A morphometric signature to identify ductal carcinoma in situ with a low risk of progression.

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) may progress to ipsilateral invasive breast cancer (iIBC), but often never will. Because DCIS is treated as early breast cancer, many women with harmless DCIS face overtreatment. To identify features associated with progression, we developed an artificial intelligence-based DCIS morphometric analysis pipeline (AIDmap) on hematoxylin-eosin-stained (H&E) tissue sections.

Greater residential greenness is associated with reduced epigenetic aging in adults.

Potential pathways linking urban green spaces to improved health include relaxation, stress alleviation, and improved immune system functioning. Epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) is a composite biomarker of biological aging based on DNA methylation measurements; it is predictive of morbidity and mortality. This cross-sectional study of 116 adult residents of a metropolitan area in central North Carolina investigated associations between exposure to residential green spaces and EAA using four previously developed epigenetic age formulas.

Structure and function of a near fully-activated intermediate GPCR-Gαβγ complex.

Unraveling the signaling roles of intermediate complexes is pivotal for G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) drug development. Despite hundreds of GPCR-Gαβγ structures, these snapshots primarily capture the fully activated complex. Consequently, the functions of intermediate GPCR-G protein complexes remain elusive.

Animal models of cocaine use: importance of social context and co-use.

Cocaine-use disorders (CUDs) continue to be a major public health problem that requires effective treatments. Despite decades of preclinical research, there are no FDA-approved pharmacotherapies for cocaine use. While there are numerous potential reasons why no efficacious treatments have been identified or approved for cocaine use, we discuss two possible reasons in this review: the low number of studies incorporating social variables and the overlooking of the clinical reality of polysubstance use.

The urinary eccDNA landscape in prostate cancer reveals associations with genome instability and vital roles in cancer progression.

Introduction: Extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) plays significant roles in cancer progression and prognosis. However, it remains unclear whether cell-free eccDNA, considered more stable than linear DNA, possesses cancer-specific genomic features. Furthermore, the biogenesis and function of eccDNAs are not yet fully understood.

TFEB-dependent autophagy-lysosomal pathway is required for NRF2-driven antioxidative action in obstructive sleep apnea-induced neuronal injury.

Nearly one billion individuals worldwide suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and are potentially impacted by related neurodegeneration. TFEB is considered a master regulator of autophagy and lysosomal biogenesis, but little is known about its role in neuronal oxidative stress and resultant injury induced by OSA. This study aimed to investigate these issues.

Sexual identity, sexual behavior, and drug use behaviors among people who use drugs in the rural U.S.

Introduction: People who use drugs (PWUD) are at risk of HIV infection, but the frequency and distribution of transmission-associated behaviors within rural communities is not well understood. Further, while interventions designed to more explicitly affirm individuals' sexual orientation and behaviors may be more effective, descriptions of behavior variability by orientation are lacking. We sought to describe how disease transmission behaviors and overdose risk vary by sexual orientation and activity among rural PWUD.

Development and validation of a county deprivation index for assessing socio-economic disparities in the United States: Implications for public health outcomes and mitigation strategies.

Objective: To develop and validate a county deprivation index (CDI) that assesses socio-economic disparities and their impact on health outcomes at the county level.

Study Design: A retrospective, cross-sectional study using publicly available county-level data.

Methods: Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to group 18 county-level socio-economic indicators into three clusters: economic well-being and technical connectivity, socio-economic disadvantage and vulnerability, and housing affordability and quality of life.

Quercetin derivatives in roasted Coffea arabica and its popular beverages.

This study is focused on quantification of six quercetin derivatives in roasted Coffea arabica L. from different geographical origins and post-harvest processing methods for the first time. Popular beverages (espresso and moka) were also studied.

Imaging-based prediction of early recurrence and neoadjuvant therapy outcomes for resectable beyond Milan HCC.

Purpose: To develop and validate an MRI-based model for predicting postoperative early (≤2 years) recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients receiving upfront surgical resection (SR) for beyond Milan hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to assess the model's performance in separate patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy for similar-stage tumors.

Method: This single-center retrospective study included consecutive patients with resectable BCLC A/B beyond Milan HCC undergoing upfront SR or neoadjuvant therapy. All images were independently evaluated by three blinded radiologists.

Navigating Disagreements on Health Information: How Patients With Cancer Perceive Health Care Providers' Approaches to Discussing Patient-Identified Information.

Purpose: Although publicly available cancer-related information online and offline could help patients make informed decisions, it also poses challenges due to prevalent misinformation. Patients need proper provider guidance to ensure they use valid and relevant information in decisions. We identify effective communication approaches for providers when (1) discussing patient-identified information and (2) disagreeing with it.

Incidence of Wounds Associated with Posterior Midline Incision for Achilles Tendon Pathology in a Large Cohort at a Tertiary Care Center.

Background: We sought to determine the wound complications associated with a straight midline incision overlying the Achilles tendon. Data on sex, age, body mass index (BMI), surgery performed, date of surgery, and wound development were collected.

Methods: We retrospectively collected data on 217 patients with a mean ± SD age of 46.

Safety and Efficacy of Lotilaner Ophthalmic Solution (0.25%) in Treating Demodex Blepharitis: Pooled Analysis of Two Pivotal Trials.

Introduction: Lotilaner ophthalmic solution (0.25%) is the first United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA)-approved drug for treating Demodex blepharitis. In pivotal trials, it was found to be well tolerated and demonstrated a significant reduction in collarettes and mite density after a 6-week treatment regimen.

What Next for the Science of Patient Preference? Interoperability, Standardization, and Transferability.

Using patient preference information (PPI) to incorporate patient voices into the drug development lifecycle can help align therapies with the needs and values of patients. However, several barriers have limited the use of PPI, including a lack of clarity on its use by decision-makers, a need for greater decision-maker trust in PPI, and a lack of time, budgets, and access to specialist expertise. The value proposition for PPI could be enhanced by making it FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Assessing the Impact of Improved Cookstove Technology Trials (ICTs) on Household Air Pollution and Human Health in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Purpose Of Review: A major contributor to household air pollution (HAP) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is unclean cooking fuel. Improved cookstove technology (ICT) interventions have been promoted as a solution, but their impacts on health are unclear. Our aim is to conduct a systematic review to explore the impacts of ICT interventions on health outcomes in SSA.

In vitro evaluation of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy with photosensitizers and calcium hydroxide on bond strength, chemical composition, and sealing of glass-fiber posts to root dentin.

Investigate the impact of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) using different photosensitizers (PSs) such as indocyanine green (IG), curcumin (CC), and methylene blue (MB), with or without intracanal application of calcium hydroxide (CH), on the push-out bond strength of glass-fiber posts (GFPs) to intraradicular dentin, the chemical composition of the root substrate, and the sealing of the adhesive interface across different thirds of intraradicular dentin. A total of 112 bovine teeth underwent biomechanical preparation and were divided into eight experimental groups (n = 14 each): Negative control with deionized water; positive control with deionized water + CH; IG group with indocyanine green and infrared laser; IG + CH group; CC group with curcumin and blue LED; CC + CH group; MB group with methylene blue and red laser; and MB + CH group. The push-out bond strength was measured using a universal testing machine (n = 8), and scanning electron microscopy characterized the fracture patterns.

Long-term efficacy of superior laryngeal nerve block for the treatment of chronic neurogenic cough.

Purpose: The study aimed to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) block for treating chronic neurogenic cough (CNC) in a large patient cohort.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on patients treated between January 2019 and October 2023. Data collected included patient demographics, number of injections, follow-up times, subjective cough severity, and Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) scores.

An integrated ecotoxicological study reliability (EcoSR) framework for use in toxicity value development.

A key component of ecological risk assessments is to develop evidence-based benchmarks to assess potential hazards to various receptors. To ensure that toxicity value development is performed using the best available science, the reliability (or inherent scientific quality) of these studies must be considered. The degree of reliability can be evaluated via critical appraisal tools (CATs), though application of such methods assessing ecotoxicological literature for toxicity value development is not well established compared to human health assessments.

Don't Sleep on Vitamin D: Vitamin D is Associated with Sleep Variability in Apparently Healthy Adults.

Vitamin D is associated with sleep quality and duration, but it's unclear whether vitamin D status influences sleep variability. Therefore, we sought to determine whether vitamin D status was associated with sleep variability in healthy adults. We assessed objective sleep, including timing and duration standard deviation () using the Philips Actiwatch Spectrum and subjective sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in 130 adults.

Fast and interpretable mortality risk scores for critical care patients.

Objective: Prediction of mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients typically relies on black box models (that are unacceptable for use in hospitals) or hand-tuned interpretable models (that might lead to the loss in performance). We aim to bridge the gap between these 2 categories by building on modern interpretable machine learning (ML) techniques to design interpretable mortality risk scores that are as accurate as black boxes.

Material And Methods: We developed a new algorithm, GroupFasterRisk, which has several important benefits: it uses both hard and soft direct sparsity regularization, it incorporates group sparsity to allow more cohesive models, it allows for monotonicity constraint to include domain knowledge, and it produces many equally good models, which allows domain experts to choose among them.