Polyethylene packaging and alternative materials in the United States: A life cycle assessment.

A comprehensive life cycle assessment was conducted to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of polyethylene (PE) packaging and its alternatives, including paper, glass, aluminum, and steel in the United States. The assessment focuses on five major packaging applications: collation shrink films, stretch films for pallet wraps, heavy-duty sacks, non-food bottles, and flexible food pouches. The study compares PE and the alternative packaging materials based on the following environmental impact categories: global warming potential (GWP), fossil energy use, mineral resource use, and water scarcity.

Benchmarking high-risk human papillomavirus testing against cytology and biopsy results in the detection of cervical dysplasia to inform clinical screening guidelines.

Introduction: The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation for cervical cancer screening includes the option to screen with high-risk human papilloma virus (hrHPV) alone, but some studies have reported that hrHPV testing alone missed precancerous and cancerous lesions. In this study, we evaluated the test performance characteristics of hrHPV in detecting cervical dysplasia with cervical cytology and biopsy as comparators.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of Papanicolaou smears between January and December 2019 performed at our institution with concurrent hrHPV and cytology testing.

Evaluating the sustained effectiveness of a novel pharmacy-based intervention to reduce older adult misuse of over-the-counter medications: A case for non-significance.

Introduction: Misuse of over-the-counter (OTC) medications by older adults (age 65+) can comprise Drug-Age, Drug-Drug, Drug-Disease, and Drug-Label types. Pharmacies in the United States are prevalent sources of OTCs and are an apt setting to address OTC misuse. Senior Safe™ is a pharmacy-system redesign for preventing older adult OTC misuse.

PbsNRs: predict the potential binders and scaffolds for nuclear receptors.

Nuclear receptors (NRs) are a class of essential proteins that regulate the expression of specific genes and are associated with multiple diseases. In silico methods for prescreening potential NR binders with predictive binding ability are highly desired for NR-related drug development but are rarely reported. Here, we present the PbsNRs (Predicting binders and scaffolds for Nuclear Receptors), a user-friendly web server designed to predict the potential NR binders and scaffolds through proteochemometric modeling.

Robust Bayesian graphical regression models for assessing tumor heterogeneity in proteomic networks.

Graphical models are powerful tools to investigate complex dependency structures in high-throughput datasets. However, most existing graphical models make one of two canonical assumptions: (i) a homogeneous graph with a common network for all subjects or (ii) an assumption of normality, especially in the context of Gaussian graphical models. Both assumptions are restrictive and can fail to hold in certain applications such as proteomic networks in cancer.

Distributed model building and recursive integration for big spatial data modeling.

Motivated by the need for computationally tractable spatial methods in neuroimaging studies, we develop a distributed and integrated framework for estimation and inference of Gaussian process model parameters with ultra-high-dimensional likelihoods. We propose a shift in viewpoint from whole to local data perspectives that is rooted in distributed model building and integrated estimation and inference. The framework's backbone is a computationally and statistically efficient integration procedure that simultaneously incorporates dependence within and between spatial resolutions in a recursively partitioned spatial domain.

Mice with Reduced PAR4 Reactivity show Decreased Venous Thrombosis and Platelet Procoagulant Activity.

Background: Hypercoagulation and thrombin generation are major risk factors for venous thrombosis. Sustained thrombin signaling through PAR4 promotes platelet activation, phosphatidylserine exposure, and subsequent thrombin generation. A single-nucleotide polymorphism in PAR4 (rs2227376) changes proline to leucine extracellular loop 3 (P310L), which decreases PAR4 reactivity and is associated with a lower risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in a GWAS meta-analysis.

Accuracy of Survey-Based Assessment of Eligibility for Medication Abortion Compared to Clinician Assessment.

Background: With increasingly restricted access to facility-based abortion in the United States, pregnant people are increasingly relying on models of care that utilize history-based or no-test approaches to eligibility assessment. Minimal research has examined the accuracy of abortion patients' self-assessment of eligibility for medication abortion using their health history, a necessary step towards ensuring optimal access to history-based or no-test models, as well as potential over-the-counter access.

Objective: To examine the accuracy of pregnant people's eligibility for medication abortion determined using their self-reported health history as compared to clinician assessment with ultrasound and other tests.

High Intensity Approaches to Exposure and Response Prevention for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition with multidetermined etiological and maintaining mechanisms. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), specifically exposure and response prevention (ERP), is the first line behavioral intervention to treat OCD. ERP directly targets threat learning that characterizes OCD through processes of habituation (fear extinction) and inhibitory learning, in addition to eliciting neuronal changes implicated in OCD.

Autophagy related 7 (ATG7) regulates food intake and liver health during asparaginase exposure.

Amino acid starvation by the chemotherapy agent asparaginase is a potent activator of the integrated stress response (ISR) in liver and can upregulate autophagy in some cell types. We hypothesized that autophagy related 7 (ATG7), a protein that is essential for autophagy and an ISR target gene, was necessary during exposure to asparaginase to maintain liver health. We knocked down Atg7 systemically (Atg7) or in hepatocytes only (ls-Atg7KO) in mice before exposure to pegylated asparaginase for 5 d.

A novel viral infection in a Captive Colony of pelagic red crabs (Pleuroncodes planipes) from California.

Captive, pelagic red crabs (Pleuroncodes planipes) had shortened lifespans and cutaneous black spots. Histologically, epidermal and mesenchymal cells had 3-5 µm diameter intranuclear inclusions, necrosis, vacuolation, and/or hyperplasia. The remaining organs were histologically unremarkable.

Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Fellowship Applicants with Greater Research Productivity During Residency are Ranked Higher by Fellowship Programs.

Introduction: Shoulder and elbow surgery fellowships in the United States are recognized for their academic emphasis, yet the correlation between an applicant's research productivity and fellowship match results remains unclear. This study (1) analyzed temporal trends in research productivity among matched fellowship applicants, (2) evaluated the influence of quantity of publications and first authorships on match positions, and (3) investigated program variations in research productivity.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of data from the San Francisco (SF) Match Database for shoulder and elbow surgery applicants matched between 2017 and 2024.

Peripubertal antagonism of corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1 results in sustained changes in behavioral plasticity and the transcriptomic profile of the amygdala.

Peripuberty is a significant period of neurodevelopment with long-lasting effects on the brain and behavior. Blocking type 1 corticotropin-releasing factor receptors (CRFR1) in neonatal and peripubertal rats attenuates detrimental effects of early-life stress on neural plasticity, behavior, and stress hormone action, long after exposure to the drug has ended. CRFR1 antagonism can also impact neural and behavioral development in the absence of stressful stimuli, suggesting sustained alterations under baseline conditions.

Title: Can ChatGPT 4.0 Reliably Answer Patient Frequently Asked Questions About Boxer's Fractures?

Background: Patients are increasingly turning to the internet, and recently artificial intelligence engines (e.g., ChatGPT), for answers to common medical questions.

Prevalence, characteristics, and adverse birth outcomes of teen births in West Virginia: A population-based study.

Study Objective: Despite falling teen birth rates in the United States, there is a disproportionate burden of teen births in rural regions. The study aims to investigate the characteristics of teenage mothers and examine the relationships between teen birth and adverse birth outcomes in the rural Appalachian state of West Virginia (WV).

Methods: Data was obtained from a population-based cohort (Project WATCH) of all singleton live births in WV between May 2018 and April 2023.

The impact of reducing cognitive load in RT and P300 concealed information tests with importance related fillers.

Lukács et al. (2017) enhanced the Reaction Time Concealed Information Test (RT CIT) by incorporating "filler" items. Fillers are intended to increase attention and cognitive load, which should potentially enhance the P300 based CIT (P300-CIT) too.

Evaluation of machine learning models for predicting xerostomia in adults with head and neck cancer during proton and heavy ion radiotherapy.

Background And Purpose: Few studies have examined the factors associated with xerostomia during proton and carbon ion radiotherapy for head and neck cancer (HNC), which are reported to have fewer toxic effects compared to traditional photon-based radiotherapy. This study aims to evaluate the performance of machine learning approaches in predicting grade 2 + xerostomia in adults with HNC receiving proton and carbon ion radiotherapy.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study involving 1,769 adults with HNC who completed proton or carbon ion radiotherapy was conducted.

Higher concentration of trehalose dihydrate stabilizes recombinant IgG1 under forced stress conditions.

Stability of complex biotherapeutics like monoclonal antibodies is paramount for their safe and efficacious use. Excipients are inactive ingredients that are added to the purified product so as to offer it a stable environment. Trehalose dihydrate is a non-reducing sugar that is commonly used as a stabilizing agent in biotherapeutic formulations under liquid and frozen states.

Duration of exposure to eviction moratoria in the early COVID-19 pandemic and perinatal outcomes: a population-level analysis of US births conceived in March-May 2020.

Objective: To estimate associations between the length of state-level eviction moratoria enacted in March and April 2020 in the United States and perinatal outcomes.

Methods: We used data from natality files, 2020-2021 to identify individuals with Medicaid or no insurance who conceived in March-May 2020. The exposure was the number of months exposed to a moratorium (0 (referent, no state-level moratoria), 1-2, 3-4, 5 or more).

Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Tissue Plasminogen Activators (tPA) in Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Intravenous alteplase (ALT) is the standard treatment for acute ischemic stroke (AIS). However, recent trials comparing other tissue plasminogen activators (tPAs) like tenecteplase (TNK) and reteplase with ALT have yielded conflicting results. This necessitated a network meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of various tPAs in AIS patients.

Emerging Concepts in Periprosthetic Joint Infection Research: The Human Microbiome.

Microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, that reside on and within the human body are collectively known as the human microbiome. Dysbiosis, or disruption in the microbiome, has been implicated in several disease processes, including asthma, obesity, autoimmune diseases, and numerous other conditions. While the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) and the generation of descriptive studies it inspired established correlations between characteristic patterns in the composition of the microbiome and specific disease phenotypes, current research has begun to focus on elucidating the causal role of the microbiome in disease pathogenesis.

Two Decades of the Walking While Talking Test: A Narrative Review.

Objectives: Early research reported that older adults who stopped walking when they began a conversation were more likely to fall in the future. As a systematic measure of dual-task performance, Verghese and colleagues developed the Walking While Talking (WWT) test, in which a person walks at a normal pace while reciting alternate letters of the alphabet. The present paper highlights key findings from the 2 decades of research using the WWT test.

Bridging the Gap: Advancing Latine Representation in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Amidst US Demographic Shifts.

The United States is witnessing a demographic transformation, with the Latine population rapidly growing. As the nation's demographics evolve, the underrepresentation of Latine child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) professionals compared to their proportion in the broader population underscores a pressing gap that requires prompt and focused efforts. This discrepancy is particularly concerning given the documented mental health inequities affecting Latine youth.

DNA-binding affinity and specificity determine the phenotypic diversity in BCL11B-related disorders.

BCL11B is a Cys2-His2 zinc-finger (C2H2-ZnF) domain-containing, DNA-binding, transcription factor with established roles in the development of various organs and tissues, primarily the immune and nervous systems. BCL11B germline variants have been associated with a variety of developmental syndromes. However, genotype-phenotype correlations along with pathophysiologic mechanisms of selected variants mostly remain elusive.