Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Combined with Multivariate Analysis for Fingerprinting Clinically Similar Fibromyalgia and Long COVID Syndromes.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic central sensitivity syndrome characterized by augmented pain processing at diffuse body sites and presents as a multimorbid clinical condition. Long COVID (LC) is a heterogenous clinical syndrome that affects 10-20% of individuals following COVID-19 infection. FM and LC share similarities with regard to the pain and other clinical symptoms experienced, thereby posing a challenge for accurate diagnosis.

Single color digital H&E staining with In-and-Out Net.

Virtual staining streamlines traditional staining procedures by digitally generating stained images from unstained or differently stained images. While conventional staining methods involve time-consuming chemical processes, virtual staining offers an efficient and low infrastructure alternative. Leveraging microscopy-based techniques, such as confocal microscopy, researchers can expedite tissue analysis without the need for physical sectioning.

Evaluating the persuasiveness of messages promoting mobile mammography among uninsured women.

Mobile mammography units (MMUs) can enhance access to breast cancer screening by providing convenient, cost-effective service, particularly for uninsured and underinsured women. However, prior studies indicate that acceptability concerns about quality and privacy, among other issues, may prevent women from utilizing MMUs. The current study employs a within-participant experimental design exposing participants to messages about different MMU characteristics to determine which characteristics are most effective in persuading them to use an MMU.

Portable Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics to Diagnose Fibromyalgia and Other Rheumatologic Syndromes Using Rapid Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling.

The diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia (FM) have relied heavily on subjective reports of experienced symptoms coupled with examination-based evidence of diffuse tenderness due to the lack of reliable biomarkers. Rheumatic disorders that are common causes of chronic pain such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, osteoarthritis, and chronic low back pain are frequently found to be comorbid with FM. As a result, this can make the diagnosis of FM more challenging.

Early Diagnosis of Fibromyalgia Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic muscle pain disorder that shares several clinical features with other related rheumatologic disorders. This study investigates the feasibility of using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as a fingerprinting approach to diagnose FM and other rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), osteoarthritis (OA), and chronic low back pain (CLBP). Blood samples were obtained on protein saver cards from FM ( = 83), non-FM ( = 54), and healthy (NC, = 9) subjects.

Metabolic Fingerprinting for the Diagnosis of Clinically Similar Long COVID and Fibromyalgia Using a Portable FT-MIR Spectroscopic Combined with Chemometrics.

Post Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC or Long COVID) is characterized by lingering symptomatology post-initial COVID-19 illness that is often debilitating. It is seen in up to 30-40% of individuals post-infection. Patients with Long COVID (LC) suffer from dysautonomia, malaise, fatigue, and pain, amongst a multitude of other symptoms.

Rapid Biomarker-Based Diagnosis of Fibromyalgia Syndrome and Related Rheumatologic Disorders by Portable FT-IR Spectroscopic Techniques.

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FM), one of the most common illnesses that cause chronic widespread pain, continues to present significant diagnostic challenges. The objective of this study was to develop a rapid vibrational biomarker-based method for diagnosing fibromyalgia syndrome and related rheumatologic disorders (systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA)) through portable FT-IR techniques. Bloodspot samples were collected from patients diagnosed with FM (n = 122) and related rheumatologic disorders (n = 70), including SLE (n = 17), RA (n = 43), and OA (n = 10), and stored in conventional protein saver bloodspot cards.

Psychosocial and quality-of-life factors associated with depigmentation therapy for vitiligo.

Background: There is a paucity of data examining the psychosocial factors relevant to depigmentation therapy, an irreversible treatment for vitiligo. This study explores patients' perspective and experience while undergoing depigmentation therapy and quality-of-life effects of such therapy.

Methods: An online instrument assessing the impact of depigmentation therapy on various psychosocial variables and including the validated Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) were administered to two groups of participants with vitiligo: (1) those who are currently undergoing or have completed depigmentation therapy and (2) those with vitiligo who have not undergone depigmentation therapy but had considered it.

Understanding the primary health care experiences of individuals who are homeless in non-traditional clinic settings.

Background: Despite the widespread implementation of Health Care for the Homeless programs that focus on comprehensive, integrated delivery systems of health care for people experiencing homelessness, engaging and retaining people experiencing homelessness in primary care remains a challenge. Few studies have looked at the primary care delivery model in non-traditional health care settings to understand the facilitators and barriers to engagement in care. The objective of our study was to explore the clinic encounters of individuals experiencing homelessness receiving care at two different sites served under a single Health Care for the Homeless program.

Assessing Treatment Delays for Vitiligo Patients: A Retrospective Chart Review.

Many barriers to care exist for vitiligo patients that can impact patients' quality of life. Because early treatment of vitiligo is more efficacious, we investigated the factors associated with delay to treatment via a retrospective chart review of 102 consecutive patients attending an academic outpatient clinic over a 36-month time frame. Demographic information, clinical characteristics of vitiligo, and treatment details were obtained via a standardized questionnaire given to all patients with vitiligo.

High-throughput and high-dimensional single-cell analysis of antigen-specific CD8 T cells.

Although critical to T cell function, antigen specificity is often omitted in high-throughput multiomics-based T cell profiling due to technical challenges. We describe a high-dimensional, tetramer-associated T cell antigen receptor (TCR) sequencing (TetTCR-SeqHD) method to simultaneously profile cognate antigen specificities, TCR sequences, targeted gene expression and surface-protein expression from tens of thousands of single cells. Using human polyclonal CD8 T cells with known antigen specificity and TCR sequences, we demonstrate over 98% precision for detecting the correct antigen specificity.

Imaging sub-diffuse optical properties of cancerous and normal skin tissue using machine learning-aided spatial frequency domain imaging.

Significance: Sub-diffuse optical properties may serve as useful cancer biomarkers, and wide-field heatmaps of these properties could aid physicians in identifying cancerous tissue. Sub-diffuse spatial frequency domain imaging (sd-SFDI) can reveal such wide-field maps, but the current time cost of experimentally validated methods for rendering these heatmaps precludes this technology from potential real-time applications.

Aim: Our study renders heatmaps of sub-diffuse optical properties from experimental sd-SFDI images in real time and reports these properties for cancerous and normal skin tissue subtypes.

Effect of Layperson-Delivered, Empathy-Focused Program of Telephone Calls on Loneliness, Depression, and Anxiety Among Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Loneliness is a risk factor for many clinical conditions, but there are few effective interventions deployable at scale.

Objective: To determine whether a layperson-delivered, empathy-focused program of telephone calls could rapidly improve loneliness, depression, and anxiety in at-risk adults.

Design, Setting, And Participants: From July 6 to September 24, 2020, we recruited and followed up 240 adults who were assigned to receive calls (intervention group) or no calls (control group) via block randomization.

Evaluation of Peer-to-Peer Support and Health Care Utilization Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Importance: The vast majority of older adults desire to age in their communities, and it is not clear what helps them be successful at aging in place.

Objective: To investigate the comparative effectiveness of community-designed and community-implemented peer-to-peer (P2P) support programs vs standard community services (SCS) to promote health and wellness in at-risk older adults.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This comparative effectiveness study involved a longitudinal cohort of adults aged 65 years and older conducted between 2015 and 2017.

Assessment of Raman Spectroscopy for Reducing Unnecessary Biopsies for Melanoma Screening.

A key challenge in melanoma diagnosis is the large number of unnecessary biopsies on benign nevi, which requires significant amounts of time and money. To reduce unnecessary biopsies while still accurately detecting melanoma lesions, we propose using Raman spectroscopy as a non-invasive, fast, and inexpensive method for generating a "second opinion" for lesions being considered for biopsy. We collected in vivo Raman spectral data in the clinical skin screening setting from 52 patients, including 53 pigmented lesions and 7 melanomas.

Superpixel Raman spectroscopy for rapid skin cancer margin assessment.

Spontaneous Raman micro-spectroscopy has been demonstrated great potential in delineating tumor margins; however, it is limited by slow acquisition speed. We describe a superpixel acquisition approach that can expedite acquisition between ~×100 and ×10 000, as compared to point-by-point scanning by trading off spatial resolution. We present the first demonstration of superpixel acquisition on rapid discrimination of basal cell carcinoma tumor from eight patients undergoing Mohs micrographic surgery.

Molecular Imaging of Endometriosis Tissues using Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

Endometriosis is a pathologic condition affecting approximately 10% of women in their reproductive years. Characterized by abnormal growth of uterine endometrial tissue in other body areas, endometriosis can cause severe abdominal pain and/or infertility. Despite devastating consequences to patients' quality of life, the causes of endometriosis are not fully understood and validated diagnostic markers for endometriosis have not been identified.

Efficacy and patient opinion of wet-wrap dressings using 0.1% triamcinolone acetonide ointment vs cream in the treatment of pediatric atopic dermatitis: A randomized split-body control study.

Background: Wet wraps can be an effective means of improving atopic dermatitis (AD). Little research has been done regarding the comparative efficacy of topical steroid vehicles and patient preference.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of 0.

Biophysical basis of skin cancer margin assessment using Raman spectroscopy.

Achieving adequate margins during tumor margin resection is critical to minimize the recurrence rate and maximize positive patient outcomes during skin cancer surgery. Although Mohs micrographic surgery is by far the most effective method to treat nonmelanoma skin cancer, it can be limited by its inherent required infrastructure, including time-consuming and expensive on-site histopathology. Previous studies have demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy can accurately detect basal cell carcinoma (BCC) from surrounding normal tissue; however, the biophysical basis of the detection remained unclear.

Performance of the MasSpec Pen for Rapid Diagnosis of Ovarian Cancer.

Background: Accurate tissue diagnosis during ovarian cancer surgery is critical to maximize cancer excision and define treatment options. Yet, current methods for intraoperative tissue evaluation can be time intensive and subjective. We have developed a handheld and biocompatible device coupled to a mass spectrometer, the MasSpec Pen, which uses a discrete water droplet for molecular extraction and rapid tissue diagnosis.