Heart Transplantation Outcomes for Fontan Patients When Using Contemporary Strategies: Heart-Liver Transplantation and Ventricular Assist Device Therapy.

Background: With an increasing number of Fontan patients surviving into adulthood, the burden of end-stage heart failure is increasing. Prior studies have reported suboptimal heart transplantation (HTx) outcomes. Therefore, the authors describe their institutional experience of HTx in patients with Fontan circulation failure, including heart-liver transplantation (HLTx) and pretransplant systemic ventricular assist device (SVAD) therapies.

Change in management for digital subtraction angiography-identified false-positive traumatic vertebral artery injury.

Background: For patients with suspected traumatic vertebral artery injury (TVAI), CT angiography (CTA) is the first-line screening modality. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) serves as the confirmatory diagnostic imaging, and is the gold standard for cerebrovascular injury assessment, due to its higher sensitivity and specificity. Among patients with TVAI based on CTA who have undergone follow-up DSA, this study aims to investigate how diagnostic information with additional imaging affects clinical management.

Horse antithymocyte globulin test doses and infusion reactions in adults with aplastic anemia: A multicenter retrospective experience.

Introduction: Horse antithymocyte globulin carries a black box warning for life-threatening anaphylactic reactions, and prescribing information recommends test doses to identify patients at highest risk of this adverse effect. The predictive value of such test doses is not well validated, and practicality of use is unclear.

Methods: This was a planned secondary analysis of a multicenter, retrospective cohort study in adults with severe aplastic anemia being managed with horse antithymocyte globulin as part of their treatment regimen.

Unraveling the dynamics of B7-H3-targeting therapeutic antibodies in cancer through PET imaging and antibody pharmacokinetics.

B7-H3, an immunomodulatory protein overexpressed in many cancers, is associated with tumor aggressiveness and poor prognosis, making it a crucial target for imaging to elucidate its role in cancer progression and guide therapeutic interventions. This study employed PET imaging to investigate the in vivo delivery and pharmacokinetics of two anti-B7-H3 antibodies, Ab-1 and Ab-2, in mouse xenograft models with varying B7-H3 expression levels. The antibodies were radiolabeled with [Zr]Zr and evaluated through PET imaging, biodistribution studies, and in vitro assays to assess binding, tumor uptake, and retention.

Physiological accumulation of lipid droplets in newborn liver during breastfeeding is driven by TLR4 ligands.

Background: The liver plays a central role in fat storage, but little is known about physiological fat accumulation during early development. Here we investigated a transient surge in hepatic lipid droplets observed in newborn mice immediately after birth.

Methods: We developed a novel model to quantify liver fat content without tissue processing.

Inverse dose protraction effects of low-LET radiation: evidence and significance.

Biological effects of ionizing radiation vary not merely with total dose but also with temporal dose distribution. Sparing dose protraction effects, in which dose protraction reduces effects of radiation have widely been accepted and generally assumed in radiation protection, particularly for stochastic effects (e.g.

Call to action for Clinicians in the South-East Asian Regions on Primary Prevention of Diabetes in people with Prediabetes- A Consensus statement.

Primary prevention of diabetes still remains as an unmet challenge in a real world setting. While, translational programmes have been successful in the developed nations, the prevailing social and economic inequities in the low and middle income countries, fail to integrate diabetes prevention into their public health systems. The resulting exponential increase in the prevalence of diabetes and the cost of treatment has put primary prevention in the back seat.

Lipid droplet targeting of the lipase co-activator ABHD5 and the fatty liver disease-causing variant PNPLA3 I148M is required to promote liver steatosis.

The storage and release of triacylglycerol (TAG) in lipid droplets (LDs) is regulated by dynamic protein interactions. α/β hydrolase domain-containing protein 5 (ABHD5; also known as CGI-58) is a membrane/LD bound protein that functions as a co-activator of Patatin Like Phospholipase Domain Containing 2 (PNPLA2; also known as Adipose triglyceride lipase, ATGL) the rate-limiting enzyme for TAG hydrolysis. The dysregulation of TAG hydrolysis is involved in various metabolic diseases such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

Pancreatic expression of CPT1A is essential for whole body glucose homeostasis by supporting glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.

Pancreatic islet β-cells express the Cpt1a gene, which encodes the enzyme carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A), an enzyme that facilitates entry of long chain fatty acids into the mitochondria. Because fatty acids are required for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, we tested the hypothesis that CPT1A is essential to support islet β-cell function and mass. In this study, we describe genetic deletion of Cpt1a in pancreatic tissue (Cpt1a) using C57BL/6J mice.

Enhanced kinase translocation reporters for simultaneous real-time measurement of PKA, ERK, and calcium.

Kinase translocation reporters (KTRs) are powerful tools for single-cell measurement of time-integrated kinase activity but suffer from restricted dynamic range and limited sensitivity, particularly in neurons. To address these limitations, we developed enhanced KTRs (eKTRs) for protein kinase A (PKA) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) by (i) increasing KTR size, which reduces the confounding effect of KTR diffusion through the nuclear pore, and (ii) modulating the strength of the bipartite nuclear localization signal (bNLS) in their kinase sensor domains, to ensures that the relative distribution of the KTR between the nucleus and cytoplasmic is determined by active nuclear import, active nuclear export, and relative activity of their cognate kinase. The resultant sets of ePKA-KTRs and eERK-KTRs display high sensitivity, broad dynamic range, and cell type-specific tuning.

Optimizing Surgical Strategies: A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Preoperative Arterial Embolization for Hypervascular Metastatic Spinal Tumors.

Background: The vertebral column is the most common site of bony metastasis. When indicated, surgical resection of hypervascular metastatic lesions may be complicated by significant blood loss, the need for blood transfusion, and incomplete tumor resection due to poor visualization and premature abortion of the operation. In select cases, preoperative arterial embolization of hypervascular metastatic tumors may help minimize intraoperative bleeding and reduce operative times.

Appropriate Use Criteria for Neoplastic Compression Fractures.

Background Context: Clinical outcomes are directly related to patient selection and treatment indications for improved quality of life. With emphasis on quality and value, it is essential that treatment recommendations are optimized.

Purpose: The purpose of the North American Spine Society (NASS) Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) is to determine the appropriate (ie, reasonable) multidisciplinary treatment recommendations for patients with metastatic neoplastic vertebral fractures across a spectrum of more common clinical scenarios.

The impact of neoadjuvant therapy in patients with left-sided resectable pancreatic cancer: an international multicenter study.

Purpose: To assess the association between neoadjuvant therapy and overall survival (OS) in patients with left-sided resectable pancreatic cancer (RPC) compared to upfront surgery.

Background: Left-sided pancreatic cancer is associated with worse OS compared to right-sided pancreatic cancer. Although neoadjuvant therapy is currently seen as not effective in patients with RPC, current randomized trials included mostly patients with right-sided RPC.

Cell type specific differences in transcriptome profiles of adipose derived stem cells and vaginal fibroblasts in patients with pelvic organ prolapse.

The purpose of this study was to understand the molecular phenotypes of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) and vaginal fibroblasts (VFBs) and whether pelvic organ prolapse (POP) affects their biological properties. We performed RNA sequencing of paired ASCs and VFBs from six patients with POP and six controls (CTRL). The transcriptomes of POP and CTRL in either ASCs or VFBs were compared (DESeq2, false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.

Analysis of Method Performance for Quantitative Assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in Queso Fresco Cheese.

A Proficiency Test (PT) was conducted for Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) laboratories for quantitative assessment of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) in queso fresco cheese. The Moffett Proficiency Test Laboratory: MPTL (organizer) prepared test samples for each participating laboratory with 10 CFU/g of L.

The relationship between the early life gastrointestinal microbiome and childhood nocturnal cough.

Background: Nocturnal cough affects approximately 1 in 3 children, can negatively impact child health, and is often attributable to asthma. The association of the gut microbiome with nocturnal cough has not been investigated.

Objective: To investigate the association between early-life gut microbiome composition and nocturnal cough overall and in the context of asthma.

Cancer-associated fibroblast-derived exosomes in cancer progression: a focus on hepatocellular carcinoma.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) has drawn much interest recently in the search for innovative cancer therapeutics, especially in light of the growing body of evidence supporting the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The TME comprises various cell types within the extracellular matrix (ECM), such as immune cells, endothelial cells, and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Throughout the malignancy, these cells interact with cancerous cells and with one another.

Longitudinal changes in psychological, physiological, and nutritional measures and predictors of success in Special Forces training.

The mentally and physically challenging 19-20 day, multi-stressor US Army Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) course selects soldiers for Army Special Forces (SF) training. If selected, candidates enroll for advanced training in the 2-year Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) to qualify for the SF. This longitudinal study examined physiological, psychological, and nutritional status of soldiers before (pre-SFAS) and after SFAS (post-SFAS), and post-SFQC, to identify predictors of graduation from SFQC.

Infrainguinal bypass for limb salvage has comparable mortality and affords a better chance of home discharge than amputation among octogenarians.

Background: Infrainguinal bypass for chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CTLI) in octogenarians is considered a high-risk procedure due to the presumed associated frailty of the patient population. However, the alternative which is major amputation may not be a better option. This study retrospectively compares the outcomes of bypass versus major amputation for functionally independent and partially dependent patients.

Nociplastic pain among individuals with chronic ocular surface pain: one cause for "pain without stain"?

Chronic ocular surface pain (COSP) refers to interrelated symptoms such as eye burning, aching, and irritation and can occur as an isolated condition or comorbid with numerous ocular disorders, including dry eye syndrome Treatments for COSP are largely aimed at the ocular surface and modulating pain arising from damaged corneal nerves; however, the average impact of these treatments on COSP are low to absent. A potential explanation for this is that in a subset of patients with COSP, individuals have amplified and/or dysregulated neural signaling and sensory processing within the central nervous system (CNS). As in other chronic pain conditions, this might be the pathogenic mechanism primarily responsible for maintaining pain - a phenomenon now referred to as nociplastic pain.

Pathogenesis of bovine H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b infection in Macaques.

Since early 2022 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus infections have been reported in wild aquatic birds and poultry throughout the United States (US) with spillover into several mammalian species. In March 2024, HPAIV H5N1 clade 2.3.

Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Expression in Merkel Cell Carcinoma Is Associated With Clinical and Histopathologic Parameters.

Background: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive cutaneous malignancy with neuroendocrine differentiation. Several molecular pathways have been implicated in MCC development and multiple cell-of-origin candidates have been proposed, including neural crest cells, which express acetylcholine receptors (AChRs). The role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in MCC has not been explored.

Opposite asymmetry in visual perception of humans and macaques.

In human adults, visual perception varies throughout the visual field. Performance decreases with eccentricity and varies around polar angle. At isoeccentric locations, performance is typically higher along the horizontal than vertical meridian (horizontal-vertical asymmetry [HVA]) and along the lower than the upper vertical meridian (vertical meridian asymmetry [VMA]).

No evidence for sex-differential transcriptomes driving genome-wide sex-differential natural selection.

Sex differences in human transcriptomes have been argued to drive sex-differential selection (SDS). Here, we show that previous evidence supporting this hypothesis has been largely unfounded. We develop a method to test for a genome-wide relationship between sex differences in expression and selection on expression-influencing alleles (expression quantitative trait loci [eQTLs]).