Association between meningioma consistency and surgical outcomes.

Objective: Tumor consistency, or fibrosity, affects the ability to optimally resect meningiomas, especially with recent trends evolving toward minimally invasive approaches. The authors' team previously validated a practical 5-point scale for intraoperative grading of meningioma consistency. The impact of meningioma consistency on surgical management and outcomes, however, has yet to be explored.

Unidirectional and bidirectional causation between smoking and blood DNA methylation: evidence from twin-based Mendelian randomisation.

Cigarette smoking is associated with numerous differentially-methylated genomic loci in multiple human tissues. These associations are often assumed to reflect the causal effects of smoking on DNA methylation (DNAm), which may underpin some of the adverse health sequelae of smoking. However, prior causal analyses with Mendelian Randomisation (MR) have found limited support for such effects.

Evaluating the Equivalency of Teletesting and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Measures of Reading Achievement in a Clinically Referred Sample.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to build an evidence base to support teletesting as an equivalent modality for standardized neuropsychological assessment. As such, the purpose of this study was twofold. First, this study evaluated teletesting equivalency of standardized reading achievement measures during COVID-19 in children ages 6-16.

Machine Learning Approaches to Predict Alcohol Consumption from Biomarkers in the UK Biobank.

Background: Measuring and estimating alcohol consumption (AC) is important for individual health, public health, and Societal benefits. While self-report and diagnostic interviews are commonly used, incorporating biological-based indices can offer a complementary approach.

Methods: We evaluate machine learning (ML) based predictions of AC using blood and urine-derived biomarkers.

Donor derived cell free DNA in lung transplant recipients rises in setting of allograft instability.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between longitudinal monitoring of donor-derived cell free DNA (dd-cfDNA) in lung transplant recipients and a "gold standard" of existing tools (pulmonary function testing, radiographic imaging, laboratory and bronchoscopy data, clinical judgment) to assess allograft function.

Methods: 24 consecutive transplant recipients were prospectively enrolled in this study measuring dd-cfDNA levels monthly in the first year after bilateral lung transplant. Blinded clinical adjudications were performed at the same timepoints to categorize allograft function as stable (FEV1 within 10% of prior value or when compared to best two averaged post-transplant values) or unstable.