Proposed resources required for a comprehensive program for CCT CHD imaging.

Background: Cardiac Computed Tomography (CCT) is increasingly used for evaluation of congenital heart disease (CHD) in patients of all ages. Pediatric and adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) surgical programs require high quality CCT imaging as part of the multimodality imaging support expected of comprehensive care centers. Despite these expectations, there are no benchmarks or defined programmatic elements specific to the performance of CCT in patients with CHD.

Assessment and treatment considerations for patients with colorectal liver metastases: AHPBA consensus guideline and update for surgeons.

Background: Colorectal cancer most commonly metastasizes to the liver. While various treatment strategies have been developed, surgical management of these patients has vital implications on the prognosis and survival of this group of patients. There remains a need for a consensus guideline regarding the surgical evaluation and management of patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM).

Neratinib Efficacy in Patients With EGFR Exon 18-Mutant Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Findings From the SUMMIT Basket Trial.

Background: Activating mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene occur in 7% to 23% of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A small proportion of these (3-5%) are exon 18 mutations. Neratinib, an irreversible pan-HER tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), had activity in the phase II SUMMIT basket study.

Variation in lipoprotein(a) response to potent lipid lowering: The role of apolipoprotein (a) isoform size.

Background: Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a driver of residual cardiovascular risk. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9i) decrease Lp(a) with significant heterogeneity in response. We investigated contributors to the heterogeneous response.

Image-Guided Percutaneous Robotic Interventions for Lung.

Interventional radiology (IR) has aided advances in the diagnosis and treatment of lung pathologies through procedures such as percutaneous biopsy, tumor ablation and drainage of intra-thoracic collections. The success and safety of these interventions largely depend on timely and accurate needle/device placement. Additionally, there is an inherent need to minimize radiation exposure during image-guided procedures.

Carcinogenic Air Pollutants and Breast Cancer Risk in the Arkansas Rural Community Health Study: A Nested Case-Control Study.

Background: Previous epidemiological studies on the associations between hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and breast cancer (BC) have largely neglected rural, medically underserved areas in the United States, which differ in exposures and disparities compared to urban areas.

Objectives: We aimed to examine the associations between carcinogenic HAPs and BC risk in a rural population.

Methods: Using a nested case-control design, 574 cases and 2,295 incidence density-sampled controls matched 1:4 on index age and race were included from the Arkansas Rural Community Health study.

In-hospital Outcomes of Percutaneous Left Ventricular Assist Device Recipients in Cardiogenic Shock Hospitalizations with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Nationwide Analysis.

Background: There is a lack of data on the role of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients who received percutaneous left ventricular assist devices (pLVAD) as mechanical circulatory support (MCS) as an adjunct treatment for cardiogenic shock (CS) management.

Methods: Using National Inpatient Sample (2016-19), we extracted CS patients receiving pLVAD and divided them into CKD and non-CKD cohorts. Multivariate regression analysis was used for adjusted odds ratios for outcomes before and after entropy balancing (EB) and predictive margins for the probability of all-cause in-hospital mortality (ACM).

Metabolic dysfunction in mice with adipocyte specific ablation of the adenosine A2A receptor.

It has been well established that adenosine plays a key role in the control of inflammation through G protein coupled receptors and recently shown that it can regulate thermogenesis. Here we investigated the specific requirements of the adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) in mature adipocytes for thermogenic functionality and metabolic homeostasis. We generated fat tissue specific adenosine A2A receptor knock-out mice to assess the influence of signaling through this receptor on brown and beige fat functionality, obesity, insulin sensitivity, inflammation and liver function.

Bridging the Last Mile: The Critical Role of Local Civil Society in Advancing Equity and Inclusion for Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, exacerbating existing inequities in health, gender, and socioeconomic status. Civil society organizations (CSOs) play a vital but often undervalued role in addressing these inequities by engaging with communities and fostering accountability of NTD programs and governments while ensuring transparency in their own operations and responsiveness to community needs. Drawing lessons from the HIV/AIDS and leprosy responses, this paper argues that CSOs are indispensable for sustainable and inclusive NTD programming.

Long-Term Survival Following Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery.

Background: Management guidelines for stable three-vessel coronary artery disease have become a subject of debate. We aim to provide a benchmark for the survival of patients with normal ejection fraction, stable three-vessel disease, and elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

Methods: Data from consecutive patients with normal ejection fraction undergoing elective primary isolated CABG for triple-vessel disease in a diverse 11-center surgical network between 2008 and 2020 were analyzed.

Frank Invasion in Tall Cell Carcinoma with Reversed Polarity of the Breast: Report of Two Cases.

Tall cell carcinoma with reversed polarity (TCCRP) is a rare neoplasm of the breast composed of columnar tumor cells arranged in solid and solid papillary nests with evidence of apical nuclear polarity. No frank invasion is evident despite the lack of a myoepithelial cell layer throughout the tumor. TCCRP has a triple negative or hormone receptor-low immunophenotype.

Conformationally adaptive therapeutic peptides for diseases caused by intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). New paradigm for drug discovery: Target the target, not the arrow.

The traditional model of protein structure determined by the amino acid sequence is today seriously challenged by the fact that approximately half of the human proteome is made up of proteins that do not have a stable 3D structure, either partially or in totality. These proteins, called intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), are involved in numerous physiological functions and are associated with severe pathologies, e.g.

Characterization and Targeting of the Main Drivers of Elective Imaging Utilization: A Cross-sectional Study Applying Conjoint Analysis.

Objective: To characterize patient and referring physician preferences when selecting where to have elective imaging performed METHODS: In this Institutional Research Board approved survey-based study, online surveys were completed by 393 patients who had recently had a non-contrast MRI of the shoulder, lumbar spine, or knee within the past 2 years and 168 physicians who had ordered at least 12 such MRIs in the past year. The survey data included explicit questions about preferences as well as a set of conjoint choice screens. Conjoint analysis utilized a logistic model estimated using maximum likelihood estimation.

Age- and cytokine-dependent modulation of GABAergic transmission within the basolateral amygdala of male Sprague Dawley rats.

Alcohol binge drinking has a multitude of effects on CNS function, including changes in inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-1β that may contribute to mood fluctuations associated with the intoxication-withdrawal cycle. Widely throughout the brain, including the amygdala, IL-6 mRNA is enhanced during intoxication, whereas IL-1β is initially suppressed during alcohol intoxication, with increased expression seen shortly after ethanol clearance, during acute hangover. Furthermore, induction of neuroimmune genes appears to be muted during adolescence in the amygdala, suggesting a broader functional immaturity of the adolescent neuroimmune system in structures involved in negative affect associated with ethanol exposure.

Trends in poisonings involving ketamine in the United States, 2019-2023.

Background: Off-label prescribing of ketamine to treat psychiatric disorders has been increasing, as has recreational use and availability of illicit ketamine. It is important to examine trends in ketamine-related poisonings to inform public health efforts.

Methods: We examined data from poisonings (exposures) involving ketamine reported to Poison Centers in the US between 2019 and 2023 (n = 1519).

Reconstructing the first COVID-19 pandemic wave with minimal data in England.

Accurate measurement of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in the population is crucial for understanding the dynamics of disease transmission and evaluating the impacts of interventions. However, it was particularly challenging to achieve this in the early phase of a pandemic because of the sparsity of epidemiological data. We previously developed an early pandemic diagnostic tool that linked minimum datasets: seroprevalence, mortality and infection testing data to estimate the true exposure in different regions of England and found levels of SARS-CoV-2 population exposure to be considerably higher than suggested by seroprevalence surveys.

Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, reduced hippocampal subfield volumes, and word reading.

Reading difficulties and exposure to air pollution are both disproportionately high among youth living in economically disadvantaged contexts. Critically, variance in reading skills in youth living in higher socioeconomic status (SES) contexts largely derives from genetic factors, whereas environmental factors explain more of the variance in reading skills among youth living in lower SES contexts. Although reading research has focused closely on the psychosocial environment, little focus has been paid to the effects of the chemical environment.

Definition of cage subsidence in transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) approach and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) approach - A systematic review.

Background: Although cage subsidence is one of the most common phenomenona associated with interbody fusions and was characterized more than 70 years ago, a standardized method for its measurement, detection, and reporting among different lumbar fusion procedures does not exist. Here, we review previously published literature on cage subsidence to present the most common methods for defining subsidence in the posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) techniques.

Methods: A search was completed in PubMed and Embase with inclusion criteria focused on identifying any study that provided descriptions of the method, imaging modality, and subsidence threshold used to define the presence of cage subsidence in study articles published between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2022.

Spoilage investigation of pasteurized apple juice with visual defects identifies a potentially novel Acetobacter species as the primary spoilage agent.

Jellified materials were observed in spoiled pasteurized apple juice that contained dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC). Microbiological analysis showed a high microbial load (4-5 log CFU/mL) in the sample. Acetobacter spp.

The effect of Reiki on anxiety level in mothers of hospitalized children: A randomized-controlled study.

Context: Reiki is considered an effective, side-effect-free, and non-invasive method to alleviate anxiety.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Reiki on the anxiety levels of mothers with hospitalized children.

Method: This three-arm parallel randomized controlled trial included 120 mothers with hospitalized children who were divided into 3 equal-sized groups.