Epidemiologic Investigation of Protozoa and Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Starr County, Texas.

The burden of pathogenic enteric protozoa and soil-transmitted helminths among impoverished populations living on the Texas-Mexico border is unclear. We conducted a cross-sectional study on an ongoing longitudinal cohort of 616 adults residing in Starr County, Texas. A total of 359 adults were screened for four protozoa and five soil-transmitted helminths by using real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Corticosteroids in severe alcohol-associated hepatitis? Not so fast: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Severe alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) is rising in incidence with a high mortality burden. While corticosteroids are recommended for eligible patients with severe AH, no guidance exists for the timing of steroid initiation, tapering regimens, and surveillance of adverse events.

Objective: We aim to systematically review these variables and provide evidence-based recommendations for the inpatient and outpatient management of severe AH.

Difficulty With Board Certification in Urology Is Associated With Adverse Medical License Actions.

Introduction: Board certification in urology is a multistep process including a written qualifying examination (QE), followed by an oral certifying examination (CE) approximately 2 years after residency or fellowship completion. The goal of this process is to ensure that urologists are well trained, have an extensive fund of knowledge, demonstrate professionalism and competence in practice, and are safe to practice urology. Board certification in urology serves to both establish and confirm physician competence and ultimately protect the public.

Structured Liquid--Liquid Emulsion Stabilized by Surface-Engineered Liquid Metal Droplets as "Mutant" Pickering Emulsifiers.

Liquid metals (LMs), i.e., metals and alloys that exist in a liquid state at room temperature, have recently attracted considerable attention owing to their electronic and rheological properties useful in various cutting-edge technologies.

Beyond the Case Study: Laboratory Activities to Complement Integumentary Education.

Objective: To present a full scope of detailed and engaging laboratory activities recommended by physical therapist clinicians and educators from across the US to assist health professions faculty to develop new or improve current integumentary/wound management (IWM) instruction.

Methods: A three-round Delphi survey was conducted to update IWM curriculum recommendations for entry-level doctor of physical therapy education. First-round participants provided ideas for laboratory activities.

Markers for Pressure Injury Risk in Individuals with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: A Pilot Study.

Objective: To identify markers associated with pressure injury (PrI) history in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) using two approaches: skin blood flow (SBF) response toward localized heating, and serum marker for insulin resistance.

Methods: For this cross-sectional, observational study of adults with chronic traumatic SCI at T12 and above, researchers recruited two groups of participants: with history of PrI (group 1), and without history of PrI (group 2). The study protocol included obtaining fasting blood samples and measurement of SBF at bilateral heels with localized heating of 42 °C for 30 minutes from all participants.

Efficacy of a Community- and Family-Based Intervention on Cardiovascular Fitness and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors Among Primarily Latino Families.

Background: Targeting cardiovascular fitness (CVF), rather than weight loss, may be a more acceptable and feasible outcome among Latinos.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the short-term efficacy of (AFL), a fitness- and lifestyle-focused behavioral intervention to improve CVF and performance among Latino families.

Methods: Latino parent-child dyads (n = 137) were randomized to either AFL program or a waitlist control condition.

Characterizing temporal and global host innate immune responses against SARS-CoV-1 and -2 infection in pathologically relevant human lung epithelial cells.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-1 (SARS-CoV-1) and -2 (SARS-CoV-2) are beta-coronaviruses (β-CoVs) that have caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Therefore, a better understanding of host responses to β-CoVs would provide insights into the pathogenesis of these viruses to identify potential targets for medical countermeasures. In this study, our objective is to use a systems biology approach to explore the magnitude and scope of innate immune responses triggered by SARS-CoV-1 and -2 infection over time in pathologically relevant human lung epithelial cells (Calu-3/2B4 cells).

Triethylamine-mediated protonation-deprotonation unlocks dual-drug self assembly to suppress breast cancer progression and metastasis.

Carrier-free nanomedicines exhibited significant potential in elevating drug efficacy and safety for tumor management, yet their self assembly typically relied on chemical modifications of drugs or the incorporation of surfactants, thereby compromising the drug's inherent pharmacological activity. To address this challenge, we proposed a triethylamine (TEA)-mediated protonation-deprotonation strategy that enabled the adjustable-proportion self assembly of dual drugs without chemical modification, achieving nearly 100% drug loading capacity. Molecular dynamic simulations, supported by experiment evidence, elucidated the underlying self-assembly mechanism.

Suppressing APOE4-induced neural pathologies by targeting the VHL-HIF axis.

The ε4 variant of human apolipoprotein E () is a key genetic risk factor for neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease and elevated all-cause mortality in humans. Understanding the factors and mechanisms that can mitigate the harmful effects of has significant implications. In this study, we find that inactivating the VHL-1 (Von Hippel-Lindau) protein can suppress mortality, neural and behavioral pathologies caused by transgenic human in .

A planar-sheet nongraphitic zero-bandgap sp carbon phase made by the low-temperature reaction of γ-graphyne.

The highest sheet symmetry form of graphyne, with one triple bond between each neighboring hexagon in graphene, irreversibly transforms exothermically at ambient pressure and low temperatures into a nongraphitic, planar-sheet, zero-bandgap phase consisting of intrasheet-bonded sp carbons. The synthesis of this sp carbon phase is demonstrated, and other carbon phases are described for possible future synthesis from graphyne without breaking graphyne bonds. While measurements and theory indicate that the reacting graphyne becomes nonplanar because of sheet wrinkling produced by dimensional mismatch between reacted and nonreacted sheet regions, sheet planarity is regained when the reaction is complete.

Polydipsia Induced Acute Angle-Closure Crisis.

We present a case of Acute Angle-Closure Crisis (AACC) precipitated by primary transient psychogenic polydipsia; we believe that our case is the first of its kind to be reported. A 74-year-old male presented to the emergency department with altered mental status due to acute-onset hyponatremia. Six days after admission, the patient noticed painful loss of vision in his right eye and an ipsilateral headache lasting 10-15 minutes.

Improving Bond Dissociations of Reactive Machine Learning Potentials through Physics-Constrained Data Augmentation.

In the field of computational chemistry, predicting bond dissociation energies (BDEs) presents well-known challenges, particularly due to the multireference character of reactive systems. Many chemical reactions involve configurations where single-reference methods fall short, as the electronic structure can significantly change during bond breaking. As generating training data for partially broken bonds is a challenging task, even state-of-the-art reactive machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs) often fail to predict reliable BDEs and smooth dissociation curves.

Incident heart failure and recurrent coronary events following acute myocardial infarction.

Background And Aims: Recurrent myocardial infarction (MI) and incident heart failure (HF) are major post-MI complications. Herein, contemporary post-MI risks for recurrent MI and HF are described.

Methods: A total of 6804 patients with a primary discharge diagnosis of MI at 28 Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals (January 2015 to December 2021) were studied.

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.