Novel human single-domain antibodies exert potent anti-tumor activity by targeting EGF-like repeat epitope of EpCAM.

Introduction: EpCAM (Epithelial cell adhesion molecule) is a key cancer stem cell marker involved in cancer progression, making it an important target for both diagnosis and therapy. Despite efforts using anti-EpCAM monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), their anti-tumor effects have been limited. Single-domain antibodies (sdAbs), in contrast, offer advantages such as efficient tumor penetration and reduced immunogenicity.

2024 Scholars' Research Symposium Abstract: Education on the Understanding of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Vulnerable Undergraduate Population.

Introduction: With the introduction of increasingly powerful audio equipment and increase of personal mobile audio devices in the 21st century, the prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in young adults is expected to increase. This increase, estimated to impact 30 million adults in the next four decades, is due in part to recreational exposure. While many young adults have a general understanding of NIHL, a detailed education on various topics of NIHL could further promote adherence to the use of preventive measures.

Source Data Verification (SDV) quality in clinical research: A scoping review.

Introduction: The value of Source Data Verification (SDV) has been a common theme in the applied Clinical Translational Science literature. Yet, few published assessments of SDV quality exist even though they are needed to design risk-based and reduced monitoring schemes. This review was conducted to identify reports of SDV quality, with a specific focus on accuracy.

Collaborative Program to Evaluate Real World Data for Use in Clinical Studies and Regulatory Decision Making.

The 21 Century Cures Act allows the US Food and Drug Administration to consider real world data (RWD) for new indications or post approval study requirements. However, there is limited guidance as to the relative quality of different RWD types. The ACE-RWD program will compare the quality of EHR clinical data, EHR billing data, and linked healthcare claims data to traditional clinical trial data collection methods.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in the comorbid elderly: a retrospective comparative study in New Zealand.

Aim: To ascertain if endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in the elderly is associated with an increased risk of complications.

Methods: Retrospective study of 509 consecutive ERCPs on 338 patients in one year (2019-2020). Patients were categorised as >75 years old (elderly test group) or ≤75 (controls).

Bleeding risk of oral anticoagulants in liver cirrhosis.

Aim: The safety of dabigatran is poorly studied in patients with liver cirrhosis and has rarely been compared to warfarin in terms of bleeding risks.

Method: We undertook a retrospective cohort study across three tertiary centres in Auckland, New Zealand, between 2008 to 2020. Adults 18 years and over and those with a clinically confirmed diagnosis of cirrhosis were included.

Finding the facts in an infodemic: framing effective COVID-19 messages to connect people to authoritative content.

The public's need for timely and trusted COVID-19 information remains high. Governments and global health agencies such as the WHO have sought to disseminate accurate and timely information to counteract misinformation and disinformation that has arisen as part of an 'infodemic'-the overabundance of information on COVID-19-some accurate and some not. In early 2020, WHO began a collaboration with Google to run online public service announcements on COVID-19, in the form of search ads displayed above results of Google Search queries.

Quality of life after oesophageal stenting in patients with palliative oesophageal cancer.

Aim: Patients with incurable oesophageal cancer have poor outcomes, with disabling symptoms and a poor quality of life (QOL), which may be improved by oesophageal stenting. We aimed to measure change in symptoms related specifically to oesophageal cancer and overall QOL before and 30 days after stent insertion, to measure adverse effects and to define any patient factors that may be significant in predicting patients who may benefit most.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled patients in an observational study at Middlemore Hospital, New Zealand, and administered validated QOL- and symptomatology-based questionnaires before and 30 days after stent insertion.

Hypertension, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system-blocking agents, and COVID-19.

Background: There have been concerns regarding the safety of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system (RAAS)-blocking agents including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study sought to evaluate the impact of hypertension and the use of ACEI/ARB on clinical severity in patients with COVID-19.

Methods: A total of 3,788 patients aged 30 years or older who were confirmed with COVID-19 with real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction were identified from a claims-based cohort in Korea.

Anti-CXCR4 Single-Chain Variable Fragment Antibodies Have Anti-Tumor Activity.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are large and have limitations as cancer therapeutics. Human single-chain variable fragment (scFv) is a small antibody as a good alternative. It can easily enter cancer tissues, has no immunogenicity and can be produced in bacteria to decrease the cost.

Clinical utility of viscoelastic testing in chronic liver disease: A systematic review.

Background: Conventional coagulation tests are widely used in chronic liver disease to assess haemostasis and to guide blood product transfusion. This is despite the fact that conventional tests do not reliably separate those with a clinically significant coagulopathy from those who do not. Viscoelastic testing such as thromboelastography (TEG) correlate with bleeding risk and are more accurate in identifying those who will benefit from blood product transfusion.

Novel single-domain antibodies against the EGFR domain III epitope exhibit the anti-tumor effect.

Background: Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been used for cancer therapy. They are large and have some disadvantages limiting their use. Smaller antibody fragments are needed as their alternatives.

Electroretinographic Abnormalities and Sex Differences Detected with Mesopic Adaptation in a Mouse Model of Schizophrenia: A and B Wave Analysis.

Purpose: Mesopic flash electroretinography (fERG) as a tool to identify N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) hypofunction in subjects with schizophrenia shows great potential. We report the first fERG study in a genetic mouse model of schizophrenia characterized by NMDAR hypofunction from gene silencing of serine racemase (SR) expression (SR-/-), an established risk gene for schizophrenia. We analyzed fERG parameters under various background light adaptations to determine the most significant variables to allow for early identification of people at risk for schizophrenia, prior to onset of psychosis.

Impact of Direct to Consumer Store-and-Forward Teledermatology on Access to Care, Satisfaction, Utilization, and Costs in a Commercial Health Plan Population.

Purpose: Store-and-forward teledermatology can improve access to dermatology by enabling asynchronous consults. This study assesses it on access, satisfaction, utilization, and costs in a commercial health plan setting.

Methodology: In this prospective observational study with matched control, 47,411 individuals were provided access to teledermatology services staffed by board-certified, licensed dermatologists for 6 months.

The Significance of Equivocal Exercise Treadmill ECG for Intermediate Risk Chest Pain Assessment - Insight From Coronary CT Angiography Data.

Background: Exercise treadmill test (ETT) is commonly the first-line investigation in troponin-negative chest pain patients. Inconclusive results are common and often lead to repeated functional testings. Coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) has excellent negative predictive value for coronary artery disease detection and may play an important role in their diagnostic workup.

Assessing the Impact of Medication Adherence on Long-Term Cardiovascular Outcomes.

Background: Although guideline-recommended therapies reduce major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients after myocardial infarction (MI) or those with atherosclerotic disease (ATH), adherence is poor.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to determine the association between medication adherence levels and long-term MACE in these patients.

Methods: We queried the claims database of a large health insurer for patients hospitalized for MI or with ATH.

Semantic interoperability of Health Risk Assessments.

The health insurance and benefits industry has administered Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) at an increasing rate. These are used to collect data on modifiable health risk factors for wellness and disease management programs. However, there is significant variability in the semantics of these assessments, making it difficult to compare data sets from the output of 2 different HRAs.

Clinical validity of alerts generated by the CareEngine Claims-Driven Decision Support Engine.

Clinical decision support based on administrative data is an important "real-world" challenge. At an academic medical center, we reviewed medical charts to assess the accuracy of 182 clinical alerts generated from administrative claims, pharmacy data, and lab results by a computerized clinical decision support (CDS) system. Overall accuracy was 82%.

Brief report: Multiprogram evaluation of reading habits of primary care internal medicine residents on ambulatory rotations.

Objective: To assess the reading habits and educational resources of primary care internal medicine residents for their ambulatory medicine education.

Design: Cross-sectional, multiprogram survey of primary care internal medicine residents.

Participants/setting: Second- and third-year residents on ambulatory care rotations at 9 primary care medicine programs (124 eligible residents; 71% response rate).

Transcriptome characterization elucidates signaling networks that control human ES cell growth and differentiation.

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells hold promise for generating an unlimited supply of cells for replacement therapies. To characterize hES cells at the molecular level, we obtained 148,453 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from undifferentiated hES cells and three differentiated derivative subpopulations. Over 32,000 different transcripts expressed in hES cells were identified, of which more than 16,000 do not match closely any gene in the UniGene public database.