Phenotypic Classification of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Using Latent Class Analysis.

Importance: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is an uncommon but severe hyperinflammatory illness that occurs 2 to 6 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Presentation overlaps with other conditions, and risk factors for severity differ by patient. Characterizing patterns of MIS-C presentation can guide efforts to reduce misclassification, categorize phenotypes, and identify patients at risk for severe outcomes.

A case of severe TBI: Recovery?

Chronic stage neuropsychological assessments of children with severe TBI typically center around a referral question and focus on assessing cognitive, behavioral, and emotional functioning, making differential diagnoses, and planning treatment. When severe TBI-related neurological deficits are subtle and fall outside commonly assessed behavioral indicators, as can happen with theory of mind and social information processing, they can go unobserved and subsequently fail to be assessed. Additionally, should chronic stage cognitive, behavioral, and emotional assessment findings fall within the average to above average range, a child experiencing ongoing significant unassessed severe TBI-related subtle deficits could be mistakenly judged to have "recovered" from their injury; and to be experiencing no significant ongoing residual neurological deficits.

Brief Scoping Review of Pathways Community Hubs for the Care of Pregnant Mothers and Their Infants.

Objectives: Pathways Community Hub (PCH) programs help connect pregnant women to healthcare and social services. A scoping review of peer-reviewed studies on PCHs that reported quantitative outcomes was conducted.

Methods: A search of academic databases from 1901 to 2024 initially yielded a total of 1,312 articles, which was ultimately reduced to 4 articles after duplicates were removed, and two levels of screening were conducted to determine whether studies met the inclusion criteria of evaluating a community hub for pregnant women, was written in English, was peer-reviewed, and reported quantitative outcomes.

Fentanyl and Fentanyl Analog Screening Using ASAP-MS With LiveID Confirmation.

Rationale: Fentanyl and fentanyl analogs continue to pose a serious threat to the public health. The vast number of fentanyl analogs emerging on the black-market call for optimized analytical methods for the detection, analysis, and characterization of these extremely dangerous drugs.

Methods: Atmospheric pressure solids analysis probe (ASAP) mass spectrometry was used for the rapid analysis of 250 synthetic opioid standards, including 211 fentanyl analogs, 32 non-fentanyl related opioids, and 8 fentanyl precursors.

Methodologies and characteristics of studies investigating the cost of the palliative phase of cancer: a systematic review.

Purpose: Improvements in the treatment of advanced cancer have increased life expectancy but have also increased the costs to healthcare systems, patients and their families. A systematic review is needed to summarize research work on the cost of cancer. The primary objective was to describe the characteristics and methodology of studies investigating the cost of cancer during the palliative phase.

In silico screening and immunogenic features of putative tick cement protein PA107 from Ixodes ricinus tick.

Tick salivary proteins are crucial for efficient and successful tick feeding. Most of them are still uncharacterized, especially those involved in the formation of tick cement. Tick salivary protein PA107 is a putative cement protein, which is transcribed in salivary glands during the initial phase of tick feeding.

Changing Epidemiology of Emergency Medical Services Calls for Children in the United States during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Reopening.

Objectives: To describe changes in the volume and types of emergency medical services (EMS) calls for children during the COVID-19 pandemic and after availability of the COVID-19 vaccine ("reopening period").

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study of EMS 9-1-1 responses to children under 18 years for all causes over a 4-year period (2019-2022) reported in the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) dataset. Data was stratified into three periods, Pre-pandemic, Pandemic and Reopening.

Facet-controlled electrosynthesis of nanoparticles by combinatorial screening in scanning electrochemical cell microscopy.

Controlled synthesis of faceted nanoparticles on surfaces without explicit use of ligands has gained attention due to their promising applications in electrocatalysis and chemical sensing. Electrodeposition is a desirable method; however, precise control over their size, spatial distribution, and morphology requires extensive optimization. Here, we report the spatially resolved synthesis of shape-controlled Pt nanoparticles and fast screening of synthesis conditions in scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) with pulse potentials.

P-P Coupling and Terminal Metal-Phosphorus Intermediates.

Terminal metal-phosphorus (M-P) complexes are of significant contemporary interest as potential platforms for P-atom transfer (PAT) chemistry. Decarbonylation of metal-phosphaethynolate (M-PCO) complexes has emerged as a general synthetic approach to terminal M-P complexes. M-P complexes that are stabilized by strong M-P multiple bonds are kinetically persistent and isolable.

The swinging sclera technique for evisceration.

Purpose: To present a modified evisceration technique with a full-thickness horizontal sclerotomy and assess post-operative motility and long-term outcomes.

Methods: This is a retrospective chart review of patients who underwent evisceration with a single surgeon (TJM). The standard initial steps of evisceration were performed.

Time dependency for human papillomavirus circulating tumor DNA detection after chemoradiation as a prognostic biomarker for localized anal cancer.

Background: While detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) weeks after surgery is linked to recurrence for other solid tumors, the optimal time point for ctDNA assessment as a prognostic biomarker following chemoradiation for anal cancer is undefined.

Methods: Patients with stages I-III anal cancer treated with chemoradiation between 12/2020-5/2024 were evaluated for HPV ctDNA status at baseline, at the end of chemoradiation, and during surveillance using a droplet digital HPV ctDNA PCR assay targeting HPV E6 and E7 oncogenes for 13 oncogenic HPV types. Median recurrence-free survival (RFS) according to HPV ctDNA status was estimated via Kaplan-Meier and compared using a log-rank test.

Sexual Dimorphism in the Downregulation of Extracellular Matrix Genes Contribute to Aortic Structural Stiffness in Female Mice.

The contribution of sex hormones to cardiovascular disease, including arterial stiffness, is established; however, the role of sex chromosome interaction with sex hormones, particularly in women, is lagging. Arterial structural stiffness depends on the intrinsic properties and transmural wall geometry that comprise a network of cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins expressed in a sex-dependent manner. In this study, we used four-core genotype (FCG) mice to determine the relative contribution of sex hormones versus sex chromosomes or their interaction with arterial structural stiffness.

Case 337.

A 38-year-old previously healthy male patient presented with left-sided facial pain over the prior 5 weeks. He first noticed the pain while washing and applying pressure to his face. The pain was described as shock-like, sharp and shooting, and radiating along the left cheek and temple.

Larsucosterol for the Treatment of Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis.

Background: Larsucosterol is a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor in development for alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH), a disease for which there is no approved therapy.

Methods: In this phase 2b trial, patients with severe AH were randomly assigned 1:1:1 to receive 30 mg or 90 mg of larsucosterol or placebo; a second dose was administered after 72 hours if the patient remained hospitalized. All patients received supportive care as determined by investigators.

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing.

AbstractBecause symptoms of cardiopulmonary disease often occur with exertion, cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) has a unique role in the assessment of patient symptoms, disease severity, prognosis, and response to therapy. In addition to the evaluation of cardiovascular and pulmonary physiology, CPET provides an assessment of the interaction of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems with the musculoskeletal, nervous, and hematological systems. In this article, we review key CPET variables, protocols, and clinical indications.

Ribosome profiling reveals differences in global translational vs transcriptional gene expression changes during early biofilm formation.

a major human fungal pathogen, can form biofilms on a variety of inert and biological surfaces. biofilms allow for immune evasion, are highly resistant to antifungal therapies, and represent a significant complication for a wide variety of immunocompromised patients in clinical settings. While transcriptional regulators and global transcriptional profiles of biofilm formation have been well-characterized, much less is known about translational regulation of this important virulence property.

Policy Recommendations to Support Equitable Access to Long-Acting Injectables for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention and Treatment: A Policy Paper of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association.

Long-acting injectables (LAIs) for HIV prevention and treatment could dramatically improve health outcomes and health equity for people with HIV and those who could benefit from pre-exposure prophylaxis. Despite widespread acceptability and demand by providers and potential users of LAIs, implementation has been extremely limited since the introduction of cabotegravir/rilpivirine, the first LAI for HIV treatment, in January 2021, and long-acting cabotegravir, the first LAI for HIV prevention, in December 2021. We report results of a provider survey, conducted by the HIV Medicine Association, which identified LAI implementation barriers related to health insurance processes, staffing and administrative support, drug costs and acquisition, and access for individuals who are uninsured.

Conformational flexibility is a critical factor in designing broad-spectrum human norovirus protease inhibitors.

Unlabelled: Human norovirus (HuNoV) is a leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide and is associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and economic impact. There are currently no licensed antiviral drugs for the treatment of HuNoV-associated gastroenteritis. The HuNoV protease plays a critical role in the initiation of virus replication by cleaving the polyprotein.

Frequently arising ESX-1-associated phase variants influence fitness in the presence of host and antibiotic pressures.

Unlabelled: (Mtb) exhibits an impressive ability to adapt to rapidly changing environments, despite its genome's apparent stability. Recently, phase variation through indel formation in homopolymeric tracts (HT) has emerged as a potentially important mechanism promoting adaptation in Mtb. This study examines the impact of common phase variants associated with the ESX-1 type VII secretion system, focusing on a highly variable HT upstream of the ESX-1 regulatory factor, .

Evaluation of tumor-colonizing strains using the chick chorioallantoic membrane model.

The chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) tumor model is a valuable preclinical model for studying the tumor-colonizing process of serovar Typhimurium. It offers advantages such as cost-effectiveness, rapid turnaround, reduced engraftment issues, and ease of observation. In this study, we explored and validated the applicability of the partially immune-deficient CAM tumor model.

Vitamin B2 Operates by Dual Thermodynamic and Kinetic Mechanisms to Selectively Tailor Urate Crystallization.

Here we demonstrate how a biologically relevant molecule, riboflavin (vitamin B2), operates by a dual mode of action to effectively control crystallization of ammonium urate (NHHU), which is associated with cetacean kidney stones. In situ microfluidics and atomic force microscopy experiments confirm a strong interaction between riboflavin and NHHU crystal surfaces that substantially inhibits layer nucleation and spreading by kinetic mechanisms of step pinning and kink blocking. Riboflavin does not alter the distribution of tautomeric urate isomers, but its adsorption on NHHU crystal surfaces does interfere with the effects of minor urate tautomer by limiting its ability to induce NHHU crystal defects while also suppressing NHHU nucleation and inhibiting crystal growth by 80% at an uncharacteristically low modifier concentration.

Comparing the hermaphroditic mating system of a parasitic flatworm between populations with an ancestral, 3-host life cycle and a derived, facultative-precocious life cycle.

Evolutionary changes in development and/or host number of parasite life cycles can have subsequent ecological and evolutionary consequences for parasites. One theoretical model based on the mating systems of hermaphroditic parasites assumes a life cycle with fewer hosts will result in more inbreeding, and predicts a truncated life cycle most likely evolves in the absence of inbreeding depression. Many populations of the hermaphroditic trematode Alloglossidium progeneticum maintain an ancestral obligate 3-host life cycle where obligate sexual reproduction occurs among adults in catfish third hosts.

Measurement of multidifferential cross sections for dijet production in proton-proton collisions at .

A measurement of the dijet production cross section is reported based on proton-proton collision data collected in 2016 at by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 36.3 . Jets are reconstructed with the anti- algorithm for distance parameters of and 0.