The uses of right heart catheterization in cardio-pulmonary disease: State-of-the-art.

The right heart catheterization (RHC) remains an important diagnostic tool for a spectrum of cardiovascular disease processes including pulmonary hypertension (PH), shock, valvular heart disease, and unexplained dyspnea. While it gained widespread utilization after its introduction, the role of the RHC has evolved to provide valuable information for the management of advanced therapies in heart failure (HF) and cardiogenic shock (CS) to name a few. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview on the indications, utilization, complications, interpretation, and calculations associated with RHC.

Aerodigestive Sequelae and Triple Endoscopy after Congenital Tracheoesophageal Fistula Repair in Children.

Unlabelled: Children post-tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) repair may present with chronic respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms that can affect quality of life.

Objective: To identify factors associated with positive findings on triple endoscopy following neonatal TEF repair.

Study Design: Case series with retrospective review of patients.

Activation of mechanoreceptor Piezo1 inhibits enteric neuronal growth and migration .

Introduction: Dysfunction of the enteric nervous system (ENS) is linked to a myriad of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. Piezo1 is a mechanosensitive ion channel found throughout the GI tract, but its role in the ENS is largely unknown. We hypothesize that Piezo1 plays an important role in the growth and development of the ENS.

TClC effectively suppresses the growth and metastasis of NSCLC via polypharmacology.

Despite significant advances in targeted therapies and immunotherapies, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) continues to present a global health challenge, with a modest five-year survival rate of 28 %, largely due to the emergence of treatment-resistant and metastatic tumors. In response, we synthesized a novel bioactive compound, ethyl 6-chlorocoumarin-3-carboxylyl L-theanine (TClC), which significantly inhibited NSCLC growth, epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), migration, and invasion and tumor growth and metastasis without inducing toxicity. TClC disrupts autocrine loops that promote tumor progression, particularly in stem-like CD133-positive NSCLC (CD133+ LC) cells, which are pivotal in tumor metastasis.

Evolutionary mismatch in emotional support during childbirth: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background And Objectives: Selective pressures on human childbirth have led to the evolution of cooperative birth practices, with birth attendants playing a crucial role in providing emotional support during labor.

Methodology: We leveraged COVID-19-related healthcare disruptions to investigate the impact of the evolutionary mismatch in the availability of emotional support persons on perceived birth stress among a US-based convenience sample ( = 1082).

Results: Individuals who stated during pregnancy that they desired support from their partner or a doula but who did not receive this support had significantly higher perceived childbirth stress ( = 12.

Google Trends and Syphilis.

Objective: This study aims to assess the correlation between Centers for Disease Control-reported syphilis incidence rates and case burden and public interest in syphilis as indicated by Google search trends.

Methods: This study utilized Google Trends data to analyze popular syphilis-related search terms from 2013 to 2023. The latest Centers for Disease Control-reported syphilis incidence rates for 2022 were compared to Google Trends data to identify patterns or correlations.

Incorporating an Analytical Approach to Ethical Reasoning into an Ethics Case Conference for Residents.

Unlabelled: Educating residents to apply ethical principles in clinical practice is critical in achieving standards in professionalism. We implemented biweekly ethics morning report case conferences incorporating a validated analytical tool in medical ethics, the Four-Box Method, from July 2022 to June 2023 in our internal medicine residency program. In 24 ethics morning reports, over 73% of participants reported that the intervention helped them achieve each of three learning objectives in ethics education.

Curriculum as Change Agent: Promoting Inclusivity through an Advanced Feedback Curriculum.

Feedback curricula in medical education typically cover only the uncontextualized basics of feedback. We created a self-paced, online course that covered advanced feedback techniques with intentional inclusion of social dynamics that can influence feedback processes. Results revealed significant improvements in participant feedback orientation, feedback-seeking behaviors, and perceptions of feedback environment.

Make a WISH - Wellness Initiative Supporting Health Mini-Grants in an Academic Medical Department.

Background: With rising burnout among health professionals, academic medical centers are faced with the challenge of sustaining well-being.

Activity: An academic medical department established the Wellness Initiative Supporting Health (WISH) small grant program to support locally developed wellness-related activities. This assessment describes the feasibility and early outcomes of implementing the WISH projects.

Loss of TDP-43 Splicing Repression Occurs in Myonuclei of Inclusion Body Myositis Patients.

Objective: Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is an idiopathic inflammatory myopathy with muscle pathology characterized by endomysial inflammation, rimmed vacuoles, and cytoplasmic mislocalization of transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43). We aimed to determine whether loss of TDP-43 splicing repression led to the production of "cryptic peptides" that could be detected in muscle biopsies as a useful biomarker for IBM.

Methods: We used an antisera against a neoepitope encoded by a TDP-43-dependent cryptic exon within hepatoma-derived growth factor-like protein 2 (HDGFL2) for immunohistochemical analysis on muscle biopsy samples of 122 patients with IBM, 181 disease controls, and 16 healthy controls without abnormal muscle pathology.

A Glucose Fraction Independent of Insulin Secretion: Implications for Type 1 Diabetes Progression in Autoantibody-Positive Cohorts.

We assessed whether there is an impactful glucose fraction independent of insulin secretion in autoantibody-positive individuals. Baseline 2-h oral glucose tolerance test data from the TrialNet Pathway to Prevention (TNPTP; = 6190) and Diabetes Prevention Trial-Type 1 (DPT-1; = 705) studies were used. Linear regression of area under the curve (AUC) glucose versus Index60 was performed to identify two fractions: dependent (dAUCGLU) or independent (iAUCGLU) of insulin secretion.

Anti-neuraminidase and anti-hemagglutinin stalk responses to different influenza a(H7N9) vaccine regimens.

Introduction: Pandemic influenza vaccine development focuses on the hemagglutinin (HA) antigen for potency and immunogenicity. Antibody responses targeting the neuraminidase (NA) antigen, or the HA stalk domain have been implicated in protection against influenza. Responses to the NA and HA-stalk domain following pandemic inactivated influenza are not well characterized in humans.

Evidence-Based Medicine in Otolaryngology Part 17: A Qualitative Research Primer.

As qualitative data analysis becomes more frequently applied within the fields of medicine and surgery, it is beneficial to expand our knowledge of the utility, methodology, and interpretation of these techniques. While qualitative research serves a distinct purpose and differs from quantitative research, both can be approached with diligence, with careful techniques that are similarly maintained and respected. In advance of this installment in the Evidence-Based Medicine in Otolaryngology series, we presented a comparison between qualitative and quantitative methods.

Imagine, Discover, Inspire: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of the Trisomy 21 Research Society.

Down syndrome (DS) or trisomy 21 (T21) is present in a significant number of children and adults around the world and is associated with cognitive and medical challenges. Through research, the T21 Research Society (T21RS), established in 2014, unites a worldwide community dedicated to understanding the impact of T21 on biological systems and improving the quality of life of people with DS across the lifespan. T21RS hosts an international conference every two years to support collaboration, dissemination, and information sharing for this goal.

Can clinical findings at admission allow withholding of antibiotics in patients hospitalized for community acquired pneumonia when a test for a respiratory virus is positive?

Background: Current guidelines recommend empiric antibiotic therapy for patients who require hospitalization for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). We sought to determine whether clinical, imaging or laboratory features in patients hospitalized for CAP in whom PCR is positive for a respiratory virus enable exclusion of bacterial coinfection so that antibiotics can be withheld.

Methods: For this prospective study, we selected patients in whom an etiologic diagnosis was likely to be reached, namely those who provided a high-quality sputum sample at or shortly after admission, and in whom PCR was done to test for a respiratory virus.

Targeting Siglec-E facilitates tumor vaccine-induced antitumor immunity in renal carcinoma.

Background: Siglec-E is an immune checkpoint inhibitory molecule. Expression of Siglec-E on the immune cells has been shown to promote tumor regression. This study aimed to develop an adenovirus (Ad) vaccine targeting Siglec-E and carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) (Ad-Siglec-E/CAIX) and to evaluate its potential antitumor effects in several preclinical renal cancer models.

Reliability and reproducibility of systematic reviews informing the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans: a pilot study.

Background: Although high-quality nutrition systematic reviews (SRs) are important for clinical decision making, there remains debate on their methodological quality and reporting transparency.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the reliability and reproducibility of a sample of SRs produced by the Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review (NESR) team to inform the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs).

Methods: We evaluated a sample of 8 SRs from the DGA dietary patterns subcommittee for methodological quality using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2) tool and for reporting transparency using the PRISMA 2020 and PRISMA literature search extension (PRISMA-S) checklists.

Insect Allergy: Barriers in Training and Practice: A Work Group Report of the AAAAI Anaphylaxis Committee.

Background: The evaluation and management of insect sting allergy is a complex core competency taught in Allergy and Immunology fellowship programs. It is unclear if current training on insect allergy is sufficient to meet the needs of the field, and what training barriers exist.

Objective: To investigate the extent of training on stinging insect allergy, and factors currently impacting stinging insect allergy clinical practice through a pilot needs-assessment survey.

Efficacy and safety of psilocybin in the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): A dose-response network meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials.

Selecting the optimal dose of psilocybin for treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD) is crucial for clinical development and regulatory approval. This meta-analysis evaluates psilocybin's efficacy and safety in treating MDD to determine the optimal dose and timing for clinical trials. A systematic review and Dose-Response Network Meta-Analysis (NMA) of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials (RCTs) registered with PROSPERO was conducted.