Assessing vaccine-induced immunity against pneumococcus, hepatitis A and B over a 9-year follow-up in pediatric liver transplant recipients: A nationwide retrospective study.

Pediatric liver transplant recipients are particularly at risk of infections. The most cost-effective way to prevent infectious complications is through vaccination, which can potentially prevent infections due to hepatitis B (HBV) virus, hepatitis A virus (HAV), and invasive pneumococcal diseases. Here, we performed a retrospective analysis of HBV, HAV, and pneumococcal immunity in pediatric liver transplant recipients between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2020, to collect data on immunization and vaccine serology.

[Experimental and numerical investigation of fluid-particle-interactions in water].

For the development of improved sediment transport models, the basic understanding of the interaction between the solid particle and the moving fluid (water) is important. In this article, current developments in the field of fluid-particle interaction are presented based on two research articles by Gold et al. (2023) and Worf et al.

[Movement of a fluvial particle under the influence of coherent structures].

In a fundamental study the influence of coherent structures on the incipient motion of single fluvial grain was experimentally investigated. To fully characterize coherent structures, the three-dimensional velocity field must be known with high temporal resolution. Using a tr-3D PTV system (tr = time-resolved, PTV = particle tracking velocimetry) this could be achieved.

IRONMAN: A Novel International Registry of Men With Advanced Prostate Cancer.

Purpose: To describe a newly established international registry recruiting diverse patients with advanced prostate cancer across academic and community practices to address unmet needs in this population.

Patients And Methods: Initiated in 2017, IRONMAN (International Registry for Men with Advanced Prostate Cancer) is a prospective cohort of patients with advanced prostate cancer. The study will enroll 5,000 patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) or castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), recruited from Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Exhaled Breath Aerosol Shedding of Highly Transmissible Versus Prior Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants.

Background: Aerosol inhalation is recognized as the dominant mode of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission. Three highly transmissible lineages evolved during the pandemic. One hypothesis to explain increased transmissibility is that natural selection favors variants with higher rates of viral aerosol shedding.

Leadership Empowerment Behavior and Psychiatric Nurses' Intent to Leave.

There is a shortage of registered nurses (RNs) who work in the specialty of Psychiatric-Mental Health (PMH). Attrition among Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses (PMHNs) may be related to a lack of leadership empowerment which includes autonomy and access to professional development opportunities. The purposes of this study, guided by Kanter's theory of structural empowerment, were to determine (a) if there was a relationship between leadership empowerment behavior and PMH RNs' intent to leave within the first 2 years of practice in inpatient psychiatric settings and (b) if there was a relationship between leadership empowerment behavior and intent to leave among this population who are in their first 2 years of practice, based on RN demographics.

Application of the Quadruple Aim to evaluate the operational impact of a telemedicine program.

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine utilization has increased dramatically, yet most institutions lack a standardized approach to determine how much to invest in these programs.

Methods: We used the Quadruple Aim to evaluate the operational impact of CardioClick, a program replacing in-person follow-up visits with video visits in a preventive cardiology clinic. We examined data for 134 patients enrolled in CardioClick with 181 video follow-up visits and 276 patients enrolled in the clinic's traditional prevention program with 694 in-person follow-up visits.

Development of the Gastrointestinal Dysfunction Score (GIDS) for critically ill patients - A prospective multicenter observational study (iSOFA study).

Background & Aims: To develop a five grade score (0-4 points) for the assessment of gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction in adult critically ill patients.

Methods: This prospective multicenter observational study enrolled consecutive adult patients admitted to 11 intensive care units in nine countries. At all sites, daily clinical data with emphasis on GI clinical symptoms were collected and intra-abdominal pressure measured.

Tackling Diversity in Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials: A Report From the Diversity Working Group of the IRONMAN Registry.

Prostate cancer disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minority populations. Reasons for disparate outcomes among minority patients are multifaceted and complex, involving factors at the patient, provider, and system levels. Although advancements in our understanding of disease biology have led to novel therapeutics for men with advanced prostate cancer, including the introduction of biomarker-driven therapeutics, pivotal translational studies and clinical trials are underrepresented by minority populations.

Impact of fractures on quality of life in patients with osteoporosis: a US cross-sectional survey.

To evaluate the impact of osteoporosis-related fractures on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Data were obtained from the 2016 Adelphi US Osteoporosis Disease Specific Programme™, a cross-sectional survey of physicians and their male and female patients with osteoporosis. Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) measures included the European Quality of Life 5 Domains (EQ-5D), European Quality of Life Visual Analog Scale (EQ-VAS), and Osteoporosis Assessment Questionnaire short-version (OPAQ-SV; physical, emotional, and symptom domains).

Palmitic Acid Reduces Circulating Bone Formation Markers in Obese Animals and Impairs Osteoblast Activity via C16-Ceramide Accumulation.

Obesity and impaired lipid metabolism increase circulating and local fatty acid (FA) levels. Our previous studies showed that a high high-saturated -fat diet induced greater bone loss in mice than a high high-unsaturated-fat diet due to increased osteoclast numbers and activity. The impact of elevated FA levels on osteoblasts is not yet clear.

Diet-Induced Obesity and Its Differential Impact on Periodontal Bone Loss.

Obesity is associated with abnormal lipid metabolism and impaired bone homeostasis. The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of specific elevated fatty acid (FA) levels on alveolar bone loss in a Porphyromonas gingivalis-induced model of periodontal disease and to analyze underlying cellular mechanisms in bone-resorbing osteoclasts and bone-forming osteoblasts in mice. Four-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided in groups and subjected to a palmitic acid (PA)- or oleic acid (OA)-enriched high-fat diet (HFD) (20% of calories from FA) or a normal caloric diet (C group) (10% of calories from FA) for 16 wk.

Identification of a nuclear export sequence in the MHC CIITA.

Initiation of an immune response through expression of MHC class II and related genes is under the control of the CIITA. Normally found in both the cytoplasm and nucleus, CIITA is tightly controlled by a variety of posttranslational modifications as well as interactions with other nuclear and cytoplasmic factors, whereas disruption of this dual subcellular localization impairs CIITA functioning and expression of target genes. Although CIITA has well-defined domains necessary for its nuclear import, the region responsible for the translocation of CIITA from the nucleus has not been characterized.

Diffusion-tensor imaging implicates prefrontal axonal injury in executive function impairment following very mild traumatic brain injury.

Purpose: To determine whether frontal white matter diffusion abnormalities can help predict acute executive function impairment after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Materials And Methods: This study had institutional review board approval, included written informed consent, and complied with HIPAA. Diffusion-tensor imaging and standardized neuropsychologic assessments were performed in 20 patients with mTBI within 2 weeks of injury and 20 matched control subjects.

Diffusion tensor imaging abnormalities in patients with mild traumatic brain injury and neurocognitive impairment.

Objective: To determine if diffusion tensor imaging can differentiate patients with chronic cognitive impairment after mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) from normal controls.

Methods: Ten patients with persistent cognitive impairment after mild TBI were evaluated at least 2 years after injury. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured at white matter regions susceptible to axonal injury after TBI.

Multifocal white matter ultrastructural abnormalities in mild traumatic brain injury with cognitive disability: a voxel-wise analysis of diffusion tensor imaging.

The purpose of the present study is to identify otherwise occult white matter abnormalities in patients suffering persistent cognitive impairment due to mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study had Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, included informed consent and complied with the U.S.

CT-guided radiofrequency ablation in the palliative treatment of recurrent advanced head and neck malignancies.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of computed tomography (CT)-guided radiofrequency (RF) ablation in the palliative treatment of recurrent advanced head and neck cancers.

Materials And Methods: From November 2002 to January 2005, the authors identified 14 patients (median age, 61 years) with 14 recurrent advanced primary head and neck malignancies who underwent 27 CT-guided RF ablation applications during 20 sessions at their institution. RF ablation was performed in all patients with the intent of palliative therapy.

Evidence for physical interaction between the immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region and the 3' regulatory region.

B cell-specific expression of immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) genes utilizes two cis regulatory regions, the intronic enhancer (Emicro), located in the J(H)-Cmicro intron, and a complex regulatory region that lies 3' to the IgH gene cluster, 3' RR. We hypothesized that the 3' RR is involved in IgH gene transcription in plasma cells via physical interaction between distal 3' RR enhancers and target V(H) sequences, with loop formation by intervening DNA. In support of this hypothesis we report sequence data at DNA recombination breakpoints as evidence for loop formation preceding DNA inversion in a plasma cell line.

Mediation of the in vitro cytotoxicity of green and black tea polyphenols by cobalt chloride.

The effects of Co2+ (as CoCl2) on the cytotoxicity of green tea polyphenol (GTP) and black tea polyphenol (BTP) extracts towards proliferation of immortalized human gingival epithelial-like S-G cells were studied. The 24 h potencies of GTP and BTP extracts, as determined with the neutral red (NR) cell viability assay, were greatly reduced in the presence of 250, but not of 50, microM Co2+. The cytotoxicities of the GTP and BTP extracts were due, in part, to their generation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the cell culture medium (DMEM).

Effective desensitization protocol to paclitaxel following hypersensitivity reaction.

The objective of this paper is to describe our experience with a desensitization protocol to paclitaxel using the original paclitaxel solution in patients following severe hypersensitivity reactions. A retrospective review of 75 consecutive patients with ovarian cancer who received intravenous paclitaxel-based chemotherapy between January 1996 and May 1998 at the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Meir Hospital-Sapir Medical Center, Kfar-Saba, Israel. All patients who developed a hypersensitivity reaction to paclitaxel were treated with a desensitization protocol.

Bioequivalence study of stressed and nonstressed hard gelatin capsules using amoxicillin as a drug marker and gamma scintigraphy to confirm time and GI location of in vivo capsule rupture.

Purpose: Evaluate if crosslinked hard gelatin capsules (HGCs) having different in vitro dissolution profiles changed in vivo release times or altered bioavailability of a drug marker; assess if a two-tier dissolution test (with and without enzyme) predicted in vivo performance.

Methods: Two classifications of stressed HGCs were artificially produced by exposure to formaldehyde (HCHO). HGCs were categorized as, a) pass/pass (p/p) which met in vitro dissolution criterion (75% drug dissolution at 45 min), b) moderately crosslinked fail/pass (f/p) which failed dissolution criterion in the absence of enzymes and passed in the presence of enzymes, and c) severely crosslinked fail/fail (f/f) which failed in vitro standards with or without enzymes.

Detection of formaldehyde-induced crosslinking in soft elastic gelatin capsules using near-infrared spectrophotometry.

The purpose of this research was to monitor the migration of formaldehyde from a polyethylene glycol (PEG) fill into the gelatin shell of a soft elastic gelatin capsule (SEGC) using near-infrared (NIR) spectrophotometry. SEGCs were filled with five solutions of aqueous formaldehyde in PEG (0, 0.05, 0.

Determination of extent of formaldehyde-induced crosslinking in hard gelatin capsules by near-infrared spectrophotometry.

Purpose: To predict the degree of crosslinking from formaldehyde-stressed hard gelatin capsules (HGCs) using near-infrared spectrophotometry (NIR).

Methods: HGCs were exposed to a 150 ppb atmosphere of formaldehyde for 2.25, 4.

Studies on the influence of pH and pancreatin on 13C-formaldehyde-induced gelatin cross-links using nuclear magnetic resonance.

Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) and 13C-enriched formaldehyde (13CH2O) were utilized to observe cross-linking in gelatin. Thus, when a 6% solution of gelatin in water was treated with 2000 ppm 13CH2O at 20 degrees C, the 15 hr 13C-NMR spectrum of the crosslinked gel showed peaks representing carbinolamines (methylols) of arginine and lysine, as well as a peak ascribed to a methylene cross-link between arginine and lysine. Similar results were obtained when these cross-linking reactions were conducted using only 100 ppm 13CH2O.