Hepatitis C virus care cascade in persons experiencing homelessness in the United States in the era of direct-acting antiviral agents: A scoping review.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) care cascade has been well characterized in the general United States population and other subpopulations since curative medications have been available. However, information is limited on care cascade outcomes in persons experiencing homelessness. The main objective of this study was to map the available evidence on HCV care cascade outcomes in people experiencing homelessness in the U.

Cooperative success in epithelial public goods games.

Cancer cells obtain mutations which rely on the production of diffusible growth factors to confer a fitness benefit. These mutations can be considered cooperative, and studied as public goods games within the framework of evolutionary game theory. The population structure, benefit function and update rule all influence the evolutionary success of cooperators.

Mobile low-threshold buprenorphine integrated with infectious disease services.

Introduction: In 2018, the Baltimore City Health Department launched a mobile clinic called Healthcare on The Spot, which offers low-threshold buprenorphine services integrated with health care services to meet the needs of people who use drugs. In addition to buprenorphine management, The Spot offers testing and treatment for hepatitis C, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV, as well as pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, wound care, vaccinations, naloxone distribution, and case management.

Methods And Materials: This cohort analysis includes clinical service data from the first 15 months of The Spot mobile clinic, from September 4, 2018, to November 23, 2019.

An activity-based fluorescent sensor for the detection of the phenol sulfotransferase SULT1A1 in living cells.

Human phenol sulfotransferases mediate the transfer of a sulfuryl moiety from the activated sulfate donor PAPS to hydroxy-containing substrates, altering substrate solubility and charge to affect phase II metabolism and cell signaling. Here, we present the development, computational modeling, enzymology, and biological application of STS-3, an activity-based fluorescent sensor for the SULT1A1 isoform.

Digital Innovation in Medicinal Product Regulatory Submission, Review, and Approvals to Create a Dynamic Regulatory Ecosystem-Are We Ready for a Revolution?

The pace of scientific progress over the past several decades within the biological, drug development, and the digital realm has been remarkable. The'omics revolution has enabled a better understanding of the biological basis of disease, unlocking the possibility of new products such as gene and cell therapies which offer novel patient centric solutions. Innovative approaches to clinical trial designs promise greater efficiency, and in recent years, scientific collaborations, and consortia have been developing novel approaches to leverage new sources of evidence such as real-world data, patient experience data, and biomarker data.

Comparison of two targeted ultra-deep sequencing technologies for analysis of plasma circulating tumour DNA in endocrine-therapy-resistant breast cancer patients.

Purpose: There is growing interest in the application of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a sensitive tool for monitoring tumour evolution and guiding targeted therapy in patients with cancer. However, robust comparisons of different platform technologies are still required. Here we compared the InVisionSeq™ ctDNA Assay with the Oncomine™ Breast cfDNA Assay to assess their concordance and feasibility for the detection of mutations in plasma at low (< 0.

Revealing x-ray and gamma ray temporal and spectral similarities in the GRB 190829A afterglow.

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which are bright flashes of gamma rays from extragalactic sources followed by fading afterglow emission, are associated with stellar core collapse events. We report the detection of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays from the afterglow of GRB 190829A, between 4 and 56 hours after the trigger, using the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.

Visualizing complex healthcare disparities: proof of concept for representing a cyclical continuum of care model for a retrospective cohort of patients with musculoskeletal infections.

Background: Care continuum models (also known as care cascade models) are used by researchers and health system planners to identify potential gaps or disparities in healthcare, but these models have limited applications to complex or chronic clinical conditions. Cyclical continuum models that integrate more complex clinical information and that are displayed using circular data visualization tools may help to overcome these limitations. We performed proof-of-concept cyclical continuum modeling for one such group of conditions-musculoskeletal infections-and assessed for racial and ethnic disparities across the complex care process related to these infections.

Addressing personal protective equipment (PPE) decontamination: Methylene blue and light inactivates severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on N95 respirators and medical masks with maintenance of integrity and fit.

Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), underscoring the urgent need for simple, efficient, and inexpensive methods to decontaminate masks and respirators exposed to severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We hypothesized that methylene blue (MB) photochemical treatment, which has various clinical applications, could decontaminate PPE contaminated with coronavirus.

Design: The 2 arms of the study included (1) PPE inoculation with coronaviruses followed by MB with light (MBL) decontamination treatment and (2) PPE treatment with MBL for 5 cycles of decontamination to determine maintenance of PPE performance.

Decreased Mortality in 1-Year Survivors of Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant vs. Matched Related or Matched Unrelated Donor Transplant in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) has the potential to cure hematologic malignancies but is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Although deaths during the first year after transplantation are often attributable to treatment toxicities and complications, death after the first year may be due to sequelae of accelerated aging caused by cellular senescence. Cytotoxic therapies and radiation used in cancer treatments and conditioning regimens for HCT can induce aging at the molecular level; HCT patients experience time-dependent effects, such as frailty and aging-associated diseases, more rapidly than people who have not been exposed to these treatments.

Review of Evidence-Based Methods for Successful Labor Induction.

Induction of labor is increasingly a common component of the intrapartum care. Knowledge of the current evidence on methods of labor induction is an essential component of shared decision-making to determine which induction method meets an individual's health needs and personal preferences. This article provides a review of the current research evidence on labor induction methods, including cervical ripening techniques, and contraction stimulation techniques.

A cross sectional study of organizational factors and their impact on job satisfaction and emotional burnout in a group of Australian nurses: infection control practitioners.

Background: Infection control practitioners (ICPs) are a group of specialized nurses fundamental to effective healthcare infection prevention and control initiatives. Relative to other groups of nurses much less is known about their working conditions. Organizational factors may impact ICPs' levels of job dissatisfaction and emotional job burnout and, subsequently, their quality of practice.

Comparing Critical Care Admissions Among Urban Populations Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, reassessing intensive care unit (ICU) use by population should be a priority for hospitals planning for critical care resource allocation. In our study, we reviewed the impact of COVID-19 on a community hospital serving an urban region, comparing the sociodemographic distribution of ICU admissions before and during the pandemic. We executed a time-sensitive analysis to see if COVID-19 ICU admissions reflect the regional sociodemographic populations and ICU admission trends before the pandemic.

Return to Work Among Young Adult Survivors of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in the United States.

Young adult (YA) survivors of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) are at risk for late psychosocial challenges, including the inability to return to work post-HCT. Work-related outcomes in this population remain understudied, however. We conducted this study to assess the post-HCT work status of survivors of allogeneic HCT who underwent HCT as YAs and to analyze the patient-, disease-, and HCT-related factors associated with their work status at 1 year post-HCT.

Did you get that thing I sent you? Mediating effects of strain and work-family conflict on the telepressure and burnout relationship.

Employees who feel the urge and preoccupation to respond to workplace asynchronous communication quickly may be suffering from workplace telepressure (WPT). Although information and communication technologies have many organizational benefits, it is imperative to understand the cost of blurring work and family roles. Using the Job Demands-Resources model, the relationship between WPT and key outcomes, such as strain, work-family conflict, family-work conflict (FWC), and burnout was examined.

Obesity and Dietary Added Sugar Interact to Affect Postprandial GLP-1 and Its Relationship to Striatal Responses to Food Cues and Feeding Behavior.

It has been hypothesized that the incretin hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), decreases overeating by influencing mesolimbic brain regions that process food-cues, including the dorsal striatum. We previously showed that habitual added sugar intake was associated with lower glucose-induced circulating GLP-1 and a greater striatal response to high calorie food cues in lean individuals. Less is known about how dietary added sugar and obesity may interact to affect postprandial GLP-1 and its relationship to striatal responses to food cues and feeding behavior.

Factors associated with phosphatidylethanol (PEth) sensitivity for detecting unhealthy alcohol use: An individual patient data meta-analysis.

Background: Objective measurement of alcohol consumption is important for clinical care and research. Adjusting for self-reported alcohol use, we conducted an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis to examine factors associated with the sensitivity of phosphatidylethanol (PEth), an alcohol metabolite, among persons self-reporting unhealthy alcohol consumption.

Methods: We identified 21 eligible studies and obtained 4073 observations from 3085 participants with Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) positive scores (≥3 for women and ≥4 for men) and PEth measurements.

Illustrated formalisms for total scattering data: a guide for new practitioners.

The total scattering method is the simultaneous study of both the real- and reciprocal-space representations of diffraction data. While conventional Bragg-scattering analysis (employing methods such as Rietveld refinement) provides insight into the average structure of the material, pair distribution function (PDF) analysis allows for a more focused study of the local atomic arrangement of a material. Generically speaking, a PDF is generated by Fourier transforming the total measured reciprocal-space diffraction data (Bragg and diffuse) into a real-space representation.

Associations Between Exposure to Gestational Diabetes Mellitus In Utero and Daily Energy Intake, Brain Responses to Food Cues, and Adiposity in Children.

Objective: Children exposed to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) or maternal obesity in utero have an increased propensity to develop obesity. Little is known about the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. We aimed to examine relationships between exposure to GDM or maternal obesity and daily energy intake (EI), brain responses to food cues within reward regions, and adiposity in children.

Effect of Ligand Polarity on the Internal Dipoles and Ferroelectric Distortion in BaTiO Nanocubes.

Surface adsorbates and surrounding matrix species have been demonstrated to affect the properties of nanoscale ferroelectrics and nanoscale ferroelectric composites; potentially counteracting performance losses that can occur in small particle sizes. In this work, the effects of nonpolar oleic acid (OA) and polar tetrafluoroborate (BF ) ligand capping on the surface of various sizes of BaTiO nanocubes have been investigated with combined neutron diffraction and neutron pair distribution function (PDF), density functional theory (DFT), and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) methods. The low real space PDF region provides an unobstructed view of rhombohedral (split short and long) Ti-O distances in BaTiO nanocubes, mimicking the well-established order-disorder local structure found in bulk BaTiO .

Development of CVN424: A Selective and Novel GPR6 Inverse Agonist Effective in Models of Parkinson Disease.

GPR6 is an orphan G-protein-coupled receptor that has enriched expression in the striatopallidal, indirect pathway and medium spiny neurons of the striatum. This pathway is greatly impacted by the loss of the nigro-striatal dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson disease, and modulating this neurocircuitry can be therapeutically beneficial. In this study, we describe the in vitro and in vivo pharmacological characterization of (R)-1-(2-(4-(2,4-difluorophenoxy)piperidin-1-yl)-3-((tetrahydrofuran-3-yl)amino)-7,8-dihydropyrido[3,4-b]pyrazin-6(5H)-yl)ethan-1-one (CVN424), a highly potent and selective small-molecule inverse agonist for GPR6 that is currently undergoing clinical evaluation.

Community Testing and SARS-CoV-2 Rates for Latinxs in Baltimore.

Introduction: Latinxs have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Latinx immigrants, in particular, face significant barriers to SARS-CoV-2 testing, including lack of insurance, language barriers, stigma, work conflicts, and limited transportation.

Methods: In response to a disproportionately high SARS-CoV-2 positivity rate among Latinxs at the Johns Hopkins Health System, investigators implemented free community-based testing by partnering with religious leaders and leveraging the skill of trusted community health workers.