Serious Bacterial Infections and Hepatitis C Virus Among People Who Inject Drugs: A Syndemic or Intertwined Epidemics?

Limited research has examined the possible synergistic interrelationships between serious bacterial infections (SBIs) of the heart (i.e., endocarditis), bone, spine, brain, or joints (e.

Pembrolizumab in microsatellite instability-high/mismatch repair deficient (MSI-H/dMMR) and non-MSI-H/non-dMMR advanced endometrial cancer: Phase 2 KEYNOTE-158 study results.

Objective: We report updated results with longer follow-up in patients with MSI-H/dMMR endometrial cancer (EC) in cohort D (advanced EC of any MSI/dMMR status) and cohort K (any MSI-H/dMMR advanced solid tumor, except colorectal) of the phase 2 KEYNOTE-158 study (NCT02628067) and the first results from patients with non-MSI-H/non-dMMR advanced EC (cohort D).

Methods: Patients received pembrolizumab 200 mg Q3W for ≥35 cycles. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST v1.

Felix A. Conte, MD 1935-2024. The endocrinologist's endocrinologist.

is not a required field for Obituaries.

Thirty years of StAR gazing: expanding the universe of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein.

Current understanding of the biology, biochemistry and genetics of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and its deficiency state (congenital lipoid adrenal hyperplasia, lipoid CAH) involves the complex interplay of four areas of study: the acute regulation of steroidogenesis, clinical phenomena in lipoid CAH, the enzymatic conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone in steroidogenic mitochondria, and the cell biology of StAR. This review traces the origins of these areas of study, describes how they have been woven into an increasingly coherent fabric, and tries to explore some remaining loose ends in this ongoing field of endocrine research. Abundant research from multiple laboratories establishes that StAR is required for the rapid, abundant steroidal responses of the adrenals and gonads, but all steroidogenic cells, especially the placenta, have StAR-independent steroidogenesis, whose basis remains under investigation.

Exploring the challenges in manual wheelchair operation for new users.

This exploratory qualitative study examines the challenges faced by manual wheelchair (MWC) users and their clinicians, with a focus on mobility difficulties in both outdoor and indoor environments, as well as training priorities. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 18 clinicians and 25 MWC users from various rehabilitation centres. The interviews, lasting between 30 and 60 minutes, explored specific aspects of MWC use, including mobility challenges, training needs, and psychological factors.

Quantification of Difference in Nonselectivity Between In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices.

Correct measurement results from in vitro diagnostic (IVD) medical devices (MD) are crucial for optimal patient care. The performance of IVD-MDs is often assessed through method comparison studies. Such studies can be compromised by the influence of various factors.

A brief report on biomarkers of cellular senescence associated with liver frailty and length of stay in liver transplantation.

The proportion of older individuals needing liver transplantation is growing, resulting in an increasingly frail patient population. Frailty constitutes a constellation of cognitive and physical symptoms associated with aging and increases the risk of morbidity and mortality. Senescence is a programmed cell fate in response to stress implicated in causing frailty, age-related diseases, and aging itself.

Biological mechanisms contradict AI consciousness: The spaces between the notes.

The presumption that experiential consciousness requires a nervous system and brain has been central to the debate on the possibility of developing a conscious form of artificial intelligence (AI). The likelihood of future AI consciousness or devising tools to assess its presence has focused on how AI might mimic brain-centered activities. Currently, dual general assumptions prevail: AI consciousness is primarily an issue of functional information density and integration, and no substantive technical barriers exist to prevent its achievement.

K-Wire-Assisted Intra-axial Intradural Approach for Cavernous Sinus Biopsy: A Case Report.

Petroclival approaches remain challenging given abundant cranial nerves and vessels. Common trajectories include transsphenoidal, transoral, middle fossa-extradural, and posterior through the cerebellar peduncle. We report a unique intra-axial, intradural approach to the petroclival and cavernous sinus.

The impact of a couple-based intervention on one-year viral suppression among pregnant women living with HIV and their male partners in Malawi: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Couple-based behavioral interventions (CBIs) have been associated with improved HIV virological outcomes for pregnant women and their male partners living with HIV in observational settings, but have never been tested in a randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Setting: Bwaila District Hospital Antenatal clinic (Lilongwe, Malawi).

Methods: An RCT was conducted among 500 pregnant women living with HIV (index clients) randomized 1:1 to the standard of care (SOC) or CBI and followed for one year.

Effect of a Community-Based Peer-Led eHealth Wheelchair Skills Training Program: A Randomized Control Trial.

Objective: To measure the effect of a community-based peer-led eHealth manual wheelchair (MWC) skills training program on community participation, wheelchair skills capacity and performance, wheelchair-specific self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life.

Design: Randomized control trial with wait-list control group.

Setting: Community.

Effectiveness of ceftazidime-avibactam versus ceftolozane-tazobactam for multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in the USA (CACTUS): a multicentre, retrospective, observational study.

Background: Ceftolozane-tazobactam and ceftazidime-avibactam are preferred treatment options for multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections; however, real-world comparative effectiveness studies are scarce. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic differences between the agents might affect clinical response rates. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of ceftolozane-tazobactam and ceftazidime-avibactam for treatment of invasive multidrug-resistant P aeruginosa infections.

The Implementation Climate for Integrating Buprenorphine Prescribing into Rural Primary Care.

Background: Rural communities have been significantly affected by opioid use disorder (OUD) and related harms but have less access to evidence-based medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), such as buprenorphine. Given the shortage of specialists in these areas, rural primary care is an important setting to expand buprenorphine access, but implementation is limited.

Objective: To explore implementation climate factors that support or hinder buprenorphine implementation in rural primary care.

Saltational Episodes of Reticulate Evolution in the Drosophila saltans Species Group.

Phylogenomics reveals reticulate evolution to be widespread across taxa, but whether reticulation is due to low statistical power or it is a true evolutionary pattern remains a field of study. Here, we investigate the phylogeny and quantify reticulation in the Drosophila saltans species group, a Neotropical clade of the subgenus Sophophora comprising 23 species whose relationships have long been problematic. Phylogenetic analyses revealed conflicting topologies between the X chromosome, autosomes and the mitochondria.

Nivolumab plus relatlimab and nivolumab plus ipilimumab for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma: results from the open-label, randomised, phase II FRACTION-RCC trial.

Background: The Fast Real-time Assessment of Combination Therapies in Immuno-ONcology study in patients with aRCC (FRACTION-RCC) was designed to assess new immuno-oncology (IO) combinations in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC). We present results in IO-naive patients treated with nivolumab (NIVO) + relatlimab (RELA) or NIVO + ipilimumab (IPI) in track 1.

Methods: The open-label, randomised, phase II FRACTION-RCC trial enrolled patients with aRCC from 32 hospitals and cancer centres across six countries.

Reliability of cushion construction for a low-cost pressure-reducing wheelchair cushion for less-resourced settings.

In less-resourced settings, 80% of people with spinal cord injuries die from pressure ulcer complications within two years. Appropriately constructed wheelchair cushions are effective in reducing incidence and severity of pressure ulcers. The Tuball is an inexpensive wheelchair cushion designed for users in less-resourced settings, which can be reproduced by local clinicians using locally sourced materials.

Pharmacokinetics of cefiderocol in a patient with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii ventriculitis: A case report.

Objective: Cefiderocol is a novel antibiotic used to treat multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. However, there is limited data on its effectiveness for ventriculitis. The objective of this study was to evaluate cefiderocol concentrations in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during the treatment of ventriculitis.

Detecting Changes in Comfort, Pain, and Mobility Over Clinical Milestones for Individuals With Lower Limb Loss.

Background: Functional mobility, comfort and the absence of pain are key goals of prosthetic treatment. Outcome measures (OMs) evaluate the impact of treatment and normative and minimal detectable change (MDC) values are key to interpreting these scores and measuring treatment outcomes.

Objectives: This study seeks to 1) present practice-based normative values of four commonly used OMs at four prosthetic milestones and 2) explore the MDC of the measures over the treatment period.

Search for CP-Violating Neutrino Nonstandard Interactions with the NOvA Experiment.

This Letter reports a search for charge-parity (CP) symmetry violating nonstandard interactions (NSI) of neutrinos with matter using the NOvA Experiment, and examines their effects on the determination of the standard oscillation parameters. Data from ν_{μ}(ν[over ¯]_{μ})→ν_{μ}(ν[over ¯]_{μ}) and ν_{μ}(ν[over ¯]_{μ})→ν_{e}(ν[over ¯]_{e}) oscillation channels are used to measure the effect of the NSI parameters ϵ_{eμ} and ϵ_{eτ}. With 90% CL the magnitudes of the NSI couplings are constrained to be |ϵ_{eμ}|≲0.

Cellular senescence in acute human infectious disease: a systematic review.

Introduction: This systematic review explores the relationship between cellular senescence, an age-related inflammatory phenomenon, with acute human infectious disease.

Methods: Embase via OVID, Scopus, Web of Science, Global Index Medicus, Cochrane Library via Wiley, and ClinicalTrials.gov were queried.

An mRNA-encoded dominant-negative inhibitor of transcription factor RUNX1 suppresses vitreoretinal disease in experimental models.

Messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapies are a promising approach to medical treatment. Except for infectious diseases, no other disease has mRNA-based therapies available. The eye is an ideal model for mRNA therapeutic development because it requires limited dosing.

Rural houselessness among people who use drugs in the United States: Results from the National Rural Opioid Initiative.

Background: Over the last two decades, houselessness and drug-related epidemics both have expanded from urban to rural regions across the United States (US). However, our understanding of the relationship between rural houselessness, drug use, and drug-related harms has not kept pace. The current study addresses this gap by describing houselessness among a large cohort of people who use drugs (PWUD) from rural communities across 10 states.