Improving clinical care of patients in Nipah outbreaks: moving beyond 'compassionate use'.

The 2024 Nipah outbreak in Kerala, India-its fifth in six years-and the recurring annual outbreaks in Bangladesh underscore the persistent threat posed by the Nipah virus (NiV) in the region. With a high mortality rate, human-to-human transmission potential, and the widespread presence of bats, the natural reservoir, NiV remains a significant epidemic threat. Despite being a WHO priority pathogen, there has been no systematic effort to improve patient care for NiVD, leading to consistently poor outcomes.

Integrating deep learning and machine learning for improved CKD-related cortical bone assessment in HRpQCT images: A pilot study.

High resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HRpQCT) offers detailed bone geometry and microarchitecture assessment, including cortical porosity, but assessing chronic kidney disease (CKD) bone images remains challenging. This proof-of-concept study merges deep learning and machine learning to 1) improve automatic segmentation, particularly in cases with severe cortical porosity and trabeculated endosteal surfaces, and 2) maximize image information using machine learning feature extraction to classify CKD-related skeletal abnormalities, surpassing conventional DXA and CT measures. We included 30 individuals (20 non-CKD, 10 stage 3 to 5D CKD) who underwent HRpQCT of the distal and diaphyseal radius and tibia and contributed data to develop and validate four different AI models for each anatomical site.

New horizons in the treatment of psoriasis: Modulation of gut microbiome.

The last decennia have witnessed spectacular advances in our knowledge about the influence of the gut microbiome on the development of a wide swathe of diseases that extend beyond the digestive tract, including skin diseases like psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne vulgaris, rosacea, alopecia areata, and hidradenitis suppurativa. The novel concept of the gut-skin axis delves into how skin diseases and the microbiome interact through inflammatory mediators, metabolites, and the intestinal barrier. Elucidating the effects of the gut microbiome on skin health could provide new opportunities for developing innovative treatments for dermatological diseases.

Immunotherapy in gastric cancer-A systematic review.

Background: Gastric Cancer (GC) is the 5th most prevalent and 4th most deadly neoplasm globally. Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising treatment approach in GC, potentially improving positive clinical outcomes while addressing the limitations of conventional therapies. GC immunotherapy modalities consist of adoptive cell therapy (ACT), cancer vaccines, and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI).

Evolution Driven Microscale Combinatorial Chemistry in Intracellular Mimicking Droplets to Engineer Thermostable RNA for Cellular Imaging.

Fluorescent light-up aptamer/fluorogen pairs are powerful tools for tracking RNA in the cell, however limitations in thermostability and fluorescence intensity exist. Current in vitro selection techniques struggle to mimic complex intracellular environments, limiting in vivo biomolecule functionality. Taking inspiration from microenvironment-dependent RNA folding observed in cells and organelle-mimicking droplets, an efficient system is created that uses microscale heated water droplets to simulate intracellular conditions, effectively replicating the intracellular RNA folding landscape.

Development of Progressively Earth-Independent Medical Operations to Enable NASA Exploration Missions.

-The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) transition from operations in low-Earth orbit to long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars necessitates the development of progressively Earth-independent medical operations (EIMO) to support crews and reduce overall mission risk. Previous work has defined and laid the foundation for EIMO, but further development of the concept is required to prepare for future exploration missions. -NASA's Exploration Medical Capability element organized a series of 5 technical interchange meetings from 2023 to 2024, which included internal (NASA) and external subject-matter experts in human spaceflight, health technology, and austere medicine to create a framework for developing the technologies and procedures necessary to maintain human health and performance in a progressively Earth-independent fashion.

Endothelial TRIM35-Regulated MMP10 Release Exacerbates Calcification of Vascular Grafts.

Vascular calcification is a highly regulated process in cardiovascular disease (CVD) and is strongly correlated with morbidity and mortality, especially in the adverse stage of vascular remodeling after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). However, the pathogenesis of vascular graft calcification, particularly the role of endothelial-smooth muscle cell interaction, is still unclear. To test how ECs interact with SMCs in artery grafts, single-cell analysis of wild-type mice is first performed using an arterial isograft mouse model and found robust cytokine-mediated signaling pathway activation and SMC proliferation, together with upregulated endothelial tripartite motif 35 (TRIM35) expression.

From Teeth to Body: The Complex Role of Streptococcus mutans in Systemic Diseases.

Streptococcus mutans, the principal pathogen associated with dental caries, impacts individuals across all age groups and geographic regions. Beyond its role in compromising oral health, a growing body of research has established a link between S. mutans and various systemic diseases, including immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), infective endocarditis (IE), ulcerative colitis (UC), cerebral hemorrhage, and tumors.

Antiseizure Medications: Advancements, Challenges, and Prospects in Drug Development.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. Antiseizure medications (ASM) remain a critical therapeutic intervention for treating epilepsy, notwithstanding the rapid development of other therapies. There have been substantial advances in epilepsy medications over the past three decades, with over 20 ASMs now available commercially.

Benchmarking antimicrobial use to antimicrobial resistance: a comparative study of two hospitals using current National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) metrics.

Objective: We aimed to determine whether benchmarking antimicrobial use (AU) to antimicrobial resistance (AR) using select AU/AR ratios is more informative than AU metrics in isolation.

Design: We retrospectively measured AU (antimicrobial therapy days per 1,000 days present) and AU/AR ratios (specific antimicrobial therapy days per corresponding AR event) in two hospitals during 2020 through 2022. We then had antimicrobial stewardship committee members evaluate each AU and corresponding AU/AR value and indicate whether they believed it represented potential overuse, appropriate use, or potential underuse of the antimicrobials, or whether they could not provide an assessment.

Immunogenicity and safety of a COVID-19 DNA vaccine in healthy adults and elderly: A randomized, observer-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial.

INO-4800 represents a DNA-based vaccine encoding the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. This phase 2 trial evaluated the immunogenicity and safety of INO-4800 as a primary vaccination series in adults. We conducted a randomized, observer-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial of intradermal injection of INO-4800 in both healthy adults and elderly individuals.

Digital detector PET/CT increases Centiloid measures of amyloid in Alzheimer's disease: A head-to-head comparison of cameras.

Background: The introduction of therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease has led to increased interest in precisely quantifying amyloid-β (Aβ) burden for diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and further clinical research. Recent positron emission tomography (PET) hardware innovations including digital detectors have led to superior resolution and sensitivity, improving quantitative accuracy. However, the effect of PET scanner on Centiloid remains relatively unexplored and is assumed to be minimized by harmonizing PET resolutions.

Association of baseline eGFR and incident heart failure on patients receiving intensive blood pressure treatment.

Aims: We aim to elucidate the association of baseline eGFR and incident heart failure on patients receiving intensive BP treatment.

Methods And Results: A post hoc analysis was conducted on the SPRINT database. Multivariab le Cox regression and interaction restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis were performed to investigate the interaction between baseline eGFR and intensive BP control on heart failure prevention.

Clin-STAR Corner: Rehabilitation for Older Adults With Heart Failure.

Heart failure is a major contributor to morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs, especially among older adults. Despite a large body of evidence supporting the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation, less than 30% of eligible Medicare beneficiaries participate in cardiac rehabilitation. Thus, it is essential to examine alternatives, such as physical rehabilitation, a rehabilitation approach that focuses on physical activity and function.

CDKN3 as a key regulator of G2M phase in triple-negative breast cancer: Insights from multi-transcriptomic analysis.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains a significant global health challenge, emphasizing the need for precise identification of patients with specific therapeutic targets and those at high risk of metastasis. This study aimed to identify novel therapeutic targets for personalized treatment of TNBC patients by elucidating their roles in cell cycle regulation. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we identified 83 hub genes by integrating gene expression profiles with clinical pathological grades.

Shift-and-Persist Strategies and Psychological Well-Being: Where Adolescents Stand on Social Ladder Matters.

Objectives: Shift-and-persist coping strategies have been demonstrated to be beneficial for physical health of individuals in low socioeconomic status (SES); however, their impacts on psychological well-being remain less clear. This study aimed to examine: (1) whether the protective effects of shift-and-persist with respect to psychological well-being (i.e.

Comparison of conventional coagulation tests and ROTEM in identifying trauma-induced coagulopathy for massive haemorrhage protocol activation.

Objectives: Trauma-induced coagulopathy (TIC) can be fatal but preventable if recognised early. With emerging uses of rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) to guide transfusions in trauma, patient outcomes with TIC-defined by initial ROTEM and conventional coagulation tests (CCTs) during massive haemorrhage protocol (MHP) activations were evaluated at a primary trauma centre in British Columbia.

Methods: This retrospective observational study included adult trauma patients requiring MHP from June 1, 2020, to May 31, 2022.

Precision in Liver Diagnosis: Varied Accuracy Across Subgroups and the Need for Variable Thresholds in Diagnosis of MASLD.

Background And Aims: The performance of non-invasive liver tests (NITs) is known to vary across settings and subgroups. We systematically evaluated whether the performance of three NITs in detecting advanced fibrosis in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) varies with age, sex, body mass index (BMI), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) status or liver enzymes.

Methods: Data from 586 adult LITMUS Metacohort participants with histologically characterised MASLD were included.

RADAR-AD: assessment of multiple remote monitoring technologies for early detection of Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions worldwide, leading to cognitive and functional decline. Early detection and intervention are crucial for enhancing the quality of life of patients and their families. Remote Monitoring Technologies (RMTs) offer a promising solution for early detection by tracking changes in behavioral and cognitive functions, such as memory, language, and problem-solving skills.

Incorporating Spatial and Spectral Saturation Modules Into MR Fingerprinting.

In this work, we introduce spatial and chemical saturation options for artefact reduction in magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) and assess their impact on T and T mapping accuracy. An existing radial MRF pulse sequence was modified to enable spatial and chemical saturation. Phantom experiments were performed to demonstrate flow artefact reduction and evaluate the accuracy of the T and T maps.

Evaluating the differences in healthy lifestyle behaviors between Chinese urban and rural residency after the termination of social distancing: analysis based on propensity score matching.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the social distancing has significantly affected the healthy lifestyle behaviors of residents. China ended social distancing on January 8, 2023, and the healthy lifestyle behaviors of residents after this time are unclear. The goal of this study was to evaluate the differences in healthy lifestyle behaviors between Chinese urban and rural residency after the termination of social distancing.

PSMA PET/CT based multimodal deep learning model for accurate prediction of pelvic lymph-node metastases in prostate cancer patients identified as candidates for extended pelvic lymph node dissection by preoperative nomograms.

Purpose: To develop and validate a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT based multimodal deep learning model for predicting pathological lymph node invasion (LNI) in prostate cancer (PCa) patients identified as candidates for extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) by preoperative nomograms.

Methods: [Ga]Ga-PSMA-617 PET/CT scan of 116 eligible PCa patients (82 in the training cohort and 34 in the test cohort) who underwent radical prostatectomy with ePLND were analyzed in our study. The Med3D deep learning network was utilized to extract discriminative features from the entire prostate volume of interest on the PET/CT images.

NLRP7 maintains the genomic stability during early human embryogenesis via mediating alternative splicing.

Genomic instability is the main cause of abnormal embryo development and abortion. NLRP7 dysfunctions affect embryonic development and lead to Hydatidiform Moles, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely elusive. Here, we show that NLRP7 knockout affects the genetic stability, resulting in increased DNA damage in both human embryonic stem cells and blastoids, making embryonic cells in blastoids more susceptible to apoptosis.