Patients with advanced cancer in Uganda: Gender, social norms, and family relationship icebergs in the face of terminal illness.

Objectives: Cancer is associated with physical, social, spiritual, and psychological changes in patients and their caregivers. However, in sub-Saharan Africa, there is lack of evidence on the impact of gender, social norms, and relationship dynamics in the face of terminal illness. The aim of this paper is to explore how gender identity, social norms, and power relations are impacted when a person is living in Uganda with advanced cancer.

When death is desired: A case of MAiD & the CL psychiatrist.

Objectives: Since physician-assisted dying (PAD) has become a part of the clinical dialogue in the United States (US) and other Western countries, it has spawned controversy in the moral, ethical, and legal realm, with significant cross-country variation. The phenomenon of PAD includes 2 practices: Euthanasia and medical aid in dying (MAiD). Although euthanasia has been allowed in different parts of the world, in the US it is illegal.

Lack of TRIC-B dysregulates cytoskeleton assembly, trapping β-catenin at osteoblast adhesion sites.

The trimeric intracellular cation channel B (TRIC-B), encoded by TMEM38B, is a potassium (K) channel present in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, where it counterbalances calcium (Ca) exit. Lack of TRIC-B activity causes a recessive form of the skeletal disease osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), namely OI type XIV, characterized by impaired intracellular Ca flux and defects in osteoblast (OB) differentiation and activity. Taking advantage of the OB-specific Tmem38b knockout mouse (Runx2Cre;Tmem38b; cKO), we investigated how the ion imbalance affects the osteogenetic process.

Predicting survival in patients with severe heart failure: Risk score validation in the HELP-HF cohort.

Aims: Accurate selection of patients with severe heart failure (HF) who might benefit from advanced therapies is crucial. The present study investigates the performance of the available risk scores aimed at predicting the risk of mortality in patients with severe HF.

Methods And Results: The risk of 1-year mortality was estimated in patients with severe HF enrolled in the HELP-HF cohort according to the MAGGIC, 3-CHF, ADHF/NT-proBNP, and GWTG-HF risk scores, the number of criteria of the 2018 HFA-ESC definition of advanced HF, I NEED HELP markers, domains fulfilled of the 2019 HFA-ESC definition of frailty, the frailty index, and the INTERMACS profile.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: State-of-the-science update and narrative review.

Objective: The long-recognized association of brain injury with increased risk of dementia has undergone significant refinement and more detailed study in recent decades. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a specific neurodegenerative tauopathy related to prior exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHI). We aim to contextualize CTE within a historical perspective and among emerging data which highlights the scientific and conceptual evolution of CTE-related research in parallel with the broader field of neurodegenerative disease and dementia.

Machine learning demonstrates clinical utility in distinguishing retinoblastoma from pseudo retinoblastoma with RetCam images.

Background: Retinoblastoma is diagnosed and treated without biopsy based solely on appearance (with the indirect ophthalmoscope and imaging). More than 20 benign ophthalmic disorders resemble retinoblastoma and errors in diagnosis continue to be made worldwide. A better noninvasive method for distinguishing retinoblastoma from pseudo retinoblastoma is needed.

Single- versus two-test criteria for cognitive impairment: associations with CSF and imaging markers in former American football players.

 Cognitive impairment is a core feature of traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES), the putative clinical syndrome of chronic traumatic encephalopathy-a neuropathological disease associated with repetitive head impacts (RHI). Careful operationalization of cognitive impairment is essential to improving the diagnostic specificity and accuracy of TES criteria. We compared single- versus two-test criteria for cognitive impairment in their associations with CSF and imaging biomarkers in male former American football players.

Next generation bioelectronic medicine: making the case for non-invasive closed-loop autonomic neuromodulation.

The field of bioelectronic medicine has advanced rapidly from rudimentary electrical therapies to cutting-edge closed-loop systems that integrate real-time physiological monitoring with adaptive neuromodulation. Early innovations, such as cardiac pacemakers and deep brain stimulation, paved the way for these sophisticated technologies. This review traces the historical and technological progression of bioelectronic medicine, culminating in the emerging potential of closed-loop devices for multiple disorders of the brain and body.

Experiences of sexual and reproductive health screening and counseling in the clinical setting among adolescents and young adults with rheumatic disease.

Background: Our objective was to describe differences among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with rheumatic disease using teratogens compared to non-users in receipt of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) counseling, teratogenicity knowledge, perceived importance of SRH topics, and preferences around counseling.

Methods: AYAs ages 14-23 years and assigned female at birth were recruited from pediatric rheumatology clinics at a Midwest tertiary care program. Participants completed a one-time online survey assessing SRH.

Evaluation of a mentorship matchmaking event at an academic research institution to reinforce the scientific workforce pathway for underrepresented minority groups.

Background: Mentorship and research experiences are crucial for STEMM career entry and advancement. However, systemic barriers have excluded people from historically underrepresented groups.

Methods: In 2021, a virtual "matchmaking event" was held to connect NIH-funded research mentors with historically underrepresented trainees and initiate mentored research experiences.

The proneural transcription factor Atoh1 promotes odontogenic differentiation in human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs).

Background: Bioengineering of human teeth for replacement is an appealing regenerative approach in the era of gene therapy. Developmentally regulated transcription factors hold promise in the quest because these transcriptional regulators constitute the gene regulatory networks driving cell fate determination. Atonal homolog 1 (Atoh1) is a transcription factor of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family essential for neurogenesis in the cerebellum, auditory hair cell differentiation, and intestinal stem cell specification.

Population-Based vs. Health System and Insurer Records: Significant Underdiagnosis of Pcos - A Systematic Review.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most prevalent cardio-metabolic disorders in women. However, PCOS diagnosis is often missed or delayed, which may have serious physical and mental health consequences. The extent of underdiagnosis remains unknown.

CalciumZero: a toolbox for fluorescence calcium imaging on iPSC derived brain organoids.

Calcium plays an important role in regulating various neuronal activities in human brains. Investigating the dynamics of the calcium level in neurons is essential not just for understanding the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders but also as a quantitative gauge to evaluate the influence of drugs on neuron activities. Accessing human brain tissue to study neuron activities has historically been challenging due to ethical concerns.

Variants and vaccines impact nasal immunity over three waves of SARS-CoV-2.

Viral variant and host vaccination status impact infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), yet how these factors shift cellular responses in the human nasal mucosa remains uncharacterized. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on nasopharyngeal swabs from vaccinated and unvaccinated adults with acute Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 infections and integrated with data from acute infections with ancestral SARS-CoV-2. Patients with Delta and Omicron exhibited greater similarity in nasal cell composition driven by myeloid, T cell and SARS-CoV-2 cell subsets, which was distinct from that of ancestral cases.

Metabolic interplays between the tumour and the host shape the tumour macroenvironment.

Metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells and the tumour microenvironment are pivotal characteristics of cancers, and studying these processes offer insights and avenues for cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. Recent advancements have underscored the impact of host systemic features, termed macroenvironment, on facilitating cancer progression. During tumorigenesis, these inherent features of the host, such as germline genetics, immune profile and the metabolic status, influence how the body responds to cancer.

Equitable artificial intelligence for glaucoma screening with fair identity normalization.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness globally. Research indicates a disproportionate impact of glaucoma on racial and ethnic minorities. Existing deep learning models for glaucoma detection might not achieve equitable performance across diverse identity groups.

Alternative Splicing Events and Differently Expressed Genes During Peak Mortality in Large Yellow Croaker (Larimichthys crocea) Infected with Scuticociliate.

Large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) is facing various threats from bacterial, viral, and parasitic diseases, especially scuticociliate. Scuticociliate is a facultative parasite causing high mortality in various marine fishes. In this study, an artificial scuticociliate infection model was successfully established for large yellow croaker.

Fascin structural plasticity mediates flexible actin bundle construction.

Fascin cross-links actin filaments (F-actin) into bundles that support tubular membrane protrusions including filopodia and stereocilia. Fascin dysregulation drives aberrant cell migration during metastasis, and fascin inhibitors are under development as cancer therapeutics. Here, we use cryo-EM, cryo-electron tomography coupled with custom denoising and computational modeling to probe human fascin-1's F-actin cross-linking mechanisms across spatial scales.

Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries.

Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists.

Hedgehog signaling directs cell differentiation and plays a critical role in tendon enthesis healing.

A high prevalence of rotator cuff tears presents a major clinical challenge. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying enthesis development and healing is needed for developing treatments. We recently identified hedgehog (Hh)-lineage cells critical for enthesis development and repair.

Construction and iterative redesign of synXVI a 903 kb synthetic Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome.

The Sc2.0 global consortium to design and construct a synthetic genome based on the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome commenced in 2006, comprising 16 synthetic chromosomes and a new-to-nature tRNA neochromosome. In this paper we describe assembly and debugging of the 902,994-bp synthetic Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome synXVI of the Sc2.