Determinants of growth differentiation factor 15 plasma levels in outpatients with peripheral arterial disease.

Background: Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a robust prognostic biomarker in patients with cardiovascular (CV) disease, and a better understanding of its clinical determinants is desirable. We aimed to study the associations between GDF-15 levels and in outpatients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Methods: An explorative cross-sectional study (Study of Atherosclerosis in Vastmanland, Västerås, Sweden) included 439 outpatients with carotid or lower extremity PAD.

High-efficiency base editing in the retina in primates and human tissues.

Stargardt disease is a currently untreatable, inherited neurodegenerative disease that leads to macular degeneration and blindness due to loss-of-function mutations in the ABCA4 gene. We have designed a dual adeno-associated viral vector encoding a split-intein adenine base editor to correct the most common mutation in ABCA4 (c.5882G>A, p.

Facility-Level Variation in Nephrology Care among Veterans after Urinary Stone Diagnosis.

Background: Prevention is a cornerstone for management of recurrent urinary stone disease. Current guidelines recommend metabolic evaluation, lifestyle modification, and medical treatment for patients with urinary stone disease. Nephrologists are uniquely qualified to evaluate stone risk and formulate treatment strategies to reduce that risk.

Overtreatment of Prostate Cancer Among Men With Limited Longevity in the Active Surveillance Era.

Importance: Men with limited life expectancy (LE) have historically been overtreated for prostate cancer despite clear guideline recommendations. With increasing use of active surveillance, it is unclear if overtreatment of men with limited LE has persisted and how overtreatment varies by tumor risk and treatment type.

Objective: To determine if rates of overtreatment of men with limited LE have persisted in the active surveillance era and whether overtreatment varies by tumor risk or treatment type.

Salivary Gland Volume Predicts Malnutrition in Irradiated Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Prospective Analysis.

Background/aim: Xerostomia following (chemo-) radiotherapy (CRT) is common in head and neck (HNC) patients. This prospective study focused on investigating the link between salivary gland function and the onset of malnutrition in HNC patients.

Patients And Methods: Between 2018 and 2020, 61 HNC patients scheduled for curative CRT were prospectively recruited.

Variation in Urology Care After Urinary Stone Surgery Among Veterans at High-risk for Recurrence.

Objective: To determine rates of urology follow-up and implementation of stone prevention measures after stone surgery and to assess variation in care delivery within a large, integrated healthcare system.

Materials And Methods: We used nationwide data from the United States Veterans Health Administration to identify patients who had stone surgery between 2016 and 2018 and who were at higher risk for recurrence. Our cohort included 13,444 Veterans across 90 facilities.

An Automated Electronic Health Record Score to Estimate Length of Stay and Readmission in Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer.

Purpose: Patients treated with radical cystectomy experience a high rate of postoperative complications and frequent hospital readmissions. We sought to explore the utility of the Care Assessment Need (CAN) score, derived from electronic health data, to estimate the risk of these adverse clinical outcomes, thereby aiding patient counseling and informed treatment decision-making.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively examined data from 982 patients with bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy between 2013 and 2018 within the national Veterans Health Administration system.

Therapy Intensity Outweighs the Prognostic Importance of the Timing of Chemoradiotherapy in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Patients.

Background/aim: To investigate the significance of the timing of chemoradiotherapy together with clinical and laboratory features in newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Patients And Methods: Clinical and laboratory parameters of 209 patients with glioblastoma potentially influencing overall (OS) and progression-free (PFS) survival were analyzed in univariable and multivariable models.

Results: On univariable analyses, Karnofsky performance status (p<0.

Occurrence of metabolic syndrome in midlife in relation to cardiovascular morbidity and all-cause mortality-lessons from a population-based matched cohort study with 27 years follow-up.

Objectives: We examined how asymptomatic metabolic syndrome (MetS) in midlife affects cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and all-cause mortality later in life and studied difference in time to event and from the individual components related to MetS.

Design: Population-based matched cohort study including data from a screening programme for identification of CV risk factors.

Setting: Primary care, County of Västmanland, Sweden.

The Predictive Value of Different Glasgow Prognostic Scores and the LabBM Score for Patients With Recurrent Glioblastoma.

Background/aim: The prognostic value of scoring instruments was described for newly diagnosed glioblastoma. This study investigated five instruments in patients with recurrent tumors.

Patients And Methods: Original Glasgow Prognostic Score (oGPS), modified GPS (mGPS), high-sensitivity mGPS (HS-mGPS), high-sensitivity oGPS (HS-oGPS), LabBM score, and 10 other factors were analyzed for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in 51 patients.

Can Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) and Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) Help Predict Outcomes of Patients With Recurrent Glioblastoma?

Background/aim: In patients with recurrent glioblastoma, very little data are available regarding the prognostic value of platelet-to-lymphocyte (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR) ratios. This study investigated potential associations between PLR or NLR and treatment outcomes.

Patients And Methods: PLR and NLR at diagnosis of recurrence plus 10 additional characteristics were retrospectively analyzed for associations with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in 75 patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

Generalized flow calculation of the gas flow in a network of capillaries used in gas chromatography.

A general method for the calculation of the flow and pressure of a gas in a network of cylindrical capillaries is presented. This method is used specifically for gas chromatographic systems in this work. With this approach, it is possible to easily calculate flow and pressures in complex gas chromatographic systems, like flow-modulated or thermal-modulated multidimensional gas chromatographic systems, or systems with multiple outlets at different pressures.

Assessing sociodemographic and regional disparities in Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score uptake.

Background: The Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score (ODX-GPS) is a gene expression assay that predicts disease aggressiveness. The objective of this study was to identify sociodemographic and regional factors associated with ODX-GPS uptake.

Methods: Data from Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results registries on men with localized prostate cancer with a Gleason score of 3 + 3 or 3 + 4, PSA ≤20 ng/mL, and stage T1c to T2c disease from 2013 through 2017 were linked with ODX-GPS data.

Time trends of the association of body mass index with mortality in 3.5 million young Swedish adults.

Purpose: We investigated time trends of the obesity-mortality association, accounting for age, sex, and cause-specific deaths.

Methods: We analysed pooled nationwide data in Sweden for 3,472,310 individuals aged 17-39 years at baseline in 1963-2016. Cox regression and flexible parametric survival models investigated BMI-mortality associations in sub-groups of sex and baseline calendar years (men: <1975, 1975-1985, ≥1985 and women: <1985, 1985-1994, ≥1995).

Cohort profile: The Obesity and Disease Development Sweden (ODDS) study, a pooled cohort.

Purpose: The Obesity and Disease Development Sweden (ODDS) study was designed to create a large cohort to study body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and changes in weight and WC, in relation to morbidity and mortality.

Participants: ODDS includes 4 295 859 individuals, 2 165 048 men and 2 130 811 women, in Swedish cohorts and national registers with information on weight assessed once (2 555 098 individuals) or more (1 740 761 individuals), in total constituting 7 733 901 weight assessments at the age of 17-103 years in 1963-2020 (recalled weight as of 1911). Information on WC is available in 152 089 men and 212 658 women, out of whom 108 795 have repeated information on WC (in total 512 273 assessments).

Evaluation of Five Prognostic Scores in Patients Receiving Chemoradiation for Primary Glioblastoma Multiforme.

Background/aim: Prognostic factors can facilitate treatment personalization in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). This study investigated different Glasgow prognostic scores (GPS) and the LabBM score in patients with GBM receiving chemoradiation following resection or biopsy.

Patients And Methods: Four GPS versions, LabBM score, and 10 other factors were retrospectively investigated for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in 86 patients.

Prognostic Factors for Progression-free Survival and Overall Survival After Recurrence of Glioblastoma.

Background/aim: Many patients with glioblastoma experience an intracerebral recurrence and require a personalized treatment. This study aimed to facilitate this approach by identifying prognostic factors for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

Patients And Methods: In 102 patients with recurrent glioblastoma following primary treatment with resection or biopsy plus adjuvant chemoradiation, 11 characteristics were retrospectively investigated regarding PFS and OS.

Complications: The Experience of the Urologic Surgeon.

Introduction: Most urologic surgeons will experience surgical complications during their career. These complications can traumatize the surgeon. A national survey of AUA members was conducted to better understand the impact of surgical complications on mental, emotional, and physical health.

Ambient air pollution and urological cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological evidence.

Exposure to ambient air pollution has significant adverse health effects; however, whether air pollution is associated with urological cancer is largely unknown. We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis with epidemiological studies, showing that a 5 μg/m increase in PM exposure is associated with a 6%, 7%, and 9%, increased risk of overall urological, bladder, and kidney cancer, respectively; and a 10 μg/m increase in NO is linked to a 3%, 4%, and 4% higher risk of overall urological, bladder, and prostate cancer, respectively. Were these associations to reflect causal relationships, lowering PM levels to 5.

Relation between characteristic temperature and elution temperature in temperature programmed gas chromatography - Part II: Influence of column properties.

The method development process in gas chromatography can be accelerated by suitable computer simulation tools using knowledge about the solute-column interactions described by thermodynamic retention parameters. Since retention parameters usually are determined under isothermal conditions, the presented work offers a step to estimate one of the most important retention parameters, the characteristic temperature T by less laborious temperature programmed measurements. In the first part an empirical multivariate model was introduced describing the correlation between the elution temperature T of a solute and its characteristic temperature T.

Decompressive craniectomy plus best medical treatment versus best medical treatment alone for spontaneous severe deep supratentorial intracerebral haemorrhage: a randomised controlled clinical trial.

Background: It is unknown whether decompressive craniectomy improves clinical outcome for people with spontaneous severe deep intracerebral haemorrhage. The SWITCH trial aimed to assess whether decompressive craniectomy plus best medical treatment in these patients improves outcome at 6 months compared to best medical treatment alone.

Methods: In this multicentre, randomised, open-label, assessor-blinded trial conducted in 42 stroke centres in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, adults (18-75 years) with a severe intracerebral haemorrhage involving the basal ganglia or thalamus were randomly assigned to receive either decompressive craniectomy plus best medical treatment or best medical treatment alone.