Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing of Cell-Free DNA to Detect -Immunoglobulin Translocation and Epstein-Barr Virus DNA in Plasma of Burkitt Lymphoma Patients in East Africa.

Purpose: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive Burkitt lymphoma (BL) affects children in sub-Saharan Africa, but diagnosis via tissue biopsy is challenging. We explored a liquid biopsy approach using targeted next-generation sequencing to detect the -immunoglobulin (-Ig) translocation and EBV DNA, assessing its potential for minimally invasive BL diagnosis.

Materials And Methods: The panel included targets for the characteristic -Ig translocation, mutations in intron 1 of , mutations in exon 2 of , and three EBV genes: EBV-encoded RNA (EBER)1, EBER2, and EBV nuclear antigen 2.

Cystic Fibrosis Experience of Care Survey: Patient-Caregiver-Clinician Collaborative Design and Implementation.

People with cystic fibrosis (PwCF), families, and clinicians, partner to co-produce care, navigate access barriers, address mental health and social factors, follow specific infection prevention and control practices, and share decision-making regarding treatments and daily care. Standard patient satisfaction and experience of care surveys are not tailored to return relevant, actionable data for specific populations. To improve the care experience, the U.

Biologically defined neuronal synuclein disease as a tool to advance drug development.

In a recent Viewpoint article (. 2024;81:789‒90), Okubadejo et al. raised concerns regarding two recent proposals for biological definitions and staging systems for synucleinopathies (the Neuronal Synuclein Disease Integrated Staging System and SynNeurGe system).

The Impact of Statin Intensity on the Early Progression of Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy.

Background: Limited research has compared the relative risks and benefits different statins have after heart transplantation (HT).

Method: We hypothesize that higher statin intensity is associated with a smaller degree of allograft intimal thickening on intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) at 1-year post-HT. Allograft intima-media thickness (IMT) on the first annual IVUS was retrospectively compared in patients initiated on a low-intensity statin (pravastatin 20 mg daily) versus moderate-intensity statin (atorvastatin 20 mg daily) post-HT.

Thermal stability and coalescence dynamics of exsolved metal nanoparticles at charged perovskite surfaces.

Exsolution reactions enable the synthesis of oxide-supported metal nanoparticles, which are desirable as catalysts in green energy conversion technologies. It is crucial to precisely tailor the nanoparticle characteristics to optimize the catalysts' functionality, and to maintain the catalytic performance under operation conditions. We use chemical (co)-doping to modify the defect chemistry of exsolution-active perovskite oxides and examine its influence on the mass transfer kinetics of Ni dopants towards the oxide surface and on the subsequent coalescence behavior of the exsolved nanoparticles during a continuous thermal reduction treatment.

Neuronal alpha-Synuclein Disease integrated staging system performance in PPMI, PASADENA, and SPARK baseline cohorts.

The Neuronal alpha-Synuclein Disease (NSD) biological definition and Integrated Staging System (NSD-ISS) provide a research framework to identify individuals with Lewy body pathology and stage them based on underlying biology and increasing degree of functional impairment. Utilizing data from the PPMI, PASADENA, and SPARK studies, we developed and applied biologic and clinical data-informed definitions for the NSD-ISS across the disease continuum. Individuals enrolled as Parkinson's disease, Prodromal, or Healthy Controls were defined and staged based on biological, clinical, and functional anchors at baseline.

Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Interactions between Food or Herbal Products and Oral Anticoagulants: Evidence Review, Practical Recommendations, and Knowledge Gaps.

Interactions between food and oral anticoagulants (OACs), particularly vitamin K antagonists such as warfarin, are widely recognized and may also be clinically relevant for direct OACs. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions with food or herbs can lead to anticoagulation potentiation, increased risk of bleeding, or reduced drug efficacy, all compromising patient safety. We conducted a systematic search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on PubMed for assessments of interactions between OACs and various ingestants.

Contemporary Immunosuppression Management and 1-Year Outcomes in Dual Organ Heart Transplantation.

Background: There have been limited reports on immunosuppression strategies and outcomes in dual organ heart transplant populations, primarily from before the 2018 United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) heart allocation policy change. Recent data suggested that outcomes with heart-lung and heart-liver transplants remained comparable in the new allocation era, yet heart-kidney recipients have worse 1-year survival.

Methods: This single-center retrospective study evaluated adult heart-kidney, heart-liver, and heart-lung transplant recipients from September 2019 to May 2023.

Ivabradine Approved and Other Uses in Clinical Practice: A Systematic Review.

Heart rate (HR) stands as a prognostic indicator of cardiovascular disease and a modifiable risk factor in heart failure (HF). Medication intolerance can curtail the application of conventional HR-lowering β-blockers to the optimum target dose. Ivabradine (IVA), a specific negative-chronotropic agent, selectively inhibits I f current in pacemaker cells of the sinoatrial node without depressing myocardial contractility or comprising hemodynamics.

Pilot randomised controlled trial of a culturally aligned smoking cessation app for American Indian persons.

Objective: To pilot test QuitGuide for Natives, a culturally aligned version of the National Cancer Institute's QuitGuide smartphone app for smoking cessation.

Methods: This randomised controlled trial was conducted remotely during 2022-2023. American Indian adults who smoked and resided in the Midwest (n=115) were randomised to QuitGuide for Natives or the general audience QuitGuide smartphone-based intervention.

An ISHLT consensus statement on strategies to prevent and manage hemocompatibility related adverse events in patients with a durable, continuous-flow ventricular assist device.

Life expectancy of patients with a durable, continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) continues to increase. Despite significant improvements in the delivery of care for patients with these devices, hemocompatability-related adverse events (HRAEs) are still a concern and contribute to significant morbility and mortality when they occur. As such, dissemination of current best evidence and practices is of critical importance.

Immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with follicular lymphoma receiving frontline chemoimmunotherapy.

Immune responses to primary COVID-19 vaccination were investigated in 58 patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) as part of the PETReA trial of frontline therapy (EudraCT 2016-004010-10). COVID-19 vaccines (BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1) were administered before, during or after cytoreductive treatment comprising rituximab (depletes B cells) and either bendamustine (depletes CD4 T cells) or cyclophosphamide-based chemotherapy. Blood samples obtained after vaccine doses 1 and 2 (V1, V2) were analysed for antibodies and T cells reactive to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein using the Abbott Architect and interferon-gamma ELISpot assays respectively.

Storytelling of Indigenous patient and family advocates engaged in patient-oriented research initiatives in the field of inflammatory bowel disease.

Background And Aim: The history of colonization and its ongoing impact poses significant health disparities among Indigenous communities. We aimed to centre the voices and stories of Indigenous patients and family advocates (IPFAs-Indigenous patients living with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] and family members of Indigenous individuals with IBD) engaged in patient-oriented research projects and who are part of the IBD among Indigenous Peoples Research Team (IBD-IPRT).

Methods: IPFAs and Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers of the IBD-IPRT followed a storytelling research methodology to let IPFAs share their stories as research team members.

Sleep in the wild: the importance of individual effects and environmental conditions on sleep behaviour in wild boar.

Sleep serves vital physiological functions, yet how sleep in wild animals is influenced by environmental conditions is poorly understood. Here we use high-resolution biologgers to investigate sleep in wild animals over ecologically relevant time scales and quantify variability between individuals under changing conditions. We developed a robust classification for accelerometer data and measured multiple dimensions of sleep in the wild boar () over an annual cycle.

Epilepsy and the risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization and death: A population study.

Objective: People with epilepsy (PWE) may be at an increased risk of severe COVID-19. It is important to characterize this risk to inform PWE and for future health and care planning. We assessed whether PWE were at higher risk of being hospitalized with, or dying from, COVID-19.

Health care utilization and mortality for people with epilepsy during COVID-19: A population study.

Objective: This study was undertaken to characterize changes in health care utilization and mortality for people with epilepsy (PWE) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study using linked, individual-level, population-scale anonymized health data from the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage databank. We identified PWE living in Wales during the study "pandemic period" (January 1, 2020-June 30, 2021) and during a "prepandemic" period (January 1, 2016-December 31, 2019).

A biological definition of neuronal α-synuclein disease: towards an integrated staging system for research.

Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies are currently defined by their clinical features, with α-synuclein pathology as the gold standard to establish the definitive diagnosis. We propose that, given biomarker advances enabling accurate detection of pathological α-synuclein (ie, misfolded and aggregated) in CSF using the seed amplification assay, it is time to redefine Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies as neuronal α-synuclein disease rather than as clinical syndromes. This major shift from a clinical to a biological definition of Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies takes advantage of the availability of tools to assess the gold standard for diagnosis of neuronal α-synuclein (n-αsyn) in human beings during life.

Sweat Characteristics and Fluid Balance Responses During Two Heat Training Camps in Elite Female Field Hockey Players.

We examined the sweat characteristics and fluid balance of elite female field hockey players during two heat training camps. Fourteen elite female field hockey players from the Australian national squad participated in two heat training camps held ∼6 months apart, following winter- (Camp 1) and summer-based training (Camp 2). Daily waking body mass (BM) and urine specific gravity (USG) were collected, along with several markers of sweat and fluid balance across two matches per camp.