Characterizing patterns of opioid prescribing after outpatient ventral hernia repair with mesh.

Purpose: Despite efforts to minimize opioid prescribing, outpatient ventral hernia repair (VHR) with mesh remains notoriously painful, often requiring postoperative opioid analgesia. Here, we aim to characterize patterns of opioid prescribing for the heterogenous group of patients and procedures that comprise mesh-based, outpatient VHR.

Methods: The Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative registry was queried for patients undergoing VHR with mesh who were discharged the same or next day between January 2019 to October 2023.

Involvement of the parabrachial nucleus in emergence from general anesthesia.

The parabrachial nucleus (PBN), located in the dorsolateral pons, is involved in many important biological functions, such as sensory signaling, feeding, defensive behaviors, fear, anxiety, and sleep-wake cycles. General anesthesia shares the classical feature of reversible loss of consciousness with natural sleep, and accumulating evidence has indicated that general anesthesia and sleep-wake behaviors share some common underlying neural mechanism. In recent years, emerging studies have investigated the involvement of PBN in emergence from general anesthesia, but divergence exists in terms of different types of general anesthetics or different durations of treatment with the same group of general anesthetics.

Hepatocellular carcinoma: updates on epidemiology, surveillance, diagnosis and treatment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major global burden, ranking as the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality. HCC due to chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or C virus (HCV) infection has decreased due to universal vaccination for HBV and effective antiviral therapy for both HBV and HCV, but HCC related to metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is increasing. Biannual liver ultrasonography and serum α-fetoprotein are the primary surveillance tools for early HCC detection among high-risk patients (e.

Ambulatory care utilization in the first 24 months' postpartum by rurality and pregnancy-related conditions: A prospective cohort study from Maine.

Purpose: To estimate the rate of ambulatory care use among postpartum persons by rurality of residence and pregnancy-related conditions.

Methods: We used Maine Health Data Organization's All Payer Claims Data for persons who delivered between 2007 and 2019 (N = 121,905). We estimated rates of ambulatory care (nonemergency department outpatient health care) utilization during the first 24 months' postpartum by level of rurality (urban, large rural, small rural, and isolated rural) and by pregnancy-related conditions (prenatal depression, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and gestational diabetes).

Latissimus Dorsi Tendon Transfer and Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty: Restoring Mechanical Advantage by Transfer Posterior to the Long Head of the Triceps Tendon.

Background: Patients undergoing reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) for rotator cuff arthropathy may present with an external rotation (ER) lag due to posterior rotator cuff insufficiency. As a result, the addition of a latissimus dorsi (LD) tendon transfer in combination with RSA has become increasingly utilized. Initial descriptions of LD tendon transfer involved rerouting of the LD tendon posterior to the long head of the triceps tendon.

Temporal Changes in PROMs Improvement and Recovery Kinetics Following Transforaminal Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: to analyze trends in PROMs improvement and recovery kinetics following transforaminal endoscopic lumbar discectomy and foraminotomy (TELD).

Summary Of Background Data: As TELDs become an increasingly common alternative to fusions for lateral disc herniations, it is important to understand patients' postoperative recovery timelines to manage patient expectations.

Penalizing underage alcohol use is associated with lower mortality for young drivers: Use/lose laws and their association with motor vehicle collision mortality.

Background: Motor vehicle collisions (MVC) continue to be a leading cause of mortality for youth in the United States. Since 2010, seven states have revoked mandatory laws that suspended licenses for underage alcohol use, also known as use/lose laws. This study analyzed whether each state's policy change was associated with increased youth MVC mortality.

Is the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion in the USA associated with reductions in intimate partner violence victimisation?

Objective: Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects an estimated 47% of women living in the USA in their lifetime and is associated with increased risk of physical and mental health concerns. Current prevention efforts focus on individual and family-level interventions rather than macrosystem-level policies. Thus, we sought to test the effects of Medicaid expansion on the rates of IPV and violence more broadly.

Integrated Analysis of Vonoprazan Safety for Symptomatic Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease or Erosive Oesophagitis.

Background: Patients with erosive oesophagitis, and those with persistent symptomatic non-erosive gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, require long-term maintenance treatment with acid-suppressing agents.

Aim: To evaluate the safety of vonoprazan, a potassium-competitive acid blocker, in an integrated analysis of data from clinical trials in adults.

Methods: We included 14 clinical trials of vonoprazan conducted in multiple countries.

Nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF1) induction as a powerful strategy to deter mitochondrial dysfunction and senescence in mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are promising candidates for regenerative therapies due to their self-renewal and differentiation capabilities. Pathological microenvironments expose MSCs to senescence-inducing factors such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), resulting in MSC functional decline and loss of stemness. Oxidative stress leads to mitochondrial dysfunction, a hallmark of senescence, and is prevalent in aging tissues characterized by elevated ROS levels.

DNA aptamers that modulate biological activity of model neurons.

There is an urgent need for agents that promote health and regeneration of cells and tissues, specifically to treat diseases of the aging nervous system. Age-associated nervous system degeneration and various diseases are driven by many different biochemical stresses, often making it difficult to target any one disease cause. Our laboratory has previously identified DNA aptamers with apparent regenerative properties in murine models of multiple sclerosis by selecting aptamers that bind oligodendrocyte membrane preparations.

Regenerative characteristics of the immortal jellyfish, Turritopsis dohrnii, and their potential implications for human aging.

The jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii (T. Nutricala) is a cnidarian of the Oceaniidae family that lives in the Mediterranean Sea. It is known as the immortal jellyfish since, through a process of cell development called transdifferentiation, it manages to return to a polyp state.

3D chromatin hubs as regulatory units of identity and survival in human acute leukemia.

Cancer progression involves genetic and epigenetic changes that disrupt chromatin 3D organization, affecting enhancer-promoter interactions and promoting growth. Here, we provide an integrative approach, combining chromatin conformation, accessibility, and transcription analysis, validated by in silico and CRISPR-interference screens, to identify relevant 3D topologies in pediatric T cell leukemia (T-ALL and ETP-ALL). We characterize 3D hubs as regulatory centers for oncogenes and disease markers, linking them to biological processes like cell division, inflammation, and stress response.

Generalizing from qualitative data: a case example using critical realist thematic analysis and mechanism mapping to evaluate a community health worker-led screening program in India.

Background: A central goal of implementation science is to generate insights that allow evidence-based practices to be successfully applied across diverse settings. However, challenges often arise in preserving programs' effectiveness outside the context of their intervention development. We propose that qualitative data can inform generalizability via elucidating mechanisms of an intervention.

Impact of Overall and Specific Dimensions of Schizotypy on Theory of Mind.

Background: Impairments in theory of mind (ToM) are highly prevalent among individuals with schizophrenia, resulting in substantial functional deficits. However, research on impairments in individuals with schizotypy has yielded inconsistent findings, with some studies finding ToM deficits in overall schizotypy, other studies finding ToM deficits in only specific schizotypy dimensions, and yet other studies finding no ToM deficits at all. One potential key factor that may account for this discrepancy is the use of schizotypy measures that do not adequately measure specific schizotypy dimensions.

CT-based liver peritumoral radiomics features predict hepatic metastases sources as gastrointestinal or non-gastrointestinal.

Objectives: To investigate the feasibility of radiomics models for predicting the source of hepatic metastases from gastrointestinal (GI) vs. non-gastrointestinal (non-GI) primary tumors on contrast enhanced CT(CECT).

Methods: 347 patients with liver metastases (180 from GI and 167 from non-GI) and abdominal CECT including arterial, portal venous, and delayed phases were divided into training (221) and validation (96) sets at a ratio of 7:3 and an independent testing set (30).

Gastrointestinal illness among attendees of the FIFA Football World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

Objectives: Mass gathering events may facilitate the transmission of foodborne diseases. We determined the presentations and causative organisms of gastrointestinal illness among the attendees of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association Football World Cup 2022 (FIFA 2022).

Methods: The study was conducted at Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar, which served as the national reference laboratory for all microbiology testing.

Alterations in DNA Damage Repair Genes Before and After Neoadjuvant Cisplatin-based Chemotherapy in Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer.

Background And Objective: The role of genetic variants in response to systemic therapy in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is still elusive. We assessed variations in genes involved in DNA damage repair (DDR) before and after cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and correlation of alteration patterns with DNA damage and response to therapy.

Methods: Matched tissue from 46 patients with MIBC was investigated via Ion Torrent-based next-generation sequencing using a self-designed panel of 30 DDR genes.

High Altitude is an Independent Risk Factor for Postoperative Venous Thromboembolism Following Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Large Database Study.

Introduction: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a relatively uncommon but potentially fatal complication following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). High altitude may induce physiological changes that can predispose patients to VTE. The purpose of this study was to determine if high altitude is an independent risk factor for postoperative VTE following TKA.

Leucine zipper-based immunomagnetic purification of CAR T cells displaying multiple receptors.

Resistance to chimaeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy develops through multiple mechanisms, most notably antigen loss and tumour-induced immune suppression. It has been suggested that T cells expressing multiple CARs may overcome the resistance of tumours and that T cells expressing receptors that switch inhibitory immune-checkpoint signals into costimulatory signals may enhance the activity of the T cells in the tumour microenvironment. However, engineering multiple features into a single T cell product is difficult because of the transgene-packaging constraints of current gene-delivery vectors.

Impact of the CAPTURE COPD Screening Tool in US Primary Care: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

The impact of COPD screening on US primary care clinician behavior and patient outcomes is unclear. Assess the impact of receiving CAPTURE (COPD Assessment in Primary Care to Identify Undiagnosed Respiratory Disease and Exacerbation Risk) screening scores on clinical and patient outcomes. Cluster randomized trial included 49 usual care (COPD education only) and 51 intervention (COPD and CAPTURE education plus screening scores) primary care practices.

Urinary Catheter Utility in Laparoscopic Appendectomy: Risk Benefit Analysis of Post-Operative Urinary Tract Complications.

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) account for 1 million nosocomial infections annually and 75% of all hospital-acquired UTIs. A risk factor for CAUTI is prolonged urinary catheterization (UC); therefore, transitory UC during laparoscopic appendectomy (LA), a common practice justified to avoid iatrogenic bladder injury, is believed to be safe. However, data on the incidence of post-operative UC-related complications, including CAUTI, following LA or their avoidance are limited.