Temporal Trends of Enrollment by Sex and Race in Major Cardiovascular Randomized Clinical Trials.

Background: Women and racialized minorities continue to be underrepresented in cardiovascular (CV) trial outcomes data, despite comprising a significant global burden of CV disease. This study evaluated the impact of trial characteristics on the temporal enrollment of women and racialized minorities in prominent CV trials published in the period 1986-2023.

Methods: MEDLINE was searched for CV trials published in , the and the .

Is there a role for fibreoptic bronchoscopy in patients presenting with haemoptysis and negative CT? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Haemoptysis can be a feature of lung cancer and patients are typically fast-tracked for evaluation with chest radiography, contrast-enhanced CT and fibreoptic bronchoscopy (FOB).

Objective: We aim to explore whether FOB should be conducted as a component of the routine evaluation of non-massive haemoptysis, especially in the context of suspected lung cancer.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library were searched for studies comparing FOB with CT in the evaluation of non-massive haemoptysis while reporting at least one of the listed primary outcomes.

A Novel Report of Suspected Prostate Adenocarcinoma to Orbital Roof Meningioma Metastasis.

: Tumor-to-meningioma metastasis (TTMM) is an uncommon phenomenon, in which a primary malignant tumor metastasizes to a recipient preexisting meningioma. Herein, the authors report a case of a 74-year-old man with a known history of metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma who with frontal headache and right orbital apex syndrome. Initial CT studies demonstrated a right orbital roof osseous lesion.

Development of immunotherapy for high-grade gliomas: Overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

The preclinical and clinical development of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) tumors is advancing at a rapid pace. High-grade gliomas (HGG) are aggressive tumors with poor prognoses in both adult and pediatric patients, and innovative and effective therapies are greatly needed. The use of cytotoxic chemotherapies has marginally improved survival in some HGG patient populations.

Social Media Use by Hand Surgery Fellowship Programs.

Introduction: Social media has emerged as a useful tool in the fellowship recruitment process. We aimed to assess the prevalence of social media use among hand surgery fellowships, to analyze social media posts according to content, and to evaluate the level of engagement generated by specific content.

Methods: We used a list of accredited hand surgery fellowships from the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Fellowship Directory to identify all hand surgery fellowship profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Prediction of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events From Retinal, Clinical, and Genomic Data in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes: A Population Cohort Study.

Objective: Improved identification of individuals with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular (CV) risk could help in selection of newer CV risk-reducing therapies. The aim of this study was to determine whether retinal vascular parameters, derived from retinal screening photographs, alone and in combination with a genome-wide polygenic risk score for coronary heart disease (CHD PRS) would have independent prognostic value over traditional CV risk assessment in patients without prior CV disease.

Research Design And Methods: Patients in the Genetics of Diabetes Audit and Research Tayside Scotland (GoDARTS) study were linked to retinal photographs, prescriptions, and outcomes.

Sex, Race, and Age Differences in Cardiovascular Outcomes in Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Randomized Controlled Trials: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Data are limited regarding the use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) in diverse populations. This study explores cardiovascular (CV) outcomes and mortality from ICD randomized controlled trials (RCTs), by sex, race, and age.

Methods: Five electronic databases (PubMed, Emcare, Embase, MEDLINE, and Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature CINAHL) were searched for dates from their inception to July 12, 2021, for RCTs of ICD therapy in adult patients.

Sex, Race, and Age Differences of Cardiovascular Outcomes in Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy RCTs: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is beneficial in patients who have heart failure with reduced ejection fraction or arrhythmic events. However, most randomized controlled trials (RCTs) showing survival benefits primarily enrolled older white men. This study aims to evaluate CRT efficacy by sex, race, and age in RCTs.

Platelet-Rich Plasma Augmentation of Meniscal Repair in the Setting of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Background: The increasing incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscal injuries has led to strong interest in discovering new methods to enhance the biological healing response of these tissues. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) contains various growth factors associated with a positive healing response, but few existing clinical studies are available to determine the risks and benefits of these therapies.

Purpose: To determine the effects of intraoperative PRP on postoperative knee function and complications at 2 years after ACL reconstruction with meniscal repair.

Enhanced recovery in liver transplantation: A value-based approach to complex surgical care.

Background: Value-based healthcare focuses on improving outcomes relative to cost. We aimed to study the impact of an enhanced recovery pathway for liver transplant recipients on providing value.

Methods: In total, 379 liver recipients were identified: pre-enhanced recovery pathway (2017, n = 57) and post-enhanced recovery pathway (2018-2020, n = 322).

Outcomes of conjunctival-Müller's muscle resection surgery with and without epinephrine in local anesthetic.

Purpose: To determine the effect of epinephrine as an anesthetic adjunct on outcomes of conjunctival-Müller's muscle resection (CMMR) ptosis surgery.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients having undergone CMMR with plain local anesthetic (LA) and local anesthetic combined with epinephrine (LA+Epi). Two measures of success were investigated: margin to reflex distance 1 (MRD1) success and overall success.

YouTube as a source of patient information for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): A content-quality and audience engagement analysis.

YouTube is the second most popular website in the world and is increasingly being used as a platform for disseminating health information. Our aim was to evaluate the content-quality and audience engagement of YouTube videos pertaining to the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)-CoV-2 virus which causes the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), during the early phase of the pandemic. We chose the first 30 videos for seven different search phrases: "2019 nCoV," "SARS CoV-2," "COVID-19 virus," "coronavirus treatment," "coronavirus explained," "what is the coronavirus" and "coronavirus information.

Terminology and Etymology in Oculoplastic Surgery.

Purpose: To provide a collection of important terms in oculoplastic surgery, their etymology, current usage, and clarification of terms with overlapping or often misconstrued definitions.

Methods: Commonly employed terms in oculoplastic surgery were collected, and their etymologies were determined. The authors then examined how these terms are being currently used in the published literature to determine how closely their usage matched the origin of the terms, if any terms had developed multiple meanings, or if multiple terms were being used to describe the same concept.

Fibrin Clots Maintain the Viability and Proliferative Capacity of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells: An In Vitro Study.

Background: Augmentation of soft-tissue repairs with an autologous fibrin clot has been used clinically for nearly four decades; however, fibrin clots tend to produce an abundance of scar tissue, which is known to inhibit soft-tissue regeneration. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) embedded in fibrin clots before repair could reduce scar tissue deposition and facilitate soft-tissue regeneration. To our knowledge, no published studies have directly evaluated the viability or bioactivity of MSCs in fresh human fibrin clots over time.

Emerging Role of Vitamin D and its Associated Molecules in Pathways Related to Pathogenesis of Thrombosis.

Vitamin D, besides having an essential role in calcium and bone metabolism, also acts as a mediator of many non-calcemic effects through modulations of several biological responses. Vitamin D exists in its two major forms, vitamin D, or commonly known as ergocalciferol, and vitamin D, or commonly known as cholecalciferol. Both of these forms bind to vitamin D-binding protein to get transported to all vital target organs, where it serves as a natural ligand to vitamin D receptors for enabling their biological actions.

Impact of Head Tilt on Optical Coherence Tomography Image Orientation.

Purpose: Head tilt can have an impact on the orientation of posterior pole images. We conducted this study to determine the effect of head tilt on image orientation measured by the fovea-Bruch's membrane opening (FoBMO) angle with optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging.

Methods: The study included 56 healthy subjects with mean (range) age of 33 (18 to 61) years.

Analysis and natural history of pituitary incidentalomas.

Objectives: Pituitary incidentalomas (PI) are frequently found on brain imaging. Despite their high prevalence, little is known about their long-term natural history and there are limited guidelines on how to monitor them.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study to compare epidemiological characteristics at presentation and the natural history of PI in population-based vs referral-based registries from two tertiary-care referral centers in Canada.

Sellar Masses: An Epidemiological Study.

Background: Sellar masses (SM) are mostly benign growths of pituitary or nonpituitary origin that are increasingly encountered in clinical practice. To date, no comprehensive population-based study has reported the epidemiology of SM from North America.

Aim: To determine the epidemiology of SM in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.

Association between Pus Cells and Semen Parameters in Infertile Pakistani Males.

Objectives: This study evaluated the association between pus cells and semen parameters in infertile Pakistani males.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in the Department of Reproductive Physiology/Health, National Institute of Health, Islamabad, Pakistan, from 2004 to 2009. A total of 1,521 subjects were analysed, along with 97 proven fathers as controls.

High production of cellulose degrading endo-1,4-β-D-glucanase using bagasse as a substrate from Bacillus subtilis KIBGE HAS.

Sugarcane bagasse is a cheap carbon source for endo-1,4-β-D-glucanase production as it is easily available as by-product from sugar industries. Fermentation conditions for endo-1,4-β-D-glucanase production by Bacillus subtilis KIBGE HAS were optimized by using un-treated sugarcane bagasse for induction of endo-1,4-β-D-glucanase and it was found that 2.0 g% bagasse in fermentation medium induced maximum endo-1,4-β-D-glucanase production.

Chromosomal bacterial type II toxin-antitoxin systems.

Most prokaryotic chromosomes contain a number of toxin-antitoxin (TA) modules consisting of a pair of genes that encode 2 components, a stable toxin and its cognate labile antitoxin. TA systems are also known as addiction modules, since the cells become "addicted" to the short-lived antitoxin product (the unstable antitoxin is degraded faster than the more stable toxin) because its de novo synthesis is essential for their survival. While toxins are always proteins, antitoxins are either RNAs (type I, type III) or proteins (type II).

The chromosomal mazEF locus of Streptococcus mutans encodes a functional type II toxin-antitoxin addiction system.

Type II chromosomal toxin-antitoxin (TA) modules consist of a pair of genes that encode two components: a stable toxin and a labile antitoxin interfering with the lethal action of the toxin through protein complex formation. Bioinformatic analysis of Streptococcus mutans UA159 genome identified a pair of linked genes encoding a MazEF-like TA. Our results show that S.

Mitigation of coagulation by removing clotting factors part 2: heparin-free extracorporeal circulation in a porcine model.

A subpopulation of patients would benefit from an anticoagulation strategy during extracorporeal circulation (ECC) that does not involve systemic administration of heparin and protamine. Inhibition of coagulation by adsorption of plasma clotting factors using protamine immobilized on a Sepharose matrix (PSM) has been explored. This investigation extends previous in vitro studies and demonstrates the feasibility of heparin-free ECC.