Coronary artery calcification detected on low-dose computed tomography in high-risk participants of an Australian lung cancer screening program: A prospective observational study.

Background And Objectives: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is a frequent additional finding on lung cancer screening (LCS) low-dose computed tomography (LDCT). Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death in LCS participants. We aimed to describe prevalence of incidental CAC detected on LDCT in LCS participants without prior history of coronary artery disease (CAD), evaluate their CVD risk and describe subsequent investigation and management.

Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Biopsy of Human Axillary Lymph Nodes to Assess B Cell Responses to Vaccination.

Ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsy, also known as fine needle aspiration, of human axillary lymph nodes is a safe and effective procedure to assess the immune response within the lymph nodes following vaccination. Once acquired, lymph node cells can be characterized via flow cytometric immunophenotyping and/or single-cell RNA sequencing for gene expression and T and B cell receptors. Analysis of the immune cells from the lymph nodes enables the investigation of T and B cells that may interact at this site.

Comparison of initial dental treatment decisions between in-person and asynchronous teledentistry examinations for people with special health care needs.

Background: People with special health care needs in long-term care settings have difficulty accessing a traditional dental office. The goal of the authors was to assess initial treatment decision concordance between dentists conducting traditional in-person examinations using mobile equipment and additional dentists conducting examinations using asynchronous teledentistry technology.

Methods: Six dentists from Access Dental Care, a North Carolina mobile dentistry nonprofit, saw new patients on-site at 12 participating facilities or asynchronously off-site with electronic dental records, radiographs, and intraoral images, all captured by an on-site dental hygienist.

What do Family Planning Staff Prioritize for Patient Experience Improvements? Findings From a Training Initiative in New York State.

It is especially important for providers of sexual and reproductive healthcare services to deliver positive patient experiences, given the personal, preference-driven, and sensitive nature of these services. We facilitated a patient experience training initiative with 8 teams representing family planning agencies in New York State. Teams participated in onsite assessment activities, 4 individualized coaching calls, and 5 group virtual sessions.

Early expansion of CD38+ICOS+ GC Tfh in draining lymph nodes during influenza vaccination immune response.

T follicular helper (Tfh) cells provide critical help to B cells during the germinal center (GC) reaction to facilitate generation of protective humoral immunity. Accessing the human lymph node (LN) to study the commitment of CD4 T cells to GC Tfh cell differentiation during vaccine responses is difficult. We used ultrasound guided fine needle biopsy to monitor recall responses in axillary LNs to seasonal influenza vaccination in healthy volunteers.

Robust North Atlantic right whale detection using deep learning models for denoising.

This paper proposes a robust system for detecting North Atlantic right whales by using deep learning methods to denoise noisy recordings. Passive acoustic recordings of right whale vocalisations are subject to noise contamination from many sources, such as shipping and offshore activities. When such data are applied to uncompensated classifiers, accuracy falls substantially.

Effects of exercise training on bone mineral density and some health-related outcomes in HIV conditions: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection remains prevalent co-morbidity, and among fracture patients. Few studies have investigated the role of exercise interventions in preventing bone demineralization in people who have fractures and HIV. If exercise exposed, HIV-infected individuals may experience improved bone health outcomes (BMD), function, quality of life (QoL).

Design and Implementation of an Anti-Factor Xa Heparin Monitoring Protocol.

Background: The VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System introduced a new nurse-driven anti-factor Xa (anti-Xa) protocol for monitoring unfractionated heparin to replace the previous activated partial thromboplastin time protocol.

Objective: To design, implement, and evaluate the efficacy of the anti-Xa monitoring protocol.

Methods: An interdisciplinary team of providers collaborated to develop and implement a nurse-driven, facility-wide anti-factor Xa protocol for monitoring unfractionated heparin therapy.

Mapping the extent of heterogeneity of human CCR5+ CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood and lymph nodes.

Background: CD4 T cells that express the chemokine receptor, CCR5, are the most important target of HIV-1 infection, but their functions, phenotypes and anatomical locations are poorly understood. We aimed to use multiparameter flow cytometry to better define the full breadth of these cells.

Methods: High-parameter fluorescence flow and mass cytometry were optimized to analyse subsets of CCR5 memory CD4 T cells, including CD25CD127 Tregs, CXCR3CCR6- Th1-like, CCR6CD161CXCR3- Th17-like, integrins α4ß7 gut-homing, CCR4 skin-homing, CD62L lymph node-homing, CD38HLA-DR activated cells, and CD27-CD28- cytotoxic T lymphocytes, in a total of 22 samples of peripheral blood, ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsies of lymph nodes and excised tonsils.

Impact of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation on the HIV Reservoir and Immune Response in 3 HIV-Infected Individuals.

Background: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can lead to significant changes to the HIV reservoir and HIV immune responses, indicating that further characterization of HIV-infected patients undergoing HSCT is warranted.

Methods: We studied 3 patients who underwent HSCT after either reduced intensity conditioning or myeloablative conditioning regimen. We measured HIV antigens and antibodies (Ag/Ab), HIV-specific CD4 T-cell responses, HIV RNA, and DNA in plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, isolated CD4 T cells from peripheral blood, and lymph node cells.

Quantification of Residual Germinal Center Activity and HIV-1 DNA and RNA Levels Using Fine Needle Biopsies of Lymph Nodes During Antiretroviral Therapy.

HIV-1 reservoirs are most often studied in peripheral blood (PB), but not all lymphocytes recirculate, particularly T follicular helper (Tfh) CD4 T cells, as well as germinal center (GC) B cells, in lymph nodes (LNs). Ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsies (FNBs) from inguinal LNs and PB samples were obtained from 10 healthy controls (HCs) and 21 HIV-1-infected subjects [11 antiretroviral therapy (ART) naive and 10 on ART]. Tfh cells and GC B cells were enumerated by flow cytometry.

Impact of Palliative Care Screening and Consultation in the ICU: A Multihospital Quality Improvement Project.

Context: There are few multicenter studies that examine the impact of systematic screening for palliative care and specialty consultation in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Objective: To determine the outcomes of receiving palliative care consultation (PCC) for patients who screened positive on palliative care referral criteria.

Methods: In a prospective quality assurance intervention with a retrospective analysis, the covariate balancing propensity score method was used to estimate the conditional probability of receiving a PCC and to balance important covariates.

Phenotypic Characterization of Insulin-Resistant and Insulin-Sensitive Obesity.

Context: Whereas insulin resistance and obesity coexist, some obese individuals remain insulin sensitive.

Objective: We examined phenotypic and metabolic factors associated with insulin sensitivity in both muscle and liver in obese individuals.

Design And Participants: Sixty-four nondiabetic obese adults (29 males) underwent hyperinsulinemic (15 and 80 mU/m(2) · min)-euglycemic clamps with deuterated glucose.

Profiling bone morphogenetic proteins and transforming growth factor-βs by hTGF-β3 pre-treated coral-derived macroporous bioreactors: the power of one.

To study the expression profile of bone morphogenetic proteins and transforming growth factor-βs (BMPs and TGFβs), coral-derived calcium carbonate-based macroporous bioreactors with limited conversion to hydroxyapatite (7% HA/CC) were pre-loaded with and without 250 μg hTGF-β3 and implanted in the rectus abdominis of 3 non-human primates Papio ursinus euthanized on day 60. To investigate the required dose of hNoggin, a BMPs antagonist that controls the induction of bone formation, 7% HA/CC were pre-loaded with 150 μg hNoggin, with 125 μg hTGF-β3/150 μg hNoggin, with or without 125 μg hTGF-β3 and implanted in the r. abdominis of 3 additional animals euthanized on day 90.

Cognitive function fifty-six years after surgical treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy: A case study.

We report a long-term follow-up investigation of a patient who was operated in 1954 to relieve intractable temporal lobe seizures characterized by automatism and amnesia. Neuropsychological review at 16 months after surgery showed a slight residual impairment of verbal comprehension and verbal recall and good nonverbal skills. Seizure-free since the operation except for two attacks in the early postoperative years, the patient has been off medication for 25 years and has pursued a successful career as an artist.

A certified plasmid reference material for the standardisation of BCR-ABL1 mRNA quantification by real-time quantitative PCR.

Serial quantification of BCR-ABL1 mRNA is an important therapeutic indicator in chronic myeloid leukaemia, but there is a substantial variation in results reported by different laboratories. To improve comparability, an internationally accepted plasmid certified reference material (CRM) was developed according to ISO Guide 34:2009. Fragments of BCR-ABL1 (e14a2 mRNA fusion), BCR and GUSB transcripts were amplified and cloned into pUC18 to yield plasmid pIRMM0099.

Acute myeloid leukaemia with mutated NPM1 presenting with extensive bone marrow necrosis and Charcot-Leyden crystals.

Here, we report an unusual case of acute myeloid leukaemia with mutated NPM1 presenting with pancytopenia and leukoerythroblastosis, without circulating blasts and bone marrow necrosis with numerous Charcot-Leyden crystals, but no eosinophilia.

Impact of prior hepatectomy on the safety and efficacy of radioembolization with yttrium-90 microspheres for patients with unresectable liver tumors.

Objectives: Yttrium-90 (Y) radioembolization is increasingly used as a minimally invasive therapy for unresectable liver tumors; however, previous hepatectomy must be considered to avoid excessive hepatic insult. A retrospective analysis was undertaken to investigate the viability of performing radioembolization on a remnant liver.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on data collected from December 2005 to August 2011 to identify the effect of prior hepatectomy on radioembolization outcomes.

EuroClonality/BIOMED-2 guidelines for interpretation and reporting of Ig/TCR clonality testing in suspected lymphoproliferations.

PCR-based immunoglobulin (Ig)/T-cell receptor (TCR) clonality testing in suspected lymphoproliferations has largely been standardized and has consequently become technically feasible in a routine diagnostic setting. Standardization of the pre-analytical and post-analytical phases is now essential to prevent misinterpretation and incorrect conclusions derived from clonality data. As clonality testing is not a quantitative assay, but rather concerns recognition of molecular patterns, guidelines for reliable interpretation and reporting are mandatory.

Guidelines for the measurement of BCR-ABL1 transcripts in chronic myeloid leukaemia.

Molecular testing for the BCR-ABL1 fusion gene by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is the most sensitive routine approach for monitoring the response to therapy of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia. In the context of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy, the technique is most appropriate for patients who have achieved complete cytogenetic remission and can be used to define specific therapeutic milestones. To achieve this effectively, standardization of the laboratory procedures and the interpretation of results are essential.