Laterality of Radiation Therapy in Breast Cancer is Not Associated With Increased Risk of Coronary Artery Disease in the Contemporary Era.

Purpose: External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is a critical component of breast cancer (BC) therapy. Given the improvement in technology in the contemporary era, we hypothesized that there is no difference in the development of or worsening of existing coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with BC receiving left versus right-sided radiation.

Methods And Materials: For the meta-analysis portion of our study, we searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus and included studies from January 1999 to September 2022.

Partnering with Students to Develop a Capstone for a Graduate Health Informatics Program.

Objective:  This study aimed to assess the desirability, feasibility, and sustainability of integrating a project-based capstone course with the course-based curriculum of an interdisciplinary MSc Health Informatics program guided by a student-partnered steering committee and student-centered approach.

Methods:  We conducted an online cross-sectional survey ( = 87) and three semistructured focus groups ( = 18) of health informatics students and alumni. Survey data were analyzed descriptively.

The longevity factor spermidine is part of a highly heritable complex erythrocyte phenotype associated with longevity.

Extreme longevity in humans is known to be a heritable trait. In a well-established twin erythrocyte metabolomics and proteomics database, we identified the longevity factor spermidine and a cluster of correlated molecules with high heritability estimates. Erythrocyte spermidine is 82% heritable and significantly correlated with 59 metabolites and 22 proteins.

Impact of Chronic Kidney Disease on Outcomes following Vascular Procedure in the Vascular Quality Initiative.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) increases morbidity and mortality in most vascular procedures. However, a binary classification of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m2, which is often used in both modeling and clinical trials, may not be optimal for predicting clinical outcomes.

PrEP in the key population community: a qualitative study of perspectives on pre-exposure prophylaxis by men who have sex with men and female sex workers in Kigali, Rwanda.

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSW) are increasingly and disproportionately impacted by HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, yet current PrEP care models in this region are not optimized for these communities. Limited data exist describing experiences and preferences of MSM and FSW with respect to accessing and using PrEP.

Methods: We conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews with MSM and FSW recruited from three health centers and seven community organizations in Kigali, Rwanda.

Distribution of non-thyroid neck swellings and their clinicopathological correlation.

Background: Neck swellings are frequently found and can present the vast pathological spectrum from simple benign to highly malignant, which sometimes can pose a diagnostic dilemma. They are broadly classified as developmental, inflammatory, and neoplastic on the basis of etiology. The aim of the study is to assess the distribution of neck swelling according to etiology and its relation to age groups, as well as to assess their clinicopathological correlation as benign and malignant.

Trends in Racial and Ethnic Differences in Declined Surgery for Resectable Malignancies in the United States.

Objective: To assess trends in patients' decisions to decline cancer surgery in the United States by race and ethnicity.

Background: Racial and ethnic differences in declining potentially curative cancer surgery are suggested to be due to systemic inequities in healthcare access and mistrust of healthcare systems, among other factors. Despite ongoing national efforts to address these inequities, it is unknown whether differences in rates of declined cancer surgery have improved.

District-level monitoring of universal health coverage, India.

Objective: To develop a framework and index for measuring universal health coverage (UHC) at the district level in India and to assess progress towards UHC in the districts.

Methods: We adapted the framework of the World Health Organization and World Bank to develop a district-level UHC index (UHC ). We used routinely collected health survey and programme data in India to calculate UHC for 687 districts from geometric means of 24 tracer indicators in five tracer domains: reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health; infectious diseases; noncommunicable diseases; service capacity and access; and financial risk protection.

Integrated viral and immune monitoring in a prospective COVID-19 cohort from India.

In this study, we report on longitudinal kinetics of cellular immune subsets following SARS-CoV-2 infection in a cohort of hospitalized individuals and evaluate the interplay of these profiles with infecting viral variants, humoral immunity including neutralizing responses, vaccination history, and clinical outcomes. A cohort of 121 SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals exhibiting varying disease states were prospectively evaluated for lymphopenic profiles, antiviral humoral responses and infecting viral variants for a period of up to 90 d spanning the period of February 2021 to January 2022 (second and third waves of infection). A total of 51 participants received at least 1 vaccine dose of indigenous vaccines (Covishield or Covaxin) prior to recruitment.

Specific 3-O-sulfated heparan sulfate domains regulate salivary gland basement membrane metabolism and epithelial differentiation.

Heparan sulfate (HS) regulation of FGFR function, which is essential for salivary gland (SG) development, is determined by the immense structural diversity of sulfated HS domains. 3-O-sulfotransferases generate highly 3-O-sulfated HS domains (3-O-HS), and Hs3st3a1 and Hs3st3b1 are enriched in myoepithelial cells (MECs) that produce basement membrane (BM) and are a growth factor signaling hub. Hs3st3a1;Hs3st3b1 double-knockout (DKO) mice generated to investigate 3-O-HS regulation of MEC function and growth factor signaling show loss of specific highly 3-O-HS and increased FGF/FGFR complex binding to HS.

Unveiling the antibacterial efficacy of thiazolo [3,2-a] pyrimidine: Synthesis, molecular docking, and molecular dynamic simulation.

Two series of C-Mannich base derivatives were synthesized and evaluated through the reaction of formaldehyde, two thiazolo-pyrimidine compounds, and various 2°-amines. The chemical structures and inherent properties of the synthesized compounds were authenticated using a variety of spectroscopic techniques. The aseptic bactericidal potential of the compounds was assessed alongside five common bacterial microbes, with Ampicillin employed as the reference drug.

The Literature that Commercial Insurance Payers Use to Substantiate Knee Osteochondral Allograft Policies Are of a Low Level of Evidence.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to analyze how the largest insurance companies support their medical necessity policies regarding osteochondral allograft transplantation (OCA) and to determine whether the literature they cite in their policies is of a high level of evidence (LOE).

Design: The 10 largest national health insurance companies were identified. Each payer was contacted via phone or email to obtain their coverage policy regarding OCA.

Data-Driven Hypothesis Generation in Clinical Research: What We Learned from a Human Subject Study?

Hypothesis generation is an early and critical step in any hypothesis-driven clinical research project. Because it is not yet a well-understood cognitive process, the need to improve the process goes unrecognized. Without an impactful hypothesis, the significance of any research project can be questionable, regardless of the rigor or diligence applied in other steps of the study, e.

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a community intervention in enhancing access to care and improving clinical outcomes for depression: a protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial in India.

Background: Although depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, treatment coverage for the condition is inadequate. Supply-side barriers (e.g.

The state of health information organizations and plans to participate in the federal exchange framework.

In late 2023, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology launched the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) to enable nationwide health information exchange. Regional, local, and state health information organizations (HIOs) will be key components of nationwide exchange, and TEFCA could broaden HIOs' access to information. However, HIOs can choose whether to participate.

The quality of data-driven hypotheses generated by inexperienced clinical researchers: A case study.

Objectives: We invited inexperienced clinical researchers to analyze coded health datasets and develop hypotheses. We recorded and analyzed their hypothesis generation process. All the hypotheses generated in the process were rated by the same group of seven experts by using the same metrics.

The Impact of Tranexamic Acid on Blood Loss Management in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Comprehensive Review.

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a widely performed surgical procedure to restore function and relieve pain in patients with advanced knee arthritis. One of the key challenges in TKA is managing perioperative blood loss, which can lead to complications such as postoperative anemia and the need for blood transfusions. Tranexamic acid (TXA), an antifibrinolytic agent, has shown promising results in reducing blood loss and transfusion requirements in various surgical settings, including TKA.