Exploring microRNA-Mediated Immune Responses to Soil-Transmitted Helminth and Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Co-Infections.

Over the last two decades, the field of microRNA (miRNA) research has grown significantly. MiRNAs are a class of short, single-stranded, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Thereby, miRNAs regulate various essential biological processes including immunity.

Graph Neural Networks in Brain Connectivity Studies: Methods, Challenges, and Future Directions.

Brain connectivity analysis plays a crucial role in unraveling the complex network dynamics of the human brain, providing insights into cognitive functions, behaviors, and neurological disorders. Traditional graph-theoretical methods, while foundational, often fall short in capturing the high-dimensional and dynamic nature of brain connectivity. Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have recently emerged as a powerful approach for this purpose, with the potential to improve diagnostics, prognostics, and personalized interventions.

Public Health Travel Restrictions Implemented for Persons at Risk of Transmitting SARS-CoV-2 Infection-United States, January 1, 2020-April 6, 2022.

Context: Federal public health travel restrictions (FPHTR) in the United States are implemented for persons who meet specific criteria to prevent spread of communicable diseases of public health concern. FPHTR can mitigate the risk of disease transmission during air travel and mitigating disease translocation between geographic areas.

Objective: To characterize and determine the extent of FPHTR implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Understanding mental health in older adults: exploring the interplay of wisdom, perceived poor health, and attitudes toward aging.

Objectives: Late adulthood is marked by challenges that impact well-being. While perceived health, wisdom, and positive attitudes toward aging correlate with better mental health in later life, their interrelations are not well understood. This study explored if three-dimensional wisdom could buffer the negative impact of poor physical health on mental health, and if positive attitudes toward aging mediated the effects of wisdom and poor health on mental health.

The contribution of clock genes BMAL1 and PER2 in osteoarthritis-associated pain.

Joint pain is the primary symptom of osteoarthritis (OA) and the main motivator for patients to seek medical care. OA-related pain significantly restricts joint function and diminishes quality of life. Despite the availability of various pain-relieving medications for OA, current treatment strategies often fall short in delivering adequate pain relief.

Photogrammetric determination of movement speed of invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish in the Florida Keys.

As a key determinant of how efficiently lionfish ( sp.) locate and capture prey, swimming speed plays a crucial role in shaping the predator-prey interactions and broader ecological dynamics within the invaded ecosystems. Swimming speed on a small temporal and spatial scale is difficult to measure because of the need for precise measurements of both distance and duration of the behavior.

Connections Across Open Water: A Bi-Organelle, Genomics-Scale Assessment of Atlantic-Wide Population Dynamics in a Pelagic, Endangered Apex Predator Shark ().

Large-bodied pelagic sharks are key regulators of oceanic ecosystem stability, but highly impacted by severe overfishing. One such species, the shortfin mako shark (), a globally widespread, highly migratory predator, has undergone dramatic population reductions and is now Endangered (IUCN Red List), with Atlantic Ocean mako sharks in particular assessed by fishery managers as overfished and in need of urgent, improved management attention. Genomic-scale population assessments for this apex predator species have not been previously available to inform management planning; thus, we investigated the population genetics of mako sharks across the Atlantic using a bi-organelle genomics approach.

Long-term Impact of Carotid Endarterectomy on Choroidal and Choriocapillaris Perfusion: The INFLATE Study.

Purpose: When performed for clinically significant carotid artery stenosis (CAS), the long-term impact of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) on choroidal and choriocapillaris (CC) circulation was studied using swept-source OCT angiography.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Participants: Patients with clinically significant CAS undergoing unilateral CEA.

Crosstalk between Gut Microbiota and Cancer Immunotherapy: Present Investigations and Future Perspective.

Gut microbiota is crucial for protecting the homeostasis of immune locally and systemically, and its dysbiosis is essentially correlated to tumorigenesis, cancer progression, and refractoriness to cancer treatments, including the novel immunotherapy. Increasing evidence unravel the intricate role of gut microbiota in reshaping tumor microenvironment and affecting the efficacy and toxicities of immunotherapy, which shed more light on the future applications of gut microbiota in efficacious biomarker and combination treatment of immunotherapy. To better grasp the underlying crosstalk between gut microbiota and immunotherapy, more experimental and clinical trials are indispensable for the customized gut microbiota-based treatments in cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy.

Advancements in AI Medical Education: Assessing ChatGPT's Performance on USMLE-Style Questions Across Topics and Difficulty Levels.

Background  AI language models have been shown to achieve a passing score on certain imageless diagnostic tests of the USMLE. However, they have failed certain specialty-specific examinations. This suggests there may be a difference in AI ability by medical topic or question difficulty.

De-novo Genome Assembly of the Edwardsiid Anthozoan Edwardsia elegans.

Cnidarians (sea anemones, corals, hydroids, and jellyfish) are a key outgroup for comparisons with bilaterial animals to trace the evolution of genomic complexity and diversity within the animal kingdom, as they separated from most other animals 100s of millions of years ago. Cnidarians have extensive diversity, yet the paucity of genomic resources limits our ability to compare genomic variation between cnidarian clades and species. Here we report the genome for Edwardsia elegans, a sea anemone in the most specious genus of the family Edwardsiidae, a phylogenetically important family of sea anemones that contains the model anemone Nematostella vectensis.

EXPRESS: Hysteresis in Reach Planning and Spatial Demonstrative Choice.

Recent studies have demonstrated hysteresis in studies of syntactic choice in language production (e.g., Koranda et al.

Mechanically Triggered Protein Desulfurization.

The technology of native chemical ligation and postligation desulfurization has greatly expanded the scope of modern chemical protein synthesis. Here, we report that ultrasonic energy can trigger robust and clean protein desulfurization, and we developed an ultrasound-induced desulfurization (USID) strategy that is simple to use and generally applicable to peptides and proteins. The USID strategy involves a simple ultrasonic cleaning bath and an easy-to-use and easy-to-remove sonosensitizer, titanium dioxide.

Plantar sensation associates with gait instability in older adults.

Background: Advanced age brings a loss of plantar sensation, represented, for example, as higher sensation thresholds in standardized testing. This is thought to contribute to an increased risk of falls among older adults - an intuitive premise that has yet to be fully investigated, especially in the context of walking balance. The purpose of this study was to quantify the association between plantar sensation and the instability elicited by a suite of walking balance perturbations that differ in direction and context in a cohort of n = 28 older adults (73.

October 2024 ACIP Meeting Update: Influenza, COVID-19, RSV and Other Vaccines.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a group of medical and public health experts that provides advice to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, normally meets 3 times per year to develop US vaccine recommendations. The ACIP met October 23-24, 2024, to discuss influenza vaccines, chikungunya vaccines, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines, RSV immunizations, meningococcal vaccines, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, pneumococcal vaccines, and adult and child/adolescent immunization schedule revisions. This update summarizes the proceedings of these meetings, with an emphasis on topics that are most relevant to the pediatric population.

Comparative genomic prediction of resistance to Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum race 2) in watermelon: parametric and nonparametric approaches.

Complex traits influenced by multiple genes pose challenges for marker-assisted selection (MAS) in breeding. Genomic selection (GS) is a promising strategy for achieving higher genetic gains in quantitative traits by stacking favorable alleles into elite cultivars. Resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f.

Leveraging mRNA technology for antigen based immuno-oncology therapies.

The application of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology in antigen-based immuno-oncology therapies represents a significant advancement in cancer treatment. Cancer vaccines are an effective combinatorial partner to sensitize the host immune system to the tumor and boost the efficacy of immune therapies. Selecting suitable tumor antigens is the key step to devising effective vaccinations and amplifying the immune response.

The Role of Sex and Gender in Acute Kidney Injury - Consensus Statements from the 33 Acute Disease Quality Initiative.

Sex differences exist in acute kidney injury (AKI), and the role that sex and gender play along the AKI care continuum remains unclear. The 33 Acute Disease Quality Initiative meeting evaluated available data on the role of sex and gender in AKI and identified knowledge gaps. Data from experimental models, pathophysiology, epidemiology, clinical care, gender, social determinants of health, education, and advocacy were reviewed.

Survival Among Patients Treated with Total Mesorectal Excision or Selective Watch-and-Wait After Total Neoadjuvant Therapy: A Pooled Analysis of the CAO/ARO/AIO-12 and OPRA Randomized Phase II Trials.

Background: Prospective data comparing watch-and-wait (WW) to mandatory total mesorectal excision (TME) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) remains limited, as randomized control trials assessing these two treatment approaches are considered impractical. This pooled analysis of the CAO/ARO/AIO-12 and OPRA trials analyzes survival outcomes among LARC patients managed with either a selective WW or mandatory TME strategy following total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT).

Patients And Methods: The CAO/ARO/AIO-12 and OPRA trials were multicenter, phase II trials that randomized patients with stage II/III rectal cancer to receive either induction or consolidation chemotherapy as part of TNT.

Academic Achievement of Children With Neurofibromatosis Type 1.

Background And Objectives: Learning difficulties are frequently reported in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), yet little is known about the extent and predictors of their academic functions across ages. We aimed to examine the developmental patterns of academic achievement in these children from childhood to adolescence and how these patterns differ across demographic and NF1-related disease factors.

Methods: This cross-sectional study integrated data of 1512 children with NF1 (mean age, 11.

Short- and Intermediate-Term Morbidity Following Total Pelvic Exenteration in Colorectal Cancer.

Introduction: Total pelvic exenteration (TPE) for clinical T4b colorectal cancer (CRC) is associated with significant morbidity. Short (0-30 days)- and intermediate (31-90 days)-term temporal analysis of complication onset is not well described, yet needed, to better counsel patients considering TPE.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients with primary or recurrent clinical T4b pelvic CRC undergoing open TPE between 2014 and 2023 was conducted.