Making the Case for an International Childhood Cancer Data Partnership.

Childhood cancers are a heterogeneous group of rare diseases, accounting for less than 2% of all cancers diagnosed worldwide. Most countries, therefore, do not have enough cases to provide robust information on epidemiology, treatment, and late effects, especially for rarer types of cancer. Thus, only through a concerted effort to share data internationally will we be able to answer research questions that could not otherwise be answered.

Identification of significant SNPs for yield-related salt tolerant traits in rice through genome-wide association analysis.

Rice salt tolerance is highly anticipated to meet global demand in response to decreasing farmland and soil salinization. Therefore, dissecting the genetic loci controlling salt tolerance in rice for improving productivity is of utmost importance. Here, we evaluated six salt-tolerance-related traits of a biparental mapping population comprising 280 F2 rice individuals (Oryza sativa L.

Preliminary Evidence for Perturbation-Based tACS-EEG Biomarkers of Gamma Activity in Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by impaired inhibitory circuitry and GABAergic dysfunction, which is associated with reduced fast brain oscillations in the gamma band (γ, 30-90 Hz) in several animal models. Investigating such activity in human patients could lead to the identification of novel biomarkers of diagnostic and prognostic value. The current study aimed to test a multimodal "Perturbation-based" transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation-Electroencephalography (tACS)-EEG protocol to detect how responses to tACS in AD patients correlate with patients' clinical phenotype.

Crosslinked Versus Non-Crosslinked Resorbable Collagen Membranes for Periodontal Regeneration: A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Non-Inferiority Clinical Trial.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the results of combination therapy involving bone grafting and two different resorbable collagen membranes in 1-, 2- and 3-wall infrabony defects.

Methods: A total of 174 patients with infrabony defects (≥ 7 mm periodontal probing depth) were randomized to receive deproteinized bovine bone mineral (DBBM) with either a native porcine non-crosslinked collagen membrane (N-CM, control, n = 87) or a novel porcine crosslinked collagen membrane (C-CM, test, n = 87). Clinical parameters, including periodontal probing depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and gingival recession (GR), were recorded at baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks.

Insomnia Prevalence and Correlates in Cancer Patients Undergoing Treatment.

Background: Insomnia is the most common sleep disturbance among cancer patients undergoing active treatment. If untreated, it is associated with significant physical and psychological health consequences. Prior efforts to determine insomnia prevalence and correlates have primarily assessed patients in clinical trials, in limited disease groups, and excluding important patient subgroups.

High-Frequency Ultrasound for Detecting Periodontal Inflammation: A Preclinical Diagnostic Accuracy Study.

Aim: Ultrasonography (US) has shown accuracy in imaging healthy periodontium. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of US for estimating dimensions of inflamed periodontium induced by ligature and bacteria.

Methods: Periodontal tissues of maxillary as well as mandibular premolars and molars in six female mini pigs were treated with ligature and three strains of bacteria for 4-10 weeks.

5-FU Weakens Defensive Functions of the Junctional Epithelium.

Aim: To investigate additional factors contributing to the pathophysiology of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis and periodontitis beyond the systemic immune suppression caused by the chemotherapeutic agent 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU).

Methods: 5-Fluorouracil was topically delivered to the non-keratinized, rapidly proliferating junctional epithelium (JE) surrounding the dentition, and acts as an immunologic and functional barrier to bacterial ingression. Various techniques, including EdU incorporation, quantitative immunohistochemistry (qIHC), histology, enzymatic activity assays, and micro-computed tomographic (μCT) imaging, were employed to analyze the JE at multiple time points following topical 5-FU treatment.

Multiclass Steroid Profiling in Short-Finned Pilot Whale Blubber Using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Rationale: Wildlife scientists are quantifying steroid hormones in a growing number of tissues and employing novel methods that must undergo validation before application. This study tested the accuracy and precision of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods for use on blubber samples from short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus). We expanded upon a method for corticosteroid quantification by adding analytes and optimizing internal standard (IS) application.

Measuring the impact of a catchment area surveillance tool on cancer center adopters.

Background: The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center developed the data gathering and visualization platform Cancer InFocus (CIF) as a solution for cancer center catchment area surveillance. CIF was released in June 2022 and made available for use to other institutions through a no-cost licensing agreement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact CIF has had on cancer centers since its release.

The Continuous Fragility Index of Statistically Significant Findings in Studies Based on High Levels of Evidence Comparing Interventions for Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome.

Background: Critical analysis of studies with high level of evidence has relied on the significance set by the reported values. However, this strategy steers readers toward categorical interpretation of the data; therefore, a more comprehensive approach of data analysis is warranted. The continuous fragility index (CFI) allows for frailty interpretation of any given study's continuous outcome results.

A Drosophila cardiac myosin increases jump muscle stretch activation and shortening deactivation.

Stretch activation (SA), a delayed increase in force production following rapid muscle lengthening, is critical to the function of vertebrate cardiac muscle and insect asynchronous indirect flight muscle (IFM). SA enables or increases power generation in muscle types used in a cyclical manner. Recently, myosin isoform expression has been implicated as a mechanism for varying the amplitude of SA in some muscle types.

Intersection of rare pathogenic variants from TCGA in the All of Us Research Program v6.

Using rare cancer predisposition alleles derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and high cancer prevalence (14% of participants) in All of Us (version 6), we assessed the impact of these rare alleles on cancer occurrence in six broad groups of genetic similarity provided by All of Us: African/African American (AFR), Admixed American/Latino (AMR), East Asian (EAS), European (EUR), Middle Eastern (MID), or South Asian (SAS). We observed that germline susceptibility to cancer consistently replicates in EUR-like participants but less so in other participants. We found that All of Us participants from the EUR (p = 1.

Characterization of a novel conditional knockout mouse model to assess efficacy of mRNA therapy in the context of severe ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency.

Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) is the most common urea cycle disorder, characterized by hyperammonemia and accompanied by a high unmet patient need. mRNA therapies have been shown to be efficacious in hypomorphic Sparse-fur abnormal skin and hair (Spf-ash) mice, a model of late-onset disease. However, studying the efficacy of ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) mRNA therapy in traditional knockout mice, a model for severe early-onset OTCD, is hampered by the rapid lethality of the model, and poor lipid nanoparticle (LNP) uptake into neonatal mouse liver.

Efficient Gene Delivery Admitted by small Metabolites Specifically Targeting Astrocytes in the Mouse Brain.

The development of efficient and targeted methods for delivering DNA in vivo has long been a major focus of research. In this study, we introduce a gene Delivery approach Admitted by small Metabolites, named gDAM, for the efficient and targeted delivery of naked DNA into astrocytes in the adult brains of mice. gDAM utilizes a straightforward combination of DNA and small metabolites, including glycine, L-proline, L-serine, L-histidine, D-alanine, Gly-Gly, and Gly-Gly-Gly, to achieve astrocyte-specific delivery of naked DNA, resulting in transient and robust gene expression in these cells.

Artificial enforcement of the unfolded protein response (UPR) reduces disease features in multiple preclinical models of ALS/FTD.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) are part of a spectrum of diseases that share several causative genes, resulting in a combinatory of motor and cognitive symptoms and abnormal protein aggregation. Multiple unbiased studies have revealed that proteostasis impairment at the level of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a transversal pathogenic feature of ALS/FTD. The transcription factor XBP1s is a master regulator of the unfolded protein response (UPR), the main adaptive pathway to cope with ER stress.

Psychotic-Spectrum Disorders With Comorbid Anxiety are Predisposing Factors for Parkinson's Disease in a Case-Control Study.

Background: Multiple studies have demonstrated associations between psychiatric conditions and Parkinson's disease (PD) development; fewer have examined psychotic-spectrum disorders and PD development.

Objective: The objective was to assess the prevalence of psychotic-spectrum disorders with and without depression and anxiety preceding a PD diagnosis.

Methods: In this retrospective, case-control study of adults > 60 years of age, cases were identified by PD diagnosis and controls were identified in a 3:1 ratio by ambulatory encounter from 2015 to 2020.

Tetragonia tetragonioides extract prevented high-fat diet-induced obesity and changed hepatic and adipose transcriptomic signatures in C57BL/6J male mice.

Obesity, often driven by high-fat diets (HFD), is a major global health issue, necessitating effective preventive measures. Tetragonia tetragonoides, a plant with known medicinal properties, has not been extensively studied for its effects on HFD-induced obesity and related genetic changes in mice. This study explores the impact of Tetragonia tetragonoides extract (TTE; 300 mg/kg) on obesity-related traits in C57BL/6J male mice, with a focus on transcriptomic changes in the liver and white adipose tissue (WAT).

Cannabis use characteristics and associations with problematic use outcomes, quitting-related factors, and mental health among US young adults.

Objective: Given the changes in trends of cannabis use (e.g., product types), this study examined latent classes of young adult use and associations with use-related outcomes.

Knowledge of Accredited Social Health Activists in India: a systematic review and meta analysis of evidence drawn from primary studies published between 2005 and 2022.

Background: Since the inception of the ASHAs in the year 2005, their work horizons have increased from Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent health (RMNCH + A), Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases (CD & NCD) to oral health, ophthalmologic care, and other supportive community level healthcare services. The present literature lacks comprehensive understanding and synthesis of domain-wise knowledge of ASHAs and the factors affecting their knowledge. Therefore, this study aimed to synthesize and collate the relevant evidence to understand the overall knowledge of ASHAs.