An adaptive protocol to assess physiological responses as a function of task demand in speech-in-noise testing.

Background: Acoustic challenges impose demands on cognitive resources, known as listening effort (LE), which can substantially influence speech perception and communication. Standardized assessment protocols for monitoring LE are lacking, hindering the development of adaptive hearing assistive technology.

New Method: We employed an adaptive protocol, including a speech-in-noise test and personalized definition of task demand, to assess LE and its physiological correlates.

Ultrastructural assessment of human periodontal ligament fibroblast interaction with bovine pericardium membranes: An study.

Research towards regenerative dentistry focused on developing scaffold materials whose high performance induces cell adhesion support and guides tissue growth. An early study investigated the proliferation abilities and attachment of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPLFs) on two bovine pericardium membranes with different thicknesses, 0.2 mm and 0.

Longitudinal assessment of disparities in pancreatic cancer care: A retrospective analysis of the National Cancer Database.

Background: The existence of sociodemographic disparities in pancreatic cancer has been well-studied but how these disparities have changed over time is unclear. The purpose of this study was to longitudinally assess patient management in the context of sociodemographic factors to identify persisting disparities in pancreatic cancer care.

Methods: Using the National Cancer Database, patients diagnosed with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma from 2010 to 2017 were identified.

Modeling phase separation in solids beyond the classical nucleation theory: Application to FeCr.

Despite a large amount of work being devoted to study the phase separation in solids, the underlying physical mechanism responsible for such diffusive first-order phase transitions remains difficult to model outside the spinodal regime, i.e., in the nucleation and growth regime.

Exploring Prediabetes Pathways Using Explainable AI on Data from Electronic Medical Records.

This study leverages data from a Canadian database of primary care Electronic Medical Records to develop machine learning models predicting type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), prediabetes, or normoglycemia. These models are used as a basis for extracting counterfactual explanations and derive personalized changes in biomarkers to prevent T2D onset, particularly in the still reversible prediabetic state. The models achieve satisfactory performance.

Detecting HLA loss of heterozygosity within a standard diagnostic sequencing workflow for prognostic and therapeutic opportunities.

To enable interrogation of tumor HLA LOH as a clinical diagnostic for precision oncology, we developed and validated an assay that detects HLA LOH within the context of an FDA-approved clinical diagnostic test, Tempus xT CDx. Validation was conducted via: (1) analytical evaluation of 17 archival patient samples and 42 cell line admixtures and (2) independent clinical evaluation of LOH prevalence in the HLA-A gene (HLA-A LOH) across 10,982 patients. To evaluate the prognostic relevance of HLA-A LOH we assessed 256 immunotherapy-treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Insights into the association of H1N1 seasonality with the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil: an ecological time series analysis.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, H1N1 seasonality disappeared worldwide. In Brazil, information on how coronavirus impacted this seasonality is scarce. In this study, we aimed to verify whether COVID-19 pandemic was associated with changes in the seasonality of H1N1, modeling the time series of H1N1 between pre-pandemic (2018 and 2019), pandemic (2020 and 2021) and post-pandemic (2022 and 2023) periods.

Multi-parametric atlas of the pre-metastatic liver for prediction of metastatic outcome in early-stage pancreatic cancer.

Metastasis occurs frequently after resection of pancreatic cancer (PaC). In this study, we hypothesized that multi-parametric analysis of pre-metastatic liver biopsies would classify patients according to their metastatic risk, timing and organ site. Liver biopsies obtained during pancreatectomy from 49 patients with localized PaC and 19 control patients with non-cancerous pancreatic lesions were analyzed, combining metabolomic, tissue and single-cell transcriptomics and multiplex imaging approaches.

The Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection (PRECEDE) Study is a Global Effort to Drive Early Detection: Baseline Imaging Findings in High-Risk Individuals.

Background: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PC) is a highly lethal malignancy with a survival rate of only 12%. Surveillance is recommended for high-risk individuals (HRIs), but it is not widely adopted. To address this unmet clinical need and drive early diagnosis research, we established the Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection (PRECEDE) Consortium.

Somatic Mutational Analysis in Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Biopsy of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Assessing Yield and Impact.

Introduction: We sought to determine the yield of somatic mutational analysis from endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided biopsies of pancreatic adenocarcinoma compared with that of surgical resection and to assess the impact of these results on oncologic treatment.

Methods: We determined the yield of EUS sampling and surgical resection. We evaluated the potential impact of mutational analysis by identifying actionable mutations and its direct impact by reviewing actual treatment decisions.

Two-Channel Indirect-Gap Photoluminescence and Competition between the Conduction Band Valleys in Few-Layer MoS.

MoS is a two-dimensional layered transition metal dichalcogenide with unique electronic and optical properties. The fabrication of ultrathin MoS is vitally important, since interlayer interactions in its ultrathin varieties will become thickness-dependent, providing thickness-governed tunability and diverse applications of those properties. Unlike with a number of studies that have reported detailed information on direct bandgap emission from MoS monolayers, reliable experimental evidence for thickness-induced evolution or transformation of the indirect bandgap remains scarce.

Gallium-68-labeled fibroblast activation protein inhibitor-46 PET in patients with resectable or borderline resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: A phase 2, multicenter, single arm, open label non-randomized study protocol.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal disease prone to widespread metastatic dissemination and characterized by a desmoplastic stroma that contributes to poor outcomes. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP)-expressing Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs) are crucial components of the tumor stroma, influencing carcinogenesis, fibrosis, tumor growth, metastases, and treatment resistance. Non-invasive tools to profile CAF identity and function are essential for overcoming CAF-mediated therapy resistance, developing innovative targeted therapies, and improved patient outcomes.

Timing of soft tissue augmentation around implants: A clinical review and decision tree.

Purpose: The goal of soft tissue augmentation is to improve the volume around implants and thus achieve better aesthetic and functional properties. The present review aims to make recommendations and guide clinicians in performing soft tissue augmentation procedures, focusing on the importance of timing.

Overview: Soft tissue augmentation can be performed at different time points: before or after implant placement, at implant placement (immediate/delayed), at healing abutment connection or after final restoration.

Multi-Input Multi-Output Dynamic Modelling of Type 2 Diabetes Progression.

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D) is a chronic health condition that affects millions of people globally. Early identification of risk can support preventive intervention and therefore slow down disease progression. Risk characterization is also necessary to monitor the mechanisms behind the pathology through the analysis of the interrelationships between the predictors and their time course.

Targeting pancreatic cancer metabolic dependencies through glutamine antagonism.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells use glutamine (Gln) to support proliferation and redox balance. Early attempts to inhibit Gln metabolism using glutaminase inhibitors resulted in rapid metabolic reprogramming and therapeutic resistance. Here, we demonstrated that treating PDAC cells with a Gln antagonist, 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON), led to a metabolic crisis in vitro.

Dynamics of Nucleation in Solids: A Self-Consistent Phase Field Approach.

We derive a phase field method for computing rigorously the nucleation rate and the incubation time from the sole knowledge of the free energy of the system in the metastable regime. Our theoretical results are assessed against experimental data relative to demixing of an iron-chromium alloy. Our work clarifies the notions of nucleation rate and incubation time extensively used in classical nucleation theory (CNT) processes in solids.

Surveillance of Individuals at High Risk of Developing Pancreatic Cancer: A Prevalence Meta-analysis to Estimate the Rate of Low-yield Surgery.

Objective: To quantify the rate of low-yield surgery, defined as no high-grade dysplastic precursor lesions or T1N0M0 pancreatic cancer at pathology, during pancreatic cancer surveillance.

Background: Global efforts have been made in pancreatic cancer surveillance to anticipate the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer at an early stage and improve survival in high-risk individuals (HRIs) with a hereditary predisposition. The negative impact of pancreatic cancer surveillance when surgery is performed for low-grade dysplasia or a non-neoplastic condition is not well quantified.

A Novel Homozygous Variant in a Patient with a Glycosylphosphatidylinositol Biosynthesis Defect.

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol biosynthesis defect 15 is a rare autosomal recessive disorder due to biallelic loss of function of GPAA1. At the moment, less than twenty patients have been reported, usually compound heterozygous for GPAA1 variants. The main clinical features are intellectual disability, hypotonia, seizures, and cerebellar atrophy.

Experimental evidence associates burrowing behavior of (Bivalvia: Hyriidae) with shell shape and density.

Information on freshwater mussel behavior in the sediment is scarce worldwide, especially in the Amazon. Laboratory experiments were used to measure the responses of the single mussel species in relation to combinations of two co-occurring different morphotypes ( with an elongated shell and with a rounded shell), and three different densities (four, eight, and 16 mussels). Horizontal movements (cm) were calculated by summing changes in the position of each specimen and the shell exposure at the sediment-water interface was obtained by measuring (mm) the exposed part of the shell.

Racial, Ethnic, and Sex-based Disparities among High-risk Individuals Undergoing Pancreatic Cancer Surveillance.

Unlabelled: Since its inception two years ago, the international, multicenter Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection (PRECEDE) Consortium has enrolled high-risk individuals (HRI) undergoing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) surveillance. Herein we aim to evaluate enrollment disparities in PRECEDE. Data on HRIs enrolled between May 2020 and March 2022 were collected, with HRIs defined as participants enrolled in PRECEDE meeting guideline-based criteria for PDAC surveillance.