Substance Use and Outcomes of Left-Sided Valve Replacement in Patients With Infective Endocarditis.

Background: Rising rates of substance use (SU) have resulted in an increasing need for left-sided valve surgery for SU-associated infective endocarditis (SU-IE). We compared outcomes, readmissions, and costs between IE patients with and without SU-IE in a national cohort.

Methods: Using the Nationwide Readmissions Database (2016-2018), we identified 10,098 patients with infective endocarditis (IE) who underwent isolated aortic or mitral valve replacement.

Pockets of tenderness: Lesbian earth in Alison Bechdel's .

The subfield of rural queer studies and the concept of lesbian earth encourage scholars to explore the significance of rural place, nature, and climate change in queer texts. Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir, , presents nature as a source of familial conflict, creativity, and mutual support and as under threat due to strip mining. The climate change novel, focuses intensely on the realities of climate change and lesbian relations with the earth.

Impact of frailty on outcomes and readmissions after transcatheter and surgical aortic valve replacement in a national cohort.

Objective: We examined the effect of frailty on in-hospital mortality, readmission rates, and hospitalization costs after transcatheter and surgical aortic valve replacement in a population-level cohort.

Methods: The Nationwide Readmissions Database was queried for patients who underwent transcatheter or surgical aortic valve replacement during 2016-2018. Multivariate logistic regression was used to discern independent effects of frailty on outcomes.

Safety of Early Discharge After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Nationwide Readmissions Analysis.

Background: We determined the safety of early discharge after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with uncomplicated postoperative courses and compared outcomes with routine discharge in a national cohort. We identified preoperative factors associated with readmission after early discharge after CABG.

Methods: The Nationwide Readmissions Database was queried to identify patients undergoing CABG from January 2016 to December 2018.

Outcomes after bioprosthetic versus mechanical mitral valve replacement for infective endocarditis in the United States.

Objective: In patients who underwent mitral valve replacement for infectious endocarditis, we evaluated the association of prosthesis choice with readmission rates and causes (the primary outcomes), as well as with in-hospital mortality, cost, and length of stay (the secondary outcomes).

Methods: Patients with infectious endocarditis who underwent isolated mitral valve replacement from January 2016 to December 2018 were identified in the United States Nationwide Readmissions Database and stratified by valve type. Propensity score matching was used to compare adjusted outcomes.

Influence of concomitant ablation of nonparoxysmal atrial fibrillation during coronary artery bypass grafting on mortality and readmissions.

Objective: We determined the utilization rate of surgical ablation (SA) during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and compared outcomes between CABG with or without SA in a national cohort.

Methods: The January 2016 to December 2018 Nationwide Readmissions Database was searched for all patients undergoing isolated CABG with preoperative persistent or chronic atrial fibrillation by using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision classification. Propensity score matching and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to compare outcomes, and Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess risk factors for 1-year readmission.

Socioeconomic disparities in procedural choice and outcomes after aortic valve replacement.

Objective: To identify potential socioeconomic disparities in the procedural choice of patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) versus transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and in readmission outcomes after SAVR or TAVR.

Methods: The Nationwide Readmissions Database was queried to identify a total of 243,691 patients who underwent isolated SAVR and TAVR between January 2016 and December 2018. Patients were stratified according to a tiered socioeconomic status (SES) metric comprising patient factors including education, literacy, housing, employment, insurance status, and neighborhood median income.

Self-rectifying magnetoelectric metamaterials for remote neural stimulation and motor function restoration.

Magnetoelectric materials convert magnetic fields into electric fields. These materials are often used in wireless electronic and biomedical applications. For example, magnetoelectrics could enable the remote stimulation of neural tissue, but the optimal resonance frequencies are typically too high to stimulate neural activity.

Extracellular matrix component-derived nanoparticles for drug delivery and tissue engineering.

The extracellular matrix (ECM) consists of a complex combination of proteins, proteoglycans, and other biomolecules. ECM-based materials have been demonstrated to have high biocompatibility and bioactivity, which may be harnessed for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. Herein, nanoparticles incorporating ECM-based materials and their applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering are reviewed.

Repair of complex ovine segmental mandibulectomy utilizing customized tissue engineered bony flaps.

Craniofacial defects require a treatment approach that provides both robust tissues to withstand the forces of mastication and high geometric fidelity that allows restoration of facial architecture. When the surrounding soft tissue is compromised either through lack of quantity (insufficient soft tissue to enclose a graft) or quality (insufficient vascularity or inducible cells), a vascularized construct is needed for reconstruction. Tissue engineering using customized 3D printed bioreactors enables the generation of mechanically robust, vascularized bony tissues of the desired geometry.

The effect of multi-material architecture on the ex vivo osteochondral integration of bioprinted constructs.

Extrusion bioprinted constructs for osteochondral tissue engineering were fabricated to study the effect of multi-material architecture on encapsulated human mesenchymal stem cells' tissue-specific matrix deposition and integration into an ex vivo porcine osteochondral explant model. Two extrusion fiber architecture groups with differing transition regions and degrees of bone- and cartilage-like bioink mixing were employed. The gradient fiber (G-Fib) architecture group showed an increase in chondral integration over time, 18.

Strategies for recruiting, training, and retaining educators for adolescent pregnancy prevention programs: Insights from organization leaders and educators.

This paper provides insights into how 17 community-based organizations (CBOs) recruited, trained, and retained educators in pregnancy prevention program implementations for underserved adolescents in different areas of the United States. The paper also highlights problems and potential solutions associated with these practices. The study adopted a qualitative descriptive framework.

Thermogelling hydrogel charge and lower critical solution temperature influence cellular infiltration and tissue integration in an ex vivo cartilage explant model.

Thermogelling hydrogels based on poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (p[NiPAAm]) and crosslinked with a peptide-bearing macromer poly(glycolic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(glycolic acid)-di(but-2-yne-1,4-dithiol) (PdBT) were fabricated to assess the role of hydrogel charge and lower critical solution temperature (LCST) over time in influencing cellular infiltration and tissue integration in an ex vivo cartilage explant model over 21 days. The p(NiPAAm)-based thermogelling polymer was synthesized to possess 0, 5, and 10 mol% dimethyl-γ-butyrolactone acrylate (DBA) to raise the LCST over time as the lactone rings hydrolyzed. Further, three peptides were designed to impart charge into the hydrogels via conjugation to the PdBT crosslinker.

Human gelatin-based composite hydrogels for osteochondral tissue engineering and their adaptation into bioinks for extrusion, inkjet, and digital light processing bioprinting.

The investigation of novel hydrogel systems allows for the study of relationships between biomaterials, cells, and other factors within osteochondral tissue engineering. Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a popular research method that can allow for further interrogation of these questions via the fabrication of 3D hydrogel environments that mimic tissue-specific, complex architectures. However, the adaptation of promising hydrogel biomaterial systems into 3D-printable bioinks remains a challenge.

Bioinspired electrospun decellularized extracellular matrix scaffolds promote muscle regeneration in a rat skeletal muscle defect model.

Volumetric muscle loss is a debilitating injury that can leave patients with long-lasting or permanent structural and functional deficits. With clinical treatments failing to address these shortcomings, there is a great need for tissue-engineered therapies to promote skeletal muscle regeneration. In this study, we aim to assess the potential for electrospun decellularized skeletal muscle extracellular matrix (dECM) to promote skeletal muscle regeneration in a rat partial thickness tibialis anterior defect model.

Contact Tracing Apps: Lessons Learned on Privacy, Autonomy, and the Need for Detailed and Thoughtful Implementation.

The global and national response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been inadequate due to a collective lack of preparation and a shortage of available tools for responding to a large-scale pandemic. By applying lessons learned to create better preventative methods and speedier interventions, the harm of a future pandemic may be dramatically reduced. One potential measure is the widespread use of contact tracing apps.

Bioinspired electrospun dECM scaffolds guide cell growth and control the formation of myotubes.

While skeletal muscle has a high capacity for endogenous repair in acute injuries, volumetric muscle loss can leave long-lasting or permanent structural and functional deficits to the injured muscle and surrounding tissues. With clinical treatments failing to repair lost tissue, there is a great need for a tissue-engineered therapy to promote skeletal muscle regeneration. In this study, we aim to assess the potential for electrospun decellularized skeletal muscle extracellular matrix (dECM) with tunable physicochemical properties to control mouse myoblast growth and myotube formation.

Swelling Behaviors of 3D Printed Hydrogel and Hydrogel-Microcarrier Composite Scaffolds.

The present study sought to demonstrate the swelling behavior of hydrogel-microcarrier composite constructs to inform their use in controlled release and tissue engineering applications. In this study, gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) and GelMA-gelatin microparticle (GMP) composite constructs were three-dimensionally printed, and their swelling and degradation behavior was evaluated over time and as a function of the degree of crosslinking of included GMPs. GelMA-only constructs and composite constructs loaded with GMPs crosslinked with 10 mM (GMP-10) or 40 mM (GMP-40) glutaraldehyde were swollen in phosphate-buffered saline for up to 28 days to evaluate changes in swelling and polymer loss.

Nanomaterial Additives for Fabrication of Stimuli-Responsive Skeletal Muscle Tissue Engineering Constructs.

Volumetric muscle loss necessitates novel tissue engineering strategies for skeletal muscle repair, which have traditionally involved cells and extracellular matrix-mimicking scaffolds and have thus far been unable to successfully restore physiologically relevant function. However, the incorporation of various nanomaterial additives with unique physicochemical properties into scaffolds has recently been explored as a means of fabricating constructs that are responsive to electrical, magnetic, and photothermal stimulation. Herein, several classes of nanomaterials that are used to mediate external stimulation to tissue engineered skeletal muscle are reviewed and the impact of these stimuli-responsive biomaterials on cell growth and differentiation and in vivo muscle repair is discussed.

Localized mandibular infection affects remote in vivo bioreactor bone generation.

Mandibular reconstruction requires functional and aesthetic repair and is further complicated by contamination from oral and skin flora. Antibiotic-releasing porous space maintainers have been developed for the local release of vancomycin and to promote soft tissue attachment. In this study, mandibular defects in six sheep were inoculated with 10 colony forming units of Staphylococcus aureus; three sheep were implanted with unloaded porous space maintainers and three sheep were implanted with vancomycin-loaded space maintainers within the defect site.

Fabrication and characterization of cell sheets using methylcellulose and PNIPAAm thermoresponsive polymers: A comparison Study.

Culturing cells on thermoresponsive polymers enables cells to be harvested as an intact cell sheet without disrupting the extracellular matrix or compromising cell-cell junctions. Previously, cell sheet fabrication methods using methylcellulose (MC) gel and PNIPAAm were independently demonstrated. In this study, MC and PNIPAAm fabrication methods are detailed and the resulting cell sheets characterized in parallel studies for direct comparison of human adipose derived stromal/stem cell (hASCs) sheet formation, cell morphology, viability, proliferation, and osteogenic potential over 21 days.

In vitro characterization of polyesters of aconitic acid, glycerol, and cinnamic acid for bone tissue engineering.

In this study, a novel class of polyesters of glycerol, aconitic acid, and cinnamic acid were synthesized along with their hydroxyapatite (HA) composites, and studied for their potential application in bone defect repair. An osteogenic study was conducted with human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (hASCs) to determine the osteoinductive ability of aconitic acid-glycerol (AG) polyesters, AG:HA (80:20), aconitic acid-glycerol-cinnamic acid (AGC) polyesters, and AGC:HA (80:20) to serve as bone scaffolds. The results indicate that AGC scaffolds have the highest mechanical strength in comparison to AG, AG:HA (80:20), and AGC:HA (80:20) scaffolds due to its low porosity.

Maghemite, silver, ceragenin conjugate particles for selective binding and contrast of bacteria.

New synthesis techniques are providing increasing control over many inorganic nanoparticle characteristics, facilitating the creation of new multifunctional theranostics. This report proposes the synthesis and testing of a combination nanoparticle comprised of a maghemite core for enhanced T2 MRI contrast diagnostics, a colloidal silver shell acting as an antimicrobial and therapeutic vehicle, and a ceragenin (CSA-124) surfactant providing microbial adhesion. A polyacrylic acid functionalized maghemite nanoparticle is synthesized by a high temperature organic phase reduction followed by thiol functionalization and gold cluster seeding.