Urinary DNA Methylation Test for Bladder Cancer Diagnosis.

Importance: An accurate noninvasive biomarker test is needed for the early diagnosis of bladder cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of a urinary DNA methylation test (PENK methylation) and compare its diagnostic accuracy with that of the nuclear matrix protein 22 (NMP22) test or urine cytology test.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this prospective multicenter study at 10 sites in the Republic of Korea, individuals 40 years and older with hematuria undergoing cystoscopy within 3 months between March 11, 2022, and May 30, 2024, participated.

Transportation Insecurity, Social Support, and Adherence to Cancer Screening.

Importance: Transportation insecurity and lack of social support are 2 understudied social determinants of health that contribute to excess morbidity, mortality, and acute health care utilization. However, whether and how these social determinants of health are associated with cancer screening has not been determined and has implications for preventive care.

Objective: To determine whether transportation insecurity or social support are associated with screening adherence for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer.

Multi-omics sequencing of gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma reveals prognosis-relevant key factors and a novel immunogenomic classification.

Background: Gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (GEJAC) exhibits distinct molecular characteristics due to its unique anatomical location. We sought to investigate effective and reliable molecular classification of GEJAC to guide personalized treatment.

Methods: We analyzed the whole genomic, transcriptomic, T-cell receptor repertoires, and immunohistochemical data in 92 GEJAC patients and delineated the landscape of genetic and immune alterations.

Anti-PD-L1 envafolimab combined with anti-VEGF suvemcitug in pretreated solid tumors and hepatocellular carcinoma: an open-label phase II study with safety run-in stage.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) combined with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) have been the standard first-line treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the efficacy of this combination in post-line treatment is still unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of anti-PD-L1 envafolimab and novel humanized anti-VEGF suvemcitug as second-line treatment for patients with HCC.

First-line biologics as a treatment for ulcerative colitis: a multicenter randomized control study.

Background: Despite the availability of several biologics for ulcerative colitis (UC), there remains a critical need to identify first-line treatment biologics. The superiority of infliximab (IFX) over vedolizumab (VED) and ustekinumab (UST) was evaluated as initial UC treatments in patients with biologic-naïve UC.

Methods: This multicenter, randomized control trial was conducted across 20 Japanese medical institutions.

Gamma knife radiosurgery for cavernous malformations: a comprehensive study on symptom relief, hemorrhage rates, and histopathological changes.

This study aims to demonstrate the effect of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) on symptoms, hemorrhage rates, and histopathological changes in patients with cavernous malformations (CMs), regardless of whether the symptomatic lesions are hemorrhagic. This single-center retrospective study evaluated symptomatic patients with single CMs treated with GKRS between 2016 and 2023. The patients' demographic data, presenting symptoms, GKRS radiation dose, complications developed during follow-up (hemorrhage, radiotoxicity), the rate of symptom improvement, and histopathological changes of surgically removed CMs were recorded.

ICU-Broncho-Aspiration Protocols Monitoring at an Academic Health Network System.

Objectives: The objectives were to determine intensive care unit (ICU) incidence of broncho-aspiration (BA) and the effect of monitoring BA prevention protocols.

Methods: The Health Network Warehouse was interrogated for the diagnosis of BA in patients older than 18 years in the surgical ICU (SICU) from January 2010 to December 2020. A BA prevention bundle protocol was prospectively monitored during all consecutive SICU admissions from August 2021 to November 2021 until discharge/death (n = 159).

Radiotherapy improves stress urinary incontinence but impairs pelvic floor function in endometrial cancer patients: a prospective cohort study.

Purpose: Investigating the impact of radiotherapy on urinary incontinence and pelvic floor dysfunction in endometrial cancer patients.

Method: A comparative study was conducted between endometrial cancer patients who underwent radiotherapy and those who did not receive adjuvant therapy. Patients were assessed during their first follow-up visit at third month post-radiotherapy or post-surgery.

Past and future in vitro and in vivo approaches toward circulating factors and biomarkers in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome.

Predicting the risks of progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 5 in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (NS) and recurrence of the disease (rNS) following kidney transplantation (KT) is a key assessment to provide essential management information. NS has been categorized etiologically as genetic and immune-based. A genetic cause can be identified in ~ 30% of children with steroid-resistant NS (SRNS), a finding associated with a very low risk of rNS following KT.

Recent progress in xenotransplantation and its application to pediatric kidney disease.

Patients with kidney failure require dialysis or kidney transplantation. Kidney transplantation offers great benefits, including reduced mortality; however, many patients who wish to undergo kidney transplantation are unable to do so due to a shortage of donor organs. This shortage is a global issue, and xenotransplantation has emerged as a potential solution.

Infection-Related Hospitalization and Incident Heart Failure: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Background: The immune response to infections may become dysregulated and promote myocardial damage contributing to heart failure (HF). We examined the relationship between infection-related hospitalization (IRH) and HF, HF with preserved ejection fraction, and HF with reduced ejection fraction.

Methods And Results: We studied 14 468 adults aged 45 to 64 years in the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) Study who were HF free at visit 1 (1987-1989).

A Statistically-Robust Model of the Axomyelin Unit under Normal Physiologic Conditions with Application to Disease States.

Despite tremendous progress in characterizing the myriad cellular structures in the nervous system, a full appreciation of the interdependent and intricate interactions between these structures is as yet unfulfilled. Indeed, few more so than the interaction between the myelin internode and its ensheathed axon. More than a half-century after the ultrastructural characterization of this axomyelin unit, we lack a reliable understanding of the physiological properties, the significance and consequence of pathobiological processes, and the means to gauge success or failure of interventions designed to mitigate disease.

Validation of a Pretransplant Risk Prediction Model for Early Allograft Dysfunction After Living-donor Liver Transplantation.

Background: Early allograft dysfunction (EAD) affects outcomes in liver transplantation (LT). Existing risk models developed for deceased-donor LT depend on posttransplant factors and fall short in living-donor LT (LDLT), where pretransplant evaluations are crucial for preventing EAD and justifying the donor's risks.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from 2944 adult patients who underwent LDLT at 17 centers between 2016 and 2020.

The Role of Social Support in Bridging the Digital Divide for Older Veterans.

Background: For nearly a decade, the US Veterans Health Administration (VA) has distributed tablets to Veterans with access barriers who may benefit from video telehealth visits. Older Veterans' lower likelihood of tablet use relative to younger Veterans has prompted interest in factors influencing tablet utilization.

Objectives: We examined whether social support facilitates video telehealth utilization among older Veterans who received VA tablets.

Sickle Cell Trait Does Not Cause "Sickle Cell Crisis" Leading to Exertion-Related Death: A Systematic Review.

Globally, an estimated 300 million individuals have sickle cell trait (SCT), the carrier state for sickle cell disease. While sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with increased morbidity and shortened lifespan, SCT has a lifespan comparable to that of the general population. However, "sickle cell crisis" has been used as a cause of death for decedents with SCT in reports of exertion-related death in athletes, military personnel, and individuals in police custody.

Effects of engineered nanomaterials on the cardiovascular system.

With the explosive development of nanotechnology, engineered nanomaterials are currently being used in various industries, including food and medicine. Concern about the health effects of nanomaterials has been raised, and available research indicates that the relative surface area of nanomaterials seems to correlate with the severity of their toxicity. With regard to engineered nanomaterials, the scope of their acute and chronic toxicities and their mechanisms are not fully understood.

A high-resolution view of the immune and stromal cell response to infection in human volunteers.

causes the genital ulcer disease chancroid and cutaneous ulcers in children. To study its pathogenesis, we developed a human challenge model in which we infect the skin on the upper arm of human volunteers with to the pustular stage of disease. The model has been used to define lesional architecture, describe the immune infiltrate into the infected sites using flow cytometry, and explore the molecular basis of the immune response using bulk RNA-seq.

Assessing the threat of harboring a multi-resistant IncC plasmid and the efficacy of an antibiotic targeting LpxC.

Self-transmissible IncC plasmids rapidly spread multidrug resistance in many medically important pathogens worldwide. A large plasmid of this type (pIP1202, ~80 Kb) has been isolated in a clinical isolate of , the agent of plague. Here, we report that pIP1202 was highly stable in infected mice and fleas and did not reduce virulence in these animals.

Associations of Traumatic Brain Injury and Mild Behavioral Impairment With Cognitive Function and Dementia.

Objective: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) may contribute additional complexity to the clinical picture of mild behavioral impairment (MBI). MBI, a behavioral analog to mild cognitive impairment (MCI), is comprised of five neuropsychiatric domains: decreased motivation, affective dysregulation, impulse dyscontrol, social inappropriateness, and abnormal perception/thought content. We investigated (1) if cross-sectional associations of cognitive status with MBI symptoms differ by TBI status and (2) if prospective associations of MBI domain positivity with incident dementia risk differ by TBI status.

Real-world Plasma Exposure of Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir in Chinese Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Background: Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir is licensed for the treatment of mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in patients at an increased risk of progression to severe disease. However, data on the real-world plasma exposure to nirmatrelvir/ritonavir remain limited, particularly in Chinese patients. This study aimed to assess the nirmatrelvir/ritonavir trough concentration (Ctrough) and identify its critical factors in hospitalized Chinese patients treated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir 300 mg/100 mg twice daily over a 5-day course.