Value of Cardiac Troponin, Myoglobin Combined with Heart-type Fatty Acid-binding Protein Detection in Diagnosis of Early Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Objective: To evaluate the value of cardiac troponin(cTn), myoglobin(Myo) combined with heart-type fatty acid-binding protein(H-FABP) detection in the diagnosis of early acute myocardial infarction(AMI).

Methods: This study was a clinical comparative study. Eighty patients with AMI hospitalized in Tangshan Workers' Hospital were selected as study group, and another 80 individuals receiving normal physical examination were selected as control group from September 20, 2021 to September 20, 2022.

Ex vivo expanded human regulatory T cells modify neuroinflammation in a preclinical model of Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a neuroprotective role by suppressing microglia and macrophage-mediated inflammation and modulating adaptive immune reactions. We previously documented that Treg immunomodulatory mechanisms are compromised in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ex vivo expansion of Tregs restores and amplifies their immunosuppressive functions in vitro.

Trimodality therapy for esophageal cancer: The role of surgical and radiation treatment parameters in the development of anastomotic complications.

Background: Here, we investigated the relationship between clinical parameters, including the site of surgical anastomosis and radiation dose to the anastomotic region, and anastomotic complications in esophageal cancer patients treated with trimodality therapy.

Methods: Between 2007 and 2016, esophageal cancer patients treated with trimodality therapy at a tertiary academic cancer center were identified. Patient, treatment, and outcome parameters were collected.

Spatial Radiation Dose Influence on Xerostomia Recovery and Its Comparison to Acute Incidence in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.

Purpose: Radiation-induced xerostomia is one of the most prevalent symptoms during and after head and neck cancer radiation therapy (RT). We aimed to discover the spatial radiation dose-based (voxel dose) importance pattern in the major salivary glands in relation to the recovery of xerostomia 18 months after RT, and to compare the recovery voxel dose importance pattern to the acute incidence (injury) pattern.

Methods And Materials: This study included all patients within our database with xerostomia outcomes after completion of curative intensity modulated RT.

Midazolam Sedation Induces Upper Limb Coordination Deficits That Are Reversed by Flumazenil in Patients with Eloquent Area Gliomas.

Background: Midazolam has been found to exacerbate or unmask limb motor dysfunction in patients with brain tumors. This study aimed to determine whether the exacerbated upper limb motor-sensory deficits are mediated through benzodiazepine sites by demonstrating reversibility by flumazenil in patients with gliomas in eloquent areas.

Methods: This was an interventional, parallel assignment, nonrandomized trial.

Machine Learning Methods Uncover Radiomorphologic Dose Patterns in Salivary Glands that Predict Xerostomia in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer.

Purpose: Patients with head-and-neck cancer (HNC) may experience xerostomia after radiation therapy (RT), which leads to compromised quality of life. The purpose of this study is to explore how the spatial pattern of radiation dose (radiomorphology) in the major salivary glands influences xerostomia in patients with HNC.

Methods And Materials: A data-driven approach using spatially explicit dosimetric predictors, voxel dose (ie, actual radiation dose in voxels in parotid glands [PG] and submandibular glands [SMG]) was used to predict whether patients would develop xerostomia 3 months after RT.

Dose/Volume histogram patterns in Salivary Gland subvolumes influence xerostomia injury and recovery.

Xerostomia is a common consequence of radiotherapy in head and neck cancer. The objective was to compare the regional radiation dose distribution in patients that developed xerostomia within 6 months of radiotherapy and those recovered from xerostomia within 18 months post-radiotherapy. We developed a feature generation pipeline to extract dose volume histogram features from geometrically defined ipsilateral/contralateral parotid glands, submandibular glands, and oral cavity surrogates for each patient.

Directed differentiation of granular cells from crayfish hematopoietic tissue cells.

Hemocytes are the major immune cells of crustaceans. New hemocyte production is required throughout the life cycle of these animals to maintain a functional immune system. The mechanism of crustacean hematopoiesis has just begun to be understood and new methods are needed for the investigation of this process.

Association Between Psoriasis with Arthritis and Hearing Impairment in US Adults: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Objective: Emerging data has linked inflammatory arthritis with hearing impairment (HI). The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between psoriasis with arthritis (PsA) and HI in the US population. Given the known association of HI and depression, a secondary aim is to investigate the effect of PsA on mental well-being.

Needs and Challenges for Radiation Oncology in the Era of Precision Medicine.

Modern medicine, including the care of the cancer patient, has significantly advanced, with the evidence-based medicine paradigm serving to guide clinical care decisions. Yet we now also recognize the tremendous heterogeneity not only of disease states but of the patient and his or her environment as it influences treatment outcomes and toxicities. These reasons and many others have led to a reevaluation of the generalizability of randomized trials and growing interest in accounting for this heterogeneity under the rubric of precision medicine as it relates to personalizing clinical care predictions, decisions, and therapy for the disease state.

Effect of Pregabalin on Radiotherapy-Related Neuropathic Pain in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: Neuropathic pain is an unavoidable treatment-related adverse event among patients with head and neck cancer who are undergoing radiotherapy. We aimed to test the efficacy and safety of pregabalin versus placebo in the treatment of radiotherapy-related neuropathic pain.

Patients And Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in four centers in China.

Evaluation of classification and regression tree (CART) model in weight loss prediction following head and neck cancer radiation therapy.

Objective: We explore whether a knowledge-discovery approach building a Classification and Regression Tree (CART) prediction model for weight loss (WL) in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients treated with radiation therapy (RT) is feasible.

Methods And Materials: HNC patients from 2007 to 2015 were identified from a prospectively collected database Oncospace. Two prediction models at different time points were developed to predict weight loss ≥5 kg at 3 months post-RT by CART algorithm: (1) during RT planning using patient demographic, delineated dose data, planning target volume-organs at risk shape relationships data and (2) at the end of treatment (EOT) using additional on-treatment toxicities and quality of life data.

Prospective evaluation of patient reported swallow function with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT), MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) and the Sydney Swallow Questionnaire (SSQ) in head and neck cancer patients.

Objectives: The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) instrument is comprised of a group of related and overlapping quality of life (QoL) questionnaires including a core general form, head and neck cancer (HNC)-specific items, and an expert-selected index (FACT-HNSI). Understanding how these relate to more HNC-specific instruments such as the MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) and Sydney Swallow Questionnaire (SSQ) is vital for guiding their use in clinical trials.

Materials And Methods: HNC patients concurrently completed MDADI, SSQ, and FACT questionnaires at radiation oncology clinic visits (2015-2016).

Preoperative contralateral lung radiation dose is associated with postoperative pulmonary toxicity in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with trimodality therapy.

Purpose: In patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who undergo trimodality therapy (chemoradiation followed by surgical resection), it is unknown whether limiting preoperative radiation dose to the uninvolved lung reduces postsurgical morbidity. This study evaluated whether radiation fall-off dose parameters to the contralateral lung that is unaffected by NSCLC are associated with postoperative complications in NSCLC patients treated with trimodality therapy.

Methods And Materials: We retrospectively reviewed NSCLC patients who underwent trimodality therapy between March 2008 and October 2016, with available restored digital radiation plans.

Using Big Data Analytics to Advance Precision Radiation Oncology.

Big clinical data analytics as a primary component of precision medicine is discussed, identifying where these emerging tools fit in the spectrum of genomics and radiomics research. A learning health system (LHS) is conceptualized that uses clinically acquired data with machine learning to advance the initiatives of precision medicine. The LHS is comprehensive and can be used for clinical decision support, discovery, and hypothesis derivation.

Practical data collection and extraction for big data applications in radiotherapy.

The capture of high-quality treatment data and outcomes is necessary in order to learn from our clinical experiences with big data analytics. In radiotherapy, there are several practical challenges to overcome. Practical aspects of data collection are discussed pointing to a need for a culture change in clinical practice to one that captures structured patient-related data in routine care in a prospective manner.

Quantitative Evaluation of Head and Neck Cancer Treatment-Related Dysphagia in the Development of a Personalized Treatment Deintensification Paradigm.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that quantifying swallow function with multiple patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments is an important strategy to yield insights in the development of personalized deintensified therapies seeking to reduce the risk of head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment-related dysphagia (HNCTD).

Methods And Materials: Irradiated HNC subjects seen in follow-up care (April 2015 to December 2015) who prospectively completed the Sydney Swallow Questionnaire (SSQ) and the MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) concurrently on the web interface to our Oncospace database were evaluated. A correlation matrix quantified the relationship between the SSQ and MDADI.

Influence of insurance status on survival of adults with glioblastoma multiforme: A population-based study.

Background: To the authors' knowledge, the impact of insurance status on the survival time of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) has not been fully understood. The objective of the current study was to clarify the association between insurance status and survival of patients with GBM by analyzing population-based data.

Methods: The authors performed a cohort study using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program.

Association Between Insurance Status and Hospital Length of Stay Following Trauma.

Previous research has demonstrated that nonclinical factors are associated with differences in clinical care, with uninsured patients receiving decreased resource use. Studies on trauma populations have also shown unclear relationships between insurance status and hospital length of stay (LOS), a commonly used metric for evaluating quality of care. The objective of this study is to define the relationship between insurance status and LOS after trauma using the largest available national trauma dataset and controlling for significant confounders.

Cholecystectomy and wound complications: smoking worsens risk.

Background: In the United States, approximately 800,000 cholecystectomies are performed annually. We sought to determine the influence of preoperative smoking on postcholecystectomy wound complication rates.

Materials And Methods: Using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database (2005-2011), patients aged ≥18 y who underwent elective open or laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) for benign gallbladder disease were identified using current procedural terminology codes.

Explaining the Paradoxical Age-based Racial Disparities in Survival After Trauma: The Role of the Treating Facility.

Objective: The objective of our study was to determine if differences in outcomes at treating facilities can help explain these age-based racial disparities in survival after trauma.

Background: It has been previously demonstrated that racial disparities in survival after trauma are dependent on age. For patients younger than 65 years, blacks had an increased odds of mortality compared with whites, but among patients 65 years or older the opposite association was found.

A single institutional comparison of endoscopic and open abdominal component separation.

Background: The authors analyzed surgical factors and outcomes data in the largest single institutional study comparing endoscopic (ECS) and open component separation (OCS) in ventral hernia repairs (VHR).

Methods: A prospectively maintained database was reviewed, identifying 76 patients who underwent component separation for VHR with mesh from 2010 to 2013: 34 OCS and 42 ECS. Comparisons were made for demographics, surgical risk factors, and peri-operative outcomes.

Worse outcomes among uninsured general surgery patients: does the need for an emergency operation explain these disparities?

Background: We hypothesize that lack of access to care results in propensity toward emergent operative management and may be an important factor in worse outcomes for the uninsured population. The objective of this study is to investigate a possible link to worse outcomes in patients without insurance who undergo an emergent operation.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was performed using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) 2005-2011 dataset.

US emergency department visits for fireworks injuries, 2006-2010.

Background: Most literature regarding fireworks injuries are from outside the United States, whereas US-based reports focus primarily on children and are based on datasets which cannot provide accurate estimates for subgroups of the US population.

Methods: The 2006-2010 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample was used to identify patients with fireworks injury using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification external cause of injury code E923.0.

Functional recovery after moderate/severe traumatic brain injury: a role for cognitive reserve?

Objective: To evaluate the hypothesis that educational attainment, a marker of cognitive reserve, is a predictor of disability-free recovery (DFR) after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: Retrospective study of the TBI Model Systems Database, a prospective multicenter cohort funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Patients were included if they were admitted for rehabilitation after moderate to severe TBI, were aged 23 years or older, and had at least 1 year of follow-up.