Patient-reported outcomes in individuals with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor treated with ripretinib in the fourth-line setting: analysis from the phase 3 INVICTUS trial.

Background: Ripretinib is a novel switch-control kinase inhibitor that inhibits KIT and PDGFRA signaling. In the INVICTUS phase 3 trial, ripretinib increased median progression-free survival and prolonged overall survival vs. placebo in ≥ fourth-line advanced GIST.

Comorbidities and perceived health status in persons with history of cancer in the USA.

Purpose: Comorbidities can further challenge prognosis and general wellbeing of cancer patients. This study aimed to assess the association between comorbidities and perceived health status (PHS) of US persons with cancer.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used 2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data and included individuals who were alive throughout the year, aged 18 to 84 years, and had diagnosis for cancer.

PD-L1 is required for estrogen-induced protection against severe EAE in IL-10 deficient mice.

Background: IL-10 knockout (KO) mice can be protected against experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) with low-dose estrogen (E2) treatment similar to wild type (WT) mice, indicating that IL-10 is not required for E2-induced EAE protection. Our previous study demonstrated that E2 treatment induced an increase in programmed death ligands 1 (PD-L1) and 2 (PD-L2) on monocytes and macrophages in the periphery and within the CNS. In this study, we selectively inhibited the function of PD-L1 and PD-L2 to evaluate their critical role in maintaining E2-induced protection against EAE in IL-10-KO mice.

Neuromodulatory effects of theta burst stimulation to the prefrontal cortex.

Theta burst stimulation (TBS) is a new form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) capable of non-invasively modulating cortical excitability. In recent years TBS has been increasingly used as a neuroscientific investigative tool and therapeutic intervention for psychiatric disorders, in which the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is often the primary target. However, the neuromodulatory effects of TBS on prefrontal regions remain unclear.

Efficacy and safety of combination of empagliflozin and metformin with combination of sitagliptin and metformin during Ramadan: an observational study.

Background: Management of diabetes during fasting is a clinical challenge. Sodium glucose co-transporter -2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) are considered safe with a low risk of hypoglycemia. However, studies on SGLT2i are scarce.

Feasibility of recruitment and retention in a remote trial of gatekeeper training for close supports of military veterans: Mixed methods study.

Background: VA S.A.V.

Advancing understanding of maternal age: correlating epigenetic clocks in blood and myometrium.

Background: Advanced maternal age is currently a term defined by chronological age. However, a group of biomarkers known as epigenetic clocks, which can predict morbidity and mortality, has been used to estimate measures of biological aging. Uterine myometrial function during the process of parturition may be influenced by aging, as labor dystocia, unplanned intrapartum cesarean birth, and postpartum hemorrhage are more common in older individuals.

A comparison of SARS-CoV-2 RNA extraction with the QuickGene-810 Nucleic Acid Isolation System compared to the EZ1 Advanced DSP Virus Kit.

The QuickGene-810 Nucleic Acid Isolation System is a semi-automated extraction platform which may be used for RNA extraction. New methods were required to support the rapid increase in respiratory virus testing during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess SARS-CoV-2 RNA extraction using the QuickGene-810 kit compared to the EZ1 Advanced Extraction Platform for use on the AusDiagnostics SARS-CoV-2, Influenza and RSV 8-well RT-PCR assay.

Developing an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data-based mobile phone app to provide adolescents with sexual reproductive health information: a human-centered design approach.

Background: Adolescent pregnancies and sexually-transmitted infections continue to impact 15 - 19-year-olds across the globe. The lack of sexual reproductive health information (SRH) in resource-limited settings due to cultural and societal attitudes towards adolescent SRH could be contributing to the negative outcomes. Innovative approaches, including mobile phone technologies, are needed to address the need for reliable adolescent SRH information.

Shared decision-making for postoperative opioid prescribing and preoperative pain management education decreases excess opioid burden.

Introduction: Managing postoperative pain requires an individualized approach in order to balance adequate pain control with risk of persistent opioid use and narcotic abuse associated with inappropriately outsized narcotic prescriptions. Shared decision-making has been proposed to address individual pain management needs. We report here the results of a quality improvement initiative instituting prescribing guidelines using shared decision-making and preoperative pain expectation and management education to decrease excess opioid pills after surgery and improve patient satisfaction.

Findings from a pilot study of Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga versus cognitive processing therapy for PTSD related to military sexual trauma among women Veterans.

Objective: The study objective was to explore the preliminary efficacy of trauma-sensitive yoga compared to cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for women Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to military sexual trauma (MST) in a pilot randomized control trial (RCT). We then compared these results to published interim results for the subsequent full-scale RCT.

Method: The analytic sample included women Veterans (N = 41) with PTSD related to MST accessing healthcare in a southeastern Veterans Affairs Health Care System.

"Near Cure" treatment of severe acute EAE in MIF-1-deficient female and male mice with a bifunctional MHCII-derived molecular construct.

Our previous studies demonstrated increased serum levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF-1) and its homologue, MIF-2, in males during MS progression; and that genetically high-MIF-expressing male subjects with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) had a significantly greater risk of conversion to progressive MS than lower-MIF-expressing males and females. However, female MS subjects with severe disease expressed higher levels of CD74, the common MIF-1/MIF-2 receptor, on blood cells. In the murine model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), both male and female mice lacking MIF-1 and/or MIF-2 were clinically improved during development of moderately severe disease, thus implicating both homologs as co-pathogenic contributors.

Expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder through locally-initiated implementation.

Background: Despite demonstrated efficacy, medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) remain inaccessible to many patients, with barriers identified at the individual, clinic and system level. A wide array of implementation strategies have guided efforts to expand access to MOUD, with most centered around externally-facilitated approaches to practice change. While effective, such approaches may be inaccessible to those clinics and systems that lack the resources necessary to partner with an external team, suggesting a need to identify and describe change-processes that are internally developed and promoted.

Comparative evaluation of transpalatal arch and vertical holding appliance at different heights.

Objectives: An effective method for controlling vertical dysplasia remains a concern for orthodontists. This study aims to compare the stresses on the maxillary first molars while changing the height of the loop/acrylic pad of the transpalatal arch (TPA) and vertical holding appliance (VHA) during swallowing using finite element analysis.

Methods: Head and neck computed tomography (CT) of a patient with levelled and aligned maxillary teeth was taken for a three-dimensional reconstruction.

The chimera of S1 and N proteins of SARS-CoV-2: can it be a potential vaccine candidate for COVID-19?

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has emerged as one of the biggest global health issues. Spike protein (S) and nucleoprotein (N), the major immunogenic components of SARS-CoV-2, have been shown to be involved in the attachment and replication of the virus inside the host cell.

Areas Covered: Several investigations have shown that the SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein can elicit a cell-mediated immune response capable of regulating viral replication and lowering viral burden.

Chronic Circadian Disruption and Sleep Restriction Influence Subjective Hunger, Appetite, and Food Preference.

Chronic circadian disruption (CCD), such as occurs during rotating shiftwork, and insufficient sleep are each independently associated with poor health outcomes, including obesity and glucose intolerance. A potential mechanism for poor health is increased energy intake (i.e.

Symptoms and daily experiences reported by children with cancer using a game-based app.

Purpose: Mobile health (mHealth) resources, including apps, are emerging as resources to support children in tracking symptoms and other health-related data. The purpose of this study was to describe symptoms and daily experiences reported by elementary school-age children receiving treatment for cancer using the newly developed Color Me Healthy app.

Design And Methods: Participants in this descriptive study were children 6-12 years of age, who were receiving cancer treatment at a free-standing children's hospital in the Intermountain West of the United States.

Regulation of alcohol drinking by ventral striatum and extended amygdala circuitry.

Alcohol use disorder is a complex psychiatric disorder that can be modeled in rodents using a number of drinking paradigms. Drinking-in-the-dark (DID) is widely used to model the binge/intoxication stage of addiction, and chronic intermittent ethanol vapor procedures (CIE) are used to induce dependence and model withdrawal/negative affect induced escalation of drinking. We discuss experiments showing the ventral striatum (vStr) and extended amygdala (EA) are engaged in response to ethanol in rodents through c-Fos/Fos immunoreactivity studies.

Lack of cognitive impairment in long-term survivors of colorectal cancer.

Background: Our longitudinal study reported cognitive impairment in 43% of people following diagnosis of localised colorectal cancer (CRC) versus 15% in healthy controls (p < 0.001) and 50% versus 13% 1-2 years later (p < 0.001).

The innate immune receptor Nlrp12 suppresses autoimmunity to the retina.

Background: Nod-like receptors (NLRs) are critical to innate immune activation and induction of adaptive T cell responses. Yet, their role in autoinflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) remains incompletely defined. The NLR, Nlrp12, has been reported to both inhibit and promote neuroinflammation in an animal model of multiple sclerosis (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, EAE), where its T cell-specific role has been investigated.

Maternal Morbidity Predicted by an Intersectional Social Determinants of Health Phenotype: A Secondary Analysis of the NuMoM2b Dataset.

Maternal race, ethnicity and socio-economic position are known to be associated with increased risk for a range of poor pregnancy outcomes, including maternal morbidity and mortality. Previously, researchers seeking to identify the contributing factors focused on maternal behaviors and pregnancy complications. Less understood is the contribution of the social determinants of health (SDoH) in observed differences by race/ethnicity in these key outcomes.

A unique case report of relapsing eosinophilic myocarditis causing atrial myopathy and persistent sinus arrest.

Background: Eosinophilic myocarditis (EM) is a rare and devastating condition. The underlying cause of EM is unknown, and the natural history is not well understood.

Case Summary: A 20-year-old male presented in cardiogenic shock with preceding 24-h history of pleuritic chest pain associated with nausea and vomiting.

Diagnosis and management of phyllodes tumours for the surgeon: An algorithm.

A Phyllodes Tumour (PT) is an uncommon fibroepithelial lesion, with three histological grades - benign, borderline and malignant. PTs cause significant challenges in diagnosis, management and prognostication. Recent publications have clarified the definitions and prognostication of PTs.