Retrospective Analysis of Non-Surgical Treatment of Acute Cholecystitis.

Worldwide, acute cholecystitis is a common disease. The current standard of treatment is according to the Tokyo Guidelines established in 2018. Conservative management with various combinations of analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and percutaneous drainage are sometimes used to avoid or delay surgery, especially in frail patients, but little is known about the efficacy and safety of these strategies.

The immunologic features of patients with early-onset and polyautoimmunity.

Inflammatory conditions are increasingly described in patients with primary immunodeficiencies; however, little is known about the prevalence of immune defects in patients who present first with autoimmunity. We describe the immunologic features of children with early-onset/polyautoimmunity followed in the Multiple Autoimmunity and Immunodeficiency (MAID) Clinic, where patients are co-managed by rheumatologists and immunologists. The most common autoimmune manifestations were cytopenias, lymphoproliferation, and colitis.

Metabolic consequences of perioperative oral carbohydrates in breast cancer patients - an explorative study.

Background: The metabolic consequences of preoperative carbohydrate load in breast cancer patients are not known. The present explorative study investigated the systemic and tumor metabolic changes after preoperative per-oral carbohydrate load and their influence on tumor characteristics and survival.

Methods: The study setting was on university hospital level with primary and secondary care functions in south-west Norway.

Defining a new immune deficiency syndrome: MAN2B2-CDG.

We describe the first case of MAN2B2 deficiency in a patient with immune dysregulation, developmental delay, and stroke. Altered mannosylation profile was restored in patient cells upon transduction of wild-type MAN2B2.

Increasing socioeconomic disparities in tobacco smoking decline among French adolescents (2000-2017).

Background: This paper studies the evolution of transitions from first cigarette use to daily use by socioeconomic status (SES) among French adolescents over the course of 17 years, in a context of decreasing prevalence of tobacco use.

Methods: A total of 182 266 adolescents participated in the nationally representative ESCAPAD survey at nine different time points between 2000 and 2017. Discrete time-event analysis was used to model the transition to daily cigarette use as a function of SES, gender, age at onset and the use of other psychoactive substances.

Detection of disseminated tumor cells in bone marrow predict late recurrences in operable breast cancer patients.

Background: Operable breast cancer patients may experience late recurrences because of reactivation of dormant tumor cells within the bone marrow (BM). Identification of patients who would benefit from extended therapy is therefore needed.

Methods: BM samples obtained pre- and post-surgery were previously analysed for presence of disseminated tumor cells (DTC) by a multimarker mRNA quantitative reverse-transcription PCR assay.

Environmental fate processes of antimicrobial peptides daptomycin, bacitracins, and polymyxins.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are increasingly important as a last resort against multi-drug resistant bacteria due to resistance formation towards conventional antibiotics. However, many AMPs were introduced to the market before environmental risk assessment was required, e.g.

Influence of pre-operative oral carbohydrate loading vs. standard fasting on tumor proliferation and clinical outcome in breast cancer patients ─ a randomized trial.

Background: Conflicting results have been reported on the influence of carbohydrates in breast cancer.

Objective: To determine the influence of pre-operative per-oral carbohydrate load on proliferation in breast tumors.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Determinants of Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Health-Related Quality of Life in Memory Clinic Patients Without Dementia.

Objective: To identify determinants within 3 different domains (ie, somatic comorbidities, cognitive functioning, and neuropsychiatric symptoms [NPS]) of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) over time in memory clinic patients without dementia.

Methods: This longitudinal multicenter cohort study with a 3-year observation period recruited 315 individuals (age: 69.8 ± 8.

Patient preferences for attributes of tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatments for EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer.

EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) vary in efficacy, side effects (SEs) and dosing regimen. We explored EGFR-TKI treatment attribute preferences in EGFR mutation-positive metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. Patients completed a survey utilizing preference elicitation methods: direct elicitation of four EGFR-TKI profiles describing progression-free survival (PFS), severe SE risk, administration; discrete choice experiment involving 12 choice tasks.

Method Development for Effect-Directed Analysis of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in Human Amniotic Fluid.

The developing fetus represents a highly sensitive period of exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). However, risk assessment of EDCs is hampered by the lack of data on direct in utero exposure. In this study, we developed a robust analytical methodology for the identification of a wide range of known and unknown EDCs in full-term amniotic fluid (AF).

Panoptic View of Prognostic Models for Personalized Breast Cancer Management.

The efforts to personalize treatment for patients with breast cancer have led to a focus on the deeper characterization of genotypic and phenotypic heterogeneity among breast cancers. Traditional pathology utilizes microscopy to profile the morphologic features and organizational architecture of tumor tissue for predicting the course of disease, and is the first-line set of guiding tools for customizing treatment decision-making. Currently, clinicians use this information, combined with the disease stage, to predict patient prognosis to some extent.

Shoot sodium exclusion in salt stressed barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is determined by allele specific increased expression of HKT1;5.

High affinity potassium transporters (HKT) are recognized as important genes for crop salt tolerance improvement. In this study, we investigated HvHKT1;5 as a candidate gene for a previously discovered quantitative trait locus that controls shoot Na and Na/K ratio in salt-stressed barley lines on a hydroponic system. Two major haplotype groups could be distinguished for this gene in a barley collection of 95 genotypes based on the presence of three intronic insertions; a designated haplotype group A (HGA, same as reference sequence) and haplotype group B (HGB, with insertions).

Examining Generalizability of Older Adults' Preferences for Discussing Cessation of Screening Colonoscopies in Older Adults with Low Health Literacy.

Background/objectives: Many older adults receive unnecessary screening colonoscopies. We previously conducted a survey using a national online panel to assess older adults' preferences for how clinicians can discuss stopping screening colonoscopies. We sought to assess the generalizability of those results by comparing them to a sample of older adults with low health literacy.

Prognostic value and reproducibility of different microscopic characteristics in the WHO grading systems for pTa and pT1 urinary bladder urothelial carcinomas.

Background: European treatment guidelines for pTa and pT1 urinary bladder urothelial carcinoma depend highly on stage and WHO-grade. Both the WHO73 and the WHO04 grading systems show some intra- and interobserver variability. The current pilot study investigates which histopathological features are especially sensitive for this undesired lack of reproducibility and the influence on prognostic value.

Gab3 is required for IL-2- and IL-15-induced NK cell expansion and limits trophoblast invasion during pregnancy.

The scaffolding protein Grb2-associated binding protein 3 (Gab3) is a member of the Gab family, whose functions have remained elusive. Here, we identify Gab3 as a key determinant of peripheral NK cell expansion. Loss of Gab3 resulted in impaired IL-2 and IL-15-induced NK cell priming and expansion due to a selective impairment in MAPK signaling but not STAT5 signaling.

Prognostic Role of Androgen Receptor in Triple Negative Breast Cancer: A Multi-Institutional Study.

Background: The androgen receptor (AR) has emerged as a potential therapeutic target for AR-positive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, conflicting reports regarding AR's prognostic role in TNBC are putting its usefulness in question. Some studies conclude that AR positivity indicates a good prognosis in TNBC, whereas others suggest the opposite, and some show that AR status has no significant bearing on the patients' prognosis.

Prevalence of Sexual Problems and Associated Distress in Aging Men Across 4 European Countries.

Background: Among older men, comparable cross-cultural investigations of sexual problems and associated distress that also include a multitude of relevant explanatory variables of these sexual problem and related distress are rare in the research literature.

Aims: To investigate prevalence rates of sexual problems and associated distress among older men across 4 European countries (Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and Portugal) and assess for associated mental and physical health-related factors.

Methods: Multinational cross-sectional questionnaire study using self-report measures.

How Do Older Adults Consider Age, Life Expectancy, Quality of Life, and Physician Recommendations When Making Cancer Screening Decisions? Results from a National Survey Using a Discrete Choice Experiment.

Older adults with limited life expectancy frequently receive cancer screening, although on average, harms outweigh benefits. We examined the influence of life expectancy on older adults' cancer screening decisions relative to three other factors. Adults aged 65+ years ( = 1272) were recruited from a national online survey panel.

Doping among high school students: findings from the French ESPAD survey.

Background: The increasing use of doping by youth is a growing public health concern. The present study aimed to calculate robust estimates of the prevalence of doping among French high school students and study factors related to the use of licit vs. banned agents.

Wearable Finger Pulse Oximetry for Continuous Oxygen Saturation Measurements During Daily Home Routines of Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Over One Week: Observational Study.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients can suffer from low blood oxygen concentrations. Peripheral blood oxygen saturation (SpO), as assessed by pulse oximetry, is commonly measured during the day using a spot check, or continuously during one or two nights to estimate nocturnal desaturation. Sampling at this frequency may overlook natural fluctuations in SpO.

Drug monitoring of tamoxifen metabolites predicts vaginal dryness and verifies a low discontinuation rate from the Norwegian Prescription Database.

Purpose: Tamoxifen is an important targeted endocrine therapy in breast cancer. However, side effects and early discontinuation of tamoxifen remains a barrier for obtaining the improved outcome benefits of long-term tamoxifen treatment. Biomarkers predictive of tamoxifen side effects remain unidentified.

Compound Identification Using Liquid Chromatography and High-Resolution Noncontact Fraction Collection with a Solenoid Valve.

We describe the development of a high-resolution, noncontact fraction collector for liquid chromatography (LC) separations, allowing high-resolution fractionation in high-density well plates. The device is based on a low-dead-volume solenoid valve operated at 1-30 Hz for accurate collection of fractions of equal volume. The solenoid valve was implemented in a modified autosampler resulting in the so-called FractioMate fractionator.

The evolving role of patient preference studies in health-care decision-making, from clinical drug development to clinical care management.

: There is a growing trend of using patient preference studies to help incorporate the patient perspective into clinical drug development, care management, and health-care decision-making. Collecting and interpreting patient preference data is integral to multi-stakeholder engagement, patient-centric drug development, and clinical care management. Operationally, challenges exist in understanding 'when' and 'how' to embark on patient preference studies.