Evaluating survey techniques in wastewater-based epidemiology for accurate COVID-19 incidence estimation.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) requires high-quality survey methods to determine the incidence of infections in wastewater catchment areas. In this study, the wastewater survey methods necessary for comprehending the incidence of infection by WBE are clarified. This clarification is based on the correlation with the number of confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, considering factors such as handling non-detect data, calculation method for representative values, analytical sensitivity, analytical reproducibility, sampling frequency, and survey duration.

Hip and waist circumference correlations with demographic factors and pain intensity in patients with chronic pain.

This study aimed to investigate how demographic factors such as race, age, sex and ethnicity can impact hip circumference (HC) and waist circumference (WC) in patients with chronic pain. We queried the NIH-sponsored All of Us database for patients with documented HC, WC and waist/hip ratio (WHR) data. This cross-sectional study categorized participants into four groups: total cohort, no chronic pain, mild/moderate chronic pain (numeric rating scale < 7) and severe chronic pain (numeric rating scale > 7).

Associations between birthweight and preterm birth and the ages at menarche and menopause.

Background: Women who reach menarche and menopause at earlier ages have been shown to be at increased risk for numerous conditions including cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression, and obesity; however, risk factors for earlier ages of menarche and menopause are not fully understood. Therefore, we aimed to perform a retrospective investigation of the associations between a personal birthweight and/or being born preterm and the age of and menarche and menopause and related events in the Women's Health Initiative, a large, racially and ethnically diverse cohort of postmenopausal women.

Methods: At study entry, women reported their birthweight by category (< 6 lbs.

Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 (ICAM-1): An Inflammatory Regulator with Potential Implications in Ferroptosis and Parkinson's Disease.

Intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1/CD54), a transmembrane glycoprotein, has been considered as one of the most important adhesion molecules during leukocyte recruitment. It is encoded by the gene and plays a central role in inflammation. Its crucial role in many inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis are well established.

mmPose-FK: A Forward Kinematics Approach to Dynamic Skeletal Pose Estimation Using mmWave Radars.

In this paper, we propose mmPose-FK, a novel millimeter wave (mmWave) radar-based pose estimation method that employs a dynamic forward kinematics (FK) approach to address the challenges posed by low resolution, specularity, and noise artifacts commonly associated with mmWave radars. These issues often result in unstable joint poses that vibrate over time, reducing the effectiveness of traditional pose estimation techniques. To overcome these limitations, we integrate the FK mechanism into the deep learning model and develop an end-to-end solution driven by data.

Collapsed State Mediates the Low Fidelity of the DNA Polymerase β I260 Mutant.

DNA polymerase β (Pol β) fills single nucleotide gaps during base excision repair. Deficiencies in Pol β can lead to increased mutagenesis and genomic instability in the cell, resulting in cancer. Our laboratory has previously shown that the I260 M somatic mutation of Pol β, which was first identified in prostate cancer, has reduced nucleotide discrimination in a sequence context-dependent manner.

Leiomodin 2 neonatal dilated cardiomyopathy mutation results in altered actin gene signatures and cardiomyocyte dysfunction.

Neonatal dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a poorly understood muscular disease of the heart. Several homozygous biallelic variants in LMOD2, the gene encoding the actin-binding protein Leiomodin 2, have been identified to result in severe DCM. Collectively, LMOD2-related cardiomyopathies present with cardiac dilation and decreased heart contractility, often resulting in neonatal death.

Blocking antibodies against integrin-α3, -αM, and -αMβ2 de-differentiate myofibroblasts, and improve lung fibrosis and kidney fibrosis.

Fibrosis is involved in 45% of deaths in the United States, and no treatment exists to reverse the progression of lung or kidney fibrosis. Myofibroblasts are key to the progression and maintenance of fibrosis. We investigated features of cell adhesion necessary for monocytes to differentiate into myofibroblasts, seeking to identify pathways key to myofibroblast differentiation.

Pathomechanisms of Monoallelic variants in TTN causing skeletal muscle disease.

Pathogenic variants in the titin gene (TTN) are known to cause a wide range of cardiac and musculoskeletal disorders, with skeletal myopathy mostly attributed to biallelic variants. We identified monoallelic truncating variants (TTNtv), splice site or internal deletions in TTN in probands with mild, progressive axial and proximal weakness, with dilated cardiomyopathy frequently developing with age. These variants segregated in an autosomal dominant pattern in 7 out of 8 studied families.

Optimal Pair Matching Combined with Machine Learning Predicts a Significant Reduction in Myocardial Infarction Risk in African Americans Following Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation.

Conflicting clinical trial results on omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (n-3 HUFA) have prompted uncertainty about their cardioprotective effects. While the VITAL trial found no overall cardiovascular benefit from n-3 HUFA supplementation, its substantial African American (AfAm) enrollment provided a unique opportunity to explore racial differences in response to n-3 HUFA supplementation. The current observational study aimed to simulate randomized clinical trial (RCT) conditions by matching 3766 AfAm and 15,553 non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals from the VITAL trial utilizing propensity score matching to address the limitations related to differences in confounding variables between the two groups.

Centering the role of community health workers in social risk screening, referral, and follow-up within the primary care setting.

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) remain an underutilized resource in social risk diagnostics in the primary care setting. This process evaluation study seeks to assess the role of CHWs in social risk screening, referral, and follow-up through process mapping to identify barriers to the process for future quality improvement efforts.

Methods: Researchers at the Arizona Prevention Research Center (AzPRC) engaged with two Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in two of Arizona's major urban areas to evaluate their internal processes for social risk screening and intervention.