Sex-specific effects on the heart from combined exposure to simulated galactic cosmic radiation and hindlimb unloading.

Future long duration space missions will expose astronauts to higher doses of galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) than those experienced on the international space station. Recent studies have demonstrated astronauts may be at risk for cardiovascular complications due to increased radiation exposure and fluid shift from microgravity. However, there is a lack of direct evidence on how the cardiovascular system is affected by GCR and microgravity since no astronauts have been exposed to exploratory mission relevant GCR doses.

Robotic Systems in Spinal Surgery: A Review of Accuracy, Radiation Exposure, Hospital Readmission Rate, Cost, and Adverse Events.

Background: Recent advances within the last decade have allowed robotics to become commonplace in the operating room. In the field of neurosurgery, robotics assist surgeons in pedicle screw placement and vertebral fusion procedures. The purpose of this review is to look at currently used spinal robots available on the market and compare their overall accuracy, cost, radiation exposure, general adverse events, and hospital readmission rates.

Ethnic disparities in HbA1c and hypoglycemia among youth with type 1 diabetes: beyond access to technology, social deprivation and mean blood glucose.

Introduction: The UK national pediatric diabetes audit reports higher HbA1c for children and young people (CYP) with type 1 diabetes (T1D) of Black ethnicity compared with White counterparts. This is presumably related to higher mean blood glucose (MBG) due to lower socioeconomic status (SES) and less access to technology. We aimed to determine if HbA1c ethnic disparity persists after accounting for the above variables.

The Anatomy of Gossip: Dissecting Dynamics and Impacts in Surgical Residency.

Background: Gossip, defined by social scientists as "evaluative talk about an absent third party," is anecdotally pervasive yet poorly understood in surgical residency programs. Gossip is known to have both positive and negative impacts. This study sought to deconstruct the role of gossip in surgical residency and evaluate its impact through the lens of surgical residents.

Characterization of Vaccine-Enhanced Humoral Immune Responses Against Emergent SARS-CoV-2 Variants in a Convalescent Cohort.

Vaccination of COVID-19-convalescent individuals may generate 'hybrid' immunity of enhanced magnitude, durability, and cross-reactive breadth. Our primary goal was to characterize hybrid antibody (Ab) responses in a patient cohort infected with ancestral Wuhan-Hu-1 virus and vaccinated between 6 and 10 months later with the Wuhan-Hu-1-based BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. We were particularly interested in determining the efficacy of neutralizing Ab responses against subsequently emergent SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Medicaid Expansion Increases Treatment for Patients with Colon Cancer.

Introduction: Medicaid expansion (ME) has positively impacted colon cancer screening. ME's effect on colon cancer treatment is less clear. This study analyses the effect of ME on patterns of colon cancer treatment.

Exploring the Roles of Trust, Attitudes, and Motivations in COVID-19 Decision-Making and Vaccination Likelihood: Insights from the Louisiana Community Engagement Alliance (LA-CEAL) Community-Academic-Public Health-Practice (CAPP) Partnership.

Given the increasing integration of trusted leaders in public health science, including vaccination programs, context-specific understandings of community perceptions and levels of trust are critical to intervention. This study aimed to understand the perspectives and attitudes of the southeastern Louisiana community and inform the development of a community-engaged action plan. A cross-sectional survey of 555 southeastern Louisianans-including faith-based organization (FBO) members, community pharmacy (CommRx) customers, community-based organization (CBO) contacts, and Louisiana community-dwelling residents-was conducted from November 2020 to March 2021.

Defining Hyperphagia for Improved Diagnosis and Management of MC4R Pathway-Associated Disease: A Roundtable Summary.

Purpose Of Review: Hyperphagia is a condition associated with rare obesity-related diseases, presenting as a pathologic, insatiable hunger accompanied by abnormal food-seeking behaviors. In October 2023, a group of researchers and clinicians with expert knowledge on hyperphagia convened at the annual ObesityWeek meeting to discuss the need for a unified definition of hyperphagia and key items necessary to improve the identification, assessment, and treatment of hyperphagia in patients with melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) pathway-associated diseases.

Recent Findings: The definition of hyperphagia proposed by this group is a pathologic, insatiable hunger accompanied by abnormal food-seeking behaviors.

Dietary fiber content in clinical ketogenic diets modifies the gut microbiome and seizure resistance in mice.

The gut microbiome modulates the anti-seizure effects of the ketogenic diet, but how specific dietary formulations differentially modify the gut microbiome in ways that impact seizure outcome is poorly understood. We find that medical ketogenic infant formulas vary in macronutrient ratio, fat source, and fiber content and differentially promote resistance to 6-Hz seizures in mice. Dietary fiber, rather than fat ratio or source, drives substantial metagenomic shifts in a model human infant microbial community.

Toxoplasmal meningoencephalitis in a 14 week-old shelter cat with presumed feline infectious peritonitis.

Toxoplasmal meningoencephalitis is a sporadic condition that is often misdiagnosed antemortem, frequently resulting in euthanasia especially in resource-limited settings. Here we report a case of a 7-week-old female domestic shorthair cat from an animal shelter who presented in a compromised condition and continued to display clinical signs consistent with a "failure to thrive" kitten. Weight loss and decreased activity were observed, and later on, neurological dysfunction became apparent.

Optimizing UroVysion Fluorescence Hybridization Reflex Testing in Atypical Urothelial Cell Diagnosis: A Comprehensive Cytomorphological Analysis.

Objective: Urinary cytology is a key diagnostic tool for evaluating suspected urinary tract carcinoma, primarily high-grade urothelial carcinoma. The Paris System for Reporting Urinary Cytology (TPS), introduced in 2016, aimed to standardize reporting, though challenges with subjectivity and variability in diagnosing Atypical Urothelial Cells (AUCs) persist.

Methods: This retrospective study explored the correlation between cytomorphological features in "atypical" diagnosis and UroVysion fluorescence hybridization (U-FISH) results.

Clinical outcomes of patients with unsuccessful mechanical thrombectomy versus best medical management of medium vessel occlusion stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory.

Background: Current randomized controlled trials are investigating the efficacy and safety of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in patients with medium vessel occlusion (MeVO) stroke. Whether best medical management (MM) is more efficient than unsuccessful vessel recanalization during MT remains unknown.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using data from 37 academic centers across North America, Asia, and Europe between September 2017 and July 2021.

Social, Racial, and Economic Disparities Affecting Outcomes of Hypertensive Adolescents.

Essential hypertension is one of the most common conditions managed in pediatric cardiology and can result in lasting deleterious effects on the cardiovascular system. Pediatric hypertension is so prevalent in the United States that it is often referred to as a public health challenge. Social determinants of health (SDH) are the cultural, economic, educational, healthcare accessibility, and political influences in the environment in which an individual is born or lives, all of which can affect that individual's overall health.

Host-Induced Gene Silencing of the -Methyl Transferase Gene Enhanced Maize Aflatoxin Resistance.

Maize is one of the major crops that are susceptible to infection and subsequent aflatoxin contamination, which poses a serious health threat to humans and domestic animals. Here, an RNA interference (RNAi) approach called Host-Induced Gene Silencing (HIGS) was employed to suppress the -methyl transferase gene (, also called ), a key gene involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis. An RNAi vector carrying part of the gene was introduced into the B104 maize line.

Tacrolimus- and Mycophenolate-Mediated Toxicity: Clinical Considerations and Options in Management of Post-Transplant Patients.

Tacrolimus and mycophenolate are important immunosuppressive agents used to prevent organ rejection in post-transplant patients. While highly effective, their use is associated with significant toxicity, requiring careful management. Tacrolimus, a calcineurin inhibitor, is linked to nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity, metabolic disturbances such as diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular complications such as hypertension and arrhythmias.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Real World Data Infrastructure: A Big-Data Resource for Study of the Impact of COVID-19 in Patient Populations With Immunocompromising Conditions.

Background: We developed a United States-based real-world data resource to better understand the continued impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on immunocompromised patients, who are typically underrepresented in prospective studies and clinical trials.

Methods: The COVID-19 Real World Data infrastructure (CRWDi) was created by linking and harmonizing de-identified HealthVerity medical and pharmacy claims data from 1 December 2018 to 31 December 2023, with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virologic and serologic laboratory data from major commercial laboratories and Northwell Health; COVID-19 vaccination data; and, for patients with cancer, 2010 to 2021 National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry data.

Results: The CRWDi contains 4 cohorts: patients with cancer; patients with rheumatic diseases receiving pharmacotherapy; noncancer solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients; and people from the general population including adults and pediatric patients.

Investigating Risk Factors for Racial Disparity in E-Cigarette Use with PATH Study.

Background: Previous research has identified differences in e-cigarette use and socioeconomic factors between different racial groups However, there is little research examining specific risk factors contributing to the racial differences.

Objective: This study sought to identify racial disparities in e-cigarette use and to determine risk factors that help explain these differences.

Methods: We used Wave 5 (2018-2019) of the Adult Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study.

Pathways from violence exposure to medication non-adherence: exploration of mental health symptoms and coping in people living with HIV in the U.S. South.

In the current study, we examine associations between exposure to violence and antiretroviral medication adherence in persons with HIV (PWH) in a southern city in the United States. We include investigation of a variety of violence exposures including childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse, witnessing family violence, lifetime violence exposures and current stress related to violence experiences, as well as neighborhood violence exposure. We examined associations between violence exposures and adherence and mediational pathways between these variables including mental health symptoms - specifically depressive, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms - as well as coping strategies.

Disparities in Access to Care in the Multimodal Treatment of Primary Nonmetastatic Liver Cancers and Their Impact on Patient Outcomes.

Background: Liver cancer incidence and mortality have been shown to differ by race, ethnicity, and geography. This study aims to analyze disparities in the multimodal treatment of liver cancers in Louisiana.

Methods: Cases of nonmetastatic liver cancer in Louisiana from 2010 to 2020 were obtained from the Louisiana Tumor Registry.

Blockade of AR improved brain perfusion and cognitive function in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 6.2 million Americans aged 65 and older, particularly women. Along with AD's main hallmarks (formation of β-amyloid plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles), there are vascular alterations that occurs in AD pathology.

Sex and age effects on chronic inflammatory pain development, maintenance, and resolution in Wistar rats.

Millions of Americans live with chronic inflammatory pain conditions, and the prevalence of these conditions increases with age and is higher in females. Still, it is poorly understood how sex, age and peripheral gene expression affect the trajectory of chronic inflammatory pain conditions. We used the inflammatory agent, Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA), to systematically test sex and age effects on mechanical and thermal sensitivity in adolescent and adult male and female Wistar rats over 3 weeks (Experiment 1 [onset]) or 11 weeks (Experiment 2 [recovery]).

Efficacy of lactoferrin supplementation in pediatric infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Pediatric infections account for approximately one-third of all deaths in children under 5 globally. Lactoferrin (LF) supplementation has the potential to reduce infection-related morbidity due to its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory properties. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of oral LF supplementation randomized controlled trials (RCT) in population under 18 years old.

Sex Differences in Long COVID.

Importance: A substantial number of individuals worldwide experience long COVID, or post-COVID condition. Other postviral and autoimmune conditions have a female predominance, but whether the same is true for long COVID, especially within different subgroups, is uncertain.

Objective: To evaluate sex differences in the risk of developing long COVID among adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Stem Cell Therapies for Pain in Diabetic Neuropathy, Osteoarthritis, and Spinal Cord Injuries.

Purpose Of Review: The use of stem cell therapy is a rapidly evolving and progressing frontier of science that has been used to treat illnesses such as malignancies, immunodeficiencies, and metabolic syndromes. This review aims to give an overview of the use of stem cell therapy in the treatment of pain caused by diabetic neuropathy, osteoarthritis, and other spinal cord pathologies.

Recent Findings: Pain is defined as a generalized or localized feeling of distress related to a physical or emotional stimulus and can be caused by a multitude of pathologies.

Long-term effects of combined exposures to simulated microgravity and galactic cosmic radiation on the mouse lung: sex-specific epigenetic reprogramming.

Most studies on the effects of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) have relied on terrestrial irradiation using spatially homogeneous dose distributions of mono-energetic beams comprised of one ion species. Here, we exposed mice to novel beams that more closely mimic GCR, namely, comprising poly-energetic ions of multiple species. Six-month-old male and female C57BL/6J mice were exposed to 0 Gy, 0.