Longitudinal Analysis of Obesity Drug Use and Public Awareness.

Importance: Obesity, a chronic disease with escalating global prevalence, poses considerable health risks. Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), including liraglutide, semaglutide, and tirzepatide, have demonstrated efficacy for weight loss in clinical trials. The paradigm shift in the approach to obesity management drugs (OMDs) may offer an opportunity to examine online search activity and prescription trends.

With a little help from my friends: importance of protist-protist interactions in structuring marine protistan communities in the San Pedro Channel.

Unlabelled: Marine protists form complex communities that are shaped by environmental and biological ecosystem properties, as well as ecological interactions between organisms. While all of these factors play a role in shaping protistan communities, the specific ways in which these properties and interactions influence protistan communities remain poorly understood. Fourteen years and 9 months of eukaryotic amplicon (18S-V4 rRNA gene) data collected monthly at the San Pedro Ocean Time-series (SPOT) station were used to evaluate the impacts that environmental and biological factors, and protist-protist interactions had on protistan community composition.

Identification of near full-length human pegivirus type 2 (HPgV-2) genomes in blood donor samples co-infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Human pegivirus (HPgV) identified from an HCV-infected plasma sample through nanopore metagenomics. The analysis revealed a nearly complete HPgV-2 genome. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed its classification within the HPgV-2 genotype, providing insights into viral co-infection dynamics.

Virus-like particle-based vaccines targeting the mosquito salivary protein TRIO.

Malaria is a highly lethal infectious disease caused by parasites. These parasites are transmitted to vertebrate hosts when mosquitoes of the genus probe for a blood meal. Sporozoites, the infectious stage of , transit to the liver within hours of injection into the dermis.

Emerging Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Tap Water from the American Healthy Homes Survey II.

Humans experience widespread exposure to anthropogenic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) through various media, which can lead to a wide range of negative health impacts. Tap water is an important source of exposure in communities with any degree of contamination but routine or large-scale PFAS monitoring often depends on targeted analytical methods limited to measuring specific PFAS. We analyzed 680 tap water samples from the American Healthy Homes Survey II for PFAS using non-targeted analysis (NTA) to expand the range of detectable PFAS.

"Everything cannot be handled virtually": Understanding intention and use of digital health technologies among rural adults and rural cancer survivors.

Purpose: This qualitative study assessed internet access and use, barriers and facilitators to participating in digital health interventions or programs, and the engagement experience in virtual versus in-person health interventions among rural adults and rural cancer survivors.

Methods: Rural adults (n = 10) and rural cancer survivors (n = 10) were recruited from previous studies to participate in an in-depth interview. The interview guide contained eight open-ended questions related to participation in technology-based programs.

Innate Immunity Never "NODs" Off: NLRs Regulate the Host Anti-Viral Immune Response.

A robust innate immune response is essential in combating viral pathogens. However, it is equally critical to quell overzealous immune signaling to limit collateral damage and enable inflammation resolution. Pattern recognition receptors are critical regulators of these processes.

Association Between Metabolomics Findings and Brain Hypometabolism in Mild Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition with rising prevalence due to the aging global population. Existing methods for diagnosing AD are struggling to detect the condition in its earliest and most treatable stages. One early indicator of AD is a substantial decrease in the brain's glucose metabolism.

Refractory and Resistant Herpes Simplex Virus Mucocutaneous Infections in Immunocompromised Patients: Literature Review and Proposed Definitions for Use in Clinical Trials.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is one of the most prevalent viral infections worldwide. In general, host immunity is sufficient to clear viral shedding and recurrences, although it is insufficient to prevent subsequent virologic reactivations. In immunocompromised patients, prolonged and difficult-to-treat HSV infections may develop.

Trends of Representation of Women in Professional Medical Societal Leadership in the United States and Europe.

Background: There continue to be significant gender disparities with women being underrepresented in medical professional society leadership roles, despite more women entering medical school.

Objectives: This study aimed to elucidate the pattern of representation of women in medical society presidential positions in the United States and Europe over the past 50 years. It further examines gender-related trends in the field of cardiology and among medical trainees.

Evaluating endogenous viral targets as potential treatment monitoring surrogates for onsite non-potable water reuse.

Onsite non-potable water reuse systems (ONWS) are decentralized systems that treat and repurpose locally collected waters ( greywater or combined wastewater) for uses such as irrigation and flushing toilets. To ensure that treatment is meeting risk benchmarks, it is necessary to monitor the efficacy of pathogen removal. However, accurate assessment of pathogen reduction is hampered by their sporadic and low occurrence rates in source waters and concentrations in treated water that are generally below measurement detection limits.

Understanding the Association Between Neighborhoods and Adolescent Sleep: Evidence from Add Health.

Introduction: Research suggests that perceived neighborhood social environments (PNSE) may contribute to gender and race/ethnicity-based sleep disparities. Our study aimed to examine associations between PNSE factors and adolescents' sleep patterns. As a secondary aim, we examined how gender and race/ethnic groups might moderate these associations.

Lack of effect of renal function on uptake of 99mTc-sestamibi in renal masses.

Objective: The appropriate clinical management of indeterminate small renal masses can be improved based on accurate risk stratification. This study aimed to investigate the impact of renal function on the uptake of technetium-99m (99mTc)-sestamibi, a widely available imaging agent that can be utilized to identify oncocytomas and other benign/indolent renal masses.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted, involving 100 consecutive patients who underwent 99mTc-sestamibi single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography.

Ultrasound Predicts Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy Findings Using Machine Learning Models.

Objectives: Ultrasound is a promising low-risk imaging modality that can provide objective airway measurements that may circumvent limitations of drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE). This study was devised to identify ultrasound-derived anatomical measurements that could accurately predict collapse pattern and location based on the VOTE criteria (VOTE: Velum, Oropharynx, Tongue, and Epiglottis).

Methods: Ultrasonography was performed on 20 adult patients of various airway subsites while awake and sedated with concurrent endoscopy performed during drug-induced sleep.

Examining the arrhythmogenicity of dobutamine when used in conjunction with isoflurane in horses: A retrospective study at a single university teaching hospital.

Background: Dobutamine is used to treat hypotension in isoflurane-anaesthetised horses but may produce arrhythmias. Halothane is a volatile anaesthetic that was, historically, widely used in horses, but in one study, 56 of 200 halothane-anaesthetised horses (28%) developed arrhythmias after dobutamine administration. Although isoflurane has largely replaced halothane, it is unknown how isoflurane and dobutamine interact in the development of arrhythmias.

Parent-Reported Feeding Practices Associated With Children's Observed Willingness-to-Try-New-Foods in Childcare.

Feeding behaviours are established early in life, with lifelong influences on children's appetite, growth and health, emphasizing the importance of understanding how parent-child feeding interactions relate to children's eating and growth patterns. The objective was to examine reciprocity between parent-reported feeding practices and children's observed willingness-to-try-new-foods in childcare settings without parental presence, thereby assessing independence from context and parental influence. The sample included parent-child dyads (n = 436) recruited from 51 childcare centres across 10 counties.

Hyaluronic-Acid-Functionalized Tofacitinib Loaded Transethosomes for Targeted Drug Delivery in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

The Janus kinase inhibitor tofacitinib (TOF) is an FDA-approved drug for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment, but its long-term oral use leads to significant systemic side effects. The present research aimed to conquer these challenges by formulating hyaluronic-acid-coated transethosomes (HA-TOF-TE), a novel system for targeted, topical delivery of TOF to reduce systemic toxicity and improve therapeutic efficacy. Transethosomes were synthesized via the cold sonication technique with HA functionalization enabling CD44 receptor-mediated targeting of inflamed synovial tissue.

RetroFun-RVS: A Retrospective Family-Based Framework for Rare Variant Analysis Incorporating Functional Annotations.

A large proportion of genetic variations involved in complex diseases are rare and located within noncoding regions, making the interpretation of underlying biological mechanisms a daunting task. Although technical and methodological progress has been made to annotate the genome, current disease-rare-variant association tests incorporating such annotations suffer from two major limitations. First, they are generally restricted to case-control designs of unrelated individuals, which often require tens or hundreds of thousands of individuals to achieve sufficient power.

Raman Spectroscopy in Cellular and Tissue Aging Research.

The establishment of various molecular, physiological, and genetic markers for cellular senescence and aging-associated conditions has progressed the aging study. To identify such markers, a combination of optical, proteomic-, and sequencing-based tools is primarily used, often accompanying extrinsic labels. Yet, the tools for clinical detection at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels are still lacking which profoundly hinders advancements in the specific detection and timely prevention of aging-related diseases and pathologies.

Longitudinal Changes in Patient- and Clinical-Reported Outcomes in Early Spinocerebellar Ataxia Types 1, 2, 3, and 6 from the IDEA Study.

Background: Clinical outcomes assessments (COAs) in spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) need to be standardized, ataxia-specific, sensitive to change, clinically relevant, and meaningful to patients.

Objectives: To evaluate the longitudinal 1- and 2-year performances of different patient reported outcomes, including the Patient Reported Outcome Measure of Ataxia (PROM-Ataxia), and clinician reported outcomes, including FARS and SARA, in those with early manifest symptoms of SCA 1, 2, 3, and 6.

Methods: We studied 53 patients with early stage SCA1-3 and SCA6 from The Instrumented Data Exchange for Ataxia Study and 24 age-matched healthy controls.

Practical management of adverse events in patients receiving tarlatamab, a delta-like ligand 3-targeted bispecific T-cell engager immunotherapy, for previously treated small cell lung cancer.

Tarlatamab is a bispecific T-cell engager immunotherapy targeting delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3) and the cluster of differentiation 3 (CD3) molecule. In the phase 2 DeLLphi-301 trial of tarlatamab for patients with previously treated small cell lung cancer, tarlatamab 10 mg every 2 weeks achieved durable responses and encouraging survival outcomes. Analyses of updated safety data from the DeLLphi-301 trial demonstrated that the most common treatment-emergent adverse events were cytokine release syndrome (53%), pyrexia (38%), decreased appetite (36%), dysgeusia (32%), and an emia (30%).

Toward Developing Alternative Opioid Antagonists for Treating Community Overdose: A Model-Based Evaluation of Important Pharmacological Attributes.

In response to increased illicit use of synthetic opioids, various μ-receptor antagonist formulations, with varied pharmacological characteristics, have been and are being developed. To understand how pharmacologic characteristics such as absorption rate and clearance rate affect reversal in treating community opioid overdose, we used our previously published translational opioid model. We adapted this model with in vitro receptor binding data and clinical pharmacokinetic data of three intranasal nalmefene formulations along with an intranasal naloxone formulation to study the reversal of fentanyl and carfentanil-induced respiratory depression in chronic opioid users.

Implicit bias assessment by career stage in medical education training: a narrative review.

Implicit biases involve associations outside conscious awareness that lead to a negative evaluation of a person based on individual characteristics. Early evaluation of implicit bias in medical training can prevent long-term adverse health outcomes related to racial bias. However, to our knowledge, no present studies examine the sequential assessment of implicit bias through the different stages of medical training.

Characteristics of Patients with Hereditary Angioedema Who Reduced Lanadelumab Treatment Administration Frequency: A Retrospective Observational Study of US Claims Data.

Background: Lanadelumab is the only long-term prophylaxis indicated for reduced administration frequency in patients with hereditary angioedema who have been well controlled for > 6 months. Understanding the characteristics of patients who reduce administration frequency will help identify populations where frequency modifications may be appropriate.

Objective: We aimed to describe characteristics of patients who did and did not reduce lanadelumab administration frequency to inform real-world dosing regimens, and characteristics indicative of sustained frequency reduction.

Convergent evolution of oxidized sugar metabolism in commensal and pathogenic microbes in the inflamed gut.

Inflammation-associated perturbations of the gut microbiome are well characterized, but poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that disparate taxa recapitulate the metabolism of the oxidized sugars glucarate and galactarate, utilizing enzymatically divergent, yet functionally equivalent, gud/gar pathways. The divergent pathway in commensals includes a putative 5-KDG aldolase (GudL) and an uncharacterized ABC transporter (GarABC) that recapitulate the function of their non-homologous counterparts in pathogens.