Randomized study of temporary diaphragm pacing for enhanced recovery after surgery in cardiac surgery patients at risk of prolonged mechanical ventilation.

Objective: Prolonged mechanical ventilation after cardiac surgery significantly increases morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to establish the role of diaphragmatic pacing to decrease mechanical ventilation burden in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Methods: This is a prospective, randomized trial of temporary diaphragmatic pacing electrode use in patients undergoing cardiac surgery (NCT04899856).

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) cardiac turnkey order set for perioperative pain management in cardiac surgery: Proceedings from the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) ERAS Conclave 2023.

Objective: Optimal perioperative pain management is an essential component of perioperative care for the cardiac surgical patient. This turnkey order set is part of a series created by the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Cardiac Society, first presented at the Annual Meeting of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery in 2023. Several guidelines and expert consensus documents have been published to provide guidance on pain management and opioid reduction in cardiac surgery.

The Expression, Purification, Spectroscopic Characterization, and Membrane Topology Classification of KCNE4 from Recombinant .

Members of the KCNE family are accessory subunits that modulate voltage-gated potassium channels. One member, KCNE4, has been shown to inhibit the potassium ion current in these channels. However, little is known about the structure, dynamics, and mode of inhibition of KCNE4, likely due to challenges in overexpressing and purifying the protein.

Is There a Diminishing Benefit With Increasing Operative Time of Minimally Invasive Sacrocolpopexy? A Retrospective Analysis.

Objective: To determine whether there is an operative time threshold beyond which minimally invasive sacrocolpopexy (MI-SCP) is less beneficial than abdominal sacrocolpopexy (ASCP).

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Setting: The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database.

Histochemical indications for a chemically complex signal produced by the cervical gill slit gland of the pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps).

The pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) possesses an exocrine gland associated with its false gill slit pigmentation pattern. The cervical gill slit gland is a compound tubuloalveolar gland that produces a holocrine secretion and displays maturational changes in size and secretory histology. While the morphology of the cervical gill slit gland has been described in detail, to date, the chemical composition of its secretion remains uncharacterized.

Prevention and Management of Infectious Complications in Pediatric Patients With Cancer: A Survey Assessment of Current Practices Across Children's Oncology Group Institutions.

Introduction: While clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for pediatric oncology infection prophylaxis and management exist, few data describe actual management occurring at pediatric oncology centers.

Methods: An electronic survey querying infection management practices in nontransplant pediatric oncology patients was iteratively created by the Children's Oncology Group (COG) Cancer Control and Supportive Care Infectious Diseases Subcommittee and sent to leaders at all COG institutions, limiting each site to one response to represent their institution.

Results: The response rate was 57% (129/227 institutions).

Female dental students' perceptions on barriers and motivators in pursuing oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Purpose: Although females represent more than half of US dental students, less than 10% are practicing oral surgeons. This study sought to identify barriers and motivators perceived by female dental students in their D1 and D4 years concerning a career in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS).

Methods: This cross-sectional study used a single survey in 2023 sent to all US dental schools for female D1 and D4 students.

Network analysis combined with genome-wide association study helps identification of genes related to amino acid contents in soybean.

Background: Additional to total protein content, the amino acid (AA) profile is important to the nutritional value of soybean seed. The AA profile in soybean seed is a complex quantitative trait controlled by multiple interconnected genes and pathways controlling the accumulation of each AA. With a total of 621 soybean germplasm, we used three genome-wide association study (GWAS)-based approaches to investigate the genomic regions controlling the AA content and profile in soybean.

Inactivation of GSK3β by Ser phosphorylation prevents thymocyte necroptosis and impacts Tcr repertoire diversity.

The assembly of Tcrb and Tcra genes require double negative (DN) thymocytes to undergo multiple rounds of programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), followed by their efficient repair. However, mechanisms governing cell cycle checkpoints and specific survival pathways during the repair process remain unclear. Here, we report high-resolution scRNA-seq analyses of individually sorted mouse DN3 and DN4 thymocytes, which reveals a G2M cell cycle checkpoint, in addition to the known G1 checkpoint, during Tcrb and Tcra recombination.

The sequence-structure-function relationship of intrinsic ERα disorder.

The oestrogen receptor (ER or ERα), a nuclear hormone receptor that drives most breast cancer, is commonly activated by phosphorylation at serine 118 within its intrinsically disordered N-terminal transactivation domain. Although this modification enables oestrogen-independent ER function, its mechanism has remained unclear despite ongoing clinical trials of kinase inhibitors targeting this region. By integration of small-angle X-ray scattering and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with functional studies, we show that serine 118 phosphorylation triggers an unexpected expansion of the disordered domain and disrupts specific hydrophobic clustering between two aromatic-rich regions.

Bidirectional histone monoaminylation dynamics regulate neural rhythmicity.

Histone H3 monoaminylations at Gln5 represent an important family of epigenetic marks in brain that have critical roles in permissive gene expression. We previously demonstrated that serotonylation and dopaminylation of Gln5 of histone H3 (H3Q5ser and H3Q5dop, respectively) are catalysed by transglutaminase 2 (TG2), and alter both local and global chromatin states. Here we found that TG2 additionally functions as an eraser and exchanger of H3 monoaminylations, including H3Q5 histaminylation (H3Q5his), which displays diurnally rhythmic expression in brain and contributes to circadian gene expression and behaviour.

Quality of life in early breast cancer patients after adjuvant accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) in randomized trial.

Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) represents a valid option for adjuvant therapy of selected early breast cancer (BC). This single-institution prospective randomized study compares the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) between women treated with the highly conformal-external beam APBI technique and those with the more commonly used moderately hypofractionated whole breast irradiation (hypo-WBI). Eligible patients were women over 50 years with early BC (G1/2 DCIS ≤ 25 mm or G1/2 invasive non-lobular luminal-like HER2 negative carcinoma ≤ 20 mm) after breast-conserving surgery with negative margins.

Bioactive Secondary Metabolites from Bauhinia variegata Linn. Roots: Isolation, Characterization, and Cytotoxic Evaluation.

Introduction: This study aims to isolate and characterize potential cytotoxic compounds from the roots of Bauhinia variegata Linn. (Caesalpiniaceae) and evaluate their activity against human cancer cell lines. Five compounds, namely β-sitosterol (1), piperine (2), piperolein B (3), retrofractamide A (4), and dehydropipernonaline (5), were isolated from B.

An Azomethine Derivative, 1-(4-nitrophenyl)-N-phenylmethanimine (BCS2) Ameliorated 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced Mammary Carcinoma through Nrf2-Keap1-HO-1 Pathway.

Aims: The aim of this study is the evaluation of an Azomethine derivative, BCS2, for its antioxidant and anti-tumor activities against mammary carcinoma through the Nrf2- Keap1-HO-1 pathway.

Background: The global prevalence of breast cancer is rising at an alarming rate. The facilitation of abnormal cell proliferation in mammary carcinoma occurs due to the disruption of signaling pathways that balance pro- and antioxidant status, thereby producing oxidative stress that disrupts genomic stability.

The impact of an interactive online informational and peer support application (app) for patients with low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) on quality of life: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (LARS) describes bowel dysfunction post-restorative proctectomy (RP) and is associated with poor quality of life (QoL). The aim of this study was to assess the impact of an interactive online informational and peer support App on participants' QoL (primary outcome), LARS, and emotional distress (secondary outcomes).

Methods: A multicentre, randomized, parallel-group trial was conducted across five Canadian colorectal surgery practices.

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Big Data in Radiation Oncology.

This review explores the applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in radiation oncology, focusing on computer vision (CV) and natural language processing (NLP) techniques. We examined CV-based AI/ML in digital pathology and radiomics, highlighting the prospective clinical studies demonstrating their utility. We also reviewed NLP-based AI/ML applications in clinical documentation analysis, knowledge assessment, and quality assurance.

Prospective association of tobacco retailer density and neighbourhood walkability with youth vaping initiation in California, USA.

Background: Tobacco retailer density might influence youth e-cigarette use due to increased access and exposure to point-of-sale marketing. There is a need for longitudinal investigations on the association of tobacco retailer density with youth e-cigarette use, with consideration of contextual factors such as neighbourhood walkability that could enhance retailer exposure.

Methods: Five semi-annual waves (Fall 2021-Fall 2023) of a Southern California school-based cohort of youth who never vaped at baseline (n=3401; mean baseline age=15 years [range=12-17]) were merged with spatial data on tobacco retailers corresponding to each school year.

Cardiovascular events observed among patients in the etrasimod clinical programme: an integrated safety analysis of patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis.

Objective: Etrasimod is an oral, once-daily, selective sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC). S1P receptor expression on cardiac cells is involved in cardiac conduction. We report cardiovascular treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) associated with S1P receptor modulators and other cardiovascular events in the etrasimod UC clinical programme.

First pass effect in patients with large core infarcts undergoing mechanical thrombectomy: subgroup analysis of the prospective international ASSIST registry.

Background: Studies have described a first pass effect (FPE) where patients with successful recanalization after one pass experience better outcomes. Few studies have evaluated this in patients with large core infarctions.

Objective: To determine whether patients with large core infarcts undergoing mechanical thrombectomy in which first pass reperfusion is achieved experience improved outcomes compared with those who undergo more than one pass.

Contraception Update: A Focus on Safety and Efficacy.

This clinical update serves as a brief summary of recently published and potentially practice changing journal articles. We review recent publications related to contraceptive safety and efficacy. The article discusses updated medical eligibility recommendations, effectiveness of progestin-only pills (including the newly approved over-the-counter pill), safety of estrogen containing contraceptives in those with migraine, topiramate interactions with hormonal contraception, and the use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with oral emergency contraception to improve efficacy.

An early precursor CD8 T cell that adapts to acute or chronic viral infection.

This study examines the origin and differentiation of stem-like CD8+ T cells that are essential for sustained T cell immunity in chronic viral infections and cancer and also play a key role in PD-1 directed immunotherapy. These PD-1+ TCF-1+ TOX+ stem-like CD8+ T cells, also referred to as precursors of exhausted T cells, have a distinct program that allows them to adapt to chronic antigen stimulation. Using the mouse model of chronic LCMV infection we found that virus specific stem-like CD8+ T cells are generated early (day 5) during chronic infection suggesting that this crucial fate commitment occurs irrespective of infection outcome.