Role of YAP1 Signaling in Biliary Development, Repair, and Disease.

Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) is a transcriptional coactivator that activates transcriptional enhanced associate domain transcription factors upon inactivation of the Hippo signaling pathway, to regulate biological processes like proliferation, survival, and differentiation. YAP1 is most prominently expressed in biliary epithelial cells (BECs) in normal adult livers and during development. In the current review, we will discuss the multiple roles of YAP1 in the development and morphogenesis of bile ducts inside and outside the liver, as well as in orchestrating the cholangiocyte repair response to biliary injury.

Pilot Verification of a Novel Approach to Remove Electrophoretic Interference of the Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibody Daratumumab.

Introduction: The advent of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (tmAbs) in treatment of multiple myeloma poses unique challenges for the clinical laboratory. These tmAbs may appear as a detectable monoclonal protein by electrophoretic methods resulting in misinterpretation or inability to measure therapeutic responses in some patients, and there are currently limited techniques for identifying interference. In this study we performed a preliminary assessment of the SPIFE anti-daratumumab (SPIFE anti-Dara) reagent to determine whether it would be a feasible aid in resolving the interference of tmAbs with serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) and immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE).

Mitigation of portal fibrosis and cholestatic liver disease in ANKS6-deficient livers by macrophage depletion.

Congenital hepatic fibrosis (CHF) is a developmental liver disease that is caused by mutations in genes that encode ciliary proteins and is characterized by bile duct dysplasia and portal fibrosis. Recent work has demonstrated that mutations in ANKS6 can cause CHF due to its role in bile duct development. Here, we report a novel ANKS6 mutation, which was identified in an infant presenting with neonatal jaundice due to underlying biliary abnormalities and liver fibrosis.

Underinsurance Among Children in the United States.

Objectives: We describe the change in the percentage of children lacking continuous and adequate health insurance (underinsurance) from 2016 to 2019. We also examine the relationships between child health complexity and insurance type with underinsurance.

Methods: Secondary analysis of US children in the National Survey of Children's Health combined 2016-2019 dataset who had continuous and adequate health insurance.

Maribavir for Refractory Cytomegalovirus Infections With or Without Resistance Post-Transplant: Results From a Phase 3 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Therapies for refractory cytomegalovirus infections (with or without resistance [R/R]) in transplant recipients are limited by toxicities. Maribavir has multimodal anti-cytomegalovirus activity through the inhibition of UL97 protein kinase.

Methods: In this phase 3, open-label study, hematopoietic-cell and solid-organ transplant recipients with R/R cytomegalovirus were randomized 2:1 to maribavir 400 mg twice daily or investigator-assigned therapy (IAT; valganciclovir/ganciclovir, foscarnet, or cidofovir) for 8 weeks, with 12 weeks of follow-up.

Adaptation and genomic erosion in fragmented Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations in the sinuses of people with cystic fibrosis.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa notoriously adapts to the airways of people with cystic fibrosis (CF), yet how infection-site biogeography and associated evolutionary processes vary as lifelong infections progress remains unclear. Here we test the hypothesis that early adaptations promoting aggregation influence evolutionary-genetic trajectories by examining longitudinal P. aeruginosa from the sinuses of six adults with CF.

Development and validation of a one year predictive model for secondary fractures in osteoporosis.

The number of osteoporosis-related fractures in the United States is no longer declining. Existing risk-based assessment tools focus on long-term risk. Payers and prescribers need additional tools to identify patients at risk for imminent fracture.

Tuberculosis of the rare azygos lobe of the right lung.

is the etiological agent of tuberculosis in humans. Tuberculosis is not only a highly contagious infectious disease, but also one of the top causes of death globally, especially in developing countries. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, and tuberculosis of the azygos lobe of the lung is extremely rare.

Detection of in a case of acute osteomyelitis.

Enterococci are important microorganisms of the gut microbiome in many mammals and cause millions of infections annually. An increasing resistance to antibiotics has led to their emergence as superinfecting nosocomial pathogens in humans. is rarely identified in humans.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Versus Influenza in Hospitalized Adult Patients in the United States: Differences in Demographic and Severity Indicators.

Background: Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is frequently compared with influenza. The Hospitalized Adult Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Network (HAIVEN) conducts studies on the etiology and characteristics of U.S.

Acute Respiratory Illnesses in Children in the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Prospective Multicenter Study.

Objectives: Nonpharmaceutical interventions against coronavirus disease 2019 likely have a role in decreasing viral acute respiratory illnesses (ARIs). We aimed to assess the frequency of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza ARIs before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Methods: This study was a prospective, multicenter, population-based ARI surveillance, including children seen in the emergency departments and inpatient settings in 7 US cities for ARI.

Diagnostic Tests for COVID-19.

The diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has ramifications on both an individual level and a public health level. The use of appropriate testing mechanisms is paramount to preventing transmission, along with offering treatment to those who are infected and show appropriate symptomatology. The choice of employing a specific test often relies on laboratory capabilities, including the abilities of the medical technologists, the cost of testing platforms, and the individual quirks of each test.

Magnetic resonance imaging-derived proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) is a viable alternative to liver biopsy for steatosis quantification in living liver donor transplantation.

This study aimed to investigate whether magnetic resonance imaging-derived proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) can be a viable noninvasive alternative to liver biopsy for the quantification of living liver donor steatosis. Hepatic steatosis for 143 donors was graded by MRI-PDFF. Study endpoints included liver volume regeneration in donors, recipient outcomes including length of hospital stay, deaths, primary non-function (PNF), early allograft dysfunction (EAD), and small for size syndrome (SFSS).

Multifocus Thermal Strain Imaging Using a Curved Linear Array Transducer for Identification of Lipids in Deep Tissue.

Thermal strain imaging (TSI) is an ultrasound-based imaging technique intended primarily for diseases in which lipid accumulation is the main biomarker. The goal of the research described here was to successfully implement TSI on a single, commercially available curved linear array transducer for heating and imaging of organs at a deeper depth. For an effective temperature rise of the tissue over a large area, which is key to TSI performance, an innovative multifocus beamforming approach was applied.

β-Catenin Activation in Hepatocellular Cancer: Implications in Biology and Therapy.

Hepatocellular cancer (HCC), the most common primary liver tumor, has been gradually growing in incidence globally. The whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing of HCC has led to an improved understanding of the molecular drivers of this tumor type. Activation of the Wnt signaling pathway, mostly due to stabilizing missense mutations in its downstream effector β-catenin (encoded by ) or loss-of-function mutations in (the gene which encodes for Axin-1, an essential protein for β-catenin degradation), are seen in a major subset of HCC.

One year into the pandemic: Short-term evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and emergence of new lineages.

The COVID-19 pandemic was officially declared on March 11, 2020. Since the very beginning, the spread of the virus has been tracked nearly in real-time by worldwide genome sequencing efforts. As of March 2021, more than 830,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes have been uploaded in GISAID and this wealth of data allowed researchers to study the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 during this first pandemic year.

wound infection in a burn patient.

Burns are one of the most common and devastating forms of trauma. Burns are a significant problem with high associated morbidity and mortality worldwide. Burn wound infection is a serious complication, which plays an important role in increasing the overall fatality rate in burn patients.

NHLBI-CMREF Workshop Report on Pulmonary Vascular Disease Classification: JACC State-of-the-Art Review.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the Cardiovascular Medical Research and Education Fund held a workshop on the application of pulmonary vascular disease omics data to the understanding, prevention, and treatment of pulmonary vascular disease. Experts in pulmonary vascular disease, omics, and data analytics met to identify knowledge gaps and formulate ideas for future research priorities in pulmonary vascular disease in line with National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Strategic Vision goals. The group identified opportunities to develop analytic approaches to multiomic datasets, to identify molecular pathways in pulmonary vascular disease pathobiology, and to link novel phenotypes to meaningful clinical outcomes.

Unexpected Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Replication Kinetics in CMV Donor-Seropositive, Recipient-Seronegative Liver Transplant Recipients Receiving Preemptive Antiviral Therapy.

Background: Detailed cytomegalovirus (CMV) kinetics in donor CMV-seropositive, recipient CMV-seronegative (D+/R-) transplant recipients receiving preemptive therapy (PET) have not been fully defined.

Methods: The study population consisted of the PET arm of a randomized CMV prevention trial in D+/R- liver transplant recipients. CMV DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were performed weekly for 100 days using a sensitive assay.

A rare case of polymicrobial brain abscess involving .

Brain abscess is a focal intracranial infection that may present as a life-threatening emergency. Brain abscess can present with a wide range of clinical syndromes, and it results in high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Here we describe a rare case of the polymicrobial right parietal brain abscess, especially associated with in a 59-year-old male who presented with acute onset of left-sided weakness and altered mental status.

Association of HHV-6 With Outcomes in CMV-seronegative Liver Transplant Recipients With CMV-seropositive Donors Receiving Preemptive Antiviral Therapy.

Background: Risk factors, virological parameters, and outcomes associated with HHV-6 viremia in high-risk donor CMV-seropositive and recipient CMV-seronegative (D+R-) liver transplant recipients in the current era are incompletely defined.

Methods: The study population consisted of patients in the preemptive therapy (PET) arm of a randomized, controlled trial of PET versus valganciclovir prophylaxis for CMV prevention in D+R- liver transplant recipients. Weekly blood samples through 100 d in the PET group were tested for HHV-6 viremia using a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

An exploratory assessment of stretch-induced transmural myocardial fiber kinematics in right ventricular pressure overload.

Right ventricular (RV) remodeling and longitudinal fiber reorientation in the setting of pulmonary hypertension (PH) affects ventricular structure and function, eventually leading to RV failure. Characterizing the kinematics of myocardial fibers helps better understanding the underlying mechanisms of fiber realignment in PH. In the current work, high-frequency ultrasound imaging and structurally-informed finite element (FE) models were employed for an exploratory evaluation of the stretch-induced kinematics of RV fibers.