Detecting Mild Traumatic Brain Injury after Combat Deployment: Agreement Between Veterans Health Administration Clinical System and LIMBIC-CENC Research Protocol.

Identifying historical mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is important for many clinical care reasons; however, diagnosing mild TBI is inherently challenging and utility of screening is unknown. This study compares a standardized research process to an established clinical process for screening and diagnosis of historical mild TBI during combat deployment in a military/Veteran cohort. Using validated instruments, the Long-term Impact of Military-relevant Brain Injury Consortium-Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (LIMBIC-CENC) prospective longitudinal study (PLS) screens for all potential concussive events (PCEs) and conducts structured concussion diagnostic interviews for each PCE.

Neutrophil Elastase Targets Select Proteins on Human Blood-Monocyte-Derived Macrophage Cell Surfaces.

Neutrophil elastase (NE) has been reported to be a pro-inflammatory stimulus for macrophages. The aim of the present study was to determine the impact of NE exposure on the human macrophage proteome and evaluate its impact on pro-inflammatory signals. Human blood monocytes from healthy volunteers were differentiated to macrophages and then exposed to either 500 nM of NE or control vehicle for 2 h in triplicate.

Acid ceramidase controls proteasome inhibitor resistance and is a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of relapsed / refractory multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) patients are often refractory to targeted therapies including proteasome inhibitors (PIs). Here, analysis of RNA sequencing data derived from 672 patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed/refractory disease identified the acid ceramidase, ASAH1, as a key regulator of PI resistance. Genetic or pharmacological blockade of ASAH1 remarkably restored PI sensitivity and protected mice from resistant MM progression in vivo.

Memory Loss and Missteps: Investigating Fall Risks in Alzheimer's and Dementia Patients.

Background: Degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and dementia are significant health concerns among older adults in the United States, contributing substantially to the high incidence of falls in this population. This study aims to investigate the incidence and prevalence of falls among older adults diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and dementia and explore the association between these conditions and the occurrence of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from 17,000 older adults aged 65 and above, arrived at the hospital with fall related injuries, obtained from the TriNetX network at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (VCUHS) between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2023.

Child marriage and well-being in Central and Western Africa: A scoping review of costs and potential benefits for girls.

Introduction: Child marriage is practiced widely in West and Central Africa with established links to several negative outcomes, particularly for girls. Although some reviews on predictors of the practice of child marriage exist, to date no review has focused on the costs and potential benefits to girls who have experienced child marriage.

Method: We conducted a scoping review of PubMed, African Index Medicus, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Global Health and in the grey literature for studies on child marriage and adjustment up to October 2023.

Assessment of the Potential Role of Preoperative Dental Clearance in Total Joint Arthroplasty Optimization: A Pilot Study.

Aims And Objectives: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a serious complication after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) and is associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and cost. This pilot study primarily aimed to investigate if preoperative dental screenings would impact the rate of PJI following TJA when compared to historical controls. Secondarily, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of dental pathology in patients undergoing TJA.

Fibroblasts Regulate the Transformation Potential of Human Papillomavirus-positive Keratinocytes.

Persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is necessary but insufficient for viral oncogenesis. Additional contributing co-factors, such as immune evasion and viral integration have been implicated in HPV-induced cancer progression. It is widely accepted that HPV+ keratinocytes require co-culture with fibroblasts to maintain viral episome expression, yet the exact mechanisms for this have yet to be elucidated.

Techniques for Identifying a Patent Foramen Ovale: Transthoracic Echocardiography, Transesophageal Echocardiography, Transcranial Doppler, Right Heart Catheterization.

Noninvasive and invasive imaging modalities play important roles for the detection of patent foramen ovale (PFO). Transthoracic echocardiography or transcranial Doppler bubble study can be used for initial noninvasive PFO screening. For diagnostic confirmation, transesophageal echocardiography bubble study can be utilized, a semiinvasive confirmatory test that can directly visualize a PFO.

Liver transplant recipients have worse metabolic body phenotype compared with matched non-transplant controls.

Background And Aim: Quantification of body compartments, particularly the interaction between adipose tissue and skeletal muscle, is emerging as novel a biomarker of metabolic health. The present study evaluated the impact of liver transplant (LT) on body compartments.

Methods: Totally 66 adult LT recipients were enrolled in whom body compartments including visceral adipose tissue (VAT), abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT), muscle fat infiltration (MFI), fat-free muscle volume (FFMV), and liver fat (LF) were quantified via whole body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Fibroblast stromal support model for predicting human papillomavirus-associated cancer drug responses.

Unlabelled: Currently, there are no specific antiviral therapeutic approaches targeting Human papillomaviruses (HPVs), which cause around 5% of all human cancers. Specific antiviral reagents are particularly needed for HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers (HPVOPCs) whose incidence is increasing and for which there are no early diagnostic tools available. We and others have demonstrated that the estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is overexpressed in HPVOPCs, compared to HPV-negative cancers in this region, and that these elevated levels are associated with an improved disease outcome.

A new role for human papillomavirus 16 E2: Mitotic activation of the DNA damage response to promote viral genome segregation.

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are causative agents in around 5% of all human cancers. To identify and develop new targeted HPV therapeutics we must enhance our understanding of the viral life cycle and how it interacts with the host. The HPV E2 protein dimerizes and binds to 12bp target sequences in the viral genome and segregates the viral genome during mitosis.

Human papillomavirus 16 replication converts SAMHD1 into a homologous recombination factor and promotes its recruitment to replicating viral DNA.

Unlabelled: We have demonstrated that SAMHD1 (sterile alpha motif and histidine-aspartic domain HD-containing protein 1) is a restriction factor for the human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) life cycle. Here, we demonstrate that in HPV-negative cervical cancer C33a cells and human foreskin keratinocytes immortalized by HPV16 (HFK+HPV16), SAMHD1 is recruited to E1-E2 replicating DNA. Homologous recombination (HR) factors are required for HPV16 replication, and viral replication promotes phosphorylation of SAMHD1, which converts it from a dNTPase to an HR factor independent from E6/E7 expression.

The impact of stigma on quality of life and liver disease burden among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background & Aims: Patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) face a multifaceted disease burden which includes impaired health-related quality of life (HRQL) and potential stigmatization. We aimed to assess the burden of liver disease in patients with NAFLD and the relationship between experience of stigma and HRQL.

Methods: Members of the Global NASH Council created a survey about disease burden in NAFLD.

HPV16 genome structure analysis in oropharyngeal cancer PDXs identifies tumors with integrated and episomal genomes.

HPV + oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPC) incidence recently surpassed cervical cancer and is the most common HPV-related cancer in the developed world. HPV16 is in ∼90 % of HPV + OPCs, with episomal genomes in the majority of cases. Most existing HPV16+ cancer cell lines derive from outside the oropharynx and harbor integrated HPV genomes.

The relationship between body composition and left ventricular performance in women with breast, lymphoma, or sarcoma cancer.

Background: To understand how body composition in those with elevated body mass index impacts left ventricular function decline during cancer treatment, we determined the association between baseline body mass index (BMI), intra-abdominal adipose tissue (IAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) with baseline to 3-month left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) change among women receiving potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy for breast cancer, lymphoma, or sarcoma.

Methods: Women underwent potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy, such as doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, paclitaxel, and trastuzumab, for treatment of breast cancer, lymphoma, or sarcoma. We obtained magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of body composition and cardiac function prior to treatment, and then a repeat MRI for cardiac function assessment at three months into treatment.

E7-mediated repression of miR-203 promotes LASP1-dependent proliferation in HPV-positive cervical cancer.

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are a major cause of malignancy, contributing to ~5% of all human cancers worldwide, including most cervical cancer cases and a growing number of anogenital and oral cancers. The major HPV viral oncogenes, E6 and E7, manipulate many host cellular pathways that promote cell proliferation and survival, predisposing infected cells to malignant transformation. Despite the availability of highly effective vaccines, there are still no specific anti-viral therapies targeting HPV or treatments for HPV-associated cancers.

A human papillomavirus 16 E2-TopBP1 dependent SIRT1-p300 acetylation switch regulates mitotic viral and human protein levels and activates the DNA damage response.

Unlabelled: An interaction between human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) E2 and the cellular proteins TopBP1 and BRD4 is required for E2 plasmid segregation function. The E2-TopBP1 interaction promotes increased mitotic E2 protein levels in U2OS and N/Tert-1 cells, as well as in human foreskin keratinocytes immortalized by HPV16 (HFK + HPV16). SIRT1 deacetylation reduces E2 protein stability and here we demonstrate that increased E2 acetylation occurs during mitosis in a TopBP1 interacting-dependent manner, promoting E2 mitotic stabilization.