Multi-Omics Assessment of Puff Volume-Mediated Salivary Biomarkers of Metal Exposure and Oxidative Injury Associated with Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems.

Background: Since their inception, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) have gained increasing popularity, sparking a vaping epidemic among adolescents in the US and globally. Several ENDS safety concerns have emerged as device features and formats that contribute to heavy metal exposure and toxicity continue to evolve and outpace regulatory efforts.

Objectives: Our objective was to integrate ENDS emission profiles with salivary proteome and metabolome data to characterize exposure factors that may influence adverse vaping-mediated health outcomes.

The unbearable slowness of being: Why do we live at 10 bits/s?

This article is about the neural conundrum behind the slowness of human behavior. The information throughput of a human being is about 10 bits/s. In comparison, our sensory systems gather data at ∼10 bits/s.

No detrimental effect on the hand microbiome of health care staff by frequent alcohol-based antisepsis.

Background: The importance of ethanol-based hand rubs (EBHRs) to prevent health care-associated infections is undisputed. However, there is a lack of meaningful data regarding the influence of EBHRs on skin microbiome.

Methods: Four nurses in a neonatal intensive care unit were included.

How teaching surgeons communicate: An analysis of intraoperative discourse among male and female surgeons.

Background: Our objective was to compare the use of agentic ("I") and communal ("we") spoken intraoperative discourse between male and female attending and resident surgeons.

Methods: We analyzed transcripts involving attending and resident surgeons from 5 specialties at a single Midwestern academic teaching hospital. We adapted and expanded Grebelsky-Lichtman's codes, assessed rater agreement, and systematically coded transcripts for agentic and communal terms.

Complex structural variation is prevalent and highly pathogenic in pediatric solid tumors.

In pediatric cancer, structural variants (SVs) and copy-number alterations contribute to cancer initiation as well as progression, thereby aiding diagnosis and treatment stratification. Although suggested to be of importance, the prevalence and biological relevance of complex genomic rearrangements (CGRs) across pediatric solid tumors is largely unexplored. In a cohort of 120 primary tumors, we systematically characterized patterns of extrachromosomal DNA, chromoplexy, and chromothripsis across five pediatric solid cancer types.

The role of puff volume in vaping emissions, inhalation risks, and metabolic perturbations: a pilot study.

Secondhand vaping exposure is an emerging public health concern that remains understudied. In this study, saliva and exhaled emissions from ENDS users (secondhand) and non-ENDS users (baseline) were collected, firsthand emissions were generated using an automated ENDS aerosol generation system programmed to simulate puffing topography profiles collected from ENDS users. Particulate concentrations and sizes along with volatile organic compounds were characterized.

Pathfinder experiments with atom interferometry in the Cold Atom Lab onboard the International Space Station.

Deployment of ultracold atom interferometers (AI) into space will capitalize on quantum advantages and the extended freefall of persistent microgravity to provide high-precision measurement capabilities for gravitational, Earth, and planetary sciences, and to enable searches for subtle forces signifying physics beyond General Relativity and the Standard Model. NASA's Cold Atom Lab (CAL) operates onboard the International Space Station as a multi-user facility for fundamental studies of ultracold atoms and to mature space-based quantum technologies. We report on pathfinding experiments utilizing ultracold Rb atoms in the CAL AI.

A fast algorithm for All-Pairs-Shortest-Paths suitable for neural networks.

Given a directed graph of nodes and edges connecting them, a common problem is to find the shortest path between any two nodes. Here we show that the shortest path distances can be found by a simple matrix inversion: If the edges are given by the adjacency matrix then with a suitably small value of the shortest path distances are We derive several graph-theoretic bounds on the value of , and explore its useful range with numerics on different graph types. Even when the distance function is not globally accurate across the entire graph, it still works locally to instruct pursuit of the shortest path.

A comprehensive overview of liquid biopsy applications in pediatric solid tumors.

Liquid biopsies are emerging as an alternative source for pediatric cancer biomarkers with potential applications during all stages of patient care, from diagnosis to long-term follow-up. While developments within this field are reported, these mainly focus on dedicated items such as a specific liquid biopsy matrix, analyte, and/or single tumor type. To the best of our knowledge, a comprehensive overview is lacking.

[Catheter-assisted local lysis therapy for submassive pulmonary embolism].

Background: Pulmonary embolism is the third most common cardiovascular disease. Interventional treatment options as an alternative to systemic lysis therapy of hemodynamically stable, submassive pulmonary embolisms have received an unprecedented boost in innovation in recent years. The treatment options are heterogeneous and can be roughly divided into local thrombolysis and local thrombectomy.

Feasibility of Home Collection for Urogenital Microbiome Samples.

Importance: Feasibility of home urogenital microbiome specimen collection is unknown.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate successful sample collection rates from home and clinical research centers.

Study Design: Adult women participants enrolled in a multicentered cohort study were recruited to an in-person research center evaluation, including self-collected urogenital samples.

Inhalation of nicotine-containing electronic cigarette vapor exacerbates the features of COPD by inducing ferroptosis in βENaC-overexpressing mice.

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is currently listed as the 3 leading cause of death in the United States. Accumulating data shows the association between COPD occurrence and the usage of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) in patients. However, the underlying pathogenesis mechanisms of COPD have not been fully understood.

Comparative Bioremediation of Tetradecane, Cyclohexanone and Cyclohexane by Filamentous Fungi from Polluted Habitats in Kazakhstan.

Studying the fates of oil components and their interactions with ecological systems is essential for developing comprehensive management strategies and enhancing restoration following oil spill incidents. The potential expansion of Kazakhstan's role in the global oil market necessitates the existence of land-specific studies that contribute to the field of bioremediation. In this study, a set of experiments was designed to assess the growth and biodegradation capacities of eight fungal strains sourced from Kazakhstan soil when exposed to the hydrocarbon substrates from which they were initially isolated.

Quantitative Pupillometry Predicts Return to Play and Tracks the Clinical Evolution of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in US Military Academy Cadets: A Military Traumatic Brain Injury Initiative Study.

Background And Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the utility of the pupillary light reflex use as a biomarker of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted at The US Military Academy at West Point. Cadets underwent a standard battery of tests including Balance Error Scoring System, Sports Concussion Assessment Tool Fifth Edition Symptom Survey, Standard Assessment of Concussion, and measure of pupillary responses.

Exploring women's bladder self-care practices: A qualitative secondary analysis.

Aims: To describe women's experiences with a range of bladder self-care practices.

Design: We conducted a secondary, directed content analysis of qualitative data from the Study of Habits, Attitudes, Realities and Experiences, a multisite focus group study designed to explore adolescent and adult women's experiences, perceptions, beliefs, knowledge and behaviours related to bladder health. This study was conducted by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases' Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Research Consortium.

Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma-Activated Medium Modulates Cellular Functions of Human Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells In Vitro.

Cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) offers a variety of therapeutic possibilities and induces the formation of reactive chemical species associated with oxidative stress. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) play a central role in tissue regeneration, partly because of their antioxidant properties and ability to migrate into regenerating areas. During the therapeutic application, MSCs are directly exposed to the reactive species of CAP.

Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in US Women: Contemporary Prevalence Estimates from the RISE FOR HEALTH Study.

Purpose: We aimed to estimate the prevalence of a wide range of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in US women, and explore associations with bother and discussion with health care providers, friends, and family.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed baseline data collected from May 2022 to December 2023 in the RISE FOR HEALTH study-a large, regionally representative cohort study of adult female community members. LUTS and related bother were measured by the 10-item Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network Symptom Index, and discussion was assessed by a study-specific item.

Equilibrium landscape of ingress/egress channels and gating residues of the Cytochrome P450 3A4.

The Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes metabolize a variety of drugs, which may potentially lead to toxicity or reduced efficacy when drugs are co-administered. These drug-drug interactions are often manifested by CYP3A4, the most prevalent of all CYP isozymes. We carried out multiple MD simulations employing CAVER to quantify the channels, and Hidden Markov Models (HMM) to characterize the behavior of the gating residues.