Secondary metformin monotherapy failure in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Introduction: To assess secondary metformin monotherapy (MM) failure in a real-world type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) cohort.

Research Design And Methods: Using the IQVIA Electronic Medical Record (formerly GE Centricity) database, adults with T2DM who initiated MM between January 1, 2012 and June 30, 2016 and achieved glycemic control (hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) <7% (53 mmol/mol); index date) were analyzed. Secondary MM failure was defined in two ways: loss of glycemic control (HbA1c ≥7% (53 mmol/mol)) and treatment change (addition or switch of antihyperglycemic agent).

Efficacy of an optimal ovarian cancer screening: a best-case scenario study based on real-world data.

Purpose: To date, ovarian cancer screening in asymptomatic women has not shown a mortality benefit. The aim of this simulation study was to outline the impact of different histological subtypes on a potential stage-shift, achieved by screening.

Methods: Real-world data were derived in the period of 2000-2017 from the Klinischen Tumorregister Austria.

Shaping the Color and Angular Appearance of Plasmonic Metasurfaces with Tailored Disorder.

The optical properties of plasmonic nanoparticle ensembles are determined not only by the particle shape and size but also by the nanoantenna arrangement. To investigate the influence of the spatial ordering on the far-field optical properties of nanoparticle ensembles, we introduce a disorder model that encompasses both "frozen-phonon" and correlated disorder. We present experimental as well as computational approaches to gain a better understanding of the impact of disorder.

Liver Lipids of Patients with Hepatitis B and C and Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still remains a difficult to cure malignancy. In recent years, the focus has shifted to lipid metabolism for the treatment of HCC. Very little is known about hepatitis B virus (HBV) and C virus (HCV)-related hepatic lipid disturbances in non-malignant and cancer tissues.

Outcomes of Patients Who Undergo Elective Covered Stent Treatment for Coronary Artery Aneurysms.

Background: Coronary artery aneurysms (CAA) are reported in up to 5% of patients undergoing coronary angiography. Treatment of CAAs with covered stents has been reported in several case reports, however there is limited evidence available on the effectiveness and safety of this interventional practice.

Purpose: To evaluate the current practice and outcomes of elective treatment of coronary artery aneurysms with covered stents.

Nanostructure-specific X-ray tomography reveals myelin levels, integrity and axon orientations in mouse and human nervous tissue.

Myelin insulates neuronal axons and enables fast signal transmission, constituting a key component of brain development, aging and disease. Yet, myelin-specific imaging of macroscopic samples remains a challenge. Here, we exploit myelin's nanostructural periodicity, and use small-angle X-ray scattering tensor tomography (SAXS-TT) to simultaneously quantify myelin levels, nanostructural integrity and axon orientations in nervous tissue.

Implementing a Multidisciplinary Prone Positioning Team.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has escalated clinical needs while interrupting regular processes and straining resources. Striving to deliver optimal care to infected patients with respiratory failure, Rush University Medical Center in Chicago created a multidisciplinary team to provide manual prone positioning safely and efficiently. Team members' experiences, which they shared through a survey, help to illustrate the advantages of a multidisciplinary approach and suggest opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of such a team.

Smaller subcortical volumes and enlarged lateral ventricles are associated with higher global functioning in young adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome with prodromal symptoms of schizophrenia.

The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a developmental genetic syndrome associated with a 30% risk for developing schizophrenia. Lateral ventricles and subcortical structures are abnormal in this syndrome as well as in schizophrenia.

Optimizing the P balance: How do modern maize hybrids react to different starter fertilizers?

Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient for plants, but also a limited resource worldwide. Strict regulations for fertilizer applications in the European Union are a consequence of the negative environmental effects in case of improper use. Maize is typically grown with the application of P starter fertilizer, which, however, might be reduced or even omitted if suitable varieties were available.

Assessment of aversive effects of methylone in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats: Conditioned taste avoidance, body temperature and activity/stereotypies.

Methylone's rewarding effects have been well characterized; however, little is known about its aversive effects and how such effects may be impacted by sex. In this context, the present study investigated the aversive effects of methylone (vehicle, 5.6, 10 or 18 mg/kg, IP) in 35 male and 31 female Sprague-Dawley rats assessed by conditioned taste avoidance and changes in body temperature and activity/stereotypies.

The 'Third' UN: Imagining Post-COVID-19 Multilateralism.

If the United Nations system is to remain relevant, or even survive, the thinking to re-imagine and redesign contemporary global governance will come from the Third UN. This article focuses on the ecology of supportive non-state actors - intellectuals, scholars, consultants, think tanks, NGOs, the for-profit private sector, and the media - that interacts with the intergovernmental machinery of the First UN and international civil servants of the Second UN to formulate and refine ideas and decision-making in policy processes. Despite the growth in analyses of non-state actors in global governance, the 'other' or 'Third' UN is poorly understood, often ignored, and normally discounted.

Orders of magnitude loss reduction in photonic bandgap fibers by engineering the core surround.

We demonstrate how to reduce the loss in photonic bandgap fibers by orders of magnitude by varying the radius of the corner strands in the core surround. As a fundamental working principle we find that changing the corner strand radius can lead to backscattering of light into the fiber core. Selecting an optimal corner strand radius can thus reduce the loss of the fundamental core mode in a specific wavelength range by almost two orders of magnitude when compared to an unmodified cladding structure.

A tumor-promoting role for soluble TβRIII in glioblastoma.

Members of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily play a key role in the regulation of the malignant phenotype of glioblastoma by promoting invasiveness, angiogenesis, immunosuppression, and maintaining stem cell-like properties. Betaglycan, a TGF-β coreceptor also known as TGF-β receptor III (TβRIII), interacts with members of the TGF-β superfamily and acts as membrane-associated or shed molecule. Shed, soluble TβRIII (sTβRIII) is produced upon ectodomain cleavage of the membrane-bound form.

Quantitative investigation of the urinary excretion of three specific monoester metabolites of the plasticizer diisononyl adipate (DINA).

Diisononyl adipate (DINA) is a plasticizer used in PVC products as an alternative for restricted phthalate plasticizers. With this study, we provide first data on human DINA metabolism and excretion. We postulated mono(hydroxy-isononyl) adipate (OH-MINA), mono(oxo-isononyl) adipate (oxo-MINA), and mono(carboxy-isooctyl) adipate (cx-MIOA) as specific DINA metabolites based on the known human metabolism of structurally similar adipates and phthalates.

Influence of acute pain on valence rating of words.

Numerous studies showed the effect of negative affective and pain-related semantic primes enhancing the perceived intensity of successive painful stimuli. It remains unclear whether and how painful primes are able to influence semantic stimuli in a similar way. Therefore, we investigated the effects of noxious primes on the perception of the valence of subsequent semantic stimuli.

Schwann cell plasticity regulates neuroblastic tumor cell differentiation via epidermal growth factor-like protein 8.

Adult Schwann cells (SCs) possess an inherent plastic potential. This plasticity allows SCs to acquire repair-specific functions essential for peripheral nerve regeneration. Here, we investigate whether stromal SCs in benign-behaving peripheral neuroblastic tumors adopt a similar cellular state.

The fermented soy beverage Q-CAN® plus induces beneficial changes in the oral and intestinal microbiome.

Background: Soy products are associated with many beneficial health consequences, but their effects on the human intestinal microbiome are poorly characterized.

Objectives: To identify the changes in the oral and fecal microbiome in lean and obese participants due to consumption of Q-CAN®, and to assess the expected consequences of these changes based on the published literature.

Methods: Prospective study of lean (10) and obese (9) participants consuming Q-CAN® twice daily for 4 weeks with 8 weeks follow-up.

Location and Variety but Not Phosphate Starter Fertilization Influence the Profiles of Fatty Acids, Carotenoids, and Tocochromanols in Kernels of Modern Corn ( L.) Hybrids Cultivated in Germany.

Phosphate is a limiting plant nutrient and essential for corn growth and development. Thus, the impact of phosphate fertilization, location, and the variety of modern corn ( L.) hybrids on the profiles of fatty acids, carotenoids, and tocochromanols (vitamin E) was assessed in corn grains.

Practice patterns and results of tumor and germline genetic evaluation of women with endometrial cancer in south Louisiana.

The objectives were to describe rates of MMRd or MSI-H EC tumors, the prevalence of LS, the practice patterns of EC genetic evaluation and adherence to NCCN guidelines, and to identify disparities in the genetic evaluation of women with EC. A retrospective cohort study was performed on women with EC from 1/2013 to 12/2019, and information collected included demographics, personal and family history, EC diagnosis and treatment, and details of genetic evaluation. Statistical analysis included a multivariable logistic regression to adjust for all covariate effects simultaneously and Fisher exact tests of independence and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests to compare categorical and continuous covariates, respectively.