Association Between Longitudinal Blood Pressure Trajectory and the Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease: Results From the KNOW-CKD.

[Figure: see text].

Therapeutic Development Based on the Immunopathogenic Mechanisms of Psoriasis.

Psoriasis, a complex inflammatory autoimmune skin disorder that affects 2-3% of the global population, is thought to be genetically predetermined and induced by environmental and immunological factors. In the past decades, basic and clinical studies have significantly expanded knowledge on the molecular, cellular, and immunological mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Based on these pathogenic mechanisms, the current disease model emphasizes the role of aberrant Th1 and Th17 responses.

A Co-Twin control study of fine particulate matter and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome risk factors.

The relationship between ambient fine particulate matter (PM) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) is understudied. It also remains unknown whether familial factors play a role in this relationship. In a study of 566 middle-aged twins, we examined the association of PM with MetS risk factors, measured by a MetS score as a summation of individual risk factors (range, 0 to 5).

Perceived Discrimination, Retention, and Diabetes Risk Among American Indians and Alaska Natives in a Diabetes Lifestyle Intervention.

To examine the association of perceived discrimination with participant retention and diabetes risk among American Indians and Alaska Natives. Data were drawn from the Special Diabetes Program for Indians-Diabetes Prevention Demonstration Project ( = 2553). Perceived discrimination was significantly and negatively associated with short-term and long-term retention and diabetes risk without adjusting.

Differential impact of mitigation policies and socioeconomic status on COVID-19 prevalence and social distancing in the United States.

Background: The spread of COVID-19 has highlighted the long-standing health inequalities across the U.S. as neighborhoods with fewer resources were associated with higher rates of COVID-19 transmission.

Association Between Childhood Consumption of Ultraprocessed Food and Adiposity Trajectories in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Birth Cohort.

Importance: Reports of associations between higher consumption of ultraprocessed foods (UPF) and elevated risks of obesity, noncommunicable diseases, and mortality in adults are increasing. However, associations of UPF consumption with long-term adiposity trajectories have never been investigated in children.

Objective: To assess longitudinal associations between UPF consumption and adiposity trajectories from childhood to early adulthood.

Chinese mental health workers' family-focused practices: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Mental disorders impose heavy burdens on patients' families and children. It is imperative to provide family-focused services to avoid adverse effects from mental disorders on patients' families and children. However, implementing such services requires a great deal of involvement of mental health workers.

Automated Behavioral Workplace Intervention to Prevent Weight Gain and Improve Diet: The ChooseWell 365 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Personalized interventions that leverage workplace data and environments could improve effectiveness, sustainability, and scalability of employee wellness programs.

Objective: To test an automated behavioral intervention to prevent weight gain and improve diet using employee cafeteria purchasing data.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This individual-level randomized clinical trial of a 12-month intervention with 12 months of follow-up was conducted among employees of a hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, who purchased food at on-site cafeterias that used traffic-light labels (ie, green indicates healthy; yellow, less healthy; red, unhealthy).

D. Don Inhibits the Main Proteases (M and TMPRSS2) of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection.

In late 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic emerged to severely impact the global population, creating an unprecedented need for effective treatments. This study aims to investigate the potential of D. Don (SB) as a treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection through the inhibition of the proteases playing important functions in the infection by SARS-CoV-2.

Effects of Diet and Sodium Reduction on Cardiac Injury, Strain, and Inflammation: The DASH-Sodium Trial.

Background: The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet has been determined to have beneficial effects on cardiac biomarkers. The effects of sodium reduction on cardiac biomarkers, alone or combined with the DASH diet, are unknown.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of sodium reduction and the DASH diet, alone or combined, on biomarkers of cardiac injury, strain, and inflammation.

Prognostic significance of myeloid immune cells and their spatial distribution in the colorectal cancer microenvironment.

Background: Myeloid cells represent an abundant yet heterogeneous cell population in the colorectal cancer microenvironment, and their roles remain poorly understood.

Methods: We used multiplexed immunofluorescence combined with digital image analysis to identify CD14 monocytic and CD15 granulocytic cells and to evaluate their maturity (HLA-DR and CD33), immunosuppressive potential (ARG1) and proximity to cytokeratin (KRT)-positive tumor cells in 913 colorectal carcinomas. Using covariate data of 4465 incident colorectal cancers in two prospective cohort studies, the inverse probability weighting method was used with multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models to assess cancer-specific mortality according to ordinal quartiles (Q1-Q4) of myeloid cell densities.

Segmentation of the Prostate Transition Zone and Peripheral Zone on MR Images with Deep Learning.

Purpose To develop a deep learning model to delineate the transition zone (TZ) and peripheral zone (PZ) of the prostate on MR images. Materials and Methods This retrospective study was composed of patients who underwent a multiparametric prostate MRI and an MRI/transrectal US fusion biopsy between January 2013 and May 2016. A board-certified abdominal radiologist manually segmented the prostate, TZ, and PZ on the entire data set.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 before and after symptom onset: impact of nonpharmaceutical interventions in China.

Nonpharmaceutical interventions, such as contact tracing and quarantine, have been the primary means of controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2; however, it remains uncertain which interventions are most effective at reducing transmission at the population level. Using serial interval data from before and after the rollout of nonpharmaceutical interventions in China, we estimate that the relative frequency of presymptomatic transmission increased from 34% before the rollout to 71% afterward. The shift toward earlier transmission indicates a disproportionate reduction in transmission post-symptom onset.

Increased Risk of Congestive Heart Failure Following Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.

Background: Carbon monoxide poisoning (COP) is an important public health issue around the world. It may increase the risk of myocardial injury, but the association between COP and congestive heart failure (CHF) remains unclear. We conducted a study incorporating data from epidemiological and animal studies to clarify this issue.

SC5005 dissipates the membrane potential to kill Staphylococcus aureus persisters without detectable resistance.

Objectives: In the past few decades, multiple-antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has emerged and quickly spread in hospitals and communities worldwide. Additionally, the formation of antibiotic-tolerant persisters and biofilms further reduces treatment efficacy. Previously, we identified a sorafenib derivative, SC5005, with bactericidal activity against MRSA in vitro and in vivo.

The Evolving Epidemiology of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Background: The epidemiology of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has long been a source of fascination due to the malignancy's striking geographic distribution, the involvement of the oncogenic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the unique association with intake of Chinese-style salt-preserved fish, and etiologic heterogeneity by histologic subtype.

Methods: This review summarizes the current epidemiologic literature on NPC, highlighting recent results from our population-based case-control study in southern China.

Results: Findings from our case-control study provide new insight into the epidemiology of NPC, including a diminished role of Chinese-style salt-preserved fish, a profound impact of EBV genetic sequence variation, modest positive associations with passive smoking and household air pollution, and possible effects of oral health and the oral microbiome.

Association between Lipid Profiles and the Incidence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Background And Aims: Altered lipid metabolism has been implicated in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study investigated the relationships between lipid profiles and HCC development.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance Service from 2009 to 2017.

Simple Sugar and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake During Adolescence and Risk of Colorectal Cancer Precursors.

Background & Aims: Recent increasing trends in early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC) strongly supports that early-life diet is involved in CRC development. However, data are lacking on the relationship with high sugar intake during early life.

Methods: We prospectively investigated the association of adolescent simple sugar (fructose, glucose, added sugar, total sugar) and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake with CRC precursor risk in 33,106 participants of the Nurses' Health Study II who provided adolescent dietary information in 1998 and subsequently underwent lower gastrointestinal endoscopy between 1999 and 2015.

Progressive immune dysfunction with advancing disease stage in renal cell carcinoma.

The tumor immune microenvironment plays a critical role in cancer progression and response to immunotherapy in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), yet the composition and phenotypic states of immune cells in this tumor are incompletely characterized. We performed single-cell RNA and T cell receptor sequencing on 164,722 individual cells from tumor and adjacent non-tumor tissue in patients with ccRCC across disease stages: early, locally advanced, and advanced/metastatic. Terminally exhausted CD8 T cells were enriched in metastatic disease and were restricted in T cell receptor diversity.

Comparison of Immunogenicity and Safety between a Single Dose and One Booster Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccination in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A 20-Week, Open-Label Trial.

Background: Non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD-ND) patients are recommended to receive a one-dose influenza vaccination annually. However, studies investigating vaccine efficacy in the CKD-ND population are still lacking. In this study, we aimed to evaluate vaccine efficacy between the one-dose and two-dose regimen and among patients with different stages of CKD throughout a 20-week follow-up period.

Accuracy and comparison of two rapid multiplex PCR tests for gastroenteritis pathogens: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: The primary aim is to provide a summary of evidence for the diagnostic accuracies of multiplex PCR gastrointestinal (GI) panels-BioFire FilmArray and Luminex xTAG on the detection of gastroenteritis pathogens. The secondary aim is to compare the performance of these GI panels head to head.

Methods: A comprehensive search up to 1 December 2019 was conducted on PubMed, Embase, Ovid Medline and Web of Science for studies that used FilmArray or Luminex xTAG Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel (GPP) for diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis.

Sexual Assault and Carotid Plaque Among Midlife Women.

Background Sexual assault is a risk factor for poor mental health, yet its relationship to cardiovascular disease risk is not understood. We tested whether women with a sexual assault history had greater carotid atherosclerosis levels and progression over midlife. Methods and Results A total of 169 non-smoking, cardiovascular disease-free women aged 40 to 60 years were assessed twice over 5 years.