Development of Voluntary Control Over Voice-Hearing Experiences: Evidence From Treatment-Seeking and Non-Treatment-Seeking Voice-Hearers.

Voluntary control over voice-hearing experiences is one of the most consistent predictors of functioning among voice-hearers. However, control over voice-hearing experiences is likely to be more nuanced and variable than may be appreciated through coarse clinician-rated measures, which provide little information about how control is conceptualized and developed. We aimed to identify key factors in the evolution of control over voice-hearing experiences in treatment-seeking ( = 7) and non-treatment-seeking ( = 8) voice-hearers.

Water use governance in a temperate region: Implications for agricultural climate change adaptation in the Northeastern United States.

Climate change and access to water are interrelated concerns for agriculture and other sectors, even in temperate regions. Governance approaches and regulatory frameworks determine who has access to water, for what purpose, and when. In the northeastern United States, water governance has historically been conducted by states through a combination of statutory guidance and common law.

Systemic and rapid restructuring of the genome: a new perspective on punctuated equilibrium.

The rates and patterns by which cells acquire mutations profoundly shape their evolutionary trajectories and phenotypic potential. Conventional models maintain that mutations are acquired independently of one another over many successive generations. Yet, recent evidence suggests that cells can also experience mutagenic processes that drive rapid genome evolution.

Standardizing sum-of-segments axial length using refractive index models.

Optical biometry uses interferometry to measure the axial length (AL) of the eye. Traditionally, one-variable regression formulas have converted the optical path length measured by a biometer to a geometric AL. An alternate calculation of axial length sums the individual segments of the eye (sum-of-segments AL).

[Treatment of nevus of Ota and Ito and epidermal nevus syndrome].

Nevus of Ota, nevus of Ito and nevus of Hori are special melanocytic nevi that have a slate-brown or blue/grey coloring. They are pigmented disorders characterized by its heterotopic melanocytic dermal location and by blue/brown unilateral and sometimes bilateral facial patch in case of nevus of Ota, and in the supraclavicular, scapular, and deltoid region in case of nevus of Ito. It is more common in patients with Asian and dark-skinned ethnic backgrounds.

Adjunctive Treatment With Avacopan, an Oral C5a Receptor Inhibitor, in Patients With Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the safety of avacopan, an orally administered C5a receptor inhibitor, for the treatment of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis in addition to standard-of-care (SOC) treatment with glucocorticoids with cyclophosphamide or rituximab.

Methods: In this randomized 12-week study, twice daily avacopan (10 mg or 30 mg) plus SOC was assessed versus SOC only in patients with newly diagnosed/relapsing ANCA-associated vasculitis. Efficacy measurements included 50% or greater reduction in Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS) at day 85, rapid reduction (day 29) of BVAS to a score of 0 that was sustained through day 85, change in Vasculitis Damage Index (VDI), renal response (improvement in estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR], hematuria, and albuminuria), and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and its association with PD-L1 and CD8 in thyroid cancer.

Programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) has recently been shown to play a role in the regulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT); however, the relationship between PD-L1 expression, EMT and the inflammatory tumour microenvironment has yet to be investigated in thyroid cancer. To address this issue, we examined the expression of CD8, PD-L1 and the EMT markers E-cadherin and vimentin in a cohort of 74 papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) patients and investigated the association of these with clinicopathologic characteristics and disease-free survival (DFS). The relationship between PD-L1 and EMT was further examined in three thyroid cancer cell lines via Western blot and live cell imaging.

Influenza A Viruses in Ruddy Turnstones (); Connecting Wintering and Migratory Sites with an Ecological Hotspot at Delaware Bay.

Each May for over three decades, avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) have been isolated from shorebirds and gulls (order Charadriiformes) at Delaware Bay (DE Bay), USA, which is a critical stopover site for shorebirds on their spring migration to arctic breeding grounds. At DE Bay, most isolates have been recovered from ruddy turnstones (), but it is unknown if this species is involved in either the maintenance or movement of these viruses outside of this site. We collected and tested fecal samples from 2823 ruddy turnstones in Florida and Georgia in the southeastern United States during four winter/spring sample periods-2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013-and during the winters of 2014/2015 and 2015/2016.

Inclusion of Telemedicine in Behavioral Health Quality Measures.

Objective: The authors evaluated available evidence to determine whether telemedicine services should be allowed in seven nationally reported behavioral health quality measures in the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set.

Methods: The authors searched PubMed, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for articles that met several inclusion criteria (relevant diagnosis and age, as specified in the quality measures). They also consulted expert panels on whether, and how, to include telemedicine in behavioral health measure specifications.

Hydroxyapatite nanocomposite as a potential agent in osteosarcoma PDT.

Using Nanoplatforms as a hauler for photosensitizers is a bespoke paradigm to improve its bioavailability and to boost the PDT efficacy. Herein, the photodynamic cytotoxicity of methylene blue (MB) loaded on hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HA-NPs) was tested against human osteosarcoma-derived cells (Saos-2 cell line). HA-NPs and HA-NPs loaded with MB (HA-NPs-MB) were prepared by a chemical precipitation method and characterized by TEM, Zeta potential, FTIR, and XRD.

The Opioid Epidemic Within the COVID-19 Pandemic: Drug Testing in 2020.

The convergence of the opioid epidemic and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created new health care challenges. The authors analyzed changes in clinical drug testing patterns and results at a national clinical laboratory, comparing data obtained before and during the pandemic. Testing for prescription and illicit drugs declined rapidly during the pandemic, with weekly test volumes falling by approximately 70% from the baseline period to the trough (the week beginning March 29) before rising in subsequent weeks.

Photobiomodulation of avian embryos by red laser.

The current research focuses on the effect of variable doses of red laser on the chick embryonic development. He-Ne laser of 632-nm wavelength was used as an irradiation source in the first 48 h post-laying of chicken eggs. We have used five different doses: 2, 1, 0.

Performance of chitosan polymer as platform during sensors fabrication and sensing applications.

Chitosan is an important polymer produced from deacetylation of several sea and insects crusts. Due to its environmental fate and biological biocompatibility, it can be used in several biological and environmental applications. Sensing of biological compounds in human bodies and also in serum, blood, and different body fluids has found an important application instead of direct determination of the body fluids using complicated tools.

Disparities in SARS-CoV-2 Positivity Rates: Associations with Race and Ethnicity.

Numerous reports indicate that African Americans and Latinos are being affected disproportionately by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Positivity rates have not been analyzed on scale because only 4 states report race/ethnicity as part of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing. Previous studies also have had little ability to control for many known risk factors to better identify the effects of COVID-19 on racial and ethnic communities.

Phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate and Hsp70 protect from heat-induced cell death.

Phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI(3)P) levels in correlate with tolerance to cellular stresses caused by artemisinin and environmental factors. However, PI(3)P function during the stress response was unknown. Here, we used PI3K inhibitors and antimalarial agents to examine the importance of PI(3)P under thermal conditions recapitulating malarial fever.

Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression: A Pilot Study of a Brief Treatment to Help Veterans Reduce Impulsive Aggression.

Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) report more aggression than civilians with PTSD. Because emotion regulation difficulties mediated the relationship between PTSD symptoms and impulsive aggression in veterans, we developed an intervention to increase emotion regulation skills. This pilot study tested the feasibility and acceptability of a three-session treatment, Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression (MERA), and examined its effectiveness at reducing aggression and emotion dysregulation.

SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates associated with circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.

Until treatment and vaccine for coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) becomes widely available, other methods of reducing infection rates should be explored. This study used a retrospective, observational analysis of deidentified tests performed at a national clinical laboratory to determine if circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels are associated with severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positivity rates. Over 190,000 patients from all 50 states with SARS-CoV-2 results performed mid-March through mid-June, 2020 and matching 25(OH)D results from the preceding 12 months were included.

Incidence, Clinical Features, and Outcomes of Late-Onset Neutropenia From Rituximab for Autoimmune Disease.

Objective: Late-onset neutropenia (LON) is an underrecognized complication of rituximab treatment. We undertook this study to describe its incidence, risk factors, clinical features, management, and recurrence.

Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study of 738 adult patients with autoimmune disease who were treated with rituximab to induce continuous B cell depletion.

Homozygous GLUL deletion is embryonically viable and leads to glutamine synthetase deficiency.

Glutamine synthetase (GS) is the enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of glutamine, providing the only source of endogenous glutamine necessary for several critical metabolic and developmental pathways. GS deficiency, caused by pathogenic variants in the glutamate-ammonia ligase (GLUL) gene, is a rare autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism characterized by systemic glutamine deficiency, persistent moderate hyperammonemia, and clinically devastating seizures and multi-organ failure shortly after birth. The four cases reported thus far were caused by homozygous GLUL missense variants.

Prevalence and factors associated with food insecurity across an entire campus population.

Comprehensive assessment of food insecurity across all college community members is lacking. This research surveyed a random sample of an entire campus population at a Northeast University in two surveys (spring 2017, n = 1,037 and fall 2017, n = 1,123). Analysis of variance, t-tests, and multivariable logit models were used to understand food insecurity outcomes and comparisons among groups.

Chlamydia and Gonorrhea: Shifting Age-Based Positivity Among Young Females, 2010-2017.

Introduction: This study aims to determine if and how the age distribution of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in women evolved from 2010 to 2017, given changes in sexual practices over this time.

Methods: All Chlamydia trachomatis/Neisseria gonorrhoeae co-testing laboratory results from females aged 12-30 years tested at Quest Diagnostics during 2010-2017 (n=17,794,680) were evaluated to assess trends in Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae positivity over time. Data were collected and analyzed in November 2018.

Plasma Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing Assay for Identifying Pathogens: a Retrospective Review of Test Utilization in a Large Children's Hospital.

Plasma metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is a new diagnostic method used to potentially identify multiple pathogens with a single DNA-based diagnostic test. The test is expensive, and little is understood about where it fits into the diagnostic schema. We describe our experience at Texas Children's Hospital with the mNGS assay by Karius from Redwood City, CA, to determine whether mNGS offers additional diagnostic value when performed within 1 week before or after conventional testing (CT) (i.