Systematic Review of mHealth Applications That Interface with Inhaler Sensors in Asthma.

Background: A better understanding of outcomes associated with mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) for asthma self-management that pair with inhaler sensor technology is needed for clinicians to practice evidence-based medicine.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of mHealth apps that integrate with an inhaler-based sensor on outcomes of patients with asthma.

Methods: We performed a systematic review in GooglePlay and Apple App stores for consumer-facing mHealth apps for asthma management that pair with an inhaler-based sensor.

Interpreting interfacial semiconductor-liquid capacitive characteristics impacted by surface states: a theoretical and experimental study of CuGaS.

Semiconductor-liquid interfaces are essential to the operation of many energy devices. Crucially, the operational characteristics of such devices are dependent upon both the flat band potential and doping concentration present in their solid-state semiconducting region. Traditionally, capacitive "linear" Mott-Schottky plots have often been utilized to extract these two parameters.

Optical Guiding in Meter-Scale Plasma Waveguides.

We demonstrate a new highly tunable technique for generating meter-scale low density plasma waveguides. Such guides can enable laser-driven electron acceleration to tens of GeV in a single stage. Plasma waveguides are imprinted in hydrogen gas by optical field ionization induced by two time-separated Bessel beam pulses: The first pulse, a J_{0} beam, generates the core of the waveguide, while the delayed second pulse, here a J_{8} or J_{16} beam, generates the waveguide cladding, enabling wide control of the guide's density, depth, and mode confinement.

Targeting Extracellular Matrix Remodeling Restores BRAF Inhibitor Sensitivity in BRAFi-resistant Melanoma.

Purpose: The extracellular matrix (ECM) is an intriguing, yet understudied component of therapy resistance. Here, we investigated the role of ECM remodeling by the collagenase, MT1-MMP, in conferring resistance of v-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF)-mutant melanoma to BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi) therapy.

Experimental Design: Publicly available RNA-sequencing data and reverse phase protein array were used to determine the relevance of MT1-MMP upregulation in BRAFi-resistant melanoma in patients, patient-derived xenografts, and cell line-derived tumors.

Immunodietica: interrogating the role of diet in autoimmune disease.

Diet is an environmental factor in autoimmune disorders, where the immune system erroneously destroys one's own tissues. Yet, interactions between diet and autoimmunity remain largely unexplored, particularly the impact of immunogenetics, one's human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele make-up, in this interplay. Here, we interrogated animals and plants for the presence of epitopes implicated in human autoimmune diseases.

Protective effect of microinjection of glutamate into hypothalamus paraventricular nucleus on chronic visceral hypersensitivity in rats.

Chronic visceral hypersensitivity (CVH) is a major pathophysiological feature of patients experiencing in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other disorders with visceral pain. However, little is known about its regulation of the central nucleus. In this research, we investigated the protective effect of microinjection of glutamate into hypothalamus paraventricular nucleus (PVN) on CVH and its possible regulatory mechanism in rats.

Biomimetic Amyloid-like Protein/Laponite Nanocomposite Thin Film through Regulating Protein Conformation.

The use of natural protein-based thin films has been severely limited because of their relatively low stiffness and strength compared to synthetic polymers. Although the mechanical properties of the protein-based thin films could be enhanced through blending with nanofillers, the fabrication of these materials with nanoscale-to-macroscale hierarchical architecture and robust interfacial adhesion via a facile and green method remains a challenge. Here, we prepared robust protein-based organic/inorganic nanocomposite films with a nacre-like microstructure through directly regulating protein conformation in a simple and biocompatible all-aqueous system.

Cross-sectional analysis of consumer-facing mHealth apps associated with inhaler monitoring for asthma.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the current landscape of consumer-directed mHealth apps that communicate with inhalers for asthma.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional and systematic analysis of Google Play and the Apple App Stores to identify apps that are consumer-direct and available in English, intended for patients with asthma and communicate with an inhaler-based sensor. We collected information about each app using the app stores and publicly available manufacturer websites.

Comparison of differential accessibility analysis strategies for ATAC-seq data.

ATAC-seq is widely used to measure chromatin accessibility and identify open chromatin regions (OCRs). OCRs usually indicate active regulatory elements in the genome and are directly associated with the gene regulatory network. The identification of differential accessibility regions (DARs) between different biological conditions is critical in determining the differential activity of regulatory elements.

Biotic stability mechanisms in Inner Mongolian grassland.

Biotic mechanisms associated with species diversity are expected to stabilize communities in theoretical and experimental studies but may be difficult to detect in natural communities exposed to large environmental variation. We investigated biotic stability mechanisms in a multi-site study across Inner Mongolian grassland characterized by large spatial variations in species richness and composition and temporal fluctuations in precipitation. We used a new additive-partitioning method to separate species synchrony and population dynamics within communities into different species-abundance groups.

Genome-wide cell-free DNA mutational integration enables ultra-sensitive cancer monitoring.

In many areas of oncology, we lack sensitive tools to track low-burden disease. Although cell-free DNA (cfDNA) shows promise in detecting cancer mutations, we found that the combination of low tumor fraction (TF) and limited number of DNA fragments restricts low-disease-burden monitoring through the prevailing deep targeted sequencing paradigm. We reasoned that breadth may supplant depth of sequencing to overcome the barrier of cfDNA abundance.

Climate and land-use interactively shape butterfly diversity in tropical rainforest and savanna ecosystems of southwestern China.

Human-induced habitat conversion and degradation, along with accelerating climatic change, have resulted in considerable global biodiversity loss. Nevertheless, how local ecological assemblages respond to the interplay between climate and land-use change remains poorly understood. Here, we examined the effects of climate and land-use interactions on butterfly diversity in different ecosystems of southwestern China.

Controlling Long-Distance Photoactuation with Protein Additives.

Long-distance wireless actuation indicates precise remote control over materials, sensors, and devices that are widely utilized in biomedical, defence, disaster relief, deep ocean, and outer space applications to replace human work. Unlike radio frequency (RF) control, which has low tolerance toward electromagnetic interference (EMI), light control represents a promising method to overcome EMI. Nonetheless, long-distance light-controlled wireless actuation able to compete with RF control has not been achieved until now due to the lack of highly light-sensitive actuator designs.

Role of gene polymorphisms related to progesterone elevation in women undergoing long GnRH agonist protocols.

Research Question: Can single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of genes related to progesterone synthesis predict the risk of premature serum progesterone elevation in women undergoing gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist protocols for ovarian stimulation?

Design: A total of 765 women were divided into high progesterone and normal progesterone groups according to progesterone concentration on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) administration, with the 75th percentile as the threshold between the group. Associations were analysed of genetic information from whole exome sequencing and the clinical characteristics of the two groups to identify the relationship between SNP, haplotypes and serum progesterone elevation.

Results: Among 40 common SNP of eight genes (FSHR, LHCGR, ESR1, ESR2, PGR, HSD3B1, CYP11A1 and CYP17A1), no statistical significance between the high and normal progesterone groups was identified in the distribution of genotypes and allele frequencies after multiple test correction to adjust the false discovery rate (P > 0.

Kondo-free mirages in elliptical quantum corrals.

The quantum mirage effect is a fascinating phenomenon in fundamental physics. Landmark experiments on quantum mirages reveal atomic-scale transport of information with potential to remotely probe atoms or molecules with minimal perturbation. Previous experimental investigations are Kondo-effect based; the quantum mirages appear only near the Fermi energy.

Machine learning for the prediction of severe pneumonia during posttransplant hospitalization in recipients of a deceased-donor kidney transplant.

Background: Pneumonia accounts for the majority of infection-related deaths after kidney transplantation. We aimed to build a predictive model based on machine learning for severe pneumonia in recipients of deceased-donor transplants within the perioperative period after surgery.

Methods: We collected the features of kidney transplant recipients and used a tree-based ensemble classification algorithm (Random Forest or AdaBoost) and a nonensemble classifier (support vector machine, Naïve Bayes, or logistic regression) to build the predictive models.

Four-year incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with atherosclerosis and atrial fibrillation.

Background: There is a paucity of contemporary data assessing the implications of atrial fibrillation (AF) on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with or at high-risk for atherosclerotic disease managed in routine practice.

Hypothesis: We sought to evaluate the 4-year incidence of MACE in patients with or at risk of atherosclerotic disease in the presence of AF.

Methods: Using US MarketScan data, we identified AF patients ≥45 years old with billing codes indicating established coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, or peripheral artery disease or the presence of ≥3 risk factors for atherosclerotic disease from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013 with a minimum of 4-years of available follow-up.

Elucidating the molecular pathways and immune system transcriptome during ischemia-reperfusion injury in renal transplantation.

Ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) is a major challenge for renal transplantation. This study was performed to explore the mechanisms and potential molecular targets involved in renal IRI. In this study, the gene datasets GSE43974 and GSE126805 from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, which include ischemic and reperfused renal specimens, were analyzed to determine differentially expressed genes (DEGs).

Characterization of the Rumen Microbiota and Volatile Fatty Acid Profiles of Weaned Goat Kids under Shrub-Grassland Grazing and Indoor Feeding.

In this study, we conducted comparative analyses to characterize the rumen microbiota and volatile fatty acid (VFA) profiles of weaned Nanjiang Yellow goat kids under shrub-grassland grazing (GR), shrub-grassland grazing and supplementary feeding (SF), and indoor feeding (IF) systems. We observed significant differences ( < 0.05) in the concentrations of total VFA and the proportions of acetate and butyrate in the rumen fluid among the three groups, whereas the proportions of propionate and the acetate/propionate ratio did not differ substantially.

Involvement of the TGF-β1 pathway in caveolin-1-associated regulation of head and neck tumor cell metastasis.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most frequent malignancy with a 5-year survival rate of 54%. Therefore, disease management improvement is required. The present study aimed to assess the role of caveolin-1 (Cav-1) in the metastasis of head and neck tumor cells.

Propagation characteristics of ultrasonic weld-guided waves in Friction stir welding joint of same material.

Friction stir welding (FSW) is an important technology for manufacturing large-scale aluminum alloy propellant tank. Due to stress corrosion and cyclic loads, the key FSW joints require online monitoring to ensure the structural integrity and service safety of long-term storage propellant tanks. FSW joints in the propellant tank are regarded as a type of circumferential or longitudinal long and narrow region.

Incidence and Predictors of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Established Atherosclerotic Disease or Multiple Risk Factors.

Background There is a paucity of contemporary data estimating the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with established atherosclerotic disease or multiple risk factors managed in routine practice. We estimated 1- and 4-year incidences of MACE and the association between MACE and vascular beds affected in these patients. Methods and Results Using US IBM MarketScan data from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017, we identified patients ≥45 years old with established coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral artery disease, or the presence of ≥3 risk factors for atherosclerosis during 2013 with a minimum of 4 years of follow-up.

Rivaroxaban versus apixaban in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients with end-stage renal disease or receiving dialysis.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban vs apixaban in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and/or receiving dialysis in routine practice.

Methods: Using US MarketScan claims data from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2017, we identified new-users of rivaroxaban or apixaban during 2015 with at least 12 months of insurance coverage prior to oral anticoagulant (OAC) initiation. Differences in baseline covariates between cohorts were adjusted using inverse probability-of-treatment weighting based on propensity scores.