Spinal Cord Stimulation for Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review.

Purpose Of Review: Chronic low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent and debilitating condition affecting millions worldwide. Among emerging interventions, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has gained attention as a potential alternative for managing chronic LBP, particularly when alternative approaches fail to provide adequate relief.

Recent Findings: This systematic review focuses on both residual pain levels and ability to perform daily tasks after treatment with SCS.

Impact of Fatigue on Work Productivity, Activity Impairment, and Healthcare Resource Utilization in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Objectives: Fatigue is commonly reported in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), including patients with inactive disease. We explored the impact of fatigue on healthcare utilization (HCU) and work productivity and activity impairment (WPAI).

Methods: Data collected between 2017 and 2022 were analyzed from the CorEvitas IBD Registry.

Effectiveness of tofacitinib versus tumor necrosis factor inhibitors and in those receiving tofacitinib as different lines of therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: results from the United States CorEvitas Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry.

Objectives: To compare effectiveness of tofacitinib versus tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi), and across tofacitinib lines of therapy, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), using US CorEvitas RA Registry data.

Methods: Analysis included patients with RA initiating tofacitinib or TNFi with a 12-month follow-up visit between November 2012-February 2021. Primary (Clinical Disease Activity Index-defined low disease activity [CDAI-LDA: CDAI ≤ 10]) and secondary (clinical/disease activity/patient-reported) effectiveness outcomes were assessed at month 12.

Computational Method for Determining the Excess Chemical Potential Using Liquid-Vapor Phase Coexistence Simulations.

Molecular dynamics simulations are a powerful tool for probing and understanding the theoretical aspects of chemical systems and solutions. Our research introduces a novel method for determining the excess chemical potential of non-ideal solutions by leveraging the equivalence between the chemical potential of the vapor phase and liquid phase. Traditional approaches have relied on bulk simulations and the integration of pair distribution functions (()), which are computationally intensive to obtain accurate results.

SARS-CoV-2 Infections in a Triad of Primary School Learners (Grades 1-7), Their Parents, and Teachers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Protocol for a Cross-Sectional and Nested Case-Cohort Study.

Background: In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as South Africa, there is paucity of data on SARS-CoV-2 infections among children attending school, including seroprevalence and transmission dynamics.

Objective: This pilot study aims to assess (1) the prevalence of self-reported or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 prior infections, COVID-19 symptoms (including long COVID), seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, and general/mental health, (2) longitudinal changes in SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence, and (3) SARS-CoV-2 acute infections, immune responses, transmission dynamics, and symptomatic versus asymptomatic contacts in a unique cohort of unvaccinated primary school learners, their parents, teachers, and close contacts in semirural primary school settings.

Methods: Learners (grades 1-7) from primary schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, their parents, and teachers will be invited to enroll into the COVID kids school study (CoKiDSS).

Digital eye strain and clinical correlates in older adults.

Purpose: To evaluate the screen time habits, associated symptoms and clinical characteristics of an older population (60 years and older) drawn from primary care optometry.

Methods: Consecutive patients aged 60 years and older, who used a digital device for at least 1 hour per day, attending for an eye examination at a primary care optometric practice in Dublin, Ireland, were invited to participate. The study gathered information regarding the participant's use of digital devices, the types of devices used and duration of use.

Prenatal ozone exposure and child lung function: Exploring effect modification by oxidative balance score.

Background: Prenatal exposures to ozone (O) may impact child lung function, including through oxidative stress pathways, contributing to lifelong morbidity. Diet, reflected in oxidative balance scores (OBS), may modify these pathways and is a potential target for interventions to mitigate O effects.

Methods: We examined associations between prenatal exposure to O and child lung function at age 8-9 years via spirometry in the CANDLE cohort within the ECHO-PATHWAYS Consortium.

Safety, effectiveness and immunogenicity of heterologous mRNA-1273 boost after prime with Ad26.COV2.S among healthcare workers in South Africa: The single-arm, open-label, phase 3 SHERPA study.

Limited studies have been conducted on the safety and effectiveness of heterologous COVID-19 vaccine boosting in lower income settings, especially those with high-HIV prevalence., The Sisonke Heterologous mRNA-1273 boost after prime with Ad26.COV2.

Novel polymorphic and copy number diversity in the antibody IGH locus of South African individuals.

The heavy chain of an antibody is crucial for mediating antigen binding. IGHV genes, which partially encode the heavy chain of antibodies, exhibit vast genetic diversity largely through polymorphism and copy number variation (CNV). These genetic variations impact population-level expression levels.

Single cell RNA-sequencing of feline peripheral immune cells with V(D)J repertoire and cross species analysis of T lymphocytes.

Introduction: The domestic cat (Felis catus) is a valued companion animal and a model for virally induced cancers and immunodeficiencies. However, species-specific limitations such as a scarcity of immune cell markers constrain our ability to resolve immune cell subsets at sufficient detail. The goal of this study was to characterize circulating feline T cells and other leukocytes based on their transcriptomic landscape and T-cell receptor repertoire using single cell RNA-sequencing.

Assessment of meibomian gland morphology and tear-film lipid layer using noncontact infrared meibography and meibometry, respectively, and tear-film osmolarity in healthy dogs.

Objective: To further investigate quantitative and qualitative tear-film dynamics through tear-film osmolarity, meibometry, meibography, and non-invasive tear-film break-up time and to describe a survey of parameters in normal eyes of healthy non-brachycephalic dogs.

Animals Studied: Thirty-two veterinary hospital staff and student owned dogs between 1 and 7 years with no known comorbidities or ocular disease.

Procedure: Complete ophthalmic examination, tear-film osmolarity (I-PEN® VET), meibometry (Meibometer MB560), meibography, and non-invasive tear-film break-up time (handheld Ocular Surface Analyzer) were performed.

Implementation of patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) for the therapies for long COVID in non-hospitalised individuals (TLC) project.

Background: Patients, their family members and caregivers have firsthand experiences of living with or supporting someone living with a disease or medical condition. This knowledge by experience cannot be replaced by the knowledge acquired by clinicians, researchers, or other professionals through study and/or work. The Therapies for Long COVID in non-hospitalised individuals (TLC) research project was funded in the UK by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation to investigate the impact of long COVID on affected individuals.

Evaluation of a continuing education course on guideline-concordant management of acute dental pain.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the use of a free online continuing education (CE) course that sought to address barriers of capability by training dental team members in the specific recommendations of the American Dental Association (ADA)-endorsed adult guideline for the pharmacologic management of acute dental pain, shared decision-making, and the adoption of the guideline into practice.

Methods: In 2022 and 2023, dentists completed an online, asynchronous CE course on the guideline-concordant pharmacologic management of acute dental pain. They completed 11-item knowledge tests before and after completing the course.

Gpnmb and Spp1 mark a conserved macrophage injury response masking fibrosis-specific programming in the lung.

Macrophages are required for healthy repair of the lungs following injury, but they are also implicated in driving dysregulated repair with fibrosis. How these 2 distinct outcomes of lung injury are mediated by different macrophage subsets is unknown. To assess this, single-cell RNA-Seq was performed on lung macrophages isolated from mice treated with LPS or bleomycin.

Engineered protein destabilization reverses intrinsic immune evasion for candidate vaccine pan-strain KSHV and SARS-CoV-2 antigens.

Both Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus LANA and SARS coronavirus 2 RdRp/nsp12 are highly conserved replication proteins that evade immune processing. By deleting the LANA central repeat 1 domain (LANA ) or by dividing RdRp into two separated fragments (RdRp ) to maximize nascent protein mis-folding, cis peptide presentation was increased. Native LANA or RdRp SIINFEKL fusion proteins expressed in MC38 cancer cells were not recognized by activated OT-1 CD8 cells against SIINFEKL but cytotoxic recognition was restored by expression of the corresponding modified proteins.

The bronchoalveolar lavage dilution conundrum: an updated view on a long-standing problem.

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is used by researchers to study molecular interactions within healthy and diseased human lungs. However, the utility of BAL fluid measurements may be limited by difficulties accounting for dilution of the epithelial lining fluid (ELF) sampled and inconsistent collection techniques. The use of endogenous markers to estimate ELF dilution has been proposed as a potential method to normalize acellular molecule measurements in BAL fluid, but these markers are also imperfect and prone to inaccuracy.

2024 updated European Heart Rhythm Association core curriculum for physicians and allied professionals: a statement of the European Heart Rhythm Association of the European Society of Cardiology.

Heart rhythm management is a continuously evolving sub-speciality of cardiology. Every year, many physicians and allied professionals (APs) start and complete their training in cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) or electrophysiology (EP) across the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) member countries. While this training ideally ends with an EHRA certification, the description of the learning pathway (what, how, when, and where) through an EHRA core curriculum is also a prerequisite for a successful training.