Syphilis-positive and false-positive trends among US blood donors, 2013-2023.

Background: US blood donors are tested for syphilis because the bacterial agent is transfusion transmissible. Here we describe trends over an 11-year period of donations positive for recent and past syphilis infections, and donations classified as syphilis false positive (FP).

Methods: Data from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2023 (11 years) were compiled for all American Red Cross blood donations to evaluate demographics/characteristics and longitudinal trends in donors testing syphilis reactive/positive.

Modeling absorbed alpha particle dose from diffusing alpha-emitters radiation therapy in changing tissue volumes.

Background: Diffusing alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy ("Alpha DaRT") is a promising new radiation therapy modality for treating bulky tumors. Ra-carrying sources are inserted intratumorally, producing a therapeutic alpha-dose region with a total size of a few millimeter via the diffusive motion of Ra's alpha-emitting daughters. Clinical studies of Alpha DaRT have reported 100% positive response (30%-100% shrinkage within several weeks), with post-insertion swelling in close to half of the cases.

Stratified Impact of Therapies on Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Outcomes in the Pre-Gene-Targeted Therapy Era.

Background: Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a highly lethal disease, often diagnosed with advanced locoregional and distant metastases, resulting in a median survival of just 3-5 months. This study determines the stratified effectiveness of baseline treatments in all combinations, enabling precise prognoses prediction and establishing benchmarks for advanced therapeutic options.

Methods: The study extracted a cohort of pathologically confirmed ATC patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program.

Multimodal Therapy May be Key to Improving Survival for Octogenarians Undergoing Pancreaticoduodenectomy for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: An American Multicenter Analysis.

Background: As the population ages, the number of octogenarians with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) continues to rise. Morbidity and mortality following pancreatectomy have improved owing to safer surgery and better chemoradiation regimens. This study compares the outcomes and multimodality utilization in octogenarians (≥80 years) who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for PDAC, with a younger cohort.

Experience-driven suppression of irrelevant distractor locations is context dependent.

Humans can learn to attentionally suppress salient, irrelevant information when it consistently appears at a predictable location. While this ability confers behavioral benefits by reducing distraction, the full scope of its utility is unknown. As people locomote and/or shift between task contexts, known-to-be-irrelevant locations may change from moment to moment.

Egg donation advertisements: addressing the regulatory gap.

Egg donation is a procedure that is powerfully advertised as a beneficial experience with limited mention of the associated risks. Egg donor recruitment advertisements target young and financially insecure women and can serve as a catalyst for interest in egg donation. In the absence of explicit egg donation advertisement regulations and without counterbalancing information from other sources, potential donors may not be able to recognize how advertisements can be misleading.

Factors Associated with Low/Moderate Perceived Risk for HIV Acquisition Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men Eligible to Use Pre-exposure Prophylaxis from Brazil, Mexico, and Peru.

Perceived risk for HIV acquisition among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) may not align with their actual sexual HIV exposure. Factors associated with low/moderate perceived risk among GBMSM eligible for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) (based on their high estimated HIV exposure) have been poorly described in Latin America. This is a secondary analysis of a 2018 web-based cross-sectional survey in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru.

Bioaccumulation of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and oxidative stress in snapping turtles in New York, USA.

Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) is an anthropogenic chemical found in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) and many consumer products. Despite its environmental ubiquity and persistence, little is known about the effects of PFOS on stress levels in wild animals. Here, we examined PFOS bioaccumulation and correlations between PFOS exposure and oxidative stress in snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) downstream of Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York, a known source of AFFF contamination.

Systematic Review of Hybrid Vision Transformer Architectures for Radiological Image Analysis.

Vision transformer (ViT)and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) each possess distinct strengths in medical imaging: ViT excels in capturing long-range dependencies through self-attention, while CNNs are adept at extracting local features via spatial convolution filters. While ViT may struggle with capturing detailed local spatial information, critical for tasks like anomaly detection in medical imaging, shallow CNNs often fail to effectively abstract global context. This study aims to explore and evaluate hybrid architectures that integrate ViT and CNN to leverage their complementary strengths for enhanced performance in medical vision tasks, such as segmentation, classification, reconstruction, and prediction.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Artificial Intelligence for Detection of Rib Fracture on X-ray and Computed Tomography Imaging: A Systematic Review.

Rib pathology is uniquely difficult and time-consuming for radiologists to diagnose. AI can reduce radiologist workload and serve as a tool to improve accurate diagnosis. To date, no reviews have been performed synthesizing identification of rib fracture data on AI and its diagnostic performance on X-ray and CT scans of rib fractures and its comparison to physicians.

Automated Integration of AI Results into Radiology Reports Using Common Data Elements.

Integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into radiology practice can create opportunities to improve diagnostic accuracy, workflow efficiency, and patient outcomes. Integration demands the ability to seamlessly incorporate AI-derived measurements into radiology reports. Common data elements (CDEs) define standardized, interoperable units of information.

Design and Validation of a High-Fidelity Left Atrial Cardiac Simulator for the Study and Advancement of Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion.

Purpose: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common chronic cardiac arrhythmia that increases the risk of stroke, primarily due to thrombus formation in the left atrial appendage (LAA). Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) devices offer an alternative to oral anticoagulation for stroke prevention. However, the complex and variable anatomy of the LAA presents significant challenges to device design and deployment.

Assessing online chat-based artificial intelligence models for weight loss recommendation appropriateness and bias in the presence of guideline incongruence.

Background And Aim: Managing obesity requires a comprehensive approach that involves therapeutic lifestyle changes, medications, or metabolic surgery. Many patients seek health information from online sources and artificial intelligence models like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot before consulting health professionals. This study aims to evaluate the appropriateness of the responses of Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot to questions on pharmacologic and surgical management of obesity and assess for bias in their responses to either the ADA or AACE guidelines.

Screening Young Adult Cancer Patients for Vocational Rehabilitation Services: A Vocational Rehabilitation Readiness Screening Tool.

Purpose: We aimed to develop an online vocational rehabilitation (VR) readiness screening (VRRS) tool for young adults diagnosed with cancer. VR readiness was defined as being physically and cognitively ready to enter or return to work or school.

Methods: We developed an initial VRRS tool informed by previous studies, a scoping review to determine such a tool had not already been developed, and consultation with subject matter experts.

Rethinking the residual approach: leveraging statistical learning to operationalize cognitive resilience in Alzheimer's disease.

Cognitive resilience (CR) describes the phenomenon of individuals evading cognitive decline despite prominent Alzheimer's disease neuropathology. Operationalization and measurement of this latent construct is non-trivial as it cannot be directly observed. The residual approach has been widely applied to estimate CR, where the degree of resilience is estimated through a linear model's residuals.

Determinants of frailty among hospitalized older adults across various wards in a tertiary care hospital in Nepal.

Introduction: Frailty, characterized by decreased resilience due to physiological decline, affects approximately 65% of community-dwelling elderly in Nepal. This study assessed frailty and its factors among hospitalized older adults in a tertiary hospital in Nepal.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 124 participants aged 60 and above, admitted to a tertiary hospital in Nepal.

Promoting Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Medical and Scientific Writing and Publishing of Research: A Statement from the Inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Advocacy Team of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

The Journal of General Internal Medicine (JGIM) has a long-standing history of publishing manuscripts focused on health equity and is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in scientific writing and publishing. This is extremely important in the current climate where false narratives and attacks on DEI and health equity are rampant. To demonstrate their commitment to DEI and health equity, the JGIM Editors-in-Chief created an inaugural DEI Advocacy Team.

Predictors of Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 in a Diverse Urban Population.

Background: Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) are ongoing, relapsing, or new symptoms present at least 3 months after infection. Predictors of PASC, particularly across diverse racial and ethnic groups, remain unclear.

Objectives: Assess the prevalence of PASC 1 year after infection, examining differences in PASC prevalence by the social construct of race.

Multi-level Factors to Build Confidence and Support in Active Surveillance for Low-Risk Prostate Cancer: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Active surveillance (AS) is the guideline-recommended treatment for low-risk prostate cancer and involves routine provider visits, lab tests, imaging, and prostate biopsies. Despite good uptake, adherence to AS, in terms of receiving recommended follow-up testing and remaining on AS in the absence of evidence of cancer progression, remains challenging.

Objective: We sought to better understand urologist, primary care providers (PCPs), and patient experiences with AS care delivery to identify opportunities to improve adherence.