Characterizing Microglial Signaling Dynamics During Inflammation Using Single-Cell Mass Cytometry.

Microglia play a critical role in maintaining central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis and display remarkable plasticity in their response to inflammatory stimuli. However, the specific signaling profiles that microglia adopt during such challenges remain incompletely understood. Traditional transcriptomic approaches provide valuable insights, but fail to capture dynamic post-translational changes.

Astrocyte Loss Augments Body Weight Through Reduction in Adipose Sympathetic Outflows.

Emerging evidence indicates that astrocytes modulate energy metabolism and homeostasis. However, one important but poorly understood element is the necessity of astrocytes in the control of body weight. Here, we apply viral vector-assisted brain-region selective loss of astrocytes to define physiological roles played by astrocytes in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH) and to elucidate the involved mechanism.

Evaluating compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1540 on nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

On April 28, 2004, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540. It requires countries to develop and enforce legal and regulatory measures against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and their means of delivery, with a focus on the spread to nonstate actors. To date, compliance with UNSCR 1540 has been challenging.

Statistical methods to adjust for the effects on intervention compliance in randomized clinical trials where precision treatment rules are being developed.

Background: Heterogeneity of treatment effects (HTEs) can occur because of either differential treatment compliance or differential treatment effectiveness. This distinction is important, as it has action implications, but it is unclear how to distinguish these two possibilities statistically in precision treatment analysis given that compliance is not observed until after randomization. We review available statistical methods and illustrate a recommended method in secondary analysis in a trial focused on HTE.

Morphological Features Influence the Drug Loading and Delivery Efficacy of Photoactivatable Gold Nanocarriers for Antitumor Photo/Chemotherapy.

Photoactivatable gold nanocarriers are transforming antitumor therapies by leveraging their distinctive physicochemical properties, enabling targeted drug delivery and enhanced therapeutic efficacy in cancer treatment. This study systematically investigates how surface topography and morphology of gold nanocarriers influence drug loading capacity, light-to-heat conversion efficiency, and overall therapeutic performance in photo/chemotherapy. We synthesized four distinct morphologies of gold nanoparticles: porous gold nanocups (PAuNCs), porous gold nanospheres (PAuNSs), solid gold nanocups (SAuNCs), and solid gold nanospheres (SAuNSs).

Multifunctional Cyclized Polyacrylonitrile (cPAN) as a Coating for Sb-Based Anodes in Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Conversion electrodes, such as antimony (Sb), are high energy density electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries (NIBs). These materials are limited in their performance due to the mechanical instability of these systems resulting from volume expansion of the material during cycling. Stabilizing conversion materials using a conductive polymer binder (CPB) protective layer is an effective way to enhance the performance of these materials.

Flood-driven survival and growth of dominant C grasses helps set their distributions along tallgrass prairie moisture gradients.

Premise: Five C grasses (Bouteloua curtipendula, Schizachyrium scoparium, Andropogon gerardii, Sorghastrum nutans, Spartina pectinata) dominate different portions of a moisture gradient from dry to wet tallgrass prairies in the Upper Midwest of the United States. We hypothesized that their distributions may partly reflect differences in flooding tolerance and context-specific growth relative to each other.

Methods: We tested these ideas with greenhouse flooding and drought experiments, outdoor mesocosm experiments, and a natural experiment involving a month-long flood in two wet-mesic prairies.

Prevention and Management of Infectious Complications in Pediatric Patients With Cancer: A Survey Assessment of Current Practices Across Children's Oncology Group Institutions.

Introduction: While clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for pediatric oncology infection prophylaxis and management exist, few data describe actual management occurring at pediatric oncology centers.

Methods: An electronic survey querying infection management practices in nontransplant pediatric oncology patients was iteratively created by the Children's Oncology Group (COG) Cancer Control and Supportive Care Infectious Diseases Subcommittee and sent to leaders at all COG institutions, limiting each site to one response to represent their institution.

Results: The response rate was 57% (129/227 institutions).

Determinants of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use among men who have sex with men (MSM) living in rural areas of the United States: A scoping review framed by the PrEP care continuum.

Background: HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a highly effective intervention to prevent HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM). Despite its effectiveness, PrEP uptake and adherence among MSM in the United States remain suboptimal, particularly in rural areas.

Objective: The present study presents a scoping review of the self-reported barriers and facilitators of PrEP use among MSM living in rural areas of the United States.

Sexualized drug use factors among rural sexual minority men.

Purpose: Although rural sexual minority men (SMM) use substances immediately before/during sex (i.e., sexualized drug use), the factors contributing to this behavior are unknown.

Effort-reward imbalance among dental and dental hygiene faculty and turnover intention.

Purpose: The impact of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) on the decision to leave academia among dental and dental hygiene faculty in the United States (US) has yet to be explored. This study examined the effect of effort, reward, and overcommitment on turnover intention to leave academia in dental and dental hygiene faculty in the US.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey research design was conducted with a convenience sample of dental hygiene and dental faculty (n = 273) currently teaching in the US.

Association Between County-Level Social Vulnerability and CDC-funded HIV Testing Program Outcomes in the United States, 2020-2022.

Background: Community-level social vulnerabilities may affect HIV outcomes. This analysis assessed the association between county-level social vulnerability and CDC-funded HIV testing program outcomes.

Setting: HIV testing data from 60 state and local health departments and 119 community-based organizations were submitted to CDC during 2020-2022.

Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Care for HIV Prevention.

Background: HIV continues to disproportionately impact men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States (US). Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective, but disparities persist. Limited studies have conducted systematic evaluations of social determinants of health (SDOH) and their effects on PrEP persistence among MSM.

Potential gains in PrEP coverage and effect on racial disparities following introduction of on-demand and long-acting injectable PrEP: Preferences of men who have sex with men in the United States, 2021-2022.

Introduction: There are persistent race- and ethnicity-based disparities in HIV incidence among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in the United States, partially driven by inequities in distribution of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We assessed how additional modalities of PrEP beyond daily oral might affect uptake of PrEP and ongoing disparities in HIV incidence in the US.

Methods: In an online survey of GBMSM in the US, we presented participants with descriptions of each PrEP modality.

ONC213: a novel strategy to resensitize resistant AML cells to venetoclax through induction of mitochondrial stress.

Background: Venetoclax + azacitidine is a frontline treatment for older adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and a salvage therapy for relapsed/refractory patients who have been treated with intensive chemotherapy. While this is an important treatment option, many patients fail to achieve complete remission and of those that do, majority relapse. Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) are believed to be responsible for AML relapse and can be targeted through oxidative phosphorylation reduction.

Clinical characteristics of hospitalized male adolescents and young adults with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID).

Background: Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) may result in significant medical sequelae. Compared to youth with eating disorders like anorexia nervosa (AN), youth with ARFID tend to be younger and are more likely to be male. We aim to describe sex differences in clinical characteristics of youth hospitalized for medical complications of ARFID and compare their characteristics with youth hospitalized for anorexia nervosa.

Infection with Toxoplasma gondii triggers coagulation at the blood-brain barrier and a reduction in cerebral blood flow.

Background: Immunothrombosis is the process by which the coagulation cascade interacts with the innate immune system to control infection. However, the formation of clots within the brain vasculature can be detrimental to the host. Recent work has demonstrated that Toxoplasma gondii infects and lyses central nervous system (CNS) endothelial cells that form the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

Zoonosis: social and environmental connections in the Mexico-United States border region.

The emerging risks facing humanity have highlighted the need to address and prevent challenges through multilateral preventive strategies. The Mexico-United States (US) border is a region with great biological biodiversity and both countries shared a similar history and intense socioeconomic, and cultural interrelationships. Also, it has an extraordinary ecological contrast, resulting in an enormous biological diversity in a broad Nearctic-Neotropical transition zone.

Effectiveness of digital health applications on the quality of life in patients with overweight or obesity: a systematic review.

Background: Globally, more than half of the adult population is overweight, including those who are obese, which increases the risk of premature death and reduces quality of life (QoL). Technologies such as digital health applications (DiHA) can potentially improve clinical outcomes (e.g.

Post-marketing safety concerns with lecanemab: a pharmacovigilance study based on the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System database.

Background: The safety data of lecanemab in the post-marketing period has yet to be fully investigated in the current literature. We aimed to identify and characterise the safety profile of lecanemab in the post-marketing period.

Methods: We searched and reviewed the reports submitted to the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

Sexual dimorphism in lung transcriptomic adaptations in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Current fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) studies primarily focus on alcohol's actions on the fetal brain although respiratory infections are a leading cause of morbidity/mortality in newborns. The limited studies examining the pulmonary adaptations in FASD demonstrate decreased surfactant protein A and alveolar macrophage phagocytosis, impaired differentiation, and increased risk of Group B streptococcal pneumonia with no study examining sexual dimorphism in adaptations. We hypothesized that developmental alcohol exposure in pregnancy will lead to sexually dimorphic fetal lung morphological and immune adaptations.

Inflammatory markers link triglyceride-glucose index and obesity indicators with adverse cardiovascular events in patients with hypertension: insights from three cohorts.

Background: Among hypertensive cohorts across different nations, the relationship between the triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) and its conjunction with obesity metrics in relation to cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and mortality remains to be elucidated.

Methods: This study enrolled 9,283, 164,357, and 5,334 hypertensives from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), UK Biobank (UKBB), and Shanghai Pudong cohort. The related outcomes for CVD were defined by multivariate Cox proportional hazards models, Generalized Additive Models and Mendelian randomization analysis.

Association between the C-reactive protein-triglyceride-glucose index and endometriosis: a cross-sectional study using data from the national health and nutrition examination survey, 1996-2006.

Background: The C-reactive protein-triglyceride glucose index (CTI) is a promising new marker for evaluating the severity of inflammation. Endometriosis (EM) is a prevalent chronic inflammatory condition influenced by estrogen, primarily affecting women of reproductive age. However, no study has demonstrated an association between the CTI and EM.

The associations between the energy and timing of sugar-sweetened beverage intake and phenotypic age acceleration in U.S. adults: a cross-sectional survey of NHANES 2007-2010.

Objectives: The relationship between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake and phenotypic age acceleration (PhenoAgeAccel) is unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between the energy and timing of SSB intake and PhenoAgeAccel in adults.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2010, which involved U.

Perceived wildfire risk and past experiences with wildfire smoke influence public support for prescribed burning in the western conterminous United States.

Background: Prescribed burning is an important fuel management tool to prevent severe wildfires. There is a pressing need to increase its application to reduce dry fuels in the western United States, a region that has experienced many damaging wildfires. Public support for this practice is tempered by concern around smoke impacts and escape risks.