Limited stability of Hepatitis B virus RNA in plasma and serum.

Pregenomic hepatitis B virus RNA (HBV pgRNA) is a potential biomarker in the management of HBV infected patients. However, prior to the use in routine clinical practice potential confounders of test results need to be identified. This study investigates the stability of HBV pgRNA under various storage conditions.

Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) Webinar Meeting Report.

The advanced glycation end products (AGEs) Webinar was co-hosted by Diabetes Technology Society and Kitalys Institute on August 8, 2024, with the goal of reviewing progress made in the measurement and use of AGEs in clinical practice. Meeting topics included (1) AGEs as predictors of diabetic nephropathy (DKD), (2) hemoglobin glycation index (HGI) and the glycation gap (GG), (3) formation and structure of AGEs, (4) AGEs as a risk factor of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and (5) approaches to limit or prevent AGE formation.

Interoception primes negative emotion processing during cognitive reappraisal: Electroencephalographical evidence.

Interoception, which refers to sensing, interpreting, and integrating internal bodily signals, has been suggested to be associated with emotion regulation. Previous research has demonstrated individual differences in interoception and its impact on emotion regulation. However, the priming effect of interoception on emotion regulation and the underlying neural mechanisms remain unknown.

Meeting report of the seventh annual Tri-Service Microbiome Consortium Symposium.

The Tri-Service Microbiome Consortium (TSMC) was founded to enhance collaboration, coordination, and communication of microbiome research among DoD organizations and to facilitate resource, material and information sharing among consortium members, which includes collaborators in academia and industry. The 2023 annual symposium was a hybrid meeting held in Washington DC on 26-27 September 2023 concurrent with the virtual attendance, with oral and poster presentations and discussions centered on microbiome-related topics within five broad thematic areas: 1) Environmental Microbiome Characterization; 2) Microbiome Analysis; 3) Human Microbiome Characterization; 4) Microbiome Engineering; and 5) In Vitro and In Vivo Microbiome Models. Collectively, the symposium provided an update on the scope of current DoD and DoD-affiliated microbiome research efforts and fostered collaborative opportunities.

Inoculating Against Moral Disengagement Creates Ethical Adherence for Narcissism.

Increasing honesty is critical in modern society. Moral Disengagement Tactics (MDTs) enable individuals to engage in unethical behavior while avoiding self-criticism, making MDTs a form of self-persuasion. One way to prevent persuasion is inoculation.

Generative adversarial network model to classify human induced pluripotent stem cell-cardiomyocytes based on maturation level.

Our study develops a generative adversarial network (GAN)-based method that generates faithful synthetic image data of human cardiomyocytes at varying stages in their maturation process, as a tool to significantly enhance the classification accuracy of cells and ultimately assist the throughput of computational analysis of cellular structure and functions. Human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) were cultured on micropatterned collagen coated hydrogels of physiological stiffnesses to facilitate maturation and optical measurements were performed for their structural and functional analyses. Control groups were cultured on collagen coated glass well plates.

Win Ratio Analyses Using a Modified Hierarchical Composite Outcome: Insights From PARAGLIDE-HF.

Background: The win ratio (WR) is an emerging alternative for reporting composite outcomes, prioritizing clinically significant events such as mortality while incorporating surrogate measures. However, its benefits should be weighed against limitations, particularly the influence of lower hierarchical outcomes. This secondary analysis of the PARAGLIDE-HF trial performed a WR sensitivity analysis using a modified hierarchical composite outcome to assess the utility of WR sensitivity analysis and the efficacy of sacubitril/valsartan versus valsartan.

A hierarchical random effects state-space model for modeling brain activities from electroencephalogram data.

Mental disorders present challenges in diagnosis and treatment due to their complex and heterogeneous nature. Electroencephalogram (EEG) has shown promise as a source of potential biomarkers for these disorders. However, existing methods for analyzing EEG signals have limitations in addressing heterogeneity and capturing complex brain activity patterns between regions.

Utilization of Artificial Intelligence in the Creation of Patient Information on Laryngology Topics.

Objective: To evaluate and compare the readability and quality of patient information generated by Chat-Generative Pre-Trained Transformer-3.5 (ChatGPT) and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) using validated instruments including Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Flesch Reading Ease, DISCERN, and Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Printable Materials (PEMAT-P).

Methods: ENTHealth.

Rates of positive vs negative studies in the spine literature.

Background: Accuracy in the interpretation of data, and publication of studies regardless of outcomes are vital to the development of the scientific literature.

Objective: To determine the proportion of studies in the spine literature that report positive results.

Study Design: Review article of studies published in nine major spine, pain, and physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) journals from January 1, 2018-December 31, 2022.

Synthetic studies on the tetrasubstituted D-ring of cystobactamids lead to potent terephthalic acid antibiotics.

Novel scaffolds for broad-spectrum antibiotics are rare and in strong demand because of the increase in antimicrobial resistance. The cystobactamids, discovered from myxobacterial sources, have a unique hexapeptidic scaffold with five arylamides and possess potent, resistance-breaking properties. This study investigates the role of the central D-ring pharmacophore in cystobactamids, a para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) moiety that is additionally substituted by hydroxy and isopropoxy functions.

Protocol for studying parasitoid-induced long-term effects in Drosophila.

Drosophila and its parasitoids provide an ecologically relevant model for studying host-parasitoid biology, focusing on the behavioral and physiological responses involved in host defensive strategies and parasitoid countermeasures. Here, we outline a protocol for rearing Pachycrepoideus, a pupal parasitoid wasp, and a behavioral assay to assess the long-term impact of parasitoid exposure on adult Drosophila. We detail the steps for preparing and cohabiting Drosophila with the wasps, documenting egg-laying, and analyzing reproductive responses and eclosion in fruit flies.

A Retrospective Claims Analysis of the Rate of Complications in Patients Undergoing Treatment for Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria.

Introduction: Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare blood disease associated with complications that increase morbidity, such as thrombosis and chronic kidney disease. Limited data exist regarding complications among treated patients outside of clinical trials, especially for patients treated with ravulizumab.

Methods: This study leverages MarketScan claims data to examine the rate of complications in patients receiving PNH treatment.

A patient-centric chest pain management approach utilizing a high sensitivity Troponin-I assay.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of adoption of a new cardiac chest pain pathway that included hs-cTnI in the emergency department (ED) when evaluating chest pain patients.

Methods: A new pathway incorporating both hs-cTnI testing (Seimens Healthineers Atellica) and risk stratification tools was developed. The impact of the new algorithm was assessed through a retrospective observational review of patients admitted to the ED with chest pain before implementation and after implementation.

Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety, and efficacy of crizanlizumab in patients with sickle cell disease: final results from the phase II SOLACE-adults study.

Background: Crizanlizumab is a novel inhibitor of P-selectin, a key player in multicellular adhesion and inflammatory signaling, that leads to vaso-occlusion in sickle cell disease (SCD).

Objectives: The SOLACE-adults study evaluated the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics (P-selectin inhibition), safety, and efficacy of crizanlizumab, with or without hydroxyurea/hydroxycarbamide, in patients with SCD.

Design: Phase II, single-arm, multicenter study.

Enhanced federated anomaly detection through autoencoders using summary statistics-based thresholding.

In Federated Learning, Anomaly Detection poses significant challenges due to the decentralized nature of data, especially under Non-IID distributions. This study proposes a federated threshold calculation method that aggregates summary statistics from normal and anomalous data across clients to create a global threshold for Anomaly Detection with federated Autoencoders, enhancing detection accuracy and robustness while ensuring privacy. Extensive experiments on datasets, including Credit Card Fraud Detection, Shuttle, and Covertype, show that our approach consistently outperforms existing federated and local threshold calculation methods.

Survodutide for treatment of obesity: rationale and design of two randomized phase 3 clinical trials (SYNCHRONIZE™-1 and -2).

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the rationale and design of two multinational phase 3 clinical trials of survodutide, an investigational glucagon and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor dual agonist for the treatment of obesity with or without type 2 diabetes (T2D; SYNCHRONIZE-1 and -2).

Methods: In these ongoing double-blind trials, participants were randomized to once-weekly subcutaneous injections of survodutide or placebo added to lifestyle modification. Survodutide doses are uptitrated to 3.

Strategies, Technologies, and Tips for Successful Cecal Intubation.

Successful cecal intubation is crucial in ensuring a complete evaluation of the colonic mucosa. Although completion of colonoscopies should be successful in close to 100% of all examinations in the hands of experienced gastroenterologists, there are some patients with colons which can be difficult to navigate. Factors such as older age, presence of diverticular disease, as well as high or low body mass index can present challenges for endoscopists.

Language and parental satisfaction during inpatient stay: A pilot survey study in a quaternary pediatric hospital.

Background: Considering the significant volume of non-English speakers seeking medical care in the United States and the challenges they may encounter within the hospital environment, it is necessary to assess the satisfaction of non-English-speaking families during their hospital stays and to determine potential areas of improvement in order to optimize care.

Aims: We aimed to evaluate and describe the satisfaction of Arabic-, Spanish-, and English-speaking families at a quaternary pediatric hospital. From the measures assessed, we sought to identify perceived strengths and weaknesses of the inpatient experience for families who spoke different languages.

Kratom Consumption - The Tales of Three Patients.

The rising prevalence of kratom use in the United States has led to increased encounters with individuals who consume kratom and those who develop Kratom Use Disorder (KUD) among healthcare professionals. This case series highlights the need for diverse treatment approaches tailored to the individual motivations for kratom consumption. Three cases are presented: one involving the progression from kratom use for energy to opioid-driven use with subsequent challenges in detoxification and transition to naltrexone necessitating buprenorphine low-dose induction for maintenance; another detailing successful inpatient detoxification using methadone and symptom-driven clonidine, followed by successful maintenance treatment with naltrexone; and a final case involving kratom consumption for pain and anxiety self-management by an individual without a history of addictive disorders, without meeting KUD criteria.

Lipoprotein (a) Testing in Patients With Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in 5 Large US Health Systems.

Background: Lipoprotein (a) is an independent risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, lipoprotein (a) testing remains variable and it is unclear what factors influence testing and if testing changes clinical management.

Methods And Results: A retrospective study using electronic medical record data from 5 health systems identified an atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease cohort divided into those with and without a lipoprotein (a) test between 2019 and 2021.