PTEN-Long inhibits the biological behaviors of glioma cells.

Objectives: PTEN-Long is a translational variant of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN). This study aimed to assess the effect of PTEN-Long on the biological characteristics of glioma cells and related mechanisms.

Methods: A vector stably expressing PTEN-Long was established and transfected into cells, serving as the overexpression group, while a set of empty vectors served as the negative control group.

Correlation between bilateral GFR in patients with localized renal cancer after partial nephrectomy.

Objective: To explore the relationship between the residual glomerular filtration rate (GFR) on the operated side and the GFR on the contralateral side following partial nephrectomy (PN) in patients with localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Materials And Methods: Following institutional review board approval, we conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical records from May 2018 to July 2023, involving 118 patients who underwent partial nephrectomy for unilateral localized kidney tumors (T1-T2). Glomerular filtration rate data were assessed using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography imaging [using 9mTc-DTPA (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid) renal dynamic imaging].

Effects of Pictorial Health Warning Labels on Intention to Quit Waterpipe in Lebanon: A Mediation Analysis.

Introduction: Pictorial health warning labels (HWLs) on waterpipe (WP) tobacco packages represent a better strategy for communicating the health risks associated with WP use and promoting quit intention than text-only. However, the mechanism by which these warnings lead to higher intentions to quit remains unknown.

Aims And Methods: This study explores how pictorial warnings versus text-only induces higher quit intention among a sample of young adult WP smokers in Lebanon.

A novel coagulation-related lncRNA predicts the prognosis and immune of clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell cancer is associated with the coagulation system. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression is closely associated with the development of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). The aim of this study was to build a novel lncRNA model to predict the prognosis and immunological state of ccRCC.

Development of a Tissue Oxygenation Flow-Based Index Toward Discerning the Healing Status in Diabetic Foot Ulcers.

The objective of this study is to characterize breath-hold (BH)-induced oxygenation changes in diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and develop an oxygenation flow index (OFI) to discern nonhealing from healing DFUs. The imaging approach utilizes an innovative BH stimulus that induces vasoconstriction and measures for altering oxygenation flow in and around the tissues of DFUs and controls. The modified Beer-Lambert law was utilized to calculate hemoglobin-based spatiotemporal oxygenation maps in terms of oxygen saturation.

Unpacking Inequities in ADHD Diagnosis: Examining Individual-Level Race/Ethnicity and State-Level Online Information-Seeking Patterns.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent, persistent, and costly mental health condition. The internet is an increasingly popular source for information related to ADHD. With a nationally representative sample (2018 NSCH), we aimed to separate individual- and state-level effects to examine inequities in ADHD diagnoses.

FDC-SP as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker and modulates immune infiltrates in renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), one of the top 10 causes of cancer death, is responsible for more than 90% of all cases of primary renal cancer worldwide. Follicular dendritic cell-secreted protein (FDC-SP) specifically binds to activated B cells and regulates the generation of antibodies. It is also thought to promote cancer cell invasion and migration, which could help with tumor metastases.

Assessment of Tissue Oxygenation and Radiation Dermatitis Pre-, During, and Post-Radiation Therapy in Breast Cancer Patients.

Over 95% of breast cancer patients treated with radiation therapy (RT) undergo an adverse skin reaction known as radiation dermatitis (RD). Assessment of severity or grading of RD is clinically visual and hence subjective. Our objective is to determine sub-clinical tissue oxygenation (oxygen saturation) changes in response to RT in breast cancer patients using near-infrared spectroscopic imaging and correlate these changes to RD grading.

Impact of pictorial health warning labels on smoking beliefs and perceptions among waterpipe smokers: an online randomised cross-over experimental study.

Purpose: Waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) has substantially increased among young people in Lebanon, who perceive WTS as safer than cigarettes. Health warning labels (HWLs) can inform the adverse effects associated with smoking. Thus, their application to waterpipe offers a favourable policy to limit WTS epidemic.

Novel Insights into Young Adults' Perceived Effectiveness of Waterpipe Tobacco-Specific Pictorial Health Warning Labels in Lebanon: Implications for Tobacco Control Policy.

This study aims to explore the perceived effectiveness of waterpipe (WP) tobacco specific health warning labels (HWLs) among young adult WP smokers and nonsmokers in Lebanon. Before participating in focus group discussions, participants ( = 66; WP smokers = 30; nonsmokers = 36; age 18-33) completed a brief survey to rate the effectiveness of 12 HWLs' and rank them according to four risk themes (WP health effects, WP harm to others, WP-specific harm, and WP harm compared to cigarettes). Differences in HWLs ratings by WP smoking status were examined and the top-ranked HWL in each theme were identified.

Tissue Oxygenation Measurements to Aid Scalpel Debridement Removal in Patients With Diabetes.

Background: Callus formation in the diabetic foot increases the risk of ulcer onset. It is standard procedure to remove these dead tissue layers to reduce rising pressures. In a surgical procedure known as scalpel debridement, or chiropody the callus tissue is removed up to the epidermal layer.

CircRNA PIP5K1A promotes the progression of glioma through upregulation of the TCF12/PI3K/AKT pathway by sponging miR-515-5p.

Background: Increasing studies have revealed that circular RNAs (CircRNAs) make great contributions to regulating tumor progression. Therefore, we intended to explore the expression characteristics, function, and related mechanisms of a novel type of circRNA, PIP5K1A, in glioma.

Methods: Firstly, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was carried out to examine CircPIP5K1A expression in glioma tissues and adjacent normal tissues, and the correlation between CircPIP5K1A level and the clinical-pathological indicators of glioma was analyzed.

Assessing Hair Decontamination Protocols for Diazepam, Heroin, Cocaine and Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol by Statistical Design of Experiments.

Prior to toxicological analysis, hair as a matrix requires pre-treatment measures including decontamination, homogenization and extraction. Decontamination is performed to differentiate between drug present from superficial deposition and drug incorporated from systemic distribution following ingestion. There are many methods for decontamination of hair samples, mostly developed by empirically using a traditional "one factor at a time" approach, in which one independent variable at a time is changed to observe the effect on the dependent variable.

Breath-Hold Paradigm to Assess Variations in Oxygen Flow in Diabetic Foot Ulcers Using a Noncontact Near-Infrared Optical Scanner.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) occur in almost 25% of all patients with diabetes in their lifetime, with oxygen being the key limiting factor in healing. Identifying regions of compromised oxygenated flow can help clinicians cater the wound treatment process, possibly reducing wound healing time. Herein, a handheld, noncontact near-infrared optical scanner (NIROS) was developed and used to measure temporal changes in hemoglobin concentrations in response to a breath-hold (BH) paradigm.

Parental-perceived neighborhood characteristics and adolescent depressive symptoms: A multilevel moderation analysis.

Aims: This study examines the moderating role of parental neighborhood perceptions on the relationship between neighborhood structural disadvantage and adolescent depressive symptoms.

Methods: Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) consisting of 12,105 adolescents and their parents were used.

Results: Mixed effects multilevel modeling revealed that parental-perceived neighborhood disorder was associated with higher levels of adolescent depressive symptoms (β = .

Perceived neighborhood social cohesion moderates the relationship between neighborhood structural disadvantage and adolescent depressive symptoms.

There is a dearth of research exploring the moderating role of the social environment on neighborhood structural disadvantage and depressive symptoms, particularly among adolescents. Therefore, we examined if adolescent perceptions of neighborhood social cohesion and safety moderated the association between neighborhood structural disadvantage and adolescent depressive symptoms. This cross-sectional study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health).

Delphi study among international expert panel to develop waterpipe-specific health warning labels.

Background: Waterpipe (WP) smoking is increasing globally. The rise of WP has been fuelled by widespread misperception of reduced-harm compared to cigarettes. Health warning labels (HWLs) are one strategy to communicate smoking-related risks and address reduced-harm misperceptions.

Estimation of bicycle crash modification factors (CMFs) on urban facilities using zero inflated negative binomial models.

The objective of this study was to develop crash modification factors (CMFs) for bicycle crashes for different roadway segment and intersection facility types in urban areas. The study used four years (2011-2014) of crash data from Florida to quantify the safety impacts of roadway and traffic characteristics, bicycle infrastructure, and bicycle activity data on bicycle crashes. A cross-sectional analysis using Generalized Linear Model (GLM) approach with Zero Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) distribution was adopted to develop the relevant regression models in this study.

DNA methylation assay based on pyrosequencing for determination of smoking status.

The goal of this study was to utilize pyrosequencing to identify CpG sites indicative of tobacco smoking using DNA sequences surrounding ten frequently reported smoking-related CpGs. Initially, six genetic loci were investigated including AHRR, 2q37, 6p21.33, GFI1, F2RL3, and MYO1G in order to detect novel CpG sites associated with tobacco smoking.

Model Selection and Estimation with Quantal-Response Data in Benchmark Risk Assessment.

This article describes several approaches for estimating the benchmark dose (BMD) in a risk assessment study with quantal dose-response data and when there are competing model classes for the dose-response function. Strategies involving a two-step approach, a model-averaging approach, a focused-inference approach, and a nonparametric approach based on a PAVA-based estimator of the dose-response function are described and compared. Attention is raised to the perils involved in data "double-dipping" and the need to adjust for the model-selection stage in the estimation procedure.

Pre-existing and Postoperative Intimal Hyperplasia and Arteriovenous Fistula Outcomes.

Background: The contribution of intimal hyperplasia (IH) to arteriovenous fistula (AVF) failure is uncertain. This observational study assessed the relationship between pre-existing, postoperative, and change in IH over time and AVF outcomes.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study with longitudinal assessment of IH at the time of AVF creation (pre-existing) and transposition (postoperative).

Classes of Multiple Decision Functions Strongly Controlling FWER and FDR.

Two general classes of multiple decision functions, where each member of the first class strongly controls the family-wise error rate (FWER), while each member of the second class strongly controls the false discovery rate (FDR), are described. These classes offer the possibility that optimal multiple decision functions with respect to a pre-specified Type II error criterion, such as the missed discovery rate (MDR), could be found which control the FWER or FDR Type I error rates. The gain in MDR of the associated FDR-controlling procedure relative to the well-known Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) procedure is demonstrated via a modest simulation study with gamma-distributed component data.

The effects of pediatric epilepsy on a language connectome.

This study introduces a new approach for assessing the effects of pediatric epilepsy on a language connectome. Two novel data-driven network construction approaches are presented. These methods rely on connecting different brain regions using either extent or intensity of language related activations as identified by independent component analysis of fMRI.