Patient-Derived Xenografts of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Enable Deconvolution and Prediction of Chemotherapy Responses.

Combination chemotherapy remains essential for clinical management of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Consequently, responses to multiple single agents cannot be delineated at the single patient level, even though some patients might not require all drugs in the combination. Herein, we conduct multi-omic analyses of orthotopic TNBC patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) treated with single agent carboplatin, docetaxel, or the combination.

Exposure to e-cigarette and heated tobacco product advertisements via digital, traditional media, and points-of-sale: An examination of associations with use intentions and perceived risk among adults in Armenia and Georgia.

Introduction: E-cigarette and heated tobacco product (HTP) marketing often leverages digital media and points-of-sale (POS) and advertises risk reduction, including in Armenia and Georgia where male cigarette use rates are high.

Methods: Using 2022 survey data from Armenian and Georgian adults (n=1468, mean age=42.92 years, 51.

Managing Patients With COVID-19 in Armenia Using a Remote Monitoring System: Descriptive Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed immense stress on global health care systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Armenia, a middle-income country in the Caucasus region, contended with the pandemic and a concurrent war, resulting in significant demand on its already strained health care infrastructure. The COVID@home program was a multi-institution, international collaboration to address critical hospital bed shortages by implementing a home-based oxygen therapy and remote monitoring program.

A call from 40 public health scientists for an end to the continuing humanitarian and environmental catastrophe in Gaza.

An under-recognised aspect of the current humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is the impact of the war on the environment and the associated risks for human health. This commentary contextualises these impacts against the background of human suffering produced by the overwhelming violence associated with the use of military force against the general population of Gaza. In calling for an immediate cessation to the violence, the authors draw attention to the urgent need to rebuild the health care system and restore the physical and human infrastructure that makes a liveable environment possible and promotes human health and well-being, especially for the most vulnerable in the population.

The inclusion of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in smoke-free home and car rules: A cross-sectional survey of adults in Armenia and Georgia.

Introduction: Understanding who includes e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) in smoke-free home or car rules could inform public health interventions, particularly in countries with high smoking prevalence and recently implemented national smoke-free laws, like Armenia and Georgia.

Methods: In 2022, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among 1468 adults in 28 Armenian and Georgian communities (mean age=42.92 years; 51.

Migraine headache and other risk factors associated with glaucoma among the adult population living in Armenia: a case-control study.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the association between migraine headache and glaucoma among the adult population living in Armenia.

Methods: This case-control study recruited 145 cases with glaucoma and 250 controls without glaucoma and other ocular disorders except refractive error from Optomed Canada Diagnostic Eye Center in Armenia. A structured questionnaire contained questions on socio-demographics, family history of glaucoma and stroke, ocular health, smoking, migraine, and obstructive sleep apnea.

Prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among general population of Armenia in 2021 and factors associated with it: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This study sought to determine the prevalence and associated factors of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection ever in life and chronic HBV infection in Armenia.

Design: A population-based cross-sectional seroprevalence study combined with a phone survey of tested individuals.

Setting: All administrative units of Armenia including 10 provinces and capital city Yerevan.

Examining local smoke-free coalitions in Armenia and Georgia: context and outcomes of a matched-pairs community-randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Local coalitions can advance public health initiatives such as smoke-free air but have not been widely used or well-studied in low-income and middle-income countries.

Methods: We conducted a matched-pairs community-randomised controlled trial in 28 communities in Armenia and Georgia (N=14/country) in which we helped establish local coalitions in 2019 and provided training and technical assistance for coalition activity promoting smoke-free policy development and enforcement (2019-2021). Surveys of ~1450 households (Fall 2018, May-June 2022) were conducted to evaluate coalition impact on smoke-free policy support, smoke-free home adoption, secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe), and coalition awareness and activity exposure, using multivariable mixed modelling.

Violation of molecular structure of intracellular water as a possible cause of carcinogenesis and its suppression by microwave radiation(hypothesis).

The manuscript discusses a possible hypothesis about the transformation of healthy cells into cancer cells as a result of modification of the molecular structure of intracellular water from normal hexagonal to abnormal cubic phase (which may be caused by radiation, chemical, viral, mechanical and microbiological factors) and the possibility of returning to its original state under the influence of microwave radiation. The authors are not aware of any relevant experimental and theoretical support for this hypothesis in other literature.Our hypothesis is based on a completely unexpected experimental fact that we have received.

A mixed-methods evaluation of the indoor and outdoor smoking ban in dining venues in Armenia: Early successes and challenges.

Introduction: Since March 2022, Armenia introduced a comprehensive smoking ban on all types of tobacco products in indoor and outdoor areas of hospitality venues. We aimed to rapidly appraise the implementation of the ban in the dining areas of the capital Yerevan and explore any differences in compliance and enforcement patterns between indoor and outdoor areas of the venues.

Methods: We used a mixed-methods approach through quantitative air quality monitoring, qualitative observations, and in-depth interviews (IDIs).

Associations Between Pro/Anti-Tobacco Media and Messaging Exposure and Knowledge and Support of Smoke-Free Policy Among Adults in Armenia and Georgia.

Context: Despite high smoking rates, Armenia and Georgia recently adopted smoke-free policies (2022 and 2018).

Objective: We examined associations between exposure to pro-tobacco media (news opposing smoke-free policies; cigarette, e-cigarette, heated tobacco product [HTP] advertisements) and anti-tobacco media (media, community-based action) and (1) knowledge that the policies applied to alternative tobacco products (ATPs), and (2) support for the policies applying to ATPs and various settings.

Design: We analyzed 2022 survey data.

Health-Related Quality of Life after Cataract Surgery in Armenia: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Cataract surgery helps to enhance visual function and improve the quality of life of cataract patients. The present study assessed visual outcomes and explored health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and factors associated with it following cataract surgery in Armenia. An interviewer-administered survey along with the ophthalmologic examination was conducted among 248 patients.

Cataract Blindness in Armenia: The Results of Nationwide Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB).

Purpose: This study assessed the prevalence of cataract blindness, cataract surgical coverage (CSC), effective CSC, visual outcome after cataract surgery, and barriers to cataract surgery in a population aged 50 years and older in Armenia using Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) methodology.

Methods: The study sample included 2258 individuals aged 50 years and older who were randomly selected from 11 provinces of Armenia in 2019 following the RAAB methodology. The study team randomly selected 50 clusters, 50 people in each.

Deconvolution of cancer cell states by the XDec-SM method.

Proper characterization of cancer cell states within the tumor microenvironment is a key to accurately identifying matching experimental models and the development of precision therapies. To reconstruct this information from bulk RNA-seq profiles, we developed the XDec Simplex Mapping (XDec-SM) reference-optional deconvolution method that maps tumors and the states of constituent cells onto a biologically interpretable low-dimensional space. The method identifies gene sets informative for deconvolution from relevant single-cell profiling data when such profiles are available.

Factors associated with health-related quality of life among people with visual impairments living in nursing homes in Armenia: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: The study aimed to examine the effect of visual impairment (VI), eye diseases, and other risk factors on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in nursing home residents in Armenia.

Methods: This cross-sectional study administered an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire to collect information about socio-demographics, chronic diseases, HRQoL, smoking, receiving and giving instrumental/emotional social support, and sleeping disorders among 313 nursing home residents. An ophthalmic examination of the participants was conducted.

Range Dynamics of Striped Field Mouse () in Northern Eurasia under Global Climate Change Based on Ensemble Species Distribution Models.

The striped field mouse ( Pallas, 1771) is a widespread species in Northern Eurasia. It damages crops and carries zoonotic pathogens. Its current and future range expansion under climate change may negatively affect public health and the economy, warranting further research to understand the ecological and invasive characteristics of the species.

Evolution of parthenogenetic reproduction in Caucasian rock lizards: A review.

Despite numerous works devoted to hybrid origin of parthenogenesis in reptiles, the causes of hybridization between different species, resulting in the origin of parthenogenetic forms, remain uncertain. Recent studies demonstrate that sexual species considered parental to parthenogenetic rock lizards ( spp.) avoid interspecific mating in the secondary overlap areas.

Nationwide Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) in Armenia.

Purpose: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and main causes of blindness and visual impairment in population aged 50 years and older in Armenia using Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) methodology.

Methods: The study team randomly selected 50 clusters (each consisting of 50 people) from all 11 regions of Armenia. Data on participants' demographics, presenting visual acuity, pinhole visual acuity, principal cause of presenting visual acuity, spectacle coverage, uncorrected refractive error (URE), and presbyopia were collected using the RAAB survey form.

Identifying biomarkers of differential chemotherapy response in TNBC patient-derived xenografts with a CTD/WGCNA approach.

Although systemic chemotherapy remains the standard of care for TNBC, even combination chemotherapy is often ineffective. The identification of biomarkers for differential chemotherapy response would allow for the selection of responsive patients, thus maximizing efficacy and minimizing toxicities. Here, we leverage TNBC PDXs to identify biomarkers of response.

XDec-CHI reveals immunosuppressive interactions in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Most cancers harbor a diverse collection of cell types including a typically heterogeneous cancer cell fraction. To reconstruct cell-intrinsic and heterotypic interactions driving tumor progression, we combine the XDec deconvolution method with cell-type-specific gene expression correlation analysis into the XDec-CHI method. XDec-CHI identifies intra- and inter-cellular pathways using correlation and places them in the context of specific tumor subtypes, as defined by the state of constituent cancer cells.

Immunologically "cold" triple negative breast cancers engraft at a higher rate in patient derived xenografts.

TNBC is a heterogeneous subtype of breast cancer, and only a subset of TNBC can be established as PDXs. Here, we show that there is an engraftment bias toward TNBC with low levels of immune cell infiltration. Additionally, TNBC that failed to engraft show gene expression consistent with a cancer-promoting immunological state, leading us to hypothesize that the immunological state of the tumor and possibly the state of the immune system of the host may be essential for engraftment.

Assessment of possible risks on human health by estimation of annual effective doses associated with radon in drinking water.

Radon is the main source of radiation that people receive naturally. Twenty-four samples of drinking water were collected and analyzed from all communities of Yerevan city, Armenia, in order to assess Radon associated radiological risk on population health through the drinking water. The measurements were performed by Alfarad Plus - ARP radon meter.

Tobacco-related risk perceptions, social influences and public smoke-free policies in relation to smoke-free home restrictions: findings from a baseline cross-sectional survey of Armenian and Georgian adults in a community randomised trial.

Objectives: Given high prevalence of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure in Armenia and Georgia and quicker implementation of tobacco legislation in Georgia versus Armenia, we examined correlates of having no/partial versus complete smoke-free home (SFH) restrictions across countries, particularly smoking characteristics, risk perceptions, social influences and public smoking restrictions.

Design: Cross-sectional survey study design.

Setting: 28 communities in Armenia and Georgia surveyed in 2018.