LASF: a local adaptive segmentation framework for coronary angiogram segments.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the leading cause of death globally, highlighting the critical need for accurate diagnostic tools in medical imaging. Traditional segmentation methods for coronary angiograms often struggle with vessel discontinuity and inaccuracies, impeding effective diagnosis and treatment planning. To address these challenges, we developed the Local Adaptive Segmentation Framework (LASF), enhancing the YOLOv8 architecture with dilation and erosion algorithms to improve the continuity and precision of vascular image segmentation.

Explorative Study of Modulatory Effects of Notochordal Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles on the IL-1β-Induced Catabolic Cascade in Nucleus Pulposus Cell Pellets and Explants.

Background: Cell-free regenerative strategies, such as notochordal cell (NC)-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs), are an attractive alternative in developing new therapies for intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. NC-EVs have been reported to elicit matrix anabolic effects on nucleus pulposus cells from degenerated IVDs cultured under basal conditions. However, the degenerative process is exacerbated by pro-inflammatory cytokines contributing to the vicious degenerative cycle.

Assessing ChatGPT's Capability in Addressing Thyroid Cancer Patient Queries: A Comprehensive Mixed-Methods Evaluation.

Context: Literature suggests patients with thyroid cancer have unmet informational needs in many aspects of care. Patients often turn to online resources for their health-related information, and generative artificial intelligence programs such as ChatGPT are an emerging and attractive resource for patients.

Objective: To assess the quality of ChatGPT's responses to thyroid cancer-related questions.

Performance of algorithms using wrist temperature for retrospective ovulation day estimate and next menses start day prediction: a prospective cohort study.

Study Question: Can algorithms using wrist temperature, available on compatible models of iPhone and Apple Watch, retrospectively estimate the day of ovulation and predict the next menses start day?

Summary Answer: Algorithms using wrist temperature can provide retrospective ovulation estimates and next menses start day predictions for individuals with typical or atypical cycle lengths.

What Is Known Already: Wrist skin temperature is affected by hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle and can be used to estimate the timing of cycle events.

Study Design, Size, Duration: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 262 menstruating females (899 menstrual cycles) aged 14 and older who logged their menses, performed urine LH testing to define day of ovulation, recorded daily basal body temperature (BBT), and collected overnight wrist temperature.

Multidisciplinary perspectives on cumulative impact assessment for vulnerable communities: expert elicitation using a Delphi method.

Prompted by a series of executive orders, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is promoting cumulative impact assessment (CIA) to integrate numerous factors that have the potential to impact community health, which include nonchemical stressors such as socioeconomic conditions, pre-existing health conditions, and many others that historically have not been addressed by USEPA's chemical risk assessment paradigm.

Long-term effects of adolescent versus adult nicotine self-administration on cholinergic modulation of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens core.

Adolescence is a developmental period marked by significant alterations to brain neurobiology and behavior. Adolescent nicotine use disrupts developmental trajectories and increases vulnerability to maladaptive drug-taking in adulthood. The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system, including the nucleus accumbens core (NAc), mediates the reinforcing effects of nicotine.

Comparison of transcriptomic profiles between intracellular and extracellular Bartonella henselae.

The Bartonella genus of bacteria encompasses ubiquitous species, some of which are pathogenic in humans and animals. Bartonella henselae, the causative agent of Cat Scratch disease, is responsible for a large portion of human Bartonella infections. These bacteria can grow outside of cells, replicate in erythrocytes and invade endothelial and monocytic cells.

Strength and durability of indirect protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection through vaccine and infection-acquired immunity.

Early investigation revealed a reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among social contacts of COVID-19 vaccinated individuals, referred to as indirect protection. However, indirect protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection-acquired immunity and its comparative strength and durability to vaccine-derived indirect protection in the current epidemiologic context of high levels of vaccination, prior infection, and novel variants are not well characterized. Here, we show that both vaccine-derived and infection-acquired immunity independently yield indirect protection to close social contacts with key differences in their strength and waning.

Comparison of Pharmacokinetics of Long-Acting Local Analgesics: CPL-01, a Novel Extended-Release Ropivacaine, Demonstrates Consistent and Predictable Exposure Compared with Liposomal Bupivacaine.

Background And Objective: There is a significant medical need for improved long-acting local anesthetics to decrease postsurgical pain and reduce postoperative opioid use. While ropivacaine is considered a safer local anesthetic than bupivacaine, no long-acting ropivacaine formulation is currently marketed. Available formulations of bupivacaine show inconsistent pharmacokinetics (PK) among different surgical models, and inconsistency in PK may lead to a reluctance to use the medication owing to fear of local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) or unreliable efficacy.

A Retrospective Study of Pediatric Allergic Contact Dermatitis from 2017-2022.

Objectives: Allergic contact dermatitis occurs frequently in children. The proportion of children of color in the US is increasing, and racial and ethnic minority representation is important in pediatric allergic contact dermatitis research. The objectives of our study were to identify differences in age, sex, race and ethnicity among pediatric patch tests obtained from 2017 to 2022.

Evaluation of the Digital Ventilated Cage® system for circadian phenotyping.

The study of circadian rhythms has been critically dependent upon analysing mouse home cage activity, typically employing wheel running activity under different lighting conditions. Here we assess a novel method, the Digital Ventilated Cage (DVC, Tecniplast SpA, Italy), for circadian phenotyping. Based upon capacitive sensors mounted under black individually ventilated cages with inbuilt LED lighting, each cage becomes an independent light-controlled chamber.

Structure and mechanism of vitamin-K-dependent γ-glutamyl carboxylase.

γ-Glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) is the sole identified enzyme that uses vitamin K (VK) as a cofactor in humans. This protein catalyses the oxidation of VK hydroquinone to convert specific glutamate residues to γ-carboxyglutamate residues in VK-dependent proteins (VDPs), which are involved in various essential biological processes and diseases. However, the working mechanism of GGCX remains unclear.

Copper-dependent halogenase catalyses unactivated C-H bond functionalization.

Carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds are the foundation of essentially every organic molecule, making them an ideal place to do chemical synthesis. The key challenge is achieving selectivity for one particular C(sp)-H bond. In recent years, metalloenzymes have been found to perform C(sp)-H bond functionalization.

Genetic ancestry concordant RNA splicing in prostate cancer involves oncogenic genes and associates with recurrence.

Black men suffer disproportionately from prostate cancer (PCa) compared to men of other races and ethnicities. Comparing the molecular landscape of PCa among Black and White patients has the potential to identify targets for development of new precision medicine interventions. Herein, we conducted transcriptomic analysis of prostate tumors and paired tumor-adjacent normals from self-reported Black and White PCa patients and estimated patient genetic ancestry.

The enlarged perivascular spaces in the hippocampus is associated with memory function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Early detection of cognitive dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is important for preventive measures due to the lack of effective treatments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between enlarged perivascular space in the hippocampus (H-EPVS) and cognitive performance in patients with T2DM, and to determine whether it can serve as an imaging marker for cognitive dysfunction. 66 T2DM patients with cognitive impairment (T2DM-CI) and 71 T2DM patients with normal cognitive function (T2DM-NC) underwent cranial MRI scans and comprehensive neuropsychological assessments.

Three-dimensional diffractive acoustic tomography.

Acoustically probing biological tissues with light or sound, photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging can provide anatomical, functional, and/or molecular information at depths far beyond the optical diffusion limit. However, most photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging systems rely on linear-array transducers with elevational focusing and are limited to two-dimensional imaging with anisotropic resolutions. Here, we present three-dimensional diffractive acoustic tomography (3D-DAT), which uses an off-the-shelf linear-array transducer with single-slit acoustic diffraction.

Social mixing patterns of United States healthcare personnel at a quaternary health center: a prospective observational study.

Background: Understanding healthcare personnel's (HCP) contact patterns are important to mitigate healthcare-associated infectious disease transmission. Little is known about how HCP contact patterns change over time or during outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This study in a large United States healthcare system examined the social contact patterns of HCP via standardized social contact diaries.

Nursing Care of the Patient With Epidural Analgesia.

Purpose: Although nurses frequently are responsible to care for and ensure safety of patients receiving epidural analgesia resources to guide them in this care are difficult to locate and not inclusive of all aspects of such care. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide a comprehensive resource to provide information for nurses when caring for patients receiving analgesia via an epidural catheter.

Methods: Literature and guidelines were reviewed to determine current standards of practice and guidance regarding care of patients receiving epidural analgesia.

The Efficacy of Superior Laryngeal Nerve Block for Chronic Cough: A Scoping Review.

Objective: Chronic cough poses diagnostic and treatment challenges due to its often multifactorial nature. Chronic cough associated with laryngeal hypersensitivity is linked to sensory neuropathy of the superior laryngeal nerve and can be complex to manage. Superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) blocks are increasingly being utilized by laryngologists to treat refractory chronic cough with the intent of reducing inflammation and nerve hypersensitivity.

Using augmented reality to deliver cue exposure treatment for smoking cessation: App usability findings and protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Augmented Reality (AR) is a rapidly developing technology with potential utility for treating addictive behaviors, including tobacco smoking. AR inserts digital images into a natural real-time scene as viewed on a smartphone or other video devices. With respect to smoking cessation, AR can place virtual smoking cues (i.

Interrupting sitting with moderate-intensity physical activity breaks improves cognitive processing speed in adults with overweight and obesity: Findings from the SITLess pilot randomized crossover trial.

Introduction: Prolonged sitting can acutely reduce working memory (WM) in individuals with overweight and obesity (OW/OB) who show executive function deficits. Interrupting prolonged sitting with brief PA bouts may counter these effects. However, the benefits of such interventions on behavioral and neuroelectric indices of WM and whether neurocognitive responses are associated with postprandial glycemic responses in young and middle-aged adults with OW/OB remain unknown.

A benzoxazolyl urea inhibits VraS and enhances antimicrobials against vancomycin intermediate-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Vancomycin intermediate-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) is a pathogen of concern. VraS, a histidine kinase, facilitates the VISA phenotype. Here, we reveal a benzoxazolyl urea (chemical 1) that directly inhibits VraS and enhances vancomycin to below the clinical breakpoint against an archetypal VISA strain, Mu50.