Population dynamics in spatial suppression gene drive models and the effect of resistance, density dependence, and life history.

Due to their super-Mendelian inheritance, gene drive systems have the potential to provide revolutionary solutions to critical public health and environmental problems. For suppression drives, however, spatial structure can cause "chasing" population dynamics that may postpone target population elimination or even cause the drive to fail. In chasing, wild-type individuals elude the drive and recolonize previously suppressed areas.

Paravalvular Leak Closure After Self-Expanding Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Using a Steerable Sheath.

We present the case of an 82-year-old woman with persistent fatigue, exertional dyspnea, and dizziness related to a paravalvular leak following a self-expanding transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Successful closure was performed using a steerable sheath to negotiate a vascular plug closure device through the self-expanding valve structure.

College students' virtual and in-person drinking contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in pronounced changes for college students, including shifts in living situations and engagement in virtual environments. Although college drinking decreased at the onset of the pandemic, a nuanced understanding of pandemic-related changes in drinking contexts and the risks conferred by each context on alcohol use and related consequences have yet to be assessed.

Methods: Secondary data analyses were conducted on screening data from a large parent clinical trial assessing a college student drinking intervention (N = 1669).

homing suppression drive candidates exhibit unexpected performance differences in simulations with spatial structure.

Recent experiments have produced several homing gene drives that disrupt female fertility genes, thereby eventually inducing population collapse. Such drives may be highly effective tools to combat malaria. One such homing drive, based on the promoter driving CRISPR/Cas9, was able to eliminate a cage population of mosquitoes.

Sex and Gender Bias as a Mechanistic Determinant of Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes.

Defined as a prejudice either for or against something, biases at the provider, patient, and societal level all contribute to differences in cardiovascular disease recognition and treatment, resulting in outcome disparities between sexes and genders. Provider bias in the under-recognition of female-predominant cardiovascular disease and risks might result in underscreened and undertreated patients. Furthermore, therapies for female-predominant phenotypes including nonobstructive coronary artery disease and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction are less well researched, contributing to undertreated female patients.

Redo Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation with the ALLEGRA Transcatheter Heart Valve: Insights from Bench Testing.

Purpose: Failure of transcatheter heart valves (THV) may potentially be treated with repeat transcatheter aortic valve implantation (redo TAVI). We assessed hydrodynamic performance, stability and pinwheeling utilizing the ALLEGRA (New Valve Technology, Hechingen, Germany) THV, a CE approved and marketed THV in Europe, inside different THVs.

Methods: Redo TAVI was simulated with the 27 mm ALLEGRA THV at three implantation depths (-4 mm, 0 mm and +4 mm) in seven different 'failed' THVs: 26 mm Evolut Pro, 25 mm Lotus, 25 mm JenaValve, 25 mm Portico, 23 mm Sapien 3, 27 mm ALLEGRA and M ACURATE neo.

Design and analysis of CRISPR-based underdominance toxin-antidote gene drives.

CRISPR gene drive systems offer a mechanism for transmitting a desirable transgene throughout a population for purposes ranging from vector-borne disease control to invasive species suppression. In this simulation study, we assess the performance of several CRISPR-based underdominance gene drive constructs employing toxin-antidote (TA) principles. These drives disrupt the wild-type version of an essential gene using a CRISPR nuclease (the toxin) while simultaneously carrying a recoded version of the gene (the antidote).

Suppression gene drive in continuous space can result in unstable persistence of both drive and wild-type alleles.

Rapid evolutionary processes can produce drastically different outcomes when studied in panmictic population models vs. spatial models. One such process is gene drive, which describes the spread of "selfish" genetic elements through a population.

Performance analysis of novel toxin-antidote CRISPR gene drive systems.

Background: CRISPR gene drive systems allow the rapid spread of a genetic construct throughout a population. Such systems promise novel strategies for the management of vector-borne diseases and invasive species by suppressing a target population or modifying it with a desired trait. However, current homing-type drives have two potential shortcomings.

Local anesthetic injections with or without steroid for chronic non-cancer pain: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Steroids are often combined with local anesthetic (LA) and injected to reduce pain associated with various chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) complaints. The biological rationale behind injection of a steroid solution is unclear, and it is uncertain whether the addition of steroids offers any additional benefits over injection of LA alone. We propose to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the evidence for using steroids and LA vs.