Disseminated Cryptococcal Gattii infection in a patient with anti-granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating-factor autoantibody: a case report.

Background: Cryptococcosis is an opportunistic fungal infection in immunocompromised patients. The major species include Cryptococcus grubii, Cryptococcus neoformans, and rarely, Cryptococcus gattii. Here we present a disseminated Cryptococcus gattii infection in a patient with elevated granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating-factor autoantibody which was successfully treated with antifungal therapy.

ARPA-H for Radiologists: Novel Funding Opportunities and Results of a National Survey.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) is a new federal agency established by the Biden administration in March 2022 to accelerate US government-funded biomedical and health solutions. ARPA-H has a distinct operating model, leadership structure, and funds flow separate from the National Institutes of Health. In 2023, the Association of Academic Radiology formed a Radiology Research Alliance taskforce to better understand the mission, vision, and guiding principles of ARPA-H and relevance to radiology and biomedical imaging research.

Dynamic responses of striatal cholinergic interneurons control behavioral flexibility.

Striatal cholinergic interneurons (CINs) are key to regulating behavioral flexibility, involving both extinguishing learned actions and adopting new ones. However, the mechanisms driving these processes remain elusive. In this study, we initially demonstrate that chronic alcohol consumption disrupts the burst-pause dynamics of CINs and impairs behavioral flexibility.

Development of CAR-T Therapies and Personalized Vaccines for the Treatment of Cholangiocarcinoma: Current Progress, Mechanisms of Action, and Challenges.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a highly fatal malignancy with an increasing prevalence, a high mortality rate, poor overall survival, and limited responsiveness to conventional chemoradiotherapy. Targeted therapies addressing specific gene mutations have expanded treatment options for some patient populations. The introduction of chimeric antigen receptor-modified T-cell (CAR-T) immunotherapy and personalized vaccines have opened up a new avenue for managing various cancers.

Primary retroperitoneal lymph node dissection in clinical stage 2a/b non-seminomatous germ cell tumour.

Objectives: To reassess the role of primary retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) in patients with marker-negative non-seminomatous germ cell tumour (NSGCT) clinical stage (CS) 2a, to explore results in patients with CS 2b and to evaluate surgical methods, recurrence, and adjuvant chemotherapy indications.

Materials And Methods: Data from 17 institutions were collected, comprising 305 men who underwent primary RPLND for CS 2 NSGCT. Regression analyses were conducted to predict histology in the RPLND specimen and disease-free survival (DFS).

Responses to lifestyle interventions among individuals with distinct pre-diabetes phenotypes: A systematic review and Meta-Analysis.

Aims: To assess responses to lifestyle interventions (LIs) among individuals with distinct pre-diabetes phenotypes (isolated impaired fasting glucose [i-IFG], isolated impaired glucose tolerance [i-IGT], and combined IFG + IGT) for reducing diabetes incidence, reversing pre-diabetes, and improving glycemic control and insulin sensitivity.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched until December 6th, 2023. We included randomized controlled trials examining responses to LIs (including diet and/or physical activity) among adults with i-IFG, i-IGT, and IFG + IGT.

Identification of Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii from Raman spectra by Artificial Intelligent Raman Detection and Identification System (AIRDIS) with machine learning.

Background: Rapid and accurate identification of bacteria is required in order to develop effective treatment strategies. Traditional culture-based methods are time-consuming, while MALDI-TOF MS is expensive. The Raman spectroscopy, due to its relatively cost-effectiveness, offers a promising alternative for bacterial identification.

Association of pulmonary artery capacitance with long-term outcomes in acute coronary syndrome patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

Objective: Hemodynamic monitoring via right heart catheterization (RHC) is critical for managing acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients with heart failure or cardiogenic shock. However, the prognostic value of RHC-derived hemodynamic indices in ACS patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) but without heart failure or shock remains uncertain.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study included 1151 consecutive ACS patients who underwent RHC during hospitalization from 2007 to 2016.

Risk of mortality and complications in people with depressive disorder and diabetes mellitus: A 20-year population-based propensity score-matched cohort study.

People with depression have increased premature mortality and elevated prevalence of diabetes-mellitus compared to general population. However, risk of mortality and diabetes-related complications among patients with depression and co-occurring diabetes is under-studied. This population-based propensity score-matched (1:10) cohort study identified 12,175 patients with pre-existing depression and incident-diabetes (depression-diabetes group) and 117,958 patients with incident-diabetes only (diabetes-only group) between 2002 and 2021 in Hong-Kong, using territory-wide medical-record database of public-healthcare services, to investigate whether depression increased the risk of overall mortality, complications and post-complication mortality in people with diabetes.

Exploring the hierarchical structure of human plans via program generation.

Human behavior is often assumed to be hierarchically structured, made up of abstract actions that can be decomposed into concrete actions. However, behavior is typically measured as a sequence of actions, which makes it difficult to infer its hierarchical structure. In this paper, we explore how people form hierarchically structured plans, using an experimental paradigm with observable hierarchical representations: participants create programs that produce sequences of actions in a language with explicit hierarchical structure.

Risk of mortality and complications in patients with severe mental illness and co-occurring diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

People with severe-mental-illness (SMI), often defined as "schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and bipolar disorder", have increased premature mortality and elevated prevalence of diabetes compared with general population. Evidence indicated that one-third of their premature death was from cardiovascular diseases (CVD), with risk conferred by diabetes. Although earlier studies have examined SMI-associated diabetes-related outcomes, findings were inconsistent and not systematically evaluated.

Fear of missing out: Drug availability in the United States vs Canada.

Background: Per capita spending on drugs in the United States is double that of Canada. One commonly debated point when comparing the 2 countries is whether this additional spending allows residents of the United States access to valuable therapies not available in Canada.

Objective: To characterize the therapeutic value of prescription drugs used in the United States that are not marketed in Canada.

Adjuvants to the S1-subunit of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein vaccine improve antibody and T cell responses and surrogate neutralization in mice.

Various public health measures have contained outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2, but concerns remain over the possibility of future surges. Improvements in broadening the vaccine response can stifle new and nascent infections. In this study, we tested the effects of different adjuvant combinations on the immunization of mice with the receptor-binding domain (RBD)-containing the S1-subunit of the spike protein (S1 protein) from SARS-CoV-2 to induce a robust humoral and cellular immune response.

Early Folding Dynamics of i-Motif DNA Revealed by pH-Jump Time-Resolved X-ray Solution Scattering.

The i-motif is a pH-responsive cytosine-rich oligonucleotide sequence that forms, under acidic conditions, a quadruplex structure. This tunable structural switching has made the i-motif a useful platform for designing pH-responsive nanomaterials. Despite the widespread application of i-motif DNA constructs as biomolecular switches, the mechanism of i-motif folding on the atomic scale has yet to be established.

Design of Nanocrystalline Suspension of Dutasteride for Intramuscular Prolonged Delivery.

The aim of the study is to formulate an injectable nanocrystalline suspension (NS) of dutasteride (DTS), a hydrophobic 5α-reductase inhibitor used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia and scalp hair loss, for parenteral long-acting delivery. A DTS-loaded NS (DTS-NS, 40 mg/mL DTS) was prepared using a lab-scale bead-milling technique. The optimized DTS-NS prepared using Tween 80 (0.

Hepatopulmonary syndrome in biliary atresia children increased postoperative complications after liver transplantation.

Background: Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a complication in biliary atresia (BA) children following hepatoportoenterostomy. Liver transplantation (LT) was the definitive treatment of HPS. However, little was known about the risk factors between HPS and mortalities.

Local Exchange Integrand: Looking into Quantum Contributions to Chemical Bonds.

In this work, we present maps of the integrand of the exchange energy (,) in terms of atomic contributions. This quantity helps to improve the understanding of this quantum correction in chemical bonding. With a set of covalent and noncovalent diatomic molecules, we show that it is possible to develop useful vocabularies for identifying regions where the exchange correction removes or adds electrons predicted by the classical Coulomb term.

Structure and evolution of Photosystem I in the early-branching cyanobacterium .

Thylakoid-free cyanobacteria are thought to preserve ancestral traits of early-evolving organisms capable of oxygenic photosynthesis. However, and until recently, photosynthesis studies in thylakoid-free cyanobacteria were only possible in the model strain . Here, we report the isolation, biochemical characterization, cryo-EM structure, and phylogenetic analysis of photosystem I from a newly-discovered thylakoid-free cyanobacterium, , a distant relative of the genus .

Oncological Outcomes Following Robotic Postchemotherapy Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection for Testicular Cancer: A Worldwide Multicenter Study.

Background And Objective: The feasibility and safety of a robotic approach for postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (PC-RPLND) in testicular cancer have been demonstrated, but data on long-term oncological outcomes of this procedure are limited. Our aim was to evaluate oncological outcomes following robotic PC-RPLND in this setting.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included consecutive patients with testicular cancer treated with robotic PC-RPLND at 11 academic centers worldwide between 2011 and 2023.