The Double Disparity: Vitamin D Deficiency and Lethal Prostate Cancer in Black Men.

Epidemiological data from as early as the 1930s documented a dramatic racial disparity in prostate cancer incidence, survival, and mortality rates among Black men-a trend that persists to this day. Black men are disproportionately burdened by prostate cancer, developing the disease at younger ages, facing more aggressive and lethal forms, and ultimately experiencing double the mortality rate of men of European descent. Investigating the multifactorial contributors to this racial disparity has been extensive, but results have often been inconsistent or inconclusive, making it difficult to pinpoint clear correlations.

- a large-scale dataset of 3D medical shapes for computer vision.

Objectives: The shape is commonly used to describe the objects. State-of-the-art algorithms in medical imaging are predominantly diverging from computer vision, where voxel grids, meshes, point clouds, and implicit surface models are used. This is seen from the growing popularity of ShapeNet (51,300 models) and Princeton ModelNet (127,915 models).

Dopaminergic PET to SPECT domain adaptation: a cycle GAN translation approach.

Purpose: Dopamine transporter imaging is routinely used in Parkinson's disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonian syndromes (APS) diagnosis. While [C]CFT PET is prevalent in Asia with a large APS database, Europe relies on [I]FP-CIT SPECT with limited APS data. Our aim was to develop a deep learning-based method to convert [C]CFT PET images to [I]FP-CIT SPECT images, facilitating multicenter studies and overcoming data scarcity to promote Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancements.

Preclinical development of lyophilized self-replicating RNA vaccines for COVID-19 and malaria with improved long-term thermostability.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines against COVID-19 have demonstrated high efficacy and rapid deployment capability to target emerging infectious diseases. However, the need for ultra-low temperature storage made the distribution of LNP/mRNA vaccines to regions with limited resources impractical. This study explores the use of lyophilization to enhance the stability of self-replicating mRNA (repRNA) vaccines, allowing for their storage at non-freezing temperatures such as 2-8 °C or room temperature (25 °C).

Imaging differentiation of solid pseudopapillary neoplasms and neuroendocrine neoplasms of the pancreas.

Purpose: The present study aimed to compare the computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of solid pseudopapillary neoplasms (SPNs) and pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (pNENs).

Method: Lesion imaging features of 39 patients with SPNs and 127 patients with pNENs were retrospectively extracted from 104 CT and 91 MRI scans.

Results: Compared to pNEN patients, SPN patients were significantly younger (mean age 51.

Multisensory Extended Reality Applications Offer Benefits for Volumetric Biomedical Image Analysis in Research and Medicine.

3D data from high-resolution volumetric imaging is a central resource for diagnosis and treatment in modern medicine. While the fast development of AI enhances imaging and analysis, commonly used visualization methods lag far behind. Recent research used extended reality (XR) for perceiving 3D images with visual depth perception and touch but used restrictive haptic devices.

[Perioperative management for cardiovascular implantable electronic devices].

Cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIED) are an important part of modern cardiology and careful perioperative planning of these procedures is necessary. All information relevant to the indication, the procedure, and the education of the patient must be available prior to surgery. This provides the basis for appropriate device selection.

Long-axial field-of-view PET/CT for the assessment of inflammation in calcified coronary artery plaques with [ Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC.

Purpose: Inflamed, prone-to-rupture coronary plaques are an important cause of myocardial infarction and their early identification is crucial. Atherosclerotic plaques are characterized by overexpression of the type-2 somatostatin receptor (SST) in activated macrophages. SST ligand imaging (e.

Novel protocol for optimal utilization of HPSD approach for pulmonary vein isolation.

Background: The efficiency of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) depends on the durability of RF lesions. Recent studies documented sustained continuity of ablation lines, improvements in durability, and expected clinical outcomes through altered settings in duration and power. However, the ablation strategy has not been adapted to this new approach and different biophysics of lesion formation.

Spatial mapping of the DNA adducts in cancer.

DNA adducts and strand breaks are induced by various exogenous and endogenous agents. Accumulation of DNA damage is implicated in many disease processes, including cancer, aging, and neurodegeneration. The continuous acquisition of DNA damage from exogenous and endogenous stressors coupled with defects in DNA repair pathways contribute to the accumulation of DNA damage within the genome and genomic instability.

Empagliflozin increases kidney weight due to increased cell size in the proximal tubule S3 segment and the collecting duct.

The inhibition of renal SGLT2 glucose reabsorption has proven its therapeutic efficacy in chronic kidney disease. SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLTi) have been intensively studied in rodent models to identify the mechanisms of SGLT2i-mediated nephroprotection. So far, the overwhelming effects from clinical trials, could only partially be reproduced in rodent models of renal injury.

Evaluation of repRNA vaccine for induction and in utero transfer of maternal antibodies in a pregnant rabbit model.

Mother-to-child transmission is a major route for infections in newborns. Vaccination in mothers to leverage the maternal immune system is a promising approach to vertically transfer protective immunity. During infectious disease outbreaks, such as the 2016 Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak, rapid availability of vaccines can prove critical in reducing widespread disease burden.

Regulation of Prostate Androgens by Megalin and 25-hydroxyvitamin D Status: Mechanism for High Prostate Androgens in African American Men.

Unlabelled: Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer mortality and is hypothesized to contribute to prostate cancer aggressiveness and disparities in African American populations. The prostate epithelium was recently shown to express megalin, an endocytic receptor that internalizes circulating globulin-bound hormones, which suggests regulation of intracellular prostate hormone levels. This contrasts with passive diffusion of hormones that is posited by the free hormone hypothesis.

Localization of natriuretic peptide receptors A, B, and C in healthy and diseased mouse kidneys.

The natriuretic peptides (NPs) ANP (atrial natriuretic peptide) and BNP (B-type natriuretic peptide) mediate their widespread effects by activating the natriuretic peptide receptor-A (NPR-A), while C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) acts via natriuretic peptide receptor-B (NPR-B). NPs are removed from the circulation by internalization via the natriuretic peptide clearance receptor natriuretic peptide receptor-C (NPR-C). In addition to their well-known functions, for instance on blood pressure, all three NPs confer significant cardioprotection and renoprotection.

Uridine Diphosphate Glucuronosyl Transferase 2B28 (UGT2B28) Promotes Tumor Progression and Is Elevated in African American Prostate Cancer Patients.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most diagnosed cancer in the United States and is associated with metabolic reprogramming and significant disparities in clinical outcomes among African American (AA) men. While the cause is likely multi-factorial, the precise reasons for this are unknown. Here, we identified a higher expression of the metabolic enzyme UGT2B28 in localized PCa and metastatic disease compared to benign adjacent tissue, in AA PCa compared to benign adjacent tissue, and in AA PCa compared to European American (EA) PCa.

Replicating RNA platform enables rapid response to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and elicits enhanced protection in naïve hamsters compared to ancestral vaccine.

Background: In late 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.

An optimized co-immunoprecipitation protocol for the analysis of endogenous protein-protein interactions in cell lines using mass spectrometry.

This protocol represents an optimized proteomics-based protocol for the endogenous protein enrichment and protein-protein interaction analysis. This 2-step protocol consists of: 1) co-immunoprecipitation of the bait protein; 2) the bait-protein interactions analysis using LC-MS/MS. Here, we used Dynabeads® for the enrichment of the target protein (the bait) and its interactors.

SARS-CoV2 variant-specific replicating RNA vaccines protect from disease following challenge with heterologous variants of concern.

Despite mass public health efforts, the SARS-CoV2 pandemic continues as of late 2021 with resurgent case numbers in many parts of the world. The emergence of SARS-CoV2 variants of concern (VoCs) and evidence that existing vaccines that were designed to protect from the original strains of SARS-CoV-2 may have reduced potency for protection from infection against these VoC is driving continued development of second-generation vaccines that can protect against multiple VoC. In this report, we evaluated an alphavirus-based replicating RNA vaccine expressing Spike proteins from the original SARS-CoV-2 Alpha strain and recent VoCs delivered in vivo via a lipid inorganic nanoparticle.

Structure-based design of haloperidol analogues as inhibitors of acetyltransferase Eis from to overcome kanamycin resistance.

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by (), is a deadly bacterial disease. Drug-resistant strains of make eradication of TB a daunting task. Overexpression of the enhanced intracellular survival (Eis) protein by confers resistance to the second-line antibiotic kanamycin (KAN).

NF-κB determines Paneth versus goblet cell fate decision in the small intestine.

Although the role of the transcription factor NF-κB in intestinal inflammation and tumor formation has been investigated extensively, a physiological function of NF-κB in sustaining intestinal epithelial homeostasis beyond inflammation has not been demonstrated. Using NF-κB reporter mice, we detected strong NF-κB activity in Paneth cells, in '+4/+5' secretory progenitors and in scattered Lgr5+ crypt base columnar stem cells of small intestinal (SI) crypts. To examine NF-κB functions in SI epithelial self-renewal, mice or SI crypt organoids ('mini-guts') with ubiquitously suppressed NF-κB activity were used.

A Simplified Stepwise Approach to Echo Guidance during Percutaneous Mitral Valve Repair.

Percutaneous transcatheter edge-to-edge reconstruction of the mitral valve is a safe and well-established therapy for severe symptomatic mitral regurgitation in patients with high surgical risk. Echocardiographic guidance in addition to fluoroscopy is the gold standard and should be performed using a standardized technique. This article lays out our reproducible step by step echocardiographic guide including views, measurements as well as highlighting possible difficulties that may arise during the procedure.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dividends.

This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dividend payouts of publicly traded firms in the U.S. Out of nearly 1,400 dividend paying firms, 213 cut dividends and 93 omitted dividends entirely in the second quarter of 2020.