Central venous pressure as a method of optimising atrio-ventricular delay after cardiac surgery.

Introduction: Haemodynamic atrioventricular delay (AVD) optimisation has primarily focussed on signals that are not easy to acquire from a pacing system itself, such as invasive left ventricular catheterisation or arterial blood pressure (ABP). In this study, standard clinical central venous pressure (CVP) signals are tested as a potential alternative.

Methods: Sixteen patients with a temporary pacemaker after cardiac surgery were studied.

Identifying Risk Factors of Children Who Suffered Physical Abuse: A Systematic Review.

Background: Approximately 25% of children in the United States experience child abuse or neglect, 18% of whom are physically abused. Physicians are often in a position to differentiate accidental trauma from physical child abuse. Therefore, the aim of this study was to review recent literature for risk factors associated with physical child abuse.

Drivers of Palliative Care and Hospice Use Among Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer.

Purpose: Despite rigorous evidence of improved quality of life and longer survival, disparities in the utilization of palliative and hospice care persist for racial and ethnic minority patients with cancer. This study evaluated the impact of psychosocial factors on utilization of these services.

Methods: Patients with advanced lung cancer were recruited at a large academic urban hospital.

RNA analysis of patients with benign and malignant pulmonary nodules.

Pulmonary nodules are the main manifestations of early lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common histological type of lung cancer, and the main histological classification of non-small cell lung cancer is lung adenocarcinoma. The present study aimed to analyze the differentially expressed genes between patients with benign and malignant pulmonary nodules, and to identify potential therapeutic targets for lung adenocarcinoma.

Head and Neck Paraganglioma in Pacak-Zhuang Syndrome.

Head and neck paragangliomas (HNPGLs) are typically slow-growing, hormonally inactive tumors of parasympathetic paraganglia. Inactivation of prolyl-hydroxylase domain-containing 2 protein causing indirect gain-of-function of hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF-2α), encoded by EPAS1, was recently shown to cause carotid body hyperplasia. We previously described a syndrome with multiple sympathetic paragangliomas caused by direct gain-of-function variants in EPAS1 (Pacak-Zhuang syndrome, PZS) and developed a corresponding mouse model.

Brain Age Modeling and Cognitive Outcomes in Young Adults With and Without Sickle Cell Anemia.

Importance: Both sickle cell anemia (SCA) and socioeconomic status have been associated with altered brain structure and cognitive disability, yet precise mechanisms underlying these associations are unclear.

Objective: To determine whether brains of individuals with and without SCA appear older than chronological age and if brain age modeling using brain age gap (BAG) can estimate cognitive outcomes and mediate the association of socioeconomic status and disease with these outcomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this cross-sectional study of 230 adults with and without SCA, individuals underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cognitive assessment.

Lived Experiences of Patients Hospitalized With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure and Kidney Dysfunction.

Importance: For patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), the presence of kidney dysfunction can substantially shape prognosis and treatment options. Yet little is known about the lived experiences of these medically vulnerable patients.

Objective: To elicit accounts of the illness and care experiences of patients currently or recently hospitalized with ADHF and kidney dysfunction in order to identify potential opportunities to improve care.

Postnatal management of preterm infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Introduction: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) in the preterm population is increasingly common in the current era of fetal endoluminal tracheal occlusion (FETO) therapy. There remains a lack of clinical guidance for clinicians and surgeons regarding optimal management strategies for such infants. We aimed to describe our experience in managing preterm CDH in a single quaternary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Clinical implementation of next-generation sequencing testing and genomically-matched therapy: a real-world data in a tertiary hospital.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) cancer profiling has gained traction in routine clinical practice in South Korea. Here, we evaluated the use of NGS testing and genomically-matched therapies for patients with advanced solid tumors in a real-world clinical practice. We analyzed results from NGS cancer panel tests (SNUBH pan-cancer version 2) ordered from June 2019 to June 2020.

Amelioration of a von Willebrand disease type 2B phenotype in vivo upon treatment with allele-selective siRNAs.

Treatment options for the bleeding disorder von Willebrand disease type 2B (VWD2B) are insufficient and fail to address the negative effects of circulating mutant von Willebrand factor (VWF). The dominant-negative nature of VWD2B makes functionally defective VWF an interesting therapeutic target. Previous in vitro studies have demonstrated the feasibility of allele-selective silencing of mutant VWF using small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human VWF gene, an approach that can be applied irrespective of the disease-causing VWF mutation.

Cigarette smoke components modulate the MR1-MAIT axis.

Tobacco smoking is prevalent across the world and causes numerous diseases. Cigarette smoke (CS) compromises immunity, yet little is known of the components of CS that impact T cell function. MR1 is a ubiquitous molecule that presents bacterial metabolites to MAIT cells, which are highly abundant in the lungs.

Impaired Hepatitis B and COVID-19 vaccination responses show strong concordance in hemodialysis patients with end stage renal disease.

Background: Patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis are at increased risk for infection and impaired vaccination responses. We analyzed overlap and influencing factors of vaccination responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus disease 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Methods: SARS-CoV-2 and HBV vaccination response was assessed in a cohort of German ESRD hemodialysis patients.

RadioFlow Cytometry Reveals That [F]FDG Uptake in K-RAS Lung Cancer Is Driven by Immune Cells: An Analysis on a Single-Cell Level.

Tumor metabolism is a hallmark of cancer, yet cellular heterogeneity within the tumor microenvironment presents a significant challenge, as bulk analysis masks the diverse metabolic profiles of individual cell populations. This complexity complicates our understanding of [F]FDG uptake by distinct cell types in the tumor microenvironment. This study aims to investigate [F]FDG uptake at the single-cell level in the lung of Kirsten rat sarcoma virus-driven cancer mouse models using the novel technique radio-flow cytometry (radioFlow).

Relationship between left ventricular shape and cardiovascular risk factors: comparison between the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and UK Biobank.

Background: Statistical shape atlases have been used in large-cohort studies to investigate relationships between heart shape and risk factors. The generalisability of these relationships between cohorts is unknown. The aims of this study were to compare left ventricular (LV) shapes in patients with differing cardiovascular risk factor profiles from two cohorts and to investigate whether LV shape scores generated with respect to a reference cohort can be directly used to study shape differences in another cohort.

Unveiling the immunomodulatory dance: endothelial cells' function and their role in non-small cell lung cancer.

The dynamic interactions between tumor endothelial cells (TECs) and the immune microenvironment play a critical role in the progression of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In general, endothelial cells exhibit diverse immunomodulatory properties, influencing immune cell recruitment, antigen presentation, and regulation of immune checkpoint expression. Understanding the multifaceted roles of TECs as well as assigning specific functional hallmarks to various TEC phenotypes offer new avenues for targeted development of therapeutic interventions, particularly in the context of advanced immunotherapy and anti-angiogenic treatments.

Value of combining lung ultrasound score with oxygenation and functional indices in determining weaning timing for critically ill pediatric patients.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the predictive effectiveness of bedside lung ultrasound score (LUS) in conjunction with rapid shallow breathing index (RSBI) and oxygenation index (P/F ratio) for weaning pediatric patients from mechanical ventilation.

Methods: This was a retrospective study. Eighty-two critically ill pediatric patients, who were admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and underwent mechanical ventilation from January 2023 to April 2024, were enrolled in this study.

Proteins Involved in Endothelial Function and Inflammation Are Implicated in Cerebral Small Vessel Disease.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction and inflammation have been implicated in the pathophysiology of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD). However, whether they are causal, and if so which components of the pathways represent potential treatment targets, remains uncertain.

Methods: Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to test the association between the circulating abundance of 996 proteins involved in endothelial dysfunction and inflammation and SVD.

Endothelial cell (EC)-specific CTGF/CCN2 Expression Increases EC Reprogramming and Atherosclerosis.

Arterial endothelial cells (ECs) reside in a complex biomechanical environment. ECs sense and respond to wall shear stress. Low and oscillatory wall shear stress is characteristic of disturbed flow and commonly found at arterial bifurcations and around atherosclerotic plaques.

Finerenone and new-onset diabetes in heart failure: a prespecified analysis of the FINEARTS-HF trial.

Background: Data on the effect of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist therapy on HbA levels and new-onset diabetes are conflicting. We aimed to examine the effect of oral finerenone, compared with placebo, on incident diabetes in the Finerenone Trial to Investigate Efficacy and Safety Superior to Placebo in Patients with Heart Failure (FINEARTS-HF) trial.

Methods: In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 6001 participants with heart failure with New York Heart Association functional class II-IV, left ventricular ejection fraction 40% or higher, evidence of structural heart disease, and elevated N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels were randomly assigned to finerenone or placebo, administered orally.

Prognostic Value of D-Dimer in Acute Type A Aortic Dissection and Intramural Hematoma: Observations from the Acute Aortic Syndrome Group of the Registry of Acute Non-Traumatic Chest Pain in China.

Background: Acute type A aortic dissection (AAD) and acute type A intramural hematoma (AIMH) are life-threatening conditions with high mortality rates, and prognostic indicators are critical for guiding urgent treatment decisions. We assessed the prognostic significance of admission D-dimer levels in patients with AAD and AIMH.

Methods And Results: The prospective, multicenter, observational study in China recruited participants from 2013 to 2019.

Inhibition of aortic CX3CR1+ macrophages mitigates thoracic aortic aneurysm progression in Marfan syndrome in mice.

The pathogenesis of thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) in Marfan syndrome (MFS) is generally attributed to vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) pathologies. However, the role of immune cell-mediated inflammation remains elusive. Single-cell RNA sequencing identified a subset of CX3CR1+ macrophages mainly located in the intima in the aortic roots and ascending aortas of Fbn1C1041G/+ mice, further validated in MFS patients.

Diabetes mellitus and glymphatic dysfunction: Roles for oxidative stress, mitochondria, circadian rhythm, artificial intelligence, and imaging.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a debilitating disorder that impacts all systems of the body and has been increasing in prevalence throughout the globe. DM represents a significant clinical challenge to care for individuals and prevent the onset of chronic disability and ultimately death. Underlying cellular mechanisms for the onset and development of DM are multi-factorial in origin and involve pathways associated with the production of reactive oxygen species and the generation of oxidative stress as well as the dysfunction of mitochondrial cellular organelles, programmed cell death, and circadian rhythm impairments.