Priming and release of cytokine IL-1β in microglial cells from the retina.

The P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) for extracellular ATP is implicated in several forms of retinal degeneration, including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma. P2X7R stimulation can trigger release of master cytokine IL-1β from microglia in the brain and from macrophages, but evidence of release from retinal microglia is indirect. Isolated mouse and rat retinal microglia, and wholemounts from CX3CR1 mice, were examined to determine if ATP induced IL-1β release directly from retinal microglial cells and if it also primed expression of IL-1β on an mRNA and protein level.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Exposure in the U.S. Population: NHANES 1999-March 2020.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as "forever chemicals" because of their persistence in the environment, have been used in many commercial applications since the 1940s. Of late, the detection of PFAS in drinking water throughout the United States has raised public and scientific concerns. To understand PFAS exposure trends in the general U.

Skeletal muscle disorders as risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

The incidence and prevalence of muscular disorders and of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is increasing and both represent highly significant healthcare problems, both economically and compromising quality of life. Interestingly, skeletal muscle dysfunction and T2D share some commonalities including dysregulated glucose homeostasis, increased oxidative stress, dyslipidemia, and cytokine alterations. Several lines of evidence have hinted to a relationship between skeletal muscle dysfunction and T2D.

Development of a health equity tool in resuscitation sciences and application to current research in extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for cardiac arrest.

Background: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is increasingly used for adults with cardiac arrest (CA) refractory to Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS). Concerns exist that adding ECPR could worsen health inequities, defined as differences in health outcomes that are unfair or unjust. Current guidelines do not explicitly address this issue.

Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Uterus Transplantation versus Gestational Carrier for Treatment of Absolute Uterine Factor Infertility.

Importance: Patients with uterine factor infertility (UFI) have few options for family building. Uterus transplant is a feasible treatment for some patients; however, cost remains a significant concern.

Objective: To compare the cost effectiveness of treatment for patients with absolute uterine factor infertility to achieve 1-2 singleton births by gestational carrier or uterus transplant DESIGN: Decision analysis from the United States healthcare sector perspective, with time horizons to achieve one or two singleton births.

Preconception GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Use Associated with Decreased Risk for Adverse Obstetric Outcomes.

Background: The use of glucagon-like-peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) has greatly increased in patients of reproductive age within the past four years. However, there is minimal research into the long-term impact of these medications on future pregnancies.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the association between adverse obstetric outcomes and antecedent GLP-1RA use using a nationally representative database.

Cellulose-based poly(ionic liquid)s: Correlations between degree of substitution and alkyl side chain length with conductive and morphological properties.

Ion transport in solid polymer electrolytes is crucial for applications like energy conversion and storage, as well as carbon dioxide capture. However, most of the materials studied in this area are petroleum-based. Natural materials (biopolymers) have the potential to act as alternatives to petroleum-based products and, when derived with ionic liquid (IL) functionalities, present a sustainable alternative for conductive materials by offering tunable morphological, thermal, and mechanical properties.

A new Mediterranean Lifestyle Pyramid for children and youth: a critical lifestyle tool for preventing obesity and associated cardiometabolic diseases in a sustainable context.

Cardiovascular risk factors begin in childhood and track into adulthood, increasing the possibility of impaired cardiometabolic health. Adopting healthy dietary patterns can help curb childhood obesity, a worrisome epidemic problem at present. In the era of personalized nutrition, dietary recommendations should be adapted to different stages of life, including children (older than 3 years) and adolescents.

Survival Among Patients Treated with Total Mesorectal Excision or Selective Watch-and-Wait After Total Neoadjuvant Therapy: A Pooled Analysis of the CAO/ARO/AIO-12 and OPRA Randomized Phase II Trials.

Background: Prospective data comparing watch-and-wait (WW) to mandatory total mesorectal excision (TME) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) remains limited, as randomized control trials assessing these two treatment approaches are considered impractical. This pooled analysis of the CAO/ARO/AIO-12 and OPRA trials analyzes survival outcomes among LARC patients managed with either a selective WW or mandatory TME strategy following total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT).

Patients And Methods: The CAO/ARO/AIO-12 and OPRA trials were multicenter, phase II trials that randomized patients with stage II/III rectal cancer to receive either induction or consolidation chemotherapy as part of TNT.

Therapeutic novelties in acute heart failure and practical perspectives.

Acute Heart Failure (AHF) is a leading cause of death and represents the most frequent cause of unplanned hospital admission in patients older than 65 years. Since the past decade, several randomized clinical trials have highlighted the importance and pivotal role of certain therapeutics, including decongestion by the combination of loop diuretics, the need for rapid goal-directed medical therapies implementation before discharge, risk stratification, and early follow-up after discharge therapies. Cardiogenic shock, defined as sustained hypotension with tissue hypoperfusion due to low cardiac output and congestion, is the most severe form of AHF and mainly occurs after acute myocardial infarction, which can progress to multiple organ failure.

Safety and Effectiveness of Microwave Ablation of Liver Tumors. Initial Real-World Results from the Multinational NOLA Registry.

Purpose: To investigate the safety and effectiveness of microwave ablation (MWA) for treating liver tumors using real-world data from a multicenter registry (NOLA: NEUWAVE Observational Liver Ablation).

Materials And Methods: NOLA is approved to enroll up to 1,500 adults treated with MWA and follow them for five years. Initial data for 615 patients treated across 24 tertiary healthcare centers in the United States (14), Europe (8), and Asia (2), from January 2020 to October 2022, are summarized herein.

Lymphatic Embolization for Primary Genital Lymphorrhea and Chylous Reflux-Related Lower Limb Lymphedema.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of lymphatic embolization for primary genital lymphorrhea.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who underwent lymphatic embolization for primary genital lymphorrhea and/or lower limb lymphedema between May 2016 and January 2022 at three specialized lymphatic centers. Following radiological evaluation of genital lymphorrhea, affected lymphatic vessels were selectively embolized to occlude abnormal lymphatic flow using a mixture of N-butyl cyanoacrylate glue and ethiodized oil.

Robotic versus manual disinfection of global priority pathogens at COVID-19 dedicated hospitals.

Background: Twelve bacterial families were identified as global priority pathogens by the World Health Organization in 2017, recognizing the greatest threat they pose to human health and the declining antibiotic efficacy. Robotics has emerged as a swift and contactless tool for disinfecting bacterial surface contamination in healthcare facilities, however, head-to-head comparison of disinfection efficacy of robotic versus manual disinfections is limited. This study aimed at comparing how robotic disinfection performs over manual disinfection against the global priority pathogens in the healthcare setting.

Simulation of 24,000 Electron Dynamics: Real-Time Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT) with the Real-Space Multigrids (RMG).

We present the theory, implementation, and benchmarking of a real-time time-dependent density functional theory (RT-TDDFT) module within the RMG code, designed to simulate the electronic response of molecular systems to external perturbations. Our method offers insights into nonequilibrium dynamics and excited states across a diverse range of systems, from small organic molecules to large metallic nanoparticles. Benchmarking results demonstrate excellent agreement with established TDDFT implementations and showcase the superior stability of our time integration algorithm, enabling long-term simulations with minimal energy drift.

Online analysis of Amazon's soils through reflectance spectroscopy and cloud computing can support policies and the sustainable development.

Analyzing soil in large and remote areas such as the Amazon River Basin (ARB) is unviable when it is entirely performed by wet labs using traditional methods due to the scarcity of labs and the significant workforce requirements, increasing costs, time, and waste. Remote sensing, combined with cloud computing, enhances soil analysis by modeling soil from spectral data and overcoming the limitations of traditional methods. We verified the potential of soil spectroscopy in conjunction with cloud-based computing to predict soil organic carbon (SOC) and particle size (sand, silt, and clay) content from the Amazon region.

Functional movement disorders in dopa-responsive dystonia.

Background: Functional neurological movement disorders are common and disabling. Little is known about their coexistence with other non-functional movement disorders and their impact on the general disease burden.

Objectives: Investigating frequency and characteristics of functional movement disorders in GCH1-positive dopa-responsive dystonia patients.

The bidirectional relationship between pain and tobacco use: Insights from the longitudinal Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study.

Background: Tobacco smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death, whereas chronic pain is the leading cause of disability. Chronic pain and tobacco smoking are closely interrelated. We investigated whether pain predicts daily cigarette smoking and if daily cigarette smoking predicts the development of pain.

Real-world evidence of yellow Fever vaccination data-driven study.

Yellow Fever (YF), a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by yellow fever virus (YFV), remains endemic in tropical Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. The 17D live-attenuated vaccine has significantly reduced YF incidence with minimal risk of vaccine-associated adverse events, including Yellow Fever Vaccine-fever-associated Neurotropic Disease (YEL-AND) and Yellow Fever Vaccine-Associated Viscerotropic Disease (YEL-AVD). This study investigates the potential of Real-World Evidence (RWE) to enhance vaccine surveillance by analyzing electronic health records (EHRs) from the TriNetX platform, which identified a total of 15,835 individuals who were vaccinated with the Stamaril® YF vaccine between 2017 and 2021 in the United States.

Immunoglobulin E, the potential accelerator of comorbid psoriasis and atherosclerosis.

Immunoglobulin (Ig) E is a key mediator in the induction and maintenance of allergic inflammation, characterized by a Th2-dominated immune response. Recently epidemiological studies have showed that elevated serum total IgE levels or an increased abundance of mast cells (MCs) at the lesion site are observed in psoriatic patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), such as atherosclerosis. Although the underlying mechanisms by which IgE synergizing with MCs in promoting these chronic immune-inflammatory diseases remain unclear, the interleukin (IL)-23/IL-17 axis appears to play a crucial role in comorbidity of psoriasis and atherosclerosis.

Development of a drug allergy alert tiering algorithm for penicillins and cephalosporins.

Introduction: Limited research is available regarding recommendations about which drug allergy alerts (DAAs) in clinical decision support (CDS) systems should interrupt provider workflow. The objective was to evaluate the frequency of penicillin and cephalosporin DAA overrides at two institutions. A secondary objective was to redesign DAAs using a new tiered alerting system based on patient factors.

Increasing thigh extension with haptic feedback affects leg coordination in young and older adult walkers.

Interlimb coordination can be used as a metric to study the response of the neuromuscular system to mechanical perturbations and behavioral information. Behavioral information providing haptic feedback on thigh angle has been shown to increase stride length and consequently walking speed, but the effect of such feedback on limb coordination has not been determined. The current work investigates the effects of this feedback on lower-limb coordination and examines if such effects are dependent on the age of the walker.

The impact of ACOG's 39-week rule on fetal death rates in the United States: A systematic review.

Objective: The "39-week rule," implemented in August 2009, strongly discouraged early term deliveries before 39 weeks without accepted ACOG delivery indications. In this study, we evaluated fetal death rates before and after the 39-week rule in the United States (US) by review of published series.

Study Design: Systematic literature searches were performed in PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, and Scopus databases (January 2009-June 2023).

Powering well-being: Energy independence and mental health in a zone of ongoing disasters.

The archipelago of Puerto Rico has faced multiple natural disasters, including hurricanes and earthquakes, disrupting the mental health and daily lives of its residents. These disasters, combined with socio-political abandonment, have led to the deterioration of the electrical grid, exacerbating health disparities. This study aimed to explore the linkages between natural and structural disasters, mental health, and energy independence in Puerto Rico.