Follow-up Adherence After Teleretinal Screening for Diabetic Retinopathy.

Aim: Determine the follow-up rate for patients referred following an abnormal teleretinal imaging (TRI) screening and examine patient characteristics predictive of follow-up nonadherence.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study of patients screened between August 2014 and July 2016 in the Harris Health System (HHS) in Houston, TX. All diabetic patients referred for in-person examination, who had data for all study variables, and who did not have established ophthalmic care in the HHS within the previous 2 years were included.

Human AI collaboration for unsupervised categorization of live surgical feedback.

Formative verbal feedback during live surgery is essential for adjusting trainee behavior and accelerating skill acquisition. Despite its importance, understanding optimal feedback is challenging due to the difficulty of capturing and categorizing feedback at scale. We propose a Human-AI Collaborative Refinement Process that uses unsupervised machine learning (Topic Modeling) with human refinement to discover feedback categories from surgical transcripts.

Hydromechanical Modulation of Enzymatic Kinetics Using Microfluidically Configurable Nanoconfinement Arrays.

Confinement of molecules occurs ubiquitously in nature and fundamentally affects their properties and reactions. Developing synthetic confinement systems capable of precise modulation of chemical reactions is critical to understanding the underlying mechanisms and to promoting numerous applications including biosensing. However, current nanoconfinement systems often require sophisticated fabrication and operation.

Discovery of RXFP2 genetic association in resistant hypertensive men and RXFP2 antagonists for the treatment of resistant hypertension.

Hypertension remains a leading cause of cardiovascular and kidney diseases. Failure to control blood pressure with ≥ 3 medications or control requiring ≥ 4 medications is classified as resistant hypertension (rHTN) and new therapies are needed to reduce the resulting increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Here, we report genetic evidence that relaxin family peptide receptor 2 (RXFP2) is associated with rHTN in men, but not in women.

Comparing Low- or Standard-Dose Alteplase in Endovascular Thrombectomy: Insights From a Nationwide Registry.

Background: Timely intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular thrombectomy are the standard reperfusion treatments for large vessel occlusion stroke. Currently, it is unknown whether a low-dose thrombolytic agent (0.6 mg/kg alteplase) can offer similar efficacy to the standard dose (0.

Improving the Safety of Computed Tomography Through Automated Quality Measurement: A Radiologist Reader Study of Radiation Dose, Image Noise, and Image Quality.

Objectives: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services funded the development of a computed tomography (CT) quality measure for use in pay-for-performance programs, which balances automated assessments of radiation dose with image quality to incentivize dose reduction without compromising the diagnostic utility of the tests. However, no existing quantitative method for assessing CT image quality has been validated against radiologists' image quality assessments on a large number of CT examinations. Thus to develop an automated measure of image quality, we tested the relationship between radiologists' subjective ratings of image quality with measurements of radiation dose and image noise.

Validity and Reliability of POM-Checker for Measuring Shoulder Range of Motion in Healthy Participants: A Pilot Single-Center Comparative Study.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare shoulder movement measurements between a Kinect-based markerless ROM assessment device (POM-Checker) and a 3D motion capture analysis system (BTS SMART DX-400).

Methods: This was a single-visit clinical trial designed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the POM-Checker. The primary outcome was to assess the equivalence between two measurement devices within the same set of participants, aiming to evaluate the validity of the POM-Checker compared to the gold standard device (3D Motion Analysis System).

Endothelial TIE1 Restricts Angiogenic Sprouting to Coordinate Vein Assembly in Synergy With Its Homologue TIE2.

Background: Vascular growth followed by vessel specification is crucial for the establishment of a hierarchical blood vascular network. We have shown that TIE2 is required for vein development while little is known about its homologue TIE1 (tyrosine kinase with immunoglobulin-like and EGF [epithelial growth factor]-like domains 1) in this process.

Methods: We analyzed functions of TIE1 as well as its synergy with TIE2 in the regulation of vein formation by employing genetic mouse models targeting , , and , together with in vitro cultured endothelial cells to decipher the underlying mechanism.

2023 Consensus of Taiwan Society of Cardiology on the Pharmacological Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure.

The prevalence of heart failure is increasing, causing a tremendous burden on health care systems around the world. Although mortality rate of heart failure has been significantly reduced by several effective agents in the past 3 decades, yet it remains high in observational studies. More recently, several new classes of drugs emerged with significant efficacy in reducing mortality and hospitalization in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

Early-Life Cardiovascular Risk Factor Trajectories and Vascular Aging in Midlife: A 30-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Vascular aging, as assessed by structural and functional arterial properties, is an independent predictor of cardiovascular outcomes. We aimed to explore the associations of individual cardiovascular risk factors from childhood to midlife and their accumulation over a 30-year span with vascular aging in midlife.

Methods: Using data from the ongoing cohort of Hanzhong Adolescent Hypertension study, 2180 participants aged 6 to 18 years at baseline were followed for over 30 years.

Efficacy comparison of tisagenlecleucel vs usual care in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma.

The ELARA trial indicates tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) is an effective anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (r/r FL). As ELARA is a single-arm trial, this study compares tisa-cel outcomes from the ELARA trial with usual care from a real-world cohort. ELARA enrolled 98 patients as of 29 March 2021 (median follow-up: 15 months from enrollment).

Targeting PDE4B (Phosphodiesterase-4 Subtype B) for Cardioprotection in Acute Myocardial Infarction via Neutrophils and Microcirculation.

Background: Timely and complete restoration of blood flow is the most effective intervention for patients with acute myocardial infarction. However, the efficacy is limited by myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (MI/R) injury. PDE4 (phosphodiesterase-4) hydrolyzes intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate and it has 4 subtypes A-D.

Associations of Long-Term Visit-to-Visit Blood Pressure Variability With Subclinical Kidney Damage and Albuminuria in Adulthood: a 30-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Recent evidence indicates that long-term visit-to-visit blood pressure variability (BPV) may be associated with risk of cardiovascular disease. We, therefore, aimed to determine the potential associations of long-term BPV from childhood to middle age with subclinical kidney damage (SKD) and albuminuria in adulthood.

Methods: Using data from the ongoing cohort of Hanzhong Adolescent Hypertension study, which recruited children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years at baseline, we assessed BPV by SD and average real variability (ARV) for 30 years (6 visits).

An Image Quality-informed Framework for CT Characterization.

Background Lack of standardization in CT protocol choice contributes to radiation dose variation. Purpose To create a framework to assess radiation doses within broad CT categories defined according to body region and clinical imaging indication and to cluster indications according to the dose required for sufficient image quality. Materials and Methods This was a retrospective study using Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine metadata.

Cyclin D2 Overexpression Enhances the Efficacy of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes for Myocardial Repair in a Swine Model of Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Human induced pluripotent stem cells with normal (wild-type) or upregulated (overexpressed) levels of CCND2 (cyclin D2) expression were differentiated into cardiomyocytes (CCND2CMs or CCND2CMs, respectively) and injected into infarcted pig hearts.

Methods: Acute myocardial infarction was induced by a 60-minute occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Immediately after reperfusion, CCND2CMs or CCND2CMs (3×10 cells each) or an equivalent volume of the delivery vehicle was injected around the infarct border zone area.

Mitigating the risk of cytokine release syndrome in a Phase I trial of CD20/CD3 bispecific antibody mosunetuzumab in NHL: impact of translational system modeling.

Mosunetuzumab, a T-cell dependent bispecific antibody that binds CD3 and CD20 to drive T-cell mediated B-cell killing, is currently being tested in non-Hodgkin lymphoma. However, potent immune stimulation with T-cell directed therapies poses the risk of cytokine release syndrome, potentially limiting dose and utility. To understand mechanisms behind safety and efficacy and explore safety mitigation strategies, we developed a novel mechanistic model of immune and antitumor responses to the T-cell bispecifics (mosunetuzumab and blinatumomab), including the dynamics of B- and T-lymphocytes in circulation, lymphoid tissues, and tumor.

Re-designing Interleukin-12 to enhance its safety and potential as an anti-tumor immunotherapeutic agent.

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) has emerged as one of the most potent agents for anti-tumor immunotherapy. However, potentially lethal toxicity associated with systemic administration of IL-12 precludes its clinical application. Here we redesign the molecule in such a way that its anti-tumor efficacy is not compromised, but toxic effects are eliminated.

Aldosterone-producing Adenoma in Primary Aldosteronism: CT-guided Radiofrequency Ablation-Long-term Results and Recurrence Rate.

Purpose To evaluate the long-term biochemical, clinical, and recurrence outcomes of radiofrequency (RF) ablation in treating primary aldosteronism due to aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA). Materials and Methods Institutional review board approval and written informed consent were obtained. The use of computed tomographically (CT) guided percutaneous RF ablation was evaluated in 36 patients (19 men; mean age ± standard deviation, 52.

Phase I Study of the Anti-CD22 Antibody-Drug Conjugate Pinatuzumab Vedotin with/without Rituximab in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory B-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Pinatuzumab vedotin is an antibody-drug conjugate with the potent antimicrotubule agent monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) conjugated to an anti-CD22 antibody via a protease-cleavable linker. This phase I study determined its recommended phase II dose (RP2D) and evaluated its safety, tolerability, and antitumor activity alone and with rituximab in relapsed/refractory (r/r) non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Patients received escalating doses of pinatuzumab vedotin every 21 days.

Rituximab treatment for autoimmune limbic encephalitis in an institutional cohort.

Objective: To determine efficacy and safety of rituximab treatment as a second-line immunotherapy treatment for autoimmune limbic encephalitis (ALE) and to determine factors associated with functional improvement and favorable outcome following rituximab treatment.

Methods: We recruited 80 patients with ALE who were treated with rituximab as a second-line immunotherapy from the Korea Autoimmune Synaptic and Paraneoplastic Encephalitis Registry and reviewed 81 patients without rituximab as a control. We grouped patients according to the detection or type of antibodies; in addition, we evaluated clinical, laboratory, first-line immunotherapy, and rituximab treatment profiles and defined main outcomes as improvements on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score and a favorable mRS score (0-2) at the last follow-up.