Improving communication to increase uptake of high-risk breast cancer prevention appointments: Building a better letter.

Objective: Mailed letters to women identified as being at high-risk for developing breast cancer were not having the desired effect for encouraging appointments with prevention-focused providers at a large Midwest healthcare system. A partnership with communication scholars sought to revise the letter to increase awareness, intentions, and appointments.

Methods: Guided by the Extended Parallel Process Model, survey responses were collected from letter recipients over the course of two years, both pre and post letter revision.

Image reconstruction impacts haemodynamic parameters derived from 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging with compressed sensing.

Aims: 4D blood flow measurements by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) can be used to simplify blood flow assessment. Compressed sensing (CS) can provide better flow measurements than conventional parallel imaging (PI), but clinical validation is needed. This study aimed to validate stroke volume (SV) measurements by 4D-CS in healthy volunteers and patients while also investigating the influence of the CS image reconstruction parameter on haemodynamic parameters.

Neither Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate nor Platelet-Rich Plasma Improves Patient-Reported Outcomes After Surgical Management of Acetabular Labral Tears; However, Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate May Be Effective for Moderate Cartilage Damage: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: To (1) systematically assess which orthobiologic agents are being used in acetabular labral repairs and (2) report all available outcomes for patients undergoing operative management for labral repairs with orthobiologic agents.

Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were queried in August 2023. Articles were included if they used an orthobiologic agent during hip arthroscopy for acetabular labral repair and reported functional outcomes.

Obstacle Course Races Present a Risk of Musculoskeletal, Knee, and Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury, Especially in High-Impact Landing Maneuvers and Female Athletes: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: To determine the incidence rate (IR) of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and associated musculoskeletal injuries in recreational and/or military-training obstacle course races (OCRs) and to determine whether there are any risk factors or features of OCRs impacting the rate of ACL injury in race participants.

Methods: This systematic review was performed in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. Studies were identified using the following electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Scopus.

Revolutionizing Diabetic Retinopathy Screening: Integrating AI-Based Retinal Imaging in Primary Care.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a public health issue affecting millions in the United States and Europe. However, despite strong recommendations for screening at regular intervals by many professional societies, including the American Diabetes Association and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, screening rates remain suboptimal, with only 50-70% of patients with diabetes adhering to recommended annual eye exams. Barriers to screening include lack of awareness, socioeconomic factors, health care system fragmentation, and workforce shortages, among others.

Yoga as an adjunctive therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effect and safety of yoga as an adjunctive therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.

Attempted ablation of an orbital cyst in a dog with 1% polidocanol using fluoroscopy and contrast cystography.

A 4-year-old female spayed mixed-breed dog received enucleation surgery of the right eye in 2018 following the diagnosis of glaucoma. The patient was presented in 2021 for recurrent swelling of the right orbit. Ultrasound confirmed the presence of a cystic structure, and chemical ablation with 1% polidocanol (compounded, Stokes Pharmacy, Mt.

Ferroelectric Optical Memristors Enabled by Non-Volatile Electro-Optic Effect.

Memristors enable non-volatile memory and neuromorphic computing. Optical memristors are the fundamental element for programmable photonic integrated circuits due to their high-bandwidth computing, low crosstalk, and minimal power consumption. Here, an optical memristor enabled by a non-volatile electro-optic (EO) effect, where refractive index modulation under zero field is realized by deliberate control of domain alignment in the ferroelectric material Pb(MgNb)O-PbTiO(PMN-PT) is proposed.

Perspectives on Clinical Pharmacist-Delivered Contingency Management to Promote Smoking Abstinence Among Individuals with HIV: A Qualitative Study.

Contingency management (CM), an evidence-based behavioral strategy that rewards positive behavior change including tobacco cessation, is rarely offered to support people with HIV (PWH) who smoke. In this study, we explored perspectives among patients and research staff engaged in a multi-site randomized clinical trial involving clinical pharmacist-delivered CM within HIV clinics. Between February and September 2023, we conducted 1:1 interviews with 12 PWH randomized to receive CM and one focus group with 8 staff (i.

Anticipatory Violence and Health Among Black Adults in the United States.

This study analyzes the relationship between anticipatory community and police violence and health outcomes including mental and physical well-being, sleep problems, and functional disability. Using data from a nationally representative survey of 3015 self-identified Black and African American adults in the USA collected in 2023, findings from a series of regression analyses reveal that anticipating community violence is linked to poorer self-rated health and increased sleep problems. Anticipatory police violence is associated with poorer physical health and sleep disturbances.

Neuroligin-3 R451C induces gain-of-function gene expression in astroglia in an astroglia-enriched brain organoid model.

Astroglia are integral to brain development and the emergence of neurodevelopmental disorders. However, studying the pathophysiology of human astroglia using brain organoid models has been hindered by inefficient astrogliogenesis. In this study, we introduce a robust method for generating astroglia-enriched organoids through BMP4 treatment during the neural differentiation phase of organoid development.

Epigenetic Modifications as Novel Therapeutic Strategies of Cancer Chemoprevention by Phytochemicals.

Purpose: Epigenetic modifications, such as aberrant DNA methylation, histone alterations, non-coding RNA remodeling, and modulation of transcription factors, are pivotal in the pathogenesis of diverse malignancies. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have the capacity to impact these epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, throughout the different stages of cancer development. Therefore, the aim of this review is to address the impact of.

US Real-World Effectiveness, Tolerability, and Healthcare Resource Utilization After Addition of Fremanezumab for Preventive Treatment in Patients Using Gepants for Acute Treatment of Migraine: Results From a Retrospective Chart Review.

Introduction: Fremanezumab, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeting the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) pathway, and gepants, small molecule CGRP receptor antagonists, are both approved for the treatment of migraine or its symptoms. This study assessed effectiveness, tolerability, and migraine-related healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) after the addition of fremanezumab for preventive migraine treatment in patients using gepants for acute treatment.

Methods: Data were extracted during a retrospective chart review from electronic medical records from the Dent Neurologic Institute.

Schemas, reinforcement learning and the medial prefrontal cortex.

Schemas are rich and complex knowledge structures about the typical unfolding of events in a context; for example, a schema of a dinner at a restaurant. In this Perspective, we suggest that reinforcement learning (RL), a computational theory of learning the structure of the world and relevant goal-oriented behaviour, underlies schema learning. We synthesize literature about schemas and RL to offer that three RL principles might govern the learning of schemas: learning via prediction errors, constructing hierarchical knowledge using hierarchical RL, and dimensionality reduction through learning a simplified and abstract representation of the world.

Challenges in multinational rare disease clinical studies during COVID-19: regulatory assessment of cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat in adults with late-onset Pompe disease.

PROPEL (ATB200-03; NCT03729362) compared the efficacy and safety of cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat (cipa + mig), a two-component therapy for late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD), versus alglucosidase alfa plus placebo (alg + pbo). The primary endpoint was change in 6-min walk distance (6MWD) from baseline to week 52. During PROPEL, COVID-19 interrupted some planned study visits and assessment windows, leading to delayed visits, make-up assessments for patients who missed ≥ 3 successive infusions before planned assessments at weeks 38 and 52, and some advanced visits (end-of-study/early-termination visits).

Neoadjuvant anti-PD-1 alone or in combination with anti-TIGIT or an oncolytic virus in resectable stage IIIB-D melanoma: a phase 1/2 trial.

Neoadjuvant immunotherapies have shown antitumor activity in melanoma. Substudy 02C of the global, rolling-arm, phase 1/2, adaptive-design KEYMAKER-U02 trial is evaluating neoadjuvant pembrolizumab (anti-PD-1) alone or in combination, followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab, for stage IIIB-D melanoma. Here we report results from the first three arms: pembrolizumab plus vibostolimab (anti-TIGIT), pembrolizumab plus gebasaxturev (coxsackievirus A21) and pembrolizumab monotherapy.

Comparative analysis of EGFR mutations in circulating tumor DNA and primary tumor tissues from lung cancer patients using BEAMing PCR.

In this study, we measured human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in both tissue and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) by using beads, emulsions, amplifications and magnetic polymerase chain reaction (BEAMing PCR). Noninvasive mutation detection by assessing circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) offers many advantages over tumor biopsy. One hundred non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients were enrolled, and both preoperative plasma samples and formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples were collected for the study.

Prevalence of urinary tract infections in women with vulvovaginal atrophy and the impact of vaginal prasterone on the rate of urinary tract infections.

Objective: The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of urinary tract infections (UTI) in women newly diagnosed with vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) versus women without VVA and to evaluate the potential of vaginal prasterone to be used in postmenopausal VVA women with UTI as prophylaxis to reduce the future UTI risk. As a first subgroup analysis, women using aromatase inhibitors, medications that stop the production of estrogen were analyzed. As a second subgroup analysis, we looked at women with diabetes to investigate whether the same prophylaxis approach should be considered.

Efficacy of cleaning, disinfection and sterilization modalities for addressing infectious drug-resistant fungi: A review.

This is a timely and important review that focuses on the appropriateness of established cleaning, disinfection and sterilization methods to safely and effectively address infectious fungal drug-resistant pathogens that can potentially contaminate reusable medical devices used in healthcare environment in order to mitigate the risk of patient infection. The release of the World Health Organisation (WHO) fungal priority pathogen list (FPPL) in 2022 highlighted the public health crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in clinically relevant fungal species. Contamination of medical devices with drug-resistant fungal pathogens (including those on the FPPL) in healthcare are rare events that are more likely to occur due to cross-transmission arising from lapses in hand-hygiene practices.

Exciton-polariton ring Josephson junction.

Macroscopic coherence in quantum fluids allows the observation of interference effects in their wavefunctions, and enables applications such as superconducting quantum interference devices based on Josephson tunneling. The Josephson effect manifests in both fermionic and bosonic systems, and has been well studied in superfluid helium and atomic Bose-Einstein condensates. In exciton-polariton condensates-that offer a path to integrated semiconductor platforms-creating weak links in ring geometries has so far remained challenging.

Mechanical Failure of the Stryker T2 Alpha Retrograde Femoral Nail.

Objective: To evaluate mechanical failure rates of retrograde femoral nails in the treatment of distal femur fractures.

Methods: Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Urban Academic Level 1 Trauma Center.

In Vitro and In Vivo Visualization of Perfluorohexyloctane, an Eye Drop for Dry Eye Disease, Using Infrared Emissivity.

Purpose: To visualize the behavior of perfluorohexyloctane (PFHO), an eye drop to treat dry eye disease (DED), on the surface of saline in vitro and on the human ocular surface using infrared emissivity.

Methods: Emissivity videos were used to measure the spreading and disappearance rates of PFHO on saline (with and without mucin for spreading rate) and layered over a 125 nm film of meibum on the surface of saline using a TearView camera. Ocular surface emissivity was videoed in a volunteer without DED before and after instillation of 1 drop of PFHO.

Effects of different educational interventions on cervical cancer knowledge and human papillomavirus vaccination uptake among young women in Japan: Preliminary results of a cluster randomized controlled trial.

The incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer are increasing among young Japanese women. In November 2021, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare reinstated the active recommendation of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, after it had been suspended in June 2013 due to reports of adverse reactions. However, vaccine hesitancy is prevalent in the younger generation in Japan.

Formalin-free tissue embedding is less hazardous and results in better DNA quality.

Disease diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy choice progressively rely on good-quality Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) for molecular analysis. As tissue processing is routinely performed worldwide with ancient techniques using toxic and DNA-damaging formaldehyde, the quality of DNA isolated from embedded tissues used for diagnostics is poor. We used a novel formalin-free tissue embedding method to process tissues and show that, after 5 years, DNA quality is superior to formalin fixation.