Relationships between adrenal insufficiency and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with congestive heart failure.

Background And Aims: Patients with adrenal insufficiency (AI) face elevated risks during various hospitalizations including cardiovascular related admissions. Despite this, limited data exist specifically regarding congestive heart failure (CHF) in the context of AI. This investigation leveraged a comprehensive national database to examine the association between AI and cardiovascular outcomes among patients admitted with CHF.

Epicardial Substrate Ablation in Symptomatic Brugada Syndrome Patients: An Updated Systematic Review and Single-arm Meta-analysis.

Background: Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a genetic heart disease that predisposes individuals to ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Although implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and quinidine are primary treatments, recurrent BrS-triggered ventricular arrhythmias can persist. In this setting, epicardial substrate ablation has emerged as a promising alternative for symptomatic patients.

Vermont's Universal School Meals Program: Challenging the Neoliberal Education Paradigm.

This article examines the recent implementation of Universal School Meals (USM) programs in several US states in the context of the increasing influence of neoliberalism in the public schooling system. By subverting a neoliberal paradigm, USM programs disrupt prevailing narratives of poverty and work to reclaim education's central place in the public sphere. A systems-thinking analysis of this issue reveals USM programs to be a powerful leverage point for change.

Tidal Volume Challenge to Assess Volume Responsiveness with Dynamic Preload Indices During Non-Cardiac Surgery: A Prospective Study.

: The aim of this study is to assess whether changes in Pulse Pressure Variation (PPV) and Stroke Volume Variation (SVV) following a VtC can predict the response to fluid administration in patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia with protective mechanical ventilation. : A total of 40 patients undergoing general surgery or vascular surgery without clamping the aorta were enrolled. Protective mechanical ventilation was applied, and the radial artery was catheterized in all patients.

The Impact of Polymerized Whey Protein on the Microstructure, Probiotic Survivability, and Sensory Properties of Hemp Extract-Infused Goat Milk Yogurt.

Goat milk yogurt infused with hemp extract (HE) is a novel dairy product; however, the unpleasant flavors from hemp terpenes and goat milk may impact its acceptance and popularity. This study aimed to investigate the effect of polymerized whey protein (PWP) on mitigating the hempy flavor of HE-infused goat milk yogurt and its impact on the physicochemical properties, microstructure, and probiotic survivability. Goat milk yogurt samples were infused with either nothing (plain flavor), HE, HE plus whey protein isolate, or HE plus PWP.

New Gold(I) Complexes as Potential Precursors for Gas-Assisted Methods: Structure, Volatility, Thermal Stability, and Electron Sensitivity.

We report the synthesis and characterization of new, user-friendly gold(I) [Au(μ-(NH)CCF)] coordination polymer and [AuCl(NH(NH=)CCF)] complex. These compounds were investigated for potential application as precursors in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and focused electron/ion beam-induced deposition (FEBID/FIBID), which are additive methods to produce nanomaterials. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, and infrared spectroscopy were used to determine the complexes' composition and structure.

Effect of Patient Positioning on CT Number Accuracy: A Phantom Study Comparing Energy Integrating and Deep Silicon Photon Counting Detector CT.

Objective: Patient positioning during clinical practice can be challenging, and mispositioning leads to a change in CT number. CT number fluctuation was assessed in single-energy (SE) EID, dual-energy (DE) EID, and deep silicon photon-counting detector (PCD) CT over water-equivalent diameter (WED) with different mispositions.

Methods: A phantom containing five clinically relevant inserts (Mercury Phantom, Gammex) was scanned on a clinical EID CT and a deep silicon PCD CT prototype at vertical positions of 0, 4, 8, and 12 cm.

PRMT5 inhibition has a potent anti-tumor activity against adenoid cystic carcinoma of salivary glands.

Background: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a rare glandular malignancy, commonly originating in salivary glands of the head and neck. Given its protracted growth, ACC is usually diagnosed in advanced stage. Treatment of ACC is limited to surgery and/or adjuvant radiotherapy, which often fails to prevent disease recurrence, and no FDA-approved targeted therapies are currently available.

Novel Nose-to-brain delivery of carbenoxolone via mucoadhesive solid lipid nanoparticles for Parkinson's symptoms management: In vitro and in vivo evaluation in a rotenone-induced rat model.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms, with limited effective treatment options. This study proposes a novel approach utilizing intranasal delivery of carbenoxolone (CBX) via chitosan-coated solid lipid nanoparticles (CS-coated SLNs) to manage PD symptoms by enhancing CBX delivery and brain targeting. Formulated CS-coated SLNs exhibited favorable quality attributes including particle size (164 ± 0.

Cognitive restraint and body dissatisfaction are more strongly related to muscle building behaviors for men than women.

Muscle building behaviors are an understudied eating disorder (ED) symptom increasing in prevalence, especially among men. However, little is known about the cognitive ED correlates that may underlie muscle building behaviors and whether these associations differ by gender. We examined associations between cognitive ED symptoms and muscle building behaviors, and whether these associations differ between men and women.

Physician-dominated conversations: An analysis of illness understanding discussions among patients with advanced cancer.

Context: Effective communication between patients and oncologists is crucial, particularly around illness understanding. When this communication is asymmetric or imbalanced, it can hinder shared decision-making and lead to suboptimal clinical outcomes.

Objectives: We sought to describe physician-patient speech imbalances ("asymmetry") in illness understanding portions of discussions between oncologists and advanced cancer patients and explore potential trends related to patient characteristics.

The Paradigm Shift From Patient to Health Consumer: 20 Years of Value Assessment in Health.

Health care is undergoing a "revolution," where patients are becoming consumers and armed with apps, consumer review scores, and, in some countries, high out-of-pocket costs. Although economic analyses and health technology assessment (HTA) have come a long way in their evaluation of the clinical, economic, ethical, legal, and societal perspectives that may be impacted by new technologies and procedures, these approaches do not reflect underlying patient preferences that may be important in the assessment of "value" in the current value-based health care transition. The major challenges that come with the transformation to a value-based health care system lead to questions such as "How are economic analyses, often the basis for policy and reimbursement decisions, going to switch from a societal to an individual perspective?" and "How do we then assess (economic) value, considering individual preference heterogeneity, as well as varying heuristics and decision rules?" These challenges, related to including the individual perspective in cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), have been widely debated.

Abdominal myosteatosis measured with computed tomography predicts poor outcomes in patients with glioblastoma.

Background: Alterations in cellular metabolism affect cancer survival and can manifest in metrics of body composition. We investigated the effects of various body composition metrics on survival in patients with glioblastoma (GBM).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients who had an abdominal and pelvic computed tomography (CT) scan performed within 1 month of diagnosis of GBM (178 participants, 102 males, 76 females, median age: 62.

Ventricular tachycardia unveiling severe undiagnosed hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism is typically associated with bradyarrhythmias, but can rarely precipitate life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. We present a case of severe hypothyroidism manifesting as polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT). A previously healthy woman in her early 50s presented with an acute onset of breathlessness and on examination had hypotension and tachycardia.

The impact of Omega-3 supplementation on arrhythmia reduction in acute coronary syndrome patients: a randomized clinical trial.

Background And Objectives: Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs), including Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), represent a major global health challenge. Arrhythmias such as Ventricular Tachycardia (VT), Ventricular Fibrillation (VF), Atrial Fibrillation (AF), Premature Ventricular Contractions (PVCs), and Premature Atrial Contractions (PACs) frequently complicate ACS, needing effective management strategies. Omega-3 fatty acids have shown potency in preventing sudden cardiac death by modulating arrhythmias, but their acute effects in ACS patients remain controversial.

Mechanical power density, spontaneous breathing indexes, and weaning readiness following prolonged mechanical ventilation.

Introduction: Evidence suggests that mechanical power (MP) normalized to dynamic compliance, which equals power density, may help identify prolonged ventilated patients at risk for spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) failure. This study compared MP density with traditional spontaneous breathing indexes to predict a patient's capacity to sustain a short trial of unassisted breathing.

Methods: A prospective observational study on 186 prolonged ventilated, tracheotomized patients.

Emotional words evoke region- and valence-specific patterns of concurrent neuromodulator release in human thalamus and cortex.

Words represent a uniquely human information channel-humans use words to express thoughts and feelings and to assign emotional valence to experience. Work from model organisms suggests that valence assignments are carried out in part by the neuromodulators dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Here, we ask whether valence signaling by these neuromodulators extends to word semantics in humans by measuring sub-second neuromodulator dynamics in the thalamus (N = 13) and anterior cingulate cortex (N = 6) of individuals evaluating positive, negative, and neutrally valenced words.

Outcomes of catheter ablation in cardiac sarcoidosis patients with ventricular tachycardia: a propensity score-matched retrospective analysis.

Background: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) can lead to sudden cardiac death. The role of ventricular tachycardia ablation (VTA) in CS has been investigated in a few small, single-center, and larger observational studies, but the evidence still needs to be provided. This study aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of VTA in patients with CS admitted with a diagnosis of VT.

Heterogeneity in Developmental Trajectories of Internalizing and Externalizing Symptomatology: Associations with Risk and Protective Factors.

Among a large sample of youth (9-10 years old at baseline) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study® (n = 11,661) we modeled trajectories of psychopathology over three years and associated risk and protective factors. Growth mixture modeling characterized latent classes with distinct psychopathology trajectories. Results indicated four different internalizing trajectories: a high-decreasing class, a moderate-decreasing class, a moderate-increasing class, and a low-stable class.

Trauma-focused evidence-based psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder delivered via video telehealth in the Veterans Health Administration.

Introduction: Trauma-focused evidence-based psychotherapy (EBP) is the recommended treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, veterans began to initiate general mental health services delivered via video telehealth at high rates. Our goal in the current project was to describe the percentage as well as the demographic, military, and clinical characteristics of veterans receiving PTSD EBPs via video telehealth versus in-person.

Recirculatory Solvotaxis of a Nematic Droplet on Water Surface Enabling Miniaturization.

Self-organized contact line instabilities (CLI) of a macroscopic liquid crystal (LC) droplet can be an ingenious pathway to generate a large collection of miniaturized LC drops. For example, when a larger drop of volatile solvent (e.g.