Predicting severe COVID-19 using readily available admission indicators: SpO2/FiO2 ratio, comorbidity index, and gender.

The focus of this study was to identify risk factors for severe and critical COVID-19, evaluate local respiratory immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and develop a prognostic tool for COVID-19 severity using accessible early indicators. Using nasopharyngeal swab samples from hospitalized patients with COVID-19 of varying severity during the first wave of the pandemic from March to May 2020 in Louisiana, we evaluated the association between COVID-19 severity and viral load, respiratory immune mediators, and demographic/clinical factors. We found that the SpO/FiO ratio at triage, total comorbidity burden (represented by Charlson Comorbidity Index), and gender were significantly associated with COVID-19 severity.

Missouri's Overdose Field Report: descriptive analysis, survival trends, and naloxone dosing patterns from a community-based survey tool, 2018-2022.

Missouri's Overdose Field Report (ODFR) is a community-based reporting system which intends to capture overdoses which may not be otherwise recorded. Describe the factors related to non-fatal overdoses reported to Missouri's ODFR. This study used a descriptive epidemiological approach to examine the demographics and circumstances of overdoses reported to the ODFR.

Characterization of Immune Infiltrate Along the Leading Edge of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer.

: Although the impact of tumor-immune infiltrate has been reported on differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) behavior, the expression of immune checkpoints [programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1)] alone has not been able to predict response to immunotherapies. We aimed to identify tumor-infiltrating immune cells and checkpoints associated with DTC. : We performed multiplex immunofluorescence on deparaffinized thyroid tissue collected at thyroidectomy from 17 adults with DTC to characterize the tumor immune microenvironment for leukocytes (CD45+), T cells (CD3+), T regulatory cells (Tregs) (CD3+FOXP3+), CD4 T cells (CD3+CD4), CD8+ T cells (CD3+CD8+), macrophages (CD68+), M2 macrophages (CD68+CD163+), M1 Macrophages (CD68+ inducible nitric oxide synthase [iNOS]+), and immune checkpoints PD-1 and PD-L1.

An evaluation of first responders' intention to refer to post-overdose services following SHIELD training.

Background: First responders [law enforcement officers (LEO) and Fire/Emergency Medical Services (EMS)] can play a vital prevention role, connecting overdose survivors to treatment and recovery services. This study was conducted to examine the effect of occupational safety and harm reduction training on first responders' intention to refer overdose survivors to treatment, syringe service, naloxone distribution, social support, and care-coordination services, and whether those intentions differed by first responder profession.

Methods: First responders in Missouri were trained using the Safety and Health Integration in the Enforcement of Laws on Drugs (SHIELD) model.

An intravenous pancreatic cancer therapeutic: Characterization of CRISPR/Cas9n-modified Clostridium novyi-Non Toxic.

Clostridium novyi has demonstrated selective efficacy against solid tumors largely due to the microenvironment contained within dense tumor cores. The core of a solid tumor is typically hypoxic, acidic, and necrotic-impeding the penetration of current therapeutics. C.

National Development and Implementation of a Democratized Disruptive Behavior Reporting System in Health Care.

Introduction: Workplace disruptive behavior/ violence (WDBV) is underreported in health care. This study evaluated a 7-year implementation of the Disruptive Behavior Reporting System (DBRS), the most robust consolidated WDBV reporting system developed in the United States within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Methods: After implementation of the system, implementation success was measured in real time by number of reports, types of staff entering reports, time to review the reports and time between when the incident occurred and report entry.

Scholars180: An effective oral presentation assessment for optometry students.

Oral presentation assessments are multifunctional tools that can potentially test all six cognitive domains of Bloom's taxonomy. Yet, they are not used as frequently as other forms of assessment in curriculums due to time limitations. Hence, designing effective oral presentation assessments that can overcome this is required.

Evaluation of Achilles Tendon Stiffness as Measured by Shear Wave Elastography in Female College Athletes Compared With Nonathletes.

Background: We sought to utilize a noninvasive technology to assess the effects of activity on Achilles tendon stiffness and define baseline Achilles tendon stiffness in female college athletes compared with nonathletes using tendon shear wave velocity as a marker for tendon stiffness.

Hypothesis: Training status and exercise may affect Achilles tendon stiffness.

Level Of Evidence: Level 4.

What has single-cell transcriptomics taught us about long non-coding RNAs in the ventricular-subventricular zone?

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) function is mediated by the process of transcription or through transcript-dependent associations with proteins or nucleic acids to control gene regulatory networks. Many lncRNAs are transcribed in the ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ), a postnatal neural stem cell niche. lncRNAs in the V-SVZ are implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders, cancer, and brain disease, but their functions are poorly understood.

Palliative care reduces emergency room visits and total hospital days among patients with metastatic HPB and GI cancers.

Palliative care services (PCS) have improved quality of life for patients across various cancer subtypes. Minimal data exists regarding PCSfor metastatic hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. We assessed the impact of PCS on emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and survival among these patients.

A Comparison of Shift Length and Nursing and Quality Outcomes in Acute Inpatient Mental Health Units.

Objective: This study compared outcomes between units that used either 8-hour or 12-hour shifts in acute inpatient mental health units.

Background: Most hospitals continue to use 12-hour shifts despite research suggesting safety concerns with longer shifts. There is a gap in the literature on effects of shift lengths on nursing and patient outcomes in acute mental health units.

Chromatin interaction maps identify Wnt responsive cis-regulatory elements coordinating Paupar-Pax6 expression in neuronal cells.

Central nervous system-expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are often located in the genome close to protein coding genes involved in transcriptional control. Such lncRNA-protein coding gene pairs are frequently temporally and spatially co-expressed in the nervous system and are predicted to act together to regulate neuronal development and function. Although some of these lncRNAs also bind and modulate the activity of the encoded transcription factors, the regulatory mechanisms controlling co-expression of neighbouring lncRNA-protein coding genes remain unclear.

Machine learning analyses of highly-multiplexed immunofluorescence identifies distinct tumor and stromal cell populations in primary pancreatic tumors.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a formidable challenge for patients and clinicians.

Objective: To analyze the distribution of 31 different markers in tumor and stromal portions of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and identify immune cell populations to better understand how neoplastic, non-malignant structural, and immune cells, diversify the TME and influence PDAC progression.

Methods: Whole slide imaging (WSI) and cyclic multiplexed-immunofluorescence (MxIF) was used to collect 31 different markers over the course of nine distinctive imaging series of human PDAC samples.

IgE-Based Therapeutic Combination Enhances Antitumor Response in Preclinical Models of Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) represents 3% of all cancer cases and 7% of all cancer deaths in the United States. Late diagnosis and inadequate response to standard chemotherapies contribute to an unfavorable prognosis and an overall 5-year survival rate of less than 10% in PDAC. Despite recent advances in tumor immunology, tumor-induced immunosuppression attenuates the immunotherapy response in PDAC.

Impact of STAR-VA on Staff Injury and Disruptive Behavior Reports in VA Nursing Homes.

Objectives: Workplace disruptive behavior incidents can be costly for organizations, employees, and customers. Persons with dementia living in long-term care settings have a high risk of exhibiting distressed behaviors. We examined whether a resident-centered, behavioral intervention for residents with dementia led to a reduction in reported workplace disruptive behaviors and staff injury rate due to assault.

Exploring physiotherapy practice within hospital-based interprofessional chronic pain clinics in Ontario.

: Chronic pain affects one in five persons and is a leading contributor to years lived with disability and high health care costs. In 2016, the government of Ontario increased public funding for pediatric and adult hospital-based interprofessional chronic pain clinics (HICPCs) in Ontario, Canada, expanding the role of physiotherapy in chronic pain management in the province. This role has yet to be described in the literature.

Effect of Augmentative Technology on Communication and Quality of Life After Tracheostomy or Total Laryngectomy.

Objective: Surgical procedures that render patients acutely aphonic can cause them to experience significant anxiety and distress. We queried patient perceptions after tracheostomy or laryngectomy and investigated whether introducing augmentative technology was associated with improvement in patient-reported outcomes.

Methods: Participants included hospitalized patients who acutely lost the ability to speak due to tracheostomy or total laryngectomy from April 2018 to December 2019.

SCIRT lncRNA Restrains Tumorigenesis by Opposing Transcriptional Programs of Tumor-Initiating Cells.

In many tumors, cells transition reversibly between slow-proliferating tumor-initiating cells (TIC) and their differentiated, faster-growing progeny. Yet, how transcriptional regulation of cell-cycle and self-renewal genes is orchestrated during these conversions remains unclear. In this study, we show that as breast TIC form, a decrease in cell-cycle gene expression and increase in self-renewal gene expression are coregulated by SOX2 and EZH2, which colocalize at CpG islands.

Squamous trans-differentiation of pancreatic cancer cells promotes stromal inflammation.

A highly aggressive subset of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas undergo trans-differentiation into the squamous lineage during disease progression. Here, we investigated whether squamous trans-differentiation of human and mouse pancreatic cancer cells can influence the phenotype of non-neoplastic cells in the tumor microenvironment. Conditioned media experiments revealed that squamous pancreatic cancer cells secrete factors that recruit neutrophils and convert pancreatic stellate cells into cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) that express inflammatory cytokines at high levels.

Efficacy of Dairy Free Diet and 6-Food Elimination Diet as Initial Therapy for Pediatric Eosinophilic Esophagitis: A Retrospective Single-Center Study.

Purpose: Management of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) varies from center to center. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a dairy-free diet (DFD) and the 6-Food Elimination Diet (SFED) as initial therapies for the treatment of EoE in our practice.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of children who had been treated for EoE at Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT, USA.

The MITF-SOX10 regulated long non-coding RNA DIRC3 is a melanoma tumour suppressor.

The MITF and SOX10 transcription factors regulate the expression of genes important for melanoma proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Despite growing evidence of the contribution of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancer, including melanoma, their functions within MITF-SOX10 transcriptional programmes remain poorly investigated. Here we identify 245 candidate melanoma associated lncRNAs whose loci are co-occupied by MITF-SOX10 and that are enriched at active enhancer-like regions.

Testing an Age-old Adage: Can Autopsy Findings be of Assistance in Differentiating Opioid Versus Cardiac Deaths?

Given the common occurrence of both opioid and cardiovascular deaths, and the concomitant use of opioids in those with cardiac disease, the present study was undertaken to see whether the old adage of using the triad of cerebral and pulmonary edema and bladder fullness to suggest an opioid death could be used to differentiate deaths due to opioid toxicity from deaths due to cardiac disease. Brain weight, lung weight, and bladder fullness were compared among opioid-related deaths, cardiac deaths, and a control population. It was found that opioid-related deaths were more likely to have heavy lungs, a heavy brain, and a full bladder, while cardiac-related deaths had smaller volumes of urine in the bladder and heavier hearts.

Organ Weight Reference Ranges for Ages 0 to 12 Years.

Abnormal organ weights often serve as an indicator of underlying disease or other pathological process making assessment of organ weight a critical part of the autopsy examination and interpretation. Unfortunately, normal organ weights for children are often based on studies done in the 1930s and 1960s. Thus, the present study was designed to accurately assess organ weights in children to establish reference ranges for use in autopsy examinations.

A simple fluorescent assay for the discovery of protein-protein interaction inhibitors.

Due to the therapeutic potential of targeting protein-protein interactions (PPIs) there is a need for easily executed assays to perform high throughput screening (HTS) of inhibitors. We have developed and optimized an innovative and robust fluorescence-based assay for detecting PPI inhibitors, called FluorIA (Fluorescence-based protein-protein Interaction Assay). Targeting the PPI of RAD52 with replication protein A (RPA) was used as an example, and the FluorIA protocol design, optimization and successful application to HTS of large chemical libraries are described.