Associations of sociodemographic, clinical factors and HLA-B alleles with enthesitis and peripheral arthritis in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

Objectives: Factors associated with peripheral arthritis and enthesitis, especially Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis, were examined in a longitudinal cohort of 1075 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (also known as radiographic axial spondyloarthritis).

Methods: Patients were derived from the Prospective Study of Outcomes in Ankylosing Spondylitis cohort. Disease activity and functional indices, as well as physical examination and medications used, were measured at every study visit.

Policy decisions matter: Cessation of logging benefits 34 threatened species in Victoria, Australia.

In January 2024, the Australian state of Victoria committed to ending native forest logging six years ahead of schedule, a decision that has been advocated for by scientists and conservationists for decades. However, the direct benefits for threatened species from this policy change has not been quantified. This study assesses the spatial overlap between areas approved for logging and the habitats of nationally listed threatened species, to estimate the potential impacts of continued logging and the likely benefits of its cessation.

Examining the role of insight, social support, and barriers in treatment engagement in individuals diagnosed with psychotic disorders.

Treatment engagement for individuals with psychotic disorders is often low, and engagement is considered critical to improving outcomes and reducing chronicity of the illness. Lack of insight in psychosis has been associated with poor treatment engagement and is considered a core feature of psychotic disorders. One factor that may improve treatment engagement in psychosis, perhaps for individuals with low insight, is social support.

Changing epidemiology of leptospirosis in China from 1955 to 2022.

Background: Leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic species of the genus Leptospira, is an important public health concern globally. Leptospirosis has been notifiable under statute in China since 1955, and its epidemiological characteristics have evolved during near 70 years. This study aimed to describe the spatial and temporal patterns and demographic characteristics of leptospirosis from 1955 to 2022 in China, and explore the possible factors that influence leptospirosis transmission risk.

Anomaly Detection in Electronic Health Records Across Hospital Networks: Integrating Machine Learning With Graph Algorithms.

In a large hospital system, a network of hospitals relies on electronic health records (EHRs) to make informed decisions regarding their patients in various clinical domains. Consequently, the dependability of the health information technology (HIT) systems responsible for collecting EHR data is of utmost importance for patient safety. Recently novel methods and tools aimed at identifying anomalies in EHR data to bolster the reliability of HIT systems have been introduced.

Novel reporter of the PINK1-Parkin mitophagy pathway identifies its damage sensor in the import gate.

Damaged mitochondria can be cleared from the cell by mitophagy, using a pathway formed by the recessive Parkinson's disease genes PINK1 and Parkin. How mitochondrial damage is sensed by the PINK1-Parkin pathway, however, remains uncertain. Here, using a Parkin substrate-based reporter in genome-wide screens, we identified that diverse forms of mitochondrial damage converge on loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) to activate PINK1.

CHIP protects lysosomes from CLN4 mutant-induced membrane damages.

Understanding how cells mitigate lysosomal damage is critical for unraveling pathogenic mechanisms of lysosome-related diseases. Here we use organelle-specific proteomics in iPSC-derived neurons (iNeuron) and an lysosome-damaging assay to demonstrate that lysosome damage, caused by the aggregation of Ceroid Lipofuscinosis Neuronal 4 (CLN4)-linked DNAJC5 mutants on lysosomal membranes, serves as a critical pathogenic linchpin in CLN4-associated neurodegeneration. Intriguingly, in non-neuronal cells, a ubiquitin-dependent microautophagy mechanism downregulates CLN4 aggregates to counteract CLN4-associated lysotoxicity.

A unique case of herpetic keratitis manifesting as recurrent preseptal cellulitis.

Preseptal cellulitis is typically caused by nasopharyngeal bacteria and can usually be treated with empiric antibiotics. We present a case of herpes simplex virus (HSV) 1 keratitis manifesting as recurrent and treatment refractory preseptal cellulitis. This is a rare presentation that is infrequently reported in the literature.

Smoking Intensity and Mortality Across Age, Sex, and Race/Ethnicity Subgroups in the USA.

Objective: To determine whether standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for smoking vary with age, sex, and race/ethnicity differences in smoking intensity.

Methods: SMRs for current smoking were computed based on data of adult participants in the National Health Interview Surveys 2000-2003 separately by sex-age and sex-race/ethnicity subgroups. Mortality follow-up was through 2018.

Prediction models show differences in highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in Japan and South Korea compared to Europe.

Avian influenza poses substantial risks to animal welfare and public health. The recent surge in highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks has led to extensive poultry culling, highlighting the need for early warning systems. Using data on H5 HPAI virus (HPAIV) occurrence from the World Organization for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization, we employed a spatial time-series modelling framework to predict occurrences in Japan and South Korea, 2020-2024.

Novel triazoloquinazoline derivatives as VEGFR inhibitors: synthesis, cytotoxic evaluation and studies.

Background: New triazoloquinazoline derivatives were synthesized to explore their cytotoxic activity on various cancer cell lines, prompted by the need for effective anticancer agents.

Research Design And Methods: All synthesized compounds were confirmed by spectroscopic methods and tested in vitro for their inhibitory activities against hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG-2), breast cancer (MCF-7), and prostate cancer (PC3) cell lines. Ten compounds were tested to explore their inhibitory activity against the VEGFR-2.

An Asymptotic Analysis of Spike Self-Replication and Spike Nucleation of Reaction-Diffusion Patterns on Growing 1-D Domains.

In the asymptotic limit of a large diffusivity ratio, certain two-component reaction-diffusion (RD) systems can admit localized spike solutions on a one-dimensional finite domain in a far-from-equilibrium nonlinear regime. It is known that two distinct bifurcation mechanisms can occur which generate spike patterns of increased spatial complexity as the domain half-length L slowly increases; so-called spike nucleation and spike self-replication. Self-replication is found to occur via the passage beyond a saddle-node bifurcation point that can be predicted through linearization around the inner spike profile.

Implementing intranasal povidone-iodine in the orthopedic trauma surgery setting to prevent surgical site infections: a qualitative study of healthcare provider perspectives.

Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are associated with morbidity, mortality, and increased costs. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of SSIs and approximately 30% of hemodialysis patients carry this organism in their nares. Unlike mupirocin, intranasal povidone-iodine (PVI) is applied only the day of surgery to prevent surgical site infections.

The Association Between Clival Axial Angle and Distal Junctional Failure After Craniocervical Fusion.

Study Design: Retrospective Cohort.

Objectives: Craniovertebral instability can arise from various congenital or acquired conditions, but definitive management often requires craniocervical fusion. This study evaluates whether postoperative clivo-axial angle (CXA) can predict distal junctional failure in patients undergoing craniocervical fusion.

Assessing benthic invertebrate vulnerability to ocean acidification and de-oxygenation in California: The importance of effective oceanographic monitoring networks.

Greenhouse gas emissions from land-use change, fossil fuel, agriculture, transportation, and electricity sectors expose marine ecosystems to overlapping environmental stressors. Existing climate vulnerability assessment methods analyze the frequency of extreme conditions but often minimally consider how environmental data gaps hinder assessments. Here, we show an approach that assesses vulnerability and the uncertainty introduced by monitoring data gaps, using a case study of ocean acidification and deoxygenation in coastal California.

Therapeutic advantage of combinatorial chimeric antigen receptor T cell and chemotherapies.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies have transformed outcomes for many patients with hematological malignancies. However, some patients do not respond to CAR T cell treatment, and adapting CAR T cells for treatment of solid and brain tumors has been met with many challenges, including a hostile tumor microenvironment and poor CAR T cell persistence. Thus, it is unlikely that CAR T cell therapy alone will be sufficient for consistent, complete tumor clearance across patients with cancer.

colonization and surgical site infections among patients undergoing surgical fixation for acute fractures.

Objectives: To identify risk factors for methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant (MRSA) nasal carriage and surgical site infection (SSI) among patients undergoing fracture fixation procedures who were included in a quality improvement protocol involving screening patients for nasal carriage and treating carriers with intranasal mupirocin and chlorhexidine bathing.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Level 1 trauma center.

Pathogenesis and precision medicine for predicting response in inflammatory bowel disease: advances and future directions.

The pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is complex and multifactorial. Undertreated disease has substantial individual and societal consequences. Current patient classification and subsequent positioning of IBD therapy are based on crude, readily accessible clinical data.

Indocyanine Green as a Marker for Tissue Ischemia in Spinal Tumor Resections and Extended Revisions: A Technical Note.

The increasing complexity of spinal oncology procedures, particularly in en-bloc tumor resections, creates challenges in tissue perfusion assessment due to extended operative times and extensive surgical dissection. Real-time visualization of tissue perfusion can be achieved with ICG using commercially available handheld imaging systems, offering potential advantages in spinal oncology cases. This study assessed the utility of ICG in analyzing soft-tissue viability during complex spine procedures extending beyond 7.

Geographical mapping and seroprevalence of Burkholderia pseudomallei amongst livestock species in Lao People's Democratic Republic.

The Gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei causes a severe infectious disease known as melioidosis in humans and animals. It is considered endemic in tropical countries, including Thailand, Lao PDR (Laos), and Northern Australia. B.

Ultrafast Photoinduced Electron Transfer Between Donor (Eosin-Y) and Acceptor (Naphthoquinone) in a Supramolecular Array Based on a Coordination Cage Host.

An octanuclear ML coordination cage host (H ⋅ M) in aqueous solution binds neutral electron-accepting guests such as naphthoquinone (NQ) in its central cavity via the hydrophobic effect, and multiple anionic photosensitisers such as Eosin-Y (EY) around the exterior surface due to 16+ charge on the complex cation: this is confirmed by both solution titration experiments and X-ray crystallography. In the three-component assembly H ⋅ Cd/EY /NQ, photoexcitation of EY at 525 nm results in ultrafast (ca. 1 ps) photoinduced EY→NQ electron transfer from surface-bound EY to cavity-bound NQ (which have been brought into close proximity by their interactions with different sites on the host cage) to give the charge-separated pair EY⋅/NQ⋅, identified by transient absorption spectroscopy: back-ET results in charge recombination in ≈70 ps.

The estimated cost of preventing extinction and progressing recovery for Australia's priority threatened species.

The global extinction crisis is intensifying rapidly, driven by habitat loss, overexploitation, climate change, invasive species, and disease. This unprecedented loss of species not only threatens ecological integrity but also undermines ecosystem services vital for human survival. In response, many countries have set ambitious conservation targets such as halting species extinctions, yet the necessary financial commitments to achieve this are rarely prescribed.

Review Article: Albumin and Its Role in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: The Old, the New, and the Future.

Background: Circulating albumin concentrations are frequently measured in clinical practice. This review explores biochemical properties and physiological roles of albumin, its place in nutritional assessment, current understanding of perturbed circulating concentrations, and role in clinical management, with special focus on patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: A detailed literature search was performed.