Beyond Juul: The New Face of Underage Nicotine Addiction - A Survey of College Students.

Background: Youth nicotine addiction is a major public health concern in the United States. Disposable Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), or disposable vapes, are commonly sought out by youth despite not having received premarket authorization from the FDA. The objective of this study was to identify factors contributing to underage consumption of disposable ENDS.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Long-Term Outcomes among Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder at Opioid Treatment Programs.

Objectives: Racial and ethnic differences in long-term outcomes associated with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are poorly understood.

Methods: The present analyses were based on 751 participants with opioid use disorder (OUD) who were initially recruited from opioid treatment programs located in California, Connecticut, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington and participated in a randomized controlled trial and at least one follow-up interview. 9.

New-onset cardiovascular diseases post SARS-CoV-2 infection in an urban population in the Bronx.

This study investigated the incidence of new-onset cardiovascular disorders up to 3.5 years post SARS-CoV-2 infection for 56,400 individuals with COVID-19 and 1,093,904 contemporary controls without COVID-19 in the Montefiore Health System (03/11/2020 to 07/01/2023). Outcomes were new incidence of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), arrhythmias, inflammatory heart disease, thrombosis, cerebrovascular disorders, ischemic heart disease and other cardiac disorders between 30 days and (up to) 3.

Biopreservation and reversal of oxidative injury during blood storage by a novel curcumin-based gel formulation.

Blood storage lesion induces cytosolic and membrane changes driven in part by hemoglobin (Hb) oxidation reactions within red blood cells (RBCs). A novel gel formulation containing the antioxidant curcuminoids in a biocompatible solvent system was used to deliver curcumin into RBCs. Incubation of peroxide treated RBCs stored in PBS with curcumin gel led to a reduction in prooxidant ferrylHb and recovery in ATP.

Association between blood manganese and cardiovascular diseases among U.S. adult population.

Manganese (Mn) is a known toxicant and an essential trace element, and it plays an important role in various mechanisms in relation to cardiovascular health. However, epidemiological studies of the association between blood Mn and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among U.S.

Transcriptomic and genetic profiling in a spontaneous non-human primate model of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and sudden cardiac death.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) afflicts humans, cats, pigs, and rhesus macaques. Disease sequelae include congestive heart failure, thromboembolism, and sudden cardiac death (SCD). Sarcomeric mutations explain some human and cat cases, however, the molecular basis in rhesus macaques remains unknown.

Prostate-specific antigen testing in the United States during 2008-2022 in relation to the US preventive services task force recommendations.

The prevalence of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing has consistently fallen for several years. This study explored how the decreasing trend differs by selected variables and reasons for taking the PSA test. Analyses involved men, aged 40 years or older, who completed the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey in even number years from 2008 through 2022.

Innate immune memory in chronic HIV and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND): potential mechanisms and clinical implications.

Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically improved the outlook of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, people living with HIV (PLWH) on suppressive therapy are still at higher risk for a range of comorbidities including cardiovascular disease (CVD) and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), among others. Chronic inflammation and immune activation are thought to be an underlying cause of these comorbidities. Many of the factors thought to drive chronic inflammation and immune activation in HIV overlap with factors known to induce trained immunity.

N-mixture models with camera trap imagery produce accurate abundance estimates of ungulates.

Abundance estimates inform ungulate management and recovery efforts. Yet effective and affordable estimation techniques remain absent for most ungulates lacking identifiable marks and inhabiting rugged or highly vegetated terrain. Methods using N-mixture models with camera trap imagery form an appealing solution but remain unvalidated.

Development and validation of a mortality predictive model for ICU patients with primary pulmonary hypertension.

There is a lack of an effective prognostic model for predicting outcomes in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH). A retrospective analysis was conducted on PPH patients from MIMIC and eICU databases. A predictive model was developed to assess mortality risk.

The electricity cost burden of durable medical equipment in the United States.

Those who rely on durable medical equipment (DME) for their health are more likely to be energy insecure and face higher energy burdens than those who do not. In this article, we evaluate the costs of electricity to run DMEs. We find that the average cost across the most common types of high-frequency DMEs-including oxygen concentrators, continuous positive airway pressure machines, and peritoneal kidney dialysis machines-is between $120 and $333 per year, depending on device size and usage frequency.

Nutrient loading as a key cause of short- and long-term anthropogenic ecological degradation of the Salton Sea.

The Salton Sea (SS), California's largest inland lake at 816 square kilometers, formed in 1905 from a levee breach in an area historically characterized by natural wet-dry cycles as Lake Cahuilla. Despite more than a century of untreated agricultural drainage inputs, there has not been a systematic assessment of nutrient loading, cycling, and associated ecological impacts at this iconic waterbody. The lake is now experiencing unprecedented degradation, particularly following the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement-the largest agricultural-to-urban water transfer in the United States.

Correlation between dietary calcium intake and eczema in American adult population.

Eczema is a common chronic skin condition. Previous studies indicated the dietary factors, such as calcium intake, might influence the onset and progression of eczema in the population of gravidas and infants. However, there was no studies on the correlation between dietary calcium and the adult population.

Comparative soil bacterial metabarcoding after aboveground vs. subsurface decomposition of Mus musculus.

Outdoor microcosms, metabarcoding with next-generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA bacterial gene, total body score (TBS) and physicochemical analyses were used to monitor Mus musculus decomposition aboveground (A) and in the subsurface (S), and compared to soil-only controls (C). As determined by MaAsLin2 analysis, significant shifts in bacterial communities at 30 cm depths within the A, S and C treatments distinguished control from experimental soils, and between aboveground and subsurface deposition, demonstrating the potential for gravesoil discrimination during the first 90 days. For example, Dokdonella (p = 0.

Top-down instructions influence the attentional weight on color and shape dimensions during bidimensional search.

Efficient searches are guided by target-distractor distinctiveness: the greater the distinctiveness, the faster the search. Previous research showed that when the target and distractors differ along both color and shape dimensions (i.e.

High-throughput gene expression analysis with TempO-LINC sensitively resolves complex brain, lung and kidney heterogeneity at single-cell resolution.

We report the development and performance of a novel genomics platform, TempO-LINC, for conducting high-throughput transcriptomic analysis on single cells and nuclei. TempO-LINC works by adding cell-identifying molecular barcodes onto highly selective and high-sensitivity gene expression probes within fixed cells, without having to first generate cDNA. Using an instrument-free combinatorial indexing approach, all probes within the same fixed cell receive an identical barcode, enabling the reconstruction of single-cell gene expression profiles across as few as several hundred cells and up to 100,000 + cells per sample.

Utility of quantitative measurement of T using restriction spectrum imaging for detection of clinically significant prostate cancer.

The Restriction Spectrum Imaging restriction score (RSIrs) has been shown to improve the accuracy for diagnosis of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) compared to standard DWI. Both diffusion and T properties of prostate tissue contribute to the signal measured in DWI, and studies have demonstrated that each may be valuable for distinguishing csPCa from benign tissue. The purpose of this retrospective study was to (1) determine whether prostate T varies across RSI compartments and in the presence of csPCa, and (2) evaluate whether csPCa detection with RSIrs is improved by acquiring multiple scans at different TEs to measure compartmental T (cT).

Concordance and test-retest consistency of sleep biomarker-based neurodegenerative disorder profiling.

Biomarkers that aid in early detection of neurodegeneration are needed to enable early symptomatic treatment and enable identification of people who may benefit from neuroprotective interventions. Increasing evidence suggests that sleep biomarkers may be useful, given the bi-directional relationship between sleep and neurodegeneration and the prominence of sleep disturbances and altered sleep architectural characteristics in several neurodegenerative disorders. This study aimed to demonstrate that sleep can accurately characterize specific neurodegenerative disorders (NDD).

Revisiting the Rytov approximation in diffuse optics and its applications for the inverse and forward problems.

We propose an overview of the Rytov approximation in diffuse optics of biological tissues, for the inverse and forward problems. First, we show a physical interpretation of the Rytov approximation as a type of partial pathlength (named fluence rate partial pathlength) which is distinct from the usual partial pathlength for reflectance measurements. Second, we study the accuracy of the Rytov approximation for the calculation of Jacobians considering absorption perturbations and reflectance measurements.

Active plasma sterilizer for planetary protection and contamination control for space missions.

This paper introduces a novel, compact plasma sterilization system, the Active Plasma Sterilizer (APS), for planetary protection space missions. The development of the APS system is done through iterative testing and design modifications aimed at addressing decontamination modalities for time and temperature, cleaning adhesive surfaces, and cleaning protocols beyond alcohol and bleach. Decontamination testing of Deinococcus radiodurans, Geobacillus stearothermophilus (spore forming bacteria), and Aspergillus fumigatus (fungi) was verified for the APS on relevant materials of 4 to 5 log reduction up to complete killing in 45 min or less.

Correlation of the weight-adjusted waist circumference index with Klotho in the United States: differences by sex.

The relationship between the weight-adjusted waist circumference index (WWI) and the senescence-inhibitory protein Klotho remains unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between WWI and soluble Klotho (s-Klotho). This study analyzed 9,928 participants based on the 2007-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Pharmacological inactivation of a non-canonical gp130 signaling arm attenuates chronic systemic inflammation and multimorbidity induced by a high-fat diet.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a major pro-inflammatory cytokine that demonstrates a robust correlation with age and body mass index (BMI) as part of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. IL-6 cytokines also play a crucial role in metabolic homeostasis and regenerative processes primarily via the canonical STAT3 pathway. Thus, selective modulation of IL-6 signaling may offer a unique opportunity for therapeutic interventions.

HDL-C is inversely associated with the incidence of osteoarthritis among the USA: evidence from the NHANES program of 1999-2020.

Osteoarthritis (OA) has been the most common arthritis affecting public health all over the world. Previous experimental research reported that increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, along with decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol may be associated with increased ectopic bone formation and possible knee OA, while clinical evidence is absent. This study aimed to investigate the association between blood high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and OA.

AOH1996 targets mitochondrial dynamics and metabolism in leukemic stem cells via mitochondrial PCNA inhibition.

Cytoplasmic proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is highly expressed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells, supporting oxidative metabolism and leukemia stem cell (LSC) growth. We report on AOH1996 (AOH), an oral compound targeting cancer-associated PCNA, which shows significant antileukemic activity. AOH inhibited growth in AML cell lines and primary CD34 + CD38 - blasts (LSC-enriched) in vitro while sparing normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs).

Swab Testing to Optimize Pneumonia treatment with empiric Vancomycin (STOP-Vanc): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Vancomycin, an antibiotic with activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), is frequently included in empiric treatment for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) despite the fact that MRSA is rarely implicated in CAP. Conducting polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing on nasal swabs to identify the presence of MRSA colonization has been proposed as an antimicrobial stewardship intervention to reduce the use of vancomycin. Observational studies have shown reductions in vancomycin use after implementation of MRSA colonization testing, and this approach has been adopted by CAP guidelines.