Association of Care Fragmentation and Hospital Cancer Designation with Survival in Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer: A State-Wide Study.

Background: Fragmentation of care (FC) is healthcare provided by different providers and/or facilities. FC has been associated with inferior outcomes, yet it improves access to specialized cancer care. We aim to identify the association of fragmented gastroesophageal junction cancer (GEJ) care with survival.

Single immunization with genetically attenuated Pf∆mei2 (GA2) parasites by mosquito bite in controlled human malaria infection: a placebo-controlled randomized trial.

Malaria vaccines consisting of metabolically active Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) sporozoites can offer improved protection compared with currently deployed subunit vaccines. In a previous study, we demonstrated the superior protective efficacy of a three-dose regimen of late-arresting genetically attenuated parasites administered by mosquito bite (GA2-MB) compared with early-arresting counterparts (GA1-MB) against a homologous controlled human malaria infection. Encouraged by these results, we explored the potency of a single GA2-MB immunization in a placebo-controlled randomized trial.

A handheld fiber-optic tissue sensing device for spine surgery.

The demographic shift has increased the demand for surgical interventions to address age-related degenerative diseases, such as spinal fusion. Accurate placement of pedicle screws, crucial for successful spinal fusion, varies widely with physician experience. Integrating tissue sensing into spine surgical instruments allows intraoperative examination of tissue properties, providing surgeons with additional information to prevent screw misplacement.

Biochemical, Radiographic, or Pathologic Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Resected Pancreatic Cancer: Which is Best?

Objective: To examine the optimal method of assessing response to neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) in operable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients.

Summary Of Background Data: PDAC response to NAT is measured with biochemical, radiographic and pathologic parameters, which can often be discordant with each other.

Methods: PDAC patients undergoing resection after NAT at a single institution were retrospectively analyzed.

Insect Lipid Metabolism in the Presence of Symbiotic and Pathogenic Viruses and Bacteria.

Insects, like most animals, have intimate interactions with microorganisms that can influence the insect host's lipid metabolism. In this chapter, we describe what is known so far about the role prokaryotic microorganisms play in insect lipid metabolism. We start exploring microbe-insect lipid interactions focusing on endosymbionts, and more specifically the gut microbiota that has been predominantly studied in Drosophila melanogaster.

Machine Learning Methods to Personalize Persuasive Strategies in mHealth Interventions That Promote Physical Activity: Scoping Review and Categorization Overview.

Background: Although physical activity (PA) has positive effects on health and well-being, physical inactivity is a worldwide problem. Mobile health interventions have been shown to be effective in promoting PA. Personalizing persuasive strategies improves intervention success and can be conducted using machine learning (ML).

Distal Pancreatectomy with and without Celiac Axis Resection for Adenocarcinoma: A Comparison in the Era of Neoadjuvant Therapy.

Background: Distal pancreatectomy with celiac axis resection (DP-CAR) has been used for selected patients with pancreatic cancer infiltrating the celiac axis. We compared the short- and long-term outcomes between DP-CAR and distal pancreatectomy alone (DP) in patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy.

Methods: Patients undergoing DP-CAR from 2013 to 2022 were retrospectively reviewed.

Cholangiocarcinoma.

Management of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma relies on a thorough understanding of the tumor's location and proximity to critical vasculobiliary structures. Mid-common bile duct tumors may require hemihepatectomy or pancreatoduodenectomy based on the status of the intraoperative frozen section. Distal common bile tumors are treated with pancreatoduodenectomy.

Dissemination and outcome reporting bias in clinical malaria intervention trials: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Dissemination and outcome reporting biases are a significant problem in clinical research, with far-reaching implications for both scientific understanding and clinical decision-making. This study investigates the prevalence of dissemination- and outcome reporting biases in registered interventional malaria research.

Methods: All malaria interventional trials registered on ClinicalTrials.

Spatial analysis reveals targetable macrophage-mediated mechanisms of immune evasion in hepatocellular carcinoma minimal residual disease.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) frequently recurs from minimal residual disease (MRD), which persists after therapy. Here, we identified mechanisms of persistence of residual tumor cells using post-chemoembolization human HCC (n = 108 patients, 1.07 million cells) and a transgenic mouse model of MRD.

The Short Physical Performance Battery does not correlate with daily life gait quality and quantity in community-dwelling older adults with an increased fall risk.

Background: Both the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and daily life gait quality and quantity obtained from wearable sensors are used to measure functional status in older adults. It is generally assumed that they are interrelated and exchangeable, but this has not yet been established. Interchangeability of these measures would pave the way for remote monitoring of functional status.

What's Behind it all: A Retrospective Cohort Study of Retrogastric Pancreatic Necrosis Management.

Objective: To compare outcomes of laparoscopic transgastric necrosectomy (LTN) and direct endoscopic necrosectomy (DEN) in the management of retrogastric walled-off necrosis.

Summary Of Background Data: Surgical and endoscopic transgastric approaches are used to manage retrogastric pancreatic necrosis. Studies comparing these treatment modalities are lacking but would influence contemporary practice patterns.

The role of biomolecular condensates in protein aggregation.

There is an increasing amount of evidence that biomolecular condensates are linked to neurodegenerative diseases associated with protein aggregation, such as Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, although the mechanisms underlying this link remain elusive. In this Review, we summarize the possible connections between condensates and protein aggregation. We consider both liquid-to-solid transitions of phase-separated proteins and the partitioning of proteins into host condensates.

JAK inhibition with tofacitinib rapidly increases contractile force in human skeletal muscle.

Reduction in muscle contractile force associated with many clinical conditions incurs serious morbidity and increased mortality. Here, we report the first evidence that JAK inhibition impacts contractile force in normal human muscle. Muscle biopsies were taken from patients who were randomized to receive tofacitinib (n = 16) or placebo (n = 17) for 48 h.

Revascularization techniques for complete portomesenteric venous occlusion in patients undergoing pancreatic resection.

Introduction: Pancreatic pathologies causing portomesenteric occlusion complicate extirpative pancreatic resection due to portomesenteric hypertension and collateral venous drainage.

Methods: Patients with portomesenteric occlusion undergoing pancreatectomy were identified between 2007 and 2020 at Stanford University Hospital. Demographic and clinical data, technique and perioperative factors, and post-operative outcomes were analyzed.

In Vivo Genomic Supercoiling Mapping Using Psora-seq.

Supercoiling is a fundamental property of DNA that governs all strand opening reactions, including DNA replication, transcription, and homologous recombination. However, traditional genomic supercoiling assays are difficult and lack sensitivity. Building on prior assays using the DNA intercalator psoralen, we developed a supercoil mapping assay that is robust and sensitive to a wide range of supercoiling while requiring only commercially available reagents and common laboratory equipment.

Bet-hedging in parasitoids: when optimization is not the best strategy to cope with climatic extremes.

Bet-hedging occurs when unreliable environments select for genotypes exhibiting a lower variance in fitness at the cost of a lower mean fitness for each batch of progeny. This means that at the level of the genotype, the production of mostly non-optimal phenotypes may be favored when at least some phenotypes are successful. As extreme unreliable climatic events are increasing because of climate change, it is pertinent to investigate the potential of bet-hedging strategies that allow insects to cope with climate change.

The Potential Clinical Benefits of Direct Surgical Transgastric Pancreatic Necrosectomy for Patients With Infected Necrotizing Pancreatitis.

Objective: Surgical transgastric pancreatic necrosectomy (STGN) has the potential to overcome the shortcomings (ie, repeat interventions, prolonged hospitalization) of the step-up approach for infected necrotizing pancreatitis. We aimed to determine the outcomes of STGN for infected necrotizing pancreatitis.

Materials And Methods: This observational cohort study included adult patients who underwent STGN for infected necrosis at two centers from 2008 to 2022.

Lipid Metabolism in Parasitoids and Parasitized Hosts.

Parasitoids have an exceptional lifestyle where juvenile development is spent on or in a single host insect, but the adults are free-living. Unlike parasites, parasitoids kill the host. How parasitoids use such a limiting resource, particularly lipids, can affect chances to survive and reproduce.

Evaluating the categorisation of interventions in individual working practice aimed at preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders: An international experts consultation.

In a previous scoping review, eight categories of interventions in individual work practice were defined. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the relevance and completeness of these eight categories and to increase the clarity of the nomenclature and definitions of each category. An international expert consultation has been carried out for this purpose.

How Droplets Can Accelerate Reactions─Coacervate Protocells as Catalytic Microcompartments.

ConspectusCoacervates are droplets formed by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and are often used as model protocells-primitive cell-like compartments that could have aided the emergence of life. Their continued presence as membraneless organelles in modern cells gives further credit to their relevance. The local physicochemical environment inside coacervates is distinctly different from the surrounding dilute solution and offers an interesting microenvironment for prebiotic reactions.