency of frataxin, a mitochondrial protein that plays a vital role in iron homeostasis and amelioration of oxidative stress. No cure currently exists for FRDA, but exciting therapeutic developments which target different parts of the pathological cascade are on the horizon.

Management of Early Parkinson Disease.

Early Parkinson disease is the approximate time period between initial diagnosis and the onset of motor fluctuations. Treatment requires an integrative approach, including identification of motor and nonmotor symptoms, choice of pharmacologic treatment, and emphasis on exercise. Patients should be treated for motor symptoms, whereas medications may be delayed for milder symptoms.

Orphan Drugs In Development For The Treatment Of Friedreich's Ataxia: Focus On Omaveloxolone.

Friedreich's Ataxia (FRDA) is a devastating and progressive ataxia, marked by mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Nrf2 activators such as omaveloxolone (Omav) modulate antioxidative mechanisms, and thus may be viable therapeutic agents in FRDA.

Stem cell therapy for abrogating stroke-induced neuroinflammation and relevant secondary cell death mechanisms.

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death worldwide. A key secondary cell death mechanism mediating neurological damage following the initial episode of ischemic stroke is the upregulation of endogenous neuroinflammatory processes to levels that destroy hypoxic tissue local to the area of insult, induce apoptosis, and initiate a feedback loop of inflammatory cascades that can expand the region of damage. Stem cell therapy has emerged as an experimental treatment for stroke, and accumulating evidence supports the therapeutic efficacy of stem cells to abrogate stroke-induced inflammation.

Immunophenotyping and Transcriptomic Outcomes in PDX-Derived TNBC Tissue.

Cancer tissue functions as an ecosystem of a diverse set of cells that interact in a complex tumor microenvironment. Genomic tools applied to biopsies in bulk fail to account for this tumor heterogeneity, whereas single-cell imaging methods limit the number of cells which can be assessed or are very resource intensive. The current study presents methods based on flow cytometric analysis and cell sorting using known cell surface markers (CXCR4/CD184, CD24, THY1/CD90) to identify and interrogate distinct groups of cells in triple-negative breast cancer clinical biopsy specimens from patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models.

The use of nanolipoprotein particles to enhance the immunostimulatory properties of innate immune agonists against lethal influenza challenge.

Recent studies have demonstrated that therapies targeting the innate immune system have the potential to provide transient, non-specific protection from a variety of infectious organisms; however, the potential of enhancing the efficacy of such treatments using nano-scale delivery platforms requires more in depth evaluation. As such, we employed a nanolipoprotein (NLP) platform to enhance the efficacy of innate immune agonists. Here, we demonstrate that the synthetic Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) and CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG) can be readily incorporated into NLPs.

Chronic HIV infection enhances the responsiveness of antigen presenting cells to commensal Lactobacillus.

Chronic immune activation despite long-term therapy poses an obstacle to immune recovery in HIV infection. The role of antigen presenting cells (APCs) in chronic immune activation during HIV infection remains to be fully determined. APCs, the frontline of immune defense against pathogens, are capable of distinguishing between pathogens and non-pathogenic, commensal bacteria.

VTX-2337 is a novel TLR8 agonist that activates NK cells and augments ADCC.

Purpose: We aim to characterize VTX-2337, a novel Toll-like receptor (TLR) 8 agonist in clinical development, and investigate its potential to improve monoclonal antibody-based immunotherapy that includes the activation of natural killer (NK) cells.

Experimental Design: HEK-TLR transfectants were used to compare the selectivity and potency of VTX-2337, imiquimod, CpG ODN2006, and CL075. The ability of VTX-2337 to induce cytokine and chemokine production from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and activation of specific immune cell subsets was examined.

[³H]Chiba-1001(methyl-SSR180711) has low in vitro binding affinity and poor in vivo selectivity to nicotinic alpha-7 receptor in rodent brain.

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists active at the alpha-7 (α-7) receptor subtype are potential therapeutics for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and other mental disorders. SSR180711, an α-7 selective partial agonist, has been shown to improve preclinical cognition. A novel positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand, ¹¹C-Chiba1001, is a close analog of SSR180711.

Rapid assessment of in vitro expanded human regulatory T cell function.

Human regulatory T cells (Treg) are able to actively suppress autoreactive immune responses. Phenotypically, they are broadly characterized as CD4+, CD25+, CD127(lo/⁻) and FoxP3+. CD45RA can be used to further differentiate the population into naïve (CD45RA(+)) and induced (CD45RA⁻) Treg.

Precision and linearity targets for validation of an IFNgamma ELISPOT, cytokine flow cytometry, and tetramer assay using CMV peptides.

Background: Single-cell assays of immune function are increasingly used to monitor T cell responses in immunotherapy clinical trials. Standardization and validation of such assays are therefore important to interpretation of the clinical trial data. Here we assess the levels of intra-assay, inter-assay, and inter-operator precision, as well as linearity, of CD8+ T cell IFNgamma-based ELISPOT and cytokine flow cytometry (CFC), as well as tetramer assays.