Oral Regimens for Rifampin-Resistant, Fluoroquinolone-Susceptible Tuberculosis.

Background: For decades, poor treatment options and low-quality evidence plagued care for patients with rifampin-resistant tuberculosis. The advent of new drugs to treat tuberculosis and enhanced funding now permit randomized, controlled trials of shortened-duration, all-oral treatments for rifampin-resistant tuberculosis.

Methods: We conducted a phase 3, multinational, open-label, randomized, controlled noninferiority trial to compare standard therapy for treatment of fluoroquinolone-susceptible, rifampin-resistant tuberculosis with five 9-month oral regimens that included various combinations of bedaquiline (B), delamanid (D), linezolid (L), levofloxacin (Lfx) or moxifloxacin (M), clofazimine (C), and pyrazinamide (Z).

Targeting AXL inhibits the growth and metastasis of prostate cancer in bone.

Purpose: After failing primary and secondary hormonal therapy, castration-resistant and neuroendocrine prostate cancer metastatic to the bone is invariably lethal, although treatment with docetaxel and carboplatin can modestly improve survival. Therefore, agents targeting biologically relevant pathways in PCa and potentially synergizing with docetaxel and carboplatin in inhibiting bone metastasis growth are urgently needed.

Experimental Design: Phosphorylated (activated) AXL expression in human prostate cancer bone metastases was assessed by immunohistochemical staining.

Prior vaccination prevents overactivation of innate immune responses during COVID-19 breakthrough infection.

At this stage in the COVID-19 pandemic, most infections are "breakthrough" infections that occur in individuals with prior severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure. To refine long-term vaccine strategies against emerging variants, we examined both innate and adaptive immunity in breakthrough infections. We performed single-cell transcriptomic, proteomic, and functional profiling of primary and breakthrough infections to compare immune responses from unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals during the SARS-CoV-2 Delta wave.

Variable vertical land motion and its impacts on sea level rise projections.

Coastal vertical land motion (VLM), including uplift and subsidence, can greatly alter relative sea level projections and flood mitigations plans. Yet, current projection frameworks, such as the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, often underestimate VLM by relying on regional linear estimates. Using high-resolution (90-meter) satellite data from 2015 to 2023, we provide local VLM estimates for California and assess their contribution to sea level rise both now and in future.

The case against machine vision for the control of wearable robotics: Challenges for commercial adoption.

Deploying machine vision for wearable robot control faces challenges in terms of usability, reliability, privacy, and costs.

The impact of anticoagulant-related bleeding on quality of life: Development of a novel measure based on perspectives from older adults.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) and atrial fibrillation (AF) disproportionately affect older adults, who are at increased risk of bleeding from treatment with anticoagulant therapy. The impact of bleeding on older adults' quality of life (QoL) is poorly understood due to the lack of a validated measure of their experience. This study's purpose is to describe the first evidence-based steps in developing a new condition-specific patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) for the effect of anticoagulant-related bleeding on older adults' QoL.

Understanding Health-Related Discussions on Reddit: Development of a Topic Assignment Method and Exploratory Analysis.

Background: Social media has become a widely used way for people to share opinions about health care and medical topics. Social media data can be leveraged to understand patient concerns and provide insight into why patients may turn to the internet instead of the health care system for health advice.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a method to investigate Reddit posts discussing health-related conditions.

Health Care Resource Use and Costs After Hospitalization With Multiple Organ Dysfunction in Children.

Importance: Multiple organ dysfunction (MOD) is a leading cause of in-hospital child mortality. For survivors, posthospitalization health care resource use and costs are unknown.

Objective: To evaluate longitudinal health care resource use and costs after hospitalization with MOD in infants (aged <1 year) and children (aged 1-18 years).

Association Between Preterm Birth and Fulfillment of Desired Permanent Contraception.

Objectives: In cases of preterm delivery, the Medicaid sterilization policy mandates a signed consent form at least 72 h before surgery for permanent contraception, which is less than the 30 day minimum waiting period for term births. This study evaluated the association between preterm birth and fulfillment of planned permanent contraception.

Study Design: This was a secondary analysis of a multi-center retrospective cohort study of 3013 patients with a postpartum contraceptive plan of permanent contraception.

Oculomotor challenges in macular degeneration impact motion extrapolation.

Macular degeneration (MD), which affects the central visual field including the fovea, has a profound impact on acuity and oculomotor control. We used a motion extrapolation task to investigate the contribution of various factors that potentially impact motion estimation, including the transient disappearance of the target into the scotoma, increased position uncertainty associated with eccentric target positions, and increased oculomotor noise due to the use of a non-foveal locus for fixation and for eye movements. Observers performed a perceptual baseball task where they judged whether the target would intersect or miss a rectangular region (the plate).

Developing an Intervention to Enhance Aging in Place for Older Veterans Living in Permanent Supportive Housing.

Background And Objectives: The Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supported Housing (HUD-VASH) program provides rental subsidies, case management, and supportive services to Veterans who are currently or formerly homeless, 77% of whom are ages ≥50. Few interventions have been developed to address the needs of older Veterans in HUD-VASH.

Research Design And Methods: We conducted a 2-stage study to inform the development of an intervention to promote aging in place in HUD-VASH.

Mechanism of chaperone recruitment and retention on mitochondrial precursors.

Nearly all mitochondrial proteins are imported into mitochondria from the cytosol. How nascent mitochondrial precursors acquire and sustain import-competence in the cytosol under normal and stress conditions is incompletely understood. Here, we show that under normal conditions, the Hsc70 and Hsp90 systems interact with and redundantly minimize precursor degradation.

Hepatocyte Rho-associated kinase signaling is required for mice to survive experimental porphyria-associated liver injury.

Background: Rho-associated kinases 1 and 2 (ROCK1 and ROCK2) regulate critical cell functions, including actomyosin contractility, apoptosis, and proliferation. Some studies suggest that ROCK inhibition may serve as a treatment for liver fibrosis. More investigation is needed to understand the role of hepatocyte ROCK signaling in vivo, especially in the context of profibrotic liver injury.

Hearing care in low-resourced and humanitarian settings: findings from a pilot study in South Sudan.

Objectives: This longitudinal experimental study aimed to profile audiometric hearing loss, explore the feasibility and efficacy of low-cost hearing devices, and examine their social and emotional impact on participants in South Sudan, a low-resource humanitarian setting.

Design: We performed pure tone hearing screenings on adults with self-reported hearing disability, randomly providing eligible participants with one of two inexpensive devices-Asana Pro 800, a non-customizable hearing device fit unilaterally, or the Super Ear SE9000, a hand-held amplifier with headphones given one per individual.

Study Sample: Between October 2022 and January 2023, 142 adults underwent hearing screening at the Juba Teaching Hospital ENT clinic, of whom 19 eligible individuals were provided with hearing devices.

Population pharmacokinetics and pulmonary modeling of eravacycline and the determination of microbiological breakpoint and cutoff of PK/PD.

Eravacycline is a broad-spectrum fluorocycline currently approved for complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs). In lung-infection models, it is effective against methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and tetracycline-resistant MRSA. As such, we aimed to develop a population pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model to evaluate eravacycline's pulmonary distribution and kinetics.

Comparison of in-clinic assessment of 6MWT by conventional method and using wearable sensors for patients with ATTR-CM.

Introduction: The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is used to assess submaximal exercise capacity in clinical trials. Conducting the 6MWT can be challenging when patients cannot visit the clinic due to physical/travel limitations. This pilot study assessed the feasibility of conducting the 6MWT using wearable sensors for patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy.

Pre-Assault Diagnoses Associated with Post-Assault Emergency Department Visits After Recent Sexual Assault.

Characteristics associated with individuals who frequent the emergency department at higher rates have been well established; however, factors associated with greater emergency department visits following a recent sexual assault are largely unknown. The current study evaluated the associations between pre-assault factors such as substance use and physical injuries, assault characteristics such as genital injury, non-genital injury, alcohol or drug use involvement, intimate partner involvement, and emergency department visits one-year after a sexual assault medical forensic exam (SAMFE). The current study included a medical record review of 123 individuals who received a SAMFE at a hospital in the United States.

Fact or Myth? Black Patients Do Not Want to Participate in Clinical Trials.

Objectives: To assess strategies for optimizing participation of underserved minorities in a blood-based early CRC detection test study (PREEMPT CRC; NCT04369053) at a hospital serving primarily Black patients.

Methods: Culturally sensitive, racially congruent research staff approached patients undergoing average-risk screening colonoscopy. Consent/study procedures were synchronized with clinical appointments.

Trends in the incidence and mutational landscape of advanced uterine cancer.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine disparities in 20-year incidence trends and mutations in advanced-stage uterine cancer in the United States, given poor survival rates.

Methods: Data were obtained from the United States Cancer Statistics for patients from 2001 to 2019 with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2009 stage IVA and IVB uterine cancer. SEER∗Stat 8.

Cervical cancer stage distribution and survival outcomes in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women, with a disproportionate burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding the cervical cancer stage and outcomes is crucial for developing effective interventions and reducing its burden. We aimed to undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis of cervical cancer stage distribution and survival outcomes in Africa.