A Unified Approach to Health Data Exchange: A Report From the US DHHS.

Importance: Health information technology, such as electronic health records (EHRs), has been widely adopted, yet accessing and exchanging data in the fragmented US health care system remains challenging. To unlock the potential of EHR data to improve patient health, public health, and health care, it is essential to streamline the exchange of health data. As leaders across the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), we describe how DHHS has implemented fundamental building blocks to achieve this vision.

Awake, endoscopic lumbar interbody spinal fusion: 10 years of experience with the first 400 cases.

Objective: Awake, endoscopic spinal fusion has been utilized as an ultra-minimally invasive surgery technique to accomplish the goals of spinal fixation, fusion, and disc height restoration. While many techniques exist for this approach, this series represents a single institution's experience with a large cohort and the evolution of this method.

Methods: The medical records of a consecutive series of 400 patients treated over a 10-year period were retrospectively reviewed.

Severe atopic dermatitis treated with Dupilumab in a CTLA-4-deficient patient: A case report and review of the literature.

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with immune dysregulation, particularly overexpression of T helper 2 cytokines. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 deficiency, a primary immune disorder, can exacerbate atopic dermatitis. Dupilumab, an IL-4 and IL-13 receptor antagonist, has demonstrated efficacy in controlling severe, recalcitrant atopic dermatitis by mitigating T helper 2-driven inflammation.

A large-scale proteomics resource of circulating extracellular vesicles for biomarker discovery in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer has the worst prognosis of all common tumors. Earlier cancer diagnosis could increase survival rates and better assessment of metastatic disease could improve patient care. As such, there is an urgent need to develop biomarkers to diagnose this deadly malignancy.

Liposarcoma: A Journey into a Rare Tumor's Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Pathophysiology, and Limitations of Current Therapies.

Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms that develop from bone and soft tissue. Approximately 80% of sarcomas affect soft tissue, with liposarcoma being one of the most common types, accounting for approximately 13-20% of all soft-tissue sarcomas. Per the World Health Organization, liposarcoma can be broadly classified into four different subtypes based on histologic examination: well-differentiated liposarcoma (WDLS)/atypical lipomatous tumors (ALT), dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLS), myxoid liposarcoma (MLS), and pleomorphic liposarcoma (PLS).

Anti-retinal Autoantibodies in Hydroxychloroquine Eye Toxicity.

Objective: Autoimmune retinopathy and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ)-related retinal toxicity share many similarities, raising the possibility autoimmunity plays a role in HCQ retinopathy. The objective of this study is to determine whether patients diagnosed with HCQ retinal toxicity are more likely to have circulating antiretinal autoantibodies (AAbs) compared to controls.

Methods: We tested plasma samples for the presence of anti-retinal AAbs by immunoblotting in 270 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) receiving HCQ.

Physics-based prediction of moisture-capture properties of hydrogels.

Moisture-capturing materials can enable potentially game-changing energy-water technologies such as atmospheric water production, heat storage, and passive cooling. Hydrogel composites recently emerged as outstanding moisture-capturing materials due to their low cost, high affinity for humidity, and design versatility. Despite extensive efforts to experimentally explore the large design space of hydrogels for high-performance moisture capture, there is a critical knowledge gap on our understanding behind the moisture-capture properties of these materials.

Independent effects of tree diversity on aboveground and soil carbon pools after six years of experimental afforestation.

Planting diverse forests has been proposed as a means to increase long-term carbon (C) sequestration while providing many co-benefits. Positive tree diversity-productivity relationships are well established, suggesting more diverse forests will lead to greater aboveground C sequestration. However, the effects of tree diversity on belowground C storage have the potential to either complement or offset aboveground gains, especially during early stages of afforestation when potential exists for large losses in soil C due to soil decomposition.

Imaging-Based Disease Assessment and Management Recommendations: Impact of Multidisciplinary Sarcoma Tumor Board.

Multidisciplinary tumor boards (MTBs) facilitate decision-making among subspecialists in the care of oncology patients, but the mechanisms by which they enhance outcomes remain incompletely understood. Our aim was to measure the agreement between sarcoma MTBs and radiology reports' disease assessment and management recommendations. This single-center IRB-approved retrospective study evaluated cases presented at a weekly sarcoma MTB from 1 August 2020 to 31 July 2021.

The Association of Anemia With Survival Among People With HIV Following Antiretroviral Initiation in the NA-ACCORD 2007-2016.

Background: Anemia is an independent predictor of mortality, which may be utilized as a signal of deteriorating health. We estimated the association between anemia severity categories and mortality following the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) among people with HIV (PWH) in North America.

Methods: Within the NA-ACCORD, annual median hemoglobin measurements between January 01, 2007, and December 31, 2016, were categorized using World Health Organization criteria into mild (11.

Botensilimab, an Fc-Enhanced Anti-CTLA-4 Antibody, Is Effective against Tumors Poorly Responsive to Conventional Immunotherapy.

This study reveals that Fc-enhanced anti-CTLA-4 harnesses novel mechanisms to overcome the limitations of conventional anti-CTLA-4, effectively treating poorly immunogenic and treatment-refractory cancers. Our findings support the development of a new class of immuno-oncology agents, capable of extending clinical benefit to patients with cancers resistant to current immunotherapies.

A human monoclonal antibody based immunoenzymetric assay to measure Fel d 1 concentrations in cat hair and pelt allergenic extracts.

In the United States, 19 allergen extracts of different specificities are standardized, which means that their potencies are determined in comparison to a US reference standard. For cat allergen extracts, potency is determined by measuring Fel d 1 content expressed in in Fel d 1 units, and with a unitage that correlates with skin test reactions (bioequivalent allergy units or BAU). Currently, Fel d 1 content is measured with a radial immunodiffusion (RID) assay that uses polyclonal sheep antisera to detect the allergenic protein by producing a white precipitin line in agar gel.

Long-Term Hand and Shoulder Function in Children following Early Surgical Intervention for a Birth-Related Upper Brachial Plexus Injury.

 To better understand the long-term hand and shoulder outcomes of upper brachial plexus birth injuries.  We evaluated shoulder and hand function in 32 patients (13 males; 19 females) with a C5/C6 birth injury history). All patients had undergone primary nerve surgery as infants, and 12 underwent a simultaneous shoulder procedure as they presented with a fixed internal rotation contracture of the shoulder.

Botensilimab plus balstilimab in relapsed/refractory microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer: a phase 1 trial.

Microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer (MSS mCRC; mismatch repair proficient) has previously responded poorly to immune checkpoint blockade. Botensilimab (BOT) is an Fc-enhanced multifunctional anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) antibody designed to expand therapy to cold/poorly immunogenic solid tumors, such as MSS mCRC. BOT with or without balstilimab (BAL; anti-PD-1 antibody) is being evaluated in an ongoing expanded phase 1 study.

Long-Term Results of Isolated Latissimus Dorsi to Rotator Cuff Transfer in Brachial Plexus Birth Injury.

 Brachial plexus birth injury results in deficits in strength and motion, occasionally requiring surgery to restore power to the deficient external rotators of the shoulder in these patients. This is a retrospective analysis of the long-term results of an isolated latissimus dorsi transfer to the rotator cuff in patients with brachial plexus birth injury.  This is a retrospective review of prospectively collected data for patients undergoing isolated latissimus dorsi transfer into the infraspinatus in addition to release of the internal rotation contracture of the shoulder with greater than 5 years' follow-up.

Within-trial hospitalization resource utilization and budget impact analysis for darolutamide in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer using ARASENS.

Background: ARASENS was a randomized, double-blind, phase 3 trial comparing darolutamide + docetaxel + androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with placebo + docetaxel + ADT in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC).

Objective: To use clinical trial data from ARASENS to understand whether the addition of darolutamide to docetaxel + ADT leads to increased hospitalizations and to estimate the budget impact on the US health care system.

Methods: We used mixed-effects negative binomial regression to estimate hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates and length of hospital stay (LoHS) counts.

Correlation Between Serum and Fecal Biomarkers and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Patients with Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Background: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs), such as the short CD activity index (sCDAI) and partial Mayo Score (PMS), are used to define clinical remission in IBD, but may not represent the true degree of inflammation and endoscopy is invasive. Non-invasive testing options include c-reactive protein (CRP) and fecal calprotectin (FCP).

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the degree of correlation of non-invasive biomarkers with PROs and the impact other clinical variables can have on their levels.

Electrolyte Dependence of Li Transport Mechanisms in Small Molecule Solvents from Classical Molecular Dynamics.

As demands on Li-ion battery performance increase, the need for electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and a high Li transference number () becomes crucial to boost power density. Unfortunately, in liquid electrolytes is typically <0.5 due to Li migrating via a vehicular mechanism, whereby Li diffuses along with its solvation shell, making its diffusivity slower than the counteranion.

Temperate woody species across the angiosperm phylogeny acquire tolerance to water deficit stress during the growing season.

Understanding the capacity of temperate trees to acclimate to limited soil water has become essential in the face of increasing drought risk due to climate change. We documented seasonal - or phenological - patterns in acclimation to water deficit stress in stems and leaves of tree species spanning the angiosperm phylogeny. Over 3 yr of field observations carried out in two US arboreta, we measured stem vulnerability to embolism (36 individuals of 7 Species) and turgor loss point (119 individuals of 27 species) over the growing season.

Real-world treatment of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer in the USA, Europe and Asia.

To characterize real-world patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) and treating physicians and evaluate treatment trends and baseline concordance versus guidelines internationally. Retrospective, cross-sectional data from the Ipsos Global Oncology Monitor database 2018-2020 were used for descriptive analysis of mHSPC patients, treating physicians and treatment utilization. Among the 6198 mHSPC patients from five countries, the most common treatment was either androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) monotherapy or first-generation androgen receptor inhibitor + ADT.