Lifetime Postnatal Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substance Mixture and DNA Methylation at Twelve Years of Age.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure has been linked to DNA methylation changes in neonates and adults. We previously reported that prenatal PFAS exposure may have a durable impact on DNA methylation from birth to adolescence. However, few studies have examined the association of postnatal PFAS exposure with alterations in DNA methylation.

Contrasting Effects of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination vs. Infection on Antibody and TCR Repertoires.

Antibodies and helper T cells play important roles in SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. We sequenced B- and T-cell receptor repertoires (BCR/TCR) from the blood of 251 infectees, vaccinees, and controls to investigate whether features of these repertoires could predict subjects' SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody titer (NAbs), as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We sequenced recombined immunoglobulin heavy-chain (IGH), TCRβ (TRB), and TCRδ (TRD) genes in parallel from all subjects, including select B- and T-cell subsets in most cases, with a focus on their hypervariable CDR3 regions, and correlated this AIRRseq data with demographics and clinical findings from subjects' electronic health records.

Impact of invasive infections on clinical outcomes in acute pancreatitis: early predictive factors and implications for prophylactic anti-infective therapy.

Background: The use of antibiotic therapy in acute pancreatitis remains controversial and is currently recommended only for confirmed infections of peripancreatic necrosis. However, reliable early predictors of septic complications and unfavorable outcomes are substantially lacking.

Methods: Patients with acute pancreatitis were retrospectively reviewed and divided into two groups: one with a septic course defined by pathogen detection [GERM(+)] and one without [GERM(-)].

'Which treatment do you believe you received?' A randomised blinding feasibility trial of spinal manual therapy.

Background: Blinding is essential for mitigating biases in trials of low back pain (LBP). Our main objectives were to assess the feasibility of blinding: (1) participants randomly allocated to active or placebo spinal manual therapy (SMT), and (2) outcome assessors. We also explored blinding by levels of SMT lifetime experience and recent LBP, and factors contributing to beliefs about the assigned intervention.