Causal Estimands for Analyses of Averted and Avertible Outcomes due to Infectious Disease Interventions.

During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, researchers attempted to estimate the number of averted and avertible outcomes due to vaccination campaigns to quantify public health impact. However, the estimands used in these analyses have not been previously formalized. It is also unclear how these analyses relate to the broader framework of direct, indirect, total, and overall causal effects under interference.

Effect modification in settings with "truncation by death".

Epidemiologic studies recruiting individuals with higher-than-population-average mortality can be affected by "truncation by death", whereby the outcome of interest (e.g. quality of life) is considered not to be defined for individuals who die before the end of follow-up.

Structure-guided discovery of viral proteins that inhibit host immunity.

Viruses encode proteins that inhibit host defenses, but sifting through the millions of available viral sequences for immune-modulatory proteins has been so far impractical. Here, we develop a process to systematically screen virus-encoded proteins for inhibitors that physically bind host immune proteins. Focusing on Thoeris and CBASS, bacterial defense systems that are the ancestors of eukaryotic Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) and cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) immunity, we discover seven families of Thoeris and CBASS inhibitors, encompassing thousands of genes widespread in phages.

Association between joint exposure to ambient air pollutants and carotid plaque: The mediating role of cardiometabolic risk factors.

Background: Research has shown that exposure to joint air pollution is related to atherosclerosis, but little evidence has been found for carotid plaques. Our objective is to assess the association between exposure to joint air pollutants and carotid plaque and explore the mediating role of cardiometabolic factors in this relationship.

Methods: The Beijing Health Management Cohort (BMHC) study followed participants recruited from 2013 to 2014 until December 31, 2020.

Antiseizure medications for Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome: Comprehensive review and proposed consensus treatment algorithm.

Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a severe, childhood-onset developmental and epileptic encephalopathy characterized by multiple drug-resistant seizure types, specific electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns, and significant cognitive and behavioral impairments. To date, eight anti-seizure medications (ASMs) have been specifically approved by the U.S.

Paediatric strategy forum for medicinal product development in diffuse midline gliomas in children and adolescents ACCELERATE in collaboration with the European Medicines Agency with participation of the Food and Drug Administration.

Fewer than 10 % of children with diffuse midline glioma (DMG) survive 2 years from diagnosis. Radiation therapy remains the cornerstone of treatment and there are no medicinal products with regulatory approval. Although the biology of DMG is better characterized, this has not yet translated into effective treatments.

Childbearing plans' predictive value for birth outcomes: A systematic review to inform mode of delivery decisions.

Objective: Rising cesarean delivery (CD) rates significantly impact maternal health, underscoring the need for comprehensive counseling. This review examines the consistency of childbearing plans over time and their predictive value for childbirth events.

Data Sources: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases up to October 2023.

Safety of topical estrogen therapy during adjuvant endocrine treatment among patients with breast cancer: A meta-analysis based expert panel discussion.

Importance: Endocrine treatments, such as Tamoxifen (TAM) and/or Aromatase inhibitors (AI), are the adjuvant therapy of choice for hormone-receptor positive breast cancer. These agents are associated with menopausal symptoms, adversely affecting drug compliance. Topical estrogen (TE) has been proposed for symptom management, given its' local application and presumed reduced bioavailability, however its oncological safety remains uncertain.

Impact of disease duration and surgical intervention on arousal networks in temporal lobe epilepsy.

Objective: Epilepsy is a common neurological disease affecting nearly 1% of the global population, and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common type. Patients experience recurrent seizures and chronic cognitive deficits that can impact their quality of life, ability to work, and independence. These cognitive deficits often extend beyond the temporal lobe and are not well understood.

Genomic Characterization and Prognostic Significance of Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Low, Hormone Receptor-Positive, Early Breast Cancers From the BIG 1-98 and SOFT Clinical Trials.

Purpose: To investigate whether hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-low (HR+HER2-low) versus HR+HER2-zero early breast cancers have distinct genomic and clinical characteristics.

Methods: This study included HR+, HER2-negative early breast cancers from patients enrolled in the phase III, randomized BIG 1-98 and SOFT clinical trials that had undergone tumor genomic sequencing. Tumors were classified HR+HER2-low if they had a centrally reviewed HER2 immunohistochemistry (IHC) score of 1+ or 2+ with negative in situ hybridization and HR+HER2-zero if they had an HER2 IHC score of 0.

Management of Insomnia in the General Hospital.

The Psychiatric Consultation Service at Massachusetts General Hospital sees medical and surgical inpatients with comorbid psychiatric symptoms and conditions. During their twice-weekly rounds, Dr Stern and other members of the Consultation Service discuss diagnosis and management of hospitalized patients with complex medical or surgical problems who also demonstrate psychiatric symptoms or conditions. These discussions have given rise to rounds reports that will prove useful for clinicians practicing at the interface of medicine and psychiatry.

Human naïve B cells recognize prepandemic influenza virus hemagglutinins.

Understanding the naïve B cell repertoire and its specificity for potential zoonotic threats, such as the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5Nx viruses, may allow prediction of infection- or vaccine-specific responses. However, this naïve repertoire and the possibility to respond to emerging, prepandemic viruses are largely undetermined. Here, we profiled naïve B cell reactivity against a prototypical HPAI H5 hemagglutinin (HA), the major target of antibody responses.

Coordinated immune networks in leukemia bone marrow microenvironments distinguish response to cellular therapy.

Understanding how intratumoral immune populations coordinate antitumor responses after therapy can guide treatment prioritization. We systematically analyzed an established immunotherapy, donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI), by assessing 348,905 single-cell transcriptomes from 74 longitudinal bone marrow samples of 25 patients with relapsed leukemia; a subset was evaluated by both protein- and transcriptome-based spatial analysis. In acute myeloid leukemia (AML) DLI responders, we identified clonally expanded CD8 cytotoxic T lymphocytes with in vitro specificity for patient-matched AML.

Bioprinted optoelectronically active cardiac tissues.

Electrical stimulation of existing three-dimensional bioprinted tissues to alter tissue activities is typically associated with wired delivery, invasive electrode placement, and potential cell damage, minimizing its efficacy in cardiac modulation. Here, we report an optoelectronically active scaffold based on printed gelatin methacryloyl embedded with micro-solar cells, seeded with cardiomyocytes to form light-stimulable tissues. This enables untethered, noninvasive, and damage-free optoelectronic stimulation-induced modulation of cardiac beating behaviors without needing wires or genetic modifications to the tissue solely with light.

Lateral olivocochlear neurons modulate cochlear responses to noise exposure.

The sense of hearing originates in the cochlea, which detects sounds across dynamic sensory environments. Like other peripheral organs, the cochlea is subjected to environmental insults, including loud, damage-inducing sounds. In response to internal and external stimuli, the central nervous system directly modulates cochlear function through olivocochlear neurons (OCNs), which are located in the brainstem and innervate the cochlear sensory epithelium.

Altered Effective Connectivity Within a Thalamocortical Corollary Discharge Network in Individuals With Schizophrenia.

Background And Hypothesis: Sequential saccade planning requires corollary discharge (CD) signals that provide information about the planned landing location of an eye movement. These CD signals may be altered among individuals with schizophrenia (SZ), providing a potential mechanism to explain passivity and anomalous self-experiences broadly. In healthy controls (HC), a key oculomotor CD network transmits CD signals from the thalamus to the frontal eye fields (FEF) and the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and also remaps signals from FEF to IPS.

Resolvin D2 restores monocyte anisocytosis and mediates a shift toward classical monocytes ex vivo in blood samples from patients after major burns.

Circulating monocytes contribute to the defense against pathogens and play a crucial role in maintaining immune homeostasis. While there is substantial evidence regarding the triggers of monocyte activation, our understanding of how monocyte function is restored toward homeostasis after activation remains limited. Here, we assessed the changes in monocyte anisocytosis upon activation in blood, measured by monocyte distribution width (MDW), a biomarker for sepsis.

Duration in Immigration Detention and Health Harms.

Importance: Length of custody is a mechanism by which carceral systems can worsen health. However, there are fewer studies examining US immigration detention, in large part because US immigration detention is largely privately operated and opaque by design.

Objectives: To examine the association between duration spent in US immigration detention with subsequent health outcomes.

Is Weight Loss the Main Driver for A1C Improvement by Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 (GLP-1) Receptor Agonists? A 2.5-Year Analysis in Real-World Clinical Practice.

Background: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are established treatment options for type 2 diabetes (T2D). In addition to their glycemic benefit, GLP-1 RAs also induce weight loss by suppressing appetite via hypothalamic pathways. However, it remains unclear whether weight reduction is the primary driver of glycemic improvement.

Automation of Ultrasonographic Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter Measurement: A Scoping Review.

Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is a cornerstone of neurocritical care in managing severe brain injury. However, current invasive ICP monitoring methods carry significant risks, including infection and intracranial hemorrhage, and are contraindicated in certain clinical situations. Additionally, these methods are not universally available.

Caregiver-Youth Agreement on the Nine-Item Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder Survey.

Background: Patient and caregiver perspectives are critical in the evaluation of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID); however, little is understood about how caregiver and youth perceptions may differ. This study compared caregiver and youth reports among pediatric patients from an outpatient ARFID program.

Methods: Patients (217 individuals with ARFID, aged 8-17) and their caregivers completed the Nine-Item ARFID Screen (NIAS), a screening tool with parallel youth and caregiver report forms.