Leveraging Artificial Intelligence as a Safety Net for Incidentally Identified Lung Nodules at a Tertiary Center.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platforms may be used to ensure that clinically significant lung nodules receive appropriate management. We studied the impact of a commercially available AI natural language processing tool on detection of clinically significant indeterminate pulmonary nodules (IPNs) based on radiology reports and provision of guideline-consistent care.

Study Design: All computed tomography (CT) scans performed at a single tertiary care center in the outpatient or emergency room setting between 20-Feb-2024 and 20-March-2024 were processed by the AI natural language processing algorithm.

A Novel In Vitro Model of the Bone Marrow Microenvironment in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Identifies CD44 and Focal Adhesion Kinase as Therapeutic Targets to Reverse Cell Adhesion-Mediated Drug Resistance.

Background/objectives: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive neoplasm. Although most patients respond to induction therapy, they commonly relapse due to recurrent disease in the bone marrow microenvironment (BMME). So, the disruption of the BMME, releasing tumor cells into the peripheral circulation, has therapeutic potential.

Identification of Polycystin 2 Missense Mutants Targeted for Endoplasmic Reticulum-Associated Degradation.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a common genetic disorder leading to end-stage renal disease. ADPKD arises from mutations in the and genes, which encode polycystin 1 (PC1) and polycystin 2 (PC2), respectively. PC2 is a non-selective cation channel, and disease-linked mutations disrupt normal cellular processes, including signaling and fluid secretion.

Specific and potent inhibition of steroid hormone pre-receptor regulator AKR1C2 by perfluorooctanoic acid: Implications for androgen metabolism.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants that are highly stable synthetic organofluorine compounds. One congener perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) can be detected in nearly all humans and is recognized as an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC). EDCs disrupt hormone synthesis and metabolism and receptor function.

A systematic evaluation of the performance and properties of the UK Biobank Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) Release.

We assess the UK Biobank (UKB) Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) Release, a set of PRSs for 28 diseases and 25 quantitative traits that has been made available on the individuals in UKB, using a unified pipeline for PRS evaluation. We also release a benchmarking software tool to enable like-for-like performance evaluation for different PRSs for the same disease or trait. Extensive benchmarking shows the PRSs in the UKB Release to outperform a broad set of 76 published PRSs.

Blue Ribbon Committee II Faculty Development: Report of the Subcommittee on Faculty Development and Educational Support.

The American College of Surgeons, the American Board of Surgery, and the American Surgical Association have created a Blue Ribbon Committee II to evaluate the current status of surgical education in the United States. As part of this endeavor, a subcommittee was formed to address issues pertinent to the development of surgical faculty as teachers. This entailed multiple discussions among a group of experienced surgical educators, a review of the literature, and a Delphi analysis of possible suggested improvements for faculty educational support, resulting in a final set of recommendations for improvement for future surgical faculty development.

Microinjection, gene knockdown, and CRISPR-mediated gene knock-in in the hard coral, .

Cnidarians have become valuable models for understanding many aspects of developmental biology including the evolution of body plan diversity, novel cell type specification, and regeneration. Most of our understanding of gene function during early development in cnidarians comes from a small number of experimental systems including the sea anemone, Few molecular tools have been developed for use in hard corals, limiting our understanding of this diverse and ecologically important clade. Here, we report the development of a suite of tools for manipulating and analyzing gene expression during early development in the northern star coral, We present methods for gene knockdown using short hairpin RNAs, gene overexpression using exogenous mRNAs, and endogenous gene tagging using CRISPR-mediated gene knock-in.

Photosymbiont Density Is Correlated with Constitutive and Induced Immunity in the Facultatively Symbiotic Coral, Astrangia poculata.

Scleractinian corals, essential ecosystem engineers that form the base of coral reef ecosystems, have faced unprecedented mortality in recent decades due to climate change-related stressors, including disease outbreaks. Despite this emergent threat to corals, many questions still remain regarding mechanisms underlying observed variation in disease susceptibility. Recent data suggest at least some degree of variation in disease response may be linked to variability in the relationship between host corals and their algal photosymbionts (Family Symbiodiniaceae).

Surrogate Perception of Disability after Hospitalization for Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background: The Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE) is a measure of recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Public surveys rate some GOSE states as worse than death. Direct family experience caring for patients with TBI may impact views of post-TBI disability.

Financing Policy Considerations From Texas to Optimize Care for Children With Medical Complexity.

Texas has a tremendous opportunity and momentum to build a more effective system of care for children with medical complexity (CMC) and their families. This is evidenced by growing collaboration among many committed partners since implementation of the Medicaid STAR Kids managed care program in 2016 and Texas' participation in a US Health Resources and Services Administration-funded, 10-state Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network to Advance Care for CMC from 2017 to 2022. Texas has several comprehensive health homes for CMC that position the state to serve as a national model of integrated, family-centered care for CMC and ensure high-quality care to an exceedingly vulnerable population.

Parental Understanding of Their Child's Germline Genomic Testing: Intent of Disclosure to Their Child and Family.

Genomic testing is becoming increasingly common in the care of pediatric patients with cancer. Parental understanding of germline results and their intent and timing of results disclosure to their child and family may have significant implications on the family unit. The purpose of this study was to examine parental understanding of germline genomic results and plans for disclosure to their child and other relatives.

A transcriptional network required for bradyzoite development in Toxoplasma gondii is dispensable for recrudescent disease.

Identification of regulators of Toxoplasma gondii bradyzoite development and cyst formation is the most direct way to address the importance of parasite development in long-term persistence and reactivation of this parasite. Here we show that a T. gondii gene (named Regulator of Cystogenesis 1; ROCY1) is sufficient for T.

DNA Structure Design Is Improved Using an Artificially Expanded Alphabet of Base Pairs Including Loop and Mismatch Thermodynamic Parameters.

We show that design of DNA secondary structures is improved by extending the base pairing alphabet beyond A-T and G-C to include the pair between 2-amino-8-(1'-β-d-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl)-imidazo-[1,2-]-1,3,5-triazin-(8)-4-one and 6-amino-3-(1'-β-d-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl)-5-nitro-(1)-pyridin-2-one, abbreviated as and . To obtain the thermodynamic parameters needed to include P-Z pairs in the designs, we performed 47 optical melting experiments and combined the results with previous work to fit free energy and enthalpy nearest neighbor folding parameters for P-Z pairs and G-Z wobble pairs. We find G-Z pairs have stability comparable to that of A-T pairs and should therefore be included as base pairs in structure prediction and design algorithms.

TMEM16A activation for the fast block to polyspermy in the African clawed frog does not require conventional activation of egg PLCs.

Fertilization of an egg by more than one sperm, a condition known as polyspermy, leads to gross chromosomal abnormalities and is embryonic lethal for most animals. Consequently, eggs have evolved multiple processes to stop supernumerary sperm from entering the nascent zygote. For external fertilizers, such as frogs and sea urchins, fertilization signals a depolarization of the egg membrane, which serves as the fast block to polyspermy.

Development of a Nickel-Catalyzed N-N Coupling for the Synthesis of Hydrazides.

A nickel-catalyzed N-N cross-coupling for the synthesis of hydrazides is reported. -Benzoylated hydroxamates were efficiently coupled with a broad range of aryl and aliphatic amines via nickel catalysis to form hydrazides in an up to 81% yield. Experimental evidence implicates the intermediacy of electrophilic Ni-stabilized acyl nitrenoids and the formation of a Ni(I) catalyst via silane-mediated reduction.

Antisense oligonucleotide rescue of CGG expansion-dependent mis-splicing in fragile X syndrome restores FMRP.

Aberrant alternative splicing of mRNAs results in dysregulated gene expression in multiple neurological disorders. Here, we show that hundreds of mRNAs are incorrectly expressed and spliced in white blood cells and brain tissues of individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS). Surprisingly, the gene is transcribed in >70% of the FXS tissues.

DNA Structure Design Is Improved Using an Artificially Expanded Alphabet of Base Pairs Including Loop and Mismatch Thermodynamic Parameters.

We show that design of DNA secondary structures is improved by extending the base pairing alphabet beyond A-T and G-C to include the pair between 2-amino-8-(1'-β-D-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl)-imidazo-[1,2- ]-1,3,5-triazin-(8 )-4-one and 6-amino-3-(1'-β-D-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl)-5-nitro-(1 )-pyridin-2-one, simply P and Z. To obtain the thermodynamic parameters needed to include P-Z pairs in the designs, we performed 47 optical melting experiments and combined the results with previous work to fit a new set of free energy and enthalpy nearest neighbor folding parameters for P-Z pairs and G-Z wobble pairs. We find that G-Z pairs have stability comparable to A-T pairs and therefore should be considered quantitatively by structure prediction and design algorithms.

Quality of life of children and young people with anterior chest wall deformity: a systematic review of the literature.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the current evidence regarding the quality of life (QoL) of children and young people with anterior chest wall deformity (ACWD).

Methods: Using a defined search strategy, a systematic review of the literature was performed using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines.

Results: The search identified 305 articles, after refinement, the full text of 51 studies were reviewed and 10 included in the review.

Identifying the neural correlates of anticipatory postural control: A novel fMRI paradigm.

Altered postural control in the trunk/hip musculature is a characteristic of multiple neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. Previously it was not possible to determine if altered cortical and subcortical sensorimotor brain activation underlies impairments in postural control. This study used a novel fMRI-compatible paradigm to identify the brain activation associated with postural control in the trunk and hip musculature.

Shared Decision-Making in General Surgery: Prospective Comparison of Telemedicine vs In-Person Visits.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated a shift toward virtual telemedicine appointments with surgeons. While this form of healthcare delivery has potential benefits for both patients and surgeons, the quality of these interactions remains largely unstudied. We hypothesize that telemedicine visits are associated with lower quality of shared decision-making.