Radiation Segmentectomy and Modified Radiation Lobectomy for Unresectable Early-Stage Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

Purpose: To validate the safety and efficacy of radiation segmentectomy (RS) and modified radiation lobectomy (mRL) in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) and to evaluate long-term outcomes in patients with unresectable, early-stage iCCA.

Materials And Methods: A single-institution, retrospective study of patients with unresectable, solitary iCCA without extrahepatic disease or vascular involvement (stage I) treated with RS and mRL was performed. Fifteen patients met inclusion criteria (median age 65.

Cardiorenal outcomes associated with sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors in chronic kidney disease stage 5 (CKD V): A propensity score-matched analysis.

Background: There remains a paucity of data regarding the cardio-renal benefits of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in patients with chronic kidney disease stage 5 (CKD V) based on major clinical trials.

Objective: This retrospective study aimed to identify potential cardiovascular and renal outcomes associated with SGLT2i use in CKD V patients.

Methods: We queried the TriNetX Global collaborative network from Jan 2014 - Aug 2023 for patients ≥18 years diagnosed with CKD V but not on dialysis.

PhyImpute and UniFracImpute: two imputation approaches incorporating phylogeny information for microbial count data.

Sequencing-based microbial count data analysis is a challenging task due to the presence of numerous non-biological zeros, which can impede downstream analysis. To tackle this issue, we introduce two novel approaches, PhyImpute and UniFracImpute, which leverage similar microbial samples to identify and impute non-biological zeros in microbial count data. Our proposed methods utilize the probability of non-biological zeros and phylogenetic trees to estimate sample-to-sample similarity, thus addressing this challenge.

Adult stuttering prevalence I: Systematic review and identification of stuttering in large populations.

Purpose: Stuttering epidemiology is reviewed with a primary goal of appraising methods used to identify stuttering in large populations. Secondary goals were to establish a best estimate of adult stuttering prevalence; identify data that could subgroup stuttering based upon childhood versus adult onset and covert versus over behaviour; and conduct a preliminary assessment of the degree to which stuttering features as a co-occurring diagnosis.

Methods: Systematic review followed PRISMA guidelines.

Alemtuzumab Associated With Higher Mortality Than Basiliximab in Older Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Introduction: Kidney transplantation (KT) in older age is increasingly common as more elderly patients live with end-stage renal disease. Immunosuppression (IS) after KT confers additional risk in aging patients with weakened immune systems. We hypothesized that 1-year mortality among KT recipients aged 70 y and older would be higher in those receiving induction IS with alemtuzumab lymphocyte depletion versus basiliximab interleukin-2 inhibition.

Guselkumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in pediatric patients: results of the phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled PROTOSTAR study.

Background: No currently approved treatment for pediatric plaque psoriasis selectively targets interleukin (IL)-23. In adults, guselkumab (a selective IL-23 inhibitor targeting the p19 subunit) demonstrated substantial efficacy with a favorable safety profile in treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Objective: PROTOSTAR (NCT03451851) evaluated the efficacy and safety of guselkumab in pediatric patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Racial Differences in Device-Detected Incident Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Prior research suggests Black individuals have a lower risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) than White individuals, but this may be related to the underdetection of AF. Whether this trend persists using highly sensitive methods of AF diagnosis has not been well-studied.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to use cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) capable of AF diagnosis to compare AF incidence between Black and White individuals.

Rare dysfunctional SCN2A variants are associated with malformation of cortical development.

Objective: SCN2A encodes the voltage-gated sodium (Na+) channel α subunit Na1.2, which is important for the generation and forward and back propagation of action potentials in neurons. Genetic variants in SCN2A are associated with a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Review: Systematic review and meta-analysis - financial incentives increase engagement with parenting programs for disruptive behavior problems.

Background: To evaluate the effect of financial incentives on engagement in parenting programs for disruptive behavior disorders, as well as effect on child behavior. As a secondary aim, demographic differences were investigated as effect modifiers.

Methods: We searched PubMed, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, Cochrane Trials, and PsycINFO for randomized controlled trials and quasi experimental studies offering parents a financial incentive for engagement with parenting programs targeting disruptive behavior in children aged under 18, vs no incentive.

Enhanced gait tracking measures for individuals with stroke using leg-worn inertial sensors.

Background: Clinical gait analysis plays a pivotal role in diagnosing and treating walking impairments. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) offer a low-cost, portable, and practical alternative to traditional gait analysis equipment, making these techniques more accessible beyond specialized clinics. Previous work and algorithms developed for specific clinical populations, like in individuals with Parkinson's disease, often do not translate effectively to other groups, such as stroke survivors, who exhibit significant variability in their gait patterns.

Regorafenib induces DNA damage and enhances PARP inhibitor efficacy in pancreatic ductal carcinoma.

Background: There is increasing interest in enhancing the response of the PARP inhibitor olaparib, which is currently approved for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients with defects in DNA damage repair associated with germline BRCA1/2 mutations. Moreover, agents that can mimic these defects in the absence of germline BRCA1/2 mutations are an area of active research in hopes of increasing the number of patients eligible for treatment with PARP inhibitors. The extent to which regorafenib, an FDA-approved tyrosine kinase inhibitor, can be used to enhance the efficacy of PARP inhibitors in PDAC cells without known BRCA1/2 mutations remains to be investigated.

Risks of grade reclassification among patients with Gleason grade group 1 prostate cancer and PI-RADS 5 findings on prostate MRI.

Background And Objective: As most Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) 5 lesions on MRI harbor Gleason grade (GG) group ≥2 disease on biopsy, optimal management of patients with imaging-biopsy discordance remains unclear. To estimate grade misclassification, we evaluated the incidence of Gleason upgrading among patients with GG1 disease in the setting of a PI-RADS 5 lesion.

Methods: We conducted a single-institution retrospective analysis to identify patients with GG1 prostate cancer on fusion biopsy with MRI demonstrating ≥1 PI-RADS 5 lesion.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Expert Consensus Statements on a Framework for a Standardized National Robotic Curriculum for Thoracic Surgery Trainees.

Objective: With robotic technology's rapid growth and integration, an urgent need to bridge the educational gap in thoracic surgical training has emerged. This document, a result of consensus among a group of experts in the practice and training of robotic surgery from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), aims to provide a framework for a standardized national robotic curriculum for thoracic surgery trainees.

Methods: The STS Task Force on Robotic Thoracic Surgery and Workforce on E-learning and Educational Innovation assembled an expert group with the input of the Thoracic Surgery Director's Association (TSDA).

Web-based pain coping skills training (PCST) for managing aromatase inhibitor-associated arthralgia in breast cancer survivors: Randomized controlled trial protocol.

Background: Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are a cornerstone of adjuvant systemic therapy for postmenopausal patients with hormone-receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer. Although AIs decrease cancer recurrence rates and improve survival rates, approximately 50 % of patients experience arthralgia-persistent pain related to worse patient outcomes and poor AI adherence. Current medical interventions for AI-associated arthralgia have limited efficacy and side effects that restrict their use among older patients.

Low fucosylation defines the glycocalyx of progenitor cells and melanocytes in the human limbal stem cell niche.

It is widely recognized that the glycocalyx has significant implications in regulating the self-renewal and differentiation of adult stem cells; however, its composition remains poorly understood. Here, we show that the fucose-binding Aleuria aurantia lectin (AAL) binds differentially to basal cells in the stratified epithelium of the human limbus, hair follicle epithelium, and meibomian gland duct. Using fluorescence-activated cell sorting in combination with single-cell transcriptomics, we find that most epithelial progenitor cells and melanocytes in the limbus display low AAL staining (AAL) on their cell surface, an attribute that is gradually lost in epithelial cells as they differentiate into mature corneal cells.

Visual identification of conspecifics shapes social behavior in mice.

Recognizing conspecifics-others of the same species-in order to determine how to interact with them appropriately is a fundamental goal of animal sensory systems. It has undergone selective pressure in nearly all species. Mice have a large repertoire of social behaviors that are the subject of a rapidly growing field of study in neuroscience.

TurboCas: A method for locus-specific labeling of genomic regions and isolating their associated protein interactome.

Regulation of gene expression during development and stress response requires the concerted action of transcription factors and chromatin-binding proteins. Because this process is cell-type specific and varies with cellular conditions, mapping of chromatin factors at individual regulatory loci is crucial for understanding cis-regulatory control. Previous methods only characterize static protein binding.

Adult stuttering prevalence II: Recalculation, subgrouping and estimate of stuttering community engagement.

Purpose: Epidemiological research of stuttering has frequently focused on children, with a relative paucity of population level data specific to adults. Prevalence data for adults are reassessed here, including a breakdown of whether stuttering is overt or covert, and whether onset was in childhood or adulthood. The engagement of adults who stutter with stuttering communities is also estimated.

Natural history of dolichoectatic vertebrobasilar aneurysms: a multinational study.

Objective: Dolichoectatic vertebrobasilar aneurysms (DVBAs) are expansions of arterial tissue leading to aneurysmal formations without an obvious neck. Their natural history is poorly understood; usually patients are admitted with thromboembolic complications and/or neurological symptoms from the mass effect. There have not been international collective data, and correct timing for highly risky treatments has been under discussion.

A phase 1 study of the CDK9 inhibitor voruciclib in relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia and B-cell malignancies.

The anti-apoptotic protein myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) contributes to the pathophysiology of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and certain B-cell malignancies. Tumor dependence on Mcl-1 is associated with resistance to venetoclax. Voruciclib, an oral cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor targeting CDK9, indirectly decreases Mcl-1 protein expression and synergizes with venetoclax in preclinical models.

Power Strokes in Molecular Motors: Predictive, Irrelevant, or Somewhere in Between?

For several decades, molecular motor directionality has been rationalized in terms of the free energy of molecular conformations visited before and after the motor takes a step, a so-called power stroke mechanism with analogues in macroscopic engines. Despite theoretical and experimental demonstrations of its flaws, the power stroke language is quite ingrained, and some communities still value power stroke intuition. By building a catalysis-driven motor into simulated numerical experiments, we here systematically report on how directionality responds when the motor is modified accordingly to power stroke intuition.

NLSDeconv: an efficient cell-type deconvolution method for spatial transcriptomics data.

Summary: Spatial transcriptomics (ST) allows gene expression profiling within intact tissue samples but lacks single-cell resolution. This necessitates computational deconvolution methods to estimate the contributions of distinct cell types. This paper introduces NLSDeconv, a novel cell-type deconvolution method based on non-negative least squares, along with an accompanying Python package.

Cell-free DNA methylation-based inflammation score as a marker for hepatocellular carcinoma among people living with HIV.

Background: People living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at a greater risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), potentially due to the stimulation of inflammation by HIV infection. Inflammation-related DNA methylation signatures obtained in liquid biopsy, such as circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA), may serve as promising minimally invasive biomarkers that can inform diagnosis of HCC.

Methods: Using data from 249 individuals with HIV (114 individuals with normal liver conditions, 69 with fibrosis, 30 with cirrhosis, and 36 with HCC), we constructed a cfDNA methylation-based inflammation score (inflammation-DNAm score) based on 54 CpGs previously associated with circulating C-reactive protein concentrations.

Hemodynamic evaluation of the pulmonary arteries and aorta using 4D flow cardiac MRI in children and young adults with dextro-transposition of the great arteries after the arterial switch operation.

Background: Pulmonary artery stenosis, neoaortic dilatation, and neoaortic valve insufficiency are among the most frequent complications of the arterial switch operation for repair of dextro-transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA). It remains difficult to predict which patients will require great arterial reintervention.

Objective: We aimed to characterize hemodynamics within the great arteries using 4D flow MRI in patients with d-TGA after the arterial switch operation.