Comparison of Alternative Approaches to Using Race-and-Ethnicity Data in Estimating Differences in Health Care and Social Determinants of Health.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare 2 approaches for representing self-reported race-and-ethnicity, additive modeling (AM), in which every race or ethnicity a person endorses counts toward measurement of that category, and a commonly used mutually exclusive categorization (MEC) approach. The benchmark was a gold-standard, but often impractical approach that analyzes all combinations of race-and-ethnicity as distinct groups.

Methods: Data came from 313,739 respondents to the 2021 Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys who self-reported race-and-ethnicity.

De-biasing the bias: methods for improving disparity assessments with noisy group measurements.

Health care decisions are increasingly informed by clinical decision support algorithms, but these algorithms may perpetuate or increase racial and ethnic disparities in access to and quality of health care. Further complicating the problem, clinical data often have missing or poor quality racial and ethnic information, which can lead to misleading assessments of algorithmic bias. We present novel statistical methods that allow for the use of probabilities of racial/ethnic group membership in assessments of algorithm performance and quantify the statistical bias that results from error in these imputed group probabilities.

The Rhode Island transitions clinic: connections to social and healthcare services after release from incarceration.

Background: After release from incarceration, individuals are rarely connected to primary care or to social services despite bearing a disproportionate burden of poor health (e.g., chronic illness) and structural determinants of health (e.

DNMT1 prolonged absence is a tunable cellular stress that triggers cell proliferation arrest to protect from major DNA methylation loss.

Methylation of cytosine in CpG dinucleotides is an epigenetic modification carried out by DNA-methyltransferases (DNMTs) that contributes to chromatin condensation and structure and, thus, to gene transcription regulation and chromosome stability. DNMT1 maintains the DNA methylation pattern of the genome at each cell cycle by copying it to the newly synthesized DNA strand during the S-phase. DNMT1 pharmacological inhibition as well as genetic knockout and knockdown, leads to passive DNA methylation loss.

Flexible 3D nanofiber-based SERS biosensor for detection of miRNA-223-3p in early Laryngeal Cancer diagnosis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (18-22 nucleotides) that regulate gene expression and are associated with various diseases, including Laryngeal Cancer (LCa), which has a high mortality rate due to late diagnosis. Traditional methods for miRNA detection present several drawbacks (time-consuming steps, high cost and high false positive rate). Early-stage diagnosis and selective detection of miRNAs remain challenging.

LCM-RNAseq Highlights Intratumor Heterogeneity and a lncRNA Signature from Archival Tissues of GH-Secreting PitNETs.

Background: This study explores the potential for hidden variations within seemingly uniform regions of growth hormone-secreting pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (GH-PitNETs). We employed archived tissue samples using Laser Capture Microdissection Sequencing (LCM-RNAseq) to probe the molecular landscape of these tumors at a deeper level.

Methods: A customized protocol was developed to extract, process, and sequence small amounts of RNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues derived from five patients with GH-secreting PitNETs and long-term follow-up (≥10 years).

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on participants in pragmatic clinical trials for chronic pain: implications for trial outcomes and beyond.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic had profound effects on society, including those living with chronic pain. This study sought to examine pandemic impacts on individuals enrolled in pragmatic clinical trials focused on nonpharmacological treatments for chronic pain.

Methods: We evaluated responses to a questionnaire on COVID-19 impacts that had been administered to participants (n=2024) during study enrollment in 3 pragmatic clinical trials for chronic pain treatment.

Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment for pain management for veterans separating from military service: study protocol of a hybrid type 2 study testing implementation facilitation versus training-as-usual.

Background: Veterans transitioning to civilian life often have chronic pain from service-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) with higher risk for substance misuse. Many seek VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) compensation for MSD. Use of Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment for Pain Management (SBIRT-PM) by VA Post-9/11 Military2VA (M2VA) case managers presents an opportunity to engage these veterans in VA pain care and address substance misuse.

AI drives the assessment of lung cancer microenvironment composition.

Purpose: The abundance and distribution of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) as well as that of other components of the tumor microenvironment is of particular importance for predicting response to immunotherapy in lung cancer (LC). We describe here a pilot study employing artificial intelligence (AI) in the assessment of TILs and other cell populations, intending to reduce the inter- or intra-observer variability that commonly characterizes this evaluation.

Design: We developed a machine learning-based classifier to detect tumor, immune, and stromal cells on hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections, using the open-source framework .

The Feasibility and Acceptability of a Clinical Pharmacist-delivered Intervention to Reduce Bothersome Health Symptoms from Polypharmacy and Alcohol Use and Communicate Risk among People with HIV: Pilot Study Protocol.

Among persons with HIV (PWH), unhealthy alcohol use and polypharmacy contribute to bothersome symptoms (e.g., fatigue, dizziness, memory loss).

Prognostic Impact of H19/Cell Adhesion Molecules Circuitry on Prostate Cancer Biopsy.

Introduction: Metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) presents a significant challenge in oncology due to its high mortality rate and the absence of effective biomarkers for predicting patient outcomes. Building on previous research that highlighted the critical role of the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) H19 and cell adhesion molecules in promoting tumor progression under hypoxia and estrogen stimulation, this study aimed to assess the potential of these components as prognostic biomarkers for PCa at the biopsy stage.

Methods: This research utilized immunohistochemistry and droplet digital PCR to analyze formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) biopsies, focusing on specific markers within the H19/cell adhesion molecules pathway.

Developmental Profile of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Versus Social Communication Disorder: A Pilot Study.

Background: Social Communication Disorder (SCD), introduced in the DSM-5, is distinguished from Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by the absence of restricted and repetitive behaviors or interests (RRBIs).

Aim: To compare the adaptive, sensory, communication, and cognitive profiles of children with ASD and SCD.

Methods: The assessments of nine children with SCD and ten with ASD were compared with either Fisher's Exact Test or the Mann-Whitney Test.

The Benzoxazole Heterocycle: A Comprehensive Review of the Most Recent Medicinal Chemistry Developments of Antiproliferative, Brain-Penetrant, and Anti-inflammatory Agents.

The benzoxazole is one of the most widely exploited heterocycles in drug discovery. Natural occurring and synthetic benzoxazoles show a broad range of biological activities. Many benzoxazoles are available for treating several diseases, and, to date, a few are in clinical trials.

Fetal Hemoglobin Decrease During Voxelotor Treatment.

Voxelotor modifies hemoglobin-oxygen affinity improving anemia and reducing hemolysis in sickle cell patients. However, the impact of Voxelotor on fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels is unknown. We describe here variations of percentage of HbF measured by high performance liquid chromatography and mean corpuscular fetal Hb in a cohort of sickle cell patients treated with Voxelotor at Henri Mondor Sickle Cell Referral Center.

Biomaterials Mimicking Mechanobiology: A Specific Design for a Specific Biological Application.

Mechanosensing and mechanotransduction pathways between the Extracellular Matrix (ECM) and cells form the essential crosstalk that regulates cell homeostasis, tissue development, morphology, maintenance, and function. Understanding these mechanisms involves creating an appropriate cell support that elicits signals to guide cellular functions. In this context, polymers can serve as ideal molecules for producing biomaterials designed to mimic the characteristics of the ECM, thereby triggering responsive mechanisms that closely resemble those induced by a natural physiological system.

LipidOne 2.0: A Web Tool for Discovering Biological Meanings Hidden in Lipidomic Data.

LipidOne 2.0 (https://lipidone.eu) is a new web bioinformatic tool for the analysis of lipidomic data.

A Novel Workflow for In Silico Prediction of Bioactive Peptides: An Exploration of By-Products.

Resource-intensive processes currently hamper the discovery of bioactive peptides (BAPs) from food by-products. To streamline this process, in silico approaches present a promising alternative. This study presents a novel computational workflow to predict peptide release, bioactivity, and bioavailability, significantly accelerating BAP discovery.