Bioimpedance Measurements of Fibrotic and Acutely Injured Lung Tissues.

In injured and diseased tissues, changes in molecular and cellular compositions, as well as tissue architecture, lead to alterations in both physiological and physical characteristics. Notably, the electrical properties of tissues, which can be characterized as bioelectrical impedance (bioimpedance), are closely linked to the health and pathological conditions of the tissues. This highlights the significant role of quantitatively characterizing these electrical properties in improving the accuracy and speed of diagnosis and prognosis.

Managing Non-islet Cell Tumor Hypoglycemia in Hepatocellular Carcinoma With Radiation Therapy.

Non-islet cell tumor hypoglycemia (NICTH) is a paraneoplastic syndrome associated with non-mesenchymal-derived and epithelial tumors. A 37-year-old male with stage IVB hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and pulmonary metastases presented with recurrent hypoglycemia despite glucose supplementation. Laboratory findings revealed low insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1) (15 ng/mL), elevated insulin growth factor 2 (IGF-2) (395 ng/ml), and an IGF-2:IGF-1 ratio of 26:1, consistent with NICTH.

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.

Chemotherapy-Related Cognitive Impairment and Changes in Neural Network Dynamics: A Systematic Review.

Background And Objectives: This systematic review aims to synthesize the current literature on the association between chemotherapy (CTX) and chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) with functional and structural brain alterations in patients with noncentral nervous system cancers.

Methods: A comprehensive search of the PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Embase databases was conducted, and results were reported following preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analyses guidelines. Data on study design, comparison cohort characteristics, patient demographics, cancer type, CTX agents, neuroimaging methods, structural and functional connectivity (FC) changes, and cognitive/psychological assessments in adult patients were extracted and reported.

Effects of radiotherapy on the hippocampus and hippocampal neurogenesis: a systematic review of preclinical studies.

Purpose: A comprehensive literature review was undertaken to understand the effects and underlying mechanisms of cranial radiotherapy (RT) on the hippocampus and hippocampal neurogenesis as well as to explore protective factors and treatments that might mitigate these effects in preclinical studies.

Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Embase were queried for studies involving the effects of radiation on the hippocampus and hippocampal neurogenesis. Data extraction followed the Animal Research Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines, and a risk of bias assessment was conducted for the included animal studies using the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) risk of bias tool.

Safety and Effectiveness of a New 532 nm, Long Pulse-Duration, Variable Pulse Structure Laser for Treatment of Poikiloderma of Civatte.

Background: Poikiloderma of Civatte is a benign skin condition characterized by reticulate erythema and hyperpigmentation in sun-exposed areas, predominantly on the neck, cheeks, and chest. Chronic UV exposure leads to vascular proliferation and red cell extravasation resulting in hemosiderin and melanin deposition. While many light-based modalities have been utilized to treat the disorder, the significant vascularity makes it ideally suited for treatment with vascular lasers.

A Rare Case of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Transforming Into Waldenström Macroglobulinemia During Ibrutinib Therapy.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) can rarely transform into Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), posing diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. The diagnosis of WM requires bone marrow infiltration by lymphoplasmacytic cells and the presence of IgM gammopathy. Immunophenotypic markers include FMC7+, CD19+, CD20+, and CD138+.

Auditory and Visual Thalamocortical Connectivity Alterations in Unmedicated People with Schizophrenia: An Individualized Sensory Thalamic Localization and Resting-State Functional Connectivity Study.

Background: Converging evidence from clinical neuroimaging and animal models has strongly implicated dysfunction of thalamocortical circuits in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Preclinical models of genetic risk for schizophrenia have shown reduced synaptic transmission from auditory thalamus to primary auditory cortex, which may represent a correlate of auditory disturbances such as hallucinations. Human neuroimaging studies, however, have found a generalized increase in resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) between whole thalamus and sensorimotor cortex in people with schizophrenia (PSZ).

Longitudinal associations between intersectional stigmas, antiretroviral therapy adherence, and viral load among women living with HIV using multidimensional latent transition item response analysis.

Background: In the US, Women, especially Black and Latina women living in disadvantaged environments, are disproportionally affected by HIV. Women living with HIV (WLHIV) have higher rates of suboptimal antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence, and detectable viral load (VL). Experiences of intersectional poverty, HIV, gender, and racial stigmas may increase the rates of detectable VL through suboptimal ART adherence.

Development of a rapid screener to elicit patient preferences for antiseizure medication discontinuation.

Objective: While guidelines encourage individualized discussions of the risks and benefits of antiseizure medication (ASM) withdrawal after a period of seizure-freedom, no formal methods exist for assessing patient preferences. We report the initial development of a rapid patient preferences screener.

Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods study of adults who were ≥1 year seizure-free and seen for epilepsy across three institutions.

Improving Procedural Pain Management for Newborns in a Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Quality Improvement Initiative.

Introduction:  Neonatal pain has been associated with numerous adverse outcomes, making pain management essential in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Our specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timely (SMART) aim was to increase the proportion of neonates receiving pain management interventions during painful procedures from a baseline of less than 30% to above 50% within six months.

Methods: The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model for improvement methodology was employed to improve pain management in the NICU between August 2022 and July 2023.

Does cognitive intra-individual variability predict change in everyday functioning performance in women with and without HIV in the Women's Interagency HIV Study?

This study examined the association between cognitive intra-individual variability (IIV), a non-mean-based indicator of underlying neuropathology, and self-reported everyday functioning of 1,086 women with HIV (WWH) and 494 socio-demographically similar women without HIV (WWoH). Objective cognitive performance across seven domains and the self-rated Lawton & Brody scale of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) were assessed among participants of the Women's Interagency HIV Study. Two types of cognitive IIV were calculated by taking the standard deviation across seven cognitive domains to calculate dispersion: 1) intra-individual standard deviation (denoted as IIV) and 2) coefficient of variation (denoted as IIV).

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Associated Factors and Outcomes in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective Matched Case-control Study.

Background: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a multi-drug-resistant, hospital-acquired Gram-negative bacillus associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study is to identify risk factors and outcomes associated with S. maltophilia isolation in a high-risk neonatal population.

Evaluation of imputation performance of multiple reference panels in a Pakistani population.

Genotype imputation is crucial for genome-wide association studies (GWASs), but reference panels and existing benchmarking studies prioritize European individuals. Consequently, it is unclear which publicly available reference panel should be used for Pakistani individuals, and whether ancestry composition or sample size of the panel matters more for imputation accuracy. Our study compared different reference panels to impute genotype data in 1,814 Pakistani individuals, finding the best performance balancing accuracy and coverage with meta-imputation with TOPMed and the expanded 1000 Genomes (ex1KG) reference.

Is it time to Reassess The Role of Preoperative HypoalbuminemiaAmong Geriatric Distal Femur Fracture Patients?

Background: Hypoalbuminemia, blanketly defined as Albumin < 3.5 g/dL, is often utilized as a threshold associated with postoperative complications and mortality among orthopedic and non-orthopedic surgical procedures. Albumin level is influenced by a myriad of factors including liver function, malnutrition, and inflammation.

Heterogeneous depressive symptom trajectories among women with type 2 diabetes: findings from the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

Background: Depression affects 33% of women with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and leads to increased risks of premature mortality. Fluctuation and variation of depressive presentations can hinder clinical identification.

Purpose: We aimed to identify and examine subgroups characterized by distinct depressive symptom trajectories among women with T2D.

Impact of syndemic heavy drinking, smoking, and depression on mortality among MSM with and without HIV: A longitudinal study.

Background: Heavy drinking, smoking, and depression are common among men who have sex with men (MSM). The association of co-occurring longitudinal patterns of these conditions and mortality among MSM were tested, applying a syndemic framework - the interaction of two or more conditions that contribute to poor health outcomes.

Methods: Longitudinal data from 1999 to 2018 from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study of 3046 MSM were analyzed.

Childhood trauma is associated with developmental trajectories of EEG coherence, alcohol-related outcomes, and PTSD symptoms.

Background: Associations between childhood trauma, neurodevelopment, alcohol use disorder (AUD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are understudied during adolescence.

Methods: Using 1652 participants (51.75% female, baseline = 14.

Differential Effects of Extracellular Vesicles from Two Different Glioblastomas on Normal Human Brain Cells.

Glioblastomas (GBMs) are dreadful brain tumors with abysmal survival outcomes. GBM extracellular vesicles (EVs) dramatically affect normal brain cells (largely astrocytes) constituting the tumor microenvironment (TME). We asked if EVs from different GBM patient-derived spheroid lines would differentially alter recipient brain cell phenotypes.