Technical considerations of cardiac computed tomography in children.

Cardiac computed tomography angiography (CTA) is a valuable tool in the assessment of congenital and acquired cardiac disease in children. The goal of cardiac CTA is to produce images that are free of motion and provide sufficient characterization of the anatomy in question. Given the complexity of pediatric patient characteristics, including patient size, heart rate, breath-holding capability, and variant anatomy, cardiac CTA technique must be individualized to the patient as well as the indication to answer the clinical question while also minimizing radiation exposure.

Self-affirmation intervention for patients newly diagnosed with advanced cancer: a preliminary efficacy trial.

Objective: Cancer diagnosis represents a life crisis. It remains unclear whether/what psychosocial intervention may enhance cancer patients' quality of life (QoL) during existential plight. This study aimed to examine preliminary efficacy of a brief writing intervention for patients newly diagnosed with advanced cancer with a focus on affirming personally important values and beliefs.

Glia: The Cellular Glue that binds Circadian Rhythms and Sleep.

Glia are increasingly appreciated as serving an important function in the control of sleep and circadian rhythms. Glial cells in Drosophila and mammals regulate daily rhythms of locomotor activity and sleep as well as homeostatic rebound following sleep deprivation. In addition, they contribute to proposed functions of sleep, with different functions mapping to varied glial subtypes.

Outcomes of mechanical thrombectomy for medium vessel occlusion in acute ischemic stroke patients with ASPECTS 4-5 vs. 6-7: a retrospective, multicenter, and multinational study.

Introduction: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) efficacy in medium vessel occlusion (MeVO) stroke, particularly in patients with low Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score (ASPECTS), remains less explored.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from 443 AIS patients treated with MT for MeVO and low ASPECTS (4-7) at 37 centers across North America, Asia, and Europe, from September 2017 to July 2021. Patients were categorized into ASPECTS of 4-5 and 6-7.

Hemodynamic response of the aortic valve during dobutamine onset then progressive aortic banding.

An increasing number of procedures over the past two decades for aortic stenosis (AS) reflects the combination of an aging population and less invasive transcatheter options. As a result, the hemodynamics of the aortic valve (AV) have gained renewed interest to understand its behavior and to optimize patient selection. We studied the hemodynamic relationship between pressure loss (ΔP) and transvalvular flow (Q) of the normal AV as well as the impact of a variable supravalvular stenosis.

Sociodemographic Variables Associated with Self-reported Access to Mental Healthcare Among Brazilian Immigrant Women in the U.S.

Brazilians are a rapidly growing immigrant population in the United States (U.S.), yet little is known about their mental health and access to mental healthcare.

Civil Disobedience in Democratic Education.

The study's goal was to examine the tension between democratic school governance, requiring its participants to obey school rules, even though they might disagree with those rules, and personal responsibility, requiring the participants to act morally, in accordance with their conscience and their sense of what is right and makes sense for them, regardless of the democratic nature of the imposed school rules. This examination was based on three sources: 1) three Open Symposia with American and Russian democratic educationalists, 2) my review of the existing literature on civil disobedience and democratic education, and 3) my empirical study based on the interviews of participants of an American private democratic school, known as The Circle School, regarding their instances of civil disobedience. The three Open Symposia allowed me to develop a working definition of civil disobedience as a particular principled disobedience.

Third-Generation Trabecular Micro-Bypass Implantation with Phacoemulsification for Glaucoma.

Introduction: This retrospective, consecutive, real-world case series assessed the efficacy and safety of third-generation trabecular micro-bypass stent implantation (iStent infinite) with phacoemulsification in patients with mild-to-moderate primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

Methods: Patients underwent phacoemulsification combined with implantation of iStent infinite (containing three stents) by a single U.S.

Real-World Effectiveness of Long-Acting Injectable and Oral Antipsychotic Agents in US Medicare Patients with Schizophrenia.

Introduction: Daily oral antipsychotics (OAPs) are the mainstay of schizophrenia treatment; however, long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) are associated with better treatment adherence and improved outcomes.

Methods: This study assessed the real-world comparative effectiveness of LAIs and daily OAPs using claims data from a nationally representative sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries with schizophrenia. Antipsychotic discontinuation, psychiatric hospitalization, and treatment failure were compared relative to different reference groups using within-individual Cox regression models.

Pan-cancer secreted proteome and skeletal muscle regulation: insight from a proteogenomic data-driven knowledge base.

Large-scale, pan-cancer analysis is enabled by data driven knowledge bases that link tumor molecular profiles with phenotypes. A debilitating cancer-related phenotype is skeletal muscle loss, or cachexia, which occurs partly from tumor products secreted into circulation. Using the LinkedOmicsKB knowledge base assembled from the Clinical Proteomics Tumor Analysis Consortium proteogenomic analysis, along with catalogs of human secretome proteins, ligand-receptor pairs and molecular signatures, we sought to identify candidate pan-cancer proteins secreted to blood that could regulate skeletal muscle phenotypes in multiple solid cancers.

On the Gaussian modulus of lipid membranes.

The Gaussian modulus is a crucial property that influences topological transformations in lipid membranes. However, unlike the bending modulus, estimating the Gaussian modulus has been particularly challenging due to the constraints imposed by the Gauss-Bonnet theorem. Despite this, various theoretical, computational, and experimental approaches have been developed to estimate the Gaussian modulus, though they are often complex, and analytical estimates remain rare.

Twenty Years of Neuroinformatics: A Bibliometric Analysis.

This study presents a thorough bibliometric analysis of Neuroinformatics over the past 20 years, offering insights into the journal's evolution at the intersection of neuroscience and computational science. Using advanced tools such as VOS viewer and methodologies like co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, and keyword co-occurrence, we examine trends in publication, citation patterns, and the journal's influence. Our analysis reveals enduring research themes like neuroimaging, data sharing, machine learning, and functional connectivity, which form the core of Neuroinformatics.

Content Validity of the Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale in Patients with Spinocerebellar Ataxia.

Introduction: The Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale-Activities of Daily Living (FARS-ADL) is a validated and highly utilized measure for evaluating patients with Friedreich Ataxia. While construct validity of FARS-ADL has been shown for spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), content validity has not been established.

Methods: Individuals with SCA1 or SCA3 (n = 7) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) with SCA expertise (n = 8) participated in qualitative interviews evaluating the relevance, clarity, and clinical meaningfulness of FARS-ADL for assessment of individuals with SCA.

Testing the kinetic tradeoff between bicarbonate versus phosphoenolpyruvate affinity and glucose-6 phosphate response of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from two C grasses.

Phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylase (PEPC) has an anaplerotic role in central plant metabolism but also initiates the carbon concentrating mechanism during C photosynthesis. The C PEPC has different binding affinities (K) for PEP (K) and HCO (K), and allosteric regulation by glucose-6-phosphate (G6-P) compared to non-photosynthetic isoforms. These differences are linked to specific changes in amino acids within PEPC.

Sodium-Directed Crosstalk Between Immune Cells and Lymphatic Vessels.

Purpose Of Review: The role of the lymphatic system in clearing extravasated fluids, lipid transport, and immune surveillance is well established, and lymphatic vasculature can provide a vital role in facilitating crosstalk among various organ systems. Lymphatic vessels rely on intrinsic and local factors to absorb and propel lymph from the interstitium back to the systemic circulation. The biological implications of local influences on lymphatic vessels are underscored by the exquisite sensitivity of these vessels to environmental stimuli.

A STING-CASM-GABARAP pathway activates LRRK2 at lysosomes.

Mutations that increase LRRK2 kinase activity have been linked to Parkinson's disease and Crohn's disease. LRRK2 is also activated by lysosome damage. However, the endogenous cellular mechanisms that control LRRK2 kinase activity are not well understood.

Classical cell cycle kinase limits tubulin polyglutamylation and cilium stability.

Tubulin polyglutamylation is essential for maintaining cilium stability and function, and defective tubulin polyglutamylation is associated with ciliopathies. However, the regulatory mechanism underlying proper axonemal polyglutamylation remains unclear. He et al.

Intrathecal Baclofen Pump Wean and Risk of Exposure in a Large TBSA Burn Wound Patient: A Case Report.

Burn injuries in patients with significant pre-existing medical conditions provide unique challenges in both medical management and surgical planning. Spasticity, if left untreated, can be one of the most disabling consequences of a neurologic injury. Treatment is largely dependent on pharmacologic management with anti-spasmodic agents such as baclofen.

A new harmony box supplemented with gonial angle and age based on a growing Swiss population.

Purpose: The scope of the present study was to create a new harmony box by adding two diagnostically and clinically important cephalometric variables, the gonial and interincisal angles, while also considering the effect of sex and age for a growing Swiss population.

Methods: A healthy sample with an overjet and overbite between 2 and 4 mm, and 1.5 and 4.

Pharmacodynamic characterization and evaluation of oxidative stress effects of digitoxigenin derivatives on HeLa cells.

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and its treatment is hampered by the lack of specificity and side effects of current drugs. Cardiotonic steroids (CTS) interact with Na/K-ATPase (NKA) and induce antineoplastic effects, but their narrow therapeutic window is key limiting factor. The synthesis of digitoxigenin derivatives with glycosidic unit modifications is a promising approach to develop more selective and effective antitumor agents.

Carotenoid profile in maternal and cord plasma and its trends in breast milk during lactation: a comparative study among three cities in northern China.

Increasing evidence suggests that carotenoids play an important role in visual and cognitive development during early life. This study aimed to depict the carotenoid profile in maternal/cord plasma and breast milk in three northern cities of China while investigating the association between dietary carotenoid intake and breast milk carotenoid levels. We enrolled 990 lactating mothers from three urban northern Chinese cities to collect breast milk (including colostrum, transitional milk, early mature milk, middle mature milk, and late mature milk).

Mutations disrupting the kinase domain of IKKα lead to immunodeficiency and immune dysregulation in humans.

IKKα, encoded by CHUK, is crucial in the non-canonical NF-κB pathway and part of the IKK complex activating the canonical pathway alongside IKKβ. The absence of IKKα causes fetal encasement syndrome in humans, fatal in utero, while an impaired IKKα-NIK interaction was reported in a single patient and causes combined immunodeficiency. Here, we describe compound heterozygous variants in the kinase domain of IKKα in a female patient with hypogammaglobulinemia, recurrent lung infections, and Hay-Wells syndrome-like features.

Differential diagnosis in immune checkpoint inhibitors neurotoxicity.

Background: Neurologic symptoms seen in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) may not be entirely caused by immunotoxicity. We aim to highlight these confounding conditions through clinical cases to encourage early recognition and management.

Methods: We describe a series of seven cases from our institution that were treated with ICI and presented with Neurologic symptoms and were diagnosed with superimposed conditions beyond immunotoxicity.

Trends in screening and treatment of osteoporosis after periprosthetic fractures from 2010 to 2020.

Unlabelled: Osteoporosis is often underrecognized and undertreated following periprosthetic fractures (PPF). Our study found that between 2010 and 2020, there has been no significant change in the rates of osteoporosis screening or treatment within 1 year following PPF. Orthopedic surgeons can play an integral role in helping to curtail the osteoporosis epidemic.