Acceptability of multi-level sexual health interventions and sexually transmitted infection screening and testing among persons with HIV across three clinical sites in Florida.

Introduction: The US state of Florida has the third highest rate of HIV as well as high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) indicating critical HIV and STI prevention needs remain unmet. To address gaps in the STI care continuum in people with HIV (PWH), evidence-based interventions were implemented across three Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) funded clinics in Florida between August 2020-August 2021. Interventions included comprehensive sexual health history (SHH) taking using audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) software, self-collected extragenital gonorrhea and chlamydia testing, and the introduction of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) welcoming environment.

Nonselective beta blockade enhances gut microbiome diversity in a rodent model of trauma, hemorrhage, and chronic stress.

Background: Traumatic injury leads to gut dysbiosis with changes in microbiome diversity and conversion toward a "pathobiome" signature characterized by a selective overabundance of pathogenic bacteria. The use of non-selective beta antagonism in trauma patients has been established as a useful adjunct to reduce systemic inflammation. We sought to investigate whether beta-adrenergic blockade following trauma would prevent the conversion of microbiome to a "pathobiome" phenotype.

Impact of Frailty on Surgical Outcomes of Patients With Cushing Disease Using the Multicenter Registry of Adenomas of the Pituitary and Related Disorders Registry.

Background And Objectives: Despite growing interest in how patient frailty affects outcomes (eg, in neuro-oncology), its role after transsphenoidal surgery for Cushing disease (CD) remains unclear. We evaluated the effect of frailty on CD outcomes using the Registry of Adenomas of the Pituitary and Related Disorders (RAPID) data set from a collaboration of US academic pituitary centers.

Methods: Data on consecutive surgically treated patients with CD (2011-2023) were compiled using the 11-factor modified frailty index.

Palliative Care Initiated in the Emergency Department: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The emergency department (ED) offers an opportunity to initiate palliative care for older adults with serious, life-limiting illness.

Objective: To assess the effect of a multicomponent intervention to initiate palliative care in the ED on hospital admission, subsequent health care use, and survival in older adults with serious, life-limiting illness.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Cluster randomized, stepped-wedge, clinical trial including patients aged 66 years or older who visited 1 of 29 EDs across the US between May 1, 2018, and December 31, 2022, had 12 months of prior Medicare enrollment, and a Gagne comorbidity score greater than 6, representing a risk of short-term mortality greater than 30%.

Restorative Neurostimulation Therapy Compared to Optimal Medical Management: A Randomized Evaluation (RESTORE) for the Treatment of Chronic Mechanical Low Back Pain due to Multifidus Dysfunction.

Introduction: Many interventional strategies are commonly used to treat chronic low back pain (CLBP), though few are specifically intended to target the distinct underlying pathomechanisms causing low back pain. Restorative neurostimulation has been suggested as a specific treatment for mechanical CLBP resulting from multifidus dysfunction. In this randomized controlled trial, we report outcomes from a cohort of patients with CLBP associated with multifidus dysfunction treated with restorative neurostimulation compared to those randomized to a control group receiving optimal medical management (OMM) over 1 year.

Pan-cancer secreted proteome and skeletal muscle regulation: insight from a proteogenomic data-driven knowledge base.

Large-scale, pan-cancer analysis is enabled by data driven knowledge bases that link tumor molecular profiles with phenotypes. A debilitating cancer-related phenotype is skeletal muscle loss, or cachexia, which occurs partly from tumor products secreted into circulation. Using the LinkedOmicsKB knowledge base assembled from the Clinical Proteomics Tumor Analysis Consortium proteogenomic analysis, along with catalogs of human secretome proteins, ligand-receptor pairs and molecular signatures, we sought to identify candidate pan-cancer proteins secreted to blood that could regulate skeletal muscle phenotypes in multiple solid cancers.

Content Validity of the Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale in Patients with Spinocerebellar Ataxia.

Introduction: The Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale-Activities of Daily Living (FARS-ADL) is a validated and highly utilized measure for evaluating patients with Friedreich Ataxia. While construct validity of FARS-ADL has been shown for spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), content validity has not been established.

Methods: Individuals with SCA1 or SCA3 (n = 7) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) with SCA expertise (n = 8) participated in qualitative interviews evaluating the relevance, clarity, and clinical meaningfulness of FARS-ADL for assessment of individuals with SCA.

The integration of meditation into higher education: a systematic literature review.

Reviewed empirical studies involving meditation-related interventions for college and university students during the past decade. Based on inclusion criteria, 44 studies were selected for the review and categorized into three major areas: attention, academic performance, and mental health (stress/anxiety). Areas were systemically reviewed and synthesized.

Induction of Antigen-Specific Tolerance in a Multiple Sclerosis Model without Broad Immunosuppression.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a severe autoimmune disorder that wreaks havoc on the central nervous system, leading to a spectrum of motor and cognitive impairments. There is no cure, and current treatment strategies rely on broad immunosuppression, leaving patients vulnerable to infections. To address this problem, our approach aims to induce antigen-specific tolerance, a much-needed shift in MS therapy.

Clinical Trial: Study to Investigate the Efficacy and Safety of the Alpha-2-Delta Ligand PD-217,014 in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Introduction: Despite the emergence of drugs to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), improving abdominal pain can still be challenging. αδ ligands, such as gabapentin and pregabalin, are sometimes used off-label to tackle this problem. However, evidence for efficacy is limited, and no large-scale studies have been published.

Assessing Clinical Improvement of Infants Hospitalized for Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Related Critical Illness.

Background: Pediatric respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related acute lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) commonly requires hospitalization. The Clinical Progression Scale Pediatrics (CPS-Ped) measures level of respiratory support and degree of hypoxia across a range of disease severity, but it has not been applied in infants hospitalized with severe RSV-LRTI.

Methods: We analyzed data from a prospective surveillance registry of infants hospitalized for RSV-related complications across 39 U.

Respectful Maternity Care in the United States: A Scoping Review of the Research and Birthing People's Experiences.

Introduction: Birthing people around the world experience mistreatment during labor and birth, contributing to adverse maternal health outcomes. The adoption of respectful maternity care (RMC) has been recommended to address this mistreatment and improve care quality. Most RMC and mistreatment research has been conducted internationally.

Global insights and advances in edible coatings or films toward quality maintenance and reduced postharvest losses of fruit and vegetables: An updated review.

Transitioning to safe, nonthermal, and edible strategies for maintaining fruit and vegetable (F&V) quality, reducing postharvest losses (up to 55% annually), and ensuring food security requires extensive research and innovation in postharvest technologies. This review aims to provide an updated understanding of edible coatings or films (ECF), focusing on their role in reducing F&V postharvest losses, based on data from the last 40 years retrieved from the Web of Science database. The global ECF research network is represented by publication trends, majorly researched F&V, key research areas, influential and emerging authors, and global research ranking.

The Use of Knives With Versus Without Integrated Water-jet Function During Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy for Patients With Achalasia: A Meta-analysis.

Background: Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is a well-established endoscopic treatment for achalasia, utilizing an endoscopic knife for dissection. Recently, new knives with an integrated water-jet (WJ) function have been introduced. This study aims to compare the technical, perioperative, and late postoperative outcomes between WJ knives and conventional (C) knives, which lack the WJ function, through a pairwise meta-analysis of published comparative studies.

Posterior Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy With Versus Without Sparing of the Oblique/Sling Fibers: A Meta-analysis.

Background And Aims: Several studies have hypothesized that sparing the oblique/sling fibers during posterior peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) may reduce the incidence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and reflux esophagitis without compromising the established safety and efficacy of the procedure. This study compares perioperative, postoperative motility-related, and postoperative GERD-related outcomes between posterior oblique/sling fibers-sparing POEM (OFS-POEM) and conventional posterior POEM through a pairwise meta-analysis of comparative studies.

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review following PRISMA guidelines to identify articles directly comparing posterior OFS-POEM with conventional posterior POEM.

Olfactory Cleft Opacification Improves With Intranasal Steroid Treatment and Is Correlated With Objective and Patient-Reported Olfactory Outcomes.

In patients with severe olfactory and gustatory dysfunction, olfactory cleft opacification improves with expanded intranasal steroid treatment (EDS-FLU) relative to placebo. This is directly associated with objective and patient-reported taste/smell improvement.

Intranasal Calcitriol Accelerates Improvement of Sinonasal Inflammation and Olfactory Impairment in Mice After Cessation of Chronic Cigarette-Smoke Exposure.

Rationale: Smoking has been shown to be associated with circulating deficiencies in 25(OH)D3 and reduced sinonasal tissue levels of the active form of vitamin D, 1,25(OH)2D3. Given vitamin D's ability to reduce inflammation, we sought to examine if intranasal (IN) delivery of calcitriol [clinical analog of 1,25(OH)2D3] could reduce inflammation and improve disease severity in a murine model of chronic cigarette smoke-induced sinonasal inflammation (CS-SI).

Methods: Mice were exposed to CS 5 h/day, 5 days/week for 9 months, and then began IN calcitriol three times per week for 4 weeks.

Phylogenomics, reticulation, and biogeographical history of Elaeagnaceae.

The angiosperm family Elaeagnaceae comprises three genera and . 100 species distributed mainly in Eurasia and North America. Little family-wide phylogenetic and biogeographic research on Elaeagnaceae has been conducted, limiting the application and preservation of natural genetic resources.

HDL-associated vitamin D binding protein levels are inversely associated with necrotic plaque burden in psoriasis.

Background And Aims: Vitamin D binding protein (DBP) serves a dual function as a vitamin D carrier and actin scavenger. Free DBP is present in high concentrations in serum, while a smaller pool is bound to lipoproteins like HDL and VLDL. The role of DBP's interaction with lipoproteins remains unclear.

Obesity and the Importance of Breathing.

Obesity is a complex and non-communicable disease with a pandemic entity. Currently, multiple causes can lead to obesity, and it is not always easy to create a direct relationship between physical inactivity, poor quality of nutrients consumed, and calculation of excess calories. Among the associated comorbidities, obesity creates a dysfunctional environment of respiratory rhythms at the central and peripheral levels, with functional, morphological, and phenotypic alteration of the diaphragm muscle.

Health Disparities in Rheumatology in the United States.

Objective: Underserved populations are often at risk of experiencing systematic healthcare disparities. Existing disparities in care access, quality of care received, and treatment outcomes among patients with rheumatic disease are not well understood.

Methods: We conducted a targeted literature review to understand disparities in health outcomes, treatment patterns, and healthcare management faced by rheumatology patients in the United States, with a focus on rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Alcohol Relapse After Liver Transplantation: Risk Factors, Outcomes, and a Comparison of Risk Stratification Models.

Background And Aims: Alcohol-related liver disease is a leading cause of liver transplantation (LT) in the United States; however, alcohol relapse remains a risk, and real-world assessment of relapse prediction scores is lacking. The primary aim of this study was to assess risk factors for alcohol relapse and compare effectiveness of pre-existing risk scores (e.g.

Disparities in Clinical Outcomes Observed Within Electronic Health Record Data From a Statewide Cohort of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Patients.

Health disparities in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have not been extensively reported in the United States. The aim of this project was to characterize the extent of demographic and socioeconomic disparities in clinical outcomes within a large, diverse PAH patient population. A retrospective, population-based study of electronic health record data from the OneFlorida Data Trust was completed.

Inhaled alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) restores lower respiratory tract protease-antiprotease homoeostasis and reduces inflammation in AAT-deficient individuals: a randomised phase 2 study.

Background: Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT)-deficient individuals have a greater risk for developing COPD than individuals with normal AAT levels.

Methods: This was a double-blind, randomised, parallel group, placebo-controlled trial to examine the safety and tolerability of "Kamada-AAT for Inhalation" (inhaled AAT) in subjects with AAT deficiency, and to explore its effect on AAT and biomarkers in the lung epithelial lining fluid (ELF). 36 patients with severe AAT deficiency were randomised 2:1 to receive 80 mg or 160 mg inhaled AAT or placebo once daily for 12 weeks.

Conventional and regionally distinctive risk factors for first-onset myocardial infarction: the Bangladesh Risk of Acute Vascular Events (BRAVE) case-control study.

Background: South Asians may be particularly susceptible to premature myocardial infarction (MI) owing both to conventional cardiovascular risk factors and practices distinctive to South Asia. Identifying modifiable risk factors for MI in these populations could inform prevention strategies. We have, therefore, studied conventional risk factors and other characteristics in relation to occurrence of first MI in Bangladesh.