No thanks and not for me: A qualitative study of barriers to prehabilitation participation.

Background: Prehabilitation programs have been shown to improve functional status prior to surgery, postoperative recovery, and even long-term outcomes. However, these programs often lack participation, often by patients who seem to need it the most. This study aimed to identify the primary reasons for patients' declining enrollment or low adherence to a prehabilitation program.

Gut microbial metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide induces aortic dissection.

Aortic dissection (AD) is the most catastrophic vascular disease with a high mortality rate. Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbial metabolite, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of TMAO in AD and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

Label-Free Optical Technologies for Middle-Ear Diseases.

Medical applications of optical technology have increased tremendously in recent decades. Label-free techniques have the unique advantage of investigating biological samples in vivo without introducing exogenous agents. This is especially beneficial for a rapid clinical translation as it reduces the need for toxicity studies and regulatory approval for exogenous labels.

A machine learning approach for predicting descending thoracic aortic diameter.

Background: To establish models for predicting descending thoracic aortic diameters and provide evidence for selecting the size of the stent graft for TBAD patients.

Methods: A total of 200 candidates without severe deformation of aorta were included. CTA information was collected and 3D reconstructed.

Identification of pathological-related and diagnostic potential circular RNAs in Stanford type A aortic dissection.

Introduction: Stanford type A aortic dissection (TAAD) is one of the lethal macrovascular diseases caused by the invasion of blood into the media layer of ascending aortic wall. Inflammation, smooth muscle dysfunction, and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation were regarded as the major pathology in affected tissue. However, the expression pattern and its regulation especially through circular RNAs (circRNAs) as an overall characteristic of TAAD molecular pathology remain unclear.

Visualizing Large Facet-Dependent Electronic Tuning in Monolayer WSe on Au Surfaces.

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have shown great importance in the development of novel ultrathin optoelectronic devices owing to their exceptional electronic and photonic properties. Effectively tuning their electronic band structures is not only desired in electronics applications but also can facilitate more novel properties. In this work, we demonstrate that large electronic tuning on a WSe monolayer can be realized by different facets of a Au-foil substrate, forming in-plane p-n junctions with remarkable built-in electric fields.

Health Care Resource Utilization in Management of Opioid-Naive Patients With Newly Diagnosed Neck Pain.

Importance: Research has uncovered heterogeneity and inefficiencies in the management of idiopathic low back pain, but few studies have examined longitudinal care patterns following newly diagnosed neck pain.

Objective: To understand health care utilization in patients with new-onset idiopathic neck pain.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study used nationally sourced longitudinal data from the IBM Watson Health MarketScan claims database (2007-2016).

Fibroblast-Secreted Phosphoprotein 1 Mediates Extracellular Matrix Deposition and Inhibits Smooth Muscle Cell Contractility in Marfan Syndrome Aortic Aneurysm.

Fibrillin 1 (Fbn1) mutation causes Marfan syndrome (MFS) with thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) as the main complication. The mechanisms for extracellular matrix (ECM) homeostasis disruption in MFS TAA are unclear. Here, we found ECM-related gene secreted phosphoprotein 1 (Spp1) increased in Fbn1 mice using transcriptome sequencing and a distinct fibroblast subcluster with Spp1 as the strongest marker was identified with analysis of the MFS mouse aortic single-cell sequencing dataset.

Species- and site-specific genome editing in complex bacterial communities.

Understanding microbial gene functions relies on the application of experimental genetics in cultured microorganisms. However, the vast majority of bacteria and archaea remain uncultured, precluding the application of traditional genetic methods to these organisms and their interactions. Here, we characterize and validate a generalizable strategy for editing the genomes of specific organisms in microbial communities.

Excessive DNA damage mediates ECM degradation via the RBBP8/NOTCH1 pathway in sporadic aortic dissection.

Stanford type A aortic dissection (TA-AD) is a life-threatening disease. Most cases of aortic dissection (AD) are sporadic rather than inherited. Unlike that of inherited AD, the pathogenesis of sporadic AD is still unclear.

Exaggerated Autophagy in Stanford Type A Aortic Dissection: A Transcriptome Pilot Analysis of Human Ascending Aortic Tissues.

Stanford type A aortic dissection (TAAD) is one of the most dangerous diseases of acute aortic syndrome. Molecular pathological studies on TAAD can aid in understanding the disease comprehensively and can provide insights into new diagnostic markers and potential therapeutic targets. In this study, we defined the molecular pathology of TAAD by performing transcriptome sequencing of human ascending aortic tissues.

Occupational Exposure to Endotoxin along a Municipal Scale Fecal Sludge Collection and Resource Recovery Process in Kigali, Rwanda.

: Little is known about occupational exposures that occur along fecal sludge collection and resource recovery processes. This study characterizes inhaled endotoxin exposure to workers of a municipal scale fecal sludge-to-fuel processes in Kigali, Rwanda. : Forty-two task-based air samples were collected from workers in five tasks along the fecal sludge collection and resource recovery process.

Novel aggrecan variant, p. Gln2364Pro, causes severe familial nonsyndromic adult short stature and poor growth hormone response in Chinese children.

Background: Mutations in the aggrecan (ACAN) gene can cause short stature (with heterogeneous clinical phenotypes), impaired bone maturation, and large variations in response to growth hormone (GH) treatment. For such cases, long-term longitudinal therapy data from China are still scarce. We report that a previously unknown ACAN gene variant reduces adult height and we analyze the GH response in children from an affected large Chinese family.

[Trace Carbon Monoxide Detection with a Cavity Ring-Down Spectrometer].

A cavity ring-down spectrometer (CRDS) was built based on telecom distributed feedback (DFB) diode lasers. The ring down cavity was formed by mirrors of 99. 997% reflectivity with a separation of 130 cm, with an empty ring down time of about 150 µs.

Ultrasensitive, self-calibrated cavity ring-down spectrometer for quantitative trace gas analysis.

A cavity ring-down spectrometer is built for trace gas detection using telecom distributed feedback (DFB) diode lasers. The longitudinal modes of the ring-down cavity are used as frequency markers without active-locking either the laser or the high-finesse cavity. A control scheme is applied to scan the DFB laser frequency, matching the cavity modes one by one in sequence and resulting in a correct index at each recorded spectral data point, which allows us to calibrate the spectrum with a relative frequency precision of 0.