HIV Prevention in Syringe Service Programs Since the Start of COVID-19: Where Do We Go From Here?

Purpose: This narrative review addresses post-2020, specific, complex challenges for use of and adherence to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention among out-of-treatment people who use drugs (PWUD) at syringe services programs (SSPs).

Recent Findings: The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated changes to the provision of healthcare have significantly impacted HIV prevention, especially for PWUD. Through a synthesis of literature and clinical experience, we (1) characterize the operational changes imposed by the pandemic on SSPs that shaped the current HIV prevention landscape; (2) describe three levels of current challenges for PWUD, including consumer attitudes, non-medical and medical provider attitudes, and structural and scalability barriers; (3) characterize current models for PrEP in SSPs; and (4) offer practical recommendations for HIV prevention in harm reduction programs.

Challenges in determining the global burden of non-malignant central nervous system tumors: an analysis of international incidence and mortality data sources.

Background: Non-malignant tumors of the CNS contribute substantially to the morbidity and mortality from CNS tumors. It is critical to understand the epidemiology of non-malignant CNS tumors separately from CNS malignancies to inform resource allocation and policy since treatment and prognosis can differ. High quality international data on non-malignant CNS tumor burden are needed to accomplish this goal.

Effective repulsive interaction between Janus polymer-grafted nanoparticles adhering to lipid vesicles.

The adhesion of nanoparticles to lipid vesicles causes curvature deformations to the membrane to an extent determined by the competition between the adhesive interaction and the membrane's elasticity. These deformations can extend over length scales larger than the size of a nanoparticle, leading to an effective membrane-curvature-mediated interaction between nanoparticles. Nanoparticles with uniform surfaces tend to aggregate into unidimensionally close-packed clusters at moderate adhesion strengths and endocytose at high adhesion strengths.

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) to promote educational equity.

The article uses theory and qualitative evidence to show how youth participatory action research (YPAR) can advance educational equity. YPAR engages young people and adult allies in research and action on issues in their schools and communities. Interviews with over two dozen YPAR researchers-students and partner teachers-elaborate the mechanisms through which school-based YPAR can affect equity, including through direct changes to policy and practice as a result of YPAR actions, a school culture that values student experiences, transformative teacher-student relationships, and improved individual outcomes for participants.

Mean mares? Habitat features influence female aggression in response to social instability in the feral horse ().

It is unclear how habitat features alter animal responses to social instability. Only by uncovering such interactions can we fully understand the evolutionary drivers and fitness consequences of sociality. We capitalize on a management-induced manipulation of social stability in an island population of free-ranging feral horses (), living across three distinct habitat types.

A new airtight sampling method for sulfur hexafluoride (SF) in groundwater.

In the past 20 years, sulfur hexafluoride (SF) has been considered a highly reliable tracer for assessing modern water (< 65 yrs old) in groundwater. However, modern-air contamination may introduce complications in interpreting data obtained using current sampling methods. A new airtight methodology isolates the sample from modern ambient air; thus, returning more reproducible and reliable results when compared to two traditional (air-sensitive and non-airtight) methods.

Searching for a Job: A Survey of Hand Fellowship Applicants and Current Hand Surgeons.

Background: Core curricula do not include courses on how to find employment after hand fellowships. Little data exists in literature regarding job selection in hand surgery. This study's purpose was to provide information to future hand surgeons on ways of finding a job that meets their expectations and to elucidate factors that should be considered before deciding on a hand practice.

Transcription Factor Fingerprint Provides Clues for Brain Tumor Cell of Origin.

Mouse models that faithfully represent the biology of human brain tumors are critical tools for unraveling the underlying tumor biology and screening for potential precision therapies. This is especially true of rare tumor types, many of which have correspondingly few xenograft or cell lines available. Although our understanding of the specific biological pathways driving cancer has improved significantly, identifying the appropriate progenitor populations to drive oncogenic processes represents a significant barrier to efficient mouse model production.

Virseqimprover: an integrated pipeline for viral contig error correction, extension, and annotation.

Despite the recent surge of viral metagenomic studies, it remains a significant challenge to recover complete virus genomes from metagenomic data. The majority of viral contigs generated from de novo assembly programs are highly fragmented, presenting significant challenges to downstream analysis and inference. To address this issue, we have developed Virseqimprover, a computational pipeline that can extend assembled contigs to complete or nearly complete genomes while maintaining extension quality.

Multicentre study conducted across centres in the USA, Europe and Australia to assess the safety and effectiveness of a bilateral hypoglossal nerve stimulation system for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea in adults: a protocol for a pivotal, multicentre, open-label, single-arm study.

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is characterised by blood oxygen desaturations and sleep disruptions manifesting undesirable consequences. Existing treatments including oral appliances, positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy and surgically altering the anatomy of the pharynx have drawbacks including poor long-term adherence or often involving irreversible, invasive procedures. Bilateral hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HNS) is a new treatment for managing OSA, and this study is intended to determine whether an HNS system is a safe and effective treatment option for adults with OSA.

Speech-Language Pathologists' Experiences Working With Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families: A Scoping Review.

Introduction: Evidence-based practices (EBPs) use evidence (external and internal), clinician expertise, and client/caregiver perspectives to deliver effective, individualized care. Each component of EBP is highly relevant and most effective when implemented together. Families with cultural or linguistic backgrounds different from the mainstream experience inequitable treatment across all disciplines.

Atp1a2 and Kcnj9 Are Candidate Genes Underlying Sensitivity to Oxycodone-Induced Locomotor Activation and Withdrawal-Induced Anxiety-Like Behaviors in C57BL/6 Substrains.

Opioid use disorder is heritable, yet its genetic etiology is largely unknown. C57BL/6J and C57BL/6NJ mouse substrains exhibit phenotypic diversity in the context of limited genetic diversity which together can facilitate genetic discovery. Here, we found C57BL/6NJ mice were less sensitive to oxycodone (OXY)-induced locomotor activation versus C57BL/6J mice in a conditioned place preference paradigm.

Compensation Study of Vascular Surgeons in the United States.

Objective: The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) partnered with Phairify, Inc, an organization with experience in physician compensation data compilation for several other medical specialties, to survey its membership and assess factors influencing vascular surgeon compensation.

Methods: The SVS Compensation Study Task Force developed a vascular surgery-specific survey between January 2023 and May 2023 including experience level, academic rank, bonuses, incentives, gender, race, ethnicity, geography, on-call pay, and other factors influencing overall reimbursement. After a soft launch on May 1, 2023, with an initial phase of SVS leadership engagement in completion, the survey was formally introduced to the SVS membership on June 14, 2023.

Guidance on biomaterials for periodontal tissue regeneration: Fabrication methods, materials and biological considerations.

Regeneration of the multiple tissues and interfaces in the periodontal complex necessitates multidisciplinary evaluation to establish structure/function relationships. This article, an initiative of the Academy of Dental Materials, provides guidance for performing chemical, structural, and mechanical characterization of materials for periodontal tissue regeneration, and outlines important recommendations on methods of testing bioactivity, biocompatibility, and antimicrobial properties of biomaterials/scaffolds for periodontal tissue engineering. First, we briefly summarize periodontal tissue engineering fabrication methods.

Patient-reported outcome trajectories the first 24 months after surgery for cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a Quality Outcomes Database study.

Objective: Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) shows varying levels of improvement after surgical treatment. While some patients improve soon after surgery, others may take months to years to show any signs of improvement. The goal of this study was to evaluate postoperative improvement, patient-reported outcomes, and patient satisfaction up to 2 years after surgical treatment for CSM, which will help optimize the current treatment strategies and effectively manage patient expectations.

The impact of lower thoracic versus upper lumbar upper instrumented vertebra in minimally invasive correction of adult spinal deformity.

Objective: The goal of this study was to compare the impact of using a lower thoracic (LT) versus upper lumbar (UL) level as the upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) on clinical and radiographic outcomes following minimally invasive surgery for adult spinal deformity.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective study design was used. Inclusion criteria were age ≥ 18 years, and one of the following: coronal Cobb angle > 20°, sagittal vertical axis > 50 mm, pelvic tilt > 20°, pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis mismatch > 10°.

Internal validation of a convolutional neural network pipeline for assessing meibomian gland structure from meibography.

Significance: Optimal meibography utilization and interpretation are hindered due to poor lid presentation, blurry images, or image artifacts and the challenges of applying clinical grading scales. These results, using the largest image dataset analyzed to date, demonstrate development of algorithms that provide standardized, real-time inference that addresses all of these limitations.

Purpose: This study aimed to develop and validate an algorithmic pipeline to automate and standardize meibomian gland absence assessment and interpretation.

Attributable Risk and Consequences of Bone Mineral Density Deficits in Childhood Cancer Survivors.

Importance: Data characterizing the severity and changing prevalence of bone mineral density (BMD) deficits and associated nonfracture consequences among childhood cancer survivors decades after treatment are lacking.

Objective: To evaluate risk for moderate and severe BMD deficits in survivors and to identify long-term consequences of BMD deficits.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study used cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the St Jude Lifetime (SJLIFE) cohort, a retrospectively constructed cohort with prospective follow-up.

Heart failure outcomes captured by adverse event reporting in participants with type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: Observations from the VERTIS CV trial.

Aims: In VERTIS CV, ertugliflozin was associated with a 30% risk reduction for adjudication-confirmed, first and total hospitalizations for heart failure (HHF) in participants with type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. We evaluated the impact of ertugliflozin on the broader spectrum of all reported heart failure (HF) events independent of adjudication confirmation.

Methods And Results: Data from participants who received ertugliflozin (5 or 15 mg) were pooled and compared versus placebo.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Children with Pulmonary Atresia and Intact Ventricular Septum: Mortality and Associated Outcomes.

Data on outcomes of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are limited in patients with pulmonary atresia intact ventricular septum (PAIVS). The objective of this study was to describe the use of ECMO and the associated outcomes in patients with PAIVS. We retrospectively reviewed neonates with PAIVS who received ECMO between 2009 and 2019 in 19 US hospitals affiliated with the Collaborative Research for the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society (CoRe-PCICS).

Temporal Trends of Subsequent CNS Malignancies Among Survivors of Childhood Cancer.

Purpose: It is not known whether temporal changes in childhood cancer therapy have reduced risk of subsequent malignant neoplasms (SMNs) of the central nervous system (CNS), a frequently fatal late effect of cancer therapy.

Methods: Five-year survivors of primary childhood cancers diagnosed between 1970-1999 in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study with a subsequent CNS SMN were identified. Cumulative incidence rates and standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were compared among survivors diagnosed between 1970-1979 (N = 6223), 1980-1989 (N = 9680), and 1990-1999 (N = 8999).

Modulation of cytokeratin and cytokine/chemokine expression following influenza virus infection of differentiated human tonsillar epithelial cells.

Unlabelled: The tonsils have been identified as a site of replication for Epstein-Barr virus, adenovirus, human papillomavirus, and other respiratory viruses. Human tonsil epithelial cells (HTECs) are a heterogeneous group of actively differentiating cells. Here, we investigated the cellular features and susceptibility of differentiated HTECs to specific influenza viruses, including expression of avian-type and mammalian-type sialic acid (SA) receptors, viral replication dynamics, and the associated cytokine secretion profiles.

Rural-Urban Disparities in Mobile Health Application Ownership and Utilization Among Cancer Survivors.

Objective: Mobile health applications (mHealth apps) can provide health care and health-promoting information while contributing to improving cancer survivors' quality of life and health outcomes. However, little is known about the rural-urban distribution of mHealth app ownership and utilization. In this study, we explore the characteristics of cancer survivors who own and use mHealth apps and examine rural-urban disparities in mHealth app ownership and utilization among cancer survivors.