Addressing STIs through managed care: opportunities in Medicaid and beyond.

The US is facing a growing epidemic of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with over 2.5 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis reported in 2021 and again in 2022. This public health crisis disproportionately affects youth and racial and ethnic minority communities, exacerbating barriers to accessing sexual health services.

Self-Assembly of Homo Phenylalanine Oligopeptides: Role of Oligopeptide Chain Length.

The self-assembly of phenylalanine (F)-based peptides is a critical area of research with potential implications for the development of advanced biomaterials and technologies. Previous studies indicate that homo-oligopeptides with F-X residues (X = 1 to 6) can self-assemble into diverse nano-microstructures, but the role of oligopeptide chain length on this process remains unclear. This review investigates the role of F-X chain length on self-assembly processes and morphologies, considering the effect of incubation conditions and the capping group at the N and/or C terminals.

Fertility preservation options at cancer diagnosis; classifying use and decision-making in the United States.

Introduction: Incidence rates for cancer among adolescent and young adults (AYA) have increased 30% since 1970. Declines in mortality underscore the importance of discussing fertility preservation (FP) options prior to receiving gonadotoxic treatments. National guidelines outline FP options including oocyte (OC), embryo (EC), and ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) for female AYA patients.

Biophysical and Structural Features of αβT-Cell Receptor Mechanosensing: A Paradigmatic Shift in Understanding T-Cell Activation.

αβT cells protect vertebrates against many diseases, optimizing surveillance using mechanical force to distinguish between pathophysiologic cellular alterations and normal self-constituents. The multi-subunit αβT-cell receptor (TCR) operates outside of thermal equilibrium, harvesting energy via physical forces generated by T-cell motility and actin-myosin machinery. When a peptide-bound major histocompatibility complex molecule (pMHC) on an antigen presenting cell is ligated, the αβTCR on the T cell leverages force to form a catch bond, prolonging bond lifetime, and enhancing antigen discrimination.

Highly Diastereoselective Access to Densely Functionalized Piperidine Cores of Influenza Endonuclease Inhibitors via a Metal-Free S1 Approach.

A novel, highly diastereoselective, and metal-free synthesis of multisubstituted piperidines via an S1 approach is reported in this study. The method allows for the preparation of highly functionalized compounds with exceptional diastereomeric selectivities and consistently reproducible yields. These compounds are of significant interest due to their remarkable biological activities toward influenza endonuclease.

Patient- and Provider-Perceived Barriers to Reconstructive Surgery for Patients With Upper Limb Spasticity.

Purpose: The benefits of upper-extremity reconstructive surgery for patients with spastic deformities are well documented, but a small portion of eligible patients undergo surgery. We sought to determine perceptions of upper-extremity reconstructive surgery among brain injury patients and nonsurgical providers to identify potential barriers to surgical evaluation.

Methods: Electronic medical records at a referral center were reviewed for patients diagnosed with upper limb spasticity following brain injury.

A phase I clinical trial adding OX40 agonism to in situ therapeutic cancer vaccination in patients with low-grade B cell lymphoma highlights challenges in translation from mouse to human studies.

Purpose: Activating T cell costimulatory receptors is a promising approach for cancer immunotherapy. In preclinical work, adding an OX40 agonist to in situ vaccination (ISV) with SD101, a TLR9 agonist, was curative in a mouse model of lymphoma. We sought to test this combination in a Phase I clinical trial for patients with low-grade B cell lymphoma.

Lung cancer-intrinsic SOX2 expression mediates resistance to checkpoint blockade therapy by inducing Treg cell-dependent CD8+ T-cell exclusion.

Tumor cell-intrinsic signaling pathways can drastically affect the tumor immune microenvironment, promoting tumor progression and resistance to immunotherapy by excluding immune-cell populations from the tumor. Several tumor cell-intrinsic pathways have been reported to modulate myeloid-cell and T-cell infiltration creating "cold" tumors. However, clinical evidence suggests that excluding cytotoxic T cells from the tumor core also mediates immune evasion.

Absence of biofilm adhesin proteins changes surface attachment and cell strategy for Hildenborough.

Unlabelled: Ubiquitous in nature, biofilms provide stability in a fluctuating environment and provide protection from stressors. Biofilms formed in industrial processes are exceedingly problematic and costly. While biofilms of sulfate-reducing bacteria in the environment are often beneficial because of their capacity to remove toxic metals from water, in industrial pipelines, these biofilms cause a major economic impact due to their involvement in metal and concrete corrosion.

TOP1 Mutations and Cross-Resistance to Antibody-Drug Conjugates in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Purpose: Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) harboring topoisomerase I (TOP1) inhibitor payloads have improved survival for patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). However, knowledge of ADC resistance mechanisms and potential impact on sequential use of ADCs is limited. Here, we report the incidence and characterization of TOP1 mutations arising in the setting of ADC resistance in MBC.

Structurally-oriented classification of FOXA1 alterations identifies prostate cancers with opposing clinical outcomes and distinct molecular and immunologic subtypes.

Purpose: 10-15% of prostate cancers (PCa) harbor recurrent FOXA1 aberrations whereby the alteration type and the effect on the forkhead( FKH) domain impacts protein-function. We developed a FOXA1 classification system to inform clinical management.

Experimental Design: 5,014 PCa were examined using whole exome and transcriptome sequencing from the Caris database.

Unregulated male sexual enhancement treatments: Perils and pitfalls for patients and providers.

As the demand for "quick-fixes" and instant gratification intensifies among consumers of the US health care delivery system, health care providers remain essential to ensuring patients receive safe, evidenced-based care. Erectile dysfunction is a common health condition affecting as many as 42% of US men. As such, it is unsurprising that American health care consumers affected by erectile dysfunction (ED) may be tempted by "quick fixes" to ameliorate their symptoms-particularly if such fixes are perceived to be less embarrassing, more accessible, and/or more affordable.

MICAL2 Promotes Pancreatic Cancer Growth and Metastasis.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the deadliest solid cancers; thus, identifying more effective therapies is a major unmet need. In this study, we characterized the super enhancer (SE) landscape of human PDAC to identify drivers of the disease that might be targetable. This analysis revealed MICAL2 as a super enhancer-associated gene in human PDAC, which encodes the flavin monooxygenase MICAL2 that induces actin depolymerization and indirectly promotes SRF transcription by modulating the availability of serum response factor coactivators myocardin-related transcription factors (MRTF-A and MRTF-B).

Racial and ethnic disparities in young adult mental health: Exploring the individual and conjoint effects of ACEs and campus climate.

Objectives: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), but the role of contextual factors remains underexplored. Therefore, this study examined the moderating effect of campus climate on associations between ACEs and PTSS and whether effects differ based on racial/ethnic identity.

Participants: University students taking Psychology courses at a large public university in the Northeastern United States ( = 419).

A comparative view of human and mouse telencephalon inhibitory neuron development.

Human GABAergic inhibitory neurons (INs) in the telencephalon play crucial roles in modulating neural circuits, generating cortical oscillations, and maintaining the balance between excitation and inhibition. The major IN subtypes are based on their gene expression profiles, morphological diversity and circuit-specific functions. Although previous foundational work has established that INs originate in the ganglionic eminence regions in mice, recent studies have questioned origins in humans and non-human primates.

High-Density and Well-Aligned Hierarchical Structures of Colloids Assembled under Orthogonal Magnetic and Electric Fields.

Colloids can be used either as model systems for directed assembly or as the necessary building blocks for making functional materials. Previous work primarily focused on assembling colloids under a single external field, where controlling particle-particle interactions is limited. This work presents results under a combination of electric and magnetic fields.

Injury Patterns in Academy-Level Male Youth Soccer Players: A 3-Season Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: To report injury epidemiology in youth male academy-level athletes in the United States.

Design: An observational study on injury occurrences and playing time over the 2019 to 2020, 2020 to 2021, and 2021 to 2022 soccer seasons.

Setting: Data collected from a single midwestern soccer academy in the United States in partnership with a tertiary care level I pediatric heath institution.

Influence of Sweetpotato Resistance on the Development of and .

and are major pests of sweetpotato. The ability of to cause symptoms and reproduce on nematode-resistant cultivars threatens the sweetpotato industry. To evaluate the penetration, development, and reproduction of and on sweetpotato, a time-course study was conducted using the genotypes 'LA14-31' (resistant to and intermediate-resistant to ), 'LA18-100' (susceptible to and resistant to ), and 'LA19-65' (resistant to and susceptible to ), with 'Beauregard' (susceptible to both species) and 'Jewel' (resistant to and intermediate-resistant to ) as controls.

Utilization of flat-panel detector computed tomography for evaluation of COVID-19 pneumonia during neurointerventional procedures.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the imaging findings of the chest flat panel detector computed tomography (FDCT) among coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) positive patients during urgent/emergent interventional neuroradiologic procedures.

Materials And Methods: Chest FDCT examinations were performed using a C-arm mounted FDCT within the interventional radiology (IR) suite if the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results were pending in patients with clinical findings suggestive of COVID-19. In those who already had positive RT-PCR results, FDCT was performed for acute evaluation only if an acute unexpected cardiopulmonary event occurred during the procedure.

Mechanisms of Activating Agents to Form Organozinc Reagents from Zinc Metal: Lessons for Reaction Design.

Activating agents enable the efficient preparation of organozinc complexes from zinc metal and organohalides, but their mechanisms had been obscured by the heterogeneous nature of these systems. Fluorescence microscopy, with the sensitivity to detect surface reaction intermediates, reveals distinct activating mechanisms of widely used activation strategies: trimethylsilyl chloride, LiCl, DMSO, and Rieke zinc powder. The resulting development of mechanistic models provides a better understanding of the oxidative-addition-solubilization sequence in organozinc reagent formation and contains lessons for methods development.

Epitaxial Stabilization of a Pyrochlore Interface between Weyl Semimetal and Spin Ice.

Pyrochlore materials are known for their exotic magnetic and topological phases arising from complex interactions among electron correlations, band topology, and geometric frustration. Interfaces between different pyrochlore crystals characterized by complex many-body ground states hold immense potential for novel interfacial phenomena due to the strong interactions between these phases. However, the realization of such interfaces has been severely hindered by limitations in material synthesis methods.

Molecular Sensing of Chiral Carboxylic Acid Enantiomers Using CD Inductions in the Visible Light Region.

The reaction between a chiral carboxylic acid molecule and 1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocenepalladium dichloride in the presence of a mild base generates a chiroptically active metal complex displaying strong circular dichroism (CD) signals in the visible light region, a highly sought-after goal in the optical sensing realm. The molecular recognition process is complete within a few minutes and can be used for fast chiroptical determination of the enantiomeric composition and concentration of carboxylic acid samples. This method is operationally simple and broadly applicable to a large variety of structures including important drugs, natural products, amino acids, and hydroxy acids.

Opening the Cabinets: A Critical Evaluation of Skeletal Teaching Collections in the United States.

The collections of human remains within our university laboratories and classrooms are considered by many to be integral to teaching osteology. However, as an outgrowth of the Western scientific tradition of mind/body dualism, human remains within skeletal teaching collections are often regarded differently than those in museums or applied contexts. From processing to storage, the personhood of each individual becomes abstracted as we purchase, "inherit," handle, organize, and digitally scan their bones for teaching purposes.

Discovery of SMD-3236: A Potent, Highly Selective and Efficacious SMARCA2 Degrader for the Treatment of SMARC4-Deficient Human Cancers.

SMARCA2 is an attractive synthetic lethal target in human cancers with mutated, inactivated SMARCA4. We report herein the discovery of highly potent and selective SMARCA2 PROTAC degraders, as exemplified by SMD-3236, which was designed using a new, high-affinity SMARCA ligand and a potent VHL-1 ligand. SMD-3236 achieves DC < 1 nM and > 95% against SMARCA2 and >2000-fold degradation selectivity over SMARCA4.