Primordial black holes and their gravitational-wave signatures.

In the recent years, primordial black holes (PBHs) have emerged as one of the most interesting and hotly debated topics in cosmology. Among other possibilities, PBHs could explain both some of the signals from binary black hole mergers observed in gravitational-wave detectors and an important component of the dark matter in the Universe. Significant progress has been achieved both on the theory side and from the point of view of observations, including new models and more accurate calculations of PBH formation, evolution, clustering, merger rates, as well as new astrophysical and cosmological probes.

The long-run effect of historical redlining practices on social vulnerability in U.S. cities.

Historical redlining practices in the United States date back to the 1930s and have continued to impact cities socially, environmentally, and economically since then. This study explores current social vulnerability inequity among former HOLC (Home Owners' Loan Corporation) neighborhoods with four color-coded grades in 196 U.S.

Neural Correlates of Irritability and Potential Moderating Effects of Inhibitory Control.

Background: Irritability affects up to 20% of youth and is a primary reason for referral to pediatric mental health clinics. Irritability is thought to be associated with disruptions in processing of reward, threat, and cognitive control; however, empirical study of these associations at both the behavioral and neural level have yielded equivocal findings that may be driven by small sample sizes and differences in study design. Associations between irritability and brain connectivity between cognitive control and reward- or threat-processing circuits remain understudied.

Gene Editing: Developments, Ethical Considerations, and Future Directions.

An examination of recent developments related to CRISPR technology, ethical considerations of the application of such technologies, and future directions for germline editing.

Multidisciplinary Management of Complex Trauma and Burn Injuries: A Case Series of Challenging Clinical Scenarios.

Trauma and burn injuries often present with multiple complications, necessitating a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to management. This case series reviews the outcomes and challenges of treating high-risk trauma and burn patients, with a focus on complex polytrauma, alcohol withdrawal, high-voltage electrical injuries, and lightning strikes. Each case underscores the importance of early intervention, multidisciplinary team involvement, and individualized treatment protocols for improving patient outcomes in critically injured burn victims.

Clinical, immunophenotypic, and genomic findings of acute myeloid leukemia with RAM immunophenotype: Comparison with other CD56-positive acute leukemias.

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with RAM immunophenotype is a newly recognized high-risk AML immunophenotypic subcategory characterized by blasts with bright expression of CD56 and weak to absent expression of CD45, HLA-DR, and CD38, as first described by the Children's Oncology Group (COG). The relationship between AML-RAM and other CD56-positive acute leukemias is unclear. The goal of this study is to characterize the clinicopathological characteristics of AML with RAM phenotype and compare them with other CD56 co-expressing acute leukemias.

Quantitative assessment of the generalizability of a brain tumor Raman spectroscopy machine learning model to various tumor types including astrocytoma and oligodendroglioma.

Significance: Maximal safe resection of brain tumors can be performed by neurosurgeons through the use of accurate and practical guidance tools that provide real-time information during surgery. Current established adjuvant intraoperative technologies include neuronavigation guidance, intraoperative imaging (MRI and ultrasound), and 5-ALA for fluorescence-guided surgery.

Aim: We have developed intraoperative Raman spectroscopy as a real-time decision support system for neurosurgical guidance in brain tumors.

Text Message System for the Prediction of Colonoscopy Bowel Preparation Adequacy Before Colonoscopy: An Artificial Intelligence Image Classification Algorithm Based on Images of Stool Output.

Background And Aims: Inadequate bowel preparation which occurs in 25% of colonoscopies is a major barrier to the effectiveness of screening for colorectal cancer. We aim to develop an artificial intelligence (machine learning) algorithm to assess photos of stool output after bowel preparation to predict inadequate bowel preparation before colonoscopy.

Methods: Patients were asked to text a photo of their stool in the commode when they believed that they neared completion of their colonoscopy bowel preparation.

Re-evaluation of mastodon material from Oregon and Washington, USA, Alberta, Canada, and Hidalgo and Jalisco, Mexico.

The presence of at least two contemporaneous Pleistocene mastodon taxa in North America ( and ) invites re-examination of specimens at the geographic margins of each species in order to determine range boundaries, overlaps, and fluctuations. Third molars from Oregon in the United States, as well as from Hidalgo and Jalisco in Mexico, were found to be morphologically consistent with . Washington in the United States includes a number of specimens that could not be confidently assigned to either taxon.

Characterizing the fecal microbiome in patients on the ketogenic diet for drug resistant epilepsy.

Background: The ketogenic diet is a dietary therapy with anti-seizure effects. The efficacy of the diet is variable, with initial animal studies suggesting the intestinal microbiome may have a modulating effect. Initial research on the role of the human microbiome in pediatric epilepsy management has been inconclusive.

Afatinib and Necitumumab in -Mutant NSCLC with Acquired Resistance to Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors.

Introduction: Although tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are effective against NSCLC harboring sensitizing gene mutations, acquired resistance is inevitable. Preclinical studies suggest that combining EGFR TKI and monoclonal antibody therapies may have activity in mutated NSCLC that has progressed on TKI therapy alone. Therefore, we prospectively evaluated afatinib plus necitumumab in patients with mutated NSCLC.

Differential Associations of Cigar, Pipe, and Smokeless Tobacco Use Versus Combustible Cigarette Use With Subclinical Markers of Inflammation, Thrombosis, and Atherosclerosis: The Cross-Cohort Collaboration-Tobacco Working Group.

Background: Understanding the association of tobacco product use with subclinical markers is essential in evaluating health effects to inform regulatory policy. This is particularly relevant for noncigarette products (eg, cigars, pipes, and smokeless tobacco), which have been understudied because of their low prevalence in individual cohort studies.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 98 450 participants from the Cross-Cohort Collaboration-Tobacco data set.

Improved therapeutic efficacy of a bifunctional anti-C5 mAb-FH SCR1-5 fusion protein over anti-C5 mAb in an accelerated mouse model of C3 glomerulopathy.

C3 glomerulopathy (C3G), a rare kidney disease caused by dysregulation of alternative pathway complement activation, is characterized by glomerular C3 deposition, proteinuria, crescentic glomerulonephritis, and renal failure. The anti-C5 monoclonal antibody (mAb) drug eculizumab has shown therapeutic effects in some but not all patients with C3G, and no approved therapy is currently available. Here, we developed and used a triple transgenic mouse model of fast progressing lethal C3G (FHm/mP-/-hFDKI/KI) to compare the therapeutic efficacy of a bifunctional anti-C5 mAb fused to a functional factor H (FH) fragment (short consensus repeat 1-5 [SCR1-5]) and the anti-C5 mAb itself.

Coaxial Direct Ink Writing of Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Elastomers in 3D Architectures.

Cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers (CLCEs) hold great promise for mechanochromic applications in anti-counterfeiting, smart textiles, and soft robotics, thanks to the structural color and elasticity. While CLCEs are printed via direct ink writing (DIW) to fabricate free-standing films, complex 3D structures are not fabricated due to the opposing rheological properties necessary for cholesteric alignment and multilayer stacking. Here, 3D CLCE structures are realized by utilizing coaxial DIW to print a CLC ink within a silicone ink.

Differences in brain volume in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and normal cognition across different anatomical regions: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) represents a stage between cognitively normal and Alzheimer's disease. Despite much published research on MCI, there continues to be a knowledge gap of volumetric brain changes in MCI versus cognitively normal (CN) in racially diverse, community-based samples.

Objective: The study aimed to understand differences in volume of selected brain regions in individuals with MCI versus those who are cognitively normal.

Refinement of Atomic Polarizabilities for a Polarizable Gaussian Multipole Force Field with Simultaneous Considerations of Both Molecular Polarizability Tensors and In-Solution Electrostatic Potentials.

Atomic polarizabilities are considered to be fundamental parameters in polarizable molecular mechanical force fields that play pivotal roles in determining model transferability across different electrostatic environments. In an earlier work, the atomic polarizabilities were obtained by fitting them to the B3LYP/aug-cc-pvtz molecular polarizability tensors of mainly small molecules. Taking advantage of the recent PCMRESPPOL method, we refine the atomic polarizabilities for condensed-phase simulations using a polarizable Gaussian Multipole (pGM) force field.

Evaluating patients on CDK-4/6 inhibitor treatment for differences in treatment according to demographic variables.

Background: The accessibility and outcomes of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitors (CDKi) in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) according to demographic factors are unknown.

Research Design And Methods: Retrospective review of patients with ER+ MBC prescribed first-line CDKi therapy from January 2015 through December 2022. Abstraction included time from CDKi prescription to drug initiation (TTI), time from CDKi initiation to progression (TTP), time from CDKi initiation to death or 6/30/2022, and variables (age, race, partner status, insurance type, BMI, number of comorbidities).

Clin-STAR Corner: Rehabilitation for Older Adults With Heart Failure.

Heart failure is a major contributor to morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs, especially among older adults. Despite a large body of evidence supporting the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation, less than 30% of eligible Medicare beneficiaries participate in cardiac rehabilitation. Thus, it is essential to examine alternatives, such as physical rehabilitation, a rehabilitation approach that focuses on physical activity and function.

Early achievement of hemostasis defined by transfusion velocity: A possible mechanism for whole blood survival benefit.

Introduction: Whole blood resuscitation is associated with survival benefits in observational cohort studies. The mechanisms responsible for outcome benefits have not been adequately determined. We sought to characterize the achievement of hemostasis across patients receiving early whole blood versus component resuscitation.

Plasmodium falciparum CyRPA glycan binding does not explain adaptation to humans.

The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum evolved from a parasite that infects gorillas, termed Plasmodium praefalciparum. The sialic acids on glycans on the surface of erythrocytes differ between humans and other apes. It has recently been shown that the P.

On the Influence of Additives and Modifiers on the Chiral HPLC Separation of the Enantiomers of Nicotine.

The influence of additives and modifiers on the chiral HPLC separation of the nicotine enantiomers using UV/Vis detection is discussed. Selected alcohols as modifiers and selected amines as additives were found to have a significant effect on the resolution and retention times of nicotine enantiomers even to the point of eliminating component elution. Systematic variations in the concentration of ethanol, methanol, and isopropanol, as modifiers, along with variations in the concentration of diethylamine, triethylamine, tributylamine, ethylenediamine, isopropylamine, as additives, revealed that the average resolution (R) of the nicotine enantiomers ranged from 2.

Effect of Histamine-2 Receptor Antagonists on Hypocalcemia after Thyroidectomy: A Retrospective Cohort Study and Sensitivity Analysis.

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the risk of hypocalcemia after thyroidectomy in patients taking histamine-2 receptor antagonists.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Multicenter, single database.

A Perspective on Women in Otolaryngology Through the Legacy of Dr. Margaret F. Butler.

This article explores the life of Dr. Margaret F. Butler and her many contributions to the field of otolaryngology.