The Age-Old Question in Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy: Is Older Age a Contraindication?

Background: Nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) is infrequently performed in older women, at least in part owing to concerns regarding age-related complications. We describe postoperative outcomes of NSM in older women and risk factors for complications, with the goal of informing patient selection and decision-making.

Patients And Methods: Cases of NSM with immediate implant-based reconstruction were identified from an institutional database (2009-2019).

Thermogelation of nanoemulsions stabilized by a commercial pea protein isolate: high-pressure homogenization defines gel strength.

The impact of animal-based food production on climate change drives the development of plant-based alternatives. We demonstrate the use of colloidal thermogelation on a real nanoemulsion system to create structured gels that could be of interest for thermo-mechanical processing of next-generation plant-based food applications. We use a commercial pea protein isolate (PPI) without further purification to stabilize a 20 vol% peanut oil-in-water nanoemulsion at pH = 7 by high-pressure homogenization (HPH) and demonstrate the temperature induced gelation behavior of the nanoemulsion as a function of the HPH processing parameters.

Stacking-Engineered Ferroelectricity and Multiferroic Order in van der Waals Magnets.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials that exhibit spontaneous magnetization, polarization, or strain (referred to as ferroics) have the potential to revolutionize nanotechnology by enhancing the multifunctionality of nanoscale devices. However, multiferroic order is difficult to achieve, requiring complicated coupling between electron and spin degrees of freedom. We propose a universal method to engineer multiferroics from van der Waals magnets by taking advantage of the fact that changing the stacking between 2D layers can break inversion symmetry, resulting in ferroelectricity as well as magnetoelectric coupling.

Detecting a Long-Lived False Vacuum with Quantum Quenches.

Distinguishing whether a system supports alternate low-energy (locally stable) states-stable (true vacuum) versus metastable (false vacuum)-by direct observation can be difficult when the lifetime of the state is very long but otherwise unknown. Here we demonstrate, in a tractable model system, that there are physical phenomena on much shorter timescales that can diagnose the difference. Specifically, we study the time evolution of the magnetization following a quench in the tilted quantum Ising model, and show that its magnitude spectrum is an effective diagnostic.

Correlated Decoding of Logical Algorithms with Transversal Gates.

Quantum error correction is believed to be essential for scalable quantum computation, but its implementation is challenging due to its considerable space-time overhead. Motivated by recent experiments demonstrating efficient manipulation of logical qubits using transversal gates [Bluvstein et al., Nature (London) 626, 58 (2024)NATUAS0028-083610.

Quantum Turnstiles for Robust Measurement of Full Counting Statistics.

We present a scalable protocol for measuring full counting statistics (FCS) in experiments or tensor-network simulations. In this method, an ancilla in the middle of the system acts as a turnstile, with its phase keeping track of the time-integrated particle flux. Unlike quantum gas microscopy, the turnstile protocol faithfully captures FCS starting from number-indefinite initial states or in the presence of noisy dynamics.

Transport Properties of a Half-Filled Chern Band at the Electron and Composite Fermion Phases.

We consider a half-filled Chern band and its transport properties in two phases that it may form: the electronic Fermi liquid and the composite-fermion Fermi liquid. For weak disorder, we show that the Hall resistivity for the former phase is very small, while for the latter it is close to 2h/e^{2}, independent of the distribution of the Berry curvature in the band. At rising temperature and high frequency, we expect the Hall resistivity of the electronic phase to rise, and that of the composite-fermion phase to deviate from 2h/e^{2}.

Search for Fractionally Charged Particles with CUORE.

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is a detector array comprised by 988 5  cm×5  cm×5  cm TeO_{2} crystals held below 20 mK, primarily searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay in ^{130}Te. Unprecedented in size among cryogenic calorimetric experiments, CUORE provides a promising setting for the study of exotic throughgoing particles. Using the first tonne year of CUORE's exposure, we perform a search for hypothesized fractionally charged particles (FCPs), which are well-motivated by various standard model extensions and would have suppressed interactions with matter.

Geographic Variation in Inpatient Rehabilitation Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: To determine whether regional variations exist in functional outcomes of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) admitted to inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) across the United States, while controlling for demographic and clinical variables.

Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) across 4 U.S.

Youth Homelessness in Denver, Colorado: 2017-2021.

Objectives: Homelessness is a public health crisis in the United States, yet homelessness prevalence, especially among children and youth, is not well understood. In this study, we use an indirect estimation method known as multiple systems estimation to further evaluate prevalence of youth experiencing homelessness in Denver, Colorado.

Methods: We performed a multiple systems estimation ("capture-recapture") analysis to estimate annual homelessness among youth aged 14 to 17 years in the city and county of Denver, Colorado from 2017 to 2021.

Monocyte Anisocytosis is Associated with Sepsis in Children with Suspected Infection.

Background: Early, accurate determination of disease severity in an emergency setting is paramount for improving patient outcomes and healthcare costs. Monocyte anisocytosis, quantified as monocyte distribution width (MDW), has been shown to correspond with immune dysregulation. We hypothesize that MDW is broadly associated with illness severity related to sepsis and serious infection in children.

Unsupervised machine learning analysis to identify patterns of ICU medication use for fluid overload prediction.

Background: Fluid overload (FO) in the intensive care unit (ICU) is common, serious, and may be preventable. Intravenous medications (including administered volume) are a primary cause for FO but are challenging to evaluate as a FO predictor given the high frequency and time-dependency of their use and other factors affecting FO. We sought to employ unsupervised machine learning methods to uncover medication administration patterns correlating with FO.

International Consensus Guidance for the Management of Glucocorticoid Related Complications in Neuromuscular Disease.

Introduction/aims: Glucocorticoid (GC)-related adverse reactions and risks are commonly seen during the treatment of immune-mediated and inflammatory neuromuscular disorders. There is wide variation in the management of associated complications. The aim of this study is to develop international consensus guidance on the management of GC-related complications in neuromuscular disorders.

Effectiveness and Safety of Treatments for Early-Stage Merkel Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized and Non-Randomized Studies.

Objective: The lack of consensus on the benefits and harms of standard therapies, including surgery (SRx), radiotherapy (RTx), chemotherapy (CTx), and their combinations among early-stage MCC, prompted this study.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and non-randomized studies published between January 01, 1972, and January 31, 2023, and having overall survival (OS), local recurrence (LR), regional recurrence (RR), disease-specific survival (DSS), and/or disease-free survival (DFS) as outcomes was conducted using the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed (NCBI), Scopus (ELSEVIER), and Web of Science (CLAVIRATE) databases. Hazard ratios (HRs) and their variances were pooled using the inverse variance heterogeneity model.

Endurable IGZO/SnS/IGZO Heterojunction Phototransistor Arrays for Image Sensors.

Optoelectronic devices require stable operation to detect repetitive visual information. In this study, endurable arrays based on heterojunction phototransistors composed of indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) with a low dark current and tin sulfide (SnS) capable of absorbing visible light are developed for image sensors. The tandem structure of IGZO/SnS/IGZO (ISI) enables stable operation under repetitive exposure to visible light by improving the transport ability of the photoexcited carriers through mitigated trap sites and their separation into each IGZO layer.

On the Limits of Anonymization for Promoting Diversity in Organizations.

Anonymization of job applicant resumes is a recommended strategy to increase diversity in organizations, but large-scale tests have shown mixed results. We consider decision-makers' social dominance orientation (SDO), a measure of anti-egalitarianism/endorsement of group-based hierarchy, to illustrate the limits of anonymization. Across four pre-registered studies ( = 3,150), we show that (a) lower SDO individuals are less likely to hire individuals from underrepresented groups when job materials are anonymized and (b) they are more likely to opt into using anonymization.

Routine Prenatal cfDNA Screening for Autosomal Dominant Single-Gene Conditions.

Background: Genetic screening has advanced from prenatal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) screening for aneuploidies (cfDNA-ANP) to single-gene disorders (cfDNA-SGD). Clinical validation studies have been promising in pregnancies with anomalies but are limited in the general population.

Methods: Chart review and laboratory data identified pregnancies with cfDNA-SGD screening for 25 autosomal dominant conditions at our academic center.

Polygenic Risk Scores in Human Disease.

Background: Polygenic risk scores (PRS) are measures of genetic susceptibility to human health traits. With the advent of large data repositories combining genetic data and phenotypic information, PRS are providing valuable insights into the genetic architecture of complex diseases and are transforming the landscape of precision medicine.

Content: PRS have emerged as tools with clinical utility in human disease.

Robotic Surgery in Safety-Net Hospitals: Addressing Health Disparities and Improving Access to Care.

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has demonstrated significant clinical and economic benefits that have been consistently validated and reproduced in practice and the literature for the past few decades. These benefits include improved patient outcomes, reduced complications, shorter hospital stays, decreased narcotic use, quicker recovery times, and lower rates of wound infections. However, safety-net hospitals, which historically serve a larger percentage of underserved and marginalized populations, often lack the resources to invest in high capital equipment.

A canine model of reversible urethral sphincter insufficiency.

This study developed an animal model with internal and external urethral sphincter insufficiency by bypassing the sphincter without major damage so that the animal under study can return to normal life after the study. There is a need for a reliable, applicable, and reproducible animal model for studying urinary incontinency disease due to incorrect sphincter function. Seven adult male dogs were used for this study.

Effects of sex on imaging-based intravenous thrombolysis for ischaemic stroke with unknown onset time: a pooled analysis of clinical trials.

Introduction: The effects of imaging-based intravenous thrombolysis on outcomes based on patient sex remain unclear. We aimed to investigate whether outcomes among patients with stroke with an unknown onset time and treated with imaging-based intravenous thrombolysis are influenced by their sex.

Patients And Methods: This study was a pooled analysis of individual patient-level data acquired from the Evaluation of unknown Onset Stroke thrombolysis trials.

AI-assisted Total Body Dermoscopic Evaluation of Changes in Melanocytic Nevi during Pregnancy: A Prospective, Comparative Study of 2,799 Nevi.

Pregnancy-associated changes in melanocytic nevi (MN), apart from size increase on the trunk, remain a topic of debate. We conducted the first prospective study to investigate dermoscopic changes in MN comparing pregnant with non-pregnant women on all body parts using a market-approved convolutional neural network (CNN). We included 25 pregnant and 25 non-pregnant women from Basel, Switzerland, who underwent standard skin cancer screenings and whose MN > 2 mm were digitally recorded and analysed by a CNN.

Maternal immune activation by toll-like receptor 7 agonist during mid-gestation increases susceptibility to blood-brain barrier leakage after puberty.

Maternal immune activation (MIA), a maternal stressor, increases risk for neuropsychiatric diseases, such as Major Depressive Disorder in offspring. MIA of toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) initiates an immune response in mother and fetuses in a sex-selective manner. The paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), a brain region that is sexually dimorphic and regulates hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress responses, have been tied to stress-related behaviors (i.