The 2021 American Hand Therapy Foundation research priorities survey.

Background: In 1998, the American Hand Therapy Foundation (AHTF) surveyed Certified Hand Therapists and active Charter Members of the American Society of Hand Therapists to identify hand rehabilitation research priorities, guide grant awards, and confirm alignment with the foundation's mission.

Purpose: The American Hand Therapy Foundation repeated the survey in 2021 to confirm that its award funding was consistent with hand therapists' research priorities.

Study Design: Convergent parallel mixed method study design.

Histone Methyltransferase G9a in Primary Sensory Neurons Promotes Inflammatory Pain and Transcription of and via Bivalent Histone Modifications.

Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) and vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) channels are crucial for detecting and transmitting nociceptive stimuli. Inflammatory pain is associated with sustained increases in TRPA1 and TRPV1 expression in primary sensory neurons. However, the epigenetic mechanisms driving this upregulation remain unknown.

Cerebral blood volume index in the era of thrombectomy-treated large and medium vessel ischemic strokes.

The cerebral blood volume index (CBV index) is a perfusion-based marker of collateral status. Several real-world data analyses from observational stroke cohorts have established relationships between this parameter and a range of favorable and unfavorable stroke outcomes. In this review, an overview is provided of the CBV index, within the context of thrombectomy-treated large vessel and medium vessel occlusion ischemic strokes.

Current approaches in CRISPR-Cas systems for diabetes.

In the face of advancements in health care and a shift towards healthy lifestyle, diabetes mellitus (DM) still presents as a global health challenge. This chapter explores recent advancements in the areas of genetic and molecular underpinnings of DM, addressing the revolutionary potential of CRISPR-based genome editing technologies. We delve into the multifaceted relationship between genes and molecular pathways contributing to both type1 and type 2 diabetes.

Phase I study of BMS-986299, an NLRP3 agonist, as monotherapy and in combination with nivolumab and ipilimumab in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Purpose: BMS-986299 is a first-in-class, NOD-, LRR-, and pyrin-domain containing-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome agonist enhancing adaptive immune and T-cell memory responses.

Materials And Methods: This was a phase-I (NCT03444753) study that assessed the safety and tolerability of intra-tumoral BMS-986299 monotherapy (part 1A) and in combination (part 1B) with nivolumab, and ipilimumab in advanced solid tumors. Reported here are single-center results.

Advances in the understanding and therapeutic manipulation of cancer immune responsiveness: a Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) review.

Cancer immunotherapy-including immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) and adoptive cell therapy (ACT)-has become a standard, potentially curative treatment for a subset of advanced solid and liquid tumors. However, most patients with cancer do not benefit from the rapidly evolving improvements in the understanding of principal mechanisms determining cancer immune responsiveness (CIR); including patient-specific genetically determined and acquired factors, as well as intrinsic cancer cell biology. Though CIR is multifactorial, fundamental concepts are emerging that should be considered for the design of novel therapeutic strategies and related clinical studies.

Synesis as a framework to enable safety interventions in complex healthcare environments.

Background: Despite wide adoption in the healthcare of safety event report (SER) systems, there is a paucity of unified structures for prompt analysis and action while retaining reporter confidentiality. We used a synesis framework to change siloed reviews of safety reports to a comprehensive appraisal of quality, safety, productivity and reliability to facilitate interventions.

Methods: After a needs assessment survey, we launched serial plan-do-study-act cycles to (1) enhance teams' ability to access SERs, (2) facilitate regular multidisciplinary review of SERs to identify actionable opportunities, (3) allocate action priority using failure mode and effects analysis, and (4) launch actions and summarise data.

MnSOD non-acetylation mimic knock-in mice exhibit dilated cardiomyopathy.

Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD/SOD2) is an essential mitochondrial enzyme that detoxifies superoxide radicals generated during oxidative respiration. MnSOD/SOD2 lysine 68 acetylation (K68-Ac) is an important post-translational modification (PTM) that regulates enzymatic activity, responding to nutrient status or oxidative stress, and elevated levels have been associated with human illness. To determine the in vivo role of MnSOD-K68 in the heart, we used a whole-body non-acetylation mimic mutant (MnSOD) knock-in mouse.

A randomized controlled trial to assess whether a telehealth-based contingency management intervention reduces alcohol use for individuals with alcohol use disorder.

Background: Contingency management (CM) is an intervention for alcohol use disorder (AUD) that reinforces abstinence, as confirmed by alcohol biomarkers. CM is usually brief (12-16 weeks) despite evidence that longer interventions have better long-term outcomes. Most CM models are in-person which can also be a barrier for treatment.

Survival outcomes comparing minimally invasive versus open cytoreductive surgery in recurrent adult-type granulosa cell tumors.

Background: Adult-type granulosa cell tumors are a rare form of ovarian cancer, 30% of which will recur. Cytoreductive surgery is often performed at the time of a first recurrence, but little is known about the impact of open versus minimally invasive surgical approaches on survival outcomes.

Objective: To examine associations between surgical approach, clinical variables, and survival outcomes among patients with adult-type granulosa cell tumors who underwent cytoreductive surgery at the time of first recurrence.

Neural Rewiring of Resilience: The Effects of Combat Deployment on Functional Network Architecture.

Background: Although combat-deployed soldiers are at a high risk for developing trauma-related psychopathology, most will remain resilient for the duration and aftermath of their deployment tour. The neural basis of this type of resilience is largely unknown, and few longitudinal studies exist on neural adaptation to combat in resilient individuals for whom a pre-exposure measurement was collected. Here, we delineate changes in the architecture of functional brain networks from pre- to post-combat in psychopathology-free, resilient participants.

Single Na- and K-Ion-Conducting Sulfonated -NH-Linked Covalent Organic Frameworks.

Highly ion-conductive solid electrolytes of nonlithium ions (sodium or potassium ions) are necessary for pursuing a more cost-effective and sustainable energy storage. Here, two classes of sulfonated -NH-linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs), specifically designed for sodium or potassium ion conduction (named i-COF-2 (Na or K) and i-COF-3 (Na or K)), were synthesized through a straightforward, one-step process using affordable starting materials. Remarkably, these COFs demonstrate high ionic conductivity at room temperature─3.

Creating a collaborative culture of learning within a network of community mental health early psychosis programs in Texas.

Learning Health Systems (LHSs) promise meaningful health care improvement through the ongoing use of data, including the lived experience of diverse constituents, such as people participating in and providing services. Most LHSs operate within a specific healthcare system, typically hospital-based, under a common electronic health record (EHR) and management structure. The Early Psychosis Intervention Network in Texas (EPINET-TX) is a novel case study of a developing LHS across 16 independent community mental health clinics operating state-funded coordinated specialty care (CSC) programs for early psychosis.

Different social experiences drive the development of divergent stress coping styles in female swordtails (Xiphophorus nigrensis).

Individual variation in stress coping styles is widespread and consequential to health and fitness. Proactive (bold behavior, low stress reactivity, low cognitive flexibility) and reactive (shy behavior, high stress reactivity, high cognitive flexibility) coping styles are found in many species, but the developmental forces shaping them remain elusive. We examined how social influences, specifically mating interactions, shape the development of adult female coping styles with a manipulative rearing experiment using El Abra swordtails, Xiphophorus nigrensis.

The effect of the foreign body response on drug elution from subdermal delivery systems.

Contrasting findings are presented in the literature regarding the influence of foreign body response (FBR) on drug release from implantable drug delivery systems. To this end, here we sought direct evidence of the effect of the fibrotic tissue on subcutaneous drug release from long-acting drug delivery implants. Specifically, we investigated the pharmacokinetic impact of fibrotic encapsulation on a small molecule drug, islatravir (293 Da), and a large protein, IgG (150 kDa), administered via biocompatible implants.

Progression of chronic kidney disease after non-cardiac surgery: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Chronic-kidney-disease (CKD) is prevalent among adults undergoing noncardiac surgery, with surgery-related factors potentially worsening CKD or triggering acute kidney injury (AKI). We hypothesized that CKD patients experience more kidney function decline within one to two years post-surgery than those without CKD, particularly if they develop AKI.

Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study, including noncardiac surgery patients with documented creatinine preoperative and between 1 and 2 years after surgery.

A lot of noise about nothing? Speech-to-noise ratios rather than noise predict language outcomes in preschoolers.

It has been proposed that a childhood in a noisy household might lead to poor language skills and slow development of language areas of the brain. Notably, a direct link between noisy households and language development has not been confirmed. Households might have high levels of noise for a range of reasons, including situational (near a large road intersection or airport), family (large families), and cultural (differences in beliefs surrounding noise in the home, including media use).

Vitamin D-related genetic variants and prostate cancer risk in Black men.

Background: The relationship between vitamin D and prostate cancer has primarily been characterized among White men. Black men, however, have higher prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates, chronically low circulating vitamin D levels, and ancestry-specific genetic variants in vitamin D-related genes. Here, we examine critical genes in the vitamin D pathway and prostate cancer risk in Black men.

Guidelines to minimize risk when dry needling the rectus capitus posterior major muscle.

Background: Headache disorders are prevalent often leading to disability. The rectus capitus posterior major muscle (RCPMaj) may contribute to headache symptoms via nociceptive convergence and myodural bridging.

Objectives: To establish guidelines for needle length and needle angle to mitigate risks during dry needling RCPMaj.

Fabrication of hierarchical sapphire nanostructures using ultrafast laser induced morphology change.

Sapphire is an attractive material in photonic, optoelectronic, and transparent ceramic applications that stand to benefit from surface functionalization effects stemming from micro/nanostructures. Here we investigate the use of ultrafast lasers for fabricating nanostructures in sapphire by exploring the relationship between irradiation parameters, morphology change, and selective etching. In this approach an ultrafast laser pulse is focused on the sapphire substrate to change the crystalline morphology to amorphous or polycrystalline, which is characterized by examining different vibrational modes using Raman spectroscopy.

Development of a rapid antigen-based lateral flow assay for tick-borne spotted fever rickettsioses.

Tick-borne spotted fever rickettsioses (SFRs) continue to cause severe illness and death in otherwise-healthy individuals due to lack of a timely and reliable diagnostic laboratory test. We recently identified a diagnostic biomarker for SFRs, the putative N-acetylmuramoyl-l-alanine amidase RC0497. Here, we developed a prototype laboratory test that targets RC0497 for diagnosis of SFRs.