Mapping the global distribution of invasive pest and parasitoid : implications for biological control.

Insect pest invasions cause significant damage to crop yields, and the resultant economic losses are truly alarming. Climate change and trade liberalization have opened new ways of pest invasions. Given the consumer preference towards organic agricultural products and environment-friendly nature of natural pest control strategies, biological control is considered to be one of the potential options for managing invasive insect pests.

A standardized method for plasma extracellular vesicle isolation and size distribution analysis.

The following protocol describes our workflow for isolation and quantification of plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs). It requires limited sample volume so that the scientific value of specimens is maximized. These steps include isolation of vesicles by automated size exclusion chromatography and quantification by tunable resistive pulse sensing.

Metabolic Acidosis Results in Sexually Dimorphic Response in the Heart Tissue.

Metabolic acidosis (MA) is a highly prevalent disorder in a significant proportion of the population, resulting from imbalance in blood pH homeostasis. The heart, being an organ with very low regenerative capacity and high metabolic activity, is vulnerable to chronic, although low-grade, MA. To systematically characterize the effect of low-grade MA on the heart, we treated male and female mice with NHCl supplementation for 2 weeks and analyzed their blood chemistry and transcriptomic signature of the heart tissue.

Synchronous Bladder Neck Contracture Dilation at the Time of Artificial Urinary Sphincter Placement Is Safe and Effective.

Objective: To treat men with bladder neck contracture (BNC) and stress urinary incontinence, neither long-term nor comparative data exist to support the superiority of simultaneous BNC intervention at the time of artificial urinary sphincter placement (synchronous) or staged BNC intervention followed by artificial urinary sphincter placement (asynchronous). This study aimed to compare the outcomes of patients treated with synchronous and asynchronous protocols.

Methods: Using a prospectively maintained quality improvement database, we identified all men between the years of 2001-2021 with a history of BNC and artificial urinary sphincter placement.

Role of non-classical monocytes in HIV-associated vascular cognitive impairment.

Despite antiretroviral treatment (cART), people living with HIV (PLWH) are more susceptible to neurocognitive impairment (NCI), probably due to synergistic/additive contribution of traditional cerebrovascular risk factors. Specifically, altered blood brain barrier (BBB) and transmigration of inflammatory monocytes are risk factors for developing cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). In order to investigate if inflammatory monocytes exacerbate CSVD and cognitive impairment, 110 PLWH on cART and 110 age-, sex- and Reynold’s cardiovascular risk score-matched uninfected individuals were enrolled.

177Lu-DOTATATE Theranostics: Predicting Renal Dosimetry From Pretherapy 68Ga-DOTATATE PET and Clinical Biomarkers.

Purpose: Pretreatment predictions of absorbed doses can be especially valuable for patient selection and dosimetry-guided individualization of radiopharmaceutical therapy. Our goal was to build regression models using pretherapy 68Ga-DOTATATE PET uptake data and other baseline clinical factors/biomarkers to predict renal absorbed dose delivered by 177Lu-DOTATATE peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (177Lu-PRRT) for neuroendocrine tumors. We explore the combination of biomarkers and 68Ga PET uptake metrics, hypothesizing that they will improve predictive power over univariable regression.

Self-reported sleep problems in active-duty US Army personnel receiving posttraumatic stress disorder treatment in group or individual formats: secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial.

Study Objectives: Sleep disturbances are common in military personnel with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and may persist following treatment. This study examined service members seeking treatment for PTSD, reporting insomnia symptoms, nightmares, excessive daytime sleepiness, and potential obstructive sleep apnea at baseline and the impact of sleep disturbances on a course of PTSD treatment.

Methods: In this secondary analysis, sleep was evaluated in 223 service members who participated in a randomized clinical trial comparing Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD delivered in individual or group formats.

Disparities in Prostate Cancer Screening for Transgender Women: An Analysis of the MarketScan Database.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of PSA screening amongst transgender women. A transgender individual is someone whose gender identity differs from their birth sex or the societal norms of that assigned sex. There are no formal guidelines regarding PSA screening in transgender women, even though they retain prostatic tissue throughout the gender-affirming process, and there is a lack of existing data to adequately inform clinical practice.

Parental Attitudes and Ideas Regarding Newborn Screening for Familial Hypercholesterolemia.

Background: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited disease which causes premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, less than 10% of individuals with FH have been identified.

Objective: To assess parental perspectives for inclusion of FH on routine newborn screening (NBS) and to highlight potential benefits, harms, and ethical concerns.

Urethral Stricture Formation After Artificial Urinary Sphincter Cuff Erosion Is Uncommon in the Absence of Pelvic Radiation.

Purpose: Reported rates of urethral stricture development after artificial urinary sphincter erosion are highly variable. We hypothesized that the risk of stricture is commensurate with the degree of erosion.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed our prospectively maintained quality improvement database for all patients with artificial urinary sphincter erosion from 2011 to 2022.

Development of an Automated Capillary Immunoassay to Detect Prion Glycotypes in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) comprises a group of transmissible neurodegenerative diseases with vast phenotypic diversity. Sporadic CJD heterogeneity is predominantly influenced by the genotype at codon 129 of the prion-encoding gene and the molecular weight of PrP fragments after protease digestion, resulting in a classification of 6 subtypes of CJD (MM1, MM2, MV1, MV2, VV1, and VV2). The majority of cases with CJD can be distinguished using this classification system.

Clinical and Urodynamic Determinants of Earlier Time to Failure for the Artificial Urinary Sphincter.

Objective: To determine clinical, surgical and urodynamic attributes associated with earlier AUS reintervention. The artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) is the gold standard treatment for postprostatectomy stress urinary incontinence. Factors impacting long-term device survival have not been investigated.

Differences in Prosthetic Prescription Between Men and Women Veterans After Transtibial or Transfemoral Lower-Extremity Amputation: A Longitudinal Cohort Study (2005-2018).

Objective: To evaluate whether prosthetic prescription differed by gender and the extent to which differences were mediated by measured factors.

Design: Retrospective longitudinal cohort study using data from Veterans Health Administration (VHA) administrative databases.

Setting: VHA patients throughout the United States.

Mechanisms of change in posttraumatic headache-related disability: A mediation model.

Objective: To explore whether the association between change in headache management self-efficacy and posttraumatic headache-related disability is partially mediated by a change in anxiety symptom severity.

Background: Many cognitive-behavioral therapy treatments for headache emphasize stress management, which includes anxiety management strategies; however, little is currently known about mechanisms of change in posttraumatic headache-related disability. Increasing our understanding of mechanisms could lead to improvements in treatments for these debilitating headaches.

Joint coverage analysis in progressive collapsing foot deformity.

Progressive collapsing foot deformity (PCFD) is characterized by a progressive subluxation of the peritalar bones and respective joints. Two-dimensional conventional radiographs are limited in their ability to visualize the peritalar bones and joints with adequate detail to describe the complex three-dimensional deformity. An improved understanding of the relationship between joint coverage and deformity would allow clinicians to use coverage analysis to distinguish among the stages of PCFD.

A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial of Doxazosin for Co-Occurring PTSD and Alcohol Use Disorder in Veterans.

The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of doxazosin, an α-adrenergic antagonist, for the treatment of co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). This 12-week, double-blind, randomized controlled trial of doxazosin (16 mg/d) was conducted between June 2016 and December 2019 at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina.

A Contemporary Analysis of Combat-related Urological Injuries: Data From the Department of Defense Trauma Registry.

Purpose: There has been little to no literature published on combat-related genitourinary injuries beyond 2013. With the goal of enhancing medical readiness prior to deployment and making recommendations to improve the long-term rehabilitation of service members as they become civilians, we sought to describe the incidence of combat-related genitourinary injuries and interventions from January 1, 2007, to March 17, 2020.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the Department of Defense Trauma Registry, which is a prospectively maintained database, for the time between 2007 and 2020.

ATTAC! Development of a Novel Advanced Trauma Team Application Course.

Background: Although existing trauma nurse courses provide basic education, advanced courses with simulation experiences that enhance team leadership, communication, and workflows are lacking.

Objective: To design and implement the Advanced Trauma Team Application Course (ATTAC) to promote advanced skills for nurses and respiratory therapists with varied experience and skill levels.

Methods: Trauma nurses and respiratory therapists were selected to participate based on years of experience and the novice to expert nurse model.

Statistical multi-level shape models for scalable modeling of multi-organ anatomies.

Statistical shape modeling is an indispensable tool in the quantitative analysis of anatomies. Particle-based shape modeling (PSM) is a state-of-the-art approach that enables the learning of population-level shape representation from medical imaging data (e.g.

Mycobacterium leprae in Armadillo Tissues from Museum Collections, United States.

We examined armadillos from museum collections in the United States using molecular assays to detect leprosy-causing bacilli. We found Mycobacterium leprae bacilli in samples from the United States, Bolivia, and Paraguay; prevalence was 14.8% in nine-banded armadillos.