Genetic Predictors of Neurocognitive Outcomes in Survivors of Pediatric Brain Tumors.

Purpose: Neurocognitive deficits are common in pediatric brain tumor survivors. The use of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis in DNA repair genes may identify children treated with radiation therapy for brain tumors at increased risk for treatment toxicity and adverse neurocognitive outcomes.

Methods: The Human 660W-Quad v1.

Exposure to a Vitamin D Best Practices Toolkit, Model, and E-Tools Increases Knowledge, Confidence, and the Translation of Research to Public Health and Practice.

Preventable vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is a global health concern. The prevention, early detection, and treatment of vitamin D deficiency aligning with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration recommendations of 40-60 ng/mL (100-150 nmol/L), provided by an international panel of 48 vitamin D researchers, would result in significant health benefits and cost savings to individuals and society. However, research shows that healthcare professionals lack knowledge and confidence in best practices with respect to vitamin D.

Significant increase of high-risk chromosome 1q gain and 6q loss at recurrence in posterior fossa group A ependymoma: A multicenter study.

Background: Ependymoma (EPN) posterior fossa group A (PFA) has the highest rate of recurrence and the worst prognosis of all EPN molecular groups. At relapse, it is typically incurable even with re-resection and re-irradiation. The biology of recurrent PFA remains largely unknown; however, the increasing use of surgery at first recurrence has now provided access to clinical samples to facilitate a better understanding of this.

A Secondary Analysis of a Preliminary Contingency Management Intervention for Presurgical Cancer Patients: Evaluating Individual Participant Data.

Introduction: Contingency management (CM) interventions deliver monetary reinforcers contingent upon biochemically verified abstinence from smoking. CM has been found to be effective, however, individual participant, analyses are warranted to further elucidate how individual-level behavior patterns vary during the intervention period, both within and across treatment groups.

Aims And Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled pilot trial of presurgical cancer patients who smoke (RCT N = 40).

E-Cigarette Screening in Primary Care.

Introduction: Primary care visits present an opportune time to assess behaviors that contribute to patient health. Smoking, alcohol use, and illicit drugs are routinely documented in electronic health records, but less is known about screening for E-cigarette use and the prevalence of E-cigarette use in primary care settings.

Methods: Data include 134,931 adult patients who visited 1 of 41 primary care clinics within a 12-month period (June 1, 2021-June 1, 2022).

Interest in quitting e-cigarette use by device type and smoking history in US adults.

Background: The use of e-cigarettes has been increasing, especially since the introduction of 'pod' devices to the marketplace since 2018. Most adults who vape report interest in quitting. The present study examined level of interest in e-cigarette cessation between users with varying cigarette smoking histories and device types.

Optimizing tobacco treatment delivery for people with HIV: trial protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: With advances in antiretroviral therapy, people with HIV (PWH) are living longer and are less likely to die from AIDS-related complications. Yet, prior research has shown that smoking is often not addressed in the context of HIV care, and few individuals are offered cessation treatment. Optimizing tobacco treatment delivery for PWH may increase engagement with evidence-based treatments and successful quit attempts.

Vitamin D-Related Risk Factors for Maternal Morbidity and Mortality during Pregnancy: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Vitamin D deficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels <20 ng/mL in serum) is a common health condition among pregnant women, especially in high-risk groups. Evidence has connected vitamin D levels with many health-related problems during pregnancy, including gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. Because of vitamin D’s effect on both mother and fetus, we systematically review the association between 25(OH)D level and its health effects.

Urgent Need for Novel Investigations of Treatments to Quit E-cigarettes: Findings from a Systematic Review.

E-cigarette use has been increasing globally over the past decade. Many use e-cigarettes as an alternative or method to quit cigarette smoking, whereas others use these products recreationally. As technology has advanced, many individuals have reported symptoms of dependence on these products and continue to use them beyond achieving abstinence from smoking.

Tobacco Treatment Outcomes for Hospital Patients With and Without Mental Health Diagnoses.

Background: The prevalence of mental health conditions is higher in cigarette smokers than nonsmokers. However, those with diagnosed mental health disorders are understudied within general inpatient hospital settings. This study seeks to evaluate how having a mental health diagnosis influences response to a brief opt-out inpatient tobacco treatment intervention.

Venetoclax Cooperates with Ionizing Radiation to Attenuate Diffuse Midline Glioma Tumor Growth.

Purpose: Tumor relapse after radiotherapy is a major hurdle in treating pediatric H3K27M-mutant diffuse midline gliomas (DMG). Radiotherapy-induced stress increases association of BCL2 family of proteins with BH3 pro-apoptotic activators preventing apoptosis. We hypothesized that inhibition of radiotherapy-induced BCL2 with a clinically relevant inhibitor, venetoclax, will block BCL2 activity leading to increased apoptosis.

In vivo interferon-gamma induced changes in gene expression dramatically alter neutrophil phenotype.

The cytokine Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) exerts powerful immunoregulatory effects on the adaptive immune system and also enhances functions of the neutrophil (PMN). The clinical use of IFN-γ has been driven by the finding that its administration to patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) results in decreased incidence and severity of infections. However, IFN-γ has no effect on the characteristic defect of CGD, the inability to convert oxygen to microbicidal metabolites including superoxide anion (O2-) during the phagocytosis associated oxidative burst.

Neuropeptide Y Variation Is Associated With Altered Static and Dynamic Functional Connectivity of the Salience Network.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a neurotransmitter that has been implicated in the development of anxiety and mood disorders. Low levels of NPY have been associated with risk for these disorders, and high levels with resilience. Anxiety and depression are associated with altered intrinsic functional connectivity of brain networks, but the effect of NPY on functional connectivity is not known.

Novel RAF Fusions in Pediatric Low-Grade Gliomas Demonstrate MAPK Pathway Activation.

Brain tumors are the most common solid tumor in children, and low-grade gliomas (LGGs) are the most common childhood brain tumor. Here, we report on 3 patients with LGG harboring previously unreported or rarely reported RAF fusions: FYCO1-RAF1, CTTNBP2-BRAF, and SLC44A1-BRAF. We hypothesized that these tumors would show molecular similarity to the canonical KIAA1549-BRAF fusion that is the most widely seen alteration in pilocytic astrocytoma (PA), the most common pediatric LGG variant, and that this similarity would include mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway activation.

The gammaherpesvirus 68 viral cyclin facilitates expression of LANA.

Gammaherpesviruses establish life-long infections within their host and have been shown to be the causative agents of devastating malignancies. Chronic infection within the host is mediated through cycles of transcriptionally quiescent stages of latency with periods of reactivation into detectable lytic and productive infection. The mechanisms that regulate reactivation from latency remain poorly understood.

Comprehensive molecular characterization of pediatric radiation-induced high-grade glioma.

Radiation-induced high-grade gliomas (RIGs) are an incurable late complication of cranial radiation therapy. We performed DNA methylation profiling, RNA-seq, and DNA sequencing on 32 RIG tumors and an in vitro drug screen in two RIG cell lines. We report that based on DNA methylation, RIGs cluster primarily with the pediatric receptor tyrosine kinase I high-grade glioma subtype.

Leveraging American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Guidelines for Point-of-Care Decision Support in Obstetrics.

Background: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) provides numerous narrative documents containing formal recommendations and additional narrative guidance within the text. These guidelines are not intended to provide a complete "care pathway" for patient management, but these elements of guidance can be useful for clinical decision support (CDS) in obstetrical and gynecologic care and could be exposed within electronic health records (EHRs). Unfortunately, narrative guidelines do not easily translate into computable CDS guidance.

Deconvoluting Mechanisms of Acquired Resistance to RAF Inhibitors in BRAF-Mutant Human Glioma.

Purpose: Selective RAF-targeted therapy is effective in some patients with BRAF-mutated glioma, though emergent and adaptive resistance occurs through ill-defined mechanisms.

Experimental Design: Paired pre-/post- RAF inhibitor (RAFi)-treated glioma samples ( = 15) were obtained and queried for treatment-emergent genomic alterations using DNA and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Functional validation of putative resistance mechanisms was performed using established and patient-derived BRAF-mutant glioma cell lines.

Neoplastic and immune single-cell transcriptomics define subgroup-specific intra-tumoral heterogeneity of childhood medulloblastoma.

Background: Medulloblastoma (MB) is a heterogeneous disease in which neoplastic cells and associated immune cells contribute to disease progression. We aimed to determine the influence of neoplastic and immune cell diversity on MB biology in patient samples and animal models.

Methods: To better characterize cellular heterogeneity in MB we used single-cell RNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry, and deconvolution of transcriptomic data to profile neoplastic and immune populations in patient samples and animal models across childhood MB subgroups.

Detection of pro angiogenic and inflammatory biomarkers in patients with CKD.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of death in patients with native and post-transplant chronic kidney disease (CKD). To identify new biomarkers of vascular injury and inflammation, we analyzed the proteome of plasma and circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) in native and post-transplant CKD patients utilizing an aptamer-based assay. Proteins of angiogenesis were significantly higher in native and post-transplant CKD patients versus healthy controls.