Reductions in hospitalisations and emergency department visits with early antibiotic initiation in nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease.

Background: While antibiotics are recommended for treatment of nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease (NTMLD), the impact of early antibiotic initiation on healthcare resource utilisation is unclear. This study compared healthcare resource utilisation with early delayed antibiotic initiation in NTMLD.

Methods: A retrospective, claims database study (Merative MarketScan) of patients diagnosed with NTMLD between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2019.

Stable population structure in Europe since the Iron Age, despite high mobility.

Ancient DNA research in the past decade has revealed that European population structure changed dramatically in the prehistoric period (14,000-3000 years before present, YBP), reflecting the widespread introduction of Neolithic farmer and Bronze Age Steppe ancestries. However, little is known about how population structure changed from the historical period onward (3000 YBP - present). To address this, we collected whole genomes from 204 individuals from Europe and the Mediterranean, many of which are the first historical period genomes from their region (e.

Multitasking Pharmacophores Support Cabotegravir-Based Long-Acting HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).

Cabotegravir is an integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) for HIV treatment and prevention. Cabotegravir-based long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) presents an emerging paradigm for infectious disease control. In this scheme, a combination of a high efficacy and low solubility of anti-infection drugs permits the establishment of a pharmaceutical firewall in HIV-vulnerable groups over a long period.

A genetic history of continuity and mobility in the Iron Age central Mediterranean.

The Iron Age was a dynamic period in central Mediterranean history, with the expansion of Greek and Phoenician colonies and the growth of Carthage into the dominant maritime power of the Mediterranean. These events were facilitated by the ease of long-distance travel following major advances in seafaring. We know from the archaeological record that trade goods and materials were moving across great distances in unprecedented quantities, but it is unclear how these patterns correlate with human mobility.

Pulmonary exacerbations in insured patients with bronchiectasis over 2 years.

Background: Patients with bronchiectasis experience persistent symptoms and frequent pulmonary exacerbations; this study investigated the frequency of exacerbations and all-cause hospitalisation.

Methods: This longitudinal, retrospective, claims database study (IBM® MarketScan®) identified patients aged ≥18 years from 1 July 2015 through 30 September 2018. Exacerbations were identified by bronchiectasis inpatient claim or a healthcare interaction, followed by antibiotic prescription within 7 days.

Quantum Coherence in Loopless Superconductive Networks.

Measurements indicating that planar networks of superconductive islands connected by Josephson junctions display long-range quantum coherence are reported. The networks consist of superconducting islands connected by Josephson junctions and have a tree-like topological structure containing no loops. Enhancements of superconductive gaps over specific branches of the networks and sharp increases in pair currents are the main signatures of the coherent states.

CP-MAS and Solution NMR Studies of Allosteric Communication in CA-assemblies of HIV-1.

Solution and solid-state NMR spectroscopy are highly complementary techniques for studying structure and dynamics in very high molecular weight systems. Here we have analysed the dynamics of HIV-1 capsid (CA) assemblies in presence of the cofactors IP6 and ATPγS and the host-factor CPSF6 using a combination of solution state and cross polarisation magic angle spinning (CP-MAS) solid-state NMR. In particular, dynamical effects on ns to µs and µs to ms timescales are observed revealing diverse motions in assembled CA.

Structure and Dynamics Perturbations in Ubiquitin Adsorbed or Entrapped in Silica Materials Are Related to Disparate Surface Chemistries Resolved by Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy.

Protein immobilization on material surfaces is emerging as a powerful tool in the design of devices and active materials for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications as well as for catalysis. Preservation of the protein's biological functionality is crucial to the design process and is dependent on the ability to maintain its structural and dynamical integrity while removed from the natural surroundings. The scientific techniques to validate the structure of immobilized proteins are scarce and usually provide limited information as a result of poor resolution.

Josephson Currents and Gap Enhancement in Graph Arrays of Superconductive Islands.

Evidence is reported that topological effects in graph-shaped arrays of superconducting islands can condition superconducting energy gap and transition temperature. The carriers giving rise to the new phase are couples of electrons (Cooper pairs) which, in the superconducting state, behave as predicted for bosons in our structures. The presented results have been obtained both on star and double comb-shaped arrays and the coupling between the islands is provided by Josephson junctions whose potential can be tuned by external magnetic field or temperature.

Biophotons and Emergence of Quantum Coherence-A Diffusion Entropy Analysis.

We study the emission of photons from germinating seeds using an experimental technique designed to detect light of extremely small intensity. We analyze the dark count signal without germinating seeds as well as the photon emission during the germination process. The technique of analysis adopted here, called diffusion entropy analysis (DEA) and originally designed to measure the temporal complexity of astrophysical, sociological and physiological processes, rests on Kolmogorov complexity.

A minimally destructive protocol for DNA extraction from ancient teeth.

Ancient DNA sampling methods-although optimized for efficient DNA extraction-are destructive, relying on drilling or cutting and powdering (parts of) bones and teeth. As the field of ancient DNA has grown, so have concerns about the impact of destructive sampling of the skeletal remains from which ancient DNA is obtained. Due to a particularly high concentration of endogenous DNA, the cementum of tooth roots is often targeted for ancient DNA sampling, but destructive sampling methods of the cementum often result in the loss of at least one entire root.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in metastatic breast cancer patients initiating intravenous paclitaxel/nab-paclitaxel.

Background: Intravenous (IV) taxanes for metastatic breast cancer (mBC) are associated with toxicities, such as chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), which can detrimentally impact outcomes.

Objective: To assess the impact of CIPN on clinical and economic outcomes in women with mBC, initiating IV paclitaxel/ nab-paclitaxel.

Methods: Adult women in the MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental Database with a mBC diagnosis, initiating IV paclitaxel or IV nab-paclitaxel (index date = first administration) from November 1, 2013, to September 30, 2018, who had no prior neuropathy diagnoses, and continuous enrollment 12 months prior to and ≥ 3 months following index were selected.

Clinical and economic burden of intravenous paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel for metastatic breast cancer.

Background: Intravenous (IV) taxane therapy for metastatic breast cancer (mBC) has been associated with toxicities and demanding dosing schedules, which can limit treatment effectiveness.

Objectives: To assess treatment patterns, toxicities, and costs in women with mBC initiating IV paclitaxel or IV nab-paclitaxel.

Methods: Adult women diagnosed with BC from January 1, 2014, to September 30, 2018, were identified in the MarketScan Commercial and MarketScan Medicare Supplemental databases.

A genetic history of the pre-contact Caribbean.

Humans settled the Caribbean about 6,000 years ago, and ceramic use and intensified agriculture mark a shift from the Archaic to the Ceramic Age at around 2,500 years ago. Here we report genome-wide data from 174 ancient individuals from The Bahamas, Haiti and the Dominican Republic (collectively, Hispaniola), Puerto Rico, Curaçao and Venezuela, which we co-analysed with 89 previously published ancient individuals. Stone-tool-using Caribbean people, who first entered the Caribbean during the Archaic Age, derive from a deeply divergent population that is closest to Central and northern South American individuals; contrary to previous work, we find no support for ancestry contributed by a population related to North American individuals.

Population dynamics in pre-Inca human groups from the Osmore Valley, the Azapa Valley and the coast of the South Central Andes.

The present study applies a dental morphological perspective to the understanding of the complex pre-contact population history of the South Central Andes, through the detection of the underlying dynamics, and the assessment of the biological ties among groups. It presents an analysis of 1591 individuals from 66 sites that date from the Archaic to the Late Intermediate phases from Bolivia, Chile and Peru. The results suggest this area is characterized by significant movement of people and cultures and, at the same time, by long standing population continuity, and highlight the need for wider perspectives capable of taking into account both the different micro-regional realities and the region in its entirety.

Conditioning of Superconductive Properties in Graph-Shaped Reticles.

We report on phenomena observed in planar integrated networks obtained connecting superconducting island by Josephson tunnel junctions. These networks, identifiable as tree-like graphs, have branches consisting of series arrays of Josephson junctions which can be individually current biased and characterized. Both Josephson supercurrents and gap parameters of the arrays embedded in the graph structures display properties significantly different from those of "reference" arrays fabricated on the same chips and having identical geometrical shape.

Author Correction: The spread of steppe and Iranian-related ancestry in the islands of the western Mediterranean.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The spread of steppe and Iranian-related ancestry in the islands of the western Mediterranean.

Steppe-pastoralist-related ancestry reached Central Europe by at least 2500 BC, whereas Iranian farmer-related ancestry was present in Aegean Europe by at least 1900 BC. However, the spread of these ancestries into the western Mediterranean, where they have contributed to many populations that live today, remains poorly understood. Here, we generated genome-wide ancient-DNA data from the Balearic Islands, Sicily and Sardinia, increasing the number of individuals with reported data from 5 to 66.

Ancient Rome: A genetic crossroads of Europe and the Mediterranean.

Ancient Rome was the capital of an empire of ~70 million inhabitants, but little is known about the genetics of ancient Romans. Here we present 127 genomes from 29 archaeological sites in and around Rome, spanning the past 12,000 years. We observe two major prehistoric ancestry transitions: one with the introduction of farming and another prior to the Iron Age.

Meningococcal-group B (MenB) vaccine series completion and adherence to dosing schedule in the United States: A retrospective analysis by vaccine and payer type.

Background: Two MenB vaccines with different dosing schedules are approved in the US: MenB-4C (2 doses) and MenB-FHbp (2-3 doses). Both vaccines were licensed on the basis of immunogenicity demonstrated after vaccine series completion. We evaluated vaccination completion and adherence to dosing schedules.

Luteal Blood Flow and progesterone concentration during first and second postpartum estrous cycle in lactating dairy cows.

The aim of the present study was to determine the differences in corpus luteum (CL) functionality between the first postpartum estrous cycle and the following cycle in lactating dairy cows. Luteal blood flow (LBF), luteal size and blood progesterone (P4) concentration were monitored during the first and second postpartum estrous cycle. During the first and second postpartum estrous cycle, the mean LBF value increased (p < .

Anodization-based process for the fabrication of all niobium nitride Josephson junction structures.

We studied the growth and oxidation of niobium nitride (NbN) films that we used to fabricate superconductive tunnel junctions. The thin films were deposited by dc reactive magnetron sputtering using a mixture of argon and nitrogen. The process parameters were optimized by monitoring the plasma with an optical spectroscopy technique.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Provoked by Etanercept: Report of 443 Possible Cases Combined from an IBD Referral Center and the FDA.

Background: Anti-TNF therapies have revolutionized the treatment of autoimmune inflammatory conditions. Paradoxical treatment with these agents is associated with the development of de novo autoimmune diseases. Less well recognized is the provocation of de novo IBD by these agents.

Experimental Study of Spectral Properties of a Frenkel-Kontorova System.

We report on microwave emission from linear parallel arrays of underdamped Josephson junctions, which are described by the Frenkel-Kontorova (FK) model. Electromagnetic radiation is detected from the arrays when biased on current singularities (steps) appearing at voltages V(n)=Φ(0)(nc̅/L), where Φ(0)=2.07×10(-15)  Wb is the magnetic flux quantum, and c̅, L, and n are, respectively, the speed of light in the transmission line embedding the array, L its physical length, and n an integer.

Efficacy of Vedolizumab as Induction Therapy in Refractory IBD Patients: A Multicenter Cohort.

Background: Vedolizumab (VDZ) demonstrated efficacy in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) in the GEMINI trials. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of VDZ at week 14 in inflammatory bowel disease in a multicenter cohort of patients.

Methods: Patients at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital were considered for inclusion.