Multifaceted modeling of small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors.

Small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors, siNETs, are a group of rare cancers that arise from neuroendocrine cells in the lining of the jejunum and ileum, which are either classified as tumors, siNETs, or small intestinal neuroendocrine carcinomas, siNECs. Current treatment strategies for low-grade tumors include surgical resection, peptide radionucleotide receptor therapy, and somatostatin analogues, while high-grade and recurrent tumors may receive cytotoxic chemotherapy. These limited treatment options are linked to the lack of representative models that can both reflect the biology of the tumor and are amenable to mid-to-high throughput experimentation.

Structure and Function of Fermentation-Derived Bovine Lactoferrin Produced from Komagataella phaffii.

Bovine lactoferrin (bLf) confers significant functional benefits for human health, but low concentrations in milk and high cost of commercial production limit availability and thus product application. Precision fermentation offers a solution to increase availability of biosimilar recombinant bLf (rbLf) thereby opening new opportunities for this high-value ingredient. To comply with regulatory requirements, we aimed to establish that rbLf from is substantially similar to native bLf in structure and key functions.

Does it matter who performs blood culture collection? Results of a survey assessing phlebotomist, nurse, and resident knowledge of blood culture collection protocols.

Blood cultures are the primary method for diagnosing bloodstream infections. However, blood culture contamination (BCC) can lead to unnecessary antibiotic treatment, additional tests, and extended patient time in the hospital. The aim of this quality improvement project was to evaluate healthcare workers' knowledge of blood culture collection protocols and evaluate the blood culture contamination rates of laboratory and non-laboratory staff.

Perinatal hair cortisol concentrations linked to psychological distress and unpredicted birth complications.

Maternal well-being and stress during the perinatal period have been hypothesized to influence birth outcomes and the postnatal development of offspring. In the present study, we explored whether hair cortisol concentration (HCC) was related to symptoms of psychological distress during the perinatal period and with unpredicted birth complications (UBCs). Surveys measuring symptoms of perceived stress, state/trait anxiety, and depression were collected from 53 participants (mean age = 31.

The development of a clinical research educational training for community health workers using the joint task force for clinical trial competency framework.

The NYU Clinical & Translational Science Institute, in collaboration with a number of community-engaged initiatives, developed a training for community health workers (CHWs) to enhance health literacy about clinical research. This innovative research training provides CHWs with a basic level of competency in clinical research to convey the importance of research to communities and better advocate for their health needs. CHWs are an underutilized resource to engage diverse populations in clinical research.

Common and atypical presentations of Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in equids with emphasis on neurologic and muscle disease.

Background: Comprehensive descriptions of equids with granulocytic anaplasmosis (EGA) with neurologic or muscle disease and other atypical presentations are scarce in the literature.

Objective: Describe the clinical signs, laboratory findings, treatment, and outcome of equids with EGA with emphasis on neurologic and muscle disease.

Animals: Thirty-eight horses, 1 donkey.

Testing the cognitive effects of tadalafil. Neuropsychological secondary outcomes from the PASTIS trial.

Unlabelled: Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is a major cause of cognitive impairment in older people. As secondary endpoints in a phase-2 randomised clinical trial, we tested the effects of single administration of a widely-used PDE5 inhibitor, tadalafil, on cognitive performance in older people with SVD. In a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial, participants received tadalafil (20 mg) and placebo on two visits ≥ 7 days apart (randomised to order of treatment).

Equine Gunshot Euthanasia: Creation of a 3D-Printed Model with Integrated Sensors for Training.

Challenges and issues related to the use of pentobarbital euthanasia and disposal of animal remains within the US have recently been reviewed. Environmental and public health challenges increasingly necessitate consideration of alternative methods such as gunshots, an American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) "acceptable with conditions" method, for the humane euthanasia of horses. A recent study reported a correctly aimed gunshot provides a humane option for euthanizing horses.

Models in Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms: Current Perspectives and Future Directions.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (pNENs) are a heterogeneous group of tumors derived from multiple neuroendocrine origin cell subtypes. Incidence rates for pNENs have steadily risen over the last decade, and outcomes continue to vary widely due to inability to properly screen. These tumors encompass a wide range of functional and non-functional subtypes, with their rarity and slow growth making therapeutic development difficult as most clinically used therapeutics are derived from retrospective analyses.

Upregulation of Somatostatin Receptor Type 2 Improves 177Lu-DOTATATE Therapy in Receptor-Deficient Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Model.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNET) express high levels of somatostatin receptor type 2 (SSTR2), a unique target for both tumor imaging and therapy. This surface expression is lost in metastatic high-grade PNETs, making patients ineligible for SSTR2-targeted 177 Lutetium (Lu)-DOTATATE peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT), and represents an unmet clinical need. Here, we aimed to restore SSTR2 expression through the reversal of inhibitory epigenetic gene silencing to improve tumor responsiveness to PRRT.

β-Integrin Adhesive Bond Tension under Shear Stress Modulates Cytosolic Calcium Flux and Neutrophil Inflammatory Response.

On arrested neutrophils a focal adhesive cluster of ~200 high affinity (HA) β-integrin bonds under tension is sufficient to trigger Ca flux that signals an increase in activation in direct proportion to increments in shear stress. We reasoned that a threshold tension acting on individual β-integrin bonds provides a mechanical means of transducing the magnitude of fluid drag force into signals that enhance the efficiency of neutrophil recruitment and effector function. Tension gauge tethers (TGT) are a duplex of DNA nucleotides that rupture at a precise shear force, which increases with the extent of nucleotide overlap, ranging from a tolerance of 54pN to 12pN.

Feasibility of Hair Cortisol as a Biomarker of Chronic Stress in People With Dementia.

Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) are an innovative way to measure chronic stress relying on a small sample of hair. To date, there are no studies that have studied HCC as a biomarker of chronic stress in individuals with dementia. Given the vulnerability to chronic stress in people with dementia, using HCC as an objective measure of physiological stress in those with dementia has potential to enhance our understanding of this population.

The PASTIS trial: Testing tadalafil for possible use in vascular cognitive impairment.

Introduction: There are few randomized clinical trials in vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). This trial tested the hypothesis that the PDE5 inhibitor tadalafil, a widely used vasodilator, increases cerebral blood flow (CBF) in older people with symptomatic small vessel disease, the main cause of VCI.

Methods: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial, participants received tadalafil (20 mg) and placebo on two visits ≥7 days apart (randomized to order of treatment).

How precise is PreSize Neurovascular? Accuracy evaluation of flow diverter deployed-length prediction.

Objective: The use of flow-diverting stents has been increasingly important in intracranial aneurysm treatment. However, accurate sizing and landing zone prediction remain challenging. Inaccurate sizing can lead to suboptimal deployment, device waste, and complications.

Fish evacuation and emergency sheltering during wildfire disasters.

Wildfires are a serious and expanding threat in western North America, and wildfire encroachment on human populations leads to widespread evacuation and emergency housing operations for residents and their companion animals and livestock. Veterinarians are frequently part of wildfire response efforts and are called upon to assist in rescue, evacuation, and emergency housing operations as well as to provide medical care for evacuated animals. Although veterinarians are likely familiar with the principles of transporting and housing terrestrial animals, emergency response for aquatic companion animals presents unique logistic challenges.

Test-retest reliability of arterial spin labelling for cerebral blood flow in older adults with small vessel disease.

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is common in older people and is associated with lacunar stroke, white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and vascular cognitive impairment. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is reduced in SVD, particularly within white matter.Here we quantified test-retest reliability in CBF measurements using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling (pCASL) in older adults with clinical and radiological evidence of SVD (N=54, mean (SD): 66.

Steroid precursors, steroids, neuroactive steroids, and neurosteroids concentrations in serum and saliva of healthy neonatal heifer Holstein calves.

Background: Persistence of high neurosteroid concentrations in blood is associated with neonatal encephalopathy and septicemia in foals. This has not been investigated in calves.

Objectives: To determine concentrations of steroid compounds in serum and saliva within the first 48 hours after birth in healthy neonatal calves, identify potential markers for disease, and investigate the association between serum steroid compounds concentrations in calves and their respective dams within 2 hours after birth.

Validation of the Alpha Defensin Lateral Flow Test for Periprosthetic Joint Infection.

Background: The synovial fluid test for alpha defensin has been reported to have an excellent performance in diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of the lateral flow test for synovial fluid alpha defensin by using the methods of a formal diagnostic accuracy study and to compare its performance with that of the laboratory-based alpha defensin test for PJI.

Methods: We conducted a diagnostic accuracy study of the index lateral flow immunoassay for synovial fluid alpha defensin relative to the reference 2013 Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) multicriteria definition of PJI.

Current Operational Model for Veterinary Care in Large Animal Shelters During Disasters.

Standardization of operating guidelines for veterinary care in evacuation and emergency animal shelters is imperative for an organized response and to facilitate treatment and prevention of medical conditions stemming from the effects of a disaster and the associated outcomes of sheltering. Safeguarding animal welfare through creating guidelines should expedite care, assure consistency, and provide appropriate safety measures for animals and veterinary medical providers. Veterinary integration into an incident command system (ICS) and response training allows for proper allocation of roles and responsibilities, as well as coordination of veterinary supplies and personnel.

Disaster Medicine: Implementation of an animal health database in response to the 2018 California Camp Fire.

Objective: To describe an animal health database used to facilitate effective disaster response and retrospective analysis of data concerning animals other than cats and dogs affected by the 2018 California Camp Fire.

Animals: Veterinary medical entries (n = 206) for evacuated or rescued animals (151) of various species, including avian, bovine, camelid, caprine, equine, ovine, and porcine species, temporarily housed at the Butte County fairgrounds in Gridley, Calif.

Procedures: Case data were collected via a standardized form by volunteers with the University of California-Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team during triage and treatment of animals brought to the shelter.

Quasi-diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (QDI): A fast, high b-value diffusion imaging technique.

To enable application of non-Gaussian diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) techniques in large-scale clinical trials and facilitate translation to clinical practice there is a requirement for fast, high contrast, techniques that are sensitive to changes in tissue structure which provide diagnostic signatures at the early stages of disease. Here we describe a new way to compress the acquisition of multi-shell b-value diffusion data, Quasi-Diffusion MRI (QDI), which provides a probe of subvoxel tissue complexity using short acquisition times (1-4 ​min). We also describe a coherent framework for multi-directional diffusion gradient acquisition and data processing that allows computation of rotationally invariant quasi-diffusion tensor imaging (QDTI) maps.

A role for ceramide glycosylation in resistance to oxaliplatin in colorectal cancer.

There is growing evidence to support a role for the ceramide-metabolizing enzyme, glucosylceramide synthase (GCS), in resistance to a variety of chemotherapeutic agents. Whether GCS contributes to oxaliplatin resistance in colorectal cancer (CRC) has not yet been determined. We have addressed this potentially important clinical issue by examining GCS function in two panels of oxaliplatin-resistant, isogenic CRC cell lines.

Plasma concentrations of steroid precursors, steroids, neuroactive steroids, and neurosteroids in healthy neonatal foals from birth to 7 days of age.

Background: Transient hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction occurs in critically ill foals with sepsis and neonatal maladjustment syndrome (NMS). Cortisol is the most commonly measured steroid. However, a complex interaction of various steroid compounds might play a role in pathophysiology of this disorder.

Description of Placement Procedures for Common Methods Used in Equine Emergency Rescue Using a Simplified Loops System.

Entrapped, stranded and recumbent equids often require emergency rescue. The success of the rescue is often affected by secondary injuries from struggling of the horse to rise and from injury secondary to attempted rescue by pulling on the head or limbs of the equid. Therefore, having ready access to simplified rescue equipment which can be easily applied would be desirable.