Absence of MCJ/DnaJC15 promotes brown adipose tissue thermogenesis.

Obesity poses a global health challenge, demanding a deeper understanding of adipose tissue (AT) and its mitochondria. This study describes the role of the mitochondrial protein Methylation-controlled J protein (MCJ/DnaJC15) in orchestrating brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. Here we show how MCJ expression decreases during obesity, as evident in human and mouse adipose tissue samples.

Mental Health Utilization Among Transgender Veterans.

Importance: Compared with cisgender (CG) individuals, transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals experience substantial social and economic disparities that can result in adverse mental health consequences. It is critical to understand potential barriers to care and to address the causes of the disparities in the future.

Objective: To characterize mental health care utilization among TGD veterans with depression.

The Impact of Radioactive Iodine on Outcomes Among Pediatric and Adolescent Thyroid Cancer Patients: A SEER Database Analysis.

Background/objectives: Pediatric populations with well-differentiated thyroid cancer typically have favorable prognoses. However, the role of radioactive iodine (RAI) ablation in these patients remains uncertain. This investigation evaluates the national trends, therapeutic practices, and the impact of RAI on clinical outcomes.

Thoracic Surgery Outcomes Research Network (ThORN) Consensus Document on Defining a High Quality Wedge Resection for Early Stage Lung Cancer.

With the publication of CALGB 140503, an increase in wedge resections for small, peripheral non-small cell lung cancer is expected; however, a relative paucity of data exists as to what defines a high quality oncologic wedge resection. The Thoracic Surgery Outcomes Research Network (ThORN), through expert discussion, guided by review of what limited data does exist, and through use of a modified Delphi process, provides these consensus statements defining an oncologically sound, high quality wedge resection. The statements are classified into five categories: 1) Preoperative Considerations 2) Technical Aspects 3) Lymph Node Assessment 4) Margin Assessment and 5) Tissue Handling by Pathology.

Functional genotype classification groups distinguish disease severity in recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.

Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is a genetic disorder due to pathogenic variants in the COL7A1 gene. In this study we determined the association between different categories of COL7A1 variants and clinical disease severity in 236 RDEB patients in North America. Published reports or in-silico predictions were used to assess the impact of pathogenic variants in COL7A1 on type VII collagen (C7) protein function.

Use of Practices to Reduce of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death among Caregivers of Opioid Exposed Newborns.

Objectives: Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) occurs disproportionately among opioid exposed newborns (OENs) compared to those unexposed. The extent that primary caregivers of OENs adhere to SUID-reducing infant care practices is unknown. We examined rates of SUID-reducing practices (smoking cessation, breastfeeding, and safe sleep [supine sleep, room-sharing not bed-sharing, nonuse of soft bedding or objects]) in a pilot sample of caregivers of OENs.

Divergent evolution of opposite base specificity and single-stranded DNA activity in animal and plant AP endonucleases.

Apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonucleases are key enzymes responsible for the repair of base-less nucleotides generated by spontaneous hydrolysis or as DNA repair intermediates. APE1, the major human AP endonuclease, is a druggable target in cancer and its biological function has been extensively studied. However, the molecular features responsible for its substrate specificity are poorly understood.

Changes in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Activities of Family Medicine Departments.

Background And Objectives: Institutional racism causes worse health outcomes for patients of racial/ethnic minority groups via limited access to health care, disparities in quality of care delivered, and lack of physician diversity. Increased attention to racism in 2020 led many medical institutions to examine their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. In the context of increased national attention to health equity, this study sought to investigate the current status of DEI infrastructure by evaluating leadership and support related to DEI in family medicine departments in 2020 and 2021.

Association of Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations and postpartum mental health care utilization.

Objective: To examine the association of Massachusetts Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) implementation with changes in mental health care utilization in the postpartum period.

Study Setting And Design: We examine care for people with a birth covered by Medicaid or private insurance. We used a difference-in-differences design to compare differences before and after Medicaid ACO implementation for those with Medicaid versus those with private insurance.

Intraoperative Patellar Tendon Injuries during Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Comprehensive Review of Incidence, Risk Factors, and Management Strategies.

Patellar tendon rupture (PTR) is a rare and severe postoperative complication of total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Even rarer is the intraoperative occurrence of PTR during TKA. PTR is a major complication as it can lead to chronic disability, functional limitations, and postoperative morbidity.

Deep learning-based aberration compensation improves contrast and resolution in fluorescence microscopy.

Optical aberrations hinder fluorescence microscopy of thick samples, reducing image signal, contrast, and resolution. Here we introduce a deep learning-based strategy for aberration compensation, improving image quality without slowing image acquisition, applying additional dose, or introducing more optics. Our method (i) introduces synthetic aberrations to images acquired on the shallow side of image stacks, making them resemble those acquired deeper into the volume and (ii) trains neural networks to reverse the effect of these aberrations.

Plasma fibronectin is a prognostic biomarker of disability in Parkinson's disease: a prospective, multicenter cohort study.

In a prospective longitudinal study with 218 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients in the discovery cohort and 84 in the validation cohort, we aimed to identify novel blood biomarkers predicting disability milestones in PD. Through Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator-Cox (Lasso-Cox) regression, developed nomogram predictive model and Linear mixed-effects models, we identified low level of plasma fibronectin (pFN) as one of the best-performing risk markers in predicting disability milestones. A low level of pFN was associated with a short milestone-free survival period in PD.

Evolving Strategies for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV): A Review Article of Preventive Agents and Vaccines for RSV.

Objective: The objective was to describe the pharmacology, efficacy, safety, and recommendations for the use of newly approved preventive agents and vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and discuss their uptake during the 2023 to 2024 RSV season.

Data Sources: A literature search of PubMed was performed (January 2020 to February 2024) with the search terms RSV vaccine, preventive antibody, and RSV prevention. Utilization data were collected from TriNetX using the US Collaborative Network (May 2024) using the terms palivizumab, nirsevimab, and RSV prefusion F protein.

Novel force feedback technology improves suturing in robotic-assisted surgery: a pre-clinical study.

Introduction: The inability to sense force applied to tissue is suggested as a limitation to robotic-assisted surgery (RAS). This pre-clinical study evaluated the impact of a novel force feedback (FFB) technology, integrated on a next-generation robotic system that allows surgeons to sense forces exerted at the instrument tips, on suturing performance by novice surgeons during RAS.

Methods: Twenty-nine novice surgeons (< 50 RAS cases in the last 5 years) were randomized into two groups with (n = 15) or without (n = 14) FFB sensing.

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder in Pediatric Liver Transplant Patients.

Introduction: Following liver transplantation (LT), adequate nutrition is essential, as malnutrition may contribute to slower growth in pediatric patients and put patients at risk of complications following transplant. Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is an eating disorder characterized by restrictive eating patterns that compromise nutrition. Patients with ARFID may have significant difficulty meeting nutritional needs due to fear of gastrointestinal distress, making it especially difficult to manage in patients following LT.

Fenestrated and Branched Endovascular Aortic Repair and Mortality at Hospitals Without Investigational Device Trials.

Importance: Fenestrated and branched endovascular aortic repairs (F/BEVAR) have been adopted by many centers. However, national trends of F/BEVAR use remain unclear, particularly at sites who perform them without an US Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA)-approved investigational device exemption (IDE).

Objective: To quantify the use of F/BEVAR in the US and to determine if mortality was different at IDE vs non-IDE sites.

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase1 positive inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the urinary bladder: A rare mesenchymal neoplasm with diagnostic and therapeutic implications.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are rare mesenchymal neoplasms characterized by spindle-cell morphology with accompanying inflammatory infiltrates. Originally described in 1939, these tumors can arise in various anatomic locations, with the urinary bladder being a rare site of occurrence but the most common within the genitourinary tract. IMTs typically present as polypoid masses or firm submucosal nodules, often with painless hematuria in bladder cases.

transcription factors regulate promoter activity by a universal, homeostatic mechanism.

Transcription factors (TFs) may activate or repress gene expression through an interplay of different mechanisms, including RNA polymerase (RNAP) recruitment, exclusion, and initiation. TFs often have drastically different regulatory behaviors depending on promoter context and interacting cofactors. However, the detailed mechanisms by which each TF affects transcription and produce promoter-dependent regulation is unclear.

Pol II degradation activates cell death independently from the loss of transcription.

Pol II-mediated transcription is essential for eukaryotic life. While loss of transcription is thought to be universally lethal, the associated mechanisms promoting cell death are not yet known. Here, we show that death following loss of Pol II is not caused by dysregulated gene expression.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Expert Consensus Statements on a Framework for a Standardized National Robotic Curriculum for Thoracic Surgery Trainees.

Objective: With robotic technology's rapid growth and integration, an urgent need to bridge the educational gap in thoracic surgical training has emerged. This document, a result of consensus among a group of experts in the practice and training of robotic surgery from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), aims to provide a framework for a standardized national robotic curriculum for thoracic surgery trainees.

Methods: The STS Task Force on Robotic Thoracic Surgery and Workforce on E-learning and Educational Innovation assembled an expert group with the input of the Thoracic Surgery Director's Association (TSDA).