Cardiovascular, cancer, and infection risks of Janus kinase inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis: A nationwide cohort study.

Background: Evolving evidence suggests that patients undergoing treatment with Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) may face an increased risk of cardiovascular events, malignancies, and serious infections.

Objectives: We assessed cardiovascular, malignancy, and serious infection risks associated with JAKi use compared to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) use, which served as the active comparator, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or ulcerative colitis (UC).

Methods: This study emulated a target trial using South Korea's nationwide claims database (2013-2023).

A multi-cohort study of longitudinal and cross-sectional Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in cognitively unimpaired older adults.

Introduction: The generalizability of neuroimaging and cognitive biomarkers in their sensitivity to detect preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) and power to predict progression in large, multisite cohorts remains unclear.

Method: Longitudinal demographics, T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and cognitive scores of 3036 cognitively unimpaired (CU) older adults (amyloid beta [Aβ]-negative/positive [A-/A+]: 1270/1558) were included. Cross-sectional and longitudinal cognition and medial temporal lobe (MTL) structural measures were extracted.

Cost-Effectiveness of Serum Pepsinogen as a Gastric Cancer Targeted Screening Strategy in the United States.

Background And Aims: Current gastric cancer (GC) screening modalities are invasive and expensive. Noninvasive screening for GC precursors with serum pepsinogen (PG) may improve early detection and prevention. Test characteristics of PG based on US prospective data was recently reported and used to study the cost-effectiveness of PG screening vs no screening in the US.

Recycling of Post-Consumer Waste Polystyrene Using Commercial Plastic Additives.

Photothermal conversion can promote plastic depolymerization (chemical recycling to a monomer) through light-to-heat conversion. The highly localized temperature gradient near the photothermal agent surface allows selective heating with spatial control not observed with bulk pyrolysis. However, identifying and incorporating practical photothermal agents into plastics for end-of-life depolymerization have not been realized.

Medical malpractice litigation following humeral fractures in the United States.

Background: The purpose of this study is to characterize malpractice claims against orthopedic surgeons treating humeral fractures and determine factors associated with plaintiff verdicts and settlements.

Methods: The Westlaw legal database was queried for all cases involving humeral fractures. Patient demographics, causes cited for litigation, case outcomes, and indemnity payments were collected to determine common factors that lead plaintiffs to pursue legal action.

A Qualitative Analysis of Immigrant Latinx Housecleaners' Experiences of How Power Relations With "Employers" Influence Working Conditions in New York City: The Safe and Just Cleaners Study.

Background: Housecleaning work has been characterized as precarious employment with unstable work hours, arbitrary and low pay and benefits, and exposures to chemical, physical, and psychosocial stressors. Understanding how interpersonal power dynamics between workers and clients, a component of precarious work, contributes to work exposures can inform and improve prevention programs.

Methods: We used reflexive thematic analysis of data from seven focus groups with Latinx immigrant housecleaners in New York City to explore workers' experience of interpersonal power dynamics with their clients-whom they referred to as their "employers"-and its influences on working conditions.

Treatment with a superoxide dismutase mimetic for joint preservation during 35 and 75 days in orbit aboard the international space station, and after 120 days recovery on Earth.

Reduced weight-bearing during spaceflight has been associated with musculoskeletal degradation that risks astronaut health and performance in transit and upon reaching deep space destinations. Previous rodent experiments aboard the international space station (ISS) have identified that the spaceflight-induced molecular arthritic phenotype was characterized with an increase in oxidative stress. This study evaluated if treatment with a superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic on orbit could prevent spaceflight-induced damage to the knee and hip articular cartilage, and the menisci in rodents.

Empathy and helping: the role of affect in response to others' suffering.

Decades of research hold that empathy is a multifaceted construct. A related challenge in empathy research is to describe how each subcomponent of empathy uniquely contributes to social outcomes. Here, we examined distinct mechanisms through which different components of empathy-Empathic Concern, Perspective Taking, and Personal Distress-may relate to prosociality.

Effect of surface roughness on the efficacy of Plasma Activated Mist (PAM) for inactivation of Listeria innocua and Klebsiella michiganensis.

Cold plasma generated by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and DBD combined with nebulized liquid microdroplets to generate plasma-activated mist (PAM) have shown the potential as a surface decontamination method for the food industry. The objective of this research was to measure the microbial inactivation caused by DBD and by PAM on tryptic soy agar (TSA) and on glass slides and to determine the efficacy of PAM on selected surfaces having different surface topographies. Tryptic soy agar in Petri dishes and on glass slides (surface roughness Pq = 0.

Human Metapneumovirus: an emerging respiratory pathogen and the urgent need for improved Diagnostics, surveillance, and vaccine development.

Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a re-emerging respiratory pathogen causing significant morbidity and mortality, particularly among young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. First identified in 2001, HMPV has since been recognised as a leading cause of acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) worldwide. Its transmission occurs through droplets, direct contact, and surface contamination, with crowded spaces and healthcare facilities serving as key environmental amplifiers.

Interferon-Stimulated Genes and Immune Metabolites as Broad-Spectrum Biomarkers for Viral Infections.

The type I interferon (IFN-I) response is a critical component of the immune defense against various viral pathogens, triggering the expression of hundreds of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). These ISGs encode proteins with diverse antiviral functions, targeting various stages of viral replication and restricting infection spread. Beyond their antiviral functions, ISGs and associated immune metabolites have emerged as promising broad-spectrum biomarkers that can differentiate viral infections from other conditions.

Diet Quality, Metabolic Syndrome, and Nativity Status: Elucidating Metabolic Advantage and Disadvantage Among Non-US-Native and US-Native Populations Using NHANES Data (2013-2018).

Background/objectives: Nutrient-poor diet quality is a major driver of the global burden of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The US ranks among the lowest in diet quality and has the highest rate of immigration, which may present unique challenges for non-US-native populations who experience changes in access to health-promoting resources. This study examined associations among MetS, nativity status, diet quality, and interaction effects of race-ethnicity among Hispanic, Asian, Black, and White US-native and non-US-native adults.

Silver single atoms and nanoparticles on floatable monolithic photocatalysts for synergistic solar water disinfection.

Photocatalytic water disinfection technology is highly promising in off-grid areas due to abundant year-round solar irradiance. However, the practical use of powdered photocatalysts is impeded by limited recovery and inefficient inactivation of stress-resistant bacteria in oligotrophic surface water. Here we prepare a floatable monolithic photocatalyst with ZIF-8-NH loaded Ag single atoms and nanoparticles (Ag/ZIF).

Treatment With Avacopan in Patients With Respiratory Tract Manifestations of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis.

Objective: The ADVOCATE trial demonstrated that treatment of active granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) with avacopan was noninferior in achieving remission at week 26 and superior for sustained remission at week 52 compared with a prednisone taper. This analysis of ADVOCATE evaluated the efficacy and safety of avacopan in patients with ear, nose, throat (ENT), or lung manifestations.

Methods: This post hoc analysis included patients enrolled in ADVOCATE with ENT or lung manifestations at baseline.

Symptomatic Improvement in Adults and Adolescents With Eosinophilic Esophagitis Requires Higher Systemic Dupilumab Exposure Than Histologic Response.

Introduction: We assessed potential mechanisms behind the requirement for more frequent dupilumab dosing in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) compared with other approved indications.

Methods: Results for the phase 3 LIBERTY EoE TREET study coprimary endpoints (proportion of patients achieving a peak intraepithelial eosinophil count of ≤6 eosinophils per high-power field and absolute change from baseline in Dysphagia Symptom Questionnaire total score) were pooled in exposure-response analyses.

Results: A steep initial relationship then plateau was observed between higher dupilumab steady-state trough concentrations and decreased eosinophilic infiltration at week 24, whereas a graded exposure-response relationship was observed for symptomatic improvement at week 24.

Different PD-L1 Assays Reveal Distinct Immunobiology and Clinical Outcomes in Urothelial Cancer.

Testing for PD-L1 expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) is used to predict immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) benefit but has performed inconsistently in urothelial cancer (UC) clinical trials. Different approaches are used for PD-L1 IHC. We analyzed paired PD-L1 IHC data on UC samples using the SP142 and 22C3 assays from the phase 3 IMvigor130 trial and found discordant findings summarized by four phenotypes: PD-L1 positive by both assays (PD-L1 double positive; PD-L1DP), PD-L1 positive by the SP142 assay only (SP142 single positive; SP142SP), PD-L1 positive by the 22C3 assay only (22C3 single positive; 22C3SP), and PD-L1 negative by both assays double negative (PD-L1 double negative; PD-L1DN).

An Enigmatic Wild Passerine Mortality Event in the Eastern United States.

The ability to rapidly respond to wildlife health events is essential. However, such events are often unpredictable, especially with anthropogenic disturbances and climate-related environmental changes driving unforeseen threats. Many events also are short-lived and go undocumented, making it difficult to draw on lessons learned from past investigations.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Real World Data Infrastructure: A Big-Data Resource for Study of the Impact of COVID-19 in Patient Populations With Immunocompromising Conditions.

Background: We developed a United States-based real-world data resource to better understand the continued impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on immunocompromised patients, who are typically underrepresented in prospective studies and clinical trials.

Methods: The COVID-19 Real World Data infrastructure (CRWDi) was created by linking and harmonizing de-identified HealthVerity medical and pharmacy claims data from 1 December 2018 to 31 December 2023, with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virologic and serologic laboratory data from major commercial laboratories and Northwell Health; COVID-19 vaccination data; and, for patients with cancer, 2010 to 2021 National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry data.

Results: The CRWDi contains 4 cohorts: patients with cancer; patients with rheumatic diseases receiving pharmacotherapy; noncancer solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients; and people from the general population including adults and pediatric patients.

Methylmercury in subarctic amphibians: environmental gradients, bioaccumulation, and estimated flux.

Rapid warming in polar regions is causing large changes to ecosystems, including altering environmentally available mercury (Hg). Although subarctic freshwater systems have simple vertebrate communities, Hg in amphibians remains unexplored. We measured total Hg (THg) in wetland sediments and methylmercury (MeHg) in multiple life-stages (eggs to adults) of wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) and larval boreal chorus frogs (Pseudacris maculata) from up to 25 wetlands near Churchill, Manitoba (Canada), during the summers of 2018-2019.

Pharmacokinetics of Nivolumab and Erythropoietin in a Rat Model of Diet-Induced Obesity.

Purpose: To investigate how obesity affects the pharmacokinetics of biologics in a rat model.

Method: Male Long-Evans rats were fed a high-fat diet from the age of 3 weeks and development of obesity was monitored by measuring body size and composition (fat and lean mass). The animals received nivolumab (1 and 8 mg/kg) or recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO, 1000 IU/kg) by intravenous or subcutaneous injection.

Microstructure response of concentrated suspensions to flow reversal.

We study experimentally at the macroscopic and microstructure scale a dense suspension of non-Brownian neutrally buoyant spherical particles experiencing periodic reversals of flow at constant rate between parallel plates and tracked individually. We first characterize the quasi-steady state reached at the end of half periods. The volume fraction of particles increases from the walls to the center as a result of migration induced by the nonuniform strain rate.

Schizophrenia and retention in HIV care among adults insured through Medicaid in the United States: a population-based retrospective cohort study.

Background: People with schizophrenia spectrum disorders are at elevated risk of HIV, and people with both HIV and schizophrenia are at elevated risk of death compared to individuals with either diagnosis alone. Limited research has assessed the HIV care cascade, and in particular retention in care, among people with HIV (PWH) and schizophrenia in the U.S.