Publications by authors named "Kam L"

Using a systematic review and meta-analytic approach, this study determined the durability of HBV immunity and the prevalence of anamnestic response to a booster HBV vaccine dose in individuals previously vaccinated with a 3-dose HBV vaccine series as children or adolescents. Two researchers independently searched PubMed, Embase and Cochrane from inception to 6/1/2023 and performed data extraction. Studies that included individuals with significant comorbidities or < 5 years of follow-up were excluded.

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Background: We investigated the association of metabolic risk factors (MRFs) and statin use with liver and nonliver outcomes in a nationwide cohort of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in the United States.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult patients with CHB using the MarketScan Databases (January 2007-December 2021). Incidence of liver and nonliver outcomes (cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and extrahepatic cancer) was analyzed.

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Objective: With the obesity pandemic, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the most common liver disease and a leading cause of end-stage liver disease and liver-related deaths in the U.S.A.

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Immune cell function varies tremendously between individuals, posing a major challenge to emerging cellular immunotherapies. This report pursues the use of cell morphology as an indicator of high-level T cell function. Short-term spreading of T cells on planar, elastic surfaces was quantified by 11 morphological parameters and analyzed to identify effects of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

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Background: Trends in phototherapy utilization in the context of new therapeutics have not been evaluated.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate phototherapy utilization, payments, and geographic distribution for Medicare beneficiaries from 2000 to 2021.

Patients/methods: A longitudinal analysis of the Medicare Part B National Summary Data Files was conducted to obtain phototherapy utilization and payment amounts.

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Background: Detailed subgroup incidence rates for steatotic liver disease (SLD)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are critical to inform practice and public health interventions but remain sparse. We aimed to fill in this gap.

Methods And Findings: In a retrospective cohort study of adults with SLD from the United States (US) Merative Marketscan Research Databases (1/2007 to 12/2021), we estimated HCC incidence stratified by sex, age, cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus (DM), and a combination of all these 4 factors.

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Disclaimer: In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.

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Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy occur in 5-10 % of pregnancies and are associated with an increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes.

Objectives: This review investigates the association between first trimester blood pressure (BP), mid-pregnancy BP drop, and BP-trajectories during pregnancy and adverse perinatal outcomes, exploring the fit of prediction and prevention.

Search Strategy: Observational studies published before September 2023, reporting on desired determinants of BP and outcomes (preeclampsia (PE), severe hypertension, small for gestational age (SGA), fetal growth restriction (FGR)) were identified in MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane.

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Introduction: We compared clinical characteristics and outcomes in real-world metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) patients with or without liver biopsy using a nationwide cohort in United States (USA) to fill in gaps in selection of biopsy patients.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult MASLD patients using Marketscan® Databases (1/2007-12/2021). Patients were categorized into those with or without liver biopsy during follow-up.

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Objective: Type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (diabetic MASLD) frequently coexist and worsen liver and non-liver outcomes, but effective pharmacological therapies are limited. We aimed to evaluate the long-term effect of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT-2i) on liver and non-liver outcomes among patients with diabetic MASLD.

Design: This population-based cohort study retrieved patients with diabetic MASLD from Merative Marketscan Research Databases (April 2013 and December 2021).

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Article Synopsis
  • Oral antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is effective and well-tolerated, but real-world data on how well patients are evaluated and treated is limited, prompting this study.
  • In a cross-sectional analysis of 12,566 adult patients from 25 centers across 9 countries, it was found that 73.3% received adequate evaluation, with only 32.6% of those deemed treatment-eligible actually starting antiviral therapy.
  • Factors influencing evaluation and treatment included gender, with females more likely to be evaluated but less likely to start treatment, and geographical differences, particularly among Asian patients from Western regions showing lower rates of evaluation and treatment.
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Professional phagocytes like neutrophils and macrophages tightly control what they consume, how much they consume, and when they move after cargo uptake. We show that plasma membrane abundance is a key arbiter of these cellular behaviors. Neutrophils and macrophages lacking the G protein subunit Gβ exhibited profound plasma membrane expansion, accompanied by marked reduction in plasma membrane tension.

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Background: Adverse outcomes of cirrhosis remain a top priority.

Aims: We examined the distribution of cirrhosis causes, HCC incidence and mortality and related changes over time in a nationwide U.S.

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Objective: To better understand how the public defines 'healthy' foods and to determine whether the public considers sustainability, implicitly and explicitly, in the context of healthy eating.

Design: We conducted a content analysis of public comments submitted to the US FDA in 2016 and 2017 in response to an invitation for feedback on use of the term 'healthy' on food labels. The analysis explored the ways in which commenters' definitions of 'healthy' aligned with the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and whether their definitions considered sustainability.

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Induced Tregs (iTregs) have great promise in adoptive immunotherapy for treatment of autoimmune diseases. This report investigates the impacts of substrate stiffness on human Treg induction, providing a powerful yet simple approach to improving production of these cells. Conventional CD4 human T cells were activated on materials of different elastic modulus and cultured under suppressive conditions.

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The incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is rising in the West, but little is known in Asia. This study elucidated changes in the incidence and HPV-positive portion of OPSCC in Hong Kong. Data from population-based cancer registry were used to analyze the incidence of OPSCC in association with other head and neck cancers.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study analyzed over 34,000 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from 2003 to 2021, finding that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was the leading cause of HCC, followed by hepatitis C virus (HCV) and cryptogenic causes.
  • Patients diagnosed between 2014 and 2021 tended to be older, more diverse in ethnicity, and had more comorbid conditions, leading to a lower 5-year survival rate compared to those diagnosed from 2003 to 2013.
  • Males, Caucasians, African Americans, and Hispanics exhibited higher mortality rates, with NAFLD and cryptogenic liver disease also linked to worse outcomes.
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During vertebrate organogenesis, increases in morphological complexity are tightly coupled to morphogen expression. In this work, we studied how morphogens influence self-organizing processes at the collective or "supra"-cellular scale in avian skin. We made physical measurements across length scales, which revealed morphogen-enabled material property differences that were amplified at supracellular scales in comparison to cellular scales.

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Background: Since the inception of the interferon-free direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, guidelines as to who should receive this potentially curative treatment have evolved. Treatment with DAAs is now considered for all patients except for those considered moribund.

Aim: To determine the DAA treatment rate for patients with HCV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

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Coral cover and recruitment have decreased on reefs worldwide due to climate change-related disturbances. Achieving reliable coral larval settlement under aquaculture conditions is critical for reef restoration programmes; however, this can be challenging due to the lack of reliable and universal larval settlement cues. To investigate the role of microorganisms in coral larval settlement, we undertook a settlement choice experiment with larvae of the coral Acropora tenuis and microbial biofilms grown for different periods on the reef and in aquaria.

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Background & Aims: Although oral antiviral therapy (OAV) is reported to improve outcomes in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), it is underutilized. We determined the rate and factors associated with OAV utilization among patients with HBV-related HCC in a US population with health insurance.

Methods: Patients with HBV-related HCC were identified from the de-identified administrative health claims database for patients with private insurance, Optum Clinformatics (2003-2021).

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Professional phagocytes like neutrophils and macrophages tightly control what they eat, how much they eat, and when they move after eating. We show that plasma membrane abundance is a key arbiter of these cellular behaviors. Neutrophils and macrophages lacking the G-protein subunit Gb4 exhibit profound plasma membrane expansion due to enhanced production of sphingolipids.

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Importance: Accurate risk prediction models using routinely measured biomarkers-eg, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and bilirubin serum levels-for pancreatic cancer could facilitate early detection of pancreatic cancer and prevent potentially unnecessary diagnostic tests for patients at low risk. An externally validated model using CA19-9 and bilirubin serum levels in a larger cohort of patients with pancreatic cancer or benign periampullary diseases is needed.

Objective: To assess the discrimination, calibration, and clinical utility of a prediction model using readily available blood biomarkers (carbohydrate antigen 19-9 [CA19-9] and bilirubin) to distinguish early-stage pancreatic cancer from benign periampullary diseases.

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