Nitrite-driven anaerobic ethane oxidation.

Ethane, the second most abundant gaseous hydrocarbon in vast anoxic environments, is an overlooked greenhouse gas. Microbial anaerobic oxidation of ethane can be driven by available electron acceptors such as sulfate and nitrate. However, despite nitrite being a more thermodynamically feasible electron acceptor than sulfate or nitrate, little is known about nitrite-driven anaerobic ethane oxidation.

The bioremediation of the typical persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by microalgae-bacteria consortia: A systematic review.

With industrialisation and the rapidly growing agricultural demand, many organic compounds have been leaked into the environment, causing serious damage to the biosphere. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a type of toxic chemicals that are resistant to degradation through normal chemical, biological or photolytic approaches. With their stable chemical structures, POPs can be accumulated in the environment, and transported through wind and water, causing global environmental issues.

Real-World Treatment Effectiveness of Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs by Serostatus Among Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the clinical effectiveness of biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) or Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) among seropositive versus seronegative patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a real-world setting.

Methods: We used Optum's deidentified Clinformatics Data Mart Database (January 1, 2004, to March 31, 2021) linked with outpatient laboratory test results. The study population was adult patients with RA who initiated a bDMARD or JAKi.

Comparison of EHR Data-Completeness in Patients with Different Types of Medical Insurance Coverage in the United States.

Prior studies have demonstrated that misclassification of study variables due to electronic health record (EHR)-discontinuity can be mitigated by restricting EHR-based analyses to subjects with high predicted EHR-continuity based on a simple algorithm. In this study, we compared EHR continuity in populations covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or commercial insurance. Using claims-linked EHRs from a multicenter network in Massachusetts, including Medicare (MA EHR-Medicare cohort) and Medicaid (MA EHR-Medicaid cohort) claims data; and TriNetX (TriNetX cohort) claims-linked EHR data from 11 US-based healthcare organizations, we assessed (1) EHR-continuity quantified by proportion of encounters captured by EHR (capture proportion (CP)); (2) area under receiver operating curve (AUROC) of previously validated model to identify patients with high EHR-continuity (CP ≥ 0.

The Impact of Longitudinal Data-Completeness of Electronic Health Record Data on the Prediction Performance of Clinical Risk Scores.

The impact of electronic health record (EHR) discontinuity (i.e., receiving care outside of a given EHR system) on EHR-based risk prediction is unknown.

Real-world patient characteristics and use of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a cross-national study.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with significant morbidity and economic burden. This study aimed to compare baseline characteristics and patterns of anti-inflammatory drug use and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) use among patients with RA in Southern Italy versus the United States.

Method: Using Caserta Local Health Unit (Italy) and Optum's de-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart (United States) claims databases, patients with ≥ 2 diagnosis codes for RA during the study period (Caserta: 2010-2018; Optum: 2010-2019) were identified.

Advancing an Algorithm for the Identification of Patients with High Data-Continuity in Electronic Health Records.

Background: Identifying high data-continuity patients in an electronic health record (EHR) system may facilitate selecting cohorts with a lower degree of variable misclassification and promote study validity. We updated a previously developed algorithm for identifying patients with high EHR data-completeness by adding demographic and health utilization factors to improve adaptability to networks serving patients of diverse backgrounds. We also expanded the algorithm to accommodate data in the ICD-10 era.

Grape seed extract proanthocyanidin antagonizes aristolochic acid I-induced liver injury in rats by activating PI3K-AKT pathway.

Aristolochic acid is internationally recognized as a carcinogen. It has been shown that the main toxic mechanism of aristolochic acid on the liver and kidney is the induction of ROS-induced oxidative stress damage. To investigate whether proanthocyanidins (GSPE), a natural antioxidant product from grape seed extract, could antagonize AA-I-induced liver injury.

Predictors of Treatment Change Among Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated with TNF Inhibitors as First-Line Biologic Agent in the USA: A Cohort Study from Longitudinal Electronic Health Records.

Background: Previous observational studies utilizing administrative claims data have largely been unable to consider clinical factors that may be related to patterns of drug use among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Objective: To understand predictors of treatment changes following initiation of a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) using nation-wide electronic health record (EHR) data in the USA.

Methods: The Optum Immunology Condition EHR data (01/01/2011-09/30/2019) was used to identify a population of adult patients with RA initiating a TNFi as the first line biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD).

Occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease in patients with chronic inflammatory skin diseases: a cohort study: Classification: Epidemiology.

Background: Several studies have linked various chronic inflammatory skin diseases (CISDs) with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in a range of data sources with mixed conclusions.

Objectives: We compared the incidence of IBD - ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn disease (CD) - in patients with a CISD vs. similar persons without a CISD.

Impact of longitudinal data-completeness of electronic health record data on risk score misclassification.

Background: Electric health record (EHR) discontinuity, that is, receiving care outside of a given EHR system, can lead to substantial information bias. We aimed to determine whether a previously described EHR-continuity prediction model can reduce the misclassification of 4 commonly used risk scores in pharmacoepidemiology.

Methods: The study cohort consists of patients aged ≥ 65 years identified in 2 US EHR systems linked with Medicare claims data from 2007 to 2017.

Rotenone induces hepatotoxicity in rats by activating the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis.

As a pesticide extracted from plants, rotenone is widely used to control plant pests. In order to explore the safety of rotenone in the environment, we took 60 healthy male SD rats and randomly divided them into rotenone low-dose group, rotenone medium-dose group, rotenone high-dose group, dimethyl sulfoxide group (DMSO), and control group. After 28 days of oral administration, the rat liver tissue ultrastructure, liver function, oxidative stress indexs, mitochondrial function, and apoptosis-related factors were tested to evaluate the hepatotoxicity and toxicological mechanism of rotenone.

Giant cell arteritis treatment patterns and rates of serious infections.

Objectives: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) afflicts older adults who may have age- and comorbidity-related risks for infection and is treated with immunosuppressants that increase risk of infection. We examined GCA treatment patterns and rates of serious infections in two real-world cohorts in the U.S.

Risk of Non-Vertebral Fracture in Gout Compared to Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: To evaluate the risk of non-vertebral fractures in patients with gout compared with those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Using claims data from Medicare (2008-2015), we conducted a cohort study of patients with gout versus RA matched on age, sex, and index date with a 1:1 ratio. The primary outcome was a composite endpoint of non-vertebral fractures including hip, pelvis, humerus, and wrist identified with the validated algorithms.

Longitudinal Data Discontinuity in Electronic Health Records and Consequences for Medication Effectiveness Studies.

Electronic health record (EHR) discontinuity (i.e., receiving care outside of the study EHR system), can lead to information bias in EHR-based real-world evidence (RWE) studies.

Patient characteristics associated with use of TNF vs interleukin inhibitors as first-line biologic treatment for psoriatic arthritis.

Previous studies have examined treatment patterns among patients who use tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors for psoriatic arthritis (PsA). However, little data exist for a comparison between the TNF inhibitor treatment pattern and that of newly available biologics such as interleukin (IL)-12/23 or 17 inhibitors in the United States. To (a) examine patient characteristics and their association with initiation of TNF inhibitors vs IL-12/23 or 17 inhibitors among PsA patients and (2) compare treatment persistence of PsA patients who initiated TNF inhibitors vs IL-12/23 or 17 inhibitors as first-line biologic treatment in a real-world setting in the United States.

Incidence of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients With Dermatologist-Diagnosed Chronic Inflammatory Skin Diseases.

Importance: Several studies have linked chronic inflammatory skin diseases (CISDs) with venous thromboembolism (VTE) in a range of data sources with mixed conclusions.

Objective: To examine the incidence of VTE in patients with vs without CISD.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A cohort study using commercial insurance claims data from a nationwide US health care database from January 1, 2004, through 2019 was conducted.

Knee osteonecrosis incidence from two real-world data sources.

Background: Anti-nerve growth factor (NGF) has shown promise for osteoarthritis (OA) pain efficacy, but an unanticipated joint safety signal occurred in trials. To what extent this was related to OA natural history, or was a consequence of anti-NGF agents is unclear. Of the adverse joint safety events identified, osteonecrosis has specific diagnostic codes available in the medical record to enable assessment of its frequency in the general community.

Prevalence, incidence and cause-specific mortality of rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease among older rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the prevalence, incidence and cause-specific mortality of RA-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) among older US patients with RA.

Methods: We performed a nationwide cohort study using Medicare claims data (parts A, B and D for 2008-2017). RA was identified with a validated algorithm using RA diagnosis codes and DMARD prescription.

Development of a Medicare Claims-Based Model to Predict Persistent High-Dose Opioid Use After Total Knee Replacement.

Objective: To develop a claims-based model to predict persistent high-dose opioid use among patients undergoing total knee replacement (TKR).

Methods: Using Medicare claims (2010-2014), we identified patients ages ≥65 years who underwent TKR with no history of high-dose opioid use (mean >25 morphine milligram equivalents [MMEs]/day) in the year prior to TKR. We used group-based trajectory modeling to identify distinct opioid use patterns.

Use of biologic or targeted-synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and risk of diabetes treatment intensification in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes mellitus.

Objectives: Given that RA treatment might affect the severity of diabetes mellitus (DM), we compared the risk of DM treatment intensification in patients with both RA and DM newly initiating a biologic DMARD or tofacitinib.

Methods: Using claims data from the IBM MarketScan database (2005-2016), we identified patients aged ≥18 years with RA who initiated abatacept, a TNF inhibitor (TNFi), rituximab, tocilizumab or tofacitinib. Patients were required to have type 1 or type 2 DM and to use at least one antidiabetic drug at baseline.