A novel load-sensing sliding hip screw to aid in the assessment of intertrochanteric fracture healing.

Bone healing after sliding hip screw internal fixation of intertrochanteric hip fractures is difficult to monitor with radiography. In this study, we describe and evaluate a device to non-invasively determine the loading on the screw implant as a possible qualitative indicator of bone healing. A novel load-sensing sliding hip screw (LS-SHS) was fabricated containing a radio-dense tungsten indicator rod that moves and can be measured within the screw cannulation when the screw bends under load via plain radiography.

Interdisciplinary Rheumatoid Arthritis Research and Patient Care: An Introduction and Critique of the Biopsychosocial Model of Disease Experience in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a debilitating autoimmune disease, affects approximately 78 million people globally. RA is often managed solely by rheumatology providers, but an interdisciplinary approach to RA may be the key to improving health equity and outcomes. An interdisciplinary model is an important step towards this goal.

Modifiable dementia risk associated with smaller white matter volume and altered 1/f aperiodic brain activity: cross-sectional insights from the LEISURE study.

Background: The rising prevalence of dementia necessitates identifying early neurobiological markers of dementia risk. Reduced cerebral white matter volume and flattening of the slope of the electrophysiological 1/f spectral power distribution provide neurobiological markers of brain ageing alongside cognitive decline. However, their association with modifiable dementia risk remains to be understood.

Patterns of dietary quality, physical activity, and sleep duration among cancer survivors and caregivers.

Fruit and vegetable intake (FVI), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and sleep duration are each independently associated with cancer-related and general health outcomes among cancer survivors. Past research suggests that health behaviors cluster among cancer survivors, with caregivers demonstrating similar patterns. This analysis examined co-occurrence of FVI, MVPA, and sleep duration among cancer survivors and informal cancer caregivers and identified sociodemographic and clinical correlates of health behavior engagement.

Resting-state EEG correlates of sustained attention in healthy ageing: Cross-sectional findings from the LEISURE study.

While structural and biochemical brain changes are well-documented in ageing, functional neuronal network differences, as indicated by electrophysiological markers, are less clear. Moreover, age-related changes in sustained attention and their associated electrophysiological correlates are still poorly understood. To address this, we analysed cross-sectional baseline electroencephalography (EEG) and cognitive data from the Lifestyle Intervention Study for Dementia Risk Reduction (LEISURE).

Colonialism as a Social Determinant of Health in Puerto Rico: Using the Socioecological Model to Examine How the Jones Act Impacted Health After Hurricane María.

Introduction: Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, making Puerto Ricans vulnerable to damaging colonial policy. The purpose of this article is to utilize the socioecological model (SEM) to evaluate how the Jones Act impacted Puerto Rico after Hurricane María, examining colonialist policy as a social determinant of health (SDOH) in Puerto Rico.

Methods: Levels of the SEM used in this examination included: , , , , and

Results: Evaluation of the Jones Act using the model demonstrated relationships between all socioecological levels.

Adiponectin, Interleukin-18 (IL-18), and Visceral Adipose Tissue in Filipino Americans: Biomarkers and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes.

Introduction: Filipino Americans (FAs) are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes despite other Asian phenotypes. Evidence suggests that pro-inflammatory interleukin-18 (IL-18) and anti-inflammatory adiponectin biomarkers associated with visceral adipose tissue (VAT) may explain this risk.

Objectives: This study aimed to quantify the biomarkers in relation to standard ranges of VAT or typical circulating concentration ranges reported in the literature of IL-18 and adiponectin, examine relationships of these markers, and determine if they were different among those participants without diabetes, prediabetes, and diabetes.

Effects of a behavioral intervention with foster families: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: The health and well-being of children in foster care are of high concern. A resource with which to disrupt maladaptation and promote healing are positive relationships among children and caregivers within the foster home. The research question was: Can an online intervention improve family hardiness and sibling relationships within foster care families?

Objectives: To: (1) establish feasibility and acceptability of an online behavioral intervention within the foster family, (2) explore the effects of the intervention on relational quality outcomes, and (3) decompose the mechanisms driving improved family hardiness through mediation analysis.

Forecasting of Airborne Conidia Quantities and Potential Insect Associations of , the Causal Agent of Chestnut Blight, in England.

Sweet chestnut, an Asiatic tree introduced in many parts of Europe including the United Kingdom, is planted for nut production, timber, and amenity. Its major threat is the disease called blight, caused by the fungus , which infects through wounds by airborne spores. Field trapping using sticky rods rotating traps was performed in an infected area in Devon (between May 2021 and April 2023).

A Cross-Sectional Study of Cognitive Function, Illness Perceptions, and Immunosuppression Medication Adherence After Heart Transplantation.

Background: There are few studies that examine relationships between cognitive function, illness perceptions, and medication adherence after heart transplantation, limiting the development of effective adherence-promoting interventions.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe relationships between cognitive function, illness perceptions, and medication adherence among heart transplant recipients.

Methods: A cross-sectional, observational design was used.

Screening of the activity of sixty essential oils against plasmodium early mosquito stages in vitro and machine learning analysis reveals new putative inhibitors of malaria parasites.

Malaria, an infectious disease with a tremendous impact on human health is caused by Plasmodium parasites, and transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. New approaches to control the disease involve transmission blocking strategies aiming to target the parasite in the mosquito. Here, we investigated the putative inhibitory activity of essential oils and their components on the early mosquito stages of the parasite.

Different Mechanisms for Supporting Mental Imagery and Perceptual Representations: Modulation Versus Excitation.

Recent research suggests imagery is functionally equivalent to a weak form of visual perception. Here we report evidence across five independent experiments on adults that perception and imagery are supported by fundamentally different mechanisms: Whereas perceptual representations are largely formed via increases in excitatory activity, imagery representations are largely supported by modulating nonimagined content. We developed two behavioral techniques that allowed us to first put the visual system into a state of adaptation and then probe the additivity of perception and imagery.

Biomarker Response to Mindfulness Intervention in Veterans Diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.

Objectives: This study evaluates the effects of treatment with mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) compared to the active control, present-centered group therapy (PCGT), on morning plasma cortisol, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Methods: In a post hoc exploratory analysis, we pooled biomarkers and clinical outcomes of mindfulness, PTSD, and depression from two randomized controlled trials comparing MBSR ( = 104) to PCGT ( = 106) in U.S.

The association between perceived stress, acculturation, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Mexican-origin adults in Southern Arizona.

Although available evidence indicates that Mexican-origin (MO) adults experience unique stressful life events, little is known about how stress may influence risk for developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) for this high-risk group. This study investigated the association between perceived stress and NAFLD and explored how this relationship varied by acculturation levels. In a cross-sectional study, a total of 307 MO adults from a community-based sample in the U.

La vida en la frontera: protocol for a prospective study exploring stress and health resiliencies among Mexican-origin individuals living in a US-Mexico border community.

Background: Mexican-origin adults living near the U.S.-Mexico border experience unique and pervasive social and ecological stressors, including poverty, perceived discrimination, and environmental hazards, potentially contributing to the high burden of chronic disease.

Combination of Interleukin-6, C-Reactive Protein and Procalcitonin Values as Predictive Index of Sepsis in Course of Fever Episode in Adult Haematological Patients: Observational and Statistical Study.

Haematological patients represent a vulnerable population to opportunistic infections, mainly due to the disease itself and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. The level of immune suppression strongly increases the importance of timely antibiotic treatment in order to prevent sepsis-related mortality. During the initial fever episode, serum biomarkers are usually used to estimate the probability of blood stream infection prior to the results of microbial diagnosis.

Identification and preliminary characterization of Plasmodium falciparum proteins secreted upon gamete formation.

Malaria long-term elimination depends on parasite transmission control. Plasmodium sexual stage maturation in the mosquito, including egress from the host erythrocyte, is one of the prime targets for transmission-blocking interventions. This work aims to identify candidate molecules potentially involved in gamete emergence from the host erythrocyte, as novel transmission blocking targets.

Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy of an App-Based Meditation Intervention to Decrease Firefighter Psychological Distress and Burnout: A One-Group Pilot Study.

Background: Firefighters are often exposed to occupational stressors that can result in psychological distress (ie, anxiety and depression) and burnout. These occupational stressors have only intensified with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and will likely persist in the postpandemic world.

Objective: To address occupational stressors confronting firefighters, we pilot tested a novel, cost-effective, smartphone app-based meditation intervention created by Healthy Minds Innovations that focused on mindfulness (awareness) training along with practices designed to cultivate positive relationships (connection), insight into the nature of the self (insight), and a sense of purpose in the context of challenge (purpose) with a sample of professional firefighters from a large metropolitan area in southwestern United States.

A Deep Learning Method for Automatic Identification of Drusen and Macular Hole from Optical Coherence Tomography.

Deep Learning methods have become dominant in various fields of medical imaging, including ophthalmology. In this preliminary study, we investigated a method based on Convolutional Neural Network for the identification of drusen and macular hole from Optical Coherence Tomography scans with the aim to assist ophthalmologists in diagnosing and assessing retinal diseases.

Family caregivers of those with cancer: quality of life outcomes from a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial.

Purpose: To conduct a secondary analysis focused on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among caregivers engaged in a 12-week complementary therapy sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) of reflexology and/or meditative practices (MP), to manage cancer patients' symptoms.

Methods: In this SMART, patient-caregiver dyads were initially randomized to 4 weeks of caregiver-delivered reflexology for the patient (N = 150), MP with the patient (N = 150), or control (N = 47). After 4 weeks, dyads with patients not improving on fatigue (non-responders, n = 69 to reflexology and n = 57 to MP) were re-randomized to continue the same therapy or add the other therapy for an additional 4 weeks.

C-Reactive Protein Monitoring and Clinical Presentation of Fever as Predictive Factors of Prolonged Febrile Neutropenia and Blood Culture Positivity after Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation-Single-Center Real-Life Experience.

Background: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a medical emergency that requires urgent evaluation, timely administration of empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics and careful monitoring in order to optimize the patient's outcome, especially in the setting of both allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (ASCT).

Methods: In this real-life retrospective study, a total of 49 consecutive episodes of FN were evaluated in 40 adult patients affected by either multiple myeloma (thirty-eight) or lymphoma (eleven), following ASCT, with nine patients having fever in both of the tandem transplantations.

Results: Febrile neutropenia occurred a median of 7 days from ASCT.

The current state of patient-to-provider communication of childhood adversity in primary care.

Background: There is a wealth of literature focused on the task of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) screening; however, little literature exists describing the broader process of ACE-related communication, specifically between nurse practitioners (NPs) and adult primary care patients. Consequently, there is no standardized process for communicating about ACEs in primary care and significant gaps remain related to how, when, and where these conversations occur.

Objectives: To systematically examine peer-reviewed published literature from 2011 to 2021 to describe the current state of patient-to-provider communication about ACEs in primary care.

Crowding within synaptic junctions influences the degradation of nucleotides by CD39 and CD73 ectonucleotidases.

Synapsed cells can communicate using exocytosed nucleotides like adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Ectonucleotidases localized to synaptic junctions degrade nucleotides into metabolites like adenosine monophosphate (AMP) or adenosine. Oftentimes nucleotide degradation occurs in a sequential manner, of which ATP degradation by CD39 and CD73 is a representative example.