Ethnicity-specific patterns of epigenetic age acceleration in rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an age-related chronic inflammatory disease which may include accelerated biological ageing processes in its pathogenesis. To determine if increased biological age is associated with risk of RA and/or is present once disease is established. We used DNA methylation to compare biological age (epigenetic age) of immune cells in adults at risk of RA and those with confirmed RA, including twins discordant for RA.

Impact of the XVII Pacific Games on the National Referral Hospital Emergency Department, Solomon Islands.

Background: The XVII Pacific Games was held in Honiara, Solomon Islands in 2023 and was attended by competitors from 24 Pacific nations. The National Referral Hospital (NRH) is the sole tertiary hospital and largest emergency department (ED) in the Solomon Islands, located in the capital city, Honiara, and was the designated referral hospital for the Pacific Games.

Objective: This report documents the lessons learnt from supporting a large international sporting event within a resource-limited health setting, and may help other EDs prepare for similar planned mass gatherings.

Respiratory plasticity induced by chronic hyperoxia in juvenile and adult rats.

Chronic hyperoxia during early postnatal development depresses breathing when neonatal rats are returned to room air and causes long-lasting attenuation of the hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR). In contrast, little is known about the control of breathing of juvenile or adult mammals after chronic exposure to moderate hyperoxia later in life. Therefore, Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 60 % O for 7 days (juveniles) or for 4 and 14 days (adults) and ventilation was measured by whole-body plethysmography immediately after the exposure or following a longer period of recovery in room air.

Novel environmental variables help explain winter weather effects on activity and habitat selection of greater sage-grouse along the border of Colorado and Wyoming, USA.

For non-hibernating species within temperate climates, survival during severe winter weather often depends on individuals' behavioral response and available refugia. Identifying refugia habitat that sustains populations during adverse winter conditions can be difficult and complex. This study provides an example of how modeled, biologically relevant snow and weather information can help identify important relationships between habitat selection and dynamic winter landscapes using greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus, hereafter "sage-grouse") as a model species.

Endogenous retroelement activation is implicated in IFN-α production and anti-CCP autoantibody generation in early Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objectives: Endogenous retroelements (EREs) stimulate type 1 interferon (IFN-I) production but have not been explored as potential interferonogenic triggers in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). We investigated ERE expression in early RA (eRA), a period where IFN-I is increased.

Methods: ERE expression (LTR5, LINE1, SINE) in disease modifying treatment naïve eRA whole blood and bulk synovial tissue was examined by RT-PCR and Nanostring alongside IFN-α activity.

Deep phenotyping of T regulatory cells in psoriatic arthritis highlights targetable mechanisms of disease.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are immune regulatory T cells that are vital for controlling inflammation. The role of Tregs in inflammatory diseases namely psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is still poorly understood. The underlying reason being a lack of robust unbiased analysis to test the immune regulatory phenotype of human Tregs.

Taurine stimulation of planarian motility: a role for the dopamine receptor pathway.

Taurine, a normal dietary component that is found in many tissues, is considered important for a number of physiological processes. It is thought to play a particular role in eye development and in the maturation of both the muscular and nervous systems, leading to its suggested use as a therapeutic for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Taurine increases metabolism and has also been touted as a weight loss aid.

The multifunctional use of an aqueous battery for a high capacity jellyfish robot.

The batteries that power untethered underwater vehicles (UUVs) serve a single purpose: to provide energy to electronics and motors; the more energy required, the bigger the robot must be to accommodate space for more energy storage. By choosing batteries composed primarily of liquid media [e.g.

Patient and public involvement in the design of an international clinical trial: real world experience.

Background: The value of patient and public involvement (PPI) during the earliest stages of clinical trial development, and prior to the award of substantive funding, is widely recognised. However, it is often under-resourced and PPI processes during this phase are rarely reported in detail. Having benefitted from seed funding to develop an international clinical trial proposal, we sought to describe and appraise PPI activities and processes that support pre-award co-development.

Understanding depression and anxiety rates of school psychology graduate students.

School psychology graduate students experience many risk factors for problems with mental health, including high workloads, financial distress, and challenging relationships with faculty that can exacerbate feelings of anxiety and depression. Although there have been studies that have investigated depression and anxiety amongst graduate students in general (Eisenberg et al., 2007) and health service psychology students in particular (Hobaica et al.

The burden of diabetes-associated multiple long-term conditions on years of life spent and lost.

Diabetes mellitus is a central driver of multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs), but population-based studies have not clearly characterized the burden across the life course. We estimated the age of onset, years of life spent and loss associated with diabetes-related MLTCs among 46 million English adults. We found that morbidity patterns extend beyond classic diabetes complications and accelerate the onset of severe MLTCs by 20 years earlier in life in women and 15 years earlier in men.

Temporal Trends in Tobacco Smoking Prevalence During the Period 2010-2020 in Vietnam: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study.

This study used repeated cross-sectional data from three national surveys in Vietnam to determine tobacco smoking prevalence from 2010 to 2020 and disparities among demographic and socioeconomic groups. Tobacco smoking temporal trends were estimated for individuals aged 15 and over and stratified by demographic and socioeconomic status (SES). Prevalence estimates used survey weights and 95% confidence intervals.

Leveraging Multi-Tissue, Single-Cell Atlases as Tools to Elucidate Shared Mechanisms of Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases.

The observation that certain therapeutic strategies for targeting inflammation benefit patients with distinct immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) is exemplified by the success of TNF blockade in conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and skin psoriasis, albeit only for subsets of individuals with each condition. This suggests intersecting "nodes" in inflammatory networks at a molecular and cellular level may drive and/or maintain IMIDs, being "shared" between traditionally distinct diagnoses without mapping neatly to a single clinical phenotype. In line with this proposition, integrative tumour tissue analyses in oncology have highlighted novel cell states acting across diverse cancers, with important implications for precision medicine.

Solidifying the minority high school student pathway: evidence from the health professions recruitment and exposure program.

Purpose: The objective of this report is to provide longitudinal insights on the impact of a health professions exposure program for high school students of underrepresented backgrounds in medicine.

Context: Medical students at the University of Chicago reviewed data from their chapter of the Health Profession Recruitment and Exposure Program (HPREP) from 2016-2021 to discover trends in enrollment. This data is documented in the context of the program's mission to increase awareness of health disparities, the success of prominent alumni, and recent community efforts post-COVID-19 pandemic.

Monitoring immunE DysregulAtion foLLowing Immune checkpOint-inhibitioN (MEDALLION): protocol for an observational cancer immunotherapy cohort study.

Background: Checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) are widely used in cancer treatment, with transformative impacts on survival. They nonetheless carry a significant risk of toxicity in the form of immune-related adverse events (IrAEs), which may be sustained and life-altering. IrAEs may require high-dose and/or prolonged steroid use and represent a significant healthcare burden.

Modeling Dimensionality of Bilingual Kindergarteners' Language Knowledge in Spanish and English.

Purpose: This study used structural equation modeling to investigate the dimensionality of language in Spanish-English bilingual kindergartners. Five theoretical models were compared, including (a) a unidimensional model; (b) a two-dimensional model by language (Spanish, English); (c) a three-dimensional model by domain of language (phonology, semantics, morphosyntax); (d) a second-order model organized first by language (Spanish, English), with each language dimension comprising three domain-specific dimensions (phonology, semantics, morphosyntax); and (e) a six-dimensional model with freely covarying language-specific domains.

Method: Participants included 238 Spanish-English bilingual kindergartens, as identified by parent report of current language exposure and direct language measures.

Disability Claims for Female Veterans Exposed to Contaminated Water at Marine Base Camp Lejeune.

Introduction: Between 1953 and 1987, over one million Veterans were exposed to contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. We examined the relationship between toxicant exposure and subsequent disability ratings in female veterans.

Materials And Methods: Comparisons were made between females stationed at Camp Lejeune and from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California who were not known to have been exposed to these toxicants, between 1975 and 1985, using data from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases Registry and VA data.

A systematic review of factors that impact reading comprehension in children with developmental language disorders.

Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have a high rate of co-occurring reading difficulties. The current study aims to (i) examine which factors within the Active View of Reading (AVR; Duke & Cartwright, 2021) apply to individuals with DLD and (ii) investigate other possible factors that relate to reading comprehension ability in individuals with DLD, outside the components in the AVR. Electronic database search and journal hand-search yielded 5058 studies published before March 2022 related to reading comprehension in children with DLD.

Operational complexities in international clinical trials: a systematic review of challenges and proposed solutions.

Objective: International trials can be challenging to operationalise due to incompatibilities between country-specific policies and infrastructures. The aim of this systematic review was to identify the operational complexities of conducting international trials and identify potential solutions for overcoming them.

Design: Systematic review.

Tobacco Quitline Callers Who Use Cannabis and Their Likelihood of Quitting Cigarette Smoking.

Introduction: Cigarette smoking continues to decline in the U.S., but cannabis use is increasing.

Factors associated with pediatric trauma patients leaving against medical advice.

Background: Discharge against medical advice (AMA) leads to worse patient outcomes, increased readmission rates, and higher cost. However, AMA discharge has received limited study, particularly in pediatric trauma patients. Our objective was to explore the risk factors associated with leaving AMA in pediatric trauma patients.

Adenosine metabolic signature in circulating CD4+ T cells predicts remission in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Long-term outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) depend on early and effective disease control. Methotrexate (MTX) remains the first-line disease modifying therapy, however there are no biomarkers with which to identify those most likely to achieve remission. To address this unmet need we explored metabolic pathways involved in MTX mechanism of action within circulating CD4+T cells in a cohort of treatment naive patients with early RA.

Abatacept in individuals at high risk of rheumatoid arthritis (APIPPRA): a randomised, double-blind, multicentre, parallel, placebo-controlled, phase 2b clinical trial.

Background: Individuals with serum antibodies to citrullinated protein antigens (ACPA), rheumatoid factor, and symptoms, such as inflammatory joint pain, are at high risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. In the arthritis prevention in the pre-clinical phase of rheumatoid arthritis with abatacept (APIPPRA) trial, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility, efficacy, and acceptability of treating high risk individuals with the T-cell co-stimulation modulator abatacept.

Methods: The APIPPRA study was a randomised, double-blind, multicentre, parallel, placebo-controlled, phase 2b clinical trial done in 28 hospital-based early arthritis clinics in the UK and three in the Netherlands.