Serum IgG Levels and Risk of COPD Hospitalization: A Pooled Meta-analysis.

Background: Hypogammaglobulinemia (serum IgG levels < 7.0 g/L) has been associated with increased risk of COPD exacerbations but has not yet been shown to predict hospitalizations.

Research Question: To determine the relationship between hypogammaglobulinemia and the risk of hospitalization in patients with COPD.

A systematic analysis of stereotactic radiosurgery surveys for residents in neurosurgery training programs.

Object: The use of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has increased. SRS training has not risen congruently. Neurosurgeons have conducted surveys and advocated implementation of widespread, standardized radiosurgery training.

Identification of Ala2Thr mutation in insulin gene from a Chinese MODY10 family.

More than 80% of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) in Chinese is genetically unexplained. To investigate whether the insulin gene (INS) mutation is responsible for some Chinese MODY, we screened INS mutations causing MODY10 in MODY pedigrees and explored the potential pathogenic mechanisms. INS mutations were screened in 56 MODY familial probands.

Adipocyte Insulin Resistance in PCOS: Relationship With GLUT-4 Expression and Whole-Body Glucose Disposal and β-Cell Function.

Context: Impaired sensitivity to the antilipolytic action of insulin in adipose tissue (AT) may play a role in determining metabolic dysfunction in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that insulin resistance (IR) in AT is associated with whole-body insulin sensitivity and β-cell function in PCOS.

Research Design And Setting: Prospective cross-sectional study.

Analysis of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in 36,000 individuals yields genetic insights into dilated cardiomyopathy.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is an important cause of heart failure and the leading indication for heart transplantation. Many rare genetic variants have been associated with DCM, but common variant studies of the disease have yielded few associated loci. As structural changes in the heart are a defining feature of DCM, we report a genome-wide association study of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived left ventricular measurements in 36,041 UK Biobank participants, with replication in 2184 participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Automatic segmentation of multiple cardiovascular structures from cardiac computed tomography angiography images using deep learning.

Objectives: To develop, demonstrate and evaluate an automated deep learning method for multiple cardiovascular structure segmentation.

Background: Segmentation of cardiovascular images is resource-intensive. We design an automated deep learning method for the segmentation of multiple structures from Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) images.

Identifying Outcomes Important to Patients with Glomerular Disease and Their Caregivers.

Background And Objectives: Shared decision making in patients with glomerular disease remains challenging because outcomes important to patients remain largely unknown. We aimed to identify and prioritize outcomes important to patients and caregivers and to describe reasons for their choices.

Design: We purposively sampled adult patients with glomerular disease and their caregivers from Australia, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Heme metabolism genes Downregulated in COPD Cachexia.

Introduction: Cachexia contributes to increased mortality and reduced quality of life in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and may be associated with underlying gene expression changes. Our goal was to identify differential gene expression signatures associated with COPD cachexia in current and former smokers.

Methods: We analyzed whole-blood gene expression data from participants with COPD in a discovery cohort (COPDGene, N = 400) and assessed replication (ECLIPSE, N = 114).

Effect of the Lysin Exebacase on Cardiac Vegetation Progression in a Rabbit Model of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Endocarditis as Determined by Echocardiography.

Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) poses significant therapeutic challenges related to its frequency in clinical infections, innate virulence properties, and propensity for multiantibiotic resistance. MRSA is among the most common causes of endovascular infections, including infective endocarditis (IE). Our objective was to employ transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) to evaluate the effect of exebacase, a novel direct lytic agent, in experimental aortic valve MRSA IE.

Predictors of coronary artery calcium among 20-30-year-olds: The Coronary Artery Calcium Consortium.

Background And Aims: We sought to understand the risk factor correlates of very early coronary artery calcium (CAC), and the potential investigational value of CAC phenotyping in adults aged 20-30 years.

Methods: We studied all participants aged 20-30 years at baseline (N = 373) in the Coronary Artery Calcium Consortium, a large multi-center cohort study of patients aged 18 years or older without known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) at baseline, referred for CAC scoring for clinical risk stratification. We described the prevalence of CAC in men and women, the frequency of risk factors by the presence of CAC (CAC = 0 vs CAC >0), and assessed the association between traditional non-demographic CVD risk factors (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking, family history of CHD, and diabetes) and prevalent CAC, using age- and sex-adjusted logistic regression models.

The Unique Clinical Phenotype and Exercise Adaptation of Fontan Patients With Normal Exercise Capacity.

Background: Exercise limitation is almost universal among Fontan patients. Identifying unique clinical features in the small fraction of Fontan patients with normal exercise capacity (high-capacity Fontan [HCF]) provides potential to inform clinical strategies for those with low exercise capacity (usual Fontan).

Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of all patients with single-ventricle physiology palliated with a Fontan operation who underwent incremental cardiopulmonary exercise testing at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center from 2013 to 2018.

Association of psychosocial traits with coronary artery calcium development and progression: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Background: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is a well-established quantifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). We examined the association of anger, hostility, anxiety, and depression with the development and progression of CAC.

Methods: We studied the association of these psychosocial traits with CAC among participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Association of Guideline-Recommended COPD Inhaler Regimens With Mortality, Respiratory Exacerbations, and Quality of Life: A Secondary Analysis of the Long-Term Oxygen Treatment Trial.

Background: Although inhaled therapy reduces exacerbations among patients with COPD, the effectiveness of providing inhaled treatment per risk stratification models remains unclear.

Research Question: Are inhaled regimens that align with the 2017 Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) strategy associated with clinically important outcomes?

Study Design And Methods: We conducted secondary analyses of Long-term Oxygen Treatment Trial (LOTT) data. The trial enrolled patients with COPD with moderate resting or exertional hypoxemia between 2009 and 2015.

Author Correction: The balance of metagenomic elements shapes the skin microbiome in acne and health.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Publisher Correction: Deep coverage whole genome sequences and plasma lipoprotein(a) in individuals of European and African ancestries.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Relationship of fibroblast growth factor 21 levels with inflammation, lipoproteins and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background And Aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with inflammation and atherogenic lipoprotein abnormalities. Previous studies suggest an association of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) with NAFLD. Therefore, we assessed the association of circulating FGF21 levels with inflammatory markers, lipoprotein profile and NAFLD in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

The association between type 2 diabetes mellitus and bladder cancer risk among postmenopausal women.

Introduction: Evidence on the association between diabetes and risk of bladder cancer has been controversial. In addition, findings on the associations between duration of diabetes, diabetes treatment, and risk of bladder cancer have been inconsistent.

Methods: A total of 148,208 participants in Women's Health Initiative study were included.

Quantification of atherosclerotic plaque volume in coronary arteries by computed tomographic angiography in subjects with and without diabetes.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is considered a cardiovascular risk factor. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and volume of coronary artery plaque in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) vs. those without DM.

The Women's Health Initiative Estrogen-alone Trial had differential disease and medical expenditure consequences across age groups.

Objectives: The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) randomized trial identified age differences in the benefit-risk profile of estrogen-alone (ET) use. The impact of WHI trial on disease-associated medical expenditures attributable to subsequent decreased ET utilization has, however, not been measured. Therefore, the objective of this analysis was to quantify the age-specific disease-associated medical expenditures attributable to reduced ET utilization after the WHI Hormone Therapy (HT) trials.

Greater IL-6, D-dimer, and ICAM-1 Levels Are Associated With Lower Small HDL Particle Concentration in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study.

Objective: Low HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) is common in people living with HIV infection, which is associated with inflammation, and correlates with greater cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Particles of HDL are HDL subfractions, and in some general population studies, higher small HDL particle number (HDL-P) has been associated with lower CVD risk. The objective of this study was to determine whether HIV serostatus and systemic inflammation were associated with small HDL-P in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS).