Associations of Cardiorespiratory Fitness with Cerebral Cortical Thickness and Gray Matter Volume Across the Adult Lifespan.

High cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is associated with reduced cortical thinning and gray matter (GM) shrinkage in older adults. We investigated associations of CRF measured with peak oxygen consumption (V̇ O) with cortical thickness and GM volume across the adult lifespan. We hypothesized that higher CRF is associated with less cortical thinning and GM shrinkage across the adult lifespan, which is associated with better cognitive performance.

Toward a Computable Phenotype for Determining Eligibility of Lung Cancer Screening Using Electronic Health Records.

Purpose: Lung cancer screening (LCS) has the potential to reduce mortality and detect lung cancer at its early stages, but the high false-positive rate associated with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for LCS acts as a barrier to its widespread adoption. This study aims to develop computable phenotype (CP) algorithms on the basis of electronic health records (EHRs) to identify individual's eligibility for LCS, thereby enhancing LCS utilization in real-world settings.

Materials And Methods: The study cohort included 5,778 individuals who underwent LDCT for LCS from 2012 to 2022, as recorded in the University of Florida Health Integrated Data Repository.

Understanding broader community perspectives on the scientific accuracy and stigma of personality trait labels.

Many labels are used within and across subfields to describe personality disorder (PD) and interpersonally-oriented trait dimensions. For example, "interpersonal disorders" is a suggested alternative label to "personality disorders" in clinical research. Other "dark trait" terms, though not proposed as formal labels for PDs, also are used in different research areas for describing externalizing traits.

Climate change and the cost-of-living squeeze in desert lizards.

Climate warming can induce a cost-of-living "squeeze" in ectotherms by increasing energetic expenditures while reducing foraging gains. We used biophysical models (validated by 2685 field observations) to test this hypothesis for 10 ecologically diverse lizards in African and Australian deserts. Historical warming (1950-2020) has been more intense in Africa than in Australia, translating to an energetic squeeze for African diurnal species.

Probing the Photochemical Formation of Hydroxyl Radical from Dissolved Organic Matter: Insights into the HO-Dependent Pathway.

This study quantifies the contribution of the HO-dependent pathway to hydroxyl radical (OH) production from the photolysis of dissolved organic matter (DOM). OH formation rates were cross-validated using benzoate and terephthalate as probe compounds for diverse DOM sources (reference isolates and whole waters). Catalase addition revealed that the HO-dependent pathway accounts for 10-20% of the total OH production in DOM isolate materials, but no significant correlation was observed between ambient iron (Fe) concentrations and HO-dependent OH formation.

Silica-Activated Redox Signaling Confers Rice with Enhanced Drought Resilience and Grain Yield.

Under a changing climate, enhancing the drought resilience of crops is critical to maintaining agricultural production and reducing food insecurity. Here, we demonstrate that seed priming with amorphous silica (SiO) nanoparticles (NPs) (20 mg/L) accelerated seed germination speed, increased seedlings vigor, and promoted seedling growth of rice under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mimicking drought conditions. An orthogonal approach was used to uncover the mechanisms of accelerated seed germination and enhanced drought tolerance, including electron paramagnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), metabolomics, and transcriptomics.

The influence of 3-dimensional printing layer thickness on model accuracy and the perceived fit of thermoformed retainers.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the accuracy of dental model printing using 2 different layer height settings and how these settings affect the fabrication of thermoformed retainers.

Methods: Subjects were recruited from the Department of Orthodontics at Case Western Reserve University and scanned according to specific selection criteria. A total of 30 stereolithography files were produced and used as reference files.

Site-Specific Ventricular Tachycardia Inducibility.

Background: Programmed electrical stimulation (PES) is an essential part of ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation procedures, but VT is not always inducible, usually for reasons that are not clear.

Objectives: This study sought to review pacing site-specific failure of PES to induce scar-related VT and to provide a potential mechanistic explanation of the phenomena using a computer simulation.

Methods: Six patients in whom aggressive PES from traditional RV pacing sites failed to induce VT, but VT was easily inducible from a nontraditional site, were reviewed.

Age-Related Ventricular Tachycardia Substrate Characteristics for Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot Before Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Placement.

Background: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) substrate characteristics before transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR) in repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) are unknown.

Objectives: In this study, the authors sought to evaluate substrates for sustained monomorphic VT before TPVR in rTOF.

Methods: Retrospective (2017 to 2021) and prospective (commencing 2021) rTOF patients with native right ventricular outflow tract referred for electrophysiology study (EPS) before TPVR were included.

Testing of a Culinary Medicine Intervention for Racially/Ethnically Diverse Adults With Type 2 Diabetes.

Objective: Assess if a virtual culinary medicine program improves healthy eating, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and associated variables among adults with type 2 diabetes.

Design: Mixed-methods, intervention-only pilot study.

Setting: Classes via video conferencing from the teaching kitchen, with participants cooking from their homes.

Multi-institutional retrospective study on opioid prescribing patterns of oral and maxillofacial surgeons.

Background: The opioid epidemic is a serious crisis in the United States. It has been proposed that opioid prescriptions after dental procedures are a major contributor to opioid use and abuse. The American Dental Association has been working to educate dental care providers about safe opioid prescribing practices.

Development of TAR-200: A novel targeted releasing system designed to provide sustained delivery of gemcitabine for patients with bladder cancer.

Treatment options for recurrent high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR NMIBC) and muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) are limited, highlighting a need for clinically effective, accessible, and better-tolerated alternatives. In this review we examine the clinical development program of TAR-200, a novel targeted releasing system designed to provide sustained intravesical delivery of gemcitabine to address the needs of patients with NMIBC and of those with MIBC. We describe the concept and design of TAR-200 and the clinical development of this gemcitabine intravesical system in the SunRISe portfolio of studies.

Myocardial infarction in second-generation immigrants compared to native-born Swedes in the total population of Sweden.

Background And Aims: Environmental and genetic factors predispose to cardiovascular disease. Some first-generation immigrants have a higher cardiovascular risk in Sweden, while less is known about second-generation immigrants. We aimed to analyze the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) among second-generation immigrants in Sweden.

Mechanisms and rationales of SAM homeostasis.

S-Adenosylmethionine (SAM) is the primary methyl donor for numerous cellular methylation reactions. Its central role in methylation and involvement with many pathways link its availability to the regulation of cellular processes, the dysregulation of which can contribute to disease states, such as cancer or neurodegeneration. Emerging evidence indicates that intracellular SAM levels are maintained within an optimal range by a variety of homeostatic mechanisms.

The Clinical Utility of Incorporating Next-Generation Sequencing Results in the Management Algorithm of Pancreatic Cysts.

Background & Aims: Pancreatic cysts often pose challenges in predicting malignant progression. Next-generation sequencing has become an appealing ancillary diagnostic test. The diagnostic performance is well characterized, but the impact on clinical management remains unclear.

Metabolomics signatures of serotonin reuptake inhibitor (escitalopram), serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (duloxetine) and cognitive-behavioral therapy on key neurotransmitter pathways in major depressive disorder.

Metabolomics provides powerful tools that can inform about heterogeneity in disease and response to treatments. In this exploratory study, we employed an electrochemistry-based targeted metabolomics platform to assess the metabolic effects of three randomly-assigned treatments: escitalopram, duloxetine, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in 163 treatment-naïve outpatients with major depressive disorder. Serum samples from baseline and 12 weeks post-treatment were analyzed using targeted liquid chromatography-electrochemistry for metabolites related to tryptophan, tyrosine metabolism and related pathways.

Eighth Annual Society of Thoracic Surgeons Pedimacs Report.

Background: The Pediatric Interagency Registry for Mechanical Circulatory Support (Pedimacs), supported by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, provides detailed information on pediatric patients supported with ventricular assist devices (VADs).

Methods: From September 19, 2012, to December 31, 2023, there were 1648 devices in 1349 patients (<19 years) from 39 North American Hospitals with 100 patients enrolled in 2023.

Results: Cardiomyopathy was the most common underlying etiology (59%), followed by congenital heart disease (26%) and myocarditis (8%).

Advances in our understanding of the estrous cycle and applications for improving targeted reproductive management in livestock.

The scientific discipline of endocrinology has been invaluable to our understanding of the estrous cycle. In the second half of the twentieth century the development of immunoassay technologies provided a rapid and sensitive method to quantify circulating concentrations of reproductive hormones and relate them to stage of the estrous cycle and physiological status of the animal. Ovarian ultrasonography provided the ability to track the growth and regression of ovarian structures within the same animal across the estrous cycle in real time and, in combination with hormonal profiling, accurately identify mechanisms regulating the estrous cycle and early pregnancy.

Mangrove-based carbon market projects: What stakeholders need to address during pre-feasibility assessment.

Mangrove-based carbon market projects (MbCMP) aim to conserve, protect and restore mangrove habitats in order to generate high quality blue carbon credits via a crediting program, as a contribution to climate change mitigation/adaptation, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services provision and local socio-economic development. The blue carbon credits generated are transferable, verifiable and sold through carbon markets to earn additional income for governments and local communities. The main aim of the paper is to provide important considerations for pre-field planning, that is, how challenges associated with fieldwork, project implementation, and monitoring reporting and verification (MRV) can be addressed with proper pre-field planning.

Impact of luteal blood perfusion and expression of estrus on pregnancy rates of Bos taurus embryo recipients exposed to fixed-time embryo transfer.

This study evaluated the impact of luteal blood perfusion (BP) and expression of estrus on pregnancy rates of Bos taurus embryo recipients exposed to fixed-timed embryo transfer (FTET) using a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)- and progesterone-based ovulation synchronization protocol. Postpartum beef cows (n = 746) were exposed to a GnRH/progesterone-based ovulation synchronization protocol. Luteal morphometry and BP were assessed using color Doppler ultrasonography 9 days after CIDR removal concurrently with FTET.

Measurement of biomechanical properties of transversely isotropic biological tissue using traveling wave expansion.

The anisotropic mechanical properties of fiber-embedded biological tissues are essential for understanding their development, aging, disease progression, and response to therapy. However, accurate and fast assessment of mechanical anisotropy in vivo using elastography remains challenging. To address the dilemma of achieving both accuracy and efficiency in this inverse problem involving complex wave equations, we propose a computational framework that utilizes the traveling wave expansion model.

Peptide nucleic acids: Recent advancements and future opportunities in biomedical applications.

Peptide nucleic acids (PNA), synthetic molecules comprising a peptide-like backbone and natural and unnatural nucleobases, have garnered significant attention for their potential applications in gene editing and other biomedical fields. The unique properties of PNA, particularly enhanced stability/specificity/affinity towards targeted DNA and RNA sequences, achieved significant attention recently for gene silencing, gene correction, antisense therapy, drug delivery, biosensing and other various diagnostic aspects. This review explores the structure, properties, and potential of PNA in transforming genetic engineering including potent biomedical challenges.