Novel CO loaded nanoparticle ultrasound-activated contrast agent: A potential urinary catheter-free modality to detect vesicoureteral reflux.

Background: The current gold-standard for detecting vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is the voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG). However, VCUGs require ionizing radiation and bladder catheterization that can be challenging to perform and traumatic for pediatric patients and their parents.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of a novel urinary catheter-free modality for diagnosing VUR using in vitro and ex vivo models.

A longitudinal study of functional brain complexity in progressive Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Cross-sectional resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) studies have revealed altered complexity with advanced Alzheimer's disease (AD) stages. The current study conducted longitudinal rsfMRI complexity analyses in AD.

Methods: Linear mixed-effects (LME) models were implemented to evaluate altered rates of disease progression in complexity across disease groups.

Cathepsin-D and outcomes in peripartum cardiomyopathy: Results from IPAC.

Objective: Evaluate the relationship of cathepsin-D (CD) on disease severity and clinical outcomes for women with peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Background: Cathepsin-D is a protease released during oxidative stress that cleaves prolactin (PRL) generating a 16 kDa fragment that is pro-apoptotic, anti-angiogenic, and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM).

Methods: In 99 women with newly diagnosed PPCM enrolled in the Investigation in Pregnancy Associated Cardiomyopathy (IPAC) study, CD levels were assessed by ELISA from serum obtained at study entry.

Symbiont Community Changes Confer Fitness Benefits for Larvae in a Vertically Transmitting Coral.

Coral reefs worldwide are threatened by increasing ocean temperatures because of the sensitivity of the coral-algal symbiosis to thermal stress. Reef-building corals form symbiotic relationships with dinoflagellates (family Symbiodiniaceae), including those species which acquire their initial symbiont complement predominately from their parents. Changes in the composition of symbiont communities, through the mechanisms of symbiont shuffling or switching, can modulate the host's thermal limits.

Access to Hearing Healthcare and Barriers Among United States Veterans: A Survey-Based Study.

Objective: We investigated use of hearing care among US veterans and explore motivations, barriers, and adherence to hearing healthcare.

Study Design: Cross-sectional online survey.

Setting: US Veterans.

Impacts of informant replacement in two industry-sponsored Alzheimer's disease clinical trials.

Introduction: In Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical trials, participants must enroll with a study partner informant who completes validated study instruments. We hypothesized that mid-trial informant replacement impacts study data in industry-sponsored trials.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of two industry-sponsored AD clinical trials testing semagacestat in mild-to-moderate AD dementia.

Emerging Alzheimer's disease treatment paradigms: A late-stage clinical trial review.

Introduction: Without disease-modifying interventions, Medicare and Medicaid spending on Alzheimer's disease (AD) management is expected to reach 637 billion USD annually by 2050. The recent advent of promising AD therapies after decades of a near-total failure rate in clinical trials suggests that more disease-modifying therapies are on the horizon. In this review, we assess the late-stage pipeline of disease-modifying candidates for AD and offer a novel classification of intervention candidates by treatment paradigms-groups of candidates that share an underlying biological mechanism of action and general disease target.

A sustainable and expedited 'One-Stop' prostate cancer diagnostic pathway to reduce environmental impact and enhance accessibility.

Objective: To assess the carbon footprint, accessibility, and diagnostic performance of an expedited 'One-Stop' prostate cancer (PCa) diagnostic pathway.

Materials And Methods: A total of 1083 consecutive patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) followed by transrectal ultrasound fusion-guided prostate biopsy (PBx) were identified from a prospective database. The patients were divided according to the diagnostic pathway: One-Stop, with MRI and same-day PBx (3 hours apart), or Standard, with MRI followed by a second visit for PBx.

Evaluating HPV Vaccination-Related Content on a Burgeoning Social Media Platform: Insufficient Quality of TikTok.

Objective: Assessing the quality of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination-related content on TikTok is crucial due to its popularity among adolescents. We assessed these videos while comparing the content and quality of videos with and without physician involvement.

Study Design: Cross-sectional cohort analysis.

REAL-TIME RECURSIVE ESTIMATION OF, AND UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION FOR, BREATH ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION VIA LQ TRACKING CONTROL-BASED INVERSE FILTERING OF TRANSDERMAL ALCOHOL BIOSENSOR SIGNALS.

The utility of newly developed wearable biosensors for passively, non-invasively, and continuously measuring transdermal alcohol levels in the body in real time has been limited by the fact that raw transdermal alcohol data does not consistently correlate (quantitatively or temporally) with interpretable metrics of breath and blood across individuals, devices, and the environment. A novel method using a population model in the form of a random abstract hybrid system of ordinary and partial differential equations and linear quadratic tracking control in Hilbert space is developed to estimate blood or breath alcohol concentration from the biosensor-produced transdermal alcohol level signal. Using human subject data in the form of 270 drinking episodes, the method is shown to produce estimates of blood or breath alcohol concentration that are highly correlated and thus good predictors of breath analyzer measurements.

Survey on Cardiologists' Perspectives on Cardiac Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS).

: Cardiac point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has been used with increasing frequency. As a result of this trend, this study sought to characterize cardiologists' perspectives on cardiac POCUS. An 18-question survey on demographics, cardiac POCUS clinical practice, education, and infrastructure was distributed by 16 academic medical centers.

Expanding subcutaneous mass on the scalp of an immunocompromised woman.

Acute cutaneous presentations in immunocompromised patients demand careful and thorough evaluation. Here, we present the case of a 26-year-old female with acute myeloid leukaemia undergoing salvage chemotherapy, who developed an acutely expanding subcutaneous mass starting on the frontotemporal scalp to the angle of the jaw. Histopathologic evaluation was consistent with sclerosing fat necrosis with overlying psoriasiform spongiotic dermatitis.

Discovery of penicillic acid as a chemical probe against tau aggregation in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder proven to be caused by the aggregation of protein tau into fibrils, resulting in neuronal death. The irreparable neuronal damage leads to irreversible symptoms with no cure; therefore, disaggregation of these tau fibrils could be targeted as a therapeutic approach to AD. Here we have developed a fungal natural product library to screen for secondary metabolites that have bioactive potential towards AD tau.

P-Wave Duration Is Associated With Aging Patterns in Structural Brain Networks.

Background: Impaired cardiac function is associated with cognitive impairment and brain imaging features of aging. Cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation, are implicated in clinical and subclinical brain injuries. Even in the absence of a clinical diagnosis, subclinical or prodromal substrates of arrhythmias, including an abnormally long or short P-wave duration (PWD), a measure associated with atrial abnormalities, have been associated with stroke and cognitive decline.

WATER versus WATER II 5-year update: Comparing Aquablation therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia in 30-80-cm and 80-150-cm prostates.

Objective: This study aims to compare the long-term outcomes of Aquablation for small-to-moderate (30-80 cm) prostates with the outcomes for large (80-150 cm) prostates at 5-year follow up.

Methods: The Waterjet Ablation Therapy for Endoscopic Resection of Prostate Tissue (WATER; NCT02505919) is a prospective, double-blind, international clinical trial encompassing 116 patients, examining Aquablation versus transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for LUTS/BPH in prostates sized between 30 and 80 cm. In parallel, WATER II (W-II; NCT03123250), a prospective, multicentre, single-arm international clinical trial, explores Aquablation outcomes in prostates ranging from 80 to 150 cm.

Springing into action: Comparing escape responses between bipedal and quadrupedal rodents.

Predation is a fundamental selective pressure on animal morphology, as morphology is directly linked with physical performance and evasion. Bipedal heteromyid rodents, which are characterized by unique morphological traits such as enlarged hindlimbs, appear to be more successful than sympatric quadrupedal rodents at escaping predators such as snakes and owls, but no studies have directly compared the escape performance of bipedal and quadrupedal rodents. We used simulated predator attacks to compare the evasive jumping ability of bipedal kangaroo rats () to that of three quadrupedal rodent groups-pocket mice (), woodrats (), and ground squirrels ().

Dynamics of microRNA secreted via extracellular vesicles during the maturation of embryonic stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelium.

Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells are exclusive to the retina, critically multifunctional in maintaining the visual functions and health of photoreceptors and the retina. Despite their vital functions throughout lifetime, RPE cells lack regenerative capacity, rendering them vulnerable which can lead to degenerative retinal diseases. With advancements in stem cell technology enabling the differentiation of functional cells from pluripotent stem cells and leveraging the robust autocrine and paracrine functions of RPE cells, extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by RPE cells hold significant therapeutic potential in supplementing RPE cell activity.

Adverse Cardiovascular Effects of Nicotine Delivered by Chronic Electronic Cigarettes or Standard Cigarettes Captured by Cardiovascular Intrinsic Frequencies.

Background: Electronic cigarettes have gained popularity as a nicotine delivery system, which has been recommended by some as an aid to help people quit traditional smoking. The potential long-term effects of vaping on the cardiovascular system, as well as how their effects compare with those from standard cigarettes, are not well understood. The intrinsic frequency (IF) method is a systems approach for analysis of left ventricle and arterial function.