Clinical management of lupus in the United States: A claims-based analysis.

Objectives: To understand the evaluation and management of patients coded with lupus in the broad clinical community in the United States.

Methods: Claims data for diagnoses, procedures, medications, and physician specialties were evaluated for three lupus cohorts [lupus nephritis (LN), systemic lupus erythematosus excluding LN (SLE), and cutaneous lupus erythematosus excluding SLE and LN (CLE)] using the EVERSANA claims databases. Identification of patients was based upon the occurrence of lupus-specific codes, with the requirement that a single patient receive a lupus-related ICD code twice within a six-month period.

Anesthesia Techniques for Vitreoretinal Surgery in the United States: A Report from the Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group Research Consortium.

Purpose: To explore the patterns of anesthesia use and their determinants during vitreoretinal (VR) surgeries in academic and community hospitals across the US, using data from the Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group (MPOG).

Design: A retrospective, multicenter, cohort study.

Methods: We queried the MPOG database of 107,066 patients undergoing VR surgeries.

diaTracer enables spectrum-centric analysis of diaPASEF proteomics data.

Data-independent acquisition (DIA) has become a widely used strategy for peptide and protein quantification in mass spectrometry-based proteomics studies. The integration of ion mobility separation into DIA analysis, such as the diaPASEF technology available on Bruker's timsTOF platform, further improves the quantification accuracy and protein depth achievable using DIA. We introduce diaTracer, a new spectrum-centric computational tool optimized for diaPASEF data.

Recent additions and access to a multidimensional lipidomic database containing liquid chromatography, ion mobility spectrometry, and tandem mass spectrometry information.

The importance of lipids in biology continues to grow with their recent linkages to more diseases and conditions, microbiome fluctuations, and environmental exposures. These associations have motivated researchers to evaluate lipidomic changes in numerous matrices and studies. Lipidomic analyses, however, present numerous challenges as lipid species have broad chemistries that require different extraction methods and instrumental analyses to evaluate and separate their many isomers and isobars.

Improved detection in untargeted lipidomics through silver-doped infrared matrix-assisted laser desorption electrospray ionization.

Rationale: Silver doping of electrospray is known to increase the abundance of olefinic compounds detected by mass spectrometry. While demonstrated in targeted experiments, this has yet to be investigated in an untargeted study. Utilizing infrared matrix-assisted laser desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (IR-MALDESI-MSI), an untargeted lipidomics experiment on mouse liver was performed to evaluate the advantages of silver-doped electrospray.

Measurement of very low-molecular weight metabolites by traveling wave ion mobility and its use in human urine samples.

The collision cross-sections (CCS) measurement using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) in combination with mass spectrometry (MS) offers a great opportunity to increase confidence in metabolite identification. However, owing to the lack of sensitivity and resolution, IMS has an analytical challenge in studying the CCS values of very low-molecular-weight metabolites (VLMs ≤ 250 Da). Here, we describe an analytical method using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to a traveling wave ion mobility-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometer optimized for the measurement of VLMs in human urine samples.

Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Optical Texture Analysis and 10-2 Visual Field Assessment in Glaucoma.

Purpose: To apply retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) optical texture analysis (ROTA) to 1) investigate the association between papillomacular and papillofoveal bundle defects with 10-2 visual field (VF) sensitivity abnormalities, and 2) integrate the information from RNFL bundle defect and 24-2 VF central test locations to determine the likelihood of 10-2 VF sensitivity abnormalities.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Methods: A total of 841 eyes (144 healthy, 317 glaucoma suspect, and 380 glaucoma) of 442 participants were included.

Landscape of TPMT and NUDT15 Pharmacogenetic Variation in a Cohort of Canadian Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients.

Background: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) exhibit considerable interindividual variability in medication response, highlighting the need for precision medicine approaches to optimize and tailor treatment. Pharmacogenetics (PGx) offers the ability to individualize dosing by examining genetic factors underlying the metabolism of medications such as thiopurines. Pharmacogenetic testing can identify individuals who may be at risk for thiopurine dose-dependent adverse reactions including myelosuppression.

Development of a quantification method for arginase inhibitors by LC-MS/MS with benzoyl chloride derivatization.

Arginase is an enzyme responsible for converting arginine, a semi-essential amino acid, to ornithine and urea. Arginine depletion suppresses immunity via multiple mechanisms including inhibition of T-cell and NK cell proliferation and activity. Arginase inhibition is therefore an attractive mechanism to potentially reverse immune suppression and thus has been explored as a therapy for oncology and respiratory indications.

Bright and durable scintillation from colloidal quantum shells.

Efficient, fast, and robust scintillators for ionizing radiation detection are crucial in various fields, including medical diagnostics, defense, and particle physics. However, traditional scintillator technologies face challenges in simultaneously achieving optimal performance and high-speed operation. Herein we introduce colloidal quantum shell heterostructures as X-ray and electron scintillators, combining efficiency, speed, and durability.

Fully resolved high-precision measurement of S for sulfur reference materials.

Rationale: Advances in sulfur isotope measurement techniques have led to increased analytical precision. However, accurate measurement of S remains a challenge. This difficulty arises primarily from unresolved isobaric interferences of SF at m/z = 131 u, WF and CF , which lead to scale compression.

Development and validation of a sensitive LC-MS/MS assay of GT-14, a novel Gα2 inhibitor, in rat plasma, and its application in pharmacokinetic study.

A sensitive and selective LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for the quantitation of a novel Gα2 inhibitor, GT-14, in rat plasma using a SCIEX 6500+ triple QUAD LC-MS system equipped with an ExionLC UHPLC unit. GT-14 (m/z 265.2 → 134.

Selected ice nanoparticle accelerator hypervelocity impact mass spectrometer (SELINA-HIMS): features and impacts of charged particles.

The selected ice nanoparticle accelerator, SELINA, was used to prepare beams of single ice particles with positive or negative charge. Positively charged particles were prepared from deionized water and 0.05-0.

Frequency comb generation via synchronous pumped χ resonator on thin-film lithium niobate.

Resonator-based optical frequency comb generation is an enabling technology for a myriad of applications ranging from communications to precision spectroscopy. These frequency combs can be generated in nonlinear resonators driven using either continuous-wave (CW) light, which requires alignment of the pump frequency with the cavity resonance, or pulsed light, which also mandates that the pulse repetition rate and cavity free spectral range (FSR) are carefully matched. Advancements in nanophotonics have ignited interest in chip-scale optical frequency combs.

Understanding osteokine biology.

Bone is an endocrine organ that participates in whole-body homeostasis. The biology of bone-derived osteokines, however, remains unclear. Liang et al.

Characterization of arsenic species by liquid sampling-atmospheric pressure glow discharge ionization mass spectrometry.

A liquid sampling-atmospheric pressure glow discharge (LS-APGD) ionization source operating at a nominal power of 30 W and solution flow rate of 30 µL min and supported in a He sheath gas flow rate of 500 mL min was interfaced to an Orbitrap mass spectrometer and assessed for use in rapid identification of inorganic and organic arsenic species, including As(III), As(V), monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, and arsenobetaine in a 2% (v/v) nitric acid medium. Mass spectral acquisition in low-resolution mode, using only the ion trap analyzer, provided detection of protonated molecular ions for AsBet (m/z 179), DMA (m/z 139), MMA (m/z 141), and As(V) (m/z 143). As(III) is oxidized to As(V), likely due to in-source processes.

Time dependence of aldehyde and ketone oxocarboxylic acid photoproduct generation from crude oil-seawater systems under solar irradiation.

Aldehyde and ketone oxocarboxylic acid photoproducts were semi-quantitated in the aqueous phase after subjecting Macondo (MC252) crude oil-seawater systems to simulated solar irradiation. Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) was applied after derivatizing the samples with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH). Oil-seawater was irradiated at 27.

Selected Ion Monitoring for Orbitrap-Based Metabolomics.

Orbitrap mass spectrometry in full scan mode enables the simultaneous detection of hundreds of metabolites and their isotope-labeled forms. Yet, sensitivity remains limiting for many metabolites, including low-concentration species, poor ionizers, and low-fractional-abundance isotope-labeled forms in isotope-tracing studies. Here, we explore selected ion monitoring (SIM) as a means of sensitivity enhancement.

Hydrophilic Modification of Dialysis Membranes Sustains Middle Molecule Removal and Filtration Characteristics.

While efficient removal of uremic toxins and accumulated water is pivotal for the well-being of dialysis patients, protein adsorption to the dialyzer membrane reduces the performance of a dialyzer. Hydrophilic membrane modification with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) has been shown to reduce protein adsorption and to stabilize membrane permeability. In this study we compared middle molecule clearance and filtration performance of nine polysulfone-, polyethersulfone-, and cellulose-based dialyzers over time.

Antibiotic ciprofloxacin removal from aqueous solutions by electrochemically activated persulfate process: Optimization, degradation pathways, and toxicology assessment.

Ciprofloxacin (CIP) is a commonly used antibiotic in the fluoroquinolone group and is widely used in medical and veterinary medicine disciplines to treat bacterial infections. When CIP is discharged into the sewage system, it cannot be removed by a conventional wastewater treatment plant because of its recalcitrant characteristics. In this study, boron-doped diamond anode and persulfate were used to degrade CIP in an aquatic solution by creating an electrochemically activated persulfate (EAP) process.

Extended similarity methods for efficient data mining in imaging mass spectrometry.

Imaging mass spectrometry is a label-free imaging modality that allows for the spatial mapping of many compounds directly in tissues. In an imaging mass spectrometry experiment, a raster of the tissue surface produces a mass spectrum at each sampled , position, resulting in thousands of individual mass spectra, each comprising a pixel in the resulting ion images. However, efficient analysis of imaging mass spectrometry datasets can be challenging due to the hyperspectral characteristics of the data.