Role of Fungi in Tumorigenesis: Promises and Challenges.

The mycobiome plays a key role in the host immune responses in homeostasis and inflammation. Recent studies suggest that an imbalance in the gut's fungi contributes to chronic, noninfectious diseases such as obesity, metabolic disorders, and cancers. Pathogenic fungi can colonize specific organs, and the gut mycobiome has been linked to the development and progression of various cancers, including colorectal, breast, head and neck, and pancreatic cancers.

Treatment With Avacopan in Patients With Respiratory Tract Manifestations of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis.

Objective: The ADVOCATE trial demonstrated that treatment of active granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) with avacopan was noninferior in achieving remission at week 26 and superior for sustained remission at week 52 compared with a prednisone taper. This analysis of ADVOCATE evaluated the efficacy and safety of avacopan in patients with ear, nose, throat (ENT), or lung manifestations.

Methods: This post hoc analysis included patients enrolled in ADVOCATE with ENT or lung manifestations at baseline.

Prevalence of Autoimmune Diseases in Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: An Epidemiological Study Using A Global Network of Health Care Organizations.

Objective: Evaluate prevalence of new onset autoimmune conditions (ACs) after commencement of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Methods: This retrospective observational study was done using TriNetX. Patients with neoplasm for which ICIs were approved were stratified into two groups based on ICI use.

Biofield Therapies Clinical Research Landscape: A Scoping Review and Interactive Evidence Map.

Biofield Therapies, with a historical lineage spanning millennia and continuing relevance in contemporary practices, have been used to address various health conditions and promote wellbeing. The scientific study and adoption of these therapies have been hindered by cultural challenges and institutional barriers. In addition, the current research landscape for Biofield Therapies is insufficiently documented.

Enhanced Transcriptional Activation in Developing Mouse Photoreceptors.

Purpose: Retinal development in the mouse continues past birth and provides a widely used model system in which photoreceptor formation can be observed and manipulated. This experimental paradigm provides opportunities for both gain-of-function and loss-of-function studies, which can be accomplished through in vivo or ex vivo plasmid delivery and electroporation. However, the cis-regulatory elements used to implement this approach have not been fully evaluated or optimized for the unique transcriptional environment of photoreceptors.

Preferential Sites of Retinal Capillary Occlusion in Sickle Cell Disease.

Purpose: To assess the preferential sites of retinal capillary occlusion at the parafovea in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A).

Methods: OCT-A scans from 107 patients with SCD and 51 race-matched unaffected controls were obtained using a commercial spectral domain-OCT system. At least eight sequential 3 × 3 mm scans centered at the fovea were acquired and averaged for image analysis.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Long-Term Nursing Home Stay or Death Following Hospital Discharge.

Importance: Long-term nursing home stay or death (long-term NH stay or death), defined as new long-term residence in a nursing home or death following hospital discharge, is an important patient-centered outcome.

Objective: To examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with changes in long-term NH stay or death among older adults with sepsis, and whether these changes were greater in individuals from racial and ethnic minoritized groups.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study used patient-level data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review File, the Master Beneficiary Summary File, and the Minimum Data Set.

Exploring Developmental Connections: Sleep Patterns, Self-Locomotion, and Vocabulary Growth in Early Childhood.

Current research indicates likely developmental connections between the evolution of sleep patterns, motor skills progression, and the expansion of vocabulary. These connections are grounded in the well-established role of sleep in memory and learning, as well as in the cascading effects on language development of the acquisition of new motor skills. However, no study has so far undertaken a comprehensive and systematic examination of these connections or explored their developmental trajectory over time.

Baseline Imaging Derived Factors of Response Following [225Ac]Ac-J591 Therapy in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: A Lesion Level Analysis.

Purpose: Actinium-225 labeled prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) targeted radionuclide therapy has emerged as a potential treatment option in the management of men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). This study investigated molecular imaging-derived parameters and compared imaging response of lesions categorized by tumor site.

Methods: Men with mCRPC treated with [225Ac]Ac-J591 from 2017 to 2022 at our center on two prospective trials (NCT03276572 and NCT04506567) with pre- and post-treatment [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging studies available were included.

Prophylactic Use of Cardiac Medications and Survival in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Introduction/aims: Prophylactic treatment of left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) delays onset of LVD, but there is limited data showing impact on survival. Our aim was to describe survival among treated and untreated individuals with DMD.

Methods: Retrospective, population-based surveillance data from the Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking and Research Network (MD STARnet) were used.

Symptomatic Improvement in Adults and Adolescents With Eosinophilic Esophagitis Requires Higher Systemic Dupilumab Exposure Than Histologic Response.

Introduction: We assessed potential mechanisms behind the requirement for more frequent dupilumab dosing in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) compared with other approved indications.

Methods: Results for the phase 3 LIBERTY EoE TREET study coprimary endpoints (proportion of patients achieving a peak intraepithelial eosinophil count of ≤6 eosinophils per high-power field and absolute change from baseline in Dysphagia Symptom Questionnaire total score) were pooled in exposure-response analyses.

Results: A steep initial relationship then plateau was observed between higher dupilumab steady-state trough concentrations and decreased eosinophilic infiltration at week 24, whereas a graded exposure-response relationship was observed for symptomatic improvement at week 24.

Gender Differences in Barriers in Career Development Among a Cohort of Dental Researchers. A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: This cross-sectional study investigated gender differences in barriers to career development among dental researchers and between academic and non-academic women.

Methods: An anonymous 34-item survey assessing barriers to career development and workplace obstacles (14 items), along with demographic/occupation characteristics (22 items), was distributed among dental researchers at the Women In Science Network meetings at 2024 AADOCR/IADR General Session (QR code) and through AADOCR/IADR discussion board (online platform). Differences in barriers and workplace obstacles were analyzed between women and men with chi-square tests; comparisons were repeated among women working within versus outside academia.

Nutraceuticals and Headache 2024: Riboflavin, Coenzyme Q10, Feverfew, Magnesium, Melatonin, and Butterbur.

Nutraceuticals are not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration, so a careful literature review is essential to make clinical decisions. Riboflavin or vitamin B2 can be recommended for migraine prevention in adults, but pediatric use is not proven. Adverse events are minimal.

Remote Food Security Research Project: Applying an Indigenist Research Lens.

This paper aimed to reflect on how Rigney's model of Indigenist research informed the research design of a project which explored community-led solutions to improve food security in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The project was conducted in partnership with two Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs); Apunipima Cape York Health Council (Apunipima) and Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (Congress), communities in Central Australia and Cape York, Queensland and researchers from the University of Queensland, Monash University, Dalhousie University and Menzies School of Health Research. On reflection the principles of Indigenist research were evident providing a means of resistance to oppression through Indigenous stakeholders being in control of research to address social determinants, in this case food security.

The impact of imprecise case definitions in electronic health record research: a melanoma case-study from the Million Veteran Program.

Cases for a disease can be defined broadly using diagnostic codes, or narrowly using gold-standard confirmation that often is not available in large administrative datasets. These different definitions can have significant impacts on the results and conclusions of studies. We conducted this study to assess how using melanoma phecodes versus histologic confirmation for invasive or in situ melanoma impacts the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using the Million Veteran Program.

Emotion processing difficulties in ADHD: a Bayesian meta-analysis study.

We investigated whether there is an emotional processing deficit in ADHD and whether this only applies to specific emotional categories. In this PRISMA-compliant systematic review based on a pre-registered protocol ( https://osf.io/egp7d ), we searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ERIC, Scopus and Web of Science databases until 3rd December 2023, to identify empirical studies comparing emotional processing in individuals meeting DSM (version III to 5-TR) or ICD (version 9 or 10) criteria for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and in a non-psychiatric control group.

Bulk thermally conductive polyethylene as a thermal interface material.

As the demand for high-power-density microelectronics rises, overheating becomes the bottleneck that limits device performance. In particular, the heterogeneous integration architecture can magnify the importance of heat dissipation and necessitate electrical insulation between critical junctions to prevent dielectric breakdown. Consequently, there is an urgent need for thermal interface materials (TIMs) with high thermal conductivity and electrical insulation to address this challenge.

Discordance between prostate MRI and PSMA-PET/CT: the next big challenge for primary prostate tumor assessment?

Objectives: An increasing number of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) undergo assessment with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PSMA-PET/CT). This offers comprehensive multimodality staging but can lead to discrepancies. The objective was to assess the rates and types of discordance between MRI and PSMA-PET/CT for primary PCa assessment.

Chlamydia muridarum Causes Persistent Subclinical Infection and Elicits Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses in C57BL/6J, BALB/cJ, and J:ARC(S) Mice Following Exposure to Shedding Mice.

Chlamydia muridarum (Cm) has reemerged as a moderately prevalent infectious agent in research mouse colonies. Despite its experimental use, few studies evaluate Cm's effects on immunocompetent mice following its natural route of infection. A Cm field isolate was administered (orogastric gavage) to 8-wk-old female BALB/cJ (C) mice.