Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) cardiac turnkey order set for perioperative pain management in cardiac surgery: Proceedings from the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) ERAS Conclave 2023.

Objective: Optimal perioperative pain management is an essential component of perioperative care for the cardiac surgical patient. This turnkey order set is part of a series created by the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Cardiac Society, first presented at the Annual Meeting of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery in 2023. Several guidelines and expert consensus documents have been published to provide guidance on pain management and opioid reduction in cardiac surgery.

Activation of HO by ThO Experimental and Computational Studies.

A synergetic study that utilized anion photoelectron spectroscopy and high-level ab initio calculations has explored the activation of HO molecules by ThO molecular anions. Both experiment and theory found conclusive evidence for said activation. In the experiments, this appeared as a tell-tale directional shift in the spectral profile of the anionic complex that ruled out physisorption, i.

The Role of Double-Zero-Event Studies in Evidence Synthesis: Evaluating Robustness Using the Fragility Index.

Rationale: Zero-event counts are common in clinical studies, particularly when assessing rare adverse events. These occurrences can result from low event rates, short follow-up periods, and small sample sizes. When both intervention and control groups report zero events in a clinical trial, the study is referred to as a double-zero-event study, which presents methodological challenges for evidence synthesis.

Histochemical indications for a chemically complex signal produced by the cervical gill slit gland of the pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps).

The pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) possesses an exocrine gland associated with its false gill slit pigmentation pattern. The cervical gill slit gland is a compound tubuloalveolar gland that produces a holocrine secretion and displays maturational changes in size and secretory histology. While the morphology of the cervical gill slit gland has been described in detail, to date, the chemical composition of its secretion remains uncharacterized.

Nursing Facility Characteristics Are Differentially Associated With Family Satisfaction and Regulatory Star Ratings.

Research suggests that nursing facility structural characteristics are important contributors toward residents' quality of care. We use 2021 data from 220 Maryland nursing facilities to examine associations between two different quality-of-care metrics: family satisfaction and Care Compare five-star quality ratings. We used descriptive statistics to explore differences in quality metrics across facility ownership (for-profit vs.

Adults and Adolescents With Neuroblastoma: An Analysis of the National Cancer Database.

Background And Objectives: Neuroblastoma, the most common extracranial solid tumor in children, is rare in adults. This study compares patient characteristics, disease patterns, and treatments among adults, adolescents, and children with neuroblastoma.

Methods: We queried the National Cancer Database (2004-2019) for neuroblastoma cases.

Phenotypic Expansion: Fetus With Cole-Carpenter Type 2 Presenting With Novel Neonatal Lethal Skeletal Dysplasia.

We report a 28-year-old G2P0 at 24 weeks 5 days who presented for evaluation secondary to suspected skeletal dysplasia in her fetus. Fetal ultrasound imaging demonstrated foreshortened long bones by 9-10 weeks, multiple bowing deformities and fractures, 11 foreshortened paired ribs with fractures, decreased skull mineralization, frontal bossing, enlarged cavum septum pellucidi, and severe fetal growth restriction (< 2%). Findings were concerning for life limiting condition with thoracic circumference < 2.

Toward risk analysis of the impact of artificial intelligence on the deliberate biological threat landscape.

The perception that the convergence of biological engineering and artificial intelligence (AI) could enable increased biorisk has recently drawn attention to the governance of biotechnology and AI. The 2023 Executive Order, Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, requires an assessment of how AI can increase biorisk. Within this perspective, quantitative and qualitative frameworks for evaluating biorisk are presented.

Better mental health and fewer depressive symptoms are associated with greater psychological resilience after hip fracture.

Background: High psychological resilience is associated with improved functional outcomes for older adults recovering from hip fracture. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with increased psychological resilience in older women after hip fracture.

Methods: 129 women aged ≥65 years with recent surgically-repaired hip fracture were enrolled in a trial of exercise and testosterone therapy.

Defining an NK Cell-enriched Rejection-like Phenotype in Liver Transplant Biopsies From the INTERLIVER Study.

Background: Initial analysis of liver transplant biopsies in the INTERLIVER study (ClinicalTrials.gov; unique identifier NCT03193151) using rejection-associated transcripts failed to find an antibody-mediated rejection state (ie, rich in natural killer [NK] cells and with interferon-gamma effects). We recently developed an optimization strategy in lung transplants that isolated an NK cell-enriched rejection-like (NKRL) state that was molecularly distinct from T cell-mediated rejection (TCMR).

Transplantation of a genetically modified porcine heart into a live human.

Following our previous experience with cardiac xenotransplantation of a genetically modified porcine heart into a live human, we sought to achieve improved results by selecting a healthier recipient and through more sensitive donor screening for potential zoonotic pathogens. Here we transplanted a 10-gene-edited pig heart into a 58-year-old man with progressive, debilitating inotrope-dependent heart failure due to ischemic cardiomyopathy who was not a candidate for standard advanced heart failure therapies. He was maintained on a costimulation (anti-CD40L, Tegoprubart) blockade-based immunomodulatory regimen.

Identification of CT based radiomic biomarkers for progression free survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

This study addresses the limited noninvasive tools for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) progression-free survival (PFS) prediction by identifying Computed Tomography (CT)-based biomarkers for predicting prognosis. A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 203 HNSCC patients. An ensemble feature selection involving correlation analysis, univariate survival analysis, best-subset selection, and the LASSO-Cox algorithm was used to select functional features, which were then used to build final Cox Proportional Hazards models (CPH).

CCR5-ligand decorated rilpivirine lipid-based nanoparticles for sustained antiretroviral responses.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) improves the quality of life for those living with the human immunodeficiency virus type one (HIV-1). However, poor compliance reduces ART effectiveness and leads to immune compromise, viral mutations, and disease co-morbidities. Here we develop a drug formulation in which a lipid-based nanoparticle (LBNP) carrying rilpivirine (RPV) is decorated with the C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) targeting peptide.

Investigation of the Thermal Stability and Hydrolytic Degradation Kinetics of Poly(Lactide-co-Glycolide) Melts.

Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) is widely used in a variety of long-acting injectables. However, its biodegradable nature creates potential chemical stability challenges during melt extrusion, where PLGA is exposed to elevated temperature (100-140 °C) for several minutes. This study evaluated the thermal stability of three PLGA grades (Resomer® 502, 502H, and 505) with varying molecular weights and chain-ends using a differential scanning calorimeter and twin-screw extruder.

Blunted Ventral Striatal Reactivity to Social Reward Is Associated with More Severe Motivation and Pleasure Deficits in Psychosis.

Background And Hypothesis: Among individuals living with psychotic disorders, social impairment is common, debilitating, and challenging to treat. While the roots of this impairment are undoubtedly complex, converging lines of evidence suggest that social motivation and pleasure (MAP) deficits play a central role. Yet most neuroimaging studies have focused on monetary rewards, precluding decisive inferences.

Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer: updates and best practices for multiplex immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence (IF) image analysis and data sharing.

Objectives: Multiplex immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence (mIHC/IF) are emerging technologies that can be used to help define complex immunophenotypes in tissue, quantify immune cell subsets, and assess the spatial arrangement of marker expression. mIHC/IF assays require concerted efforts to optimize and validate the multiplex staining protocols prior to their application on slides. The best practice guidelines for staining and validation of mIHC/IF assays across platforms were previously published by this task force.

Association of Systemic Thromboxane Generation With Risk of Developing Heart Failure.

Background: Systemic thromboxane A generation, which is readily assessed by quantifying thromboxane B metabolites (TXB-M) in the urine, is associated with impaired cardiac performance and mortality in aspirin (ASA) users with heart failure (HF).

Objectives: This study sought to determine the association of urinary TXB-M with the risk of developing HF in individuals without prior history of HF and with normal left ventricular function irrespective of ASA use.

Methods: Urine TXB-M were measured by immunoassay and adjusted to urine concentration and renal function (TXB-M) in 2,611 Framingham Heart Study participants (54.

Updated Appropriate Use Criteria for Amyloid and Tau PET: A Report from the Alzheimer's Association and Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Workgroup.

The Alzheimer's Association and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging convened a multidisciplinary workgroup to update appropriate use criteria (AUC) for amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) and to develop AUC for tau PET. The workgroup identified key research questions that guided a systematic literature review on clinical amyloid/tau PET. Building on this review, the workgroup developed 17 clinical scenarios in which amyloid or tau PET may be considered.

Dosimetry Software for Theranostic Applications: Current Capabilities and Future Prospects.

Dosimetry is integral to informed implementation of radiopharmaceutical therapies, enabling personalized treatment planning and ensuring patient safety by calculating absorbed doses to organs and tumors. As the therapeutic radiopharmaceutical field continues to expand, dosimetry software has emerged as a crucial tool for optimization of treatment efficacy. This review discusses key features and capabilities that current dosimetry software solutions have or should have in the future.

Structural and bioinformatics analyses identify deoxydinucleotide-specific nucleases and their association with genomic islands in gram-positive bacteria.

Dinucleases of the DEDD superfamily, such as oligoribonuclease, Rexo2 and nanoRNase C, catalyze the essential final step of RNA degradation, the conversion of di- to mononucleotides. The active sites of these enzymes are optimized for substrates that are two nucleotides long, and do not discriminate between RNA and DNA. Here, we identified a novel DEDD subfamily, members of which function as dedicated deoxydinucleases (diDNases) that specifically hydrolyze single-stranded DNA dinucleotides in a sequence-independent manner.

HEPATOCYTE GROWTH FACTOR FOR WALKING PERFORMANCE IN PERIPHERAL ARTERY DISEASE.

Introduction: VM202 is a plasmid encoding two isoforms of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). In preclinical studies, HGF stimulated angiogenesis and muscle regeneration. This preliminary clinical trial tested the hypothesis that VM202 injections in gastrocnemius muscle would improve walking performance in people with mild to moderate and symptomatic lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Revealing the process and mechanism of non-grain production of cropland in rapidly urbanized deqing County of China.

Non-grain production of cropland (NGPCL) is a common consequence of rapid urbanization, but excessive NGPCL threatens food security and sustainable cropland use. However, the evolutionary processes and mechanisms of different NGPCL types remain largely unknown, compromising the scientific basis for NGPCL management. Thus, taking rapidly urbanized Deqing as the study area, this research constructed an NGPCL theoretical framework from the perspective of agricultural location, classified NGPCL types using Landsat images, random forest algorithm and Google Earth Engine, and revealed their spatiotemporal changes and different influencing factors through the Multinomial Logit Regression model, and provided targeted zoning and categorized policy suggestions.

Accurate image reconstruction within and beyond the field-of-view of CT system from data with truncation.

Objective: Accurate image reconstruction from data with truncation in X-ray computed tomography (CT) remains a topic of research interest; and the works reported previously in the literature focus largely on reconstructing an image only within the scanning field-of-view (FOV). We develop algorithms to invert the data model with truncation for accurate image reconstruction within the entire subject support or a region slightly smaller than the subject support.

Methods: We formulate image reconstruction from data with truncation as an optimization program, which includes hybrid constraints on image total variation (TV) and image L1-norm for effectively suppressing truncation artifacts.